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Tera Lynx

The Biologist
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"Nurse, calm down... Just tell me what happened."

"T-the patients in the infirmary, suffering from the rare virus... They... They got up and just started attacking the nurse staff! The guards came to calm them down but they overwhelmed the guards!"

"What?! How did this happen? Did they show any symptoms before this happened?"

"I don't know, I don't know! But they're running everywhere now, killing anyone they see! We need to escape right now!"


I've been wanting to do a bit of a horror theme for a while now.
This will be gauging interest for a zombie apocalypse based on the infection plague of the Cast race.
Escaping from a castle with runner zombies all over the place hunting down everyone they can find!

Brainstorming different scenarios we would like to take place during the course of the thread, character plots and such.
I imagine a small group of survivors joining together either to escape the castle or to attempt to put an end to this infestation once and for all!

My doctor, Tera Lynx, will be present for the scenario.
But as has been planned for her since before the beginning, she won't be making it out of the castle in the same state she entered it.
 
Interesting, interesting, very interesting. A zombie horror theme sounds like a great recipe for a fun rp. Dauner's in.
 
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Awesome! Welcome aboard!

So, Tera's going to be at the castle as a doctor treating this debilitating plague that's spreading throughout the kingdom.

An earthquake has cracked the seal of what the locals believed to be an ancient vault, sealed by stone and an enchanted door.
The earthquake cracked the door allowing spores to escape and begin infecting local flora and fauna.
Eventually it began effecting hunters, then farmers and now they are being treated at the castle infirmary in an attempt to find a cure.

We might be able to do a few posts, establishing our characters a bit and where they are before things start getting hairy.

Dauner
How will your character come into this?
 
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The last thread I started was about him finally leaving Alliria to explore the world. So, it would be most likely that he was attracted to the castle by the plague and got caught in the middle of everything after sneaking into the castle to explore this plague.
 
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"Nurse, calm down... Just tell me what happened."

"T-the patients in the infirmary, suffering from the rare virus... They... They got up and just started attacking the nurse staff! The guards came to calm them down but they overwhelmed the guards!"

"What?! How did this happen? Did they show any symptoms before this happened?"

"I don't know, I don't know! But they're running everywhere now, killing anyone they see! We need to escape right now!"


I've been wanting to do a bit of a horror theme for a while now.
This will be gauging interest for a zombie apocalypse based on the infection plague of the Cast race.
Escaping from a castle with runner zombies all over the place hunting down everyone they can find!

Brainstorming different scenarios we would like to take place during the course of the thread, character plots and such.
I imagine a small group of survivors joining together either to escape the castle or to attempt to put an end to this infestation once and for all!

My doctor, Tera Lynx, will be present for the scenario.
But as has been planned for her since before the beginning, she won't be making it out of the castle in the same state she entered it.

She won't be making it out in the same state? That sounds ominous. Especially considering your double bio...

Also I'm reading Children of Ruin right now. And The Cast, with their hivemindedness, do remind me somewhat of the We, a strangely somewhat hivelike, somewhat individualized species presented in that book. But then they do kinda remind me of the Darkspawn from Dragon Age as well.

Anywho, the whole thing sounds like a good place to get back my depressingly absent RP mojo.

If you'll have me, that is...

The last thread I started was about him finally leaving Alliria to explore the world. So, it would be most likely that he was attracted to the castle by the plague and got caught in the middle of everything after sneaking into the castle to explore this plague.

Indeed?

What a co winky dink, Xithispk was last seen in the area near Alliria as well.

Perhaps there are some traveling merchants headed from the Allir Reach to this particular castle, unaware that anyone has so much as a bad cough... And perhaps they need mercenaries for protection??

Two warrior types, and a bunch of NPCs ripe for horrible fates riding in, only to meet a plague doctor type woman who tells them they can't leave because the castle is now under quarantine? Or something like that?
 
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The last thread I started was about him finally leaving Alliria to explore the world. So, it would be most likely that he was attracted to the castle by the plague and got caught in the middle of everything after sneaking into the castle to explore this plague.
Sounds as good a reason as any for a guy that loves a good mystery!
She won't be making it out in the same state? That sounds ominous. Especially considering your double bio...
Yeah, originally I had made her as a member of the Cast but then I decided I wanted to flesh out her backstory a bit.
This “plague” will ultimately result in her infestation and introduction to the Cast.
Also I'm reading Children of Ruin right now. And The Cast, with their hivemindedness, do remind me somewhat of the We, a strangely somewhat hivelike, somewhat individualized species presented in that book. But then they do kinda remind me of the Darkspawn from Dragon Age as well.
Hm, I’m unfamiliar with that book, sounds interesting though!
I drew a lot of inspiration from the Zerg from StarCraft, the Tyrannid from 40K, and the aliens from Enders Game and Starship Troopers.
Anywho, the whole thing sounds like a good place to get back my depressingly absent RP mojo.

If you'll have me, that is...
Of course! The more the merrier!
In fact, while I don’t know how much of a hive mind the Chi-Xilixi are used to, but he might be able to tap into the zombies communication if that’s in his ballpark!

And I know for a fact that the Cast would want to assimilate him as well…
Indeed?

What a co winky dink, Xithispk was last seen in the area near Alliria as well.

Perhaps there are some traveling merchants headed from the Allie Reach to this particular castle, unaware that anyone has so much as a bad cough... And perhaps they need mercenaries for protection??

Two warrior types, and a bunch of NPCs ripe for horrible fates riding in, only to meet a plague doctor type woman who tells them they can't leave because the castle is now under quarantine? Or something like that?
Hmmm… that’s an idea!
Although, I imagine the castle might have a portion quarantined off for taking care of the sick, but they would simply try to keep merchants and such away from there to keep having a steady stream of supplies.

What’s going to happen is that the quarantine is going to quickly become a lockdown once the patients become violent.
And also, since this plague is originating from the forest, even animals would become infested, making outside the castle equally as dangerous once the Cast overruns the village and infests everyone else.

I think we can make quite an interesting story together!
 
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I think this will be most interesting. I see Xithispk (still without a translation stone, so basically unable to talk), as he is generally a good aligned honorable monk type, getting along pretty well with Tera as a human. And then I imagine a dramatic moment towards the end when she tries to convince him to accept assimilation and join her in the Cast...

And Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Ruin is a sequel. It's almost impossible to enjoy without having the benefit of reading the first book; Children of Time. Both are absolutely unbeatable if you like science, odd animals like arthropods, space, and world building, though.

Children of Time is great. It's weird. It's like a different kind of post apocalyptic. A different kind of ancient aliens. A different flip on so many sci-fi cliches really. Although I might just like it because I'm a fan of spiders.

The Children of Ruin, though. It's taking all of the antes up a notch from the first book.

The Zerg influence I noticed, but not so much Enders Game or Starship Troopers, although, admittedly, I never read either book, only watched the movies. And I'm not really knowledgeable about 40k very much at all.

The Chi'xilixi have a limited hivemind according to their lore:

"All Chi’xilixi within a single hive are born from a single queen, and they possess a very limited hivemind within individual colonies. While each individual retains their own identity, they are often aware of the emotions and sensations of their nearby hivemates. This phenomenon is strongest the closer a chi'xilixi is to their place of birth, yet the reason for this is as of yet unknown to outsiders."

As all of his hivemates are dead and gone, and he has traveled very far from the place of his birth, it seems unlikely that the hivemind connection would work out very well. Well... not unless he were infected and assimilated too, in which case it may be that the Cast recieve an upgrade to their entire hivemind system making it even more complex. But then I don't think he's going to go for that...
 
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Perhaps there are some traveling merchants headed from the Allir Reach to this particular castle, unaware that anyone has so much as a bad cough... And perhaps they need mercenaries for protection??

Two warrior types, and a bunch of NPCs ripe for horrible fates riding in, only to meet a plague doctor type woman who tells them they can't leave because the castle is now under quarantine? Or something like that?
That sounds good. Dauner likes company very much when, you know, he's not out killing or being hunted. We could get there with the merchants, then sneak in :D
And I know for a fact that the Cast would want to assimilate him as well…
Does that mean they'll try to assimilate anyone who can tap into their hivemind network, or mimic their brain wavelength? That could prove troublesome
 
I think this will be most interesting. I see Xithispk (still without a translation stone, so basically unable to talk), as he is generally a good aligned honorable monk type, getting along pretty well with Tera as a human. And then I imagine a dramatic moment towards the end when she tries to convince him to accept assimilation and join her in the Cast...
Hmmmm, might have to see how it works out on that one.
Pre infestation Tera will definitely find Xithispk very intriguing since she's never been to Malakath or seen his kind before. They'd definitely get along pretty well!

In general, pre infestation Tera will basically be the party healer. She doesn't have magic but she uses herbs, bandages and potions to compensate.
And Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Ruin is a sequel. It's almost impossible to enjoy without having the benefit of reading the first book; Children of Time. Both are absolutely unbeatable if you like science, odd animals like arthropods, space, and world building, though.

Children of Time is great. It's weird. It's like a different kind of post apocalyptic. A different kind of ancient aliens. A different flip on so many sci-fi cliches really. Although I might just like it because I'm a fan of spiders.

The Children of Ruin, though. It's taking all of the antes up a notch from the first book.
Neat! I'll have to look up the series! I commercial fish during the summer so I have lots of time to read books!

The Zerg influence I noticed, but not so much Enders Game or Starship Troopers, although, admittedly, I never read either book, only watched the movies. And I'm not really knowledgeable about 40k very much at all.
The influence from Enders Game and Starship Troopers is more on how the hivemind works.
In Enders Game the aliens have queens controlling a hive, if you kill the queen the entire hive dies immediately (because the Cast expand both through reproduction and infestation I think it wouldn't make sense for every creature to be solely reliant on the queen to live, or having zero agency to carry out the will of the swarm). But moreso I'm looking at the sort of culture that becomes. A civilization made entirely of queens cooperating together (only the drones are a little more than mere extensions of the queens consciousness).
The Chi'xilixi have a limited hivemind according to their lore:

"All Chi’xilixi within a single hive are born from a single queen, and they possess a very limited hivemind within individual colonies. While each individual retains their own identity, they are often aware of the emotions and sensations of their nearby hivemates. This phenomenon is strongest the closer a chi'xilixi is to their place of birth, yet the reason for this is as of yet unknown to outsiders."

As all of his hivemates are dead and gone, and he has traveled very far from the place of his birth, it seems unlikely that the hivemind connection would work out very well. Well... not unless he were infected and assimilated too, in which case it may be that the Cast recieve an upgrade to their entire hivemind system making it even more complex. But then I don't think he's going to go for that...
Hmmm, I think it would be reasonable to say that the Chi'xilixi have a more chemical based hivemind, like ants and bees.
The Cast in it's current state is a purely psionic hivemind, a combined consciousness. But with an actual guiding will it could evolve exceptions (as I have planned), using other creatures to take over guiding certain parts of the swarm so that the queen doesn't have to do it all herself.

Oh! I just realized why joining the Swarm would be an actual draw for Xithispk!
Because he's lost his hive! He would crave that sort of connection again!
Of course, he's more reasonable than to surrender his individuality so readily, but still the struggle would be real!



Does that mean they'll try to assimilate anyone who can tap into their hivemind network, or mimic their brain wavelength? That could prove troublesome
They assimilate creatures for their genetic traits. Adding a chemical mode of communication would certainly be valuable, but only if there's a creature in the Swarm who was intelligent enough to recognize its utility in addition to the Psionic collective.
However, with Dauner's physical traits and abilities, they would definitely prefer to assimilate HIM if at all possible!

As it stands, the Cast is aimless, without a guiding purpose outside of "Survival of the fittest", "Adapt and Evolve" and "Serve the collective"
Tera will change that once she's assimilated giving the swarm a guiding purpose... Her will, which I intend for her to do either as an act of self-sacrifice... Or as a clutch moment of terror where she's suddenly dragged screaming into the darkness to be assimilated.



Another way this plot could go is if they DO escape the castle then they might attempt to destroy the infection from the source... Delving into the ancient dungeon where the Cast was imprisoned and released, and facing the source of all the spores infesting everyone...
 
They assimilate creatures for their genetic traits. Adding a chemical mode of communication would certainly be valuable, but only if there's a creature in the Swarm who was intelligent enough to recognize its utility in addition to the Psionic collective.
However, with Dauner's physical traits and abilities, they would definitely prefer to assimilate HIM if at all possible!
Dauner's pretty good at killing. But he's even better at running from zombies that are after his brain. Or genetic code. Given that his physical body has already undergone 6 evolutions, he might as well be a rather tasty treat for the swarm. So I guess, we'll be doing a lot of running :D
Another way this plot could go is if they DO escape the castle then they might attempt to destroy the infection from the source... Delving into the ancient dungeon where the Cast was imprisoned and released, and facing the source of all the spores infesting everyone...
That sounds like a very Dauner-like course of action. LET'S DO IT!!!
 
Here's the thread!