Summary of FTaWSotR
The following is a simple summary of the events of FTaWSotR.
Pre-Fracture
Calamity at Calamity Refuge (w-dueck)
Read the full post here.
w-dueck almost destroys the Refuge while trying to upgrade it. It's left in a big sooty mess.
Flash Can Do That? (Vergil)
Read the full post here.
w-dueck is hurt from the blast and Vergil comes to his aid killing a rogue html monster in their path. Sometime later, presumably after the Refuge has been moved and mostly restored w-dueck and Vergil exchange words about the work they're doing.
Curiosity Ensnared the Maid (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
With trepidation, Jewels becomes a member of Calamity Refuge because Nikki is. She volunteers for a global mod position only to be put to work cleaning the soot off the floors. She returns the next day only to find that w-dueck has decided to just move the whole refuge and start over. She eventually settles into her office and choose Fire from the theme orbs to decorate her room.
Time-Fracture Incident
Main article: Time-Fracture Incident
Note: Because of this real life incident, all posts written between 08/08/08 and 08/18/08 have been lost to the ether except what Vergil and Jewels have recreated in their above posts from memory. Known lost events include w-dueck moving the Refuge after the Flash explosion and making the theme orbs on the roof of the Admin Tower.
Pre-Loop
Another Incident (Vergil)
Read the full post here.
Vergil is distraught that another 'upgrade' of w-dueck's has resulted in a giant loss on the RP board. w-dueck asks Vergil to become an Admin to help put the place back together and gives him the task of restoring the themes.
Rude Awakening (Robsta)
Read the full post here.
Robsta awakes to the carnage of missing posts and Vergil's first few spells as an admin. w-dueck appears with a request to play a game and Robsta chides him for not protecting the Refuge better while he experiments.
Loop One
08/08/08 (Nioca)
Read the full post here.
w-dueck decides that the damage done is too great just try to repair the damage. Instead, he does a time-warp repair which fixes all the buildings and deletes all the shredded and corrupted posts. But Nioca is pressing buttons in the BoA Moderation Center and gets blasted out the window by an energy discharge from w-dueck's procedure.
Calming Fears (Robsta)
Read the full post here.
Robsta finds w-dueck at the SW forums who tells him the server for the Refuge is down for a bit.
It's Not Funny (Vergil)
Read the full post here.
w-dueck and Nioca laugh over a joke including mistletoe in the Spam Forum that Vergil doesn't find very amusing.
JEWELS!!! (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
After being gone for over a week, Jewels returns to find lots of the posts missing and the theme in her office removed. When she goes to find someone who can explain it to her, she finds Nioca in need of medical attention. She runs to find w-dueck to help him.
Not so Thirsty for Power (w-dueck)
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w-dueck returns to the BoA forum with Jewels telling her he wants her to be an admin. Jewels is flustered, to say the least. When they reach the forum, w-dueck stops to take in the Avernum Script that seems to be running.
No Bot's Home (Vergil)
Read the full post here.
Vergil continues working on the Refuge with the tasks w-dueck has left for him and kills a yahoo.bot when it enters.
Conspiracy Theory (Nioca)
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Nioca wakes and tries to heal himself but soon slips into insanity. His delusions lead him to believe that the BoE supporters are out to get him and the other BoA supporters. He moves to a corner and takes out a sword ready to defend himself.
Getting Run Through (Vergil)
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While killing more bots, Vergil wanders to the BoA forum and finds Nioca who, rather quickly, runs him through. Vergil wakes up in the afterlife.
Can I Get a Witness? (Robsta)
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Robsta watches as Nioca kills Vergil and backs off cautiously.
Dues Ex Machina (Vergil)
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Vergil prepares a spell to get himself out of the afterlife.
Life of It's Own (Nioca)
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Nioca's sword drained Vergil's life energy and directed it into Nioca. He was healed but his energy was still nearly gone. Nioca summons a shade before he passes out. He has a dream of himself going towards the Spam Forum and then collapsing for no apparent reason. He wakes again to find it too quiet.
Pancaaake? (Vergil)
Read the full post here.
Vergil talks to a french koala bear.
Okay, I'm In. (Jewels)
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Jewels and w-dueck go deeper into the BoA forum to find, not Nioca, but Robsta in battle with a shade and Vergil dead on the ground. w-dueck tells them they need to find Nioca but Jewels balks, feeling powerless. She agrees to be an Admin to be granted the magical powers that come with the job.
Headbanging is Fun (w-dueck)
Read the full post here.
w-dueck makes Jewels an Admin and gives Robsta some PHP powers. Then he summons some SimpleBots.
Ganging Up on Nioca (Robsta)
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Robsta recounts his fight with the shade and falls into a trap that Nioca has set. Jewels and w-dueck manage to get him out but Nioca's delusional fears have just been confirmed.
Profile Not Found (Nioca)
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Nioca has made his way to the basement of the BoA forums and blasted a hole in the ceiling though no one fell through. Nioca also heads for the Moderation Center to clean up the mess that's become of the BoA forum. He notices a regular member getting closer to Jewels, w-dueck, and Robsta but he can't pull up his profile.
The Basement (Robsta)
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The trio fall through another trap and end up in the basement. They see Nioca hurry into the Moderation Center and Robsta tries to ram the door open.
Adding Insult to Injury (Nioca)
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An insane Nioca watches Robsta fall down the stairs after trying to ram the basement door. He prepared to attack the trio when they come through.
The Weight of Responsibility (Jewels)
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Jewels, w-dueck, and Robsta are still in the basement but the only door out was locked and the forum was beginning to repair itself. The hole that they had fallen through was fixing itself. They tried to fly through but Jewels' powers were too new and she couldn't complete the spell. From behind w-dueck blasted her forward just before the last bricks replaced themselves. Jewels stumbled, drained, towards Vergil and wished she could trade places with him. After a shock, she realized she had.
No, the Other Nioca (Nioca)
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A sane Nioca disarms w-dueck and Robsta in the BoA basement before telling them he thinks there are two of him and that the other one is trying to kill them. He is notified of Jewels' death on his RMM and relays that information to the other two while asking if they'll accept his help.
Butterfly Box (Vergil)
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Vergil creates a butterfly box just before he and Jewels trade places in hell. Vergil then storms into the BoA forum intent on finding and killing Nioca.
Babe of Brightness (Jewels)
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Jewels muses in her 'afterlife' that it looks like hell but it feels like home. She finds that her body is made of flames and a long forgotten song comes back to her mind. She is a Daughter of the Flame.
Wanna Die Again (w-dueck)
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Nioca convinces w-dueck that he's telling the truth just before Vergil bursts into the scene throwing death threats.
Two Against One (Nioca)
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Nioca and Vergil battle against each other until Vergil is gaining the upper hand and Nioca flees. He pauses his retreat when he spied his other self who lands a blow on the approaching Vergil.
Double Take (Nioca)
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The time-warp has caused a shift and another reality has come about. Vergil is struck in the nose by the sane Nioca with a pipe then put in Essence Shackles to keep him out of trouble.
More Insanity (Vergil)
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The time-warp takes them back a few minutes and Vergil releases his Butterfly Box on the sane Nioca effectively rendering him as insane if not more than the other one.
Trying to Make it Make Sense (Robsta)
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That tricky time-warp... it tried to mesh the three previous timelines into one. Robsta and w-dueck manage to kill the insane Nioca while the sane one stood paralyzed and Vergil sat with Essence Shackles on his wrists. Vergil still set loose his Butterfly Box on the sane Nioca though, but Robsta got him to recall the creatures before they had done irreversible harm to him. Robsta went to take Jewels to the Mod center.
Vietnamese Sock Puppet (Vergil)
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Vergil begins to restore Nioca's mind.
Loop Two
Deja Vu (Jewels)
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While Jewels is in her fiery home, she has a dream vision of her friends attacking each other. Upon waking she rushes to the door intent on getting back to the Refuge to stop them. She opens the door to find her father who sends her back as well as turns back the clock. Jewels finds herself in her office and runs for the BoA forum hoping she isn't too late. She trips over Nioca's foot and realizes that she's gone back in time. This time she drags Nioca into the Moderation Center and waits for Vergil to come to her. The two of them go to Nioca to try and heal him but Vergil doesn't heed Jewels' warnings and runs ahead. Nioca kills him just as he did the first time and now he has his sword raised to kill Jewels, too.
A Reason to be Brave (Robsta)
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Robsta arrives just in time again to watch Nioca kill Vergil. He's about to leave like he did last time when he saw Nioca turn on Jewels. She was defenseless so Robsta jumped between them and parried Nioca's blade. Nioca retreated out a door on the opposite side triggering a pit trap that almost caught Robsta on it's spikes and did leave StoneCrusher in the door frame on the other side of the pit.
Afterlife v2.0 (Vergil)
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Vergil prepares to make his butterfly box again.
Bigger Fish (Nioca)
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The insane Nioca has set a bunch of traps in the BoA forum. He tries to find w-dueck at the Admin Tower in order to kill him, but finding no one, he heads back to make sure Jewels and Robsta don't get the chance to warn w-dueck. Meanwhile w-dueck has just found Nioca in the Spam forum.
Hey, you're hot. (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Robsta and Jewels battle the ice hydra in the BoA moderation center. They manage to defeat it and Jewels discovers some of her long lost fire elemental attributes though she doesn't understand them.
Out of Reach (Robsta)
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Robsta tries to get his sword back but can't quite manage it, when two more foes come into the room. Robsta fells one and takes its weapon then turns on the other who is after Jewels.
Scripting a Death (Nioca)
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The insane Nioca sets another trap at the entrance to the BoA forum to keep everyone in, then heads down to the basement. Something he does triggers the spiked trap in the BoA MC to reset itself to a sturdy floor.
On the Offensive (Robsta)
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Robsta fights the ogre still left in the room but Jewels deals the killing blow as a blast of fire flies from her hand, though she's unsure how she did it. They notice the floor with the spike pit resets itself.
JEWELS!!! II: It's Hotter This Time (w-dueck)
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In some random checking, w-dueck sees that Jewels has come back to the refuge. When he goes to meet her in the BoA forum he starts getting visions and headaches. The scripted trap that Nioca had set, failed to kill w-dueck and he meets up with Jewels and Robsta in the BoA MC
Nice Shades (Nioca)
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The sane Nioca is baffled why w-dueck just up and left him in the Spam Forum. He summons a shade named Aryll to his side. Meanwhile, the insane Nioca, enraged by w-dueck's failure to die, summons eight shades of his own and orders them to kill everyone.
Only 20 Minutes (Jewels)
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w-dueck offers Jewels Adminship again and she takes it less hesitantly. Then collectively, they figure out that there must be two Niocas. w-dueck revives Vergil as the one intent on killing them comes at them with eight shrieking shades.
Duplicate (Nioca)
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The insane Nioca casts Cloud of Blades on the people in the BoA MC and sicks his shades after them. Meanwhile the sane Nioca disarms the trap at the door and tries to fire a bolt of ice at his copy. It stops before it hits the copy then continues after he moves out of the way.
Blue Blurry Battle (Vergil)
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The refuge members engage in battle and Vergil turns to blue flame.
Key to Strategy (Nioca)
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Nioca's copy engages Vergil in battle and manages to cause his Butterfly Box creatures to turn on him. One of his shades steals w-dueck's administration keys while the real Nioca helps save Jewels and w-dueck from some more shades.
Regroup (Robsta)
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The refuge members heal themselves after the shades are taken care of but more beasts are soon sent upon them. Drained, they decide it's time to leave.
What in Blue Blazes?! (Jewels)
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Everyone manages to sneak out of the BoA forum relatively safely, though Vergil's mind has been damaged. Jewels says she can help Vergil at her office while the sane Nioca, Robsta, and w-dueck head to the Admin Tower to try to defeat the copy. When Jewels is alone with Vergil, she teleports them both back to her home hoping that her father can help. Cinead does restore Vergil's mind and Jewels finds out they've met before while Vergil finds out Cinead is Jewels' father.
Family Matters (Vergil)
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Vergil and Cinead argue in front of Jewels revealing that Vergil is her half-brother.
Should Be Easy (Nioca)
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w-dueck can't find his Admin keys but he doesn't really need them because the insane Nioca left the door open. They charge up the stairs after him.
Learn (Jewels)
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Jewels contemplates what she's learned while sitting in her office, then heads for the Admin Tower.
Bye-Bye BoA (Nioca)
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The insane Nioca demolishes the BoA forum and everything in it. Thinking that all his foes were still in it he casually starts looking for a way to destroy the entire island.
Where's Nioca? (Robsta)
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Robsta, w-dueck, and the sane Nioca start their search for the copy when the BoA forum get's blown up. Realizing where those controls are, w-dueck leads the group up the stairs.
Popsicle (Jewels)
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Jewels get's caught in the BoA blast but manages to heal herself. She slips into the Admin Tower after the others.
Ice Water (Vergil)
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Vergil gets drunk at Paul's Plushy Pub.
A Plan (w-dueck)
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w-dueck sends Nioca and Robsta beyond the dump to turn off the Admin Tower security and takes Jewels with him to the 23rd floor to deal with Nioca's double.
Ideal Den for Thieves (Jewels)
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Vergil stumbles in drunk and goes with w-dueck and Jewels up the stairs after Nioca. They ready themselves before bursting into the 23rd floor. But Nioca was above them on the stairwell listening in on their conversation.
Nioca's Demise (Robsta)
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Robsta and the sane Nioca search for the master controls in the basements of the Admin Tower while the insane Nioca sets a fire in the demolition room with the Admins before locking them in. In his searching, Robsta stumbles upon Vergil's ultimatum and targets it at Nioca. Deadly randomness ensues and the insane Nioca is no more.
Bun-Bun (Vergil)
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Vergil talks to a giant bunny that he had previously enslaved. Then he heads to Jewels to help her put out the quickfire.
Loop Three
A Timely Fall (Nioca)
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Nioca races up the Admin tower to make sure that his double is dead fighting vertigo as he goes. When he arrives, he doesn't find the other Nioca anywhere. He sees smoke out the window, and quickfire encompassing the base of the tower. He tries to leave the room but the quickfire has already reached the stairwell and blasts him out the window where a 25 story fall awaits him. But instead of falling in front of the Admin Tower, time heals itself and Nioca finds himself on the floor of the BoA forum when Jewels first found him. She drags him into the BoA MC again where Nioca begs her to stay with him fearing insanity again.
Time Heals All Wounds (Jewels)
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Before the time reset Vergil and Jewels combine their fires to try to put out the quickfire and w-dueck watches them in confusion before passing out. After time healed itself, Jewels struggled to make sense of her missing memories. She decided to stay with Nioca and tend to his wounds then waits for Vergil
Third Time's a Charm (Nioca)
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Nioca wakes up healed by Vergil. He struggles to figure things out and keep his sanity. Eventually his paranoia subsides and Jewels takes him to his citadel for a much needed rest.
JEWELS!!! III: This Time For Sure (Jewels)
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Jewels goes to find w-dueck and accepts her adminship before he even offers it leaving him confused. She insists on going to sleep before they discuss any other business and he takes her to her own suite on the 29th floor of the Admin Tower.
With Fear in Mind (Robsta)
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Robsta visits the BoA forum just like he did the other two times and is overcome with a sense of impending doom though he can't make sense of it. Even though everything looks alright, he runs back to his hut and falls asleep.
Post-Fracture
Filling in the Hole (Vergil)
Read the full post here.
Zyqxuwy has spoken.
Nalyd Joins (Nalyd)
Read the full post here.
Nalyd joins the Refuge.
Dreaded Stairs (w-dueck)
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w-dueck goes to talk to Jewels while Vergil goes to see who the new member is.
Tour (Vergil)
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Vergil welcomes Nalyd to Calamity Refuge.
Never Pass Up Power (Nalyd)
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Nalyd enjoys his tour and becomes the Mod of the Geneforge and Avernum forums.
The 'Talk' (Jewels)
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w-dueck confronts Jewels about the stuff she already seemed to know. Jewels skirted his question and convinced him that Nioca knew more than she did.
Your Goose is Cooked (Nioca)
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When Jewels comes to find Nioca he decides to play a prank on her. Jewels doesn't take kindly to it and tries to tackle him when she finally finds him. Nioca convinces w-dueck that Jewels knows the beginning of the story.
Total Recap (Jewels)
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Jewels and Nioca hash through the events as they remember them, though Jewels leaves out what she learned about Vergil. Still mad about Nioca's prank, at the end of explaining herself, she throws a fireball at him, then excuses herself to explain everything to Robsta.
Flames of War
Main article: The Flames of War
Setting the Stage
Circa de Nova (Vergil)
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Vergil gets himself drunk again when he gets a war report. He dons some magical armor vowing that Cinead will pay.
Investigation (Nioca)
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Suspicious of Jewels' behaviour, Nioca starts an investigation of her and Vergil, sending Aryll to spy on Jewels. He also makes sure that a secret room in his citadel is thoroughly secure.
Moving Forward (w-dueck)
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w-dueck ponders over what he learned at the meeting and is invited to visit Nioca's citadel by Aryll.
Essence (Nalyd)
Read the full post here.
Nalyd does some shaping in the Geneforge forum.
Lies and Amritae (Nioca)
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Nioca, suspicious of Jewels, has w-dueck as a guest in his citadel. Under the pretense of talking about the recent Time-Fracture Incident, Nioca has a shade try to pickpocket w-dueck's administrative keys, so Nioca can investigate the Admin Tower and Jewels' room. Meanwhile, a man in yellow platemail arrives at Calamity Refuge.
Nightmares (Robsta)
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Jewels goes to Robsta's hut to talk about the Time-Fracture Incident. Robsta, disturbed by nightmares of the incident and unsure of their nature, accidentally attacks Jewels. This results in Jewels using a small measure of her powers as a newly-awakened Fire Elemental against him. Fortunately, the situation calms down, and they talk things over.
Absolute Power (Jewels)
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Jewels ponders her new powers. When her thoughts turn violent, she lashes out at a tree, showing just how powerful she is and severely damaging it with a single fireball. Suddenly distraught by how quickly the newfound power controlled her, she repairs the damage. She then accidentally absorbs into the tree, discovering that she's only half fire elemental and half nature.
Another Kind of Ultimatum (Vergil)
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Vergil leaves Calamity Refuge briefly to get a new ultimatum. He then joins his cadre of fellow assassins, The Bluebloods, where he receives his next target: His own father, Cinead, Lord of the Fire Plane. Disheartened, Vergil returns to Calamity Refuge.
Experiments (Nalyd)
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Nalyd starts experimenting with his new shaping equipment.
Dire Tidings (Nioca)
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Nioca and w-dueck finish their meeting and w-dueck leaves. The attempt to pickpocket w-dueck's keys had failed. The man in yellow platemail, Yirri, arrives at Nioca's citadel and brings dire tidings. Later, Nioca is summoned by his Guardian Shade Aryll to the tree that Jewels was absorbed into. Nioca spots her Administrative keys sticking out of a side of the tree, and burns the tree down to get to them. Nioca then tells Aryll to follow Vergil. After that, he finds Nalyd in the Geneforge Forum and gives him a note inviting him to Nioca's citadel. After securing Jewels' keys in the secret basement of the citadel, Nioca proceeds to take a brief rest.
A Rare Sight Indeed (Vergil)
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Vergil ponders whether to go through with his assignment when he realizes something (Aryll) is following him. He decides to high-tail it to the Fire Plane, where he joins up with a fellow assassin and prepares to go through with his assignment.
Embracing Destiny (Jewels)
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Nioca's actions leave Jewels in a heated rage; she reappears over the ashen tree as pure elemental flame. She gains a new hatred of humanity, regarding them to be murderers. She goes to the Fire Plane and meets with her father, Cinead.
Accepted Invitation (Nalyd)
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Nalyd gets Nioca's note and creates a new Battle Alpha. He then proceeds to Nioca's Citadel.
Splitting Up
Of What Was, What Is, and What Should Have Been (Nioca)
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Nioca awakens to find that Jewels, Robsta, Nalyd, w-dueck, and Vergil having a picnic outside his citadel. Confused at how happy they seemed, he nevertheless joins them. Suddenly, crossbow bolts start flying. Jewels, w-dueck, and Robsta all get hit, and affected by some sort of enchantment that causes a red glow and convulsions. The enchantment kills them. Nalyd and Vergil also get hit, but are unaffected. The shooter flees, and Vergil goes to the fallen body of his sister, Jewels. He resurrects her, but she comes back as a soul-less shell. Nioca realizes what hit them: Spiritkillers. Weapons capable of completely destroying a person's soul.
Aryll shows up and asks Nioca what's wrong. As Nioca starts screaming at her, he takes another glance at the carnage, only to discover it has disappeared. Nioca reels with vertigo, suddenly realizing that he had viewed an alternate timeline. It then occurs to him that the assassin is still there, and Nioca fends him off.
After some reflection, Nioca realized the assassin was after Blades designers and recruited Nalyd for an excursion.
The Work of a Lifetime (Nalyd)
Read the full post here.
Using magic to enhance himself and quicken his movements, Nalyd works feverishly on his plans for a new creation. Human: Tier Two
The Service of a Sword (Robsta)
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Nioca recruits Robsta for the services of his sword on the excursion.
To Trap a Designer (w-dueck)
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w-dueck was recruited by Nioca to join him on his excursion but leaves before the others to check on some of his work as a designer. Unfortunately the same people who sent an assassin to Calamity Refuge to try to kill him, also sent people to lay in wait for him there. w-dueck is captured.
A Foiled Flame (Vergil)
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Vergil makes his first attempt to kill Cinead but chooses a time when Jewels is in his company. Jewels stops the assassination attempt and Vergil flees with his Blueblood partner.
No Son of Mine (Jewels)
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With the failed assassination attempt, Cinead insists that he must disown Vergil so Jewels signs some documents making her his sole heir.
Koronos of Ermaria (Nioca)
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Nioca transports his merry band of adventurers into Ermaria where they head for Koronos to bunk for the night. Nioca leaves the rest of the party during the night to travel to Gvelston Sanctuary.
Fixing the Errors (Nalyd)
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Nalyd reviews his creation plans then leaves the inn. Some Trakovites take notice and track him.
Change in Power
A New Fire Lord (Jewels)
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Jewels finds Vergil drinking himself into a stupor at a bar. She tries to convince him that there has to be another way to settle the dispute between Vergil's people and their father. Two official looking elementals walk up to them and read the Declaration of a New Fire Lord. Jewels asks Vergil who the new Fire Lord is and stands up stating, "I am!"
Greenskin (Robsta)
Read the full post here.
Robsta gets into, or rather gets out of, a bar fight.
Fulfilling Duty, Missing Destiny (Vergil)
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The officials that had approached Vergil and Jewels told him he was wrong and that instead, Jewels would be the Fire Lord leaving them both in confusion. A flashback then shows how Vergil went back already to finish killing their father.
Keep Your Enemies Closer (Jewels)
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Jewels starts to realize the full impact of the official's words. Her father had been the Fire Lord. He had disowned Vergil to keep him from inheriting the throne. Vergil had already gone back to finish the assassination order and now, she had just been named ruler over all the fire plane. Vergil asked that she rescind the throne to him. She felt like she could forgive him, but after killing their father and an honest admittance that he would kill her if ordered, she didn't trust him with the future of their people. Still Jewels had no idea how to rule her people, so when more guards came to escort her to a briefing, she insisted Vergil go with her. She intended to keep this enemy as close as possible.
Eyes of Vision (Jewels)
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Jewels has a sort of out of body vision of w-dueck hanging in a prison cell somewhere. w-dueck experienced it, too.
To Consume By Fire (Nioca)
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Nioca meets with the priests at Gvleston and on coincidence, also meets the assassin that was previously at Calamity Refuge. He announced he was from the Vaw Retaliatory Power and that they had captured a designer (w-dueck) and was going to behead him along with the priestess Syla who their order had sent as an emmisary. Nioca killed the assassin then set out to save w-dueck and Syla. Along the way, he is attacked by a demon of living fire. A being that he claims has made him what he is. Though Nioca manages to kill the beast, his horse is killed leaving him stranded. In this moment, Nioca learns what powers he has in Ermaria, as a god. He transports himself to the town of Vaw just in time to save both of the accused.
Only a few short minutes afterwards, Nioca has another time vision where he sees the city in burning ruins. Living fire demons roam the streets. He learns that if he hadn't saved w-dueck, an attack on the city would have started earlier than planned. He comes out of the vision to fight the demons that have decided now is the time to start the attack. w-dueck is too drained to fight so Nioca does his best but ends up unconscious in w-dueck's arms with more demons advancing.
A Battle for Alpha (Nalyd)
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Nalyd and his alpha join in the battle against the demons that have started attacking the city.
Official Meetings (Vergil)
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Vergil and Jewels are sat down for a meeting with the Nobels of the fire plane when Vergil receives a message to have another private meeting with a Blueblood. They discuss 'taking down a general' in Ermaria.
The Reason for a War (Jewels)
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While Vergil is in the bathroom, Jewels is taken aside for a military briefing where the captains and General Growan explain the details of the war to her. Basically, the fire plane is dying, getting a few degrees colder each year to the point that an eventual ice age is feared. Their scientists have found a unique oil that would help bring the temperature back up to normal but it's only found on the water plane and they are refusing trade. Jewels also learned that they were attempting to take over Ermaria to use as a back up, somewhere their people could survive if it got too cold on the fire plane. Realizing that it would mean the destruction of everything and everyone else on the plane, she called for an immediate ceasefire in Ermaria. General Growan ignored her request though and insinuated that he would soon have Jewels killed and blame the death on Vergil.
It's Never a Good Time (Vergil)
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The captain Kaylas comes back to warn Vergil and Jewels of the planned attack. Kaylas spirits Jewels away while Vergil stays to take care of some soldiers that are trying to keep them from leaving.
Trust No One (Jewels)
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Not trusting Kaylas, her brother, or any of her own soldiers at the moment Jewels flees from Kaylas only to collapse a few blocks away from a poisoned dart to the neck.
Mercenary for Hire (Robsta)
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Robsta is awakened to a demon in his face and fights off a couple of them with Yirri and Aryll. Robsta also starts preparing for a larger battle that Nioca says is coming.
War Preparations (Nioca)
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Nioca decides that the best way to deal with both the problems of the demons attacking and the VRP killing designers is to show the VRP that designers can help Ermaria. He sets about to plan out the best way to defeat the demon army.
How a Battle is Won (Nalyd)
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Nalyd aids in the battle and General Growan strategizes how the living fire can win. His strategies fail, though, when he taken down by friendly fire.
Of BlueBloods and Balls (Vergil)
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Vergil arrives at Ermaria with a contingent of the 101st. They help to turn the tide in the battle at Koronos. When the battle is over, Vergil loses control of his shape-shifted form and snaps together into a tight ball. Nioca takes the Vergil ball with him.
Nioca's Final Chapter (Nioca)
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Though the battle was won, Nioca knew that the threat still remained. He decided he must take the fight to the demons. Using his designer powers, he covered himself in a multitude of protections and blessings and tore through the demons portal to their home world where he laid waste every demon he saw. Eventually he came to the Fire Lord's castle and throne room just as his blessings wore off.
Ceaseing Hostilities
The Price of Peace (Jewels)
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Jewels has been captured by the Water King, but he wants peace just as much as she does so they both call an immediate end to hostilities on both sides with no strings attached. The fire plane still needs the oil, though, so Jewels asks for a trade. King Sheldon hands her a contract detailing what he is willing to trade the oil for and what Cindead had refused. Though what he asks for disgusts her, she decides that the benefits outweigh her disgust and signs the contract. She returns to the fire plane with an installment of oil and news of the end of a war. She is greeted by carnage caused by a rogue mortal (Nioca) that has been captured and waits for her in the dungeons.
At the End of a Sword (Jewels)
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Jewels goes into the dungeons and is surprised to find Nioca there in chains. He doesn't recognize her while she is in her living fire form and stares daggers at her. She can see the hatred in his eyes for what she is and listens to his perceptions of her people. Jewels starts to fight with herself in her mind about what to do and decides she must let Nioca go. In an attempt to change his mind about her people, she gives him back his sword and stands unarmed in front of him starting to flame down and ready to reveal who she really is.
The Ends (Nioca)
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Staring at the demon (Jewels) Nioca is distraught over the fact that killing her will not end the threat as another Fire Lord would just take her place. He still lands her a fatal blow, though, right before Aryll appears and kills him with a lightning bolt. Nioca finds himself in the afterlife talking to his family when he is revived he remembers some of his brothers words. "Robsta is next." The assassin that Nioca had killed earlier had been revived and was attacking Robsta. Nioca arrived in time to stop his death, but the assassin got away. Everyone returned to Calamity Refuge to find it in ruins and Jewels wandering amongst them.
Death, Life, and a Day at the Spa (Jewels)
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Kaylas finds Jewels with her fatal wound but he has sent all the healers to the military camps. He can tell she wouldn't last that long so at her request, he takes her to Calamity Refuge where she is absorbed into a tree as she dies. Full of rage, Kaylas unleashes his anger on the surrounding buildings and burns everything, including the tree Jewels was in, before he leaves thinking her gone forever. But Jewels isn't dead, the tree has healed her. She wakes up and wanders aimlessly until the rest of the members come back to the refuge asking her what happened. Jewels soon realizes that she's late for making her trade with King Sheldon and drags w-dueck around on the internet plane to help get her ready. He takes her to a spa and there she tells him everything, including that she has agreed to give King Sheldon an heir that can share the water and fire thrones. They make their way to the water plane and stand before the king.
Unfurled (Vergil)
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Nioca, Nalyd, and Robsta restore Vergil to normal form so that he can help rebuild the refuge. Vergil does his part happily getting it 84% restored by the time w-dueck comes back. But w-dueck takes only one minute to restore the whole thing to it's original form.
Song for the Lonely (Nioca)
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Nioca and Syla take care of a spam beast problem in the Blades of Avernum forum and Nioca returns Jewels' Admin keys apologizing for not being that good of a friend.
Foreboding: Past, Present, and Future (w-dueck)
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w-dueck reminisces about escaping from his father the Duke when he decided his rebellious son had crossed the line to treason and Jewels is ushered in to give King Sheldon a grandson.
A Reason to Glow (Jewels)
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Jewels fulfills her part of the trade mating with Prince Darius and heads back to the fire plane to find Kaylas. He's not very understanding so Jewels leaves intending not to go back since her real home is Calamity Refuge.
New Blood, Bad Blood
Main article: New Blood, Bad Blood
This is an interim arc with an influx of new members and an undercurrent of hard feelings, betrayals, and fighting between members as well as a peek at the conflict of w-dueck's past life.
New Blood
A Storm is Brewing (Ackrovan)
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Master Ackrovan lands on Calamity Refuge Isle. Very cautiously, he tries to stake out his surroundings. While he's spying, though, Nioca discovers him. Ackrovan defends himself hurting Nioca and limping off soon afterwords.
A Night at an Inn (w-dueck)
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In a flashback, w-dueck stays a night at an inn in his youth. He's on the run from his father, the Duke, but some guards have caught up with him. w-dueck prepares to fight.
Silver and Orange (Nioca)
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An exhausted Nioca lets Syla go find the intruder with Aryll. He turns in for a fitful sleep where he dreams of the events that led to Aryll becoming his protective shade.
Silver Shovel (w-dueck)
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Still in flashback, w-dueck rides into Corel and gets a room at an inn. He hears someone outside his window and goes to investigate.
Selfish Retreat (Jewels)
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Jewels decides she doesn't want to help Syla catch the intruder. Instead she turns in for the night haunted by nightmares of the previous day.
Defeated (Ackrovan)
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Syla and Aryll take down Master Ackrovan rather easily in his weakened condition, but not before Syla gets shot in the arm by a bolt.
Losing Track of Time (Nalyd)
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Nalyd keeps working on his perfect human.
Twenty-Twenty (Jewels)
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Kaylas tries to come to terms with his own feelings about what he had just learned from Jewels, and how much he didn't know about her. Prince Darius comes to visit Kaylas with some more oil. Their conversation causes Kaylas to realize more of what was going on. Kaylas tells Darius that Jewels is gone for training, then leaves intent on finding her.
Distanced (Nioca)
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Nioca wakes up to a 'normal' day. w-dueck has been busy creating a new forum and the Chat Lounge. Nioca gets into a fight with w-dueck over trying to keep Jewels in the dark about why the Refuge members were in danger. Nioca leaves for Tesara Post to sell his scavenged items from the war and buy some shaping equipment for an experiment he wants to perform involving the Blades Nexus. After his shopping, he is ambushed by another group of assassins. He barely escapes with his life and collapses on the shores of Refuge Isle with a poisoned stab wound working to kill him.
Revelations and a Dragon (Jewels)
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w-dueck gives Jewels access to the most restricted areas of the Refuge though she argues she doesn't know what to do there. When Nioca and w-dueck start to fight, she runs away from them, the sound of Nioca's harsh voice driving her fear. She ends up in the Geneforge forum with Nalyd, who being a shaper, is aware that she is now pregnant and wants an explanation. Jewels doesn't exactly give him one and tries to distract him with a project of making her a pet dragon. After hours of designing the life form, they decide to go do some research outside the Refuge. Next to the Google transports, Jewels stops Kaylas from finishing off Nioca and has him taken to Nalyd's lab to be cured. They leave Nalyd to his work and Kaylas tells Jewels he knows about the trade for oil.
More Than Lurking (Azuma)
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Azuma, mod of the Spam forum, comes out of lurking to fix a camera. He sneaks in hoping to be able to fix it without being noticed.
Iffy Returns (Iffy)
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After being away for a while, Iffy returns to Calamity Refuge intent on finding w-dueck to talk to him.
The Die, Cast (w-dueck)
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Ackrovan's been sitting in the dungeons when w-dueck comes to get him for an interrogation. Ackrovan isn't too forthcoming with information so w-dueck slaps a restraining bracelet on his wrist preventing him from being hostile unless attacked first. Later w-dueck screws up his courage to go talk to Jewels and out of the blue proposes to her.
Noting Changes (Iffy)
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Iffy looks around the Refuge at everything that's changed.
Uneasy Rest (Ackrovan)
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Ackrovan wanders through the Refuge heading for his room. He finds his equipment there and settles down for some much needed rest.
A Different Kind of Spammer (Azuma)
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Azuma makes it into the Spam forum and fixes the camera giving it an upgrade in the process. On his way out, though, he falls into a plot hole.
Marriageous Interruptus (Nioca)
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Nalyd manages to purge the poison from Nioca's system, but he still struggles with the symptoms. He stumbles outside after Nalyd just in time to hear w-dueck's proposal. An argument breaks out between w-dueck and Kaylas as Jewels seems to be in shock, but Nioca discovers she's been shot with a dart suspected to be poisoned with the same kind of poison Nalyd had just purged from him. They carry Jewels into Nalyd's lab again.
Purging Another Poison (Nalyd)
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Nalyd works on an antidote for the poison for Jewels. He ends up with a living blob of goo that he shoves into a new wound he inflicts, just before Kaylas tackles him.
Joining the Fray (BloodMoon)
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Pestilence happens by Iffy on his way to the Spam forum. He finds Azuma in the plot hole, helps him out, then seals the hole to prevent another accident. Azuma disappears from his sight.
Nice Try (Iffy)
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Iffy traps Azuma in a forcecage when he tries to retreat.
lulwut? (Azuma)
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Azuma taunts Iffy from within the forcecage. Iffy's ready to attack him straight on and dispels the barrier just to have Azuma disappear again.
Drama Queen (Iffy)
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Iffy laughs at Azuma's departure from his faked outburst, then goes to find w-dueck.
Bad Blood
Losing Heart (Jewels)
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Jewels regains consciousness in pain and shoos everyone out of the room except Nalyd. Thinking the poison is going to cause her to abort, she asks Nalyd to accelerate it's growth but Nalyd tells her she miscarried anyway. Nalyd leaves the refuge with the stillborn child. Jewels becomes dispassionate except in anger, tells w-dueck off for not making the Refuge safe enough, and leads Kaylas to her Admin Tower suite on business.
Stealing Away (Nalyd)
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Nalyd takes Jewels' child to The Roost where he used to have a lab. There he creates a living creature to power the place.
Trying to Catch Up (Iffy)
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Iffy tells w-dueck about his run-in with Azuma and wonders about the strange goings on.
For Want of a Beating Heart (Nalyd)
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Nalyd attempts to revive the stillborn that hadn't really been dead when Nalyd had snatched it from Jewels. With his own essence he manages to get the heart to beat again.
Spam Plane (Azuma)
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Azuma relaxes in his home plane for a while before noticing that his newly installed camera had already been knocked out of place and heading back.
Reconstruction (Nalyd)
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Nalyd repairs some of the damage he did to the baby as Jewels was giving birth.
Itching for Payback (Ackrovan)
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Ackrovan entices Nioca to attack him but Nioca doesn't take the bait. Then Ackrovan leaves for Tesara Post.
Death of the Day (Nioca)
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The Stranger arrives on Nioca's doorstep forcing him to have him as a guest, telling Syla and w-dueck that Nioca is Emperor Galton. Afterwords, w-dueck gets drunk over Jewels' apparent rejection and passes out, Nioca works on the BladesNexus so that he can use his Ermarian powers at the Refuge, and Syla is bit by a noob while searching for information on the Spam board. She will soon transform into a noob herself and Nioca is too late for the treatment.
Burning Down the House (Jewels)
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Jewels shows Kaylas into her suite which is described in detail. She cleans herself up before really realizing that she's not normal. Kaylas takes her to the best doctors on the fire plane to check her out. They report that the 'living antidote' that Nalyd gave her has turned into a parasite that is suppressing Jewels' dryad DNA and nature. They don't know how to cure it. Jewels then makes some orders for a portal nexus to be built for her and for Crusader's Protectorate to be brought up.
A New Dawn (Part I) (collaborative post by w-dueck, Nioca, and Jewels)
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Nioca returns to the citadel dejectedly from the task that lie ahead of putting Syla out of her misery before she can infect anyone else. The Stranger seems to taunt Nioca before he heads to bed. He didn't sleep long before an enraged and inflamed Jewels stands over his bed with Crusader's Protectorate intent on vengeance. They battle until Nioca is able to cast a mind control spell on Jewels. He fills her mind with the images of all the atrocities he attributes to the demons before having her turn the sword on herself. Will intervenes just in time to stop Nioca's attack, but Jewels won't listen to reason and continues to attack Nioca. She runs out of energy, though, and teleports back to the fire plane seething about her failure to commit justice. She is welcomed by Kaylas and Vergil who convince her that she needs to get help from Nalyd to get back to normal. Unable to go back to sleep, w-dueck makes some upgrades on the refuge and it's simplebots before Vergil comes to talk to him. He explains what's happened to Jewels and then leaves with w-dueck to find Nalyd.
A New Dawn (Part II) (collaborative post by w-dueck, Nioca, and Jewels)
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The stranger heals Syla from the noob bite expecting Nioca to cooperate with him better in the future. w-dueck and Vergil get back from searching for Nalyd empty handed and w-dueck asks Nioca if he can help. Nioca points him in the stranger's direction. To entice the stranger to help, w-dueck offers him what he seems most interested in. Information about his past. The stranger agrees to help and performs a ritual on Jewels expelling the living antidote from her body. When Jewels first comes to, she starts yelling at Vergil for the insults he threw at her in the fire plane. She throws a harmless fireball at him in frustration. Nioca, thinking the ritual hasn't worked, takes action to kill Jewels before she can harm anyone else. Even though Jewels' fear comes back full force, Nioca does not stop his attack. He would have killed her, had Syla not stopped him. Jewels promises to prove herself to Nioca and he promises to finish her off when she fails.
For Good Measure (Jewels)
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Jewels has her emotions back and is enjoying the time with her friends. But her body is tired and weak, Vergil, Kaylas and w-dueck insist she get some sleep. While w-dueck escorts her to her room, he poses his question again. In her fear of turning on him, Jewels skirts answering the question by trying to convince him that he doesn't really want to. w-dueck insists he does, but she still doesn't answer him. When she's finally in her room alone, Jewels mourns over the loss of her baby and screams against the images Nioca forced on her in their battle. She teleports to the fire plane before w-dueck blasts down the door to try and help her.
Avoidance Failure (Azuma)
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Azuma tries to get to the Spam forum to re-fix the camera but w-dueck is waiting for him and takes him aside into the chat room to ask him to stick around and help out. After arguing with his sword telepathically, Azuma agrees to be more of a presence. Before fixing the camera, Azuma teleports home for some alone time.
Good Help is so Hard to Find (Nalyd)
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Nalyd realizes that he'll need some equipment from his lab at the Refuge so he makes some creations to go and fetch them.
Spy Me a River (Iffy)
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Iffy returns to the Roost for old times sake and sees Nalyd with the baby. He returns to the Refuge with the news.
Overload (Nioca)
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Nioca gathers up what is left of Nalyd's antidote for Jewels. It seems to still be alive. He sends off a bit of it to be tested by a friend at Tesara Post. He continues working on his project while Syla tells him she's going to leave, not being able to stay knowing that he almost killed Jewels and still wants to. Nioca heads to the Geneforge forum to complete his tinkering with the GeneNexus and BladesNexus and runs into Pestilence. He offers to help Nioca who abuses the magics enough to blow a hole in the Admin Tower from the energy drain. Nioca manages to create a large alien device and asks Pestilence to help him take it to his Citadel and offers him a room there to stay.
The Destruction of the VRP
Main Article: Destruction of the VRP
The VRP have been a thorn in the Refuge's side since the beginning of The Flames of War. Now, finally, begins the journey of removing that threat.
In w-dueck's Absence
Toward the Smoke (w-dueck)
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w-dueck reels from the giant hole blown in the Admin Tower. He puts the whole Refuge on lockdown and searches out Nioca to ask what happened. But Nioca isn't about to take responsibility for the mess he made and lies well enough to lead w-dueck to believe that it was The Stranger's fault and an attack from the VRP. Being fed up, w-dueck decides to take the fight to the VRP and teleports away to places unknown.
The Oncoming Storm (Nioca)
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With Jewels MIA, w-dueck puts Nioca in charge while he's gone, making him a global mod. Syla tries to go back to Ermaria but they discover that Gvelston Sanctuary must have been destroyed, presumably also by agents of the VRP. Nioca goes to inspect the damage done and sneaks into Jewels' room to see what he can find.
Just a Little Distraction (Jewels)
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Jewels comes back from the fire plane very excited to find Nioca in room. She expels him, not happy that he has been given the authority to roam the Admin Tower as he pleases. She goes to the chat lounge and says hi to all the new faces. When she meets Ackrovan, she sees an opportunity to keep Nioca busy with things outside the Admin Tower. She takes the restraining bracelet off his wrist and promotes him to a mod before telling him the last place she saw Nioca at. Then Iffy pulls Jewels aside for a private chat, telling her he's seen her baby alive. Without waiting, Jewels heads straight for the Roost thinking that Nalyd must have been able to revive her son. He meets her near the entrance surprised to see her and not especially forthcoming in information.
The Definitions of Melee (Nioca)
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Ackrovan catches up with Nioca just as he's trying to catch the noob that had attacked Syla. He gets in quite a few punches before the noob shows up and sinks it's teeth into his arm. His grudge forgotten, Ackrovan asks to be healed and Nioca accents giving him a room for the night, too. Noting the lack of good accommodations, Nioca proceeds to turn the chat lounge into an inn. He returns to his citadel and proceeds to conduct some experiments on the newly caught noob and gets some interesting information about the corrupted antidote he had salvaged.
Stillborn (Nalyd)
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Nalyd runs from Jewels, growing up defenses in his wake. In an insane rush, he hurries to complete his goal. To shape the ultimate human. Without instruments or equipment he pours all of his essence into the child as well as takes more from the rot that has grown around him. When he finishes, he promptly falls unconscious. Jewels bangs on the door and Stillborn stands to tear it off it's hinges.
First Impressions (Azuma)
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Azuma is fascinated by the fire elemental Kalyas but doesn't know how to approach him. He goes to the Spam forum to let off some steam transforming into a noob for some good ole' fashioned spamming. His actions cause the building to shake a bit and Nioca comes to investigate bringing several Simplebots with him. He sees a sword on the floor and picks it up. He engages in battle with the noob-Azuma stabbing him through the chest with Sentience, but it did no real harm. Azuma reverted to his normal form to talk to Nioca. In an off moment, he asked if Nioca needed any help and he said yes.
Only a Mother Could Love (Jewels)
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Jewels comes face to face with her newly shaped son with mixed feelings. Her motherly instincts tell her to accept him unconditionally, but his touch is painful and his voice is harsh. Whatever Nalyd did to him has left him quite alien. She decides to take him and Nalyd back to the refuge but unleashes her fury on the place that Nalyd had run to. She destroys the rot along with the rest of the Roost but the scythe was left unharmed so she takes it with handing it back to Nalyd while his unconscious form reaches for it.
To get back into the Refuge after the lockdown, she temporarily makes Nalyd an admin then teleports to the fire plane and back to her suite with her son. They go downstairs together to meet with Kaylas who has dumped the sleeping Nalyd on a couch in the lobby. Kaylas tries to get Jewels to explain who Stillborn is but she isn't willing to say. Jewels notices that the Chat Lounge has changed and calls Nioca out on safety protocols. Stillborn stays with Nioca insisting on a tour. Not knowing when Will would return, Jewels musters up the courage to venture into the maintenance room to make a backup.
Time Out for an Assassin (Iffy)
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A man sneaks into the chat lounge and tries to poison Iffy. But Iffy notices it and traps the man in a forcecage instead insisting on information. He is handed a letter but still leaves the prisoner behind electrical bars while he works on a script.
The Changing of the Guard (Nioca)
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Nioca gives Stillborn a small tour gleaning from him the fact that Jewels is his mother. Figuring out what must have happened, Nioca retrieves Nalyd and places him in the Geneforge forum between the essence and healing pools. He then notices that work on his citadel is complete and goes to turn on the power crystal to relieve the Refuge's backup generators causing a short blackout. Nioca enters the Chat Lounge and argues with Jewels about just who is abusing their powers before Nioca blurts out to everyone that Stillborn is her son.
Returning to his citadel, Nioca enhances his now idle shades making them extra frosty and sets them to guard the perimeter of the Refuge. Too little, too late, though, as another assassin with shaping powers has broken through and hits Nioca from behind with a bolt of acid.
Banned Lizard (Vergil)
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Vergil responds to the intruder taking her out in a rather vicious manner while in the form of a blue fiery lizard. w-dueck comes back briefly and ends up banning Vergil only to disappear again. Before Vergil leaves the refuge though, he asks Master Ackrovan to come with him on an important mission.
Reunion (w-dueck)
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w-dueck returns to his home plane sneaking into the city. He heads to a bar in the slums of the slums and meets up with his old friend Jumara.
Fight for Freedom (Jewels)
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Jewels goes deeper into the maintenance of the Refuge at the database core level and stumbles upon a record of the private messages. In her curiosity, she takes a look at the ones Vergil has sent. She finds within, some important information with the names of the first through the eleventh regiments of the BlueBloods on it. Kaylas and Vergil are both on it, Vergil at a higher rank than him. And the name of their leader, Shrikas. The man who gave the order to kill her father, and the man who could just as easily order her own death.
Jewels begins gathering necessary elements for the spell that is supposed to bring her freedom from herself. In the process, she promises Azuma that he can talk to either her or Kaylas about their species and their culture. Once she has gathered everything (some part of DNA from each of the active members of the Refuge) she goes to the roof of the Admin Tower to perform her spell. Kaylas insists that he join her and they bring Stillborn along. Although Jewels tells them not to interfere, when her spell seems to go awry, Stillborn steps in involuntarily lending Jewels his energy to complete the spell. When the smoke clears, Stillborn emerges carrying a smiling Jewels.
Falling for the Trap (Iffy)
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Iffy releases the assassin to take him off the isle. As soon as Iffy activates a script that makes the Simplebots and shades disappear, the assassin uses his secret weapon to drain Iffy's energy. He drags Iffy to a waiting Google transport and away from the isle before anyone can help.
Sleepless (Nioca)
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Being healed from the acid bolt by Syla, the pair left the gruesome scene for the citadel where Nioca used his new magic device on himself with unseen effects. Nioca soon revealed to Syla that he was the last remaining heir of the Galton family, Enivir Nioca Galton, fourth son of the third generation. He is soon called away by another alert and finds out that Iffy was kidnapped. Another assassin is found and captured by Nioca and Aryll, left to sit in the dump in spoiled pants.
Let Man Not Separate (Jewels)
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Jewels had finished her spell and now owned thirteen 'unbreakable' soul orbs. They bound her soul to the other members of the Refuge making her unable to intentionally harm any of them. She made stands for them and displayed them on her bedroom mantle. She soon fell into a deep sleep where she could see what the other members were seeing for a few brief moments. When she holds the orbs, she gets a sense of what the other person is feeling and notices that Iffy is in distress. Jewels goes to investigate leaving Kaylas to talk with Azuma and Stillborn happily listening to Ligrev chat away.
Jewels asks Nioca for an audience to discuss business over lunch at her suite. She tries to explain the soul orbs to him but mistaking them for theme orbs, Nioca throws his own orb at the floor shattering it. It triggers a more intimate soul binding spell where Nioca and Jewels are merged into one entity for a few moments. When the spell is done, they are separate, drained, and collapse unconscious together onto the bed.
Three Long Years (Iffy)
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Iffy's captors prepare to drain his energy from him but are interrupted by a little girl called Saph. She looks to be about eight but says she's really old. Iffy is glad to see her but has no strength to fight. They barely manage to escape, getting into a Google transport and having it return them to Calamity Refuge.
Paranoia (Nalyd)
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Nalyd wakes up in the Geneforge forum without his creation in sight and instead a shade hovering nearby. Thinking it must be hostile, Nalyd attacks the shade and it fights back. Nalyd defeats it and goes off to look for his creation so he can break it's will to be his servant.
Upon w-dueck's Return
Assembly (Part I) (w-dueck)
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w-dueck brings Jumara back to the Internet Plane letting him explore the refuge while w-dueck goes to look for Jewels. He finds her with Nioca on her bed in an awkward embrace. Getting the wrong impression, w-dueck goes to get himself drunk and lament over her seeming unfaithfulness. When she tries to talk to him he's not ready to listen. He takes his room key off of her ring and blasts a hole in the Chat Lounge wall as he leaves.
Epic Coffee is Epic (Azuma)
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Azuma fumbles with how to interact with Kaylas in order to get what he wants from him, the opportunity to examine his physiology. He remembers that he left his iSpam box in the Spam forum so they leave to get it. Azuma has trouble transporting it back to his home so he leaves it in the Moderation Center of the Admin Tower before returning to the Chat Lounge looking for Jewels. The lid of the box pops open just enough for something to peek out.
Connection (Nioca)
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Nioca and Jewels discover that they have become mind liked. Able to share thoughts and feelings with one another, sometimes whether they want to or not.
Truth and Consequences (Jewels)
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Nioca and Jewels share the same dream after they fall unconscious from the spell. Jewels really struggles with the weight of Nioca's hatred aimed at her through the mind link. She also struggles with the pain she has caused w-dueck. Exactly what she had been trying to avoid. She goes to see him, but when he won't talk to her, she has a couple shots of hard liquor. About then, Azuma comes in asking if he can go to the fire plane so Jewels takes him for a visit. She is surprised and joyful as the weight of Nioca's undercurrent lifts with the plane shift.
Yamato Origins (Vergil)
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Vergil and Ackrovan meet up with Laesp'awn and break into the palace on the fire plane. They find some information stating that Yamato was found in a Geneforge colony.
Rotten Mind (Nalyd)
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Nalyd sneaks around the refuge in a madman's daze. He thinks through things before the Rot that Jewels had destroyed in body began to command him, it's mind taking over control of the scythe and thus Nalyd in return. Nalyd does it's bidding, going to the tavern and asking for Stillborn but he was injured by the Rot and soon falls unconscious.
Starred (Azuma)
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With a drunk Jewels showing off for him, Azuma marvels at her elemental form. Soon, though Jewels crumples to a pile of emotional mush and Azuma is surprised to find himself glad to comfort her when she asks. They return to the Refuge but Jewels starts to push him away almost immediately, mumbling something about having no privacy.
Assembly (Part II) (w-dueck)
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Jumara recruits Nioca and Jewels to help w-dueck in the fight against the VRP. w-dueck reluctantly accepts.
Preparations (Nioca)
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Nioca is notified that Iffy and Saph are trying to get into the refuge. He leads them, with Saph practically carrying Iffy, to the Chat Lounge where Nioca wakes Iffy up then leaves for other business. He sends Aryll to Tesara Post for some things then experiments on his captured noob making it dissolve in a puddle of acid. Nioca then gathers some spores from the corrupted antidote and stows them away for later.
Kicking Against the Goads (Jewels)
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Everyone seems to keep fighting against the inevitable. Jewels tells Jumara that she'll help w-dueck with his fight hoping that her presence can somehow protect him. Nioca continues to rip into her mentally but Jewels realizes that as much as she feels his constant hatred for her, he must also feel her constant caring. She resolves to 'Smother him with love' as she has done to others before. She takes a moment to check her orbs and notices that Nalyd is awake and agitated. She decides to go bury the hatchet with him over Stillborn and finds him at the Chat Lounge with the scythe through his shoulder.
With Azuma's help, she gets it out of him but fails to heal his wound. Stillborn rushes in sensing his masters need and heals Nalyd with a different kind of magic. Nalyd tried to take Stillborn away to his lab but Jewels stops him giving him a piece of her mind about the ethics of what he has already done and expects to be allowed to do. Nalyd viciously attacks Jewels and is joined in battle with Kaylas and Azuma.
By the end of the battle, Kaylas has been wounded by Nalyd's scythe and the pathogens working in his veins are incurable except to a trained Shaper effectively giving him a death sentence, Nalyd is stopped from attacking further by Acky's old restraining bracelet which Jewels slaps on him, Azuma is left to attend to Kaylas until help arrives, and Jewels realizes that the only way to pacify Nalyd is to let him take Stillborn. She is too weak and ill from just touching the scythe to really fight him anymore and tells Stillborn to go with him. She soon stumbles to a tree in the courtyard and is quickly absorbed into it.
Predators (Nioca)
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Nioca begrudgingly responds to the alert that Jewels left in place and even more reluctantly heals Kaylas as much as he can. But when they're alone, Nioca begins to taunt Kaylas telling him he plans to kill off all the fire elementals. w-dueck walks in and Kaylas tries to tell him what Nioca had said, but Nioca tells w-dueck that Kaylas is also delusional as part of the list of symptoms from his wound. Needless to say, w-dueck doesn't believe Kaylas who is taken to the Moderation Center for observation.
Power (Iffy)
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Iffy reaches inside himself and pulls out the source of his power. Letting just a tiny fraction of it out, he replenishes himself, but not without causing a shockwave that's sure to alert others.
Nice Day for a Walk (Robsta)
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Robsta has been making a breastplate and is on his way to have it enchanted when he is attacked by a group of soldiers. Robsta is captured but manages to escape with his life, breastplate, and sword. After the enchantment on his breastplate is done, he returns to the refuge to work on the rest of his armor.
Parrots! (Azuma)
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While Kaylas broods in the Moderation Center, he is attacked by raptors that escaped from Azuma's iSpam box. Azuma comes to help Kaylas but they lock the raptors in the Moderation Center.
Green is the Colour (Jewels)
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While Jewels is in the courtyard tree, it's not the same as before. Instead of being at rest and at peace, her conscious is subdued. She experiences what Nioca is saying and doing and thinking as if she were him. When she emerges from the tree, she quickly teleports 'home' to avoid letting Nioca know that she knows and to warn her people on the fire plane. But instead of teleporting to her fire plane home, she teleports to her dryad home and comes face to face with her tree. She enters only briefly to reunite with her past and all the memories that come with it before being pushed back out to finish her business. Her tree, Nana, calls for a meeting of the Elders. Jewels makes curing potions for Kaylas and sends him to the fire plane with sealed letters for himself, Vergil, and Prince Darius. Reeling from emotion and the information she can't let Nioca know, Jewels quickly goes back to her tree where she receives a real rest. Kaylas reads his letter stating that Jewels knows what Nioca plans and that he should evacuate the people to prevent it.
By Design (Nioca)
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Nioca goes to Ermaria and creates a new sanctuary to replace Gvelston. He almost kills himself in doing so, living only on the borrowed time of hundreds of healing potions. He also breaks the enchantment on Crusader's Protectorate giving it a new one and makes a portal to Ermaria hoping that w-dueck finds it.
The Stranger comes to see him, though, telling him that they shouldn't be fighting the VRP and giving Nioca a ruby tipped dagger to kill w-dueck with if he still insists on going through with it.
The Letter (Vergil)
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Vergil gets his letter from Jewels, a plea to help take out the VRP. He goes to the BlueBloods with the request and they say he can take the 101st regiment with him.
Unattached Arms (w-dueck)
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Will asks Iffy if he'll help in the fight against the VRP and Iffy says yes.
Citrus (Ackrovan)
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Ackrovan comes back from his exploits with Vergil and heads for the inn, intent on drinking his troubles away.
The Third Such Incident (Nioca)
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Nioca's health was worse after a night of trying to rest. Syla comes into The Temple of the Designers in full armor and Nioca ushers her off to discuss private business. Afterwords, Nioca realizes that Jewels is in Ermaria with him though nothing is coming through their mind link. He teleports to her supposed location, coming to the middle of a forest. He keeps himself hidden and notices that he has arrived at the same time as the Stranger, who asks to see Jewels. When Jasmine refuses to allow it, the Stranger decides to kill her and burn down the forest to get to Jewels. Realizing that the Stranger hasn't detected his presence, Nioca takes the opportunity to attack him with the spiritkiller dagger that the Stranger had given him the previous day. As the Stranger's life flows out of him, Nioca channels some of it into himself and some into Jasmine before disappearing.
In the Uon plains, Nioca witnesses an odd incident of guards being murdered by something they can barely see.
The Turning of the Leaf (Jewels)
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Kaylas confides in Vergil about his new misgivings for Jewels being able to lead their people. He thinks she's too attached to the humans, especially w-dueck, to make rational decisions. Vergil only agrees.
In Ermaria, Jewels witnesses the Stranger killing Jasmine and threatening to burn the entire forest, as well as an angel (Nioca) saving them all by killing the Stranger instead.
The Spirit of a Creation (Nalyd)
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Nalyd argues with Stillborn about his humanity vs. being a creation. He does some tests on Stillborn and is frightened by just how much power he had poured into him. Stillborn asks Nalyd why he was hurting his 'mother'.
Breaking Stillborn (Nalyd)
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Nalyd is enraged by his creation's presumption that Jewels is his mother. He lashes out striking Stillborn relentlessly until the Rot stops him. Stillborn is left with permanent scars. Mental as well as physical.
An Offer Refused (Iffy)
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Iffy tells w-dueck that he can take care of the VRP by himself, but w-dueck insists on fighting in this battle.
The Birth of Plague (BloodMoon)
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Pestilence turns his room in the citadel into a portal to his home plane and goes there. He experiments with the corrupted antidote he got from Nioca.
Raptors........ahoy? (Ackrovan)
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A drunk Master Ackrovan decides to take care of the pest alert in the Moderation Center. He is joined by Azuma, Iffy, and Saph, but when they open the door, the Raptors are gone and they've taken Azuma's iSpam box with them.
Refuge in Ermaria
Assembly (Part III) (w-dueck)
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w-dueck finally gathers his whole Corellian army and prepares to teleport them all to Ermaria by way of the SSMT, but something goes wrong and the whole Refuge, buildings and all, goes with.
Perspective (Jewels)
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Nana, glad to have her Dryad back, has gained new perspective from Jewels' experiences. Knowing that Nioca mustn't find out about the evacuation, she suppresses Jewels memories of those events. Jewels has her meeting with the Elders but they're not about to get themselves involved in a war. Especially not one that is endangering the Designers. Jewels blurts out that she IS a Designer though she really isn't sure how she knows. Jewels sits down in frustration as her thoughts turn to Will and the Refuge just before the forest is rocked with what feels like an earthquake and Jewels doubles over in mental anguish. Jasmine gets Jewels back to Nana giving her the ruby dagger she filched when the Elders weren't looking.
Sentience (w-dueck)
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w-dueck realizes that he's transported the whole Refuge and finds out that there's already an army headed his way. He orders that the people in the refuge be evacuated to the Tower of the Designers with Nioca but insists he stay behind. When the army arrives, w-dueck kills as many as he can with the Refuge's defenses but he is eventually overpowered. Just as they reach him, he sets the Refuge to explode with all it's remaining power. A dryad later watches as what's left of the army carts him away to their castle.
Overly Protective (Jewels)
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Jewels forces herself to leave Nana as soon as she can stand it, though she's still reeling from whatever happened to all the Refuge members. She tries to teleport there but is unable. In panic she asks Nioca what happened. While explaining, he teleports her and Nana to his position, much to Nana's displeasure. Jewels talks official business with Kaylas and Vergil before they tell her about Stillborn. Jewels is so overcome with the need to protect her son from Nalyd, that she opens up herself to BladesCraft for the first time intent on making him a safe haven. With too little experience and too little life force, she almost kills herself and fails to complete her goal, but Stillborn lends her his energy once more and she makes a place where no harm can be done.
It also effectively severed the link between her and Nioca, though it remains to be seen if it's because his undercurrent of hatred counts as a mental attack or not. Nioca and Kaylas are unable to enter the room but get someone who can to wake her up. Jewels soon finds out about w-dueck staying behind at the Refuge to fight an entire army and makes up her mind to go get him. But she is too late. When the Refuge explodes, Jewels is effectively crippled with his supposed loss. Nioca gets her back into Nana to keep her from screaming in his own mind.
When Jewels is able to, she returns to the ruins of the Refuge to retrieve her soul orbs only to find w-dueck's missing.
Eight to Twelve (Iffy)
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Iffy and Saph get left behind at the Refuge and are separated from the group to flounder in the forest. Iffy realizes that he's missing his power just as they are attacked by some stray guards.
Sunset (Part I) (Nioca)
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After transporting Jewels and her tree back to the forest, Nioca decides to attack the VRP directly. He teleports in and kills them all with spiritkiller bolts from their own quivers. But the battle isn't won. He finds an agent from another plane with a message for the leaders of the VRP, kills it and takes the message. Worried about what it revealed, he made rebuilding the Refuge a first priority returning to the Internet plane to do so. When he returns, the battle with the Empire army is in full swing.
Getting Steamed (w-dueck)
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A dryad returns Will's missing orb to Jewels and she learns that he's still alive and being tortured. From the Elders she gleans where the army took him. Since Nioca had left, Jewels decided to go in and get him out herself. When she gets to him, she heals as much as she can but he has gone insane and won't respond to her spells. A touch from his orb connects them momentarily and brings him back to clarity as well as reveals enough of the truth to him about what transpired between her and Nioca for him to know they weren't involved romantically. Jewels gets him out of his bonds and they share a few passionate moments before they are interrupted by a couple of guards.
Fallen (w-dueck)
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Jewels and w-dueck are attacked by guards and separated when trying to escape. One lands a blow on w-dueck, running him straight through the chest. Jewels manages to teleport them back to the Temple of the Designers but neither she, Nioca, or any of the other Gvelston priests are able to heal him. They freeze him in a block of ice to attempt again when the battle is not going on in full force.
Worth the Sacrifice (Jewels)
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Kaylas runs out of curing potions from Jewels and starts to falter on the battle field, so he goes to find her. He reaches her just in time to stop one last VRP assassin from shooting Nioca with a spiritkiller bolt by stepping into the path of the missile instead. Kaylas falls, slipping away to the abyss while Jewels savagely kills the assassin with BladesCraft. The strain on her lifeforce leaves her unconscious at Nioca's feet.
Moment of Pain (Iffy)
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Iffy and Saph defeat the soldiers chasing them only to run into the man that tried to steal Iffy's power before. Taking advantage of their exhaustion, the man defeats them and tortures their spirits until they have no strength left to even so much as get up.
Casualties (Vergil)
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Vergil finds that Kaylas has been killed by a spiritkiller and goes berserk, ripping into the Ermarian army.
Nightmares (Jewels)
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After dreaming about not being able to find w-dueck, Jewels wakes up and notices that w-dueck's soul orb is black. Nalyd comes to retrieve Stillborn but seems confused and released by the hold of the Rot while within Jewels' sanctuary. Nalyd is taken back to confinement and Jewels goes to pay her respect to w-dueck, trying to revive him with blades craft. The attempt fails but Jumara tells her that w-dueck's soul has probably returned to the Corellian plane where he was born as all Corellian spirits do at death. Jewels tells Jumara to take her there before feeling the mind attack on Iffy.
Drunken Rescue (Master Ackrovan)
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Having been teleported with the rest of the refuge, Ackrovan (along with his new creation, Citrus) is abruptly dumped in a small grove somewhere to the south of the sanctuary. After finding his bearings and trying to grab a hold of the situation, Ackrovan is attacked by a patrolling group of soldiers. Despite his buzz, Ackrovan manages to kill them without too much hassle. During the fight, a pleading soldier, desperate to save his life, informs him that Iffy and his lady friend (Saph) were taken to a nearby fort to the southeast, where they were being tortured to gain information about the designers. Having seen no other alternative, Ackrovan decides to rescue Iffy from his captors.
After scouting the place out first, Ackrovan determines that the only way to rescue Iffy is a lightning-fast attack. Using his drained essence reserves, he shaped a group of Pyroroamers and unstable Thahds and orders the majority of them (including Citrus) to cause a distraction at the main gate. During the chaos, Ackrovan sneaks into the dungeon and rescues Iffy and Saph (using a pair of thahds to carry them). He then met back up with Citrus at the grove he landed in, and made camp.
Teleportation Ahoy! (Iffy)
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After waking up, Iffy and Saph briefly inform Ackrovan of what happened. And with Acky's help, Iffy teleported them all to where the rest of the Refuge members were, with Saph and himself falling back into a state of unconsciousness.
Regret (Nalyd)
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Nalyd thinks deeply about his addiction to the power of his scythe (through which the Rot corrupted), and his regret and love of it. He then gives in to it, as the Rot's probes sunk into him with no resistance.
Cylan Heritage (w-dueck)
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Will returns to his original plane as a spirit and meets a woman called Elder Llyth. While they're talking about physics of different planes (including about how Llyth was marooned on Corellia), someone informs them of a group of Lancers coming down the road.
Wake Up (Azuma)
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Azuma woke up in a lounge and asks Ligrev for some coffee. After some blushing from Ligrev, and Azuma woken with a fresh bit of coffee, Azuma leaves for the spam forum and then remembers that they aren't in the refuge.
Sunset (Part II) (Nioca)
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With fatal knowledge Nioca starts rushing everyone through the portal back to the new Refuge on the internet plane. He puts Vergil in charge of sending everyone through before heading to the heart of the dryad forest. There he used a soul crystal to absorb the souls of Nana, Jasmine, Nola and as many other dryads as he could. He then sends Aryll off to the internet plane with the crystal while he stays behind to battle The Stranger who still isn't as dead as Nioca would have liked. He manages to turn the archway into a bomb before expending all of his life force and just before the Ermarian universe was completely destroyed.
Control (Nalyd)
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The Rot reenters Nalyd and directs him to command Stillborn to follow him out Jewels' sanctuary. They head for the ruined Refuge only to find that the entire shaping lab useless, but they have bigger problems because the Sun is drawing towards Ermaria and the planet is about to be destroyed. The Rot manages to transfer Nalyd and Stillborn away just in time and finds the new refuge to send them to.
Rebirth
Main Article: Rebirth
Suffering heavy losses and nearly broken, the members live on in the re-established refuge looking on to an uncertain future.
Jioca
The events that surround Jewels and Nioca joining consciousnesses and their eventual separation.
One in Resurrection (Jewels)
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Jewels leaves Ermaria at Nioca's insistence taking Will's body with her. Unable to go get Stillborn as well, she decides to prepare for the trip to Corel only to find that Nioca has stripped her of adminship and locked her out of her office leaving her with nothing and no where to go. She manages to convince Syla to let her get a few things from her room before taking her things to Nioca's citadel. He took her room, she'd take his. Back at the portal Jewels paced waiting for someone to bring Stillborn through but no one ever did. She did see Acky, Iffy, Saph, and Vergil come through, though. The archway collapsed in on itself and disappeared. Seconds later, Jewels collapsed. When she opened her eyes, she was with Nioca in a very crowded Ermarian afterlife. A little arguing, another encounter with The Stranger, and Jewels opens her eyes again, being resurrected by Syla. Only she's not just Jewels, she's Nioca, too. They take the soul crystal back to Nioca's bunker and get his admin keys and RMM-A. It shows that Stillborn and Nalyd made it back somehow so after a bit of relief, Jewels heads to the admin. tower intent on finally getting to Corel to get Will; Azuma, Jumara, Nalyd, and Stillborn in tow. This whole destroyed universe bit caused a lot of distractions.
The Element of Change (Nioca)
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Jewels' teleporting to Corel makes the Admin tower collapse, but Syla is able to have some new bots repair it. Meanwhile, the Stranger takes over the body of Kaylas and stages a coup in the fire plane intent on destroying Jewels' body and Nioca with it.
Ethereal Escape (w-dueck)
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Remnants of the VRP go to Corel to finish off w-dueck's spirit but are stopped by Llyth, a 3500 year old ice elemental. After the trackers are taken care of, w-dueck travels to the city of Corel.
Tits and Trouble (Vergil)
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Vergil meets up with an old flame before heading to the the fire plane castle intent on reclaiming the throne only to find Kaylas sitting on it. He realizes its the Stranger and excuses himself to rally the BlueBloods.
Looking for Trouble (Iffy)
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Iffy and Saph recover somewhat from their ordeal in Ermaria and transport to the fire plane for unspoken reasons.
Our Muse (Jewels)
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After sitting down at a bar ordering Will's usual, the combined Jewels and Nioca contemplate their existence. After a little interruption by Nalyd, the door blows open to who knows what.
Dantius Arrives (Dantius)
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Dantius, after paying a medium sized fortune, escapes from his former life and arrives at the Refuge only to find it inhabited primarily by bots, his arrival predating that of the refugees and former members. After questioning Ligrev, Dantius heads over to the Geneforge forum to steal various things, after which he heads back to the inn, satisfied.
A Dragon for Jewels (Nalyd)
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Nalyd works on the plans for creating the dragon Jewels requested, then he starts to shape it rather slowly.
Dominance (Nioca)
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At the refuge, Syla does her best to manage the refuge on her own, but the systems that were put on auto-pilot are starting to amass vehicles of war by themselves. Syla's not sure what they are doing or how to stop it. In Corel, Jewels loses consciousness to the creature that the conjoining with Nioca has created. The tavern is burnt down and people are killed by her while she is unawares. In an alleyway Nioca regains control and casts Control Foes on Nalyd, Jumara, and Stillborn so they forget what happened. Jewels starts to regain consciousness and control not realizing what has happened. She spies her finished dragon which Nalyd doesn't remember completing.
Search (Iffy)
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After searching the Fire Plane for a few hours, Iffy and Saph finally stumble upon who they needed to find. After a little introduction, the one they needed (Esur) and his partner Ruse attacked them. After a short battle with some nasty tricks by Iffy, they surrendered and Esur found the location of who Iffy and Saph really needed to find. They transported back to the Refuge and fell asleep in the "slums".
Back in Business (Vergil)
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Vergil goes to attack the Stranger with the 7th Regiment of Bluebloods. He seemingly captures the Stranger and Watson in the butterfly box before making their retreat. In some other plane of existence, an unknown creature writhes in pain.
Plans (Iffy)
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While Iffy and Saph got up, heading for the Inn, the man who stole from and tortured Iffy and Saph appeared at the lady who wants Iffy dead who revealed his name to be Nix.
To Mead (Jewels)
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Jewels and her dragon get to know each other before Azuma appears to show them to their rooms for the night. Azuma realizes that something is really wrong with Jewels. The next morning, Jumara and Jewels discuss how they should proceed and decide they'll need to go to Mead.
Demons and Hellfire (Collaborate post by w-dueck and Nioca)
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While the ghost of w-dueck eavesdrops on various conversations, Jumara and the others looking for him are invited to an audience with the Queen. They make their way towards the Royal Tower but the guards that brought them turn out to be Fire Elementals ready to ambush them and intent on taking Jewels and Stillborn with them. With her new found abilities, though, Jioca makes little work of their attackers. They continue on to meet the Queen who informs them that the VRP have infiltrated her lands and taken over her kingdom. Jewels struggles to retain her own identity as they board a ship for Deseret where the Queen says they will find Will. It is normally a two week journey but Jewels manages to cut it down to one by basically turning into a jet engine for the boat. The town is rather busy and among the people in the crowd, Jewels sees w-dueck.
Can't Kill a Dead Man (BloodMoon)
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Pestilence finishes the bio-weapon he was making and presented it to its buyer. They offered him another job but he refused. When he left, the buyer sent assassins after him but he killed them easily. Pestilence left intent on returning to the Refuge.
Defeat (Iffy)
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While heading for the Google port, Iffy and Saph encountered Eva and Emair, who were threatening to kill them to help stop a man's plans. Nix steps out of another Google transport, startling them. The four teamed up against Nix, but with each minute they wore down. Eventually Nix manages to kill Eva and Emair and steals their power and soul. After knocking a chunk off of the wall of the Admin Tower, he leaves the Refuge.
Welcome Home (w-dueck)
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The Refugees are reunited with w-dueck's spirit. He takes them to the Syphria clan claiming Jewels as his miernen (devoted). There they meet his son Kelyn and raise an army to fight the VRP in Corel. The VRP are defeated and everyone goes back to the Refuge. There, w-dueck's spirit is reunited with his body and Syla turns on Jewels demanding Nioca back.
Warm Welcome (Nioca)
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Syla and Aryll fight Jewels for the return of Nioca. After skewering her on Avenger, they restore all of the dryad/tree souls Nioca had saved from Ermaria, relocating them in the Refuge forest. They take Jewels' body to have her tree absorb her. After a day, Nioca's body is expelled from Nana.
The Sorting Room, The Sitting Room (Jewels)
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Nana sorts out the being Jioca back into Jewels and Nioca. Before she expels his body, she represses his negative memories and revives his positive ones especially focusing on the good things Jewels has done for him. Nana then transfers Jewels to a native tree that is willing to give its life force to her. Jewels takes Will's body, which lives but is ice cold, to the BoE forum and waits for him to revive. She begins to feel an unknown hunger.
People Reborn
With Jewels and Nioca separated, and Will about to be revived, various things start setting into motion.
Stalemate (Dantius)
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Dantius and Nalyd fight. Stillborn breaks them up and each goes their own way.
While You Were Sleeping (collaborative post by w-dueck, Iffy, Azuma and Jewels)
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Jewels tells Will about her mind link with Nioca. Iffy tells Will about the danger from his kin. Jewels' condition is revealed as being cause by Nioca being inside Nana with her. A dryad condition of her physiology. Azuma brings Will the crystals he gathered in Corel. Will finds out Nioca has taken over the refuge and makes plans to get it back from him.
Full Circle (collaborative post by w-dueck and Iffy)
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Iffy and Saph create an illusion to help Will retake the Refuge from Nioca and Syla. Will forgives Nioca but says he won't be so forgiving next time. He and Jewels start fixing the Refuge up properly and Will creates a ring with the Corellian crystals and the power of the Refuge computer.
A Long Time Coming (collaborative post by w-dueck and Jewels)
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Will serenades Jewels in the lounge where she finally agrees to marry him. She asks Vergil to walk her down the aisle, he agrees but neglects to tell her what he came to say. The wedding is held and Will gives her the ring he created.
Full Moon (collaborative post by w-dueck and Jewels)
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Nioca tries to work himself into an alcohol induced coma to endure the wedding night, but is woken by the mental link to Jewels anyway. Desperate to get away from the images of them together he causes Jewels to flame up. It didn't stop their intimacy but the emergency protocol he had only partially installed before did. It transported everyone in the Refuge to the lounge. Jewels, angry at Nioca's intervention, flew off in flame taking him into the forest. She is unable to stay mad at him but her condition flares up again. Nioca knocks her out and dryads emerge to help her. Jasmine tells Nioca he as the cure to Jewels' condition that she calls a "fire fever". The other dryads scare Nioca away, though. He stays to eavesdrop about the dryads' argument. Nana restores the suppression of the fire fever and has the dryads walk her to the edge of the forest. Jewels is dazed when Will finds her and takes her, already sleeping, back to their room.
What?! (Iffy)
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qUe comes to the Refuge luring Iffy and Saph away. Esur and Ruse come looking for Iffy and a fight. They battle Jewels and Azuma instead. Iffy remembers that Nix was his former lover and forms a friendship with qUe. Iffy, Saph and qUe show up to help fight against Esur and Ruse but Nix shows up too killing the latter couple. Both Iffy and Nix absorb some of their power before Nix leaves.
A New Saga (w-dueck)
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Nioca attempts to take over the Refuge, and is instead absorbed by it and turned into a human Bot. w-dueck and Jewels attempt an intimate situation but her fever kicks in. She inadvertently kills him but saves his soul and travels to Corellia to meet his mother, and then to the Ice Plane. w-dueck is then reincarnated as Sylae Corell and returns to the Refuge, in total four months after the wedding.
Not a Mechanic (Nalyd)
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Nalyd continues working on Stillborn in spite of the horrible homemade Shaping equipment.
I See What You Did There (Iffy)
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Iffy, Saph, and qUe with Reth teleport to another plane to search for Iffy's soul box. Four months later, they raze a town full of thousands of soldiers, apparently finally able to get the soul box back. Back at the Refuge, Nix comes in and forcefully has Ligrev pour him some coffee without alerting the adminship, but she manages to alert them anyways.
Ready Yet? (Azuma)
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Ligrev sees Azuma when he is not on guard and it damages her. He fixes the problem and they share an intimate night, but he dreams of Jewels. He leaves in the morning writing Ligrev a goodbye note. He returns after four months of training himself to be able to use the fire elemental form he learned from Jewels.
Problems Reborn
This point marks where User:Jewels takes over writing for all of the characters of FT. The first two posts were made in the original RP thread, the rest are in their own thread and are considered the sequel to Fanciful Tales. See Rebirth_(Story). In this section, new live is shown to come with new problems.
Honeymoon's Over (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Sylae comes back to the Refuge and insists on working on it since she's been away for so long.
Disappearing Act (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Jewels walks through the Geneforge forum covertly creating a Shaper lab piece to replace one Nalyd had broken. She disappears for her "study" as she instructs him to answer the RMM alert.
The Second Kiss (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
An intimate moment between Jewels and Sylae triggers Jewels' fire fever. Jewels is left unconscious while Sylae is furious thinking Jewels is disgusted with her.
Waffles and Strawberries (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Jewels spends the morning with Niocabot.
Observation (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
An unknown man watches Jewels and Nana soothes her fire fever.
Picking Up Where We Left Off (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Nylad sends Stillborn to find out how Jewels fixed his Shaper lab part.
Nobody's Home (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Nalyd fights Nix in the Lounge.
Consequences (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Vergil runs from a soldier on the Fire Plane, then kills him. One more death in the civil war that he's starting to believe only Jewels can end.
The Way it Should Be (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Jewels goes to her "study" which is a place she created within the Blades and Geneforge Nexus that Nioca made. It resembles the room from her dream with the chandelier and 13 doors. She works with a doppelganger she made of Nioca on many unsaid things. They work together very well. Then Jewels goes to see Sylae right before events in The Second Kiss and returns to Nana before events in Observation.
The Second Death (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Nix wonders about Stillborn while Jewels goes for a walk with him. Sylae changes w-dueck's and Jewels' profiles to read "Deceased" and "Widow" respectively.
Beguilement (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Azuma spends another night with Ligriv while pretending she's Jewels.
The Zene Legacy (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Nix thinks about her and Iffy's family line. She takes a piece of Stillborn's fur for study.
The Things Left Unsaid (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Sentience chides Azuma for taking advantage of Ligrev. Stillborn brings Jewels to the lounge for help from a faint. She asks Ligrev for some food and they go for a picnic. Jewels finds comfort in Azuma over the knowledge that Sylae had ended their marriage.
Through the Window - Part 1 (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Sylae watches Jewels out the window trying to get a grip on her emotions.
Through the Window - Part 2 (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Niocabot watches Jewels out the window trying to get a grip on his lost emotions. He sets the Simplebots to set up the ceremonies she was thinking about.
A Reason to Come Home (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Iffy and Saph see the RMM announcement and decide to come back to the Refuge.
Dressed for the Occasion (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Jewels and Sylae both receive a dress and a personal invitation to the funeral and passing of the torch to Sylae. They each think the other set the whole thing up and Sylae isn't happy about it.
The Death of Pride (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
The Blueblood base is under heavy attack. Vergil comes back to the Refuge to ask Jewels to come with him, being almost killed by a poorly calibrated portal. She heals him but tells him no. A bot gives him an invitation to w-dueck's funeral.
Variations on a Concern (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Many people have different concerns the day of w-dueck's funeral. Jasmine and the dryads receive an invitation and she hopes to talk to Jewels about this tragedy. Nalyd experiments on the blood sample from Nix, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. Jewels sneaks Stillborn down to her lab and takes a moment to relax and work with Nio. Later right before the funeral begins, Sylae reviews why she must regain control of the Refuge from Jewels, and Jewels considers her vows to her husband.
Learning of the Dead (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Azuma starts out excited for the prospects that w-dueck's death opens up for him. Iffy and Saph learn of his death and mourn for him causing Azuma to realize that he should, too, but can't.
Butterfly Effect (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
From Sylae's point of view, she listens to Jewels's eulogy and gives her acceptance speech letting the Refugees believe she is Will's twin sister. She then De-admin's Jewels. Many Refugees don't take the news well and Jewels feels the affects from her soul bonding to them. She quiets them all by accepting Sylae's decision without argument. Then Sylae asks for Jewels's wedding ring which she is not so willing to give up. Vergil and Azuma start fighting Iffy and Saph while Jewels reaches her breaking point. Without access to the Refuge database anymore, she is left without the safety procedures she put into place. Sylae is unable to grant her access in time. The post leaves off as she begins to erupt.
Affected Butterfly (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
From Nio's point of view he observes the ceremonies through Jewels and talked to her about her illness. The behind the scenes consequences of her losing adminship are shown as the chaos of the Refuge brings Niocabot to frenzy and the turmoil of Jewels's friends drive her over the edge. The post ends with her feeling the heat of her eruption.
Her Infected, But Fly (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
From Iffy's point of view, he observes events after Jewels is de-admined. He mentally communicates with Saph who prompts him to take action just as Jewels is erupting. With his soul box energy, he encases Jewels in the forcefield she needs. The process burns him and he ends up throwing Jewels into the AdminTower. Sylae heals Iffy's hands and asks him to be an Admin with her. Nalyd appears, having watched events from the sidelines. He gathers a sample of Iffy's blood for further testing.
Just Breathe (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Niocabot heeds the intruder alert warning and shields him and Jewels off from the rest of the Refuge. She is burned and barely breathing. When she stirs, she tells him to "Stop." which clears his mind of all the errors her de-adminship has caused. Jewels reestablishes mental communication with him through Nio and finds that she can't move before slipping back into unconsciousness.
He Doesn't Hurt (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Unable to do anything more for Jewels, Nio gets the laboratory back in working order while he waits. Sylae leads Vergil, Azuma, Iffy and Saph up to the thirteenth floor where they see Jewels and Niocabot behind a forcefield. Sylae is unable to lower the forcefield so Vergil and Azuma use their fire elemental forms to fly in through the hole her body made. Azuma uses Sentience to heal Jewels through the activation of her ring. He throws his cloak around her and flies her out the hole.
Cut Off (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
During the night, Jewels rested at the Lounge Inn and Sylae explained some things to Iffy, Saph, and Vergil. Jewels came down and declared she was leaving. Sylae protested and asked for the ring back again. Jewels cut off her hand and threw it at her. The ring grew back, though, and Jewels left the Lounge with Vergil and Azuma following her.
Care in Question (Jewels)
Read the full post here.
Nalyd questions his findings of Iffy being the same person as Nix. He goes to the Lounge looking for Stillborn, but finds Iffy, Saph, and Sylae there instead. Nalyd wants to experiment on Jewels's severed hand but Sylae takes it with her when she leaves. Instead, Nalyd injures Iffy and Saph on purpose and leads them towards his Geneforge lab. Ligrev also struggles with her conflicting desires and leaves the Lounge in search of Azuma.
