phantasmods: (Default)
Phantasmal Rift Mods ([personal profile] phantasmods) wrote in [community profile] phantasmemes2018-12-07 12:25 am
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TEST DRIVE - BELLMARE MOUNTAINS

Hello and welcome to Phantasmal Rift's Test Drive Meme!

Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.

Additionally, characters currently in game can earn themselves a piece of bonus loot for the dungeon by tagging people's top-levels on the test drive! Existing characters get their bonus loot along with the rest of their loot at the conclusion of the dungeon.

This test drive takes place in the Bellmare Mountain range, a chilly environment even when it's not locked in the dead of winter. Considering that November is just starting to bite - or is it, with the Fissure's time-displacement effect in place? - that makes for an extremely chilly reception for all of the new arrivals. If you're a person at risk of frostbite, you'd better hunker down in one of the scattered mountain cabins or find someone with extra snow gear, and quick.

Once you're a bit more warmed up, exploration of the area will reveal that it's largely abandoned, but there's still some evidence of past human habitation. Old chair lifts stand guard over untouched ski slopes, the remains of what was once a resort, and a handful of hiking paths twist back and forth through the mountain forests, the snow melting off them due to the magical crystals in the gravel that lines the paths.

LET IT SNOW

Chances are that, upon arriving, you find yourself outside in the snowfall. Hopefully you weren't from somewhere too terribly warm, but chances are that unless you were specifically in a cold environment before, you're going to be feeling the chill now. (Unless, of course, you're not human and don't get bothered by the cold. That happens.)

Fortunately, there are plenty of paths scattered around that are warm enough to keep the snow melted off of them - it shouldn't be that hard to stumble across one. The question then becomes, which way to shelter and civilization? You'll have to take a bit of a gamble, but it's almost certainly better than staying where you are and freezing.

LOCKED IN

How fortunate, then, that you were able to find shelter against the cold - at least for the time being. The wooden cabin is the exact opposite of luxury, but there's a bed and wood to make a fire in the fireplace, so you can't ask for terribly much else. Especially once night falls - or when the snow outside begins to fall in more than flurries - it's far better to be outside than in. Even if you can't figure out how to start the fire, the dimly glowing crystals that serve as fire starter will at least keep your hands warm.

Of course, with only a limited amount of shelter to go around in these mountain trails, it's fairly inevitable that you would have to share with someone... Hope they're friendly, otherwise this place is going to get awkward fast.

FROSTY THE - OH, MAN!

And if you're still running around outside, sooner or later you're almost certain to run into a deep patch of snow that rises up to meet you. These giant snowmen, ten feet tall and aggressive, stand up in response to anything that isn't the local wildlife approaching - and their goal is quite simple. Better watch out, because these guys are your own personal avalanche, seeking to bury you under themselves until either the cold or the weight saps the life out of you.

One's dangerous, but it's not uncommon to find them in groups of 3-5, either, which is where things start getting to be a problem. Luckily, it's possible to melt them down to nothing, or just blast them apart with pure force - the scattered snow won't rise again, at least not any time soon.
burninglight: (and the darkness overcome)

[personal profile] burninglight 2018-12-16 07:42 am (UTC)(link)
Wait, wait, wait-- [Ardyn backed off until he was pressed to a wall, hands held up defensively and something akin to real fear dawning on is face.]

I know, I know what I did, I was wrong and sick and a monster, but you can't kill me. I don't want to fight, please.
hardbargain: (Default)

aaaaaand he just keeps making it worse

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 08:06 am (UTC)(link)
[General, not Captain.

Drautos' words flash through his mind- no, not Drautos, he hadn't been his captain anymore. General Glauca's words.


A man's past is his pride.

He can't let himself get caught up in the same argument that's been rattling around in his head for hours now, Drautos, Glauca, whoever her really was, he was dead now and the dead had quite enough sway over Nyx's mind. He huffs out a breath, not daring to look the kid full in the face lest his temper get away from him. Instead he fell into the old standby, even if casual disobedience was hardly the most forgiving look for him, mangled by magic as he was right now.

He smirks, whistles softly under his breath and even as he speaks fire rolls from his fingertips up to curl around his entire left arm, the cracked scars glowing with power.]


Well, hell. The General can fly then. Impressive, kid. The King can't even pull that one off.
hardbargain: (Default)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 08:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Nyx turns, kicking the door shut, holding his dagger in hand but not raised or pointed in any way. He cocks his head, watching the man's reactions suspiciously. It doesn't seem like an act and he's sure as hell not going to attack someone so...

well... pathetic.

But that doesn't mean he's not 98% sure this is a ploy to get him to drop his guard.]


No, you're not the type to fight are you? You're just a sleezeball politician who expects others to die for you, that it?
burninglight: (to tell me who I am; who I was)

[personal profile] burninglight 2018-12-16 08:13 am (UTC)(link)
...I wish I could say it were that simple, Ulric. I'm going to phrase this bluntly, because I'm aware I'm basically at gunpoint here and I'll not insult your intelligence.

[Deep breath, and very slowly Ardyn lowered his hands to his sides.]

The Chancellor you knew was a lie; a monster in human form, and that's not a figure of speech.

My true name was Ardyn Lucis Caelum. Elder brother to the Founder King.
fifthreplacement: (Unimpressed)

Strangely Sync isn't as annoyed as I thought he'd be. Yet.

[personal profile] fifthreplacement 2018-12-16 08:23 am (UTC)(link)
[The fire on the guy's arm is infinitely more interesting that the asshole the arm belongs to, so Sync decides to ignore the guy in favour of examining it for a moment. At the same time, sparks begin to appear around his hands, subconsciously reacting to his annoyance]

I'd pity whoever has to deal with you on a daily basis, if I cared enough to. And people wonder why I hated having to deal with others.
hardbargain: (Default)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 08:29 am (UTC)(link)
[He's all ready to snap off some comment about flattering not getting him out of this, something just the wrong side of inappropriate because why just flirt when you can hate flirt.

Then the other shoe drops and Nyx has a moment of just... staring.

Wait... what?

No, fuckit.]


What?

[Ardyn this sounds like batshit insane, you know that, right?]
founderinglight: ([late with spacebucks])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-12-16 08:30 am (UTC)(link)
You'd die trying.

[Izunia isn't above flashing his Armiger to make a point, especially because sometimes, flashy points are all Nyx understands. So for a moment, there's the swirl of phantasmal weapons, blue light sparkling off arms different from those Regis carried (for the most part), as they circle Izunia and pass through Nyx harmlessly.

It's not a bad reason. And then Izunia lets the light fall back into himself where it belongs.]


At any rate, Ardyn and I are identical twins, which is actually one of the less unbelievable things about the entire circumstance. Sit down before you collapse - the shift between worlds must have snapped your connection to the Ring before it sapped the last of your life, and in spite of everything, I do not want to see that chance wasted.

[Confusion is, likely, the order of the day, considering how Izunia talks about the whole thing - with the casual knowledge of an expert, of someone who was right there. Unbelievable if it wasn't for the display just a moment ago.]
hardbargain: (Default)

Give it time.

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 08:32 am (UTC)(link)
You can't do better then don't talk shit.

[You're not his general and even if you were he'd still call you tf out on being a little shit.

And just to be obnoxious, because Sync seems interested, he shuts down the magic, though the fissures in his skin still glow faintly with the power within.]
burninglight: (to tell me who I am; who I was)

[personal profile] burninglight 2018-12-16 08:34 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry for the sudden shock--best we get that out of the way before you knock my teeth down my throat. Mad as I know it is on paper, it's true.

[Very careful to telegraph every motion, Ardyn moved his left hand--with a flurry of crystal and a brief aura of red light, a harmless cup of coffee appeared in his grasp.]

I am--rather, my brother is--the first of Regis and Noctis' line by blood. The 'Chancellor of Niflheim' was...just another lie. Pretending to be human, pretending to be fucking Gralean of all things, stars above.
hairpincurves: (but you're no god to me)

cabin!!

[personal profile] hairpincurves 2018-12-16 08:37 am (UTC)(link)
[... Well! That sure is an entrance. And it's accompanied by a startled yelp from the cabin's occupant.

(Honestly, it's probably a miracle that she hasn't dropped or knocked over anything she's cooking.)

It takes a while of her staring in alarm before she manages to calm herself, but after a few deep breaths, she manages it. And manages speech.]


... Hi.

[Nailed it.]
fifthreplacement: (Watching)

[personal profile] fifthreplacement 2018-12-16 08:42 am (UTC)(link)
Can't do better...?

[Sync summons a few green motes of light and flicks them at Nyx. They're hardly threatening and dissipate the instant they get near him.

About a second later, a massive glyph just casually appears around the two of them. It's a good eight feet in diameter and crackling with energy. Nyx might be alarmed, but the glyph won't hurt him - the temporary Friend-or-Foe marker Sync just placed on him seeing to that. Whether Nyx stays still or not, Sync rams a hand into the ground and the glyph literally explodes into a pillar of light. Snow goes flying as Sync casually stands back up]


I may be younger than you [More than Nyx even realises] but don't underestimate what I can do.
hardbargain: (Default)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 08:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Die trying oh those are fighting words and it's obvious in the way Nyx tenses, jaw clenching, fingers tightening on the hilt of the blade in his hand.

Then, suddenly, there's the blue sparkle of light and weapons and-

Glauca standing over the king, blood pouring from Regis' hand and blades veiled in a blue-violet light clashing before he can warp in to stop it.

He's across the room, dagger in hand, the familiar lurch in his stomach of warping but he doesn't remember throwing the blade, doesn't remember choosing to be here, away from the familiar, almost soothing, crackle of magic and heartwrenching green eyes. He lets out a steadying breath, tilts his head in confusion.]


Who exactly are you?
founderinglight: ([ppppp])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-12-16 08:52 am (UTC)(link)
Izunia Lucis Caelum, more generally acknowledged as "the Mystic" or "the Founder King" and so forth.

[No sudden movements. Izunia knows someone spooked when he sees them and the words probably aren't going to help. Be patient, give him time, there's no way this can go as badly as Ravus.

Eyes on the weapon, he sits slowly in the chair he was in when Nyx arrived.]


A job, as you correctly assessed, that I was entirely shit at in many ways.
hardbargain: (Default)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 08:55 am (UTC)(link)
[It is not his time as a Glaive that ensures he doesn't flinch at the light motes. It's the years hunting creatures that can teleport and will take advantage of the tiniest weakness. So he stares blandly at Sync's little display, looks down at the glyph as it appears and steels himself.

In the end even his nerve isn't that infallible. The dagger that's still in his hand sails backwards with a practiced flick of the wrist and he warps after it in a flash of blue light. Something Sync might recognize if he's ever seen Ardyn or Izunia warp.

He lands in a crouch about three feet outside the glyph's range, watching and... yeah he nods his head, smirking slightly, brows raised.]


Okay, you can blow shit up good. Still don't see you flying so don't bitch if I don't stick the landing pretty enough for you.

[Look. He panicked. Now he has to defend this all day.]
hardbargain: (Default)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 09:00 am (UTC)(link)
[She can go ahead and stare while he yanks his dagger free of the door, then shuts it hard behind him, looking around for some way to brace the door closed because he sure as hell doesn't trust this door against the storm. In the end he puts out the fire on his arm and takes off the tattered Glaive uniform coat, shoving it under the door to block the wind and also prevent it from being blown open as easily.]

Hi... you alright?

[Immediately concerned about the civilian yup.]
fifthreplacement: (Well whatever)

[personal profile] fifthreplacement 2018-12-16 09:02 am (UTC)(link)
[He sees the warp, and it doesn't bother him. Sync has more than accepted weirdness by now, and he's probably seen one of the who knows how many now people who have the ability to warp do so. If anything, he just smirks a little at the guy's nerve failing]

Are you actually an idiot, or just a smart-ass? It's hard to tell.

[God his chest and back burns. He hates using that mystic arte, but damn it if it hadn't been worth it]
hardbargain: (nfZR44o)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 09:18 am (UTC)(link)
That would make you centuries old.

[There's a million other reasons why that makes no sense but that's the first one that comes to mind.

Though the flash of light, the summoned coffee, so mundane but also so telling. That, at least, is enough to have him slumping down to take a seat on a bench against the far wall. It's graceless, his right leg giving out on him and pain flickers across his face for a fleeting moment before he pushes it away. No time to feel it right now, not with enemies still around.]
burninglight: (slipping through the cracks)

[personal profile] burninglight 2018-12-16 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
Millennia--two thousand years almost precisely, so far as I can recall.

[Dismissing the coffee, he very slowly sank down to sit on the floor, legs crossed--a respectable distance away and at a disadvantageous position.]

...What do you know of the Accursed? Ravus once made mention of there having been legends at some point in history.
hardbargain: (Default)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 09:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Sweet Serpent's Wings, don't lump him in with Ravus.

As much damage as the kukri can do it's also, as Izunia's probably figured out by now, something of a security blanket, a built in escape route from just about anything.]


Well yeah, you made that part pretty obvious.

[Ah, good old defiant snark in the face of authority. That feels better.]
hardbargain: (0IIy13l)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 09:27 am (UTC)(link)
[After the night he's had he's not taking any chances. Even if he is meant to be dead.

The question, though? That just gets a wide toothy grin in response, a flash of something almost feral and he holds his hands out to the sides.

Who can really say?]
hardbargain: (Default)

[personal profile] hardbargain 2018-12-16 09:30 am (UTC)(link)
Two thousand

[He shakes his head a little, just taking a moment to wrap his head around that.]

Accursed? Come on I was pretty damn sure that whole "Old Wall" thing was just a bed time story until a few hours ago. You want me to know more of your Lucian fairy tales?

[Give him a fucking break.]
fifthreplacement: (Standing)

[personal profile] fifthreplacement 2018-12-16 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
Well, you're still alive, so I suppose you get some points.

[This is not a concession. This is Sync simply reserving judgement. He's not dumb enough to assume that Nyx is actually an idiot just from what he's seen so far. Not that it won't stop him from treating Nyx like he's an idiot. Shitchild gotta shitchild sometimes]

Do you need an explanation of what's going on here, or has someone else already filled you in?
burninglight: (with no hope of release)

[personal profile] burninglight 2018-12-16 09:33 am (UTC)(link)
Kind of what I figured. It's fine, I don't really know the legends anyway. The idea of it seemed to be that...the darkness held a threat greater than any daemon. The Scourge made manifest and presented as a living thing of death and ruin.

[If Ardyn had started to look pale, it wasn't Nyx's imagination.]

...That was me. A soul so tainted and ruined that even the gods couldn't allow ascendance through death.
hairpincurves: (are you in the shadows?)

[personal profile] hairpincurves 2018-12-16 09:33 am (UTC)(link)
Startled, but I don't think I burned anything. [A beat.] Though, honestly, I feel like I should be asking you that.

[You look like hell, good sir.]

Here, let me get you some blankets--do you like curry at all? That's what I'm working on over there... Do you want a hot drink or something?

[And when Akira doesn't know what else to do? She defaults to fretting, so here we are.]
founderinglight: ([hold])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-12-16 09:34 am (UTC)(link)
[A chuckle.]

Oh, trust me, you have no idea. Something to drink?

[Oh the history you've missed, Nyx.Somewhere a college professor is losing their mind with envy.

Give him space to settle now that his war is over, is what Izunia does. Let the combat leech out so that he can process, all the fresh pain and shock of being alive.]


At that time, I... There was no future to see, no matter where I looked. Even now, I must fight to see it.

Only ever looking back is no way for a King to be.

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