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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
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 Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers.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.
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.
no subject
You look well. And I'm glad for that. Have you been very busy?
[Meteion doesn't know if she really wants an answer, but politeness is asking, right? And honestly, maybe if Paul isn't too busy, it means that things are going well? Maybe her friends are okay. And he's her friend too, after all.]
no subject
[Should he want this to be going well, given what they're doing? He'd prefer it if this had a stronger point to it - if the Pleroma were actively causing problems here, rather than trying to make an example out of people pre-emptively.
But if the Regent deems it necessary, then he supposes it must be so.]
Thankfully it seems to be decent enough out there today.
no subject
[Meteion pauses, then.] Though if you did get busy, I'd just move on. Unless you needed someone to distract them for a moment. That I can do.
[Another pause.] That or I could take their pain until you could fix them, but the last time I tried that, the person I did it for wasn't very happy with me...
no subject
[Because some part of him imagines that that is what this is actually about - a lack of desire to be out there with all that it entails.]
no subject
I'm not sure how much good I'd be, really. I don't...really fight.
[Every other time, she had the Meteia with her, with the strength in numbers, and the Dynamis that fueled them. Neither are here. Meteion feels a bit more loss over her sisters than the loss of that power, though. Even though the thought of her sisters brings guilt, as well...]
If you think I'll be in the way, though, tell me. I don't want to be a bother, either!
no subject
[Even if she doesn't want to, he might as well extend the offer.]
If it's any consolation, I'm not great in fights either. Though for me it's more that I never had a reason to be.
[He shrugs a bit.]
I have the benefit of being really hard to kill. That's about it.
no subject
[Meteion hasn't ever really done that. She doesn't say anything, but if anyone can look hangdog or guilty, well.
Really, she feels as if she's got a lot to answer for...]
I'm good at running away. [That makes her laugh, just a little, but it's not a terribly nice laugh, really. Meteion realizes that back in Elpis, she did a lot of running from her problems, until she couldn't...]
I think I've stopped running, though. Whatever happens here, happens.
no subject
You know... If anything's ever bothering you, or weighing heavily on your mind - I've taken sacred vows, back where I came from. And so if someone comes to me to tell me anything in confidence - anything they feel guilt for, anything they're seeking absolution or forgiveness for - I can't tell anyone what that person tells me. It'll just be between me and them, forever, unless that person decides they want to talk to anyone else about it. But if anyone else hears about it, it won't be from me.
[It's not an exact representation of it - this is hardly a confessional booth, it's hardly even his place to offer to intercede after everything he's done - but it is what it is, and he wants to offer it to her. Whether she accepts it or not is ultimately between her and God, but it doesn't feel right to not at least try.]
So if you have anything where you think you might feel better after discussing it with someone, I'm always here to listen to you. All right?
no subject
I'm sorry...I don't know what sacred means, though it's clearly very important to you. And I do think I know what vows mean...
[Surely the Ancients felt joining the Convocation was something as important, though Meteion isn't certain that Paul would see it that way.]
I do understand that if I do talk to you, the rest of what you said--it's confidential. You'll be my confidante. I've talked a little, but...[Never confessed to what horrible things she's done. Never explained why she became Kenoma in the first place. Really, she's still not sure she should. But she smiles in any case.]
Whether I do or don't...thank you. It does mean a lot.
no subject
[He tips his head a bit, though.]
Sacred things are... Well, they're things that are held to a higher importance than most things. Have you seen the churches around Achamoth? Their rituals and practices are considered sacred to them, because they believe they're what the Regent would want them to do, or because they feel closer to the Kenoma when they do them.
What's sacred to me might not be to you, but that's fine, that's just how people are.
no subject
Meteion nods, then, although she looks a but uncertain, again. Mostly because that was a thing that did not exist back on Etheirys. The Ancients never considered such things, during their frenzy of creation. Maybe they were too busy? Still, it was something that she could wrap her head around, in the end.]
It's more important than what I've thought of, I get that, but it's personal preference or belief? My creator loved apples in syrup, but now that I can eat, I think I prefer Ser Haron's shortbread cookies with jam as my favorite food. That's not sacred, but I get that it's...like a higher ideal? Or it can be?
[Meteion laughs, then, for a moment.] I'm probably not wording that very well.
no subject
[His expression is easy, at least; he isn't offended by the comparison or anything. He just shrugs after a bit.]
A lot of things, where I come from, are very based on personal preference and belief. As long as it's not hurting anyone, most people can just do what they want. I was leader of a particular church where I came from, so I had different responsibilities and restrictions. Sort of like I do now at one of the churches in Achamoth, though the belief system is different here.
no subject
But maybe that sort of thing is the point?]
What happens if it does hurt someone else, though?
[She would ask the tough questions...]
no subject
A lot of it depends on why someone might hurt people. It might be a case of them not knowing better, or hurting people accidentally. It might be a case of hurting someone ultimately being necessary, and there's not a lot that anyone can do about it.
It might also be because the person in question just really likes hurting people.
Reasons count for a lot, in the end.
no subject
And it wasn't death to all life. Meteion had felt that herself, even though the Regent had told her that she had had a rather unique perspective on it all, was the closest, perhaps, to truly understanding.
But she still wasn't sure that it was right.]
But it is true people can have bad reasons for doing good things? And then the other way around? Good reasons, but the things they do aren't really good, but they think they are?
no subject
Well, they would have been different, he's sure.]
It is, yes. No one is truly perfect in their understanding of things; there's always the possibility of things like that happening. We can just do our best with what we have.