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 Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers.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

[emblazer]

[ He shakes his head stubbornly. ]

Her shard would have remained or her body, and I know you have the mind link active too with those in your sect. This sounds strange... but I can feel a connection to her still through mine. It's faint and distant, and I can't explain how I know, but she's not in this world.

[ She made it out. He knows she did even if he's well aware he sounds insane, especially when he can't really offer up any proof as to how. It may have just been her innate magic or power. Considering she'd gone toe to toe with the archon of Inazuma, she's far from weak and incapable. ]

She wasn't originally from my own world either. She came from another realm, so it's not her first time moving through the universes. She would have surely gone back to Teyvat to get help for us.

[ He's naively optimistic about it because he doesn't want to abandon all hope and surrender to despair. Not if he has a gut feeling there is a way out of this whole mess. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Matt has a tendency to submerge unpleasant emotions before he knows he has them. Blame a cold WASPy upbringing, with one too many close calls during spats with his parents: As a teenager, Matt's conflagrating magical abilities had a tendency to hook into his emotions, sending lights flickering and dishes tremoring on the dinner table.

But once he does know he feels a thing, he's no good at disguising it. Thoma's reasoning, with such (relatively) concrete pebbles of evidence to support it, instantly sparks connections in his mind, a dreadful cascade of if-then. Later, Matt might be able to come up with counterarguments and rationalizations, but he can't think of any now. ]

I don't know ...

[ He shakes his head, once, and steps back from the barred window. ]

Thoma. I have to go.

You're gonna be okay.

[emblazer]

[ Did he manage to break through someone? He hopes he at least planted a few seeds of doubt, but he's not sure if it will be enough, especially when Matt is likely surrounded by those who believe otherwise far more than any Pleromas. Thoma knows he still has the burden of proof as far as making a case for the fact that worlds beyond this one still exist, but the fact that he can still access his vision powers has given him further conviction that Teyvat yet stands.

Before he can bring that up as well, Matt starts shuffling away, prompting Thoma to wave at him erratically. ]

Wait! Wait–! What about your hand?? Do you have a tourniquet to stop the bleeding?!

[ It doesn't look as though it's oozing an extraneous amount of blood. He's seen enough soldiers have their limbs sliced clean off that he knows the worst threat is leaving a wound like that uncauterized and untended to. ]

I can't heal, but I know some basic first aid!

[semicharmed]

[ Matt freezes, startled by Thoma's change in tempo (and volume). He glances down to his stump, almost guilty--like through this misunderstanding, he's tricked Thoma into thinking he's worse off than he is. Matt takes a sharp inhale, and the dark bandages covering the area start to unwrap themselves, as if being lifted and tugged by invisible fingers. Matt can feel the levitation spell wearing on him. He'll probably want to bolster the next casting he tries with

For now, Matt catches up the bandages in his right hand. He steps forward, lifting his stump towards the window for Thoma's inspection. The injury is a few weeks old, and it's healing pretty well: Xishen did her best to make a clean cut. The skin over the area looks smooth and free of infection, at least. ]

Here. Look.

It's fine.

[emblazer]

[ So it's not fresh... that's good. That means Thoma doesn't have to worry about him bleeding out, and it seems like there is no infection. He also hopes it wasn't one of their own who did this to him, even if they may have had a good reason for it. ]

Alright... I don't know if it will grow back. Can it grow back? That would probably require a good enough healer, but I'll let you know If I come across any.

[ He doubts any of the Pleromas would do him the very kind favor of healing the enemy, but Thoma isn't going to give up. Matt is a nice guy, in spite of his present allegiance... a lot of Kenomas are, and in another world, they'd probably be allies instead of fighting one another because the Regent wants to hasten the world's end. ]

Take care until then... I'd offer to be back-up or act as your missing hand, but I'm a little busy at the moment.

[ Busy being arrested, but hopefully not for too long. Someone is bound to come free him.

...Any second now. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Matt regards Thoma with a wistful expression. He doesn't know how to tell him that his hand will never grow back. That he'll never be the way he used to be. Regardless of a healer's skill, or even the advent of a miracle, the type of magic he and Xishen worked in the cavern does not take kindly to being cheated.

He shakes his head, gently lowering his arm back to his side. ]

You're too good, Thoma.

[ He sounds sad when he says it. He is sad. Thoma's goodness is the kind of force that can't possibly last--it'll be warped, corrupted, misdirected. He'll get so used to plying his goodness that he won't be able to stop, even when the things he wants to save are rotten beyond repair. Matt's affection for the other Aion roils like despair in his chest.

He murmurs: ]

I'll come back and see you later, okay?

[ Without waiting for an answer, Matt turns and hastens around the corner. ]