HERALD OF NIGHT - XELVAK, MAGUS OF LIFE BEYOND DEATH

[thewatchers]

HERALD OF NIGHT - XELVAK, MAGUS OF LIFE BEYOND DEATH
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Just before finals, a campus-wide meeting is called in the main hall. The High Seeress addresses the student body directly.

“As many of you blessed with Sight are no doubt aware, a presence of great evil is upon us. I have read the stars and signs, and they all point to impending doom. Soon, we shall face our greatest trial to date. And this is but the first.

We have confirmed the emergence of a Herald. The first, to be precise, and the first being that has the capability to bring about Nightfall. This is why we exist. For centuries, Daybreak has prepared, and now the time is upon us. With the blessed radiance, the flames you have nurtured throughout your time here shall bring forth a raging inferno, a cleansing flame that shall scour the Earth and purify it of this fell night.

The operation will begin on the 2nd of July. We have identified the first Herald as the ancient Lich Xelvak. Our records speak of him as a man obsessed with conquering life and death. He calls himself “The Magus of Life Beyond Death”, and we have every reason to believe he has achieved his goals to some measure of satisfaction. The Radiance will be critical in bringing him down.

Beginning on the 27th following prom, we will begin deploying all volunteers to the basecamp being assembled by UN forces near Perth, Australia. Information from the indigenous peoples living within the Gibson Desert, as well as our own Sight, have lead us to identifying the location we believe Xelvak will emerge. Evacuation of the locals is already underway, we are moving them to a lakeside encampment near Perth. Our hope is that they will be able to return once the operation and cleanup have concluded.”

The High Seeress’s tone makes clear that she doesn’t expect this will be the case.

“Although they are skeptical, the UN Supernatural Division has committed the largest joint forces yet to this operation.”

At those words she hesitates for a moment before squaring herself and continuing.

“Most of the soldiers in these forces will not live through the day. And if we fail, humanity itself will not long exceed them. The UN forces have invited us as ‘advisors’ and ‘observers’, and so it shall be our duty to pay witness to the last moments of the brave men and women who will be forced to lay down their lives for an operation against our advisement.

But that is but one of our duties. Our true duty is to destroy the Herald, and it is this task that we are well-equipped. I say truly that no student or faculty is required to take part in this operation. We teach you in hopes that you will bring us salvation, but we understand, acknowledge and respect that not all students will take up the sword. To face battle is a grave decision only to be made by those who are truly willing.

The operation will be split into three parts. Daybreak will hold a presence within the UN’s main control room and will support combat operations. The second will be the bulk of our forces, you will need to use your radiance to break through Xelvak’s magic and crush his twisted undead shell. Finally, a third group will be stationed in the Outlands and will sneak into the Deathspire, Xelvak’s tower and the place he houses his Phylactery. The Phylactery must be destroyed, lest he return.

This will be a dangerous operation. Our vision is closed to the results, and the future, our future, is uncertain. But even still, I have faith. We will make it through this night. We will live. We will fight on. Thank you.”

[From this point on, students may sign up for the operation by speaking to faculty. All students who take part will be subject to a full physical and psychological evaluation (you may post about it if you wish but it will otherwise be conducted off-screen) to ensure they are ready to join the fight. Faculty will simply need to volunteer and sign up.

This is the first official sign-up for the Herald plot. It is open to all players and characters.

Student/Grad Student Characters:
Please sign up for one of the three mission types with your character(s), Control Room, Infiltration, and Combat.

Faculty Characters:
You may either sign up for a single mission, or, if desired, make yourself available for multiple missions, in which case your character will be assigned based on numbers to balance the teams.

Initial sign-ups will close on the 25th, after which we will divide the mission into smaller groups based on the total sign-ups and assign Faculty to each group. From here, players may sign up for specific groups if they wish. The second sign-up round will close on the 29th, and all the characters who haven’t selected a group will be randomized based on their chosen mission.

NOTE FOR COMBAT: Characters are allowed to call in NPC contacts to assist them in the fight, as long as it makes sense and they are in small amounts. If you are unsure of suitability, please direct inquiries to this toplevel.

To sign up, fill out the below form and reply to the appropriate Mission Sign-Up thread.]

Character Name: Character Position: (Student, Grad Student, Faculty) Desired Mission: (Select either Control Room, Infiltration, or Combat, if Faculty, select between one and three of the available missions)

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[hattersgonnahat]

['This is why we exist.']

['The flames you have nurtured throughout your time here shall bring forth a raging inferno.']

['Most of the soldiers in these forces will not live through the day. And if we fail, humanity itself will not long exceed them.']

....

[The longer the speech went on, Puella kept trying to inch further and further to the back of the room. Some might hear a small, stressful whine as she did so.]

[alreadyhuman]

Um.

[ Vivi peers over in clear, wide-eyed concern. He doesn't know this person, but... ]

Are...are you okay? Are you sick? Do you need help?

[hattersgonnahat]

[And flinch.] --No I'm fine!

[alreadyhuman]

You don't look very fine....

[ His eyes sort of scrunch up worriedly. What should he do...?

Oh wait. Wait, he thinks he knows this one. ]

Do you want a hug? They're nice.

[hattersgonnahat]

[What, really?] ...You have hugs?

[Those are really nice. And they might make her feel better, at least for a short time.]

...I guess so.

[alreadyhuman]

Okay. Here I go.

[ Said with UTMOST SERIOUSNESS.

He leans over and clumsily wraps his arms around her. Since they're about the same height and size (though he's a little shorter than she is), it's easier to hug her than many other people.

He sort of awkwardly pats her on the back. He's not actually that used to giving hugs, but he's trying his best. ]

[opheliaafterdeath]

[Nekane meanwhile has been listening to the speech without much bother. Of course they have their own opinions on what is going on, what will happen, but they're more busy absorbing the information provided.

At least, until they catch someone moving out from the corner of their eye. Nekane sighs.]

Breathe kid. Just breathe.

[hattersgonnahat]

[Bold of you to assume she can't panic and breathe at the same time.] But I...

[opheliaafterdeath]

Scared of this shit. I get it.

[Although they personally are not scared. Nekane has not seen a Herald before, but what they have gone through before now...

Well. "Impending doom" was a better option to go through then that.]

But panicking does nothing. Listen to the information. Things stop being scary when you know it.

[hattersgonnahat]

What part of it makes it less scary? [If they loose, they die, the people with them die, the whole world dies.]

[opheliaafterdeath]

Before with this shit it was just "a Herald's coming to kill us, have fun". But we've got a name, a date and a plan. Even if it's a crappy one.

[No matter how terrible their morals were, the one thing Nekane stuck to is that they do not kill people. The fate of the UN forces actually does bother the detective.]

My point is you can do a lot with just that alone. Be scared but be smart about it.

[descolation]

[Desco admittedly took the news awkwardly. On the one hand, they can finally take steps to fight these daemons. On the other, she's at least somewhat aware that there's a lot more training she needs to go through beforehand. Not to mention that there's a chance that a lot of people here could get hurt or worse.

But she doesn't want to think about that and she does a pretty good job at focusing on the fight aspect, until Puella's whine snaps her out of it.]

That didn't sound good. Are you okay?

[hattersgonnahat]

[Before this announcement happen everyone had been telling Puella that there was nothing to worry about. She wanted to believe them. But where was all that talk that she still had time to train now?]

[This is exactly the sort of thing she feared about.]

I-I'm not sure...

[descolation]

[Not sure? Honestly that response seems more like a yes, but maybe she's just confused? Either way, she's going to do the best she can to make this girl feel better.]

Tell Desco all about it! Maybe she can help?

[hattersgonnahat]

[Not exactly sure if that would solve anything. Besides, the less people knew...]

...I'm not ready for all this.

[descolation]

O-oh.

[So much for ignoring the unsure part of herself. The scared part of herself. She can feel it gnawing at her, but at least she knows she's not alone.]

...um. Desco... Desco kind of knows how you feel.

[unpocoloco]

[It's difficult not to be afraid. All the impending doom, the blasé disregard for the lives lost, the pressure of it all hanging overhead. And that's to say nothing of the fact that even if things apparently go right, he's not safe. A cleansing flame that shall scour the Earth. He hopes it's not literal, but even if it's not, Imelda's hand finding his is a lifeline. He grips it back tight.

But soon enough, as the speech reaches its end, he sees he's not the only one in need of a hand. He leaves Imelda for the moment, going off to the back of the room where a little girl hides.]

Puella? Puelita? Do you want to walk outside with me for a bit? [He holds out his hand to her.]

[hattersgonnahat]

[Puella still had not fully forgiven herself for burning Héctor earlier, but she can't tell whether he was on board with this news or not too. She stared at the hand for a second.]

I... [The speech was pretty much over by now anyway. Maybe it won't be too odd for them to bail.] ...Okay.

[She stands up and takes it.]

[unpocoloco]

[There's the briefest flicker of a smile when she takes his hand. He's glad he hasn't entirely spooked her off.

The speech does seem to be winding down, but even it hadn't been, he's fairly sure they could sneak away unnoticed.

He leads her out the main hall and to the closest doors outside. He keeps a hold on her hand.]

It's a lot to think about, isn't it? Can be a bit overwhelming.

[hattersgonnahat]

[Good. She was more focused on getting to the door outside than anything else right now.] ...

I should probably go with them, right?

[unpocoloco]

[There's a pause, not because he's hesitating, but because he wants to put this right.]

I think... that's something of a trick question. Some people will say that any price is worth paying, but I don't think that's true or fair. You aren't responsible for the whole world by yourself. You shouldn't have to feel guilty for wanting different. What I think you should do is what feels right for you-- and not because of what anyone says, high seer or no. No one should be drafted into a war they didn't sign up for, at any age.

[soft_focus]

[It isn't so much that Reira...Isn't smart. She's incredibly smart actually, she caught up with a few years of education in a matter of months. But when it comes to certain...Social matters, certain empathetic ones even (which is rather ironic), things just fall...Flat.

This is why the school exists?? Okay that's neat. They've been nurturing flames??? News to her, but alright, she supposes she's gotten at least a Little better about deciding when things can sit in her soul with her. (Baby Snake, who is simply known as Baby, is doing great on that note)

She's not really sure she likes this idea of watching a bunch of soldiers die. Why don't they just fight first? If they're supposed to be, anyway. A lot of people here are pretty strong after all. Why just let a bunch of others go in that way, if they know what'll happen?

Reira doesn't ask it, but she does have a little frown on her face as she listens, a frown that remains about the same when she realizes someone is...moving. Backward.

Puella inches.

Reira inches.

Puella inches...and...Reira also inches...

They'll probably hit a wall eventually. But anyway.]

...I don't think it's very nice for them to act like everyone's going to fail before we do something, [She says 'conversationally'.] They're probably pretty strong too.

[hattersgonnahat]

[Oh, hey...]

Because...Maybe because no one really is ready for it yet.

[She's not. That's for damn sure.]

[soft_focus]

...

Not being ready for things doesn't make everyone die though.

[This is probably one of the stranger things to ever come out from Reira's mouth.] Umnh... [But also Puella seems rather scared, so she tries to think of something else to say.] ...A lot of fights happen because you don't think they are...so, I don't think most people are ready for things like that.

But most of the time they can still win those fights right? [Or run, but they're not supposed to do that she's guessed.]

So she's just being mean and scaring everyone.

..or she's not saying something else, but that's mean too. [reira no]

...You don't have to go, I think. She said it's a choice.

[hattersgonnahat]

...I should go though. She just said they need Candles.

[So, did she really have much choice?]