ORDER VS CHAOS

SPECIAL FORCES

They had been scattered at Astraea's arrival--deliberately, so that he could not chase them down. Mother had told them to rest. To recover. To await her next command.

Now, hours later, it came: they were to move, swift and quiet, and join up once more in Gemini. "My beloved children, you have already sown the seeds of our victory here," and a flash of imagery showed them the nodes planted throughout Gemini, hidden away, by Halcyon and Ananke working diligently together. "All you must now do is fortify that. Take the slumbering seeds, and initiate a bloom. Carpet Gemini with our power. Spread our Hive. But more importantly..."

Images flooded their collective minds: the massive war-Drones marching into Leo just ahead of them.

"...you are to serve as the first line of defense for our battles in Leo. Take this cave... and delay any incursion from Polaris."

Canis was already assured; it was theirs. That had been by her design. She had meticulously plotted this: Chaos would come from the direction of Draco. Those few that might come from the other direction would encounter this smaller, but still effective, force.

She did not direct them to kill those passing through to fight in Leo--but to delay them. To lead them on a merry chase. To distract them. To make them think the threat was here--in Gemini, and not beyond.

"You must hold the line here. And in doing so, ensure our victory beyond. And once that is complete..."

They would understand, in another flash of visions--of an imagining of Leo's bay swept with white threads, threads that wound through the tunnels through Ursa, Gemini, Canis--what this meant. An uninterrupted flow of Order through four interconnected caves. A foothold, a stronghold, from which to wage true war.

"...Nothing will stop us from tearing down the House of Chaos."

---

The smaller members of Order's Hive have been tasked, after a period of rest and recovery, with securing Gemini for Order. They may prepare traps, infest Lessers, and spread the already existing nodes of Order present in this cave. They have also been tasked with stopping enemies from passing through into Leo, thus protecting the main force's rear flank.

THIS IS A FREE-FOR-ALL BATTLE THREAD. That means that anyone may attack anyone else. A character who is attacked may post additionally to roll for defense against each attack, as well as posting once for their own single action. See the Order vs Chaos Master Thread for scoring and more information!

SCORE TALLY

0

203

@Ananke @Lamia @Jinyi @Halcyon @Yellow @Catalyst @Rapture

Ananke kept to the shadows. That seemed best; that seemed wise. She'd watch her back, creep along, keep mostly out of sight of predators--and if someone ended up fighting, support them with her magic. But being seen herself would make her an easy target. Her allies would have more important things to be doing than protecting her.

In the meantime, Ananke focused on spreading Order's effects--not the fungus, which was all over Gemini by now, but rather the pure magic of Order correcting the chaos of the ground itself. Here, her allies would be strengthened, and their enemies would be weakened.

And here, Order would more readily spread.

Teamwork makes the dream work, or so they say. They being Jinyi. Jinyi said that. And he was sure the rest of the Hive would approve of the catchy slogan, given their love of family and togetherness and all. In response to a tentative idea from his sibling and Host, Yellow, he held up his right hand in front of his face and appeared to stare at it intensely.

A large pair of sharp fabric scissors, pointed with a vicious tip and formed entirely of glassy chitin, formed in his palm. He would use this to cut strips of organic fabric from his robes, doing his best to work around the damage done by the dragonbat attack so that each strip was mostly intact. He would then tie them together into something that could be used as a bundle or sack-shaped device, so that objects could be placed in a fabric sling and then lifted using the fabric as handles.

Finally, he looked around for rocks to put in the sling--the ones here were all crystalline and faceted (an excellent aesthetic, Jinyi thought), pink-purple, and reflective, but they would serve well enough as weapons. He gathered up as many rocks and geodes of varying size as he could fit in the sling, and then tied the bundle together. Ready, he thought at Yellow.

Ananke's magic was not theirs. They regretted that their own Pressure magic would not be as strong on the ground instilled with Order's crystalline perfection, but it was a price they were perfectly willing to pay to ensure that Chaos's magic would also be weakened. No matter what, Order must come out on top.

Figuratively and literally, if Yellow could do anything about it.

The crystals here were tall and reflective, and it was all too easy to get confused by one's own reflection among them. Ideal for hiding and laying traps. What was more, things without wings didn't tend to look up, and they hoped that tendency would only be amplified by Gemini's intense visual unfriendliness. They had called on this magic once before, condensing air beneath their feet into fleeting but solid footholds they could use to climb up into one of the hollowed-out crystals, with alcoves and tunnels twisting through them, and there, they could hide. Jinyi could throw his rocks from a high vantage point, and Yellow could use their magic, safely hidden above the conflict and farther away from the stifling effects of the Ordered ground.

They concentrated intensely, trying to call their magic and squeeze the air together again, and they were so close! But it would not come completely; when they tried taking a test leap through the air, they simply dropped back down like normal, if slightly slowed by a patch of thicker (but not thick-enough) air. I'm sorry, they thought along the Hive's link, frustrated. I'll try again.

Lamia followed the others into Gemini, the reflecting crystals all around her confusing her mind and briefly disorienting her. They were beautiful in that they perfectly mirrored their subject, but they were aligned unevenly and spiked out in random places. Geodes with an imperfect number, mirrors with cracks...ugh. If only Mother could remake this cave in their image, she could imagine such a perfect fractal, each crystal aligned precisely, purposefully, reflecting each other until perfect symmetry was achieved no matter where you stood. How beuatiful it could be!

But now was not the time to daydream about the scenery. They were on a mission and their success here was paramount.

The others were preparing spells, creating defenses and planning traps - she would create her own then, sliding across the ground in the middle of the room, fungus blooming in her wake. Small white mushrooms - small, but numerous, reflecting off the many gemstone mirrors to make it look like the fungus was everywhere. She smiled to herself. It would, hopefully, psych out anyone trying to make their way through and perhaps get them stepping more carefully - they wouldn't want to infect themselves after all, would they?

(Of course, this was incorrect thinking. Everyone wanted to be a part of the Hive. They just didn't realize it yet.)

He had followed order's encroach, here, and he felt a sense of righteous anger at the thought of another cave taken by rigid 'perfection.' Another victory of Order.

It would not stand. He would not allowed it.

His magic reached out, unflinchingly but determined. They were closer, if only a little, to the spire. To that spire of Natural Order which he stood for. It would help. And it HAD to. And it did, not strong but serviceable enough. Those who carried order- both crystalized and fungal- sculked here and there, no doubt quietly building a foothold. And, more concerningly, a Beacon. A horrid lump of order-fungus. Wrongness at the 'sight' of him struck him, and a desire to purge it from this cave entirely.

He could not yet tell if any of Natural Order [or Autonomy, as he now knew] were here, and he wasn't sure if that was because of the weakness of his magic or the blaringness of Order. He considered blaring out a warning- that would make HIM a definite target, useful for others to escape. But if this cave was truly vacant, it would only give him unwanted attention.

For now, he lurked around the outskirts of the cave, standing watch.

Ah, Gemini.

Although still very much a work in progress, its many reflections uneven and shot through by cracks, this was a place Halcyon took the utmost pride in. Ananke's and their efforts had made the cave a cradle for Order, every nook and cranny a potential spot from which a more perfect future could blossom. They had killed for the fungus here, nurtured it with the lives of Lessers, doted over its growth like a parent would offspring brimful of promise. Now, as Mother's will asserted, the next step would be executed. The time for hiding at an end, conversion would begin in earnest, themselves present to ensure the process could not be interfered with.

Servile in nature, more pleaser of fellows than destroyer of enemies, creative solutions to difficult problems were more their forte than battle tactics. However, if any were to come for this small band of siblings and threaten all they stood for, responsibility demanded someone stand against such wrath and render it toothless. So they would if the situation came to pass. Bioluminescence dimmed to reduce attention to their tiptoe through the crystals, a hiding position was scanned for amongst the glisten and gleam of Gemini's near beauty. Once an alcove beneath a somewhat lopsided formation caught their eye, they slid forward on all fours to slither inside.

Huddled there, focus could be turned to summoning weapons in case of an unfortunate scenario. Try as they might, arms itched but neither sprouted the chitin required for such a purpose. Not one to be deterred so easily by the fickleness of magic, another attempt would no doubt follow, bothersome as the failure was. For the moment, though, they would rest on coiled limbs, mind ever attentive to the movements of the others via their respective links.

Catalyst took a look around Gemini. She did not make a point of staying in the cave, given how confusing it was. So she had not had much reason to truly look around. But how beautiful a place for mother to stake her claim! Truly gorgeous! But Catalyst was not here to admire the scenery, no, she was on business. Catalyst sniffed around, tail lashing, as she searched for a safe ambush point in which to stop newcomers. One was spotted after a little searching, a tight fit, but not impossible. Catalyst squeezed herself underneath, digging her front claws in. Here she could wait for any invaders to fall into her trap. Her lips curled on anticipation.

ORDER VS CHAOS

SPECIAL FORCES

Mother had, of course, sowed the paths well in advance with those Lessers that would serve as her eyes. Mice that hid in shadowed corners--or, indeed, beneath the earth. Bats along the ceiling, their wings eerily still rather than shifting with natural movements.

Wulfsige had, against all odds and seemingly oblivious to the danger, managed to go unseen by all of them: Mother had no warning, as yet, to offer her people here.

She did offer encouragement: that steady stream of murmured praise for success and clever thought, or reassurance for the failures. Though truth be told, most of her concentration was currently elsewhere.

In Leo.

Where Chaos, at last, was arriving to the war.

And so long as those here held the line--no Master would come to save them.

---

A few moments passed, and--perhaps a little late to be particularly useful--a thrum of warning came along the link.

"Incoming," Mother's voice whispered to their minds, gentle. She could see glimpses of them through her creatures--not Wulfsige, to whom she was wholly oblivious, but the creature Aether en route, and other, more vague shapes.

With this advance warning, she retreated some, allowing her Hive to act of their own volition.

---

THIS IS A FREE-FOR-ALL BATTLE THREAD. That means that anyone may attack anyone else. A character who is attacked may post additionally to roll for defense against each attack, as well as posting once for their own single action. See the Order vs Chaos Master Thread for scoring and more information!

SCORE TALLY

0

51

@Ananke @Lamia @Jinyi @Halcyon @Yellow @Catalyst @Rapture @Wulfsige

Something is off.

The reflections of the crystals do not seem to explain the horrible sensation of being watched. They reflected the pallor of Order's fungus, too uncannily like Canis and Eridanus.

Tourmaline casts out her magic, to see if her hunch is correct, despite all her hopes it is not. It's weak, but off course the rigid sense of order fights into the link. Memories of the Praetor bending down to its death comes back to her mind.

She dreads what she was walked into - a den of lies and horrors.