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

[salvageable]

[ It's an impressive struggle that certainly keeps Dokja on high alert. He's almost a bit worried about how he's supposed to depart now that his business is done, the ferocity pouring off of the boy in waves showing no signs of abating. He'd hate (well, not hate) to have to resort to drastic measures, but if it's necessary...

The smile never once leaves his face even as he listens to the threat. What's one more person wanting to kill Kim Dokja? ]

I'm looking forward to it.

[ He doesn't know where it is he and the others who withstood the sickness are headed, but he imagines he won't be meeting the other side in some time. Unlike many of his companions, he hasn't foisted any close feelings toward the newly adopted Kenoma, so it's no skin off his nose to see them separated. Even so, he thinks he'll be a bit sad not to be able to keep tabs on Gen. The kid's kind of fun to have around.

Dokja removes one hand from Gen's neck, holding it up in a show of good will even though his other hand compensates by clamping down harder. See? He's done. No more hitting despite the boy urging him to. He really had just come here for one solid punch to the face, after all. ]

Stay down until I'm gone or I'll break both of your ankles.

[epiprocta]

[ He's always found catharsis in anger, in violence, in those singular ways he could maintain any control over his life -- which makes it all the more maddening when he finds himself utterly defanged at Dokja's hands. The fact Dokja seems to treat his furious threat as little more than a joke has his blood rushing so fast and so hard through his veins that he can hear it in his ears, a dull roar that almost drowns out that casual threat.

He remains in place as Dokja starts backing off not because he's afraid of having his legs shattered, because honestly, he can't even bring himself to think about the consequences of his actions any more. He remains in place only because he thinks he stands a better chance at immediately hurting Dokja through the use of underhanded methods.

Gen exhales roughly as he feels one hand peel away from his throat, but offers no rebuke; he only glares up furiously at Dokja as he withdraws his own hands to brace them against the ground. Certainly, his shoulders are squared with tension and his jaw's clenched taut, but that's only because he's still boiling with unresolved fury, right? Not because he's about to do anything stupid?

-- haha, as if.

Is Dokja really surprised that, when he starts to rise, there's immediately a blur of movement as Gen lashes out -- fingers gripped taut around a piece of rubble that he tries to smash into the side of Dokja's knee as hard as humanly possible. Aiming to topple Dokja so he can get his hands on the man's face to claw his eyes out, smash his head into the ground, tear his face to shreds. Hurt him.

And hey, he technically 'stayed down,' didn't he? ]

[salvageable]

[ No one ever really listens to Dokja, so this was honestly the only outcome possible.

Even on high alert, even with his gaze trained on Gen, it still isn't enough. As soon as both hands are off the boy and Dokja moves to stand, the piece of rubble slams right where it had been aimed, the pain searing but not unbearable due to the nature of his inhuman body. It does, however, cause his leg to buckle and give out from under him, a surprised grunt the only noise that slips past his lips.

But before Gen can descend on him, a vortex of wind shoves its way between the two, whipping wildly at the air surrounding them, and then bursts outward, the forceful gale throwing either side away from one another. Dokja lands lightly on his feet some distance away, though it's plain to see that he's favoring and leaning most of his weight on the uninjured leg.

The real accomplishment is the smile that's been wiped clean off his face. ]

Nice trick.

[ The compliment is an especially dry one, and Dokja is at war with himself. A part of him wants to make good on his threat to break Gen's ankles, his fingers itching to snap bone and tendon. It would be so easy, just a single push from Way of the Wind and he'd be right there. To make it more excusable, it's not like it would be a fatal injury. He could do it, he could do it, he could do it...

But he doesn't move forward and the effort of holding himself back sees his hands shaking. He'd come here for one reason only, he reminds himself over and over again. And he'd accomplished it. ]

[epiprocta]

[ The moment he sees the blow land and Dokja buckle, Gen's focus is entirely on reaching up, on trying to tangle his fingers into Dokja's hair, on clawing, mauling, tearing, causing as much damage as he possibly can while he has the chance.

Which leaves him completely unguarded for the gust of wind that follows.

It's an incredibly disorienting sensation, suddenly being thrown by what feels like a solid wall of air slamming into him, and the impact catches him completely off-guard. Dokja might have landed gracefully some distance away, but Gen is afforded no such dignity. There's the scrape of dirt and grit as he's flung bodily across the uneven cavern floor, the breath knocked out of him when a piece of rubble catches him right below his ribcage, and even once he comes skidding to a halt a short distance away, it takes him far too long to realize what's happened.

Does it make it easier or harder for Dokja to hold back, seeing Gen struggle to even raise his head from the ground? He'd knocked his head against the ground before coming to a halt, and it takes him far too much effort just to drag himself onto all fours. His first attempt to haul himself back to his feet has his vision swimming wildly, and Gen groans as he sinks back to the ground, breathing in uneven rasps between shallow coughs. ]

... 'm gonna kill you.

[ Oddly enough, that mumbled threat is probably the first time Dokja might hear Gen sound his age. After all, it's hard keeping up his usual delinquent affect when he's dizzy and breathless. Still sprawled across the ground, disheveled and dirtied and sniffling from a bloodied nose, Gen properly looks like what he really is -- a frazzled teenager completely out of his depth. ]

[salvageable]

[ It's a sad sight to see, isn't it? If Dokja thinks so, it doesn't show in the impassive way he stares at Gen, black eyes steady as he watches the boy try to pick himself up before returning to the ground. But there is something there in that hollow gaze and it flickers, for a moment, toward the direction of where he'd last seen the Aion.

He'd be a hypocrite (more like further cemented in his hypocrite status) if he thought anything of her bringing a powerless teenager into this sort of place. After all, he'd done the same for his own war, even recruited children not yet in their teens to fight his battles for him. But he'd done it with the knowledge of their potential, of what they could do for him, and so he wonders what it is that's being seen in Gen.

Whatever it is, he'd rather it appear sooner rather than later. He doesn't know what's in store for all of them in this strange world, but having experienced what they have in the past few weeks, Dokja's certain that they'll never be far from danger. And while it's not concern that squeezes his chest as he returns his attention to the boy on the ground, there's something unpleasantly adjacent to it. ]

Someone as weak as you can't kill me.

[ Consider it motivation masked in a taunt. For now, he steps back as he glances toward where the fighting has picked up near the casters. He's needed elsewhere. ]

Do your best to stay alive.

[ Or don't. He tells himself it's not his business. Anyway, with those encouraging words, Dokja turns on his heel, summoning the wind to him to return to the thick of where the battles are commencing, leaving Gen where he is. ]