aionlogs | EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (GODSBLOOD)

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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?

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.

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[ and rand follows after, intent on keeping himself between gray, and syrlya and vaeka. whatever else gray is, right now she's one of the regent's people trying to have an innocent woman killed. they can't fail right now.

and whatever else gray is, she's a girl with an enormous scythe. rand moves to dodge when she strikes, but not fast enough —

he shouts as the blade bites into his leg, going down. a small mercy of being flooded with the Power is that he doesn't feel the pain as much as he will later; and what matters is now. a wall of fire springs up between gray and the rest of them — or at least, that's what he tries to channel. even if she's able to deflect or move around it, his hope is to keep her busy that much longer as syrlya gets vaeka out. ]

[ She sets her jaw grimly at the sensation of flesh yielding to the end of her blade, Rand's cry followed by the sound of him falling. That's enough, she thinks, and she draws her scythe back to her side in preparation to dash after Syrlya next. But before she can, she feels another well of magic forming. It's all around her this time, and she cancels her movement in time to prevent herself from walking into the conflagration that suddenly sprouts up in all directions.

Gray forces herself to re-evaluate and blinks the last of the fading white spots from her eyes. The fire oppresses her, devouring the air — and through its raging veil, she can make out the shapes of Rand on the ground and Syrlya yanking the door to Vaeka's cell open further down the way.

No time to stand around, then. She raises her trusty scythe and begins to whirl it, its large crescent blade growing even larger as she feeds it her magical energy. It draws powerful spirals around her, swooping and humming gracefully in her light hands, and the force of wind it generates is enough to disrupt the wall of fire, if only briefly. But it's enough for her to dart through in a leap, tucking in tight to protect herself—

And then she's clear, rolling smoothly to her feet (somehow) with her scythe still in tow. She spares a fraction of a glance at Rand before taking off at a vicious sprint for Syrlya. ]

[ There's been so much going on, so many noises and explosions and shouts that Vaeka can feel her head spinning. There were strange blades and a flash of lightning and she thought that these walls might as well fall down on top of her. But there was something that continued to beat in her chest throughout all the chaos;

Hope.

A hope that springs to life when the door to her cell is opened and a strange man appears before her. Her eyes are wide, her body broken in many ways, but she knows that in this moment it's almost over. Almost over. ]

Are you...with...?

We're getting you out of here. [That's enough of an answer, probably? It's quick reassurance because right now, Syrlya is all business.

He releases part of the strap of his shield to grab her arm and encourage her out of the cell. And, ideally to offer support... but as he turns he realizes Gray is swiftly catching up to them.

So he draws away, putting just a bit of space between him and Vaeka as he stands between her and Gray with his shield pulled up in preparation to take the blow. His sword hand falls out of position as he chooses instead to gersture back at Vaeka's feet, casting another circle of magic on the ground, one that draws up a wave of magic that seems to hover close to Vaeka, prepared to absorb the next blow aimed at her.]

[ it's a relief to see syrlya make it to vaeka, to see the woman understand that help has come for her at last. a relief, but alarming in its own ways — they are still very much inside the prison, and gray vaults past the fiery shield. the fire goes out as soon as he's aware of that; there's no point to him keeping up the weave if it's doing nothing. instead, he splits his power two ways.

one darts out towards gray like an invisible, but physical, force. the idea is to trip her, to stall or slow her momentum towards his allies. if he's particularly lucky, gray might even fall, but even if not, and if she doesn't completely dodge it, he might help buy a little more time for syrlya and vaeka.

the other, as he pushes himself up to sitting, winds around his wounded leg. there is no time right now to assess damage or dwell on the pain, but the cushion of air stabilizes the injury and slows the bleeding a little, analogous to someone holding the wound to do just that. if syrlya is to take the bloodite to safety, rand needs to be in some kind of condition to keep gray from following...or all of this will be for nothing. ]

[ Gray comes up on Syrlya in short time, but as she approaches striking distance, she feels a force from behind grabbing at her legs like an invisible pair of hands. She doesn't need to look back to know that it's courtesy of Rand. It's a brief interference, but it kills her momentum at a critical moment, and instead of leaping to attack she's forced to somersault forward to keep from falling on her face.

She can improvise. As she's rolling back up to her feet, her weapon again begins to change shape, swiftly rearranging itself into an elaborate hammer as tall as she is.

There's Syrlya in front of her. She lunges the final distance to him, and given her prior failed attempts to get past his defenses, she pulls out all the stops. She feeds even more magical energy into her hammer, swings — and the back end of the hammer erupts into blue phantasmal flames, roaring and ethereal. Effectively, it becomes a giant, magical jet-propelled hammer. She shoves as much magical energy as she can into its propulsion so that it can drive at Syrlya alone with extreme prejudice. Hurting Vaeka isn't in Gray's equation at all. ]

[ It's music to her ears. The relief that washes over her almost makes her forget the danger of the moment but she is quickly to follow Syrlya's lead. Out of the cell and into the corridor, there's a moment of panic one of the Kenoma she recognizes as one of her guards suddenly comes into view.

Her eyes snap between Syrlya and Rand, instinctively cringing in preparation for a blow or any sort of knock back. Even as she feels something in the in the air around her, almost like a cocoon, she has no frame of reference for magical shields.

Are they really risking all of this for her? ]

[Well that

is not what he was expecting.

At this point the best he can do is level his shield to take the blow. He braces himself just before it hits, cracking loud against his shield as the force snaps his arm back into his torso and knocks him backwards. It ends up being his own body that Vaeka's magic shield rises up to deflect, preventing him from slamming back into her and providing an opposing force that barely lets him remain on his feet.

But the pressure hurt, and he lets out a gasping heave as his fingers fall slack from dull pain radiating out. But there's not a lot of time to worry about the mark that leaves.

He twists his sword, pointing the tip down so he's not at risk of poking her as he puts his hand to her upper back with an urgent push.] Keep going, I'll cover you!

[He points down with his other hand, drawing up a well of magic under all of their feet. Vaeka will feel nothing, but Gray will recognize the same shocking pain as long as she stands in it.]

[ amidst the tumult of battle, the concentration he needs to control the Power, the blinding pain where gray stabbed him, there's a moment where he sees the look on vaeka's face and thinks — well, that it's familiar. feeling relief at the prospect of freedom, but aghast at the potential cost...hadn't he been there, maybe a day ago? their experiences weren't the same, of course, but it's enough to fill him with sympathy.

and it makes his next decision easier.

he throws an invisible barrier up, effectively walling the corridor with syrlya and vaeka (and an escape route) on one side, and himself and gray on the other. it can't be seen, but it's as physically tangible as if a brick wall had suddenly sprung up there. as reinforcement, and to encourage gray further away from his allies, a fire starts to rage along the barrier on their side. there's a clean shot out the hallway and to eventual freedom, if syrlya and vaeka are lucky. ]

Both of you go! [ light forbid there's another kenoma aion or achamite guard ready to intercept. syrlya doesn't need to waste his time here instead of protecting vaeka. ] Hurry!

[ Emboldened by her successful hit on Syrlya, Gray chooses chosen to stay put and bull through the pain of his magical circle returned. With every nerve aflame, her rational thoughts scattering against the agony digging its fingers into the folds of her brain, she drives spikes of magical energy through her limbs to keep herself upright. She's shouting through gritted teeth, wringing her magical circuits for all they can give her.

She drags her hammer up and strikes again at Syrlya, but Rand's barrier comes up just in time. She bounces off and is driven backward by yet another surge of fire. She supposes this is what she deserves for failing to make sure that Rand was out of commission before hurrying along.

There's really no avoiding it. She needs to put Rand down quickly if she wants any hope of getting at Syrlya. She pivots to face him. As she does, her weapon changes shape yet again: it becomes an elaborate longbow, and as she draws its string, there forms an arrow of compressed magical energy, a shock of pointed blue light. She takes aim at Rand down the way, and her fingers twitch to release— ]

[ there's something vaguely insulting about her choosing a longbow.

not that gray has any way of knowing this. not that there's anyone left in this world who does, really, except for maybe a handful of pleroma. but longbows are a tool he grew up using, are well-known for their use in the two rivers area. he's more familiar with their like than any other weapon he's seen in horos. it's not a conscious thought right now — he can ill-afford to dwell on such a pointless thing right now — but it registers, on some level.

he doesn't look away from gray, trusting syrlya to take care of vaeka. instead, he gathers up saidin for another strike. (dodging isn't, after all, much of an option.) he throws out his hands, grabbing gray bodily with the Power, and throws her through the nearest wall with as much force as he can muster. it's a nasty move, but she's clearly shown resilience to lesser attacks. and when she doesn't reappear, he breathes out, slowly releasing the Power.

now it's up to syrlya. ]

[ There's so much happening at once but what Vaeka notices immediately is that she isn't hit. No, she's protected by these Aions that she pledged her allegiance to when she joined the Resistance and here they are reminding her why she put her faith in them.

She straightens, wide-eyed and in awe. When both Syrlya places a hand at her back and both he and Rand command her to go, Vaeka sets her reverie aside and makes a run for it. But not without shouting, ]

...T-Thank you! Thank you!

[ Over her shoulder. ]

[The barrier buys them time to move quickly, now that Syrlya doesn't have to worry about deflecting Gray. He puts his faith in Rand, and powers forward to lead Vaeka to the exit.

He crosses out the door first, shield up in case he needs to deflect anything. But by this point the outer guard have been neutralized, and the inner guard are tied up in fights with other Aions. There's a bit of pride in them as everyone's collective actions pulls together and accomplishes the rescue of one of their own.

With the coast clear, Syrlya gestures for Vaeka to follow him away from the jail cell and towards an alley only a couple buildings down.] This way.

[ The alley that Ernesto happens to be waiting near the entrance of, body tensed and ears perked up as he listens out for the sound of anyone approaching. Despite some people's disappointment at this less than spectacular, normal human sense of smell, those four ears aren't just for show.

It also means he's been hearing all the commotion just fine, and it has his stomach twisting in knots as he waits. Still, his part is important too, and he can't afford to bolt from his position. He has to trust the other Pleroma are managing to pull this off.

The muscles in his legs flex as he hears the sound of someone approaching, but the familiar sound of the voice has him relaxing and straightening up, even stepping out from the shadows to greet the pair. ]

Mr. Syrlya. Miss Vaeka. Good to see you both.

[ His smile is almost out of place given the situation, but he gestures for them to move quickly into the alley before any Kenoma manages to slip free and take notice. ]

[ Their path is clear and Vaeka almost can't believe it. It's hope mixed with relief that moves each foot after another and once they hit the street she feels like she's going to cry. But she doesn't. No, the Aions that came to her rescue have shown nothing by courage for a girl that they only passingly knew if at all. She will be as strong for them as they have been for her.

She half-expects there to be some ambush as Syrlya leads her to the alleyway with her head snapping back and forth across the street to be aware of any threat. No threat comes. Instead, she's greeted by an Aion she knows as "The Spice Guy" in Godsblood. He's here too...

They really all came out for her. ]

Sp...Mister Ernesto?

[ She follows without question. ]

[Syrlya slips into the alley with a sigh of relief, glad that things have begun smooth sailing. He hopes they keep that up.

Unfortunately, business isn't done. He straightens up, directing his attention to Vaeka first.]

Ernesto will get you to safety, out of the city. [And then his gaze drifts over to him.] I can cover both of you in a veil of invisibility to give you a head start, but it won't last more than ten seconds. So let me know when you're ready.

[ There’s a lot of relief in seeing the alert and able state that Vaeka happens to be in right now. Without having any access to her when the Kenoma had her trapped in that prison, there was no telling what she was going to look like when they busted her out. Ernesto had a handful of ideas of how to try and sneak her through the city if she was incapable of running herself, but like this it’s going to be so much easier.

Especially considering as he pulls a draping bit of fabric off his arm, he reveals the sling it has been in since Amos snapped his arm like a twig just a couple of days prior. Carrying someone in this state would be difficult.

But offering someone who is still capable of running a loose fitting cloak with a handy hood that can be pulled up over her head? Much easier. ]

I’m ready as soon as you two are.

[ Hungry and exhausted as she is, Emet-Selch had made it a point to heal her through each of his "interrogation" attempts so she could be a lot worse off. Now she is running purely on adrenaline and revitalized hope. It's more than enough to carry her as far as Ernesto is willing to take her.

She looks to Syrlya and offers him a grateful smile. He's brought her this far after all. ]

Thank you.

[ Vaeka knows better than to shout it excitedly over her shoulder this time. Her eyes widen when she sees the injury that Ernesto has sustained but she takes the cloak without a word. Tugging it over her shoulders and fastening it carefully, she pulls the hood up to conceal her face. Hopefully no one will recognize her this way. ]

Yes, I'm ready.

[His expression twitches with a brief smile. He raises a hand, purple magical energy concentrating around it.]

Be safe, and good luck. [The magic releases, washing a wave of magic over them that clings to their skin and removes them from view. While they can still see each other, there is an obvious enough tinge of magic that will let them know for how long the spell is holding up that it's there.

Syrlya turns and bolts out the alley, running back to the prison, and giving no delay for them to get going as well.]

[ The trickiest part of this plan might be behind them, but they weren't out of danger yet. But Ernesto's smile is relaxed, even when the rest of him is holding in every ounce of tension he feels, and he nods in signal to Vaeka.

It's better for both of them to remain silent while Syrlya's spell is in place, and it's also best for them to hurry. Though considering Ernesto is the one that knows which way they're going, he'll have to go first and pace himself in order to let Vaeka keep up.

They've got a bit of a trek to get them to the waiting Greentruth rebels that braved an approach to Godsblood in order to help save their ally, but Ernesto intends to get her there without another hair on her head being harmed. Not after what she's gone through. ]

[ Vaeka returns the smile bit by bit and watches Syrlya disappear back towards the prison from which he had helped free her. There are still people fighting in there, people risking it all. She can't let them down by faltering at the last step.

They are heroes, every one of them.

She nods back at Ernesto, wise enough to figure out that silence is important. Keeping her head down is instinctual even when they can't be seen but she falls into step behind her guide without a peep. ]

[ And there it is, the last step of the rescue as they slip out from immediate danger. All the while Ernesto leads Vaeka through the city of Godsblood, to the relative safety of Greentruth rebels ready to take her under their protection. To say it went off without a hitch would be a gross exaggeration, but the fact that most of it fell into place at all is beyond lucky for the Pleroma.

Maybe it's too soon to truly breathe a collective sigh of relief about all of this, but Ernesto is at least glad they could save one more person from the Regent. ]

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EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (GODSBLOOD)

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there will be one more tag from rand, then it's back to vaeka!

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