Entry tags:
- !event,
- #innocence,
- archduke j: visionary,
- barnaby brooks jr: lover,
- estinien wyrmblood: firebrand,
- eustace: firebrand,
- father paul hill: martyr,
- kaeya alberich: lover,
- kim dokja: martyr,
- kim kitsuragi: martyr,
- liem talbott: champion,
- majorita: firebrand,
- makoto ("m"): firebrand,
- meteion: innocent,
- ryunosuke naruhodo: champion,
- tartaglia (childe): firebrand,
- yuya sakaki: lover
EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (VENERA)
Sovereign Citizens
VENERA

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 Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers.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.
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.
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.
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As faint as a whisper, the ground beneath his feet tremors, barely enough to rattle a few specks of shattered ceramic. He's never been the type to contain his anger well; he prepares to fight Barnaby, and that vitriol seeps out of him like water through a cracked jug, tainting the very air around him as his magic gears up for release. ]
... you always threaten your "allies" like that, Mr. Hero?
[ Derision drips from that simple two-syllable word. 'Hero.' As if such a thing exists. ]
And don't talk like you know anything about me.
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[His hesitation is plain enough in his body language. But it seems Gen has no intention of backing down, Barnaby glancing down in faint surprise as the ground begins to shake. He doesn't know how powerful Gen's ability is and how much destruction it can cause, and now that he has a hostage, he doesn't want to find out.
Barnaby closes the distance between them and swings a kick up at Gen's torso, on the side he isn't holding the prisoner. He's keeping his power deactivated when he has no interest in killing him, but he does want to end this as quickly as possible. Forcing Gen to let go of him will be the easiest, immediate win.]
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Too bad that sweep kick has perfect form, carving a perfect arc through the air aimed at his side -- the exact same move Eustace has deployed against him countless times during their sparring matches. At this point, dealing with it is almost muscle memory.
Gen catches the kick at his side, sharper and cleaner than might have been expected. And while he does have to let go of his prisoner to do so, Barnaby won't be getting his way so easily -- at the same moment Gen tightens his grip on Barnaby's leg, the poor sculptor gives a terrified yelp as the ground suddenly splits beneath his feet, spilling him to the ground and trapping his lower legs in a tangle of broken floortiles and rubble. Extracting himself to flee will take at least a few moments.
And in the meantime, while Barnaby might be distracted by the man's distress, Gen knuckles down on his grip and abruptly surges forth. Aiming to unbalance Barnaby from his one-legged stance, just as Eustace had done to him before, to wrestle down to the ground. He knows at a disadvantage here if Barnaby really is a pro, as he says; he needs to move fast, before the element of surprise wears off. ]
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Barnaby tries to catch him in a headlock, and Gen promptly jams a hand in between the curve of Barnaby's arm and his own throat, hampering the other's ability to choke him out quickly. And before that grip can tighten any further, he violently jerks forth -- aiming to headbutt Barnaby under the chin, right where it should disorient him, so he can jerk back out of headlock range.
And while there's nothing he can do to prevent the coil of Barnaby's legs around his own, that's fine. He'll deal with it later. For now, his entire focus is on reeling back his free arm to aim a punch right into the bridge of Barnaby's nose. ]
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The headbutt lands with little room for him to avoid it, Gen slipping out of his grip, and he has to twist his face aside to avoid his glasses being shattered by the follow-up punch, his cheek taking the brunt of the blow instead.
Barnaby's still holding back. He knows he is. He grabs the front of Gen's shirt, grimacing at the dull sting of bruises he's sure will blossom before long on his face.]
Can you really kill him? Do you want that on your conscience?
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and jerks to a halt only when faced by that question. ]
... that's what you're going to try to pull now? [ Gen gives a bark of laughter, a harsh and derisive noise. Though a keen eye might note the way it's breathless at the edges. Forced. ] You think I'm too weak to handle this shit?
[ Which isn't what Barnaby said, of course. At all. But it's all he can hear in that nauseating, cloying, surely insincere question Barnaby asks about his fucking conscience. It's enough to make his nerves crawl, and even when he aims another punch at Barnaby's face, it's sloppier this time. ]
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I'm concerned about you. [Which might seem a little rich for someone who just used his NEXT abilities to overpower him, but he wants to talk without getting punched in the face again.] Do you really think hurting a defenceless man is a sign of strength? Or a sign you're just giving up?
[Gen's bright, and he's always spoken his mind up until now, which is why it makes this display of him just going along with orders all the more hard to watch. He doesn't have to -- can't he see that?]
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... fuck you. [ But even reedy and hissed past gritted teeth, his retort is furious. ] I haven't given up on anything, you sanctimonious fuck!
[ There's the scuff of his boots against the floor as he tries to wrench himself out from under Barnaby's weight, hands grappling with Barnaby's forearm. And while that might accomplish relatively little, the tremor that words through the floor below them is a little more foreboding, accompanied by the furious snarl of his words. ]
I don't want to hear that from some half-assed hero who'd abandon his own partner for money! I've always done what I have to do!
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I haven't abandoned him! The whole reason I'm doing this is--! [It's what he'd want. Barnaby had stayed a hero for Kotetsu, and Kotetsu alone, not out of his own virtuousness. Helping others is what his partner would be doing right now, and he'd probably be doing a much better job of trying to talk sense into Gen.
He'd also be telling Barnaby to cool it and not let his emotions get the better of him; he can practically feel the calming hand on his shoulder. If things escalate here, who knows what kind of destruction that tremoring power could be capable of. It could, for all he knows, bring the building down on all three of them.
He swallows and loosens his grip on Gen, before lifting his knee off his chest with the kind of approach of releasing a wild animal. If Gen attacks again he'll respond in kind, but right now--]
--It's why I'm taking this citizen to safety.
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Then again, even as he slowly eases his weight off of Gen's chest, Barnaby must be able to tell that that half-hearted answer of his has resolved absolutely nothing. Gen's eyes are still bright with fury, every muscle in his body pulled taut with a furious tension even as he relinquishes his grip on Barnaby's forearm. And though he's docile and quiet for a moment, it's only that one moment. Nothing more.
As soon as Barnaby's feet alight back on the ground, there's the crack of the tile floor splitting.
Though it's not Barnaby that Gen's targeting -- it's that sculptor. The floor opens up beneath him, a hole the side of a grave opening up below the man's feet and dropping him several feet below ground level. Not enough to deliberately hurt him, but more than enough to earn a startled shout from him and trap him for a few seconds, the noise bound to surprise and distract Barnaby.
And in those few seconds, Gen rolls to his feet to lunge at Barnaby, mace swiftly drawn from its holster at his belt and swinging a wide aimed right at his shoulder. ]
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Gen's moved from someone he should try to help to an active threat to another person's life, now. There's no longer any reason to play nice, so he'll end this quickly while his power is still active.]
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Fuck. Fuck. Like he'll simply let this happen. And if he can't react quickly enough to catch Barnaby in a pinpoint attack, then --
There's fury bright in his eyes as Gen claws back to his feet, but he stays kneeling with hands against the dirt. And the reason for that becomes clear the next moment with the ground in a 10-yard radius around him simply erupts, flooring collapsing and debris flies wildly as he aims to sink Barnaby's feet into the softer dirt below. He doesn't even care any more what happens to that Veneran rebel, if he might get caught in the area of effect. Gen simply wants to catch Barnaby for getting in his way. ]
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Stop it! You're going to bring the building down! [He's already mapping an exit route for himself, and he thinks in the time it takes for complete structural collapse, he could be out and on the streets to safety. He can't say the same for Gen, though.]
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Maybe if Barnaby's quick enough, he can escape that field of dangerous closing in on him. Maybe he can even do it while carrying that rebel. But Gen clearly doesn't care, his gaze a vicious glare focused solely on Barnaby, careless of the way his breaths are starting to come in reedier huffs, the red trickle of a nosebleed starting to stain his upper lip.
Without something to stop him, he really will push himself beyond his limits out of blind anger. ]
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But instead he grabs him by the scruff of the collar and drags him out of the shaking building, all at that same impossibly fast speed.
Once they're safely out onto the street, he sets his rescuee down, who stumbles back and falls to his hands and knees, evidently in shock over what could have been a near-death experience. Barnaby's decidedly less gentle with Gen, who he pins to the nearest wall with a hand.]
Calm down. [He'll give him one last chance to come to his senses before he ends this the hard way.]
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... shut up.
[ His hands claw at Barnaby's forearm in an attempt to dislodge it from his shirtfront. Not to escape, but so he can continue to fight, regardless of the way he'd even struggle to properly stand on his own.
But really, could he be blamed for it? He's clearly blinded by anger, but there's at least a fragment of something more rational buried under that seething rage, made clearer when he snarls, ] -- like I'd listen to a traitorous rat like you! Throwing your own allies under the bus so you can play hero?!
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[But he has no interest in debating the point any further, finally doing what he'd hoped to avoid: he delivers a clean blow to the head to knock Gen unconscious. Once the teenager goes limp, Barnaby lowers him to the ground, intending to leave him here to wake up in his own time or be discovered by another Kenoma.
Then he turns to the rebel.]
Go to your sister; she's already started preparations to leave the city. I'll follow at a distance, and ensure you get away safely.
[The sculptor doesn't need to be told twice, and takes off. Barnaby lets him have a head start, casting one last look at Gen, before leaving him behind -- perhaps for good.]