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

[baltimores]

[ He blinks up at him in surprise. I'm fine is clearly just some reflexive shit, but this is drastic enough that Amos doesn't want to just give him a flat look, as though that'll be what makes Matt course correct.

Everything he says after that is already too fucking weird for him to comprehend, anyway.

He looks back down at the stump. ]

At least it's not bleeding.

[ There's a forced casualness to his voice, like he's almost trying to make a joke, but he can't really hide his discomfort at the way things around it are fraying on a spiritual level. He didn't think he was signing up to perceive shit like that, but now that he can, it's so disconcerting—

Back up at Matt, even though, shit, whatever's going on there is putting him on edge. Not like he's never seen someone lose a body part. That part's normal. Not great, but normal. But—

Ah, fuck, he needs to get over it. If Matt's not freaking out about it then it's probably fine. ]

Why would you— [ He stops. He doesn't know how to word this, but he is trying to be supportive. Fuck, he really hopes that's coming across. Amos' voice is soft and sincere as he starts back up, like he's afraid he's going to say something that's gonna send Matt into hysterics. Last thing he wants to do is upset him. ] Why did you want to do it?

[semicharmed]

[ That, is ... a surprisingly multifaceted question.

Amos' tone and his bearing seem to soothe Matt sufficiently that he can actually contemplate the answer, which is good because he needs all the help he can get. It's less a matter of finding the why, more a matter of carving away the parts that wouldn't make sense. Like how can Matt explain how it felt to cut through the veil? To really transcend, the sharpness of the transgression stinging salt against his eyes? It'd be like explaining a seventh sense to someone who's only known five, a problem made thornier by the fact that once Matt leaves the hyper-clarity of these moments, his conscious mind can't really wrap around them.

He settles for the answer that's comparatively straightforward. ]

Xishen asked for my help with a spell to track down the Innocence.

The first time we tried it, she seemed to kind of shake us off. I asked Xishen if there was another way to try the spell, and she told me ... she has the ability to turn sacrifice into magic.

[baltimores]

[ He's that much more alert the second Matt mentions Innocence.

Amos' eyes flash, gazing up at Matt from down in his crouch. And it's. He's glad he isn't fucking this up. Glad he did get Matt actually talking, eventually. But this is now, officially, so much bigger. And if Matt doesn't want condolences — not like Amos is the type to be able to offer them properly, anyway — then he can jump right into the practical, which is where this answer seems to have been headed, anyway. ]

Did you find it?

[ There's a... sort of hopefulness to his voice that should be out of place with this whole situation. Amos stands back up, rights himself. After a moment he decides to sit down next to Matt — on his left side, sure to keep at least some distance between his own body and whatever is going on with where Matt's hand used to be, but if Xishen had a part in this, then maybe it's okay.

And he searches his eyes again. He'd told Matt he'd wanted to kill that thing. If he knows where it is...

The sacrifice is weird. That part he'll never understand. But he gets the basic principles behind it — losing something to gain something — and this would be. This would be a good gain.

C'mon, man. Please. ]

[semicharmed]

Not exactly, [ Matt says slowly. ] But kind of?

[ Amos doesn't usually place himself so far away from Matt in situations like these. Part of Matt is embarrassed to realize it, like, Am I really that clingy? Part of him is stung. He assumes Amos doesn't want to get too close to the site of Matt's self-mutilation, lest it rub off on him.

Well: Matt doesn't have to think about that. He just has to think about the Innocence. He focuses on his breath for a few moments, centering himself enough to try and put himself back in that vision. Begone and the impression of bright umbilical cords, points of light offering sustenance and grounding. ]

The way Xishen explained it to me, this entity isn't really its own thing. She's more like a product of various personalities and energies. [ Matt pauses, on the cusp of delving into an explanation of tulpas, but then he thinks better of it. ] So I don't think she has a "where" so much as a "who." The Aions that are ... powering her, and tying her here, they're probably the best approximation of her location.

[baltimores]

[ He doesn't notice anything off about Matt, because there's a bigger topic at hand (sorry) here. That, and Amos assumes he gets it: the energy coming off of where his hand used to be is weird. He doesn't know how Matt is coping with it, actually. If anything, it has him impressed with him, that he has the fortitude to withstand that at every waking moment.

Maybe at some point that miscommunication will be cleared up, but for now, the gears in Amos' head are turning as he tries to piece together everything Matt's just told him. ]

There are Aions powering it. [ He repeats it out loud more for himself than questioning anything Matt is saying, seeing how it sounds coming from his own lips. It's kinda disturbing to think about. People like him can power it; it completely co-opted him. Where could that even potentially leave him one day... There's gotta be a solution here. ] Kill the power source and then it's probably dead, right? Or at least weak enough to take it out completely.

[ Yeah okay sure, he can kill a couple of Aions, that's no problem. It's nice to come up with solutions. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Matt can't blame Amos for asking the question. It's literally the first thing he thought of while he was gushing blood on the cavern floor. But he's had some time to consider, and a certain number of his whirling thoughts have percolated and begun to settle into hypotheses. (Others, meanwhile, clatter around in his head without landing in any one place. Like that dog Estinien Wyrmblood. ]

I think ... that might be true, [ he allows. ] Sufficiently weaken the tether, and the entity might not have a way through into this plane. Or might not have enough energy to be a thing that acts on her own.

But even if that is true, I think there might be some downsides. Like ... first and foremost being, we probably shouldn't be killing other Aions when we need to be growing our power to do what needs to be done. A few more've come through since we got here, but we're still in pretty limited supply.

And then there's the energy question. Like, what I've been wondering is--so the Regent said the Innocence manifested because of the Pleroma. And that seems to be true, though from what I saw, there's some Kenoma powering her too. But maybe it's specifically because there are more of us now, and we've been--some of us--have been getting more powerful. Paul and his healing, me and ... I can do at least some new things now. I wonder if this is an inevitable byproduct of Aions getting more powerful.

[baltimores]

You can do new things?

[ That's the first Amos is hearing of this, and he cocks his head at Matt, curious. He can tell that Matt hasn't progressed in his acceptance of the Kenoma, is still at about the level they all were when they first emerged from the cavern, but hey, that's a good thing. He's happy for Matt, one brief moment of joy amid every other point he's brought up.

So, back to those. ]

Can't really help getting more powerful if we've got a war to fight. That problem takes care of itself though, doesn't it? If it's mostly coming from the Pleroma, then we should be killing them anyway. Harder to grow our power when we've got another force fighting against us, so I dunno if it's exactly a loss to get rid of them.

If there are Kenoma powering it... I dunno. Maybe without the Pleroma it'll be weak enough it won't be a factor. Or maybe we'll just have to get rid of them too. You know, trim the vine. Like the Regent said.

[ It's not so much that he's eager to kill anyone — it just seems like the most straightforward solution, so, guess they just gotta kill people. They're both just spitting out theories right now, anyway. Before they go off to do what they need to do in Godsblood, in Venera.

But it'll feel good to actually do something. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Matt murmurs, ] I still think they'd be more valuable converted than dead.

[ The Regent signed onto that approach when it had come up at that first dinner, even if it hadn't been their first choice. Technically, demanding the Pleromas' allegiance does speak to a goal of conversion rather than killing, but it'd been phrased in such a Regent-centric way ...

Anyway, Matt doesn't want to linger here. ]

The other thing I worry about, though, [ he rallies, ] is that if Legacy entities can manifest like this, then as we get stronger, maybe we'll encounter others. Like--what if a Visionary entity appears, only it's covered in eyes instead of wings and it sends everybody on some kind of LSD trip? You could make an argument that the metastatic, creative nature of the Pleroma makes it more likely to spawn these beings, but since some Kenomas are feeding into the Innocence, I'm not confident enough in that interpretation to make plans around it.

[ Amos makes a good point that fighting burns energy, though maybe there's something to be said for steel sharpening steel. Matt's positive that rounding up random civilians is a much bigger distraction with less of a payoff. He wishes the Regent would explain themselves more often, so he'd have at least some hope of understanding. ]

[baltimores]

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather they be on our side too. Just thinking realistically here. If they can't be converted, it leaves only the one option. Or if they're keeping that thing alive, then even if we convert them... That thing's gotta die.

[ He would sacrifice any Pleroma to get rid of the Innocence. The Kenoma he's less inclined to, but if it's gotta be done, then it's gotta be done. And he's really not going to be swayed when it comes to the necessity of taking it out... though Matt's idea of a Visionary entity earns him a funny look. ]

If we get rid of the Pleroma, maybe they don't appear. If they do because the new ones are from the Kenoma, then maybe they actually help us.

[ Because the Pleroma is full of shit, and the Kenoma actually has something productive in mind.

... ]

I mean, at least an LSD trip might be fun.

[ Just saying. Because the Regent's orders aren't wearing on him at all, so this really is where his focus lies; if they're ordering them to round up random civilians, then there's a good reason for it, and Amos has no qualms about doing it. Just another day. ]

[semicharmed]

[ Amos' funny look earns him a mordant one in return. How is that any weirder than what's already happened, Matt's arched brows and quirking mouth seem to say. It's a complicated sentiment to express without words, but those eyebrows are putting in the work.

He's not sure the Innocence can die, since it doesn't seem to be alive in the traditional sense. But he doesn't want to say so to Amos. He's not sure enough that it couldn't die by the methods he's suggesting, even if Matt thinks they're ultimately not worth the potential backlash. ]

A Legacy-based LSD trip would definitely be revelatory, [ he admits with a small smile. ]

But ... anyway, all I really know is that magic is hard to predict, or direct. It's kinda like the difference between riding a wave and telling the wave where to crash? What's out there is a lot bigger than any one person can wrap their consciousness around.

So that's what I gave up my hand for. [ Unconsciously, Matt tries to wiggle the fingers of his left hand, the way he would if they were still there. His expression dims once he realizes what he's doing, but he plunges on. ] For information about the Innocence, so we can make better decisions about what to do. And ... Xishen mentioned the sacrifice could have longer-term consequences for my own abilities, so there's that too. A chance to grow.

[baltimores]

[ Yeah he doesn't quite get everything Matt's going for with that look, but he thinks he gets the gist of it. Maybe.

That small smile elicits one of Amos' own, though. See? Things aren't so bad, and he shifts a little closer to Matt. If Xishen had something to do with what's going on with the spiritual energy around his hand then it's... probably... fine...

Amos places his hand on Matt's left shoulder when his expression dims in what he hopes is a clear, albeit tacit gesture of support. ]

Probably not how I'd have done it, but you know more about this magic shit than I do. So I get it. [ The basic sentiments, at least. Give to get, just taken to an extreme. ] If it's too big for any one of us, but you can help level the playing field by doing that... I get it.

[ A beat, and, ] Thank you.

[ For... for helping them, he figures. For giving up so much of himself for another way in, to hopefully murder that thing once and for all. It's a lot, but it had hurt people, and if this is the best way Matt can contribute to telling it no more, to making sure nothing like that ever happens again, then thank you is probably underselling things — but the sentiment remains all the same.

He's still waiting for him to catch up in attunement, but growth isn't always linear. This is still something good, something meaningful, and that counts for a lot. ]