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

[lifespanned]

Hmmm, there's not anything you want, or anything you want to reverse or do over? Something that rubbed you the wrong way about the world? There must be something.

[ Everyone has struggle and strife in their life, right? Even if it doesn't affect a person directly, there are things in the world around them that need changing, that are impossible to go unnoticed. Misa feels sure that's a constant across the cosmos - why else would the Regent feel so convinced everyone needed their help? ]

Oh! Or maybe there's something you could do for someone you care about?

[ If she had no desire of her own— perhaps there was one she could fulfill for someone dear to her. A very Lover-ish way of thinking, but that's what Misa's mind immediately goes to when she thinks of her own plans for the world, too. ]

[gravings]

[ Big questions... Gray blinks and looks up vaguely as she turns them over in herh ead. As unhappy as she was in her village, and as many issues as she still has with her face, she wonders what the alternative would be. She isn't sure it would have been better if she'd been "normal" by her village's standards, blissfully ignorant or even fully immersed in the fanatic underpinnings of what was essentially an ancient cult.

It's maybe simpler to address Misa's last question, but only maybe. ]

There was someone important to me... He was passionate about magecraft, but he had no natural talent for it. It always tortured him... but I wonder if his suffering and perseverence were what made him more wonderful in the end. If I made a world for him where he could become a powerful mage, maybe he would turn out to be a bad person.

[ Mages were bad people by default in her world, that was just how it was... ]

[lifespanned]

[ ... Huh, Gray is so thoughtful, is the first thing that crosses her mind, because if Misa herself tries to think about if she were in that situation, she's 100% certain she would have just given her important person whatever they wanted, without thinking of the consequences quite like Gray has spelled them out. ]

Oh, right. I didn't think of that... there's a problem, since you already like the way he is, right? But, you know, maybe if he knew it was because of you, he might appreciate you a lot... that'd be worth something.

[ What guy wouldn't feel some fondness for a girl who went to the ends of the world to grant one of their wishes?! But Gray does have a point. Misa is just... short-sighted, compared to her companion, thinking only of the immediate benefits of making such a change— rather than the long term complications that would surely arise. ]

Plus... wouldn't Gray be by his side, to keep him from becoming too wicked?

[gravings]

[ Hm. That's an angle Gray hadn't really thought of. Her head tips thoughtfully. ]

I wonder if he would even listen to me.

[ Gray would think at least a little oddly about someone coming up to her and claiming that all of her powers were thanks to her otherworldly intervention. And she isn't really confident that she could sufficiently act as someone else's moral compass... She peeks aside at Misa. ]

Maybe if I were more like you, Miss Misa... I feel like you could get anyone to believe anything.

[ It's the confidence!! ]