The Bear and the Curse

[amior]

Who: Ursaems, the Deva, and YOU
What: After the initial surprise return of Ursaems, the Wakened had subdued the Deva of Entropy and sealed him in the remains of the prison. It seems after a month, he's ready to talk...
When: April 1-5
Where: Prison Place
Warnings: Evil dude who did evil things
Notes: This log handwaves the battle from when Ursaems reappeared. His player (Val) had a family emergency from February through March. Since so much time had passed, we decided that this was the best place to pick up from.

"So. Are you ready to talk and tell us what the hell you're doing back here?" she asked.

Ursaems scoffed. Damn. He truly was alone in this world. And he had nothing left to lose. It beat eventually succumbing to Isis' curse in the darkness.

Yes. I am ready," he said.

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So You've Come Back...

[amior]

Ursaems emerged from the prison and then was immediately chained to a stone structure. Ursaems did not even attempt to flee. The work of multiple Deva against one was too much to push back against. Besides, his own powers were weakened since his time in Chaos. So much had happened...the experience had been one of nightmares....

But the Deva smirks as he sees some Wakened approach. Some familiar. Others not. Some wounded. Others not.

Some of them would have known him when he attempted to plunge the city of Nautilus into Darkness by swallowing the Light. Honestly, if they couldn't see that he was trying to do them all a favor by literally obliterating all of existence for the chance to start things anew, that was their own short-sighted faults.

"Hmph. I see you haven't all been wiped out. How lucky for you. If you have anything to say to me, make it quick. I really don't care," he said. It seems as he hadn't lost his cutting tone even after his time in literal Chaos and isolation.

(ooc: this is the thread where your character can try to talk to or yell at Ursaems for what he's done. Heck, maybe he deserves a punch. Just try not to punch him in places where there's glass. Ouch.)

The Truth about Isis and Waking

[amior]

Honestly, the newly Wakened were such an aggravating bunch. They were all so young. None of them over two thousand years. So childish. So simple. And the Deva that chose to babysit them all were much too soft and had become too complacent to see the danger that he had seen.

But all the more reason Ursaems had to break it down for them. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"I can see you all gathered here. And I can see that your numbers have dwindled. Some of you I know. Others, I do not. But the sum of your lot tells me that the disaster I've seen when I was pulled into the swirl of Chaos is taking hold here," he said and then chuckled bitterly. A lesser being would have been torn asunder. He had barely escaped with his life. And now he could feel that life waning.

He took a labored breath, the fatigue and pain that plagued him coming back in fuller force. He groans as the crystalized shards of glass on the right side of his temple grows larger, doubling in its coverage.

I'm dying...and soon you will all meet that same fate if this all continues," he said bitterly.


"Some of you might recognize this glass....or at least recognize the stories of the one responsible for it. I'm referring to Isis: the Deva of Glass. She fell to you Wakened years ago. But her will was too strong. It lives beyond her own life.

The Deva of Entropy gives a hacking cough, a small amount of blood and glass falling from his mouth.


"To know the story, you must know the beginning.

In the beginning, there was the Void. In the Void was Chaos, and in Chaos was Possibility. Chaos was the sum of endless possibility: everything that ever was, is, and will be, exists simultaneously in the vortex of Chaos.

Something conscious existed this swirl of infinite possibilities. This something was the Light. The Light shone on Chaos and caused Possibilities to still, solidify, and become reality wherever the Light touched. These solidified possibilities were the first worlds.

Those who Ascended to Deva took it upon themselves to bind and solidify Possibilities to create new worlds as the Light did. In time, more Wakened came along of their own volition as the first Wakened did and the cycle of Ascension continued."

Ursaems took a breath, his mouth dry despite the blood that ran down his chin.

"Then the cycle of Ascension slowed. Wakened appeared less frequently until they stopped Waking. In the meantime, Wakened would Ascend or fall back to Sleep. The Wakened's numbers dwindled. Just like they are here now. We now know that this disruption in Waking was artificial and orchestrated by Isis herself. But none of you have ever figured out just how she did it. It's all too clever and escaped everyone's detection. But I now know just how her plan worked.

"Isis wished for perfection. Perfection requires an outcome. An end point. But Chaos is the opposite: churning and turning with possibilities that would solidify in the Light and keep things changing. It ruined her perfection. She wished to stop it.

"She used her glassing powers to send out many shards of glass towards the Light to scatter the effect it has on Chaos. Countless shards smaller than the smallest grains of sand. These shards disrupted the flow of Light upon Chaos, slowing it down and separating possibilities from condensed worlds and outcomes. Worlds would cease to change and fewer Wakened would Wake until there were none arriving left.

"The shards Isis sent out did not affect Kalliste directly. There was no difference in energy fluctuation since the Light still shone down upon it fully. But what of the Chaos that lay below? Isis' shards reflected and directed that Light like a magnifying glass: focusing greater amounts of energy upon Chaos to encourage possibilities to solidify and settle. Worlds brought into being by the Light are just too stable and too isolated to have people Wake on their own. Or it creates too much noise/interference for worlds to connect and resonate with each other.

"Essentially, she was slowing Chaos by slowing it down to a crawl and eventually planned to freeze it in place as worlds condense but don't sweep by each other and influence each other. And it had nearly worked," Ursaems laughed. Everyone in Kalliste had been fooled for eons into thinking that the disruption had been organic.

"This laser focus of Light upon Chaos meant that there was less Light energy in the Void itself and the possibilities that lay there. This also naturally slowed Chaos over time until nothing interacted with anything outside their own worlds. Not exactly the best scenario to encourage natural Waking.

"She escaped detection since there was still Light on Chaos and there was no bending traces on Chaos or Light since her influence was indirect. She moved the shards however she wanted to. Those who looked for evidence of tampering with the Light did not find it. Her hands were clean. She was trusted. And this plan of hers spanned over hundreds of years, slowing down the swirling motion of Chaos so slowly that no one noticed the change."


Ursaems then grew silent, smiling wickedly upon his audience.

(ooc: your character may react or ask questions of Ursaems' tale. Do they believe him? Do they not?)

So What Comes Next?

[amior]

Ursames suddenly lurched against his restraints, his form shifting between man and bear as if he was glitching. The transformation doesn't break him free of his bonds but it's clear that it's extremely painful from the way he roars and howls.

"You Wakened are but infants...your success against Isis the first time was a fluke....and you had numbers! You won't beat the remainder of her will or her creatures that have still survived. You won't find all of her shards that remain. You will fail. You will fall. But you'll still fight all the same anyways, won't you?! I'll have fun watching you all try."

He eventually settled as a bear, gasping for breath. The shards of glass had increased in number, now covering half of his body.

"You won't win...for the task requires you to fly close to the Light to find the smallest of fragments where you risk solidifying and losing your powers or Waking status. And it requires you to go into the deepest depths of Chaos where the forces threaten to tear you apart back into countless possibilities. Whether you die to Order to Chaos, you will die," he chokes out.

(ooc: your characters may ask/threaten for more details about what they have to do. He might mock you though.)

Full Circle

[amior]

"Well this is a big load of bullshit, ain't it? How're we t' know he's telling the truth?" Antovil groaned, running his hand through his hair.

The man is dying. Can't you feel his Bending power? You can barely see his Bending traces. If this is a lie, it's a rather convincing one. He was always a tight-lipped man and scheming. This...this is different. He's laying out all the cards," Areva mused.

"She's right. For a change. You can fake a lot of things with Bending but to fake one's dying will? That is impossible. We have no choice but to trust that he speaks at least some truth," Lixue added cooly, looking at Ursaems with a sense of disconnect. Whatever she still felt about her former love was a mystery. For now, there were larger things to focus on.

"This isn't an ordinary gamble. He's right in that flying to the Light would be a risk t' any Wakened below the rank of Deva. Light doesn't leave any wiggle room. We Deva can handle that. Divin' into Chaos however..." the male Deva trailed off. He was more of a soft-hearted being than he liked to let on. He had watched over the Wakened the longest. It was like sending his own children into war. This wasn't a scuffle between Wakened or a force that threatened an upending of the city. This was potentially the end for them all.

Areva and Lixue gave Antovil a pointed look. This was no scuffle they were dealing with. It was their very survival.

These shards are everywhere...perhaps some closer to Chaos than the Light. If we split into teams...perhaps that would work...

(ooc: characters may talk to the Deva here or plan. There will be ooc planning entries later but this is for your character to react in the moment!)