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daybreakacademy2021-02-28 07:02 am
thewatchers) wrote in daybreakacademy2021-02-28 07:02 am
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[Fourth Wall Finale] Night: Fall
[Fourth Wall Finale] Night: Fall
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As the sun goes down on the day of February 28th, the darkness begins to swarm in earnest around the place where the final Herald will emerge - the shores of a dark and polluted sea in the Outlands. Clouds of choking, magical ash roll over the sky to replace the clouds, casting the battlefield into an eerie crimson twilight. Dark smoke boils over the landscape, and the jeering, howling cries of those who would bring on Nightfall can be heard as they amass for their final battle.
Yet, still, the cacophony of the opposition is nothing compared to their silence as a vast shape rises from the water and flares its wings, blotting out the sunlight with its mere presence.
The last Herald of Night, the great primordial dragon Suneater, has arrived. Its only aim is to devour the sun - and crush anything that tries to get in its way.
A comparatively small shape, bubbled in a shining rainbow barrier and casting rays of light down on allied fighters, floats expectantly on the field. The former Herald Iriceli calls out to those who would do battle with Suneater directly:
“Come on! I’ll protect you!”
The battle with Suneater will be conducted in a single long thread, which will have its own toplevel. Abilities directly relevant to those engaging the boss in close combat will be put there.
A. Daybreak’s Moving Castle
While the Academy has many tricks up its sleeves to be deployed in time of need, this one may be the most powerful - and most secret - of all. After everyone is assembled or evacuated as necessary, the staff and students who specialize in artificer work come together in the courtyard, in front of the clear, cold waters of the massive pond known as the Cross of Life.
Headmistress Duchene looks over to the lead among the artificers. She meets her eyes, nods silently, and holds out her hands. The artificer quickly, carefully nicks both of the Headmisstress’ palms with a ritual knife, and steps back as Mila Duchene turns around and steps onto the ice. The frozen pond melts where her blood touches it, and she steps smoothly from ice into cold water, walking forward until she reaches the fountain in the center and grasps it with both hands.
And then the night lights up.
Someone watching from above might see the lines of light moving from water to stone, the very architecture of the Academy itself beginning to rise up and rearrange, and realize: the entire campus is a ritual circle.
Some schools were built for experimentation, for pushing the limits of the accepted. Some schools were built for preservation, passing on hallowed traditions. But Daybreak Academy was built for this night, and ever since the first stones were laid on the campus grounds, it has been storing sunlight, storing power, keeping it for this:
The main buildings of Daybreak itself have been temporarily transmuted from their normal forms into a giant, winged robot.
It radiates stored sunlight in a wide area around itself as it moves through the chaotic battlefield, providing something of a reprieve from the smoke that Suneater constantly spews.
From here, combatants and non-combatants alike can deploy and regroup as needed. The main medical facility and the Academy’s extensive defense systems and armory are all fully operational.
Tasks involving the base of operations include, but are not limited to:
- Aiding medical staff (retrieving incapacitated combatants, fetching supplies, healing or conventional first aid)
- Manning defensive weaponry such as gargoyle cannons and long-range turrets to shoot down attackers aiming to destroy or disable parts of the Academy
- Monitoring and communicating with others on the battlefield itself
- Defending the Academy from enemy intrusions
B. Battlefield
As expected, the fight itself is chaos. Suneater itself may have little to do with its far smaller followers, but everything from Outlands human cults to daemons and fae have shown up on the side of Nightfall, and they give - and expect - no mercy or quarter. While some are merely taking advantage of the assembly to try and snatch those on Daybreak’s side who they’ve taken an interest in for one reason or another, others are far more vicious and terrifying.
We encourage players to create their own specialised foes as needed, but as a rule of thumb, the caliber of these enemies can range from anywhere to mobs of low-level minions to solitary figures with exceptional combat ability. Not all enemies are focused on combat; many are focused on sabotage, distraction, and creating other troublesome effects like traps and illusions.
To make things worse, Suneater’s other gift is rolling out in force. Wherever the miasma it breathes and exudes from its very pores touches, combatants - friend and foe alike - are struck with hallucinatory visions, a sense of profound exhaustion and a bone-chilling cold. Regenerative abilities, shields, healing magic, and natural or supernatural protective gear can aid in combating these effects, but as long as the smoke exists, there will be difficulty in the fight ahead.
Those afflicted by the hallucinatory properties of Suneater’s miasma may see both enemies and friends as figures from their pasts, their present, their nightmares, or even manifestations of their fears, or any other number of things. We leave it up to player discretion as to the strength and nature of these visions, should you choose to use them in your threads.
Tasks involving the battlefield include, but are not limited to:
- Fighting (anything from simple clashes to sneak attacks behind enemy ranks)
- Rescuing or aiding injured or ailing combatants; supplying them with masks, first aid or protective gear as required
- Maintaining and protecting set miasma-free zones with magical lamps and other items
C. Wildcard
Battle is fierce, and enemies are, now more than ever before, inclined to show no quarter. And even in the relative safety of the Academy, the sounds of heated combat can be heard clearly.
This prompt is for anything still finale-related that doesn’t fit into the above categories. Please feel free to use this log to play out your own confrontations!
no subject
What the hell even has been going on in the world today? Peter's not entirely sure - he's been a bit out of it, given how his own life has been going - but as soon as he felt well enough you better believe he came straight back to Daybreak. Just in time for all of this, apparently.
He thwips his way up to the the roof of one of the buildings, just in time to - "Ohhhh crap. Okay. Holy shit. That was not what I was expecting." He manages to land on the ground with superhuman agility, slinging his backpack around onto one shoulder. He's a wiry teenager, about sixteen, with a network of weblike cracks having overtaken the right side of his face. Despite the obvious damage, though, he's as chipper as ever. Especially as he gawks up at the buildings moving.
"Is the giant robot new or did I just miss out?"
B - Rescue Ops
Despite his enhanced strength, Peter is better at mobility than he is at fighting directly. Plus, uh. He might be a little concerned about getting too close. But he flits from safe spot to safe spot, swinging in to scoop up anyone who's gotten just a bit too close to the miasma.
"That was close," he says, after dropping whoever you are off in a safe spot. "I hear these masks are pretty great? Probably oughta find some."
Where were the supplies again...?
C - Misc
Peter's just happy to be back at Daybreak, despite the circumstances. If you have a chance to catch him while there is a free moment, he's happy to just hang out!
((OPEN TO ANYTHING and fine with bracket comments too!))
castle!!!!!
The call comes loud and joyous. It's followed soon by laughter as a grinning skeleton descends from the side of a giant flying cat to run up to the boy and hug him tight.
Given Peter's life being chaos, and the fact that months ago the entire world temporarily forgot Héctor Rivera existed in a consulted magical scheme by some other guy no one remembers now to steal Héctor's music, it's probably been a time since they've seen each other. But whatever Peter's been up to (trouble, fighting crime in a nearby city to Santa Cecilia, or a far off one, more trouble), Héctor's happy to see him now.
He lets go and nods his head at the rising castle. "Pretty cool, huh? The things magic can do..."
Notably, besides being in particularly good spirits, he doesn't seem afraid to be seen as one among the dead anymore. Thank goodness for the fall of the veil. Maybe Peter's even heard about his trip home (finally) or the fact that the rights for his music have all been returned. Though there's one thing he probably hasn't heard about. Héctor's hand reaches up, touching the side of the boy's face where the shatter-cracks have spread enough to make Peter like porcelain.
"You have not been doing well," He says bluntly.
no subject
"Oh man, I was hoping you were here!" He grins up at the taller undead. "I mean, I heard you got all your music back, so I thought maybe you went on a tour or something." Peter, if Héctor had gone on tour, you'd have heard about it. Nerd.
He leans into Héctor's hand with a twinge of guilt. But. Welp. It's not like he'd have been able to hide it. "I uh - I snuck back to New York to see Aunt May. That wasn't the best idea."
no subject
Truly the ideal. The future is now...
His expression softens as Peter leans in. It occurs that, though veil went down and let him free, Peter hasn't had the same luxury. He sees the guilt and he shakes his head.
"Probably not," He admits, "But I can't say that I don't understand." Anything to see family. His grin returns then. "How much time can you spare before the fight? And if the answer to that is none, how much time can you spare after?"
no subject
It's not that kind of web, but he can still help you. 100%.
Peter blinks at those questions, startled by the apparent non-sequitur. "Uh. I've got time now? I mean--" he gestures at the campus turning into a giant robot, "--not like a ton of time, but you can have whatever time I've got."
no subject
He could probably use that help. Later.
"How would you like to clean up these cracks of yours and get rid of that pesky deal once and for all so you can really go home?" He asks.
no subject
"Wait, what? Really? How?"
no subject
"I'm a necromancer!" He declares brightly. "Fully-fledged! What do you think I've been working on since you left, huh? Took quite some time to get it right without any nasty side-effects. But! I got it! All on my own at the end there too!"
Despite still being a skeleton...
"I can raise you up no problem. Well, not raise since you're already walking, but you know what I mean. What do you say?"
no subject
"You, uh." How does he put this politely. "You didn't practice on yourself first?"
no subject
"Of course I practiced on myself," He huffs. "I practiced pretty much entirely on myself."
With a lot of trouble in between but skipping over that. He sighs.
"I've got arsenic poisoning," He explains. "Turns out, that's what really killed me. It lingers in the bones and everything else, even after death. If I completely revive, it gets to me. I'd have to get that all removed and, for the moment, my family and I have decided to hold off more attempts. The veil isn't an issue anymore so, we're happy. Not to mention we're testing some backup theories. In any case, I was alive for a time, and I can bring you back to life too. If you trust me."
no subject
Peter that's not the right response, you absolute nerd.
But - okay, okay, that's a good explanation, and he brightens right back up again. More than brightens? There's something like wavering hope in his face as he starts to consider the possibility of being alive again. Really alive again, not just ...
"Of course I trust you. And if you say you can do it, do it. I--" his voice cracks a little, "I wanna be alive again."
no subject
And he'll be prouder still if he can help Peter with this. All that work will mean something. And it will mean a lot.
His phantom heart gives a pang and he moves in again to wrap Peter in another hug. He gets it. He really does. And Peter is far too young not to get his proper chance at living.
"Alright," He says, releasing the boy once more. "Let's do this. We're going to find some pavement and I'm going to draw up a circle in black salt chalk. I've got the cempasuchils, asphodel, our grave dirt, mist, our mixture we'll call the secret ingredient, and a last bit of outland flower essence. I'll get you to step inside and start the spell. It's going to be bright, it might sting a bit, and it's probably going to knock one of us out. But it'll work. I swear it."
no subject
"Okay," he says, scrubbing a bit at his face when Héctor lets him go again. "Yeah, okay. I'm ready. We can do this. Whenever, yeah? Just a casual resurrection. No big deal."
no subject
"Come on."
He leads Peter on, torn on whether to hurry in light of Nightfall or take his time so that he doesn't rush this and mess it up. He fidgets at his belt where he's tied a series of pouches. The first flat bit of path they find, and he's kneeling to start drawing the circle in with that chalk. After so much practice, he can do it well. From his jacket pocket he pulls the first slip of paper, cross-referencing the symbols, their shape and size. He fills and surrounds the circle with so many runes that from above he's sure it would look like a great black spot in the earth.
"Don't scuff this," He warns, taking careful steps back himself. He tucks the slip of paper away, exchanging it for another.
The incantation isn't English or Spanish. Frankly, he's not sure what it is, having only been able to work it out using other spell reverse engineered to help him read it. But he reads it out, scattering first the dust, then the asphodel in spots outside the circle. The mixture is dotted around the line of the circle.
"Step inside," He commands, scattering the cempasuchils around the circle, especially towards the center where Peter will stand. "And drink this," he adds, pulling out the tiniest vial and handing it to Peter. "Don't worry, it's sweet. Especially to our kind."
He steps back, scans over his work for any flaw, then lets out a breath. Okay. Okay... Time to do this.
Once Peter's in the circle, he kneels again. He presses his hand flat to the lines he's drawn. Once, long ago, he'd shown Peter a trick to work magic around blight. He'd made a light. It was a pitiful weak little light that flickered out quick with his perpetual exhaustion, but he did it. Now, after so much work, he can do much more.
"I want you to think about what you're doing this for. Who. Everyone's who's mattered to you, everything that makes you want to live, I want you to call it up in your mind and hold onto it. I want you to pour every ounce of your will into this, into living. That's how this is going to work. Are you ready?"
no subject
It's a lot? He's legitimately impressed, actually. Peter lets out a low whistle as he accepts the vial from Héctor, staring down at all of the preparations. "You actually got good at magic," he says, in a tone that should be less awed than it is, probably? But he remembers that trembling blight light too, as well as his own impressively shitty performance. "Holy shit, Tío."
Peter downs the vial - it does taste sweet, doesn't it? weird - and steps into the circle, putting that supernatural grace of his to good work. No scuffs. Avoiding all the runs that Héctor has so carefully inscribed. "R-right. All of that. Okay." Peter takes a deep breath and sinks very carefully onto his knees inside the circle. Everyone he loves. Everything he wants to see again, wants to do again. The things he thought he'd never get to do...
(Aunt May, of course. He still remembers her haunted face when he'd first come back, and how white her hair had been when he found her in New York. His aunt gave up years of her life to bring him back, and he'd been so careless with it. He has to make it up to her.
Gwen Stacy and her awful pact. MJ and Ned. Orihime, wherever she is now. All his friends at his old school. Now that the veil is down, maybe he can just contact all of them with the truth: that he'd died, but now he's alive again, really. College - marriage - maybe even kids - a whole life.
Santa Cecilia and Héctor's family, who'd taken him in and been so incredibly kind to him. Imelda. And ...
And of course Héctor, standing in front of him. He loves Aunt May, but he puts the brunt of his energy into wanting to live for Héctor, who clearly loves him with all his heart. His eyes are shining a little as he looks up at his tío, both determination and tears warring for a place in them.)
"I'm - I'm ready," he says, and he is. As ready as he'll ever be. He wants to live, dammit. He always has.
no subject
"Anything for my daughter," He says, love in his voice. "And... I suppose for you too." That gets a brief wry grin.
He'd have to remember later to tell Peter about one of the runes carved into his arm, the one specifically meant for handling hollows and blight without getting hurt himself. He had a lot of fun with that one. Not to mention the weight it took of his heart and mind.
But that will be later. Now, he lets said heart and mind dwell on his own people, on the same names and faces that came to him that time when he finally revived himself, all that love turned to a brief and beautiful moment of life.
Every bone, every rune carved into him, the colorful marks upon his skull; all of it lights. He meets Peter's eyes, seeing the tears, and he smiles with every bit of warmth in him.
"You're going home, mijo."
A battle ahead, a spell to finish, but so it would be. He closes his eyes and pours every bit of power he can into the circle, watching the whole thing light. It glows brighter, brighter, and then in a flash, that light rushes for Peter in a burst.
castle
"It is the academy," she answers, after a moment. "Some grand magical working built into the stones. So they say."
no subject
He offers a hand. "I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Parker."
no subject
"Hornet," she says, and seems to feel that's a sufficient introduction. "Did you come to fight as well?" There seem to be a lot of strangers coming into the school these days, far more than usual. It's all very serious, which makes perfect sense to her.
no subject
"I mean yeah, that's the idea," Peter says, jerking a thumb at the giant robot shenanigans. "At least until we win, hopefully. Or die. Either way."
no subject
"I have too much left undone to die," she says severely, staring out across the campus as the robot slowly assembles itself. "And I am certain most people feel the same."
Which is a weird thing to say at the best of times, but that seems to be Hornet's way of operating.
no subject
"Oh yeah, me too," he says. "I mean, I did before I died, but now I definitely have more to do." Did that make sense? Maybe, maybe not.