EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (VENERA)

[aionmods]

Sovereign Citizens

VENERA

In contrast the Aion's last visit, they now arrive in Venera on a completely average day... or so it seems. Unlike Godsblood, Venera has been given no warning as to what's about to befall it; the Kenoma are simply authorized to arrive and begin their bloody work without fanfare. Even their entourage of Achamite soldier don't stick out that much; in the time since the plague left, the city has refilled with occupying forces. Notably, the Hylician ones seem to be keeping out of the way, almost as if they've heard some things and would rather not be involved too closely in what's to come.

As opposed to the ghost town it was during the plague, Venera is now reasonably active, with most attending to their usual business. Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers. Initially, the targets of the Kenoma hit list will have no way of knowing what's coming for them, but after the first couple attacks word will begin to spread. Those that have recently been engaging in seditious behavior will become harder to find, leaving their usual homes and workplaces to stay elsewhere, and making other attempts to escape the Regent's attention.

Once those alerts have been raised, the Kenoma will have to engage in more detective work to find their targets, questioning other Venerans and seeking out fugitives in the homes of their family and friends. In the meantime, some of those who believe they are in danger may become desperately enough to seek out the Pleroma directly, imploring them for aid. Unfortunately, seeking out one sect may just as easily draw the attention of the other. Most uninvolved Venerans will be too terrified to intervene one way or another, reluctant to aid in the persecution of their neighbors but fearful of consequences. If your Aion travels openly, it will take some effort to pin them down long enough to hold a conversation.

SEEDS OF DESPAIR

Several days into the culling of Venera, the Aions will have witnessed the city gradually withdraw into itself. The streets become vacant as more and more people decide it isn't worth the risk to be seen outside, abandoning work and play alike to hide out in their homes, refusing to answer their doors to all except the most desperate pleading. Those that can't avoid their daily obligations are quiet and morose, trying their best to remain unseen and unremarked upon.

If your character has been observed as a Kenoma, either now or in their previous visits to the city, the citizens will look upon them as if they are the messengers of death. If you are seen as a Pleroma, they will resist your gaze, as if fearing your presence alone might leave them marked. In rarer cases, you will see those with stronger spirits, with glares of hatred or determination. They are powerless now, but seeds have been sewn, and whether they are the seeds of despair or of action are yet unclear.

By the time the Kenoma's hit list has been fully addressed, several have been killed and several more have been rushed from their homes to flee the city entirely. There have been holes left in the tapestry of the community they were once part of. One way or another, their absence will be felt keenly by those they left behind.

QUESTIONS

What is the best way for Aions to travel to Venera?
Estinien has plans to get an early start for the Pleroma by teleporting to the Lover's shrine and flying somewhere closer to set up a portal from the ocean caves near the Godsblood Lodestone to a spot of farmland closer to Venera. Paul will be setting up a portal directly from Achamoth to one of the Achamite outposts in Venera.

How much force can the Kenoma use while interrogating Venerans?
While they are generally not permitted to kill Venerans who haven't tried to physically fight them, they will be permitted to apply both physical and mental pressure upon those that refuse to provide them with information regarding the whereabouts of their targets. This duress should be proportional to the resistance the Veneran is offering. The Regent is not inviting them to terrorize Venera on a level to a level they cannot reasonably blaim themselves for.

Comments

[coerthantorment]

Estinien can see that his opponent has been staggered, but because of this, he cannot afford to hesitate. He's spotted the doors of the storehouse behind them, big enough to unload onto a cart to take into town. Yet, he suspects that produce is not what it holds now, because why would a Kenoma defend it so determinedly?

He decides to dispense two birds with one stone. He leaps, straight forwards this time, using his body as a missile with which to strike the man. He brings up his spear across his body, using it as a shield against that sword and a tool with which to bludgeon him, forcing the bar of it across Kaeya's body as they meet. The brutal strength of his wings and legs keep his momentum going, taking advantage of his opponent's loss of balance, tackling him back first through the store house's doors.

Whatever lock there may have been shatters beneath their combined weight. He slides across the floor with Kaeya beneath him.

[subsist]

Estinien barrels straight into Kaeya head-on, their combined momentum sending them both crashing against the door. There wasn't much reinforcement beyond the usual locks so it breaks easily enough, not at all capable of stopping them from sliding across the floor and into the building. Kaeya's immediate instinct is to hold onto his opponent by the shoulders while he tries to regain his balance. The temperature around them drops almost immediately, and the floor — once made of wood — is now covered in slippery ice.

It's not exactly his brightest idea, but when you're in a pinch, sometimes you just need to go for the first thing that comes to mind. He makes use of the frozen floor to grapple against his foe, using their momentum against Estinien to flip their positions around. Whether or not it works hardly matters when there's another thing he has to worry about. They've got prisoners in here, and—

All without missing a beat, another wall of ice comes up straight ahead, effectively blocking their careening trajectory. He expects it to break as soon as they collide with it, but at least it isn't going to be Ryunosuke or Thoma.

[coerthantorment]

Unfortunately, Kaeya is running into a situation where Estinien's new limbs give him a major advantage: it's pretty hard to flip someone when they have a massive pair of wings at their sides, and a tail they can stabilize themselves with. As the wall of ice approaches, he beats his wings, slowing their slide, pressing down on the shaft of his spear in an effort to choke Kaeya out.

A growl radiates through his chest, flames licking between his teeth. Something seems to glow bright orange and hot beneath the scales of his neck, rising from his lungs to the back of his mouth. If Kaeya has any familiarity with dragons, he may realize he is about to have fire spat in his face.

[subsist]

With his sword left behind somewhere, Kaeya has very few options left in terms of retaliation. Their momentum is gone, no longer able to use that against Estinien, and now there are the telltale signs of fire brewing from deep within the half-dragon's chest. Fire— it always, always has to come right back to fire, doesn't it? It was a punishment that he already had to contend with many years ago for something that he is yet to be forgiven for, so it really doesn't surprise him that this is going to be his reckoning here as well.

But he isn't willing to accept this as the end. Not yet. Not when he's still willing to fight.

The spear digs into his throat, making it much harder to breathe the longer he lets it go on, so that's what he focuses on first. His hands move from Estinien's shoulder to grasp at the spear, summoning forth cryo energy to begin freezing his opponent's hands onto the weapon. And with every ounce of strength he has left, he attempts to push Estinien off him, wanting to prevent his face from getting straight up melted.

[coerthantorment]

The pain of the metal in his hands freezing is enough to distract him from his attack, the spew of flame coming forth in an unfocused cloud along with his yell of discomfort. It's enough to singe, but not enough to melt, the heat causes the air to twist and his white hair lift in a halo around him.

He does use that heat to rip his claws away from the spear, sending the weapon clattering across the floor before it can do any more damage to his skin. Instead, he comes upon Kaeya with natural weapons, one set of claws closing around his neck as a sound of fury builds within him.

What ends up shattering that wall of ice behind them, at last, is the way that Estinien roars. Kaeya will have nowhere to escape as it rips through him, threatening to break apart both his body and his mind, vibrations surging through floor and sending cracks through the ice. Estinien's lashing tail takes advantage of the shock, coiling around Kaeya's legs and torso, the brutal grain of the spikes digging into Kaeya's flesh as it tightens.

[subsist]

For a moment, Kaeya can only hear the loud thundering of his own heart. It's erratic in the way it beats wildly inside his chest, as if threatening to leap right out because he has no idea if he's going to die right here and now. And while his attempt to rattle Estinien's focus is enough to spare him from a fiery end, he knows that this isn't over. He still has to break free of the dragoon's grasp, and—

Sharp claws descend upon his neck, strangling out any noise that he could ever make. He doesn't have much time to deal with that, because the next thing he knows, Estinien's roar cuts right through to him like a blast he has no way of avoiding. Everything hurts. His mind feels like it's being spliced into two. He feels the coil of Estinien's tail tighten around him, making this much worse than it already is.

There's no escape. Not for him, but he's going to make sure that Estinien has nowhere to go either.

It takes a great deal of effort to hold onto the Pleroma's arm, gripping him tightly with his hands and with every little bit of strength he has left, he begins to freeze them both in place. There's barely any finesse to this attempt given that his emotions are going haywire, so it happens quick and desperately fast. Spikes of bitter cold ice branch out from where he's holding on and spread outwards, gradually increasing in size as it tries to encase the two of them in a wintery prison.

(And if Estinien cares to look, amidst the chaos, there's Kaeya's shard peaking from underneath the eyepatch.)

[coerthantorment]

Estinien only realizes at a delay, as his victory becomes assured, how satisfying this has been. Kaeya is one of them, after all - one of the Kenoma that had dragged him earthward, who had used the fragile peace he'd offered against him. However Kaeya saw it at the time, to Estinien the perception of his slight has been magnified far beyond simply aiding another of his sect in a chance encounter.

Gen had practically said it himself. That he was a threat to them. He'd been taunted. Humiliated.. They'd wanted to take him down all along, hadn't they? To break him, to capture him, to drag him back to their Regent to be flayed of everything that held him together. Is this not justice?

His tail wraps tighter, its spines piercing flesh. His claws bite flesh at Kaeya's throat as he squeezes, rivulets of blood breaking free at each tip. He could, he should end it here, he realizes. He came here for his comrades, after all, and Kaeya could be handled at their leisure if he's captured.

It's that desperate burst of ice that tells Estinien that victory is not yet assured. He feels the cold of it claw at his limbs, threatening to trap him with his opponent. It hurts, but that isn't the primary concern. He will not allow himself to be bound, to be forced into stillness. Not again.

The flash of a shard beneath that eyepatch is all that he needs. He knows that without a shard, an Aion is nothing. If he claims it, every other part of Kaeya will be superfluous.

With a snarl, digs his claws deep into Kaeya's eyesocket, wrenching his shard free.