End of an Era
BANG!
The peace, quiet, and terrible calm of Somarium was shattered with a single, booming thunderbolt in the sky, just above the tallest tower of the long-darkened floating castle. Those compelled to look up and peer into the sky could see the lower, illuminated against the pale shadow of the new moon, the lightning strikes offering a burst of clarity. The largest tower shuddered once, twice, and as if in slow motion, teetered and tipped to the side.
The tower was not simply crumbling. The very isle upon which the castle sat was swaying unsteadily. Like the Titanic rolling over for its final dive, the mighty floating isle gave a clunking, mechanical groan, shifting almost daintily on its side. Several (expensive) pieces of furniture, even the Overlord's throne, splintered and fell out the opened windows and doors of the castle.
Then, all at once, whatever strings that remained to support the castle snapped.
The drifting isle, and the castle atop it, plummeted from the sky. First it veered dangerously over the fifth and first districts, teetering this way and that, before swerving at the last moment toward the lake and the desert. It passed the floating mountain, missing it by mere feet, and came to a shuddering halt as it hit the barrier.
The barrier, which had always been invisible to the naked eye unless one were to pass through it, illuminated in a brilliant rainbow of colors all around the city's edges. Even from the very center of the village, inhabitants could see it clearly all around them like a strange domed wall. Strange glyphs pulsated as the castled continued to push through the magic seals. To some, the designs may have looked like some kind of strange electric circuit board, white and blue lines flying across like a current.
A few minutes later, there was a terrible, electric snap, sparks and strange bursts of light casting off the barrier as the castle finally broke through the barrier and continued its unstoppable descent. Now outside of the barrier, the castle fell faster, the debris crashing and even sinking into the cool sands below.
Then there was impact.
The ground shuddered as the first tip of the once floating castle's island crumbled beneath the weight, then shook with increasing ferocity as the rest of the huge landmark followed downward, creating a giant shock wave that passed through the whole of Somarium and could be felt by all. Anything not secured would have fallen.
Sand flew up in the air before it came back down, as if swallowing the now desolate rubble. Further and further it sank into the stand, the ruined castle tilted to its side, losing more of its once proud towers. Small aftershocks rippled through, though they were less powerful and dealt little to no damage. This lasted for about a few minutes, and by the time the earthquake had finally stopped, the castle was now half buried in the sand, its side and a few remaining towers jutting out of the ground. The main doors -- which were facing the city -- were mostly buried beneath the sand. The remaining windows and balcony doors were broken, some flung open.
For a brief moment, the floating mountain seemed to shine, and the barrier glowed with such intense light before it faded again to its original state.
Complete silence then fell upon the land, and half buried in the desert sand lay the now ruined castle just outside of the first and fifth district, directly behind the floating mountain.
All the while, the dark night sky showed no sign of remorse. No twinkling of stars. Just cold, empty, silent darkness.
[OOC: This is the signal post we mentioned back in the Moon Cycle 32 post. Yes, the castle crashed into the desert. Characters are able to go in and investigate, though it's basically in ruins and can be dangerous due to the debris. Other characters may try to prevent exploration, but characters are still allowed to try and explore.
No significant damage was done to the city or village, except for things being knocked over.
NOTE: This post is also an OPEN POST! Characters are free to comment here to help reduce the flood of posts characters may make asking what happen. You are more than free to make your own individual posts, but feel free to treat this post as a giant open network post as well. Logs can of course be spawned off.
The tag is !moon: cycle 32. If you have any questions, ask them in the previously linked Moon Cycle post.]
The peace, quiet, and terrible calm of Somarium was shattered with a single, booming thunderbolt in the sky, just above the tallest tower of the long-darkened floating castle. Those compelled to look up and peer into the sky could see the lower, illuminated against the pale shadow of the new moon, the lightning strikes offering a burst of clarity. The largest tower shuddered once, twice, and as if in slow motion, teetered and tipped to the side.
The tower was not simply crumbling. The very isle upon which the castle sat was swaying unsteadily. Like the Titanic rolling over for its final dive, the mighty floating isle gave a clunking, mechanical groan, shifting almost daintily on its side. Several (expensive) pieces of furniture, even the Overlord's throne, splintered and fell out the opened windows and doors of the castle.
Then, all at once, whatever strings that remained to support the castle snapped.
The drifting isle, and the castle atop it, plummeted from the sky. First it veered dangerously over the fifth and first districts, teetering this way and that, before swerving at the last moment toward the lake and the desert. It passed the floating mountain, missing it by mere feet, and came to a shuddering halt as it hit the barrier.
The barrier, which had always been invisible to the naked eye unless one were to pass through it, illuminated in a brilliant rainbow of colors all around the city's edges. Even from the very center of the village, inhabitants could see it clearly all around them like a strange domed wall. Strange glyphs pulsated as the castled continued to push through the magic seals. To some, the designs may have looked like some kind of strange electric circuit board, white and blue lines flying across like a current.
A few minutes later, there was a terrible, electric snap, sparks and strange bursts of light casting off the barrier as the castle finally broke through the barrier and continued its unstoppable descent. Now outside of the barrier, the castle fell faster, the debris crashing and even sinking into the cool sands below.
Then there was impact.
The ground shuddered as the first tip of the once floating castle's island crumbled beneath the weight, then shook with increasing ferocity as the rest of the huge landmark followed downward, creating a giant shock wave that passed through the whole of Somarium and could be felt by all. Anything not secured would have fallen.
Sand flew up in the air before it came back down, as if swallowing the now desolate rubble. Further and further it sank into the stand, the ruined castle tilted to its side, losing more of its once proud towers. Small aftershocks rippled through, though they were less powerful and dealt little to no damage. This lasted for about a few minutes, and by the time the earthquake had finally stopped, the castle was now half buried in the sand, its side and a few remaining towers jutting out of the ground. The main doors -- which were facing the city -- were mostly buried beneath the sand. The remaining windows and balcony doors were broken, some flung open.
For a brief moment, the floating mountain seemed to shine, and the barrier glowed with such intense light before it faded again to its original state.
Complete silence then fell upon the land, and half buried in the desert sand lay the now ruined castle just outside of the first and fifth district, directly behind the floating mountain.
All the while, the dark night sky showed no sign of remorse. No twinkling of stars. Just cold, empty, silent darkness.
[OOC: This is the signal post we mentioned back in the Moon Cycle 32 post. Yes, the castle crashed into the desert. Characters are able to go in and investigate, though it's basically in ruins and can be dangerous due to the debris. Other characters may try to prevent exploration, but characters are still allowed to try and explore.
No significant damage was done to the city or village, except for things being knocked over.
NOTE: This post is also an OPEN POST! Characters are free to comment here to help reduce the flood of posts characters may make asking what happen. You are more than free to make your own individual posts, but feel free to treat this post as a giant open network post as well. Logs can of course be spawned off.
The tag is !moon: cycle 32. If you have any questions, ask them in the previously linked Moon Cycle post.]