EVENT LOG: BURNING BRIDGES PART 2.

[asgardmods]

Who: EVERYONE
What: The The BURNING BRIDGES Mingle Log (Part 2/2 - part one located HERE)
When: Days 423-425 (March 25-30)
Where: In the city and out near the giant camps.
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 423 ( Mar. 25/26 )

As the battle wages right outside of Asgard’s walls, the Travellers take to action in a near even split. This battle is not their own, and the defence of the city against being caught in the Giants’ crossfire takes priority. Buildings that are under fire must be evacuated, those incapable of defending themselves led to safety, the flames sparking over the wall extinguished; general rescue and damage control efforts will be given not just in the districts closest to the warring but throughout the entire city. When the Giants’ powers are to manipulate the earth and her elements, there is no speaking to the physical damage they can wreak in all-out war.

Which is why the other half of the city will respond in kind; rather than leaving the Giants unchecked to settle their struggles on their own, the Travellers will join them on the battlegrounds. However, instead of attacking them outright as they have while under attack themselves, they instead take under advisement a more stealthy approach of further pitting the Giants against one another. Many that stand to fight will weave in amongst the Giant forces and attack both sides from within their own ranks, so as to make it seem that one side is gaining strength over the other. Band together and take care to remember who your allies are.

Day 424 ( Mar. 27/28 )

The battle begins to escalate as the Travellers light fires beneath the feet of the Giants, pushing them deeper into combat. Things will elevate to explosive levels of destruction in the most literal of senses. Out on the battlefield, the ground will be shredded in a more centralised manner than the random cracks forming within the city. The earth will lift and shake and separate in an effort by both sides to divide their forces and crush them under the rubble, creating uneven terrain and crevices that can seem bottomless.

There will be areas set aflame, creating walls and barriers that entreat upon any caught in its path; other areas may be slicked in a growing swell of ice that entraps any that touch it in its grasp before icicles sprout up from the cold surface. Use your imagination for these sorts of attacks; just keep in mind that the Giants manipulate physical elements. Only the strongest among them will be capable of this magic, and the King and Queen themselves will be on the field, riding upon their massive black boar and white serpent respectively, to help fuel the chaos. The others will fight in traditional manners, and everyone will be under these haphazard and wild attacks. Consider this the climax of the battle - all things must fall.

And as things become more dangerous outside of the city, so too will it worsen within the walls as the walls themselves begin to tear down. As the Giants’ magic rails against the gods’ barriers, sections of the wall will be blown apart and cascade upon those living below. Residents of Asgard will be able to see Sigyn’s spell in place as a shimmer of green flecks of dust, the very same that has kept the Grey Sickness confined to Asgard and all outside illnesses at bay, begin to flicker and fade as the wall that encased it is shredded apart.

The majority of this damage will take place in the Loki, Sigyn, and Hel districts, as they are the closest to the warfare; Travellers and natives will want to band together to minimise both the damage to the wall itself and the damage created by its collapse. More splinters of ice will pierce holes in other various locations throughout the city, accompanied by random whips of flame lashing over the wall and alighting the sky. Those given to protecting the city will have to put up their shields and focus on cutting off the trajectory of this shrapnel as quickly as possible. Smaller cracks will still be forming throughout the ground as well, so tread quickly but carefully. This battle isn’t over yet.

Day 425 (Mar. 29/30)

UNTIL IT’S OVER YAY!!!

Through the Travellers’ influence in escalating the battle, the Giant forces will burn out quickly in their vicious assault upon each other. The battling continues through the night with little to speak of in the way of respite, but by sunrise on this day, their numbers will have whittled down by either death or retreat. Both sides have suffered massive losses, and when the only end in sight is headed in the direction of complete obliteration, they eventually concede to mutual defeat. They will return to their native kingdoms, the line drawn in the dirt between them taking the shape of the devastated battlefield soaked in the blood of their allies.

The damage lingers, though; the city is still in a general state of disarray, and the scars on the land aren’t soon to fade. As the Asgardians turn to picking up the pieces and the Fire Giants turn their backs on Thrymheim, Thiazi takes one last chance to strike a final blow.

Travellers outside of the city will be able to see a blinding flash of blue light and the sound of steel clashing as her petty cheap shot is knocked aside by Surt; those inside the city will hear a massive explosion to the southeast of the city. Upon inspection, they will find a massive wave of obsidian ice cascading over a near mile-stretch of the forests between Asgard and Utgard. The ice swells and splinters in crude crystals sharp as knives, slicing its way through the Gate of Fog as though it were only air. The majority of the wall along Heimdall district will be shadowed by this colossal ice structure, and the Gate will be completely destroyed as the pathway to Utgard is lost beneath this brutal magic.

The ice cannot be manipulated by Odin’s House Powers, melted by traditional means, and is roughly the strength of diamond when attempted to be broken away. Any foolish enough to touch it without proper protection will receive immediate mild frostbite that can’t be cured by any magical means and must heal naturally. Those that were around during the Bad Moon Rising event may recognise it; it is the same dark ice that was given to some of the Corrupted in place of their God Powers. It is the mark of Thiazi’s most corrupt magic - and for now, it is impenetrable.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the Travellers and their quick thinking, most of the city will be left intact and both Giant forces will leave heavily weakened, but the same can’t be said for the rest of Yggdrasil. Her land has been burnt, shredded, and frozen, and it may just be that her children have never been more isolated. The war is shifting and changing. The time to act may yet come soon.

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the second half of the Burning Bridges event, playing out the choices made in the player poll. The poll, though closed, is located HERE for reference! The mingle log for the first half can be found HERE.

A Special Note: As of the beginning of this event, god-given powers will now work outside of the Asgard. More information on this OOCly is forthcoming, and characters involved in the plot please be on the lookout for contact from us! Please feel free to assume that all Travellers have been made ICly aware of the fact that they can now use their powers outside of the city now.

If you’d like to plot with either Surt or Thiazi, please contact either their players or one of the mods and we’ll help facilitate things, though do be mindful that NPC handlers have a limited amount of time/availability for threading. Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] in the title of your comment, along with the time and location. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Comments

[2cool4guardian]

[He goes back to watching the ice after pulling Elsa away from it, eyes distant, frustration obvious on his face. Everything he always fights winter not to be, and Thiazi pulls it off in seconds. Damn her, damn her so fucking much.]

It's cursed ice. It gives you instant frostbite. Know what that is or I need to take out the icky details?

[liberee]

I know what frost bite is. I just didn't expect -- it isn't usually a worry unless you're exposed to cold over time. Not instantly at touch like that.

[The ice here is giving Elsa a very clear idea as to what Pabbie meant. Fear being her enemy. The things she is capable of when she loses control. What Anna and the others saw and felt when her mask and composure slipping while arguing with her sister at the coronation. She understands. It's what she tried to fight against, why she tried to hide her powers for so long. Years of solitude. And for nothing now. Now they all know. Think her a monster. Just like this Thiazi.....the people of Asgard, these gods think her a monster too.

She bites her lip, looking to her hands then back to the ice.]

This is....Thiazi? Or at least, these Frost Giants, I assume? I still don't see how my power here can do much against this.

[2cool4guardian]

Yeah, that's... Thiazi's magic.

[It's hard not to call her anything worse, but Jack pretty much spites her name, his hands closing around his staff with anger, making his knuckles go whiter than they already are. He doesn't comment more on the frostbite issue - he has the suspicion he could do the same if the wanted. Well, back in his world of course. Here he can't make all this explode in millions of tiny little snowflakes. It would be so easy... solve things so quickly.

The frustration keeps growing in him, and he sighs again before finally turning to the woman. No point in snapping at an innocent woman, and it seems she isn't acknowledged with magic, so it's Guardian time.]

Not gonna lie, lady, some powers do suck... but I guess you just need to find them a good use. What did you get?

[liberee]

It's....beautiful. If dangerous. I can't really say much since my own power was the same. That it can be both or either, depending on the control or intent in it.

[Which. Obviously Thiazi's intent is to harm, to hurt or kill even. Not like Elsa and hers which was mostly used to play with Anna years ago prior to the outburst at the coronation and making her snowman and ice palace. Really, this is all something she probably won't ever entirely adjust to, losing her ice powers. If she did still have them though, she couldn't change it, couldn't lessen this ice. She doesn't yet know how. Only how to create. If she ever knew how to release the ice, she's forgotten over the years of fearing it.]

Charm. I have Charm, in Freya House.

[2cool4guardian]

[Jack nods along at her first comment, not understanding that her powers were the same. He just think she's making a general statement. And to be honest, who could say different? Most people with any sort of extraordinaire ability must admit they can use it either way.

At least she isn't completely new to this stuff then? At the mention of her Asgard powers, though, he pulls a face.]

Ouch. Got the loveshack, huh? I don't know much about that one, but I imagine that when you get Charm stronger you could used them on the enemies so they don't attack you.

[He paces around the roof, trying to get a view of the ice from all angles. How much does it cover? Did glaciers form? Why isn't he just leaving instead of standing here like an idiot?]

I'd say you need to practice, but dunno who would let you use that on them. Guess your thing at home wasn't mind controlling or anything like it to know how it goes?

[liberee]

'Loveshack'? I hardly have any intentions of misusing this Charm power to make anyone feel anything for me. I've made that quite clear, that I don't think I entirely approve of such a power and the ethics around manipulating someone's emotions like that. But...to stop enemies hurting myself or others, that much I think I would manage.

[It's complicated though. Definitely not something Elsa is comfortable with, though she is trying and Samantha is helping her getting used to Charm and how to control it. She looks to Jack, watching him shift around the roof.]

Ice. I could control the ice and snow.

[2cool4guardian]

[This idiot seriously needs to stop using his jokes with people form worlds who don't get it, but he's a bit distracted to take that into account. He respects Elsa for not wanting to mess people like that, but he also can't help wondering what he would think about his own ice magic.

His pacing comes to a sudden stop when he hears about her original powers, turning to look at her with both eyebrows raised in surprised. After staring at her for some seconds, he jumps off the roof, first landing on a tree and then again on the floor nearby. He doesn't get hurt, he lands perfectly, with the smoothness and agility of a cat (which makes one thing how those bare feet stand it).

As he comes closer, Elsa may notice a few details she may like: how his hair is white as snow, and the frost bracelet that Alice gave him on his wrist. But at the same time, he may make her uncomfortable. His head is tilted with curiosity, his blue eyes piercing as they look at her with a new perspective.]

Another one? Geez, guys, should I start a club for everyone or what? You just missed Bobby. [He shakes his head, a bit amused.] Only control it or also create it? What about the weather and the wind?

[liberee]

[Elsa blinks, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Who was Bobby and what club is he talking about, exactly? One for those with ice powers? Is that what he means? She gets a better look at him once he jumps down from the roof. The hair also bleached like her own, lightened presumably because of their powers. The blue shirt, similar to her own preference for the cool and soothing colour. His eyes too, the same piercing blue as her own.

Bobby? I'm not quite sure I follow. I assume you mean this Bobby was also able to control the ice? This is the club you mention? I could create it. That's why...I couldn't leave my room. If I lost control I could have easily hurt someone. I suppose the wind and weather to a lesser extent perhaps? I only attempted that a little in the mountains, away from everyone for a moment before I came here.

[2cool4guardian]

Yeah, he could make it. Not sure about controlling what wasn't made by him, though.

[A frown appears on his face. She wouldn't leave her room? That's... sad. Sinful! To keep such a power away, it's almost insulting. Not sharing the fun, thinking only about how it could hurt people... ugh.]

So you didn't learn it to control it? Why?

[He needs to know before he starts judging badly. (Nevermind he's being a bit of a hypocrite because who knows how many meteorologists he's driven crazy during a bad mood day.)]

[liberee]

I suppose that sort of thing might depend. I've never had a chance to see if I could control something not made by myself. I was the only one back home that could do this.

[And then she bites her lip, looking down to the ground as she half hugs herself.]

There was nobody else to teach me. I just had to stay away until I learned how to control it, to conceal my emotions so it wouldn't get out of hand. Or....I tried.

[Since that didn't exactly work out the way she planned. It all fell apart at the coronation with Anna arguing with her.]

[2cool4guardian]

You haven't? Then what did you go to the mountains for? The whole point is making them white and pretty, then get the snowballs rolling. Maybe shake a tree or two while someone passes by to make them snowy too.

[♫SNOWMEN ARE BETTER THAN PEOPLE♫ Jack is really confused right now. He feels bad for Elsa, of course, she's obviously been through some trouble. But there is certain amount of... dumbness in this story that makes him, well, angry.]

Sooooo they didn't know what do with it and tried to hide it instead? That's... yeah, really stupid. You should've frozen their underwear, now how is that for practice?

[liberee]

I suppose. They never had to deal with magic or controlling it before I had it and hurt Anna with it. They were just....trying to help. I don't see why I would take it out on my parents and their...underwear.

[Elsa gives him a look, almost half amused and half exasperated. Really, she knows how it might seem to others, that they might consider her parents wrong and cruel, but she understands they were trying to help the best they could with what little they knew about magic, what they thought might help. They never meant for....everything that came as a result. Had no idea the real, lasting effect of Elsa's isolation and Anna's guilt and confusion over her sister seemingly abandoning her and shutting her out.]

But I take it you have plenty of practice. You know how to control this? My parents had no idea how. They were just trying to help. From what little they knew and were told by the trolls.

[2cool4guardian]

Becaaaaause... it's funny and nobody with a heart deserves their freedom taken from them?

[So serious, Elsa. This is why people don't like winter, they think everything (and everyone!) involved with it is cold. Jack's confusion is suddenly joined by a mix of amusement and... what can only be described as "what the hell".]

Trolls? You went for advice to the trolls? [Sorry, he has to laugh at that one. Part of him is also cringing at the ides - the trolls Jack knows are waaay different from the ones in Elsa's world.] Well that explains a lot. Girl, the only thing magic asks from you is believing. If you have that, the rest in practice.

[liberee]

It wasn't taken from me. I...I chose it. I shut myself away so that I wouldn't hurt Anna or anyone else.

[Or. She tried. It only worked until the day she had no choice but to leave her room. She has her playful and teasing moments, but right now isn't quite one of them.]

Believing? How can I not believe, when my magic nearly killed my sister? I believe in it just fine. So much so that I knew it was dangerous. Why else would I shut everyone else away? To protect them from me.

[2cool4guardian]

So you did it instead of others. Same final result, lady. Freedom was taken. And that's baaaad.

[Jack can't help watching her with some pity. This isn't how magic is supposed to go. She should enjoy it, have fun, not think of herself as some kind of villain in this story.]

You believe it's dangerous. You believe it must be hidden. Of course it will be misfire if you only think badly of it. [He extends his arm towards a tree and shakes it with Telekinesis. And with the fallen leaves, he uses his powers again to make the leaves form shapes of animals.] Magic is supposed to be fun.

[liberee]

Of course. If it means that I don't--that Anna is safe. That's the important thing. I can't let that happen again. I nearly killed her when we were last playing together late at night in the ballroom.

[Which. Yeah, definitely has coloured and affected how Elsa sees her powers. As more of a curse than a gift. Elsa has lived for years telling herself this is for the best, to conceal it. Her eyes widen when she watches him shake and shape the leaves as they fall.]

Fun. It....used to be. It almost was, just before I came here. Finally free when everyone found out, alone to use it for the first time in years without worrying about hurting anyone....