[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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[stavros]

[Maybe if this weren't a dream.

The hallway is similarly dingy and haunting, and the door opens with a bit of force. Inside seems to be a run-down theatre, with broken, cobwebbed seats, a torn curtain, and some kind of platform up on the stage, plus more unlit chandeliers above the house. Looks like there are just a few flying eyeball monsters to take care of in here. So far, anyway.

You'll also hear a voice with no discernible source echo around the room.]

Fate, destiny... someone's choices that determine the path of your life. Those invisible chains exist everywhere.

[kept_his_letters]

[It is not the first time she wished she weren't alone in her knowledge of this world besides her family. What she wouldn't have given for some friend, someone, anyone, who understood, who might come along with her to things like this... though this is the first time she wanted such a thing because she felt afraid.

She catches sight of the monsters and goes to hide behind whatever corner or old fashioned suit of armor she can. She needs a plan, a spell. But she's thrown by the sound of a voice. Specifically, the words.

Someone's choices that determine the path of your life.

She knew that feeling. She knew wanting to dance all her life and being forbidden from it. An invisible chain right around her ankles. It was because her father was gone that she wore them. It was because of him that she was here.

Finding her resolve, she casts a spell for light, sending a little orb trailing down the hall to see if the creatures follow it. Perhaps she can lead them away.]

[stavros]

[The eye things follow the light, leaving Coco alone in the old theatre. Something creaks toward the stage, and she might spot a box up on the platform. It looks pretty safe in here for now, though...]

[kept_his_letters]

[That... seems like a trap. But, she doesn't know what else she's meant to do. And so, bracing herself, she takes steps toward that stage, reaching out for the box. Time to see what's inside.]

[stavros]

[The first thing that hits Coco is a memory that doesn't belong to her. Viewed from a child in a training hall, but not one of the ones at Daybreak, an older man takes a metal cross and throws it at a target dummy down the hall, hitting it in its straw chest.

"More like that," he says. "And remember; they will tell you at school that not everybody has to take part in missions, once you're old enough to do them. They may be right. Not everyone must, and not everyone will."

"But I have to, right, dad?" asks the little girl.

He nods solemnly. "It has always been our line's duty to stand where others will not, to ensure that they have that luxury to choose not to fight. If you fear it, take heart; at least you will not be alone."

The scene fades away, with a far more menacing voice chiming in from another memory: "...often fight alone... die alone." And with that, she'll find a supply of such throwing crosses in the chest, which will last either until she runs out or until she leaves the dream. ...And a piece of fried chicken? What's with that?

The footsteps coming toward the theatre sound a lot more dangerous than the eyeball monsters Coco chased out of there before, though. Maybe she can try and hide in the wings, or somehow get up onto the chandeliers above the house.]

[kept_his_letters]

[It's the opposite of everything she knew this time. She would not go to the school. She would not take part in the missions. She would not follow her mother there into battle against nightfall. There was no chance to choose the fight.

And in this place of terrors, where the threat of dying alone was suddenly very real, she wonders why she would choose to fight. What would her family think, if she were lost out here? Would the know? Would they ever know? Or would she be forgotten, the way her father was?

Her vision clears to weapons and a weirdness. She hears the footsteps and she acts without thought. All of it, even the food, is swept into a sidebag before she makes her way for a side hall. She hasn't the faintest idea how to get up to a chandelier so this will have to do.]

[stavros]

[Hard out here for a noncombatant. Coco will make it through the theatre's side door, which vanishes soon after, leaving just a solid wall behind her. Ahead of her is a small hallway that creaks and twists before her eyes. There's a door at the end, though now it's sideways, but there's nothing in this corridor but bats. Not even evil bats. Just normal ones that won't attack you.]

[kept_his_letters]

[A solid wall. She doesn't miss the way the door disappears in her mad dash. Should she have stayed...?

No. If she's cornered then she will fight, but no sooner. No sooner...

Her eyes trail up to the bats and she finds herself smiling at them. Sweet things. She supposed they would be frightening to someone else but she never saw the point in fearing what didn't intend to harm.

She reaches that far door and opens it slow.]

[stavros]

[Welcome to an old, dusty library, and a large one. It's a long drop down to the wall-turned-floor, now that the castle's twisted, though there are bookshelves and desks to jump or climb to that act just like they're standing right-side-up and she's the one who's sideways. There are a few monsters patrolling the aisles alongside some small, hovering machines that look vastly out of place; still, if Coco plays her platforming cards right, she can sneak past them all.

But where to? The top, rather, the left side of the room, currently a ceiling, that bears a large door but seems pretty hard to get to if you can't jump or climb well? Or across the maze of bookshelves to a relief of a heroic-looking young man in the wall that seems a little crooked from where he ought to be?]

[kept_his_letters]

[She looks around in awe and finds herself smiling. She was never much one for videogames but climbing and making leaps? Why, she did that every day. How else would she reach her hiding place in the attic to dance?

She fastens that bag tight around her, tucking it close. Then, she makes her first leap across the bookshelves. She has to stifle a joyous laugh feeling the air move past. She doesn't want the attention of the monsters.]

[stavros]

[The monsters don't seem to have noticed her yet, but if she observes, they're patrolling in a set pattern. If Coco is aiming for the top, she should be able to make it up -- wait, who's that? An indistinct white-haired girl appears at the end of the room, and just like the furniture, she's walking on the floor like the room is right-side up. She laughs and turns to walk away, disappearing through the door without opening it.

Suddenly, it feels like the monsters have noticed. Better get to that exit fast.]

[kept_his_letters]

[She stares at the girl who looks like a wraith in the night. She's never seen anyone who looks like that. But the monsters fix on her, not the girl, and with a faint noise she's scrambling for that exit, trying to reach the door and climb through...]

[stavros]

[Coco will be able to reach and make it out! And once she's out, gravity goes back to normal and she'll fall into the next room right-side-up.

Said room is a small room with a brown carpet and curtains that don't look too torn up, along with a piano, a couch, and a small table with some books. Looks like there aren't any enemies in here. A rest area before continuing on through the next door, maybe? She can investigate or just catch her breath before going ahead.]

[kept_his_letters]

Oof!

[She lands solidly on the floor. Whoever invented the phrase "grace of a dancer" clearly never knew a dancer like her.

She squints up and climbs to her feet. Nothing terrible in here. She's still got her bag of crosses.

She drifts to the piano and her fingers hover over the keys. She hears her Mamá's voice in her head. No music. It nearly prompts her to go on trying to play anyway, but in a place of threats and monsters, she decides it really is for the best.

She drifts to where the books sit.]

[stavros]

[The text swims on the page -- after all, you can't read in a dream, can you? -- but Coco will get a feeling of understanding it anyway. As much as one can; it's a rush of information about the history of Kokoro's family, a well-known Hunter clan that's been active over 900 years. It feels like this is information the person in this dream has been told over and over, and while there are obvious gaps, the other standout thing is when Coco reaches the end and it just plays...

Well. You were in the Dracula plot, it just shows the entire thing following Kokoro's perspective. What Coco will notice for obvious reasons is the blatant gap where Héctor is fading from memory, so sometimes people will react to someone who isn't there or thin air will start talking. And, you know, the whole "oh hey a clue to my long-thought-dead close relative who went missing ages ago, right there in an obvious trap" thing.

That's all there is to find here, but once Coco looks up from the book, she'll get a vial of preserved blood. Hope that's supposed to be useful somewhere in this place, because it sure is creepy.]

[kept_his_letters]

[Nine hundred years is a lot to take in. It feels like her head is spinning, even with the sense that she's heard it before, somehow. Was this to do with the person whose dream this was? That would make the most sense. So she is seeking a hunter?

But indeed, it is the last part that chills her. Someone was there and now they're simply gone, a blank space in a memory. And this hunter, this Kokoro if she follows the texts, once lost someone very dear, for a long time. Someone who came back...

She startles to see the vial of blood before her. It's not exactly a nice sight to be greeted with. But once past the initial shock, she wastes no time in grabbing it. Into the bag of crosses and chicken with ye. She wonders what, if any of it, will prove useful or a hindrance.

Onto the next door.]

[stavros]

[Welcome to a tower with a crumbling staircase spiralling around the sides. Looks like there will be some gaps to jump, but the enemies here are small at least, bat-like creatures that will try to knock her down. If she makes it to the top, it opens out into a large room, dark despite the many stained glass windows, with something in the centre that must be another room... except there aren't any doors into it? Only a small stone with an inscription over it...

Though the cackling of the white-haired girl might distract. She appears out of nowhere and laughs, her features twisting until she turns into a large, monstrous white wolf-bat-thing and shoots fireballs in Coco's direction. Cue endboss music.

(It actually sort of feels like there is some playing. Whoever's mind this is must be some closet nerd.)]

[kept_his_letters]

[That staircase looks more than a little precarious, but she takes a breath, steels herself, and starts upward. She ducks away from the first creature then reaches into her bag. Would a cross work? Maybe not. Maybe distracting them with food would work. But what would be better, the blood or the chicken? She tries holding up each, to see if the creatures will dive for either one and not for her.

Even if it doesn't work on those, she's definitely not against trying it against the white-haired girl. The whole thing would be terrifying if not for the sudden music. For a moment, she's simply bewildered. Then, she finds herself laughing too. She takes up the steps of a dance and spins to dodge the fire that comes for her.]

[stavros]

[The girl-turned-monster screeches. She opens her wings wide and swoops down at Coco, who's doing a great job at dodging the fire.

A voice echoes in the hall, Throw it, and it sounds like it's coming from the blocked-off room. Throw what? At what?]

[kept_his_letters]

[She's definitely asking those questions herself as the monster streaks down. It might be the wrong thing but all the same, she takes up one of the crosses and throws it, wincing as she does for what might happen if it misses, as well as if it hits.]

[stavros]

[It does some damage to the monster, knocking it back, and boomerangs right back to Coco. Looks like she's got the right idea! Everything in the castle seems like it's vulnerable to holy damage.

The creature spins back and falters in the air, disoriented. If Coco's looking to escape, the little stone at the blocked-off room in the centre has an inscription on it, and though it's faded, she might remember from the records in the resting room that sometimes, the castle had doors that would only open with blood from a certain family line.]

[kept_his_letters]

[She wasn't expecting the thing to go boomeranging back. She nearly drops it, only saving it at the last moment. But, she's not eager for a fight. When she's got the creature thrown back, she's moving quick for that stone, reading it over, and then pulling out the vile of blood.

Well. Guess she'll throw this too. She steps back and tosses.]

[stavros]

[You could have just poured it on the stone, Coco, you didn't have to chuck it. Still, it breaks and spills out onto the stone, and a door emerges from the wall and opens up. Coco can run in there in time to get away from the recovering monster.

Inside the formerly sealed-off room, Kokoro appears to be asleep, flopped over on a stone slab. She shivers and rubs her eyes.]

What...?

[kept_his_letters]

[Go hard or go home and she's not going home.

She makes that last dash for the door and stops to see another girl there, asleep. For a moment she stiffens, wondering if this girl will turn into a monster too.]

Um... hi. Sorry to wake you.

[stavros]

I...

[She drags herself to a sitting position and rubs her eyes, then climbs off the slab.]

The portals. I must be asleep on the outside... You came to retrieve me, then? You have my thanks.

[Light is starting to come in from above, and the white bat outside has either disappeared or just stopped bothering them. Looks like we're at the end of the line.]

Are you new...?