Unreliable Narrator

I'm "hoping" to have time to read this week :p

You do this to me on the day I'm working 13 hours and am powerless to respond? How cunning.

From The Desk: A good week! I've been noticing a lot more narrative and social role playing that's exploring more and more of the game themes, and that's really cool to see! I also love watching you all create these really cool plots to slowly advance your villages and increase the overall chance of survival! Weekly Recap 8/10 - 8/16: In Metru-Koro we see the end of the fighting and the exploration of what comes next, both in terms of peace treaties and in terms of reconciliation. Mazor explains his take on the Krom Sphere from SKE. Very neat. Viltia and Sidra continue to work on advancing the kanoka crafting of Le-Metru Nuva in the evenings while they work to protect the village and explore the swamps during the day. Cravious announces his desire to be desecrated, and Whira answers! The Rig prepares to face the wrath of a tahtorak. The fight with Pridak begins it's epic conclusion! Barius celebrates! The warskaks dine by Irnakk's Tooth and celebrate his victory. The toxic lake continues to show there's something more to it than meets the eye as both Korruhn and Axxon are changed by its waters. Speaking of Korruhn... Korruhn finds his way to the Far Shore. While his visit is brief... dis gon be gud. Several characters arrive at the ruins of air in the fau swamps! What treasures and dangerous traps await them? Sorilax and Sala continue to uncover secrets in the Air suva temple, including the taboo for rahkshi creation. Favorite Moment of the Week: Okay, I'm loving, LOVING, the overall shift going on where you are all beginning to explore the emotions of your characters and the various social structures that existed in SKE. I know those aren't easy topics, and it's really beautiful to watch differing character perspectives begin to come to a consensus (in the case of Metru-Koro) or for characters to show what they prioritize and why (in the case of Le-Metru Nuva).

IC: Reliable Narrator | Far Shore “Who am I,” the matoran echoed, eyes half closed in contemplation. “Who are any of us, really? But your friend there knew me by a name not so long ago.” Korruhn’s arm twitched, and before his eyes he watched it speak. “NU..JU…” “Yes,” Nuju replied. “I was Nuju. But we’re so much more now. Just like you, in a way: you’re so much more than you thought you’d ever be. And now you’re wondering what it was all for.” He stood up, and a sneer crept across Nuju’s mask. “And that’s just delightful.” Nuju walked away, the rippling water beneath his feet echoing his footsteps. As his figure faded into the mist beyond the shore, Korruhn heard his words faint as distant rumblings of thunder; “We’ll meet again, Korruhn. If Tren Krom wills it.” A particularly large wave of dark water rose up and washed across Korruhn’s body, and the phantasmal being holding him down let go. Before he got a chance, the tide took him, and he found his body washing back onto the shore of the living, his destiny forever changed. OOC: @Crimson Jester, @~Xemnas~, @The Captain, @EmperorWhenua, I'll get Axxon up asap.

IC: Nixie | Reliable Narrator Honestly, she didn't know how to react. These two definitely spoke with more context than she possessed. She understood the talk on protodermis though! When she didn't spend her education staring out her apartment window through a telescope she actually learned. Thinking about it, she wondered if her apartment still stood in the ruins of her old home, or if trying to go back was a pointless act. The last time she went home ended so poorly she didn't know if she could take a second disaster. She ate some of the snacks Sorilax provided and ruminated on what her new companions talked about. "Prayer," Nixie said after the two stopped talking and remembered she existed. "We used prayer and precision Ga-Metru engineering. My history professor Nokama said energized protodermis required something more." OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147

@Sparticus147, thanks for the question! Below is how the rules for Advanced Combat Rigs (ACRs) treat elemental powers from the rules: "Due to the nature of the interface with the ACR, pilots do not have access to elemental abilities while plugged in." I see how kraata powers are kind of a grey area, so it's great you brought this up. I believe a kraata is imbuing the PC with a form of elemental or ability power as opposed to providing a breed quirk, and therefore the power does not extend to the ACR. However, I or Vezok's Friend would be happy to look into approving some sort of custom ACR modification after your ACR visited a garage that swapped out one of the current weapon systems for some technological doodad that allows kraata powers to be utilized by the ACR. Hope this helps!

IC: Reliable Narrator | Nowhere Korruhn's perspective shifted as something pushed him into the sand, the same unseen entity whose handprints he desperately avoided, and pulled back his head until his eyes faced the lake. He couldn't escape no matter how hard he struggled. In the periphery he saw the long lines of shambling dead, lost to wander throughout causality. A matoran in white armor filled his view, walking across the water of the lake. Small ripples echoed out over the waves with each footstep. At last the matoran reached him, bending down until they were face to face. Something wriggled behind the matoran's mask, and Korruhn couldn't be sure it was a face. For a moment he saw the matoran covered in wounds, his head battered in. Just as quickly, the wounds vanished. The matoran reached out and placed a hand on Korruhn's jaw, feeling the edge of the mask with a sad expression. Korruhn's right arm began to twist and shake, spasms filling him with a sharp pain as the arm tried to move on its own without success. Finally, the matoran spoke. His words sounded like an echo carried from far away on a cold winter wind; "Welcome to the Far Shore, my darkened star. I'm glad to see you brought our mutual friend with you." Ooc: @Crimson Jester

My personal disappointment was the overall poor quality of stories and the massive plot holes in lore after 2003. I hate how the makuta ended up. Hate it.

Volcanic activity is a great idea!

IC: Reliable Narrator, Sorilax | Air Suva Sorilax couldn’t look away. The symbol, like a melody hummed for hours without thought, couldn’t be ignored. Without his knowledge or choice his hand reached out, slowly and shaking, to touch the carved taboo… Goodbye Tortured is the heart that lies empty Full is the belly of the beast A shell protects the broken yolk Sleep is better than peace Hello In his mind Sorilax saw the flashing of memories of armored warriors piloted by kraata. He saw the intricate details of these dogs of war, and felt their name come unbidden from him into the jungle air: “rahkshi.” The word itself felt like a burning of the land, and the surrounding rahi seemed to silence at the very mention of such a vile creation. But Sorilax, for all that he wished he couldn’t, now knew one thing perfectly: how to create rahkshi of his own. The taboo symbol burned itself into the palm of his armor, etching the knowledge permanently as it faded from its previous home in the artwork on the side of the suva. ... Nixie shuffled uncomfortably in place. She couldn't help but notice how adamantly attentive to detail her new two companions were. Granted, they were so attentive she was starting to feel a bit... concerned? Worried? Jealous? "So, what's a ... what you said? Sounds ominous. Or is food?" OOC: @Sparticus147 and @Kal the Guardian. Keep your eyes peeled for a PM, Kal. IC: Axxon | Destroyed Fortress When Axxon resurfaced, he did so as a screaming, howling man unable to admit defeat. Something clung to his back inside him, like a caged and unwanted child. Axxon’s hands, large before in their gauntlets, now became the defining visible feature of his defilement. Silvered bands of liquid protodermis slowly cooled and burned themselves into his frame. His body absorbed the blood of a dead god, drinking readily of the curses. It fed him, and tainted his soul. He strode from the water, nearly double Atamai’s height. The untethered who existed beneath the waves in their undeath slowly flaked off him as they left the cursed waters. His kanohi rode would forever hide a dark secret: while he could no longer remove his mask as it burned into his body, his new third eye would never look upon the sun. Instead, it forever gazed into the darkness behind the mask of truth. The surf broke against his ankles, and his halberd high in one tortured grip he screamed into the night his pain and rage. Those nearby could only hope he might turn a run, sparing them the sacrilegious damnation they deserved for witnessing such a sight. “Give. Me. The. Disks,” Axxon howled. Pain blinded his actions, and he charged bullheaded towards where he thought Atamai might have landed... OOC: @~Xemnas~, @EmperorWhenua, @The Captain, @Crimson Jester

Hey all, I'm working on collecting the possible "regional effects" for hexes so that we can have them all in a single place. Please submit ideas in OOC topic or let me know if I missed one already! Radiation Poisoning: characters in the area suffer radiation damage and begin to die. They must seek immediate medical attention upon leaving area of effect. Rainfall: the region is flooded with torrential rain, swelling rivers, washing away homes, and generally causing a bad time for those stuck in the area. Characters in the area must seek high ground or learn to swim. Shadow blight: all characters in an area affected by shadow blight are unable to summon their elements.

Okay, so now that BattleBots Metru Nui edition is a thing... Place your bets?

IC: Nixie | Fau Swamp, Air Suva “Yes, something to write with would be great. I haven’t been able to get reception for my iStone out here in the… well wherever here is,” Nixie replied to Sorilax’s questions about supplies. “Some food would be good too, thanks. I haven’t had anything decent to absorb energy from or eat since Metru-Koro. And there’s certainly been nothing worth trying to document for editing later.” She accepted what Sorilax offered even while turning her attention to the space around them. There was a lot she wanted to say, and honestly not any reason to speak. However, the matoran in the weird looking warsuit did ask a question. It’d be rude to ignore him. The old her probably would have ignored him. New world, new… Nixie. “I found this hole,” Nixie gestured at the pit trap, “which is good. Because now we know where the hole is. I also found out there’s matoran lettering on the walls, but the words talk about something I don’t know. Something about change and impermanence and cycles and Kaita. You wouldn’t happen to have any ideas of what “see with eyes unclouded” would mean, would you?” Sala’s investigations along the base of the suva proved delightfully rewarding with the revealing of several small panels of distressed mural paintings. The panels showed images of rahi in flight, some ridden by dark swirling clouds. In the next panel over the rahi lay on the ground, defeated by a group of figures Sala only could imagine as toa. However, further inspection of future panels revealed six strange looking bipeds, with tall spinal crests and strange staff-like tools in their hands standing atop the toa from the prior panels. At last, the final panel Sala revealed a large being made of three of the toa standing triumphant and surrounded by a crown of stars. A symbol had been carved into the chest of the large being: a strange looking eight pointed star. It glowed with a dark luminescence, and seemed to call to something deep within Sala’s subconscious. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147 IC: Reliable Narrator | Fau Swamp, Ruins of Air Whisper and Taja made their way through the swamp unsure if they escaped any harmful effects of the poisonous light. Little did Taja know her dip in the waters of the toxic swamp exposed her to a terrible fate: Corodi. In a week she would experience symptoms of chest pain, and the occasional painful breath. Months later, if Taja survived that long, she’d find herself having trouble breathing at all as her lungs turned to glass. Whisper, for all her powers, could not spare Taja this fate. Scaling a tall patch of roots, Taja and Whisper found himself staring out into the dead of night and a moonlit clearing There, in the center, rose a massive ruin of stone and vines. It looked like a grand ziggurat bisected, with the flat surface covered in hieroglyphs unknown to Taja. Closer inspection with illumination would reveal them to depict matoran offering prayers and platitudes to higher powers. At the top of the ziggurat Whisper made out a large gong glinting with the moonlight filling the clearing. She knew the gong well, though she’d never heard its voice. A large rectangular doorway at the base of the ziggurat awaited without a door to stop them... OOC: @Nato the Traveler, @Eyru IC: Nektann, Tahtorak of Rain | Nearing the Eastern Shore The tahtorak of rain continued his wake of destruction and mournful downpour ever closer toward the shore, and the Rig. Soon, the storm clouds on the skyline heralded the coming destruction, and all in The Rig heard the baleful roar. The roar brought fear to the heartiest raiders and sailors, and many rushed to their boats, hoping to free anchor and sail out to see to escape the coming tempest from the depths of Irnakk's Tooth. Others, chose to stay and do their best to stave off what damage might be inflicted to their hope. For all, it was the final moment before the storm: to fight, or to flee? OOC: If you have a character at The Rig, time to make your choice. Are you staying, or are you running?

What? No.... That's too simple. QUICK EDIT: Hey all, if you have a character at the RIG, now is your time to choose whether or not you wanna fight a tahtorak. He comin'.

A quick reminder... Ehlek tinkers, Part 1 Ehlek Tinkers, Part 2 ... Get ready for 3

IC: Reliable Narrator | Viltia's Discoveries The toa of the green, as fresh as a new blooming bud to her powers of control over plants, breathed her consciousness into the deep stretching roots of the trees and flowering plants nearby. She felt the long patches of moss shuffle softly in the faint humid breeze. Metal, a foreign substance she couldn't feel directly but rather felt through the bending and twisting of the plants around it, extended deep into the hill. In fact, the more she focused, the more she came to believe that after a few inches of plants and accumulated dirt the whole hill -- all fifty plus paces of it -- was a giant hunk of metal. She didn't feel any reason for it not to be as he mind followed the twisting plant roots. In her mind's eye she got the sense whatever they were standing on was shaped vaguely like a massive toa's foot. ooc: @Kal the Guardian, @Nato the Traveler

@Kal the Guardian, yes, "Nixie" said her name is Nixie. And yes, there is a "Nixie" in Metru-Koro. Good catch.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Air Suva “Nice to meet you both. I’m Nixie. I, uh, study stuff. And no, not a local.” Nixie laughed. “Do I already look that grubby? Don’t answer that, that was rude of me. Sorry it just slipped out. You know how things just sort of slip out.” She paused awkwardly after accepting her bag back and slipping it onto a shoulder. To break the tension she looked away from Sala and instead let her gaze pan around the inside of the temple. “So, uh, nice space huh? Lots of stuff to, uh, study.” The only trap Sorilax noticed when reaching out to the shadows in the floorboards was the trap already discovered by Nixie's careless act. The floorboards rotted most in that section, and in all honesty it could have been more the age of the place than an actual malevolently designed device. However, his tendrils of shadow did brush against some foreign agent of dark design hiding beneath the vines covering the suva. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147 IC: Axxon | Abandoned Fortress Axxon parried the blow of Atamai’s hammer, sparks flying into the twilight sky like little fresh-born stars. He noted for a moment something strikingly familiar about its design, but in the heat of battle couldn’t place where the familiarity came from. He lunged, parried, and spun his weapon about with practiced ease, trying to back Atamai up towards the edge of the fortress. If he could get Atamai off balance, he could grab the disks and let the toa fall into the lake. What harm would falling into a lake do? Yet his opportunity did not present itself, instead a dark shadow rose before him, its head replaced by shackled hands in supplication to the heavens. A mighty arm of puppeteered darkness crushed through the walls of the fortress in a powerful swipe, knocking Axxon off his feet and away from Atamai into the air with the building debris. The second floor of the already damaged fortress turned to splintered wood, twisted metal, and shattered concrete. Axxon felt a sharp burning cut against his outer thigh as he flew from the impact, Leklo’s swords finding their mark on the airborne target. Axxon sailed up, felt weightless for a moment, then descended back towards the earth until, with a splash, he descended beneath the waters of the bubbling lake… He never knew such burning pain... OOC: @~Xemnas~, @EmperorWhenua, @The Captain, @Crimson Jester

IC: Reliable Narrator | Fau Swamp, Sidra and Viltia Viltia was right, something had fallen here. Not recently, oh no not recently. Centuries ago. Hundreds of centuries ago. They may not have noticed it, but the specific marshy pond they walked around for several minutes during their search was, in all actuality, a footprint. Just beyond rose a little hill in the marsh: the foot itself. Now all that remained was the occasional bit of moss-covered metal littering the ground, or wrapped up deep in the trunks of banyan trees and their many tangling roots. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Nato the Traveler

It's honestly a treat to read.

IC: Reliable Narrator | Air Suva "Uh, yes thank you," she replied as they helped her up. There was an expectant pause after she dusted herself off. The two got a decent look of the ga-matoran now that she wasn't attempting to run and hide. Silvery scars from some old burn wound, possibly acid, spider webbed across her left shoulder and neck. Her kanohi hau looked slightly off color to the rest of her blue and grey armor, but still had the silver paint of a Metru-Nui made mask. She looked between the two of them for a moment, then said; "So... Who are you? Obviously you're not a local. All the locals have been trying to sting me, bite me, ride me, or drown me." She slapped a small buzzing instead in the air. It didn't seem to mind and kept on flying. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147, a quick interaction post for the two of you! For those waiting on Axxon, Leklo and Ultan get priority before Axxon if they want to add something in. Otherwise, I'll post Axxon once I got time.

IC: Barraki Ehlek | Le-Metru Ehlek chuckled. He loved watching the glowing receivers glitter with their little LEDs. He loved observing the transmitters flicker and click audibly as their circuits pulsed with electrical currents. The machines spoke, if you just watched for a little bit. Kind of like the seaweed moving at the bottom of the ocean, or the currents of water carrying so much knowledge. Sure, he could look at a monitor and watch the lines of command text zip quickly by as it executed. But reading the letters wasn't quite the same as learning to interpret the heartbeat. With his new arms he worked quickly on solving a small toy found in the debris of Le-Metru. The toy seemed to be some sort of multi-color block. It was one large cube made up of smaller cubes that all turned in three planes horizontally and vertically. He liked getting all the colors on a side to match. He wasn't sure the matoran who owned it before realized they could do that, but he enjoyed the novelty of his discovery. As his new mechanical arms played with the cube, Ehlek focused his original pair and most of his attention on his latest work: Mantax. No, Mantax couldn't be revived. Not physically, anyways. Ehlek tried. He tried several times, but even he couldn't return his friend. He could, however, access his friend's memories. He gently poked the little crystal on his desk. The glow inside flickered softly. Small soldered wires ran from it to the head of his friend. Progress, like time, marched ever forward. Some things could be salvaged, even in death. Not everything, but enough. He knew where to get the rest… Ehlek placed a sharp nail on the growing crystal and slowly dragged it down to product a horribly high pitched sound. “I wonder how Pridak’s doing...” IC: Reliable Narraor | Fau Swamp, AIr Suva Sala and Sorilax walked up the steps and through the arched open doorway to stand in a sandstone temple, approximately fifty paces in diameter, with a vaulted conical ceiling. Near the far wall Sorilax noticed the glimmer of sunlight on a few rusty spoons. A surprised brakas monkey whooped and climbed away along the walls out of sight. Open archways around the perimeter of the temple let in the smells and sounds of a jungle in mid morning. A tropical bird Sala never heard before let out an elaborate mating call. They could hear the croaking of frogs and the buzzing of insects from outside, though significantly muffled. In the center of the room rose a stone suva, with overgrown plants covering its surface. A strange sapling made its home on the very top of the suva, the limbs contorting and bending in strange angles. From one angle it looked like a sickle, and from the other a straight vertical line. While these sights and sounds and smells came unbidden to the two explorers, another muffled sound assaulted them from below. Looking down Sala could see the rotted wood patch of flooring near the entryway gave way to reveal an open pit trap containing a very dazed ga-matoran. OOC: @Kal the Guardian, @Sparticus147

Happy Monday! From The Desk, We. Hit. 100. Pages. Yes! We did it, we broke into the triple digits for SKR in early August! I wasn't sure it would be possible, but it's cool to see it happen. Thanks all for playing, and for continuing to work on being a collaborative group. As a personal note, I am working overtime this week. Lots of overtime. Expect less interaction from me while that is happening, though I will due my diligence to continue to stay up to date on the happenings, and even post if at all possible! Weekly Summary The Ruins of Fire rooms have been fully opened! Congratulations to those who worked hard on those puzzles. Barius announces the need to feed! A might feast for Barius's triumph with the warksaks begins, even as his new tahtorak lumbers off towards... The Rig? Cravious and Gore continue their food-loving adventures, dragging in more fine folk to help them in their quest for ingredients and components in the Fau Swamp! The skies of Metru-Nui cease to be filled with combat Dar Poroka flies away on his newfound tentacle wings, and those aboard his ship make a safe extraction. Taja and Whisper explore not just the road south to the Fau Swamp, but what it means to be alive. Le-Metru Nuva continued it's progress towards unlocking the secret to forging great kanoka with the help from a new ally. Atamai comes back to the future with an unwelcome guest: Axxon. Their debate turns to blows, with Atamai joined by some old new friends who happened to be traveling North. Sorilax and Sala explore the Fau Swamp, finding the air suva and a surprised matoran! Pridak's armor is destroyed, and the fight seems to near a terrifying conclusion... Favorite Moment of the Week: I'm loving... LOVING... the philosophical introspection by Whisper and Taja. I'm loving... LOVING... Viltia and Sidra. Generally, the Fau Swamp is getting some descriptive love over the past week or two and I'm here for that.

Solid no for paid knock offs for many legal reasons involving copyright and IP. Free and fan-made parts for home use that do not infringe on the IP or copyright law? Sure!

Definitely Po-Koro. Stone ruins near the ippy tippy top of the center north of the island. It's just a hex or two to Po-Koro, and two or three to Metru-Koro.