EVENT #6: By Heaven or Hell

[aionmods]

By Heaven or Hell

THE STORY SO FAR...

During the month of Innoseri, the Pleroma and Kenoma were mobilized to the city of Venera to investigate a mysterious affliction of the residents. They were succumbing to a strange apathy that slowly disconnected them from the reality, to the point that many would lose interest in even necessary activities to live. They ran the risk of starving, dying of dehydration, or simply wandering into danger with no sense of preservation.

By entering the city, both sects were exposed to the effects of the illness, which turned out even worse for Aions. In a twist of fate, it was during that time that the Pleroma Aion Estinien met his end at the hands of the Kenoma Aion Makoto, shattering his Innocence-petrified body. It was this act of profane violence that summoned the god-like creature that has caused the illness, sending a great metaphysical scream echoing across the city, demanding to know what had been done to it's child.

The winged being now colloquially known as the Innocence Entity manifested for the first time, in the form of a great cloud of wings floating above the city. It turned it's attentions to the gathered Aions, striking down any that challenged it, enraged by the acts of violence committed in the city it had hopes to envelope in a haze of endless peace. Abel, a Pleroma who had come to Estinien's defense, realized that the entity seemed be acting to protect Estinien, who it considered its ward after he succumbed to the illness its power invoked. Abel beseeched his allies to stay their hand and begged the Innocence leave him and the city be.

The Innocence Entity was reluctant, arguing that life without its 'blessing' would be filled with suffering and strife. Abel, Himeka, Ryunosuke, and Alphinaud, the four Pleroma present at the time, insisted to it that life was worth living despite that pain that came along with it, and promised they could care for Estinien in its stead. Accepting their vow, the entity bound them all to a contract that would be broken if they failed to shield him from suffering. It left Venera and the illness faded.

Last month, the Kenoma were deployed to Venera and to Godsblood with the intent of culling dissenters and citizens who showed disloyalty to the empire. During this conflict, the capture of Ryunosuke and Thoma drew Estinien into a battle against several Kenoma. Outnumbered and disadvantaged, the pain and panic Estinien experienced summoned the Innocence Entity once more. It possessed Estinien's body, using its power to dispense of the Kenoma challenging him, all while lashing against the Pleroma it saw as having broken their vows. This divine punishment fell upon Abel and Himeka as they were facing off against Ciel and Emet-Selch in Godsblood. Taking advantage of their suddenly prone enemies, the two Kenoma delivered them to the Regent.

The Kenoma had long-since hoped to capture Estinien, to use his connection to the entity as a weapon against it, but now the perfect bait had fallen into their hands. As the Pleroma rally to save their captured comrades, the Kenoma prepare to turn circumstances to their advantage, and to perhaps eliminate the Innocence Entity's threat once and for all...

❖ INCLUDED EVENT PROMPTS

◆ BURNED AT THE STAKE: In an effort to force the Pleroma's hand, the Regent will be scheduling the public burning of Abel and Himeka in Achamoth. After the failed public execution in Godsblood, why not try again! This will be set up to occur in a public square near the Citadel. The Pleroma will be in a race against time to save them before both their bodies and their shards are destroyed.

◆ INNOCENCE ON FIRE: As the Pleroma enter the city, the Innocence Entity, previously disinterested in fighting on behalf of Aions it considers oath breakers, will seemingly have a change of heart. It will offer its power to Estinien who will, in turn, temporarily ascend to boss monster level during this siege, wielding both the power of the Innocent and the Firebrand. This will be run as an official boss encounter in collaboration with Estinien's player, the mechanics of which will be explained along with the post. In addition, the radiance of the Innocence Entity will rob most Achamoth NPCs of their will to fight, leading to a conflict largely between Aions. Those of the Innocent Legacy will receive strange communion from the entity itself, which they can respond to as they will.

◆ FIREBRANDS RISING: As if summoned by the Pleroma's rebellious actions against the Regent's empire, Pleroma Firebrands participating in the raid will be blessed with additional power that will amplify along with the strength of their defiant conviction. This power can be extended, to a lesser to degree, by those fighting alongside them that are inspired by their example. In opposition, the Firebrands of the Kenoma will hold a natural resistance to the Innocent's assaults, and will find themselves with the ability to 'inspire' limited amounts of NPCs into defying the power robbing them of their will. In general, all Firebrands will feel supernaturally uninhibited by all that would hold them back from achieving their desires, whether those bonds be emotional or physical.

MOD NOTE: All characters who go participate in the event log will be awarded 1 Token, so please make sure to mark that on your AC. You will not receive the token if you don't claim it. For new players, they will be permitted to spend this token for use during the event, though this will only be relevant for those with the Normie Discount.

We would also like to be clear and say that the outcome of this event has been predetermined by the players most closely involved (Himeka and Abel will escape, Estinien will be captured) but everyone else's fates will be up in the air. The event itself will go up and take place on August 17th.

Comments

PLEROMA RESCUE SQUAD

[inutilis]

Comment here for Team Rescue plotting, etc!

[wolof]

Rrrrrrrrrrraises hand -- akua wants to help save her buddies! She's a sorceress and can and will use hes spells to help! She's also a strategist and will want to offer her help! Although I think since she's a villain, she recognizes someone else may want to take the lead, since her suggestions may be.... Violent. 😏

Also up for pvp and fighting -- probably not up for dissipation this time around tho! Let a girl rest. A little.

[locumstudentesquire]

Getting to the pyres will be Ryunosuke's primary focus once it becomes clear that Estinien is p. much going to be out of his hands (and knowing how badly Estinien wanted to get them both out...)

Whether or not he makes it all the way there and is able to contribute I guess will be up to how roles get assigned but I am hoping he can at least get a hand on the ball in some capacity! He's pretty dedicated to seeing this through and frankly he could use a win... Whether that involves putting a fire out or cutting a rope or something, idk.

He's not totally useless for PVP anymore ,but by 'not totally useless' i mean he won't get his ass immediately thrashed; I still don't see him actually winning any major fights on his own but he can definitely CONTRIBUTE. his primary skill is forcefield creation, his forcefields look like translucent bubbles that sponge a few hits before popping and creating a loud noise/knockback effect in a radius around the popped bubble. For now his power is more designed for dynamic shielding on the go, and less for standing stationary and holding off an onslaught of hits, but I can be flexible with it!

He is able to provide medevac and healing now, thanks to some upgraded powers he has been working on, though it sounds like there are plenty of characters who may be more effective at those particular things... Either way he IS available as a stopgap measure, if needed.

[dragonmount]

also raises hand! down for rand to pvp and take whatever damage, though not dissipation (This Time). maybe he can help with reuniting them with their shards?

[locumstudentesquire]

IDK if it'll work out but do you wanna have rand cover Ryu if any Kenoma take a go at him? 👀

[dragonmount]

i'd be down if that works out!

[chronosynthesis]

Wiggles fingers, the rescue is Syr's priority but since he has no healing and no carrying ability (except maybe Himeka) he'll mainly be focused on PvPing the Kenoma to ensure other Pleroma have the room to carry them off, which means he'll probably be following on the outer edge of the rescue group back to the portal to deflect any pursuers.

Essentially he's gone try playing guard/tank which he is not spec'd for. :')

He's poked Claude and Meteion to review a map of the area in case they want to have groups move into the public square from multiple sides, though with the open area that... may not be super necessity.

He can provide limited stealth to a small number (5 including himself) of people. This breaks upon combat and doesn't muffle sound but it could allow a group to get close to himeka and abel without getting immediately intercepted.

[locumstudentesquire]

idk if it makes sense but. syr having to stealth ryu would be very funny.

just them having to work together in a serious capacity would be very funny.

[chronosynthesis]

Honestly Syr will offer the stealth on whoever intends to be the group to physically pull them off the stake and carry them, to ensure they can get started asap without having to push through kenoma.

[wolof]

I'm thinking if Syr stealths some people -- Akua could maybe do others? Canonically she can do illusion magic, but it's super limited because you have to maintain concentration, so she's only been able to do 2 others in addition to her due to the complexity.

OR ALTERNATIVELY, she could swoop in as a swan after the fighting breaks out? Nobody's going to probably notice the bird sitting on a nearby roof -- right?

[locumstudentesquire]

Ooop, didn't see you'd commented this, I kind of had the same thought! Maybe a small group goes in under stealth to try and free them while others cause havoc??

Also I love the idea of a swan just. chilling. On the roof. Judging. is it like a mute swan or,

[chronosynthesis]

If they wanna stealth in EVEN MORE people then honestly Syr would not argue that. If he wants to extend it he'd have to really be focusing on it too so ideally he only wants to cover folks to actually reach Himeka and Abel and then he can pivot and focus on fighting.

[wavetrain]

Tsunami's good for carrying! She probably can't carry two unconscious/otherwise incapacitated people and fly at the same time but if you wanted to just drape one or both of them over her back she can do a ground evacuation. An escort would obviously be helpful for that, although she can still bite or tailsmack anyone who tries to interfere.

[bingos]

We could probably split them up if you (and the others) wanted! Since Aquilamon can carry at least two people comfortably - one having to be Miyako in this case but!! It's an option to offer.

[wavetrain]

yeah! i'm up for taking one each if that works for people

[locumstudentesquire]

Ryu can escort, he's been practicing his shields to be big enough to cover multiple people!

[salvageable]

definitely want to be part of rescue squad!! though he is just as happy to go searching for abel and himeka's shards to keep them in working order as well. dokja's here for pvp and he'll go all out, no holds barred, because these are people he really cares about damn it!!

he also has a guard ability he can place on them to keep them from getting hurt? if that sounds useful lmk but yes rubs hands together let's get these two back home safely.

[lockedon]

can eustace go shard hunting with dokja for a lil bit before he inevitably peels away and gets offed

[bythelight]

Happy to offer healing if it's needed!

[wildrawr]

I tentatively want to be part of this with Kotetsu but I don't want to get in other people's way so I'm not quite sure what he can offer. Nevertheless, I'm willing to have him help collab with others!

I think the best thing for him to do is pull off any Kenoma attempting to interrupt the escapees, but particularly Barnaby since they have the exact same ability and he can match it... since it can be arranged with Candace.

But otherwise, I'm here to be helpful if needed. If it's too much chaos to get in on with Kotetsu, that's fine too.

Re: PLEROMA RESCUE SQUAD

[goldendeceiver]

Healing Himeka and Abel is going to be Ernesto's number one priority after they rescue them.

[heavybreaths]

Comments here with Vader, because while he doesn't know them, he absolutely would aim for doing the thing that places himself in front-line and earn his bones, as it were.

Vader is a Sith Lord, which means he's basically a wizard with a sword. I am absolutely open to PvP with him, and he's generally a pretty nasty combatant. I can also offer him as the guy to either carry Abel and Himeka out without actually needing to carry them, OR by collecting their shards from wherever they may be laying. He's a very skilled telekinetic, and it's basically nothing for him to lift human sized people with it.

Again, happy to PvP, but I'm not looking for a dissipation just now.

[arcaneward]

Aerith has healing powers, a 3 second invuln spell, and a lot of moxy!! She likes Estinien and wants to help his friends, so she'd be all in for helping rescue these two.

ETA: PVP is fine, but she needs to stay undissapated for other plans!

[passio]

dextera will want to be involved! he can’t bring healing to the table but he will offer himself up as defense/bait/distraction (with the intention of not getting hurt too badly, but…) against any kenomas who might want to interfere.

[emblazer]

Slides in here late, but Thoma can at least hop the fire and untie them to get them out since he's flame-retardent with his shields. The only one he'd be able to carry is Himeka though (sorry Abel, he's not that beefy yet)