When you wish upon a Malevolent One

BACKSTORY:

It begin with me cooking a few snacks in Enorian....Iosyne showed up and sampled some of the things I was sharing with Citymates, and I in part helped her get some of the plate out of her teeth, I was given a token after the experience for helping her ...The Malevolent One.

So I learned it was a wish...and Oonagh desires one thing...

SO

[[THE WISH]]

You say, "Lady Malevolence, that which I desire is a piece of my ancestral homeland, I ....have sought a way to have a piece of Ulangi, a piece of my heritage, I have been swindled out of gold by ferrymen and I cannot swim so far, all I desire...is this, a simple...mortal plea to have a piece of my heart to fill that hole left long before even my birth."

You utter your thoughts, and the token at your feet vanishes in a puff of shadowy smoke.



[[THE RESPONSE]]


The ground trembles beneath your feet, vibrations scattering pieces of the errant market stalls
resting here.

You have emoted: Oonagh stammers to retain his balance, a loud croak coming from him as he uses his
staff to support his weight and a webbed hand reaching up to grasp the directory for support.

The rumbling intensifies, seemingly homing in on your location. Soon, the source can be felt
directly beneath you.

You have emoted: Oonagh exhales a moment, seeming to have had the last of the tremors shake him and
right on that moment of respite the tremors get stronger, "Goruuuuk!" he calls out quietly, trying
to regain his footing again, but his rotund form is quite hard to balance.


A large, writhing tentacle erupts from the ground, slithering in a corkscrew pattern around your
body.

The tentacle slithers back in the depths of the earth, dragging you along with it.

You are moved by a writhing tentacle.
A bloody and chaotic battlefield (35595) - the Lair (Unmapped)
Dripping black ichor, a heaping skeleton of bone creates a construct from the earth here. The
monstrous half-woman, half-spider form of Iosyne, the Malevolent is here. A red haze has been
carried in on a faint breeze, coating everything in a light mist of blood.
There are no obvious exits.

A large, writhing tentacle deposits you before retreating back underground.

You have emoted: Oonagh seemingly relieved at the release of the tentacle, gulps a moment, his form before Iosyne he uses his staff for support and curls his rotund form into the best semblance of a bow he can manager, "rr....Malevolent One..." he croaks out humbly.

As you move to bow, a sudden, crushing pressure forces your posture back into neutrality. "You are here as My guest," Iosyne says casually, breathing in the warm, coppery scents pervading the battlefield.


You have emoted: Oonagh stiff and resolute before Iosyne, blinks owlishly and offers a single nod of his head, "Rr...I am honored by You for such an invitation." he releases, there is a stiffness in his voice, an unpredicting curiosity in the tone, his eyes darting around taking in everything but always settling back upon the Goddess.


Iosyne's white orbs follow your gaze. The piercing cries of battle sharpen in intensity for a moment , wordless bellows of rage cutting through the piteous screams of the dying. "Ahh, sweet symphony," She remarks, eyes returning to you. "Ones you are familiar with, I presume? Given your reuqest," the Goddess ends with a knowing smirk.


You have emoted: Oonagh exhales, beads of sweat breaking out on his translucent flesh, "...screams, I...it was before my time, but .." he croaks, but deep, guttural in his belly as he swallows his words, "...I can..r.r..only imagine the pain, but some say such screams are the final release..rr...a macabre thought to consider, such a noise can almost rrr...be beautiful when followed by silence in rr...death." Shaking his head a moment he looks at Iosyne in earnest, the words sincere as they read his lips, "...I know not what happened to my ancestral home...rr..but there is a power so intense to snuff the life of an entire..rr..race, then I feel it is something even in its destruction, worth having a piece of to remember."


You say, "Those who rr...remain of my people do not speak of it...do not desire to return to the
graveyard that is Ulangi...no one does."


The fog surrounding you solidifies, snaking to form the shapes of two creatures. One form lies on the ground, broken, legs twisted at sickeningly unnatural angles. The fallen Grook's eyes bulge as she stares with horror at the second form - towering high above her, the insectoid Horkvali bears a malicious grin.

You have emoted: Oonagh's eyes widen, stricken with horror at the sight before him, but rapt by it and refusing to shift his gaze, his mouth opens, nearly splitting his face in two, a pitiful croak roiling in his throat as he gasps when the form finalizes.


"Such a simple request," Iosyne muses, watching the scene unfold before you. "Does vengeance not fill your heart? Would you ask Me to strike down your enemies from this war?" The Malevolent Goddess creeps forward insidiously, circling around the Horkvali and Grook pair, though Her eyes find you once more.


power before me, I would plead yes, but now...rr...it is done, I cannot change what is done."
You have emoted: Oonagh swallows as the Goddess speaks, his wide eyes filling with tears he looks up a moment and considers his words very carefully, "...I ...rr...I would not." he admits, affording explanation further, "...I, deep in my heart ...if I was rr...there during this time and I had the honor of Your grand power before me, I would plead yes, but now...rr...it is done, I cannot change what is done."


You say, "Those who exist from those times are old...are rr...few in number, rrr..irrelevant in
power and influence."


"All the easier to wipe out," Iosyne comments. The Goddess abruptly stops Her circling, hands
darting out to plunge into the Horkvali combatant. Her claws slice through his insect plating with ease, lifting the insect high above the Malevolent's head. With a booming laugh of pure joy, the Goddess rips Her prey clean in half, sending splatters of blood and gore spraying across your face. "Does it not tempt you, Grook? Is this not -exhilarating-?"


You have emoted: Oonagh showered in crimson, the mist of the air clinging to his membranous flesh, there is a gasp of awe at the sheer power of the Goddess, instinctively he wants to applaud but he forfeits the motion and instead stands with his hands instead wringing together nervously, "..that one...yes." he croaks, anxiously admitting the truth of the matter, "That one was proud rr...of what was done to this Grook. Rrr..that..rr..one deserved to die."


There is the metallic sound of clashing weaponry, followed by a visceral tearing of someone's
internal organs being shredded.


You have emoted: Oonagh shivers as the sound of weaponry and flesh tearing in the distance.


Iosyne smiles at your words. The combatants dissipate, folding back into the fog they came from -soon, all traces of the scene are gone, the gore coating you joining the fog. "Many deserve to die," notes as Her hands return to Her sides. "Few have the Power to grant their deaths." The Goddess skitters forward to stand directly before you, offering Her clawed hand. "Let us take a journey."


You have emoted: Oonagh nods quietly, falling in line behind the Goddess and swallowing a moment.


You have emoted: Oonagh reaches up to take Iosyne's hand, nervously, his skin exceptionally clammy.

Iosyne seizes your hand in an iron grip, Her sharpened claws stopping just short of breaking skin. A sensation of extreme movement overtakes you for a moment before it subsides.


[[Transported to the Ulangi Map to view the Island from a safe vantage]]


The fog surrounding you abruptly blows outwards, cascading away in a rush. The newfound clarity affords you views of decaying yellow landscape. "Home," Iosyne says simply.


You have emoted: Oonagh looks out over the surroundings, the oceans surrounding the yellow,
desiccated landscape around them, the barren, lifeless island splayed off into the distance until
meeting the seas at all sides, "...rrr..it.." his eyes wide as he turns around, his grip tightening
on your hand, "..the..fores...the..its..." the emotions grasping at his very core as the tears well
up in his eyes.


You have emoted: Oonagh swallows a moment, his robust cheeks now stained with the slick moisture of tears as he tries to find something in his sight, somewhere to focus his gaze and find some semblance of life left in this wasteland, "...the rr...stories spoke of ...forests...swamps...rr...beautiful forests in the skies...wildlife..." he croaks, having a hard time making this vision reality he croaks aloud in hopes one will hear him.

You yell, "Goruuuuuuuk!"


"Pain," Iosyne decrees, Her hand releasing yours. The Goddess' finger reaches to your face,
surprisingly gentle as She wipes away your tears. "I, too, had everything taken from Me once," She muses, Her gouged white eyes glowing. "Remember this feeling, Grook. The fires of Pain that consume us, forge us anew. Remember it."

You have emoted: Oonagh looks up to Iosyne, almost endearingly like a child to a mother, he swallowsand sniffs back his tears a moment, nodding once to the Goddess, "...Pain..rr..does make us stronger. " he affirms with a soft croak as he catches himself and stops from crying once again, "Rrr...a lesson to be learned, this ...rr.. this used to be filled with families ..children ...merchants...rrr...scholars." he shakes his head sadly, "...all gone."


"You are right. We cannot change what has been done," Iosyne says, cupping your cheek with a hand. "But we can use the Pain. We can find Power in it, the Power to ensure that none can hurt us again."


You have emoted: Oonagh nods softly into the hand, swallowing once again before speaking, "Rrr...this...will never happen again." he croaks softly, his hands wringing together nervously and with a tight clench between them, "...I vow to not stand idly..rr...r and let another people see this happen to them."


Iosyne leaves your side, slowly descending the slopes of the battlefield as She alights upon the
ground of Ulangi - a wet, sickening squelch echoes around you as Her arachnoid legs sink into the desiccated soil. The Malevolent drops Her hand, picking up a handful of squelchy dirt before Her tongue laps out, pulling the dirt into Her mouth. The Goddess purses Her lips in consideration. "Your body will not hold in this atmosphere," She finally declares, calling back up to you.


You have emoted: Oonagh nods, looking down from his vantage and croaking down to the Goddess, "rr..I understand Malevolent One, I...You have already shown me...given me..." he swallows his words and clears his throat to yell down to Iosyne, "...you have showed me a home...I rr...never got to see, I never got to experience, this..." he is nearly speechless as he watches from this location, the words failing to leave his lips.


You have emoted: Oonagh keeps an eye on the Goddess below, still troubled by the sight of the
surrounding island and due to the warning still doing his best resisting every temptation to try and tread upon the ruined isle.


Iosyne trudges back up into the Endless Battlefield, Her spindly arachnid legs carrying Her up the slopes with disturbing agility. The Goddess comes to a rest beside you once more. "Does it call to you, Grook? Do you desire...home?"


You have emoted: Oonagh swallows and nods his head, "..it, I do Malevolent..rr..One." he says with an earnest tone, crisp, clear as he looks into the eyes of the Goddess, "...one day, it ..one day it could be home again." he croaks, swallowing a moment and permitting a deep exhale that relaxes the palpable tension of his form momentarily, "..I, do desire it."


A slow, insidious smile creeps onto Iosyne's face. "Your body will succumb to the toxic atmosphere," She says, eyebrows raising. "But it will not be instant." The Goddess shifts Her gaze to the barren landscape before Her eyes find you once more, waiting.


You have emoted: Nodding his head, Oonagh seems to understand this danger posed before him, "I..rr...to tread the land my ancestors once foraged, rr..once sat beneath the boughs of the grand trees which grew fromt he fert...rr..fertile soil. To feel and envision...to..understand." he wrings his hands together again, thinking about the idea, "..to have a piece to fill this heart, I would see the halls...rr..of death and leave my body amongst those of my past relatives."


You say, "And...willing...Your Brother sees me to return after such a endeavor, at least rr...I will
have that memory."


"Don't wander off from that room," Iosyne commands as She extends Her hand. Fog rolls in, providing a footpath off the Endless Battlefield.


You have emoted: Oonagh nods quietly, looking off into the distance and clearing his throat, "As rr...you wish Malevolent One." he croaks softly, positioning his staff more like a cane and beginning the course forward to the path cleared, one heavy footfall after another.


[[Steps out to Ulangi]]


A scorched hollow (6005) - the Isle of Ulangi (1)
Sunset falls, casting the clouds above in a shadowy array of darks and silvers and lending the sky a purplish cast. Traces of algae-covered water can be seen towards the western edges, though this place is mostly free of the material. Although the land is fairly flat on all edges, the very center of this area is an unnaturally formed depression in the earth. Scorch marks can be seen all across it, some petrified plantlife still afire with small flames of green hue. Besides these handful of plants, no plants can be seen anywhere else. Abandoned by its owner long ago, a yellow turtle shell rests here.
You see exits leading northeast, east, south, and west.



A black whip of shadow energy snakes into the room, slithering up into a corkscrew shape and falling away to reveal the form of Iosyne.

The cloying scent of decay immediately assaults your senses. Your lungs burn as you inhale the
poisoned air, sickly thick.


You have emoted: Oonagh swallows a moment, looking out at the petrified plantlife, the verdant flames still smoldering and burning within the desiccated landscape. With the close look he finds the shell before him and reaches down, quietly picking it up and inspecting it closer with a gasp, holding it in his hands and turning it to find the memory of the creature which once lived within.


Croaking, with a gasp of the poisoned air, you say, "Rr...this..it burns..."


Iosyne does not appear to share your same struggle with the environment - indeed, the Goddess seems almost too casual, settling comfortably down upon Her arachnid abdomen as She surveys the landscape. "It could use some renovations," She murmurs.

Involuntary coughs wrack you as the poison spreads throughout your body. Your spasms leave specks of blood upon the ruined ground.


You have emoted: Oonagh swallows, pulling a clean rag from his pouch and placing it over his mouth, with an audible gasp of the air, choking him and burning his throat despite his desire to try to shield his lungs from the toxic atmosphere, "Rr...yes...renovations...I ..." he gags, spitting up blood quietly, "..rr..I would...my life for this Isle." he croaks aloud, sputtering up crimson
rivulets which splash upon the dead landscape.

Iosyne rises from Her seat as She watches your spasms. "Looks like your time is running out, Grook," She comments, moving forward to study a yellowing, abandoned turtle shell.

Your body seems to agree with Iosyne's assessment, involuntary shudders spasming throughout your body as it burns hot and freezes cold in turns.

You have emoted: Oonagh now holding a bloodstained rag against his mouth, kneels before the shell, unable to hardly even maintain cohesion any longer he croaks out in strained breaths through the burning poison, "...and rr...so I will lie amongst the ancestors, whose lives were taken rr...prematurely." tears stream from his eyes, as his webbed hands reach into the soil and grip tightly the ash and remnants, "...T...thank You...Malevolent One."

Iosyne moves your hands to the turtle shell, encouraging you to grasp it. "You asked for a piece of this place. Take it."

You pick up a yellowing, abandoned turtle shell.



Your coughing becomes uncontrollable as your lungs wither, globs of blood and phlegm expelling through your mouth. You try to scream but fail as your body melts, succumbing to the toxic atmosphere of Ulangi.
You have been slain by the toxic atmosphere of Ulangi.




UPON RETURNING:

I examined the shell....


Brittle to the touch, this yellowing shell has clearly seen better days. Long since abandoned by its owner, the shell is dotted throughout with black spots of irradiation.
It weighs about 1 pound(s) and 4 ounce(s).

[HINT]: You may TOUCH the shell to see a vision of Ulangi. There are a few different visions!




You see hordes of Horkvali warriors descending upon a defenseless Grook settlement, terrified
screams and cries of bloodlust pervading the air.


Hatred and a wild thirst for blood fill your mind, filling you with an insatiable hunger for
vengeance.


-----
Visions of beauty fill your mind: luscious forests, flowing currents, mountain slopes teeming with life under a beautiful clear sky.


Happiness fills you as you bask in the beauty of the Home you never knew.


----
You find yourself admist the Endless Battlefield once more, staring out at the desiccated abyss that was once Ulangi. Rotting plantlife and animal bones are all that greet you under an ominous sky of haze and ash.


Pain and loss echo throughout your mind, underlying a steely thirst for Power.

----
The sounds of laughter echo in your ears, rising above the cheerful hum of family. You see yourself in the midst of a prospering Grook community, buzzing with activity.

Hope and unity spread through your heart as you bask in the strength of community.