Post by Monie on Apr 24, 2021 16:22:38 GMT
THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE WORLD
The meteor storm in August brought a thick layer of choking black dust and smoke to the surface which has blotted out of the sun’s rays to this day. There were many deaths and injuries due to The Fall and more were lost in the aftermath.
The world now is dark and cold, the weather is erratic and violent with blizzards and lightning storms are frequently raging as well as tornados and earthquakes. Travel is considered perilous enough as it is for both Rider and Muto and it’s necessary that all the Riders who head out during the daylight hours are back before the true night begins. No matter how experienced they are.
AUSTRAILIA
The White Tower
The islands of Alba and Revasan stand unmarred by the meteor storms and remain the last bastions of ‘normal life’. The islands are both shielded with a combination of Arkhitek technology and magic. The technology keeps out the pollutants of the outside and magic allows for the separate sun, weather and ventilation to remain normal. This does not mean that nothing has occurred within the sanctuaries of the shields, there have been multiple sightings and oddities occurring within and around the safe zone’s perimeter since The Fall.
There is also an illusion around the Dome now that hides the current world-state from the inhabitants which has increased the overall morale of the remaining population, making the days and nights appear clear and the weather is calm. There are feeds from circling drones outside of the shields which are watched 24/7 as well as magical and technological constant surveillance of the portals in Alba and Revasan.
Information-gathering and ongoing watch are the only reasons why people go beyond the shields now. The proposed solution as it stands is to research, design and make use of shields large enough to protect an entire world from another meteor fall like this one to use for both Haven and Eredei. Following which there will be a mass evacuation to these two worlds and this world will be abandoned to those who have taken claim of it. There are no current plans for an attack of any scale on the meteor armies as of yet.
HAUNTINGS
To date, there have been two hundred locations in both Alba and Revasan that have been evacuated due to strange and violent happenings. People do not need to have the spirit sense to witness these events and at first, it was disregarded as impossibility. That is no longer the consensus any longer. There is evidence that some objects recovered during early SARs and recon assignments in the ruins may have been homes to specters that came during The Fall which is how they’ve managed to gain entry through the shields without detection though this does not account for all the recorded and documented hauntings.
These hauntings are warranting a serious reaction because of at least five recorded deaths that have occurred because of these haunts in the safe zone. One of these deaths was permanent, the others were Vayler-bloods and resurrected normally. Do not assume a haunting is safe when starting to experience paranormal activity and follow the steps if you experience two or more of the warning signs of a haunting.
It is known that some of these Specters can create hallucinations and illusions to encourage a person towards harming themselves and/or others or by ‘accidental death’ by concealing environmental hazards. These hallucinations and illusions are less likely to work on those with high mental resistance due to their mark and/or magic as well as race (ex: faefolk like fairies and satyrs are less susceptible to mental attacks of this nature due to their own abilities). Other ghosts are much more direct about their possessions and their intent on causing their target to join them in death. It’s been reported by reborn Vaylers who kept their memories of their death that the last thing they saw was hands covering their eyes.
In a few cases, the happenings have followed a person from place to place leading to the declaration to leave everything behind and move out immediately if one is observing the following warning signs of a haunting without another explanation such as magic. The second step is reporting the haunt to the proper authorities so the area can be thoroughly investigated and sealed to that location.
WARNING SIGNS OF A HAUNTING
Two or more of these incidents must be reported immediately.
) unexplained frequent and sudden drops to extreme cold and freezing temperatures
) unexplained plumbing issues
Running water in a haunted location may change in response to a haunting, it has been observed turning muddy, dark and oily or even into blood.
) unexplained electrical issues
Power drains are frequent in the location as well as reports of electronics turning on by themselves. There have been strange texts received on nearby phones that come from an unknown number that is summarily tracked to the phone itself. In peaks of the haunting, there have also been reports of flickering lights (including flashlights) and nothing but static over open phone lines and television screens. When the electronics are receiving nothing but static, there’s a chance that disembodied voices may be heard coming over the pops and hisses.
) unexplained sounds without source
A deep thrumming sound upon crossing a haunted location’s threshold is the most common audible phenomenon encountered in the haunted sites. Others have observed sounds of footsteps, singing, humming, breathing, muttering, screaming, crying, laughing and death rattles.
) objects moving on their own
Includes but isn’t limited to doors swinging shut and open, locks latching, and smaller objects being thrown by unseen and unknown forces
) visual confirmation of a haunt
Those without spirit sight have seen shadowy silhouettes and at times, more clear figures. What these figures are depend heavily on the type of specter currently haunting the residence. For example, the ones who died violently bare the bloody wounds of their demise in the afterlife. If they lived a violent life and met a violent end, they are often seen with weapons.
INVESTIGATING AND EXORCISING HAUNTINGS
There are a few individuals on Alba and Revasan who are uniquely talented when it comes to communicating and working with the dead. They are the ones who are the most help when it comes to identifying the object or area of attachment and the Specter haunting it with the use of special equipment or tools. They are also instrumental in the Specter’s removal from the location, whether they are attached to an object or not.
It’s also been noted that Specters cannot attack those without spirit sight the way that they have attacked and killed others. Those with a strong mental resistance also find themselves faring better during investigations and exorcisms. There are also various objects that result in causing the Specters to weaken which has saved lives. Oddly, sugar has been useful in keeping them trapped in their object of origin (if they are the product of a haunted item recovered in the ruins) or in the location that they claimed. The smoke of burning white sage and vervain seems to work against the ghostly dead encountered since the Fall, keeping people safe from near fatal attacks as the smoke seems to confuse them.
PERIMETER REPORTS
The seas around Alba and Revasan are hard to see with eyes – even those enhanced by species or magical traits – with frequent storms and blizzards or a thick fog on the odd time it stops storming. There’s been a few strange things sighted including ghostly derelict ships moving past the shores, the shields working to keep the area safe from cannon attacks which do have physical impacts. The shields also keep the more direct attacks from the undead reavers on-board at bay.
From the Arkhitek, it is known that there is much more to see underneath the waves than above. It has detailed encounters with everything from various species of oceanic creatures with more than a bestial intelligence and sea beasts of various sizes and strength. There have also been undead sea beasts seen under the waves, there are more when the ghost ships are passing though they do cause quite a bit of damage to the replicants.
Since beginning the perimeter defense in addition to keeping the shield generators online and free of attack, the Arkhitek has lost 42 oceanic replicants with 98 more requiring repair though there are hundreds still active and online. 8 out of the 10 shield generators anchored underwater have been compromised heavily by enemy attacks and have required extensive repair in the last few months.
DANGEROUS AREAS
While the protected islands have escaped major damage or mass invasion, the mainland of Australia and other surrounding islands have not been so lucky.
Any injury sustained outside of the shield in the surrounding region hurts a lot more than it should – bruising feels like a break, papercuts feel like amputations, things like that. It’s not restrained to physical agony. Some people assigned to Australia report thoughts and feelings of depression and despair while they are working in the ruins there.
It is suggested to spend a limited amount of time in the radius of agony as opposed to spending long and extended hours there.
THE HIVE
Mt. Warning
This is considered an extremely dangerous area to be due to its undeniable connection to the metallic spiders that have terrorizing the world for quite some time. A few managed to be tagged with tracking tech or spells, this is where they went when they withdrew after the initial storm.
The crater and a wide radius around it seem to be protected by a visible radiant shield that ripples when met with a physical or magical attack though there is no damaging counterattack. It glows a brilliant green – faint and transparent near the edges of the shield, blinding and bright in the crater itself.
UPDATE
It is known that this is the landing site of one of the official leaders of the meteor denizens and her fort. She is the inventor of those metallic spiders, termed as ‘voras technology’ or ‘voras tech’ as well as other pieces including some of the shields seen in other landmasses.
It is also known that she is the source of the lingering anguish. She enjoys inflicting pain on people to get information, using them to test new weapons made with her technology and the effects of venoms. It has been theorized that this is the function that this “Spider-Bitch” serves to her army. Her name remains unknown and irrelevant.
FURTHER FINDINGS
There are a few drones watching ‘The Hive’ for recon purposes and there’s been a great deal of creatures and activity seen around the Hive in recent times. Most of them are the ‘demonics’ that have been encountered in many other continents though some alternate models of the adaptive and arachnid in design technology that has been observed before.
HALL OF SOULS
Sydney Opera House
This area is classified as extremely dangerous and as a location of special interest. This iconic landmark survived the wrath of the meteors that destroyed the rest of Sydney and has since become home to something much more sinister.
There is a powerful smell around the location that anyone can detect, one that smells like decaying flowers and rotting flesh. Caution is advised when passing too close overhead due to the thick flocks of undead birds of all various species and levels of decay and while not all of them are birds of prey in life, that doesn’t matter much in their death. There are other undead seen during flyovers on the ground, surrounding the building and region around it. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of physical shield beyond the dead in the sky and on the ground.
There’s a white glow emanating from within the interior of the former arts venue, clearly seen through the triangular domed windows. The shine seems to pulse from dim to bright with a visual rhythm comparable to a heartbeat.
People with the ‘spirit-sight’ on the other hand will sense around this location. They have reported seeing ghosts – old and new – all over the continent and surrounding islands drifting towards the white light. There’s also a sound and tactile vibration that both the spirits and their whisperers can hear and feel within the light itself. It is not unsimilar to a dull heartbeat.
Spirits that go into the reconstituted landmark never emerge again as far as the experts in these matters know.
UPDATE
This is a location of special interest because the connection it has to a Rider and Muto who is still MIA and was in Sydney at the time of the meteor storm. The locator skill that a few Mutos have been trained in has found a great number of people with a high success rate.
Elvira Travers and her Muto, Krasny has been the exception given the strange location signals that are received whenever a Muto or a similar spell is used to find them. Elvira has two signals – one is stationary within the former opera house, the other is quite transient and moves quite frequently from continent to continent. Krasny’s signal only appears stationary in the building.
The most prominent theory is that ‘something’ has possessed the Rider’s body and has trapped the souls of the girl and her Muto within the icon. There are many people involved in the safe recovery of Elvira and this is a frequent place of recon and research assignments in Australia.
FURTHER FINDINGS
The Hall of Souls is the location of one of the amplifiers of Necromancy that are used by the liches belonging to the forces of the dead. These amplifiers are known as the ‘Dau Magnari’ by the armies who make use of them and they are partially responsible for the rise in violent hauntings by strengthening the dead and the magic that allows some to see and speak with them. This also means that people with this ability also become stronger when using this magic.
COASTAL AUSTRALIA
The Northern Territory of Australia is vast though there have been confirmed sightings and hostile encounters with a variety of creatures in the stretch of coasts of Darwin, Arnhem Land, Barkly Tableland, Cape York Peninsula, Cairnsville, and Townville. The most commonly encountered beasts are largely defined as ‘ox-men’ or ‘minotaurs’ though it is the Dragons that patrol the perimeters that result in the most retreats. There have also been attacks upon Riders and Mutos flying overhead by other winged creatures with the bodies of lions and the tails of scorpions.
Since the new year, there have no sightings of the ox-men or manticores that used to patrol this area. There are still Dragons in the sky though these are undead – skeletal and spectral – as well as notable perimeter of skeletal forces that attack anything that approaches the Northern coastal that make this entire area extremely dangerous to navigate around now. Even more than it was before.
CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
There have been reports of very loud howls, growls and many other bestial sounds coming from three large craters that spanned from what was Uluru Rock, the Barrow Range and Alice Springs. It is unknown what is causing these sounds, all drones that have been sent in have been destroyed. The last drone’s last recorded image was what looked like exceptionally large canine teeth.
To back up the audible evidence gathered around these areas in Central Australia, there has been there have also been large packs of demonic hounds roaming the wastelands among many other demonic units. There have been more attacks on low-flying Riders and drones in this area from the ground and air from demons.
The meteor storm in August brought a thick layer of choking black dust and smoke to the surface which has blotted out of the sun’s rays to this day. There were many deaths and injuries due to The Fall and more were lost in the aftermath.
The world now is dark and cold, the weather is erratic and violent with blizzards and lightning storms are frequently raging as well as tornados and earthquakes. Travel is considered perilous enough as it is for both Rider and Muto and it’s necessary that all the Riders who head out during the daylight hours are back before the true night begins. No matter how experienced they are.
AUSTRAILIA
The White Tower
The islands of Alba and Revasan stand unmarred by the meteor storms and remain the last bastions of ‘normal life’. The islands are both shielded with a combination of Arkhitek technology and magic. The technology keeps out the pollutants of the outside and magic allows for the separate sun, weather and ventilation to remain normal. This does not mean that nothing has occurred within the sanctuaries of the shields, there have been multiple sightings and oddities occurring within and around the safe zone’s perimeter since The Fall.
There is also an illusion around the Dome now that hides the current world-state from the inhabitants which has increased the overall morale of the remaining population, making the days and nights appear clear and the weather is calm. There are feeds from circling drones outside of the shields which are watched 24/7 as well as magical and technological constant surveillance of the portals in Alba and Revasan.
Information-gathering and ongoing watch are the only reasons why people go beyond the shields now. The proposed solution as it stands is to research, design and make use of shields large enough to protect an entire world from another meteor fall like this one to use for both Haven and Eredei. Following which there will be a mass evacuation to these two worlds and this world will be abandoned to those who have taken claim of it. There are no current plans for an attack of any scale on the meteor armies as of yet.
HAUNTINGS
To date, there have been two hundred locations in both Alba and Revasan that have been evacuated due to strange and violent happenings. People do not need to have the spirit sense to witness these events and at first, it was disregarded as impossibility. That is no longer the consensus any longer. There is evidence that some objects recovered during early SARs and recon assignments in the ruins may have been homes to specters that came during The Fall which is how they’ve managed to gain entry through the shields without detection though this does not account for all the recorded and documented hauntings.
These hauntings are warranting a serious reaction because of at least five recorded deaths that have occurred because of these haunts in the safe zone. One of these deaths was permanent, the others were Vayler-bloods and resurrected normally. Do not assume a haunting is safe when starting to experience paranormal activity and follow the steps if you experience two or more of the warning signs of a haunting.
It is known that some of these Specters can create hallucinations and illusions to encourage a person towards harming themselves and/or others or by ‘accidental death’ by concealing environmental hazards. These hallucinations and illusions are less likely to work on those with high mental resistance due to their mark and/or magic as well as race (ex: faefolk like fairies and satyrs are less susceptible to mental attacks of this nature due to their own abilities). Other ghosts are much more direct about their possessions and their intent on causing their target to join them in death. It’s been reported by reborn Vaylers who kept their memories of their death that the last thing they saw was hands covering their eyes.
In a few cases, the happenings have followed a person from place to place leading to the declaration to leave everything behind and move out immediately if one is observing the following warning signs of a haunting without another explanation such as magic. The second step is reporting the haunt to the proper authorities so the area can be thoroughly investigated and sealed to that location.
WARNING SIGNS OF A HAUNTING
Two or more of these incidents must be reported immediately.
) unexplained frequent and sudden drops to extreme cold and freezing temperatures
) unexplained plumbing issues
Running water in a haunted location may change in response to a haunting, it has been observed turning muddy, dark and oily or even into blood.
) unexplained electrical issues
Power drains are frequent in the location as well as reports of electronics turning on by themselves. There have been strange texts received on nearby phones that come from an unknown number that is summarily tracked to the phone itself. In peaks of the haunting, there have also been reports of flickering lights (including flashlights) and nothing but static over open phone lines and television screens. When the electronics are receiving nothing but static, there’s a chance that disembodied voices may be heard coming over the pops and hisses.
) unexplained sounds without source
A deep thrumming sound upon crossing a haunted location’s threshold is the most common audible phenomenon encountered in the haunted sites. Others have observed sounds of footsteps, singing, humming, breathing, muttering, screaming, crying, laughing and death rattles.
) objects moving on their own
Includes but isn’t limited to doors swinging shut and open, locks latching, and smaller objects being thrown by unseen and unknown forces
) visual confirmation of a haunt
Those without spirit sight have seen shadowy silhouettes and at times, more clear figures. What these figures are depend heavily on the type of specter currently haunting the residence. For example, the ones who died violently bare the bloody wounds of their demise in the afterlife. If they lived a violent life and met a violent end, they are often seen with weapons.
INVESTIGATING AND EXORCISING HAUNTINGS
There are a few individuals on Alba and Revasan who are uniquely talented when it comes to communicating and working with the dead. They are the ones who are the most help when it comes to identifying the object or area of attachment and the Specter haunting it with the use of special equipment or tools. They are also instrumental in the Specter’s removal from the location, whether they are attached to an object or not.
It’s also been noted that Specters cannot attack those without spirit sight the way that they have attacked and killed others. Those with a strong mental resistance also find themselves faring better during investigations and exorcisms. There are also various objects that result in causing the Specters to weaken which has saved lives. Oddly, sugar has been useful in keeping them trapped in their object of origin (if they are the product of a haunted item recovered in the ruins) or in the location that they claimed. The smoke of burning white sage and vervain seems to work against the ghostly dead encountered since the Fall, keeping people safe from near fatal attacks as the smoke seems to confuse them.
PERIMETER REPORTS
The seas around Alba and Revasan are hard to see with eyes – even those enhanced by species or magical traits – with frequent storms and blizzards or a thick fog on the odd time it stops storming. There’s been a few strange things sighted including ghostly derelict ships moving past the shores, the shields working to keep the area safe from cannon attacks which do have physical impacts. The shields also keep the more direct attacks from the undead reavers on-board at bay.
From the Arkhitek, it is known that there is much more to see underneath the waves than above. It has detailed encounters with everything from various species of oceanic creatures with more than a bestial intelligence and sea beasts of various sizes and strength. There have also been undead sea beasts seen under the waves, there are more when the ghost ships are passing though they do cause quite a bit of damage to the replicants.
Since beginning the perimeter defense in addition to keeping the shield generators online and free of attack, the Arkhitek has lost 42 oceanic replicants with 98 more requiring repair though there are hundreds still active and online. 8 out of the 10 shield generators anchored underwater have been compromised heavily by enemy attacks and have required extensive repair in the last few months.
DANGEROUS AREAS
While the protected islands have escaped major damage or mass invasion, the mainland of Australia and other surrounding islands have not been so lucky.
Any injury sustained outside of the shield in the surrounding region hurts a lot more than it should – bruising feels like a break, papercuts feel like amputations, things like that. It’s not restrained to physical agony. Some people assigned to Australia report thoughts and feelings of depression and despair while they are working in the ruins there.
It is suggested to spend a limited amount of time in the radius of agony as opposed to spending long and extended hours there.
THE HIVE
Mt. Warning
This is considered an extremely dangerous area to be due to its undeniable connection to the metallic spiders that have terrorizing the world for quite some time. A few managed to be tagged with tracking tech or spells, this is where they went when they withdrew after the initial storm.
The crater and a wide radius around it seem to be protected by a visible radiant shield that ripples when met with a physical or magical attack though there is no damaging counterattack. It glows a brilliant green – faint and transparent near the edges of the shield, blinding and bright in the crater itself.
UPDATE
It is known that this is the landing site of one of the official leaders of the meteor denizens and her fort. She is the inventor of those metallic spiders, termed as ‘voras technology’ or ‘voras tech’ as well as other pieces including some of the shields seen in other landmasses.
It is also known that she is the source of the lingering anguish. She enjoys inflicting pain on people to get information, using them to test new weapons made with her technology and the effects of venoms. It has been theorized that this is the function that this “Spider-Bitch” serves to her army. Her name remains unknown and irrelevant.
FURTHER FINDINGS
There are a few drones watching ‘The Hive’ for recon purposes and there’s been a great deal of creatures and activity seen around the Hive in recent times. Most of them are the ‘demonics’ that have been encountered in many other continents though some alternate models of the adaptive and arachnid in design technology that has been observed before.
HALL OF SOULS
Sydney Opera House
This area is classified as extremely dangerous and as a location of special interest. This iconic landmark survived the wrath of the meteors that destroyed the rest of Sydney and has since become home to something much more sinister.
There is a powerful smell around the location that anyone can detect, one that smells like decaying flowers and rotting flesh. Caution is advised when passing too close overhead due to the thick flocks of undead birds of all various species and levels of decay and while not all of them are birds of prey in life, that doesn’t matter much in their death. There are other undead seen during flyovers on the ground, surrounding the building and region around it. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of physical shield beyond the dead in the sky and on the ground.
There’s a white glow emanating from within the interior of the former arts venue, clearly seen through the triangular domed windows. The shine seems to pulse from dim to bright with a visual rhythm comparable to a heartbeat.
People with the ‘spirit-sight’ on the other hand will sense around this location. They have reported seeing ghosts – old and new – all over the continent and surrounding islands drifting towards the white light. There’s also a sound and tactile vibration that both the spirits and their whisperers can hear and feel within the light itself. It is not unsimilar to a dull heartbeat.
Spirits that go into the reconstituted landmark never emerge again as far as the experts in these matters know.
UPDATE
This is a location of special interest because the connection it has to a Rider and Muto who is still MIA and was in Sydney at the time of the meteor storm. The locator skill that a few Mutos have been trained in has found a great number of people with a high success rate.
Elvira Travers and her Muto, Krasny has been the exception given the strange location signals that are received whenever a Muto or a similar spell is used to find them. Elvira has two signals – one is stationary within the former opera house, the other is quite transient and moves quite frequently from continent to continent. Krasny’s signal only appears stationary in the building.
The most prominent theory is that ‘something’ has possessed the Rider’s body and has trapped the souls of the girl and her Muto within the icon. There are many people involved in the safe recovery of Elvira and this is a frequent place of recon and research assignments in Australia.
FURTHER FINDINGS
The Hall of Souls is the location of one of the amplifiers of Necromancy that are used by the liches belonging to the forces of the dead. These amplifiers are known as the ‘Dau Magnari’ by the armies who make use of them and they are partially responsible for the rise in violent hauntings by strengthening the dead and the magic that allows some to see and speak with them. This also means that people with this ability also become stronger when using this magic.
COASTAL AUSTRALIA
The Northern Territory of Australia is vast though there have been confirmed sightings and hostile encounters with a variety of creatures in the stretch of coasts of Darwin, Arnhem Land, Barkly Tableland, Cape York Peninsula, Cairnsville, and Townville. The most commonly encountered beasts are largely defined as ‘ox-men’ or ‘minotaurs’ though it is the Dragons that patrol the perimeters that result in the most retreats. There have also been attacks upon Riders and Mutos flying overhead by other winged creatures with the bodies of lions and the tails of scorpions.
Since the new year, there have no sightings of the ox-men or manticores that used to patrol this area. There are still Dragons in the sky though these are undead – skeletal and spectral – as well as notable perimeter of skeletal forces that attack anything that approaches the Northern coastal that make this entire area extremely dangerous to navigate around now. Even more than it was before.
CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
There have been reports of very loud howls, growls and many other bestial sounds coming from three large craters that spanned from what was Uluru Rock, the Barrow Range and Alice Springs. It is unknown what is causing these sounds, all drones that have been sent in have been destroyed. The last drone’s last recorded image was what looked like exceptionally large canine teeth.
To back up the audible evidence gathered around these areas in Central Australia, there has been there have also been large packs of demonic hounds roaming the wastelands among many other demonic units. There have been more attacks on low-flying Riders and drones in this area from the ground and air from demons.