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

[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.

[hattersgonnahat]

[Perhaps it was because most have been trying to tell her the opposite, and especially the nonhumans who seem the most sure of things, Puella had expected the same to happen here.]

[It felt kind of good - okay, nothing about it was good at all - but it was a somewhat refreshing not to be alone.]

...You're worried too?