aionlogs | [open] some Kenoma come up to Godsblood the other day...

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[open] some Kenoma come up to Godsblood the other day...

WHO: Amos, Gen, Eustace, Childe, any Pleroma
WHAT: Amos wants a gun, Eustace wants to make a portal, and in order to make it happen they go to...
WHERE: Godsblood.
WHEN: Towards the end of Visoseri/start of Soviseri
WARNINGS: None, unless you count bullying of various Pleroma; will add as necessary

The content of this entry is intended to be an OOC explanation of what's going on to keep everyone up to speed; any characters who may be in Godsblood during this time period are free to top level or tag out. This is not an event and simply a unique instance that some characters are kinda sorta technically in enemy territory, which opens itself up to thread opportunities that would not otherwise be possible.

Basically: four Kenoma are journeying up to Godsblood, albeit not all together and through different means.

Amos and Gen will be arriving via a boat directly from Achamoth, and accordingly, will be outed as Kenoma Aions right from the get-go — the populace should know who they are, and word of their arrival would likely get around. Amos is there because he wants to build a higher quality gun than what they have in Achamoth and Godsblood is the place to do it; Gen is there to serve as backup/moral support/because they're friends, okay. Story plotting link here for more details.

Eustace and Childe will be sneaking in via carriage from the Artisan shrine/a portal and will therefore not be known as Kenoma Aions upon entry to Godsblood — unless there are characters there who already know who they are, that is. Eustace is setting up a portal to facilitate travel between Achamoth and Godsblood. This is not public knowledge and non-Kenoma Aions/NPCs are unlikely to know about this. Story plotting link here for more details.

The mods have also provided some guidelines for how interactions could go between characters so that any Pleroma wouldn't necessarily have to out themselves as Aions when it comes to interacting with Amos or Gen, who are publicly declared as such. Highlighting what was said further down in Amos' plotting comment:

It wouldn't be unreasonable for a visiting Aion to be chatting up people within Godsblood so sharing a meal ... wouldn't be a dead give away, but it might tie them to the Aions on the rumor network if they do it in public. Whether they are just strangers Gen and Amos are dining with or whether they are connected to Achamoth won't be clear, but it would definitely have implications ... It's definitely a risk, at any rate.

As for meeting in a busy street or a public park the connection is still possible but a lot less likely, since the odds of them chatting up some rando in the park is a lot more likely than sitting down for dinner with them. It'd also be a lot more obvious if someone was spying on them, unlike a closed environment like a pub or eatery, so that'd probably be the safest option without going somewhere deserted or private.

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[ The sudden ability to see the auras around shards had been a jarring change at the beginning of the month, one that had taken him the better part of a week to accustom himself to. (The implication of what it had meant on a deeper level had taken longer to accept, the knowledge still rustling about uncomfortably in the confines of his chest.) Dark gray had become the norm after so long in Achamoth, so when he sees a flare of white it's enough to stop him momentarily in his tracks, his eyes lingering on a tall young man currently being....harassed by an older woman? Well alright then.

A Pleroma then, though Eustace doesn't recall having seen him in the caves all those months ago or having run across him while in Venera, and based on the weaker aura he emits it seems safe to assume that he's either a newer recruit or one a little less in tune with the side he's chosen. Either way, might not be a bad time to fish for a little bit of information. Not to mention that the young man looks distinctly uncomfortable at whatever's being said to him. Maybe he'd appreciate a well-timed escape route.

Straightening, he ambles over, raising one hand in a small wave to catch Rand's attention. ]

Sorry, but you wouldn't happen to know how to get to this shrine over here, would you? [ With a point to the city map held in his hands. ] The streets are more confusing than I thought they'd be.

[ Maybe he still needs some work in the emotive department, but at the very least he looks suitably chagrined at his (apparent) inability to navigate the city, his lips turned downwards in a frown and the tail that he somehow still (!!!) has drooping sadly behind him. Look at this very good (???) boy who is clearly not faking how much of a good boy he is???? Help a buddy out here, Rand. ]

[ the last person rand would expect to run into today would — have to be any kenoma, actually, but the next last would have to be his neighbor. granted, they are less than a block from the building, but godsblood is big enough that it's possible to go days (and longer!) without seeing people he knows full well live in the city. let alone his building. let alone his floor. he'd met "please, call me eleanor!" not so long after moving in; she'd noticed the obvious signs of a young newcomer, he supposes, and she'd been kind. offered advice on settling in, now and again, even sometimes foisted leftovers on him.

which is all well and good. after a few weeks passed, she'd started suggesting introductions to her daughter. after he'd returned from venera, her suggestions started to become more insistent. yes, he knows seraphina is extremely accomplished. he has heard about how beautiful she is. he is aware of how storied their ancestors were and how much seraphina takes after them. he has, actually, been told about how her (horrible!) ex wrote poems about the color of her eyes. no, he's really in a hurry, he couldn't possibly impose upon eleanor to recite some of them right now. in fact, he'll probably be working late, so he (regretfully!) cannot visit for dinner tonight.

and then, thank the light, they're interrupted by —

a tourist?

rand's grown increasingly used to seeing animal features on people. he talks to ernesto often enough. it's not so uncommon among some of the local families. but he still blinks at the ears and tail, distracted, before gathering himself to answer the question. ]

I do, [ he says with some relief. (he does not.) (but how hard can it be?) (they have a map and everything.) ] Yes, of course, I'll show you the way.

[ who could say no to this very good (???) boy. and maybe, you know, a part of him enjoys the notion of helping someone who knows even less of the city than he does. he so often feels like the wide-eyed village boy. and, more importantly — it allows him to make his excuses and extricate himself from that conversation, moving to direct eustace down a nearby street. ]

[ Yep, just a perfectly innocent, completely normal tourist, whose vaguely concerned expression turns to one of relief as soon as Rand peels away from the woman still trying to cling to his attention. Not another Pleroma as far as he can tell, but possibly still an ally of the ordinary Horosian kind. Better double check.

His tail wags a lil as Eustace turns towards the direction indicated by his new tour guide, waiting for Rand to catch up before falling into step next to the young man. The young man who is just as tall as he is, if not a smidge taller. What are they feeding kids these days? First Gen and now this guy.

But that's not what's important here, what's important is getting a better lay of the land while carefully extracting what information he can out of this guy. Hmm, where to start.... Probably with a simple show of gratitude. ]

Thanks.

[ The appreciation at least is genuine, even if the motive behind it is less so. His gaze flicks back to the older woman behind them, now partially obscured as the crowd closes in on them. ]

Was I interrupting something with your [ hm ] friend back there?

[ Friend? Stalker? Extremely dedicated (but unwanted) older lady caller? ]

[ you leave eleanor lastname from the noble line of lastnames alone?? ?? ?? she just wants what's best for her daughter, and what's best for her daughter is a well-mannered tall ginger.

speaking of whom. he offers a little smile and head shake at the appreciation; it's no trouble to help a stranger, and rand had wanted an out from that conversation anyway. eleanor's a very kind woman, just very set in her opinions. the same can be said of pretty much everyone in this city, in truth. ]

Neighbor, [ he answers with a brief eyebrow raise. he doesn't say no, because technically eustace was very much interrupting something, but he goes on, ] It's alright. I can always catch up with her later.

[ which feels a little less weird to say than we'll probably have this conversation again tomorrow anyway, to someone he doesn't know. ]

You're new to Godsblood?

[ rand takes them straight down this particular road, glancing over at eustace as he asks. (are they going the right way?) (don't worry about it.) ]

[ A well-mannered tall ginger with three future girlfriend-wives waiting for him. Hmmmmmm not sure infidelity is what any mother wants for their daughter but sure, okay.

But, once again, this young man's love life is none of his business (or interest, honestly) and Eustace opts instead to focus on the description given instead - neighbor, implying that he's lived here long enough to need a personal home rather than just a room at a local inn. How long is harder to pin down, though judging from the street they're heading down, he probably hasn't lived here too long.

That, or he's obscenely bad at reading maps.

But Eustace can't say any of this without planting half a dozen red flags, so instead he goes back to nodding, gaze turning this way and that as he peers at their surroundings in typical tourist fashion. ]

Yeah. Just arrived yesterday. [ Not a lie. ] I've been saving up for awhile to come out here. [ Also technically not a lie. ] Have to say I could have done without the long ride here though.

[ This he says with a very real grimace, a ghost ache starting to haunt his butt at the reminder of all the long hours he'd spent on that bumpy carriage ride. But enough about him. ]

Do you like the city? You've probably lived here a long time, huh.

[ Because, you know, he's doing such a great job at leading them around. :') ]

[ val you really need to stop with this reign of terror

anyway — finding his way around the city has always been a challenge, and while that's gotten better in some ways (he can pretty reliably find the docks, his own building, the greentruth portal, the areas he's had cause to frequent), he's never taken any particular notice of the shrines scattered across godsblood. perhaps more importantly, he was fairly eager to start walking...away...from that conversation, which is why they're heading down the first street he laid eyes on. ]

Ride from where?

[ idle pleasantries, really. or maybe more accurately: taking the bait eustace is laying down. rand doesn't have any reason to believe that this friendly (???) dog person is lying, and it's easy enough to sense the genuine annoyance with long travel. besides, who can't relate to that sentiment.

before answering the question, he takes a closer look at the map eustace has on offer, frowning. his eyebrows raise, he mutters an apology, and directs them towards another path...in the right direction now, so there's that. ]

Not so long, [ he finally answers, with the rueful air of you can probably tell. ] But it's a nice place to live.

[ for someone, he's sure. ]

[ shant

But at least Eustace is behaving himself even if I'm not, keeping his friendly mask on as they walk and talk. Truthfully, it's not so different from the core of who he is, deep down, and this man's general affability makes it easy for Eustace to act amiable in turn. ]

Venera.

[ The lie comes out easily enough, probably because he'd just been there not so long ago, putting his time and energy into the reconstruction efforts rather than letting it all go to waste back at the Citadel.

He follows obediently when Rand turns them around, bobbing his head ever so slightly to indicate his full attention, though his voice turns hesitant the longer he keeps talking, Eustace uncertain of how far he should go in the pursuit of information. ]

I don't know if you heard about the disease that swept through there earlier. [ The disease he still doesn't have a concrete name for. ] Things are much better now, but I needed to get away.

[ Half-lie, half-truth. He still wakes up more nights than not with the afterimages of his family seared into his mind, and his skin still prickles every time he passes by a statue that looks too eerily close to someone he'd bumped into while in Venera. Throwing himself into work has always been his preferred method of coping, and even if this trip hadn't been a direct order from the Regent it's work nonetheless. ]

Did it hit this city too?

[ that's a sharp look in eustace's direction at the mention of venera, but only for the surprise of hearing the name. which gives way, quickly, to sympathy. it wouldn't be a difficult guess that rand had been there at the same time as everyone else. ]

I heard about it.

[ and it's not much of a reach to recognize the lived horror of experience weighing down rand's voice. why would it occur to him to hide that? a real veneran tourist might assume he'd heard dire tales of what happened in their city, or that he encountered the illness locally. especially as he nods in response to that last question. ]

Not as many people as in Venera, but Godsblood had its share. Things are better now here too.

[ it'd been so strange to return from the haunted, empty streets of that blighted city, nightmares both of his own, and that he has no right to know, rattling under his skin, to the relative normalcy of godsblood. he wonders if it's the same for this man walking beside him. ]

[ Once again he nods along, the sobriety on his face as real as the horror in Rand's voice. Some of his interest in surveying his surroundings fades momentarily, his head dipping down as unpleasant thoughts crowd his head. ]

I'm glad. I hope nothing like it happens again.

[ His words are quiet, almost lost in the hubbub of the crowd as they step along, but there's a strong fervor underlying them that implies his feelings on the matter to be wholly true. If there must be a war between the Kenoma and the Pleroma then so it, but the last thing he wants is to involve more innocent people, whose only crime had been to exist in the wrong place at the wrong time.

(Although, a small part of his mind whispers, won't the entire continent be involved in the end regardless, if the Regent claims victory and remakes the world as they see fit?)

He banishes the thought, lifting his chin back up and forcing a bit more energy back into his words. ]

Ah, sorry. I'm sure you didn't come out here to listen to some stranger's life story.

[ Also, this stranger doesn't exactly want to tell his "life story" because most of it is made up. Quickly, he moves right along, both to try and lighten the mood as well as to try and shift the topic of conversation away from him. ]

You said you haven't been living here for long? Where were you before this?

[ rand, on the other hand, has no reason to believe this isn't just a fairly straightforward sentiment from the survivor of a recent supernatural plague !!!! and so gives it a respectful silence after nodding his agreement smh. ]

It's alright. [ technically, he didn't come out here to show some stranger the way to a random shrine either, but he has the good manners not to mention that. and as for the question — he breathes out a little laugh. ] I grew up on a farm in a flyspeck village you've never heard of.

[ all true. and horos is big enough to have rural settlements, secluded farms. no one's so curious as to try to pinpoint where an uninteresting country boy might be from, precisely. ]

[ The mention of a little flyspeck village earns a small - real - smile out of him. He can't exactly say he relates, having already cemented his own (fake) backstory, but he's a country boy at heart, far more at home among sheep and cows than bustling city streets. ]

Sounds like a peaceful life.

[ There's a hint of longing in his voice as he says that, tempered quickly by a return to more practical curiosity. It's not so strange, to long for a nice idyllic life especially after everything that had happened, but best not too draw too much suspicion towards himself, especially around someone technically qualifying as 'the enemy'. ]

Why'd you leave?

[ The real reason he left is obvious, visibly marked by the white aura that radiates out from around his collarbones. He's not here in this world of his own free choice. But Eustace can't exactly say that without revealing much more than he intends. ]

[ rand has no reason to doubt eustace's story. he isn't so perceptive that he can tell the difference, really, between when this so-called veneran is being genuine and when he's speaking half-truths. or full untruths, for that matter. but the ring of sincerity to that answer, to that smile, reverberates in rand regardless. and he responds, some of the affectation in his own expression giving way to genuine sentiment. the longing in his own voice is impossible to miss. ]

It was. More peaceful than you can imagine.

[ a life he never, ever would've left if it'd been up to him. but he blinks back to the conversation at hand at the question about exactly that. he's been answering its like since before horos, with varying levels of honesty. rand al'thor isn't much of a liar, but in this he's at least come some ways since his clumsy half-truths in breen's spring. ]

I wanted to see more of the world. [ he's taken to borrowing egwene's answer, these days. ] I'd never traveled before. I wanted to before settling down for good.

[ he double-checks the map, ushering them to cross a street. ]

Godsblood seemed like as good place as any to start.

[ It's in these small moments that Eustace curses the ugly war that they've all been drawn into. How many lives had been disrupted because of it? (Of course, he has no reason to know anything that had happened in that little town before Rand had been whisked away, all his assumptions based on what information he's been provided so far.)

As much as he's been trained to do exactly this his whole life - analyze his enemies, sniff out information - he's never enjoyed it, always slightly resentful of his line of work despite the many benefits it had offered him. Working for the Regent is no different, though slightly more tolerable given the amount of space and personal freedom given. But the collar is still there around his neck, invisible but looming, and he knows it'll tighten again before too long.

The answer Rand gives is believeable as any, said smoothly enough that Eustace would have believed it if it hadn't been for the telltale mark of his Pleroma connections. ]

Did your parents complain? You don't seem like the kind of rowdy son they would have wanted to see go. Or are they here with you?

[ Setting out to see the world doesn't seem like the kind of thing to do as part of an extended family vacation, but he could be wrong.

They cross the street, Eustace swerving slightly to the left to dodge a man red-cheeked and drunk, humming off-tune under his breath. (Isn't it too early for this kind of thing...?) ]

[ he's gotten this question before.

so it isn't so startling that he slams into the drunk man that eustace sidesteps (light, that he's used to this sort of thing now), even if thoughts of his parents make him swallow. (his parents, not whoever that mysterious aiel woman on the mountain had been.) eleanor had asked him this, not so long ago. he's not sure if it hurts more or less to think about since venera. ]

My mother died when I was a kid. [ as they reach the other side of that street, and continue down a sidewalk. ] And my father had to mind the farm.

[ all true. he shrugs, and says with a sideways glance, ]

But I doubt you've come to the city to hear my life story, either.

[ He turns automatically when the bodies next to him collide, arms already lifting in the event that Rand goes toppling to the ground. (Despite the fact that they're technically enemies, despite the fact that the sudden motion highlights how his reflexes are a little too smooth for some country bumpkin on vacation from Venera.) But Rand stays upright and even manages to keep sauntering down the road after it happens, answering the question asked without much hesitation.

How much of it is true and how much of it is made up to deflect, Eustace wonders, though based on what he's seen and heard thus far, his eyes and ears on alert for every slight twitch and inflection, this young man doesn't seem like the sort inclined to lie. It's easy to fake words but harder to control the instinctive physical reponse to pain, longing, joy.

The air around him turns melancholy again before he forces an apologetic smile. ]

I guess not. Though I hear you can learn a lot about a place by watching the people who live there.

[ But Rand's right. He's definitely getting a sidetracked from his original mission. ]

I'm not really looking for anything in particular. [ A lie. ] Maybe a few place with nice scenery though. There aren't any mountains or ocean back in Venera. Must be nice to be able to climb up somewhere and see the whole city.

[ it is hard to fake emotional responses. and rand has never had any need to be anything short of sincere; it's what makes him such a bad liar. so what he does in horos is tread carefully, answering truthfully whenever possible — half-truths, when he can manage that. what doesn't occur to him is that, effectively, he's using moiraine's style of deception. aes sedai cannot lie, so they've mastered the art of speaking the truth, but only conveying what they want to convey. the truth that a person might think he or she hears from an aes sedai isn't, necessarily, the truth. ]

There are a lot of places with views in the city. They aren't hard to find.

[ godsblood's rocky terrain lends itself well to that, unsurprisingly. they're weaving close to the shrine that eustace had wanted ('wanted'?) to see now; the structure is in view, though they aren't quite there yet.

idly, ]

You're the second person to ask me about views of the city lately.

[ it is, genuinely, a comment made without deception or suspicion. yeah, the last person to ask him was gen, but he'd have to be pretty paranoid to think that any stranger who asks about features of the city is kenoma. ]

[ Oh?

His ears perk up a little that, tilting slightly forward with interest. Interest and wariness, because though Rand has no reason to suspect that anything might be up, Eustace has always been an overthinker, careful to investigate all traces of anything that might have an impact on whatever mission he might be on at the time. And his trip to Godsblood is still a mission, self-imposed though it might be.

Better to be overly cautious and alive rather than carefree and dead. ]

Another tourist? Were they also from Venera?

[ His voice remains nonchalant, his strides easy as they approach the requested shrine. Looks like their time is coming to a close, and it's best if Eustace lets this young man go his separate way lest he be forced into maintaining this facade for even longer. ]

[ he shakes his head. ]

Achamoth.

[ there are people who might wonder about that. who might suggest the city name as an accusation or a trap. but rand isn't one of those people. he glances over with a brief eyebrow raise, something of an i know, right? expression — learned from the people around here, really. fairly standard response, around godsblood, to allusions of people who'd willingly work for the regent. mild, honestly, compared to the acrimony some people are comfortable expressing in this city. even when some of them are still around here, theoretically in earshot.

he doesn't linger on the point. adds, ]

The shrine's up ahead, here. This is the one you wanted to see, right?

[ since rand did....start them off.....going the wrong way ]

[ His eyes slide over at the mention of Achamoth, but otherwise nothing about his demeanor betrays his overt familiarity with the name. Rather, he nods along, his own widening in mock surprise over this little tidbit of news. Venerans not might harbor the same deep-seated dislike of the Regent as those in Godsblood might, but neither are they wholly supportive either.

But enough about that. It looks like his destination is right up ahead, which means that their time to split apart also draws near. First things first though! He dips his head once as their strides slow, a show of gratitude. ]

It is, thanks. I won't take up more of your time though. I'm sure you have other things to do.

[ And so does he, truthfully, so it's really better that they part ways here. ]

I'm sure I can find someone else to ask about views.

[ Like this mysterious visitor from Achamoth, for example... ]

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[open] some Kenoma come up to Godsblood the other day...

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