EVENT #6: BY HEAVEN OR HELL

[aionmods]

By Heaven or Hell

THE BURNING

Achamoth, as it turns out, is no stranger to public killings... the burning of two Pleroma, however? That's special. Abel and Himeka's upcoming execution date seems to be regarded by the city's populace as something akin to a holiday, with the upper crust of the social stratum fighting for positions of prominence in the festivities, including the best possible seats. It's been decades since any Pleroma have been brought to heel in Achamoth, and it would only be prudent to place yourself at the forefront of this exciting new trend. There's a sense of pageantry to it: ritualized ceremonies, public sermons, and strange religious 'décor' are all part of the process.

The city is in the throes of these preparations when the two Pleroma captives are finally brought to a central square not far from the Citadel's front gates. Two burning pyres have been set up for them, about ten feet apart. While Abel and Himeka's bodies are chained to their stakes, their shards will be handed off to Silco, Ciel, and Makoto to be brought along separately. The set up of the execution is thus: while their bodies are ravaged by flames, their shards will be bound to an altar in advance of the pyre. Via a kind of alchemical 'fuse', the pyre being lit will trigger a reaction that will gradually result in a explosion on the altar just large enough to destroy the shard in turn. The shards will be bound in position with a series of jewelry-like metal prongs that could be pried away, but would take some time to do carefully.

As the Pleroma make it to the city, the sun will be setting on the 17th of Firaseri, with the execution about to be underway. The pyres will not yet have been lit, but are fully prepared. All Kenoma will be called upon to guard the city, with the warning that the Pleroma are mounting a raid to rescue their imprisoned comrades. For Kenoma both new and old, it's a time to test your mettle. Those that defend Achamoth valiantly can expect to be rewarded.

INNOCENCE ON FIRE

The city of Achamoth looms ahead, a seat of power in Horos in every fashion. It sprawls outwards, claiming the lands around it in a lazy confidence. The spires of the city grow up and up like a mountain, dragging the eye towards the Citadel. The walls that surround it are modest in height as if offering a challenge to any foolish enough to attempt to climb them. Who would? The Regent's eye is ever-present and the guard towers that line it like beaded pearls on a string are reminders that nothing goes in or out of the city without notice. Openings in the towers and the walls threaten the use of projectiles while dark, shimmering crystals float above with the quiet hum of protective magics. Only a fool would breach these borders.

Initially, getting into the city unmolested will be a considerable struggle for the Pleroma. It's military is robust, its fortifications solid, and even without the Kenoma's added resistance, the sheer numbers could be considered insurmountable. Stealth could get them some of the way, but its sentries are watchful, and immigration is strictly controlled. With faith alone driving the Pleroma towards their goal it's fortunate, then, that something is there to answer their call.

Estinien will feel the presence of the Innocence Entity rise up in him again, and this time it is offering him a choice. He may utilize its power to save the ones he loves, while risking both the brutality of the Regent's defenses and the threat to his own soul by channeling such power. It will stand with him against the darkness, it says, if it is truly his will. Emboldened by the power of the Firebrand and his love for his comrades, it is no surprise that he accepts.

Light will flood the sky above Achamoth, an ethereal aura combatting the encroach of the night. From a great miasma of wings and flame, a colossal dragon emerges, coiling above the city skyline. Its luminescence rains down upon the city, and all Achamites exposed to it will be enchanted into finding the idea of committing acts of violence unthinkable, at least so long as no violence is brought against them in turn. With much of Achamoth's defenses having lost the will to fight, only the Kenoma will stand in the Pleroma's way as they penetrate the city, making their way to Abel and Himeka's pyres.

As the Pleroma forge ahead, this draconic being that was once Estinien Wyrmblood will guard from the skies, drawing the attention of the Kenoma towards it and it threatens to bear its might against the Citadel itself. Fortunately for the Kenoma guarding the city, they will know that the Regent has a plan. All they must do is hold off the beast long enough for the Regent to wield their own strength in turn. The battle against this creature will take place here, with combat rules being explain in this OOC post.

As the power of the Innocent washes over Achamoth, those of its Legacy, or those marked by its Promise or Touch, will hear it speak on the winds in a chorus of voices:

Aions of this new dawn... I have honored your choice... fight... if you will... and I will follow...

FIREBRAND RISING

Beneath the moon of Firaseri, however, the Innocent isn't the only force at play. Firebrands of both sects will find themselves spurred on by a rush of Legacy-based power, as if inspired by the tumultuous environment of an anti-authoritarian raid. How precisely this manifests will depend on which side they are fighting for.

❖ PLEROMA
The Firebrands among the Pleroma raiders will feel a sense of vindication and rightness come over them, set as they are to challenge the Regent's rule. Their powers will be amplified during the battle, and those that witness them and are inspired may find their performance boosted. The nature of these enhancements is fairly flexible. For the Firebrands, the use of their regular skills and abilities may be amplified beyond normal boundaries, whereas those following in their wake may find themselves with usual endurance that allows them to push their their usual limits.

❖ KENOMA
The Firebrands of the Kenoma's inspiration is more complicated in nature, given their roll in defending Achamoth's status quo. However, they will find themselves bolstered while facing the pacifying might of the Innocence Entity. Firebrands will experience a natural resistance against any Innocence based attacks that would stop them from fighting, and will be able to use this blessing to rally NPCs that would otherwise be rendered useless to their cause, in defiance of the entity's command for peace. In general, they will see a boost in strength while fighting the raid boss in particular, unable to be deterred from their goals.

In general, all Firebrands will feel untethered by their regular inhibitions, fighting for their desires at all costs. Abilities intended to bind them or control their will, will be largely ineffective, and they will find shields both physical and magical particularly easy to break through.

QUESTIONS

Q: What is the best way for Pleroma to travel to Achamoth?
A: Akua and Estinien are both setting up portals from Godsblood to the outskirts of Achamoth from which to begin mounting the assault. Caitlyn will be providing a back-up in the case either of those portals go down.

Q: Can my character make use of the chaos and try to raid the Citadel?
A: They can try but there will be mod rolls involved for any attempts. NPCs inside the Citadel will not be affected the same way the NPCs outside in main area will be. We do not want it to seem like the Citadel is defenseless otherwise.

Q: If Kenoma cause damage to the city during the raid, how will the Regent feel? Will there be consequences?
A: It should try to be avoided, but the Regent will understand if there is collateral damage in battle as long as they aren't being careless about it.

Q: Is the "no-combat aura" completely incapacitating NPCs?
A: No, it is only stopping them from aggressing the Pleroma. If they or their property are attacked they will defend themselves, and are otherwise operating with a normal level of cognizance. Kenoma Aions can order them out of the area to avoid being hurt if necessary.

BOSS BATTLE:
Q: I would like my character to take part in the battle but want to limit the outcomes in a way that isn't too devastating. Is that possible?
A: We think in that case we would basically only be acknowledging the possibilities between the "The attack either misses, is ineffective, or it triggers a counter attack from the boss." and "The attack hits with moderate effectiveness, as determined by the nature of their action." range. So, you can't get taken out, but you also can only deal moderate hits at best. You could still trigger a counter attack from the boss, but the damage taken from that is more flexible and free form than the 1-5% zone. If you make an attack with this restriction just add a little OOC note to your initial attack tag.

Q: How can a support character engage in the combat?
A: If your character is providing support, you may team up with an attacker to submit a "group attack". This means that your character is putting their effort towards supporting that attacker character that round, and will not be able to submit their own separate action. In exchange, that attack will receive two mod rolls instead of one, and the attack itself will be based on the more favorable of the two rolls. (Sort of like rolling with an advantage in modern D&D.) We will make as many rolls as there there are character combining their effort and select the best of them.

If any character rolls in the 1-5% zone they will still be taken out, however. Click the link above for more information.

Q: Can my character take a hit for another character after a mod roll?
A: We would be willing to accept this in the case of the defender taking the hit for the attacker, which would mean that if it's a 1-5%, they would be taken out in the attacker's stead.

Comments

COMMITTED ACTIONS

[aionmods]

If your character is doing anything that would feasibly have narrative consequences involving Achamite/Event NPCs please give us a brief summary here and link to any pertinent threads. This is so that the mods can more easily determine NPC reactions within the scope of this event and for the future.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Actions that would have negative social repercussions for your character (killing NPCs, significant property damage, making a point of acting persistently hostile towards neutral or friendly NPCs) must be reported here in order to be considered canon. We also recommend reporting any particularly positive/helpful actions so that your character will be given due credit.

[fallingsand]

Nothing huge but Bruno stuck around to help evacuate Achamites during the battle and spent most of this first part doing that. He helped usher affected civilians (and maybe even soldiers) out of the path of the fight and towards safer places, like the various churches and such.

[vivificantem]

He hasn't done anything to the NPCs, but it likely would have been noted that he lit the pyre for Abel and Himeka during the incident itself.

[zauneyete]

Silco did Do his Shard-ly duty and then absolutely followed around any suspicious looking NPCs. He did not harass them, and may have followed some invisibly -- but he was explicitly looking for suspicious activity. He did, however, peel off when they inevitably went home/met up with friends/did something else to assuage his suspicion.

He also got into a fight with Caitlyn

And participated in two rounds of the boss fight as support until Sebastian threw him into a pro-regent display, and he was out of shimmer anyway!

[dragonmount]

- rand has dissipated matt in this thread. he'll be leaving the shard with father paul.
- fought multiple kenoma en route to the pyres
- participated in the rescue of himeka and abel

[hundredpower]

During round 2 of the Sanctifier boss battle, Barnaby joined a number of NPC Achamites and Makoto's retainer to attack the dragon. He was downed by the counterattack but was able to push Makoto's retainer to safety just before he took the hit.

Emet-Selch healed the worst of the damage he took, and he was later carried off to the Citadel at J's behest by soldiers for emergency treatment from some Achamite NPCs. thank u gang 🥲

[leicesters]

Sniping by using his bow from an elevated vantage point, Claude killed/injured a small number of Achamite soldiers involved in trying to stop the rescue of Himeka and Abel during the battle in the square.

He also tried to infiltrate the Citadel with Sooyoung while the Sanctifier had pacified most NPCs, but the two are stopped and driven away by Kaeya.

[lachtara]

• Prepared the new Kenoma with help from Ciel
• Attempted to covertly save the prisoners shards
• Participated in Each Round of the Boss Fight
• Helped Save Barnaby after a critfail
• Attempted to help Xishen

( Will edit in the event of last-minute additions )

[cutlery]

• Fought Akua in a magic vs. demon fight (will end in draw, not fully threaded yet!)
  
• Defended Liem from Bearserker Amos to eventually lead Amos to Ernesto (not fully threaded yet!)
  
• Teamed up with Ciel + Barnaby to attack the Sanctifier's eye
  
• Fought Hayame and claimed her eye (which he still... has...)
  
• Took a hit for Silco, got yamcha'd for this trouble

[vapour]

Childe saw a cute plant mouse and clashed with Syr at the beginning of the raid before he saw the biggest and shiniest tin foil he's ever seen (the Sanctifier).

Before he reached the sanctifier, however, he found some sparkly yarn and joined Kaeya mid-fight with Thoma and Lumine. Basically, the majority of his time was preoccupied with the boss battle.

Childe went back to the shiniest tin foil and whaled on Estinien and Innomommy. He took a decent injury to the chest, clothes ruined.
Childe then suffered from having a laser pointer show up and be activated, briefly clashed with Hayame between round 3 and 4 (yes, that short!), but both only had relatively minor injuries and ended in a draw.

he tried to be v good boy and follow orders.

[wildrawr]

Kotetsu helped Emet-Selch do the Regent dirty by getting Abel's and Himeka's shards back to them and was happy he could return them to both of them.

Kotetsu also is having a run-in with Barnaby but I don't think anything significant is going to happen there, will update asap if something changes.

[regressor]

Havoc spent this event focused on trying to ingratiate herself with the Kenoma sect aions and prove her worth to the Regent by:

⚠ Saving Silco from falling rubble
⚠ Trying (but failing) to take out Shimmer!beserked Amos after he turned on allies
⚠ Saving Misa from hypnosis inflicted by a Pleroma
⚠ Attacking the Sanctifier each round (Moderate, Counter Attack, Moderate, Moderate, Great) using spheres of hard vacuum space, teaming up with Gray, J, Ciel, and Emet-Selch in the process

She may have been noticed by NPCs as an eerie glow on the city skyline, as her power use outlines her silhouette and lights up her eyes with radiation. Throughout the raid, she had to keep paying her obeisance thanks to continued power use and drank blood from Luo Binghe, Ciel, and Liem.

* threads outside of boss rounds are still in progress

[subsist]

◆ Kaeya assisted Liem with early preparations for the raid since he used to be Mondstadt's quartermaster.
◆ He fought against many of the Pleroma Aions invading the city, namely: Lumine, Thoma, Sooyoung (x2), Claude, Hiccup, and Eustace. His first encounter with Sooyoung and Claude is because the two were trying to break in the Citadel, which he put a stop to.
◆ In particular, he prevented Sooyoung from tossing a molotov cocktail at one of Achamoth's churches.
◆ During the fight against the Sanctifier, he was able to do some damage to the Sanctifier's eye with Howl's help. He also helped Silco and Sebastian after the latter took a tail slap for the former.
◆ Amos went berserk shortly after the Kenoma started fighting the boss in earnest, so Kaeya (along with Gen and Misa) had to put him down before anyone else got seriously hurt.

( most threads are still ongoing! )

[warmare]

Despite considering the raid destined for failure, Hayame came to assist to honor a vow. She thought, at best, she might hope to die honorably in battle. Instead, boosted by the Firebrand, she;

↣ Fought Gen in the pyre courtyard to run interference for the Rescue Team
↣ (In the process, an Achamite was shot and killed by an arrow intended for Gen)
↣ Abandoned the fight once Kenoma began attacking the Sanctifier en masse to run archery interference
↣ Fought Sebastian to try and keep him from attacking the Sanctifier (moderate general injuries + left eye was enucleated)
↣ Briefly engaged Howl to try and keep him from attacking the Sanctifier (mild injuries)
↣ Briefly engaged Childe to try and keep him from attacking the Sanctifier, mild injuries (mild injuries)
↣ Got healed by Dorothea (mild-moderate injuries only)
↣ Attacked and killed several Achamites who tried to block her and Eustace's way once they stirred from the Sanctifier's peace effect
↣ Attempted to reach Estinien within the Sanctifier to try and get him to retreat before the final boss attacks

* threads outside of the Sebastian fight are still in progress

[sterngaze]

Liem has been busy during Event Day!

• With Kaeya's help, he organized supply caches throughout Achamoth so that Kenomies could restock mid-assault without needing to retreat to the Citadel. These supply caches were placed primarily in military or religious buildings, both for visibility and to keep the equipment relatively secure.
• He fought against the Sanctifier for all five rounds, using his bow to shoot at weak points in its armour.
• He was present at the public burning, though he did not attempt to speak to either of the prisoners.

[affal]

1) Makoto was one of the three Aions that helped carry Himeka's and Abel's shards in the procession to their final placement in the sacrificial altars.
2) During the actual ritual execution itself, he positioned himself defensively near the shards, believing their importance to be far greater than that of the corporeal bodies. Though initially undeterred from his goal, nearly getting bubbled again by Ryu sends him into a small rage; he launches himself at the other Aion and quarrels with him, thus allowing the rescue to proceed successfully with his attention elsewhere (oops).
3) When first turning his attention to the Sanctifier, Makoto instills defiant inspiration in the hearts of his retainer and a handful of Achamite soldiers, leading them to a successful attack against the attacking creature. He instructed them to man ballistae to defend their city (which likely would have come up in later rounds, should the battle gone on longer; as it is, several of them and Makoto's retainer helped recover Barnaby after his knock out, since he was attempting to help them). At one point he also landed on a ballistae two of the other soldiers were preparing and stole the bolt out of its mechanism to use for his own attack, all while high on Shimmer. That was probably pretty weird for them, but... weirdly inspiring, hopefully? (Because the other four turns were mentioned, I will also say he helped distract the Sanctifier so Amos could score a powerful hit on one of its forelimbs.)
4) He brought the Regent's power to bear against the Sanctifier not once, but twice.

+ This has more to do with pre-event preparations (and more to do with the impetus from his trait), but Makoto would have been seen throughout or above the city in the weeks leading up to the raid; though less equipped to deal with military preparation, he sought out other Kenoma Aions (particularly newcomers), trying to discern where their hearts lie (with Sebastian, with Bruno, with Atsumu) and how best to help them in the action to come (with Ciel, with Misa).

[lockedon]

Eustace did attack (will be attacking??) several Achamite guards in his thread with Hayame. Otherwise he spent most of his efforts focusing on Kenoma Aions, including Kaeya and Barnaby, the latter of which will be dissipating him.

[epiprocta]

- Was present near the pyre before it was lit up, mostly keeping watch at its perimeter.
- Fought with Rand, where he was set on fire in showy fashion.
- Also ended up fighting with Hayame while trying to get an Innocence-affected Achamite out of the way.
- Got entangled in Amos going berserk and had to help Misa and Kaeya kill him to stop his rampage.
- Might have been spotted by an Achamite citizen or two while heading towards the outskirts of the city when he bumped into a thief(?) (Sooyoung) and argued with her for a while. A small kitten belonging to a wealthy Achamite was lost as a result of this encounter, may it be returned to its home safely and soon. 😔

[tohell]

During the second round of fighting against the Sanctifier, J assisted Emet-Selch in looking after Barnaby, after his fellow Kenoma suffered a critical failure in his attack upon the dragon. J worked with a group of Achamite soldiers, and directed them to have Barnaby relocated to the safety of the Citadel. In the same thread, he consulted with NPCs skilled in healing and gave them instructions to treat Barnaby's other wounds, control his pain and even sedate him if necessary. Out of concern that Barnaby would push himself and rejoin the fray before Emet-Selch could confirm he was fully healed, J threatened Makoto's retainer and suggested he hold Barnaby hostage in his room. The demon implied the NPC would come to a very bad end if the man was not able to fulfill these duties and keep Barnaby out of harm's way. Thankfully, Barnaby heard everything and promised to remain in place until his treatment was completed.

In the third battle against the dragon, J's initial blow gave Havoc an opening to attack, where she delivered further damage to the beast. Together, they landed two consecutive blows to the dragon's underbelly. The pair achieved moderate results when J scorched the dragon's underside with a sphere of flames, while Havoc's vacuum abilities exacerbated the damage and left the dragon wounded and bleeding.

[gravings]

- Attempted to stop Han Sooyoung from looting a random Achamite house
- Briefly helped Bruno redirect some Achamites away from the execution stage
- Fought a couple rounds with the Sanctifier before getting flicked away by its tail

[dragon_rider]

Hiccup would have mostly focused on helping to arm the Pleroma (started before raid). During the raid he aimed to keep attention from returning to the pyre wherein he could and fought some Kenoma, using aerial combat for the first time for some of it. Notably, if he came across an Achamite citizen he would have tried to get them to evacuate rather than outright ignoring them. Because he's still who he is at the end of the day.

[wolof]

- Akua assisted by putting up a Portal for the Pleromies!
- She helped reassure those who were getting ready to attack achamoth
- Also linked above, she is fighting Sebastian to end in a draw
- She's fighting as a distraction to draw away some Kenoma fire from Himeka and Abel's escape! This in particular may result in some property damage (likely minor) and she will likely be seen by NPCs about town slinging her magics around!

[salvageable]

Dokja assisted in the rescue of Abel and Himeka!

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya was among the Pleroma who breached Achamoth and fought with multiple Kenoma (Childe, Amos, Binghe, Zenos as of part 1) though he left the passive NPCs alone/isn't expected to be fighting any while brawling with other Kenoma.

Nothing major in them except that in general Syr is a plant person who will have a bright pulsating bioluminescence occurring the whole time, walking around in the open like that.

[baltimores]

Amos:
- Fought Vader and Dokja in an early bid to prevent Abel and Himeka from being freed.
- Got shimmered by Silco en route to the boss fight, where he got one good blow in before being punted out into the general battlefield.
- By that point his berserker ability fully kicked in for the first time and he tried to kill various Pleroma and Kenoma.
-- I'm assuming NPCs were generally cleared from the battlefield by this point but anyone with a vantage point certainly would've been able to see this without necessarily risking him targeting them, too.
- Was killed by Gen, Kaeya, and Misa while in the midst of his berseker rage; good thing they can retrieve his shard for him. (Still being threaded; will submit the official death report when it happens!)