TokyoPewPew
TaintedMushroom
swordandpens
Lunamaria Hawke
Alisdragon911
IcarusRising
ChronicleMan
Silly
Aeolian
Voltus_Ventus
[Location] Arosa City, Estren
[Time] Saturday, 08:00 PM
[Time] Saturday, 08:00 PM
Sirens blared.
Festival time combined with the dry season made for one hell of a tinderbox. In large metropolitan areas like Arosa, it was often even worse. There was always somebody in one of the high-rise skyscrapers that thought it would be a good idea to light lanterns and let them fly out of their windows. Usually the lanterns flew right into the sky. Other times, they sunk, and as the wind howled through the city corridors, the burning lantern would inevitably fall into somebody else's lap- or in this case, window. In the countryside, fires were dangerous because there were often not enough responders to properly handle the widespread fire. In the cities, fire was dangerous because it was hard for fire rescue vehicles to navigate through the choked streets, and even more difficult for them to reach fires some 15 stories into the air.
This particular fire had been raging for some twenty minutes now. The unfortunate artisan's studio served as a perfect source of kindling and now the fire practically engulfed the entire floor. Fire services had already cordoned off the nearby block, and helicopters with water drops were in the midst of attempting to settle the fire, but the raging inferno threatened to collapse the building in its entirety. News reporters crowded the cordon line and a small army of firefighters were currently streaming in and out of the building, carrying in portable extinguishers and people in and out as necessary. The building itself had been mostly cleared out, but there were still a few unfortunate souls trapped within the blaze.
For Akamu, it was the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd been in the middle of picking out gifts for Laura, when the building had suddenly caught fire. Akamu crawled across the floor of the burning building, a scorched gift bag in one hand, a half conscious woman in the other. Following the moving winds led him to an open window, the young Regalia stuck his head out to gauge the drop. All in all, not that bad of a fall. Grabbing a fallen spar of wood, Akamu hefted the thing and used it to clear the broken glass from the window. A news helicopter seemed to notice him and a bright spotlight shone in his face.
”Hey, hold on alright?!” Akamu bellowed over the roaring flames behind him, as he slung the woman onto his shoulder. Coughing and sputtering in the smoke, the woman grabbed at his shoulder. ”W-wait you're not-” There was a collective gasp from the crowds below as the Regalia leaped out of a fifteenth story window. Wind rushed around his face and his eyes watered as they tumbled through the air. On the ground below them, one of the firetrucks fell on its side and a news van was pushed as pillars of stone shot out of the ground. The first pillar missed and hit the building, but the second one was angled perfectly, and formed a ramp for Akamu to land on and slide down.
There was no small amount of fanfare as the Regalia landed in the waiting arms of fire rescue below, as firefighters began to stream up the stone ramp to put out the rest of the fire. The rest of the evening was a mass of hectic press, pictures and videos of Akamu heading back into the building to help continue fighting the fire.
Festival time combined with the dry season made for one hell of a tinderbox. In large metropolitan areas like Arosa, it was often even worse. There was always somebody in one of the high-rise skyscrapers that thought it would be a good idea to light lanterns and let them fly out of their windows. Usually the lanterns flew right into the sky. Other times, they sunk, and as the wind howled through the city corridors, the burning lantern would inevitably fall into somebody else's lap- or in this case, window. In the countryside, fires were dangerous because there were often not enough responders to properly handle the widespread fire. In the cities, fire was dangerous because it was hard for fire rescue vehicles to navigate through the choked streets, and even more difficult for them to reach fires some 15 stories into the air.
This particular fire had been raging for some twenty minutes now. The unfortunate artisan's studio served as a perfect source of kindling and now the fire practically engulfed the entire floor. Fire services had already cordoned off the nearby block, and helicopters with water drops were in the midst of attempting to settle the fire, but the raging inferno threatened to collapse the building in its entirety. News reporters crowded the cordon line and a small army of firefighters were currently streaming in and out of the building, carrying in portable extinguishers and people in and out as necessary. The building itself had been mostly cleared out, but there were still a few unfortunate souls trapped within the blaze.
For Akamu, it was the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd been in the middle of picking out gifts for Laura, when the building had suddenly caught fire. Akamu crawled across the floor of the burning building, a scorched gift bag in one hand, a half conscious woman in the other. Following the moving winds led him to an open window, the young Regalia stuck his head out to gauge the drop. All in all, not that bad of a fall. Grabbing a fallen spar of wood, Akamu hefted the thing and used it to clear the broken glass from the window. A news helicopter seemed to notice him and a bright spotlight shone in his face.
”Hey, hold on alright?!” Akamu bellowed over the roaring flames behind him, as he slung the woman onto his shoulder. Coughing and sputtering in the smoke, the woman grabbed at his shoulder. ”W-wait you're not-” There was a collective gasp from the crowds below as the Regalia leaped out of a fifteenth story window. Wind rushed around his face and his eyes watered as they tumbled through the air. On the ground below them, one of the firetrucks fell on its side and a news van was pushed as pillars of stone shot out of the ground. The first pillar missed and hit the building, but the second one was angled perfectly, and formed a ramp for Akamu to land on and slide down.
There was no small amount of fanfare as the Regalia landed in the waiting arms of fire rescue below, as firefighters began to stream up the stone ramp to put out the rest of the fire. The rest of the evening was a mass of hectic press, pictures and videos of Akamu heading back into the building to help continue fighting the fire.
It was something of a small miracle that Akamu was able to wake up at the crack of dawn for the ceremony. In this case anyway, the miracle took on the form of half a dozen assistants and security personnel forcing open his door. Waking up before the sun was high in the sky was an odd feeling for an Accadian- especially southern ones. They were used to late starts and late ends to their day, but on days like today, it seemed like Akamu would have to accommodate the rest of the world. The preparation for the the Festival itself wasn't a huge deal for Akamu, other than people doing his hair for him, he looked more or less like he always did, an oversized hoodie over a pair of board shorts and a tanktop. It took some convincing to trade his sandals for actual shoes, but they reasoned that he'd be walking a lot today, so begrudgingly Akamu opted for a pair of high top sneakers and socks.
It wasn't the first time Akamu had been to Landow- during the stormy season, the surfing conditions were actually quite great, though for some reason Accadia was never particularly keen with the Regalia going abroad, especially not on a whim like he usually did. Still, Akamu strode through the lantern lit streets with a sense of familiarity, broad grins and smiles as people ran up to him. Though perhaps exasperating for his security, Akamu made over half a dozen stops a street, taking selfies, photos, and signing an assorted variety of clothes. By the time the rest of the world woke up, social media would likely be filled with dozens of photos of the beaming Regalia, both of him at Landow as well as on the headlines in Arosa.
Unsurprisingly, the Regalia of Titan was a bit late to the opening Ceremony, though the MCs, having likely predicted such an occurrence, had not scheduled him to walk up until the latter half of the ceremony. The officials organizing the shrine to Titan had a bit of an annoyed look on their faces, though Akamu didn't know why. He merely strode up to the center of Titan's shrine and waved at the people as he was introduced. Of those he'd seemingly won favor with, half of them seemed to be athletes of all types of sports, as well as a few that had heard of his antics over at Arosa the night prior. While some Regalia offered soft words or praises and prayer for devotees, and others answered questions and provided alms, the Regalia of Titan mostly just offered vibes. Already, in the early hours of the morning, cacophonous laughter echoed from the small shrine to Titan as Akamu mostly just regaled his devotees with stories and jokes.
As the crowds eventually filtered on towards the next Regalia, Akamu took the opportunity to slip away, making a beeline to the shrine of his fellow Accadian and the Regalia of Nature. With both her security detail around her, and his approaching, it was hardly 'sneaking', and very few were not aware of his presence as he found the young Regalia finishing up a conversation with one of her devotees. Seizing the opportunity, Akamu bounded up the last few steps and swept up the blonde Regalia in a bear hug, the difference in height causing her to lift well into the air. Their now combined security detail looked at each other and shared in the shaking of heads. Akamu and Laura's friendship had been well documented at this point, and their respective security details had been briefed that this might happen, though it wouldn't stop the headache and paperwork that was bound to be headed their way after.
"There she is!" Akamu's voice was a booming bass drum of laughter and jubilance, spinning the smaller woman back and forth a moment before he set her back down on the ground. "Missed me kaikuahine?" Reaching into his pack, Akamu retrieved what appeared to be a plushie, and pushed it into her arms. A seal, a bit chubby with a head about the size of the rest of its body, though with a notable scorchmark on its rear. "Oh, sorry about the- well, what happened was- ah its a long story, I'll tell you about it later Kika." The big Regalia chuckled.
Turning, Akamu noticed that a man had approached them- or rather more specifically Laura in an attempt to speak with her. He didn't exactly have the look of one of her devotees, but Akamu was never one to judge. "Oh, my apologies friend!" The Regalia chuckled in good nature, but at the very least seeming genuinely apologetic. "I didn't mean to interrupt." Taking a half step back, Akamu gestured to the man, "Don't mind me, pretend I'm not here!
It wasn't the first time Akamu had been to Landow- during the stormy season, the surfing conditions were actually quite great, though for some reason Accadia was never particularly keen with the Regalia going abroad, especially not on a whim like he usually did. Still, Akamu strode through the lantern lit streets with a sense of familiarity, broad grins and smiles as people ran up to him. Though perhaps exasperating for his security, Akamu made over half a dozen stops a street, taking selfies, photos, and signing an assorted variety of clothes. By the time the rest of the world woke up, social media would likely be filled with dozens of photos of the beaming Regalia, both of him at Landow as well as on the headlines in Arosa.
Unsurprisingly, the Regalia of Titan was a bit late to the opening Ceremony, though the MCs, having likely predicted such an occurrence, had not scheduled him to walk up until the latter half of the ceremony. The officials organizing the shrine to Titan had a bit of an annoyed look on their faces, though Akamu didn't know why. He merely strode up to the center of Titan's shrine and waved at the people as he was introduced. Of those he'd seemingly won favor with, half of them seemed to be athletes of all types of sports, as well as a few that had heard of his antics over at Arosa the night prior. While some Regalia offered soft words or praises and prayer for devotees, and others answered questions and provided alms, the Regalia of Titan mostly just offered vibes. Already, in the early hours of the morning, cacophonous laughter echoed from the small shrine to Titan as Akamu mostly just regaled his devotees with stories and jokes.
As the crowds eventually filtered on towards the next Regalia, Akamu took the opportunity to slip away, making a beeline to the shrine of his fellow Accadian and the Regalia of Nature. With both her security detail around her, and his approaching, it was hardly 'sneaking', and very few were not aware of his presence as he found the young Regalia finishing up a conversation with one of her devotees. Seizing the opportunity, Akamu bounded up the last few steps and swept up the blonde Regalia in a bear hug, the difference in height causing her to lift well into the air. Their now combined security detail looked at each other and shared in the shaking of heads. Akamu and Laura's friendship had been well documented at this point, and their respective security details had been briefed that this might happen, though it wouldn't stop the headache and paperwork that was bound to be headed their way after.
"There she is!" Akamu's voice was a booming bass drum of laughter and jubilance, spinning the smaller woman back and forth a moment before he set her back down on the ground. "Missed me kaikuahine?" Reaching into his pack, Akamu retrieved what appeared to be a plushie, and pushed it into her arms. A seal, a bit chubby with a head about the size of the rest of its body, though with a notable scorchmark on its rear. "Oh, sorry about the- well, what happened was- ah its a long story, I'll tell you about it later Kika." The big Regalia chuckled.
Turning, Akamu noticed that a man had approached them- or rather more specifically Laura in an attempt to speak with her. He didn't exactly have the look of one of her devotees, but Akamu was never one to judge. "Oh, my apologies friend!" The Regalia chuckled in good nature, but at the very least seeming genuinely apologetic. "I didn't mean to interrupt." Taking a half step back, Akamu gestured to the man, "Don't mind me, pretend I'm not here!
