Unreliable Narrator

Hey all, what's hard light? I've seen it used in two games and I got no idea what it is.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Kini-Nui Nuju watched the two toa just walk off, no goodbye, no excuse me, nothing. "I remember this reality having more manners," Nuju grumbled to himself once the two were out of earshot and off on their own personal adventures with doors. A tiny lizard, some sort of little gecko really, clambered into Nuju's lap. He softly rubbed a hand across its little spines. It blinked at him. He blinked at it. It smiled. He smiled. It licked its eye. "You know I can't do that, that's not fair." "Life isn't fair," replied the lizard, and scampered off. "I'm sorry did you just," Nuju began, but the lizard was gone. ... The door before Sidra grew deathly cold, frost covering its surface to melt in the sun, and the door became even more hungry. She could feel her powers of Freezing leeching from her body. It became exhausting, and the door's hunger seemed never ending. Nerves twitched, wires reached their output limits. Would she continue? ... Atamai approached a doorway, feeling the metal with his hands. Strangely, it refused his commands, and did not offer itself for manipulation or control. Instead, the doorway felt hungry. It began feeding on the power of Atamai's element, consuming what he offered. How much would he give? OOC: @Nato the Traveler, @~Xemnas~

Tren Krom could be, yes. Could also be something else.

Aspects fear Tren Krom because Tren Krom is beyond them. Aspects, or rather antiderms, are escapees, and work to create their own reality through personal growth and the accumulation of followers. Tren Krom exists beyond these hopes and dreams, and can just as easily snuff out in an instant the very things aspects spend entire lifetimes creating. Tren Krom, in short, represents the immutable and permanent end of all things for aspects. Congrats, @EmperorWhenua, on a new page!

IC: Reliable Narrator | Kini-Nui The door's hunger grew ravenous. It wanted more. How much could Sidra offer? OOC: @Nato the Traveler

IC: Administrator | Ruins of Air “I am the Administrator,” the Administrator said. He explained further; “your questioning is much like another recent visitor, though not at this particular temple. You do not happen to be familiar with a machine known as the Kilo-M9?” The Administrator paused, but when Viltia did not offer a confirmation he continued; “no, I am not the entire building, yes you are within a suva, yes I do know the ancient ways of merging Kanohi masks into Silver and Gold, and no I am not just some simple computer voice that responds to your every question. I even swapped the order around to prove my point.” Neither Apex or Viltia laughed. The Administrator considered that maybe it was not designed for comedy, and perhaps would never learn. “I mistook you for another, for you bear their mark.” IC: Reliable Narrator | Kini-Nui Sidra left without a goodbye, making her way from Kini-Nui into the hills surrounding. Shin high ferns curled away from her when she walked past, the slightest touch making them roll into themselves. Jungle vines and thick moss clumps dangled from the boughs of crooked trees. She could sense the mildest of intelligence from the very plants. Not enough to communicate, certainly not enough to control, but a level of life she until this point had disregarded as inconsequential or even nonexistent. When she placed her palm to a bunker door it felt warm to her touch. Warm from the light of the sun, she realized. Strangely, she also felt the door seemed hungry. There was no other word for it: it seemed hungry. But for what? The door was massive -- a hundred feet tall by almost half that in width. Its metal surface was scored with scratches, faded graffiti, and dents from particularly hefty boulders. Unfortunately, no one saw fit to write easy instructions. Was the door push or pull? Did it respond to words? All she had to go one was Nuju's ideas, her own wits, and a solidly sealed bunker door. OOC: @Nato the Traveler

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui "Unfortunately, I don't," Nuju replied with a disappointed sigh. He gestured towards the six large sealed bunker doors ringing the temple in valley's hillsides. "But I imagine you'll know on your own. One door closes, another one opens. Perhaps only one with powers such as your own can open it? Destiny is obviously at work , but what sort of work I can't say. My studies are focused on the Far Shore, the Makoki, and the great Tren Krom who sees all." OOC: @~Xemnas~, @Nato the Traveler IC: Reliable Narrator | Ash Barrens Ollem scanned the view inland. The palm trees, thick ferns, and long grasses of the tropical coast hid the rolling hills of the island, giving the appearance of green waves stretching Westward. To the south, the healthy trees and underbrush gave way at the horizon line to a wide bog. Mist obscured the view further, so that Ollem couldn’t tell what came after. His eyes followed a tropical bird back to his immediate view, and then towards the north where he, Kas, and Mahrika walked from to reach the Great Telescope. The Rig, or what was left of it, could just be made out in the far distance. A cold ocean wind whipped up behind him, as if to propel the matoran onwards through the tropical trees ahead. In the brief time before Ollem and Mahrika departed, Kas mentioned the suva of fire’s general location: between two flowing rivers of lava, due west of the telescope. Once the two matoran crested the hills and reached the Ash Barrens, the rivers of lava would be easily spotted, or so Kas suggested. OOC: @Burnmad, @Harvali, feel free to have a little adventure traveling West, should you like, or else you can just jump straight to the rivers of lava. IC: Grime | Fort Nektann He observed Korruhn’s frenetic movements without offering to help pour out the oil drums. For someone who wanted a quiet place to ask Grime questions, Korruhn did plenty of talking. When he asked Grime to follow him it wasn’t a question either. For all the talk of freedom, all the concern and none of the understanding, Korruhn acted without considering Grime’s desires, interests, or needs. Grime didn’t feel free while in Korruhn’s presence. Something dark, darker than the night between stars, clung to the void-scarred warrior. “I can’t,” Grime finally mustered, his eyes focusing on finding the origin of echoing steps in the catwalk above. “I can’t leave, not without her.” His words were a whisper, perhaps unheard by even Korruhn. The echoing clang of the doors being thrown open wrenched Grime’s sight from the catwalk and towards the main entrance from the fortress. Barius stood there, armor glittering, sweat dripping, hands lifting the door above his head. Grime dropped to his feet from his seat on the fence. He felt the power of Barius’s kraata wash over him, and he cowered instinctively in the warskaks presence. He didn’t notice the few steps he took backwards towards the open doorway and the desert beyond. His eyes were transfixed on Barius. He felt a squirming within him, but he willed himself to stay standing in one place. Running was death. Barius and his warskaks would rip Grime to pieces if he did. “Run Korruhn,” Grime said softly. “I will buy you time.” OOC: @Crimson Jester, @Burnmad, @Conway, @Nato the Traveler

@Kal the GuardianGuardian, I see Sorilax went into the Far Shore. After rolling the dice, here are your prompts: Timeline: A (optional prompts: destiny, prosperity, strength) Element: Ice Conflict: Character vs Supernatural Twist: "be careful what you wish for"

IC: Reliable Narrator | Kini-Nui Even while Nuju spoke with Sidra, Sorilax's mind worked with academic efficiency on his surroundings. He considered the broken machine forming the bounded gateway of the Far Shore portal. He studied the empty sockets where a kanoka disk could fit, and found the words "caution, lock before use" in flaking yellow paint near each socket. No further information was written nearby the sockets, but Sorilax got the feeling the device was made of several found and upgraded components -- a hodgepodge construction of new and old materials. The damaged upper right where a portion of the machine had broken away showed exposed multicoloured wires and snapped cables of varying sizes. He noticed some screws were steel, some nuts were bronze, and there were even other components made of green copper. One of the nuts he realized was improperly forged, spiraling counterclockwise instead of clockwise. Several dents along its outer rim revealed someone hadn't bothered to thread it: they simply hit the thing with a hammer until it stayed put. Nuju's voice returned Sorilax to the conversation; "Sala passed beyond, and now only he can reveal what transpires during his journey. Should he return, I hope his luck holds and the Makoki Stone is found. But I'm not a betting matoran -- it's unlikely the Makoki Stone would be found so soon. Though if he did, it would look something like the stone you found that summoned me. I'm sure if you returned to the Far Shore, your journey would be unique, and your rewards bountiful." OOC: @Kal the GuardianGuardianGuardianGuardianGuardianGuardia, @Nato the TravelerTraveler, @~Xemnas~

This is a great question! The inhabitants of Metru-Nui at this time are almost exclusively surviving soldiers from the League of Six Kingdoms, converted matoran who abandoned their faith in favor of survival, and scavenging rahi. While most of these characters remain in the background of the game's narrative as NPCs, I would say that with the sudden transition of power from the Barraki to Aurax's Kingdom those living in Metru-Nui are in a state of shock, confusion, and soul searching. Their initial unified goal of true freedom led to the destruction of their home world (GSR body) -- and they have no way of going back. While Aurax may have won leadership through combat, he did not gain the support of the military or spiritual leadership prior. It looks like he's now working to do so through the vahki. Additionally, there is the complication of Ehlek. And now those who hold true to the Leauge's ideals have returned to challenge Aurax's rule. In short, it's complicated and depends entirely on gameplay, but I personally see many peaceful opportunities for an integrated and equitable future in the city of Metru-Nui.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Fort Nektann As Drukarus passed back into the fortress, the shadows around him swirled. The lights flickered, like a crowded theater impatient for intermission during a long-winded performance. He felt the presence from the orb reaching out, and a candle snuffed out with a hush and spiraling thread of smoke. Don't count on it, the dark voice in his mind commented. OOC: @Sparticus147 IC: Grime | Fort Nektann As Grime looked back towards Korruhn, he heard the faint echoes of somebody walking through the upper hallway that opened into the garage's metal catwalk. He looked upwards, curious to see who would appear. OOC: @Nato the TravelerTraveler, @Conway

Congratulations on page 138! Nidhiki vanished before the very end of SKE, he has not been confirmed deceased. Lhikan was last seen in his cell near the end of SKE, and is MIA.

IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui Sala had not returned. Perhaps he was lost, but Nuju hoped for the determined matoran's success. As long as Sala's will held strong, Nuju knew he would be alright. "Hello Sidra, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Nuju replied alongside the sharp clapping sound of his journal's clasp being shut. He stared for a short while at her, taking in the radiance of her armor and the familiarity with which she and Sorilax spoke. "This is Kini-Nui, a temple created in the Time Before Time. Just there, where the stone head rests, is where the Makoki Stone once rested. Now it is fragmented, and I sit on the boundary between this world and the Far Shore, a place where reality unravels and considers what it was, is, and could be. There's a Makoki Stone fragment in the Far Shore. I've narrowed it down to two possible timelines, and Sorilax's companion Sala has ventured into the Far Shore to find it. With luck, he'll return. "But you're already aware of some of this, aren't you? I imagine you've come because of the newly revealed bunkers in the hills around this valley. They weren't there an hour ago, or rather they were concealed until just before your arrival." Nuju looked beyond current company towards the shifting foliage at the lake's edge. He saw a toa covered in a cloak of woven metal step out onto the lake's shore and look over the temple complex. To Sidra, Nuju said; "and I suppose he's with you?" OOC: @Nato the Traveler, @~Xemnas~, @Kal the Guardian

Anytime.

I do believe the same aspect that desecrated Keitara.

IC: Administrator | Ruins of Air "I do not speak of your return, Apex." OOC: @Kal the GuardianGuardian, @Sparticus147

IC: Takadox | Undergound "Really, a clan leader?" Takadox repeated quizzically. "In my lands, we have a word for warlords and great leaders of many clans: barraki. I was once a barraki, but I learned violence is meaningless without purpose." Takadox took a sniff of the water in his canteen, instantly coughing as the stoppered sulfuric smell released into his face. He dumped the contents of the canteen and cursed. Like the poisoned waters dumped onto the floor, Takadox himself felt poisoned and cast aside by his own past. @Nato the Traveler, @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147, @Burnmad

IC: Reliable Narrator | the Taku Knichou felt a small chill run up his spine at the thought of Tuyet. But nope. Just a little red and yellow lizard trying to lick his auditory receptors. @BULiK

IC: Takadox | Underground "Curious," Takadox said under his breath, but didn't press. He looked back at Zak-Yak as Marrow gestured, taking in the loping frame of the almost comical being. Zak-Yak displayed more emotion in a minute than Mantax in a month. Mantax, the stoic warrior of honor. Takadox wondered if their paths would cross again. He hoped not though, as it surely would lead to Pridak's sword cleaving his head clean off his body. He liked his head. He liked his body. He especially like them attached. "So, are you all called Mesi, or are you part of specific clan or something? Do you also worship this Spiriah?" OOC: @Nato the Traveler

IC: Administrator | Elemental Ruins of Air “Identify your--” The Administrator’s voice materialized into existence within the entry chamber of the Elemental Temple of Air. It stopped short though at the realization of just who stood in the chamber. “You. You have returned.” OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147 IC: Administrator | Elemental Ruins of Stone "I assure you, the portal your friend passed through is very much permanent. You could as easily pass through it as any simple sand lizard." IC: Takadox | Underground “Closer? Closer is good,” Takadox replied quickly. His voice echoed in the tunnels further and louder than he intended. The walk was boring, and he found his mind wandering to the sunny beaches of his past. The softest moss glowed in the cracks between the stones where tiny veins of water gurgled. Takadox approached one, kneeling down to fill his canteen with the cold water. The sounds of the water falling into the canteen increased its pitch, telling him to pull away before it overflowed, but he was distracted by the past, and he didn’t pull away until the chill of water poured across his hands. He felt a small part of him died weeks ago and a world away, but he couldn’t admit it to himself just yet. The idea of never seeing a certain pair of eyes again was too much, so he forced his mind back to the present. “Out of curiosity,” Takadox said as he found his way close to Marrow amidst the tightness of the tunnels, “are all of your kind unable to see?” Even as he asked, Takadox glanced back towards the bohrok and its bohrok-va. He found himself concerned with how a robot could plant doubt among the group so efficiently. Not for the first time since they all assembled in the valley of bones Takadox wondered if the bohrok’s organic mask has something to do with its charisma. He also considered maybe it had nothing to do with the krana and everything to do with the fact that bohrok, for all their true terrifying ability as a swarm, were honestly rather adorable when found alone. Then there was the aspect. Takadox knew to be careful of the aspect. He’d seen enough in the Temple of Fire, and in the scuffle outside with the other aspect and her skakdi pawn, to be careful of the shadow-worker. OOC: @Nato the Traveler, @Burnmad, @Kal the Guardian, etc. IC: Nuju | Kini-Nui "I'm sorry, say again?" Nuju closed a small notebook he'd been drawing three interlocking circles over and over again. He didn't understand why he drew it, but he did. @Nato the Traveler, @Kal the Guardian

yes?

The end of Six Kingdoms: Rebirth approaches! As a reminder, Rebirth's game topic will be locking afternoon/evening December 31st (Pacific Time). The third (and final) game in the Six Kingdoms trilogy will begin January 1st 2021 (again, Pacific Time). To celebrate the past several months of stories created, and to get hype for what's to come, I'll be once again answering one question for each new page in the game topic of SKR! If you get the first post on a new page, you can pose a question about the Six Kingdoms games (1, 2, or 3) in this OOC topic and I'll answer it!

IC: Grime | Fort Nektann "I know a place where we can talk. Follow me." Grime led Korruhn away from the party and into the metal and stone hallways of the fortress itself. They arrived at the garage. ACRs rested in their bays along the walls, charging wires attached and tools scattered about with little regard to work efficiency. War rigs were parked throughout, and their tires covered in red mud and black sand. At this hour the garage was empty but the bay doors were still open with a view of the canyons and desert beyond. Korruhn could see the still smoking wreckage of the Ambling Alp sticking out of a slowly shifting dune. Grime gestured towards the pens where matoran sized sand worm grubs wriggled in piles of compost. They were purple and yellow in color, with armored plating covering their topsides. Grime walked over, sitting on the rail to be head height with Korruhn, then turning away to face the pens. The grubs belched foul gasses as they ate. He patted the top of one grub, and it wriggled away into the compost out of sight. Moonlight cut through the upper windows of the garage, shedding silver light in focused beams that made the untouched spaces seem even darker. "It's amazing to think one day these grubs will be adults and pull skakdi war rigs," Grime said. "It was one of Boss's ideas: steal grubs from Shagrak and use them to travel the desert. I wonder if they'll live now that Barius is in charge. Gore could just as likely be cooking them tomorrow." OOC: @Crimson Jester

Site's haunted

IC: Grime | Fort Nektann He stared at the dark being who requested his presence. Korruhn said he wanted music, alone and in private. Grime lived among skakdi, among aspects, and among toa too long before. He knew what that truly meant. They all saw Grime as little more than an easily exploitable tool. He was not cherished. Disrespect was normalized over the centuries. Grime served. He saw the same emotion in Korruhn's eyes and posture now: greedy. He looked in the direction of Drukarus and saw him sitting by Barius. Korruhn watched Grime stare and wait. Then Grime nodded softly as an answer and rose from his stool. "I know just the place. It has a little balcony where you can see the stars, and we can be left alone. Follow me?" Grime waited for Korruhn's answer. It was just them in the corner now, Caedast having long since wandered away in search of sandwiches. OOC: @Crimson Jester IC: Reliable Narrator | Kini-Nui As Sorilax lay on the Suva-Kaita, he felt no connection to the shrine. Instead, he felt helpless, only able to concentrate on what remaining strength remained of his true form to remain conscious. The lights on the Suva-Kaita flickered. The shrine began to turn, to rise upwards again through the spiraling staircase. It traveled back towards Kini-Nui far above, Sorilax still on top of it. Eventually, he felt the warmth of sunlight returning. How long had he been down in the darkness? The shrine came to a stop, sealing the way below, in the full light of the afternoon. Sala was nowhere to be seen. ... Sidra Nuva felt the warmth of the afternoon sun, heard the sounds of jungle rahi, and felt the cool wind off a silver lake surrounding an ancient temple down in the valley's center. She could see through the portal to the Elemental Ruins of Ice, although the shapes of Leklo and Ultann beyond the veil looked like watercolor paintings. The smell of trees untainted by the marshy waters of the Day Swamps, brought back pleasant memories of her old life before the end of her world. She felt her eyes drifting across the landscape. She saw a semi-circular dome rise up in the center of the temple, a golden being laying across it. She saw another rippling portal near the golden being, a flickering white matoran sitting by it. Strangely, the rippling portal was entrapped in a broken shape she knew too well: Nuparu's machine. OOC: I am behind (page 131) and catching up. @Kal the GuardianGuardian, @Nato the Traveler