asgarddawning | MOD POST: NOVEMBER RUNDOWN

Let's hop straight to business! Autumn here with some quick November game and plot information.

First up, thanks for putting up with my delay with getting this post up (though I feel like I say that every month, eek!) This month's event marks what truly is the beginning of the end for Asgard Eventide's plot, and the game itself is awesomely in a much different place than we expected it to be at November of this year! There are a lot of factors in play in game as a direct result of player plotting and organic IC investigation (which is possibly the coolest thing I have ever gotten to say in a mod post), so planning out - and changing - the rest of the arc for endgame took (and is still taking) some care and discussion. Not an excuse, just an explanation!

With that in mind, the only real announcement we have this month is the official endgame timeline, which will be as follows:

The latter half of November through mid-February will be dedicated to events that will bring the game's metaplot to a close, and will address Ragnarok and the status of the decaying World Tree. By the end of February, Asgard Eventide's main plot will wrap up for good.
Starting at the end of February and continuing into either March or April - depending on player interest and involvement - the game will remain open to allow loose ends to be wrapped up both ICly and OOCly. There will be events, but of a much different nature than the previous ones, and players will be invited to deal with the results of the plot's conclusion… whatever that may be!

Thanks again for putting up with our chaos. The event calendars for December and January will be going up soon with event dates (though not names or descriptions) filled in, just so you guys have a little of an idea of what to expect during the holiday season, since we definitely don't want anyone to be overwhelmed during one of the busiest times of the year.

With all of that in mind, the rest of November will begin with Thor's planned march on Thiazi and her kingdom, and will end with an addition to Asgard's resources and a small request from one of the gods.

PLOT EVENT: WITH A WHIMPER (Nov 14-21/Days 540-543)

DAY 540 (Nov 14-15): Day 540 starts with a bracelet alert right before sunrise. It is message from Thor telling all that who plan to travel to Thrymheim to take down Thiazi to meet him outside the Gate of Frost. As caravans are packed for travel, Thor will tell the Travelers what they've learned from Tyr: as a result of holding his magic inside of her for so long, Thiazi is rotting from the inside out; she is going to be weak now that she is unable to rely on the strength of that same magic to mitigate the damages it caused.

While he speaks, some of the city guard will raise a cry of alarm: it seems as if troops are marching toward the city, but it quickly becomes apparent that for once this isn't an attack. Forces from Alfheim - elves and Tree-people both - have arrived and are prepared to march with Asgard in this push back against Thiazi, claiming they haven't forgotten the fact that the Travelers' intervention when they were being driven out their homes by Surt's forces.

They warn that they encountered a Frost Giant scouting toward the area of Asgard, and while they disposed of him with all due diligence, to be on the lookout: there may be antagonistic forces on the way here, too. When the caravan takes off, several of Alfheim's soldiers and the Bronze dragon remain behind and on guard, just in case.

Otherwise, the trip will be rocky as the terrain grows less forgiving and the weather turns steadily colder. They will break for camp late at night, and Thor will be found pacing around the fires, alternating between strategy talk and lamenting about having forgotten to bring an adequate nightcap. Weapons will be handed out then to those lacking them then (including the medics and support teams, just in case). Following this, Thor will draw the Strike Team and the rest of the Travelers interested in bringing Thiazi down to his fire in order give their special orders directly. Meanwhile, the Red and Blue Dragons keep to the skies overnight, watching out for an ambush that never comes.

Note: Those interested in having their characters participate in Thiazi's takedown, please read and sign up here. There is no character cap, but if you plan to thread or handwave involvement, please make sure to sign up! Anyone is welcome to sign up no matter what group they are "officially" part of, being affiliated with the Strike Team in any capacity is NOT required. Your character will still need to help fight the battle against the frost giants at large, but they'll simply have an additional task given to them directly related toward helping bring the Ice Queen down.
DAY 541 (Nov 16-17): After a meager few hours' rest, the caravan sets out again to finish the journey to Thrymheim. They arrive just before sundown and halt at the foot of a jagged mountain near the city to split into groups and to prepare themselves for the impending fight. Thiazi is mad and much weaker than before, but that doesn't mean she and her army will be pushovers.

The city is filled with jagged fixtures of black ice, manifestations of the corrupted magic that is all the Ice Queen has left. Just as when it blocked the Gate of Fog in Asgard, touching it causes horrible, damaging frostbite that can't be healed by magical means. Thiazi's Palace of Ice seems to be the epicenter of these festering magical wounds, as the once beautiful structure is now blighted and scarred over with them.

The fighting against Thiazi's frost giant army will start the moment that the Travelers set foot over the threshold into the city, and Thiazi will do her best to remain surrounded by as many of her forces as she possibly can. Their weapons are forged of the corrupted black magic (as that's all Thiazi has left to her) so any injuries will fester and rot immediately -- and like the burns, they are incapable of being cured by magic. The Ice Giants themselves are half-mad with confusion, fear, and shaken faith in their once untouchable Queen, but they still have the home field advantage.

It will be late into the night when the teams who have volunteered to take Thiazi down directly finally manage to begin execution of their plan: as the Frost Giant forces dwindle, they must poison her, trap her, and finally make use of the godkilling weapon Samantha and others have spent so long researching and creating.
DAY 542 (Nov 18-19): IN THRYMHEIM:
A shockwave like the result of a distant supernova will hit the city when Thiazi dies shortly after midnight. The ice - and much of the city itself - will crumble and start to collapse, raining dangerous daggers of ice down onto anyone nearby. Breathing may become a little difficult, too, as the black ice begins to melt and then evaporate in great clouds of gas that may just irritate or outright burn the lungs of whoever breathes it in, depending on how big of a breath they take.

Thor bellows an order to evacuate the city immediately and to regroup in safety away from the destruction. With nothing left to lose, some of the remaining Frost Giants rally and use the chaos in a last, desperate bid to do harm to the Travelers. The majority of the rest, however, will simply turn tail and attempt to flee back into the city.

The night will be noticeably colder when Thor announces that they'll be setting up camp two or three miles outside of Thrymheim to rest and tend to the wounded. The dragons will again be on patrol in the skies, but the god will also ask that people take turns keeping watch throughout the night, just in case any escaped Frost Giants try to seek a sneaky revenge in the night.

IN ASGARD:
Not long after midnight, the city itself will feel the echoes of the same shockwave moments after Thiazi is killed. It will register as a minor earthquake - not enough to cause any damage, but certainly enough to be noticed. A frigid gust of wind will pass through the city like a precursor to a bad winter storm, before a cold energy sweeps over the city and freezes solid every nonliving thing it touches as it passes. Thunder will boom twice in the clear night sky, and the entire city will find itself covered in a thick, unbroken layer of ice in less than a minute.

The ice will be non-magical, but pervasive, and range anywhere from half an inch to two inches thick.

The temperature in the city will remain well below freezing even after sunrise. The ice can be melted by normal means, but keep in mind there is a lot of it, so watch your step out on the streets if you manage to get your door open!
Day 543 (Nov 20-21): RETURNING FROM THRYMHEIM:
It's a long, bumpy journey that will take all of the day and most of the night, and the weather starts cold only to remain cold. A few miles before the caravan arrives back at the Gate of Frost, the sky will grow overcast. Half a mile from it, the bare ground will give way to a patchy layer of black snow that only grows thicker as they head into the city. When they make it through the Gate of Fog Thor will congratulate them all again on a battle well won and suggest they all drink something strong and go to bed, before he heads back to the castle to confer with the rest of the gods: the remainder of the war still has to be won, after all, but there's no denying that this step is a huge one.

IN ASGARD:
The sky will remains overcast but the weather will stay otherwise clear until about noon, when black snow will begin to fall like ash from the clouds. It will snow steadily for the rest of the day, piling a crisp few inches atop the ice already there.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Character name: Alastair Stara
Character's power/level: Healing, level two
Any other useful abilities or skills they might have?: He's an Assassin! He's got all kinds of sneaky skills and melee battle skills.

Alastair will be on Team Four - Finale. The IC campfire discussion thread is HERE, and the battle threads can be found HERE. Due to the number of people involved, there will be no posting order -- instead, feel free to hop in as little or as much as you'd like as you can and would like to!

Note: If you have any questions/requests or would like to speak to me about a team change, please let me know here or via PM!

MOD POST: NOVEMBER RUNDOWN

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