knightsoflegend | atlantis ♔ bury anchors in our ghosts

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atlantis ♔ bury anchors in our ghosts

WHO || Amara, Zatanna, Lila, David, Emma, Hook
WHAT || The Knights head to the lost city of Atlantis to discover the truth about the curse of the Homo Magi
WHERE || Atlantis
WHEN || April 10th, 2015 [backdated].
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

It's been two years since a mission in the Bermuda Triangle led to the discovery of the hidden home of the race known as the Homo Magi - the original race of pure-blooded sorcerers. Inflicted with a curse that causes them to fall in love at first sight with any mortal they see, they had secluded themselves there, taking slaves of those who were lost in the Triangle to help defend their city. On that ill-fated mission, the Homo Magi Amara fell victim to the curse, falling in "love" with David Charming and defecting from her people in order to have the chance to be with him. Now a danger to herself and potentially others, the Knights have sought a way to free her of her curse, so far to no avail. Lila, however, has finally convinced Amara herself to help, convincing her that the only way to prove that her love for David is real is to prove that the curse has no bearing on it. Amara has uncovered the location of the Homo Magi's original home: the lost city of Atlantis, where she believes they can uncover the truth about the curse's origins, and in so doing, a way to reverse it, and free her people of it once and for all.

To this end, the Knights are drifting out into the Atlantic Ocean in Hook's ship, seeking the whirlpool that will supposedly take them to the underwater city.

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[ 'amara', controlled by this strange force, turns to glare at emma. for someone who might just be an ancient speaking library, she sure has a hateful look in her eyes. ]

YOU WOULD ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE THE WILL OF POSEIDON?

[ ugh. it reminds her of shandra, making her skin crawl. which is why she answers sharply, ] Yes.

[Killian puts a hand on Lila's shoulder as he steps forward, smiling slightly. He has gone against the will of Poseidon before, but that was a different world, a different Poseidon. It's enough to make him halt for a moment, but only a moment (diplomacy ~~crit fail~~ NAT 20 in the best action point use ever. That's 37 total, unless Amara being sort of who they're talking to makes this count as talking to a girl, in which case it's 39). He gives the sort of charming smile only he can manage, innocent while still holding the promise of roguishness, as he addresses Amara and the voice coming from her.]

Perhaps if we knew Poseidon's reasoning for the curse, we could discuss if his will shouldn't change with the times.

Long ago, the homo magi were a race blessed by Poseidon's protection. [ as he/she speaks, the light stemming from her explodes above her head into images formed of green-blue light, that wisp from one scene to the next ] He drew the favor of the Lady of Magic, and she poured many secrets of the Weave into his ear, which he shared with his Chosen. Atlantis was a shrine to the power he granted them, a place for them to protect the secrets he had freely given.

[David's diplomacy roll was not as amazing but still pretty awesome, and he's just going to keep riding Hook's wave of awesome and hope for the best (diplomacy 27).]

What changed?

[He's guessing the secrets were betrayed somehow, but he's letting whatever's controlling Amara tell the story right now.]

One of these homo magi fell in love with a mortal from beyond our borders, and spilled these secrets to them. Magic spread through the world that should never have been made known to the masses, magic that could shape the world.

Enraged, the Lady of Magic spurned Poseidon, and in his anger and grief, he laid a curse upon the people, that would prevent them from ever making contact with these mortals again, forcing them to sequester themselves away.

Atlantis was taken from them, swallowed by the sea, too easily found by those to whom its location had been revealed.

[ seriously? anger sparks behind lila's sea colored eyes, fingers curling into fists. ]

They were punished for doing the exact same thing the Lady of Magic did! [ she doesn't ask how that is fair because she knows it isn't meant to be fair, curses never are. love curses, especially, are nothing but unnecessarily cruel. ] Why are they being cursed to fall in love with the mortals that they meet?

[ Dammit Lila, watch yourself. Emma puts an arm out, trying to slow her down. She gets how intense Lila is about this, and can imagine some of the reasons associated, but that doesn't mean she wants her to get smited by the will of Poseidon or something. ]

If they were being punished for falling in love and revealing the secrets of their magic, isn't it counterintuitive to curse them to ... fall in love and spill the secrets of their magic with the first mortal they meet? I've got news for you: they're not sequestered anymore.

Because it's no longer a choice. They either avoid Poseidon's wrath and say goodbye to the rest of the world, or they risk losing control of themselves.

[It's not entirely logical, but it's enough of a threat that would make him want to stay away from humans.]

Gods don't operate on actual logic. Poseidon probably figured that they would see all of their losses, and know that they can't just fall in love like they would want to, and they would do as they're told.

[And he glances up to the Amara Info Dome again.]

Emma's right - the Homo Magi are back in the world again. Is there another way to prevent them from sharing the Lady of Magic's secrets?

[It does make a certain amount of sense to Killian, who was raised in a world where nothing is stronger than True Love. When magic can grant you an infatuation strong enough, the possibility of experiencing the real thing becomes that much more unlikely. It seems a terrible punishment, especially since it means you never can know if a mortal lover could have been your true love. He would evade mortals entirely rather than risk it too, if he were in that position.

Unfortunately, knowing the why of it is hardly the same as knowing how to get rid of it. It depends a great deal on how willing the altar is to listen to them. And if it even has the capability to help.]

The other Homo Magi were punished for not better monitoring the actions of one of their kind. The curse forces all of them to be ever vigilant against coming in contact with mortals, placing harsh punishments upon those who turn an interested eye to the world beyond their own people, and their own secrets.

The Homo Magi will find a way to punish any who have transgressed upon that path, in due time.

Well, due time doesn't solve our problem. I don't care what Poseidon's reasons for enacting it were: we need a way to break the curse. If he's so worried about the Homo Magi spilling secrets, why not just take their knowledge of magic instead of their free will?

[ it's only emma's arm keeping her back that keeps lila's mouth shut as well, though she does let out an incomprehensible angry noise like a cat hissing. love curse free will issues, party of lila. ]

Because that's not big enough.

[Gods don't do anything small. David doesn't sound like he agrees, but more the tired stance of a person who's seen this one too many times before. But he also knows making demands isn't going to get them anywhere. This is like a library, not something they can negotiate with.]

Is there a way to atone for their mistakes? Appeal to the Lady of Magic or Poseidon to see if this could be forgiven? A quest or a trade?

Their punishment is eternal. The verdict stands. They will suffer until the God of the Waters feels satisfied, not bend to the whim of mortal man. So says Poseidon. [ with those words, the entire building around them seems to shake, and while amara keeps perfect balance, zatanna practically tumbles to the ground, grabbing onto a statue to keep from toppling over. the building continues to quake slowly, however... ]

No! [ the screamed word is one of furious anger and defeat, moving forward on incredibly steady legs even as the building shakes around them thanks to her uncanny cat grace. she slaps her hand down on the alter and reaches out with the other hand to curl her fingers around amara's wrist. ] Fuck Poseidon! He doesn't get to play with people like this, he has no right.

Lila ... [ Emma's tone starts out warning, but as the shaking continues and takes Zatanna off her feet, Emma widens her stance to steady herself and concern raises her voice. ] Lila! I don't think we're welcome here anymore. [ Which means they should maybe get going. Her first priority is to get them all safely out of here. They can find a way to appeal to Poseidon from somewhere that's not

under the sea during an earthquake. She reaches a hand out to steady on Lila's shoulder, trying to rein her in. ]

[Killian also reaches for Lila, but with his reflex save of 12 he's not having a good time right now. He's about to be reunited with his one true love: the floor.]

[David's got a bit of cat like grace himself, apparently, because he doesn't even falter as he moves through the room to the altar (balance nat 20). He studies the surface for a moment, trying to see if there's a way to disconnect Amara from it.]

Amara?

[He's not leaving without her. He's not going to leave her to get crushed to death in the bottom of the ocean. He's the dumb hero that way so he's going to try and reason with whatever power is holding her there (diplomacy ~~crit fail~~ action point says 23).]

She's served her purpose. Let her go.

Edited 2015-07-03 04:00 (UTC)

She may go. But the one who blasphemes against Poseidon's name will suffer for this display. [ with that, the light suddenly pours out of amara towards the sky, illuminating every inch of the cavern around them for a few moments. abruptly, gold shackles appear around lila's wrists and ankles, snapping tighter against the altar to which they are bound, pulling her flush against it as amara gasps and comes back to herself, eyes widened as she tries to come to grips with what just happened. ]

Not bloody likely! [Killian moves across the floor to the altar, using the chain to pull himself upwards.] Is Poseidon's ego so fragile he can't take a single insult? [He tries to use his hook to open the shackles, with little luck (disable device 11 lol he tried). He looks wildly at the women around him.] Come on, one of you's got to have a spell to help her!

[ No. Emma reaches to grab for Lila, but she slips out of her grasp. An tight, impotent cry comes out of her and she rushes to the altar at her side, trying to pull at the shackles with her fingers. Dammit, no. The only reason Lila was down here in the first place was to help someone: she didn't deserve this. She was counting on Emma to keep her safe, and—

Hook's voice echoed in her mind, pulling her back to herself, out of her panic. She glanced back at him, keying into the logic, but there was no spell. Not that she had, anyway. ]

Screw spell! [ She backed off, pulling out her gun and firing two rounds at one of the shackles, trying to sunder it (atk 18 which includes a -4 i took to not hit lila presumably, atk nat 20. magic weapon dmg 7 for the first, dmg 20 for the second. ] Let her go! You're not keeping her here, dammit! [ She turned her gaze upward, shrieking at the temple. ] You want a prisoner? Keep me! Let Lila go!

[ lila jerks as the gold fetters cement her to the alter, but doesn't crumble from anxiety and stress because she's still almost entirely fueled by impotent outrage that they came all this way to help amara and it was for nothing. an endeavor more useless than scotland.

she jerks again as emma paws at the shackles and hook uses her chains like his own personal ladder, looking at him coolly like yes, a spell to break the enchantment of a god, of course those are so readily available. ah the power of teenage fury, she refuses to give poseidon the satisfaction of her upset, so she packs it away with the rest of her cage trauma in order to only be pissed off.

she only flinches when emma draws her gun because what the fuck she is attached to these manacles! there is a ricochet concept! ]

[ the first shot doesn't seem to do much... the second one however, busts open one of the shackles, but moments later, another appears to take its place. zatanna raises both hands, making her best attempt to dispel the magic, but she shakes her head and cries: ] It's too powerful!

[ the booming voice that echoes throughout the trembling chamber comes from no single source now, but rather seems to come from everywhere:

"You would accept punishment in her stead? Beg this mercy of me." ]

No! [Killian is not gonna leave here with either of his girls chained below the sea. And he's the one with the ship so he's pretty sure it's his call.]

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