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

[gravings]

[ He sounds a little skeptical, but she understands why he might feel that way. She shuffles closer, to a more natural conversational distance. ]

If you're not sure where to start, you can focus on a few key concepts: the howdunit, whodunit, and whydunit. In this case, that would translate to... how the disease is spread, whom it originated from, and why it exists in the first place.

[ Though she hasn't really said much yet, the longer she speaks, the more self-conscious she becomes of the other Aion's attention. Her eyes drift to the ground and aside, her voice growing fainter. ]

If you narrow your focus to just one of those... it might guide you to other questions you should be asking.

[ She hopes that's actually helpful....... ]

[comelately]

[ she's not the kind of person he would expect to be supporting an evil dictator - a shy teenage girl doesn't really seem like soldier material - which, perhaps, mean she's exactly the type of person that would be supporting an evil dictator. Perhaps she was easy to convince, whatever "convincing" might entail.

Or, alternatively, she's a very good actor. But for all his pessimism, when it comes to other people, he rarely assumes the worst. Johnny takes her at face value. ]

... Disease comes from germs, normally, right? I don't think they've got a "reason for existing." [ a beat. ] If that's one of your criteria, you must think something else is causing it.

[ a Stand, maybe. That's all he can think of. ]

[gravings]

[ She nods slowly. ]

Rather than a natural disease, it seems more like a curse or spell to me. That could mean that there's a symbolic reason why Venera is suffering these effects so much more than other places... or a set of rules guiding the spread of the disease that we don't know about.

[ She isn't used to speculating so much without someone else chiming in to correct her... Her fingers join in front of her self-consciously. ]

B-But it's hard for me to compare what Venera is like to the other cities... I don't know if the way of living here makes them a special case.

[comelately]

[ in spite of his bad personality, Johnny actually likes kids - plus, he doesn't hear anything to correct. There's a centaur and a lizard woman in this place. A smart kid isn't exactly hard to believe. ]

Yeah, I think you're probably right. This illness isn't "normal," no matter how you look at it. [ a beat. ] Maybe we should be asking them about their way of life, then. If something changed recently, that might be the reason.

[ he's imagining a new mayor recently elected, or maybe a group of mysterious people moving into the city... other than the Pleroma and Kenoma, obviously. ]

Your boss doesn't know what's going on?

[gravings]

[ Gray looks at him with surprise at mention of "her boss." He isn't wrong on a technical level, but it sounds awfully close and casual when Gray has never even met the Regent in person. ]

The Regent... thinks the Pleroma are responsible for what's happening, actually. [ She dips her head lightly in apology for the distant accusation. ] Seeing you all here makes me think otherwise, though.

[ Y'all look clueless as hell, just like her and her fellow Kenoma. In any case, she takes a breath to steel herself for what she's about to say, though her nerves drop her gaze at the last moment. ]

Um! If it wouldn't make trouble for you, would you like to investigate with me? I can't promise any results, but I think we each know things the other doesn't... so we might be able to account for some of each other's blind spots.

[comelately]

[ Johnny doesn't know that much about the Kenoma, okay... he's kind of under the impression they're all under the Regent's direct command. After all, their kind ("Aions," or whatever) are apparently held in quite high regard by many of the natives here; it would make sense if the head honcho had his own private task force of interdimensional god-beings.

Her suggestion has him cock his head, although more in dubious surprise than rejection. ]

... You sure you want my help? [ not that he's about to admit it, but he's not doing so hot on this whole investigation thing - plus, there's the elephant in the room that is his condition. Mobility aside, most people aren't that comfortable talking to him, in his Victorian-era experience. Johnny is much too proud to mention that, though; he goes for the other obvious issue: their opposing alliances. ] I don't mind, but you might get in trouble.

[gravings]

[ She shakes her head gently. ]

Our orders are to investigate the cause of the disease... not to fight with you all. It should be okay as long as we're being productive.

[ She thinks...?? Besides, she's counting on him to be more of an emotional support Aion than anything. Talking to a bunch of strangers alone is hard... Actually, she's proud of herself for asking him to work with her in the first place.

Anyway, since he's apparently on board, she bows in such a way that her entire cloaked form dips. ]

My name is Gray. Um... would you like me to help push your chair?

[ She really isn't sure what the proper etiquette is here, so she'll err on the side of politeness. ]

[comelately]

[ i am proud of her too. good job, gray.

the bowing is a little weird, and Johnny very obviously doesn't know how to respond to it, so he just kind of... watches her do it. Ponders the fact that the Kenoma are, apparently, investigating the illness, although he supposes it could be for nefarious purposes rather than out of a desire to cure it. Gray most likely doesn't have the answers, either, he thinks. ]

Well, if the Pleroma did this, they didn't tell me about it.

[ the only helpful piece of information he can offer from his side. All he's managed to accomplish so far is lighten his wallet, giving sympathy jools to the suffering, which he really doesn't have the financial flexibility for.

Her offer is met with a very brief tightening of his lips, but it's gone as soon as it arrives, and he shakes his head. ]

I can take care of myself. [ a beat. ] Call me Johnny.

[gravings]

[ Gray catches the twitch in his mouth and gets the sinking feeling that she's offended him. She supposes it might also be risky to have someone on the enemy's side at your back, so there's an obvious tactical component as well... Ah, she's an idiot for even suggesting it. She swallows her embarrassment and quickly nods. ]

Pleased to meet you, Mr. Johnny. So, shall we...?

[ She wonders if he wants to take the lead... if purely because she's not used to taking the lead herself. He seemed at a loss earlier, but maybe her suggestions inspired him in some way...?? ]

[comelately]

[ she is correct: he was at a loss then, and even if he thinks she has some good points, he can't say she's given him any sudden ideas of where to start looking. At her suggestion, he nods, then gestures for her to go ahead. ]

Ladies first.

[ he doesn't know where they're going, anyway. In any case, if she's worried about tactics, she at least won't have to worry about Johnny stabbing her in the back; he can keep pace just fine in his chair. It's clear where his muscular arms came from. ]

How old are you, anyway? You look too young to be messing around with all this stuff.

[gravings]

[ Ladies first... Gray sweats mentally and also a tiny bit physically as she tries to think about where to go. In the end, she just starts walking in the direction she was already going before she stopped to talk to him. Maybe her brain will get moving if her feet get moving too. ]

I'm fifteen... but I'll be sixteen soon.

[ Does that help at all? She doesn't have a great frame of reference for what counts as "young" in an objective sense. She doesn't feel that young, though... ]

When would be old enough?

[comelately]

Fifteen?

[ damn - she really is just a kid. He frowns a little, concerned rather than displeased. Johnny was out doing all kinds of stupid shit at her age, sure, but that's exactly why he knows she shouldn't be here. Look how he ended up! ]

I dunno... old enough to get drafted, at least. [ a sigh. ] Not that you had a choice in the matter. Do they treat you right over there? You got a place to sleep and enough to eat?

[ someone's got to be looking out for her, he hopes... ]

[gravings]

[ Food and lodging are concerns so far out of her realm of concern that his questions throw her off. It's probably like someone asking a princess if she's being fed enough. Gray doesn't think of herself in those terms, but the reality of her plush daily life is hard to deny. ]

They treat us a lot like royalty. We don't have to work outside of what the Regent asks of us... but they don't ask much of us, and we still get a large allowance.

[ Large, quite possibly the largest allowance. ]

Um, do they treat you well on that side too?

[ Whoever "they" are... ]

[comelately]

Really?

[ damn... he picked the wrong side after all.......... he misses not being broke as hell. Bet the Kenoma would have given him a horse and a wheelchair. For free, even. It's enough to make him a little bitter. Still, things like that can't be weighed against his friend's life. He'll sacrifice a bit of comfort if it means he can save Gyro. ]

We're... on our own, pretty much. Don't know if you've noticed, but your side kind of has the entire continent wantin' us dead.

[gravings]

Oh...

[ Awkward... She really didn't think it would be that dire on the other side. Not having been anywhere but Achamoth, she doesn't know what the climate is like in the rest of Horos at all. ]

But, you must have allies, right? Otherwise, the war between the Kenoma and Pleroma wouldn't be such a big deal.

[ She imagines not everyone on Horos wants to die. There must be people who want to cling to life, no matter what. ]

[comelately]

Well, it's not just me, I'll tell you that. [ a pause, followed by a small sigh. ] Don't take it personally, but I don't want to give intel to you in case you leak it back to the top. I can't tell you much about how we're living.

[ but the fact that they're rebels living on the run is common knowledge - and it's easy enough to extrapolate that they don't have too many resources from that. ]

We've got everything to lose.

[gravings]

I understand.

[ She nods easily, unbothered by his lack of trust. While she doesn't care much for the war they're supposed to be a part of, she isn't naive enough to expect that kind of trust across enemy lines, no matter how much she may like some of the Pleroma Aions.

As they walk 'n' roll, they come across a Veneran woman stubbornly guarding her storefront. She eyes Gray and Johnny suspiciously, but they don't have the look of typical looters, so she doesn't attempt to shoo them away.

Gray looks at the Veneran a bit nervously, then glances at Johnny to gauge his feeling. Will he be able or willing to charm his way into this Veneran's heart, or is he fully expecting Gray to take charge of the questioning? ]

[comelately]

[ he used to be naive enough to offer that kind of trust. No more. In his mind's eye, he can still clearly remember the light leaving Sandman's eyes as Johnny stood across from him, tear-streaked, soaked in blood and swampwater and holding the proverbial smoking gun. In the here and now, though, he's simply neutral. He doesn't distrust Gray in particular. He does, however, distrust a world that's turned against him. It's a familiar and easy stance to take.

If one good thing can be said for his circumstances right now, it's that nobody in Venera (and nobody in general, really) sees him as a threat. A small, meek girl and a teenager in a wheelchair aren't exactly going to prompt any civilians to close their blinds. Johnny looks over at her at the same time she looks at him, but he's not surprised she's hesitating to take point here - she didn't seem like the type. That's fine. He gives her a surreptitious nod, then approaches the woman. ]

Morning, ma'am. Are you still open for business?

[ he can try and behave and not put his foot in his mouth... his expectations are low. His first hope is just that she doesn't treat him like he already has the plague - he's gotten that treatment before there even was a plague. ]

[gravings]

[ Gray thankfully returns Johnny's nod with a small one of her own. She'll be happy to pipe in, but she'll be even happier to let Johnny break the ice first.

The woman looks at Johnny with a tough, unfriendly eye, but it isn't any more tough or unfriendly than it was before Johnny and Gray came along. Her arms are crossed, and she takes her time to size up the apparent wealth (or lack thereof) in the teens' ensembles.

"We're open to anyone who can afford it," she says in a neutral tone.

Behind her is what appears to be some kind of artisinal craft store full of ambiguous handmade items. Fine art or junk?? Maybe only their prices can decide. ]

[comelately]

[ the less shared about Johnny's tastes, the better. Suffice to say that he probably likes the look of a lot of the tackiest junk she has. Of course, he's not really here to buy anything - in fact, he's very strapped for cash - but he figures Gray's got a decent budget on her Regent-funded quest, so it's not totally a lie to say otherwise. ]

Then I guess we're in the right place. [ inwardly, he thinks that she's the one who can't afford to be turning away customers right now, but he keeps that quip to himself, and cranes his neck to try and get a better look at the wares behind her. ] Is all this made by you?

[gravings]

[ "Lot of people around here can't look after their goods anymore, so I'm selling on their behalf," she says briskly.

Slightly behind and to the side of Johnny, Gray listens curiously. She's used to tagging along with people with a certain amount of status, so it's interesting to see the tactics of someone "normal," or attempting to pass for normal. She assumes he isn't really looking to shop, so he must be pretending to be interested so that the seller will open up...? Gray speaks up, trying to be helpful. ]

Um, we're looking for some pieces to bring home as souvenirs. If we could have a look inside...

[ The seller looks at Gray oddly before finally nodding and stepping aside.

"Alright, come in. But you chose a fine time to come sightseeing." ]

[comelately]

Yeah, tell us about it, [ he says dryly, taking her unspoken invitation to roll in. ] I was hoping you'd say something like that, though. Got anything special? I want to see something I won't find anywhere else.

[ which might sound pushy, but he's a former celebrity athlete, and he was a former wealthy brat before that - some behaviors are hard to shake, even though people have long since stopped trying to cling to his coattails. Confidence and directness can go a long way. He's glancing around as he asks the question, looking for anything unusual, or, if not unusual, maybe just old. Antiques might have some clues about this place's history, right? ]

[gravings]

[ Gray follows Johnny in, quietly marveling at his straightforwardness and trying not to touch anything. The store, though clean and neatly lined, has a cluttered and slightly cramped feel due to the eccentricity of the art pieces. There's no special rhyme or reason to the arrangements, almost as if they were carelessly shelved wherever they would fit.

"Try that there," the seller says, pointing over at a glitzy, ham-shaped blob in the corner.

Gray waits expectantly for the woman to elaborate on what the blob is supposed to be or represent, but no details are forthcoming. Apparently, the art is supposed to speak for itself. It strikes her as odd that a seller wouldn't want to talk up the products, but maybe Gray just doesn't understand high art.

Meanwhile, someone with a more discerning eye might find that there are other, much more skillfully crafted pieces in the store; the seller has merely directed their attention to the blingiest. ]

[comelately]

[ Well. Hopefully, Gray's eye is more discerning than his, because Johnny's a country jock boy and abstract art hasn't been invented in the west yet. He, too, stares at the sculpture and waits for an explanation; when it doesn't come, he looks back up at the shopkeeper. ]

Are you pulling my leg...? What's it supposed to be?

[ he doesn't sound dismissive, at least - just bewildered. ]

[gravings]

[ The woman looks back at him and shrugs without shrugging. "Disease," she says. It's hard to tell how serious she is with her poker face.

While Johnny puzzles over the art, Gray roams the store, poking her nose around as much as she can without breaking anything. She frowns a little as something begins to bug at her, but she can't say exactly what it is. ]

Um, speaking of disease... we've noticed that Venera has been hit hard by it. Did it start up all at once?

[ The woman is quiet for a beat before answering bluntly. "I don't know. Wasn't here when it started." ]