aftr_ooc | Monthly Rundown: February

MONTHLY RUNDOWN: FEBRUARY

So come January, Umui has returned to the archipelago. You might be relieved to learn that this month, there won't be any new or reprising islands to worry about. At least, none that have any so impressive or familiar names. Instead, this month will be overtaken by a different familiar event that some of you may remember becoming evident in the past.

Major Events
Throughout the month of February, you can expect the following to occur:

EVENT NAME: BEHIND THE CURTAIN
WHERE: FLOATING ISLANDS
WHEN: FEBRUARY 3RD - FEBRUARY 15TH

Far, far above Ensō, some of you might recall the floating islands that hover, suspended impossibly over the mainland. They were only unveiled once, and against the Storyteller's wishes. They were very much frustrated and displeased to discover that so many adventurers chose to trespass there.

The last time, it was the fire of the airborne phoenix that passes for LifeAftr's sun that burned away that cloud cover that kept those islands from prying eyes. This time? It will be quite the opposite. Your good friend Water will banish that cloud cover themself, and allow you passage to the floating islands. The promise there is one of answers - for they believe that your access to these islands will jog their memory, as much as it will start to unravel the mysteries of the archipelago.

You'll learn more about what you might find in regards to these islands when the log goes up on February 3rd.

EVENT NAME: THE SOUND RESOUNDS
WHERE: ENSŌ
WHEN: FEBRUARY 16TH - FEBRUARY 29TH

The floating islands won't be the only remnant of the past that will return to haunt you. Not only will you have the history in the skies to contend with, but also that which lives deep underground...until now. There are two doors into the network of caverns underneath Ensō - one in the monkey compound, and one in the mountain temple. By February 20th, with a telltale rumble, both of those doors will burst open with a rush of water..

And the quartzalcoatl, those terrible foes that have been kept under the earth for years now, will come lumbering out.

Up until that point, some of you might notice that the ground occasionally shakes a bit more, and there's the sound of rushing water behind those two doors if you're in the area...but if you happen to have any valuables (or homes) in either of those places, we recommend that you consider packing up and evacuating, just in case. You'll receive more information on this event when the log goes up on February 15th.

EVENT NAME: SOMETHING GETTING CLOSER
WHERE: ???
WHEN: FEBRUARY 1ST - ONWARD...

Remember that thing that showed up on the horizon back in the back half of January? It's still there. And it's getting closer. Close enough for you to be able to tell that it looks very much like some sort of landmass, albeit a small one...but what it might be is anyone's guess. Trying to reach it proves fruitless, for now.

But it won't always be. It's getting closer the longer you wait.

Minor Events
There's a lot going on in the background of the archipelago, as well - on the islands, and even on the islets, the coming month will see certain goings-on cropping up, here and there. These events will not be getting their own logs, unless you wish to include them in the event log that will be posted at the beginning of the month; you may interact with any number of them at your leisure, or not at all!

EVENT NAME: FREE REAL ESTATE
WHERE: ENSŌ
WHEN: FEBRUARY 1ST - FEBRUARY 5TH

Anyone who goes strolling along the beaches of Ensō will quickly notice a very...powerful smell rolling out across the sands. It smells like some rotted, dead thing, as though someone's left a carcass out for weeks. And, in a way, that's exactly what it is. Several dark, gigantic shapes can be found sprawled out along the coastline, some half-submerged in sea water while others lie beached on the sands.

These creatures are known as thresher maws. Ordinarily they're quite a dangerous foe, capable of spitting acid and subsisting off of almost nothing. Here, though, they're just...dead. And they're long dead, too, as though they've been lying there for weeks before. But they only just appeared, so surely that can't be...right?

It's advisable that you all do your part in getting these things out of the water and hopefully away from any resources that you might be worried about. A dead thresher maw can probably contaminate the heck out of a reliable supply of ocean fish and the like. While it's possible that these things might have once been edible, most of their flesh has degraded to a point where one could assume it wouldn't be worth the risk. The carcasses can still make for a decent, er...shelter...in a pinch.

EVENT NAME: NO YAN IS AN ISLAND
WHERE: ENSŌ (MOUNTAIN TEMPLE), NUIDAN, NASTRANDIR
WHEN: FEBRUARY 6TH - FEBRUARY 12TH

At first, it looks like you might have gotten a good thing for once when you notice what appears to be an influx of cute, fluffy sheep in certain regions of the archipelago. The northern region of Nuidan, the mountain temple of Ensō, and virtually all the rocky regions on Nastrandir will find themselves inflicted with roving groups of fluffy, hooved creatures. Free livestock, maybe?

Not so. These are no mere sheep, but rather creatures known as Yan. They're incredibly fast and also tend to gang up on anyone they perceive to be a threat. Their capacity for wind magic means they can cause people to float into the air or send them tumbling across the islands with a powerful snort. Occasionally they will blow a viral powder into the faces of their foes that weakens them physically and makes them more susceptible to any of their attacks. And, in rarer cases, Yans can even summon a meteor from on high to do some truly catastrophic damage.

Either dispatch of them (their wool might be handy, if you're so inclined) or stay far away while they frequent these islands.

EVENT NAME: A RAINBOW, NOT A PAINBOW
WHERE: ENSŌ, ISLETS
WHEN: FEBRUARY 13TH - FEBRUARY 27TH

Between the floating islands, the dead beasts on the shore, and the quartzalcoatl, it's shaping up to be a packed month indeed. Luckily, it's not all terrible. As if in compensation for the blowing away of the cloud cover to unveil the islands over Ensō, more clouds will soon start to roll in and shower everyone with infrequent bursts of a gentle, temperate rain. Unlike any of the sea water in the archipelago, this rain is completely harmless to the more technologically inclined - it will not damage anyone's electronics, even if it logically should.

It'll do better than that, too. Those who stand in the rain for long enough will begin to feel replenished and rejuvenated, as well as bathed in a wave of absolute calm. Small injuries will be healed over, exhaustion and hunger and thirst will dissipate, and any of you who require charging at a mana pool for whatever reason will find that the rain's effects are very, very similar - stand long enough in the rain, and you will find your electronics or your own powers restored as though you've been freshly recharged.

This isn't without its risks, of course. The bolstering effects of the rain have no ill consequences, but if you indulge in the rain's intense sensation of calm for too long, it can cause you to regard even obvious dangers with a placid indifference. These things can still hurt you, and the rain won't save you from them. So take advantage of its healing effects wisely.

February Timeline

[ ♆ ] February 1st: "Free Real Estate" begins and lasts until February 5th
[ ♆ ] February 3rd: "Behind the Curtain" begins and lasts until February 15th
[ ♆ ] February 6th: "No Yan is an Island" begins and lasts until February 12th
[ ♆ ] February 13th: "A Rainbow, Not a Painbow" begins and lasts until February 29th
[ ♆ ] February 16th: "The Sound Resounds" begins and lasts until February 27th

You can also check the Calendar of Events and add it on google for a clearer visual of when things are occuring!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If you want to find a special surprise in any of the quartzalcoatl you end up killing or curing during this event, let us know here and we'll get back to you as soon as we can!

you know you wanna watch me go pepe silvia over plot shit so please let kravitz shatter some real old shit and kill me instantly

The older the quartzalcoatl are, the more the crystal has completely overtaken their bodies. Should Kravitz break one open, it will appear that whatever they once were has been almost entirely eradicated. Fragments of bone shorn through with great nodules of greenish quartz indicate that whatever this person was, certainly they were once human, perhaps...

Or...wait. What's that?

Yes - yes. Deeper inside the crystal, it seems that this creature carried something with them. Should he chip away enough of the crystal or get someone to banish as much of it as possible, Kravitz will be capable of freeing something incredibly familiar.

...an umbrella? One missing a handle?

Hang on. That's not an umbrella.

Though bereft of power, though missing its handle, though broken and old and all but useless, doubtless Kravitz will be capable of recognizing it as what it is:

It's the Umbra Staff.

Monthly Rundown: February

QUARTZALCOATL RNG

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