[PQ+] soar

YEET

It begins as a low whine from deep, deep within the earth. And although the citizens of Stormbreak do not know what an elevator is, dear readers, we are all of us mostly familiar with that sensation when one stops unexpectedly. That flop to the belly, that weight in the knees.

It's like that, but for all of Stormbreak.

And while from the ground, an entire city's ascent into the sky might look majestic, gentle even, for those in its streets, it is anything but. Stormbreak shudders and trembles as it rips free from the clifftops that hold it in place; hunks of rock plummet into the ocean below, buildings crumble, and every creature within the Celestine goes wild with panic.

And still the city rises, shrinking into the sky, isolated from any assistance.

---

Welcome to the Stormbreak PQ+. The city is rising into the sky! Destruction and chaos fill the streets as people try to keep their balance.

Please post your character arriving and anything they might have with them which isn't on their profile. And to ensure that nothing is missed, please include a summary of your actions at the bottom of your post, including the description of any magic/items/feats that are being utilized!

Be warned, this PQ+ will be dangerous and may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.

1. Lisbeth
2. Anju
3. Lena

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Lisbeth was in the training yard when the commotion began. She had been practicing, and, well, showing off her new magical bow. Everyone in her squad had asked to try it out, but she had refused. It was her reward, gifted to her by Frey. There was no way she would let anyone else touch it.

She had just fired another flaming arrow when the ground started shaking. Lisbeth and her squad looked around in confusion, no one sure at first what was going on. But almost immediately, alarm bells started sounding. Confusion washed away with action as their training kicked in and the entire squad started moving.

In a rush, Lisbeth was atop the city walls, bow in hand with an arrow already nocked. She and her squad had expected to see an enemy approaching. Instead, she looked out across the land and saw...no land. Only open sky.

"By the Gods..."

---
Lisbeth joins the city defense force on the walls, along with her squad of archers.

Lisbeth has her magic bow and a full stock of arrows, along with a rapier, two daggers sheathed in her boots, and a satchel containing rope, first aid supplies, a bottle of water, and a day's worth of preserved rations. She also has a small journal and pen used for recording notes on scouting missions.

Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Scorch Recurve | A bow infused with volcanic ash. A rich, dark colour, it is always warm to the touch. Any arrow drawn with the bow will ignite on release.

Anju

Hell. Damn it all to hell. At least then the city would be out of the fucking sky.

Anju wastes no time. Ronin is away to war (insert emotional handkerchief wave) so Anju whips up the Dragoons as their last remaining senior member. “Begin loading everyone onto half the sky ships! Evacuate everyone you can to the closest stable region and return back for more!” Without any command, Riya goes streaking away to investigate beneath Stormbreak, determining if any force is being applied to it from below that can be stopped.

“The other half, tie the boats to the city’s strongest foundations and try to pull it down!” There is no monster to fight, and Anju hates that with a passion. At least then she wouldn’t feel so useless, grasping at straws. She runs to the edge of the city that remains, helping with connecting the boats; iron chains, docking lines, anything she can grab is attached to the outer sides of the sky boats.

- - -

Anju brings everything on her profile, a bow, a small shield, and her Dragoon sword.

Assuming the ships are still available, she commands half the skyship fleet be used for evacuation and the other half to be tied with the strongest riggings they have to sail downward to try and pull down or slow the city’s ascent - she goes to help with this, using iron chains and the docking rigging. Riya flies down below to see if anything is forcing the city up that can be stopped.

Faithfully I would prepare my works
to prove God's wrath was well deserved

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

The animals panicking was her first sign – and then the movement of the world around them the second.

She could’ve stayed within the Celestine and hastened them all into something quiet, something calm, but it may not have mattered when her fingers were already trembling. With a rush of feet and movement of her limbs, the Caretaker spoke a few words to each – but carried on through the gardens, hastening towards the chaos.

Only to be met with a flurry of directions, of trepidation, of confusion and mayhem. She could hear Anju yelling out commands, and to those nearby, she snagged, hoping for her own semblance of directions. With a voice no longer soft, but striving to be heard over the cacophony, the regular citizens needed to be safe. Needed a central area. “Everyone else get towards the Temple!” They could be stable, secure there. Until the next load of skyboats could snag them.

Then she flickered near the Dragoon, dropping her basket where it might be needed. “I’m going to fly ahead and see if I can spot anything,” hastening off immediately thereafter, a flurry of pink feathers.

--

Lena tells anyone not getting evacuated to all meet at the Temple, and then shifts into her cockatoo form to scout around the cliffs.

Lena has herself, and a basket left near Anju containing bandages, rations, and water.

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

YEET

Neither of our two soldiers nor our resident caretaker are aware of this, but long, long ago a certain defence system was put into place within the very heart of Stormbreak. Should war ever break out across Caido again, the city would lift into the sky so that it might remain a place of safety and security even if the world went to hell.

Apparently, the architects who had been a part of this project hadn't been consulted when Stormbreak's towers and spires began to grow and climb toward the clouds: If they had, they might have warned of precisely the sort of situation happening now.

Lisbeth and her archers see nothing that might count as an enemy, save perhaps for gravity. The walls upon which she and the archers stand begin to buckle, flinging stone over the edge of the city and even one wobbly soldier. More and more of their foot begins to giveaway as the circumference of the city begins to dwindle.

'Where ya want us to fly 'em? Torchline don't look so good from here.' One of the captains asks Anju. Indeed, across the ocean Torchline appeared to be fighting its own battles (literally). Though civilians were pouring onto the skyships (and in many cases breaching the recommended weight limit), the captains hadn't set off yet for they didn't know where they were supposed to go. The remaining skyships attached to the flying city whine and groan as they try and combat the magical safeguard put in place. More ships might lower do the trick, but where will the civilians go? All around Anju buildings crash and crumble. Debris rockets toward the soldier, but she is able to dash out of the way.

Though Lena calls for shelter to be taken in the Temple, this is met with a weary stare from more than a few. As the city rises, the walls of more than a few buildings buckle and crumble. Large stone blocks fly towards the caretaker, though she avoids them in her shift. Around the cliffs Lena will see exactly what she might have expected: roots and building debris trickle from the city as it continues to rise into the air.

---

Your randomly assigned order is Anju, Lisbeth, Lena.  To ensure that nothing is missed, please include a summary of your actions at the bottom of your post, including the description of any magic/items/feats that are being utilized! Anything not included in your OOC summary won't be taken into account!

Be warned, this PQ+ will be dangerous and may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.


Lisbeth HP: 12/12
Anju HP: 51/51
Lena HP: 80/80

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Anju

Anju sees the soldier go toppling and curses, dodging the debris as it explodes in the square and snagging at Lisbeth - familiar only because they are both soldiers, even if the young girl is not a Dragoon. “Are you an Accepted? Channel whatever you can, see if a spirit can help slow the ascent or give us information!” It’s said at large to the other soldiers gathered as well. There is little to fight, so she tries to delegate, saving her own channeling if she can in case something horrible happens. Relief washes through her as she sees Lena, nodding sharply and keeping track of the basket at her feet.

Turning to the pilots as they question her, she curses - again - and is grateful for her recent stint of adventuring as she runs through potential safe areas. “Take them to the closest bordering land of the Oerwoud - it’s safer than the Feverlands!” If they wander at that point it’s their own damn fault, at least they’ll be alive. With Riya seeing nothing, she sends the dragon - recognizable to the soldiers on the ramparts as Anju’s companion - to urge them down and closer to the center of the city.

For now she doesn’t command any more boats to pull at the city; if it levels out at a certain height, great. If not, she will prioritize evacuation.

- - -

Anju suggests Lisbeth Channel to slow the ascent or gather information, and directs the Skyship pilots to take passengers to the closest outskirts of the Oerwoud. She also sends Riya to shepherd people away from the edges.

Faithfully I would prepare my works
to prove God's wrath was well deserved

Lisbeth started to wheeze as she looked down and saw the walls crumbling away. A sense of vertigo started to take hold, but she was broken out of it when the higher ranking soldier caught her attention.

The building panic snapped away when she had orders to follow. She gave Anju a firm nod. "Yes, ma'am." She had never tried to call on a spirit in such a way before, but she would give it a try. If the spirits were ever going to answer a call, now would be the time.

She gracefully jumped down and started running away from the wall, calling out to her other comrades, "The walls are collapsing! Move to open ground, stay away from any tall buildings." Taking her own advice, and hoping the higher ranked officers would pass it along as well, she ran for the widest open space she could find. She carefully dodged and wove between any debris she came across, until she reached a clearing. Once there, she did as Anju had commanded, reaching out with her soul to any benevolent spirits or divine beings that might answer the call.

"Please aid us. The city is in dire need. Can you help us save the city, or tell us how to stop this?"

---

Lisbeth moves to the widest area she can find, trying to lead others there so they are far away from collapsing buildings. She uses Channeling to call for a spirit to aid them.

"Because of their beloved-status, Accepteds can use a power called channeling to call out a minor deity or god (depending on level) to assist during times of struggle, danger, conflict, etc. Basic-channeling will result in a genie, sprite, or other lesser deity depending on location to appear when called upon."

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

Debris and roots, rising, rising, rising, and seemingly nothing to stop it. The youth breathed in a harsh inhale, and then surged forward, back towards crowds of people and Anju, landing as the Caretaker once more, and watching as the world rumbled and crumbled around them. “Nothing except roots and debris,” and she shrugged her shoulders, biting her lip with worry and alarm.

Snagging at her basket again, she tried to steady her own heart, uncertain where they could go. Somewhere more open? Not so many buildings to fall down around them? Not the Temple then – and here she eyeballed the plaza, with its open markets. “Into any open space you can find! Stay together!” Striving to calm those around her, hastening anyone else away from edges, tugging at hands and squeezing them tight.

--

Lena returns, informs Anju of what she’d seen, and tries to usher the crowd into open spaces and away from buildings/edges.

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

YEET

The pilots exchange nervous glances with one another, but in the heat of the moment, none are inclined to argue with Anju. "Right away." With perhaps 20% of Stormbreak's citizens crowding onto the skyboats, the captains have to shove desperate passengers away lest the boats lose their ability to fly. Trudging away from Stormbreak, the skyships fly towards the Oerwoud. Around Anju debris continues to fall, though luckily the soldier seems to be away from immediate harm.

Following nervously behind Lisbeth is a gaggle of civilians, all screaming at the archer for information about when the next skyboat will come to take them to safety. No sooner does her prayer leave her lips than a spirit appears in the guise of a slip of mist that settles around her shoulders. "Save you? Why, you're already saved dumpling cheeks." The spirit gives a vague wave around. "Things are bad below, so the city is going up. No way to stop it. If I were you though.." The spirit taps at Lisbeth's nose. "I'd worry about all these falling buildings and the critters that might be unleashed if a certain zoo gets hit." Shrugging, because they were going to make it out just fine regardless of what the archer did, the spirit disappears. Hmmm. Well, at least out here in the open Lisbeth is safe from flying debris.

Lena too is spared the collapse of several buildings by moving into the more open section of the city. Like Lisbeth, she is assaulted by the voices of many demanding answers and demanding safety.

---

Your randomly assigned order is Anju, Lisbeth, Lena.  

To ensure that nothing is missed, please include a summary of your actions at the bottom of your post, including the description of any magic/items/feats that are being utilized! Anything not included in your OOC summary won't be taken into account!

Be warned, this PQ+ will be dangerous and may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.


Lisbeth HP: 12/12
Anju HP: 51/51
Lena HP: 80/80

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Anju

Twenty percent is a number she's willing to take. Glad that Lisbeth hasn't gone far since her command was given, Anju - whether she can hear the spirit or not - decides given the hysteria of the people around that the plan needs to change.

"All but two skyships divert to evacuation!" she bellows to the pilots as they depart, hoping the word gets spread. The city can fall, but the people cannot. "The other two ships, descend into the city square and brace your port side against the tallest buildings - we need to minimize the debris falling, once the surrounding areas are clear we can forcefully topple them outward if we need to but for now we need a defense for evacuation!" Turning back to Lisbeth, she takes the girl by the shoulders and squeezes firm but encouraging, grateful for her quick obedience and level head so far.

"Mobilize all the remaining soldiers. There's nothing to fight; right now, our only focus is getting the civilians to the square for evacuation. If we need to level these buildings forcefully, we can't have anyone left in the homes beyond." She claps the girl on the bicep and sets off at a jog towards Lena, trying to avoid more debris. "Lena, do you think we're at risk for a stampede?" she keeps to as low a tone as she can manage once they're nearer, not providing any further ammunition for the hysterical crowd. Lena is the expert of the Celestine; if she feels she's best used returning there, Anju will happily concede.

- - -

Anju, regardless of whether she hears the spirit's response, diverts all but two skyships to evacuation instead of half the fleet to try and calm the hysteria. The remaining two she commands to descend from above into the square with their port sides facing the tallest buildings, to block debris and keep a clear path for evacuation. She tells Lisbeth to take every soldier and focus on evacuating the outskirts, then asks Lena about the Celestine.

Faithfully I would prepare my works
to prove God's wrath was well deserved

Lisbeth relayed the spirit's words, word for word, to Anju. Some of what was said didn't quite make sense to her, but she trusted that the spirit was right.

"If the spirit said we're safe going up," she added, "then the Gods must be lifting us up to stay away from the fighting. We just need to control the chaos." Her words were wheezy and breathless after the short run into open ground.

Thankfully, the higher ranking soldier had plans for how to do that. Lisbeth moved to carry out the orders, relaying them to the other soldiers. She told her squad, "Everyone, report to the commanders of each unit in the area and relay those commands, have them take their units to evacuate the city into the square. Tell them to send the evacuees down the widest roads or any open space available. Narrow streets will be too dangerous to evacuate through."

Realizing that someone needed to ensure each section of the city was covered instead of two commanders going to the same place, she gave her squad more specific instructions. "Tell the commander of First Battalion to evacuate the central city, Second Battalion the Silk Houses, Third Battalion the temple district..." And so on, she ensured that each section of the city would have a battalion assigned to evacuating it.

---

Lisbeth relays the spirit's exact words to Anju.

She has the members of their squads each report to a different commander of the military battalions in the area, making sure each one is assigned to evacuate a different specific area of Stormbreak so no areas are overlooked.

Lena

and sweetest in the gale is heard
and sore must be the storm

Given no information in the latest snag, though perhaps it scarcely mattered at the time, the Caretaker surveyed the world around them, and the potential for more impending chaos. For now, Anju and the other soldier seemed to have everything covered. People were moving into open spaces. Away from buildings.

So now it was time to return, no matter how briefly, to the others she tended to.

Giving a swift nod to Anju and the directions, because the potential was there, and she’d be foolish to deny it, the Attuned grabbed her basket, and ran, hastening quickly, swiftly, back towards the Celestine.

—

Lena runs back toward the Celestine.

that could abash the little bird
that kept so many warm

YEET

All but two skyships add to the evacuation efforts. It's like that scene out of the titanic, and honestly, so long as the captain's are able to leave with their lives, they don't really care who is pushed or shoved out of the way so long as they're able to take off safely.

"S'gonna ruin our ships!" One of the remaining two captain's protests, of Anju 's plan to use their hulls to stabilize falling buildings.

Nodding, a gaggle of soldiers depart from Lisbeth to relay her orders. Into the city the various squadrons go; those in the temple district and silk houses seem to be off on a good start. Those headed towards the Dragon's nest and righteous road are not so lucky. Lacking any real foundation, this portion of Stormbreak begins to buckle anew: the Righteous road becomes a series of floating chunks of rock that float questionably behind the rest of Stormbreak.

Lisbeth 's soldiers are right on Lena 's heels as they dash towards the Celestine. All is not well on Stormbreak's eastern sector, however. Magically made gates have buckled and broken, gates are open; in short, at least a third of the enclosures have been damaged enough to release the creatures within ...

Molten Tigers, Fyrhhunds, Unicorns, and Dragons all dart away from their former homes. Winged creatures such as Sky Wyrms, Starwhales, and a group of Dragons take to the skies. They follow the departing skyboats whether out of some herd instinct or for far more nefarious reasons. The unicorns begin a stampede, while the other predators grow agitated and dangerous.

---

Your randomly assigned order is Anju, Lisbeth, Lena.  

To ensure that nothing is missed, please include a summary of your actions at the bottom of your post, including the description of any magic/items/feats that are being utilized! Anything not included in your OOC summary won't be taken into account!

Be warned, this PQ+ will be dangerous and may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters.

Lisbeth HP: 12/12
Anju HP: 51/51
Lena HP: 80/80

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Anju

"It's your ship or your head!" she bellows, "Which is easier to repair?!" Gods damn it all, she doesn't have the time to deal with them, but she must. Their ships, and their piloting skills, are far too integral to her slapdash plan. "I'll ensure you're provided new ones if we get out of this alive, got it?" Hoping that will suffice, she turns her attention to the rest of the chaos.

Which only increases. There's a million animals it seems, and Anju has no idea where to begin with them. "Lena can you calm them or do we need to corral them?" she shouts, hoping her friend's abilities to speak with the animals could help. "The spirits said we're going to reach a certain altitude and hover, we just need everyone to stay calm!" Speaking of - Anju turns to the citizens, praying they will see her as some familiar force as the only remaining veteran Dragoon, and aches for Ronin's presence. "Everyone group together in the middle, link elbows! Cluster as close as you can and hold tight!" Hopefully the unicorns would part around them like a rushing river, seeking freedom more intensely.

- - -

Anju yells back at the two skyship pilots, offering new ships if they obey. She asks Lena if she can calm the animals, before commanding those in the square to cluster as tight as possible in the middle and link elbows in the hopes the unicorns will split around them as they run.

Faithfully I would prepare my works
to prove God's wrath was well deserved