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

[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.

[galdorleod]

[ Howl huffs a soft laugh. As is the pattern when talking to Liem: he gets it. But, for now, that is besides the point. ]

I mean him. [ Howl jabs a finger at Abel but does not turn to look at him. ] Did his words get to you?

[ Howl is sympathetic as he asks. He isn't scolding him for it. ]

[sterngaze]

[Damn it, Howl… Can’t you leave well enough alone? Liem frowns when Howl jabs a finger in Abel’s direction, though he also declines to actually follow the pointing finger with his gaze. He’s reminded unhappily of the unasked-for visit the wizard paid to him when he was infected and suffering in the Citadel’s lodestone hall. Is Howl going to make a habit of swooping in whenever he’s troubled by these sorts of moral quandaries?]

They trouble me, [he admits.] You said the Regent would accept me as an enforcer and a killer, but even so… I don’t relish such a role. I had hoped not to return to it.

[galdorleod]

[ Well, you see, by asking Liem if Abel's question troubled him, Howl doesn't have to think about how it troubled himself. 🧠 ]

Of course you don't. Our allegiance to the Kenoma does not mean that we take pleasure in hurting others, no matter what lies and insults the Pleroma sling at us.

[ Perhaps it's because of that first encounter they had at the Lodestone that he finds himself checking on him so frequently. He looked so very miserable, and expressed concerns that were so familiar. Maybe, he saw a piece of himself in that, and it's driving him to worry about the vampire a little more than normal.

With a sigh, Howl puts a hand on his hip and looks back out at the hall around them thoughtfully. ]

...I do not take pleasure in playing this role either. Back home, I fled a lucrative career of service to my King solely because I did not want to. And yet, here I am... here we both are. [ smile. ] The universe really is rotten.

[sterngaze]

[Ah… Perhaps Liem should have guessed that Howl would understand him so easily. There were those here who made impressions on him because of their callousness or their zealotry, but the more he’s been exposed to Howl’s cavalier attitude, the more it seems like a mask he wears to avoid scrutiny. Liem deflates slightly as he watches him gaze around the space.]

I never ran from duty before. And now, well…

[He laughs, quietly and mirthlessly.]

There’s nowhere to run to, in any case.

[What choice is there for any of them but to do as the cause demands, until they’ve given all there is to give?]