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

[lachtara]

He puts a hand to his chin in thought. "Indeed. 'Tis frustrating, at best. Their motivations leave much to consider about what is expected of us and our future." Although knowing what part they played would likely not make them feel any better about it, it could help devise their next steps.

"While we face this uncertainty we must all play to our strengths to ensure that we see it through." Emet-Selch takes a small step forward. "If your strength is in battle, then we should make sure you are ready for your next fight."

Others in their group have mere cuts and bruises, which called for less of a showing of magic. This case would require more effort and energy to heal completely. Assuming the aether in the area could sustain such a thing.

So instead of his usual fashion of casting, he stretches his hand out toward the boy and draws his palm into the air. Wisps of green and white light would spring up from the ground to surround him, bringing with it the cooling sensation of healing magic.

It would take more time and effort to heal completely if it could, in fact, be done. He can already feel the aether in the air begin to fray.

[vapour]

Childe observes with a minor kind of awe, particularly as it seems as if it draws from nature itself. Leylines and clusters of raw elemental energies are familiar sites to him in Teyvat, but observing someone casting magic without a vision is not. Of course, the Traveler can, but ... even that's different from to what he's looking at right now.

The sensation of this magic as it heals is strange, as well, but not unwelcome. Even if it can't heal him entirely, he'll still be plenty grateful as this is not a leisure he often gets after a battle. It'll be more than enough to have the other acting like nothing's wrong, anymore, which is all the needs.

When the magic ceases, Childe goes to check his shoulder injuries from his fight with Caitlyn and then the ones at his back for where Hubert stabbed him. He's not sure if it's completely healed, but it seems pretty damn close if not with a little soreness still lingering. This is easily more than he could have asked for. Which is why the Harbinger will look up at the older man with a surprised but also grateful expression. "...Amazing. Thanks."

Someone going out of their to patch him up— for any reason— it's not something that happens, so he has to make sure it's known that it's appreciated. Now, he's curious, though, and adds a question into the mix almost immediately after expressing it.

"Is that a common ability in your world? I mean, I don't think I've seen a healing magic this potent before."

[lachtara]

A Thank you for his efforts. That seems like a novelty on its own.

"It is not uncommon, although the quality of such spells can vary wildly between individuals." Most in the world possessed such little aptitude for such things. "As it is with most practiced skills."

Emet-Selch slowly makes his way to a railing nearby and leans against it. Healing spells aren't supposed to take much effort, but using them certainly felt strenuous here.

[vapour]

"So... can anyone learn it or only... 'special' individuals?"

To think of magic in the same manner as wielding a weapon or a tool is new to him. Of course, those who obtained a vision had to learn to become adept at controlling and using it and the strength of such things did vary with the vision owners technique and mastery, but no one could just decide to learn magic and do so.

He has heard of those in his world who have attempted (and succeeded) to wield an element but with dire (aka: fatal) consequences. The other seems a little... tired maybe? But nothing that a rest won't restore completely.

[lachtara]

"It depends on the individual. They must have the magical potential to be able to conjure spells. There are those who exist without it." He takes a deep breath in and exhales quietly. Whatever is in the air that stifles his magic will have to be explored, if only to make spellcasting easier.

"Do you have such magic where you come from?" He asks, curious about the source of these questions.

[vapour]

"Not that I've seen," he says before he's reaching to his belly and pulling an accessory off of it, the large blue orb pulsing faintly as it's offered to Emet-Selch for him to be able take a better look.

"Pretty much everyone needs one of these, which we call a Vision. They're only bestowed by the gods to those they decide are worthy of one, but no one knows for sure what the criteria is. The most common assumption is that during a life-or-death situation it'll appear before those they choose."

As for further explaining, he hesitates before deciding it's nothing worth hiding for any reason. "I knew someone who managed to make herself capable of using fire magic without a Vision, but, if not for our Tsaritsa, she would have died from it."

Not that it matters anymore since she went and got herself killed, anyway, but the scenario still speaks well enough for itself.

[lachtara]

The Orb is taken with one palm and examined closely. The hum of power from this... thing is clear and difficult to overlook. More of note is the manner by which they are (likely) summoned - a life or death situation.

"If that is the case, then you may not have enough magical potential for me to teach you my methods. At least, not unless you want to risk seeing an untimely end." He makes sure to add, "...Assuming I would be willing to show you at all." It's not a guarantee as much as a fair warning.

He offers the orb back. "Granted, the laws of this world are unfamiliar to me. There may yet exist a way that remains undiscovered."