The Harbinger of Ferocity

"You Are Your Avatar"

"It was more a suggestion for the sake of those present here who are not born weapons." The Machairodont felid replied in a fact of matter manner, still eyeing over Junko warily as she seemed to apport to his side. The very world around her seemed to be odd and that was not a statement about her company, rather that it was unclear to the beast just how she managed this and other surprises earlier. It could have just been this place, but it had its doubts; no one else seemed to react in that manner.

With the addition of a tall, burly man dressed in red some of the attention shifted toward him, especially as his soft spoken tone offered assistance; whatever these sphereoids were, it seemed most if not all were willing to contend with them. The Harbinger was not familiar to the normalcy of this, yet at this rate it proved ever more convincing there was a need to deal with them. Even if that only meant discovering the relations between the naga, if any proved at all, and the odd subject of focus.

The cat looked over the man head to toe before it gave an answer, "The offer seems promising enough."

D&D 5e - The Lost Lands

One great raven, unaware of why it just became a thrall to fear, soon found itself even more startled by a shockwave that rippled the air and flung wide some of its feathers, of which now drifted by on the wind. Immediately taking to wing, it beat them with such force of retreat that it scuttled away from the defenders in almost a moment, so swift that they hadn't the opportunity to do more than shield their faces from its windstorm retreat. Cawing as loud as it could crow, no longer laughing as it was, it made a hasty exit - not even paying mind that one of its mob had fallen or that the last bird yet was left to deal with its catch.

Speaking of which, Theodore then felt his entire body leave the ground with incredible ease; another moment of near weightlessness, suspended in the claws of a titanic bird which, thankfully, had no chance of dropping him to his seeming death. Which was questionable, because he still could feel no sign of or trace of injury on his person, but his entire body did feel tapped. Unlike the shadows, which this was oddly reminiscent of, their attacks weren't chill touches of entropy, rather... these birds were alive. As in, they were actual birds, actual ravens! Large ravens, but not monsters.

They intended to carry him to their nest!

The ranger wasn't uneducated in the slightest just why they would do this, it all made more sense now, so the good news was, was that they weren't likely to let him go out of malevolence or the like. The unfortunate news was that these trees, which their roost had to be in somewhere, were in themselves triumphant and massive beyond all scale. Even if he somehow survived this, how would he see himself out of that madness of being stuck in a giant nest, surrounded by hungry birds, then down a tree as tall as a castle upon the crest of a hill if not larger?

By the time he had this revelation, the ground had disappeared many feet under him and the titanic bird was sweeping by Katia, not far below her treetop perch. One could only wonder what she was to do next, at least among the heroes, for it was clear these giant avians had not the faintest.

Effects

Map
Field

The Great Raven grappling Theodore will start to fly, at half its maximum speed up and away, attempting to gain lift. It moves 15 feet and rises 25 feet. Theodore is underneath the bird, held in its claws.

The other Great Raven, frightened of Wick, uses its action to disengage and not provoke opportunity attacks. It moves 40 feet away and flies up 40 feet.

@Big Dread, @Cu Chulainn, @Gordian Nought, @Hekazu, @JBRam2002, @Zverda

The Galactic Schism

There was no secret to be discovered in all the information being gathered that the events of the day before were profoundly changing, not just to this world and all under its dominion, but too those far beyond it.

The evidence the cold eyes had laid sight upon implied as much, for they spoke of something more grand and ominous, that which the many peoples and the many nations knew not of and could not be made aware of; the hours reading revealed knowledge so arcane that what glimmers of hope that this could all be resolved swiftly faded. These were times unlike anything these people were to know and perhaps more forebodingly, ever would know. That was what made them so dire to understand. Not the lives lost, not the damages sustained, not the injured economy. No, it was that there was more to come.

While in regular times and trials those eyes would have viewed the speech as rousing, but they had no such opportunity to even be present. The chaos that followed in the wake of the storm, particularly that which knowledge could only be discussed behind closed doors, had been more pressing. The threat and that which it posed needed to be understood in the most precise of details with such utter secrecy that the thoughts themselves had to be shrouded by technical and even unnatural wards. Even these too were under threat, that was how grave the danger was. It was by sheer coincidence, maybe fate itself all along, that this information was bestowed upon a man from so far outside the bounds of reality. Someone who really should not have had a stake, let alone a say, in its distribution to him, but such was the nature of the station he was in.

Recitation and contemplation put the inner turmoil to calm, just as they did all other things. The memories and the information suppressed by the psyche, at least for now. Their time and place would come soon enough.

For now, the intensity of focus shifted itself visibly as the eyes moved again, now to view the vast rolling sea before it. The sights, sounds, senses as a whole all returned to the foreground rather than their prior place of being relegated to nothing. This beach, whose white sands shone brightly in the morning sun, were akin to the pale flesh of the very old in soul and far younger in body man. Truthfully, were it not for the synthetic material that made up his open longcoat and its midnight coloration, he might have otherwise been effectively invisible here. The beauty of this untouched place, where he had been the only man to ever set foot, was distracting enough to let such a fancy carry. Adding in the fact he was both pale and bald helped too.

His elopement here was brief, all too brief. Although it was the only place he knew where he could keep his secrets to himself and only share them with the land of which was content to drink them in, never to share them either. Just where this land, this place was across an infinite sea of stars no one but he likely knew. So it made for that much desired sanctuary to ponder the weights of the world that he had in part accepted. Once upon a time it was not that way, a place to hide and think, but that was then. The only thing that had gone truly unchanged was the sea and this beach it seemed.

The man took a few steps forward, hands concealed behind his back, boots parting the incalculable grains of sand, and before his next had so much as sunk into the sea before him, he had vanished without trace. His footsteps followed suit, being made no more by the wave that then broke. Once again this world was free of the outside.

Where he returned however, sometime and somewhere, was vastly different and in the company of two familiar men. He observed them and their exchange with a odd quiet politeness and even more odd stillness. There was this particular way he stood and watched which seemed only in part human, as though he himself did not realize he was genuinely here, perhaps mislead that he was in another place which might as well had been a dream. The reality was that he was indeed here though he appeared content not to change anything of his actions in spite of this. Rather, the courteous silence and motionlessness just seemed to be inherent.

"Yes, it is unfortunate we find ourselves meeting." He said, proving to cant his head some, "But I assure you both, as if you had any doubts, this is of tremendous import."

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Unflapped by the exchange between the women, Brannor remained mostly still with his arms folded across his chest and his towering posture content to remain in its claimed corner. Every bit of him would have been tingling with anticipation that the scene would go too far, but Parum's heart had won the day; she had at least for the moment tamed a spirit that had become unchecked. To the man of the wood and wild, the idea that the cleric had become enraptured by fury was no surprise. After all it was the nature of the very faith and magic she wielded, one not too removed from his own, that made it fertile ground for becoming free, at times too free.

Chauntea was a divine force of domesticated nature certainly, a mirror to the primal Silvanus, but even a god in the cosmology still answered to a power nothing one could ever freely command in whole, that being the wild in itself. This noted, it goes without saying that if it takes a greater goddess, one who even had the Pale Lady's favor, to so much as tame it in part then a lone mortal could never even dare to. Shepard's bouts of internal turmoil and loss were to be expected, needing only guidance from good hands lest she turn from the light she so craved to the dark that had surrounded her.

The addition of company, of which made no subtle approach as Brannor's ears noted without delay, complicated things more. Not that he blamed them for their desire to be present, especially not with the sergeant's reaction to the wizardly acts being carried out by the elder Torus. What was a relief throughout this, as with the priestess' earlier willingness to still reason from her smaller counsel, was that they dared not interfere or assume the events going on for themselves. The woodsman was, understandably so, none too pleased with continually falling under their direction, but their motives and need were certainly not ill or insurmountable requests; he would not abandon their plights or utterly discard their worries or wants tonight.

These things were all well and good progress... until the woman began talking, shifting about in an effort to remove her blind and find comfort in her steel bindings.

"Another chance you say? Being captured does not usually mean such things now, does it? But I know not how much I could ever use it. The Cult of the Dragon will not look kindly upon those who leave... and I have no intention of doing so. We are too close. The great hoard that will usher the reign of the Queen of Dragons is almost complete. Greenest was but one more place for us to gather treasure."

Brannor's expression changed from a place of mild attentiveness to a narrowed, deathly stare by the time her words revealed she had not an ounce of repentance for her deeds against Greenest. What arrogance this woman displayed in the face of her captors, rambling about how great a "hoard" they were gathering and how some fiend had the willingness to consider itself royalty. Of all people in the room, perhaps the hunter had the most reason to disdain or distrust these towns people and those that ruled over them, but he would certainly not terrorize or kill them, let alone pillage their livelihood and even less so for some scaly beast.

Rolls

Brannor rolls a 1 to recall anything about a "Queen of Dragons" or a "Cult of the Dragon". As far as he knows or is concerned, the woman is nothing more than a babbling fool and true believer made through indoctrination by evil powers.

@Hekazu@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Gordian Nought@Norschtalen

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Question 19: To introduce a new setting do I need to fill out a form somewhere on Expanding Horizons?
Answer: Not at all. At minimum, all you need to do is make a character and have it approved by Staff. From there you can make your own topic and setting in the Expanding Horizons In-Character universe. If you chose to do that, you need to give the general theme and ideas of the type of world it is, note if it is an Open or Closed world, and know that you are the Game Master responsible for running it. All of this needs to be done in the first post for that world.

Because this is a new topic, you would write the title this way, (Name of Story - The World - Open or Closed World). It should look like this, The Oncoming Storm - Tulos - Open World, meaning that everyone knows that plotline, where the world or location is, and if anyone can even venture there from somewhere else. The second part is important because a single location might have multiple stories.
- @The Harbinger of Ferocity

@Nightrunner

Frokane's Mildly Politcal Hangout Thread

Actual boundaries are a physical and psychological deterrent, as well as an area of demarcation that display a willingness to deny access to a zone, usually by some authority. Granted these people clearly do not respect that authority, but the problems of besting a physical object like a wall reinforce the nature of the consequences of disobeying it. The short of what I am saying is that walls do work at keeping people out, especially if it is well noted why it is there and what the punishment is for failing to heed it is once on the other side. No less, it needn't even be one-hundred percent effective to have a positive gain. Not just on immigration issues, but proving the United States can better back its word for once after the past few years.

I live and work in a remote desert. It is not that difficult to build a wall up to a point that is difficult to pass then use the natural boundary to funnel people through it and into another, significantly smaller wall. This type of "channeling" is not new and is, in fact, a very efficient way to force people to go right where you want them to; most are willing to believe there won't be a deterrent or anyone waiting on the other side. It also makes escape by those persons more difficult, meaning apprehension and arrest take less time while also being less dangerous for the officers in question. It needn't even be that elaborate as having anyone on the other side to remain fairly effective.

It was said already, but a physical boundary can be used for anything from solar panels to wind turbine in the right places, but its objective isn't to off set its costs; that's just a benefit that should be worked out if at all possible. The reality of managing the upkeep of a mostly concrete and steel structure is minimal in a desert; it isn't like it is going to rust that much. More Border Patrol agents would be required to do this, but that was a given from the start as the objective was to reduce and eliminate, as near to zero, illegal immigrants gaining unauthorized entry and to do just that you will need human sentries.

"You Are Your Avatar"

"Arms and armor might be of use, but we have still yet to find ourselves made knowledgeable on just what a 'sphereoid' is or why it poses anyone, let alone an animate golem of metal, a threat."

A voice of reason made itself known and the difficulties in even facing a threat that had no foundation; how does one fight that which they do not know? It was a simple premise, one none too foreign to those of old. It seemed now in this new era that the prospect of conflict was perhaps more swift to rouse than to not. Not that a carnivore such as the great beast opposed this natural competition, but if it were to be had, it needed purpose; the hungry did not hunt for their amusement after all.

D&D 5e - Hoard of the Dragon Queen

I have nothing to add from Brannor now, as he is neither for or against what they are trying to do. Not welcome to it, but he is not about to interfere without good reason and it is fairly clear that if it becomes a matter of killing her slowly, that's about the most he would step in on. Otherwise he is present only to observe.