EVENT PLOTTING: THE EMPTY THRONE PT 2

[aionmods]

The Empty Throne Pt 2

By the end of the seventh day, more and more of those that have resisted the Kenoma's pull will be awakening to the power of the Pleroma, expelling what remains of the ritual's poison. Though they are still being held within the cavern, any lost powers will begin to return... which means that conflict against the ones imprisoning them is inevitable. Xishen, the orchestrator of the ritual, has not made any orders and the Hylician soldiers are increasingly agitated and unsure of what to expect. Are those that remain free of the Kenoma's influence meant to be executed? Imprisoned more securely? Freed?

Unknown to the rest of the Regent's assembly, a short while before this impasse, Xishen bestowed the secret of teleportation to Father Abel Nightroad, suggesting to him that he could use it to escape and bring the other survivors with him. Though her motives for doing so are yet unknown, Abel and any other Pleroma attuned he explains this process to will be able to use the teleportation spell as explained on the powers page to escape the cavern. Two to three casters will be enough to plausibly bring all of the newly christened Pleroma with them; the trouble is that the ritual takes up to a half hour to cast, and once they begin, it will become apparent to their captors what's happening.

Once the teleportation ritual is discovered, Xishen will order the Kenoma inductees to put a stop to it, though she does not step up to fight herself. From there, the Pleroma will have to hold off the Kenoma for 20-30 minutes while the ritual completes, the exact speed depending on how many people are dedicated to casting. Player versus player conflict can occur during this time, and mod-rolled RNG outcomes to individual match ups will be available if they are desired.

Of course, the Kenoma have had time to recover and the Pleroma have not. As if to compensate for this disadvantage, the hope granted by this change of escape will awaken a surge of power in the Pleroma. Similar to how the Kenoma felt upon accepting it, Pleroma will receive a boost in endurance, strength, and magical capabilities during this time, though the effect will gradually fade afterwards.

When the ritual ends it is expected that the Pleroma will be able to escape, whether it's on their feet or by having their battered body hauled into the ritual area by a comrade. All characters who participated in The Empty Throne will be awarded 1 Reward Token which can be used to purchase new abilities and regains.

❖ INCLUDED EVENT PROMPTS

◆ PVP COMBAT: Those Kenoma that are willing to listen to Xishen's orders will have the opportunity to clash against the Pleroma as they try to escape. Fights and mod-rolled RNG results can be requested here. Kenoma are not required to fight but those that do will receive a boosted positive reputation among the Regent's forces.

◆ REGAINED POWERS: All characters who have attuned will have their canon powers returned with the nerfs indicated on their applications. This include all Kenoma and all Pleroma. Pleroma characters will be receiving a hope-based power boost during the escape. For those with the Normie Discount, your Reward Token can be spent immediately and any new powers can manifest during the fight if that's something you'd like to play out.

◆ TELEPORTATION RITUAL: At least 2-3 Pleroma characters will be needed to cast the ritual, but the more there are the faster it will go. Past magical experience is not required for this plot role, though it may help make it more intuitive ICly.

◆ AFTERMATH LOCATIONS: Both sects will have a unique 'aftermath' location to thread in taking place after the escape has happened. This will cover the immediate aftermath of the event. Further locations and travel opportunities will be posted on April 2nd.

◆ ATTUNEMENT TRACKER: As of this event post, most sect attunements should be locked in! Please go update your Attunement Tracker with your character's current sect status.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[aionmods]

Ask the mods any lingering questions you may have about the event.

[semicharmed]

Hello mods!! What happens if a Kenoma character tries to help the Pleroma folks escape?

If it makes a difference, this would be out of a feeling that accepting Kenoma should be something you do of your own free(ish) will, not an actual lack of conviction vis-a-vis burning the universe down.

[expiera]

Asking broadly, would Kenoma characters be provided with weaponry of any kind, or would it be a BYOH(urt) sort of deal?

[lachtara]

Any objections to putting up a PVP post but not for fighting? (I know it sounds the opposite of the concept BUT)

Say ...having people engage each other with words and try to manipulate them to the other side? It would also tangentially be related to this because he would ultimately let the other side escape, but with the added caveat that he wants to try and manipulate them further at a later date.

Or would that not be PVP plot worthy more than just 'this is a normal thread'. sdfafkl

[epiprocta]

Really sorry if this is a stupid question, but wanted to make sure -- the bit about normie discounts came after the bit about the Pleroma hope-boost, but does it still apply to both factions? Or is that linked to the hope-boost and thus kept to Pleroma only?

[galdorleod]

Hello mods... question for you following some extensive discussion in the Discord. Let's say that one of the Kenoma who's trying to discreetly help the Pleroma escape gets caught red-handed by another Kenoma, and a fight between them ensues. OOCly, is that allowed, and ICly, would Xishen intervene to break up the fight? Would there be any consequences for Kenomas who attack other Kenomas? What if one of them ends up seriously injured or even dying?

[inutilis]

hello mod friends!!

this isn't important at all and something we could handwave, but I just wanted to let you know Abel definitely would've tried to ask Xishen to come with them/tried to get to her to convey that offer sometime during the fray.... you know, leave no (wo)man behind, they wouldn't be going anywhere if not for her, so... 😔

thank you for humoring me, that is all

LOOKING FOR PVP

[aionmods]

If you are looking for your character to get into a confrontation with members of the opposite sect during this event, please post the form below in response to this comment! If you would like a mod RNG roll to determine the outcome, please indicate as much in the title of one of your plotting comments.

<b>CHARACTER:</b> <b>SECT:</b> <b>NATURE OF CONFLICT:</b> What can someone expect from a conflict with your character? Do you have a preference on the outcome? Do you want the result to be RNG?

[aquaveiled]

CHARACTER: Himeka Sui
SECT: Pleroma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: She's the "I'm a healer but" meme except instead of guns she's got big magical booms. Because she's a caster her physical defense is squishy. She'd be just as likely to protect someone from getting hit as well as punching back herself. (For the XIV familiar, she's primarily a White Mage/Black Mage with some minor Red Mage abilities.)

I'm good with any outcome! Happy to RNG it as well for extra spiciness. And also open to MULTIPLE confrontations. Come at her, bro.

Alternatively if people need some healing after all this is over she's here to help.

[coerthantorment]

CHARACTER: Estinien Wyrmblood
SECT: Pleroma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: Estinien's powers are mostly just 1) being super good at physical fighting, 2) going beast (dragon) mode, and 3) breaking shit with explosions. However, he has gotten himself hella beat up over the course of things so far so even with the endurance boost his candle is going to be burning at both ends. Also, he doesn't have a lance, which makes things more difficult for him.

Fighting is going to be a wild, feral mess and I am HERE for everyone involved getting trashed. I'm interested in RNG for the outcome - him 'winning' is less important to me than him putting on a good showing/building rivalries and reputations with other characters. Fighting is his thing so I'd like for him to at least make an impression, even if he gets fucked while doing it.

I'm open to multiple fights with this. Taking all challengers.

[vapour]

CHARACTER: Childe
SECT: Kenoma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: Childe will be very excited and have a lot of respect for any person that's willing to be an opponent. He only cares to fight people who are serious one way or another (about fighting/defending those conjuring up the escaping method). He'll leave them alone if they don't do much or just want to be human shields. He'll be really hyper aware of Xishen and her actions/words, so he'll do as she orders, but all he cares is about fighting for the sake of a fight since she's not doing anything.

I don't care if he loses or we do RNG; you can assume even if he wins he's just going to leave them be ultimately. The only thing is that I want it so he can easily walk away if he "loses" (like he's not going to be dogged or otherwise hounded if he decides he's no longer interested in fighting x or y opponent) because his main face-off is with Lumine.


As for what to expect visually, you can see his story fight around between 3:00 - 6:00. He won't go into phase two with his delusion (purple and electricity), though, and definitely won't use Foul Legacy. Actually, he probably won't even use his whale, so it'll be a pretty standard magic + weapons pew pew fight.

His weapons are all water (or electricity) conjured, and he has access to any and all of them, so he's a little better equipped than most. He uses all weapon types, but favors the bow, dual blade, and polearms.

[traversal]

CHARACTER: Lumine
SECT: Pleroma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: RNG result for the win! Though her endgame fight in this cave will be Childe so I'd rather that she comes out of the fights in mostly one piece? I'm fine with battered, lol, but standing enough that she can still fight. For Gondor!

Lumine's an all-rounder, mostly being good with a sword and light on her feet and very pigheaded that she'll get up and fight until she can. She currently also has access to three elements (wind/anemo, earth/geo and lightning/electro) and can manipulate them at will. Nothing too fancy with elemental skills, though she can technically summon a whirlwind and small ball of vacuum, create constructs out of earth, and direct electric/lightning using her sword.

She'll be protecting the magic users/spellcasters as much as she can so please, come at her! She'll also be one of the last people to leave, ensuring all her teammates have left first because yknow, protag.

[velvetoversteel]

CHARACTER: Moiraine Damodred
SECT: Pleroma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: Moiraine's got her access to the One Power back, which she's gonna be real happy about. With this she can do... basically most wizard spells you might think of from fantasy. Fireballs, lightning, earthquakes, etc. though her magic tends to be elementally based.

That said, the major stricture Moiraine has on her usage of the One Power is that she cannot use it as a weapon unless she's in danger of her life (or her Warder or another Aes Sedai, but neither of those are here). The books have a provision for Shadowspawn, which she could probably use to cover the Kenoma characters, but this ain't book Moiraine and the TV series doesn't mention it when talking about the Three Oaths.

So -- she can't actually use the One Power to fight unless she reasonably believes another character is attacking her either with intent to kill or who is powerful enough to kill her regardless of intent. I am absolutely here for volunteers to actually try to fight her, let's discuss. Otherwise she knows an Air weave to restrain an attacker's hands/feet long enough for her/someone else to get to a safe distance, and a similar weave to shield herself/others from ranged attacks.

She'll also be around for healing after the fight for anyone who needs it.

OH ALSO I'm not planning on top leveling for this event, but I'm here for closed starters or hitting up other people's tls c:

[lockedon]

CHARACTER: Eustace
SECT: Kenoma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: When you're just a normie with no powers.... 😔 Thankfully he's got 10+ years of military experience under his belt and he'll probably snag a dagger or two from the guards so he won't be completely defenseless, thx Kenoma. With that said, he's more likely to lean towards techniques that restrain/disable since he's not really a fan of pointless violence. He's just following orders because a) he's good at that and b) he's hoping he can get more information/better gear from the Kenoma side so he has a better chance of surviving as he figures out what the hell is going on here.

Happy to RNG results or just say your character won tbh, I'm easy and I support my character losing at all times. 👍

[expiera]

CHARACTER: Ciel
SECT: Kenoma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: She was an obedient tin soldier in canon and she's going to keep doing that here so let's THROW HANDS 🔪👊 She will absolutely be actively fighting and mostly rely on martial arts over the provided weaponry, though she will take daggers for throwing and the local whips offered by the soldiers that they were all initially strung along with.
-She will adjust her output to match that of any opponent.
-She will look like she's fighting seriously for all intents and purposes, but also avoid vital areas where damage can genuinely endanger someone's life.
-She will focus on dislocating shoulders and incapacitating over causing bleeding wounds, though she may get stabby once it becomes apparent Pleromas have healers who can treat shallow wounds.
-Who wants to ICly get whipped by a girlboss, I ask this unironically because the mods gave me too much power (more like she was nice and helpful to the soldiers so some of them are chill with her now, who knew decency gets rewarded even as a baddie--). She actually has proficiency in most weaponry but favors ranged personally, and while she may be a vampire hunter by trade, she's no Belmont, alas. The whip will most likely be used traditionally for posturing than actually causing harm, but we can arrange things if... anyone is, into that, cough.

As for the outcome I don't mind and neither would Ciel ICly, experienced fighters would be able to tell she knows how to fight and does it well, but is clearly making an impression (or in other words, stalling) over any desire to actually harm or kill. However I am 100% down for her getting injured in the process through any means, she has funky immortality from her canon point that is nerfed to be much slower in Horos but still present nonetheless. All wounds sustained heal on their own as they seem to "rewind", as if time is going backwards until her body is restored to a state before injury.

Fighting her would be akin to fighting a machine, she won't taunt or say much, just keep it purely professional. She can also perform minor healing to assist fellow Kenomas and can use magic, but will mostly not use it offensively if she can help it (i.e. breach a magical Pleroma-erected barrier; she'd be happy to let a more eager Kenoma do it, but will make an effort to step up if she seems like the only one capable).

I will most likely TL for part two and am open to wildcard starters/touching base with more fellow Kenoma to establish rapport. Happy to plot o/

BONUS: May I interest anyone/people in a hostage situation... I want to say she won't harm non-combatants, and while it's generally true, she's also better than she SHOULD be at playing the villain on top of being a practitioner of "the ends justify the means". I'm only entertaining the idea if things ICly end up being too "slow" or TOO chaotic, ie not enough Kenomas are trying and it's making them look bad, or it's looking like there will be too many casualties (unlikely?). She would have no intention of seriously harming (sorry for a few minor bruises, gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette) or keeping the hostage even if she secures one, but the tension and drama sure would be enough to make it look like they're all doing something while "negotiations" continue buying Pleromas time, which she'll probably pick up on relatively quickly. This is a very tentative proposition that would require plotting, but if it sounds interesting to people, let's hash something out?

[youngprodigy]

CHARACTER: Cid Garlond
SECT: Pleroma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: Cid has no powers to speak of, but that doesn't mean he's not a fighter. Normally he'd be using his gunblade he made himself, but since he's currently lacking that, punching things is a go. I'm good with RNG deciding things, as well as multiple fights.

He has managed not to pick fights up until now, so this should be... interesting!

[goldendeceiver]

CHARACTER: Ernesto Salas
SECT: Pleroma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: Ernesto is going to try so, so hard to talk it out before it comes to fists flying. He has military training, but he does better with weapons than he does hand-to-hand combat. He also doesn't have any powers that are going to give him an edge here, so he's theoretically not that hard to take in a fight.

So looking for either a. him to successfully (to his own surprise) talk some Kenoma out of continuing going after Pleroma or b. FIGHTS!! I'm perfectly happy to believably have someone stronger than him beat him up, but I'm also cool with RNG if he's squaring off against someone that's a more even (normie) match.

[zauneyete]

CHARACTER: silco
SECT: kenoma
NATURE OF CONFLICT: I'm probably not going to be a top level this time around, and I'm probably going to waffle on what to get in terms of power for a long while, so if you want a normie with a dagger he probably "procured" from a guard to attack your folks, hit me up! Silco is scrappy and mean, but he's pretty much a normal tiny guy with a knife, so he's probably not going to be much challenge, if you're looking for a way for your character to get out of dodge with a little fight that will very much likely go in their favor!

Prayer Circle?

[bearshermark]

I'd like to utilize Eleven's Holy Protection spell to give those performing the ritual/Pleroma non-combatants a last-ditch holy ward. The spell would spawn a runic circle around the ritual space to ward off the physical approach of Kenoma-aligned characters/entities so long as Eleven maintains concentrated prayer.

The effectiveness of this ward is up for play; it could be broken by a particularly strong attack/Kenoma character, or could otherwise disappear either temporarily/entirely if someone targets Eleven specifically/he's effectively distracted as his heart bleeds to help heal up injured people, etc.

Really I just want to do this for the opening #aesthetic and wholly welcome interference.

[lachtara]

Would you like "PVP" but not with fists?? SEE BELOOOOW.

Emet-Selch has an array of abilities, but he'll try to engage people by talking first. If your character doesn't like throwing punches or wouldn't resort to magic/violence/whathaveyou starting with, how about an engagement with words? Would you like to have your character given seeds of doubt about restoring their world? Would you like to try and provide them in return? 8]

UH. Feel free to let me know of potential sticking points in conversation or something you'd maybe wanna touch on. Or any topics you think might be of use. Idk! Time to bring the troubles to the Pleroma.

LATE EDIT
Also wouldn't be against offering the Kenoma some first aid after the fact. He'll complain though. So prepare for that.

Teleport buddies!

[inutilis]

Hi, friends!! Abel sort of tripped into the "get out of the Suffer Cave" teleport spell by chance (ty Miss Xishen 🥺) and magic isn't a thing where he's from, so he would definitely be looking for other Pleroma-buds who might be able to help!

If you'd like your character to be a part of the casting, I think it's feasible that the newly-aligned Pleroma would Sense one another as they near the end of the week, if not be able to tell outright who is starting to recover from the whole..... ejecting gross sludge fiasco?? and spread the word they've potentially got a way to get out of dodge. So, feeling people out about what was to come could totally happen!

If your character would be amenable to giving it a shot, I am totally down for handwaving a chit chat about it pre-part II to establish why your char knows how to activate the spell. You can let me know here, or if you toss it into your prompts I am more than happy to assume they talked 🤝 I'll toss a separate comment into the PVP section for anyone who wants to try and stop them!

[velvetoversteel]

Volunteering Moiraine as tribute, even though she might be a little beat up from fighting Childe she's still gonna want to help!

First Aid - Pleroma

[coupris]

While Kim would probably want to take a more active role in fighting off their pursuers, the journey and imprisonment have left him in pretty poor physical shape. He also won't be manifesting any powers just yet, but instead will finally get his glasses back.

So, in order to not feel completely useless, Kim will be helping others escape by bringing the injured to the portal, or by treating their wounds. He has training in first aid and field medicine, at least enough to get people out of danger.

I probably won't top level for this log, so if anyone wants Kim to swoop in for an assist after losing a fight, or is just in too rough of shape to get to the portal on their own, let me know, and we can figure something out!

[goldendeceiver]

I have a Pleroma guy here who is getting a dagger to the back. He's got someone who will be helping him to the portal, but would you be interested in some quick patchwork either at the portal or just on the other side of it?

[fingergunning]

This big dumb jerk has no idea about magical anything, so seeing anyone that he came in with who was previously void of powers suddenly using them is going to blow his geeky little mind. Jensen is also just your baseline human with no discernable abilities other than an odd streak of luck that's gotten him to not get dead. He's military and has military training, tactical abilities, hand to hand combat proficiency, knife fighting, and is boss with a crossbow -- none of which he has access to other than punching people and he's still a little worn out from his goo vomiting sessions.

That said, it won't stop him from jumping in to help out with anyone looking to escape from the cave or who might look like they're getting overwhelmed/biting off more than they can chew/getting left behind. He does not like leaving people behind. He's anti-leaving people. And there may be people he's become familiar with and is puppy bonding with (don't judge him).

I'm happy to have him team up with people against odds or to help with just getting anyone out. He can be sneaky when he needs to be.

Yuya Sakaki | Pleroma | Lover

[hippocarnival]

Yuya is a scrawny powerless teenager who hates fighting so he will be sir Not Participating In This PvP unless... for some reason your character is really into beating up defenseless teenagers. I won't judge.

Instead he's going to be with Abel and the others trying to cast the spell to get them the hell out of dodge. He's willing to try and convince kenomas to come with them and be sad when they decide to stick with their captors, but he won't linger too long because he wants the hell out of here.

[baltimores]

Okay SO... I've got nothing concrete here because I'm not 100% sure how much Amos is gonna be doing for this part of the event, but he 1. recognizes Yuya is vulnerable and does not belong in this environment, so there might be some concern about that, and 2. is happy for him that he doesn't have to accept the Kenoma when he very much did not want to but also doesn't have to die. You're gonna make it, buddy!! hopefully

I'd be down for some attempted convincing to come with that ultimately ends in failure when Amos points out that's a really bad idea if you want, though~

Despair cave public mauling session

[expiera]

Putting it in a separate comment for visibility, as this is going to be... A Spectacle, very violent and gory and gross apologies to everyone u_u

TL;DR Ciel will make a show out of taking Hiccup hostage to not make the Kenoma look useless try discouraging Pleroma retaliation, along with using the whips the soldiers used to haul everyone cross-country because she was generously provided some. This ends up triggering Estinien TOO well, she proceeds to get her throat ripped out. She's fine, don't mind the bleeding all over the place bit, she can regen and walk it off, 'tis but a flesh wound. But it will be messy and ugly and very much out in the open, we're happy to plot around the scene if any Pleroma/Kenoma would like to react/confront them about it after! We're all on the server Discord and hang around this post, I myself plan to have a separate TL post PVP, this is a general heads-up for "So That Happened".