The chaos was nearly overwhelming. It seemed like an army of gembound were fighting this giant rock beast. Fire scorches his exoskeleton, sending a surge of panic and pain through him. The snow cooled the, though. Enough to ignore it, for a while.

Then the stone came crumbling down, and a cloud of dust? snow? rained down. Due to his vicinity, there was no chance for him escape the cloud, despite the cries for him to do so. Panic was drowned by... compassion. A warm feeling. Love. Despite the chaos around him, he found himself slowing, watching his surroundings with glazed, even more expressionless than usual insectoid eyes.

The following Gembounds are Exposed and officially infected with Mother:
@James, @Carja, @Bone, @Azrael, @Svartis, @Catalyst, @Rainstorm, @Effluvium, @Kalama, @Morpho, @Orthoclase-Alpha, @Nemesis, @Sora, @Khavur

@Tahi-shei, who critically failed avoiding spores, is critically Exposed and can no longer roll to resist.

The following Gembounds were successful in avoiding spores:
@Lyra, @Dread, @Cryogen, @Madhukar, @Sergei, @Wyvern, @Comet, @Hargrave, @Aristotle

---

Esther takes wing, flying into the group, honing in on those that might resist, those that they could help. Clinging to the rock was @Ruby-beta, calling out, strong. Yes, strong. Esther dives toward Ruby-beta and, in just their presence alone, the faint wisps of spores fizzle and fade from Ruby-beta's airways.

---

Gembounds who are Exposed, and who are accepting of their place with Mother, will feel their rolling anxiety and fear wash away, blanketed by a warm and comforting feeling of safety and re-assurance. Small snippets of thoughts and feelings from other Exposed will touch their minds, and they can feel comfort together; safety in numbers, they may feel the urge to band together.

Gembounds who are Exposed, and who are rebellious of their place with Mother, will feel pain and nausea, but may be susceptible to the feeling of comfort and safety they will experience through the shared thoughts of the other Exposed.

Both groups will feel the urge to press into Ursa, fleeting images of twin mountains dancing across their mind's eye, and a voice, warm and gentle, welcoming and kind: "Harbingers, my newest family, I am eager to meet you. Come and find me, deep below the mountains, in the tunnels carved from ice. Do not fear the Watchers, do not fear the Drones; you are all Connected, and you will be Safe. Come home, come home, come home..."

---

Azigh recoiled, joining the dragons in pushing the spores back into the depths of Tunnel B, but his tiredness soon overcame him and he faltered, kneeling on his legs and resting against the cold wall. A quick glance around him suggest many had inhaled the spores, and he wondered if he should blame himself: he did not know the threat, he did not know... but he called them here. If he had not done that, if he had been strong enough to defeat it on his own—

"I am sorry," echoed his voice, gold blood seeping through the many little scratches on his body. He slumped, resting completely against the frozen stone. It seemed as if he were falling asleep, his hands clasped to his face and his wings folding against him. Maybe if he just rested for a little while....

His hesitation to approach proved worthwhile: indeed, the cold had been suspicious, and the puff of spores released from the golem caused his stomach to knot. Had Azigh known? He had halted the golem where he could, and for that Astraea was eternally grateful. What would have happened if it had reached the Spire? When the spores had cleared, he half-galloped into the fray, weaving through those escaping and those fallen victim to the infection's influence.

Vargas was among them, and some of his followers as well. Astraea did not wait, did not call out his approach or sound a warning; it was important that Vargas not be tainted, that the Creator's influence be the strongest. He half-skidded across the icy ground, his body bumping into Vargas's tough hide, and with the momentum he urged the spores out!

ROLL 12

Astraea attempts to Cast Spell — Fungal Wake ( CLEANSE ) Successful!

His magic answered, and the spores were pushed violently from Vargas and into the icy ground below, where they quickly were eaten by the latent magic pushing in from Polaris. Astraea ducked and turned, quickly, in case Vargas struck out with a giant clawed hand by instinct, reflex. Who else? Red eyes picked across the crowd before closing, a deep inhale, exhale—searching. Who were his? Who were his children, his descendants, his fungi apprentices? Two. Eyes opened. He could immediately spot Tahi-shei, but something was off. As if there had been too much exposure, too much risk—no.

Astraea moved quickly, looking through the gathered gems, before he found the other and halted: James, also infected, but less so than Tahi-shei. Quickly. Move quickly. The winged horse was racing toward a wolf, so Astraea picked up his pace to race after him.

"Resist it!" he called to James, weaving through debris. A quick glance to the wolf—she was alright, a bubble around her nose; smart—before he skidded again, pressing his shoulder against James. It was less intense than his attempt on Vargas, but it still worked.

ROLL 8

Astraea attempts to Cast Spell — Fungal Wake ( CLEANSE ) Barely Successful!

"We must help the others!" he pleaded to James, his hooves stomping on the last of the spores that struggled to cling to the surface below. But if they did not want to be helped, if they surged past and escaped to Ursa... "Push the spores out—you know how! Try!"

His ears folded back. How could this happen? They had blocked the glacier from everything, sealed it within its wintry confines. What released it? How!? His teeth ground together, a snarl lifting his lips.

They had trapped it there for so long, and still He was able to grow the node!? To survive here in the nest!?

Astraea looked out upon the others, stepping forward. This utter destruction, the devastation, it wasn't really His way and yet—had He grown desperate? Bored? Red eyes flicked to Azigh, who had fainted in the tunnel's entrance. Hopefully he had been strong enough to resist the spores himself, but Astraea's focus was the Gembounds first. To lose this many to Order...

"RESIST!" he bellowed, raising his nose and stomping a foot. "RESIST, AND COME TO ME. I can help you! We can help you!" A quick, encouraging glance to James as if to say: we can do this.

Among the others was Tahi-shei, perhaps the most infected of them all; and most unfortunate, Astraea thought. The cat that had called out to him was some distance, but they had called his name—did they know each other, then? "If you can bring Tahi-shei here, I can attempt to help him!" Astraea called to Madhukar, but the spores had dug deep into the sika deer's lungs, grasping and clawing their way inside, whispering, comforting, relaxing... Tahi would be pulled heavily toward the mountains, but if they could help him, they would.

Exposed Gembound are now free to try a Resist roll as Other.

Barely Successful and up can approach Astraea or James for Fungal Wake casts.
((Please GM tag me or tag James, depending on who you approach, and we will reply to attempt rolls! Myself and James are free to post as many times as needed this round.))

Failures will be urged to approach Ursa's entrance, where they can attempt a second resist before entering Ursa (and exiting this thread). Those rolls will look like this:
-> First resist is a Failure, and Gembound approaches Ursa. You post again.

-> Second resist Succeeds: Gembound can turn back for cleansing.
--OR --
-> Second resist fails: Gembound enters Ursa, and exits the raid.

Otherwise, please only post once.

Tahi-shei began to panic, the spores coerce-ing him -- altering him -- and he remembered, vividly, Giggle. Altering his mind, altering his perception, making him hallucinate, but-- this was good, wasn't it? It had to be. This fungus, it was good. It was... his Mother. Her voice rang in his ears, the negative connotations of the word Harbinger swept to the side, and the whisper of home was irresistible.

And then, Astraea came into view.

Something violent surged up in him, and he managed to hear Astraea through the din. Resist? Why would he--? How would he--? "Ast-- enemy-- "A--" He couldn't even say it, couldn't even call out to him! Tahi wanted to reassure him, wanted to let him know this gift was okay! Wanted to callforhelp! "D-Da--" "Listen to your mother." A wave of nausea swept through him, and his voice broke -- desperation in his barely-there eyes, with a desperate cry of "Make it stop," voice wretched as some part of him shattered.

Why was Astraea not helping him? Why was he-- where was he-- Why James? Why not--?

"He doesn't love you like I do."

It was so easy to believe it, and he glanced down at Madhukar who seemed to have appeared at his side. He blinked down at her, and then almost on instinct -- I ought to share this with her.





@madhukar I'M SO SORRY

James reared in alarm as the voice game, whispering into his ears. She was family... she was his only-

NO! She was not his family! Comet was, Sun was, Ari was! A shoulder bumped against his own and clarity came rushing back, the panic and the fear receding with the pain that came with his resistance. His head swiveled to look at Astraea, more than a bit shocked. Why had he come to him?

"Push the spores out—you know how! Try!"

"I-I do?", he asked, looking back to the others, to those were struggling and suffering.

He turned to Comet and flared his wings urgently, "RUN! RUN FAR AWAY, COMET! I'll meet you at home, I promise. Run away!!"

He could only hope she listened as he turned, wings puffed up in anger. How dare this... this Mother do this to these Gembound? How dare she take their will away from them?!

"I am with you," he snorted, stamping a foot down.

James' magic flickered to life, floating in his chest, ready to be used. He would help until his magic ran dry.

"Gembound!!", he cried, cantering forward and flaring his wings, big and bright, flashing their colors out to draw attention to himself, "Come to me! Resist it!!"

He looked to Astraea for a moment, hoping that he could help enough, that this unknown magic would come to him as easily as his other magic had.

AHEM PLEASE IGNORE THE WEIRDLY OMINOUS ROLL

Wyvern had been just about to descend in Carja's general direction when Svartis's roar came ringing, and she realized with a sickening jolt that something was wrong with her sister. (Not that Wyvern was entirely comfortable voicing that sentiment to Bone or Svartis out loud, since they'd only just met, but internally it was fair game). The words of the other creature rang out to her, the two deer and the pegasus James, and she felt ill. "WHERE IS BONE?!" Wyvern roared, trying to descend into the chaos while still avoiding the now-settling spores. She needed to find them. "SVARTIS! WHAT'S THE MATTER?"

She couldn't catch sight of them. Too much motion, too much white, too much black, too much everything and she was so, so overwhelmed. This was going horribly. She'd come to help, and now she had no clue what was going on.

"She abandoned you," the voice whispered, and Sora shook for a moment. It offered her... comfort. Sanctuary. Familiarity. And resistance, well, it didn't feel very good. The Master was resisting. Surely, if he didn't like this, it had to be good. Having... a mother? It had to be worthwhile. It was... nice. It was good. She was--

Harbinger.

"I have a home," she said idly, to the nothing, mostly just a little confused as her little legs started to carry her calmly towards Ursa. "A nice one, with rocks and water and that funny water bird we brought back to life." The promise of ice was appealing, though -- something she wanted. The flashes of safety, security, warmth. The connection to the other Gembound, especially those who were obeying, and why had Sora wanted to fight in the first place?

It took so much energy to fight.

it was easier to just give in.

Do you hear them... ? its thoughts manifested, phantom fingers combing through its mane and smoothing down the quills, their love... ? They'd tighten in a vice grip here and there; the resulting pain would send a convulsion through its entire body and a ragged growl. Incandescent-green saliva was dribbling from its mouth with every breath.

Ruby-Beta flickered out of its focus, limbs twitching with encouragement from what was taking hold. There was the voice, too... alluring in its warmth even as ice and snow and fabled mountains flashed into its waning conscious. That sense of companionshipNO.

Alpha opened its eyes and hissed again, twisting its head to see Astraea bumping against the other Master's hide, cottony white spilling out and being consumed by magic. (What a familiar sight.) His voice carried through the windy tunnel, calling for them to RESIST. Hooked talons curled through the snow beneath it, and it wrenched itself in the stag's direction. There was James, to the side, but its singularly-focused mind took it to the Master.

Do not go that way, my child. Where has your father gone? You should -STOP. The Overseer stopped before Astraea, shivering -- and not from the cold. Its nostrils flared, sucking in great gasps of air to keep itself from upchucking all over the ground.

"Ast-- A-- D-Da-- Make it stop."

Polo.

Not even seconds before, he'd been trying to coerce her, to bring her forward to him. She had gone back into the fray, searching for his voice. Calls of RESIST fired through the air, bullets and shots and cannons. It was hard to make him out, but she knew him well enough. She knew when he wasn't himself. She knew that now, at his side, trying to look up at his eyes...

Those weren't Tahi's eyes. She knew it. Where was he? Her magic practice partner, her fr-friend... Where was his kindness? His consideration? His frustration? Where was it? It was supposed to be in there, all locked up in those tide pools of his, all focused on one task or another while his mouth ran miles and miles ahead of him. Where was his heart, laid bare to be so easily squashed or so carefully protected? Where were his thoughts that made tempests of theories just behind the thin glass? There was so much in him, so much Madhukar knew, and even more that she didn't. Something was covering it. Something was trying to... replace it?

"If you can bring Tahi-shei here, I can attempt to help him!"

A deer, so much like Tahi, called to her, and Madhukar's gut wrenched harder, her heart was yanked deeper into a pit of shock, misery, bewilderment. The words came as a guiding light. Another game. But how to play? She looked, again, at Tahi-shei, who seemed to be looking back at her now. In that moment, words seemed to desist, perish and rot, swallowed by mushrooms and storms. In that moment, Madhukar knew what she had to do and what she could do. Growth began inside of her -- she could feel it. Weak. But nothing that grew stayed weak for long. Something was threatening to burst out of her-- tears? A scream? A--?

KILL HIM.

What? No--

WHAT OTHER CHOICE DO YOU HAVE?

No. No. No no no no no no no n o no no no no no n on ono nono n non o no no no-

HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU, THAT'S WHAT THIS IS. HE'S USING HIS MAGIC AGAINST YOU.

NO.

KILL HIM.

NO!

KILL--

SHUT UP! SHUT. UP. It wasn't him. It wasn't him. That wasn't going to help. They had to get it out of him and if she trapped him in a rock with it-- that was only going to hurt. She couldn't let the panic chew her up and swallow her. She had to-- don't breathe-- she had to think clearly. How could she lead hi-- it? How could she get it to follow her and only her?

...Run.

With incentive to follow.

Madhukar's eyes landed on several spots surrounding them -- rock there, spot there, rock there -- locked. Then, Madhukar looked Tahi it dead in those false, parasitic eyes. She barked like a commander. "Yo' wi' follow me, or yo' wi' die."

As she spoke, lightning strikes began crashing down on the ground. They were very particularly placed, at least two behind Tahi it, and several on either side of a made-up path. It led back to big deer, or at least close enough to them. As the barrage fell, Madhukar began to race down the track in lockstep. Her magic was not as strong as it could've been-- should've been. But maybe that was a mercy. She bolted down her narrow path towards the big deer, and all she could hear in her head was 'FOLLOW ME FOLLOW ME FOLLOW ME.'

And all she could focus on in her body were racing paws, and deeper within... growth.

Think "Speak"

@Tahi-shei

(My account is sent to Transcendent Master while I do Astraea's rolls; I will note success/failure results so that they are readable when I change back after this thread!)

Astraea flinched at the Orthoclase's approach, bracing for the impact that did not come. Whew. He looked upon the Orthoclase with true pity, leaning forward to press his forehead against its nose, careful to avoid poking it with his antlers.

(Roll: 1 - Failure)

But its breathing was startling, and Astraea was aware of its power, its strength; he did hesitate, but he would try again.

(My account is sent to Transcendent Master while I do Astraea's rolls; I will note success/failure results so that they are readable when I change back after this thread!)

He steeled himself and tried again, hoping to work quickly against the Overseer.

(Roll: 17 - Successful)

This time, Astraea was successful in pushing the infection from the Orthoclase. The spores puffed, crawling through the Overseer's veins and out through its claws, fizzling out as they scattered across the ice.

"You are okay," Astraea said gently, his brows pulled together in worry. "You are here, Overseer. You are you. It is over."

@orthoclase-alpha