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Entry tags:
- !event,
- #npc,
- abel nightroad: martyr,
- akua sahelian: sovereign,
- amos burton: lover,
- caitlyn kiramman: champion,
- ciel: martyr,
- emet-selch: champion,
- himeka sui: wanderer,
- howl: celebrant,
- jayce talis: visionary,
- johnny joestar: firebrand,
- koriel xii (dextera): lover,
- misa amane: lover,
- rand al'thor: martyr,
- syrlya: champion,
- tartaglia (childe): firebrand,
- yuuta okkotsu: lover
EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (GODSBLOOD)
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?
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.
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.
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Interestingly, the words muttered to him are quite opposite of bluster; a good, fair, logical point. Emet-Selch gives him a glance and mutters his own reply. "Our other choice is to do nothing. She has nothing to lose, that is true, but we have nothing to lose by asking as long as we make sure she survives to see her end - in whatever condition that may be." Which he intends to have happen. "Even lies can be useful in their way."
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The thought that she has been exposed by another member has crossed her mind. It's almost as painful as the new burn on her forearm. But she can't afford to believe it. This is a cause she's dying to protect.
"If you're so powerful, just do it!" she seethes at Childe. "You're right, I'm no one. Whatever you think you can do here...it won't matter. The Regent's reign of terror is coming to an end one way or another. And they'll take you down along with them!"
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"I don't exert any more energy than I'm absolutely ordered to do for someone who is weak like you. I only care about fighting the strong. Even bothering with people like you takes time I just don't have to spare. Thi as, as you've already pointed out as us being lapdogs is an order."
Still, her protest is kind of interesting. Probably.
"Yeah? Who's taking us down with the Regent? Definitely not you and your resistance pals... so it must be your aion allies? How about this Reign of Terror, though? Why don't you tell us about this Regent you and the Resistance see that we lapdogs haven't been able to yet?"
Bringing one gloved palm down flat against the table, he leans in, supposedly interested to hear what she has to say (it's hard to tell when his mask is obscuring his face, and their distance is too far to get a glimpse of if he's got a smile or a scowl on his mouth through it.)
"What're they doing that you hate so much? I'm guessing you all had some kind of government or leader before the Regent and the takeover was less than ideal, but what about right now now that they're in control? Are they murdering orphaned children wanting food? Killing clergy members that don't speak out against them but also don't worship them in any manner? Murdering elders because they're a burden on society once they're too old to contribute while stealing money from them in the form of taxes? Kicking puppies? Come on, tell us what the real deal is here if you need to run to your mouth instead of barking threats little kids hurl at each other during a snowball fight!"
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He makes several points. Godsblood hasn't been anything but a source for tithes for decades, leaving Vaeka's people feeling independent and almost untouched. Her eyes flicker around his mask, trying to find some bit of read on the man but finds nothing and forces her own gaze away.
"Just because the Regent hasn't closed their fist on Godsblood until now doesn't mean we didn't always know it was coming."
She pulls her injured arm to her chest.
"We've seen what they do to other cities. What they don't like? They destroy and erase. Everyone is just a stepping stone to their next big conquest. Or are you so deep in it that you never noticed? Or...no, you probably just don't care."
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"Not like? That doesn't sound quite right. The Regent doesn't like this world as a whole, but it's still here." Even if the Regent is intending to change that and bring about destruction to it, it remains obvious that for some reason the Regent has not been able to initiate this process for some time. Childe has assumed that's not out of choice.
Still, he also doesn't quite understand what forces are at work that's stopping them.
His fingers curl under a bit between his palm and the table. A thought does cross his mind suddenly as to what that reason very may well be, which would certainly coincide with Vaeka's view on things without being unreconcilable to the Regent's version, but there's nothing to gain by stating it. He's sure she wouldn't know. It'll have to be a question that he asks the Regent themself.
"...Were you not listening to what he said?" he asks now, his tone having calmed to something more curious than simply fired up. He nods his head towards Emet-Selch. "All humanity knows how to do is judge those different than them, create suffering and conflict, and they never ever learn. They cause their own downfall through the delusional views of a better world while ignoring their contribution to its decaying state in the first place. If it weren't for the people of Horos as a whole and their decisions, the Regent wouldn't have reason to even exist. Annihilation is never the preferred outcome, but one thing is clear: none of you have managed to change this world for the better in the time you've had being alive... so we can at least guarantee it won't be any worse off with all of you dead, either."
Childe sounds like he's stating things far lighter than what he actually is. There's no threatening tone, no implied aggression beyond what the actual words themselves carry. In the end she's right: he doesn't really care.
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This is one of the reasons he detests being so actively involved.
"Yes, very enlightening." He doesn't sound very enlightened. "Although may I remind the two of you that we have precious little time." Emet-Selch taps his wrist with two fingers. "Tick-tock."
Time that would be better spent trying to get answers rather than arguing over ideals.
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"The only suffering and conflict we've known was because of the Regent. Because of the likes of you!"
Her gaze snaps back and forth between Childe and Emet-Selch as her voice rises in open anger, her previous attempts to play ignorant are thrown to the wayside.
"How can you say that humanity is doomed and the world is bad? We've never known a Horos without the Regent! Maybe they're the reason why we've got all these problems. Godsblood would be better off without them and without you!"
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Nevertheless, he has to acknowledge Emet-Selch's words that time is wasting away and Vaeka being unwilling to ramble off anything of interest (regardless of its true value) makes it difficult for Childe to twist and otherwise circumvent around her being tortured further.
...Her comment about them never knowing a Horos without the Regent is potentially interesting information if she means there's no history of such prior, but asking about that directly would definitely be seen as attempting to stall Emet-Selch's session.
...Well, she's not the first prisoner he's attempted to give something to latch onto and potentially avoid a grueling punishment but failed to do so.
Then again... Maybe he can twist it a tiny bit more?
"...Fair enough on not knowing a Horos without a Regent, but don't you have history books from a time before they arrived to know what things were like then that allowed them to show up and take over?
"Anyway... If that's all you have to say, then I guess you'd just rather continue with my friend here," Childe says to her finally, and he lifts his mask off to the side holding it there just a second to shield his face from Emet-Selch's gaze. His blue eyes glare at the women as he quickly mouths Not helping yourself here! before bringing his free arm up to rub at his face as if wiping sweat from beneath the mask. In the process he moves the mask back further towards his hair and looks to Emet-Selch before stepping back, giving an almost apologetic (but incredibly dismissive all the same) shrug to Vaeka.
As he turns away, he leans in to say something to the other Kenoma once again. This time he isn't as quiet about it, but Vaeka would have to be attempting to sincerely listen in to catch any of it. He can try one more thing, but he has to wonder if she's even earned it at this point. She certainly hasn't impressed him in any particular way.
"Hm, just one more thing... leaving marks on her is going to give her more power in turning the people against us when they see her at the execution. She'll become an undeniable martyr. Just thought I'd point that out. Maybe we don't care what we look like to anyone, but if we're trying to get people to give up on the resistance... This isn't the way to go about it when she's going to be dead in a few days as it is."
Childe finishes settling his mask to one side of his head.
"You're the elder with far more experience, so your call, but..."
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Emet-Selch gives Childe a small and reassuring smile.
"It may have escaped your notice but I am a capable healer." Then his gaze slides to Vaeka. "Where injuries once were, they may be healed before being inflicted anew. Such is the privilege and burden of those with healing magic." It is meant to illude precisely to his intentions.
So he approaches her chair again, knife in hand, and jams it into her shoulder with such force before tearing it out again. His opposite hand would let a green light of healing flourish in the air long enough to repair the wound. "You will have a chance to answer the questions I've asked while I work, or the process begins anew." Over and over until he tires.
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"What do you mean 'before they arrived'? They've always been here. That's the problem. We can't have a better world as long as they won't let us!"
The fervor with which she speaks isn't a show of bravado but the truth of her anger and her loyalty to the cause. The threats Emet-Selch makes to heal her wounds only to hurt her again make her heart sink. Her lips curl back in disgust.
"You're no better than they are..."
Her words are cut off as she cries in pain. Vaeka lurches forward when the knife is pulled back out and she grabs her newly wounded shoulder with a hiss.
"If I'm already set to die...then I've got n-nothing to lose."
She spits at Emet-Selch.
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"You are, however, mistaken. You have one thing left to lose even now." Emet-Selch sighs and gives a long deliberate look across the table to the little glass jar he sat there some time ago. "Hope." The thing she clings to even now - the hope that her work would continue even after she's gone. What could be worse than having that smothered?
The effects of the Kenoma have not been tested outside of Aion's to his knowledge. It would be a gamble to try it here. It could make her sick, make her feel despair, maybe even drive her to their side. Or worse, he supposed. Any number of things could happen. Hopefully, the threat of it would be enough. Perhaps as long as it seemed like he knew what it would bring...
"But as for the matter at hand - " Emet-Selch jams the knife into her shoulder once more and twists the handle. "You did not answer my question. Try again." The knife is pulled out and he begins to heal after something of a pause.
So he would proceed to repeat the same process. And Again. And Again. Until he got an answer or until the overuse of healing magic made him too exhausted to continue.
sorry for out of order, decided Childe will exit here.
Childe catches Vaeka's retort, glancing back before giving an airy laugh and slight shrug. "Oh, whoops, did I say that?"
Now that she insists on it, Childe does think he recalls hearing in passing the Regent's presence being at the very beginning. Of course, that doesn't mean it's true. Without knowing for sure himself, it's best to just leave it at that. Might as well let her think he knows something she doesn't in case she survives. It's always worth knowing how to get people's attention and keep it.
Childe doesn't even flinch at Vaeka's pain or her venomous shouts (towards Emet, towards them both? Whatever.) His ears pick up clear sound of her spitting, but even then he just keeps letting things tumble over in his mind. Thin ropes of liquid start to spiral about his wrist idly as his other hand reaches to pull down his mask once again with a light sigh. Without another word to either of them, Childe begins walking with intention to leave.
Another day, another fruitless end to better understanding the situation as it truly is in Horos. Laughable. Pitiful.
But, maybe not so entirely. this all points to that the rest of Horos is truly weak, especially if their attempts so far on recurring Vaeka are all the alliance can muster and spare on one of their own. The alliance is nothing but a nuisance without its aions. The Regent without their aions, however... Once again, why does the Regent even need any of them, anyway?
He contemplates these thoughts, letting them ebb and flow as he forgets the fading altercation behind him. At some point he hopes that he'll no longer be compelled to find the answer to this one question, although he imagines that'll only be if the Regent can commandeer his full loyalty.
The Regent knows how to do so, Childe is certain, but chooses not to. To the Harbinger, this is a sign to do as he likes to find his answers while he's allowed. So long as he follows the will of the Kenoma, the Regent should have very little to argue with him concerning results, right?
The question is what will he have to go through to get "results"? Emet-Selch isn't getting anywhere with Vaeka, and Childe imagines even if both operations in Venera and Godsblood succeed, they won't truly be results in the Regent's eyes. Besides, for those types of things, there are other Kenoma that outclass him in willingness to obey unconditionally, to do everything without question. Until the Regent and the Tsaritsa become interchangeable... there's no point.
Therefore, it'll have to be something along the lines of dealing with an unexpected variable, like the Innocence entity. Childe lost his chances on that, and even if he could still get in on it now, he wouldn't unless directly ordered or there was no one else. That glory is for those Kenoma already dealing with it and he refuses to ride anyone's coattails.
He'll find his own.
Thank you for joining!
She tries to muffle her cry of pain as he stabs her again. At some point this must get easier; at some point it should just become too much and fade into the background. That's what she's always imagined it would. She can feel her freshly delivered wounds stitching themselves back together without her consent and Vaeka peels back in her chair as it scrapes loudly across the floor.
"D-Did the Regent ask you to do this? ...Or are you just a sick bastard too?"
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This has gone on for a while and his magic has been pushed as far as he cares to push it. If only he had more time...
"This conversation has gotten rather boring, wouldn't you agree?" Emet-Selch rounds the table where the small bottle of black liquid still sits. He jams the knife into the tabletop and swipes the jar from its place. It seems the time has come to find what use it could have.
Emet-Selch makes for Vaeka's side. "You've one last chance to impress me." He grabs a fist full of her hair and yanks it back, bottle of Kenoma at the ready in the other. "I suggest considering your next words very carefully."
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This is an utterly despicable man.
She is almost too dazed to notice his movements but the way he grabs her by the hair and forces her upward isn't something she can ignore. Vaeka chokes on a yelp. Maybe she won't make it to the gallows. That would be a kinder fate.
If these are going to be her last words, she should choose them carefully. Vaeka thinks back onto her family, her friends, the streets she grew up on, her reasonings for joining the Resistance in the first place. Summoning up one last bout of defiance, she bears her teeth at Emet-Selch.
"...G-Godsblood...doesn't need...you!"
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He flicks off the cap to the bottle with his thumb and forces it into her mouth. This is not the path he would prefer to take, but let it never be said that he wouldn't take the occasional gamble.
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Xishen has materialized behind him... or has she simply been watching all along, and waited until now to make herself known? Her teeth are grit with a sound of genuine frustration.
"You dumb piece of shit," she hisses, pressing the blade closer, on the verge of breaking skin. "Did you miss the public part of 'public execution'?"
no subject
Emet-Selch settles comfortably with her knife against his throat - a calm reaction coached by many similarly perilous experiences over the years. He sighs, and turns his head slightly so that he may look back in her direction. The knife is pressed so snugly pressed against him that the small movement forces a gash into his skin. It's a very deliberate movement.
Ah, so that would be its adverse effects. Good to know.
"How kind of you to join us, Xishen." He says conversationally, folding his arms and letting his injured hand rest against his arm. "A 'stop' would suffice."
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She leads him away from Vaeka, back towards the door of the cell.
"If you can't perform a simple interrogation without recklessly killing the target, you have no business being in here."
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He walks along with her to the cell doors, albeit with a few clumsy steps given she is nearly on his heels. The guards pull them open for them and he proceeds through without complaint.
When they are through the doors and his potential 'threat' to their guest subsides, he gingerly lifts a hand to the knife and tries to coax it from his neck with the gentle push of his fingers. "If I no longer have business here, then by your leave, I will return to our ally's sides." There have been other confrontations in the past few days that required his healing attention. Suppose he should pay his own wounds some mind as well.
"Mayhap you would care to bestow your threats upon me in the near future; I should be interested to hear of anything which would prevent such oversights from happening again." Perhaps he could use it as an opportunity to see if he could unearth any information about the alchemy experiments in that underground chamber he had explored some time ago. Ones which seem to tamper with the very same Kenoma he had used here.
no subject
"Try being less of an arrogant creep and see how far that takes you," she hisses. "Now go. I don't want to see you in here again."
She shoves the door shut behind him.