text @kingofwei

[pure_havoc]

Good evening, for evening it is. Hard to tell with the snow preventing us from seeing a fine full moon, but there it is.

For those who are new to Beacon, my name is Cao Pi, styled Zihuan, and I have been undertaking efforts to maintain organization and sharing of information. This message is long overdue but given certain developments a few weeks ago, I find that much of the information we shared with one another at the recent meeting has been confirmed and added to, since then. That makes a summary easier, knowing what is certain and what is still unknown.

I hesitated making a full public report on the network, knowing that it had been compromised and spirits could use it, but Dr. Ingram suggested that any information from the meeting that we share is probably already known to the spirits, so I feel confident now that we may openly discuss matters.

If you will bear with me, I will summarize my notes as briefly as I can but it may be long. This information should, at some point, be added to the logbook in the town hall as well, but newcomers may find it important to read now.

There was a major attack recently, in which some residents slept in shared dreamscapes while the rest of us fended off the spirits. People were maimed and killed, it wasn't pretty. But the dreams provided us information on how things were in the past, and offer speculation on how this world came to be as it is. I am not certain everyone who had a dream was present to share their experience, so if anyone reading has information they are sitting on, please, share it.

As practical matters go, we know now through a Soldier and his friends that the spirits are not all actually willing to hurt us, and attacked after being ordered to by the green-eyed spirits, which are the source of debilitating hallucinations. Master Riku confirmed that they do not wish to kill us, but made a mistake attacking. That information is already on the network, and I find it crucial to understanding our fellow residents of this world of darkness, and believe it can go a long way toward forming alliances and preventing future attacks.

Also, thanks to valiant attempts at rescuing the Lighthouse Keeper and exploring the lake, we now know that creatures in the air and in the water will kill us, viciously, if we attempt to go too far out from the town. Consider it a fair warning that those directions should be avoided. We have more than enough to explore on land as it is.

Commander Rosinante checked some statistics and has grimly reported that dying here - yes, you can die while dead, apparently - has dire consequences. There is only a one in three chance, at best, that you will be resurrected. Do try not to get yourself killed. Protect your lantern, yourself, and your comrades.

My personal interests tend toward defenses, under the assumption that there may be future attacks and even cultivating good relations with the spirits will not prevent all of them. The green-eyed spirits in particular seem bent on destroying us, and have their mind powers which cannot be stopped with mere barricades and weapons. I would appreciate ideas, but also extra hands, to figure out the best ways to fortify our fallback positions. The Invincible can hold the most people and has supplies but also has too many entry points. The armory is also worth protecting, as is the church for people being resurrected. The library on the other side of the river is our fallback there but I know not of its defensive capability. Should there be another emergency, consider the best ways to withdraw everyone to one of these points and secure it against invaders.

For those interested in training to fight or patrolling to protect the town, consult Inspector Javert or Master Jason. I do think it in our best interests to cultivate good relations with the spirits but there is always a chance that the green-eyed ones may get to their minions first and force them to obey, meaning we stand a good chance of being attacked again. We also have no way to stop those malicious spirits from entering our minds, if there is anyone with mystical skills that can help.

Counselor Matt also suggested a two-month stockpile of supplies in case of emergency. It requires someone to go to the shops and inventory what supplies are left at the end of the month, then how much arrives on the ferry at the beginning of the month. That way we will know how much we use as a community and how to skim off a ration each month to build the stockpile. I welcome volunteers to that end.

Now, for the dreams...

One group reported a radio tower (I know not what that is) with dead birds around it, and they have more information as well as recordings from the inhabitants. They were fighting a losing battle in some way and sent messages seeking help, but failed. Daylight also reported seeing the World Eaters approaching, spreading darkness as they came. That means they have already been here, so I am unsure why they would be coming here again.

Master Ignis reported a research facility, which we should work to locate. The name is Solis Labs, corroborated that a Dr. Solis might have created our lanterns. There was a mention of this Solis in the recent bulletin, so if someone has actually met them, I would like to know. In the meantime, this lab appears to have been responsible for a portal which brought in items in the museum but also brought in the unspeakable horrors that led to the destruction of the world.

General Hughes saw the town hall in the past, with information on personages such as the mayor and a sheriff, as well as maps suggesting the location of a medical center, a downtown, farm, furnace, and "train station." Also, "amusement park" which I have been given to understand should have been entertaining but it seems may have actually been used to kill children. [UNDERSTATEMENT AHOY]

Further, Master Stone confirmed that the portal is in the lake, which we have since realized is true, thanks to the arrival of the night market.

These are summaries, I invite those mentioned to speak up if they wish to share any further details noticed during the dream or confirmed after the meeting through other circumstances.

It is clear that there is much more to be learned, both in terms of the past as well as the future. I know the commander and general have gone to locate the downtown, I hope to hear from them soon. Other explorations may be underway about which I have no knowledge. I encourage everyone who has gone out and learned even the smallest thing, share it with us. In order to know how to defeat the World Eaters and restore the light, we need to know how the light was lost in the first place and why the dead are needed to do it, rather than the living. The only thing I would caution is publicly announcing plans which may cause our enemies to attack or prevent us. Say nothing openly that you would not want to get back to the green-eyed spirits. If you must, request a meeting at the town hall to speak to people face to face. I find that it works marvelously.

Thank you for your time.


[what he really hopes is that people who asked the machine questions have important stuff to share but...who knows? Floor's open!]

Comments

@riku; text

[equinoctials]

Adding to this. I can't stress this enough.
We need information added to those log books. There's a lot of gaps that need filling.
Knowing what we're dealing with is gonna make all the difference.

[pure_havoc]

Thank you, young master. I would do it myself but my writing, well. I would hate to force everyone going for a quick look to labor through the intensive process to translate it for themselves.

@wayne

[pearlstrings]

I suppose we could always solicit someone to go door to door and collect notes that way.

Do either of you know if there's a list collected of the locations visited during the dreams? It might be easier to pare down groups and proceed from there instead of asking people to come forward en masse.

@lucius

[diastima]

[ 'King' of Wei, huh... He reads over Cao Pi's report several times. it's a lot to digest. ]

Do we know what exactly the World Eaters look like?

[pure_havoc]

[that's right, bro!]

Yes, though I do not have an image on hand. Dr. Ingram showed one on the network sometime ago, and a being known as Daylight shared another at the meeting. I'm sure he would be willing to broadcast it.

Suffice to say they are incredibly large. I have seen monsters as large as mountains before yet the World Eaters would dwarf them.

[diastima]

[ Kings..... it's hard for him to really conceptualize that. What is a king? Kings didn't exist on the shattered remains of the disc. ]

It seems difficult to defeat them if they're that big.

@silent

[callada]

We do. I have the image saved to my tablet.

[There is an attachment below the text that prompts a user to download it with the image sharing app.]

[diastima]

[ He looks at the image. Holy smokes. ]

When was this taken?

text; un: mewtwo

[mewtiny]

[This just in local cat monster very bad at Not Helping.]

My psychic abilities may be of some use.

what a good

[pure_havoc]

Someone with abilities that may counter the hallucinations? Pray, do tell.

[it's not sarcasm, he's all ears this time]

psychic cat gotta psychic

[mewtiny]

I have never attempted to counter hallucinations. However, I have done much in the way of affecting the minds of others. Surely defending the minds of others should prove to be within my power.

[sunborne]

[ daylight sends an attachment to this post and if anyone downloads it to see what it is, they'll see it's... something, alright, if they're new. others who have been around for a long time will know what it is:

a world eater. ]

Hi.

I'm Daylight, the one Lord Cao Pi mentioned, and I was with Sarissa and Kol in the radio tower. You can read the log books if you want to hear the full message of the but I can repeat it here too, just in case.

[ he clears his vocoder and says the following: ]

“Comm check. This is Sheriff Owen Hobaugh. We've got 34 survivors here, along with medical supplies and fresh water and food. We're located at 45.717643, -86.667802.

Dr. Solis is here, and she can keep us alive. She's found a way to... temporarily rehouse a person's life force. If anyone's still alive out there, send us a signal. We might just be able to save this world yet.”

[ ... ] There's something else I didn't tell you guys about. Back at the meeting. I wasn't ready to then but I think I am? I think it's important enough to share.

[pure_havoc]

Thank you, Daylight. Please, whatever you think is worth it. We are all listening.

content warnings: suicide ideation and attempts. (highlight to read text.)

[sunborne]

Alright. So... When we saw the World Eater approaching Beacon, as it spread darkness around, I... I had these weird thoughts all of a sudden.

I mean- I knew I was stressed from what was happening to us at the time. Who wouldn't be? We were seeing the very end of Beacon itself. We were hearing what could have been the last words of a man who still hoped and it was for nothing. We... We were in over our heads.

But then something got ahold of me when I was staring at the World Eater. A thought popped up in my processors. It stuck, like a virus that wouldn't or couldn't stop. I don't know why but... I was wondering why we should bother to keep fighting, to keep struggling against this at all. The portal is... was... uncontrollable. It felt... It felt irresponsible to cling onto a stolen existence. If I did then other worlds would suffer because of us being so selfish.

If I could help, just for once, by not fighting against the natural cycle than I... I shouldn't fight back.

And I didn't.

That's when I noticed that there were three nooses on the railing of the radio tower. Just hanging there. [ he pauses here, needing to clear his vocoder again due to the rapid buildup of static. ] I tried to... Kol and Sarissa, I think, stopped me. Tried to stop me? I'm not sure. At that point I was. I was out of it. I was okay with it. Some part of me was screaming the entire time but I didn't care. What we saw there - the World Eater, the darkness, the dead things everywhere - it was inevitable.

And... Yeah. It was the end after that. [ daylight seems to be clamming up after this. ] I... I would suggest waiting for the others to speak up if they want to. It was... weird. I'm still... trying to make sense of it even after all this time.

[ let's go with that. ]

[text] @thursday

[freetobe]

Has information been gathered on what can and cannot hurt or otherwise affect the other denizens of this world in terms of weaponry, spells and wardings? I cannot draw upon much in terms of pre-existing knowledge given that I've not encountered these spirits specifically. That said I've yet to encounter anything that cannot in some way be detained, banished or at the very least kept back by specific wardings, sigils or rituals, and few things that cannot be killed or harmed with the right equipment. The difficulty would lie in differentiating between those hostile to us and those not.

A census of our own armed forces and their respective capabilities, as well as our resident civilians, may also be in order.

[pure_havoc]

[this is so not the time to throw shade in Quentin's direction but...he's going to totally throw shade in Quentin's direction]

My suggestions of taking a survey and keeping such records of talents and useful skills were met with some resistance. Under normal circumstances I would understand some people fearing reprisal over their abilities, but these are hardly normal circumstances.

Master Quentin offered to keep a list, if he came across people willing to divulge their personal information. I'm sure he may like a helping hand toward that effort.

[freetobe]

I could pry the information out of minds whether they were willing or not, but I'm told that's considered rude, and I'd hope it needless to aggravate the less practical among us. I'm in agreement with you, however. Such a list would be beneficial to any efforts made to protect this place. Nothing towards those efforts will be gained wih ill-placed secrecy.

@scientia ; text

[reigniter]

[ He has a feeling he's forgetting something, but he'll bring up the obvious. ]

Didn't Robin mention that World Eaters are attracted to our lantern light since it is the source of our life?

We're all crammed here in one place, all of us making it literally a beacon for World Eaters. What an irony.

Spreading out, while dangerous, might thin out our life signals enough to mute it down. In fact, it might confuse the World Eaters enough to distract them, make them wander around and buy us time. One year is already at its passing, we have been here for over six months and dr Ingram said that two years top before they show up

@lucky; audio

[mindofathief]

There's other worlds with more people. If they were attracted to life in general, wouldn't that mean we're more difficult to notice, anyway?

[pure_havoc]

If not the Keeper then the good doctor himself, either way yes, that is a fact we have in front of us, now.

In those six months we have barely explored an area the size of Xuchang. We will have to be far more proactive or else find faster transportation to be able to spread ourselves out enough to make a difference.

@silent (after Kuai's voice post)

[callada]

We've returned from our trip safely. Downtown isn't far, several hours past the museum. There is a large hotel there, with 22 rooms that can be used as housing. The hotel guestbook should be investigated as it holds the names of all past guests. Rastus had been there at some point.

Downtown also held what looked like a theater, shops, and a number of other buildings, but we didn't have time to investigate due to the large number of spirits who were dancing and playing music. I felt almost compelled to join them for a moment, but was able to resist. It's some sort of hypnosis. I don't think we were seen while retreating and I don't know how if they turned back around to stay in the downtown area or if they're slowly making their way here, but anyone who goes should be cautious. I'm not sure if earplugs would help - I didn't have a chance to test out if blocking out the sound prevented the compulsion. Might be worth bringing some anyway if anyone here goes.

[pure_havoc]

Excellent work, commander. That is a hefty discovery.

Be prepared, then, I suppose. If they approach us here, you may as well attempt your powers to see if it helps. I am already uneasy at any thought that they can influence our minds or subvert will.

RXN Only

[primordialerebus]

[ Holy fucking shit she missed a lot. Time to literally yeet herself into the forest. See if she can contribute for once. ]

@Grandmaster

[paletteswap]

Thank you for compiling all this.

Has anyone found out a schedule for the Night Market? When they might return? Those who may have asked for items perhaps. I'm curious what we could trade with them next time in order for more information about the portal they seem to have access too.

Or even what one could do to make the journey back with them to beneath the lake.

[pure_havoc]

Pluto mentioned to me that they will be back in the second month after their last appearance. Every other. Perhaps that is only for this next time, or it is a schedule, but that's what I know.

For the record, my friend, we need not worry about dirty boots traipsing in our palaces and temples to get our things.