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

[expiera]

[Curiosity kills the cat, and in the process, it recovers its tongue. Is that how that one went? A new twist on an old classic.

(Seems like the "deterrent" is effective. An honest and caring lad to his core, isn't he.)]

Nothing as irreversible as what you've done to that guard.

[She answers inflectionlessly, unmoving from her spot.]

[dragonmount]

That's not an answer.

[ he speaks so, so softly for the level of intensity in his voice. there is infinite room for what she could've done to eleanor or seraphina, short of death. ]

[expiera]

Are you looking for one?

[Her tone is also deceptively mild, despite the chilling look in her eyes and that she is not presenting herself to him as a threat in the slightest at the moment.]

Or rather, is there any way I can answer that you could possibly find satisfactory?

[There isn't. He should realize this if he thinks about it a little. Isn't that right, fellow Martyr? The only way he can rest is once he gets confirmation with his own eyes, or from a source he can truly trust.]

[dragonmount]

[ in other words, the only reassurance that he can trust is out of his reach. ciel has planted fear in him, under the most ideal circumstances for it to take root. he hasn't complained about his own treatment, has he? he hasn't pled for mercy. a fellow martyr would know so well what she's done, wouldn't she? this, more than anything, is the kind of pain that could break him.

which means that even if her physical mask was destroyed, the intangible one is working: he sees her not as a person, today, but as a monster. there's no asking why she's done this, because monsters hurt people. as well ask the sky why it's blue.

he notices, distantly, that he's started to shake, hands clenched in the newly crumpled paper bag. some distant window, too high up for much but midday light to filter through, has shattered. the Power leaves him almost as soon as he realizes he'd briefly held it.

he doesn't answer. they both know there'd be no point. ]

[expiera]

[Just like Dokja, just like Abel. They're willing to take anything upon themselves, any scorn, any curse, any accusation, any damnation, any abuse, any violence. Takes one to know one.

But what drives them forward is others. What makes them Pleroma is that they have people important to them they don't want to let down, cannot let down. Suppose that's why she stands in opposition to them. All 'Ciel' has left is the specters of her own sins. That's what gives them strength and makes them weak, laughably easy to manipulate when the right strings are pulled. Threaten to harm the people closest to them, and they fold instantly.

He understands the message. He understands his position. He understands he can't just charge in halfcocked, not for his own sake, but for the sake of those around him. He understands there's no reasoning with his enemies, not this monster who stands before him. And with that, this lesson is complete. She will not bring him anything else or attempt to start another conversation. He can go see for himself how Eleanor is faring once he finds a way out of this, but no sooner. This is simply something he is better off learning sooner rather than later, and it is now soundly imparted onto him.

Behave, save his strength. He already knows how things will go if he tries retaliating in front of her again. But her shift will not last forever, she wasn't watching him from the very start. Just like how she came, she will also eventually leave, he needs to learn patience and how to bide his time.

Let the rest of this night be spent learning about that, then. He's still got a long way to go, after all.]