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 Shops are open, and its people are withdrawn but superficially friendly when meeting strangers.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

[subsist]

[ there's a whole lot to unpack in silco's answer. first, that gen and m having the boost must have been enough to turn the tides in their favour, only to be thwarted almost immediately by the entity, and then second, silco isn't shy about how much he hates that thing. kaeya thinks that's understandable, given what it could do.

it's just— now it just feels like the task of taking that being down is a herculean effort. ]

Then it sounds like we have our work cut out for us.

[ if the way to lure the entity out again is by overwhelming an already powerful foe, then he doubts it's something that will be easily accomplished a second time around. this happened by convenient happenstances falling into place, and they're definitely going to need more than just a boost in strength and speed.

he grows pensive as he considers different possibilities, something that's a bit difficult to achieve when he is still in recovery, but he tries. ]

... At least we can rely on Estinien to be predictable in some regards. If he can be lured once, then I suppose as long as the bait is tempting enough, I doubt he'd refuse to come.

[ and they can use that against him, too. ]

[zauneyete]

No, I doubt he wouldn't. He'll be wherever we can lure him, for certain.

[ He says, his tone appreciative. Silco did like predictability, when it was like this. It meant that his plans could be formed around that, and less around the questions, the unknowns. Silco was a planner, a plotter. He wanted to sit back, and let the chips fall into place, and so often, he found that he wasn't able to do it.

He took a sip of his drink, pensive when he did so. ]

We'll figure this out. Once we all get back. I'm sure the Regent will have...information about what that was, as well.

They had suggested that it was going to be too powerful, but I had not expected... that.

[ Still laden with hate. The thing had tried to take over his body. His hand had snapped. It had driven the Kenoma away from him, and it had dared to insult him over choosing destruction when he had no care for this world or it. It sounded offended when he'd made a choice he would make over, and over again, until the universe spit his daughter and Zaun back out before him in supplication. He hated the thing because it had tried to give him a false sense of security -- remind him of a time when his soul was quiet, about to give in, but Silco was violent, and hateful to a world that had dared to try to pull him under.

How dare it. ]

It proves that we must take care of it. As soon as possible.

[subsist]

[ there's a lot to take in — not just silco's words, but the emotion sneaking around every syllable. he already knows that the man isn't too fond of the innocence entity, given what it could do, what it could take away from them. it's just surprising to find out how deep that dislike goes. silco hates it so much he isn't able to contain himself like he normally could.

it's the first time kaeya has seen him this way. there's a part of him that thinks he shouldn't comment on it, but maybe it'll help reel silco back in. ]

You really aren't fond of this entity, are you?

[ thank you, captain obvious. it should hopefully do the trick though. ]

... If the Regent does have more information on what the entity could do, then I'm sure we'll make good use of it.

[ there's not much more they can do out here, not when they've made barely made it out of that encounter. ]

[zauneyete]

[ It works, about as well as one can expect. Silco did breathe in, breathe out, and run a hand through his hair, to put things back into place. ]

Of course I do.

[ It had tried to change him, against his will. It had tried to soothe the monster within him, tried to drag him down underneath the waves, pull him into that comfortable lull, where one would be happy. Silco hated that thing because it had tried to do something, and Silco had already pulled free of it. He had done that once, and yet it had very nearly taken him in. Nearly, it had almost convinced him to fall into its daze. It had taken someone else to pull him out, and Silco was furious at it, for even getting close. ]

But you are correct. I am quite certain the Regent knows what to do, in this. I'll be reporting back, when this is over. They were familiar enough with it, that I'm positive they will have a way to make it dance on their string.

They even sounded a bit...excited to try killing it.

[subsist]

[ there it is again— kaeya will take it as a sign that it worked, even if it wasn't quite enough. it is quickly becoming apparent, however, that there is only one surefire way to soothe the hatred that silco harbours towards the entity. there isn't anything else that'll work just as well, he realizes. ]

... They're familiar with it? [ that's new... but not entirely surprising. ] That only works in our favour, right?

[ is it wishful thinking? maybe. but if the regent knows about what the entity is capable of, then surely they'll know how to take it down? one can only hope. ]

I do hope they can shed some light on what the entity can do, just so we know what exactly it did to the rest of us.

[zauneyete]

[ Unless it's dead and buried, there really is no way for Silco to be soothed over his hatred. Then again, this is a man who plotted revenge in a canning factory while he tested a drug for years. That was how Silco was. What he did. He would not rest until the thing was gone, revenge for daring to try to soothe him, silence him. Put him to rest.

There was so little difference between silence, and death, to a man who fought tooth, claw, and nail to survive. ]

I do as well. It was... offensive, that they dared to do so. I should think that the Regent will want to escalate our attempts, now that we know what they can do.

Perhaps, of course, this will be a moot point, and the Regent will not be able to counter it. We will have to prepare ourselves for the possibility that until it is dead, we may be visited by this thing time and time again.

[subsist]

I'm not all that interested in letting that entity get the better of us a third time around, so if we're going to lure it out again, then I would prefer it to be the last time.

[ after all, no one wants this being to continue to roam freely when considering how powerful it is. that, and he's not sure how long silco can hold a grudge, but he's also not that interested in finding that out over something like this. ]

... That said, there has to be a way to overcome it other than relying on power and strength alone. Violence didn't exactly work out before.

[ makoto was branded for his insolence, and then eustace lost his sight. now they've all had the kenoma driven out of them in some way. they'll have to account for that too. ]

[zauneyete]

You're right.

We'll have to be smarter, and more clever than we have been before.

[ It's said with the all of the annoyance and petty anger of someone who hated having it been bested again. He was insulted that it had dared to spear him, let alone that it had shown up. The intention had been to perhaps capture him, or dissipate him -- And Silco hadn't even really been involved in the fight itself, up until the end.

He'd hung back, watching carefully, but it wasn't until they had all been routed that Silco had deigned to step in.

Then again, given his abilities, he wasn't for combat. It didn't mean he couldn't, but... ]

We'll have to be more clever than it is, Kaeya. Good thing we have so many... resources at our disposal, hm?

[subsist]

[ silco's annoyance is a feeling kaeya can relate to in more ways than one. it's rare enough for him to fail in his duties, but the innocent entity is a wildcard that none of them can truly account for. he knows that it's going to take much more than just being more clever when whatever the entity is fully capable of is still up in the air.

then again, at least they can account for its ability to scare away the kenoma from within them all. if they never allow it to have a chance to use that skill... ]

Then, I suppose our first task once we're back will be taking stock of what resources we already have on hand.

[ resources. what a strange way to refer to their comrades, but this is silco, after all. it doesn't really surprise him anymore.

(if anything, it's almost comforting.) ]

Is there anything else I should keep in mind?

[zauneyete]

Hm.

[ It's a note, of thought. ]

I'll need to check with the Regent, and see if we have other options for the attack it can do, perhaps prevent it, or circumvent it. [ A smirk there. Wouldn't it be delightful, if it could just be brushed off, like it was nothing. ]

Otherwise, I don't think so. Not until we get back, and properly debrief. I think the Regent will be interested in the experience, at the very least, hm?

ties a pretty bow around this thread... until next time,

[subsist]

[ if only the innocent entity would be so easy to brush off... even monsters are allowed to dream sometimes. he can't help but smile. ]

Yes, I imagine they would be.

[ after all, there's a lot that went down during that scuffle despite the overall loss. the information they gained is still valuable enough on its own. whatever they can provide to the regent will always be a good thing since it'll fill in the gaps of knowledge wherever possible. ]

I'll keep you apprised should I learn anything else.

[ they have a lot of work to do once they return to achamoth... but at least there's wine to tide them over until they have to head back. ]