aionlogs | EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (VENERA)

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 Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers.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

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It is; Paul's attunement is more than strong enough to notice it, and it's something that he's well aware of for other reasons - namely, the rituals he takes part in generally don't cause effects like that.

It's also not something that you just bring up. If Matt wants to discuss it, he imagines that he will.]

Going out to finish what we've started here today? Or, well. Try to, I guess.

[Not that he's had success either, really.]

Try to, [ Matt agrees ruefully. ] My estimation of how this was gonna go was never hugely optimistic, but I am ... truly not good at arresting people.

[ He doesn't want to be, of course. But on a purely logistical level, he's pretty fundamentally unsuited to the work. Matt finds people to be complex, curious beasts, their inner workings the ineffable result of environment, upbringing, the butterfly wings of chance, memory, habit, their own eternal cores. As such, he's bad at predicting people's movements, bad at following them, and bad at inquiring as to their whereabouts. The possibilities feel too vast for Matt to narrow them easily. ]

[Paul shrugs at that.]

I'm pretty sure there are worse things to be bad at.

[It'd be nice, perhaps, if any of them were acceptable at it - not because he really wants to arrest and murder people, but because it would make getting their job over and done with far easier. He's sure some of the others have had some luck, and that's good on them, because...well. Yeah.]

We'll be done here soon enough.

[ Matt pulls a rueful face. ]

I hope so. I feel like I'm better at doing almost anything else.

[ For a moment, he hesitates, hovering on the edge of a question. Then he says, ] Do you think we're gonna have to do this again, though? I mean, I know eventually this is all gonna end, but this feels very ...

Needle in a haystack-like?

[ And political, of course. Viciously so. ]

I don't know.

[It's the most straightforward answer, simply because it's the most honest; he has no idea what the Regent has planned for them at this point, whether that's doing this again or not.]

I can't really say I love the idea of doing this again, but if it's necessary we'll do it. There are reasons for all of it, even if we aren't particularly invested in the task.

[And he'd made his thoughts known on those reasons when it came to the Regent's address recently. He's still steadfast in his convictions, of course, but that doesn't mean he can't think the task itself kind of sucks?]

[ Matt nods, taking a sip of his coffee. His food remains untouched, and he really should eat if for nothing but the morale boost, but he hasn't actually eaten "with" anybody but his retainer since he lost his hand. He doesn't like the idea of fumbling to do a basic task in front of Paul. ]

I don't think I understand the reasons still, [ he admits. A rueful smile at Paul over the rim of his mug. ] Which I know, I'm always doing. "I don't get it, I don't understand."

[He's noticed that Matt isn't eating anything, though it's hardly his place to talk on that front; it's another thing they can pointedly not discuss for now, like the matter of Matt's hand as a whole.]

I've never faulted anyone for not understanding. As long as people are willing to learn from it, it's not really something we should hold against them.

[He shrugs a bit, though.]

I get that it's different when it's something you're supposed to go along with, and aren't really allowed to get into. It'd be nice if the Regent were a little more...approachable? Among other things.

[Paul usually doesn't criticize the Regent; he's usually aggressively onboard for whatever they tell him to do. But he gets that the Regent isn't the most...likeable of people, nor are they exactly comprehensible a lot of the time.]

[ Matt nods ruefully. It's a relief to hear someone else say what he's thinking, and not in the "the Regent murdered my old god" way Liem had done it. Not that Matt blames Liem: He'd been understandably upset, and Matt had gotten him drunk, albeit by accident. ]

I've been ... trying to think about it on my own. The reasons there might be.

One being that, you know, everyone here will have to die eventually. Us too. Which doesn't answer the whole ... why we're picking who we're picking question, apart from politics. [ Pause. ] But then I thought, I guess it's possible that a bigger rebellion would make it harder for us to do what we need to. Some of us could even die, or--our version of it. And then it makes sense to put it down while it's smaller, even if I can understand why people might rationally be doing what they're doing.

[ An almost hopeful note has entered his voice. There's a reason, after all, that Matt returned to academia when he didn't have to anymore--when his parents did their best to forbid it, and finally cut him loose. To make the world a better place, yes. But also because a piece of him yearns for the approval of having his ideas validated, cited, degreed. And what's the church if not another ivory tower? ]

[...Matt...]

That is more or less what the Regent has been saying, yes.

[Congratulations, you found the exact reason we were given? For the love of god.]

... What. [ Matt looks somewhere between disbelieving and sheepish. Is there even a slight possibility that he's been freaking out and miserable for days over nothing? Because if so, "embarrassing" doesn't quite say it. ] I heard them say a lot about temporal politics in their address, a lot about fealty, and basically nothing about the ultimate goal of creating a better universe.

Largely because it's something we already know, and something our enemies won't be convinced of regardless of who tells them. You've heard them yourself, they aren't going to listen because they're completely unwilling. Why should we waste our time reaffirming to them what we're trying to do?

I keep trying because I think a few of them might at least be willing to engage in good faith. I don't blame the Regent for not bothering with them.

That's not exactly what I mean, [ Matt protests, frowning. ] Though ... that might be some of where I got confused. We are two very different groups of people.

[ He takes another sip of coffee as he tries to marshal his thoughts. ]

I don't mean they have to bring up our overarching goal every time they say anything. It's more like, I have no sense of the architecture of all this. What are the signs when we're getting closer? If it's just more death, why aren't we going out and killing as many people as we can? The connective tissue between the action and the goal is what I can't really see right now.

The connective tissue between the action and the goal are exactly what was said, though. They stated they were doing this to cull the vine, to keep any further ideas of rebellion down while they're starting in order to avoid a total collapse of order later. They told us that, and they told us that the peace between Venera, Godsblood, and the other areas has been fragile as it is. This is to try to keep things from getting completely out of hand.

That's...literally what we were told. I don't see what's hard to parse about it.

[ Well. He can't really argue with that. Maybe, ultimately, it really is only a stylistic disagreement--that he wanted the Regent to reemphasize what they're doing all this for. Maybe he does want them to say it every single time.

Which, Paul's right. He shouldn't need that to stay focused.

Matt would sort of like to crawl out of his skin right now, but instead he just nods. ]

Yeah. I guess. Never mind, then.

It's all right, it happens.

[Paul, for his part, actually doesn't seem to be judging too hard? Maybe he should be, but the fact of the matter is that he isn't.]

It's something of a faith matter, more than a lack of understanding, I think. Like I said, it'd be easier if the Regent were less... [uh] ...like that, but in the end it is what it is.

[ Matt's judging himself hard enough for both of them, it's cool. His lips twitch for faith matter, likewise self-disappointed. But he manages to rally a little, glancing back up to Paul's face with a cautiously brighter expression. ]

Well. I'm glad I talked to you. [ Paul is certainly easier to believe in than the Regent, to Matt's mind. ] I didn't realize how stuck I was in my own perspective. It's always good to get another point of view.

You know I'm always here for you, if you need anything. I'm just glad I can help once in a while.

[He doesn't say anything for a moment, though, just sort of considering words.]

I don't know, maybe I see the Kenoma and what we're trying to do differently than most. But I feel like it's something worth having faith in, at least.

[ Matt smiles faintly. ]

I do have faith in it. My kind of faith, but ...

Everything we talked about in the cavern. Wildfires and wiping slates clean and death being an essential part of life ... I believe in that. I always have.

[ It's lonely, of course. And only getting lonelier in some ways. But at least, with Paul, Matt feels that someone else understands. ]

I'd imagine so - you probably wouldn't have made the sacrifice that you have, otherwise.

[His gaze flicks down to Matt's hand, or the position it presumably would be in, were it still there.]

[ Matt's eyes widen, as if surprised that Paul's noticed. He isn't, of course--the change is pretty hard to miss--but maybe he thought they'd get through today without talking about it. ]

Ah ... yeah.

[ Matt shrugs. ]

Well, if it all has to go away eventually, I thought--why not turn that into something useful.

A lot of people think of it that way, or something similar. They feel that losing parts of themselves to the Kenoma gives the loss meaning. I've seen it a lot lately.

[No comment on whether he agrees with it or not, he's just...seen it a lot.]

Some people extend things like that to their senses. Their eyes. Their lives. It depends on the person.

I don't think it's just a feeling, [ Matt says slowly. ] At least not for me.

Xishen said she can turn sacrifice into magical energy. And when she cut my hand off, there was definitely a result. We saw the Innocence for a minute, we got like, an insight into her nature, and then ...

I don't know. I don't know if the effects will extend beyond that. But Xishen thought they might. And I do feel ... different.

Be careful how much you sacrifice to Xishen.

[It's as calm as ever, but there's a sense of strictness to it, buried in the undercurrent.]

You remember the cavern.

[ Matt shoots Paul a rueful smile. ]

Who could forget?

But it's okay. I don't think she'd want to take any more from me anyway.

I mean... I'd be concerned if she wanted to?

[Just saying? Like, Jesus Christ, Matt.]

Even if you were to offer, people probably shouldn't be overeager about that.

EVENT #5: SOVEREIGN CITIZENS (VENERA)

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