A loud crack cuts throught he city of Hallifax, like the sound of shattering crystal.

(Hallifax): You say, "Err, did we hit something?"

(Hallifax): Orventa (from the Aetherways) says, "Hit...something?"

(Hallifax): Kreon says, "I hope not."

(Hallifax): Daera says, "Could it have been the shield?"

(Hallifax): You say, "I'll check."

(Hallifax): You say, "The shield is still up, and it looks like the Primary Generator is functioning
normally."

(Hallifax): Daraius says, "Not to worry, not to worry. I have everything under control."

(Hallifax): Daera says, "Um, Minister what exactly happened?"

A cold, monotone voice speaks from your surroundings: 'ALERT: Severe atmospheric disturbance
detected. All citizens please seek shelter within city confines.'

(Hallifax): Daraius says, "Expected side-effects, really. Nothing to worry about at all."

(Hallifax): Maellio (from the Aetherways) says, "Side-effects?"

(Hallifax): Daera says, "Side-effects of what, exactly?"

A cold, monotone voice speaks from your surroundings: 'ALERT: Meteorological anomaly inbound.
Aeromancers stand by for observation and documentation.'

Towering thunderheads begin to gather about the city of Hallifax, obscuring its shining spires in a
stormy veil.

(Hallifax): Daraius says, "Yes, excellent. Excellent! EXCELLENT!"

Dim pulses of light flash in the distance, accompanied after some seconds by a long, low rumble. A
faint shimmer of energy ripples across the crystal surfaces of Hallifax, followed by a muted hum and
a sudden silence as all the city's lights are darkened. The storm continues its inexorable approach.

A cold, monotone voice speaks from your surroundings: 'ALERT: Atmospheric defense systems activated.
Citizens are advised to remain stationery in low-light conditions. Citizens are advised to remain
within city limits.'

Flashes of lightning grow brighter and more frequent, and the sharp peals of thunder sound ever
nearer. The tranquil breeze stiffens into a buffetting wind that whips about the wards, stirring up
cloudbanks and rattling walkways in its wake. The city trembles as it is hit by the brunt of the
storm.

A dim blue glow appears near the Matrix, and another in a far-off tower. One by one the spires are
illuminated by small twilight flames. In an instant, the storm is contained, controlled.

A cold, monotone voice speaks from your surroundings: 'Meteorological anomaly successful sublimated.'

(Hallifax): Daera says, "What just happened?"

(Hallifax): Daraius says, "Citizens. The Ministry of Cultural Events is proud to announce. The Main
Show."

Three claps of thunder sound in quick succession with all the authority of a pounding gavel, and the
clouds above the Matrix immediately begin to shift erratically.

A colossal cumulonimbus cloud takes shape at the center of the city, completely obscuring the Matrix
as it condenses into a monolithic edifice. The rigid form, which appears nearly solid in its opacity,
is unmistakable as the nexus of ancient Magnagora. All around the Stone of Truth, dozens of
nebulous images of hopeful faces and reveling mortals come into focus and immediately dissolve into
the wind-stirred clouds.

The figures of a regal-looking merian and his motley entourage ascend from the shifting masses and
drift towards the Stone, while five beings of brilliant white cumulus float above them. The chorus
of the spires rises in triumph.

The ever present wind seems to dampen for a tense moment as the merian cloudform approaches the
looming Stone, inching closer with excruciating slowness.

As the two clouds finally touch, a blinding flash pulses through the Matrix, shattering the image of
the Stone of Truth and setting the winds into motion again.

Bathed in the blood red glow of the ruby tower, a frothing mass of pitch black cloud spews forth
from the dispersing remains of the Stone of Truth. Whipped by erratic winds, black tendrils lash out
at the hazy humanoid images and the pure white cumulus formations above. The figures are violently
ripped apart, only to reform seconds later in grotesque, dark imitations of their former selves.

From the boiling surface of remaining untouched clouds emerge panicked, pained faces, their mouths
open in silent screams. As the Taint consumes them, their features warp and bend and coalesce,
glimpses of membranous wings and unnatural horns revealed in momentary flashes of red lightning. The
winds provide a piercing shriek to accompany the wild thrashing of the black mist.

The once-regal merian appears again, winds tearing at his disfigured form. He drifts along with the
dispersing tainted mist towards the western wards, where the faint suggestion of distant pyramids
rises from the clouds.

A tense calm settles over the darkened canvas of cloud as each of the crystal spires is relit, one
by one. The wind above continues to assail the towers, causing them to resonate with a haunting,
atonal melody, which echoes through every ward and precinct.

High above the Spire of the Lawgivers, wispy strands of cirrus accumulate into a roiling whirlpool,
cast in the steady glow of the upper city.

An enormous bellow issues forth from the undercity as the six generators surge to life, spilling
their energy into the Primary Generator.

The resonating spires sing a tense, piercing chord as windows of temporal flux blink open around the
Matrix, and the reflections of long-passed trill, lucidian, and dracnari combatants flood the
walkways. Sparks and embers fly as the armies engage in an impossible struggle at the centre of the
city.

Illuminated in all colours by the electrified spires, the undulating cloudmass descends in great
arching spirals from the apex of the city. The rainbow-hued cloud is whipped and shredded by the
prevailing winds, breaking into hundreds of thousands of tiny butterfly formations. The swarm weaves
deftly around the Spire of the Lawgivers, wending its way through the upper wards towards the
Crystal Matrix.

The entire city trembles with the thrum of the Primary Generator as streams of energy course through
the lower spires and conduits towards the Matrix. There it meets the hoard of cloudy butterflies
that dance chaotically about the Nexus of Power. For an instant, lightning arches brilliantly
throughout the swarm, leaping from wing to fluttering wing in intricate fractal patterns.

In the next instant, darkness and silence reign.

For a long moment, desolate grey mist obscures all view of the city. The crackling of the generators,
the chaos of the butterfly swarm, even the commotion of the ancient battle all cease. One of the
gemstone towers resonates with a doleful wail, the only sound to be heard as sporadic gusts churn
the blanketing clouds.

Slowly, deliberately, the mists' grip loosens, and an image begins to come into focus above the
Matrix: a lucidian woman with her arm outstretched, grasping some object in her hand.

One by one, the spires add their notes to the mournful howl, building a warmer, more hopeful chord
as the scene continues to resolve.

Another figure manifests in the clouds above the Matrix, this one a cloaked being, statuesque in its
bearing, also with its arm outstretched. Its arm ends, however, in wispy tendrils, as if its hand
were severed.

The chorus of the spires builds as the two figures drift towards one another. The lucidian reaches
with determination towards the approaching statue, allowing the object in her hand to touch the
severed end of the statue's arm.

A massive bolt of lightning suddenly strikes the Matrix and surges through the axis of the city,
bathing the scene in blinding white light. In the same moment, a tremendous crash of thunder sends
shockwaves through the spires. The all-consuming clouds are suddenly ripped away, revealing the
glittering Beacon of Harmony in all its clarity.

A massive bolt of lightning courses through the city of Hallifax, accompanied by a deafening peal of
thunder. Instantly, the stormclouds are swept away and disperse into vapor.

A cold, monotone voice speaks from your surroundings: 'All systems have returned to within normal
perimetres.'

(Hallifax): Elostian says, "Bravo, Minister Shevat. Well-done. I am certain in this instance the
Sentinel Company shall overlook your blatant disregard of the stability of the space-time continuum."

I missed it!

Damn real life storms. Interfering with experience text based ones.

Way more awesome than I coulda imagined.

*cries patriotic tears*

I can't thank Elostian enough for helping with that, and being extremely accommodating of my poor organization. I totally deserved being possessed and made a fool of. Also, it is so way too late for me to be still awake. Can't form sentences anymore.

EDIT: That emoticon is not what I thought it was, but whatever.

Very nice! And props to Elostian for helping. That's cool.

Shame about parameters being spelt wrong at the end.

ZE ART!

With SCIENCE!

Spelt wrong? Nonsense, it's britified. It -should- be spelled like this.

Ooh, nifty!


Heh, made me think of Dr. Frankenstein.

"It's alive! It's ALIVE!, IT'S ALIVE! In the name of God, now I know what it feels like to be God!"

No, it's "Frahnkenstien".

That is pretty awesome. I'm sad I wasn't there, too.

"Stay close to the candles, the staircase, can be treacherous!"

List feedback
- Cool
- Nicely written
- Wish I was there

Shame there's no actual weather for a meteorological anomaly to occur.

Well-written, however, indeed!

We just got shown up. Time to go bigger and better. Will 5 million gold be enough to show them up and possibily destroy certain structures outside of Celest? In fact, let's go all the way and just buy Elostian.

If you want a lightshow, Mr. Goldenbutt should be able to provide it for you easy enough.

To quote Elostian: "Details."

The basic concept was decided way before the weather went nuts. :\\




Thank you!

EDIT: The mad scientist bits was NOT according to the script, but I had to play along... It was tremendous fun.

Awww, I seem to be managing to miss everything except for what I helped with

But that's the benefit of logs! This looks amazing.

Since I was working while this was going on, thank you so much for posting it!

Maaan... stuff like this makes me jealous. I'm so greedy though; Celest has booming cultural activity. Well done!