15[20:05] <@VoxPVoxD> Seven days. 15[20:08] <@VoxPVoxD> Cethleann's herald was clear on that much. But as she leaves a half-dead girl and a couple hundred fresh hedges across Nexus, Xu Sim has immediate work to do. His apes and Seven's spirits have dragged the Thistledown Pylon to the staging area in the Tomb of Cold Iron. Above, wasps and whirlwinds hold the rose rain at bay - but for how long? No, there's only one sure way. He has to set fire to the rain. 15[20:08] <@VoxPVoxD> How does he do it? [20:10] "Here, here, here!" 5the sorcerer exclaims impatiently to the apes (grumbling at each other, no doubt) as he gestures at the floor of the central chamber of the Tomb of Cold Iron. Scrawled into nearly every surface of the marble floors and walls (and even, in a spot or two, on the ceiling) are diagrams, notations, pentagonic wards of power and hexagrammaton circles of resistance and [20:10] 5channeling. [20:13] "Lados? Lados! See to it that our guests are not left wanting," 5he adds, speaking to the air of the tomb. "Yes, right here, turn it ever so slightly - yes!" 5At the center of a particularly dense web of chalk notes is a large circle, more or less the size of the pylon that Xu Sim estimated. In reality, it's just a little larger than he had anticipated. The walls and floor of the [20:13] 5chamber are here-and-there dotted with candles and drips of brass from his prior sorcery. 15[20:13] <@VoxPVoxD> Elsewhere, Xia Lan has a choice to make - how is she going to ride out the remainder of the storm? The former sanctum of Great Crane awaits, housing the rest of the mortal Council as well as, apparently, Stranger's peculiar Heaven-sent friend and seeming-attempted-assassin Bubo. Or she could return to the hideout, or attempt to do something - anything - for the scared and scattered people hiding under eaves and rooftops and sewer grates to protect themselves from the assault. [20:16] 5Speaking into thin air again, this time to another set of invisible creatures: "Attention, Stranger. Please put me in touch with everyone. I have an important announcement." [20:20] 5He reaches over for the Audient Brush and places a scroll beneath it, mentally commanding it to begin a transcription. A moment later: "Hello, everyone. This is Xu Sim. This is an important announcement. Please prepare the city's fire brigades for immediate deployment." [20:21] 5He takes a deep breath, and looks at Sevenfold Scion for a mooment, before puffing up his chest and addressing the assembled apes, spirits, Abyssals, Lados, the audient brush, and the holders of the pages of the Codex: [20:21] 13Ideas flick through Xia Lan's mind, each discounted as either implausible or impossible. She can't stop the storm, connecting people to loved ones to reassure them is a nice gesture but impossible to perform at scale, and she's not equipped to perform daring rescues in the streets. As much as she wants to be a hero... the best possible play here is to try and prepare for the aftermath with the Council. And whatever she can do on [20:21] the way is going to have to soothe her need to act. [20:21] 14He hears a buzz near the base of his skull. "This is Stranger. All of our Circle, or everyone everyone?" [20:21] "Everyone, everyone." [20:23] 14That only widens the net to Bubo, Kratz, Sion: Fear Has Wings, and the Ambassador, but presumably Xu Sim knows this. Stranger does so. [20:26] "Comrades. I come to you in the wake of recent events to issue a call to action. Let no-one deny the perils of our time. We stand seven days away from the end. Not from death, but from unmaking - from a plunge into chaos and unreality from which the world would never recover." [20:29] "This is not the first time the world has faced this peril. It's not the first time Nexus has faced this peril. Each of those times, Nexus was saved. And it will be saved again." [20:31] "Seven hundred years ago, when Creation was threatened by the Raksha to be plunged into the cold fire of the Wyld, the Scarlet Empress activated her Realm Defense Grid, which called down the terrors of an ancient era and saved what was left of the world." [20:33] 14... [20:34] 14Stranger has left Ambassador off the call. She's not in Nexus anyhow. He puts everyone else on it. [20:35] "For seven hundred years, that power kept the Realm strong and the rest of the world weak. But today, we shall call upon its power ourselves, to do what no others can - to save the world." [20:35] "The armies of Balor, and Cethleann his companion, trembled in fear before the silent thistledown. They will tremble again, in the sound of our silence. I now recite the spell to bring doom to the enemies of all Creation." 15[20:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Outside, Keldar is coordinating the fire brigades, under the auspice of the Dawn Guard, with the help of Lookshy's swelled ranks of Dragon-Blooded. [20:41] 14Stranger's response to this...stirring speech...is silence, and then: "Once you're done preparations, Xu Sim, I want to speak to you. Privately." [20:42] 14To the others: "I don't see any other way to salvage this, so let's get to work. Sion: Fear Has Wings, mobilize your public order officials and bounty-hunters into the beginnings of fire-teams. Councilor Kratz, please get the Council together. Bubo, if you could find Selin, we'll need his help here to..." 14He goes through the rest of the list. [20:43] 5In Old Realm: "Revelation Voluspa: Civilization Kill Event Underway. Activate Carrhae Protocol, Tannhauser Authorization. Sun Grant Us Victory." [20:43] 5Power crackles around Xu Sim's brow. [20:44] 13...that significantly changes Xia Lan's course of action. Fire brigades it is - she'll slide into wherever she can help, Sun knows they need as many hands as they can get and it's not like Keldar or whoever will refuse her help. [20:47] 5Waves of energy emit from Xu Sim's forehead, washing into the walls as his anima banner unfolds into mandalas that synchronize unerringly with the inscriptions throughout the chamber. Bolts of golden-orange lightning fill the chamber and crackle as the Pylon begins to reactivate for the first time in hundreds of years. [20:48] 5The last sunbeam before darkness fills the chamber with blinding radiance. [20:53] "The preparations are complete, Stranger!" 5Xu Sim shouts over the hum of the chamber. [20:54] 14Stranger, through the Codex: "No need to shout. I can hear you just fine." [20:55] "I want to know two things before you go ahead and do this: first, that you actually know what you're doing. And second, that you're doing it for the right reason. Because that speech you gave back there sounded very..." [20:55] "...Deliberative." [20:57] 13...does anyone try and stop Xia Lan from assisting the fire brigades? Short of rushing to find the river gods and ask them for assistance, this is the best place for her in the here and now. So long as she's helping and not slowing them down. [20:57] "Stranger, this is the only way to stop those rose petals from turning the city into a wasteland!" 5Xu Sim is still shouting as the hum is upgrading to a whine. "With Cethleann so close, we have to do what we can to stop her, and we have to do it now! With those creatures flying around, how long until they plug up all the entrances to the Undercity, or the hedges grow roots and start [20:57] digging for everyone hiding?" [20:59] "I know you won't repeat the mistakes of the past. And I won't, either-"5 They'll never judge me again- "And taking control of the Sword of Creation is taking control of our destiny, out of the hands of the Empress or anyone else who'll stand by and let the enemies of Creation threaten the world." [21:00] 14... "Would you do this if you had any other choice?" [21:01] "If I had another choice, I'd be able to tell you!" 15[21:02] <@VoxPVoxD> No one tries to stop Xia Lan. She finds herself working with the Lookshyans. Men and women in glittering jade armor pound the earth, kicking up unfathomable amounts of sand and dust that others prepare to kick up into whirlwinds. Vuol Ballare hangs over all of them, encased in a miniature storm, throwing off sparks and blowing alternately scorching hot and bitter cold. "Evacuate the city center!" she orders. [21:07] 14Xu Sim can't hear Stranger nod over the Codex, but when he speaks again, his voice is less cautious and incisive, and far more weary. "I understand. Thank you, Xu Sim, for talking to me about and allaying a fool's fears. Give us a few more moments to get the brigades ready." [21:10] "Thank you, Stranger. Get ready." [21:11] 5Xu Sim takes a deep breath. He glances back at the others in the chamber for their reactions. Then he activates the Pylon. [21:14] 14He spends the rest of the time from cutting that communication to touchdown outside in the streets, hurriedly meeting with Dawn Guard fire teams and repurposed brigades of bureaucrats, led by the slightly-mad seeming Chief Justice himself, still carrying his gavel with which to direct traffic. He keeps Kratz on the line, acting as a go-between from the Council to the brigades. [21:17] 13Xia Lan nods, understands, and rushes to a nearby entrance - one easily sealed, should the need arise - takes a deep breath, counts to three, and glows. Golden hearts rise in midair around her, and a desert breeze blows, visible to anyone looking for shelter from the fires soon to come. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp besides the golden door! [21:19] 14Sion and Stranger's ethos is shorter, and less flowery: Gimme shelter. 15[21:22] <@VoxPVoxD> The pylon's surface runs like water beneath Xu Sim's fingertips, sigils drifting in the black metal to link up and flare golden. At his urging, by his will, they lock together spiralling from toe to tip of the obelisk. 8,1KING OF THE UNIVERSE, ARISE! MASTER OF COMMANDMENT, BEAR DOWN ON THE WICKED! DISASTER CRIES OUT TO THE GATES OF TRUE POWER! 15[21:23] <@VoxPVoxD> The pylon burns red, then white. Filings flow against gravity, into the pylon, upward in a single contiguous ribbon that rises to the ceiling of the Tomb, up through its flues and chimneys, and into the Nexus sky. [21:24] 14As they hustle people inside and the sky begins to crackle near the center of the city, Stranger can't shake the feeling that awakening this power again is a mistake. [21:24] 14But as the sorcerer says, they've not been left with much of a choice. 15[21:25] <@VoxPVoxD> The ribbon cools to red on contact with the outside air, billowing and breaking apart as it shears under its own power, but rolling back in on itself in a roughly spherical shape that fills and brightens until it splits, a shockwave of red-gold light spreading from the Tomb in every direction, to every corner of the city and beyond. Then the sky falls. 15[21:26] <@VoxPVoxD> They look like snowflakes. 15[21:27] <@VoxPVoxD> If not for the wind they would settle gently on the ground. But the wind whips them everywhere, scoring buildings and igniting them, immolating knots and drifts of rose petals until only ash and hot flinders remain. 15[21:27] <@VoxPVoxD> People flooding to safety stop to marvel, despite themselves, before being urged on. [21:28] 14And we're planning to fight in that. 15[21:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Man plans. Gods laugh. [21:29] 14If so, then they can do it outside with the rest of us. Once this is seen to, Stranger will be keeping his appointment with the river gods. [21:29] 14Even if they don't know they have one. 15[21:40] <@VoxPVoxD> Fires fan into the waiting arms of the brigades. With skill, preparation, and phenomenal luck, there's as little damage and loss of life as anyone could hope for. Xia Lan ushers hundreds to safety, Keldar and Sion's people both are alert and capable, and the Lookshyans are able to bend the firestorm back on itself with storms and choking dust of their own. [21:41] 14While the thistledown does its work, Stranger, under the auspices of the Emissary, will quickly tour the various pop-up camps for Nexus citizens, stopping here and there to assist with food distribution and, in some cases, such as incredibly picky eaters or those who find mushrooms Gross (rich merchants, children, and rich merchants' children) stepping in to scrounge together what [21:41] 14ingredients he can to make the samey, somewhat-strange food more paletable. 15[21:42] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan and Stranger are both in the Undercity when they feel the earth shake and hear a long, dragging crash aboveground. [21:43] 14... 15[21:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Keldar is prompt on the Codex. "One of old Hollow's spires went down. Status report!" 15[21:45] <@VoxPVoxD> The Councilors are obviously fine. How do Stranger, Xu Sim, and Xia Lan react? [21:47] 13Xia Lan: "Safe down here! What's it look like up there? Should we come back?" [21:48] 14Stranger: "I echo Xia Lan. My mushroom bisque is welcome, but not necessary." [21:49] "We should get Old Selin out there." [21:50] "Alright. Apes, thanks for your hard work." 5Xu Sim returns them to the corners of his anima - out of sight. He looks back to the Thorns delegates. "Let's return to the surface?" 15[22:02] <@VoxPVoxD> There's an uncharacteristic amount of color in Seven's cheeks as she nods, but Xu Sim catches only a brief glimpse of it before the silent man whose face is obscured by a big scarf and a bigger hat sweeps her up in his cape and ushers her out. [22:04] 5The grin fades from Xu Sim's lips, melting into something more like a grimace as he follows the pair out. "Yes. Well. Thanks for the assistance!" [22:07] 14Once things have calmed down a bit, Stranger will buzz Bubo. "How are you?" [22:08] "See you again... Soon...!" 5Xu Sim says as the two of them, presumably, scurry off towards the Thorns camp. 15[22:08] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Fine. We're all fine here." [22:09] 14Stranger won't press. "We need to meet with the river gods. By which I mean myself and yourself, though maybe they only need to see me." 15[22:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Seven says something, but Xu Sim can't make it out through Hunter's cloak. 15[22:09] <@VoxPVoxD> Xia Lan is able to find Old Selin in the Undercity, among the beggars, and can take him up with her to meet Xu Sim... where? 15[22:10] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo chuckles darkly. "I've been looking forward to this. Where shall I meet you?" [22:10] 14Stranger: "I believe there's an alley with a shrine nearby that we're both familiar with. How about there?" 15[22:11] <@VoxPVoxD> "Done." [22:13] 13They can meet in the streets, though Xia Lan will suggest they head back towards the hideout, if Old Selin is willing. It'll give her a chance to walk the streets and see the damage, at least. [22:13] 13Speaking in the streets is, of course, right out, but she could head back to the Undercity if that is preferable. 15[22:15] <@VoxPVoxD> On the way out they pass the tower that fell, rubble strewn up the block, leveling several large buildings in the heart of the Nexus. [22:16] 14Given that the streets are abandoned at the moment, once Stranger and Bubo meet up, instead of getting to work straight-away he'll commandeer an empty restaurant that isn't on fire, put on some tea, leave generous compensation from the Emissary's account along with a note, and get to work making them a light lunch. They need to plan strategy, and they both need to sit down after the [22:16] 14rather strenuous morning. [22:16] 13...how many apartments? We'll need to cover this at the next Council meeting... [22:17] 5Xu Sim is no architect but he'll give the thing a once-over to see what the hell toppled it. The Emissary, getting sly? Something else? [22:18] 14He'll go with a simple riverman's salad -- sliced mozza, tomatoes, and basil with oil and salt -- and a brined chicken's breast. [22:19] 14It comes out masterfully, of course. [22:21] 13Wait, this area? ...maybe not, then. [22:21] "What in Hell happened here?" 5mutters Xu Sim as they pass the base of the tower. "Heated, frozen, electrified, and blown down?" [22:22] 13Xia Lan: "And either carefully planned to crush Guild offices, or incidentally extremely lucky." 13She glances to Xu Sim: "Do they seem more lucky or planned, to you?" 15[22:23] <@VoxPVoxD> "I didn't know you cooked!" says Bubo, swiftly raising bites of food up into his hooded cowl. [22:24] "I can't imagine something would do all that by accident," 5observes the sorcerer. [22:25] 14Stranger: "A solitary life mostly shared with a woman who never learned to cook because the whole of her diet is raw fish tends to force one to adjust. But thank you." [22:26] 13Xia Lan: "We live in interesting times. But, that's for later." 13How are the streets otherwise? ...did the fire do what it was supposed to? 15[22:27] <@VoxPVoxD> There's no sign of rose petals save the smears of ash on the ground. The city looks like a warzone, still, but nobody was ever going to be able to help that. Aside from these buildings, significant structural damage is minimal, and so were casualties. [22:28] 5The worst is yet to come. 15[22:28] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "How do you plan to make your play?" [22:29] 13As good as can be hoped for. And -- when calls were going around earlier, was Tsuka okay? 15[22:30] <@VoxPVoxD> He was. He stayed with his cadets, taking shelter in one of the buildings near Parko Llana. [22:30] 14Stranger, finishing a small mouthful of salad. "The unfortunate state of that First Age tower will help a bit. We can be fully honest about what happened to it right now -- we don't know -- but anything that can bring down that tower can certainly make its way into wherever the gods should choose to hide, unless they quit Creation." 15[22:30] <@VoxPVoxD> While walking with Xia Lan and Xu Sim, Selin says nothing, merely observing the two of them and the city all around. [22:30] 13Good. Then all that's left is to actually get to the hideout. They'll have to meet up later. [22:32] 5Xu Sim, for his part, is relieved that the damage is minimal. As they start approaching the hideout, he starts getting more anxious, but doesn't immediately say why. 15[22:33] <@VoxPVoxD> When they arrive at the hideout, they find Mhaka lying on top of a trembling Princess, metal limbs planting on the floor around the dog as if shielding her from rubble. [22:33] 13Xia Lan, for her part, is keeping a careful catalogue of damage, structurally minimal though it might be. People have to live in these places. [22:34] 13...especially given the interior of their hideout. Xia Lan will extract Mhaka before letting Xu Sim care for his dog -- he's clearly better equipped for that than anyone else. [22:36] 5Xu Sim leaps for the dog, lifting her into the air and petting her. [22:37] 5He turns away from the others for a moment, but he's breathing a lot harder. [22:37] "Mhaka, whatever I can give you is yours," 5he says, hoarsely, after a moment. 15[22:38] <@VoxPVoxD> Mhaka: "Oh, it was no trouble at all. You have one message, Xu Sim." [22:38] "A message?" [22:38] 13...does Mhaka accept pets like a normal cat? Xia Lan's natural inclination is to hold Mhaka like one, but that depends on whether it accepts such. 15[22:39] <@VoxPVoxD> Mhaka is either exceedingly cat-like or exceedingly well-trained to pretend it is. [22:40] 14Stranger: "Beyond that, my traditional approach with gods -- most creatures, really, but especially gods -- is a very explicit, upfront carrot and stick method. The ex-Emissary is no longer around to bully them, I am the new game in town, and they can either join with us and see their names celebrated across Nexus with the attendant increase in tribute and prestige, or they can take [22:40] their chances with the armies of the Faerie. Oh, and I suggest we reveal the relationship between said ex-Emissary and the Fair Folk armies to underline the precedent for treatment." 15[22:41] <@VoxPVoxD> Bubo: "Very even-handed of you." [22:42] 13She crooks Mhaka on her elbow to let them look at Xu Sim as it speaks. [22:42] 14Stranger: "We don't have much time for the sweet-talking routine and frankly I don't think it works very well on gods anyway." 15[22:43] <@VoxPVoxD> Mhaka opens its mouth, and for a moment there's only the sound of a fly buzzing. "Watch your steps. I overheard the Governor speaking to the Hunter, they've made a point to pay extra attention to you. Expect to be followed." [22:44] 13...huh. [22:44] "Thank you, Mhaka." 5He looks at Xia Lan, who as far as he knows doesn't have the context to understand why that would be the case. [22:45] 14Lunch will last as long and as leisurely as Bubo wishes it to, with Stranger mainly preferring to chat about non-work subjects for much of the time -- he asks about Kratz once or twice, but gently. Once Stranger has recovered his wind, so to speak, he does the dishes and is ready to go. [22:45] "I, ah. Selin. Xia Lan. Well, I guess I've attracted the attention of the Thorns delegates!" 15[22:45] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Through a display of your power, no doubt." [22:46] 13Xia Lan: "...you and Sevenfold, huh." 13She's already past it. "Did you see anyone on our way here? I don't think I caught anyone, but..." [22:47] "Not since I ran into you." [22:49] 13Xia Lan: "Selin?" 13They might still want to set up a secondary hideaway... [22:49] 13Quieter: "Also, congrats. She seemed nice, what little I talked to her." 15[22:50] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Just guards, mainly." [22:52] "Thanks. I think we'll be moving on by the end of the week anyway. Either to somewhere else, or there won't be a city to call home anymore." [22:53] 13Xia Lan: "Shoot, I should've been paying better attention." 13She'll head into their kitchen after setting Mhaka down with a few more pets to go. "Any preference on tea? I'm no Stranger, but I've got access to his cupboard." 15[22:53] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger and Bubo make their way to the nearest temple, that of the Grey. It's been freshly scarred by iron thistledown but its doors remain shut and barred. What's the approach? [22:54] 13Moving on... hm. "There will be. We're working on that, aren't we?" [22:54] 5Xu Sim is still attending to the dog. She'll be getting the finest treats. "Never left behind, alone, again," 5he murmurs. [22:54] "We're gonna win," 5he concurs. [22:59] 5Xu Sim starts arranging a monumental plate for Princess, consisting of a sample of virtually the whole pantry, arranged haphazardly together. [22:59] "What was, what were we doing again?" 5he asks, distractedly. 15[23:01] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "You wanted to speak to me?" [23:02] 13If neither Xu Sim nor Selin has indicated a tea preference, she'll have started brewing a pot of something she knows to be hard to mess up. "Well, aside from regrouping - good to see the both of you alive, by the by... I had a question for you," 13she turns to Selin. "It's about some swords I came into the possession of." 15[23:06] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Swords?" [23:07] 14Well, the first polite thing to do would be to knock. [23:07] 14Is there something large and metal lying about? [23:08] 13Xia Lan: "A pair of them." 13She gestures to the two hooked swords at her hip. "Before and After, I was told." [23:16] "Fine craftsmanship," 5observes Xu Sim as he sets an enormous plate in front of the dog, still petting her. 15[23:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Starmetal is very rare." 15[23:17] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger can see the top of a lamppost that was shorn off by some thistledown. That'd work. [23:18] 14Whistling, he sets his walking stick aside, walks over and hefts the thing, testing its weight. Then he walks up to the great doors of the temple and slams the post against it three times. [23:19] 13Xia Lan: "I was also told they used to be yours," 13she says, pouring some tea. It's not as good as Stranger's, but it should be fine. 15[23:21] <@VoxPVoxD> Stranger gets no response. 15[23:22] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "So they did." 15[23:22] <@VoxPVoxD> "They're yours now, though. I have no claim to them." 15[23:22] <@VoxPVoxD> "Lost them in a game, as I recall." [23:23] 14He sighs and takes a deep breath. The lamppost seems...shinier somehow, more proper and cleaner, though it's not limned in light or glowing or anything. [23:23] 13Xia Lan: "...that's what I was told. I wanted to know more about them." 13She makes a face. "Vladok didn't seem to know anything, and I'm... worried about next week." [23:23] 14When he knocks the next three times, half the district hears it. [23:23] 14Or would, if they weren't underground. 15[23:24] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "I don't follow." [23:26] 13Xia Lan: "What are they capable of? What makes them worthy of a name?" 13She sips the tea - pretty good, actually. Nothing to write home about, but she didn't mess it up, which is a reassurance. [23:26] 13There's a cup for Old Selin if he'd like one, and Xu Sim as well. 15[23:26] <@VoxPVoxD> Selin: "Well, they're pure starmetal, and were personally made by the Maiden of Serenity." [23:28] 5Xu Sim shifts slightly, listening. [23:31] 13Xia Lan: "...that's quite a pedigree." [23:32] 13Is he taking the tea, by the way? She's trying to be a decent host, here... despite the matter at hand. [23:34] 5Xu Sim is. He didn't realize how thirsty he was. His anima continues to slowly dim. 15[23:35] <@VoxPVoxD> The narration cuts out abruptly before anyone can make a joke about that. 15[23:35] <@VoxPVoxD> NEXT TIME: The river of insufferable sins