-[ prismic △ sanctum ]-

[SHIVERS]

"Better not to split up--" 
Before the words even make it out, Cerulean is already opening the larger door.
"We should rest first."
"I'll live and I am not waiting in here with this awful music."

You begrudgingly follow along.




The next room is tiny and pitch black.
You can't see much at all until the door closes behind you, at which point text begins to glow along the wall in front of you both.

It reads:



There are four glowing handles on the wall below the text, in sets of two.

Cerulean grabs the set under the word 'SOLDIER'.

"No."
"Why are you complaining?
I'm letting you be the leader.
Besides, you have nothing to fight with."
"I don't have a concussion."

"...And I don't think there'll be actual fighting involved, anyway.
This place seems more along the lines of a family-friendly arcade than an arena."
"We should rest, at--"
"I want this over with already.
We can switch roles if it becomes an issue.
It'll probably be... paintball, or something.
So stop being dramatic."

You rub your temple, then reluctantly approach the set of handles under 'COMMANDER'.
"...This is a terrible idea."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind when we blow through this in five minutes."












You hesitate, then grab the handles.

A loud swishing noises emanates all around you.

You instantly let go, frantically reaching out around to find that you're encased on all sides by some kind of hard, see-through material.
It's too dark to see more than that.
"Cerule--" 
The floor moves under you, nearly knocking you over.

Gravity seems to increase as you feel yourself moving upwards, as if in an elevator.



Finally, it comes to a stop, and a dim red light coats your tiny room.
You are in a six-walled, diamond-shaped container of some kind, the walls appearing to be plexiglass... possibly.
Running your hand over it, it feels more akin to metal.

You doubt there's any way you can break it, regardless.










You can faintly hear a banging somewhere out in front of you.
Five of the six walls in your tiny prison don't seem to have anything beyond them, but you can faintly see something below you through the front wall.

As if on cue, the area you were seeing lights up.
It's a large room with no ceiling that's ten or so feet below you, the edge of it just in front of the chamber you're in.

There are sixteen colored containers - shaped identically to yours - arranged on what looks like a giant game board.
The eight yellow containers furthest away from you are entirely opaque, while you can see through the eight on your side of the 'board'.
Seven of them are green, and each house what appears to be a small, floating ball-shaped machine of some sort. The sizes between them seem to vary, with most on the smaller size.

There's a single blue container just below you which your amerveille companion seems to be stuck in.
They strike the walls around them with their mechanical arms several times - which you recognize as the banging sound you heard earlier - before giving up.





Before you can process anything else, you hear something directly behind you and pivot on your feet, ready to fight.

A chair and screen - both the same red, translucent material you're currently boxed in by - rise up from the floor in the center of the chamber.
You walk around to check the screen, not taking a seat yet.

There's some text, some on-screen buttons labeled with more text, a game board laid out identically to its massive counterpart, and a command line at the very bottom of the screen.

The on-screen text reads:

 

                             WELCOME TO SKIRMISH !

                                             You may read the RULES at any time.
                                                          You are GREEN team.

                                                      It's your turn!
                                          You may input TWO movement commands.



The text on the buttons read: "RULES", "SHOW UNIT NAMES", "SWAP" and "GIVE UP".

Show ContentSHOW UNIT NAMES:

You tap the "SHOW UNIT NAMES" button.

Show ContentRULES:

< RULES OF SKIRMISH >

UNITS & RANKS:
- Each team will be comprised of EIGHT units of varying ranks at the start of the game.
- Ranks correlate to the number of spaces that unit can move in a single turn, as well as the relative strength of that unit
- Rank 5 units are the strongest, and Rank 1 units are the weakest
- Each unit may advance their rank ONCE by reaching the opposite end of the game board

MOVEMENT:
- A unit is allowed to move the number of spaces equal to (or less than) its rank
- It may move in any combination of vertical and horizontal spaces; UP, LEFT, RIGHT, and/or DOWN
- Units may NOT move through or "jump over" friendly units



GAMEPLAY:
1. Teams will take turns moving units on the board
2. Green team always moves first, per traditional rules
3. Each team may move a maximum of TWO units per turn
3. Units will engage in combat by moving onto the same space as an opposing unit
NOTE: Units have a higher chance of succeeding in battles against lower-ranked opponents, but the win is not guaranteed
4. Combat continues until one unit is no longer able to fight, at which point that unit is withdrawn from the game
5. When one team loses all of its available units, the opposing team is declared the winner

MODIFIED COLOSSEUM RULES:
- One player takes on the role of the "COMMANDER" - deciding which units move where - while another takes the role of "SOLDIER", being put in place of a Rank 4 unit on the board
- Players may switch roles at any time by holding down their respective "SWAP" buttons simultaneously
- Advancing the rank of a unit will upgrade it in various ways (armor, weapons, etc.)
- Enemy units are hidden from view until they have been in combat at least once (to keep combat surprising!)
- Either player may choose to forfeit the challenge by pressing the "GIVE UP" button; this will fail the challenge for BOTH players

COMMANDS:
- For the COMMANDER, commands are issued by inputting: 
{<unit name here> <direction> <number of spaces>}

Examples: 
{R4: UP 3 RIGHT 1}
{R1D: LEFT 1}

- Commands are issued in order per turn
- Unit names are determined by the rank of the unit, the number of same-rank units, as well as the position of the unit on the board at any given time
- Unit names can change as units move around the board, so be sure to check the "SHOW UNIT NAMES" tab BEFORE inputting your commands!

Below the screen is an attached keyboard.

Cerulean's voice crackles through an intercom on the panel in front of you.
"This is a bit dramatic, I'll admit, but... hopefully nothing... too dangerous."

You step away from the screen, and you can see them looking up at you.

"...Try not to do anything careless."

Show ContentSTATUS:

ROUX - OKAY: SORENESS PRESENT. TREATABLE WITH PAIN RELIEVERS. PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTED. REST RECOMMENDED.

MANTIS - NORMAL: FUNCTIONING NORMALLY.

CERULEAN - UNSTABLE: PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTED. MILD CONCUSSION PRESENT. RELATIVE PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE REST IS RECOMMENDED ON A TEMPORARY BASIS.