[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

[rootandbranch]

Vern summoned me. He's wonderful. It was-- um, it was for a reason, but we decided to do other things for a while instead, and we're here now.

[that's a benign enough explanation, Geir decides. he doesn't want to get into Vern summoning him to destroy the world right now. it feels like a loaded topic in the middle of a battle's aftermath.

he lands on the tallest building with a sigh, gripping it with his hind talons first to help him balance without all four feet to work with.]

Do you see any more Uvi?

[p_mortem]

[ Vague... Minato assumes it was something like this, and thinks nothing more of it, choosing instead to stare down at the ground. From here, he can see the entire town— the houses where coven members have stationed themselves to keep the Uvi away, the marketplace where some go to fight, places Geir wouldn't be able to fight very gracefully for how large he is, but at the moment, it looks like things are getting under control. ]

...We stopped the fish. No reinforcements, but the Uvi below can't retreat either.

[rootandbranch]

They'll get killed soon.

[Geir says it unemotionally, watching the battle; it's not the first battle he's seen from above. he does continue, in a tone of near-surprise, though:]

It's still strange to me not to see any of the Palai out there. Don't they care that it's their home getting attacked? Do they really think there's no use in fighting?

[p_mortem]

...Yeah.

[ Away from battle, Minato can afford to feel some regret about this; when he's on the ground, fighting, those are the sorts of thoughts that would make him hesitate and get himself or others killed. Accepting death is hard, but better in the long run. ]

I think they do care. A lot. But they're scared, and fear is paralyzing. It's hard to stand up and face what feels like certain death.

[rootandbranch]

I wouldn't know. I've never fought against something I think could kill me, not seriously.

[that requires a little thought. he wonders if he'll be scared if he ever does try to kick off Ragnarok. that will be certain death for sure, since he and Thor are destined to kill each other; is that scary? it's hard to be scared of Thor, who's always been blustering, but kind and fair, in his own way... is Thor afraid of Geir? surely not. Geir knows enough about Thor to be sure he'll take whatever death he's given in the end with a grin.]

Isn't it cowardly to be afraid of dying?

[p_mortem]

[ Minato shrugs. It's a question he can only answer for himself, applicable to only himself. ]

Maybe. But there isn't anything wrong with being cowardly, or being afraid. Those sorts of things are normal.

[rootandbranch]

Huh?

[this isn't the answer that Geir expected at all; he looks down at Minato with wide eyes.]

[p_mortem]

What do you think?

[rootandbranch]

I've never heard someone say that before? Isn't being a coward no good...

[just. GENUINELY BEMUSED, especially to hear this from someone who just fought alongside him...]

[p_mortem]

[ SHRUG ]

It's a matter of opinion. Good people can be brave, or cowardly. The same with bad.

[rootandbranch]

But I just saw you fighting! You're not a coward. Isn't someone who makes everyone else do all their fighting for them a big problem to protect?

...it might be better if they know they're weak, but...

[p_mortem]

Doesn't make me a good person. I needed my Persona— the dragon— in order to fight for me, because I cannot reach the air. I know I'm weak, and I'm capable of being a coward too.

[ He's not sure what he's trying to convince Geir of, if anything, but these are Truths. ]

But we still worked together. The Palai, who need to be protected, give me strength to fight because I want to protect them. I try my best for their sake.

[rootandbranch]

Fighting if you're scared isn't being a coward, though. It's running away that makes you a coward.

[he just wants to make sure they're talking about the same thing.]

[p_mortem]

[ That's difficult... Minato has run straight at Death with no possibility of winning, and he has also run away from smaller monsters because he was tired, or pressed for time, or because he didn't necessarily need to kill in order to reach his goals. ]

Sometimes running is part of a strategy. Sometimes, you have to run?

[rootandbranch]

[Geir pauses abruptly. one could, with justice, call what he and Vern are doing at home running away -- they're avoiding Geir's family as best they can, so they don't have to deal with attempts to destroy them while they're trying to figure out what to do next. but that's not cowardice, because... because...]

I don't mean when you have to, or it's good sense. I mean-- I mean-- when...

[what DOES he mean?]

When you're fighting fear, and fear wins, before you have a chance to lose to your opponent.

[p_mortem]

Something like... running away when you know you're about to lose?

[ There are more innocent scenarios that Minato could think of, but the opponents he fights, losing meant dying. Who wouldn't run from that? ]

Fear exists to keep people safe. Sometimes it keeps you from acting. Other times, it pulls you away, so you can come back later and fight again.

[rootandbranch]

Fear means you know you're not strong enough. But if you always run away, you don't get stronger.

[Geir chatters his teeth a little, a thoughtful nervous gesture...]

I don't know. No one has ever said it like that before. I have to think about it.

[Minato gets the sense he means it in a very genuine and literal sense, like, he needs to go away and honest-to-god curl up and have a think.]

Maybe later... for now, we need to figure out what to do with the rest of these Uvi.