Bringing in Spring with a worthy revel

[onewiththerevel]

[With the changing of seasons, many Nexus visitors are very happy to see the snow melt away and life returning to their beloved home. Spring is here!

It appears overnight: a large pantheon in the center of the Nexus forum, and once can only guess how such a great building was erected without anyone noticing. Atop the Patheon are two golden thrones, adorned with gemstones of great value. No one seems to be sitting there, but they seem to hold a great deal of importance to the cloaked humans who guard the Pantheon entrance.

The land in front of the Pantheon is paved with smooth, old stones in the shape of a large circle. Lush flowers and grass grown along the outskirts of the cropping, full of beautiful and exotic plants. Truly the host of this revel wants even nature to bend before their whim.

On the left and right sides of the sides of the circle are two long marble tables, where different food and drink await those who enter. Freshly cooked meat. Ripe fruits and unsullied wine. Whatever your heart desires, be it simple or sweet, you will be hard pressed to not find it on one of the tables. Near the tables is also a large group of tents, adorned with many plush chairs and sofas for those who like to relax while indulging.

The center of the circle has a large bonfire pit, carved of fine stone, lit with a brilliant (almost unearthly) red fire. Comforting to those seeking warmth or invigorating to the souls of the weary: it carries an important symbol for the revel: let your soul burn as hot as the flames inside. Which, to the satyr, it means that everyone present should be partying and indulging with one another. There seems to be plenty of space for dancing and socializing alike, whatever your preference may be.

The entrance into this festivity is monitored by a group of half-human, half-goat satyr. They don’t seem to be picky about who gets let in, assuming you’re not here to ruin the fun, but it would be wise to check it with them first. This is a masquerade-style party, so all of the guests need masks.

But there can’t be anything possible wrong with such a wonderful party, right? Perhaps things are not all as they seem….]

((Here's your OOC guide guide to this event. Post when you can as you like, no worries. Have fun!))

((The second half of the event is live link here Please read the OOC thread so you know the details!))

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[Second half of event post: start!]

[onewiththerevel]

[The evening sun is setting in the Nexus, signaling the final act of the revel. Most of the food and drinks have been consumed and the satyr have cleaned up the festival grounds so everyone can stand around the bonfire. Many Nexus visitors are wearing their masks as part of the celebration, since this is a masquerade-style affair, after all. Anyone involved in the organization of this festival is either standing in front of the bonfire or off to the side, as if waiting for something to happen.

From the top of the Pantheon, emerges a man, dressed in a red and green suit, wearing a white scarf around his neck. He must be the host of this revel, as the satyr and humans alike start hollering with excitement at his appearance. The mask he wears resembles the face of a satyr, but has large horns. It’s safe to say he is dressed like a devil, with the red paint on his mask, and the glowing spear he carries in one hand. He steps up to the microphone and speakers that have been installed at the top of the Pantheon, speaking to everyone in the crowd. There's something dark and intimidating about his voice and wearing a mask is only adding to the suspense.]

"I welcome you all here, for the pinnacle of this grand revel. This celebration is not for the seasons, but to commemorate the nature of all living beings. The god you have all forgotten..."

The crowd seems to murmur at his words, uncertain as to what he's talking about, but unable to look away.

"Deep within yourselves is a greater potential that you've ever known. But the world rejects that way of thinking, thus you're forced to wear a mask and be someone you're not. That changes today." He points the spear out at the crowd. "Call out his name! Nyarlathotep! Free yourselves from the chains of normal behaviors and embrace chaos! All of the sadness, grief and anger you've ever felt...Become that which you reject! Accept the Elder God as your own and give in to your unworldly desires!"

The man steps away from the microphone, leaving the confused crowd below to ponder his words. Without warning, the satyr begin cheering from below the Pantheon steps, sloshing their mead and wine glasses feverishly. As if on cue, the bonfire erupts in a beautiful display of fire, as the visage of some unworldly being can be seen in the flames. As for the party-hosting humans, they seem to be watching the crowd of people carefully...Then the revel turns into something worthy of its namesake.

A woman in her 30’s turns to look at her best friend, the mask on her face hiding any emotions she might have. However, she takes her wine glass and splashes it in the face of the other woman, then starts pummeling her with her fists. Another group of men begin fighting with one another, physically and clearly not in the drunken sense. People are screaming interesting things: whether it be angry accusations or jealous statements, emotions are at a high. The darker side of humanity is starting to show, and those with a weak will are easily swaying into wanting their freedom. Everyone who seems to be starting the fighting is also wearing a mask. Imagine that.

Whether you wanted to be here or not, violence and destruction are on the horizon, and if left unchecked, the entire Nexus threatens to be burned to the ground.]

I KNEW IT.

[thissideonly]

...Oh, for fuck's sake. Really? Really?! Here he was, partying to get away from all the crazy shit Nyarlathotep was spreading back home. And now there was this?!

Oh, he'll become what he 'rejects', alright. He jumps unto a table, rips the mask off his face, points towards the fire, and starts to yell.

"HEY, NYARLY, YOU COWARDLY PUNK-ASS BITCH! YOU TOO SCARED TO FACE ME? HUH?! I BET YOU'RE SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS, NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT I'M HERE!" He flourishes a fighting pose, letting Apollo's fire dance around his fingers. "COME AT ME! IF THE OTHER ME WAS ABLE TO KICK YOUR ASS, SO CAN I! I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"

[the_faceless_one]

The non-affected humans who happen to be close to Tatsuya yelp out and panic upon seeing his fire. They've just witnesses a big bonfire erupt and cause mass hysteria, so his flames are definitely scary as well. As for the people sitting atop of the Pantheon, someone points at Tatsuya menacingly, before walking back inside.

Within a few minutes, there's a small girl who's walking through the crowds towards Tatsuya. Any human that gets in her way is stabbed with a familiar-looking spear that Tatsuya might recognize as Longinus. She doesn't care who all dies, almost enjoying the screaming and killing a bit too much. Her eyes fully rest on the Persona user before speaking up.

"You called? Let's see if you can fight as well as you run your mouth." She has a wicked smile on her face, spinning the spear with great skill and ease.

[thissideonly]

Tatsuya is going to look over her, up and down, frowning. He crosses his arms, cocks his head for a moment before shaking it.

"Really? I was hoping for a more physical battle, not hiding behind a little girl wielding something phallic-looking. Come on, Nyarly, give me some actual substance!" He sighs. "And here I was, hoping you'd be interested in facing a human stuck in a Persona yourself..."

[turningcolors]

Something is wrong here.

Hazel has long since stopped mingling about the Pantheon and taken her mask off as she returned to her errands throughout the day. It's not until the evening that she wanders back, drawn like a moth to flame to the bonfire. The smell of the smoke is all wrong for it to be a summons for her. Wet wood filled with sap and life make her wrinkle her nose in distaste but before she can walk away with a disappointed shake of her head the ceremony begins.

Not for the seasons, but for a god. Her hands are balled into fists tight enough to turn her knuckles bone white. Teeth bared at the careless flippant talk in rejection of what she is hearing. But the people are descending into madness (another trait of Spring's and he says it is not for the season) and Hazel turns on the spot in search of anyone that still seems to have their wits about them.

"You don't have to do this..!"

[onewiththerevel]

All of the beauty and allure of of the festival has turned into a state of pure madness. It's a very good thing that no children are around, the youngest attendee being in their mid 20's, but seeing adults attacking other adults is definitely not good.

A young lady, no more than 21 years of age, is taking great pleasure in watching a woman, supposedly her mother, laying on the ground in pain. A satyr nearby is holding out a knife to the girl, happily smiling at the scene unfolding. Hazel's words cause them to both stop in their tracks, looking at the spirit of spring with confusion and anger.

"But what if we want to do this?"

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley had stayed at the revel and was just enjoying herself hanging out around the bonfire. Then the strange man shows up... and gives a typical 'Gotham Villain' speech. Harley rolls her eyes at the whole speech.

Then the satyr begin cheering. And then other people start to scream and fight.

"Stupid..." Harley looks around. She is very used to being in these kind of situations. Where people are being controlled to do bad things. There has to be some way she can help.

[onewiththerevel]

There seems to be a middle aged man who's trying to fend off his masked friends from attacking him, while a group of satyr watch from the sidelines, still drinking from their wine cups. The situation looks bad, as the man stumbles to the ground, his friends hovering over him with a few makeshift weapons.

The satyr seem to be bickering among themselves about how long the human has to live and neither group seems to notice Harley being close by. Looks like someone could use the help, or the satyr can use a lesson.

[sweetcandygirl]

Harley is so glad that she came prepared to the party. With a slight movement of her hand, her bat comes out of the weapon belt at her waist. She rushes forward and puts herself between the middle-aged man and the attacking friends.

She swings her bat to knock their weapons out of their hands. And stands her ground, daring any of them to try anything.

With a glare over to the Satyrs, Harley pops a piece of bubblegum into her mouth with her free hand. "What are the odds now, jackasses?"

[onewiththerevel]

Disarming the men seems to be highly effective, as the makeshift weapons they're holding get set to the ground. No one seems to be rushing for them, given how well Harley fights.

"Get out of our way! He deserves it!" One of the men points at the person on the ground. "He's the reason our business tanked int he Nexus and it's about time he pays up!" It doesn't seem like disarming these guys has quelled their anger in the slightest.

[sweetcandygirl]

"No one deserves being beat up like this. Especially about something so petty." Harley keeps her stance prepared for anything.

"Beating him up won't get your money back."

Harley knows there is something more going on. And there is a feeling of dark magic at play here. She scans the room. Perhaps she can discover the source.

[rogueinladysclothing]

Having the nice party she's been enjoying all day is the last thing Amelia expected, or wanted, after the debacle of last year's Halloween party. She wants absolutely nothing to do with this chaos, but the idea of leaving behind anyone not affected - or, worse, any of her friends - to be caught up in it is the last thing she'll allow herself to do. If fighting can be avoided, it'll be all for the better, but the first thing she needs is a better vantage point.

Weaving her way through the crowd with no small amount of effort, the rogue hops up onto one of the tables that hasn't been turned over yet and surveys the crowd. There are familiar faces around, but no one close enough to call out to. With any luck, they'll see her and she can offer aid when they try to make their way out of the riot that's erupting. For now, Amelia turns her attention to the satyrs who have started encouraging all of this terrible mess, growling under her breath as she pulls her slingshot from one of the pouches on her belt and lines up to take a shot with the only real weapon she has on her - a vial of sleeping powder.

"Hey!" she shouts, loud enough to get the attention of at least a few of the nearby party goers. "This isn't how you end a party! Release everyone here from whatever spell you have on them before this gets any more out of hand!" Her eyes narrow at the closest satyr and her stance widens as she takes a slow, calming breath. "Do this or suffer the consequences of your work turning back on you."

[onewiththerevel]

"Suffer the consequences? Surely you jest! We plan on celebrating forever!" The satyr seem to ignore Amelia's thread, continuing their celebration by the fire. However, a pair of women wearing black cloaks and masks of their own begin to approach the table. One with a keen eye can see the knives underneath their robe sleeves.

"You will not stop the revival of Nyarlathotep! We will be free to spread chaos all over the Nexus!" One of the black-cloaked women screams out to Amelia. If she doesn't cooperate, then maybe taking this rogue down is the only answer.

[rogueinladysclothing]

Both of those answers make Amelia's blood boil. How can they not care what they're doing to these people? Even beyond thinking of her friends, she can't begin to fathom why anyone would want to hurt this many people or to devolve a place into chaos. Especially under the guise of a celebration. What the hell did these people bring with them?

"Then you can celebrate in whatever afterlife you believe in because I will not let you have these people!" She glares at the woman who yelled up at her, shifting her aim in that direction in a single breath. It looks like they're not going to leave her any choice but to fire on them, but she's only got a handful of vials of sleeping powder on her. She's going to have to improvise soon if they don't listen to reason. "Make one move that isn't obviously meant to release these people and I swear I'll fire."

And when they inevitably do, the closest is getting the readied vial right in the forehead. She'll hold off on firing again until absolutely necessary, but it won't take her more than another second to be ready with the next shot as soon as she's let off the first.

[onewiththerevel]

For a strange moment, the woman anbd the satyr look at each other and nod. The satyr pulls two short daggers out of his makeshift belt, while the woman looks to topple the table once Amelia gets distracted. At least it's only the two of them and not more attackers, because this could get out of hand very quickly.

To be fair, neither human nor satyr knows what's in the vial, assuming it to be some standard poison, so they need to approach the table quickly. Giving Amelia a shot is deferentially not in the agenda.

"We will gladly for the cause! All glory to Master Nyarlathotep!" Here they come, rushing towards the table, weapons drawn...

[rogueinladysclothing]

Amelia's not about to stay in place long enough for any of them to lay a hand on her. The AV field is unlikely to be working the way it should be, if the chaos around her is any indication, and her declaration certainly invited violence against her even if the field was still properly in place. They're close enough, though, that there's time for the woman to get working on the table for Amelia truly has a chance to respond.

She fires a second shot at the woman attempting to flip the table, jumping back and off the tipped end of it to give herself a little more space to work with. Without any ceremony to it, she lands in a crouched position and grabs a handful of dirt, throwing it up in the general direction of the satyr's eyes. Whether it works or not, the rogue tumbles back and over her shoulder, picking up a handful of rocks as she gets back up to her feet and takes another few steps back.

"You're forcing my hand!" she shouts, cursing as she shoulder checks an enchanted innocent into a nearby table. The man shouts, but it's cut off when he bangs his head against a table and passes out on impact. It's not a move Amelia wants to make but it'll be better for him in the end, really. If he's not mixed up in the violence, he can't be hurt. "Let these people go or you're going to suffer much more than the sharp sting of a few rocks."

[fiveofnone]

Caspar is still frantically searching the crowd for Adia when the man at the top of the Pantheon delivers his speech. Caspar doesn't even pay attention to the words at first, so repulsed is he by that hideous suit. Wow. If this is Nyarlahotep's mouthpiece, than that is a god with terrible fashion sense.

The bonfire erupts, and Caspar turns away to resume his search -- except suddenly it seems that everywhere he turns, people are fighting one another. A fist goes sailing his way from a young man in a colorful mask; Caspar dodges it easily and retaliates with a backhanded slap that leaves the man on the ground, holding his jaw and groaning in pain.

It really is a Bacchanalia. And not the "free love" kind, but the "tear each other limb from limb" kind. Goddammit!

His disgust and mild vindication vanish when he realizes that Adia is caught in this violent frenzy. A cold fear takes hold of him as he makes his way to the Pantheon, hoping for a higher vantage point. Anyone who gets between him and his goal is going to receive a knuckle sandwich courtesy of one pissed-off Cylon.

Crowd control? Not his problem.

[onewiththerevel]

Oh Caspar, it's all about conquest and fear, not making a fashion statement.

The man that Caspar punches isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but it does deter other people from trying to swing at the Cylon. That is, until, a pack of satyr standing guard at the Pantheon approach Caspar. Oh hey, one of them was responsible for the spill on Caspar's suit earlier. Both are brandishing xiphos-style swords and are very adamant on not letting unaffected people get through.

"Stop your advancement, human. Go back home or face the penalty of defiance with death!"

[fiveofnone]

Caspar would vehemently disagree with that philosophy, but it doesn't matter anyway. He's trying to rescue Adia, not give out fashion advice. He'd never get anywhere at that rate, stalking through the crowd. A crowd that thankfully stays out of his way, at least until he runs into a couple of armed satyrs.

It'd be easier to fight them if they were also under the influence of the frenzy, but they clearly have their wits about them, and those swords are awfully sharp. It honestly isn't worth the hassle of climbing up the Pantheon's steps, and he's about to turn away, when he spots it.

The mask. The flowery mask that Adia was wearing, lying abandoned at the top of the stairs.

Adia must be inside. Frak! How's he going to get in there now? He could probably take on one of the satyrs, but he's putting himself at real risk if he has to fight them both at once. Unless...

Unless he doesn't have to. They think he's human. That means that they don't know who or what he really is.

Time to take a page out of his brother Aaron's playbook.

"H-hey," he says, holding up his hands. "I'm not looking to start a fight." His face is one of frazzled irritation, wide-eyed and harried. He's just some well-dressed schmuck who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. "I was headed for the exit when total mayhem broke out. I just want to get somewhere safe until this blows over."

[onewiththerevel]

"Safe? Why would you ever want to do that? This is the party of the century!" One of the satyr gestures to the madness all around them, indicating his joy for the situation. The other goat-man seems lazy about the whole situation, almost wishing her could be reveling instead of fighting.

"If you're looking for somewhere to go, this place isn't it. You're better off trying to escape near those tents." The other satyr points with his sword towards the resting area. "Unless you're actually here to surrender?"

[fiveofnone]

It's tempting to snap back something sarcastic, but Caspar holds his tongue, looking instead in the direction the satyr points. "That's so far away," he whines. "Look at all those people attacking one another, can't I just stay here?"

He gives both goat-men a pleading look, but pays extra attention to the lazy one. Feigning nervousness, he wraps his arms around himself defensively. "Look, buddy, I don't know what you mean by surrender, but I'm willing to do just about anything to get out of here in one piece. What's your price?"

[jarheadclan]

Jake has never really been a well-read kinda guy, but anyone calling themselves an Elder God and being all random-acts-of-violence doesn't sound good. Nor does that explosion and the thing that appears in the bonfire.

That the crowd immediately turns to riot is a hell of a nasty surprise. Jake drops his plate, hand going to the bone dagger sheathed across his chest, swiftly falling back on both Marine and warrior training as he visually sweeps his surroundings for imminent threats. What the hell has gotten into people? It ain't the food. Or the beer.

He hopes, anyway.

"What the fuck?"

[turningcolors]

"You wouldn't happen to have a second or smaller knife on you, by any chance...?"

The voice comes from behind Jake and a bit to his left as a maskless woman with bright hair looks up at him with the same sort of scrutiny he's giving the crowd. She still has her wits about her and she seems to assume the same of him. Whatever species he is she'll worry about at a far away time from this.

"I don't know what's going on, but I don't know if they can be reasoned with."

[jarheadclan]

Jake's own mask is swiftly discarded even as she speaks. Not so much because he's noticed it's a thing with the rioters, but because if there's gonna be a fight, he'd rather ditch the potential hazard to his vision.

Okay, human, near as he can tell. Not throwing things or screaming, so that's something. For one delightfully absurd moment, Jake considers giving her the knife anyway and relying on his greater strength to defend himself. But maybe she's just looking for a way under his defenses. He eyes her with the same kind of wariness for a moment, tail lashing, and decides that if she was hostile and able to take him down without a fight, she'd probably manage to cope without a knife. Nah. Trustworthy enough for him, right now.

"Nothin', sorry. Didn't think I was gonna need anything else." Shows him to assume that sorta shit. But hey, lesson learned for next time. If they get outta this that is.

As it is, he's stronger than your average human and has enough training in hand-to-hand that maybe loaning out the knife won't hobble him too much. Assuming this lady wants to use a blade the length of her arm, but swords are a thing, right? Jake draws the knife and holds it out towards her, handle-first. "I got fists."

[turningcolors]

Even touching it lightly Hazel is aware that such a thing would be too heavy for her to use with any real skill. She pulls her hand away and shakes her head quickly. She'd rather not disarm him, either.

"I'm more apt to be a danger to myself and you if I try to wield that. Can you cover me while I look for a steak knife or the like at one of the banquet tables?" It doesn't have to be perfect so long as it's sharp enough to defend herself with. Having someone watch her back makes this a far less suicidal search.