Complete Challenge High March Morning Glory

[Tick Tock]

150 / 200

Lucidity: 2
-1 Negating Lethal DMG
-1 Negating disadvantage
-50 HP from Evoke
Super Vulnerable

The world couldn't resist the pressure coming from every direction- As sweet as the dream was, Erika could tell how it all fell apart around her, Locking an arm with Seigi's once fear took over her and taking shelter with the delinquent felt the only logical response left, dropping her notepad onto the floor in the process.

The town wasn't the only thing to shatter, nor the childhood memories that flashed in her mind, familiar streets and thoughts- Abruptly invaded by eternal joy for some reason. Her lips curled into a smile she didn't want. Her legs trembled, and for once she felt insecure of herself. Until all that pain was washed away out of a sudden, much like the colour in her hairs that bleached into snow white. Crystal pink eyes met with their equal, as from the other side, Tock's twin watched her intently. The smile felt like a reflection of her own, and she needed no mirror to tell: that's how her face looked.

The porcelain visage, the frozen happiness of a puppet, the uncanny ressemblance to the real counterpart. Upscaled and perfected...

"Time to RUMBLE, Seigers!" Tock exclaimed, letting go of the heroine as if nothing had happened minutes ago, hours maybe. The wet on her cheeks proved otherwise, but it wasn't like she could tell it apart from oil personally. "Let's crop some grass! Survivors allowed!" She exclaimed, pointing straight to their newfound enemy: The big bad glory, the foundation of their current and past problems apparent, her hands clasped over her heart, moments before pushing them outwards, forming a triangle with the both of them in the most exaggerated manner possible. With a little bend from her fingers, the triangle became a heart gesture! And she tilted her head at the same time a purple heart formed around her hands.

And then a set of them that escaped from the first, one hovering over her head, another reaching for Magnolia's and the last one on top of Seigi herself.

"Nothing says 'FRIENDSHIP' like beating up a malicious pest with purple hearts on top of our heads." She stood still, clasping her hands together. "Now shoo, go and beat it up or something, Seigers. I did the sidekick's job, now shine." Tock giggled.

And then turned quiet as a sideglance was given to Tick, eyes widening in pure disbelief as a hand stretched out towards her sister, who didn't spend a second to pose with her, let alone accompany her on their heroic endeavour.

Tick was quietly dashing to the side to flank the monster instead, and the floor begun to corrode in the direction she faced, approaching with less than friendly intent towards the plants's subjects. It would be an easy kill, all the more validated by cutting off what felt like the core of the problem: The people.

"What are you doing?!" Tick screamed back, as the very essence she stole of was nowhere near similar to that of the people trapped- If there were a soul there, she didn't get to tamper with one either, as Tock's intervention almost completely misdirected the attack to the vines and roots instead, aiming to eat away at the glory itself.

"That's NOT what we agreed on..." Tock muttered, a frown crossing her features, to Tick's disdain.

Rolls

Roll Result
1d4 (2) = 2 Lucidity

Reality Check

Power Buff
2d100 (76 + 56) + [75] + 15 + 10 = 232 / 3
+78 extra damage to 3 target for 1 attack (@Seigi Ling Ling @Magnolia @Tick Tock)
You are Vulnerable.
Animancy | Tick Tock | 1832C6

(Medium Armor Ability) Twice
You may perform 2 actions and 1 BA or 1 action and 2 BAs this cycle.
Tick Tock | Code

(BA) Exceed
Gain advantage on an attack. -50 HP

Evoke | Tick Tock

Critical Attack
2d100 (Advantage) (27, 24) + [40] + 25 + 10 = 102
102 damage
You are Vulnerable.
Dark Magic | Tick Tock | 1832C6

Critical Attack (Advantage)
1d100 (91) + 25 + 10 + 40 + 78= 732 (Crit!)
Animancy x2 | 1464 damage

Dark Magic | Tick Tock | 1832C6

Mourning Glory: 82/2000

Play Sheet
@Magnolia @Sean Poteitoku @Seigi Ling Ling

 

[Magnolia]

.

.

Lucidity
[ 2/5 ]

190 / 190

And so it showed. Its true face.

An horrific abomination with uncertain and ungrasping intentions, with several eyes locked on its victims.

The three 'hostages' were held tight by the vines, one being the face Petra had tried to talk at first. Another being the boy that had been engulfed. They didn't seem... dead, and that brought a mild relief to Magnolia.

Relief? But why.

That all felt way, way too familiar. In the face of horror and despair, and the choice at hand: Self-preservation, or protect another.

At that time, fighting an abomination of colossal proportions, she didn't know it was the last chance she had to step away from Arcia. The one last chance she had and she didn't know, but she gave away to others. Truly, how stupid. If only she had closed her heart when it wasn't too late.

But now she knew, even if she was just an illusion. A farce. She knew it was her last chance, this time, for good. So the right step was find the right opportunity to slip out of that fight. In fact, @Sean Poteitoku and @Tick Tock had just done it, she just needed to...

To run...

To Charge in, with a voice that came out like a hiss:

"Get off them."

And the blade she hid under her uniform sank against the vines, while her arm wrapped on Mei, trying to yank her out of the grasp of that abomination, ignoring scorching flames and incoming attacks alike.

...

"Don't worry. I won't let it hurt you."

Taunting (705)

She told, and from her lips a faint and sorrowful smile grew, ready to embrace all the pain to herself while shielding them with her body.

If only she had truly closed her heart at all.

Rolls

Roll Result
1d4 (1) = 1
Lucidity | Magnolia | 1832

(BA) Rush
Double your total movement count this cycle.
Magnolia | 1832C6

(F) Torment
Deal 15 flat damage to an adjacent enemy.
Magnolia

Reckless Attack
3d100 (19 + 11 + 87) + 15 + 10 + 78 = 220
220 damage
You are Vulnerable.
Shadow Arts | Magnolia | 1832C6

(F) Taunt
(235 * 3) = 705 threat
Magnolia

(F) Painbearer
Neutralize Lethal aspect of damage dealt by any number of party members. Take half of the damage neutralized as retal.
EX | Magnolia | 1832C6
She is neutralizing all Lethal damage of the cycle. Lethal damage still to be noted.

Mourning Glory: -153/2000

Build Sheet

Narrative Highlight: In the last moment, instead of running away, Magnolia feels a discomfort at the idea of leaving everyone behind, knowing the pain they are going through. She decides to charge in and try to yank Mei out of the Mourning Glory's grasp, while draining all the pain from everyone else to herself. If this is the last time she will bear the pain of someone else or not, she is at least at peace with it.

 

[Tarkya]

Cycle Final

An Ending

Flowers are too weak to stand against a storm.

Magic courses through the Mourning Glory's vines, its dark taint withering its pale yellow to black.

Knives flash, cutting through those withered tendrils, and they spill their blood upon the soil.

Fire burns.

It is a potent brew of pain, and Magnolia tastes it all...​

The air fills with the acrid smell of smoke, and with that smoke comes clarity. It is not only the Mourning Glory that burns, but the pollen filling the air. Gone is the dreamlike daze that once trapped you all here. Gone is the illusion of normalcy. The idyllic town is revealed for the dusty, abandoned village it is. The minions of the floral monster twitch as jerk as their bonds burn away, then fall to the ground like puppets with cut strings.

The Morning glory withdraws into itself, eyes rolling as it makes a final, desperate attempt to survive - to protect that which lies within. The flames lick across its surface, consuming its blooms, but the core remains, smouldering rather than burning, a plant too green to be destroyed.

"We... I... I can't go back..."

Only one mouth remains of the flower's chorus. A single voice of rage and despair spills from within the vegetal cocoon. A shaking eye peers out in the growing gaps, wide and fearful. A hand, shimmering with magic, reaches out-

"Sleep!"

-and falls limp.

A familiar face, though in unfamiliar clothing - something far more suited for a Starcalled traveler. Half tangled in vines, thin and pale, but alive. His raised hand shakes, the last remnants of runes flickering and fading out.

"...haaaaah. Did... did it work? Is it over?"

< Fruit of the Dream Field >
MOURNING GLORY​

❰ 0 / 2000 ❱

It is over.

In the distance, the first light of sunrise glows along the horizon.

The job was simple, but it was urgent.

In the aftermath of Szofrit's fall, many Landers chose to evacuate - and in the desolate High March, they needed little motivation.

Amidst this, a small group of Lions were assigned to perform a census to determine who was left - and to take in those from villages too empty to survive on their own. It was a job with little danger associated with it, and yet...

One stopped communicating, and another was sent to investigate. That one stopped communicating, and so they sent two. When they, too went silent, the Lions realized there was something more serious on their hands, and so they put out a call to any willing Starcalled to perform a more thorough investigation.

You're all given a chance to recover.

The magia named Raijin sits by the fire, eyes staring unblinking into the flames. He's made no effort to remove the vines still embedded into his carapace - he's made little effort at all. He only stares, and occasionally sobs, but he is unable to shed tears for what he lost.

The beastfolk named Keir tears at the vines biting into his flesh, ignoring the blood left as the thorns rip away. He tosses the torn remnants into the fire, and takes visible pleasure in watching them burn.

The humans, the ones you knew as "Mei" and "Ms. Pöltl" have yet to awaken. While some of their overgrowth has been torn or cut away, they were prisoners for longer, and the roots run too deep for such battlefield medicine. But they are alive.

And the janitor, an elf is busy with the final victim - the perpetrator of this whole scenario.

It's another magia, but one crafted with more wood than steel. Tendrils spill from cracks in their shell, as if they were a seed for the Mourning Glory still rooted in their spine. They have been cut from the cocoon, but the Janitor is reluctant to cut the final green tether to the core.

"I'll have to send a message back to Finweald - I think we'll need help bringing everyone back. Especially this one."

He's given you his thanks many times over, but it doesn't stop him from giving it again.

"I can't believe you were able to break out. I was afraid if I tried I'd end up like them."

"...and ...maybe I wanted to stay there, deep down."

A sigh. The janitor itches at scarred skin. You all bear similar wounds now. In time, they'll fade, but...

"...I hope we got it all out."

Perhaps you'll never know for sure. But here and now, as the sun rises over the ruins, you can at least be sure that this is real... or as real as Terrasphere can be.

OOC

Challenge Complete!​

The Reward System is currently offline. You currently have an IOU that can be exchanged in the future.

You are free to claim a piece of the Mourning Glory, be it the remnants of its vines within your flesh, a flower that survived the flames, or one of its still-viable scattered seeds. These may become relevant in the future.

Feel free to post a closing post in here. If you have any questions about the conclusion, or details lost in the churn and the long hiatus, you can ask me in the discord.

Thank you for participating.

• @Sean Poteitoku @Magnolia @Magi Heart @Seigi Ling Ling @Tick Tock
• Comms thread