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

[baltimores]

[ When she nods, he figures she gets it. He's done his job; he's assuaged her fears about Vaeka's upcoming execution; about everything they're going to be doing from here on out on the Regent's behalf. He's helping her find her place among the Kenoma's ranks, and that can only be a good thing.

Now they're apparently moving on to just him, and... that's fine, too. She'd helped him in the past. She clearly cares, has a kind heart. He trusts her, likes her, so he'll indulge. ]

Yeah. They were that bad.

[ A beat as he pauses, finishes off the tea she'd given him. ]

I know there are people here who want to live in this world. But if it was me, where I grew up, and someone told me everyone was going to die? I wouldn't have minded. It'd have been better.

[gravings]

[ She can believe that. As sensitive and mindful as Amos is, she can feel the cold steel in him too, the part of him that probably makes him a good fighter. His statement should feel immoral, maybe even frightening, but it doesn't. There's a part of her that understands how it is to feel so detached from everyone else that it becomes hard to think of them as people — though she may never go so far as to wish their deaths, and she's aware that she's a fool for being sentimental about people who would gladly see her dead.

She wonders what the difference is between her and Amos (aside from the obvious ones that come at a glance). It's strange to relate to someone so quickly yet exist in such a difference place from him. Maybe it's as simple as a gulf in experience. When she's as old as he is and has seen as many things, maybe she'll understand him perfectly, be just as faithless in state of the world.

In any case, he's finished his tea, which means their break time is over. She nods again to say that she understands his viewpoint and reaches for his empty cup so that she can deliver it to whatever kitchen exists here. ]

Even if your homeworld wasn't kind to you, I hope things have been better for you in this one.

[ Which may be a weird thing to hope for when they've been saddled with this heavy work. ]

[baltimores]

[ He's in the process of handing off his cup to her, ready to go back to keeping watch proper — at least, until she offers him that sentiment. Amos pauses mid-action, something of a stupefied look crossing his face.

After a second or two of delay, he smiles a small smile, his head dipping slightly, finally letting Gray take the cup back. There's something pleasant and warm to this, and he feels it like an echo of the tea he'd just had, something in him lighting up the way he'd felt as he'd drank it. ]

I had some good people back where I came from. Found some good people here, too. [ She's one of them. He doesn't try to look into her eyes; more at the top of her hood, though his gaze is pointed enough he figures she'll get the message. ] Things have been good here. I hope they've been good for you, too.

[ Even as their ultimate goal is to destroy this world, along with every other one — but that doesn't mean they have to have a bad time along the way.

He gives her a small nod. ]

Thanks, Gray.

[ And after he sees her off, it'll be back to keeping watch, playing his part in ensuring a woman dies. ]