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

Woohoo! hope you're enjoying yourself, too c:

[vapour]

[ for what it's worth, that short protest does get Childe to stay his hand if he was planning to get violent with the other, although the cat with its caught canary sensation isn't having to go away for Matt any time soon. He crocuses down, pressing his weight further on to Matt as he balances himself and leans forward, amused. ] Oh? Is that why we're here stopping them? I really never considered it.

[ the thing is that Childe has a bad habit of playing into people's fears, which means even though he is quickly losing what little interest he had of harming the other, he's going to drop one off his blades in favor of wrapping his hand around and tightening his grip on the other's neck. It's not enough to suffocate him or even make breathing all that hard, but it's plenty enough to spur panic in most people, especially when one as unpredictable as Childe is looming over them. ]

Why don't you explain yourself a little better?

:3 :3 :3

[semicharmed]

[ Matt winces as Childe's weight shifts, feeling it in all his bruised and battered places. His opponent isn't done yet, though. Matt feels a hand at his throat, first wrapping around his neck and then ... tightening. Unhurriedly, Matt imagines, or maybe it's just that time has slowed to a standstill. Only Matt's hammering heart and his quick-shallow, panicky breaths give him any sense of how fast things are happening.

Explaining himself is a tall order, right now; every thought feels like it's been squeezed right out of his head. For a moment, Matt stares up at Childe with saucer-wide eyes.

Then something happens to his breathing. It slows, evens out--after a few repetitions, you could even count by it, which it just so happens is exactly what Matt's doing. In four, hold seven, out eight. ]

Ah, [ he says, ] I just think ... they're not gonna be convinced, like this. It'll just make them resent us.

[vapour]

[ This guy is cute, Childe thinks. He's giving him every reaction he could hope for here.

He says nothing at first, his grip tightening threateningly for five miserably drawn out seconds before he lets go completely. He even draws his hand away to rest on his knee. Unfortunately for Matt, Childe doesn't seem to plan to actually get off of him yet.

Childe doesn't disagree with Matt. In fact it does have Childe start wondering in the back of his mind that perhaps if they are successfully stopped, they're not going to even be further persuaded ] Hmm... what's your name?

[semicharmed]

[ Childe's grip tightens.

What's weird is, you think you know how things are going to feel, especially since people have choked Matt before. But that was with guardrails: safe words; the assurance (always lurking at the bottom of his brain) that he can make fire with his mind. There's adrenaline in it, but it's an amusement park ride compared to what Matt feels now. Like reaching a patch of cold, deep water and realizing just how far it goes.

But then the bell jar lifts, and the fog at the corners of his brain yields to more gasps for breath. Matt's good work breathing on a rhythm is back to zero now, his heartbeat picking up accordingly. At the question, he pauses. ]

... Matt, [ he answers, once he's convinced himself he didn't hallucinate being asked for introductions. A slight hesitation, then: ] You?

[vapour]

Tartaglia. Most people call me Childe, though.

Well then, I see you are just trying to get in the way and not actually attacking your own side, so I'm not going to hurt you. [ not anymore than he already has, he means. ] This time.

Still, I don't think everyone is going to be as generous as me, so if you insist on doing this once I let you up, you might not be so lucky next time. Do you understand?

[semicharmed]

[ Matt doesn't repeat the names out loud, perhaps superstitiously fearing he's only got so much oxygen left. But his lips move legibly, shaping first Tartaglia and then Childe.

He supposes it's good news that Most People Call Me Childe isn't planning to hurt him. But it doesn't feel like good news. Matt's not sure how he does feel. Hollow? Like without Childe's weight on top of him, he'd float away in a dandelion puff and get lost somewhere in the cavern? The shape of the correct answer here is obvious, but Matt can't ... quite ... make himself say it.

He nods, very slight.

But the words that slip out, near a whisper, are: ]

Can't we both do what we think is right?

[vapour]

[ That's a good answer on its own, even if not the correct one. Still, it's good enough that Childe isn't going to respond negatively. He will give Matt a clearer perspective, though. ] Don't misunderstand. I don't think what I'm doing is right. All I care about here is a worthwhile battle.

[ There's a pause, Childe looking serious a few moments longer before his expression gives way to something friendlier as he gives a light chuckle, a completely different type of smile (a far more normal and innocent one) present on his features before he asks his next question. ]

Not that doing what you think is right is bad, but don't you think you picked the side that makes doing so a lot more dangerous to your health? The Regent is only going to care about you doing what furthers their goal not the morality of it.

[ not that ... it's much better on the other side. Even the rebels —which he's certain exist —will have to make morally wrong choices if they hope to not be crushed. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Matt's eyes widen again. Their hazel is apt to shift depending on the light, looking grayish-blue or like a pale greenish-brown; right now, they look muddy. Muddled. ]

That's not true. [ He means: It can't be true. ] I don't think ...

[ At another time, he might be able to have a more substantive conversation about the difference between expediency and morality, if one really exists. For now, Matt swallows. Then he sucks in another greedy breath. Even without Childe's hand on his throat, his weight on top of him makes Matt feel like he can't breathe--or more accurately, it makes him feel like the breath could be snatched away from him at any moment. ]

I want to remake things, [ he says. ] Better this time. That's all.

[ Though the piece of him that thrills at giving people what they want feels a little sad. He doubts he'd ever be the one to give Childe a good fight. ]