Dark Jack

The Prophecy

Zerul City, the Drunken Dove

“You tell us,” Rose shrugged when I’on and Ixion both requested to receive word of the deo’iel’s verdict on the nature of the Nemhimian menace. “We’re demonspawn, inherently incapable of ‘normal’ mortal magic; we can only use our infernal powers. If there is some magic that would let us find you wherever you were and send a message to you, it would have to come from you.”
“As for a harvester roaming the world,” Violet commented, “I can only say that it probably won’t be doing that for long. Although we still wouldn’t be able to destroy one even if we brought every agent of the deo’iel to fight against it, we... The deo’iel takes harvesters very seriously. Our predecessors were completely unprepared and unable to deal with it when the Sineater appeared, but the Order has spent the time since then preparing for the appearance of another one like it. We have means to combat harvesters – to destroy them – but the seventh circle won’t deploy them unless they are absolutely certain that it’s a harvester.
Once they know, however...” she waved her hand in a vague gesture, “the harvester will be annihilated at all costs.”

Listening to the same two men pondering to visit the branch-headquarters in Fokon, Violet could only nod. “We don’t withhold information that concerns everyone; if you ask, you will probably be told.” She paused, thinking. “Also, the Order has entire libraries on dangerous creatures, magics, substances and artifacts, and record everything learn and observe. Information there is usually unavailable to the public, but... as before, if you find a fourth circle-member or higher and tell them that you have our approval along with our names, they will let you see it.”
“But before you ask,” Rose broke in sternly, “you definitely won’t be seeing our countermeasure against harvesters; only the sixth and seventh circle are allowed to know about that. The only way you’re going to be seeing that is by being near the harvester when it’s deployed... Which you probably wouldn’t survive.”

The Prophecy

The Duchy of Zerul, by a road in southwest

Choking on one’s food... Jaelnec mused, interestingly enough not feeling particularly amused by the prospect of something that random and, most of all, pointless being able to deliver a humiliating death to even the most skilled and powerful warriors, and sour the ends of even the greatest legends. Just several days ago he might have laughed at the thought, perhaps even offered other alternatives as to how even the most famous and accomplished fighter could potentially die disgracefully, but now... after Freagon’s death, the thought brought about much too strong associations with the Withering, and how it had taken his master’s life.
On one hand the inevitability of it all and the ominous relentlessness of the plague was terrifying, and almost enough to zap the hope of anyone wanting to stop it. It had killed millions, and its list of victims now included royalty, nobles, powerful mages and legendary knights and warriors. Freagon was literally the single most skilled and powerful fighter Jaelnec had ever seen – his prowess in battle had been almost unreal, to the point where recounting the tales of his exploits would sound greatly exaggerated to anyone who had not personally witnessed them – yet he had been helpless against the Withering. If the great Sir Freagon Nightmaregaze had been defeated by this hulking, indomitable monster – a true nightmare (an association the Nightwalker ironically did not realize how close was to the truth) that walked among mortals as an unseen specter, snuffing out their lives with the indifference a man might show while blowing out a candle flame – then what chance did he stand?
But on the other hand, even though the task seemed as hopeless as ever, the thought of it also fueled the determination that had spurred him on through everything that had happened since Freagon’s death, and had given him the strength to carry on despite it all. Wicked humans, feral monsters, vile creatures of darkness and shadow, even gods and demon lords; none of them were going to stop him if they did anything short of killing him.
It was his quest, and whether it failed or succeeded, he would see it through to its end. No matter what.

Jaelnec also heard the rustle, but did not immediately react to it since it came from the location he knew was occupied by Iridiel, and he simply presumed that the noise was her moving around up there somehow, perhaps even doing as little as rearranging herself in a more comfortable position. It was not until he heard the unnervingly familiar sound of a body hitting the ground that it even occurred to the squire that something was awry, at which point he turned to look in the direction of the sound as well, only to see Iridiel having fallen to the ground.
It was not the fact that she had fallen out of the tree that had Jaelnec clench his still-sore muscles, throwing his cloak back and out of the way fully as he focused his senses; climbing trees could be challenging, especially when it had rained as much as it had lately and the branches were liable to be wet and slippery. No, falling in itself could perhaps even be entertaining for spectators, but the way she fell and hit the ground... she had made no attempt to catch herself on the way down or to brace herself against hitting the ground, as one was would normally instinctively have done in a situation like that. She had just fallen, limply, and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Domhnall moved to her, as Jaelnec had hoped he would – he would rather the one rushing to her aid be someone she knew and trusted, rather than someone who did not even speak the same language as her – and left the Nightwalker by himself, ready to move to help if necessary, though not yet entirely certain what he could do... and... Why did he feel a compulsion to blink his eyes constantly? And for some reason he just felt uneasy. Maybe he was just getting paranoid.

“We think there is something...”
Jaelnec did not even question it when Domhnall uttered those words, the hairs on his arms and neck already standing on end as something was triggering his instincts in ways he was far from accustomed to. Freagon had taught him to hone his instincts and intuition and to be able to react to these by reflex, but there was something nearby that did not only give him the usual vague notion of ‘danger in this direction’, but rather an even vaguer sense of wrongness. It was not that his instincts were reacting to something in particular, it felt like, but more as though something was seriously messing with them. He kept wanting to duck away from one direction or another, and reflexively twitched and looked everywhere, but there was never anything there.
If anything this only served to further prove that something was coming; out of everyone here – horses and donkey notwithstanding – he was the one in the best condition, the strongest and most rested, and there was no rational explanation for him feeling the way he did now. He reached for Roct and seized its hilt, only to immediately feel its warmth seep into him and dull the discomfort of the something Domhnall and Iridiel had already identified.
“Why, that’s interesting,” Olan commented while the younger Nightwalker watched and listened carefully, the golden-purple metal of his ghiril cuirass bared with his cloak out of the way. “This... this is something I don’t think I’ve experienced before, you know. Something new.”
Jaelnec was just about to tell the old man to be quiet, when the something abruptly had his hairs stand on end anew with a sound that fit an undead or a demon better than the woman who burst from the undergrowth not too far from there. The woman – if that was indeed what she was – seemed wild, almost feral somehow, except the fact that she was wielding a sword that definitely did not belong in the hands of anyone who did not know what they were doing. It was black, with glowing runes and expert craftsmanship... a masterpiece to rival Roct, by the looks of it.
But the woman... though one might question her motivation for attacking them – a group that outnumbered her and was furthermore accompanied by two different huge creatures foreign to this land, even if one was sleeping and the other wounded – her intention seemed clear: she was heading straight for Iridiel and Domhnall, sword raised and murder in her eyes.
Roct sang as it slid out of its scabbard, as it had ever done, but with a slight break in its song marring its usual perfection when the notch in the blade emerged. Jaelnec did not think, nor did he need to: he simply rushed immediately to stop this attacker before it could reach these new acquaintances of his, at least one of which seemed in no condition to defend herself.

He slipped past the trees, flew past Iridiel and Domhnall, and kept rushing forward, his muscles protesting against being strained like this so soon but not hindering him, his cloak billowing behind him and making him wish he had discarded it entirely. Too late now.
Gripping the handle of the Sartal sword with both hands, trying to ignore how his sense of balance seemed somehow off and the sense of uneasiness grew to one of unnatural fear, he grit his teeth and moved to parry the crazed woman’s strike. He just hoped that those glowing runes did not mean that it was going to blow Roct straight out of his hands...

The Prophecy

Would you like to post next in the Drunken Dove-scene, Rhaevnn, or should I go ahead?

The Prophecy

Yes, magnetism is a known force, to the same extent gravity is (that is not to say that knowledge of magnetism is as widespread as that of gravity, but it's fairly common).

The Prophecy

While I would have liked at least @Ashgan's response as well, I don't really feel as though I can delay reacting to your feedback anymore, so here I go. Thank you, obviously, for your assurances, and thank you for your thoughts on the subject as well. It's good to see everyone posting in the OOC, and in case there was ever any doubt there is an eternally open invitation to do so whenever you want, about whatever you want; anything, frankly, that works as evidence that the RP is still alive and to amuse and intrigue everyone involved, even if the IC pace is slow.
Now, the recommendations you've given me...

To answer your question - what needs to be done, I believe, is perhaps a more strict posting requirement. I'm not sure what this would like, as I'm not sure of what severity this posting requirement should be, but I do believe something needs to be implemented.

Rhaevnn Xeno

I've taken this into consideration in regards to some of the changes listed at the end of this post, but actually imposing a posting requirement is something that I've been reluctant to do from the very start, even if it is something that I think a lot of GMs use specifically to sustain the flow of the RP and keep their players active. The problem is that as soon as an actual deadline is established, many things for a lot of people - a decrease in creativity and fun possible, an increase in stress - are negatively impacted. It conflicts with the message that I have tried to convey from the very start on "real life comes first", so I'm afraid this - in its exact form - is not something I'll ever want to do.
That said, however, you are correct: something needs to be implemented. More on that later.

From looking in the past couple of pages of the IC, there is one thing that is in common with all three of the storylines: They do appear to be in a conversation with each other. It doesn't appear to show a sense of urgency with the further progress of the stories apart from further information for characters to consider.I would say perhaps getting some form of an event to bring things out of this lull would probably help with the RP.

Mercunis3

Shien already expressed some of what I think about this, concerning the fact that dialogue can be interesting - particularly if it concerns important subjects - and that non-stop fighting can be a chore as well. There is also the fact that it would be (forgive me for including a bad word) unrealistic, irrelevant though such a property seems to be particularly in fantasy, if the action happened all the time. For all the clichés and tropes featured in the RP, I'm still reluctant to include random enemies behind every corner and a landscape ripe with inexplicably untouched ruins, dungeons and caves in a land with an apparent surplus of adventurers and vigilantes. To be honest the main branch - the one on the road to Zerul City - has already seen a fairly unrealistic amount of action compared to the IC time that has passed, as the thoughts of the characters frequently remind me. The characters have pretty much been begging me to give them a chance to breathe, and I really can't imagine that their stance on this or the enjoyment gotten from playing them would improve if they were to be exhausted even further.
Action is coming, particularly once the main group's long prophesied arrival to Zerul City comes to pass and I have some more wriggle-room. Honestly, I'm not even sure what I would do to inject a further sense of urgency into the current three story branches. Whatever I do with the main group Aemoten still needs to wake up, and beyond him resting they have actually been fairly focused on getting to Zerul City. At the Drunken Dove, those three have already just fought Fixer and subsequently had an unfortunate brief but intense clash with Rose of the Sisters of Torment, and are currently in the company of two very powerful and famous allies in the middle of a population center. Jillian and Gerald just escaped the Battle of Anaxim Forest and have been making deals that have allowed them to learn the full truth of the Withering and how to end it, and - on top of being in a secluded area, in the company of two powerful allies, one of which is probably imposing enough to make would-be meddlers reconsider what they're doing with their lives - are speaking with a projection of the Grand Master himself. Though the OOC tension has gotten low due to delay between posts, the IC tension is practically at the breaking point; even in Ixion's own branch the characters seem pretty weary and to want nothing more than to get some sleep.
Hmm... I also realize that I've lost track of when the different branches are again. Damn.

There has been said more in PM, but I'm not going to quote or respond to those things here. I have your advice now, however, and I have decided to make a few changes to the OP to reflect the efforts to improve the flow of the RP:
To begin with I renamed the "Rules" section "Guidelines", since that is more in line with reality and better reflects my stance on the various entries there. Additionally I've also moved the statement of the player-limit out of said section and further up, to just beneath the introduction.
I've removed the entry I previously quoted about giving a warning if one is delayed by four days, and replaced it with:

- Once it is your turn to post, please at least give a situation- and/or progress-report if you are delayed from posting by a week, and another periodically at least once a week from then, if the delay becomes extreme. If you expect to be unable to post for two weeks or more, please tell us in advance.

On the same topic I added another guideline:

- If you find yourself unable to post for a long period of time (a month or more), please consider allowing for your character to be carried during your incapacitation, preferably while giving relatively brief and manageable instructions on how to handle this OOC.

And finally, one last additional guideline:

- Communicate. If there is any doubt as to which player is the next to post, please address this doubt OOC as soon as possible; ask if the other player intends to post rather than waiting to see if they will. In fact if you have questions in general, don't hold back: a question asked is potentially a mistake avoided.

That's about it. Thank you again for your assurances and your input.

From Downfall ReRisen

“The others call it a ‘gate’, but it’s really some kind of brain-machine interface,” Kay explained the device grafted into her skull, idly drumming her fingers on the little metal box as she did so. “As far as I know it just translates human thought into digital signals and vice versa. And my eye is the reason I got it, originally... to be able to actually see with it. It’s artificial, you see. Lost my old one when, eh, all of this happened.” She made a vague gesture at the scarred side of her face.
She probably seemed somewhat less lively during this explanation than she had been with Enn most of the time until then, if not downright morose, which was probably one of her greatest regrets. Her artificial eye and the gate in her head were probably the two most advanced pieces of technology she had ever seen, and both were hugely fascinating to her to the point where she wanted to get enthusiastic about them the same way she did with other interesting devices, but somehow... the fact that they were in her, and had almost become an integral part of her, made it somewhat awkward. The eye was not so bad, beside it reminding her of the eye she had lost, because she could turn it off and take it out; its socket allowed for the eye itself to be plugged in and out quite freely and painlessly, if one knew how to do it. She had been able to examine the eye – albeit only very cautiously as to be sure that she could restore it to working order again after – and figure how how it worked. The gate, however... it was plugged into her brain. Removing it would probably kill her, or at least cause irreparable brain damage, and there was no telling what could happen if one tried tinkering with it while it was still connected to her. For a part of herself, she knew surprisingly little about the gate... too little.
It had not been her choice to receive those two things; she had been sedated after her accident, and when she had regained consciousness the procedure had already been performed. She recalled having been pretty devastated by it at the time, and furious with the others for having altered her like that without her consent, but ultimately she had just accepted it because... well, frankly she had no other choice. The worst part of it all was that helping her was not even the primary objective of installing the gate in her head! The reason they had given her the cybernetic eye and the brain-machine interface was mostly just because they wanted to see if it worked, and how it would affect the recipient. Needless to say it was no one in Eighfour who had built either of the two artifacts. Rather, they really had no idea which faction had made them, or what purpose they originally served... and the only reason they had known enough to be able to install the eye and gate in her skull was because they had found them embedded into the skull of a corpse. The corpse had had several other cybernetic replacements, but they only had the one brain-machine interface, and the rest would not work without that. They had tried to pressure her into receiving the other replacements since, but she had refused.
So now they were all just really hoping that she managed to get herself seriously hurt again... or better yet, died so they could install the gate into someone more cooperative.

But soon enough she brightened and returned to her usual self. “As for Aitch, the way I control him is pretty ingenious, if I say so myself. It’s this glove here, you see; I built it to control all of my drones by having it register the position and movements of my fingers, and translate those things into commands.” She sighed. “When I say that I’m inside him, though, it’s because I can see and hear through him, through the gate. I haven’t figured out how to make the gate accept new signals, though, so for the moment all I can do is to make my drones copy the signal of my eye, since the gate recognizes that. Unfortunately that means that I have to turn my eye off while I use a drone... if I don’t the signals get all mixed together, and I see two images mixed into each other.”

She did not pay too much attention to what Enn was doing with the birds, though, as her attention came to be more and more focused on her actions through Aitch, currently flitting through the leaves and heading for the clear view of the forest from above. She frowned, deeply concentrated, as she slowed the little drone’s movements. Something was... just slightly off, it felt like. She had not noticed it until Aitch had put some distance between itself and her, but now she was becoming increasingly certain that something was not right. It felt like there sometimes was a slight delay before Aitch responded to the movements of her fingers, and while the images remained clear, the sound... she seemed to be hearing a little bit of static. Odd.
Until she actually got above the trees, that was, and got a proper view of the sky...
Oh.

Kay remained unusually intent on what she was doing by remote-control for about another ten or so seconds, barely even paying attention to what was happening in the immediate vicinity of her body, until Aitch returned – much more clumsily than it had left – to her, she turned it off and reopened her artificial eye. Only then did she look at Enn, just about in time to see him remove his helmet – he looked surprisingly young – and take a bite of meat before asking her a question.
“You noticed the static, huh?” she sighed, turning back to her cart to put away Aitch Cee and retrieve a bottle of water. “Yeah, the weather definitely won’t be kind to us, that’s for sure; judging by the sky, there’s a sunstorm coming. I won’t be able to use my drones while that goes on... but hopefully I won’t need to, either.”
She turned back to him and offered him a plastic bottle, made to hold a liter of water and about two-thirds full of clear-looking liquid. “And Eighfour isn’t that far, really. Now that I know where we are, I’d say we’re probably just some twenty kilometers away.”
Suddenly, though, she had a thought. “Will the, uh, Trenians, was it? Do you know if their drones will work in a sunstorm?”

The Prophecy

Yeah, everything seems to be in order (as you know from my collaborating its creation). Character accepted; it'll be added to the list in the OP shortly.

The Prophecy

Oh, well, this was unexpected... to have a new player take interest in the RP while the Compendium with all the background information is unavailable, that is. I would recommend either waiting until the Compendium is back in working order before starting to make your characters in detail, or I suppose you could just ask for the information you need (generally you can ask about anything, and I'll try to supply a satisfactory reply).
Eh, but in case it wasn't clear from what I just said, feel free to submit a character for review. Having a suitable character is really the only requirement for being admitted into the RP.

The Prophecy

You did, and I appreciate that (I will get to replying to that PM, by the way, there are just some of the things I want to say in it that still require some mulling over), but while it is somewhat assuring to at least hear such things from you, I find it fairly disconcerting that I practically only hear it from you. I mean, I'm pretty sure that a short notice of "sorry, can't post right now because I'm busy" or such would take a minute or two to write, and I don't think I've ever given anyone any reason to expect that I would respond poorly to that.

A note on the rule I quoted back up there, the way it's meant to be read is "post four days from when your turn rolls around", not "you personally post every four days". I do agree with what Shien brought up in her PM about it being a rule from a different time with different players and not entirely applicable now, but even so a week's delay would probably be a more suitable milestone for when it's a nice move to drop a comment about there being a bit of an extra wait.

And yes, as Shien pointed out - and I previously specifically requested - hearing from everyone, even just a short comment, would be greatly appreciated.

The Prophecy

@Shienvien, @cthulu, @yoshua171, @Mercinus3, @Rhaevnn Xeno, @Legion X51, @ASTA and @Ashgan... may I have your attention please?

Am I doing something wrong?
Right from the time when I started this RP, which by now is a fairly long time ago, I have endeavored to be a forthcoming, understanding and generally amicable GM who, while stressing – as I will do again today – that I am indeed dedicated to this RP, its story and its continuation, but also time and time again reminding you all that real life comes first. Of course it does, and it has always been my policy that temporary inactivity was fully acceptable as long as I received some kind of forewarning, and/or some kind of assurance that you are still in the RP and haven’t dropped it.
But right now, the way things are looking, I cannot help but to wonder if I have perhaps been too lenient and too understanding, to the point where my failings have brought the health of this precious old RP of mine – which has admittedly been deteriorating slowly but inexorably for a long time – to what feels unnervingly like close to the brink of death. I know of many other GMs who would have decided that their RP had died long ago with the level of activity The Prophecy has had for the past months, if not even the past year, and quite frankly I think that the fact that I’m still fighting for this RP even at this point should demonstrate the level of sheer stubbornness with which I pursue its survival, deepened even further by my knowledge that there are also still players who not only want to participate in it, but who remain passionate about it too.
Several times over the course of this RP I have faced vaguely similar issues with single players, and during these times I had to invoke deus ex machina or downright cut those players from the story one way or another in order to enable the RP to continue. Now, however, it is not one player, not one story; in the three branching stories of The Prophecy currently active, none are particularly active. The most active one has gone half a month without seeing a reply, which would be acceptable... if it was the exception rather than the norm.
I am understanding and try to help you get through the hardships of your real lives without having to worry about the RP, and I realize that writing posts of the level that has become a hallmark of this RP can be taxing and time-consuming, but I have to realize that there is something seriously wrong when huge amounts of time pass without any activity whatsoever. Even in the most active branch of the story, it feels as though posts only occur when I grow impatient and request posting to be resumed. I spoke of this briefly in a previous “recent” - which one month ago is according to the standards currently in place – OOC-post, but nothing happened.
If you will permit me to do so, I would like to quote the rules-section of the OP of this RP; a rule that has been in place since the beginning of the RP:

- If you are unable to post for a longer period of time (more than four days, for instance) tell us first.

Four days was originally considered a longer period of time, warranting a warning to one’s fellow players. That is where we came from, and this is where we have gotten. One of the three branches of the story has been stuck for over a quarter of a year, and the last of the three is not far behind that one. You know which branches I mean without me naming them. I’m not mentioning anyone in particular in relation to this, not calling anyone out, and I leave it to each of you individually to consider whether you feel responsible for the current state of the RP, and whether you really are that extraordinarily preoccupied, or if you have perhaps just gotten bored with the RP or a “little” lazy. Some players are commendably ready and rarely delay for long once their turn comes around before they post, but those are regrettably in the minority... and quite frankly, recruiting new players for the RP will do nothing for the health of the RP if those new players still have to wait months for the old players to post their turn.
I may sound like I am being harsh, and for that I apologize. I realize from experience that a post like this will most likely make one or several people feel so particularly targeted – though I truly am targeting no one in this post – or so guilty that they feel pressured into leaving the RP, and I realize that including a disclaimer saying that I do not want this will probably not change that. But even so, I have come to the conclusion that it needs to be said.

Which brings me to the ultimate purpose of this post: what needs to be done?
Clearly I need to do something different, or this incarnation of The Prophecy really will die. What am I doing wrong? Should I hound you for not posting whenever a few days have passed? Should I be less polite and more resolute in my requests for posts? Or are my expectations unreasonable? I don’t think they are, but at this point I can’t be certain about anything.
All of these question marks aren’t there just for appearances’ sake, and they have their name for a reason: I am genuinely asking you all real questions here, and I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Please, help me be better if I have performed poorly as GM; please help restoring The Prophecy.