EVENT #1: THE EMPTY THRONE

[aionmods]

The Empty Throne

DESCENT

Nearly two weeks after being dragged from shrine caverns, you hear along the grapevine that the "the throne room is complete." It doesn't take long to figure out what that means; the ritual grounds that you have been hearing mention of are finally prepared, and it's only a short while before you are once again being gathered together for travel. As a small mercy, at least this time the journey is short.

Through a passage that has been blocked by a gathering of soldiers for the entire length of your stay, a stairway is revealed to you. It leads deep into the ruins, through unfamiliar structures and into the bowels of the earth. Though your feel your are mostly going downward, the walk is still long on account of how many stairs their are, and the soldiers escorting you are restless. They are now being led by the stray, mask wearing Achamites that have been accompanying the group till now, silently observing. Whatever place this is, it seems that they now hold court.

Funneled into the chambers below, you are greeted by a massive, domed enclosure of stone. Positioned around its circular radius are twelve thrones in various states of disrepair, sized as if meant to seat giants. The backs of these thrones all differ slightly in design, though most have great cleaves of stone broken loose from their architecture, as if subjected to some great cataclysm. Each is engraved with a sigil, though some have been obscured by the destruction wrought. The throne closest to the entrance has been almost entirely demolished, making it impossible to glean much about.

The dome's ceiling appears to be hundreds of feet tall at its apex, its smooth surface disrupted by stalactites that puncture through its form like teeth. As a result, many chunks of the original structure seem to have cracked and collapsed in to the floor below. When examined closely, these fragments of the domed ceiling seem to be made of a material strangely reflective in quality, though caked in many years of dirt and grime. If large enough sections are cleaned, patterns may emerge, revealing designs that look almost like star maps. The floor beneath your feet as a similar, but subtly different quality, covered in wreckage and ruin but can be cleaned to reveal complex patterns of intersecting lines.

A careful eye will indicate that these lines all lead towards the center of the room - the one space that has been cleared and scrubbed prior to your arrival. Here, the lines converge, with carefully preserved marking in the stone that bely increasing levels of runic complexity the closer you look. This is where the ritual will be held, you are told.

THE RITUAL

There is not much time to regain your bearings before you are being shuffled forth towards the ritual space; no, all the waiting has already been done. Under the command of the smaller group of Achamites, the Hylicians will make heavy use of the whips in leading everyone to their places along the rune-inscribed circle. Before that, however, small cuts will be made to each prisoner with an athame, either on their hand or arm. With a sharp, burning sensation in the afflicted skin, these cuts will spread into wounds reflecting the image of one of the eleven sigils displayed on the thrones encircling the group, and matching the shrine they were originally pulled from.

With this accomplished, they can finally be taken into the circle. With a design comprised of four triangles overlapping, the design of an open eye carved at its center, all prisoners will be led to separates points on its design where the lines cross. Seemingly arranged by their shrine sigil to be closest to whatever throne represents them, they will be brought to their designated positions one by one. Any attempts to flee or disrupt the process will be dealt with swiftly and harshly, exacerbated by the increasing levels of paranoia and fear in the soldiers themselves. Whatever is being done here, they don't seem happy to involved with it either.

When everyone is in place, the seeming master of ceremonies will finally emerge. A dark haired woman will appear from the shadows, motes of golden light fluttering about her otherwise darkness-clad visage. Moving towards the center of the circle, she will stand over the marking of the eye and begin working her magicks. As if on cue, the soldiers will withdraw any remaining whips and scurry to the outside of the circle, only for new bonds of ethereal energy to lash out of the ritual circle itself, binding each and every prisoner and dragging them down to their knees. Among the soldiers, you can hear mutterings identifying this woman as "the Aion."

"Come," she says to the coterie of robed Achamites, who will approach the circle with an assortment of vials collected into cases. There is enough for each prisoner to be given a drink, and so they will; a vial of abyssal liquid will be forced into each one of your throats, no matter how uncomfortably it must be done. While no less ruthless, the Achamites have a different way about them as they work, forcing themselves upon you with a strange familiarity that feels more akin to a mother forcing their child to take medicine than the suspicious hostility of the soldiers. As the foul liquid touches your tongue, it takes on a consistency almost like a living thing, crawling down your throat even if you refuse to swallow, all while the Achamites stroke your hair and make saccharine assurances.

Once all the prisoners have been fed their vial, the Achamamites too will retreat from the circle - all except for one. Joining 'the Aion' at the center, the two of them will begin enacting a planned ceremony of sorts, that culminates in the following scene:

The Achamite kneels before the Aion, lifting their masked face to meet their dark gaze. They speak, in practiced tones.

"To the Kenoma my body, to the Kenoma my soul."

In response, the Aion holds the Achamite's face between their hands in almost a loving gesture. She speaks softly:

"By the blood of the Martyr, I accept your sacrifice."

From the Aion's hands a darkness spreads across the Achamite's body, as if they are melting and dissolving on a cellular level. She kneels along with them, cradling them as their body breaks down, pooling in a void-black liquid around their knees. It drains into the lines of the ritual circle, surging out towards the prisoners.

Within moments, the ritual is complete.

KENOMA SICKNESS

As this dark power surges throughout the ritual circle, you will find yourself almost consumed by the tide. Whatever foul creation you were forced to swallow wakes within your chest, and you can feel it move within your veins, inside you lungs, behind your eyes. As quickly as it begins, the flood of darkness washes over you, but not without leaving you stained.

Something has changed in its wake. As you return to your senses, you will notice the magical bonds of the circle have fallen away, leaving you free to move; for once, the soldiers will not move to lead or restrain you. Instead, the Hylicians warily back away from the ritual space, retreating towards the only path upwards, where they form a defensive line. The Achamites that linger make a series of ritual gestures, praying in voices too soft to hear. The Aion woman stands in the center, her hands blackened with residue from the person you just watched fall to pieces in her arms.

"You will be given time to find your truth," she says. "Use it well."

As you recover from the experience enough to stand, she and her Achamite entourage are already retreating to join the Hylician guard. Gradually, your situation will become clear: they intend to keep your trapped down here. However, it will not be the same as when you waited before. Instead, the soldiers simply intend to block your only exit out, and otherwise leave you free to roam the full diameter of the throne room, seemingly free to do whatever you want as long as it isn't trying to break free of the cavern's confines. Each day, they will offer to their prisoners a limit supply of food, water, and firewood, but nothing more. Beyond that, you only have your increasingly dirty white robes and the same bedrolls as before.

❖ COMMUNION
The first change you will experience is an itching darkness in your mind, like a psychic wound that is becoming infected. The sort of thoughts you would normally try to force down become increasingly hard to resist; despair, hatred, and fear will plague you, and requiring great feats of will to silence even temporarily. Phantoms of the things you'd rather forget will become a constant companion, all while a presence seems to whisper: when you accept your fate, the pain will stop.

Worse than this, the darkness of your mind may not remain private. As if awakened by the ritual, your empathetic sense has become impossibly strong, to the point that you feel the broadcasted emotions and thoughts of others, and in turn, your darkest thoughts will be psychically projected to others with a volume proportional to the intensity with which you feel them. This effect is most potent between those sharing Legacy, with the capacity for their identities to become momentarily confused. In all cases, this connection may bleed into your dreams, or manifest as hallucinations.

❖ TRANSFORMATION
Yet, your mind is not the only thing that ails. In proportion to the strength of your emotions, your body may begin changing to match your state of mind. Physical transformations akin to those mentioned here will begin to manifest, themed to your inner suffering and the most negative aspects of your self conception. These alterations may shift from moment to moment, depending on the turbulence of your emotional state. They may or may not be painful.

❖ AFFLICTION
Along with the above effects, characters may also experience various more mundane ailments; essentially anything traditionally associated with illness could fit. Weakness, nausea, body aches, and chills are all common options. Along with this, void-black ooze may start to trickle from virtually any orifice. While it may stain clothing and skin, the material itself will dissipate after a few minutes in a manner reminiscent of ectoplasm. This effect may also appear around your Shard, as if the stone itself has begun to bleed.

RESISTANCE

Even as the Kenoma threatens to overwhelm you, you still have the power to fight. Though it may be a grueling war of attrition, you can force back its advances with sufficient will to survive and resist the darkness. Of course, your captors are not going to make this easy for you. Those that fight hard enough to expel the Kenoma from their bodies and spirits will take at least a week to do so, and for that duration they will be trapped within this chilly cavern, haunted by their worst thoughts and emotions.

The bedrolls barely strand up against the cold, your clothing doesn't at all, and to be comfortable you'll require fire. Yet, there is a limited amount provided to you, along with food and water, and the soldiers do not seem to be making any effort to distribute it evenly. Achieving basic warmth and sustenance may become a battle against your fellow inmates, all while you struggle against the enemy infecting your body. Cracks in the dome of the cavern lead into some smaller caverns and crevasses in the stone that can offer some privacy or protection, but the more splintered the group becomes the less the supplies will hold up. Fortunately for you, neither the cold nor starvation will kill you, but it will make you suffer.

Yet, you may still persevere. As you fight back the Kenoma, something else will be cultivated in its place. Bit by bit, a comforting and warm presence will grow within you, gradually disrupting the maladies afflicting your body and mind. Your faith and perseverance has been rewarded with an attunement to the Pleroma, the Kenoma's cosmological opposite; given enough time, the Kenoma will be forced from your being entirely, in the form of void-black sludge. Only then will your power begin to shine through, the abilities of your past life slowly returning.

You must keep your guard. With or without otherworldly power, escape will be a struggle.

ACCEPTANCE

Or, you may choose the easy option. Maybe the Kenoma resonates with your history and emotions in a way that makes it seem like it isn't the enemy. Maybe the depths of your despair are too deep to escape. Maybe your simply lack the strength to fight. Whatever the reason, sooner or later, the Kenoma claims you. The more you let it in, the less it feels like a poison and the more it feels like strength. The darkness settles comfortably into the cracks and holes of your spirit, and you awaken to its power. You feel the change viscerally.

This world is not good enough, a voice seems to speak through the Kenoma. This suffering you feel, the cruelty that has birthed this darkness in you... it is simply the rot that is consuming this existence. A better universe awaits, one forged by your own hand, and all you need do is first bring about this broken reality's end.

Whatever effects you were suffering from the Kenoma's presence will fade away, and in its place, you will feel your endurance bolstered. The clarity is stark in comparison to the mire you were trapped in before. As the other prisoners suffer around you, the Aion woman from before and an accompaniment of a couple Hylician soldiers will approach you among the ruins, as if summoned straight to your location. She looks you over, her dark eyes impassive, and then asks:

"Did you feel it?"

She doesn't actually wait for an answer, your expression alone enough to assure her. She'll tell the soldiers that you are free to go, and that you are to be given a share of their food and a change of clothes. She'll escort you out of cavern and towards the upper ruins, where the soldiers and Achamites have set up camp. This feels natural to you, somehow, like you and her are on the same wavelength in a way that is hard to comprehend. She is like you, you sense. That dark power is within her as well.

She doesn't linger with you for long, but she will see that you are on your way before heading back to the caverns. She'll say that the voice you heard, that promise, was the Regent, the ruler of this land. They spoke of a power that could birth a new, better universe, and they weren't misleading you. It's within their reach, closer than ever, and if you help them achieve it you will be rewarded lavishly. For now, you are free to regain your strength while the others make their choices. She only asks that you stay in the area and be ready to join the Regent in Achamoth when all is prepared.

If you're prone to boredom, though, she will mention that you'd really be doing the prisoners a favor by convincing them to accept the Kenoma like you did. You could convince them with words, or by making their situations so unbearable they won't have a choice but to break. However you'd like. It won't be worse than what's coming for them if they carry on this way.

When she parts ways with you, you are left to your own devices. Somehow, you feel inclined to cooperate. After all, the Regent did have a point.

QUESTIONS

Are the involuntary transformations during the Kenoma sickness period temporary afflictions or permanent ones?
By default they are temporary, but characters can also keep a couple keepsake changes if you'd like! An Aion's physical appearance is something that is generally in flux, and so even if you keep something from this event, you can always alter it later.

What kind of supplies are going to be distributed to those who accept Kenoma and leave the caverns?
They'll be given food, water, and clothing. They'll be given more/better rations than they were as prisoners, but it's still the sort of food that is limited by the fact that they are out here on a mission. The soldiers will have some fresh meat from prey they've been hunting in the forest, and will generally be having a lot of stew-based food going. There are actual spices in it, though, so that's cool. This is all set up where the Hylicians are camping.

As for clothes, they will get a fresh set (including boots or shoes) and some soap to clean themselves up in the nearby creeks and ponds. Hylici has an aesthetic that leans towards ancient Greek/Roman, so while they won't have anything fancy with them, you are free to assume they are able to acquire anything in that general ballpark. They do also have pants, though. While it is now spring and Horos has a generally temperate climate, it can be chilly at night.

Will Pleroma attuned be able to escape once they've regained their powers?
Yes, they will be allowed to escape at that point, and a second log will be going up to cover that part of the event. This log should generally cover up until shortly after Pleroma start ejecting the Kenoma's influence. Characters are permitted to escape by their own power if they somehow devise a plan to do so, but as we know the Pleromas are at a significant disadvantage in this situation, some characters who have fought against the Kenoma particularly valiantly will be given some magical assistance to help the survivors escape.

Will the Kenomas be able to try to stop them?
Yes! The second log will be set up to contain some PVP, though given the Pleromas do need to escape, we ask that you play nice. There will be a battle, but it will be structured in the context of the Pleromas having to hold off the Kenomas long enough to escape, so it will be relatively brief.

Can we speak to "the Aion"?
Yes, she will be around for the full length of the event. All characters will have the chance to find her watching over the group whether they are Kenomas or soon to be Pleromas. She will not be that talkative, though, so anyone tagging her will have to lead the conversation. She will not make small talk. Martyrs will recognize her as one of them.

Comments

[epiprocta]

[ He gives a condescending snort when Kim sits up straighter; fat lot of good that's going to do when the guy looks like he's about to keel over any second. ]

Settle down. Not like I care how terrible you look.

[ So he says, but it's obvious he's not completely apathetic about the state of things. Otherwise he wouldn't be crouched here, watching Kim struggle. ]

I didn't 'let' anyone do anything. Just couldn't stand sitting here and doing nothing, wasting time uselessly. ... how's that going for you, anyway? Being all noble -- making sure no one is hurt.

[ His tone of voice is obnoxious by default, but there's something especially acrid in the way he echoes those last few words. ]

[coupris]

[The comment stings more than Kim cares to admit. Earlier in the week, it may have caused him to spiral completely. Now, with logic taking root in his mind again, he's able to swat away the worst of it. The simple truth remains, however: In this world, he is out of his depth.

That doesn't mean he enjoys some delinquent rubbing it in his face.]

Then what are you doing now, that's so useful?

[epiprocta]

Didn't say I'm doing anything useful now. [ It's said easily enough, but not with any particular pride. Just a statement of facts. ] But I'm not stuck down here being miserable, either.

[ 'Not like you,' is the implication. Gen lets it sink in, staring pointedly at Kim in silence for a moment before speaking again. This time, there's a quiet gravity to his words -- not sincerity, not exactly, but at least a glimmer of weightier consideration. Something bordering on a genuine desire for an answer. ]

Old man, we both know nobody's staying down here enduring all this -- [ a dismissive wave of the hand towards the rest of the cavern ] -- just because they want to be good to people, or whatever. What're you trying to do, really?

[coupris]

[Kim huffs a dry laugh, and it's enough to dislodge him from his spot against the stone at his back. He slides down to the ground, but doesn't collapse. His eyes find Gen again, and though they still can't take in much, they gleam with a lucidity he hasn't felt in days. The darkness forced into him is losing, and it's true-- it probably has nothing to do with how good he might be, and everything to do with how stubborn.]

I have no interest in the cause of anyone who would tell me that I'm nothing.

[So let him starve, let him devolve into a beast; at least he will have stood for something.]

[epiprocta]

[ Gen just looks at Kim in silence for a long moment. Assesses the weird conviction in his gaze when the guy can probably barely see, the inexplicable confidence in that voice rendered terribly hoarse and ragged.

Then, abruptly, he straightens up. Steps forward -- and grabs at back of Kim's robe, hauling him up to sit properly once more.

There's no goodwill or sympathy in the gesture, clear from how roughly he dumps Kim back against the throne. It's just that that answer pisses him off for a reason he can't quite pin down, and the prospect of having this upstanding, righteous, stuffy old fucker owe him in some tiny way appeases the petty, bitter side of him. ]

[coupris]

[Kim's hackles raise the moment Gen invades his space, and grabs his wrist with a surprising amount of strength. He grunts in confusion as he's righted, but lets go of Gen as he steps away.

Covering up any undignified noises he may have made by clearing his throat, Kim straightens the collar of his robe. Again, the anger seeping out of the kid borders on palpable, and Kim furrows his brow.]

You don't have to follow their orders.

[epiprocta]

[ Gen looks at his wrist after straightening up, glancing over the faint, red marks left by Kim's resistant grip. It had been stronger than he expected. -- stronger than he probably could have mustered while trapped here.

It feels unfair.

He only glances over when Kim speaks up again, eyes promptly narrowing in disdain. ]

You think I want to listen to that creepy bitch? [ He lowers his hand, willing himself to ignore the tingling sensation at his wrist as it slowly fades. ] Would've died rather than being stuck down here another minute. There's something wrong with all of you still staying here.

[coupris]

Perhaps. [Kim looks at his hands. The bleary impression he had of claws are gone, replaced with normal flesh and bone again.] But the worst of it has passed.

[Maybe he shouldn't admit that to someone who's already given in, but Gen, like others, didn't jump into the Aion's embrace.]

This won't kill us. She might ask you to do it, instead.

[epiprocta]

[ Gen ignores that second bit.

Or at least, seems to at first glance. If he's lucid enough, Kim might notice the way Gen's posture stiffens almost imperceptibly -- hands clenched to pale-knuckled fists at his side and expression hardening, jaw clenching tight for a moment even as he gives a low scoff. ]

'The worst of it has passed.' The hell d'you mean by that? [ If it's a bluff, it's a poor one, he thinks. Kim still looks like he's going through hell, that determined gaze not withstanding. ] Are you so far gone you're delusional now?

[coupris]

[Despite his sorry physical state, Kim's observational skills have returned as best they can without his glasses to help. Intuition tells him this kid can be reasoned with, at least about this-- but he can't push too hard.]

It's gotten easier. Some people say they've shaken the influence completely. I thought maybe it was a delusion myself, at first.

[Then he'd clung to every shred of hope that slowly returned to him with desperate hands. Even now, his statement of conviction still rings in his own ears, and his blood runs just a bit warmer.

It gives him enough strength that Kim braces himself against the stone behind him before pushing off towards his campfire, just a few feet away. He nods for Gen to join him, if he wants.]

It's odd, to watch over dying people with armed guard, is it not?

[epiprocta]

[ What, so if he'd endured for another two or three days, he would've been in the clear? The thought makes his stomach churn with fury, though it's accompanied by a cold shiver of doubt. Would he have really lasted another two days in here? -- and doesn't it feel more right to have accepted his place outside of this cave? Isn't that where he belongs?

Briefly distracted rubbing a hand over his face to try and clear his thoughts, Gen's mildly startled by Kim rising to his feet. His assumption, of course, is that the man's had enough of him and is retreating in search of someplace quiet to rest.

So Kim's subtle invitation is initially answered with a wary frown and a cautious tilt of the head, as if waiting for a caveat that doesn't come. ]

... she was asking us to persuade anyone left. [ In the end, he accepts and slouches along a few paces behind Kim, if only because leaving now would feel like admitting defeat. ] Sounded like things're gonna be ugly for anyone still holding out 'till the end. -- whenever that is. So don't think you're out of the woods just yet.

[coupris]

You aren't the first to try.

[Kim grunts again as he does his best to not simply collapse onto his bedroll, similarly stained with the ichor covering his robe. He warms his hands by the fire once he sits properly, frowning at the thought of some of the more irritating conversations he's been roped into since people started to reappear in the cave, properly dressed and looking less like hell warmed over.

Gen's admission that something more is waiting in the wings for those still resisting doesn't surprise him, but it does concern him. The people remaining in the cave are regaining strength, but not enough to withstand an assault from armed forces.]

They have an end in mind, then. What's the delay, then? Why bother trying to convert everyone?

[epiprocta]

Do I look like I know any of that shit?

[ He remains standing two, three paces back, just barely at the fringes of the circle of warmth afforded by the small fire. Truth be told, he doesn't really like the change of location -- looking at the bedrolls placed around the fire really reminds him of the miserable hours he'd spent down here, and he wants to leave.

But for better or for worse, juvenile pride keeps him from tucking tail between his legs and slinking off. He's too adverse to admitting defeat. ]

Old man, you talk big about 'causes' or whatever, but d'you really wanna die like that? [ Jerking his head towards the tattered and filthy bedrolls, the general state that Kim is in. ] You sure don't look like you'd put up much of a fight if those guards came in with the intent to kill. ... or if that creepy bitch made us do it. Maybe she's delaying to give you the chance to stop being stupid.

[coupris]

Your concern is touching.

[He didn't think Gen would have much information, or be willing to share it, but he can't help but be thorough. His phrasing, though, is intriguing.]

So she would have to force you. [You're not a killer.]

[epiprocta]

I'm not concerned for you.

[ He spits out that word contemptuously, like it's truly important to him that he not be seen as soft-hearted. The same reason why he also bristles as he snarls, ]

I'll do whatever I need to do. [ Despite all his anger and attitude, he's not so far gone that he wants to kill. But he can. He knows that for sure. ] -- so if they tell me I need to snuff you, I will. You'll have nobody but yourself to blame at that point.

[coupris]

[Were the situation not this dire, Kim may have had to conceal a laugh when the kid takes him so seriously. He just stares at Gen for a moment, the growing warmth under his skin buffeting any paranoia that might have taken root a day ago. Need to and want to are two different things.

However, he isn't about to idly endure a threat, either.]

In my work, I look at facts. A murder is blamed on the murderer.

[epiprocta]

I know that.

[ He snaps out that irritable retort as a knee-jerk response, but there's a venom to those words that suggests it's said out of more than just a shitty attitude. Also telling is the way Gen balks ever-so-slightly afterward, knowing he should have held his tongue; clicking his tongue, he gives Kim a sharper look and changes the subject. ]

-- what're you, a lawyer? Journo?

[coupris]

I'm a detective.

[That means very little now, but saying it still adds a little more to that spark of hope brewing within him.]

Have you convinced anyone to leave with you?

[epiprocta]

[ A cop. No wonder he's so self-righteous. Gen gives no verbal response to that revelation, but the way he wrinkles his nose in disdain says plenty; even if Kim being an officer probably doesn't mean anything in this place, he's spent too long being taught to be wary of cops to break that pattern now. ]

No. But not like I'm trying. Just wanted to see if there was a reason people stayed here, or if you guys are just crazy. [ This much is true rather than being empty bluster, said at a dispassionate drone. There's a pause, and Gen gives a short bark of sardonic laughter before adding, ] -- she said we could use whatever methods we want. I'd be beating the shit out of you if I really cared.

[ 'So be grateful,' is the insinuation. ]

[coupris]

I see.

[How quickly the offer to hold down a guard while Kim did the honors is forgotten. He tosses a bit of loose tinder onto his fire. It sputters up for a brief moment, curling a bit more heat towards him.]

You'll probably be hearing some feedback on your diplomacy tactics, then.