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Sol Ascent

Scene details

Setting: The party takes flight on the rocket-tree Sol Ascent, the last legacy of Vaeltrandia, aiming for the floating city of glass Arcadios. In their way is the shattered Bridge of Light, a veritable maelstrom of translucent blades -- and an unexpected denizen thereof.

Log


 The verdant cavern is dim, the colors of its vegetation muted. Overhead, through the gap in the ceiling high above, a dense cloud cover seems plastered like sodden wool, so typical of this rugged coastline. Even the heavy winds, still faintly audible through the thick stone walls, cannot sweep the gloom away.
 But soon a light appears. It creeps up through the roots of the great tree at the cavern's center, illuminated pulses visible through the bark, flowing upwards into its massive trunk. A sonorous hum begins to drown out the sound of the wind. The light spreads begins to spread to the tree's branches, two of which spread out wide on either side, the others clustering at its top like a woven crown. And traces of light begin to pass through the leaves that bedeck these branches, like so many feathers of a noble slumbering bird.
 "Activation successful... as anticipated."
 Ivo stands at the tree's summit, on a dais of sorts, gazing up at the cluster of branches that partially shield what is an oddly smooth and even surface for a living thing. As the light passes through each individual leaf, it bristles, as though an unseen breeze were passing through, a divine breath mingling with the sound of the light's meditative hum. The many spotlights dapple his face as he turns, looking over his shoulder.
 "The weather could be better."
 A stairway of sorts leads down below the dais into the main chamber of the Sol Ascent, where the Crux of Creation shines and those focused on the esoteric art of piloting this thing, the last miracle of the druids, may be somewhat sheltered from the elements. The reason for the lack of physical shielding becomes apparent as the light from the bristling feathers slowly takes the shape of a translucent web. Those that stand upon the dais, who might have felt some tremors from the movement of so many leaves, no longer do, though the leaves move still.
 "Well..."
 Ivo smiles.
 "We'll just have to break through."

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h7boRDwWFQ)

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 7 months ago


 Anna is here. Of course she is. Axe slung across her back as she waits. Her pacing is anxious- like that of a penned lion or caged tiger as the great tree-rocket-thing comes to life.
 "This is going to work, right?" She asks.
 'Activation successful... as anticipated'.
 That is all well and good. But Anna can't help but continue to pace back and forth, slowly wearing a trench in the floor where she walks.
 "... Break through?"
 Oh dear.

Ruidosa La Crima...! Is down below and thoughtfully eyeing the Crux of Creation. What happens to this thing when it's all over. How are they gonna keep it safe if it still exists. She looks down at her tome and starts scribbling in it with an ink feather pen. She includes a sketch of the full Crux Activated and writes down her thoughts, feeling the craft shake.

The Druids made a flying machine of some sort. And they're using it to break into a floating city. She sighs a little and holds her tome to her chest as she closes it and grumbles about druids and their dumb flying trees. Why can't everyone just turn into bats and fly there!?

Huff.~


  "WAAAAHOOOOO!"

  There is the jubilant energy of the boy, who is enjoying the feeling of the flight through the air as he stands along the dais. There is perhaps a great sense of irony in that the motion of the air does not afflict the boy, but the sea does. Perhaps the young explorer is meant for the air after all.

  The boy with the long yellow scarf, upon the feeling of the wind against his face, cracks a grin as he raises a fist to the sky, triumphantly giving out a call, "We're flying!" He is beaming brightly, then he looks at Ivo, "Nais did a great job of activating the Sol Ascent!"

  He looks ahead, glancing back at Anna and then back towards Ivo. Not even the tremors will stop the boy's energy, especially once it fades away under the protection of the shielding.
 


From Below, Ruidosa says. "We're flying and I hate it!" she says grouchily.

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 7 months ago

  True to form, the unusual events don't seem to bother Argent in the slightest. The homunculus just looks upwards at the lightshow without even a curious expression, just regarding events with that usual blank gaze. The shaking and trembling doesn't even do so much as push a hair out of place!

  "Yes." she states as she turns that gaze on to Reize, fixing him with it for a long few seconds before finally, finally blinking. "You are correct that we have attained mobility in the air. However, I do not think it is correct to assume that the activation was particularly skilled."

  A beat passes.

  "It is still possible that we will not maintain our current upward momentum."

Ruidosa La Crima %RRuidosa, from below says. "IF we fall, I'm blaming Ivo!"

Asiding to both Anna and Ivo, Reize asks, "...I thought bats like flying?"

Rudiosa says from below. "We're in a flying deathtrap! It's different!"


 The flight of the Sol Ascent is heralded by the sound of splintering wood, muffled by the web of light but nonetheless, shall we say, perhaps unsettling. But Ivo does not bat an eye. The lower trunk of the tree has fallen away, its roots spiraling down toward the rocky shore below, as a surge of light visible all the way to Zerhem bursts from its base, pushing off its own discarded remnants. The remaining craft is shorter and sleeker, naturally shedding the components it had used to gather power for its flight.
 "I wonder," the Cosmopolitan idly murmurs, "how it's supposed to land."
 Beneath they leave behind the Bastion of Bygone Days, the site of their battle with Anna's nemesis and of the last battle of the druids, where they learned of Kernunnos's tragic past. Said demigod dwells still in Reize's pendant, which seems to dance with the light of the leaves above upon the joyous boy's chest.
 "Fly," a quiet voice issues, "my people's last dream."
 The Sol Ascent plunges into the dark clouds above, shadowing all, before breaking through into a blazing blue sky. Ivo reaches up to shield his eyes, grinning as he glances back to his friends, waiting for his eyes to adjust.
 "We couldn't have done it without them." The young man may not shout in delight like his younger friend, but excitement sparkles in his eyes. "Don't worry, Argent. I'm confident that our calculations have--"
 He trails off as he looks back to the sky.
 "--oh."
 A crystal palace is suspended in the air, a vast circular platform worn at the edges, surrounded by floating shards. The sunlight passes straight through it, such that from some angles it sears the eyes, making it difficult to appreciate the floating city's intricacies. The profusion of shards also obscures some details.
 "Is it," Ivo asks, "falling apart?"
 "I surmise that those are the remnants of the Bridge of Light," Kernunnos replies, "shattered in the wake of the final battle, sealing the last of the Star-Crowned above." Shattered by Kernunnos himself in a forcible summon he had forgotten, if the stories the remnants told are true. "The city itself is as it was described."
 "Alright," Ivo says carefully. "So these shards are just-- made of light?"
 "Well--"
 The Sol Ascent, approaching Arcadios, grazes one of the floating shards, quaking palpably as the glass-like substance scores the trunk of their craft before spiraling away, taking more than a few glowing leaves with it from the impact.
 "Not exactly."

> Sol Ascent Hull Integrity: 92

 "Controlling the flow of aether from the Crux should adjust the wings," Ivo says hurriedly. "I'm going under. Anything you all can do to knock away those shards--"
 The tree hurtles into a veritable asteroid belt, enormous translucent fragments floating, sometimes slowly turning in place in the sky, the Sol Ascent's two thick branches passing hazardously close.
 "--would be appreciated!!"

( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GViBBisDB_4 )

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 7 months ago


 The sound of splintering wood is... Uh.
 Concerning. Anna purses her lips.
 'We're in a flying deathtrap'.
 That's certainly one way to describe the situation as the great flying tree grazes a shard of light and...
 "Wait- you mean-"
 No time for questions, Anna braces the best she can.
 By crouching down and covering her head with her arms.

Ruidosa feels the craft shake and shudder and ''creak'' and she's unsettled by this. Still. It's safe, right?

Then they're through a literal field of shards and she has to fly up to the dias as a bat quickly not being a bat when she reaches it and she 'ughsssss' and looks at the large field of shards with horror.

"How are we going to get through this and not fall down!?" she asks. She doesn't like that they're made of 'light'. She's a vampire. She hates 'light'. She considers and frowns. "My shield will only protect myself!" she huffs and tries throwing a bolt of dark magical energy at one of the shards, to see if she can destroy it.

Look, she's trying.


  There is a moment where Reize faces Argent as she remarks about the activation. He gives a nervous laugh, "Well, we made it up in the air, no?" He cracks a grin, jubilant despite her pointed statement, "We should make it to Arcadios in no time!"

  The sound of the splintering wood sounds slightly concerning, just enough for Reize to turn his back. "Huh?" The youth looks back at Ivo, who doesn't seem too worried. Since Ivo's not worried, neither should be, right? Though, Ivo's question on the 'landing' is slightly less comforting. His antenna hair flops down slightly, "... I, uh, thought you knew how this would land?"

  And of course, Kernunnos! The boy's thoughts leave Ivo to remark to the guardian. "We'll make it there! Don't worry!" As they get closer, the boy can now see the crystal palace, suspended airborn.

  Shards obscuring the view are noted and the boy shields his eyes with a hand. He listens to Kernunnos, "...Oh, the remnants. Well, we should be fine as long as----" There is a shake as the Sol Ascent takes damage from the shards around.

  Oh no!

  Reize's eyes widen as he eyes the shards around. "Ooooi! Ruidosa!" He calls out to his partner. "I need your aid! Your magic can help shoot the shards away!" The young boy grimaces, looking into his satchel for something. Anything. What can he throw to knock them away....

  ... can he confidently knock them away with his boomerangs?

  He draws both boomerangs, "....Well, here goes nothing!" He does not have the range that Ruidosa has, but he'll do his part.

 

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 7 months ago

  Argent sways as the craft quakes, planting her feet in an attempt to stay in place. "I do not believe that we have sufficiently prepared for this task." she states as more and more of those shards loom ahead of them. "Additionally, I do not currently know any methods in which I could use the athame in order to assist in the protection of this craft." Perhaps if she'd had time to experiment with it beforehand she could think of some way it could help, but as it is...well. Winging it seems as though it could cause more problems than it solves, considering the already dubious nature of their vehicle.

  "...I believe Ivo is likely to blame for our current situation." she adds on at the end."


 If anyone could see the Sol Ascent through the blanket of clouds beneath, they might admire its graceful arc through the dazzling shards, on target to reach the floating palace before it. Zoom in, however, to where our party huddles, and the beautiful field of fragments becomes a terrifying storm, each obstacle a blade threatening to shear away at their craft.
 Fortunately, Ruidosa's magic seems exceptionally effective, the crystallized light repelled by the dark bolt. Reize's crystal boomerangs, while not equivalently impactful, are also able to knock another aside in the nick of time, just before it might have clipped one of their wings. It seems that the shards are not weighty and that whatever force keeps them suspended does not affix them in place. The path seems cleared for the moment.
 "We're doing great," Ivo calls up in reply to Argent, voice cheerful, straining to not sound strained. "Everything's fine. I just-- Argent, would you mind coming down here? The Crux is a little hard to manipulate. If you could attune to its power of Creation and put a little pressure on this arm, I think that would--"
 A loud boom rocks the Sol Ascent, dizzingly altering its trajectory, accompanied by a brief and blinding flash of light. It might seem that some hidden shard had struck it, but this is not so. A shockwave has passed through the air, emanating from the palace itself, as though seeking to ward off the intruders.
 "Geh." Ivo, blinking the light from his eyes, grimaces down at the hilt of his still-sheathed sword. "My sensor's fried. Kernunnos, what--"
 He trails off as he looks up from the dais. The Sol Ascent being off-course is not the least of the problems. The shards, thus far suspended in the air, have begun to move. Light sparks within them as they begin to dance through the air, before three fire off like missiles at the tree. One aims for the left wing, one for the right. And one, rocketing ahead, is aimed straight for the dais where the poor Princess Primrose is huddled.
 "That," Ivo shouts, "was *not* my fault!"
 At least he can make that clear before he dies.


"Guh!" goes Ruidosa as she 'seethes' from the sudden burst of light. "What just..."

Then shards start to rocket towards the craft like missiles. "I got the right!" she says as she moves into position and starts firing bolts of dark at the encroaching shard, trying to ward it off or destroy it before it impacts. Hopefully, Reize can get the left! Or the one coming directly for them.

"Someone else get the others!" she calls out.

She then huffs. "FINE!" she yells out to Ivo. He does have a point there.

  • Character: Anna
  • 1 year, 7 months ago


 IT'S A TERRIFYING STORM. EACH OBSTACLE IS A BLADE THREATENING TO SHEAR AWAY THEIR CRAFT.
 Anna remains hunkered down, head down, hands on her head.
 "With my last breath I curse Ivo Galvan!" She declares. She kind of has no ranged means to help with the crystals of shearing doom.


  From the ground of Zerhem...

  Through the fog of the water within Lake Gerisia are the outcasts, or the afflicted from the 'Blessing', they are watching the sky. The undine are looking over at the horizon to see the slight of the Sol Ascent's rise towards the beyond.

  ~ Their wish... to rejoin and not suffer the affliction. ~

  Within the secret garden of Zerhem Kingdom, Darcea and Georgie, now dressed in a more regal outfit and sword sheathed. They watch up to the sky to see the rising Sol Ascent. The little boy, the young prince, is running up to his sister and he looks at the ascending craft. "YOU CAN DO IT!"

  ~ ...Their wish... fulfilled... and a renewed fire in a young scared heart. ~

  Within the ruins of Aurita Meloda, that is slowly rebuilding, the merfolk and lizardfolk, that once quarraled, yet now joined back together, are watching the sky. Cutini Nak smirks and holds onto her rod with a nod.

  ~ Their wish to be fully reunited and for a new beginning.... ~

  Within the forest, Nais and Aoife with Bacach are gazing up. "...You guys got it."

  ~ A wish to accept himself and his lineage. A second chance. ~

  Suddenly, back within the sky, Reize's eyes widen as he feels a resonating glow from his pendant. Those around him would see that the light from the pendant dwarfs the other light beyond their surroundings. ..."H--huh...?!" Only Reize can hear those words...

  Those wishes.

  It is all too familiar. He remembers that when he and Lily were flying to the other world to meet with Adrastus. "...Their wishes..." He clutches onto his pendant, gritting his teeth as he feels a glow imbue him. "ARE MY WILL!" There is an explosion of energy erupting from the young boy as he feels the surreal energy. It goes beyond the aether... The young boy is running up towards the ledge and then he takes a leap.

  He extends his hand up to the sky, drawing forth a glimmering, glowing card as his focus. That card pulsates with a glowing light in his hand before he raises it up into the air.

  Their will is his will.

  EXCEED ART: Pendant's Power - Summoned Surge: Conatus Modicus.

  Meanwhile... far within the outskirts of the town, a man with a poncho is looking up and he cracks a grin. "... I knew you had it in you, kid." The man grins, turning around and walking away.

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 7 months ago

  "Ah. It appears that you were incorrect in regards to these being simple remnants of your previous actions." Argent says aloud along her way down to join Ivo, pausing only /occasionally/ to catch her footing along the way. Not even she can maintain her poise on a flying deathtrap that's dubiously safe even under the best conditions, let alone when it's actually under attack. "It appears that they are specifically prepared in order to repel invaders. Additionally, it appears that they are capable of targetting specific components, suggesting either a very sophisticated mechanism or an active intelligence that is in control."

  All spoken quite calmly as the shards are closing in quickly.

  Once alongside Ivo she draws the athame, clutching it tight in her hand. "Yes. However, while I am able to attune to the aspect of Creation, I require further instruction with regards to the specific application required." And then, she begins to concentrate...while Reize is probably about to solve the current problem anyway, but it's the thought that counts, right?


 "Your points are well-taken," Ivo is saying to Argent, speaking calmly as he clings to the small wooden plinth in which the Crux of Creation has been embedded, beginning to practically dangle from it as the Sol Ascent continues to tilt off course. "However, perhaps we could discuss this *after* we change our flight path-- gah!"
 Ruidosa's first bolt of darkness slows the shard without stopping it, but repeated spells are able to wear away at it until at last, just in time, it shatters into glass-like dust, sparing the tree any damage but close enough that the impact reverberates teeth-rattingly. Given the effort required to fend off these now supercharged shards, there seems little hope of repelling the other two.
 "And your will," Kernunnos booms, "is mine, my friend!"

> Kernunnos's Summon Gauge is supercharged!

 The latticework of light that runs through the remaining leaves blazes bright, forming a shield like the prow of an armored ship. The two deadly shards glance away like tossed trinkets, the heretofore fragile-seeming craft now apparently impervious. Our heroes surge through the terrible field, shards repelled from every direction, as Ivo, through grit teeth, tries to direct how Argent's now glowing athame should be applied, with a mix of know-how and brazen guesswork. Gradually, as the shield holds strong, the wing-like branches begin to shift, spreading the halo of light that envelops them all.
 "We're going to make it!" Ivo shouts, as the shielded craft is redirected toward their looming transparent destination and the field of shards is close to being left behind. As they approach the city, the shards grow larger, seem more intact, retaining the visible traces of carvings, evidence of the bridge they once were. "Just hang on for a little--"
 The tree quakes again.
 "Give me a break!!"

> Sol Ascent Hull Integrity: 83%

 Since the shield of light about the canopy holds strong, it may take a moment to realize what has occurred. From one of the larger chunks of bridge that our heroes were passing by, a smaller shard was launched at an oblique angle, embedding itself in the trunk and circumventing their defenses. None of the shards thus far had behaved as such. What's more, a beam of light connects the tree to the chunk of bridge, and the chunk seems to be being dragged along somehow.
 "A tether of light?" Ivo peers through a gap in the branches before shaking his head, righting himself on a floor that's steady for the moment. "It's slowing us down-- Argent, can you give me more power!? Everyone, be care--"
 Before he can finish his sentence, a blur descends upon the dais atop the Sol Ascent. Passing along from the bridge to the tether of light, as it approaches at breakneck speed, to the sharp-eyed it comes into a view as a figure running along the tightrope thin and hazy thread. Seeming to fly as heedlessly as the craft itself, that figure leaps from the tether to land with a crash among the party, kicking up a cloud of dust and splinters, followed by a cloud of debris.
 "Damned druids," comes an unfamiliar voice. "You still won't quit?"
 A woman is hunched there, towering over the others once she rises to her full height. Her silver hair is dashingly cut short on one side, a scar running over her nose, almost reaching the gem embedded in her forehead. The white cloak about her billows, revealing that, shockingly, only half of her body seems to remain: a torso, a forearm there, a lower leg there. The rest is light in the hazy shape of a body, much like the light that had glimmered within the shards before they began to move.
 "Arcas, bastard... let..."
 She half-grins, half-snarls, revealing filed incisors.
 "...me rest already...!"
 > The Star-Crowned Commander, Lyca, has appeared!

 Whipping out one arm, a shining halbard manifests, the crystal on her brow gleaming in time, before she spins, attempting to slash at Reize, Anna, and Ruidosa all at once, a savage whirl!