[Open] The Mark of the Herald

[thewatchers]

Mark of the Herald Part I
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Despite certain disruptive events and ominous visions in the preceding month, August is seemingly still free of any problems.

That’s quick to change, however. Starting from the third of the month, strange, circular marks begin to appear on human students around the school - and, indeed, humans around the world. Those affected begin to feel incurably drowsy, something that no magical or mundane solution can seem to cure or relieve; eventually, they’ll fall asleep entirely, whether they want to or not, and enter a state of magical stasis. Not even nonhumans are immune, though whether they’re marked seems to be much more erratic.

Those who remain awake or are otherwise spared by the mark are free to do as they wish - the Academy won’t ask them to do more than keep themselves safe. But where each marked person falls in slumber, a portal will form; a strange tear in reality, offering glimpses of a surreal, nightmarish plane that differs vastly from individual to individual. One thing is certain; the cause of a victim’s seemingly endless sleep and these portals are linked somehow, and the only way to find out exactly how is to go through...and the only ones capable of doing so are those who are still awake.

This log can be used as a catch-all for event-related threads. The information for this event is here.

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[alreadyhuman]

[ Somehow, a clean room still sets off the parts of him deep down that have a thriving combat instinct, the more recent parts that are based in observing and learning; something is wrong here.

He takes a deep breath (outside, to escape the reek of bleach) and pushes onward, even so.

He heads to the desk drawers, spotting them almost immediately as the only discrepancy he can note in this otherwise scrubbed-clean room. What's inside? ]

[thaumatrope]

[There's some burned up scraps of paper and a lighter inside the desk. It's not hard to put two and two together. But fortunately it looks like a small scrap survived.

....6234-01 is proving to be difficult. Suggestion to move it to the freezer.

Outside a floorboard loudly creaks.]

[alreadyhuman]

[ The numbers aren't familiar, but it reminds him of his own origins enough that his chest hurts in sympathy. He can guess at what 'move it to the freezer' means, too.

He looks up at the floorboard creaking, frozen for a moment, and then he scrambles behind the nearest piece of furniture that can hide him. Even if it's scant protection, it at least means he'll be a little more prepared for whatever comes in. ]

[thaumatrope]

[Vivi makes it behind cover just in time for the door to swing open with a loud bang when it hits the wall.

Who comes inside should be familiar. Oh sure, their hair is much longer but Adriel's general shape hasn't changed much. But their wings have been utterly ruined, stripped of feathers and flesh, and their eyes have changed from a warm gold to a piercing red. Their clothing is old and ripped, and stained with old blood. Peaking out of some of the visible wounds on their body are blood-red eyes.

Their gaze sweeps across the room and it's clear they're looking for something. Or someone.

If Vivi remains silent then "Adriel" will leave the room. But if he says anything or moves...well, it might not end well for him. Unlike Adriel's normally friendly expression, there's something unhinged about them now.]

[alreadyhuman]

[ He can't help but feel hurt. Not because of the fact Adriel now feels dangerous - Sherlock was dangerous, sometimes, and the overwhelming fire of his own anger scares even him - but because Adriel looks so badly hurt, and he still can't do anything to make things right.

Still, he knows better than to move - at least, when "Adriel" is in sight. When they leave, he waits a few moments, holding his breath, before creeping out from behind cover to see if he can spot where they've gone to, and follow behind as cautiously as he knows how. ]

[thaumatrope]

[With nobody clearly in the room, "Adriel" wanders back out. While Vivi waits he'll hear a few things crash as they look for something. Once he pokes his head outside, he'll see them disappear through the wooden door.

It leads upstairs but there's the sound of muffled voices coming through from door at the top. There's no sign of "Adriel" either. Go through the door?]

[alreadyhuman]

[ Vivi is very carefully, as sneakily as he knows how, going through the door. Provided the voices don't stop, he's going to try his best to make sense of them, too. ]

[thaumatrope]

[Through the door leads to a grand hall that probably cost a pretty penny to make. There's a big door that obviously leads outside, plus a few others.

But since Vivi is focusing on the voices themselves, they're still talking. However for some reason the voices remain muffled....and nobody is physically in the hall. He's alone but the echoes chatter away. A mix of men and women talk about this and that in the Outlands but eventually they come around to a particular topic.

"...stubborn. Will it..."

"Yes. 6234-01 will come back-"

"Escaped. Again."

"--and their wings will be stripped."]