EVENT: Heartless Swarm

[fatedhearts]

Things have been fairly peaceful for a while now as everyone has settled into their current lives on this new world. But one day towards late summer, that all comes to an end.

One of the portals in the sky suddenly opens again, an odd glowing light surrounding it as it ejects creature after creature. Then it closes, followed by another glowing portal elsewhere in the sky emitting the same creatures. Small and black, mostly, with odd antennae and glowing eyes. Some here will know them. The Heartless, creatures of the darkness who seek hearts. Those they attack, if they give in to the darkness in their hearts, will become Heartless themselves.

Where is a Keybearer when we need one?!

OOC INFO

Heartless can be encountered anywhere! They're pouring into Edge, the Midgar ruins, Kalm, Wutai, and everywhere else. Balamb Garden won't be spared, but if they're able to seal everything off in time and take flight, they may be safe from the majority of the creatures and be a safehouse for anyone desperate to escape them.

Anyone familiar with Heartless is encouraged to try to defeat them (or control them, if they're lucky enough to possess that ability). But they may find something else will push back if they try. Did someone deliberately send the Heartless through the portals? Who, and why? Does someone on the other side of those portals know what's happening here? And why are the portals glowing when they open? Is there any important significance in that?

(And yes, this is a very significant event that will have a deep bearing on the overall plot!)

Before anyone asks, having your character become a Heartless is probably not a good idea, given that it would be very difficult to get them back to their normal selves at this point in the game. But we welcome intense situations of Heartless trying their hardest to claim hearts before they're stopped!

The event is scheduled to run through August 10th, but backdating and backtagging is encouraged for as long as everyone wants! Post toplevels to this post or create new posts!

Comments

*Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

Briar chuckled. "Not without a lot of magic," he said. He shook his head. "It is more about how they grow. You wrap the tree in wire and prune it a certain way to train it to grow into the shape you want it to grow into."

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"Ah. Yes, I've heard of that type of tree training," Sephiroth said.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"And our Briar grows the best ones in all of Emelan," Sandry said.

"See, this is why you have mates. To do your bragging for you," Briar said with a chuckle.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

That was a more logical type of interaction, as far as Sephiroth was concerned. And one he knew about.

"Zack is like that with me as well," he said.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Then we look forward to meeting him," Sandry said pleasantly.

"Dinner's ready."

"Toss you for who has to haul Tris down?" Daja asked.

"Leave her be, I'll bring her up a plate later."

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"I know he will enjoy meeting all of you," Sephiroth said. "He loves to make new friends."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"As do we," Sandry said, smiling. She winced as if yelled at, but repeated firmly, "As do we." Her slightly forced the second time.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. He turned his attention to the food.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

Shaking his head and seeming amused, Briar served them each a bowl of hearty vegetable stew, then took a bowl deeper into the house.

"She'll clam down some once she's had food," Daja said, sitting down. "You know how she is."

Sandry offered her a small smile and filled up their glasses with water.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth looked at the stew in approval. "This looks delicious." He politely waited to start eating until they were ready.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

Briar came back down without the bowl and took his seat, Sandry placed the pitcher at the center of the table and sat as well.

"Apparently it is going to rain soon," Briar said. "But it doesn't feel like a thunderstorm."

"That's less helpful," Daja said.

It is a good thing I worked a waterproofing into all our new clothes," Sandry said. "Fighting is distasteful enough without also feeling like a drowned rat."

"I agree," Briar said, taking a mouthful and talking around his food. "I already bathe once a month, no need to get soaked any more than that. Wash off my protective layer of dirt."

Daja threw her napkin at him.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth started to eat. "... You can tell when it feels like a thunderstorm?"

He was not going to comment on the distastefulness of such a bathing frequency. Or infrequency.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Tris can," Sandry said. "She's a weather mage, though I feel the term is woefully inaccurate for all that she can do. "Lightning is the safest of the magics she uses," she added, chewing neatly before speaking again. Unlike Briar, she never speaks with her mouth full; which does lead to brief pauses as she speaks. She takes smaller bites than Brirar though, which helps mitigate the issue somewhat. "If we have to fight again before she can refill those braids she'll have to draw on some of her other magics, and she dislikes doing that except in case of emergency."

"Frankly," Daja said, managing to spear a vegetable on her spoon like ti was a fork, "I don't like it when she does either, because either it means we are in danger, or some idiot messes her up and becomes a danger." she popped the morsel in her mouth.

"That's not Tris' fault," Sandry protested.

"Didn't say it was. And her control has gotten much better in the last few years, but still means we're up to our ears in it if she has to move the tides or the earth. At least in battle."

"Frankly if we have to fight at all we're up to our nebs in it already," Briar said. "after the crisis whoever goes shopping next we're out of honey."

"We had a full jar this morning!" Sandry protested.

"Uh huh," Briar said, smirking. He lifted a flask from his pocket. "And now I have a really sweet tea and we're out of honey. We may all die fighting these things, we should get all the sweet we can before hand."

Daja's hand lashed out and she grabbed the flask. "So kind of you to offer to share then," she said, flashing her teeth at him in a smile before she took a long swallow.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"... You put the entire jar in a beverage?" Sephiroth frowned. He couldn't fathom wanting that much honey.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Most of it. Some went into the soup, just a drop helps bring out the flavor in the carrots. And there is just enough left for tomorrow's breakfast. It wasn't a huge jar."

"I swear we go through honey almost as fast as we go through water," Sandry said, shaking her head. "We will have to see what is available in the stores."

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"Hm. Perhaps a bigger jar is in order?" Sephiroth suggested. "They have five pound bottles."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

Briar's smile grew slowly and broadly.

"If you spill a 5 pound jar of honey all over the kitchen, you are the one cleaning it up," Daja told Briar flatly.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"I would recommend not spilling it," Sephiroth deadpanned. "It is expensive, and all of you seem to love it."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Life's better with a little sweet," Briar said with a shrug.

"If it is expensive, we may have to hold off on the larger jar until we begin to build a client base. We still need raw materials as it is," Daja said.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

“I am sure you won’t have trouble building a client base,” Sephiroth said. “What kinds of materials do you need?”

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Raw cotton and linen for me to spin, silk would be nice as well," Sandry said.

"Seeds for me," Briar said. "Specifically any plants that can be used in combat, as well as fruits and vegetables and maybe even some trees that can survive growing as miniatures."

"Metal ores for me, and I could use tools. Some more hammers, buckets, draw plates. As well as coal and a back up bellows. Apparently using Tris as my bellows is an abuse of our powers," Daja added with a wry chuckle.

"Books!" Tris yelled down the stairs. "And glass colouring reagents!"

"Back home our teachers helped us get started," Sandry said. "With basic supplies and such. Enough for us to earn our own money, and they were always near at hand as well."

Briar snorted. "What Sandry isn't saying is that her worshipfulness is a bag, she didn't need help from Lark for supplies."

Sandry stuck out her tongue. "That hardly matters now. No one here cares one whit who my family is and I'm just as happy for that."

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"What kinds of plants are used in combat?" He was picturing Poison Ivy commanding vines to burst out everywhere.

He listened to the list, looking thoughtful. "I believe you can find some of those items in shops here, or by exploring. Although I wouldn't recommend random explorations until this Heartless problem is solved."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Briars," he said with a smirk. Then shook his head. "for land combat, anything with thorns that grows readily will work. Vines are good too. And corpse flower," he added with a smile that was not at all nice. "For fighting against boats you want strong sea growing plants like seaweed."

"Well, we're going to help sort the problem," Sandry said, as if that was settled and simple.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"... Corpse flower?" That was something he wasn't familiar with. He didn't think he'd ever heard Aerith talk about that kind of flower.

He nodded to Sandry. "And your help will be welcome."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Large rare flower, smell is bad enough to knock someone out," Brir said with a smirk. "Instant stink bomb."

Sandry nodded regally. "Of course," she said.