TDM #3

[aionmods]

TDM #3

DREAMING (new characters)

At first, there is nothing. You are nothing. Whatever existed before ceases to be if for a moment. Then, bit by bit, you start to become aware. Where there was not even darkness now is a dim haze, gentle and almost mist-like. You have limbs again and beneath your feet lays a path of light reaching out like limbs of a great tree beneath you, twisting and climbing out into the horizon.

You take a step forward for what else is there to do? As you walk you begin to remember what it was you were doing before the nothingness; maybe something as simple as chatting with a loved one or close friend. Maybe you were just beginning a great journey or facing off against an old foe. Whatever it was, you get the distinct feeling that wherever and whenever that was, it is not here. Not now.

The path of light twists off into different directions. When you look up you can see that it is not a sky above you but the sky of everything, a grand cosmic tapestry littered with not mere stars but galaxies and clusters of galaxies that gleam like crystals against the velvety backdrop of space. Admire it for a moment, if you will. You don't know how long you will drift here, but you are not alone. Other wanderers will come and go as you bask together in the vastness of creation.

It seems to you that there are two paths to walk in this place, the light and dark beckoning in turn.

❖ THE LIGHT AT THE CENTER
One leads you to the center, splintered fragments folding together and colliding until only one thing remains: a light that speaks to you with the voice of all there is and has ever been. It greets you simultaneously as an old friend and as a lost child, both rejoicing in and mourning your arrival. You remember it too, somehow, with a feeling of complex nostalgia, as if returning to a place recalled from your distant childhood.

You’ll feel the same of the other wanderers that join you in the light; you know their faces, their voices, and as you reflect upon the world of your birth, you may witness fragments of theirs as well. You feel a comradery, then, a synchronicity of thought and emotion. Are the lives of others truly so different from your own? Or are you simply two hands of the same, greater being? Though some individualistic part of you may resist, the longer you spend in the light, the more you will find yourself becoming one with it.

Despite this welcoming call, no matter how eagerly your pursue its embrace, before you can fully submerge yourself in this oneness you will find yourself being torn away. As if seized by the impossibly long, cold arm of a creature unseen, you are plucked from the edge of fulfillment. The last thing you will remember is the sensation of your world, and all the others your experienced here, collapsing into nothingness.

❖ THE DARK OUTSIDE (CW: deep despair, ego death)
The other leads towards the outside, where the splintering becomes so great that the vestiges of reality can do nothing but collapse back into the abyss at the end of everything. As you wander to these barren outskirts, your thoughts will not be drawn to familiarity and oneness, but instead to memories of discontent and waste. The darker the path becomes, the more you find yourself dwelling on life’s disappointments and injustices, of the things about yourself and your world you find wanting.

If you see others here, at first they will feel frightening or contemptible, as if representing to you the worst experiences in your life. Even if they are someone you’re certain you know, that familiarity and affection will be stripped away in the face of the great emptiness before you. In the end, you were all the same. In the end, none of this was worth it. If you approach the end together, you may even form a kind of kinship around this acknowledgment, as the need for paranoia and hatred fades.

Slowly, the darkness encroaches, and you can see it devouring all the things you once knew. Memories of your home, of those you loved, dissolve into nothing, and you can only reflect on the barren emptiness in your heart as you see it happen. In your final moments, though, you feel peace with it all, knowing that there was no other way. You step from the edge of the last dwindling fragment of being and are greeted by silence.

❖ THE END
No matter which way you go, you are left with a single impression: you feel the world you came from die. It's a realization that transcends logic or sense; it weighs on your heart and leaves the vestiges of dark memories dancing in your thoughts like motes of ash. It's a memory of your home crumbling away into nothing as if consumed from within by rot. Returned to the void, all that's left to you is to be reborn.

REBIRTH (new characters)

In a new time and place, you awaken. Stirring within a capsule of warmth and isolation your senses will slowly return, only to observe that you are trapped. Your body, as it wakes, is tangled in close, yours eyes unable to open, as if still within the womb. You are held tight in the embrace of something unyielding, so smothering that at first you only have the strength to struggle for moments at a time. Yet, as you persist, the pressure begins to relent in turn; it may take hours, but eventually you will find the purchase to push, to claw, to fight, and it will all give way.

The chrysalis surrounding you bends like flesh and cracks like glass. It tears as you force your fingers through, finding liberation one inch at a time, until finally you have emerged. As if having undergone metamorphosis, you feel old and new all at once. You are weak, piteously so, but the markings and scars of your previous life remain. As you slump down upon the smooth cavern stone, you realize that you've just wrenched yourself free of gigantic crystal, though its hollow, shimmering form is now in pieces on account of your passing. Somewhere on your body, a shard of similar material remains embedded.

The cave itself looks almost like the inside of a geode, the walls and ceiling bedazzled with greyish crystal that shines with all the colors of the rainbow. While they vary wildly in size and shape, only a few have grown large enough to hold a form like yours, and you can see the one you just escaped isn't the only one bearing a passenger within. They may have already hatched, or they may still be lingering in stasis. Either way, there's enough time that you may have a chance to speak to yours unexpected peers, or to perhaps to struggle to find something to cover your naked body with. You feel the chill of the open air against your moisture laden skin, a distant light trickling in through the cavern's opening.

Make the most of this time. It won't be long before you're interrupted.

[Mod Note: If you don't want to deal with your character being naked in front of the others at that location, feel free to assume they emerge at a different time than the others of their legacy. Characters will be 'hatching' over a period of several hours.]

DREAMING (OLD CHARACTERS)

For those already in Horos, they will find themselves in the same dreamscape as the new arrivals, only, this time, it's familiar. You'll feel more cognizant of your surroundings as you reawaken in this psychedelic realm, more in control of your emotions. What's more, you recognize that light at the center and the darkness at the edge: it's the Pleroma and Kenoma respectively. The one you are attuned to will call our to your soul, and though you are technically free to wander as you please, the closer you get to the force of your opposite sect, the more it will grate against you spiritually. Pleroma attuned nearing the Kenoma will feel as if its presence is desperately trying to tear them apart, and Kenoma attuned nearing the Pleroma will feel as if its light is burning them from the inside out.

More importantly, you notice that entirely new souls are wandering here with faces you didn't see in the cavern. It gradually becomes clear that they are Aions in the same state you were prior to your rebirth, lost and wandering this stretch of the cosmos with no idea what's to come. Maybe this is your chance to ease the confusion of their arrival, or maybe you'd simply like to scope out what kind of people are on their way. It's also possible for you to run into Aions already in Horos, wandering just like you are. Unfortunately, things are a lot less neutral than they are the last time you shared this realm.

No matter what you do, eventually the cosmos above will begin to burn out, just as it did the first time you were here. As darkness swallows reality itself, you will wake with the visceral memory of your world corrupting and breaking apart.

SEARCHING (OLD CHARACTERS)

Soon after the dreams begin, it will become clear that the Aion NPCs of either sect are also aware of what's happening. For those in Achamoth and Greentruth, the imminent arrival of new Aions will become a matter of official discussion. All able Aions will be called upon for their aid, in whatever way they can offer. Getting to the shrines themselves will be easily accomplished via teleportation. What's would be more complicated is ferrying any new arrivals back to a secure location. Thankfully, this is something both sects have already prepared for.

All characters will have the opportunity to acquire a 'returning stone' if they don't already have one. In all cases, this will amount to an amulet made of the same shimmering material as the shrine monuments, though the stylization differs between the Pleroma and the Kenoma. While regular Aion teleportation can bring you to any of the shrines you know the sigil and location of, a returning stone is magically programmed to bring its wearer back to a specific destination to which it is attuned. Normally, these stones will only be able to store enough energy for one 'return' a month, but it turns out that the ambient power created by the shrines being active will temporarily super charge them. Though it's not guaranteed, this means they may generate enough energy to perform multiple returns for TDM purposes. More information about returning stones can be found on the powers page.

Spare returning stones will be issued to all Aions so that they can be used to bring back anyone they collect, as it's possible to bring someone alongside you if they are also wearing a returning stone. Where your stone leads will depend on your sect.

❖ PLEROMA
Tehri will be the one to supply returning stones, based out of Greentruth. She will not travel to Godsblood to deliver returning stones to those that have not visited Greentruth, but it can be assumed that Greentruth's visitors can pass them along to anyone who has been staying in the city. The returning stones are set to bring them to a secure location beneath the water of Godsblood's coast. From there, new arrivals will have to be allowed to rest and then brought up into the city when they're ready.

Greentruth is limited in its resources, but it will attempt to send troops to the Innocent, Seeker, Wanderer, and Firebrand shrines, all of which are close to the forest. Compared to the last attempt, these troops are a bit better armored. Meanwhile, bolstered by recent events in Godsblood, bands of Resistance members and guerrilla fighters will turn up at the Artisan and Sovereign shrines. The Resistance members will work willingly alongside with the Pleroma Aions, but the guerrilla fighters seem to have their own priorities and that is mostly that they have a beef with the Achamites. These reinforcements will struggle against powered Aions, but they might be able to delay any troops sent by Achamoth or Hylici.

❖ KENOMA
Xishen will be handing out returning stones to all Kenoma the day after the dreams begin for the Aions that don't already have one. She'll explain how to use them, and state that the Regent expects for them to head to the shrines once they become fully active. The Kenoma will have whatever mundane weapons or supplies they need at their disposal for this mission, along with minimal Achamite reinforcements. Due to injuries and death in both Godsblood and Venera, many are in recovery or on their return to Achamoth. She'll reiterate not to rely too heavily on them; after all, only the Aions are able to quickly move between the shrines and at the Citadel. The regular troops will have to be deployed by river or by land, and mobilizing them will take time. They will feasible be able to reach all of the shrines to some degree or another, but will more easily populate the shrines of the Martyr, Celebrant, Lover, Champion, Visionary, Sovereign, and Firebrand.

The Hylicians will be called to fill in the ranks of the diminished Achamite troops. They follow the orders that they are given but are very standoffish otherwise, even more than usual for them. Xishen herself says she will be traveling to the shrines and the Kenoma will be expected to communicate their movements to her as they work. Dionys remains in Achamoth to 'keep watch'. All Kenoma Aions will be given a familiar vial of black sludge, and are instructed to feed it to any Aions they capture at the shrines. It will cause the same effects it did in the cavern, though it will resolve in a few days rather than a week.

RETURNED (ALL CHARACTERS)

New characters that are found a the shrines will be brought back to one of two lodestones, depending on which sect they are taken by. This will be accomplished by their escort putting a 'returning stone' around their neck that will enable them to be teleported to a secure area in their sect's territory. It is advised for your character to be taken by whichever sect you'd like them to end up in.

❖ TO THE PLEROMA
In a dazzling flash of psychedelic light, you will find yourself brought to the Pleroma's lodestone: a monolithic rock set in the center of temple-like ruins. The entire cavern is hidden away beneath the ocean waves, just outside of Godsblood, and the ceiling itself is comprised of nothing but a barrier of water, as if held back from filling the space by some unknown force. The waters surrounding the lodestone are exactly body temperature, with swarms of tiny, violently iridescent fish darting through it. Crabs that look as if they're made of pure, clear crystal wander the sparkling, sandy shores.

There isn't much here in the way of accommodations, but it's comfortable enough that the new arrivals brought in by the Pleroma can take a moment to catch their breath. Some relatively plain but assorted new clothing will have been brought to the cavern to make sure they are actually clothed, as well as blankets and basic food items. It's a good time to ask your questions, or if you are an established Pleroma, to help out your freshly arrived peers. After all, their welcome at the shrine may have been a confusing one.

New arrivals will be permitted to leave the lodestone's temple when they are ready. Unfortunately, the only ways out of these place are through your choice of either swimming through pockets of water that eventually lead to the surface, or by spelunking through a series of tunnels to make your way the cliff faces near the city of Godsblood. More information about the city itself can be found on the setting page, though it would be preferable to keep TDM interactions to the lodestone area. As characters emerging from the shrines will start our as Untouched (more info about attunements here) they will not be permitted entry into Greentruth until they have attuned to Pleroma.

❖ TO THE KENOMA
As your returning stone activates, you will feel yourself thrust into a suffocating void, only to emerge just as quickly somewhere else. The most pressing thing on the minds of anyone taken by the Kenoma will be the vial of pitch black sludge they are forced to drink, whether it is before or after their arrival. Maybe their 'escort' from the shrine gave it to them, or perhaps another Kenoma does soon after they arrive. If not, one of the Achamite cultists wandering around definitely will. Dedicated servants to the Regent's will as they are, they are not afraid to gang up on the vulnerable new arrivals and force it down their throats.

Once in your mouth, the potion will slither down your throat as if it's a living thing. The effect takes hold quickly: as this darkness creeps through your insides, it will embolden your darkest and most despair inducing emotions, plaguing your thoughts with the worst sorrows of your life. What's worst, it simultaneously seems to awaken some form of enhanced psychic empathy within you, both projecting your thoughts for others to hear, and allowing you to receive those of the others around you in kind. Black ooze will begin to seep from orifices, or the space around your shard. The effects of this contamination bring out your worst, and its recipients will be forced to live with these effects until they accept the force corrupting them into their souls.

This world is not good enough, a voice speaks to your 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.

How long this goes on will depend on how long the characters is able to fight it. Acceptance of the Kenoma can come as quickly as immediately, if your character is inclined towards it, or it could be drawn out to take a few days. In the meantime, they will have to stay in the barren halls surrounding the Regent's lodestone, and will not be permitted to exit into the greater Citadel as the current Kenoma are. All that will immediately be offered to them down there are stone slabs that can be used as beds and formless white robes that reach down past their knees.

Of course, that doesn't mean the characters that are already of the Kenoma can't do something about that. If they desire it, they will be able to bring food or other supplies to those suffering with their Kenoma infections, and it will be equally within their power to try anything from bullying them into accepting to lovebombing them. Once a character accepts the Kenoma and attunes to it, they will be permitted to leave, but for the sake of the TDM interactions should be kept to the lodestone area.

QUESTIONS

Is this TDM canon?
Mostly! It's part of an in-game event. However, only threads with new players that app and are accepted will be considered game canon. Threads between old characters will all be canon, but threads involving new characters that don't apply or aren't accepted will either need to be tweaked to remove their involvement or made non-canon. New characters will also be able to decide TDM threads aren't canon if they end up changing directions.

Who can toplevel on this post?
Anyone, whether they are a new character or a current one. However, we do ask for current players to do their best to tag new characters. If you are bringing in a new character and want a current character to bring them into your sect of choice, post your request here! ICly, current characters are fighting to claim new arrivals, but it's up to the player of new characters where they ultimately end up going.

When is this TDM taking place chronologically?
The beginning of August. The shrines will be active and forming Aions during that time. The dreams will start around the 29th of July. All current Aions will be able to sense when it's time for the new arrivals to start emerging.

What are the shrines like?
Every shrine is comprised of the crystal-filled cavern character emerge inside and then the massive statue symbolizing the relevant Legacy built on top. More information about each shrine can be found in the "Aion Shrine" section of the setting page.

Are everyone's homeworlds really gone?
That's a complicated issue, and while the fate of their world is not without hope, they may certainly get the impression its been destroyed from the dream they had. Alternatively, they may refuse to believe what they felt and attempt to dismiss it as only a vision. More about this situation will be revealed as the game goes on.

Can I only experience one end of the dream sequence prompt?
New characters may experience one ending, both endings, or neither. If they experience both they will struggle to recall which came first or which feels the most 'true' to them, as both will simultaneously be the thought they are reborn with. If your character refuses to pursue either path they can simply linger in the middle until the infinite worlds above them start being extinguished one by one, eventually expelling them into darkness in a similar style to the light prompt. Which dreams they experience will not dictate their initial sect affiliation.

Is it possible to pull another character back from the end of the light or darkness dreams?
Yes! If your character is able to resist the pull of either end, they will have the chance to try to pull another character back from the edge of the abyss or the edge of oneness. Whether or not they succeed is entirely up to the other character, though.

Do you come out of the chrysalis wet?
For most intents and purposes it's the same experience as hatching out of a real butterfly chrysalis, so yes, a bit.

How does attunement to the Pleroma or Kenoma work for new characters?
More information about sect attunements can be read on their dedicated info page, but in summary: when new characters are brought to Horos, they will be in the state of being "Untouched" meaning they are not attuned to either sect. By the end of their first month in game it is expected they will either attune to Pleroma or Kenoma, though for those taken by the Kenoma's forces, the transition will be forced within the first few days. If taken in by the Pleroma, it may take then some time to attune to Pleroma, depending on the strength of their spirit, but it could also happen almost instantly if they are allowed to. How quickly it happens will depend on how strongly they align with the Pleroma's traits. Characters who have been taken by the Pleroma but that remain Untouched will not be allowed into Greentruth until their attunement to Pleroma is complete.

Can a character taken by one side end up attuning to the sect of the opposite one?
This is theoretically possible, yes: a person taken by the Kenoma could potentially resist the Kenoma's call, and someone taken by the Pleroma could end up falling to the Kenoma while staying with them. Generally, though, we recommend that you have your character be taken by whichever sect you want to end up in, as doing a switcheroo will cause narrative complications that might bog their introduction down in plotting that will need to be done with the mods. It can happen, but it is not to be done lightly!

Comments

aerith gainsborough | ff7 remake | martyr (pleroma)

[arcaneward]

THE DREAMING.

[ No. No, no, no. It’s all wrong, this is all wrong!

Aerith reaches out, stretching her fingers as far as they’ll go, but she can’t reach any of it, can’t save it — she sees the church in the slums, the people of Sector 7, her mother — all of it devoured by the chilling void that she had fought so hard to stop, that she’d defied destiny to stop. She can feel heart sink, heavy with the knowledge that she couldn’t do it, after all. That it was all for nothing and no one.

And, so. She walks. Her steps are slow and meticulous. She takes it all in, watching the world she called her home turn to nothing. Not even ash remains, and she reaches up, clasping her hands together in a prayer that she knows now will reach no one, and after a brief second, she gives up. There is nothing now, and maybe.. maybe this was the only way it could go after all.

There’s one last hint of color at her feet, a small garden of bright yellow lilies, glowing with life abundant. And then, they too, are taken, and Aerith closes her eyes and drops to her knees. It’s over. There is nothing left.

Perhaps it’s only a few seconds. Perhaps it’s an eternity. She can’t really say, but she hears footsteps behind her, and Aerith opens her eyes and turns, guarded even in her desperation to see someone else. ]

Cloud?

[ Whoever it is, she slowly stands to meet them, turning around, trying (with little success) to hide the pain on her face. ]

THE REBIRTH.
[ The warmth is a stark difference from how cold she felt in her dreams, and at first Aerith doesn’t want to wake up. She scrunches her face in annoyance, at first, and then when she opens her eyes, it’s fear — something has caught her up, and panic begins to set in as she starts to struggle. Her strength isn’t very good on a, well, good day, and she tries to get her arms free of the position she’s in; something fetal. Her mind flashes to her days at the Shinra labs, and she stops, breathing hard.

No, she won’t let them take her again.

Her hand finally finds purchase on the side of her cage, and she pushes, surprise turning to determination at the feeling of her hand move through whatever substance has her pinned so tightly against herself. She punches and kicks and finally feels the wall give way and with a cry of surprise, she slides out of her capsule and onto the floor in a heap, trying to catch her breath.

It takes her a few moments to get her bearings, but the first thing she notices is that she’s not in Midgar. The second thing she notices is how cold the floor is against her bare skin. The third thing she notices is that she’s got bare skin, and she fumbles to try and cover herself with hands, arms, and hair, cheeks flushed bright pink as she glances at the other people around her, just as weak and naked as she is. She shivers, clearing her throat to speak. ]

Does anyone know where we are?

[ She doesn’t recognize any faces, but the fact that there are other capsules — no, crystals — like the one she was apparently in that are still in tact doesn’t mean that the other four members of her group hadn’t been taken just like her. ]
.

TO THE PLEROMA

Oh!

[ It’s one of the iridescent crabs that’s caught her eye, and Aerith trots forward towards it, kneeling down to examine it a little bit closer. ]

Hello there!

[ It’s the first time she’s really smiled since arriving here, or so it feels like. Wherever this place is, at least it has it’s own beauty, right?

She stands up after the crab wanders away and slowly turns around to take in her current surroundings — she even reaches out to dip her fingers into the wall of water surrounding the area, though she doesn’t do much more than that after noticing the clothing and blankets laid out. She takes one of the blankets first, wrapping herself up in it and heaving a small sigh of relief at the warmth that starts to creep back into her body, and then settles down near the water wall to catch her breath.

She’ll think about actual clothes when she’s taken a moment to collect herself. ]

[vapour]

( ooc hey! We had an Aerith before albeit not for very long; Are you okay with current players recognizing her or would you prefer blank slate? )

[arcaneward]

( OOC: I'm fine with that! :D She won't recognize them, but that's part of the fun! )

the dreaming

[vapour]

Aerith—?

[ it's not Cloud that finds her, but a young man about his age with blue eyes that, beyond the spectrum of color are nothing like the friend's she is calling out for. They are a deep and abyssal blue that seems to swallow the light, leaving no hint of life or spirit to be seen in them.


Even so, the young man that approaches her seems confused, worried and ... after a moment wary. Is that... really her? The connection he felt with her before... it's been severed. If he didn't visually catch sight of her and her voice, he would have been none the wiser that she was here.

For his attunement level to the Kenoma, it isn't difficult to quickly figure out why that is: they no longer share a legacy. A part of him feels relief; the apprehension that this flower girl had returned and would be keeping her promise to him, afterall, fading away. If she's not his legacy, surely that means he doesn't have to worry about her trying to better understand him anymore. On the other hand, and he doesn't know why, but it feels like a punch to his gut. The initial draw he felt towards her the first time they met is gone (...mostly, anyway,) which is probably really lucky for them both.

Even so, it's a cold and hollow feeling to realize before she even replies to him that he must absolutely be a stranger to her.

Childe steels his gaze, taking a step back now, but has no qualms about asking her to affirm her identity. ]

...You are Aerith, right?

[ This is a dream, of course, but it's that dream that has twice before been had and twice before brought only reality in the next coming days to Horos. Childe isn't sure what to feel or to expect. Maybe it's better he simply doesn't bother her after a brief exchange of information. ]

Re: the dreaming

[arcaneward]

Oh—!

[ The surprise (and disappointment) on her face is evident when she fully turns to face him, turning to confusion and wariness when she realizes he recognizes her, but she doesn't know him. And here, where she doesn't know where she is? Whether it be the Lifestream or something else, something related to the Whispers... The ability to trust feels far away, distant to the hollow feeling in her gut. ]

I am. I'm sorry, have we met...?

slides in with another recognizing aerith cr, hello | pleroma

[dragonmount]

[ what a strange turn of events.

the last time — the last time he'd seen aerith had been in godsblood. but the first time he'd met her had been here at the lodestone, newly woken himself, when she'd offered him blankets and help cleaning up.

he freezes in his tracks when he catches sight of her, approaches slowly and disbelievingly. he's all tall plainly-dressed, but clearly someone who's been here a while, some blankets to offer new arrivals folded in his arms. balanced atop them is a couple of wrapped sandwiches. there's a bit of a limp as he walks — the reason he'd chosen to linger here instead of heading out to the shrines — and when he's closer, he can't help asking, diffident, ]

Are you hungry?

[ on the one hand, she's clearly a new arrival. on the other, she's been gone for — light, ages. there's no reason to assume she wouldn't remember him, but he'll know soon enough by her answer, unsure what else to say to her. ]

omg rand al thor!!!

[arcaneward]

[ She's so focused on her own thoughts, watching the fish swim by beside her that she doesn't quite hear him at first, startling just a little when she realizes she's been spoken to. It takes her another moment to realize that she is, in fact, hungry, and as if on cue, her stomach growls. ]

I think so, [ she says with a small laugh, moving to stand up. ]

Thank you. I'm Aerith. I think I'm new here.

mr wheel of time himself! but also: omg aerith!!

[dragonmount]

[ thank the light she moves to stand: he'd been ready to try kneeling, but it would've been awkward and probably a little painful. there's a smile that tugs at his mouth at her stomach growl, and he frees a hand to offer her one of the sandwiches.

which is at odds with the way his heart sinks at the introduction, the blank lack of recognition. he could, should say something to her. surely she should know that he remembers her, or — some other her? that her memories are gone? he has no idea.

but, no. arriving in horos is awful without him adding another burden. arriving at horos now more than ever. so he says, ]

You only think so? [ and, ] I'm Rand.

Re: mr wheel of time himself! but also: omg aerith!!

[arcaneward]

[ Aerith takes the offered sandwich with a smile, unwrapping it and biting into it before replying. ]

Definitely not 'think' now.

[ She grins, holding it up. ]

It's delicious, Rand. Did you make it?

rebirth

[coerthantorment]

[Though he is not exactly unconcerned with the fates of new arrivals, Estinien's focus this cycle has been shifted by the urgent matters at hand. More than anything else, he wants to find a Kenoma to sink his claws into, to stop them in their tracks as they arrive to enslave yet another poor soul. He would visit justice upon them, make them pay for the harm against his dearest friends that they are complicit in...

This is mind, he's almost disappointed when he finds the crater the Martyr's shrine is nested within ostensible empty. No soldiers to bear down upon, no Kenoma guarding the cavern... a flash of dissatisfied anger twinges through his gut. He will hunt as long as he needs to, he swears. He will make them pay.

...Nevermind, he forces himself to think. He will check the interior for any developing chrysalis and be on his way.

Given the utter distraction of his mindset, he is caught completely off guard to see a familiar face within. He arrives in the shrine's entrance in a halo of light, his otherwise draconic appearance swathed in traits decidedly angelic. His body is white enough to glow in the dim lighting, six feathery wings extended around him. He lands gracefully on his clawed feet, but his gaze catches on Aerith, a helpless flutter of confusion and hope arriving in his draconic eyes.]

...Aerith.

[It arrives as only a murmur.]

I... had thought you lost... Were you slain?

[He trails off, guilt pounding through his heart and he contemplates the idea that she had been somehow dissipated, her shard left to regrow in a shrine not her own. Had he not searched hard enough? He had tried so hard to reach her...]

All this time...

[arcaneward]

[ Once, what feels like a lifetime ago, someone had crash landed on her flowers and asked if she was an angel. She hadn't understood what Zack had meant at that time, and still wasn't sure now, the murals of stained glass on the walls of her sanctuary notwithstanding.

But this? This is what she wonders he meant (and thinks maybe it's even more ridiculous he'd confused her for one now), and she raises a hand to block a little bit of the light before her eyes adjust, and she frowns. She's not afraid of monsters, but even so, this one knows her name, seems to know her, and she's just wary enough of being in a new place that she retreats just slightly. ]

I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean. I don't think I was? But I don't understand where I am.

[coerthantorment]

[He pauses, his wings folding inward defensively. He hasn't quite realized what her reaction means, but the sense of ill-ease is sinking in. The words don't entirely dispel the chance of familiarity with him, but at the same time...]

...A shrine. The Martyr's shrine. You... You vanished from the wood a short time after you awakened here.

[He wants her to remember, and so he keeps speaking as if he merely needs to fill in the gaps for her. He's already been forced to forget so much himself.]

If your shard had been brought here... mayhap you were finally reborn...

[He takes a step closer, his brow creasing.]

...Forgive me, Aerith, I hadn't realized...

[arcaneward]

Please, stay back—

[ She takes a step back, holding up a hand, glancing around. There's no escape routes other than through him, and she'll go through him if she has to. But he looks... upset. Not threatening, and Aerith takes a deep breath, lowering her hand back to cover her chest. ]

I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about. I was... I was on the road with some friends, and then I woke up here after a nightmare. You said this is a shrine?

pleroma

[bingos]

They're pretty cute, right?

[ Miyako's voice is energetic and friendly despite everything that's happened that day. Her smile, while not quite full, genuine if Aerith looks her way. Her hands on her hips as she pays careful attention to the other woman. ]

Oh, here, we brought you something to drink.

[ 'We' comes in the form of a hawk-shaped bird holding water between his feathered limbs in offerring. For the moment he doesn't speak, but he does nod. His partner goes on and stretches: ] I hope we're not stuck down here too long; I'm not gonna rest properly until I see a bed.

digimon!!!! this takes me back

[arcaneward]

Thank you!

[ She kneels to accept the water from the hawk, giving him a little pat on the head as she takes it, turning back to Miyako as she speaks. ]

I've slept on worse, but it's not fun at all. I wonder what the easiest way to get out is?

[ Aerith takes a sip, looking up above them at the fish swirling above their heads. ]

You don't suppose...?

o/ i'm glad

[bingos]

No problem!

[ Miyako's response is immediate - reactionary, but friendly. Hawkmon smiles in the best way a little bird can, but is happy to continue to listen on for the moment. Miyako focuses on complaining - she's always had the luxury of being able to go home after her world-saving adventures. To a nice warm bed even if it included sharing a room with a snoring sister. ]

Maybe, but after all this I say we deserve a good bed! ... And a good bath, so maybe an onsen?

[ She thinks more to herself as she glances up and around with a hmm: ] Maybe they have a submarine? Why stick people down here if there's no way out? What happens if someone can't swim?

[ Time for all the important questions. ]

[arcaneward]

[ Aerith frowns in thought, hands on her hips as she stares upward. ]

It's too small in here for them to hide a submarine... but maybe they have smaller ones and they drop down? Oh, but if something is keeping the fish up there, maybe things can't get down.

[ She drops her gaze to their surroundings, scrutinizing. ]

There's gotta be another way out of here.

Dreaming

[lachtara]

[ Another dream.

Emet-Selch watches this one from the shadows as image after image flickers into view before being smothered by the dark. There's something distantly recognizable about the flowers she walks through. A familiarity that he can't quite define as they fade disappear, their petals bursting into the air and fading into nothing.

He continues to silently observe until she turns around and addresses him. Or, at least, who she thinks it may be: "Cloud". ]

I'm afraid not.

[ He takes a few steps forward so that he may make himself apparent. ]

You have found yourself far and away from the people and places that you once knew. This 'dream' only serves to show you a world at its end. Where there was once beauty and life, now [ He gestures to the emptiness around them. ] ...all cease to be.

[arcaneward]

[ Her response is to frown — an attempt to hide the sinking feeling all the way down in her gut, that he's confirming what she's already known. All of it.. it was for nothing, wasn't it? As he gestures, she looks around at the void surrounding them, her frown growing deeper. ]

And what about us? Are we going to cease to be as well?

[lachtara]

Whether we do or not depends wholly on you.

[ He looks around them. ]

This place exists as a crossroads at the edge of creation. You may choose to pursue the future or resign to your fate. That choice is up to you.

[arcaneward]

[ That gives her a start — hadn't she just been there? Hadn't she already chosen to pursue a life free of her destiny? The look she gives Emet is wholly confused, maybe even a little angry. ]

I already chose my future. And nothing is going to take it away from me now.

the dreaming.

[subsist]

( ooc. sorry, sorry... yet another one who also recognizes aerith. )

[ it always feels strange when his dreams bring him back here — right before the split in the path, as if he'll ever choose differently. he might have done so here and there, but darkness is where he belongs. it's what will always win no matter how much he tries to pretend otherwise. he doesn't believe himself to be a good person, so heading towards the light is out of the question.

a voice calls out to him, making him look away from the vast expanse of the void. whatever remains of a beautiful manor, once surrounded by rows upon rows of vineyards, is now gone before his very eyes, and it leaves him no more reason to look in that direction. it's better that way, he thinks. if he lingers, it'll remind him of how much it hurts.

when he sees a familiar face, he doesn't look so surprised. it figures she would be the one he'd meet again right here. ]

Oh. It's you again. [ a sigh. ] Are you lost?

[arcaneward]

(ooc: yaaaaas!!)

Well, that depends.

[ Her brow furrows a little, as she glances from side to side. ]

Is this the Lifestream? Because if it is, then no. But if it isn't, then.. yes.

[ The flowers under her feet haven't quite faded away, and she crouches down to touch one. ]

I think... it's probably the latter.

[subsist]

[ even if kaeya knows what the lifestream is supposed to be, he can only shake his head in response. ]

You're far away from everything you used to know.

[ she must have felt it too, right? when their worlds are swallowed up by the void. ]

If you're lost, then... [ he gestures over towards the light. ] That's where you need to go. It's the path you chose last time too.

[arcaneward]

Last.... time?

[ Okay, that's got her caught off guard, and she stands back up, looking over her shoulder at the light. ]

What last time?