aionlogs | EVENT #3: THE COST OF INNOCENCE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, the book? Sure.

[ She hands it over with ease— it's nothing special, just some storybook she found lying around in one of the houses here. The moment of surprise she reads in his features are to be expected, she supposes, especially after she's spoken with several of the new Pleroma who could hardly believe anyone would go to the Kenoma willingly. As a result, she remains eager to know Dextera's feelings, looking at him with a prodding sense of curiosity, and not a hint of shame. ]

[ dextera leafs through the book once it’s offered, and he points out each word carefully. he knows exactly what he wants to say, and it’s luckily not too complicated a question, even if the greater topic is tangled up in all kinds of philosophy and feelings. ]

Aren’t you scared?

[ he thinks to leave it there, but something secondarily occurs to him and he flips through a few more pages to add onto the question. ]

To be left behind.

To be left behind...? By what, when the world is remade?

[ Misa looks off to the side in genuine thought, as if she's never been pressed about her resolve to this extent (she hasn't been.) He raises a good question - it isn't one she really has a prepared answer for, despite the ease with which her eventual answer comes. ]

I don't really feel scared. We get to remake the world the way we want it, or so we've been told. [ The truth is, she doesn't think about whether this is true very much, evident in her nonchalance while saying it. ] If I can make it so that I can live a normal, happy life with the person I love, in a kinder world... what would I have to be afraid of?

[ Even if her memories are erased, even if some parts of her are wiped away... she would accept it. No, she's not afraid at all, perhaps because she's done something akin to this before, has had to let go of parts of herself before with no guarantee she would get them back. And for someone who has come close to death as many times as she has, has willingly given up enormous chunks of her time left in the world of the living, "dying" or being "reborn" just doesn't sound that frightening to her. ]

[ her goals are admirable, and it sounds much like the archangel’s dream for the future. when someone phrases it like that, as if they really can make a kinder world for everyone, of course anyone would agree—but dextera can’t imagine it’s possible. misa’s desires come across as naive, but she herself still seems to have layers that dextera can’t yet penetrate. ]

Mm…

[ he fiddles with the corner of the page, not hard enough to fold it, but enough that it curls under the roll of his thumb. ]

Responsibility. [ and, he searches for another word, on impulse. ] Judgment.

[ At that, her brows furrow - immediately pushing back against the words Dextera had pointed out. ]

I'm not afraid of those things? I know that making the world a better place is the right thing... even if there are sacrifices...

[ There's earnestness there in her reply. So long as she believes she's in the right - the ends will justify the means.

She imagines carrying the burden of changing the world the way the Kenoma plan to do could be crushing to someone as meek and unsure as she assumes Dextera is. Misa, though... her ideals feel so stable, so unquestionable, especially considering they've already been acted upon.

Perhaps that's what separates them— the ability to even feel a true weight of responsibility for shifting the course of the world. Where Dextera shows a(n at least somewhat) healthy degree of hesitance towards the idea of standing at the helm of such a grand change, Misa treats the matter with a naïve carelessness, and with an assumption that her way is the only way. ]

But you would rather everything stay exactly the same?

[ The question is less accusatory and more curious— she seems genuinely confused as to whether or not that is his stance. ]

[ for the first time, dextera thinks he gets insight into misa’s mindset. there’s something defensive in the way she responds to those heavy implications, though he still can’t untangle much about her. his understanding of another person’s core is muddled by the shards, but misa’s conviction seems so pure anyway. whatever she’s saying, dextera believes that she believes it. ]

…

[ he closes the book, using his thumb as a bookmark in case he’d like to return to this page, and… he nods.

keeping things the same is easy. there’s no responsibility attached to creating something better if he can simply continue the world as it is. perpetuation is a task that asks only mindlessness of him, which is something he’s all too content to provide. ]

[ That's the heart of the matter, isn't it? Wanting change, and wanting things to stay the same. That's how she sees the conflict, anyway— rather than destruction versus protection. Her lips draw to the side in thought, looking neither disappointed nor offended at his decision. Just accepting that they're different. ]

I get that, Dex. I really do...

[ She could understand it, if he felt safety in stability. She probably would've felt the same, if things had never gone awry in her life as they had. It's a little disorienting— she thinks someone with the mindset he describes would be someone who lived relatively comfortably, didn't face hardship. But she's never once gotten that impression from Dextera, especially not ever since they'd both been addled with the Kenoma. How could he choose to keep things the same, if he's suffered as she thinks she has...?

It's fine if he doesn't think the same way she does. For now, anyway. So long as they're not active threats to one another, she can file this away, turn the other cheek. She heaves a big sigh, feeling weighed down by the intensity of the topic - always searching for a return to breeziness. ]

You know, back in the cavern, I didn't think I'd ever even get a chance to talk with you guys like this again. I'm glad I could... I've been wondering all this time why you went over there. Now, I think I do.

[ dextera may not be good at bringing a topic back to relative levity, but he is good at following someone’s lead. although it would be easy to dwell on the misery of choice and the knowledge that people will be hurt no matter what he does, misa guides the conversation away from those broad ideals and brings them back to a more personal level. ]

…

[ so, he nods again.

he feels the same, after all— ] Me too. [ —selected out of the book after an instant of searching.

he was never unaware of the reason that people fell to the kenoma, at least. it’s the regent he fears, rather than the end of all; if he’s caught in the apocalypse, his practical mind tells him that there would be little point in worrying about it because he would simply be dead along with the rest of existence. ]

Stay safe.

EVENT #3: THE COST OF INNOCENCE

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