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

[regretsor]

[The ears swivel to lay flat against his head and he bares his teeth at the other. They're more fang-like now and his canines are much larger than average.]

Don't you patronize me. [Childe's attitude does nothing, but seems to irritate the man even more. In a situation like this, taking a nonconfrontational option would probably be the most ideal. It's too bad that Yoo Joonghyuk's usual first choice is to fight first.

There's also no way he would humor such a ridiculous request.] Over my dead body. [As if he'd let anyone other than Dokja touch them. He's especially not going to let a complete stranger on the opposing side touch them.]

You didn't come here just to ask me to pet my damn ears did you?

[vapour]

[ Ohhh ho, look at this! ] Over your dead body? That could be arranged.

[—although, Childe actually has no real desire to kill anyone (right now, anyway.) This guy doesn't need to know that.

There's a soft hum of consideration now that yoo joonghyuk has answered, before giving off an airy laugh at the question. ] Of course not. I noticed them just now. It's a good look for you, though.

[ Well, whatever, he said no, so what's Childe to do other than fight with him? His dual hydro blades flare with a pulsing glow of blue before it fades off. ] Just do me a favor, and come at me first, okay? [ the Harbinger grins even as he readies his himself for this battle. ]

Otherwise, I'm gonna feel like a puppy kicker~.

[ bow wow. ]

[regretsor]

As if.

[It didn't matter to him if Childe does actually try to or not. He had grown used to the idea that everyday might be his last day. It came with being stuck in an apocalypse where your suffering was broadcasted as entertainment.

Sure, he didn't die, but regressing wasn't probably that much better.

The way his tail stands up and wags. It's aggressive, though that's no surprise. Not with the way the man holds himself right now. The glare that he gives the other.] Come here yourself. I don't give a shit about how you feel.

[As angry as he was, he knew what he should be doing and that was stalling. Everyone who had resisted aren't in the greatest state and leaving this place was priority. He widens his stance and holds the sword out in front of him. He doesn't move forward though.] You came all the way here and you ask for me to attack first? Ridiculous. Come here if you want it so bad.

[vapour]

[ The shit-eating grin on his face doesn't disappear, but there's no response from him verbally. Instead, he'll start to stalk forward towards the other to meet him head on. He doesn't lift his weapons or make any offensive movements, but there is a strange coil of water that glows an unnatural blue that rises behind him before it starts to split and further divide until multiple water tendrils snake about like a multi-headed hydra.

They don't move in any particularly menacing fashion like they may attack—at least not until Childe stops short in his walk while still out of reach of the other's sword. As if that is their command sequence, the tendrils strike out simultaneously like whips, a few aiming to wrap around the sword Yoo Joonghyuk possesses while the remaining basically attempt to snatch around him and string him up like a puppet. His sword may be able to slice through the tendrils to make them fall apart harmlessly, but he's better off using a different ability to block or counter them on a larger scale or simply get out of their reach. They do have a finite length to them in their initial strike and will have to be recalled and unleashed a serving time if Childe wants to adjust their range.

tl;dr: it's a water tentacle group attack.

Childe just doesn't feel like clashing blades first, and is far more interested in forcing the other to do something that can give the Harbinger a better idea of what he may be facing off against. ]

[regretsor]

[One step. Two step. Yoo Joonghyuk immediately starts moving forward. Joonghyuk's movements were already quite good even before the return of their powers. It was why he could hit transcendent status as a mere human Incarnation. The system's ability to raise stats like a video game was necessary as the stakes got higher, but the man had also trained his body because being he refused to be reliant on the system.

It shows though that Joonghyuk moved much faster than an average human should be able to manage.

He easily dodges the tendrils that are trying to capture him; cutting the ones that he doesn't dodge. With every graceful step, he closes the distance between him and Childe. He wasn't exactly going to just dance around with their tendrils for the other's enjoyment.]