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 Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers.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

[locumstudentesquire]

[He's starting to lose his grip as far as his Insight is concerned. He hasn't quite mastered using it for long spans of time yet-- not without causing a certain amount of mental strain to himself. And in a weakened state like this, it can be even trickier to keep up. Kaeya's aura seems to be growing fainter right before Ryunosuke's eyes, and only the occasional straining surge brings everything back into focus long enough for him to still observe it. It's an incredible coincidence that he manages to catch sight of the cool blue that's present for a split second there, at the center of it all.

Despite everything, he still wishes he could understand what drives this man.

Well. Maybe there will be time to figure it out yet, he thinks to himself grimly, after the Regent does their dark magic and forces me to serve the Kenoma... They'd be co-workers, then, right? Assuming the Regent didn't just shatter his shard on sight for his association with the Innocence...

He hisses when Kaeya readjusts his grip, his breathing continuously unsteady as the other man forces him to his feet and bears down on him, their faces uncomfortably close. Ryunosuke really, really wishes he'd shut up and just kill him already, if that is indeed what he's planning on doing. He has no last words. Just a stubborn, angry glare that at least does a decent enough job of making up for the obvious fear present in his eyes...

"Ryunosuke!"

Out of the blue, a shout comes from the doorway behind them. Ryunosuke's heart sinks, his pupils contracting to pinpricks.

If Kaeya turns to look, he'll spot woman who appears to be in her 40s or so. She's clearly terrified for Ryunosuke, and unwilling to leave him behind. Upon hearing her voice, Ryunosuke starts to squirm anew against Kaeya's grip, digging deep and wrenching up the strength to take a swing at his head with one clumsily aimed fist.]

[subsist]

[ this is the part kaeya enjoys the most: just seeing that sliver of fear mixed in with the determination and anger. ryunosuke makes it too fun to terrorize him like this but that's about as far as that goes. despite his words, he doesn't intend to outright kill the little guy since he doesn't think he needs to go that far, and—

Ryunosuke!

his head whips over to the one who called out that name, a careless mistake, one that costs him a clear view of the man he's pushed against the wall. ryunosuke takes the chance to sock him in the jaw, and it succeeds in making kaeya let him go. there's light bruising on his skin, but it hasn't wiped out the smirk on his face. ]

... Cheap shot.

[ whether or not he sounds impressed is up for debate.

instead of retaliating against ryunosuke, however, he charges straight at the woman, aiming to take a cheap shot of his own. if he isn't stopped, or if she doesn't run away, she'll find herself skewered in one of the new frozen swords that kaeya has manifested again. ]

[locumstudentesquire]

[He almost doesn't expect that blow to land, nor does he expect Kaeya to actually let go of him that easily. His legs almost give out from under him as he's released, and he slides partway down the wall before he manages to catch himself with both hands splayed against brick.

This is one of those moments where time seems to almost stand still; seconds becoming minutes, minutes becoming hours... Kaeya charges towards the Veneran. Ryunosuke sees the ice sword glinting in his hand--

This whole fight, he's been trying desperately to hold this other Aion off, without causing any direct damage. That's just in his nature; he doesn't want to draw blood, he doesn't want to wound. He knows there are many on both sides who scoff at the very idea of avoiding bloodshed, in this conflict that keeps being referred to as a war... But violence just doesn't come easily to him.

Yet, he'd also promised to protect this family, whatever it took. They'd helped him; they'd given him a roof to sleep under and fed him, told them of their city's history and its cultural plight, of its lost knowledge... They'd chosen to associate with him, despite the risks inherent to doing so with a fugitive Pleroma. He'd put a target on their backs just by speaking to them. If anything happens to any of them...

In the most literal, combative sense, he has never actually understood what it really means, to attack in order to defend. Not before this exact moment.

He moves without thinking, surging to his feet with a renewed strength and ferocity, his sheer determination to protect overcoming the cold and his pain and exhaustion. And his body is changing as he moves, without his even noticing; fingers morph out claws, teeth sharpen into fangs. Under his clothes, patches of scales start to spread up his back, spreading to his neck and hands. Yet there's no new magic awakening in him here, no hidden ability he's suddenly tapping into. It's just sheer, foolish, gumption fueled adrenaline, a moment of self actualization provoked by the most dire of circumstances. His desires, his sense of purpose, are both molding his Aion body, giving him new form.

He's going to fight tooth and nail to defend these people who can't defend themselves. Even if it means throwing himself in harms way. Even if it means trading blows.

He slams into Kaeya from behind with all his weight, tackling the Kenoma to the ground. The woman in the doorway, who has been frozen in terror at the sight of the Kenoma sprinting towards her, gets her wits back about her and screams, dropping the wood carving mallet she'd brought to the doorway with her for protection.

Both Aions tussle violently on the ground, Ryunosuke snarling like an animal as he tries to hold Kaeya back without getting slashed. Without taking his eyes off of his opponent, he shouts at the woman in question:]

Don't worry about me, just get moving already!!!!!!

[This time she listens, though Ryunosuke is too occupied to see her go. Something lashes behind him as he snarls; it's a testament to how painless and natural the transformation is, that he's grown an entire reptilian looking tail in the course of the last few seconds without even noticing. Which ought to be interesting for him to cope with later, once he realizes... For now, it poses an extra threat to Kaeya, as he has no bones about whipping it at the Kenoma while they scuffle, if the opportunity presents itself.]

[subsist]

[ curious how posing a threat to someone else is what seems to work. then again, it shouldn't really surprise him too much. he'd marked ryunosuke as someone with a bleeding heart from day one, so of course he'd finally act once kaeya goes after someone else. he'll file that away for future scenarios, but for now...

the tackle coming from behind knocks the wind right off his chest, and once he finds himself on the ground, the scuffle begins. it's messy and aggressive, reckless and careless, but it does the trick: it buys the woman and her family some time to escape while kaeya is busy attempting to overpower the little guy who is so desperate to protect them. ]

So you do have sharp teeth, after all.

[ that is, ryunosuke isn't going to remain as someone who isn't going to fight back, which is a good thing. it makes things a whole lot more interesting.

maybe ryunosuke might be able to tell that kaeya has shifted gears at some point. no longer is he trying to pin him down on the ground, but rather his hand reaches for the closest thing he can wield as a weapon — it could be anything at all, and what he ends up grabbing ahold of is the very same mallet the woman had dropped. without wasting another second, he'll use it to knock ryunosuke out cold in one strike, hoping that the man has a thick skull given how persistently stubborn he's been throughout all this.

if he doesn't, well... ]

[locumstudentesquire]

[...He doesn't see the mallet coming. How could he? He'd barely even registered that it was there in the first place. And Kaeya has been wielding ice as his weapon this whole time; it doesn't occur to Ryunosuke for a second that he might change the script like this.

Turns out his skull must really be that thick, or maybe Aions really are just made of sterner stuff than regular humans are; maybe Kaeya's blow gets absorbed somewhat by the bony roots of Ryunosuke's horns. Whatever the reason, the hit doesn't instantly drop him, but it does stun him. Significantly.

With a cry of shock he reels back, obviously disoriented, eyes crossed, vision blurring ominously... Which leaves him wide open for Kaeya to finish the job. He won't have much room for coherent thought before he loses consciousness anyway.

Seems he'll be missing the boat back to Godsblood after all.]

[subsist]

( ooc. it works just fine!! don't worry your little head over it— )

[ it's rather crass and inelegant, but the mallet does what kaeya needed it to do. a cheap trick too, and yet when has playing nice ever helped anyone get anywhere? he doesn't bother wasting anymore time thinking about what he did seeing that it did give him the opening he wanted, letting him knock ryunosuke out with the usual pressure point trick.

luckily for ryunosuke, kaeya is feeling merciful enough not to let him drop to the floor, catching him before he falls. he won't leave him outside either so he drags him inside the house through the door that was left wide open. once he's sure the man isn't going to wake up any time soon is when he finally leaves him, scoping out the house in order to check every nook and cranny.

it's almost frustrating to see that the family had managed to escape, but it doesn't surprise him. ryunosuke did buy them enough time, after all, so he's willing to give the guy some credit. it's just too bad that this means he's left empty-handed seeing as the targets are gone, but then again—

he heads back to where he left the unconscious pleroma, watching him closely while he considers what to do next. it only takes a few moments, but his expression shifts into something more muted and unreadable when he is reminded of an ominous idea he'd once proposed to... none other than barnaby, their turncoat. it's almost annoying, really, thinking back on it, and it does make his mood a whole lot worse, but this is an opportunity that doesn't come by so easily.

he can only hope that a certain dragoon won't fail to come to ryunosuke's aid. ]