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

[goldendeceiver]

[ He's an interesting man, and while Ernesto doesn't think he really knows Father Abel well yet, he's starting to get a better sense of him after this conversation the two have had. The ups and downs they've gone through in such a short amount of time have probably given both of them some unexpected insight from what was mostly just a chance encounter.

As heavy as the conversation is right now, Ernesto is still very thankful for all of the distraction that it has allowed him.

The offer still manages to surprise Ernesto though, and he lifts his head again to give Abel a searching look. For some people, making an offer like that probably doesn't mean much, but Abel definitely doesn't strike him as the guy who would readily foist his ideas onto others to follow. ]

Not to sound ungrateful by not agreeing immediately, but I guess I'm just curious...

[ He frowns, head tilting slightly to the side. ]

What is your dream, Father?

[inutilis]

[ it's a perfectly reasonable question from a man who isn't half as much the idealistic fool as Abel is; he doesn't seem to mind it, nor does he mind explaining himself, either. some people might be prickly about the prospect of sharing something personal, but he had offered - so clearly that isn't the case, right?

blue eyes are settled on Ernesto's, and in a state where neither of their masks or guises are as unflappable as they'd normally be, perhaps it's impossible to miss the underlying weight behind them. it is something old, perhaps - but earnest, if sad. ]

Well... Admittedly, my dreams since coming here are a bit different than the ones I've kept at home, but... perhaps not by much!

[ his voice remains cheerful despite it as he carries along. ]

...I want to find a way to return us where we belong, of course. --A lofty goal, yes, and hardly one I think I'll achieve on my own! [ or that he will even play any major part in seeing through, really. this goes so far above his head, but - he will so very gladly do whatever is required of him to those ends once greater minds decide how to see it through. ] But getting you, and everyone else back to those who love them... that, I'd very much like to see happen if I could. And until then, I suppose my far more humble dream would be a simple one.

[ simple, but not necessarily easy-- ]

Make sure we all get through this in one piece-- so we can be delivered back to those waiting for us. I don't know what's happening here, Mr. Tequila... and I really don't know if I can help anyone, much less myself, but-- I do know I want to try. And I think it'll be easier with your help, so I'm more than happy to share that wish with you if you'd like.

[goldendeceiver]

[ Ernesto holds Abel's gaze for a moment, before settling his back against the wall, and turning his head forward. His eyes fixate on the group of guards that happen to be loitering around the entrance, making sure that none of the half-dead people that are still resisting the Kenoma can sneak out to presumed safety.

Beyond them though... that's where the people who have already succumb have wandered off. Considering how the poison was literally forced on them, it can't have been an easy choice for anyone to make. Still, while Ernesto doesn't judge a single Kenoma who decided to walk that path, they still actively made that choice. It seems to him from conversations with new converts that he's had that the acceptance came with strings attached.

That's all to say... ]

I'm guessing when you say all, you don't just mean the people still in this cavern, right?

[ New acquaintance or not, Abel hasn't struck him as a "you take care of yours and I'll take care of only mine" kind of guy. ]

[inutilis]

[ his eyes follow where Ernesto's seem to go with a tiny furrow at his brow in question - but once he realizes it's the guard his friend is looking at, it makes a great deal of sense.

yes... it seems Ernesto has a relatively good handle on him already. ]

That's right.

[ whether it's here or at home, his overarching mission is the same. whether it is as priest or man or something else - Abel does not want to hurt anyone, and he does not want to see anyone else hurt if he can help it. protect what he can; save what he can. all life is precious, and none should be made to suffer. ]

...Some of those who've left the cave-- they have been wounded somewhere inside themselves, I think. Some have deep gouges where life's hardships have left them missing pieces of themselves.

[ his voice is quieter, softer - meant for Ernesto's ears alone. ]

And whatever it was we were made to swallow-- it filled those holes up in them, ran right to their bones. It... it isn't right, Mr. Tequila. None of this is right.

[ and he sees it as an injustice, a manipulation - one that makes him angry. it's a steady, subtle but firmly palpable expression through their budding communion despite the seemingly mild expression on his face. ]

[goldendeceiver]

[ Only the ones that have left the cave? Ernesto's not so sure it's limited to just them, even if they were the ones that buckled under the pressure. He can appreciate what Abel is saying though. The ritual they've been put through has really been attacking a nastier side of all of them, and it seems to him that the people who have left have come to an uncomfortable kind of peace with that side.

The anger takes him by greater surprise than the half-dead sullen state Abel was in when he found him though. That sort of bone-weary exhaustion is expected with all they're being put through, but a more righteous anger about it is a different matter.

His expression goes slack for a second as he looks at Abel out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to fully turn to face him again. ]

No, it isn't right at all.

[ There's some hesitance in the way he says that. There's no actual disagreement with what Abel is saying, but there's an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach as he grapples with his own easy resignation to the world- all worlds- being unjust by nature. ]

[inutilis]

[ no, those sentiments certainly don't just apply to those who have left the cavern; Abel's current company absolutely proves that fact. but... those still clutching onto some glimmer of hope inside themselves with a bitter defiance of the Kenoma have not given in to that darkness. it hasn't permeated them the same way it has those who are no longer among their number, enjoying the sunlight and creature comforts outside. Abel and Ernesto and the others here haven't given in, though their reasons for holding out are numerous and varying.

Abel cannot blame nor condemn anyone who no longer sits in this miserable hovel. they were turned against themselves, and he feels very strongly that this 'game' was rigged from the very start to ensure that as many lost as were possible. that there are roughly half their number still willfully resisting it-- it's impressive, and awe-inspiring to the priest at the very least...

...he gently begins uncoiling some rigidity and tension that has crept into his posture, realizing the simmer of that old anger will not help him in a time like this. not him, and not Ernesto, either. ]

I'm not an arbiter of justice, and I know there are wrongs that can't necessarily be fixed. The world isn't so simple, is it?

[ the words are quiet, but weighty as he stares into his lap. ]

But I won't just let them go, Mr. Tequila. I don't think I have it in me.

[ and so, his dream to right this wrong and see them all safely home burns hot and defiant in his chest. it's a dream he is willing to share, just as he said, until Ernesto finds one of his own. ]

[goldendeceiver]

[ The kind of dream that probably requires people to share it in order to make it happen in the first place. That is if it can happen at all. Saving someone who doesn't want to be saved is a damn hard asked, and Ernesto isn't entirely certain he's the man for the job.

Still, he supposes for awhile he can provide at least a little support for someone who wants to take on that particular burden.

His sigh turns into a small laugh as his fingers drum lightly across the top of his knees. ]

That's a pretty big ask, and I'm not sure it's going to be possible with everyone.

[ It's going to depend heavily on being able to get out of this cavern in the first place, and then having a better offer to the ones that held the Regent's hand after. ]

But I'm willing to give it a go, and see what we can do.

[inutilis]

[ once upon a time, he had a very selfish, single-minded dream (and a much simpler one hidden beneath it). he almost saw his dream come true, too - not the one he really wanted, but the one he told himself he did. that selfish wish is the reason his dreams won't ever be the sort he can see through alone anymore, nor will they be for himself; he has learned a lot since then that assured that. hard, painful lessons - but necessary ones.

he is nothing without the people by his side. it's been that way for over ten years now. he doesn't want to lose that, doesn't want to try doing things on his own - even if it means reaching out to veritable strangers and believing in others like this. he likes what he sees in Ernesto; he wants to see more. and he thinks Ernesto, for the pain he's experienced, might be better equipped than most to stand with him to see this dream come true.

Abel eventually stretches a hand, settling it to gently squeeze Ernesto's shoulder before he begins climbing to his feet. a bit stiff, a bit wobbly-kneed-- but he makes it. ]

...I'll hold you to that.

[ his smile is sincere. it means a lot to Abel; he won't forget this, nor the man behind the smile that seems incessantly sad no matter how bright it is on the surface. ]

But for now... I think you've earned yourself some rest, listening to me prattling on. Please try to get some shut-eye for me, alright...?

[ he has a lot to think about, but... there is no doubt that Ernesto's visit has seen Abel much steadier than when his friend had happened upon him at first. ]

[goldendeceiver]

[ There's something funny about this man, who is still a relatively new acquaintance, having more faith in Ernesto than he probably has in himself. There's plenty of reasons for Ernesto to doubt himself though, and maybe only knowing him but so well means there are more reasons for Abel to believe in him too.

Until he finds a way to disappoint him. He's managed to be a disappointment to former bosses, friends, and even family at some point, so he'll surely find a way to disappoint Abel yet.

But if Abel wants to put blind faith in him so soon, he'll at least make an attempt to not fuck it up immediately.

Ernesto looks a little surprised by that request, before laughing and shaking his head. He's not much more steady as he makes his way back to his own feet, even using the wall as support as he lifts himself up. ]

Maybe some other time. I was on my way to pathetically beg for some food while my stomach isn't bothering me for once.

[ For as hard as it was for him to stand up, Ernesto puts on a show of stretching like he just got out of bed and is well rested. ]

But you take care of yourself as well, Father. Mentally as well as physically.

[ With one last sunny smile that might not be as truly joyful as it looks, Ernesto starts to head towards the guards again, looking in relatively good humor for someone about to go debase himself for scraps. ]