THE REGENT'S ADDRESS [OPEN TO ALL]

[aionpcs]

[It comes on fast, once the Regent has your spirit in their hold. Around you, you may see other Aions stumble in the same moment, as if shaken by the same tectonic motion. An inexorable darkness claws at your senses, and you have only a few moments, hard fought, to reposition yourself so that you don't simply drop to the ground when it overtakes you. It has similarities to Communion, to the way another entity's thoughts and words reach out to your mind, but by the same token it's entirely foreign.

This presence is not like another person, it is like a raging, screaming cacophony that drowns out everything else in its path. Whether you be Kenoma or Pleroma, the Regent's presence in this metaphysical realm is staggering. To the Pleroma, though, it also feels caustic, as if the movement of their aura is enough to erode your own, with time.

Gradually, a new world forms. Unlike other Communions, where you are ultimately grounded in reality, here you can been dragged to what seems to be its own distinct psychic realm. A vast, void-filled courtroom, where only the throne at its front has a defined form. Around you, you see shadows of other people, other Aions, that have summoned along with you... but for the moment they seem spectral and unclear, their identities obscured by the realm's aggressive focus on its master.

The Regent sits at their throne, their body swathed in dark fabrics that drift and flutter like smoke. They have no face to be seen, only a faceted silver mask, without any markings or the barest indication of what might be beneath it. Their size is indistinct, maybe a bit taller than you are. They at first sit reclined, but straight up as their 'guests' arrive.]

It's been a long time coming, my subjects.

[At first, they are the only one that can be heard. Though you feel as if you have some physical presence here, a shadowy body of your own, if you attempt to speak no sound emerges.]

To the Pleroma: well done surviving thus far. Granted, I feel as if my Kenoma have made things easy for you. How strange, that most of you were allowed to wander a city within my empire without recourse. Able to summon that wretched creature to your side, even.

I hope you've enjoyed yourself, in the time you've had, because this will be no more. You've spread your infection in Venera, in Godsblood, and it is only necessary that these wounds be cleansed by the touch of the Kenoma. Your presence gives the people ideas... ideas that would disrupt the fragile peace they've come to enjoy, after so many years of suffering. As a kindness, I will only trim the vine, rather than burn the vineyard. What Venerans have taken up your cause, I will see shorn from my empire. And in Godsblood... an example will be made, as of the Sovereign's moon.

My Kenoma will do this for me. Fight them, if you want. But know that I am no longer asking for your fealty. I am demanding it.

[As if opening their court for questions, you will find yourself more able to act. Those that speak or take action will find their physical forms taking shape, standing in the court as people rather than shadows. If you want to question the Regent, now is the time to do so.

OOC: This post is a free for all! We will try to response as the Regent to people who directly engage with them, but you are also allowed to threadjack and interact with each other if you like. Please note that we will not be responding to tag ins done later than the 12th.]

Comments

[inutilis]

[ Abel's presence is a quiet one among the uproarious back-and-forth between his fellow Aions and the Regent alike. it isn't until things have tapered down, calmed some, the priest speaks from his place of observation. ]

Is this really who you are...?

[ whether he addresses the Regent or the Kenoma is unclear - perhaps, in the end, it's both.

is this who you truly are? is this truly where you stand?

...can you look him in the eye and say it, unflinching? ]

[aionpcs]

Please, do provide me detail as to what you think 'this' is. Be descriptive. Evocative. I'd love to know what you see.

[Whatever the other Kenoma can say for themselves, the Regent is, indeed, unflinching.]

[inutilis]

What I see is someone working exceptionally hard to play the villain.

[ there is no bite in it, no anger. whatever Abel's feelings on the matter, he is trying to keep them far separated from his tone. ]

...And I have to wonder why.

[aionpcs]

Oh, I don't have to work hard at all. At this point it's incredibly easy, actually.

[They chuckle.]

Every one of you, I've seen before. Whatever fresh perspective or clever objections you think you have, I've already heard it. Do you really believe you'll talk your way out of this?

[inutilis]

If I believed your conviction flimsy enough to be changed by mere discussion, then... well. I would've invited you for tea by now, Your... ah. Majesty? Eminence? --Pardon, but I haven't had the pleasure 'til now for introductions and all that...!

[ Abel's rubbing a hand into silver hair with a chuckle....... ]

...A person who has decided the end all creation doesn't do so on a whim. It will take a bit more than plucky conversation to sway your mind, I feel. It seems you agree with me.

[vapour]

[ That's what happens when you don't get a chance to be anything but the monster everyone pits you as.

Nevertheless Childe is watching Abel, because he's the one he's been most suspicious of from the get go in terms of who's a real danger on the other side. ]

[inutilis]

[ Abel feels as though he is being Perceived..........




so, when he glances Childe's way, should their eyes meet - Abel will give him a little smile.

...and a tiny wave of his dream-fingers. ]

1/2

[vapour]

[ huh! ]

2/2

[vapour]

[ —ok, what the hell, smiles and waves back in similar fashion.

No big deal, no one said they had to be mean to each other. ]

[inutilis]

[ --oh! oh, well, if it's to be like that,

Abel gestures. for Childe to come closer. beckoningly.

hey. pssst. hey. hey. psssst. c'mere. ]

[sterngaze]

[... No.

No, Liem can’t look him in the eye and stand, unflinching, behind the Regent’s decision. He lurks in the crowd of shadows, quiet and still, watching discord swell and subside in the wake of the Regent’s address. There is no support he could give to his fellows that would feel earnest, and no objection he could raise that would not condemn him in the eyes of those whose trust he most needs. So he simply stands: a silent watcher, hardly even there.

But as to whether this is truly who he is… that remains to be seen.]

[inutilis]

[ Liem...

...it is hard to miss the note of something melancholy, dejected, in the frame of this particular man among the others lingering here. so, after a silence has fallen and others have moved on from this space--

there are no words, just the quiet stretch of a hand to a certain Kenoma's shoulder and a gentle squeeze.

he's sorry. ]

[sterngaze]

[Liem can’t accept the consolation that Abel offers. Even if he deserved his compassion—a possibility he steadfastly refuses to contemplate—he only invites scrutiny by welcoming his attention. There’s a reason he hasn’t said anything until now.

He shrugs free of the hand and turns away.]

[inutilis]

[ ...he understands, even if the smile slowly fades from his face, hand falling back to his side.

please take care, Liem. ]

[galdorleod]

[ Howl is as equally unimpressed by the objections of the Pleroma as most of the other Kenoma Aions. Abel's comment is so vague that it's practically meaningless in Howl's eyes, although that may impression may partially be fueled by the wizard's own refusal to think about what meaning the question does have.

But in the wake of Abel's words, he recognizes the presence not far from Howl, standing back out of the fray, forcing himself to be exceedingly quiet and still in the face of all this.

After a moment of decision, he paces over to Liem, his expression vaguely pleasant and overly casual for the situation. ]

Did that one get to you?

[sterngaze]

[Liem’s presence in the space coalesces only slightly at Howl’s approach; he turns his head to regard him, the vague and shadowy expression on his face unreadable. As much as possible, everything in him is trying to avoid inviting scrutiny.]

This has not been a happy meeting, [he hedges.] And I am not pleased to see more bloodshed. But such a thing was always inevitable.

[affal]

( having already been in the Regent's presence twice before and having little to add to this, makoto has remained silent and unobtrusive toward the back of the assembly, his pale gaze typically fixated on J.

but when he hears abel's voice, it moves, tracking over to the silver-haired priest. ah, of course. he could even find sympathy for the one who has dedicated themselves to architecting the end of this and all worlds. his compassion truly springs from an endless source, for better or for worse.

he keeps staring at him, sharp and intent. it looks like a warning. you're wasting your time, now more than ever. )

[inutilis]

[ it seems inevitable that Abel feels the piercing weight of Makoto's gaze - and it isn't long at all before blue eyes slide to his unnatural counterpart's.

it's probably predictable that Abel, in response, does little more than offer a smile. it is a more subdued one than the usual, carries a heaviness behind it for what he understands lies unspoken.

but surely the demon knows already - Abel does not believe his time wasted, nor that any here are lost causes. Makoto included. ]

[affal]

( of course. all that makoto has learned of abel's heart makes him nothing if not predictable.

he acknowledges the man's nature just as much as he hopes that he might acknowledge his own — though that's a pointless endeavor. an emblem of hope until the very end, regardless of what misfortune that determination might usher in. despite himself, and at the very core of makoto's inbound desire to turn abel away from such fruitlessness... perhaps he just wishes to spare the man that pain.

but he knows he can't, not any more than abel can try to change what is indelible within his own heart. a faint hopelessness invades his expression, and then he looks away. )

[subsist]

[ why does abel always have to ask the hard questions? the only time kaeya acknowledges that he heard what the man said is when he looks over at where he stands, but as far as giving him a response, he has nothing to say. whether or not this is who he really is... doesn't matter, as far as he's concerned.

it's more than likely there will be nothing left of him by the end of this for it to matter anyway. ]

[inutilis]

[ Kaeya's silence is met with a gently probing look, as if inviting him to speak if he so wants.

but... Abel won't force him. perhaps the silence speaks for itself. and if it does... then, perhaps the gentle worry in the priest's eyes is what Kaeya deserves in answer. ]

[subsist]

[ he wasn't going to say anything. that was what he already decided, but it seems the worry in abel's eyes is enough for him to take the bait. ]

... You posed a question, so here's my answer: what if it is?

[ time to see what the priest has to say. ]

[wolof]

[ Gosh, he's just so sad.

Softly, from off to his side, a little after most of the exchanges: ]

You know...there are those who would burn it all down. I don't think there are those who feel quite so...admonished. It's easy, to give into such a despair. I think we have to accept this out of some.

[inutilis]

[ Akua...

...admittedly, perhaps she has pegged him directly. he is sad, even if he is trying incessantly to keep it from the look on his face; maybe it is his eyes that give him away. ]

Until we're given proof this is the only way, then... I have to hold out hope, Akua.

[ because to continue this road to the end--

she knows better than most where it will lead them. all of them. what it will cost, what it will take, from all of Horos. ]

[wolof]

I understand.

[ She did, because she'd taken those hundreds of thousands of souls. She'd looked at the long cost -- and then she'd paid that oh so long price. ]

There are those here who you won't convince. I think the Regent among them.