[WORLD ONE | UVI ATTACK]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The Uvi and coven members
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Day 32 & 33
Open/Closed: Open to All

For coven members who haven't been in Aimintas very long, the panic of the Palai the past few days may seem like overkill. The day goes by rather quietly and Aimintas looks like a ghost town throughout the morning and most of the afternoon. Not one Palai can be seen, with shops closed and the roads virtually empty, aside from coven members. It isn't until the sky is turning a nice shade of pink that things begin. Observant people who may be gazing up at the ocean will see the very small dots in the sky that begin to approach at a very quick speed. If you're outside, you may get to see the Uvi up close -- but perhaps not for very long. The Uvi have rubbery bones, and they hit the dirt in a curled up position, unrolling themselves and leaping up on long, scaled legs. The shortest Uvi might come in at five feet tall, but most range from six to seven. They're lithe and gilled -- you may think they want to rely on stealth, but the sound coming out of their gills is very loud and raspy. There's no way you can't hear them coming as the ominous and rapid noise follows them everywhere. Some of them are walking around empty handed, eyes scanning and striding up to buildings, banging on the outside and observing the inside of the house as much as they possibly can. Others are carrying large, bleached tools made of fish bone and teeth. Some look like long blades, while others look like long axes. These are used for cutting into doors and other violent tasks they feel the need to complete. A ▢ If your character is wandering the streets, whether of their own ignorance or because they're part of the team trying to protect/negotiate with the Palai, they're very likely to run into one of the Uvi. While left to their own devices they'll only be focused on sniffing out Palai, but they're committed to going after anything they see alive and moving. If your character confronts the Uvi, they better be prepared for an attack. B ▢ Alternatively, maybe your character is caught outside and ill-equipped to handle the Uvi. Running is an option! ...But they better be able to run fast. Maybe your character gets lucky enough to run into someone who can help them, but they'd best hope they find each other fast. C ▢ Your character may also be committed to love and justice, fighting the forces of evil with good. It's very unlikely that Palai blood goes unspilled tonight, but your character may be able to prevent it as much as possible. Just be warned: if they confront the Uvi who are trying to break into a Palai house, they're going to be in for a fight. D ▢ Other characters may already be hiding, whether in the coven house or with Palai in their own homes. They'll hear the Uvi's harsh, gasping breathing before they see them, but if they do hear that raspy noise, they'd better be quick thinkers. Whether the Uvi visiting turns into a brawl or a blood bath, eventually the Uvi will return to the ocean with Palai bodies in tow. At around 4 AM, the Uvi begin to shriek, some making noises that are too high pitched for most ears to hear. From the sky, large flying fish descend from the sky and find their masters. The Palai are hoisted onto the back of these creatures and they take off, flying back into the ocean. E ▢ If your character is committed to defeating the Uvi, they may want to try and target the large fish they'll be flying out of. It's possible to kill them in the air, but watch where they fall. They're incredibly large -- larger than the sharks and bigger fish that have fallen out of the sky before. They can also be killed on the ground, but you'll also have to do with their protective Uvi owners. F ▢ Maybe your character is more into the idea of following the Uvi back home. It's possible! Once the Uvi breach the ocean, they swim fast through the dark water for miles and miles. The journey is treacherous, and some may stop the trek to attack in the water where they're more at home. If your character makes it to their lair, they'll find that it's a dense wad of seaweed that stays static in the ocean. The Uvi are used to the toxicity of the leaves, but trying to enter means touching these leaves that leave large, skin-melting welts as they grow and burst. G ▢ Wildcard! How will your character handle this violent and volatile situation.

Comments

[storyseller]

d: nope, hiding

[Caster has often made it clear she is not meant for the battlefield. She is a performer, a storyteller. She is one who uses words to charm and sway. These Uvi are bestial folk, barely capable of communication. They are the antithesis to all she is ready to battle.

It is why she chooses to hide in the marketplace, where she knows they are unlikely to be. She has hidden under a stall, out of plain sight. But she hears the breathing, senses them approaching—

Caster summons a story: an illusion of a Palai child, who would be a new hero of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves for a new audience. The Uvi turns on the illusion and moves; Caster uses the distraction to try to move and get out of there. But the Uvi are fast, and Caster's stats are not. Help a lady out?]

g: wildcard

[hit me up here, by pm, or at mobiusloops if you want to plan anything!!]

D

[lohengrins]

[ oh shit, it's caster. he doesn't quite realize it's her until he swoops in rather quickly, flames now cutting through the Uvi. percival's sword is met with another, he pushes his weight onto his heels as he firmly barricades those behind him from his opponent. ]

Stay behind me.

[storyseller]

[It's him. A king in flames, bold and strong. A thousand and one stories flash through her mind as she watches him.]

Y-yes...

[She moves to a safer position. From here, she attempts to calculate and discern, and so she calls out the serpent queen to attack from behind and give Percival openings for his assault.]

[lohengrins]

[ percival fights the urge to glance at her in the midst of this fight -- the pressure of the uvi's weaponry against his own increases in weight, and the serpent queen provides him with some reprieve as it causes the uvi to scatter the slightest bit. with an opening now in sight, percival lunges, a small inferno blooming within the vicinity. ]

Move further back -- all of you!

[storyseller]

[Shahrazad obeys his command and guides others to move back with her. She calls up a carpet to draw them away. Even now, she generates distractions out of fables and fairytales to lessen the force bearing down on Percival, to offer him the advantage of numbers, even if each is only a fraction in strength.]

joins the D train

[bulletbiter]

[ Luckily for Caster, the Uvi are also pursued by others. In an instant, the hunters become the hunted, and Julius' sword makes barely any sound as it carves into fishman flesh. He's perhaps a little terrifying to behold in this state, his clothes stained with blood not his own - but he cares naught for appearance. Not when there's someone to save. He risks exposing her if he calls out and she replies, so he'll focus on drawing the Uvi's attention to himself. ]

Pick on someone your own size!

[ Perhaps a little ironic that battle is the only thing that lessens the pain in his nerves, for the Singularity's only urge is to destroy - maybe he'll regret it later, but for now it works in their favour.

To Caster, the glow of his soul is temporarily obscured by a greater presence - a force similar but not identical to Gaia, a heart of blue crystal.

She might need to help him before he's dogpiled by all the Uvi. Yes, he is going to tank them until they're dead. ]

[storyseller]

[JULIUS GODDAMMIT.

Her eyes widen in alarm. Gaia is impossible to misidentify, and she knows it isn't it, yet, so like it—

The terror of a bloodsoaked king is nothing compared to the loss of one who might protect. She quickly summons distractions: djinn and serpent queens, heroes on carpets, all the illusions of her stories to attack and distract. The damage isn't much, but it may weaken them enough that Julius has room to protect himself.]

[bulletbiter]

[ The fact that God Eaters have to contend with beasts many times their size on a daily basis is something not known to people here. In theory, he should come out with injuries and with his life still intact, for the Uvi were smaller than the more dangerous classes of Aragami. But there are quite a lot of them. Every sword maneuver connects with an opponent, but in return they could wall on him to try and pin him down. Caster's distraction pulling half of them off is thus a great help.

It's a good thing that he maintains control over himself in this fight, or the Uvi might be maimed to a level not suitable for looking at. The light of the Singularity pulses beneath his own soul, much like two orbiting stars eclipsing each other. For the most part, it's his own that wins out.

Hopefully it'll be over soon. ]

[storyseller]

[Seeing them warring sets of uneasy instincts. She seeks to push the battle to its conclusion quickly, sending in more illusions and coupling them with a mass of attackers that can reduce and harm. Anything, anything to help Julius win out.]

g

[talim]

— Caster!

[ jude is faster than she is, quick on his feet, and in a rush fueled by adrenaline he manages to snap pivot around her and cast sun spark. the single uvi disappears in an explosion of blinding light in an instant.

the second it does, jude whips his head around to look at her, brows knit with concern and worried eyes scanning up and down for any signs of injury. jude doesn't catch it at first, too hopeful, but sure enough, he soon spots blood staining caster's dark clothes on her right side. it'd be easy to miss if he wasn't searching for injuries. ]

Are you—

[ are you okay? are you hurt?

jude doesn't bother finishing his sentence. there's no point in wasting precious time with obvious questions. instead, he glances around to make sure there aren't any more uvi in sight before curling gentle fingers around caster's wrist and leading her further out of plain sight. ]

... Can you walk? On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain? Don't worry. We're going to get you fixed right up.

[ the boyish excitement that caster had witnessed when she so recently met jude is absent, replaced by an air of almost startling calm and maturity. ]

[storyseller]

[Ever since injury came, she had one thought: I don't want to die, I don't want to die. This terror, this fear—please, no—this desperate need to avoid death. I don't want to die. The raised sword of the king, beheading, the threat of dawn, of a dawn she might not see, of the night that follows after—no promise of the future—I don't want to die, I don't want to die—

The calm and maturity cuts through. She stares at him as she holds her hand to her side. Her mana holds her together.]

It... it is painful, but more than that, I need mana. Food or drink, sleep, or transference from one who has magic. To sustain me.

[talim]

[ so she needs mana... she really is eerily similar to a great spirit, then. jude remembers what it was like to direct tether with muzet, the experience of feeding her mana in exchange for the use of her power until she had enough strength to sustain herself once more.

and what happened after they severed the connection... well. he'd rather not think about it. there's no reason to; this is different. ]

I... I have mana. As much as you need. Tell me what I can do to help, and I'll do it.

[ there has to be a way. jude's not going to leave her to suffer. ]

[storyseller]

[He does—and she knew that. But the costs are great. A Contract—no, no, she can't take a Contract. She can sustain herself for now, and will. She does not want to die, but she does not want to put her life into another's hands. Jude seems kind, but how does she know he is? Often, people are not. He may have a vicious side. Or he may turn and change—

—No, a Contract isn't possible. And that ritual is one she will avoid, for as long as she can. There is mana in the air here, but to heal an injury—]

It... would require me to intake some of your bodily fluids. Blood or sweat, and... others. [Saliva. Semen. But she will not, she only will to survive.]

d

[p_mortem]

[ The illusion fools the Uvi, but also anybody who does not see the Palai materializing out of thin air. When Minato turns his head, sprinting down the streets of this area he's been entrusted to defend from the Uvi, it's that illusion he spots being chased by a pair of Uvi, fish bone sword in hand.

Were't they all supposed to be inside? The Palai were all supposed to be inside before the raid came, they were supposed to look out for their children and—-

no time to think. Minato jumps in the way, slashing out with his own sword and catching one of the Uvi on the shoulder— the second Uvi's sword catches Minato on the ribs, but his bones do a better job of protecting him than fish bones do to slice through them. ]

Run!

Re: d

[storyseller]

[Oh. Oh no. She doesn't want to die—if the Uvi attacks him, then she won't die. But—but—

(But once she was a wise and cunning vizier's daughter who braved a king's wrath with confidence in her charm and her wit—once she risked
herself to save others, to save her people, her city, her sister—)

But—if she lets him die, then another person who might help her live will instead be dead. Telepathically, she calls to him.]

The Palai is my illusion! Please, take yourself from harm's way!

[She makes more illusions, a multitude of birds from a garden of infinite trees, and the Firebird and the Roc and the Simurgh, all fluttering around in chaos—]

Run!

[p_mortem]

[ Minato's eyes widen when the words first touch his mind. Telepathy is familiar to him in battle, from encouragement to warnings that the opponent is too strong and that he should save himself and run. This comforts him immediately, regardless of the message, but moreover, it's a "coven" power, not one he knows the Palai or Uvi to have.

So how does she expect him to run? ]

Can't.

[ He takes advantage of those illusion, sword flashing out under the cover of wings and tail feathers. ]

I promised to protect.

[storyseller]

[Images flicker through her head of brave and dead children. She focuses on a telepathic thought.]

Then join me in a retreat. There is no one here to protect but myself. We may distract and flee.

im here for the d

[passionfist]

[Just as she'd promised, Lip is here to help. Admittedly she didn't exactly go out of her way to find Caster, and maybe should have even followed her around prior to the invasion, but...

She just didn't.

It's merely a stroke of (EX Rank) Luck that the Alter Ego is around in time to spot the Uvi's pursuit of her fellow servant, intercepting its path with a single, downwards smash of her claw. Her arrival is once again unanticipated until she's within attacking range, no sight or sound able to betray her approach.

And honestly? It's not a nice sight to behold when she does. With her immense strength, Lip slams the Uvi into the ground and leaves its corpse face down in a pool of its own blood, all within the claw shaped indent she leaves behind in the wake of the attack. It's like squashing a fly, but large enough to see all the gory details.]

...I found you.

[storyseller]

[Thanks, EX Rank Luck.

Shahrazad stops and stares, witness to the ferocity. She does not want to die—she does not want to die, and Passionlip protected her.]

Passionlip...

[In truth, she didn't expect it. The details are gory and every death is a reminder of her own mortality, but still: Passionlip protected her, and she is not the one dead tonight. She smiles, tentative.]

Allow me to support you...

[passionfist]

[She nods.]

I...should keep fighting, since, everyone wants to protect this place, so...

If you like, we can find somewhere safe, for you to be dropped off to, or...you can just stay with me...either is okay.

[The former involves less violence, but isn't guaranteed safety.

The latter is (mostly) guaranteed safety, but with more violence.

Pick your poison.]

[storyseller]

[She knows her choice. While she doesn't like to be near violence for, you know, PTSD reasons, she doesn't like to be at risk for even bigger PTSD reasons.]

I will stay beside you, Passionlip...

d. cw for... eye gore? briefly though. IM VERY TIRED AND SORRY

[nockpoint]

[ the illusion works not only on the uvi stalking caster, but archer as well — a moment of self-identified weakness has him stepping out of his own cover to try and intercept the hunter before it gets to the child, but instead puts him face to face with caster — and his own sense of other servants is limited enough by his current state that it takes too long to recognize her as such as well. archer's gaze flits to caster's for the briefest half of a heartbeat, as he sizes her up, and then the entire situation they're in, trying to decide what's the best course of action.

servant or not, she is running, even if it's right towards him — and that creature is following, rasping breath and a long bleached blade of bone in hand. even without enough mana to summon his bow, he's still one of the knight classes, and it shouldn't be any problem to just — he steps to the side as the uvi comes even with him, and lifts the blade from its grip with a twist and a kick aimed at knocking at least one foot out from under it. thanks to someone's luck, and no small amount of skill, it works.

archer immediately sets to dispatching the freshly unarmed but still dangerous opponent, the illusory child palai he stepped in to save long gone. neatly, the blade slides into the uvi's skull through one of its eyes, and the thing is dead, dying before it hits the ground. archer steps back, giving himself space away from the growing mess of pooling blood... and the other servant. the bone sword might have worked on the uvi, but he doubts anything mortal-made will do him any good against another servant... not that he's even sure they're going to be fighting either. ]

[storyseller]

[Caster's eyes widen at the battle; she turns to watch and breathes in, hard. She draws into herself, her body closed off, her eyes down. Another Servant. She knows this one. He has spooked rolls for Ishtar probably been summoned to Chaldea. Yet—]

Thank you... I ... did not want to die. Thank you.

[Yeah, Archer. It's a super scary Servant here. Definitely going to fight you, with how she's practically shivering at just the sight of violence.]

[nockpoint]

[ yeah it's. it'd be like kicking a puppy, honestly. and there's nothing to gain from it — plus, the letter, and he's just... tired of conflict, really. archer's posture remains guarded, stance ready to easily shift into something resembling a defense, but his heart just isn't in it at all. they're just motions to go through. ]

Not exactly the best place to get what you want.

[storyseller]

I was caught out here. The Palai had said they attacked the market rarely.

[So it was, in some ways, a sound strategic move. The disadvantages for the Uvi—that they might be cornered—could be countered with her casting.]