EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (GODSBLOOD)

[aionmods]

Sovereign Citizens

GODSBLOOD

At the height of the Sovereign's moon, Vaeka Lovenskol's execution is announced. Outside of the City Hall, a dignitary of Achamoth is flanked by an entourage of Kenoma, reading the words of Regent from an unfurled letter: Vaeka stands accused to conspiring against the Regent and abetting the fugitive menace known as the Pleroma. Though the details are not made public, rumors spread quickly, some far more wild than the actual truth. The full truth, after all, is something only the Regent's agents and the Pleroma themselves know, and even to them the manner of her exposure is unclear.

Though losing a proud daughter of an influential family, there seems to be little that the people of Godsblood can do besides accept it. After all, they are still a city of the Regent's empire, and for all the freedom they've enjoyed, there are limits. If she was truly aiding the Pleroma, the sworn enemies of the Regent - and in an organized manner, if the rumors are to be believed - can they truly object? Or would challenging the Regent's claim simply invite more death?

As with many things, the families of Godsblood are torn. Tensions are thick for the five days leading up to Vaeka's appointed execution by hanging, with everyone having an opinion and few wanting to go on record talking about it too loudly. As such, the people's frustrations come out in other ways. Bloodites are uncharacteristically unfriendly to strangers in this time, keeping to their own and treating everyone else with overt skepticism.

Those that have arrived as part of the Regent's official envoy, or seen guarding Vaeka, will receive a particularly icy reception. No longer are the Kenoma curious wanderers on personal business. Now, they are here as the hands of the Regent; few of the Godsblood citizens are foolish enough to challenge them outright, but they are ever an honest people.

Early on, the Kenoma and the rest of the Achamite contingent sent with them will be able to take over a jail in downtown Godsblood to hold Vaeka until her execution, clearing out all other Bloodite prisoners and employees in the meantime. This means they have a relatively secure position to guard their prisoner from, which is a good thing; after all, the Regent did outright invite the Pleroma to stop them, and Pleroma are nothing if not stubborn.

EXECUTION DAY

After five agonizing days of waiting and several high visible conflicts between the Pleroma and Kenoma, finally the hour of Vaeka's execution arrives. A gallows is set outside of City Hall, ready to welcome its newest victim, and a massive crowd has gathered in an spirit of anxious anticipation. Some worry that violence may break out in the streets, even without the Pleroma's agitation, but gradually the minutes tick by and the gallows remain empty.

First one minutes passes. Then five. Then fifteen. Slowly, it becomes clear to the people of Godsblood that Vaeka will not be arriving. Are the rumors true? Has she been saved? Have the Pleroma been successful, despite all odds?

As the hours pass and the crowds disperse, Vaeka Lovenskol is not officially reported as either living or dead. Fortunately, Godsblood is a place where information has a way of getting around, whether those in charge like it or not. Some are saying that she was seen being whisked away as if by powerful magic, following a bloody fight at the jail in which she was being held. Where did she go? Maybe her supposed connections to the forest people did her good, some surmise.

The days following Vaeka's failed execution carry a strange and uncertain energy. Where before there was tension and distrust, Godsblood now finds itself in a surreal reality where the Regent's word is apparently not absolute. Then again, do they really want a repeat performance?

QUESTIONS

What is the best way for Aions to travel to Godsblood?
For Pleroma, this is very easy, as they are likely to either already live there or be able to easy take Greentruth's portal. For Kenoma, they may come directly from Achamoth by boat as part of the Regent's envoy or arrive via Eustace's portal which is set up in a shed a fairly long jaunt outside of town. Once there has been some time to get established, Misa will be setting up another portal leading straight to the prison where Vaeka is being stored.

Are the Kenoma permitted by the Regent to kill other Godsblood citizens?
Though the Kenoma are authorized to kill any Bloodites that try to physically fight them, they are expected to keep things clean. The Regent prefers to only punish the guilty, and having the lines be clear will create less of a hassle in the future. Generally, Godsblood is not in a state where physical resistance is likely to happen unprovoked.

Comments

[lifespanned]

'Girl?!'

[ Is this really what she should be fixating on, at this moment? Probably not, but she can't help but feel (perhaps immaturely) offended at being talked to in such a way, her outburst coming out through the connection before she can stop it. Her bloody hand goes tighter around her shard, and honestly, the sheer feeling of frustration helps in distracting her from the pain still tearing through her left leg. In contrast to Caitlyn's calm, Misa's hot irritation bleeds through nice and clear over their mental connection, and most prominently, in her tight voice.

If she can set the pain aside, she can think about this rationally. Or, as rationally as she can manage. What the girl says isn't lost on her— that she knows about the nature of Misa's ability, and of course isn't going to fall for any silly tricks, like the good-old-fashioned waterworks. Better to know all this at the beginning, annoying as this communion call is. Rash as her question had been, it's as Caitlyn says— they both know why the other is here, and why each is attacking.

This must all be part of some larger plan - designed to get herself and Howl out of the way, she realizes. For a brief moment, she wonders if she shouldn't have just retreated back into the building, in attempt to help fend off the Pleromas who are very likely storming the castle at this very moment. But... she has to trust that those inside are strong enough to handle this on their own. She'd likely only get in their way. She needs to focus on helping Howl.... ]

Fine then, I'll find you myself. If you thought I'd give up after one dirty trick, you've got another thing coming, lady!

[ Shortly before the message even finishes coming over communion, there'll be a real sound of glass shattering— which comes from Misa throwing a heavy stone into a low, squared window of an adjacent building to the prison, which sits a short diagonal distance away from the corner she's currently hiding behind. As the prison sits in the dead center of the downtown Godsblood, there are plenty of buildings to slip into and between, which she's sure her enemy is using as an advantage, herself. With all the adrenaline and blind courage Misa can muster, she makes a bolt for the cover of that second building, keeping her hands over her head and trying to keep her figure as small as possible as she makes for the opening in the window. ]

[superbshot]

[Caitlyn could almost laugh. Almost, if the situation weren't so very intense. This girl is extremely childish, and it shows in her approach to all this. Complaining less about being shot and more about being called a girl? Was it some sort of game to her? Of course, that led to darker thoughts, the brief amusement vanishing in the face of a slew of facts learned that helped her understand her foe. She was young, she was insecure, she was hotblooded, and she was used to fighting dirty...but not used to really fighting at all. She likely had something to prove to her fellows, too, but that thought was mere speculation that Caitlyn filed away.

Other questions sprang to mind, too. Did Vaeka's life amount to anything to Misa at all, or was she just an opportunity for furthering some other goal? Did she really understand that she was in mortal danger? Was she committed to the cause that far? All of those and more swirled through Caitlyn's mental calculations, as was her nature as a detective.

Her attention darted towards the sound of shattering glass and the footfalls of Misa's feet. There's no clear shot, so she doesn't attempt it, the raised walkway around the building she's currently on mostly obscuring the girl as she makes her dash and heads for cover.

Noting the location, Caitlyn keeps low, sliding further down to try and get a better angle while Misa ducks inside. Firing wildly into the building was a poor idea, and it could cost her quite a bit, giving her away or even causing the collateral damage she was trying to avoid. No, for now she was content to wait for the younger woman to try something.]

You're more than welcome to try. You'll find I'm rather elusive, and I'm a cop. I've seen many, many dirty tricks. You wouldn't be the first to try one.

If you walk away, I'll let you go without another shot. I would rather not take lethal action, if I can avoid it.

[lifespanned]

[ And that, she supposes, is what sets them apart. Had she been in her shoes, she wouldn't have ever offered the enemy such a mercy. It makes sense— she's police, after all. After the rashness of her first outburst, Misa (barely) manages to bite her tongue this time, restraining herself from not only rising to the challenge, but also from saying something like yeah, well, I work with cops too! So what!

After she struggles to get within the building - a two story school house - she makes quick work of ransacking the place for a few items she has in mind. Cloth, and string, primarily. It'll be a big gamble, trying to challenge someone with such precision and such a powerful ranged weapon, but she finds she has little choice, and thus focuses on formulating a plan to deduce the other's location. Moving into a second building has moved her range of sight forward by some distance, so Misa is betting everything on being able to launch a counter-attack - and she's nothing if not reckless and willing to endure some pain for the sake of a mission. Slowly, very slowly, she drags herself up the short flight of stairs and to the opposite end of the building, where the majority of the windows are. In the midst of doing so: ]

If you're a cop, shouldn't you want to make the world a better place? That's the reason I'm in the Kenoma, you know. A lot of us are here because of that. That's not something I can walk away from.

[ And just as her message finishes, she purposefully lets the back of her shoulder come into sight at the very bottom of one of the windows she's hiding herself between, resting her back against the interior wall of the school. To an outside perspective, it may seem as though she simply doesn't notice a part of herself is visible - she is rather inexperienced at this kind of thing, after all. But in the moment, it's intentional - a potential sacrifice for the sake of a clue, one she's willing to give up if a chance comes out of it. ]

[superbshot]

[Caitlyn watches the building, shifting slightly back and forth, trying to decide if she should move for a better angle or not. Ultimately she decides, for the moment, to remain. Her goal is to occupy Misa, and for the moment she seems like she's in a safe enough spot that she doesn't need to risk being seen.

The question intrigues her far more than the exposed shoulder, though, unfortunately for Misa's plan. Or possibly fortunately, depending on how she feels about getting shot.]

I swore an oath to protect and serve. If I'm helping to hurt people like the Regent did in that cave, or to destroy the cosmos, I'm breaking my oath. That means something to me, girl. I respect the conviction the Kenoma have, but I cannot accept the method, nor the endgoal.

[All true, of course. She does respect some of the Kenoma. Ciel, Barnaby, even this girl to some extent.]

You truly believe, then?

[lifespanned]

[ In a way, she's glad the shot doesn't come immediately— it gives her some time to calm her nerves. And, more importantly, to dress her existing wound, with the supplies she's collected (only belatedly does she realize that she should've done this first, before making herself a target a second time.) She does the best (messy) job she can while managing her shard in her hand, though Caitlyn may sense that she is distracted before she responds again. ]

Of course I do. The world is corrupt... but I want it to be just and kind. In the world I come from, people get away with all kinds of terrible things. I've seen it for myself... someone has to do something about it. It can be remade into something kinder.

[ Even at the cost of the lives of others, even if it takes great sacrifice. She could bear that burden, and bear the weight of blood on her hands. Yes, destroying the universe was a stepping stone to get there. But her eyes remain firmly fixed on the ends, not the means. With a wince, she tightens the last knot around her leg, hands becoming sticky with drying blood. Her tone comes off stubborn when it goes through their connection once more, her head turning just to the right to peer out the window with her peripheral. ]

So maybe it's fine to you, but I don't want to go back to the way things were.

[superbshot]

[Caitlyn listens to that, noting the distraction as well as the distress. Expected, really, given that she'd just shot what amounts to an idealistic civilian. Granted, Misa had clearly come into this knowing that she might be harmed. Or, she hoped the Regent had made it clear that there would be fighting.]

I know quite well how corrupt and cruel the world can be. I've seen it firsthand, and I've been fighting for change my whole life. It's fine to want to change things, to make the world better. That's admirable.

[A hard edge creeps into Caitlyn's voice as she continues, the grip on her shard tightening as she remains in cover. This conversation is, after all, accomplishing the same goal as her rifle might. And there's a chance, however small, that she'll break through to Misa somehow.]

What I can't accept is the notion that everyone and everything has to die to make that change a reality. If you really believe in a better world, you'd also do well to consider the Regent. They clearly have no issue with living in a cruel reality. Do you really think they'll create a world where they have anything less than absolute power?

[lifespanned]

Hello? Why do that when they almost already have it? I feel like the Regent takes changing the world seriously. Unlike some people...

[ The way she says it— it's laden with a very duh, obviously? affectation. She's seen these methods the Regent employs before, and very closely, in her home world. They're using what weapons and skills are at their disposal in order to gain the most control, and the most influence. It's logical, in a way. ]

It's nice and all to say you want the world to be better. But to, you know, actually do it? For the whole world? Do you know how long that would take, the way law enforcement usually does it? Kinda doubt it'd get anywhere.

[ Misa fails to keep the challenge out of her voice, the strain in her voice from her injury not exactly helping in making her words seem amicable. Besides, it's not as if she believes she can ever convince Caitlyn of her way - this is buying up time, which is a benefit to them both, sort of. Misa is kept away from the prison, and Caitlyn is kept from interfering with Howl's fight with Akua. Still, she can't help but want to cause a reaction, do something to put a fissure in the other woman's calm, collected attitude, mostly for her own advantage. Now that she's had time to calm down, one of the only ways she can gain an upper hand from this distance (and at her disadvantage of not knowing her location) is to rile up her opponent. All that aside, she's a cop— law enforcement really hasn't done much kindness to Misa in the past. ]

Oh, unless you're about to tell me about all the change you've made.

[superbshot]

Do they have absolute power? They certainly don't seem to, or I wouldn't be here opposing him. Unless this is all part of some master plan to weed out the disloyal or something.

[There's a snort that comes through on her end. Misa sounds a whole lot like Silco, and that's exactly why there's no real crack in her calm. This is a conversation she's had more than once, and she actually has a ready answer.]

Why that's quite an assumption, Misa.

[She may as well use the name she's been given by Ernesto for her target, if no other reason than to rattle the girl.]

Who says I'm a by-the-book kind of girl? If I was, then I'd have fallen in line like a good little soldier, but I work with terrorists, engage in vigilante justice, and disobey orders to make life better for people. I'm a terrible cop, because I believe that real change comes by doing what is right, not what is legal. I also believe that killing off all life in order to make change happen is wrong, and any reality underpinned by the deaths of untold trillions is little better than a gilded graveyard.

What draws you to the conclusion that death and destruction is the only way? You're awfully young to have such a cynical outlook.

[lifespanned]

[ It actually does seem like an elaborate plan to weed out the dissenters, which is a possibility that Misa discussed with Silco himself - though she doesn't comment about it to the other girl, finding that pursuing an argument over it would likely be futile. But from where she's sitting, her brow raises at the mention of her name, too— instantly, she wonders who she has to blame for Caitlyn in particular addressing her that way. Ernesto? Rand? The resulting muted annoyance is quickly reworked into action, as she's growing tired and annoyed with being toyed with like this — and begins moving away from the window she'd been hiding behind, thus taking away the opening she'd left there like breadcrumbs. Instead, she heads west within the building, to the side that would face where Akua and Howl are. This time, she remains low as she can, out of sight.

It's a strange storm of emotions going through her— irritation, at the other woman's words, a determination, to get rid of her as soon as possible and to aid Howl, and finally.... a strange sense of familiarity? If what she says is true, then she works with terrorists, and breaks the law to do what's right? By the sound of things, she actually seems like she might support the kinds of things Misa was doing in her world, rather than condemn them like most of the law enforcement she came across. Could it mean they're actually more similar than she originally thought...?

It feels such an ugly, sinful thought to the Kenoma wrapped tight around her soul, that Misa is able to let it pass her by without further contemplation. She can't afford to be relating with the enemy. ]

I only assumed that because you made it seem that way!

[ It seems she's 100% not taking responsibility for her assumption of Caitlyn's morals— she complains, rather loudly and indignantly, perhaps more forcefully than she really needs to, given how she's trying to reject any sense of camaraderie between them. And besides, she's happy to step in to the role of the stupid, easily riled up normie if that's what's expected of her. To make herself seem less and less capable, and less and less in control in this conversation would be for the best - to goad the other into underestimating her. ]

I know you're just trying to trick me into wasting my time. You know, I'm not stupid enough to sit here and bleed out while I talk with you. You shot me, remember! And now you want to know my life story? What do you want to hear? That my parents were killed, and the law did nothing? That the killer was only punished because someone killed him for me?

[ Her words are steeped in sarcasm - she nearly spits the words through their connection, talking so brazenly of her parents' violent and brutal death. Caitlyn asked for it, so there's her answer. The only times justice had ever been served in her life is through the act of killing— and each time she's killed someone, herself, that action had felt just, too. Destroying the world, killing everyone in it, for the greater good? It's the natural progression from that mindset. In a move of unpredictably reckless confidence, Misa stands to her full height, leaning her weight against the window and staring out to the city in front of her, eyes tracking the far away movements of their two avian companions. Her form is in plain view in profile— from several angles, and through several of the front facing windows. It can truly never be said that she doesn't have guts, or isn't willing to risk everything. ]

It doesn't matter. You don't seriously care. So just shoot me again already if you're going to.

[superbshot]

[Caitlyn can tell what she's said has had an impact. She doesn't know what kind of impact, but when Misa goes silent, and the comes back at her in the indignant way that only a teenager can manage she knows. She doesn't like it, and she doesn't like the necessity of what's going to come next. But no matter what, this girl couldn't be allowed to remain as part of the conflict. She was practically a child, yes, but she also had a power that could stop Johnny and the others from accomplishing their mission...and that meant keeping her from interfering.

Still, she couldn't leave the conversation at that.]

If I wanted you dead, I'd have shot you in the head, Misa. You're right, I'm here to keep you from being a threat to my friends, but that doesn't mean I bear you any true malice. We're enemies because of our circumstances, nothing more personal than that, as far as I am concerned. I want to understand the Kenoma mindset, because then I can understand how best to end the conflict with a little violence as possible. Today is regrettable, but I know you'll make it through.

[All of that is true. It's stated calmly and rationally. Caitlyn does not like this, but she also knows that while gunshot wounds are painful, they not fatal to an Aion. So, when Misa diverts her attention towards Howl and Akua, the rifle comes up again. A sharp eye might see the barrel poking out between two crates, positioned in such a way that the sniper is obscured.

She has a clear shot, with the chance for the precision she requires, so Caitlyn takes it. The bullet is aimed squarely for an exposure shoulder, the crack of the rifle echoing in the air. And as always, Cait moves, intending to get clear. Slipping backwards on her belly, she exposes her arm as she slithers backwards to begin her retreat from the battlefield. It isn't much, but that should be more than enough for a keen observer like Misa to spot her, if she can figure out the position.]

[lifespanned]

[ Predictably, Misa lets out a short, choked out scream at the impact, nearly toppling over a second time - but she bears it, digging the fingers of the hand on her good arm into the wall, fraying splinters into the pads of her fingers from how she claws at it. Without pause, she half turns, trailing her eyes through the neat hole the bullet had made through the window's glass, out to the puzzle of buildings outside.

She says nothing more, too deep in the throes of pain, and now cold resent to come up with anything to say. And she leaves no mercy, either - as soon as she follows the trail to Caitlyn's location, she pins her gaze on that arm she can still see, petrifying it to cold, numbing stone, beginning with the tips of the fingers and moving down into the hand. She goes as far as she's able while Caitlyn is still in vision - as far as she hopes will prevent her from handling her weapon with as much precision and accuracy as clearly comes easily to her. If allowed, she'll go much farther than is even really necessary up her arm, purely out of spite - otherwise, she greedily takes whatever she's able.

Her words had fallen on an unwilling listener, after all— Misa doesn't believe, or perhaps can't accept what Caitlyn has to say, so at odds with her own ideology. Because the conflict is personal to her, all her motivations run on a matter so very personal to her, that any affront (allegedly neutral or otherwise) to that motivation can feel like a personal attack. The last thing Caitlyn will be able to feel from Misa's side of communion is a frustration, bone deep and years old, before she shoves her shard back in place to free her hand— solely so she can clutch at her new wound. ]

[superbshot]

Bloody hell!

[The feeling of her hand freezing up had the desired effect, and the bonus side-effect of breaking Caitlyn's calm. She had heard about this, and she knew it was apparently temporary, but that didn't make it any less jarring. The sensation of her fingertips, hands, and even the beginnings of her wrist turning to stone was uncomfortable and startling.

It also had another effect. The gun in her hand discharged, the rifle bullet fired somewhat wildly in Misa's general direction as a reflexive accident. It may hit, it may ricochet, it was a wildly aimed and hastily taken shot at best.

Caitlyn's reasonably sure that Misa is rather thoroughly occupied though. She's injured, she's barely capable of walking, and it's only going to get worse as she loses blood. With that done, there's little more Caitlyn feels she can do at this exact moment with her position exposed, so she retreats. Slithering back, careful to stay hidden, she makes her way back into the building she'd been using. Once there, she slips out the back and disappears into the streets. Mission parameters met, she'll be laying low, waiting for news of Vaeka.]