aionlogs | EVENT #2: HEARTS LIKE YOURS (ACHAMOTH)

Achamoth

A DEITY'S WELCOME

After only a day or two on the river, the newly christened Kenoma will arrive in the city of Achamoth. The architecture is the more striking things about it, as if its skyline has been built up and constantly improved over many centuries. It's clear from even the riverside view that there is an artistic tendency towards building humanoid shapes into the supports and detailing of structures here, creating the strange effect of placing hundreds of silhouettes in your peripheral vision. If you ask the sailors why its like that, they will simply say it's the way its always been. Any metaphorical seed was planted long before anyone here was born.

The Citadel can be seen even from the entrance of the city, a towering spiral that looms over the rest of the land around it, lit from within by various magical energies. That's your destination, you are told. Soon, you will be passed into the care of the Citadel's staff, and will be sure to meet with city's elites not long after.

They aren't wrong. When you show up at the port closest to the Citadel, the street are always lined with people waiting to greet you. It's easy to recognize now how diverse the population of Horos can be, with many of those waiting showing off unusual heights, colors, and appendages, though appearances that are typically 'human' are still the most common. Most of them wear dark outfits with a gothic flare, with mask-like facial adornments apparently being fashionable. They cheer and chant as you come down from the boat, tossing flower petals and small gemstones onto the path you walk upon. This continues all the way to the Citadel.

Once you are inside, up winding paths of stairs, you will be shown to your new quarters to rest. You're each assigned a lavish bedroom with servants stopping by ever so often, offering to bring you food, clothing, or other items of comfort. There are a variety of soaps in your room's private bath. You are told that if you take a liking to any individual servant that you may claim them as your permanent retainer, though you are not required to. Their dispositions range from euphoric to be serving you to quiet and shy, but there is a notable lack of resentment.

After about a day of rest, you will be brought an official invitation by one of the servants. Apparently, the Regent has requested your presence for supper that evening. It is not optional.

THE FEAST

A few hours before suppertime, one of the servants will arrive to take you 'clothes shopping' for something appropriately formal to wears for your meeting with the Regent. In practice, this means taking you to one of several changing rooms filled with costly formal wear. The styles and sizes are diverse, which makes sense when you are informed that they are a collection of offerings from local weavers and seamstresses, some of which have been waiting for an owner for quite some time. From an Earthly point of view, there is a wide spectrum of cultural aesthetics, though most of them lean towards the same dark colors and gothic sensibilities that you saw the citizens of Achamoth wearing. Headpieces and artistic masks are plentiful, but not mandatory though the servant will tell you they are in vogue. A servant will be able to make alterations to your clothing with magic to achieve a proper fit.

After that, you have a couple more hours to prepare before you are invited to a lounge-like area for pre-meal drinks. You can get almost any kind of cocktail you can imagine, including some you can't, and will be allowed to chat each other up for about an hour before the feast begins. Some small appetizers are available, and soft, rhythmic music plays in the background. If you look for her, Xishen is present as well, dressed in a black evening gown with golden accents that flicker like stars in the night sky, her long hair pinned up into a messy bun and decorated with hair-sticks. As usual, she seems to be avoiding company for the moment, though she is keeping an eye on everyone. Perhaps she's counting heads to make sure there are no stragglers.

When the time arrives, two huge doors are opened, leading you into a room that looks like a mixture of a dining room and a cathedral. Ahead of you, three long takes are connected together in the shape of a triangle, with a large throne positioned at the point furthest into the room; it is presently empty. You'll be instructed to take a seat, basking in the multicolored flames of the candles and torches lighting the room. As you find your places, all seats will be filled except for the throne up front, with Xishen at its side. All you can do now is await your host.

[Mealtime interactions with the Regent can be threaded here. They will arrive right after the first course has been served.]

EXPLORATION

Having survived supper with the Regent, the next few weeks are essentially yours to plan. Though the Regent indicates that there is work for you to do on the Horizon, for now your orders are to simply rest and prepare. You'll have access to the Citadel's armory to acquire any basic armor or weaponry you could need; though none of what's on offer seems to be enchanted, it is undoubtedly the work of a master. Clothing is much the same as it was for the formal wear you picked out, though you will find there are more practical offerings available as well. If you don't find anything to your tastes, you are also welcome to go out on the town with a generous allowance from the Regent's own coffers.

Clothing isn't the only thing you can get out in the city, though. While there are material goods of many kinds available, the most tempting thing for many residents is the raw hedonism of the city's entertainment district. It has just about anything you could imagine, from day spas to gambling to brothels, and none of it is contained by the burden of law. Any Achamite entertainment seen as too intense to face daylight would certainly not be for the faint of heart.

The locals haven't had enough time to recognize the city's new Aions on sight, but if they see your shard or or any other sign of your status, you are bound to attract a lot of attention. You're a celebrity in these streets, and while it can get you plenty of favors or even unsolicited offerings, it can also be quite overwhelming. In many cases, Achamite's religious fervor exceeds their survival instinct, at least in terms of the ones most likely to bother you. They will back off if threatened by you, but they will take politeness as an invitation to continue.

When leaving the Citadel, a servant will usually try to accompany you, though they will stay behind if you order them to do so. They insist that it will be easier for you to get around with a dedicated guide, but in the end you're the one in charge.

QUESTIONS

How does my character picking a retainer work?
All Kenoma are offered the opportunity to take on an NPC retainer after arriving at the Citadel. This retainer will be an NPC created and played by you. They will be available day and night to attend to your character's needs. These servants understand the Regent largely from a religious perspective and will not have any outspoken anti-Regent sentiments, though they may or may not be nervous about their new master. Generally speaking, though, this is in a new job jitters sort of way, as working in the Citadel is considered to be a job of great cultural and religious significance. They want to do a good job! You are free to develop your retainer's personality and relationship with your character. If your character (or you) are not interested in having a personal retainer, they will instead be served by a rotation of unattached servants.

How much money are Kenomas given for shopping?
They will be given an emerald's worth in jools, which is 1000 units. This is about how much a minimum wage worker makes in two months. They will continue receiving spending money on a monthly basis, though the Citadel itself will take care of all of their needs. On an OOC level its safe to say that average city expenditures will be covered by the money they are given, though they are welcome to invest that money in making more money if they have to skills to do so.

What sorts of things are there in the entertainment district? Is anything illegal?
Almost everything is legal in Achamoth when it comes to entertainment, and there is not much government oversight in the way anything is run. This means that most 'entertainment' you can imagine is both present and largely unregulated, and it doesn't need to be underground on account of how permissive Achamite law is. Brothels, drugs, and even bloodsport are all fair game... technically, participants in brothels and bloodsports must be willing but that 'consent' can be pretty nebulous. 'Extreme' bloodsport is generally hush hush (those that are particularly graphic and unpleasant, or basically torture) and behind closed doors mostly just to avoid causing a fuss.

The one thing there is official rulings on, straight from the Regent, is the enforcement of 'age of consent' and laws against child abuse. Children are generally not allowed to participate in those skeevier activities and there is a cultural expectation for people to raise their children properly, though this still goes wrong fairly frequently. It's just one of the things that is actually punished. Adults, however, have fewer innate protections.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Binghe has seen his share of old power in the hands of weak-minded fools, and for all his investment in the Regent approving of him, he can't discount the possibility that Achamoth's ruler is just as useless as the leaders of the cultivation sects he's been a part of.

But that would make things too easy, so he's not inclined to assume that's the case. The Regent's influence on the city certainly seems more prominent than that of, say, Huan Hua's Old Palace Master -- but who can say that's not just bluster? ]

A towering presence...

[ Binghe looks down at Makoto. He tilts his head slightly, and smiles. ]

I suppose that would be easier for them to achieve from your perspective, hm?

( it's something he had largely been safe from in hell, given that there was little centralized governing to speak of, and all the most powerful demons held on to their positions of prestige because of their fearsome and unassailable reputations. a weak ruler could only pull the wool over the eyes of their people for so long, and given that the Regent has existed since before the stones were laid to build this city up from the ground (or so he's heard), he has to believe in the evidence that his eyes and ears supply to him rather than whatever comparatively groundless worries his mind might grant instead.

makoto blinks, staring binghe down in the moment of somewhat-strained silence as he parrots his words and then pointedly looks down to him.

as he continues, he has to suppress a streak of violent irritation. he doesn't do so perfectly. it shows on his face in a flash — the same flash in which he indulges himself in a mental image of slicing through the taller man's Achilles' tendons and then standing to see who was the taller figure after that.

it's not really that height is a sore spot for makoto. this body is just one that J had obtained for him, after all — he could exchange it for a taller one, or a stronger one, or a far less standard "human" one if he wanted, but that would entail far too much trouble and unnecessary pain than he wanted to have to deal with. no, it's more that he just chooses to joke around (at his expense...) when he was just trying to be serious here...!

he sighs, looking aggrieved. ) ...Really?

( a beat... )

And I meant it metaphorically, regardless.

[ Binghe smiles blithely. He's never made a short joke at someone before, but even though it didn't really land, it's a little bit rewarding...? ]

Forgive me. [ He doesn't sound very sorry. ] But... what would make them worthy, in your opinion? Of being... held up by the whole city, I mean. And of summoning all of us here. They'd have to be stronger than all of us, of course, but... I don't think I've ever had a master I'd call worthy of something like this.

( he's so glad you got to enjoy it, binghe......

actually, no, the abbreviated sigh that he huffs out in reply doesn't sound all that amused, but it's definitely not the kind of thing that he would get bent out of shape about for any extended period of time.

it's an interesting question, though, and as much as he would hate to think back on it later, he can't help but think of J. one does not become an archduke of hell without keeping others in such a delicate balance of fear and hatred that they are all too intimidated to make a move against you. no matter what makoto does in his machinations against him, he always seems to be five steps ahead, all while planting the thought that he had given him whatever idea he'd pursued all along.

after a moment, makoto summarizes his thoughts on the matter with one word: ) Comprehension.

( ...okay, some elaboration too: ) That they understand everything that's going on, their ultimate goals, and the parts that we are to play so that we can learn from them and perform them without doubts.

( if they are treated like an omniscient overlord, makoto only hopes they give that impression. )

What about you? Surely you have a sense of what your former masters lacked, if none were able to command your trust.

[ Binghe nods. ] Of course. Power without knowledge, or the wisdom to use either, is worthless.

But as for what my former masters lacked...

[ He smiles bitterly. ]

Integrity. I have no desire to lend my power to hypocrites, and if I am to pledge my loyalty to a new master, I need to know with certainty what it is they intend to do with it.

( he's glad to hear binghe thinks as much; far too often, makoto has found those he comes across content in placing all their stock in either one or the other. foolhardy in their falsely-won confidence, it only led to their ultimate destruction. the unassailable demons that ruled at the pinnacle of hell's hierarchy, those like J, had wisdom and foresight enough to seem omniscient with the overwhelming strength to back it up. such an image is easy for him to conjure, given he's been obsessing over the idea of surpassing his master for years.

his answer is a good enough one, in makoto's eyes. he nods, agreeing; that would indeed be a very unseemly individual they would have to throw their lot in with, and an even worse entity to have architect the world and future they were apparently on track to usher in. )

I agree, ( and his voice drops to a more surreptitious register, ) though there is likely little we can do if we disagree with that intention.

Is it better to be wielded honestly for an undesirable cause or manipulated and misled for a more preferable one...? ( the musing sort of way he says it casts it mostly as a hypothetical. )

[ Binghe's smile broadens a fraction at that that conspiratorial note. Just as softly: ] Perhaps not. We shall have to see.

For my part, I think I would prefer an undesirable cause... an honest master can be reasoned with, after all, and... well, in my own opinion, there are no outcomes so desirable as to be worth submitting to someone untrustworthy.

( hm... press x to doubt.

binghe is welcome to wrangle with the Powers That Be in a fit of vainglorious indignation, but makoto has been there, done that, and all he'd ever gotten in return was his head torn off and much, much worse. he's willing to bide his time and see what he can get in return for whatever he is called on to do. )

A sound enough assessment. ( makoto nods in a way that seems to imply he either agrees or at the very least can't fault him for it. ) I suppose that begs a more pertinent question, though. How is it that you determine whether or not they're trustworthy?

Ah, well... that's the difficult part, isn't it? [ He shrugs one shoulder. ] In any case, it's up to them to convince me... and they will have to try very hard, if they want to.

( makoto chuckles, the sound lightly dubious. what high standards... )

And if they don't?

We'll see, I suppose. What do you plan to do, if they fail to meet your requirements?

( it would be truly disappointing if they lacked his requirements, given "competency" is basically the lowest bar he could think of, but... )

Well... Nothing, of course.

( he gives a light shrug. )

Regardless of whether or not I ultimately decide they deserve it, they do still command all of the power of this place and its people. I'm not fool enough to throw myself at that mountain in the vague hopes that it might move if I do so.

( try to wheel and deal and maneuver himself to a more beneficial position, perhaps, but he didn't throw himself headlong into fights he isn't certain he would win. )

EVENT #2: HEARTS LIKE YOURS (ACHAMOTH)

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