EVENT #1: THE EMPTY THRONE (PT 2)

[aionmods]

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.

Comments

[goldendeceiver]

[ It's pretty clear to everyone that the Pleroma are outgunned in this particular fight. While the skills among the two groups might be a little more evenly spread, only one side was actually supplied with real weaponry here, which is a real problem for a soldier who has a good sword arm, but not a whole hell of a lot of magic going for him.

Childe looks beat to hell, but Ernesto still isn't loving his odds against any of the Kenoma opponents that he's about to tangle with. At the same time, he can't exactly allow them to plow through and get to Abel and the others working on their ticket out of this mess.

So Ernesto stands firm, smiling uneasily as he watches the very frustrated looking man in front of him. ]

Can't do that, unfortunately. Maybe we could reach some kind of agreement where I keep staying in your way, but you also don't hurt me? I'll admit, that would be the best outcome for me.

[vapour]

[ Childe's friendly disposition, even normally present in battle, seems to have faded now. It's not Ernesto's fault, and Childe would in fact normally be excited to meet someone like him just for his personality alone. Not everyone needs brutal fighting skills to keep his interest and be was having fun through all this.

Unfortunately, circumstances are what they are, and even as Ernesto speaks, Childe can see the obvious situation unfolding right in his face. Considering it's become quite clear to him this "order" is supposed to be failed, on top of finding the Pleroma capable of dirty play and Kenoma capable of being overly soft and not simply disregard orders, but actively do the opposite has him a little bit less patient currently. ]

Letting you go is exactly how this is intended to play out, which means I have all the more reason to stop you because I don't know what that means for any any of us.

[ it's true, too. Childe's nowhere near as concerned as he tries to make it out to be, even with his serious demeanor in place, but he still does have it in the back of his mind. The Kenoma says the Pleroma are enemies, but Childe doesn't really believe that at all. They're in the same boat and they've all chosen how they want to handle their time here, but surely they all share the common ground of rather having chosen neither side and gotten the hell out of this world together, instead.

The Regent is clever, for sure, though, and he has to wonder if this was entirely planned before they even arrived, and now they're going to separate from each other and be weaker when any hard truths from either side become known.

Letting them go still seems bad. ]

But go ahead, try again, I'm listening.

[goldendeceiver]

[ There's no surprise in the fact that the breakdown of sides isn't as simple as good and sweet and hardened and vicious, at least not to Ernesto. A number of people that had given into the call of the Kenoma had shown him a lot of sympathy, and offered kind words and support while he chose to still struggle. Likewise some of those who kept resisting seemed pretty damn fierce and ready to fight to him.

Seems like an unfortunate thing for the Kenoma side this time around, but Ernesto's pretty glad it shook out this way for the Pleroma. Every person who refuses to be their enemy, all the better, and every active ally that can hold their own in battle?

Well, Ernesto can safely say he's happy not to be the one fighting against some of the fiercer Pleromas. He'd be even happier if he didn't have to fight against any of the Kenoma willing to throw down with them either, so if Childe is going to give him even one small chance to get out of this injury free? Ernesto is going to try to take it.

His gaze sharpens as Childe tells him to try again, looking a lot less uneasy as he slides more into his element. ]

If you think that's how it's supposed to play out, then maybe instead of putting you through another fight, I can strike a deal with you.

[ He still keeps his guard up, ready to try and dodge if this negotiation attempt goes south. ]

It seems to me if we get out of here, we're going to see very, very different parts of this world. I can't say exactly how much free reign you all will be given when you leave with these soldiers, but I can't imagine my team here is going to be answering to many people once we escape. There's probably a lot I'll be able to see that you might not have the chance to.

[ A pause, and here's where it gets a little dicey for Ernesto. ]

I'll admit that it's a gamble though. I can't say for sure if we'll ever see each other again, or how big this world is, but it might be a worthwhile gamble to take. There's things I could find out and relay to you that you might not be able to find out for yourself.

[vapour]

You're honest in your terms, I'll give you that, and your trade exchange value is not absurd.

[ Childe's a Harbinger first, but most of the time he is doing now mundane things like collecting debts from those that default or try to get away with not paying. Beating the crap out of individuals and their little groups that are resistant to paying their dues is a normal scenario, but killing is usually avoided as dead men pay no debts. A little fearmongering and putting them in their place usually does the trick though.

As for Ernesto, Childe's expression is neutral, showing neither displeasure nor amusement. ]

Never crossing paths again doesn't bother me, but I have to wonder how useful the information you may provide if the situation arose would actually be to me. You don't seem like someone who would sell anyone out you're allied with, considering you're negotiating to let all of you go.

[ as if to make his point, be won't swing a weapon at Ernesto, but there will be a coiling of water forming in the air not far from Childe's head above this shoulder that suddenly spits what seems (and will feel like if it hits) a dart towards the other's own shoulder to graze it. Considering Ernesto is prepared to move out of the way already, he should have a fair chance being able to dodge it. ]

[goldendeceiver]

[ Despite being as worn down and tired as he is, Ernesto's still young and sprightly. He manages to move out of the way in time with a minimal amount of movement, but he still feels that thing zip by him.

Probably a big part of the reason his smile is now strained as he keeps staring down Childe, body staying tensed and waiting for a second strike. As far as he can tell this guy either isn't much of a businessman, or he's the kind of guy who does business dealings in a way that Ernesto is the least fond of. He does seem pretty singular focused right now, so it might be the first at least... ]

You're right. I'm not interested in bartering that kind of information, but do you really think that's the only thing that will be useful to you? We're all on a whole new world, and if we're allowed to slip on out of this cavern, I've got a feeling my group is going to have a chance to see a lot more of it than yours will. We're not the ones that will end up on a short leash.

[ His smile relaxes a little, though his body doesn't as he waits for another strike. His face is still sore from where Gen hit him with pretty minimal provocation. He's definitely pushing his luck with this stranger more. He has no idea how much this man believes in the cause he's now fighting for, or how deep any newfound loyalty lies.

He's banking on the fact that he doesn't. ]

If you ask me, we'll be in a pretty good position to learn a lot more. Not a bad resource to be tapped into, right?

[vapour]

It isn't.

My new superior is watching, though. [ there's a twirl of one hydro dagger as he jerks the point of it in the direction towards Xishen off in the distance, watching but not making any move that she plans to involve herself in any way. ] Any bright ideas on how to not get me in trouble letting you go? Because right now all I see is that I can let you go, but I'm still going to have to kick the shit out of you so she doesn't report me.

[ he honestly kind of doesn't care, either way, but this is not an advantage to him to be stepping down considering he lives for fights. That makes him let's willing to cause shame foundations so early. Then again, if this guy isn't a fighter, this might not be much fun for him, either. ] Maybe you got a friend that can fight in your place for this stunt?

[goldendeceiver]

[ Jalabola.

Congratulations to Childe though for being the first person to get Ernesto to actively frown in all of this. The insistence on still fighting him means the negotiation more or less failed, doesn't it? There's no point in giving out any future information if he's still going to have to take his lumps for it. As far as he can tell the point isn't to kill any of the ones trying to make a break for it anyway.

But more importantly, it's the suggestion that Ernesto let someone else come take the beating for him. He's turned a blind eye to problems that didn't immediately concern him before, but he has never intentionally let someone else take the fall for him. It definitely doesn't look like he loves the suggestion that someone else get hurt in his place. ]

Surely you could figure out a way to use those to make a distraction.

[ He inclines his head slightly towards the water dagger that Childe is playing with. ]

She can't keep her eyes on everything at once, or are you the type of guy who is itching for a fight that badly?