iustaegis: (pic#13566133)
Pyra/Mythra/Pneuma ([personal profile] iustaegis) wrote in [community profile] hugtopia2020-03-08 05:29 pm

01: Outside Barrier Report!

Good morning, everyone!

A few weeks ago, Somnus, Noctis, and I were granted permission to explore northward beyond the walls and barrier.  Please see the attached files as to what we've discovered:


[ 1. A video of the outside, recorded on their communicator. Beyond the barrier, as most may have already seen from previous recordings, is a wasteland with a thick, caustic atmosphere. Visibility is low, but not terrible. The video is mostly the three of them traveling along with their NPC guide, Calda. The video cuts to various segments of their travels, some of which show either Noctis or Somnus warping ahead or above to keep surveillance, although it might be difficult to determine which one is which from far away in their exosuits and helmets. Another clip appears to be taken some distance from the barrier, zooming outward towards the wastes. Northward, it a eroded road extends out; in the distance, a shadow of what appears to be mountains loom.

2. An aerial map of the northern region just beyond the wall, composited from a series of photos taken at the same altitude. It shows a few decrepit, eroded buildings and roads, as if the city had extended well beyond where the barrier stands today.  No craters mark the terrain, although some buildings might appear to be as if something knocked or crashed into them. The grooves surrounding the norther portion of the wall can also be spotted from this view.

3. A video of a skeletal behemoth with a flower growing outside of its skull...being totally demolished by a joint attack from Somnus and Noctis, fighting together in tandem. The monster ends up crumpling to the ground, spilling out an oily black substance between its cracking, dismanteling ribcage. Go them!  

To find out more about these discoveries, continue reading below: ]


While visibility was low, we were able to travel out as far as our guide would permit us.

Some of us might recall the virtual reality "Memories of the Sun" program, in which participants were allowed to ascend a sacred mountain called Fractured Hill. This landmark was said to be north of the city. The VR did not have any indication of the city when looking soutward upon the summit for Havenwell; however, looking out northward beyond the barrier in reality, there appears to be a mountain range in the distance.

We've discovered that deep grooves track inward towards the walls, and these grooves apparently surround the entirety of the city's wall. Together with the evidence of buildings and roads beyond the current barrier, we suspect that these markings might indicate that the wall was originally at a greater radius from the citycenter, encompassing more area than what it does today. For whatever reason, it's been scaled back from its original position.

We entered some of the more stable-appearing towers and buildings, looking for artifacts and anything that appeared to be electronics, or metalwares. Unfortunately, most of what we've discovered was too fragile to return with us. Almost everything disintegrated whenever we attempted to hold them.

The skeletal creature we encountered was dead; however, the flower atop of its skull, the poinsettia, was, and still is, alive. The roots shrivel when the flower is severed from the skeleton, which breaks apart without the network that integrates it. This creature also produced a caustic, concentrated dark substance. This substance may contain toxin which produces the same illness-like symptoms many of us may have experienced near the breach of the barrier.

 On a similarly related note, Besithia was able to lend me a few samples of the gigarachnids' black fluid found within their bodies, which I was able to analyze. This fluid is mostly their blood, which seems to be a darker color to begin with, but under further scrutiny, it appears to contain a toxin. This toxin appears to have mutated the arachnids. Similarly, when exposed to this toxin, it produces symptoms that mimic an inflammatory response: malaise, cough, chills, and fever.

I believe that the sickness that one feels when being exposed to the outside environment is not produced by an infectious, living organism, but by the very same toxin found in these creatures. This toxin is carried in the atmosphere, which explains that mere exposure to the outside atmosphere is enough to inflict an adverse reaction that mimics an illness. This "illness" cannot be fully cured by medicine or magic, or at least not by any I'm yet aware of. For those of you who are new to this world, the current treatment we have for these symptoms is through physical touch, and this works to alleviate the illness in as little as a few minutes of contact.

Noctis and I will be available to answer any questions regarding the expedition, the samples gathered, or the process for petitioning an expedition beyond the barrier and what preparations to take.
flawed_immortality: (growl)

[personal profile] flawed_immortality 2020-03-22 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Over my dead body.

[Immediate, cold, and offering no room for argument.

He'll try for Will's sake not to actively harm the man but that is as far as that olive branch is ever going to be extended again.]
flawed_immortality: (We should have known better 'cause)

[personal profile] flawed_immortality 2020-03-23 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
[He is the absolute last Lucian that would be willing to work with Verstael right now. Oops.]

Working with the locals is certainly better than the alternative.

What is it you're looking for?
begguiling: (your doctor gets a free burrito)

[personal profile] begguiling 2020-03-23 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
[Ah, yes. He finds himself nodding along, mulling through that. As far as this kind of thing goes, he's on her side, though he does understand the other point of view. He might err on that side himself if he didn't suspect it were literally impossible to maintain the level of secrecy one would need for it to make any difference.]

I see. Well, for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing! We don't have to trust them entirely to work with them. And we don't have to tell them everything we know, either . . . but if you ask me, if they wanted to know every single move we made, they could. They have more power over us than they pretend they do. That means it's to our benefit to maintain relations with them and make use of their knowledge—you know, to a reasonable extent! I'm not about to run to them with anything that's off the record.
flawed_immortality: (Isn't it enough?)

[personal profile] flawed_immortality 2020-03-23 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
Ah- You've been speaking with Honerva I gather?

[They've had this discussion, already. Excellent. And now here is a tangible way for him to assist.]

I believe there is a repair shop down the street from Valeo. I'm sure I can stop in with some regularity... once his Majesty is returned to good health, of course.
original_is_best: (Curious)

[personal profile] original_is_best 2020-03-25 06:53 am (UTC)(link)
[He was quick to welcome her in, expecting her as he was. Of course, these are things he is enthused to have, and will have to store them. Fortunately it's not quite as hard as storing a decomposing body... These small things can be kept sealed for the time being to prevent contamination.]

Excellent. I believe a centrifuge will be the first piece of equipment on my list to obtain, though I will need instrumentation for spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, thermal analysis, electrochemical analysis, among other things.

[After he was handed the samples, he held one up in front of his eyes, examining it closely. A spark of life twinkled there. Yet, as he thought about it, he had some doubts.]

This is a bit outside of my field... I have always worked more on machines and magiteknology, a certainly needed to know a thing or two about biology. I have some experience with archaeological digs, but we should perhaps keep our eyes open for other scientists. Geologists, chemists, microbiologists. People who focused their expertise more on dealing with soil.

I will keep these safe and work on obtaining the equipment. I can also analyze it, should I need to be relied on for that. However, now may be the time to start forming an association of scientists. One man cannot be an expert in all things, and I must admit that I would be doing this as more of an educated hobbyist rather than one who concentrated his studies on this.

[It wasn't so much a lack of confidence. He did believe, provided the equipment, he could analyze it. But one had to take into account the importance of the situation and the little they had to work with. Missing something could be catastrophic.]
original_is_best: (Hmm?)

[personal profile] original_is_best 2020-03-28 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. The labs they have allowed me access to are deficient. I do not wish to wait... If I can obtain my own equipment, I will be able to conduct tests on my own time without being watched.

[So far as they knew, anyway. With a flick of his hand he gestured for her to continue. He was listening.]
original_is_best: (Uncertain)

[personal profile] original_is_best 2020-03-28 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
[He hummed lowly to himself.]

Strange, considering other forms of life have survived, in some form, outside. It is usually the microscopic that are the most persistent.
begguiling: (get fat. go mental. now. you can do it)

[personal profile] begguiling 2020-03-29 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
Mmmm, I'm not a biologist myself. And I'm not sure what your capabilities are! I can tell they're pretty impressive, though. . . . I'll say this much. Let me know if you pick up on anything that feels more like a dark magical energy than anything biological. I'd be curious to know. But on this planet, magic and science are pretty hard to untangle, huh?

[Though, in his experience, that's the case everywhere. It's one of the realities of the universe, the close tie between them. And part of him wonders now if the toxin they're investigating is related to Dark Matter at all—but probably not, right? Well, who knows?]
flawed_immortality: (But I'm lost)

[personal profile] flawed_immortality 2020-03-29 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Please make sure she allows herself time to rest.

[They're so similar he knows damn well she's going to push until she falls over. Just as he would.]

For now I am hopeful that he is experiencing something similar to what Era went through.

[Which means he will wake up soon. Hopefully.]
flawed_immortality: (I've been praying for help cause I can't)

[personal profile] flawed_immortality 2020-03-29 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. The changes are small, subtle. He's always hidden the worst of it beneath his beard and his clothes.

[There's a faint shift in his tone, warm and amused, fond of his King's habits.]

I can only hope he wakes soon.
flawed_immortality: (we play our role)

[personal profile] flawed_immortality 2020-03-30 07:10 am (UTC)(link)
Ah... no, not here.

[He hadn't meant to confuse her but he can see now exactly how that must have sounded.]

My apologies. I have been at his side since we were both young men, a child in my case. There were changes that came with age that he did his best to hide from the public, even from those close to him. I was merely stating that what small changes we have observed in these past few days may be much greater if one were to look a little closer.

[Beneath the thicker growth of beard that would only expand as the years go on, beneath the high collar and heavy layers of his raiment. Sickly blue and pink lines, a pale webbing of magical scars that would one day crawl up his neck to mar that perfect face.]
flawed_immortality: (The wheel embodies all)

[personal profile] flawed_immortality 2020-04-03 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Not only kings.

[It's a gentle reminder, of all the lineage Ardyn is perhaps the one who sacrificed the most.]

The kingdom is built upon such sacrifices. It is an expectation, the crown demands it. And those closest to it can only stand by and watch the toll it takes.

[It's difficult. Unbearably so. There have been times, many times, when he wished that he could take the burden from his King's shoulders, forfeit his youth to preserve Regis for some small time yet. It was foolish but if it meant protecting Regis there is nothing he wouldn't give.]

I do not think the gods understand or care what burdens they place upon their followers.
original_is_best: (Uncertain)

[personal profile] original_is_best 2020-04-04 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
We will need to continue gathering samples to confirm this. It may be that this sample is not representative of the entirety of the outside world.

Or, it may be that the toxin also destroys bacteria and other microorganisms.

[Which was kind of worrying, considering the importance of these things. People could not survive without them.]

Perhaps that is why we become ill. Our bodies need such things to function. When one is on antibiotics, it has negative side effects.

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