Following rumors of more than four Arken Generals joining in subservience to Rikkira, Regalian Citizens grew more and more wary of occurrences that could in the slightest be deemed magical in nature. Whispers had already begun to spread of organizations forming in defiance of the possessed, and Silven in particular were targeted as potential followers of the Dragon, while many Mages were met with scrutinizing eyes. Initially the Arken had remained little but shadows that haunted the populace from behind street corners, but as the days went on, their effects began to be felt from the alleyways of the slums to the main street of Regalia. In the midst of the aristocratic district, unnerving paths of decay began to carve up the richly preened gardens and manicured paths. Stones dulled and cracked, paint chipped, and song birds fell from their perches, their bodies filled with swarming maggots. People unfortunate enough to be caught in the circles of death fell nauseous and ill. Food inexplicably spoiled, and drink became rancid and emitted putrid odors. While the sicknesses were initially blamed on faulty chefs, word spread among nobility of neighbors that had began heaving and gagging. Mouths opened and writhing Rothbites crawled out, smaller in size than their true cousins, yet dead as dust. They fell straight to the ground, having appeared from nowhere. Slowly, individuals began to see the source of this decay and sickness as it passed by their houses. A figure, clothed in the rags of a beggar. His teeth would click and chatter, his body twitching and writhing as he moved. It was one of the four Arken Generals which stood with Rikkira weeks prior. His head would cock in various directions as he seemingly floated through the streets, occasionally gravitating towards Silven as a taunting reminder that he was the one who murdered one of them. The twitching beggar was not the only Arken General that had begun to show their powers in more grandiose manners. As the days progressed, the city would be filled with tall tales of the lavish female Arken, who had been seen parading up and down the main street with animated statues of the Emperor as she announced herself to the unknowing populace. Her form was revealing, her smile devious, and her eyes glimmering with but a tad of magic. She moved with elegance and grace, using her wall of mocking statuettes to protect her body as she simply smiled and waved to the crowd, writhing in the glory of their stares. After her initial appearance, strange happenings began to occur towards the city center. Rumours told of people finding their clothes infested with spiders after hours of wearing them, statues moving to wave or wink at the unsuspecting passersby, and even tales of men hanging from the gallows, still talking to each other as if unphased by their broken necks. The phenomena was soon revealed to be the work of the female Arken, who would flourish through the streets with a skip in her step and a marvellous gown in her wake. Nevertheless, her visions always felt uncannily real to the receiver. While the inner city began to succumb to circles of death and frightening visions, an unnatural abundance of flora began to crop up along the edges of Regalia’s entry roads and in the wake of fire destroyed buildings. Horticulturists in the area took note of the sproutlings that grew in unnatural shapes and colors, some of which were said to form icons of small feathered dragons with their leaves. As the sightings grew more frequent, a few park-goers took notice of a white-haired, silver-eyed Nelfin who had been seen raising the twisted plants straight from the earth. The woman was said to be trailed by an array of semi-transparent creatures that followed in her steps, emitting a soft light that could be seen in the deadest of night. Unlike the other Arken that had presented themselves so fearfully, the Cielothar oddly appeared with no signs of malice, and Regalian citizens who caught sight of the glowing Nelfin cautiously wondered what the goals of this woman might be. As more and more strange occurrences happened throughout the city, civilians were becoming acutely aware that the Dragon’s presence could not be ignored. There were still Arken that had yet to be discovered--gold and silver-eyed individuals who had the ability to hide among the general populace if they wanted to. How the city would decide to address the mounting situation was yet to be decided, as the usual Regalian Newspapers fell deadly silent against the looming threats. OOC Notes: The Arken Generals are being released now to crank up the fear factor of the Dragon’s possession. Families with houses in the Noble District are encouraged to roleplay out the consequences of the decay, but this is not a requirement. Note that not all of their food will spoil; this is just a temporary occurrence by the work of the twitching Arken, meaning they will not starve. Characters may claim that they have seen the effects of the three Arken, but not that they have seen the Arken themselves until they are revealed in-character. The female Arken will have been obscured by her mannequins during her parade. To reiterate from the previous post, these characters are /killable/ IC, as long as they are targeted by proper resistance groups with an actual plan of approach, and not just a random stabbing in the street. Remember, Arken are formidable mages with access to various forms of unknown Magics.
A single Qadir peddler collapsed following a brush with the enigmatic floating catalyst of miasma, his signature rucksack dropping from his shoulders as the Silven's strange, silver eyes stared wide and agape at the chattering figure - coughing up a mess of his meal and a number of deceased maggots. Having been cheerfully peddling his wares and playing the odd tune on various street corners for coin in a hat, the peddler had all but forsaken his hat of coins - leaving it to any nearby thieves as he ran off, still gagging and coughing. Despite the fright coursing through his veins, there was a flame of hatred gritting his teeth - the sprouting seed to a vendetta. Soon after, a single crow watched the events unfold from the soaring skies above, its formidable avian form slicing through mist and wind alike - the beady, albeit foreign slitted and silver gaze magnifying to take in the details of the streets below. Scanning and recording, practically assessing the implications of the various happenings as it hovered about various districts. Though the dark night's sky did its tar black feathers justice, this strange Crow lit ablaze into silvery-white flames, signalling a certain group of individuals to the impending reveal of the initial Arken Generals. The hunt was on, but to which side's benefit was the gamble. @Bellarmina @ShipIt @Lumiess @Halsi @EpsilonPanda @Pastellanar @WaterDruppel @essentialess @Suzzie @Icaruscien @Restofthegroup
Joasaie stood on the park's bridge, visibly shattered at the dead flora around her. The poor Yanar's hands clenched tightly as she remained still. 'I don't care if what did this was an Arken, I will not see this happen and do nothing.' her thoughts remained similar to such as she hurried to the estate, scared for the plants she kept close by in her room and gifted to Katrina by her. @Emo_Bunny
Eshlan furrowed his brow as he stared out the window, going upstairs to retrieve an old tome, saying," Let's see if this will work..."
Brendan's toothy grin was unmistakable for that of a lunatics, his eyes following the chittering, wretching, clutching, covetous creature that was the Twitching Arken General. He'd have drawn his blade there and then if only the figure hadn't turned his head to him and if only the smell hadn't hit his poor nostrils. Rothbites, maggots and other creatures of the sort protruded from his mouth as he bent double, falling unto his hands and knees and remaining until it stopped. Tobie stared at the Cederomar statues that were marching down the street with a tear in his eye and a light chuckle to accompany it, seems the statues were a bit taller than the real thing. He simply giggled and giggled without even a chance of stopping, all the while he was actually watching for a flaw in their movements and so he left abruptly when he grew bored of the occurrences. "Perhaps my sword will be put to use in the coming days. Although, not mine alone."
Leon would be leaning on a wall at his house, Thinking about all the problems that the City is having, dragons, assassinations towards Nobles. He would clench his right hand "Is there any hope left for this city... or will it just fall" He mutters to himself in anger.
Velencia couldn't sit still any longer as the evidence of bleeding nails proved this to be true. Her mind was elsewhere as news of mages stalking the streets filled the small talk of any crowd. The Holy City barely lived up to its name these days, as the crowds only spread their fear amongst one another with someone in every group to be seen searching the skies as if the beast would come bearing down on them at any second. Vel continued on her way with business in mind, her eyes darting to and fro as accusatory whispers followed her every step. Imanshi sat curled in her home after the day's events left her in ruins, every creaking board eliciting a whimper from the poor chi. The tavern had been attacked by an Arken mage and it had called out cockroaches from under the boards to terrify the patrons. She dare not recall its name with dread of any sudden utterance to bring it forth once again. Juice of the dead bugs it had called out still clung to her shoes which were to be burned immediately, her eyes wide in fear as she recalled the whisper the mage had spoken to her: "What beautiful eyes you have."
"The hunt was on, but to which side's benefit was the gamble." Having a watchful eye was paramount in these kinds of situations, and perception would rule the day when it came to the final deciding factor. So when Shiori came to the thief's aid and wrapped his sash around the man's mouth to prevent any more vile vomit or mangling maggots to spew from his mouth, temperance came to halt the half-blood's rage; he could have went to find him, right then and there. Their blood was already running hot, no matter how afflicted or cursed they thought it was, if they weren't wearing gloves then their nails might have torn into their own skin. Temperance is what his mentor taught him, and temperance is what he showed. No matter how much this enemy might taunt him, directly or indirectly with his twitching or chattering of teeth, they had to remain calm. This showed, given how exhausted he was from being drained currently- they simply couldn't risk it. So when this unlikely companion of his shot his silver flame into the sky and lit up that beacon that all of their soul-siblings would see, the feeling of cooperation came as quite the surprise. It was relevant to them, now, that they'd have to rely on other people for once. Even if they hadn't made it clear, that decision was already made. "The Crossroads waits for us all," they repeated. @Bellarmina @ShipIt @Lumiess @Halsi @EpsilonPanda @Pastellanar @WaterDruppel @essentialess @Suzzie @TheBioverse @Restofthegroup
. Amar limped his way through the Noble District, cautiously avoiding the stretches of decay while still observing them, curious. Finally deciding more or less nothing could be gleaned from staring at dead bushes, he turned and made his way back towards the Slums, cloak pulled tightly to ward off the chill of winter. 'Not enough time.' he thought, glancing around at all the hopelessly disinterested and disheveled people huddling away behind their broken gate. 'Not enough time, or able bodies...' He coughed, quickly heading for the warmer, more sheltered tunnels that run under the Slums, to hide away from the bitter wind, deep in thought.
Alec: Made his way over to the notice board reading over new news. "Seems the city is truly full of idiots." he scoffed before thinking to himself. 'These people really do not see that they have truly lost.' Camilla: She'd be sat in the Golden Willow before her guard brought her a paper outlining the Dragons Arken. "I surely hope that Magnus stays safe in the crisis. I hope that only the triumph of the Kades and determination of the city rallies towards defeating the bitches beast of a Dragon" she'd speak coldly. Emitting a icy look of disdain to the paper as she carried on.
Brynjarr's eyes would widen as he looked at the now rotting food in their estate, as he turned his gaze to his cousin, "Holy shit, Magnus... This is way more serious than we thought." @Jugswe
*Gordon ramsay steps in* You fucking donkey, Its Fucking Spoiled *Grabs 2 toast and puts it on Brynjarr's Cheeks* WHAT ARE YOU!! xd jk sorry
Ztril wiped his brow and put the wrench down. The work in the lab was taking longer than expected, but it'd be worth it in the end. As he reached into the toolbox to get the hammer he felt something brush the back of his neck. "Hzzt?" The Allar turned his head around. Nothing was there save the disassembled alchemy array. He brushed it off, turning again to try and pick up the next tool before again feeling the tickle on the back of his neck. This time he practically whipped his head around, quickly rising to his feet as well. "Alright, that'z enough. Who'z there?" Vaguely aware of voices in the distance, Ztril felt the tickle again and again was met with nothing. Letting out a low whine he scratched at the back of his neck. Then at his waist. Then his shoulder. Soon, Ztril was scratching all over his body and starting to panic - right in tune with screaming in the street. "Eric? A'vela? If that'z you thiz izn't funny any more!" Ztril scrambled over to the window to try and figure out what the screaming was. He tried to ignore the sensation across his body, figuring he'd put too much Pfizer on his clothes, and instead focussed on the talking in the street. He couldn't hear much from the lab window, but a cluster of people seemed to be pointing and yelling about the statue in the square in front of the tavern. As he strained his non-existant ears, he could swear he heard talk about... the statue moving? Winking? But even as Ztril cocked his head in confusion at the talk the tickling sensation was so bad it was no longer capable of being ignored, the Allar's entire body feeling like he'd fallen into a pile of feathers. He removed removed his shirt and looked down. "Am I getting zcale rot or zomethi-?!" Ztril's scream could be heard from the street.
Magnus reached out for the nearby wall to support himself. His legs felt weak, his head was spinning, and most prominently his stomach was twisting and turning. He could feel his throat tensing up and chose not to reply to his cousin's comment for fear of what else may exit his mouth. Turning his gaze away from the decaying food in the kitchen didn't help - it felt as if the sickness was within him: as if he himself was rotting. Rushing over to the opposite end of the room and sticking his head out the window, he retched up his breakfast onto the shrubbery below.
Theodosia was tense as she darted along the streets, occasionally glancing to statues, the skies, and people as she went along. Aside from eyeing what she’d long since learned was out of place, she did and said nothing. She knew others were seeing it too, and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. Aside from her visit to her family estate ending in catastrophe as she was met with a lack of food, she had plenty more on her plate. The noblewoman had began carrying two daggers with her, in her bag- And that was it, aside from healing supplies and a few extra things. She couldn’t weigh herself down too much, as the on edge woman was absolutely terrified of getting caught in the crossfire- Which would likely be inevitable at some point in time. As she darted for her home, staggering around a corner in her journey, she uttered a quiet phrase to herself... “Spirits, please, spare me and all I care for- please.”
