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

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"I will keep watch for such a place," Sephiroth said.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"With our luck," Tris groused, joining them, "War will break out the day we arrive."

"Nah, day after," Briar said, "the Gods like to wait till we let our guards down."

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"Heh," Sephiroth said. He couldn't deny he had been cynically thinking the same things. "I wouldn't be surprised, honestly."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"If we want a peaceful world, we simply have to make it ourselves," Sandry said. "We fight so that others may have the peace we wish for them."

"Yeah, selfish enough to wish some of that peace for me too," Briar said, bitterly.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"That was my attitude as well in the past," Sephiroth remarked. Although he had grown cynical and doubted that any peace really lasted long.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

Briar sighed. "Well, fine. For Evvy and Rosethorn."

Daja nodded. "And Frostpine."

"And Lark and uncle and Paolo," Sandry added.

Tris grumbled. "What? Niko can help," she snapped.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"Are Rosethorn and Frostpine related?" Sephiroth wondered. Odd names.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

They all stared at each other. Then Tris made a face, Briar looked partially mortified, Sandry and Daja laughed.

"Dedicates of Winding Circle pick mage names," Sandry explained. "Rosethorn is a Green Mage, a Great Mage actually. She and Dedicate Crane are the two strongest Green Mages among all Dedicates. Frostpine however is a Smith Mage."

Daja nodded. "And having spent a winter with him in Namorn I still am shaking my head that he chose such a name. He hates the cold. Scared the staff multiple times by sitting in the fireplace." She chuckled. "Apparently having never been anywhere cold he heard the term frost pines and thought they sounded pretty."

"Likewise Lark chose her own name."

Tris sniffed. "Niko's name almost sounds normal until ypu hear the full thing."

"Yeah, well Niko's a peacock," Brair said with a snort.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"... Ah. That's interesting," Sephiroth said. "I hope the fireplace wasn't on when Frostpine sat in it." Deadpan.

"Dare I ask what Niko's full name is?"

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"What do you think scared them?" Daja asked with a laugh.

"Niklaren Goldeye," Tris grumped.

"We all owe our current lives to him," Sandry said, feeling the need to defend him.

"Doesn't make him a peacock of a bag," Briar said with a laugh.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

Disturbing.

"And he didn't get burned?"

He raised an eyebrow at the name but then shrugged. "Some people find my name odd."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

Daja shrugged. "He and I are both Smith mages. Fire isn't really a concern for us."

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"That's useful," Sephiroth said. Magical fire wouldn't likely affect him, but normal fire would burn him.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"There are limits though," Daja murmured, rubbing the metal on the back of her hand absently.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"Yes, I wouldn't think people would be completely immune," he remarked.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Anyway," Sandry said, "We were able to help when we were there, hopefully we can help when we are here as well."

"No offense to anyone, but I'd rather we could just go home," Briar admitted.

"Now that we know about the problem, we ought to help," Sandry said, firmly.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"I would like to go home myself," Sephiroth said. "We're always trying to find the way to properly reactivate the portals so everyone can return home. If my powers weren't being partially blocked, I could return everyone home myself, including the Heartless."

And perhaps they would resume listening to him then.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"They... have a home?" Daja asked, latching on to that.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"Well, they're from my world, so I just meant I'd send them back there," he said. "Hopefully they would listen to me again if I had all my powers available to me. I would order them to stop bothering people, as I have before."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"How do we help the people they came from?" Sandry asked, quietly.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth sighed. "As I said, both the Heartless and the Nobody have to be defeated for that to happen. I know of no other way. And there's never any way to know if one has defeated both the Heartless and the Nobody of a specific person. Unless, of course, you're familiar with the person and know they suffered those fates and then they suddenly reappear."

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"What exactly is a Nobody?" Briar asked. "Sounds like bag talk for rats."

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

“It’s the body and soul of a person minus their heart,” Sephiroth said.

Re: *Briar

[4_lumps_of_thread]

"Wait, that's different from heartless how?" Briar asked.

Re: *Briar

[3wingedangel]

"Heartless is the heart," Sephiroth said. "I don't know who named them. Zack commented once that it would make more sense for a Nobody to be the heart and the body and soul to be the Heartless."