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

sorry for out of order, decided Childe will exit here.

[vapour]

(ooc: Crim offered a roll for the outcome of whether Childe could successfully stop Emet-Selch or not on the torture, but I decided that it was better to go with the flow of the narrative without it. Thanks for having me!! <3 )

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!

[aionpcs]

Childe leaving doesn't seem like a good sign to Vaeka. Why? To leave her with her own questions or just to let Emet-Selch do his worst? She is putting on the strongest front she can muster but she has her limits.

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?"

[lachtara]

"Not an answer!" Emet-Selch spouts again as he tears the knife out from yet another wound. At this point, minutes have passed, and he has punctured and healed many wounds. Her shirt would surely look tattered with blood-ringed holes.

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." 

[aionpcs]

Vaeka is utterly exhausted in body, mind and soul. The healing doesn't make the pain of each new wound any easier to bear, but eventually the repeated stabs take its toll. She is hung forward in her chair with sweat dripping from her forehead and dampening her bangs. Each time she breathes in she feels like she's going to burst.

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!"

[lachtara]

Emet-Selch gives a delicate shrug in return for her proclamation. "Oh, how scathing." He says, unimpressed. At least can appreciate her words in their brevity, even if the harm they cause does not meet its mark.

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.

[aionpcs]

Before Emet-Selch can get the bottle in Vaeka's mouth, he will feel a knife slash across his fingers and another slide against his throat, jerking him away from her. The bottle will drop to the ground, smashing on the stone floor. It's wriggling black contents spread in a puddle of inky void, slowly dissipating in the light of the room.

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'?"

[lachtara]

There is no forceful resistance on his part.

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."

[aionpcs]

"Do you ever think before you act?" Xishen retorts, not about to be scolded about her method of stopping him when he was already crossing lines. "You're ridiculous."

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."

[lachtara]

Being labeled as ridiuclous almost seems whimsical in stark contrast to the knife pointed at him. "At least one cannot fault me for my dedication," Emet-Selch responds with a verbal shrug of his voice.

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.

[aionpcs]

He may notice that his indifferent attitude does little to inspire her cooperation. Once the door is open, she pulls the knife away and pushes him out, evidently not taking his proposition seriously enough to be worth a legitimate response.

"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.