Six Kingdoms: Rebirth - Gameplay

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

IC: Yaushe - Outside Sans Undertale's House

"... That... what was the thing this League group wanted?"

@Smudge8

[Onaku]

IC: Iradra - Metru-Koro

"I'm... not going with them. Listen, Taja, I-" "Toa, do either of you two own this airship or know who owns this airship?"

Iradra turned to face the matoran who'd just addressed her and Taja. "I... Well, it belongs to Toa Knichou. He just left with company, headed to the Turaga's hut I believe."

@Sparticus147@Eyru

 

IC: Arkius - Po-Koro

As Stannis disappeared off into the distance, Arkius sighed. A melancholic expression crept over his face as he briefly pondered, before turning to look at Kanohi. "You mentioned something about earth wards. I... will give this some thought. For now though... I need a moment to think. I will find you again when I'm ready to discuss matters further."

With that, Arkius got ready to walk off into the village, though not before hearing Kanohi's response.

@Harvali

[Sparticus147]

IC: Sala (Turaga Sans Hut)

Sala stood there, hearing this confession with all due seriousness that it deserved, but still reeling at just the implication of it. The fact that an element as pure as light could not only be so destructive but be so...sinister. Sala didn't quite know how to respond to this confession of this toa and was left there standing in quiet contemplation.

OOC: @TL01 NUVA @Tarn

IC: Vulimai (The Taku)

A look of exasperation flashed acrossed Vulimai's face at the mention of the turaga, "Ah, of course they are, who doesn't want to talk to the turaga. Well, if you are apart of this toa Knichou's crew, can you tell me what this airship can offer in terms of assistance in the coming League attack?"

OOC: @Onaku @Eyru

[Crimson Jester]

IC: Korruhn, Ruin of Ice

"Hm. It very well could be." Korruhn was already drawing his khopesh--at this point Korruhn had no reservations about what he may need to do to get beyond this room. The thought of a sort of blood ritual left Korruhn slightly perplexed, but unfazed. He had seem many a strange ruin back on Metru Nui, with myriad depictions of unspoken rites and mysterious rituals. Whoever built these temples understood a far different reality than we. Should Korruhn come to understand this ancient worldview, perhaps he could use it against all those in opposition of his people.

Korruhn raised his right arm, wrist to the ceiling, and the khopesh in his other hand, blade hovering an inch over his right wrist. Shadow plumed from his arm at an alarming rate since he had contacted the sigil, and the bowl of the podium awaited the blood like a hungry maw below him.

"If we are all in agreeance, then," Korruhn trailed off briefly, his cold blue eyes meeting those of his companions. "Let's begin this blood ritual."

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Nato the Traveler

Edited May 15, 2020 by Crimson Jester
Removed lizard speech for all the warm-bloods

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Outside Metru-Koro

Aurax ignored the temptation to make a quip about the newly arrived Toa of Air and instead stared intensely at the Wanderer. A look had come over the old man, a look of sadness. It made Aurax sick. If Stannis had wanted to be sorry, he should have been sorry years ago, before Aurax had left Maru Nui. Before Aurax had been denied his rightful reward for the many years of service he had put into improving the lives of the Matoran there.

"Oh, don't give me that look, Stannis. I'm not here to talk about the past. What's done is done. If you regret your decisions, then do something about it now and help me kill Pridak. You won't be getting a chance like this again."

OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Snelly

[Taka Nuvia]

IC: Zsann, Outside Sans' hut

Zsann noticed the change in expression on Mega's face.
"W-what's up?"

OOC: @Dane-gerous

[EmperorWhenua]

19 minutes ago, ~Xemnas~ said:

"Oh, don't give me that look, Stannis. I'm not here to talk about the past. What's done is done. If you regret your decisions, then do something about it now and help me kill Pridak. You won't be getting a chance like this again."

IC Stannis | Metru Koro

"You're not. I know. But the past repeats itself, Aurax, and a cycle of lies and betrayal only begets more of the same—you would know this because it is your life." 

Edited May 15, 2020 by EmperorWhenua

[Smudge8]

IC: Jephro- Metru-Koro-Outside San's hut

"It was the Mask of Creation. I think they want to use it to repair Mata-Nui.

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Outside Metru-Koro

"Meh, I don't believe in cycles, or the whole "past repeats itself" thing. And I know very well my life is betrayal. The Ghosts refused to use my ideas. You and the other Maru didn't want to give me a Toa Stone. I've been betrayed by the Ghosts, betrayed by you, betrayed by society. I devoted my whole life as a Matoran to helping people, and you know what I got in return? Bupkis."

Aurax realized by the heat growing in his clenched fists that he had started to let his anger get a little out of control. He took a moment to try and calm himself.

"Now stop lecturing me and give me a straight answer. Are you going to help me or not?"

[Void Emissary]

IC: Irna | Sans' Hut

A lot of things were happening at once in the Turaga's hut -- it was as crowded as a family gathering. A wedding. A funeral.

Tekmo was chasing after Skorm, Kei was busy speaking with one of the figures who had helped heal her and others. Irna silently stepped out of the house, to where a number of others were speaking, talking about--

"Pardon," she said to the swordsman. "Who wishes to repair Mata-Nui?"

OOC: @Smudge8 that would be Jephro she's talking to

IC: Parnassus | Boss' War Party

The clanging of metal on metal -- not in the air, but in the mind -- filled Parnassus' head, pulling their thoughts towards those perilous ice-capped mountains. It felt like an age since that sound had bellowed out across the island, an age since their kin had been called to a conclave, and Parnassus had been forced to endure the dry and self-important intonations of an Aspect or a dozen that had never known anything beyond the murky shores of Kumu.

But it wouldn't do not to make an appearance. At least for old times' sake.

And hey. This time, they wouldn't even be showing up empty-handed.

"Onwards," they said. "To the Tooth!"

-Void

[Harvali]

IC Kanohi - Po-Koro

Kanohi nodded and said, “thank you. And Toa Arkius? If … if you need help, let me know, I will try. We don’t have much but our Unity now, and that … that goes both ways.” Aside from that, there was not much else to say. Instead the Fe-Matoran grappled away, he needed to track down Turaga Jovan, and he needed to ask the engineers or the village if the idea of a moving Koro was even feasible. It would take time, and he hoped they would have it. 

OOC: @Onaku

[EmperorWhenua]

10 minutes ago, ~Xemnas~ said:

"Now stop lecturing me and give me a straight answer. Are you going to help me or not?"

IC Stannis | Metru Koro

The words cut past the great man's cloak and stabbed his body with regret. There was some truth to the statement, the Maru didn't want to give him their power, though the rest was subjective at best. Aurax had helped many a matoran, though never because that was all he wanted to do. He was too ambitious to rest on the laurels of civic service an live off the meager returns of his toils, he was not an humble man and even then Stannis could see the lust for power coursing through his capillaries. Some things never changed.

"Why?" he finally asked in turn, seeming as patient as ever as he considered the offer. "I know Pridak well. He is tempestuous... but oftentimes predictable; I know his vanities, his weakness for divination, his penchant for murdersport, he and Ehlek are opponents I can and have countered. In the interests of the Matoran, why would I replace an enemy I know... with one I only thought I did?"

 

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Outside Metru-Koro

"Because I can do so much better than Pridak. He's decided to destroy this little village you've all set up here, to satisfy his own genocidal tendencies. If we succeed, I'm going to create a better society, a new Kingdom, where all beings are welcome and equal, and everyone's talents and skills are used and appreciated. 

"I could be trying to kill you right now like I'm supposed to be. But I'm not. You know why? Because I believe in this plan. You're completely free to refuse me. But then you risk the destruction of this village, and if many of the refugees survive, I'm sure Pridak will be down to send his troops after them. They'll become wandering nomads like yourself. 

"Or you can take a chance, have a little Faith. Isn't that something you're always prattling on about? Faith? Have some Faith that my plan will succeed, that I won't betray you or become a threat. If we pull this off, the Matoran will have one less threat to worry about on this island."

[EmperorWhenua]

IC Stannis | Metru Koro

“You could do that," he said. "Killing me is a choice you can make, yes. Kill me, place my head in a stick, dangle it before your lord and you would be hailed a hero! And then Pridak would be free to destroy the Matoran, his power would be more consolidated than ever, his proclamations of victory silencing the dissenting fifth columns... and you would never again have a chance at taking the throne… would you?

"You are desperate now, but that feeling does not poison me.”

Stannis chewed his mouth a moment, though, before finally adding, "You need me to win, but they need me to survive. If you want my assistance this once, Aurax... I will need more than the words of a charlatan."

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Outside Metru-Koro

Aurax was only mildly offended at being called a charlatan. He had been called much worse before.

He had been holding off on activating his Mask of Charisma thus far. The Toa of Plasma wanted to prove to himself that he could convince the Wanderer to help him without having to resort to his usual tricks. The temptation to use it was growing, though...

"Okay, fine. You want more than words? Tell me what you would like, then I'll let you know if it's something I can give you."

[Onaku]

IC: Okuo - Vault Hiripaki

For a good few moments, Okuo simply let all of this sink in. In the recording, Stannis had spoken at length about the war, about projections and of strategies, of the corruption and weakness in Metru-Nui, but then there were certain blips that caught his attention. Redactions. Why would there be redactions in his recording? When Oreius turned to him and asked him what he thought of all this, Okuo shook his head in disbelief, his eyes turned down.

"I'm... not sure. Most of this is going way over my head, if I'm being honest. What Stannis said in the recording was right, the war always seemed so distant back in Metru-Nui. I never really got familiar with it or its intricacies. But... I can't help but wonder what those redactions were all about?" An uncertain expression turned resolutely inquisitive as he looked up again. "Hiripaki, what is the nature of the redacted sections of the recording?"

@EmperorWhenua@Eyru

[EmperorWhenua]

IC Stannis | Metru Koro

"Once this succeeds, and when I ask for it... your service to me. And then you can keep your throne, whatever it shall be made of." Whatever the old man's intentions, they were buried behind his unblinking face.

 

IC Hiripaki | Archives

"The redactions were redacted because they deal with [REDACTED]. " 

[Onaku]

IC: Okuo - Vault Hiripaki

"Hiripaki, please explain the nature of these redactions without relying on words that are themselves redacted."

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Outside Metru-Koro

Aurax narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth a bit. He had grown to hate owing favors to others over the years. And owing a favor to Stannis of all people... he didn't like that at all. 

But what other choice did he have? The old man was right- Aurax did need his help. Bringing Stannis in front of Pridak would serve as the only distraction that could offer Aurax the opportunity to off the tyrant.

Aurax continued to stare at the Wanderer, his orange eyes filled with a fire that never ended. "Grrr... fine," he growled, at last. "You have a deal. Come aboard the ship when you're ready; every minute we waste is another minute that Pridak gets to live."

With that, Aurax turned and began to walk back to the Eclipse. For a moment he paused, turned his head back slightly, and addressed Skyra: "If you want to join us too, lady, you're more than welcome." The Toa began walking again.

OOC: @Snelly

[EmperorWhenua]

IC Hiripaki | Archives

The Intelligence remained silent for a moment while it processed how to answer the request. The few seconds felt like minutes before the pregnant pause was lifted. "Thank you for your patience! I cannot disclose the redacted information regardless of how it is phrased, but what I can disclose is they have been redacted because they pertain to the secret nature of the Universe and of its deity, which Stannis of the Maru has deemed classified.

"... Was this helpful? Please rate me on a scale of one to five stars, one being 'most dissatisfied' and five being 'most satisfied. "

Edited May 15, 2020 by EmperorWhenua

[Onaku]

IC: Okuo - Vault Hiripaki

"Wait... hold on, is this about the fact that Mata-Nui turned out to be a giant robot with the whole previously known universe inside his body?" Recontextualising what Stannis had said and the locations of the redactions, Okuo realised he could estimate what the lost words might have been. "Hiripaki, the nature of our Universe isn't exactly a secret any more. What's the point of redacting this information now?"

[EmperorWhenua]

IC Hiripaki | Archives

"Oh, you found out about that?  Cool! That secret always did sound pretty neat! But that is not just what the redacted information relates to. But I am sorry, without an override authorization provided by Toa Stannis of the Maru I cannot divulge more."

[Unreliable Narrator]

IC: Reliable Narrator | The Northern Wastes

Vashni’s hoverbike swooped just above the ground following the larger war rigs discovered in the ruined fortress, making the purple and gold grasses of the region sway underneath. After a few hours of driving in relative peace, Odd Company noticed something on the horizon line. It rose like the surrounding hills, but seemed to have jagged edges. After a few more minutes of riding in the rumbling war rigs across the patchy grass of the rocky steppes they could discern the hill was a large ziggurat half buried in a cliffside. Kilo-M9 confirmed the ziggurat itself seemed close to the coordinates of the puzzle challenge as back in Po-Metru only eight days prior.

A herd of rahi scattered and ran from the roaring war rigs as they drew closer. All in Odd Company could see the large, rectangular passage at the base of the ziggurat leading in. They also saw well worn stairs ascending to the top of the ziggurat and the cliff. Something shiny glittered from the capstone at the clifftop.

With her superior vision Zadred could see the shiny glittering object looked like a gong suspended from two stone pillars embedded in the capstone. She could also see back at the base of the ziggurat the entrance was covered in unknown hieroglyphs.

OOC: @~Xemnas~, @pokemonlover360, @Onaku, @Snelly, @Tarn, @Harvali, and all of Odd Company.
 

IC: Boss | The Ash Barrens

With the rahi-nui flying away, Boss rolled down his driver’s side window and shouted at the closest rig to pick up the skakdi on the ground. They complied quickly, accelerating forward and using the same kind of spear nets from the raid on Po-Koro to catch the injured traveler and drag him into the bed of their war rig. Boss appreciated having another potential offering to Irnakk’s Tooth. 

With the sounding of the horn Boss led them towards the lava river, and then the assembled party waited as several skakdi worked their elements to create bridges strong enough to drive across. After crossing, the tore the bridges down. No point in giving anyone a future advantage.

Boss knew the chimes existed, and the haunting ghosts, further South in the Dead Forest. He was glad they didn’t need to go there. Instead, the skakdi of stone standing on the backs of the forward war rigs joined up and began working the sides of the lava river to create a safe passage until reaching the base of Irnakk’s Tooth. The war rigs stopped there. There would be no use of elements to change Irnakk’s Tooth. No one would blaspheme a site of such religious importance. 

Or drive a monster truck up it.

Boss pulled the key from the ignition and tucked it back into the sheath on his belt. Then he got out of his war rig, patted her on the hood, and surveyed those around him with a smile. Finally, he pointed out a few skakdi who seemed unafraid, the one they just picked up who got lifted like a sack of potatoes by another skakdi as they hopped off the rig, and also Corvallis, Fyura, and Parnasus.

“You, you, you, you, and all you follow me up the path." After a pause, Boss pointed at Barius. “And you. The rest stay here and guard the rigs. Don’t set up camp. This won’t take long, but keep a lookout for that rahi-nui.”

Boss made his way up the switchback foot path to the entrance of the Nightmare Pits, never once looking back or showing fear.

 

OOC: @Nato the Traveler, @Burnmad, @Conway, @Keeper of Kraata, and at anyone else who has a PC in the warskaks. If I didn't list your warskak's name please let me know and I'll edit them in.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Unreliable Narrator

[Harvali]

OOC: behold my first jam session, done with @Eyru

IC Mahrika - Northwest Barrens above the Impact Site

In the northwest of the land called Zakaz, a Ga-Matoran walked. She had long arms and short legs, she kind of waddled across the rocky terrain. Her colors clashed, her light blue and sand blue body hurt the eye. Despite her shortcomings she hardly sweated under the heat of the harsh sun, as she pivoted her mask on her neck, using her Akaku’s telescopic lens to search for movement in the distance.

As she walked something shifted in her chest, squirming around to coil inside her chest. She blushed, “I … I know Vokarda, there hasn’t been anyone around us for hours, but … if the Skakdi appear, we will need to hide.” The shape in her chest tightened around her heart and she nodded, “I know, you will protect me.”

As she walked her long arm reached behind her, feeling for that strange disk she scavenged from that vaguely insect-like corpse. The disk had an unnatural power to it, when she hurled it at a rabid Mahi, it became caked in ice. She had thrown it again at a boulder, it was engulfed in frost. The disk had a power to it, almost an elemental power. Like a Toa.

Or the Skakdi.

She looked southward towards the colossal strangely-angled mountain that dominated the west coast of the island, it’s shadow engulfing the day for much of the land south of her. She couldn’t imagine how something so big had been made so quick, could even a hundred Skakdi of Stone and Earth working together create a mountain so massive? Let alone built it so quickly? It seemed impossible.

Yet there it stood, some terrible monument to the monsters of Skakdi, perhaps some fort that a Skakdi war band now ruled from, ravaging the land around them until all of this island was just a smoldering ruin. She shuddered, she couldn’t even remember this island’s name anymore, not after millennia of isolation.

But there were some things she could not forget.

…

The heat was blinding, like a tidal wave of pure amber and scarlet. The flames danced and jeered as they leapt between the huts, the very ground was ash, the fire crackled like a crumbling plateau, and the terrible smell of roasted meat filled the air. But this was not some meal cooking.

Scores of Matoran lay scorched and roasted, the organic parts of their bodies charted, their metal components practically branded into each other. They smell like overcooked Mahi, the air tasted like an overcooked feast, and through it Mahrika’s eyes bled tears. She wrecked not from the smoke burning her eyes, but cradled in her arms was Vokarda, her white and blue armored turned black of the flames.

“It’s … it’s okay,” Mahrika managed to speak over the roar of the flames, “we’ll … we’ll just treat your burns and then we will find the Riders a-and—”

“My sweet droplet—”

“I can’t lose you too!” pled Mahrika, her hands quaking as she held Vokarda tight. The two Matoran flung to each other, though Vokarda’s grip grew weaker and weaker.

And then it began to dawn on Mahrika that there was a slow, halting thumping sound echoing behind her. Like a Skakdi slamming his club into his open palm, advancing on her to slam his bond mace into her head, collapsing her skull like pottery under a mallet. She flinched with each thwack, she could almost feel his breath.

Finally she could take it no more. “Just do it,” she struggled to say through her tears, “if you going to kill me, then at least have the kindness to make it qu-quick.” And to Vokarda she tried to manage a smile, “don’t worry, we will be together again soon.”

She wished she could believe that. That the two of them would reunite in some sort of paradise. But sitting here, her beloved charred and dying in her lap, her people decapitated and halved apart, her tribe destroyed, so many villages destroyed; she could not believe that the gods cared enough about her to let her and Vokarda reunite.

Where was Tren Krom? Where was Mata-Nui? Where were the Kaita? How was this part of an endless cycle? Where was the rebirth alongside the death? No, this was just a cold and cruel end, the abrupt extinction of the Matoran race as their bodies were defiled.

"Soon."

Mahrika’s last word echoed from behind her in a rough, unfinished voice. Was it mocking her tearful goodbye?

“Again soon."

The unseen speaker repeated her words thickly, like it was chewing on them. Digesting the vowels. Drawing the consonants through its teeth. A shadow fell over the Matoran, but the expected blow did not fall.

"Too soon," the voice said mournfully. "Too soon."

Mahrika’s tears went from a trickle to an eruption not unlike a geyser. She … she was expecting pain, to be clubbed to death, to be roasted alive, to be strangled or stabbed. She was prepared for all of those things.

But sympathy? That cut into her very spirit.

“Why have the gods forsaken us?” She squeaked out among her tears, “I … I don’t understand? How can they be so cruel? So uncaring? I … I can’t lose her.”

"Cruel. Uncaring," the voice confirmed. "Rain falls. Tide wanes. Time washes all away."

They were silent for a moment, listening to the Matoran's sobs. Then, as if moved by the sound, they spoke again.

"Lose her? Or... save her? Choose."

“Save her? How … how? What can I do?”

“Mahrika,” Vokarda managed, “look at them.”

The Ga-Matoran swallowed and tore her eyes from her beloved, to see a strange being standing behind her. They were nothing like a Toa or even a Skakdi, and instead looked something not too dissimilar to a Lava Ape.

“Wh-who are you? How can I save her?”

"Old," they replied by way of an answer. "Older than young. For the young die before they grow old."

They leaned over the pair like a hulking statue whose carver had forgotten to add a face. But their voice was strangely soft, despite its low pitch and stilted pronunciation.

"This body dies. But the spirit remains. You can take it. Carry it. Hold it within you."

“I … I can carry her.” Mahrika looked down to Vokarda, whose face was scrunched up, “you … you don’t mean, her memory, right? You mean that I can carry her spirit inside me?”

“You … are an Aspect,” Vokarda grunted through the pain, and Mahrika’s heartlight froze. She … she knew the stories, strange spirits who offered gruesome pacts, tricksters who enslaved Matoran, Toa, and Turaga alike with terrible pacts, that they … they reduced the corpses of loved ones into power for their slaves…

She … she couldn’t defile Vokarda that way.

But then Vokarda spoke, “my … my spirit would keep her alive then. But what … what would you ask of her? What … what is your Great Work?”

Mahrika startled at her partner’s words, drawing close to her, “I … I couldn’t … couldn’t defile you, our Turaga warned us of—”

“Our Turaga is dead.”

“…And the gods don’t care,” swallowed Mahrika. Maybe … maybe the stories she had heard all her life were just that, stories.

But Vokarda dying, black ichor pouring out of her wounds like her very blood was charred, her heartlight beating slower and slower, her eyes drifting more and more, her body rattling in agony - that was not just a story. That was real.

She could feel Vokarda’s body lurch like a rusted wheel-barrel, rattling and shaking with a terrible violence. Vokarda struggled to speak, struggled to think, too tired and ravaged by too much pain. She was… she was struggling to stay conscious.

And this … this Aspect, this trickster spirit, they seemed to mourn Vokarda. They seemed to feel regret, feel loss at this Vo-Matoran dying, even though they had never met her before. They … even if they were faking grief as a trick, they were putting in far more effort than the gods ever had.

“You … you swear she will live on in me?” asked Mahrika, her hands shaking, fully aware of what she might do next, “That I can keep her alive? What … what would you have me do? What is your Great Work?”

"She will live on," they repeated. They became suddenly eloquent, like they were reciting old words they knew by heart. "By the sun's setting and the rising of the moon. By the darkness behind the stars. She will live on... in you."

They extended a long-fingered hand. "My wish... is your wish," they crooned. "To kill death. Slay grief. Vanquish time. The greatest work of all."

“K-kill death?” Mahrika managed to whisper, her optics widening like Suva unlocking. Was … was it possible … she knew the Tricksters had strange impossible goals, but … to kill death itself? Was … was it possible they were lying? Could an Aspect even lie about their Great Work?

And then her thoughts were interrupted by a hacking laugh. Vokarda smiled, “well, that makes our decision so much easier, doesn’t it? If the Aspect kills death and conquers time…”

“…Then you never would have died,” Mahrika’s optics closed, her mask trembling, “but if they are lying—”

“Then I live on in you. And I … I don’t think they are lying. About … any of it. And well, we don’t have much choice,” Vokarda coughed suddenly, “You won’t survive long with the Skakdi, and I am, well, dying. Together … we can adapt.”

“You … you know what the ritual requires. At least in our legends.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t … you won’t do it alone.”

Mahrika swallowed, she could see Vokarda’s heartlight slowed as they conversed. Whatever chance they had, it was fading. And even though she did not yet trust this Trickster, she trusted Vokarda. To damnation and back. She reached down with quaking fingers and picked up a fishing knife. Shakily placed it in Vokarda’s hands and wrapped them around it, with hers around her beloved’s. “You … you sure?”

“As sure — argh — as I can be.”

The Ga-Matoran turned to the Aspect and said, “You … you better not be lying. Um, before we do it, what is your name? If you have one?”

In time, they would grow older and forget the meaning of names. Their mind would grow slow under the weight of innumerable years, and they would call things only by how they perceived them. Time, that cruel and implacable enemy, would steal their secrets and dull their power. But they were younger now than they would become, and so they answered more plainly than they would later.

"I am eldest," they replied solemnly. "And I am firstborn. I am the darkness that came before the stars. The calm before the first storm. The roots of the first mountain and the bed of the first river. Older than the tide.

"I am eldest," they repeated. "Tasked to care for younger siblings. That is the duty of the firstborn—the Tuakana."

Their slender hand still held out for the necessary offering, they paused and seemed to draw breath. Preparing to speak the necessary words.

Mahrika and Vokarda slowly lowered the knife together, piercing into the Vo-Matoran’s chest with a crunch of charcoal. With four hands clutching the blade they carved, Vokarda guiding and Mahrika supplying her strength. There was no gore, her upper body had been charred too much by the flames. And those flames smothered the cracking of Vokarda’s burnt metal flesh, masking the horror.

Vokarda grew weaker and weaker with each dig of the knife, and Mahrika shook more and more. “If … if this doesn’t work, we … we will still be together,” promised the Ga-Matoran, as with a crunch the heartlight was torn free, still flickering, faintly. Mahrika stared at the relic as its beating slowed, her own heartlight beating in a frenzy. She … this had to work. It had to.

And then she shakily turned to Tuakana and said, “Please.”

Their black hand closed gently around the heartlight. It still beat, albeit weakly. The last of its light glimmered through their fingers.

"Starlight," they said, but it was less a saying than a singing. Their words seemed to follow a music that could not be heard.

"Starlight. Heartlight.

First and last. Shine bright.

Eight times eight and learn it well.

Heed the tolling of the bell."

Their voice was deep and dark and seemed to emanate from all around them, like the earth itself was groaning each word. The Aspect seemed to grow larger, leaning over the pair like a great bird of prey. Its eyeless face betrayed no emotion. Mouthless, they continued their chant.

"Long ago. Two of four.

Flame. Water. Wind. Shore.

Cast a stone into the sea.

Watch it sink and let it be."

The burning village seemed distant. Its flames seemed muted. Shadows swirled around the three beings, swallowing the sunlight. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but unearthly figures seemed to dance in and out of the shadows. Figures with the wrong number of limbs. Figures with large heads and swollen bellies and pointed teeth. They cavorted around the trio, lasting only moments before dissolving and reforming again. And below it all, the rhythm of the chant continued.

"Earthen gifts. Ocean's grace.

Drink the blood and kiss the face.

One by one and two by two.

Taste the salt. Make it new."

They opened their hand. It was now neither day nor night. They were entombed in an absolute darkness, lit only by the heartlight that now hung in the air, still weakly shining, like a fruit hanging from a black tree.

"Goodbye."

"Hello."

They asked and answered of themselves. Of the same creature, many voices, like a vast chorus.

"Step forth into the darkness and prepare the gift."

The heart went *thu-thump* in the air. Shining softly.

"A star's heart. Still beating. Still lit."

Mahrika felt herself compelled to rise and step forward, Vokarda's lifeless body falling from her cradling arms. Was it her own will? Or the will of the spell that now encircled them?

"Two midnight horrors cry and shift. Make them squirm inside the pit."

Before her eyes, the heartlight began to beat faster. Stronger. It was no longer weak, but seemed to beat harder each time. Pumping air to air.

"Bind worm and willing host."

It wriggled and shook as it throbbed. It seemed to elongate with each trembling beat.

"Tear the yolk. Spread its gold."

The light grew brighter and brighter, then suddenly broke, and the heart unfurled into a writhing length of flesh.

"Devour knowledge and their ghost."

She stood speechless, eyes full of the ritual's solemn horror. They stood on the other side of the heartlight, or whatever remained of it. They continued to watch her without eyes. They continued to chant without lips. And each word thrummed through the earth like the plucking of a vast instrument.

"Pray for prey forever sold."

She reached out. She felt it enter her. She felt herself change.

"Hello."

Who was that? Who spoke these words?

"Goodbye."

Mahrika gasped out as the firelight returned with its crackling flames. She felt … something squirm inside her. No, someone. The strange sensation squirmed around her metal spine, embracing her tight. She swayed as the Kraata hugged her insides, tears welling with renewed energy.

The Kraata clung to her, steadying her tremors. She … she could feel the compassion of Vokarda’s spirit, the familiar embrace, Mahrika shook with a leaf in the wind, even as she calmed her heartlight raced.

The heat of the fire faded as she adapted to the inferno, as the Kraata began to squirm on her spine, massaging her. She shuddered, but a smile began to spread across her face.

It … it was Vokarda. It had to be. She knew her touch, her embrace. This … this was the spirit of her beloved, it had to be. It had to be.

She looked up at the Aspect, this Tuakana, and she managed through her tears and smile to say, “th-thank you.”

…

That was millennia ago, when the Skakdi first conquered the island through blood and Protosteel. And much had changed. The island was covered in dust, the landscape was barren, the life of Xa-Nui was gone now. Now there was only ruin, and that giant monument.

Mahrika wandered through this rocky desert, wandering as her telescopic lens searched and focused into the terrain. She couldn’t see any Skakdi yet, but she knew better than to believe they were gone. It … death came to all, but the Skakdi’s destruction continued to ravage her island home. Or was its theirs now?

As she walked her memories continued to brush against her, of that last day, when her world burned and died. She swallowed and thought to herself, “Tuakana, death … it still haunts this world. Do you … do you even still live?”

She did not expect an answer, she had not received one in millennia. But things had changed in the island renamed Zakaz, a new era was beginning. And though she did not yet know it, for the first time since the fall of her civilization, there were Matoran villages. The rules had changed. And she and Vokarda would not be so alone.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Harvali

[Smudge8]

IC: Jephro-Metru-Koro-Outside San's hut.

Jephro jumped a little and turned to face Irna. "Well, no one really, I was just guessing at what the barraki could want with a mask of creation.

@Conway

[Void Emissary]

IC: Parnassus | Ash Barrens

The Aspect climbed off their hover-bike and surveyed the land. It was as ashy and as barren as Parnassus had long suspected -- back when they had been a mere wisp in Kumu, looking through borrowed and already-rusting eyes towards the shores beyond the Islets. Imagining what adventures might await them on those distant coastlines. And now, to come to one of the greatest places on the island....

"I hope you're watching my back, Barius," they called behind with a grin, already following Boss through the embers. "Now that we're friends and all!"

OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Burnmad

IC: Irna | Outside Sans' Hut

"Mask of Creation?" Irna said. "That's just a myth, isn't it?"

OOC: @Smudge8

-Void

[Nato G]

6 hours ago, Crimson Jester said:

IC: Korruhn, Ruin of Ice

"If we are all in agreeance, then," Korruhn trailed off briefly, his cold blue eyes meeting those of his companions. "Let's begin this blood ritual."

IC: Sidra - Ruins of Ice

"I'm not afraid of bleeding a little, but if the solution was that simple, wouldn't the local skakdi have figured it out long ago? Making people bleed seems to be their whole deal," she said, approaching the basin nonetheless, "Besides, which virtue would I be embodying?" 

@EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester

52 minutes ago, Unreliable Narrator said:

IC: Boss | The Ash Barrens

“You, you, you, you, and all you follow me up the path. And you. The rest stay here and guard the rigs. Don’t set up camp. This won’t take long, but keep a lookout for that rahi-nui.”

IC: Corrivalis - Ash Barrens

The mimic nodded dutifully as he dismounted from his ACR. He understood the fate that ofttimes befell those chosen to ascend Irnakk's Tooth, but he all the same it was an honour to be among those chosen to witness the ritual. After the defeats they had suffered today, they needed a Tahtorak more than ever - the real deal, not a mere robot. 

He set off up the path, his weapon shifting into a walking stick to assist with the ascent. Hard, jagged rock jabbed at his feet as he walked, distant heat radiating up from beneath it. The occasional wisp of noxious smoke from a days-past eruption drifted his way as he walked, stinging his eyes and throat. He kept walking. A stray charcoal beetle scuttled across his path at one point, and he paused to let it pass, knowing better than to earn the ire of the hive. 

Despite the inhospitable terrain, he was glad to be avoiding the forest. That place... unsettled him. The whispers and whistles of the chimes and children, lingering echoes of things long gone, reminded him that he was little more than a ghost himself, simply repeating the same actions day after day, unable to recall his past, unable to imagine a future. 

He continued his upwards trek, not really noticing or acknowledging the others as he continued his introspection. 

@Burnmad, @Conway, @Keeper of Kraata

[Sparticus147]

IC: Apex (Ash Barrens)

As Apex flew far into the Ash Barrens, once again bearing witness to the Dead Forest, the sight of which eliciting a low, hateful, growl from her jaws. "Why did I run, there was a whole host of the vile skaks, already weakened by that great sand worm. Together we could have slaughtered those skakdi and I could of gained a powerful ally. But that sound, that recognizable yet foreign sound, unlike any I ever heard...or have I heard it, long before my freedom, long before my imprisonment. What did it remind me of..." 

As Apex continued her flight, her thoughts running to and froe, the sight of an ancient temple came into sight and of the gong that stood atop it.

IC: Torak (Ash Barrens)

Torak didn't know what happened exactly, all he knew was that he was resting after a long day of raiding and looting and then something messed with his bike so he went to investigate. Next thing he knew was that some large..thing grabbed him and clawed out his eyes. If that was not horrifying enough, the thing spoke, Spoke! 

"I am Apex, and though I doubt your pitiful history would remember me, I was your predator. You are too live, if only to spread my name to your kin."

The words still brought chills to his frills, no matter how much he hated it. The next thing he knew was being picked up and flying high up in the air till he finally felt ground, ran for his life, only for some warskak to scoop him up like a sack of bricks. "Hey, listen, I don't know who you lot are, but I gotta thank you lot for showing up when ya did. If it wasn't for ya lot, that thing would've got me fer sure. By the way now, where are ya taking me anyway? Where are we even?"

OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Burnmad @Keeper of Kraata @Conway @Nato the Traveler

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Metru-koro -

Skyra was surprisingly quiet as she listened to the two go back and forth, clearly Stannis and Aurax had some sort of history, but that wasn't the part she really cared about. No what interested was this talk about killing Pridak. That's what really got the Toa of Air's attention. She practically jumped at Aurax's offer to tag along.

"You had me at 'kill' and 'Pridak'. Though I'm gonna have to fetch my wife first, she'd be kind of mad if I went and helped slay a warlord without her." 

OOC:  @EmperorWhenua @~Xemnas~

IC: Vashni - The Northern Wastes -

Vashni looked at the ziggurat they were approaching, remarking just how massive it was as they got closer. "Nearly there." 

@pokemonlover360 @Tarn @Onaku @~Xemnas~ @Harvali @Unreliable Narrator

 

IC: Varian - Strange Tunnels -

Varian never stopped moving, following the others tirelessly, one of the perks of being completely mechanical was that you never grew tired. It was something that Varian found a little odd, because he could vaguely remember feeling tired at some point in his existence, but he couldn't quite recall where or when. 

@Vezok's Friend@Burnmad@Sparticus147@Dane-gerous@Edelgard@Jakura Nuva@Toru Nui

[Onaku]

IC: Iradra - Metru-Koro

"I'm afraid I don't possess any mechanical knowledge about this ship beyond that it flies. Knichou left just a moment ago, you should be able to catch up to him if you go now. He'll be able to tell you anything you need to know." Iradra said, pointing in the direction Knichou and co had gone.

@Sparticus147@Eyru

[Sparticus147]

IC: Vulimai (Taku)

"Alright toa, thank you for your assistance." Turning towards Taja, Vulimai directly addressed the toa. "I must ask toa, are you a toa of earth or similar element, because if you are, you're assistance would be most wanted within the New Archives to fortify it against the League's attack."

OOC: @Eyru @Onaku

[Keeper of Kraata]

IC: Skorm (Metru-Koro, Outskirts)

"I'm prepping the Muaka to get the Karz out of here. If Pridak comes, when the League comes, this place is going to be destroyed. Your leader wants us to make a glorious last stand, built on ideals and moral superiority, but that's never helped you all before. When I was a part of the League, we won island after island from defenders with the same thoughts."

Skorm looked at his hazy reflection in one of the solar panels of his interceptor. "I've been on the other side of this situation before. The safest thing to do is organize an evacuation, secure a corridor for anyone who can't fight. I've had the free ability to choose for myself for barely a week, throwing that chance for a life away in a pointless stand seems like a waste."

IC: Fyura (Ash Barrens)

Frowning, Fyura cut the engine to her trike and wriggled out. Part of her was shaking, whether that was fear or anticipation, Fyura couldn't figure out.

The air was hot, difficult to breathe. She'd rather be behind the wheel of her battle trike, but Fyura grit her teeth and hefted her axe onto her shoulder, following the Boss and the others.

IC: Kaylus (Dead Forest, Kaylus's Laboratory)

Kaylus heard the gong like all other Aspects. Growling, he put down the dissected nui-rama's limb. He had been observing limb mechanics in motion, perhaps to improve his own body. He exited his clean room through the crude airlock in his lab, burning away any leftover rahi flesh on his claws by holding them over a fire, then washing them with cloth. Performing some mental math, the Aspect placed the gong at the ziggurat; also in the Dead Forest, not a long trip away.

He traveled light; no food or water or even tools needed, just his own body. When he emerged from his lab into the ashy forest, Kaylus realized he had locked himself into his lab for almost a week since the giant head had crashed into the island; it was good to get out. Who summoned Aspect Kaylus? Whoever it was, Kaylus was eager to meet them.

OOC: @Toru Nui @Unreliable Narrator @Sparticus147 @Nato the Traveler @Burnmad @Conway

[EmperorWhenua]

4 hours ago, ~Xemnas~ said:

IC, Aurax: Outside Metru-Koro

59 minutes ago, Snelly said:

IC: Skyra Daring - Metru-koro -

"You had me at 'kill' and 'Pridak'. Though I'm gonna have to fetch my wife first, she'd be kind of mad if I went and helped slay a warlord without her." 

IC Stannis | Metru Koro

He watched Aurax vanish into the airship and waited a moment longer before turning around to face his ally at last. "Skyra, one moment," he beckoned. He looked tired again, creases of concern drawn across his forehead, and ever so slightly concerned as if some niggling fear lingered in the back of his mind.

"Don't fret—I'm not going to talk you out of coming. In fact, this is a case where I will need someone by my side. Pridak, the League, and Aurax are all foes I can confront individually, but this is not a challenge I expect to be able to walk away from if I am facing them all at once. I would welcome your assistance in this pursuit in keeping me focused on the mission and uncorrupted by feelings. Can I trust in you and Rose with this task?"

 

1 hour ago, Nato the Traveler said:

IC: Sidra - Ruins of Ice

"... which virtue would I be embodying?" 

IC Leklo | Ice Ruin

The former alpinist shrugged but looked at Sidra warily. "Destiny I suppose—you had a knack at altering its course before."

He cut.

Edited May 16, 2020 by EmperorWhenua

[Tarn]

IC: Korio Karasha - Tactical Panda II

Korio moved with an uneven gait as he less walked, more stumbled to the crew quarters, searching for Zai's room. An inconsistent thump and, sometimes, dragging could be heard by Zai as he approached closer, until he stopped just outside the Ta-Skakdi's door with a final THUMP followed by labored breathing. Kor pounded his fist against the door. 

"Oi, Zai," the Vo-Skakdi called out, "I got me foot stuck in the bucket while swabbin' the decks again. Help a bloke out just this once? Ya know I got odd-shaped feet."

@Dane-gerous

IC: Nale Vella - Metru-Koro

She quietly thought about what Knichou was saying for a moment. Nale supposed it was a bit difficult to not talk about the negatives when you lived in a world full of them.

"...is that what happened to Dume?" she asked gravely.

@BULiK

IC: Jutori - Four-Wheeler/Approaching the Ziggurat

"Just like Po-Metru," the Toa of Gravity mused, remembering their adventures during the disk hunt. "Weird. Hopefully this time the thing doesn't, you know, come crashing down."

He nervously glanced over his shoulder at the Kralhi riding with them.

@Snelly@~Xemnas~@pokemonlover360@Onaku@Harvali

[BULiK]

IC: Knichou, Metru-Koro Streets

Knichou was silent for a few moments as he watched the quiet bustle of the streets ahead of him. It was uncomfortable to bring up the memory, even if he had mentioned some of it to her earlier.

"Well... not exactly. He got injured by a rhotuka - one of the matoran in the office took most of the hit for him. He could have survived, but he died when he used the last of his powers to... make me a Toa."

Edited May 16, 2020 by BULiK

[~Xemnas~]

IC, Aurax: Outside Metru-Koro

As soon as Aurax got back into the airship, he sat down in the copilot’s seat, feeing very conflicted. He was glad that his plan was advancing, but at the same time, seeing Stannis for the first time in many years disturbed him. 

He sighed. “Alright Saybo, we’re going to have at least three guests with us. Don’t attack them or anything, we need them if this is going to work.”

OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC, Atamai: Ziggurat

”Yes. Kilo, please try not to break anything this time.”

As Aurax drove the vehicle up to the ziggurat, he began to make out strange hieroglyphs carved into the structure. As he parked the vehicle he said, “Look at those symbols. They’re like the ones on that stone table in Po-Metru. There’s definitely some sort of connection between the Disk puzzles and the temples on this island.”

OOC: @pokemonlover360 @Snelly @Tarn @Onaku @Harvali

[Onaku]

IC: Zadred - Ziggurat

As the convoy came to a stop, Zadred halted her bike with practised ease and stepped off of it, approaching the Ziggurat with Atamai. "I saw a gong at the top of the structure. Do you think it's worth investigating?"

@~Xemnas~@Tarn@Snelly@pokemonlover360@Harvali

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Metru-koro -

Skyra nodded firmly at Stannis' question. "Oh yeah, no worries there. Me and Rose are soldiers through and through, we won't rest until our mission is complete." Skyra gave a thumbs up to the older Toa of Stone. 

OOC:  @EmperorWhenua @~Xemnas~

IC: Vashni - The Northern Wastes -

"Yes, the similarities are uncanny." This alone proved that this island and Mata Nui had some sort of connect, Vashni wondered what it meant.

@pokemonlover360 @Tarn @Onaku @~Xemnas~ @Harvali @Unreliable Narrator

 

 

[EmperorWhenua]

IC Stannis | Metru Koro

"Then I will await you both. Hurry!" 

He would wait before boarding—he did not trust Aurax not to take off as soon as he walked up the ramp. He was the key to the scheme to work, not Skyra and Rose, and the only essential component. And so, instead of following Aurax up, the old warmage folded his legs, sat on the earth, and meditated. 

[Nato G]

IC: Sidra - Ruins of Ice

Destiny... me? That was ridiculous; Leklo was grasping at straws to vindicate his theory. He has to be... right?

Sidra wasn't one of the Matoran race. She didn't share their virtues and beliefs. Until she'd seen its severed head smashed into the sands, she hadn't even believed in their Great Spirit. If this place had been built by Matoran, for Matoran, then she had no place here. Their destiny wasn't hers.

But here I am. Time and time again she'd been places, and done things, that went beyond what the world had intended for her. She had seen the dead rise. She had killed Dume. She had been there to witness Tuyet's attempt to change time. She had unlocked the Suva. 

And now she was here. Either she truly did have some part to play in destiny's design, or there was no destiny at all. That was a theological question she couldn't bring herself to tackle, but she hoped, perhaps, that whatever was hidden within this place would help her make some sense of it all.

She drew her dagger, and pricked the back of her hand - cutting her fingers or palm would just make it harder for her to grip a weapon if she needed it later - waiting for Korruhn to cut as well before she let the blood drip into the basin. 

@EmperorWhenua @Crimson Jester