Crimson Jester

IC: Korruhn, Piraka Fortress Korruhn let Leklo take his own weight and draw his weapons earnestly, despite the crushed mask and other ailments he now bore from the vicious assault by Axonn. The Shadow Toa from Ko-Metru had great admiration for his ally and fellow Ko-Metruvian; a bond that ran far deeper than the common homeland. Leklo, even before becoming a Toa, bore a quality that no amount of power of protodermis could generate: heart. He had never seen a being with such pure heart and spirit, unfazed by any obstacle set in his path, no matter how insurmountable through any other lens. Leklo himself may not have yet noticed his greatest power, but Korruhn knew. He smirked quickly to his friend, before returning his attention to the maelstrom before them. The Winds of Chaos whipped violently through the barren, unprotected lands of the beach. They were not tangible winds, unable to be felt grazing the fingers, or flittering the cloak. They didn't carry cold, or dust; ice or snow. They could not be seen, although they darkened the sky. These winds brought nothing but evil, suffering, and death. But what was death at this point? By all accounts, Korruhn should be dead. The events of the last three weeks had tried to kill Korruhn with great vigor, and there were times he wasn't honestly sure how he survived. When Metru Nui fell... he awoke here, but Korruhn still didn't know how he actually got here. Or yet, where here even was. What was this land called Zakaz? It was assumed to be just another island, but was it really? The pieces didn't fit. And then the Far Shore? Nuju? Nothing made sense anymore, that was for sure. Perhaps nobody survived the fall of Metru Nui, and this is just some strange limbo, or even the realm of Karzahni himself? A bloodcurdling sound emanated from the direction of Axonn and the creatures behind the firewall, seemingly coming from all at once, although only one's mouth moved. The sound was grotesque, a mixture of a gurgling growl, a Kane-Ra on the hunt, and the tortured scream of a Matoran; a combination of sounds that would surely crush the resolve of all but the strongest of wills. But Korruhn was one with the shadow, one with death itself, and he knew they would guide him on the hunt. His arms reached up to his shoulders, and pulled the pair of jagged khopesh from their scabbards, the gold veins in the blades shimmering in the light of the firewall. From beneath the depths of his hood, light danced across the melted golden surfaces of his mask. He tightened the grip on his blades, and shook out his shoulders and neck. The first of the beings breached around the firewall, moving erratic and staccato, it's head jumping to and fro in search of feed. The jagged claws tipping the creature's fingers clacked and snapped, ready to grip any prey unlucky enough to get within range. As it saw Korruhn, it turned, and immediately rushed, driven solely by bloodlust and violence. Korruhn dodged the first claw, a right hand sweeping for his face, by dipping his shoulders and head under the arm, and back up as quickly. He recovered, but a hair too late as the second claw tore into the front of his chest. Korruhn reeled in time to avoid a grab, but the claws had shredded his chest plate. The beast teetered back on the follow-through from the second shot, and Korruhn kicked it in the hip, sending it spinning, and he quickly followed up with a slash from his left blade, slicing the creature up the left side of his ribs from hip to armpit. Korruhn quickly backstepped, ensuring he had a few arm's length between he and the beast, at least enough time to read it's next move. As expected, the beast immediately reacted, throwing it's arms wildly in a desperate attempt to inflict any sort of damage, for the claws to taste the dew of blood. It rushed, and so did Korruhn. The creature's hands instinctively reached out at shoulder level, hoping to bear-hug Korruhn. But instead, Korruhn dropped and slid, driving his khopesh out in front of him with all of his might. The blades pierced tangible flesh, but almost immediately, the creature turned to dust. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @The Captain @EmperorWhenua @~Xemnas~

IC: Korruhn, Piraka Fortress Korruhn flew backward through the air, propelled by the force of Ultan's blast striking Axonn's mutated, battered form. He hit a low chunk of wall jutting out like a finger from the bed of sand, and came to an immediate--and painful--halt. He grimaced, not entirely sure how to respond to the cacaphony of synaptic responses signalling to his brain the litany of wounds he'd attained in his assault on Axonn. The pain blinded, and yet, Korruhn pushed to his feet with all his might. Adrenaline coursed through Korruhn's system, a combination of war adrenaline and sheer astonishment at the amount of damage he managed to put into the Titan before being repelled. He had seen the armor crack, punch after punch, Axonn's insides or whatever they were writhing inside. Protodermis still splattered Korruhn's entire silhouette from the flurry, and his arms burned from the weight of the battering rams he'd had affixed to his arms, which had crumbled in the assault. He groaned, and looked around him. Leklo. The Toa knew his friend was wounded, and wished he could have attended him sooner, but the push to suppress Axonn would buy he and his friends a few more precious moments. He ran to the downed Toa, and grabbed him firmly under the shoulder, lifting him to his feet. "You're alright, get up." Korruhn said, trying to inject as much hope into his inflection as possible to get Leklo back in the fight. He was no medic, but he knew how to get the Alpinist going. "I've never seen a mountain knock you down that you didn't get back up and conquer." He grabbed the now-standing Toa, and began to walk him back to the battlefield, until he could stand again on his own feet. As he did, Ultan called out to him, rallying the two Toa back to battle. Korruhn turned to Leklo. "You can switch out your mask with the Suva until we fix this one. Think you can hold in there 'til we can topple this mountain?" OOC: @EmperorWhenua @The Captain @~Xemnas~ @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Korruhn, ruined fortress The situation was dire. After journeying to the strange, nightmarish realm known as the Far Shore, and speaking to the battered corpse (?) of Nuju, Korruhn didn't think things could get much weirder... or worse. And yet, another day on Zakaz. Atamai and Axonn shouted between blows, yelling about the discs again. Korruhn's brain honed in, suddenly coming back to focus. The discs. The temple. NUVA. If Korruhn could get them out of here, if they could distract Axonn long enough to get to the speeders, they could get away from this titan, they could get the discs safe. And most importantly, they could finally start to unravel the mystery of this island. As Korruhn finally gathered himself, the titan grabbed Leklo by the face and flicked him aside like a miniscule lightbug. "Leklo!" He shouted his name in anguish, although he knew it would fall on deaf ears, especially if he couldn't take some of the heat off of his friend. He looked around, searching for something, anything in the crumbled ramparts to give him an advantage over this fearsome being. The blood of Mata Nui had greatly enhanced his range and raw power, so Korruhn would need a two-fold counter. Spotting a pile of large foundation stone to his left, Korruhn moved to it, and observed the pile. One massive stone seemed like a perfect artillery piece, and two below it still had thick chains embedded deep into their cores. He knew his plan. Summoning all of his gravitational strength and the powers of his Kanohi Calix, Korruhn lifted the first stone clean over his head. It was an awesome sight as the shadow Toa lifted the stone, larger than he was, and with unbecoming might, heaved it high into the air, hurtling toward Axonn with great force. Barely stopping to take a breath, Korruhn drunk of the shadow of the night, enticing its power into his being. The shadow flowed through him, and he felt imbued with power yet again. Korruhn reached down to the other two stones. They were rectangular, of rough concrete, and slightly larger than the cumulative mass of Korruhn's forearms and hands. He wasted no time in taking the chains and lashing them to his forearms. Channeling the forces of gravity again, Korruhn rose to his feet, and took off full speed toward the titan. His resolve was as strong as ever, his stance unwavering. It was a terrifying sight, a Toa imbued with the blood of the Great Spirit himself, melted and twisted, with two large stones strapped to his arms. And even further terrifying to think what could happen if his artillery, or stone fists make contact... OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Unreliable Narrator @The Captain @~Xemnas~

IC: Korruhn, somewhere between nowhere and there The battle Korruhn had left behind while on his trip to the Far Shore resumed its ferocity the moment the bestial form of Axonn had reemerged from the shining pool of Mata Nui's tainted lifesblood. So ferocious, it was, that nobody noticed the sharp crack of thunder, and a jet black finger of lightning reach down from the sky, prodding the protodermis lake before returning from whence it came in the blink of an eye. So ferocious, it was, that nobody saw the single wave on an otherwise settled lake, cast off from the lightning's point of impact, moving hastily toward the base of the fortress. So ferocious, it was, that nobody saw as the black hands from below threw the Toa known as Korruhn back up onto the shore, and retreat back into the lake. Korruhn gasped, a combined reaction to not only the protodermis in his lungs and flesh, searing and burning every inch of his body inside and out, but to the sudden return to the world of the living, and the strange implications of his visit to Nuju and the... Far Shore. Korruhn had known Nuju rather well back in his days as Cartographer, sometimes even working directly with him to interpret runes, or guide his path. But the last time Korruhn had heard mention of Nuju was a far cry from that. The Cartographer had never forgotten that moment, deep in the heart of the Hideaway of Ko-Metru. He fired the reconstitute disc, with naivety and and without thought, and the Abomination rose from the crumpled carrion on the floor. And in that moment, as it gripped Korruhn's wrist, it spoke to him. Nuju, no! Those words were burned into Koruhn's head as deeply as the acid burned into his flesh and armor now. Korruhn cried out, the agonizing feeling of the vestiges of the toxic protodermis lingered on his flesh even now suddenly reaching the forefront of his conscious thought. His body burned, a deep flame cut through him like no other sensation. Tendrils of smoke rose from the writhing body of the Toa as the protodermis cooled on his flesh, leaving veins of dark gold throughout his form. He rolled desperately in the sand, writhing and screaming, until the sand had finally absorbed the heat and the liquid protodermis. Now that he could focus on something other than agony (although the pain was still intense, he could a least manage now), the Shadow Toa opened his eyes, hoping to see more familiar surroundings. And he did. The lake was devoid of ghostly silhouettes, the world had color to it. Despite all the pain, Korruhn could at least find momentary comfort in being back here... wherever here was. Was it really comforting? The more he thought of it, the more he reaized he knew about as much of their current location as he did of the Far Shore. The frame of the Shadow Toa slowly rose from a laying position on the beach. His arms and legs strained with effort; searing pain shot through them with each movement. But slowly, the Toa got to his knees. And that's when he heard the blood-curdling roar. Looking to his left, outside the walls of the fortress he reemerged in, he could finally see the aggressor they had encountered. He was massive; twice the size of a Toa, with hands the size of speeders, and a massive halberd that looked very familiar with the art of cleaving people in half. And in front of him, were Leklo, Ultan, and Atamai. They needed Korruhn's help. "GIVE. ME. THE. DISKS." The mutant's angry shouts startled Korruhn, not for their tone, but for the last word. Korruhn's eyes widened. Disks. The Suva. Ruins of Ice. Destiny. Since arriving in this accursed land, Korruhn had begun to question Destiny. Had he failed his? Was Destiny even a real concept, or was the world just unbridled chaos, and destiny a false beacon of hope for those with aspirations for more? But with all of the Karz they had been through in the last weeks, all of the aimless wndering, all of the hopelessness, Korruhn, for the first time, felt in tune with Destiny. He felt the veins of time and path flow through and beyond him, and they would carry him to victory. The pain seemed miniscule now, in comparison to the power of his newfound purpose. With a final heave, Korruhn rose from his knees to his full height. It may have been Destiny, it may have been Energized Protodermis; Karz, it could have been a combination of but, but, regardless, Korruhn appeared taller than before, and his musculature slightly expanded. His armor, although marked with the scars of battle before, was now cracked and acid burned, with patches of rust breaking up the remnants of color into small chunks. Veins of dark gold ran throughout his armor and biology, and his shadow arm looked as strong, and armor as angular as ever. The cloak he fell in with seemed to have survived, still covering his frame and obscuring his features, although the white runes had now turned gold as well. He removed the hood, so as not to obscure his vision for the fight. And his mask? It seemed the Energized Protodermis had not been as kind to his mask, which appeared to have buckled in the acid, and melted to form-fit his face. What once was the mask of a chivalrous knight of old, now appeared to be a funereal effigy. A golden death mask, for a man caught between the world of the living, and the dead. OOC: Back in the realm, boys. @EmperorWhenua @The Captain @~Xemnas~ @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Korruhn, Nowhere Struggling was no use. Korruhn could never summon the might to escape whatever this was, not to mention he was in the worst physical condition he can ever recall, currently. Instead, he chose to try to figure out who this Matoran was, and what he was doing here. "What do you mean, mutual friend?" Korruhn strained to speak in his current position. "Who are you?" OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Korruhn, Protodermis lake Falling. It felt endless, the falling. The searing pain of acid breaching the chinks in his armor. The crawling of flesh as protodermis invaded through membranes, transmogrifying and defiling his physical being of its own volition. Korruhn could not bear, and all subsided as he lost consciousness. --- Waves crashed, undulating against the crumpled form of the Toa in the pitch-black sand of the beach. His body swayed gently with the lapping of the sea upon the shore. The rocking woke the being from his deep slumber, and the Toa exhaled, violently upturning lungfuls of toxic protodermis onto the sand below his face. The breeze that whipped in from the godhead toward the shore was cold and moist, thick water droplets, slicked with oil, clung to every surface around. With it, it carried a distinct miasma, not unlike the air left behind after a catastrophic event. The smell was nauseating, which both disgusted Korruhn and assisted in waking him. He stood slowly, his limbs aching from whatever had assailed him in the lake. As he opened his eyes, he began to take in his surroundings. The beach looked as it did moments before his fall, scarred and marred where combat and speeders had staked their claim. The fortress--or what remained of it-- dangled precariously over the lake now, heavily damaged from the battle. Wind whipped through it, producing a horrendous wailing sound, not unlike that of tortured souls. The sand was... black. The sky was grey. Aside from bits of green moss dotting the landscape of black hexagonal stone columns, and the very peculiar sight of a rainbow in the distance, lacking a blue vein the world through Korruhn's eyes had turned a dismal greyscale. It was then that he noticed the silence. Aside from the howling wind, Korruhn could hear not a sound. Where had his friends gone? Where was Axonn? And why had they left him here, on the shores of the lake of death? Korruhn began to step away from the shore, toward the shelter of the husk of the ancient fortress until he could come up with some sort of plan. The silence did nothing but serve to amplify the cross-chatter in his brain, and he needed to resolve that before he could get in the mindset to move forward. Korruhn had taken about a dozen steps forward when a single black handprint, large and seemingly made of the same tar he'd summoned before, appeared in the sand in front of him. A second appeared, closer to him than the last. And a third. The Toa stepped back, and began to reach for his blade. And that's when it all went to Karz. He turned to run as the handprints picked up their pace. He could hear a disembodied growling now, like a beast baying at it's prey. He ran with all his might, ducking to and fro to lose the handprints, but it seemed to know his every move. As he looked back, Korruhn's left foot collided with a stone, and he crashed into the ground. As he rolled onto his back, and looked upon the scene, Korruhn couldn't believe his eyes. Matoran, Toa Turaga. All silhouettes of black tar, all walking in the same, zombie-like state across the shore and into the lake. Before he could react, the creature bayed again and closed in. A dozen black tar silhouettes appeared to rise from the ground around him, and they grabbed at him, their clawed hands gripping him feverishly and pinning him on the ground. Korruhn thrashed and threw himself around violently, but the aggressors pulled him with unyielding power, dragging him to unknown... OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Korruhn, Piraka Fortress The ground trembled as the hulking red-and-silver frame of the aggressor fell into the sea from the collapsing fortress, sending a spray of protodermis lapping up the shores, which were now rapidly expanding due to the collapse of the fortress' outer rampart. The Shadow Toa was so focused and strained in controlling the beast he had created, that he failed to notice the precipice that he stood on was quickly becoming a diminutive island. The act of summoning the monstrosity tethered to his arms, and channeling the elemental energy necessary to produce and maintain it, was incredibly taxing on Korruhn's body and mind. With every tug at the long, jet-black sinews of tar running from his wrists to the Shadow Being, he could feel his servos and connecting muscular structure strain and grind, piston fuel beginning to boil in his veins, and muscles began filling with lactic acid to inform him that his muscles were quickly running out of oxygen. His head pounded, and if he were able to sweat, he'd have been sweating profusely. With one final pull to the right, a bead of energized protodermis licked up the side of his small island, finding provenance on his foot. The sudden sensation was enough to break the Toa's mighty concentration. With a crack not unlike a whip, the shadow tendrils snapped free from his wrists, rapidly recoiling into the body of the Shadow Being. Without guidance, and the influx of power, the Being began to teeter, it's body being shoved violently to and fro in the tumultuous current of the disturbed see that was now up to it's knees. A great, vestigial wave from the fall of Axonn crashed into the Being's left side, already cambered, hitting it square in the waist. It fell to the right, but as it began to collapse into the sea, the Being began to disintegrate, it's particles seemingly defying gravity and dissipating into the shadow of night. As the carcass of the Being hit the sea, it was no more than a grain of sand. On the precipice, Korruhn's consciousness was rapidly fading; the attack had sapped every last joule of energy he had, and then some. His eyelids grew to the weight of portcullis', his muscles and servos became non-responsive, and the world around him began to spin in his optical receptors. The Toa tried desperately to fight through it, but he had no strength left to muster. The last thing his compatriots saw was the limp body of Korruhn drop to it's knees, and then fall forward, off the island and into the Protodermis Sea... OOC: @EmperorWhenua @The Captain @~Xemnas~ @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Korruhn, Leklo, Ultan Abandoned Fortress, Northern edge of the protodermis lake Korruhn's optical receptors barely had a moment to register the scene laid before them amongst the ruinous ramparts of the fortress. He had leapt from the speeder immediately, arcing high in the air and bringing his feet over his head into a graceful backflip, with the assistance of his Calix, landing on the ground near the fortress. His ears took over perception duty as Ultan's ball of light was cast forth, and his eyes were flooded with pain from the intense light. Though disoriented by the sudden onslaught of his foil element, Korruhn was enough of a tactician to know that he could take advantage of this hindrance. Standing back at his full height, Korruhn closed his failing eyes and reached out with his power, letting shadow become his eyes. As the brilliant light reached it's place in the sky in front of Korruhn, he could feel his shadow begin to grow and stretch to impossible proportions, reaching seemingly infinitely away from the light. The Shadow Toa focused all of his might and elemental energy in a two-part maneuver: first, he drew on all of the ambient shadow in the area, amassing as much elemental shadow as his form could possibly contain, and second, he channeled all of that energy into the ever-growing shadow behind him. With a mental push, he could begin to feel the ground behind him begin to rumble. The smoky shadow that normally emanated from his accursed arm turned into long, black, tarry tendrils that reached back into the hands of his shadow behind him. With a mighty tug and a war cry from the Toa, the other combatants could begin to observe the massive shadow behind Korruhn peel away from the ground to which shadows were normally bound, and take form as it did. From the blackness of shadow, the tethers of tar pulled a monstrosity, seemingly from the very bowels of Karzahni. The Shadow Being rose to full height, and loomed over the crumbled tower before them. It's form was both awesome and horrifying: entirely like Korruhn in shape, the summoned beast lacked any distinct features, in their place a constantly moving mass of thick tar. More than unsettling was the shape that appeared where the creature's head should have been: a pair of razor-sharp hands, seemingly joined at the wrist, reached out from the stump of the neck, like the hands of Karzahni himself reaching out into the tangible world, crying for freedom and power. As the Shadow Being approached the tower, the hands spread apart, emanating an utterly otherworldly, horrifying growl, embodying both pain and rage to the nth degree. Korruhn could feel the power of this... monster. He could feel it's energy pulsing through the tethers, right into his core. The Toa took a deep breath, as though to drink of the intoxicating liquor of shadow. He grinned, and swung his right arm forward, clenched wrist seemingly striking nothing. But as he did, the Abomination tethered to him swung as well, and it's massive fist tore a portion of of the fortified wall before him clean from it's buttresses. OOC: @EmperorWhenua @The Captain @Unreliable Narrator @~Xemnas~

IC: Korruhn, Outskirts of the Great Lake, north Korruhn had agreed with Leklo's sentiment about traveling into Metru Nui where the lake was thinnest; although he had faith in the resilience of his elemental Gravity, he was not sure how much of it he actually had left in his pursuit of Shadow, and he wasn't about to test that theory in any field but one of combat. As the speeders tore across the edge of the lake, the horizon began to give way to a crumbling effigy: a ruined fortress of seemingly local design, from what Korruhn could make out. It appeared as though it was quite grandiose in terms of local architecture, but it had seemingly given way in the wake of the Great Spirit crashing just south of it. Who knew what it had held before, or whether there was anything left. But the thought of checking it out, seeing if it at least had some weapons, was very tempting to Korruhn. Just then, Ultan began to speak, of the head, of the city, and the implications that came with it. Korruhn had too thought about these things, although he had tried to repress it recently, as he was trying to focus on the more immediate problems at hand. But, Ultan was right. The 'neck' of the head was not free; it had been severed. This much could be clearly deduced when looking at it. Where the rest was though, was a mystery. "It's hard to say, not only whether there are other bands of survivors still, but also where the rest of Mata Nui has gone," Korruhn paused briefly, the red satellite Ultan pointed out caught his eye. "I'm certain our trip to the city will come with more questions, but also many answers." Korruhn pondered this a moment. What answers was he really ready for at this point? "We should make a stop at this fortress. I doubt any of the locals are left, and there's a chance we might find more tools and weapons to aid in our trip to Metru Nui."

That's reasonable. But if you take all these parts and put them into one frame, it still doesn't look great, at least from where I'm standing.

Most of my points have already been mentioned, so I'll keep this short: From an outside perspective, the optics of this post just look way too convenient to be anything good. 2 months left in the game, panic sets in. Giant Rahi start coming into play in other areas of the map, Nuva devices come to play throughout the map (although very few people know of them IC), and Okuo (by no fault other than your own) has been in the Archives for a good chunk of the game. The time crunch leads to frustration, all of a sudden you have some mythical Rahi not only tamed, but as your mount, and then to top it off it conveniently drops Okuo right near where Sidra and co. have begun forging discs, and have access to a nearby temple. It may not be what you intended, but from here, it looks like you were upset about having been in the Archives for months, and wanted to make up for that as well as compensate for your character's complete lack of knowledge of the Nuva devices by conveniently getting into a fight with a 3-headed Gukko (also, why?) directly over where others are working on making discs to activate Nuva devices. Now, my biggest issue with this is that myself, EW, Nato, and others have spent a significant amount of this game on puzzles and solving them, one prize of which was finding these Nuva devices. So firstly, I understand a bit of your frustration for having a character trapped in an area for a large amount of time, and now having a time crunch. BUT, now you essentially undermine the hard work all the puzzle crews have been doing by injecting Okuo right into the middle of it, presumably out of your own frustration of trapping your character in the Archives for so long. Pulling a stunt like this makes me wonder "why did I go through the effort of solving this puzzle and uncovering the secrets, when I could just have spawned a Rahi from my posterior and teleported to someone capable of making disks and not gone through the trouble of the puzzle in the first place?" This just isn't storytelling anymore, it's like playing chess. But the thing about roleplaying is, the player and characters don't know the same thing. So I'm just really confused and frustrated by this entire scenario.

Working on my second playthrough of Death Stranding; going for 100% completion this time around. I can't believe how many stories, items, and functions I missed out on my first time around! First playthrough was about 67 hours, currently about 1/3 of the way through the main story this time and 50 hours in. This is gonna be a long haul!

"Easy Way Out" by Low Roar

Make sure you check the subforum for relevant topics before posting your own. This belongs in the Official RPG Planning Topic.

IC: Korruhn, Metru Koro outskirts It was a sinking feeling, a torrent of loss, confusion, and betrayal that swirled around the Toa's cloaked head as he watched the scene unfolding in the distant village: ships lowering in the vacuum of silence left by the end of the fight, ramparts and huts alike crumbled and smoldering; it seemed even the defense force had begun to lay down arms. The village had never been much, nor was it Korruhn's home for more than a few days, but the people within it were all that was left of his home, and now they capitulated to the League, as if they believed their maelstorm of violence, conquest and terror would suddenly cease in hopes for peace. In Korruhn's experience, the League had brought nothing but war and abject horror everywhere they went, and he couldn't even begin to fathom a scenario in which they remotely understood the concept of peace. He knew deep down, that if the League couldn't convince the citizens of Metru Koro to follow their thin line, they would force it upon them. It was their nature, and ever since they showed up in the Silver Sea, they had proved that. He was utterly sickened. In his mind, the Matoran were beings of honor and strength, not a pack of shuddering invertebrates willing to strike a deal with the first person to make their posture waver. Perhaps then, he was the different one, and not them. Korruhn's conscious mind slipped back out of the whirlpool of thoughts to catch Leklo and Ultan speaking of home. Home. Korruhn thought he knew what home was; he thought that his home was among the Matoran people, no matter where they should go. He had left his peaceful life in isolation, and took a stand, believing that his Destiny lied in defending his people from any threat to them, and by extension, a threat to his home. But now, he had no known Destiny, he had no peace. And his home; his people, had given up. Maybe then, his home was really never among the Matoran populace, but back on Metru Nui, with the only two people he could trust and believe in. His mind's eye began to draw elaborate images before him, as he had once done with his maps. He closed his eyes, and he could feel the encapsulating feeling of the icy Ko-Metru wind enveloping his torso, surrounding him in the comfortability and anonimity of blowing snows and blinding rays of light cascading off of the icy sheen that coated nearly ever surface in his homeland. From the glistening white surface rose great gleaming towers, standing as an effigy and testament to the will of the Matoran people, and their thirst for knowledge, their successes, and their unwavering strength in the face of the harshest conditions. Long, shiny tendrils tied these towers together, like the shared Destiny of the Matoran race, seemingly now long forgotten. And the ancient ruins. Although not well known to most of Metru Nui's citizenry, these silent sentinels spoke to the great history and advancement of the people, who had gone from creating elaborate and ornate geometric structures, carved with the stories and histories of Metru Nui's people, built by the bare, blistered hands of their forefathers, to the technological marvels of chute systems, networking systems, and the creature comforts most knew. He found nothing but great shame in the fact that most did not seek out the history of their people, nor did he have the time to teach it far and wide. If only he had inspired more to learn from the past, perhaps they would realize the grave mistake they were making now. "Let's finish this war once and for all. I'm in with or without you, but I sure as The Pit hope you both are with me." The words resonated through Korruhn's skull like a gong. Even if the Matoran people would not have the bravery to do what must be done, he had found the last two people left who would. A miniscule smile crossed his mask. Even if he could no longer save the Matoran people, he and his companions could ensure that Metru Nui would not be forgotten, and that the League would burn at the stake for their crimes. "Metru Nui will not be forgotten. If we have to go all the way to Karzahni to have the heads of the League on a platter, I'll gladly take my seat at Karzahni's table." With nothing but a nod of agreement between the three, they fired up their speeders, and set off toward the godhead, and Destiny. OOC: @EmperorWhenua @The Captain

Thanks for almost 2 decades of great memories, camaraderie, and creativity! Cheers to the future of this wonderful site!

IC: Korruhn, somewhere outside of Metru Koro As the snow-coated plains began to give way to the rockier crust beneath, the village-fortress of Metru Koro began to take shape, although still at a significant distance, in the optical processors of the Ko-Toa. He narrowed his lids, focusing the image on the optical receptor at the back of his eye. Something wasn't right. Smoke billowed from the village, and as his eyes adjusted, he could begin to make out ramparts crumpled like paper, and where huts used to be, bits of material scattered about. The speeders began to slow up a bit, and Korruhn could see the shapes of multiple ships: one crashed on the outskirts of the city, another, heavily damaged, lowering itself to the center of the village. His audio processing units picked up others, but his gaze was transfixed on the village. And then, the radio chimed. The communication system Sans had installed in the custom speeders began to pick up the home frequency, and automatically honed in on the signal, turning a muffled squabble into distinct voices, it sounded like two. One declared a surrender, and apparent ceasefire at the village. Another (he thought he recognized this voice, although he could not place it in the calamity in front of them), seemingly negotiating for the city, and coordinating with the aggressor, arranging the ship's landing into the heart of the village. "COWARDS! ALL OF THEM!" Korruhn shouted out as a rage began to boil within him. He clenched his blackened fist as shadow began to exhaust almost uncontrollably from his arm and mask. He couldn't believe it. He had seen so many of his friends die in defense of Metru Nui, with the thought that they could save their people. And now, their people spat in the face of the heroes by capitulating to the enemy. After all they had suffered at the hands of the League, all the pain, the suffering, the loss, the displacement, and still they continued! And now those he thought were his friends, or what was left of them, were negotiating with terrorists! Conquistadors. Violent oppressors. They deserved nothing but death for all the bloodlust they had wrought upon innocent men and women, and yet now his "friends" sought peace with the very men who had brought the war to them in the first place. He was utterly lost, and disgusted. "There's nothing left for us here," Korruhn's voice had lost it's timbre, an echoed, disembodied shell of his former self. "We can't help the village, not in this state. There's no way Sans would have allowed this; who knows what they did with him." He paused a moment, letting Ultan and Leklo take in the scene from then distant ridge overlooking the village on which they were now perched. "If we're going to do something about this, we have to get out of here and come up with a new strategy." OOC: @EmperorWhenua @The Captain

IC: Korruhn, Ultan, and Leklo - Somewhere between the Ruins of Ice and Metru Koro The Shadow Toa ignored the Dark Hunter, apathetic as to it's presence as it walked away toward whatever fate it would meet. He would have loved to tear the ventricle hoses from the beast for it's travesties against Metru Nui, but he knew there would be another opportunity another day. As Korruhn approached the speeder, his hands worked his way around his armor to ensure his cloak and weapons were secured for travel. Despite his new abilities, he still felt an unease about his attunement to shadow, and his ability to control it; though he knew a few swift swings of his hook swords would disembowel any foe of Metru Nui. Confident in their securement, his attention returned to the Toa, Ultan, and the man who had sent him. Korruhn had come to have a great relationship, and even greater respect, for the leader of Metru Koro. Their initial meeting had been rocky, and the Ko-Toa dismissive of the apparent aloofness of the Turaga, but as they traveled together, fought together, and lost together, Korruhn had seen a rare side of the polarizing figure: one of compassion, and respect for all walks of life. He had been the Great Uniter; his wisdom brought together some of the greatest Matoran Metru Nui had ever known, and were it not for hi actions, Metru Koro would not have existed, and who knows where the citizens of Metru Nui would be at today if it weren't for him. He couldn't wait to get back to help his friend in his vision of carving out a new life for all citizens of Metru Nui. Turning his attention back to the Toa Sans had sent, Korruhn's mind began cycling his name through it. Ultan. Ultan... The familiarity was unignorable, yet he could not place it. Leklo had recalled him, so surely Korruhn knew him too. He had met many an interesting character in his career as Cartographer, although his mind was usually consumed with the history of Metru Nui, and less so for the people. No matter. Sans had placed great trust in this man, and Korruhn would accept him as one of his own. As he mounted the first speeder along with Ultan, Korruhn began to speak. "I recall your name, friend, but I cannot place it. Did you ever spend time in Ko-Metru, in the before-time?" Ultan was caught off-guard, perplexed that the two he had been sent to recover seemed to recognize him. His life before the Great Catastrophe, the Great Calamity, the Great... he didn't know what to call it, was largely a fractured blur. He recalled vague stretches of time spent in the upper towers of Ko-Metru, where he had been close with an enclave of Ko-Matoran who shared like-minded interests. He did not recall any Toa though... "Yes... yes I believe I called Ko-Metru home for a time, in the before times," Ultan said haltingly. He watched as their third companion set off on their own course as the two Toa quickly made themselves familiar with Sans's speeders. The one with the colorful language took the smaller of the two, while the one known as Korruhn - the Cartographer - shifted onto the rear seat of his own. Once the two were settled and the coordinates were entered, the two speeders throttled back to life down the snowbanks with speed to match their haste. Though Ultan had his back turned to the Toa behind him, he could sense a strange aura radiating from his presence. He called back to him over the rev of the speeder engine: "Forgive me, my former life is a puzzle I am working out still. My landing in this strange place was... rough. I think... I think I once knew a Ko-Matoran Cartographer by the name of Kor... Are you--or were you--him?" Home. That word rattled Korruhn like a hammer blow to the side of the head. Feelings of guilt, of loss, of dare he say homelessness, crossed his mind. He recalled the gleaming spires of Ko-Metru, silent sentinels of knowledge which stood stoically over the icy landscape, watching over the ancient ruins buried and forgotten beneath. Korruhn, or the Cartographer as he once was, spent all of his time wandering the depths, studying the anatomy and the history of the illustrious city that was once his home. His maps were his life's work; anatomical diagrams of the Great Spirit himself. Until the Cataclysm, he had known nothing else other than the city, and those within it. And in an instant, the League decimated it. Eons of history, lost in an instant. A god, dead. "The Cartographer..." Korruhn hesitated briefly, as though he had not heard it's utterance in a millennia. As though he was not that person anymore. His eyes moved to his right arm, jagged and scarred. What really was his destiny? "I was." He pointed to the decapitated head of the God, slowly melting and collapsing in the acid lake beyond. "Not anymore. There is no more history to record; no more city to map." He pondered a moment, mulling over the name again. He thought he might have an idea who Ultan was, but he'd never know if he didn't ask. "I last spoke with you after I acquired... this" He pulled the cloak back from his arm, revealing the sickly hand print on his right forearm that had first entwined his destiny with shadow. A wave of deja vu swept over Ultan. In a hot flash he recalled two Ko-Matoran entering his high-off abode seeking aid in their time of crisis. One had been cursed by some affliction, his arm twisted and deformed by some curse of unknown origin. Though he had been unable to give them answers, their arrival had set him off to seek out answers elsewhere... But where had he gone? "So you are that Matoran, or were. I presume your friend here was likewise there, given he alone here seems to recall anything clearly?" He glanced over to see the Ko-Toa in question intently tinkering with his new toy between the passing blurs of snow-capped trees. "I hope you have found more answers since... I'm afraid I am little but a collection of questions nowadays." OOC: Part one of a jam post between myself, @The Captain, and @EmperorWhenua. More to follow shortly.

IC: Korruhn, Ruins of Ice As the Shadow/Gravity Toa ascended the final steps out of the cavernous temple, his eyes were greeted by an assault of harsh sunlight. It seemed like forever since he'd seen the sun, although he had never experienced it's harshness to such a degree before. He drew the rune-laden hood of his cloak further over his face, obscuring his mask more and shading him from the intensity of the Zakaz sun. He suspected his attunement to shadow was increasing his sensitivity to light, but he would have to address this issue at a later date. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out a lone Toa bearing a bright green mask, otherwise adorned in all black, and covered in runes not unlike that of Korruhn's cloak. He stood with a pair of speeders, withdrawing his hood from his face and raising his hand in the air. Korruhn recognized the figure, but he could not place him, even as he drew close to the three. He mentioned them by name, and Korruh began to put the pieces together. Two speeders; exactly what he and Leklo had had Sans procure for them while they were out at the Ruins. He was an emissary of the village, which unsettled Korruhn. Sans knew where they were, and knew they would not be returning for a few days. "Metru-Koro burns, and I have been sent by its Turaga seeking their aid." Korruhn's ice blue eyes widened with concern. This was a new development. He had witnessed the threats uttered in Sans' office, but hadn't expected Pridak to strike this quickly. He looked to Leklo, and back to the emissary. Suddenly, his thoughts turned to twisted visions of collapsing ice towers, shifting ground, the entire world collapsing around him. Pridak. Korruhn's lifeblood turned to ice in his veins, and his servos tightened. He was nothing but a vessel for his rage, and shadow began exhausting more furiously than ever before. "Korruhn. The Cartographer. I recall your name from Ko-Metru," Korruhn said, barely completing a comprehensible string of words. He would love to allow himself to feel excitement at reuniting with someone from Metru Nui. But he could not in these conditions. "We need to leave, now," He said sternly. "If we hurry we can be there in a few hours."

IC: Korruhn, Ice Ruins Korruhn had almost forgotten where he was, and the company with him, until Leklo stepped through the doorway, dim orange light from the lantern cascading across his gleaming armor. It was probably the most welcoming sight that could have come through that doorway, although he still carried an apprehension. Leklo had been his longest friend and link to the Old World, and he could not decide how he thought Leklo would react to Korruhn's new appearance and abilities. Leklo's first words spilled sloppily from his mouth, staccato and broken up by the shock. Korruhn had masked himself very well with his cloak; only his eyes could be seen piercing through the black void under his hood, and the fabric cast down his torso betrayed nothing of his new form. Despite all of this, Leklo knew Korruhn, perhaps even better than he knew himself. And although Korruhn was sure he didn't know what had changed, but the shadow Toa could not hide the fact that something had changed to his dear friend. Korruhn's interest piqued, although only briefly visible, at Leklo's words about Sidra's shadow travel. The Ko-Toa had spent a significant amount of effort since he found his fate entwined with the forbidden knowledge learning of his new skills, and augmenting them, and he could not yet discern if Sidra's ability to move through shadow would be beneficial, or a detriment to him. No matter, these were details to attend to later. At the moment, he needed to explain to Leklo what he had learned. Back on Metru-Nui, Ko-Matoran were known far and wide for their silent stoicism, not often relying on words to get their message across. Outsiders whispered of a secret telepathy shared by the denizens of Ko-Metru, but nobody outside of Ko-Metru had ever figured out what it really was: a form of non-verbal communication, relying on subtleties and nuance in both facial expressions and body language to communicate. It was almost a full language in itself, although generally shortened to morse code-esque messages. I found something here, power. Shadow. Need to get away from the Hunter. Will explain. Leklo nodded silently, acknowledging his receipt of the brief message. "Indeed," Korruhn replied to Leklo's statement, his baritone voice carrying through the chambers more than he would like. Thin wisps of shadow smoke exhausted from his mask as he spoke now, likely a side affect of the Taboo. "We've been here for too long. We have to get out of here and return to Sans, Mata Nui only knows what kind of trouble they've been up to since the incident at Sans' office." Without awaiting a reply, or the Hunter, Korruhn turned on his heels and began to make his way back out of the chamber, and back to the surface. OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Nato the Traveler

IC: Korruhn, ??? As Korruhn's hand touched the cold surface of the wall, a surge of heat and pain coursed up the length of his jet-black arm. His mind completely forgot the knee-jerk reaction to the sensation, and instead he embraced the horrible sensation, thriving in the permeation of shadow, drinking it in deeply with each breath he took. Forbidden knowledge flooded his brain as though it were a deep, dark lake, thirsty for the powers banished from this land by men and time long forgotten. In his explorer's mind, Korruhn reserved a curious optimism for such things. But an explorer's mind was not all that Korruhn possessed anymore. Ever since the fateful day at the Ko-Metru Hideaway, void sickness had been slowly worming it's way into his brain, replacing curious optimism with a lust for knowledge and power; powers with which he could take the fate of Metru Nui back into his hands, and rid this filthy island of all the scum who desecrated it. Day after day, these thoughts gnawed their way like rats from the deep recesses at the back of his mind, inching their way to the forefront. And although he knew as a former Matoran and Toa that these abilities had been shunned for a reason, he had already decided in his mind that he needed every ability at his disposal in order to restore Metru Nui and the Matoran people to their rightful place; a goal he would sacrifice anything for. As Korruhn's mind fixated, a keen observer would note subtle changes had begun to take shape on his body and armor. The jagged edges on his arm grew ever sharper, and armor hardened. Thin black tendrils wound their way across his mask, interlacing the marred white surface with the murky darkness of void sickness. Strange symbols, much like those carved into the wall and the pedestal, strange labyrinths and unrecognizable runes, appeared up the course of his arm, with one embossing itself on the forehead of his mask. His face curled into a subtle, but horrible grin. As he removed his hand from the wall, satisfied with what he had seen, he quickly pulled the cloak from the lantern and drew it tightly back over himself, obscuring the new scarring and sickly dark tendrils that now adorned them from view. The image of islands and caldera he would ponder later. For now, Korruhn felt a compulsion to gather Leklo and leave this place, before any others could discover his secrets. OOC: @EmperorWhenua @Nato the Traveler

IC: Korruhn, Ruin of Ice The light from the lantern swung to and fro, casting brief, sharp shadows throughout the room. As the shadow and light danced their dance of chase and avoidance, Korruhn began to feel the pulse, the steady flow of the shadow quickly imbuing with his vascular systems. His grip tightened around the lantern's handle as he felt the physicality of the darkness travel from the jagged tips of his fingers, winding up his arm and straight into his heartlight. With each breath he took, his lungs seemed to fill with the blackest of voids, and he drunk it in with great lust. A low, almost unegisterable deranged cackle came from the depths of his mask, and his icy eyes narrowed to the new focus in his brain. Korruhn set the lamp back in it's place, and proceeded to remove his cloak. As he placed it onto the lantern, the room suddenly turned to a murky void of shadow. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Korruhn, ??? From the next chamber over, Korruhn could hear the faint chattering of Sidra an the Administrator, violating his thoughts as he pondered all that the Administrator had provided him. His resolve seem strengthened in this moment of loneliness, and his hands found provenance on the lantern in the center of the room. He picked it up, turning it to and fro, examining it for clues. It was the only removable piece in the chamber, so he thought best to start there. As his eyes pored over the piece for clues, his mind returned to his conversation with the Administrator. "Interesting. And those who came here seeking Kroms teachings for their own motives--what did they leave behind here?" OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Korruhn He had hoped that the Dark Hunter would glance over that. Those 4 letters carved on the wall, stoic and mysterious in their unassuming silence, held what was possibly the greatest secret they had discovered. If Korruhn and Leklo could get a disc made, who knows what the two could do. But he was concerned; what would happen were Sidra to get back here with a disc first? Korruhn didn't trust her one bit, regardless of whether he respected her or not. "Well, this would be a lot less complicated if Dume were here now," Korruhn said, barely attempting to veil the slight against the Hunter. Without waiting for a response, Korruhn turned on his heels, exiting the room through the hieroglyph-laden hallway that led back into the previous chamber. "Administrator," Korruhn called out into the empty room. His mind had been half-occupied since the first chamber with the dark sigil that had painfully affixed itself to his hand, and he couldn't shake the feeling that someone--or something, put that sigil here for a purpose. And more still, Korruhn could feel it's pull; his elemental shadow felt emboldened by something in here, but without thorough investigation and a proper line of questioning, it would remain a mystery. "Who all has been in this place prior to us? Surely I'm not the first apostasized one to make it down here." OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @EmperorWhenua @Nato the Traveler