heelies: (Default)
Achilles, son of Peleus ([personal profile] heelies) wrote in [community profile] futurology2016-04-11 10:49 am

( video ) [ BACKDATED TO LATE ON 4/9 ]

[ What broadcasts over the network is the picture of a peculiar pair: Achilles and Helga, serious of countenance both, as is each's modus operandi. The metallic shell of the submarine's curved insides serves as their backdrop. ]

I should like to call to assembly the members of this crew, and I understand that this is the best means by which to reach the ears of all men, although it is more to my liking to see those to whom I give these words. It is Achilles, son of Peleus, who wishes to speak to you: I have journeyed, with a crew led by gold-clad Gilgamesh and fair-haired Kida, to the darkest reaches within the sea, which lie beyond where the imagination of men can fathom. I shall tell of that to which we have borne witness.

Down there dwells Ryba, the goddess of the sea, who is Nalanni's sister. She knows not to where Nalanni has gone, for her eyes cannot see beyond that over which she presides - but we have her reassurance that Nalanni who delights in volcanoes has not vanished in full from this land, for she would know if such a calamity has come to pass. We are told that sea and rock are anchored one to another, as life is to death: either both must make this land, or nothing at all remains. Therefore, hope has not scattered to the wind.

Wave-ruling Ryba soon grew weary of our audience, and although she welcomes supplications the price she demands is steep. It is imprudent to test the generosity of the gods. Thus we parted with little solved: still, the answers she granted ought to be shared among all.


[ Helga looks as if she would have loved to interrupt him a fair few times already, but she kept quiet in spite of herself until now. Achilles, for his part, looks none too thrilled at having to share the floor thus. ]

Ryba has not been straightforward in her answers.

[ Surely, she hasn't shot a sideway glance at Achilles when she said this. ]

What we gathered from her is that the Dakal have been driven to (or near) extinction by the Nalawi during the war between them. They had been "sent to the bottom of the sea", either literally or figuratively. It checks out, if I'm allowed to hazard a guess: on our way to Ryba's lair, we came across plenty of wrecked submarines, none of which seem to fit in with the near complete lack of technology on Komo and the other islands.

The goddess mentioned one specific Dakal, who sold her soul in order to return to the surface world. In the process, she may have been granted powers by Ryba herself, but we do not know what became of her, what those powers were, or if she did anything with them.

I have been told by the Nalawi innkeep that minor gods exist alongside Nalanni, albeit no one worships them here. Ryba proves that they are tangible to the point of concern, so I urge all of you to take great care during your exploration.
wardance: ❝wнaт тιмe doeѕ тaco вell open❞ (♯i just google searched)

video ; un: PARTY

[personal profile] wardance 2016-04-11 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ hmmmm. ]

She means literally.
hellshaped: (seriously way too many of these)

audio; un: hb

[personal profile] hellshaped 2016-04-11 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well, that certainly explains some things.]

I saw one of the Nalawi making offerings to the sea. Bits of fish. She looked pretty disappointed that nothing happened. [He pauses.] If this sea goddess wants souls and the Nalawi are starting to turn to her, this could get really, really bad.
adlantisag: (» 154)

audio; un: adlantisag

[personal profile] adlantisag 2016-04-11 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, to hear that, and to hear it from him--her mouth forms a wire-thin line. It's a good thing he can't see. ]

Say what you know.
wardance: (♯i want to put salt on this.)

[personal profile] wardance 2016-04-11 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ His mouth twitches but he refrains from cringing since, unlike Kida, he does not have his face hidden. It does cross his mind to say he knows nothing, because that's technically true. But, that would also be playing dumb. As a general, he is more than well aware his conclusions are just as good as being told it outright, in this case.

It's just... this about to be some really awkward and slightly cruel irony...
]

The islands that the Dakal had settlement on don't exist. I thought maybe it was simply because they never did to begin with, but if the sea witch claims the Dakal were sent to the bottom of the sea, then she must mean literally. They sunk the Dakal islands... along with the Dakal. It's the only explanation that makes sense there with the other details.
adlantisag: (» 22)

[personal profile] adlantisag 2016-04-11 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Kida inhales sharply, teeth grinding together so hard they might make sparks. ]

They are more than they seem, then.

[ She tries to remind herself that they haven't lied. They are a people who hunt sharks and presumably once conquered volcanic islands with magic. They are only temporarily weak. But still, this hits too close to home. She can feel her throat become cloyed, stomach in knots as she sees visions of rising water, quaking earth, floes of lava--

Atlantis had sunk in less than an hour. The stories they would tell after its fall spoke of a single, full day for the water to settle. How long did the Dakal have? ]


She must have floated down there--'already bones', Ryba described her. We saw all their machines along the sea floor, in pieces.
wardance: (♯sorry i don't speak "I never get laid")

[personal profile] wardance 2016-04-11 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Masamune pauses before speaking in reply. ]

...The Nawali... their government is made up of a select few members of equal ruling power and supposedly have the most powerful Gifts, right?
Edited 2016-04-11 23:44 (UTC)
adlantisag: (» 23)

[personal profile] adlantisag 2016-04-11 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. As we have learned, whenever a seat is freed, they hold a competition to determine whose Gift is strongest.
adlantisag: (» 81)

[personal profile] adlantisag 2016-04-12 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ We were at war because we were at war. How familiar, those words.

Anger isn't a good look for Kida; it's like an inky shadow passing over her face. The reaction isn't towards Gintoki but simply visceral, as she comes to grips with her vivid memories of Atlantis' fall and what she imagines the end of the Dakal must have been like. Atlantis was a continental landmass and took a day to collapse; the Dakal must have had hours. ]


Our hosts are not so innocent as we would presume them to be. Ryba said the Dakal were all with her, now. If they had other enemies, I do not know--but I no longer doubt their capacity to dispatch their opponents.
dishearten: \ (♟ 209)

[personal profile] dishearten 2016-04-12 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
There's got to be some way to contact her. Unless the Nalawi are right, and she's drained as much as the rest of us.

( it's a confusing conundrum, and he'd like to provide an answer, it just doesn't seem quite that easy. )

The price of a soul. I've heard of those being used as magical payments, that's dark magic by the definition of my world.
dokyuu: (10078145)

Voice | UN: ANIKI

[personal profile] dokyuu 2016-04-12 12:09 am (UTC)(link)
The price for her help is a sight more expensive than some fish, so that ain't surprising. She doesn't seem concerned with things that happen on land anyway.
dokyuu: (10089697)

Voice | UN: ANIKI

[personal profile] dokyuu 2016-04-12 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
[Pardon this sudden angry outburst]

That's not war, that's--!

[There's a sharp inhalation of breath, and then a pause.]

No wonder the last one made that deal.
wardance: i-win-you-lose, yet? (♯so have you sought counseling for)

[personal profile] wardance 2016-04-12 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ he smirks but it's somewhat bitter. ]

They know something the rest don't.
adlantisag: (» 121)

[personal profile] adlantisag 2016-04-12 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
[ A hiss through her teeth at that. ]

How can you be certain? Have you confronted them?
hellshaped: (breaks into your house)

[personal profile] hellshaped 2016-04-12 12:24 am (UTC)(link)
Their way of life is dying. They're starving and unable to take care of themselves. If they get desperate enough... [They'll start going for things bigger than fish. Like each other. Like the alien ALASTAIR recruits stuck on this land.]

I wonder if ALASTAIR has evacuation procedures in place if we're unable to complete our mission.
wardance: would have to put a jello shot recipe into an excel spreadsheet (♯never in a million years thought I)

[personal profile] wardance 2016-04-12 12:26 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. If it started as war, it didn't end as one. Did she just survive by a fluke, then, in order to make that deal? It sounds like she was physically incapable of returning to the surface world without the goddess's assistance.
heavyhitter: we don't need no camouflage (it's who we are)

video, @TARANTO

[personal profile] heavyhitter 2016-04-12 12:29 am (UTC)(link)
Whoa, are you guys — in a sub? Where the fuck did you get that?

[ into the important stuff over here ]
dokyuu: (10078144)

[personal profile] dokyuu 2016-04-12 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
If they want Ryba's help it's gonna cost them all they have. She's not as giving as her sister, it turns out.

Dunno if ALASTAIR has a backup plan, but it's starting to look like the Nalawi brought this on themselves.
dokyuu: (10078145)

[personal profile] dokyuu 2016-04-12 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
She just... wasn't quite dead yet, from what I gather.

[Which was an awful contemplation on its own.]

'Already bones' is what Ryba said.
wardance: any of the Indiana Jones movies. (♯without germans you wouldn't have)

[personal profile] wardance 2016-04-12 12:40 am (UTC)(link)
No, but... Two things.

The Gifts are not inherent abilities of the Nawali. I'm not sure I'm convinced a blessing from a goddess can be randomly stronger in some. That would be favoritism because the blessing isn't dependent on their own traits.

A sinking of land makes no sense unless something is being hidden. Gintoki said they didn't know why they were at war, they just were. That reeks of belief that can only be accepted if the truth is known by the right people well enough to have it stay unknown. A council of equal members sounds perfect to keep everyone "in line".
wardance: myself on fire. (♯also managed to rip my pants and set)

[personal profile] wardance 2016-04-12 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Weird question—where underwater did you guys find this sea goddess?
dokyuu: (10078144)

[personal profile] dokyuu 2016-04-12 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
Real deep. We were following a trail of magic... took awhile. Not sure where it was in relation to the surface, though. Maybe one of the others knows.

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