aionlogs | EVENT #1: THE EMPTY THRONE (PT 2)

The Empty Throne Pt 2

ESCAPE

As more and more of the prisoners awaken to the Pleroma's power, it soon becomes clear that conflict is inevitable. Strength that was locked away blossoms once again, and simply waiting is no longer an option; those that remain in the cavern have made their choice, and they will not be kept there so easily.

By means that may not be immediately apparent, the Pleroma have found themselves able to cast a spell that will ensure their freedom... but only if they can last the half hour it may take to complete. Whatever this power, Xishen, the Aion orchestrator of the Kenoma's ritual, seems able to sense it. As it begins, she will appear at each of the Kenoma's sides.

"The Pleroma has taken hold of them," she says. "Stop them now, or when you see them again, it will be as your mortal enemies. If you believe in the Kenoma's promise, take a stand. The Regent is watching."

For those that heed her, it will not be hard to find the congregation of Pleroma, the first seeds of their teleportation magic taking form. What's more, the fires of their hope have been stoked by this new chance at survival, granted them a surge of energy born of the Pleroma, compensating for the poor state of their bodies. The tension comes to a head, between those that would follow the Regent's path towards a better universe, and those that would seize the wild power of the Pleroma to escape.

Whatever violence ensues, eventually it will come to an end. Despite the Kenoma's efforts, the teleportation spell will come to fruition, enveloping the Pleroma in a sea of light and warmth. The Kenoma can only watch as fractals of blinding color whisk the Pleroma away.

VALLEY OF INNOCENCE

You will find yourself at the Shrine of the Innocent, surrounded by a valley of flourishing wildflowers. As you step from the shade of the monument, you will find your arrived here just in time to enjoy a warm spring spring morning, the sound of birds and gentle breezes tickling your ears. The sun slowly drifts past the horizon, its rays reaching out to you, as if in comfort. The air itself is alight with a strange aura of peace, as if committing violence here would be a sacrilege. There are no man made structures as far as your eyes can see.

Flowers of all shapes and sizes can be found here, and so can fresh water and various fruits and berries. All of them are safe to eat, and seemingly grow in abundance. There are animals here as well, all the common types one would expect from a place like Earth, with the occasional odd addition. While you can try to hunt them, you will find yourself unable to follow through on any attempts to hurt the creatures here. In turn, they regard you as familiar, and will fearlessly wander close as they inspect these new arrivals. In the distance, you may even catch sight of what appears to be a unicorn, only for its ephemeral shape to disappear from sight just as quickly.

The Pleroma will find safety and comfort here for a time, before they recover enough to travel onward. At some point during the afternoon of the first day, they may spot the occasional humanoid figure moving in the distance; when attempting to move in their direction, they will find an assortment of clothing set out across the grass as if in offering. It will come in many sizes but in mostly plain colors, fitting a general aesthetic of 'things a fantasy peasant might wear'. There will also be some blankets, wrapped cheese, jams, jerky, and bread left alongside them.

While there are trees and brush enough to find shelter, the Pleroma will find they hardly need to while resting here. The weather will be picturesque, a comfortable temperature even at night, and there will be no disruptive rain or aggressive wind. Of course, nothing lasts forever, and even though there could stay here for days, what if the Regent's forces are on their way? Once again, they must find the strength to carry on.

THE TRIWATER

As the Pleroma vanish, those claimed by the Kenoma are left in the darkness of the throne room. The Hylician soldiers are clearly agitated by the fighting, but Xishen herself seems unflustered. She will only sigh before quietly coming to the aid of any Kenoma that still need it, providing some light healing magics and explaining that their work here is over. With the Pleroma gone, all that's left to do is to return to Achamoth.

Things move quickly from there. The camp grounds are packed up, and soon enough the Kenoma will be ushered towards the river at the edge of the forest, to board a particularly large river vessel. As the Hylician soldiers prepare to go their separate ways, you will be told that you are to take the Triwater river to the capital city of Achamoth, where you will finally meet your new master, the Regent. The vessel is big enough for all of you, and it will set off the moment everyone is boarded. Suddenly, the world of entrapment and ruins you've been living in since your arrival will be left behind, leaving you to ponder the nature of your future.

The boat itself is well equipped and comfortable for what it is. A variety of colorful hammocks are hung in the lower decks and are open to be claimed for the journey back, which will take a day or two. The Kenoma will be offered a change of clothes of a similar style to what they already have if necessary, and there are plenty of blankets and cushions available to make life in the hold more comfortable. There are dice available for games of chance as well as some mystifying decks of cards that seems to have twelve suits with five cards each, themed around the Legacies. The twelfth suit is for the Regent.

Though the sailors controlling the vessel will mostly keep to themselves and leave the Kenoma alone, one of them will occasionally play harp music on the deck. Though they probably don't actually need help running the ship, they will let the Kenoma help them with chores and ship running tasks if they are so inclined; generally speaking, these sailors just seem like normal people, albeit a bit shy of their passengers. If you're polite to them, they may even gives you a river tour of Horos. On this ride alone, you'll get to see several magnificent bridges spanning the Triwater's width. At night, you are treated to a clear spring sky filled with stars.

As you make it closer to Achamoth, you'll notice the landscape shift, becoming mountainous and dotted with more and more military watch posts. The land becomes increasingly lifeless in a way that's hard to put your finger on, nature giving way to man-made creations of impressive architectural prowess. Soon, you will meet the person behind it all.

QUESTIONS

Can my Kenoma character fight against other Kenoma and/or help the Pleroma?
Yes, though if you do this you must describe what your character has done in a reply to the "Committed Actions" top-level below. This way, the mods can be aware of what happened and have your character treated accordingly. They are unlikely to receive immediate consequences if they don't hurt their fellow Kenoma, but their choices will follow them into Achamoth. If a Kenoma vs Kenoma conflict escalates into serious violence (attempted or successful) committed by the Kenoma rebel, Xishen will intervene and consequences will happen immediately which may restrict their actions until the next event post.

Can our characters leave the valley?
They can, yes, but really this event is just meant to cover the day or two they spend recovering before finding a more permanent place to go. You are free to have your character investigate the valley and probe the spaces beyond it, but please save any plans for large scale travel to the next event, which will be happening on April 2nd. The game will move into a 1:1 time ratio as of then.

Can our characters leave the boat?
Technically yes, but any Kenoma who wander too far will get in trouble. You are expected to report to the Regent, and behaving as if you are considering doing otherwise will not make an good impression.

Does the hope-based Pleroma boost last into the valley?
The boost to Pleroma characters will fade shortly after arriving in the valley, like coming down from a high. They'll have to recover the normal way from there.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Enjoy that apple, Yuya. At least some of them should rest and regain some strength when others are being paranoid like this. ]

As one group, or at least in small clusters for the time being. It might be easy to spot us if we all travel in a pack, but it seems like a bad idea for anyone to go off completely solo right now.

Yeah. I hate to say it, but... I think we can trust each other more than anything else in this place right now. [It's practical, to recognize that they don't know who will and won't be sympathetic enough to help them avoid those soldiers. Yuya remembers the people around the Lover shrine, who were so uneasy at the sight of the Aions.]

We should stick together so we can look out for each other.

[ Ernesto has a pretty clear memory of that as well, though despite coming from the same shrine, the two of them hadn't really had much of a chance to talk before now. The soldiers that came to round them up hadn't exactly been happy with a lot of chitchatting on the journey.

That's only part of the reason for the solemn nod of agreement that he gives right now. ]

At the very least, we have a set number of people we know aren't looking to turn us over to the Regent.

[ The group that have managed to gather here in this valley though... ]

But we'll need one hell of a cover story for anyone we come across in the future.

You mean... about who we are, or what we're doing? [He presses his cheek into his hand, thoughtful.] I don't really know anything about this place. I've never had to lie about why I was someplace before.

Both of those things and more.

[ He frowns thoughtfully as he looks down at the kid in front of him. It's understandable, but... ]

If we're moving in groups, it'll probably be easy enough to let someone else do the lying.

[That's probably true... It's easier to lie through omission but someone might ask them a lot of questions.]

Uh... so how good are you at making things up?

[ Ernesto looks up for a few seconds to consider that question. ]

If pressed I could probably make a story up on the spot.

[ He's a fantastic liar. He's lying right now, but he does a good job with the slow, thoughtful response as if he really has to think about his own fibbing abilities. ]

[Yuya laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.] I don't know that I'd come up with anything believable... maybe we should work on a cover story before we leave?

[ The smile on his face is slow forming, but at least it's pretty gentle. ]

Not a bad idea honestly. It's easier if we keep the story simple, and as close to reality as possible too.

[ He cants his head, giving Yuya a thoughtful look. ]

Were you a student before you showed up here?

Oh--yeah. [He looks down at his obviously teenager self.] I was in eighth grade, but the year was almost over. Why?

I'm not sure what the school system is like around here, but I'd assume you'd be considered about that age still if they have formal education. We might be able to work with that.

[ Though it gets tricky when they don't really know what the education system is like... ]

[Yuya puts a hand to his chin, looking thoughtful.] Like... pretend I'm on a field trip?

[It does not occur to him, that it may just be the whole being a child is less suspicious when the Aions were overwhelmingly at or near adulthood.]

[ Aha.... field trip? He has to wonder how many kids in this world actually have a chance to take field trips. ]

Or maybe apprenticed to someone here. We could also try to claim you're someone's younger sibling, though...

[ He turns his head to look at some of the people milling around nearby. None of them really look much like Yuya here. ]

... Is my hair too weird for that? [He pulls at his bangs, face twisting.] Someone said it was but this is normal where I'm from.

It might be a little different compared to most of the people here, but I'm not going to call it weird. That'd be kind of hypocritical of me.

[ The floppy ears on the top of his head twitch for emphasis. ]

We don't exactly the resources needed for hair dye anyway.

[Well, now Yuya can't help but stare at them a little openly as he considers that... may be something that sticks out.]

Maybe we'll be lucky, and these things are totally normal for this place...?

[He doesn't actually sound like he thinks they'll be lucky.

So he's in for a pleasant surprise.]

[ As it will turn out for Ernesto, the ears aren't so weird, and he will be able to blend. Who would have thought?

The clear uncertainty that Yuya is feeling has Ernesto barking out a laugh though. ]

If we can find some hats or hoods we might manage too.

EVENT #1: THE EMPTY THRONE (PT 2)

It's okay, I did that with one recently too. I fully understand

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