EVENT #3: THE COST OF INNOCENCE

[aionmods]

The Cost of Innocence

INVESTIGATION

As the Aions arrive in Venera, they will find the natural beauty of the city in sharp contrast to its uncomfortable aura. Though the sun still shines and flowers still bloom in a place filled with physical vibrancy and life, the air itself is impossibly still, as if wind no longer blows. You can taste the stagnancy of it when you breathe, and the pleasant sights only make that feeling of absence more haunting. The streets are mostly empty, with most of the city's residents hiding away in their homes, fearing the touch of whatever illness has caused this. That is, all the citizens besides those most affected, who wander the streets in a lifeless and painless daze.

Normally, Venera would be occupied by both Hylician and Achamite soldiers, but it quickly becomes apparent that both have abandoned the city, only guarding its furthest outskirts. Their reasons vary: the Achamite soldiers seem to take religious objection to the feeling of the city, believing it to be some trickery of the Innocent, while the Hylicians simply see it as a plague they have no interest in catching or spreading. Because of this, it will be easy for Aions of both sects to explore with little pushback from any form of law enforcement. The Kenoma will be directed into the city with warnings about the potential physical and spiritual danger while Pleroma will be able to sneak in mostly unbothered. After all, no one is eager to follow you.

Most shops and businesses are currently closed, though some uninfected individuals still nervously keep watch over their workplaces, fearing potential looting. It's difficult, but not impossible, to find people to talk to, and while the most plentiful wanderers are the infected, the reactions from those with their minds still intact will vary. Some will be eager to speak to anyone who looks like they're trying to do something about their situation, desperate for any source of outside help. If revealed you are an Aion, this may either entice them even further or cause them to retreat, as if fearing that you are somehow to blame for their plight. For those that are enticed, it will become clear that they hold onto faith that Aions are in Horos to save them, and will tell these new arrivals whatever they can without discriminating between sects.

The base level information that can be found is thus: the infection began at the same levels it has been in the rest of Horos, only for the numbers of the afflicted to rapidly accelerate upon the coming of the Innocent's Moon. Some see it as a form of divine punishment for their cooperation with the Regent, while the less cooperative citizens see it as a malady brought about by the Aions themselves, their only hope being that they will be able to clean up the mess they made. Some citizen have managed to corral their inflicted loves ones into their rooms and will be willing to introduce you; most of these individuals are past the point of conversation, and seem fully lost to whatever fantasy world they are experiencing. They are disinterested in eating or drinking and it seems like, without help, they are destined for a slow death of starvation and atrophy. That is, if their apathetic state doesn't result in a severe accident, as it has in many cases already.

Any other clues will take more dogged investigation. It will be a day or so after the majority of Aions have arrived in the city that the first signs of their own infections become clear.

HEAVENLY BODIES

The first to feel its effects will be the Innocents, Lovers, and Celebrants; like a voice has fully awakening to them, whispering of how their touch can be the cure to the others' pain. It bids them to take their fellow Aions into their loving embrace, to share this gift, as only suffering lies ahead. It expresses without words that it will be a shield for their Aion kindred, and that those that accept will become their outstretched hands to a cosmos that craves peace. Any form of physical contact with those three Legacies will either introduce or rapidly accelerate the infections experienced by the others, this effect only becoming more intense if the wielder intentionally forces the power of this strange entity into their victims.

Even without that accelerating touch, however, other Aions are not necessarily safe; the infection will still seep in, albeit more slowly. All Aions may experience a growing feeling of connection to the infected Venerans, as if the energy within them is being drawn into their their own bodies. As the Aion's symptoms worsen, the the ones suffered by the Venerans will gradually lessen, though not go away entirely. It seems that the Aions soaking up this strange power is enough to take the edge off of what is happening to the citizens: but at what cost?

Various symptoms will manifest in afflicted Aions with outcomes far more diverse and devastating than what the Veneran civilians have experienced. Visionaries, Firebrands, and Artisans will suffer the most catastrophic symptoms, the clash between their spiritual natures and that of the Innocence being the most extreme. This malady is characterized by its innate desire to quell its victims of their resistance, smothering them in artificial peace, even if it has to deprive them of their bodies and minds to do so.

It is not without treatment, however. It will gradually become apparent that feelings of intense suffering or upset are capable of purging the infection, that clash with painful reality seeming to wake them up from their trance and reduce or eliminate physical symptoms. The more intense the distress, the more effective it will be. Fortunately, this heightening of Aion spiritual energy has the added consequence of making empathic communion connections far more acute. Instead of just transmitting and receiving emotions and thoughts, Aions will find themselves more easily able to enter the delusions and memories of their kindred, drawing them out and manipulating them for this purpose. The catch is that they will only be able to access what is on the surface of the other Aion's mind.

When an infection is reduced or expelled this way, the energy causing it seems to be dispelled from the city, lowering the intensity of its ambient effects. While similar can be done to Veneran citizens to help treat them, the energy will not leave, and will either go into the Aion casting it out or return to the nebulous source of Innocence and eventually infect someone else. Something about going through the Aions specifically seems to act as a filter, as unpleasant of a way as it is to help.

IN THE SILENCE

For those unlucky enough to develop complete, or near complete, infections (IE. a full Innocence petrification) a presence will awaken within them regardless of their Legacy. It will urge them to join with it, to embrace the peace it offers, and to become the extensions of their will in this ravaged world. With an infection of this intensity, there will be little they can do but to hear its call. What exactly this would ultimately entail is unclear, but there is the sense that his entity is looking to join with you on a spiritual level. If your character becomes infected to this degree please let us know under the Committed Actions toplevel below along with the context of that transformation and whether or not they are being cured from it. You may receive some additional information in return!

QUESTIONS

What is the best way for Aions to travel to Venera?
The quickest travel paths are for Kenoma to take a boat from Achamoth, which will take about a day, and for Pleroma to teleport to the Celebrant's shrine and take either a carriage or river boat to the city (there are offshoot rivers not marked on the setting map). The riverboats would be the faster option option of the two, and would also take about a day. The carriages/delivery carts would be slower and take a couple days, but have relay access to horses and therefore could keep going overnight. Characters with flight are also able to use that, though flying right into the city might cause a bit of spectacle. Then again, none of the local law enforcement is eager to chase you at the moment.

Are Veneran civilians experiencing the same symptoms as the Aions?
Veneran civilians are only experiencing apathy/loss of self/daydreaming and maybe the loss of pigments/color for advanced cases. The more body horror orientated effects are Aion only and are being caused by their body's spiritual makeup.

Can 'cured' Aions be reinfected?
Yes! Even if cured or treated, symptoms can return or worsen again. This will keep happening until the build up of Innocence energy in Venera is entirely expunged, at which point the illness will fade away across the continent. Whether or not the Aions mere presence will be enough to trigger that is yet unknown, but it does seem to be helping lessen the effects suffered by the civilians, at least.

How long does the infection period last in Aions?
Chronologically, we are considering the infection period of the plot to last 2-3 days.

Comments

COMMITTED ACTIONS

[aionmods]

If your character is doing anything that would feasibly have narrative consequences involving Veneran/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.

[coerthantorment]

Estinien is fully petrifying in this thread after being unable to escape some close encounters with Lovers that were intentionally accelerating it for him. As a Firebrand, the innocence has been hitting him particularly hard, and it has completely overrun his body even though he's been unable to feel actually at peace about it. He will not be being cured, and will only be escaping this via death, as Makoto will be smashing his body to pieces while he's petrified. Thankfully, his Pleroma allies will be escaping with his shard.

[aionmods]

There will be the heightened presence of the Innocence Presence as he starts fully petrifying, but it looks like their intended outcome will be truncated by him being murdered! There will actually be a fairly strong response from the presence regarding this, so let us know a good point in the ongoing thread shortly after his death and we will throw in an NPC tag to write out what people in the area will feel.

[coerthantorment]

It's at a good place now for NPC stuff to start! In summary: Makoto smashes a petrified to pieces. Himeka arrives and starts blasting him with elements magic, which Kaeya eventually blocks with an ice shield, while Abel runs in to grab Estinien's shard. Meanwhile, Binghe and Ryunosuke are just watching angrily. Alphinaud is trying to stop Himeka from blowing everything up.

FINAL EDIT: We're good to go!

[zauneyete]

Hi Mods!

In Silco's his starter I was planning on Silco get near petrified, before he'll get pulled out of it by Childe -- although the thread of getting him out of the contagion hasn't gotten rolling yet. I don't know if it will qualify for any significant information, but I thought I should bring it up! He's also cracking off a hand in the process, although not permanently.

He's also going to get Misa, Kaeya, and Possibly Kaeya, and Bunny out of their innocence contagions, afterward. I don't know if those count as "particularly" significant or helpful (and the threads are ongoing) but I thought I would mention them!

[aionpcs]

After Silco is petrified and Childe is trying to pull him out of it let us know! The mysterious presence will react to that attempt.

Up until then, when Silco is almost petrified, he will feel as if there is someone there with him. As if it's waiting for something.

[zauneyete]

Childe's trying to break him out currently, as a heads up!

[killandrecycle]

Majorita has been a bad girl during this event and performed two separate things that might be worth noting. She has been attempting to control still living citizens to use as human shields while she goes to harass the Pleroma, and in a different prompt she destroys an empty house with her magic.

The thread involving the npcs is intended to end with none of them getting any serious injuries, and the building she destroyed was not through accident or maliciousness, it was her innocence-addled mind trying to reconcile the difference between the visions she was seeing in her head (involving her own destroyed home) and reality. Won't mean much to the person who used to live there, though!

[hippocarnival]

The thread it's occurring in is in progress but partway through the event, after a few days of intense recurring symptoms almost... immediately after it starts spreading to Aions, Yuya will end up wholly petrifying as he's unable to fight off its effects. Being a Lover legacy he's just unprepared to fight off the increased susceptibility and Ryunosuke won't be able to prevent or cure the full petrification when it occurs.

[aionpcs]

To clarify, is Yuya spending most of the event petrified? (Also the infection period for Aions is only about 2-3 IC days in total, as a reminder.)

[hippocarnival]

Let's say it's about at the halfway point based on that! Yuya essentially goes down hard and fast.

[hundredpower]

Although he's assisted somewhat with other peoples' investigations, Barnaby has been focused on helping the citizens first and foremost (before he inevitably gets infected, being a Lover). This includes getting people to safety and trying to coordinate some level of inter-faction cooperation on this front: see first and second prompts on his toplevel, plus any responses to those prompts, a thread with Thoma, and challenging Majorita when she starts gathering and mind controlling infected citizens to serve her.

[youngprodigy]

I'm not sure how much, if any, information Cid would gain, as he was cured, but in this thread his infection has progressed into an incredibly advanced degree.

[aionpcs]

Could you give us a summary of what's happening in the thread? Has Cid mostly petrified?

[fightforthejoyofit]

Zenos is... actually trying to be (sort of) helpful. Establishing a base of operations here and trying to coordinate this like some sort of structured occupation. Unfortunately he is also having a very bad no good week from Visionary hell so that phase does not last long.

Infection v 1.0 gets as far as bleached hair/clothes and cracking porcelain skin before Howl goes daydream-diving.

Infection v. 2.0 (Innocence Boogaloo) goes a bit further, but is likely going to be dealt with via glorious combat with Hayame and whatever happens with Himeka here (updates on both those threads to follow as they're WIP at time of posting).

In either case, whatever the voice is offering, he wants None Of It.

[baltimores]

Pre-infection, Amos is going all in on trying to help the citizens of Venera, spending most of his time interacting with the infected and not even remotely bothered by the chance of him catching whatever it is they have. He's also spreading the good word of the Regent to anyone who tries to blame them, like no, the Kenoma Aions are here to put a stop to the Pleroma, that's what all of this is, you're doing the right thing by cooperating with the Regent.

Once infected, he's enthusiastic about spreading it to others (and still stopping to help NPCs, unable to tell the difference between trying to give it to them and him actually leaching it from them, so he's really taking a lot of Innocence in). He loses his sense of self along the way, Innocence becoming the only thing as far as he's concerned; when this starts happening he sprouts six bigass wings, which 1. probably make him more distinct and 2. result in his shirt being destroyed and his shard being exposed from thereon out. There are a handful of failed attempts to cure him along the way.

Misa's going to be the only one to get through to him to cure him (thread still in progress; mind the content warnings). Upon being cured, his immediate reaction is that he needs to get out of there ASAP before this thing gets ahold of him again; to that, he's teleporting to the Lover shrine and then spend a few days walking back to Achamoth. Once there, he's going on a full depression bender: nothing but drinking and brothels for him until somebody comes to collect him (leaning towards setting up a log for this). He won't be going back to the Citadel before then.

[lockedon]

The Good: Helped the people of Venera by handing out supplies, assisting with various chores and menial tasks, and also corralling people in danger of hurting themselves.
The Bad: Broke into a(n abandoned) house to try and shake Johnny out of his Innocence daze.
The Ugly: Shot god the Innocence creature and was promptly punished for his hubris.

[goldendeceiver]

Apologies, it's just in the beginning stages still, but in this thread towards the later half of the event, Ernesto is currently falling/will be falling into a near complete infection. Though Yoo Joonghyuk will be doing his best to cure him.

[aionmods]

Hi there! Could you clarify: is Yoo Joonghyuk going to successfully cure him?

[vivificantem]

While we aren't there yet in the thread it's going to happen in, Paul has consumed blood from some of the incapacitated NPCs; he's been careful about doing so with regards to there being no witnesses (save for Amos who is going to manage to wander across this), and he's been healing the people up immediately using his Aion abilities such that he isn't leaving traces of it. However, this is still a thing he's doing, so...

Otherwise, he's largely been helping out in getting people to the hospitals such that they aren't just wandering the streets or injuring themselves; this has been his primary course of action throughout the event.

[hikikosaurus]

Alphys (Lover) is among the earlier infected, and is actively spreading it to others - one ongoing thread here. I don't have any threads in action regarding petrification or attempts to cure her, so I'd like to establish her as fully petrifying towards the end of the event.

[aionmods]

How long are you imagining her having spent petrified?

[subsist]

◆ Upon arriving in Venera, Kaeya wastes no time and jumps right into it, learning what he can about the contagion and the situation at Venera by conversing with both Veneran NPCs and other characters alike. He doesn't discriminate between Kenoma and Pleroma, willingly investigating with both since the main goal (in his mind) is to fix things rather than start a fight against the other sect.
◆ When he runs into dead ends, he switches focus and opts to help out Barnaby with his efforts to guide afflicted locals to the hospitals.
◆ After Estinien's murder, he jumps in to protect Makoto from Himeka's attacks while also minimizing the damage those explosions would have caused. He builds an ice wall to block attempts from the Pleroma to chase after them.
◆ Their escape attempt is promptly thwarted by the arrival of the Innocence creature. Kaeya doesn't provoke it (unlike two of his reckless teammates) and instead chooses the wait-and-see approach. He also refuses to participate in the power of love moment that went down with the Pleroma Aions.

[traversal]

— saved an NPC from Rita's temper tantrum here but she also clobbered another NPC on the head for trying to rob Liem here.
— went to investigate what's going on in Venera. As discussed, she'll be breaking into one of the school libraries and checking out a few books, learning about past similar incidents. It's implied that the Regent seems to have a hand in such incidents in the past, so now, she's wondering if this little epidemic is also the Regent's handiwork. She'll be sharing this information with the others when/if they gather again.
— ... she also "borrowed" maps of Horos and the other cities, but she promises to return them!! Later on!!
— got infected. Currently being saved by Jae Ha (and possibly Himeka), she'll be cured by the attempt later on.

[gravings]

- A small note that Gray stopped by the cemetery (or cemeteries) in Venera and helped tidy up the gravestones, especially if it looked like they were in disorder due to people shutting themselves in... no thread to link, though.
- Gray, Meteion, and Toge had a short chat with the manifestation of the Innocent, which didn't go the best (but really could have gone much worse).