[video|metaplot-related] Troubling findings at sea (slightly backdated)

[northerndragon]

[ Dark slate grey is Jon; dark blue is Daenerys. They stand near each other to address the network. They have been back in Hadriel for several days. ]

We've been out sailing for the past few weeks, and well, when we tried to shelter from the storm, we found this.

[ The images were captured with care, but not much expertise: neither Jon nor Daenerys has much experience with electronics or photographs other than their usage of the network, and it had taken them some time to get images even as good as these. All of the angles are amateurish, and the rain is always there.

The pictures show the remnants of buildings, familiar in style to anyone who has seen Hadriel, yet in a state of destruction and disrepair. It hadn't been a very nice place to shelter during a storm, but it had been better than nothing. ]

This island was a few days from here, if the winds are kind. Wasn't very big. The buildings on it look like the ones here in the city, Hadriel, but….

[ The pictures say it all, don't they? Jon looks distinctly troubled. Daenerys is far from indifferent, but also seems less-obviously bothered by the information they're relaying. ]

They were destroyed, as if attacked. [ Clearly. ] I would think it was some sort of assault, rather than another storm, but we had no way of confirming that information.

[ If only they could. Because, more concerning than that: ]

What was left of these buildings did not appear ancient. The onslaught seemed fairly recent, rather than long ago.

[ What does that mean? How many other cities like Hadriel exist in this world, and is it only the Null bent on destroying them? Or has this been going on for longer than anyone but the gods knows? ]

It might be that we need to be ready for something… more ready than we thought.

Comments

[audio]

[circumitus]

[Interesting. Rey was on board with Law's crew that encountered the Null themselves, but she had suspected that they were likely planted there from the last time they were on this planet. The implications of what these two are suggesting is hardly comforting.]

We don't really have an exact timeline for how long ago the Null were attempting genocide, so it might not have been too long ago. [Which would explain why the damage doesn't necessarily look "ancient", per se.]

If you've got a fragment, you should probably come back as soon as you can. Chances are the Null we ran into had already contacted reinforcements before we trashed them.

[northerndragon]

We've been back for a while. We had to land and take shelter during the storm, but we've been here for a few days.

Whatever the attack was, it can't have been too long ago. I've seen ruins, grew up around them, looked into abandoned villages. What happened to these buildings didn't happen just before our arrival on this world... nature had begun to overtake them, but -- a few years, maybe.

It might be that it wasn't long before the first of you were brought to Hadriel, if the things I've heard are right. Or might be that it was longer ago than I can tell.

[OOC: I'm going to edit this post to note that it's been backdated a few days!]

[circumitus]

Good. Wasn't keeping track of who all was sailing out. Hopefully everyone's back by now.

[She's thought about what it'd be like if Fear moved the city while they were fighting the Null at sea, and the very notion of being stuck on this planet makes her queasy. No thanks.]

This is just a guess, but the genocide probably happened not long before the first batch of people came in through the door, so it'd be more likely that it's been years rather than centuries or millennia. [But what does she know? Rey's not archaeologist.]

Sorrow had mentioned that his kind used to live here, including the Door, but the Null wrecked most of the shit here. Did you find nothing there intact?

[northerndragon]

I hope someone has kept track of them. If they were out on the sea when the storm struck, and they haven't returned, it might be that they need aid. We thought we would probably wreck if we didn't find a place to land and wait it out. We were lucky that our landing was kind to the boat.

Nothing on the island was intact enough to be worth speaking of. We were able to find small shelter, not much more, and no true shield from the wind and rain at that.

[They are very lucky to be alive.]

Has anyone asked Sorrow about what you all found? The Null scouts? -- That was you, wasn't it?

[circumitus]

[Damn, that's a good point.] Y... yeah, that would be bad. Not sure if they would be revived by Hope if anything were to happen to people outside of the city.

[She always assumed that to be the case, otherwise they'd have problems with the more homicidally inclined folks for those who venture out of the city limits.]

That sucks. Was hoping there'd be something interesting to find on this planet. [As if the Door fragments aren't "interesting" enough.]

And, ah, yeah, that was us that dealt with the scouts. Was told that the one who found them that they were inactive until they were triggered by motion, so it's possible that they were left behind during their genocide attempt. Otherwise you'd think they would've swarmed the planet by now.

[northerndragon]

[Some of the words people use here don't make sense to him, but the context of what's being said usually gives him the general idea: triggered by motion. Sentries, scouts, waiting for someone to find them, waiting by the Door fragments. He's seen this in the Dead, the way something caused those first wights to lay motionless, then come to life once night had fallen on Castle Black. A very long time ago, now.

He listens to Rey, but his response is very simple.]

What did they do, once they saw motion? What's the purpose of them if there are no other Null here? They were waiting for someone to find what we went looking for.

Not sure I want to know what you'd consider interesting, Rey. [He adds this with rueful humor.]

[audio]

[lemontree]

We have returned already. The message was to alert the rest of the city to what we found.

[ Thankfully they hadn't drowned, or else it would have taken much longer to get back (she assumes). ]

How many fragments have been found in total?