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

[lockedon]

[ you really gonna make me do all the talking with my stoic asshole, unbelievable. i said that and then immediately wrote a tag with no dialogue

Lottie's focus on her personal #selfcare (you go, girl) combined with Eustace's own personal preference to care as little as possible means that there's a good stretch of silence that falls between them, punctuated only by the sounds of faraway footsteps as the remaining soldiers and the other Kenoma slowly tidy up and prepare for departure.

He's too tired to move, she's too busy sniffling to move....what a great pair they make.

But, eventually, he does have to move, if only because he needs to actually finish treat his remaining wounds if he doesn't want to bleed out all over the place. Back to wrapping up his arm in bandages then, while Lottie continues to mope next to him.

Could he just ask her to help him out, especially after she'd offered? Sure, but she looks kinda busy throwing herself a pity party, which is what he assumes she's doing. ]

[oomfies]

[ we love to see a versatile and semi emotionally available king

She doesn't even bother focusing, much less registering, the receding footsteps of everyone around them. She knows the guards won't leave them behind, they're too important to the cause. So she relaxes a little, at least knowing she's needed somewhere. Her eyes stay set on her lap, playing with her nails and seeing the condition of her poor skin - cracked, dry, thirsty.

Eventually, she registers the movement beside her, glances down out of the corner of her eye to see Eustace shuffling through his bandages to clean himself up. There's a brief second where she bites at her lip, toes curling inside her shoes because she hates doing this but..

..She gently extends her arms towards the bandage he's working on, not enough to intrude on what his hand is already doing but to silently offer that, hey, she can still do what needs to be done! Even with throwing herself a pity party. ]

[lockedon]

[ He's more or less resigned himself to patching his wounds up all by himself, so it comes as a surprise when Miss Pity Party turns towards him and offers up her hands in a silent offer of assistance. Not so much because she'd been so absorbed in her own problems but moreso because he knows the kind of image he projects: aloof, cold, unnecessarily mean even when unprompted. He doesn't expect help and never has, so it's all the more startling on the rare occasion it does happen, and from a complete stranger no less.

For a few seconds he stares warily at her outstretched arms before finally replying in kind, stiffly stretching out his own arms so she has better access to the bandages he's awkwardly looping around. It's not the first time he's been treated by someone else and he's sure it won't be the last, but that doesn't make the experience feel any less jarring.

Having to ask for help.....digusting. Still, he can be civil about it. ]

....Thanks.

[ Though maybe the gratitude is a little pre-emptive. What if she's been lying about her abilities this whole time and manages to fuck it up somehow? ]

[oomfies]

[ Oof.. At least they're both equally weirded out by the prospect of being helped and helping. Lottie at least makes use of her hair to hide her gross face and the weird way her lips turn up, and then down, bouncing between feeling satisfaction at being useful and the fact this is.. So odd. As it turns out, she is not a liar (although he's right to suspect), and she careful mends his shoddy bandage work with her own.

She's had years of - well, not necessarily patching up herself like this - but of studying google to learn more about her terrible, terrible, body, that she's not so much a novice at this. When she's done working in silence, sniffling quietly every so often, it doesn't look half bad. Average enough to just get him by until it's dirty and he needs his bandages changed. ]

..It's no problem.

[ She replies, trying to be equally civil about this. ]

THIS IS SO AWKWARD

[lockedon]

[ Average enough is good enough in this case, despite the critical gaze he casts over her work once she's finished. They're not exactly overflowing with medics and healers (or even apparently willing combatants? what's wrong with you, team Kenoma) so he'll take what he can get in whatever form it takes.

Even the awkward silence that ripples between them isn't offputting; he's used to people feeling uncomfortable around him, and feeling stiff himself in the presence of others. At the very least, he has the presence of mind to realize that this is awkward, and that they're probably both better off if he cuts this short sooner rather than later. It'll be easier to patch up the rest of his injuries with both hands available, and the cuts and scrapes elsewhere are much less severe.

His gaze flicks over to her, lingering briefly on her curtain of green hair, before moving away. ]

You should get some rest. There's food on the ship waiting for us, and a place to sleep.

[ Though whether or not she can eat it is another question entirely, and also not his problem. ]