Welcome to Gaia! ::

Yes, four dates. Each metaplot date is a one day only event that lasts 12 hours long. Then you will have several days before the next section of the metaplot begins. This is so that if you cannot make one date, there is perhaps another you can make. The last time we did the metaplot it sort of dragged out. We wanted to prevent that from happening this time and make it more fun for all of us.

It also gives time for a new thread to be prepared for each section of the Metaplot. Anyone will be able to jump in at any point without reading the previous threads. You miss half the story, but you could still play with some minor reading.





Each post (2-3 short paragraphs) will be a chance encounter with a ghostling. Perhaps one from the previews that have been dropped into the thread, perhaps one never seen before. Those who finish their premeta quests before the metaplot starts will have a serious advantage on these encounters. So get those quests finished.

Times are tentative and may run longer than 1 AM EST if the activity is there. Please read all the information when joining in to make it fun for everyone.

How To Play:

1. Write an RP post of at least 2-3 paragraphs like you would any other RP. Turns do not matter but do not post one right after your own. Let others take a turn before you reply again.

2. WHEN you post, roll 1 -100 sided dice. That gives you one chance per post to hit a number on the list below. If you do roll one of the numbers, that gives you an encounter. For courtesy, the story stops during an encounter until either the creature has escaped or been captured. So be aware of the other players, please.

3. For those who completed their metaplot quests, you will have an increased chance at getting an encounter. You will roll 2 -100 sided dice giving you two chances per post to get a correct encounter number. You will also get a perk on catching the ghostling. To be named when the metaplot starts.

4. More than one number rolled during a post does not mean you get more than one encounter. You are rolling for one encounter per post no matter how many chances you have to hit a number in that post.

5. Have fun! There will be a METAPLOT NPC post whenever I need to move the story. This NPC may reply between as part of the story and interact with you. You will know the metaplot reply because it will be colored RED. Any NPC interaction will be in RED.

6. Do not edit your posts. You need to write your rp and roll at the time you post it to the thread. These are attempts for encounters and what you post does not matter except whether you get a number that gives you an encounter.





After you have rolled a number that matches the above list, post this form to stop the metaplot.




This will stop the metaplot exactly where it is. Someone (Eftemie most likely) will then post your encounter after checking. You will get one chance to catch it or it will escape. Those who have perks will have an advantage. But don't worry, if not caught, it simply appears again later. XD

To catch a ghostling, you RP out your attempt whether it is coaxing it to you, trapping it in a cage, or trying to rope it, bribing it with sweets. The action is yours, but the success depends upon a roll. As you post, ROLL 1 -10 sided dice. If you get a 6, you have successfully trapped it. If you roll a perfect 10, you get to retry.

For those who have perks... You get to ROLL 2 - 10 sided dice. If you get either a total of 6 or 13, you have successfully trapped your ghostling. It is their badluck, not yours. XD

IF Total 10 or 20 (for perks) is rolled, you get a second chance to try.

The short version....

If you roll One dice
6 = capture
10 = retry

If you roll Two dice
total 6 = capture
total 13 = capture
total 10 = retry
total 20 = retry

Everything else = fail

Again do not edit your posts.

AT THE DOCKS...

It was a sunny very normal day for Priyal, but few knew it would not remain that way. The docks were full of activity as the ships that had arrived during the night unloaded their wares. The sailors moved around quickly knowing that when their work was done, they would have end up drunken, singing songs before finding their way back to their berths onboard the ship they called home.

The marketplace was teeming with people who went about buying and selling fruits, vegetables, armor, and weapons as well as various other items of interest or value. Few glanced up at the blueness of the sky as they went about their work. To them nothing seemed out of place.

But the darkening storm on the horizon had yet to be seen. It approached silently, giving no warning that it had even arrived. The sun still shone. The wind still blew through the tents and stone buildings. Nothing seemed out of place.

The ships rose out of the water, tall and statuesque against the depths of the water. Seagulls watched for scraps of food as other birds swept low over the sea scooping fish out to be eaten on shore.

The Crystal Rose was in its usual place, Captain Jamison overseeing the cargo and men. The first mate had several men mopping the aft deck to clean it. The entire ship needed to be cleaned.

Winchester glanced down the docks at the other ships moored there. He could see other sailors doing the same chores as they moved about their ships and freight. It seemed just like any other day.

The docks were still as they had been- only enlarged to twice the size as they grew. It had been long ago that Valkon had placed the watch and it had been retrieved only a day or two after the castle had been returned. The ones in the clocktower and church had been claimed as well as a scrap of fabric from Watcher's robe. The watches had been returned to Chronos. Valkon had kept the robe piece. He planned to torment Watcher that he had a piece of him. Silly perhaps but amusing at the least. The yokai wondered briefly what reaction he would get from him.

Valkon stared at the city, silently drifting over the various places. It did not take him long to decide where to begin and he contemplated how to start. None had noticed either he or his crows, though he was disguised as a raven. Once people would have considered a murder of crows or the appearance of a raven an ill omen. Instead people failed to see what was in front of their noses as he swooped low, landing on the mast of a ship. His crows followed him, knowing he had a need for them at some point.

The living had forgotten all about them. His decision made on what would be destroyed and what would not was made already. They had not gone into this lightly, but been preparing for a few weeks. He even had the reports that were gathered by those thinking they were helping the city. That had been amusing also- letting them do the dirty work while he reaped the benefits. He even had the patrol routes of all the guards, but had decided on a much more direct approach. His birds perched expectantly on the nearby posts watching closely as their master began to change.

His hands twisted becoming large claws with razorsharp nails as his size increased 100 times larger than normal. His tail lashed outwards, suddenly slamming downwards into the middle of the deck, splintering the planking as huge red wings flexed outwards. Horns appeared on his head as his jaw elongated, large jagged teeth forming as he became what he had been meant to be for this.

The legend barely noted that he was as tainted as his birds by Az. They even sported tentacles and had changed almost as if to shadow instead of living creatures. It was to his Lord Azmodeus that he owed this shape as it was a gift he planned to enjoy immensely. Scaled from head to toe, Valkon slammed his tail into the mast breaking it as the sailors ran to prevent being crushed beneath. The ropes broke as his claw shoved it over the side and continued bashing into the ship until there was little left. Then he began on the next one as the people scattered in fear.

The Crystal Rose, crushed and broken, began to sink. A few souls began to rise upwards, glancing around bewildered as they went from living to dead.

With a loud roar, Valkon announced his presence to those on the ships and in the city. He was going to destroy them all and leave nothing afloat. Only the very tips of the masts would be sticking out of the water when all was said and done- a silent reminder. He ripped the top from the cabin of the second ship as he landed in the middle of the decking. It splintered beneath his weight though his wings helped him keep his balance enough to continue. Water poured into the ship's bottom as Valkon continued to rampage through.

"Get him, men!" Captain Jamison yelled, pulling his own sword free. "Ye scurvy cowards! I said move!!!"

"But sir," one sailor gasped as he inched his way back from Valkon. "It's a dragon!! A dragon!! How are we supposed to stop that?"

Seabirds flew upwards from their previously peaceful perches on the posts lining the docking area landings. They climbed upwards trying to avoid, but circled like carrionbirds waiting for scraps the dragon would leave for them to devour. Sailors swam to the shore trying to get to safety. They yelled, their voices filled with fright as the shouts echoed through the area.

Crates floated, filling up with water, and then sank like leaden weights. Clothing was scattered becoming waterlogged as they tangled in the ropes and riggings of the ship as the broken pieces sank into the darker depths of the sea.

Fires burned from dragonbreath, flaming until the wooden planking sizzled in the salt water. Caustic smoke rose upwards stinging the lungs of those closest causing them to gag and choke as they tried to simply survive.

Valkon roared loudly as the last ship sank. His tail lashed splintering the nearby dock. Glancing back, the dragon grinned, revealing large sharp teeth as he stared at the row of broken masts barely rising above the water.

Heavily, he walked out onto the docks as Dockmaster Torm gazed at him in horror. The man's jaw dropped wide as Valkon's tail slammed into the stacked freight that had just been tallied and marked to be moved to the warehouse just behind him.

Bashing the crates, Valkon tossed several into the air directly at the man. Torn stared, diving forwards as he tried to avoid the incoming missiles.

"Torm!" Winchester yelled, moving quickly to help dig the man out as the dragon rampaged by. The sailor had simply been heading into town for his time off when the attack had begun. Unsure what to do, he began looking for ways to help stop this insanity.

Pulling Torm to his feet, the sailor stated, "We have to stop him!"

The dockmaster winced, gasping as he was pulled upwards. Certain he had a cracked rib, the man held his side as he watched to see what the dragon would do next. Suddenly he ducked Valkon's tail as it lashed to the side, shoving Winchester out of the way.

Winchester barely had time to blink before he had to roll to the side to keep from being crushed by the tail as it slammed into the wooden dock they were on. Grabbing a nearby pole with a hook on it, the man glared at the dragon. This needed to be stopped, but he was unsure how much good he would do with a pole used to fishing things from the water to keep the area clear of garbage. At least it was a weapon of sorts.


(( OOC....

Valkon is now a large red dragon and is going to destroy Priyal. If you note the areas in the information listing above, you will see that you have many chances to stop him. Give it your best shot, but understand, that list is in NO special order. He may attack anywhere during this event, but he will not attack all of them today. There is a chance to stop him in each area. Only one safe place will be revealed today.

Interaction with the various NAMED NPCs like Winchester, Torm, etc. may well decide which ghostling you get a chance to try for during an encounter. So be aware of what is happening around you.

Please read the rules above. They are very simple and there should be few problems with them. But if there are please use double parentheses and OOC to ask in your post. Have fun! ))

There was nothing else to do at the moment, so Touma was staring in the direction of the city. Valkon had already gone. He debated whether to go or to stay. Finally his decision was made when he saw Hawke go running by having fun. At least he would have some fun by watching the destruction.

He started to walk down the hallway, then vanished. It would not take him long to get there. When he entered the city, he wandered around listening for the noise. People came running from the docks causing Touma to smile. Valkon.

As he neared the docking area, the ghostling drifted upwards to sit on a lamp post. Valkon was really tearing things up already. A faint smile crossed his face as he wondered if he should cheer him on. Then he decided not to and with a laugh, simply folded his arms as he glanced around.

Nearby there was a ghostling with a rope. Touma's lips twitched upwards. "Do you really think that will do any good? The living here would not do the same thing for you."

The dragon turned, tail smashing the crates nearby. The boxes splintered flying across the deck. Several jagged pieces of wood landed in the water nearby.

Flames suddenly shot forwards from Valkon's mouth, catching the masts of the next ship on fire. Soon the Lonely Bard's sails were burning as the sailors tried to put out the flames to no avail. Bits of the flaming cloth dropped onto the netted crates below. The flames burst upwards as the dry materials began to burn.

He moved swiping at the men trying to stop him. Captain Jamison did not quite get out of the way and went rolling across the area slamming into a warehouse nearby. He lay unmoving as his men continued trying to stop Valkon.

Several crows swooped low over the men, grabbing hair and hats. They dove into their faces and then away again. It was their master that was being attacked and they would protect him.

By the time Valkon was finished, he had trounced, crushed, pulverized, and fried to a crisp every boat but one on the western side of the docks. And it was on fire and in danger of sinking. Moving towards the warehouses nearby, he slammed his tail through the side of one building, before standing on his feet and bashing the roof in.

Valkon slammed a stacked pile of nearby crates away with his tail. The load of freight went flying into the air. Before Winchester could get to him, Torm vanished from sight beneath them.

The sailor gasped, turning as he heard his name called. "Sarah, get out of here! Go get some help for us!" He lashed out moving forwards. Someone had to stop this dragon.


((OOC, Torm is gone. There is no rescuing him. Only the Morgan is left at the docks on the western side, and it is on fire. ))

Touma watched as Valkon rampaged around the ships and then over to a warehouse. The sailors were fighting him, but he knew some of them would die. In fact a few had already. One being the dockmaster who had just had a load of crates fall on him. Probably some he had counted that morning. It was rather ironic.

He dropped down to the ground, watching the ships burn. There were still some around the rest of the docks but he was quite certain that Valkon would eventually get to them. The yokai seemed to have chosen the dock and warehouses for his first event. Not surprisingly most of the living were running away. Only a few were fighting and he suspected those would end up making additions to the dead side of things.

They could always use more minions.

He watched Sarah run through the area and around Valkon. The dragon never seemed to notice. She was headed towards the one ship that was burning but still afloat. At least for now. He wondered if Valkon would do more damage to it if the sailors still there did actually manage to get the fire put out.

"A rather amusing sight," he murmurred as he looked around. Then he noted the ghostling trying to help a sailor fighting Valkon. A smirk appeared. One of the good ones trying to help a living.

"You know," Touma stated, moving up behind Dreamer. "that really is not going to do much when compared to what he is fighting. In the end most of this city is dead. Why bother to help them when they don't remember us or the goddesses?" If nothing else, he could distract though he was quite certain Valkon had everything he needed to accomplish the destruction. And he was entirely sure that this place deserved its fate.

(( OOC That's fine. Just have fun with it. ))

Touma smirked as the rope was wrapped around him. "You do realize that will not work, right?" He was a Nightwhisper and if this ghostling thought a simple rope would hold him, he was sadly mistaken. With a thought, his blade appeared, slicing into the rope. It cut through cleanly letting the rope simply drop to the ground.

"Besides, I'm not helping destroy this town. I'm just not going to try to stop it." All he had come to do was watch. He was far beyond caring about this place at the moment. His home was with Valkon and Chronos.

Drifting upwards, he found a nearby tree branch to watch from. This was getting interesting now. Valkon had entirely disembowled the warehouse and was moving towards the next. There was no way anyone here had the power to stop him. And the thing of it was, Valkon was not really even angry yet. He was just playing with them.

Valkon glanced around looking for the next place to destroy. He was not entirely finished with the ships yet. So the dragon began walking south. He shoved freight from his path as quickly as he shoved the sailors and guards now trying to stop him.

Winchester sighed. This was getting them nowhere. They had to do something to draw the dragon off. It seemed determined to destroy the docks. Why?

The mayor stared at the man giving the report. "A dragon? Are you certain? Why on earth would a dragon be attacking us? I didn't think there were any nearby."

"Well, there's one there now. And it's destroying all the ships, the warehouses and killing those in its way. It's not a good sign, Mayor. Not good at all. We can't even seem to make him hesitate."

"Get me some magic users. Maybe that will drive the creature away." he growled in sudden frustration. Just when they were getting things their way. Now they would have to rebuild part of the city.

In just a few moments, Valkon was standing at the front of the Morgan. A huge breath of flame shot forwards as he relit the front of the ship. If nothing else, one only on fire would keep them busy while he destroyed the rest. The living were pests more than anything else at the moment and he slapped a few away from him. Turning he smashed a small warehouse with his tail, eyes amused when the guard there came running out, tripping over his own feet.

He climbed onto the center of the Wanderer, his tail lashing around. The masts broke beneath his feet as he tried to destroy the ship. Tossing the broken piece over the side, the dragon came down heavily on the deck, crushing it beneath his body weight. Water began to pour into the lower decks of the ships as sailors trying to defend it jumped for their lives.

A smirk in his eyes, Valkon moved onwards. Soon the Kestrel was on fire as he broke its mast and crushed the freight. All in all this was a good day for the yokai. This was the most fun he'd had since tormenting Watcher the night the dead had returned.

He knew his crows still flew overhead, dipping down to interfere from time to time. They were leading the other birds to attacking also. Roaring loudly, he sent them swirling in another direction. Soon the birds were headed towards the town square. With an inward laugh, Valkon wondered if he should have brought some wolves with him also. They could chase the people around and let them know they were not wanted here any longer. Maybe later.

(( Cricket's map should you want to see where Valkon is at the moment. Docks

The Crystal Rose is sunk. The Lonely Bard is sunk. The Morgan is on fire still. Warehouse 1 and 2 are rubble piles. Captain Jamison is dead and so is Dockmaster Torm.

Dock 1-Crystal Rose; Dock 2-empty; Dock 3-Lonely Bard; Dock 4-Morgan; Dock 5-Wanderer; Dock 6-Kestrel; Dock 7-Lady Amber;
Dock 8-Ravenswood; Dock 9-Flying Hart; Dock 10-empty; Dock 11-Pengatira; Dock 12-T ))

Touma began to laugh so hard that he nearly fell from the tree branch he was sitting on. Some silly ghostling was trying to soak Valkon with water thinking to stop him. The longer he watched the more comical it became to him.

The nightwhisper climbed up from the branch he was on to move to a higher vantage point. He wanted to see everything that happened. This was even more interesting than he had thought it would be. Chronos was definitely missing some fun by not being here.

He wondered briefly if the goddesses were watching. More than likely since they had set Valkon to doing this for them. How long would it take to destroy the city? Probably the entire day, night, and on into the morning. Either way, Touma was not leaving yet.

This was too much fun.