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 Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers.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

[Ryunosuke fixes Kaeya with his sharpest glare yet. His head is throbbing, he's still exhausted from their fight, but this is much too important for him to give his response anything other than the utmost gusto:]

I could just as easily argue that declaring defeat before you've even attempted to grasp the full scope of the truth is every bit as foolish, sir.

[It's a strain, especially after using it for so long earlier, but Ryunosuke's Insight activates again almost without his meaning. He's still desperate to understand the Kenoma, this one in particular, and overall he just wants to know-- Do they really believe this guff that the Regent is selling them? Have they given an iota of thought to the fact that the Regent has every reason to lie to them?]

As far as I've seen, the death of this world being an inevitability is only such as declared by one person. Is that not true? One person, who, when pressed, dodges all questions and weasels their way out of providing any kind of assurance other than their own word that our worlds have already been finished by their hand. Then they say that this world is set to be the next, and so we should all gladly let them tear everything down. And you're really willing to just... Accept that?! Without question!?

[subsist]

[ everyone lies— that's an unchallenged truth that kaeya has lived with for most of his life. he has never been the type to believe in people's kindness at surface value, so the same goes for anyone who has more sinister things in mind, like the regent. it's hard to say just how much kaeya believes what the regent has told everyone, because ryunosuke is right — they haven't once given a straight answer nor any proof to back up their claims — but at the same time...

whatever flicker of doubt kaeya has only shows in a bright whisp of blue, but when he fixes ryunosuke with a steady gaze, it slowly dies out. ]

I'll give you that. The Regent isn't exactly the most straightforward when it comes to their claims, but what of the Pleroma? What about you? How do you plan to bring back what was taken from us?

[ everything that he's kept inside is spilling forth without him meaning to, because this isn't something he wants to confront right now— but there it is, anyway. ]

Were you banking on the power of... hope? To get you through this?

[ muted laughter escapes him. it's bitter and cruel all at once. ]

What good will it to do keep this world alive?

[ it won't bring back everything, everyone, that is now gone, so why should it get to stay? ]

[locumstudentesquire]

[Ryunosuke holds that gaze without flinching, even as that flicker of doubt is snuffed before his very eyes. His heart pounds furiously, but this time, it's not out of fear; this is about as close as he's come to feeling the way he used to in court, when he'd spot a killer contradiction, or go up against a hostile witness with winning evidence in hand.]

Why are you so certain that anything has been taken from us in the first place?

[There isn't a single trace of humor about his expression as he says it. He's dead serious.]

Have you not considered that the Regent has every reason to try and convince us that our worlds are gone? To try and make us despair, and give up? They claim to be directly responsible for the destruction, even, and yet they claim to need our help to end THIS world? They have no explanations, no proof, nothing. You want to know what good it will do to keep this world alive, well, I don't know. And I'm not about to sit here and lie to you by claiming that any of us have any kind of plan.

What I DO know is that as long as this world still exists, we can hunt for the answers that the Regent refuses to give us. If the sparing of innocent lives isn't reason enough for you to value this world, then at least consider this! It's much too soon to write off our homes and loved ones as a loss!

[subsist]

[ winning evidence can't triumph over someone's withering heart. when your life has nothing been one misfortune after another, sometimes you just get tired of being told to hope for the best. while there is conviction in ryunosuke's eyes, the emotion that flickers in kaeya's is one of resignation.

maybe if he were a better person, this would have been enough to move him, but all it does is convince him that the pleroma has no idea what they're doing. ]

So many words, and yet not a single one holds any kind of weight. Your lofty ideals mean nothing in the face of this reality. [ a sigh. ] Reality is harsh, Ryunosuke. There is no fairytale ending, no perfect solution waiting for you out there just because you're so desperate to find it.

[ quietly, he bridges the distance between the two of them and grabs ryunosuke by the collar, dragging him close. ]

So wake up. They're all gone, and they aren't coming back.

[ kaeya lets him go, and then turns to walk away. ]

[locumstudentesquire]

[If only Ryunosuke knew. If only Kaeya weren't so insistent on keeping up that act, on obscuring his long, painful history of betrayal and disappointment... Ryu catches just a hint of it now, and for the first time, he's seeing it expressed through something other than a flickering aura that the man isn't aware of and can't conceal.

If he knew, Ryu would tell him that he doesn't have to hope for the best. If Kaeya is spent, if he doesn't have it in him to keep searching for answers after being beaten down so many times already, that's fine. Ryunosuke's not asking for his participation. The Kenoma can leave the hoping and the fighting and the struggling to the ones who are still willing to keep at it. What Ryunosuke wants, is for Kaeya and the other Kenoma to at least give them a chance to try to get to the bottom of all this, instead of running interference and upending the board before they've even had a chance to start.

Unfortunately, Kaeya is Kaeya, and Ryunosuke is not a mind-reader, nor does he have Himeka's ability to see people's pasts. He's just a guy, trying to work with what pieces have been given to him. There are several points which Kaeya makes that he'd like to rebut, mostly backed by indignation at the implication that being determined to find the truth is inherently naive or childish. Reality IS harsh, he knows that all too well. Maybe this won't have a happy ending, he doesn't need Kaeya to tell him that.

...He doesn't get the thought out, because Kaeya's suddenly got his shirt collar gripped in one hand, pulling him upward against the constraint of the ropes that bind him to the pillar. Ryunosuke makes a choked noise of surprise but glares back ferociously as they lock eyes, sharp teeth gritted and bared.

That last verbal barb may as well have be jabbed at a concrete wall, for all the impact it seems to make on the Pleroma; he doesn't appear rattled in the slightest. And he probably should leave it there, and let Kaeya retreat if he can't handle the truth, but... Sometimes, Ryu just can't take a hint.]

Call me desperate all you like; I've heard it all before. [His glare is still pinned at the back of Kaeya's head as he tries to leave, and he adds:] Have you tried Communing with Lumine since she left?

[subsist]

[ was kaeya's last statement meant to be a jab at ryunosuke or was it just yet another attempt to convince himself? a part of him is also desperate to believe that their worlds aren't gone, that somehow, against all the odds, mondstadt is still out there, and everyone is just waiting for him to come back. nowadays, it's so hard to tell whether he truly believes that the city he loves is gone or if it's just the kenoma leaving no room for him to believe otherwise.

nowadays, it's so hard to believe in anything at all.

this isn't really something that ryunosuke can fix. it isn't something that mere words will be able to smooth over because it's a lot more complicated than that, especially when the root cause goes much deeper. if only ryunosuke knows, if only he can understand why kaeya is the way he is, then maybe —

when asked if he tried communing with lumine since she left, this is all he has to say: ]

Yes. It felt a lot like reaching out to an empty void. There wasn't a single trace of her left.

[ it's a lie, of course, because he doesn't want to know what'll happen if he does. maybe he's afraid to know. he leaves it at that. it's not like he has anything more to say.

and if ryunosuke tries to call for him again, he'll ignore it. ]

[locumstudentesquire]

[Well, Kaeya gets one measly tally mark under his name, for those keeping score in this argument: Ryunosuke does look surprised by his answer.

Unfortunately he alsonot what it feels like. At all.

Why is he so desperate to ignore the truth?

Kaeya can probably feel Ryunosuke's disapproving frown at his back as he goes, but the Pleroma doesn't try to stop him or call him back in; he's too tired to keep kicking up a fuss, and he doesn't see the point in it anyway. To him, this is kind of a victory... Albeit a hollow one. His opponent may have gotten the last word in, but Kaeya going from smug to angry and then retreating entirely means he must have made some kind of impact.

Maybe he'd pat himself on the back if he weren't still tied up and most likely Achamoth bound.]