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♥ Prompt #4 How It Ends!
Oct. 27th, 2021 08:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hugtopiamodsThank you to everyone who replied on the Event Plotting Post regarding Prompt # 4! We had sufficient feedback to determine how the event will end, so here's how it'll go down:
The urge to gather in the city center plaza will intensify as the weeks progress, culminating in a sudden push on the 29th. Those who venture into the center might notice that once they've lingered in the plaza long enough to imply that they're staying in the vicinity rather than just passing through, the statues will take on a brief sheen, as if they've been dunked in a fresh coat of lacquer, and the eyes of your aligned god's statue will glow. It only lasts for a moment, but the message is clear enough: your presence has been acknowledged. Those who leave and return will find that it happens each time, and the effect grows in intensity the more people gather in the plaza. It occurs whether the new arrival is one of the robotic natives or an offworlder.
Residents might also notice something curious about the plaza itself. Normally, the worms are wont to attack anywhere that people have gathered- houses with multiple residents, businesses with customers, parks with crowds coming through, etc. However, even as the crowd in the central circle grows in number, the worms seem to bypass the area for the most part. It is best to keep the location defended, of course, as those gathered could be easy pickings and the protective vibe isn't in play 100%, but as time passes, it gradually becomes the safest place to gather those who can't defend themselves. On occasion, the sky itself comes to your aid: a worm who comes too close might find itself suddenly electrocuted by a bolt of lightning loosed from a clear sky above. Shards of hail might lead a worm or two in a different direction. These touches are simple but clear enough.
When the 29th rolls around, the statues will begin to pulse in a steady rainbow heartbeat, carrying with it a message on the wind: stay, stay. While not compelled, all those within the plaza will feel the urge to hunker down and stick close together, that their patience is about to be rewarded. With a final pulse in the late afternoon, a wave of iridescent light bursts outwards, sweeping through the air in every direction. It passes through residents, creatures, and buildings harmlessly, but the worms it comes across are frozen in their tracks, reformed into a stone statue. Whatever it was doing at the time - digging, eating, burrowing - becomes its final act. Not all of them are caught up in this tidal wave of power, but most are, and the ones that escape quickly burrow down and into the earth, disappearing...for now. In its aftermath, the city is peppered with ugly stone pillars everywhere, but the danger is finally over and the worms are no more. With a final whispered thanks, the statues stop glowing.
Those who were gathered in the plaza find themselves rejuvenated; their minds are free from that tug at last. More noteworthy perhaps is that the local robotic population who'd temporarily lost their functionality begin to wake up! Their return to full cognition is a mixed bag of emotions, naturally. Confusion at what happened, grief at those who have been lost, gratefulness to their friends and neighbours who stepped up to save them. Expect to be thanked a great deal for your troubles.
Those who weren't in the plaza… the good news is, you haven't been turned to stone. However, the point of gathering in a central area was to allow the gods to concentrate their protection in a singular area, which means that outside of it, they had to get more creative. The end result is that everyone and everything who isn't a worm has fallen asleep. Right where they were, just like that. (Try to fall on your butt and not your sword.) It isn't a terribly long sleep, thankfully. The effects should wear off between 6-12 hours later, and while waking you up is an ordeal and a half, it looks like nothing more serious than a deep, relaxing nap. Maybe you snore. Maybe you drool. Whatever your habits, if you're lucky, your friends will carry you home and tuck you in.
Congratulations on surviving yet again!
The urge to gather in the city center plaza will intensify as the weeks progress, culminating in a sudden push on the 29th. Those who venture into the center might notice that once they've lingered in the plaza long enough to imply that they're staying in the vicinity rather than just passing through, the statues will take on a brief sheen, as if they've been dunked in a fresh coat of lacquer, and the eyes of your aligned god's statue will glow. It only lasts for a moment, but the message is clear enough: your presence has been acknowledged. Those who leave and return will find that it happens each time, and the effect grows in intensity the more people gather in the plaza. It occurs whether the new arrival is one of the robotic natives or an offworlder.
Residents might also notice something curious about the plaza itself. Normally, the worms are wont to attack anywhere that people have gathered- houses with multiple residents, businesses with customers, parks with crowds coming through, etc. However, even as the crowd in the central circle grows in number, the worms seem to bypass the area for the most part. It is best to keep the location defended, of course, as those gathered could be easy pickings and the protective vibe isn't in play 100%, but as time passes, it gradually becomes the safest place to gather those who can't defend themselves. On occasion, the sky itself comes to your aid: a worm who comes too close might find itself suddenly electrocuted by a bolt of lightning loosed from a clear sky above. Shards of hail might lead a worm or two in a different direction. These touches are simple but clear enough.
When the 29th rolls around, the statues will begin to pulse in a steady rainbow heartbeat, carrying with it a message on the wind: stay, stay. While not compelled, all those within the plaza will feel the urge to hunker down and stick close together, that their patience is about to be rewarded. With a final pulse in the late afternoon, a wave of iridescent light bursts outwards, sweeping through the air in every direction. It passes through residents, creatures, and buildings harmlessly, but the worms it comes across are frozen in their tracks, reformed into a stone statue. Whatever it was doing at the time - digging, eating, burrowing - becomes its final act. Not all of them are caught up in this tidal wave of power, but most are, and the ones that escape quickly burrow down and into the earth, disappearing...for now. In its aftermath, the city is peppered with ugly stone pillars everywhere, but the danger is finally over and the worms are no more. With a final whispered thanks, the statues stop glowing.
Those who were gathered in the plaza find themselves rejuvenated; their minds are free from that tug at last. More noteworthy perhaps is that the local robotic population who'd temporarily lost their functionality begin to wake up! Their return to full cognition is a mixed bag of emotions, naturally. Confusion at what happened, grief at those who have been lost, gratefulness to their friends and neighbours who stepped up to save them. Expect to be thanked a great deal for your troubles.
Those who weren't in the plaza… the good news is, you haven't been turned to stone. However, the point of gathering in a central area was to allow the gods to concentrate their protection in a singular area, which means that outside of it, they had to get more creative. The end result is that everyone and everything who isn't a worm has fallen asleep. Right where they were, just like that. (Try to fall on your butt and not your sword.) It isn't a terribly long sleep, thankfully. The effects should wear off between 6-12 hours later, and while waking you up is an ordeal and a half, it looks like nothing more serious than a deep, relaxing nap. Maybe you snore. Maybe you drool. Whatever your habits, if you're lucky, your friends will carry you home and tuck you in.
Congratulations on surviving yet again!
