(no subject)

 

Below the City of Change is the infamous Labyrinth: a concentrated mass of Chaos that has served both as a rite of passage for Ashura who wish to become Deva and as a punishment for the worst criminal element. 

 

The Ashura who to pass through those Halls of Chaos successfully must not only face themselves, but many possibilities of themselves. To conquer their fears, doubts, and failures. To overcome the ever-present gnawing in the back of their minds that threatens absolute madness and loss of identity. To resist the real potential of being torn asunder; their essence reaved from existence.

 

There is something within those Halls that lives and breathes. A sentient piece of the whole that some have come to know as "The Ferryman.” 

 

To others, it is simply "The Living Labyrinth.” 

 

To all who see it, especially to those who come into contact with it, it is a dark mirror.

 

The sentient part of the Labyrinth affects a person's mind on both a conscious and subconscious level. However, unlike characters who seek to generate fear, such as Pitch Black or the Scarecrow, the Labyrinth's reach is much deeper. 

 

It is not only able to identify and pull forth one's fears. It is also capable of preying upon characters’ insecurities, flaws, failures, regrets, doubts, and aspects of truths characters find unsettling or unacceptable. This can even include problems in their home worlds they are unable or forbidden to fix. 

 

This sense of wrongness - of imperfection and imbalance - associated with these negative components and traits  is turned back upon the character in question. Reflected back on them in its fullest form.

 

That voice in your head, accusing you of failing your friends and family? Of fearing that your friends will betray you? That your choices have led you down the wrong path? That your world has gone to hell and there's nothing you can do about it? 

 

Though it is easy to assume that voice belongs to The Ferryman, it does not. The voice is your own.

 

A few have seen a glimpse of The Labyrinth in recent times when the creature made its way up from below when The Spire rose on the city's fifth anniversary. It waited and watched, looking in upon various Wakened and Ascended before vanishing to parts unknown. 

 

Now, however, it has decided to return. Why, you might ask? 

 

Perhaps it has witnessed something in Nautilus and has seen a need for its presence. Or perhaps it's here to serve as a warning of some kind. Potentially, it may be searching for something or someone. Whatever the reason, however, it will not be in any hurry to depart.

 

 

NETWORK PRESENCE

An open post will hit the network on [date here] to mark the arrival of the Labyrinth. Any character who watches the transmission will get a clear view of the creature, which will cause an undeniable, inescapable, deep feeling of dread. 

 

This will hold true for every sentient character in Nautilus, no matter their species, age, alignment, past or mindset. It does not matter how fearless or even insane a character might be, they will still be able to tell that something is definitely wrong in a very troubling way when they catch sight of The Ferryman. Remember, even the Deva are wary of this being.

 

Interactions with the Labyrinth over the network will result in continued and perhaps even increased feelings of distress. Some characters may be prone to panic attacks and breakdowns in the face of being judged.  Fortunately, effects are only temporary and will slip away fairly quickly once the network connection is broken on an individual level.

 

Also of note and as an additional option for those who qualify, veteran characters who have either been in down in the Labyrinth at one time or who have been directly exposed to The Living Labyrinth off-network in previous encounters may go through a brief period of insanity lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few days if they make contact over the network. 

 

Whether or not they suffer such a reaction can depend on how their previous encounter with this entity went and if their issues were resolved. Reactions may include anything from extreme emotional distress to incoherent babbling to hallucinations. Other characters may attempt to calm them and help them regain control. It's up to you as players how you handle this, within reason.

 

CITY PRESENCE

Over the course of the next few weeks, the Labyrinth will seek to come into direct contact with a number of Wakened and even Ascended. These interactions will take place in the log community and will make full use of the Labyrinth's function as a dark mirror, causing characters to face their insecurities, flaws, regrets and other issues. 

 

These interactions may occur while a character is sleeping or awake, but either way will deeply affect the mind so that it will be difficult for a character to tell whether presented scenarios are reality or all in his or her head. Potentially, parts of these scenarios may be real, as the Labyrinth is Chaos and possibilities personified. These visitations may or may not cause temporary confusion and distress in the aftermath.

 

Any attempts to fight off the Labyrinth will be futile. It is, after all, stronger than anyone in the city, including each of the Deva on an individual level.

 

Sign-ups for the first log are open as of the posting of this information and will last four days, ending at 11:59pm Pacific on [date here].Ten (10) characters will be accepted for the first round and in order to maintain fairness, we do ask that if your character has previously logged time with The Labyrinth that the same character not be added to the sign-up list. 

 

We also ask that only one character per player be signed up for this event, so choose wisely!

 

Once the sign-up period ends, if ten or fewer characters have been tagged into this post, all of them will be invited to join the log once it is posted. Should eleven or more be signed up, RNG will be used to determine which ten will be selected for the log.

 

A secondary round with a sign-up post will follow in approximately two weeks time for anyone who does not make the first round. First round sign-ups will carry over (unless a player rescinds their spot) and anyone who missed the first round may sign-up at that point.

 

SIGN-UP INFORMATION

If you wish to volunteer a character for the initial log, please tag into this post under the appropriate section below using the text in the box with all sections filled out.