[PLEROMA] | I heard a rumor...

[wolof]

[ The communion is clear, practiced, and clipped. Business-like. ]

We have quite a few new arrivals, so... Welcome to the Pleroma. I am sure we will all have the opportunity to introduce ourselves to you, but it's often polite to introduce oneself, isn't it? My name is Akua Sahelian, and I speak to you now of what I wish were a warm welcome, but instead, of serious tidings.

I do not know how many of you have been introduced to the wider group, or how much information you've been presented, so allow me to give you all a basics, hm?

If you can hear this, you have accepted the Pleroma. You may have already met one, or many of them, but regardless if you met them before -- we oppose the Kenoma -- perhaps not the individuals, but the... force of kenoma itself. Pleroma and Kenoma are no mere forces of Good and Evil -- The Kenoma would destroy this world -- and all worlds -- to rebirth a world of their own making from the ashes. If you have joined with us, then you have found perhaps something to save here -- or perhaps you believe that your world is still out there. Some do, but I will not promise that which I cannot see with my own eyes. Whatever has brought you to us, I'm afraid that I cannot promise an easy fight -- or an easy existence here. Even now, the Kenoma have captured two of our own, and I have no doubt that they will come out with an experience that only a True Villain by the name of the Regent could craft. [ In communion, it sounds like a Title, a Name. ]

We will have to rescue them, and though I wish I could say that only those that are willing to fight should come, the truth of it is that we must collectively join together. There is no choice, and we will need every willing person to join in, to save our allies. If you have experienced combat before -- of any sort -- your experience will be more than welcome. If you do not, please reach out to one us, and we will find a place for you. We all have...grand and great talents, and we'll need every single one, to find victory when our allies are eventually retrieved. You will be needed, no matter what your experience was before you arrived, you will be able to find some use of your unique talents. Please, if you are new, speak up, tell us about yourselves, and ask your questions. I'm sure someone will answer it. Even the smallest of talents, can mean the difference between losing more of our allies an assets, or victory.

I cannot provide details at this time -- no plans have been set -- but I will tell you to be ready.

Speaking of being ready, however... I must turn a part of our discussion to something just as serious, but in a different vein. I think it clear, that we will have to continue to fight those who have signed on to the Kenoma, and while it's an inevitability, particularly in these times -- we need to assess our enemies. We will want to share the names, the abilities, and the demeanors of our enemies, those in the Kenoma who may be a threat, those who would be weak to physical threat, or...

[ A pause, then. ]

I was...dissipated recently. As I regrew, I... knew something. [ Her voice now almost sounds...authoritative. Like she is Speaking something of great import, the communion gives her words an emphasis that she can only imagine, as it would not work in person. ]

While no Sovereign, they are sovereign in this land, and though their plans have been thwarted in some small ways, they have been given a gift. The gift of knowing the true hearts of their followers, one way or the other. They have no use for the frail and the convictionless, after all. Venera and Godsblood are not the only ones that face culling, as the light of the Sovereign fades.

I believe... there may be individuals within the kenoma that have less conviction than others. They may be willing to help, or even defect, although we will be racing against the Regent's own touch. We may wish to seek them out, and free them from the Kenoma, they may come willingly, but they may also come by force. If you have spoken to those who lack conviction for their Sect, please, share that as well. It may be invaluable. If we know who lacks the resolve to stay with them, we can then pursue them, convince them, or bring them to our bases, to be convinced. I know some may find that unpleasant work -- but... Well, let's just say occasionally, capturing your enemy and teaching them of your perspective works.

I'd know.

[ A pause, before: ] Well, now. Please chime in, I shouldn't do all of the talking.

Comments

Kenoma & Any Additional Information

[wolof]

[ List characters, descriptions/images (the more unflattering the better) of our foes! Share any observed or known abilities, demeanors, juicy details about them. Please feel free to make this as trashy as possible -- DRAG THEM. ]

misa

[dragonmount]

[ look at this deceptively cute-looking blonde girl.... but there's no heat or hatred when he thinks about her. the following description is matter-of-fact. ]

Misa isn't someone who'll ever leave the Kenoma. I wouldn't waste time trying to convert her.

[ that said, ]

She has a petrification ability. If she can look at you, she can turn you to stone, and the longer she has the more of you she can. She can petrify at least half a person's body — maybe more, I don't know. But it only lasts for so long when she's gone, and if she's asleep it'll completely fade away. It isn't permanent either. I don't think she can kill with it, but I'd avoid risking finding out.

[locumstudentesquire]

[That image... There's the shock of recognition from Ryunosuke's side, but his response isn't particularly helpful:]

She-- She can WHAT?

[chronosynthesis]

Knocking her out works just as well. [Just putting that out there.] She doesn't seem to be physically powerful, so I expect she will attempt to act at range to avoid someone being able to reach her before she has been able to petrify them.

It's rapid and she can switch targets quickly. Unless we have a way to rapidly dispel it, she's a threat that should be taken out quickly.

[goldendeceiver]

Worth mentioning that she can see from a pretty incredible distance too. I don't know just how far out that goes, but she definitely didn't have trouble spotting me with some pretty frightening clarity when I was a ways away from her.

Kinda scary when coupled with that ability to make people into living rocks.

[superbshot]

I can say with some certainty that Misa not only has the ability to petrify, but she also has extremely keen senses. She was able to pick me out well enough to briefly petrify my hand while we were rescuing Vaeka...and she was able to do that while coping with the pain from being shot twice.

[That being said...]

She is extremely loyal to the Regent, and she is quite willing to accept pain to get an opportunity to use her power. She exposed herself multiple times to me before I finally took my second shot. She's extremely childish, and and it was extremely easy to rile her up just by remaining calm. Additionally, Misa is extremely inexperienced in combat. I know she was genuinely rattled when I initially hit her, and she will attempt to resort to dirty tricks and mind games. I also believe that she harbors a grudge against me for not killing her?

My advice is to simply deal with her before she's able to become a problem.

[wolof]

Interesting. When I talked to her early in the week, she hadn't even bothered to try to use her powers on me. Instead, we had a...conversation.

[ A pause, then. ]

I got the impression, that she hadn't really given it much thought, that she was serving the Regent. [ AKUA'S MEAN... ]

She may be simply flighty, devoted, or simply unwilling to consider other alternatives. She questioned me, why I chose this path -- I think she was surprised.

[ Then again, She had said that she didn't disagree with the Regent's methods, just the goal. }

[deushexmachina]

I'll keep an eye—no, wait—an ear to the ground for her. Appreciate the warning.

[pyojeol]

[misa.... what a kyutie... Sooyoung listens carefully as everyone talks, studying the image. a part of her is a little impressed that for someone so unassuming, she's clearly made an impression? damb]

So we just go for her eyes first, and then kill her.

[cool! everything's so easy!]

[not here]

[inutilis]

[ the vaguest impression can be felt across the void...

it's just this tbh ]

[perfectlygoodbird]

[The birdlike girl is somewhat hesitant to judge by her voice, but Meteion is resolute, anyway. She left on purpose, though she doesn't expect anyone from the Pleroma to trust her freely. Still. Himeka and Abel are her friends, and she would see them freed and returned to these others.]

My name...is Meteion. The last you may have heard of me, I was one of those you opposed. But I am a Kenoma no longer.

Ask me what you wish to know, and if I have answers, give them to you I shall.

[locumstudentesquire]

[You're doing great, sweetie 👍]

Liem

[warmare]

[As much as she hates to dip her hoof into this chaotic Communion, her presence akin to a dark cloud of "not experienced enough to properly control the bleed of emotion and memory" strolling in... She has a few things that need to be said. Including:]

This man. Liem.

He does not belong with the Kenoma. I know this.

In Venera, he was ready to turn himself over to my custody, and would be with us now were it not for the interference of a dark-haired swordsman and craven called "M", who reclaimed him by blood when we were occupied with the safety of a Veneran woman and child.

He is a man of faith who believes his god is dead, and so served the Regent until their governance grew too openly despicable. He is skilled with a strange sideways bow and dagger. I do not know if he is a misshapen human or not human, but he is notable in appearance and speed. I have items with his scent, I can find him again whether he glamors or not.

He possesses some sense of honor still, despite his affiliation. If he were to be cleansed of the black sludge, I believe he would be a boon to this... cause. If that is what motivates you all.

If I cannot cleanse my dishonor and do it myself... Do not kill him. Capture him.

"Sebastian" (Kaeya)

[locumstudentesquire]

....

Before I go any further, I wonder if any of you would verify something for me.

[An image. It's this smug looking guy with blue hair and an eyepatch.]

...What. Is the name of this Kenoma. I... I need to know for certain.

Silco, the Industrialist

[superbshot]

[As before, Caitlyn is all to happy to provide an update on Silco. An image of this old geezer appears.]

This man is named Silco, a man from my homeworld. I should note for transparency's sake that he is a personal enemy of mine due to my status as law enforcement at home and his operations as a crime boss. I do not know if he has gained any supernatural abilities during our time on Horos, but it seems likely that he has. If anyone has encountered him, could you please add further information?

He is on the aged side of things, getting closer to fifty, and he is in relatively poor health due to a lifetime of smoking and what I believe is exposure to toxic chemicals. Silco is a drug-dealer by trade, distributing a drug known as Shimmer throughout the city of Zaun, and it's quite possible that he can reproduce Shimmer here in this world.

Personally, I would not consider him a major threat to anyone possessing supernatural abilities due to his advanced age, but he is an incredibly vicious man who favors knives. He may be dangerous in other ways. He is also highly intelligent and will attempt to distract you to gain the upper-hand. It should be noted that he prefers skullduggery and backstabbing if forced to fight, and he is faster than he looks. He is an experienced streetbrawler, presumably from his youth.

If Silco manages to recreate Shimmer here, then that may be an issue, as it bestows supernatural speed and strength on anyone that ingests it for a time, but it wracks the body in the aftermath of a high. Shimmer is an iridescent purple and causes the eyes to glow the same way, so if you see an opponent exhibiting such, use caution.

Also, as a note for anyone that was unfortunate enough to become caught in my...delusions...of home in Venera during the outbreak, Silco is the head chem-baron. He is directly responsible for the drug factories there. He is a monster, despite his attempts to present himself as anything but.

Barnaby and Liem, also Paul

[youngprodigy]

Going forward, we must needs be extremely careful who we converse with.

I... met with two Kenoma, along with Meteion, in Venera. All three of them proclaimed their intention to defect in front of me, and I've no reason to doubt either of them.

But they did not appear when time came to make our egress out of the city.

[He lets out a frustrated sigh.]

I am not saying not to trust them, merely that they were privy to information that is absolutely in the hands of the Regent now. If you aim to save anyone who looks as though they are imminent to defect, you cannot give away any information that could be used against us. Them being captured is not out of the question.

[And then there's a moment where he seems to be gathering his thoughts, because while the previous two had been frustration, this next part comes with no small amount of agitation.]

There is another. His name is Paul. Don't mistake him for someone unassuming or misguided; he's one of the Regent's most loyal. He earnestly believes bringing about the end of this world, of all worlds, will end suffering. That this new world of the Regent's will somehow be free of it.

I strongly suggest avoiding him at all costs. At the Communion the Regent summoned all of us to, he compared slaughtering people to pruning "the branches that are infected with rot". He cannot be reasoned with.

ciel

[comelately]

I met this lady before, Ciel - she's got blue hair, kinda dresses really seriously. She was the one guarding Vaeka... She recognized me, but that didn't stop her from attacking me. So she was pretty serious about fighting.

[ he communes this as if relaying the news - he doesn't appear to have any particularly strong opinions about her, though the echoes of pain she caused him during the battle can be faintly felt behind his words. ]

She can summon these sort of - giant swords, I guess, all black, out of thin air. I don't know if she's got a limit on 'em, but she wasn't acting like she did. On top of that, she can use some kind of "magic" to start fires and summon lightning bolts... and she's built like a tank. I blew out her leg up to the kneecap and she hardly flinched - she still tried to chase after Vaeka like that. So... my advice would be to watch out for her. Don't fight her unless you're strong enough to win.

[ does he consider himself strong enough? he doesn't say... ]

The Wizard Howl

[wolof]

[ The image of him as a bird monster is ingrained in her mind, from their fight. ]

The wizard Howl is the one who dissipated me.

He is supposedly a wizard, but I saw little of magic from him, as he lashed out with claw and beak instead. He was a horrid monster, who had the face of a man at times, and fought hard to kill me. I think that he may have some manner of magic that was not used, but I have no way to tell without further observation.

I would suggest approaching him with both magic and physical force. Where I had magic, I was able to hold him off for quite some time, but he used the environment to uproot a tree, and force it upon me. He's clever, and quite the threat. Approach with caution.

Amos

[passio]

[ dextera doesn’t know his name, but he knows amos’ face. when dextera projects this image, there’s perhaps an unexpected—at least, from people who know dextera—simmering dislike to accompany amos’ appearance. ]

I don’t like him.

[ spoken in the small, nearly intangible ‘voice’ he’s forced to use in communion in lieu of actually being able to speak. ]

Zenos viator Galvus

[perfectlygoodbird]

I do not think it is likely Zenos will be converted.

[Meteion projects an image of a stern-looking blonde of large stature, perceived from a shorter vantage point. She is short, after all...]

He has decades of combat experience, honed through hardship, and was raised for strategy, as he is the scion of the Garlean empire. He has no magick to speak of, but the third eye he possesses gives him...greater perception?So do not think that is a lack. He is also ruthless, and is unlikely to give up the fight easily. He delights in battle--it is the only thing that brings him joy.

Luo Binghe

[locumstudentesquire]

I lack a name to put to this face, but as I've yet to see anyone else discuss him...

[It's Binghe!!]

I've only encountered this particular Kenoma twice, and am yet unsure of what to make of him. His motivations and abilities both largely remain a mystery to me, but I will attempt to share what I know. I first encountered him in Venera, when he attacked me while I was in the grip of the contagion. He cornered me, and then tried to... Um...

[...There's really no delicate way to put this.]

...He. Attempted to get me to drink some of his blood.

At the time I hadn't the slightest understanding of why, since he offered little in the way of explanation and opted to use force to try and secure my compliance, but my second encounter with him, which came more recently, shed some light on the matter: his claim is that his blood holds healing properties, and he was merely trying to cure me of the disease.

[A significant pause.]

...I'm sure I shouldn't have to tell you all this, but. If he should make you this offer, I'd. Er. Strongly advise, that you not take it. I don't know whether he was telling the truth of the matter, but the fact remains that we have other... Less, um. Disgusting? Methods of healing available...? Ones which don't involve drinking a strange man's vital fluids.

[So. Yeah! Have fun discussing that tidbit!]

There isn't much else I can tell you beyond that, besides some general observations. He seems fairly short tempered in demeanor, and he doesn't seem to care much for boundaries or propriety when it comes to personal space. If anyone has more information to share, I'd welcome it.

Gray

[chronosynthesis]

[The image he presents first looks... pretty unassuming of her standing in front of the jail cell.]

She was one of the Kenoma acting as a guard to Vaeka when her execution was pending. I expect she'll defend the citadel as well.

Despite her size she is extremely strong and quick. She uses a shapeshifting focus for battle. I saw it transform into both a large scythe and a flaming hammer.

[He'll offer a mental visual of her lunging with each of them, as well, having been on the receiving end of that.]

If you see her, do not underestimate her. I don't believe she is as experienced in a fight as other Kenoma, but she is powerful.

Eustace, Gen, & Makoto ("M")

[warmare]

I had hoped to leave this to those who know them better, but so be it.

This beast with the cat ears atop his head. He wields a rifle that is far more powerful than such a thing should be. He can reload without much pause, do not think you will have time between shots as you might normally.

This unassuming looking man can move the earth beneath you with just a sweep of his hand. No- I thought that was a requirement, but the second time I engaged him he did it with just his thoughts, so you may have no warning at all before the very soil at your feet betrays you. Moving rocks, opening pitfalls, creating trenches in the blink of an eye- This is what I mean.

... If you are a woman, he may try to lay hands upon you with intent to shame. You would be wise to protect your dignity.

This winged freak who goes by "M"... If his wanton crimes against the one among you named Estinien during the Innocence's appearance in Venera were not enough-

He is a craven lover of the shadows who stalks and slinks. He has some sort of power to move as if creating his own "portals", disappearing from one place and reappearing in another, likely behind you to stick a cowardly blade into your back. The lizard wings he sports are not decoration, he can achieve flight with them. His tongue is silver, and poisoned. It was he who led the effort to recapture Liem, and who once skewered by my arrow went crawling for help from someone stronger. He carries two thin blades for sticking. Apparently, he is most loyal to that Regent and their cause. Perhaps he is their spymaster, I could not know for sure.

I wish for his head to be mine. But if you were to meet him first... I advise you attempt to claim it from me. For your Pleroma's sake.

Sebastian (the real one)

[locumstudentesquire]

I'd be remiss not to address this as well: I know for certain that the Kenoma added at least one new Aion to their ranks, before the shrines became dormant once more.

[He has an image to offer: a man with dark hair, red eyes, and alarmingly sharp teeth.]

His name is Sebastian Michaelis... Er. A-at least, I'm fairly certain it is, anyway, since that's what I overheard him telling the Kenoma who recruited him. So I suppose unless he lied to him... Which would be ironic...

[Ahem.]

...A-anyway. Since he had only just emerged from the shrine, there's little I can tell regarding what powers he may or may not have... But what I can tell you is that he is of the Celebrant legacy, and he... Willingly chose, to go serve under the Kenoma. Even after I intervened and explained of the Regent's cruelty and tyranny, that was his decision. He claimed to even have a history of serving such despots in the past. So. I find it unlikely that he can be dissuaded from his path. Please be cautious and keep that in mind, if you encounter him.

Childe

[chronosynthesis]

There's a Kenoma by the name of Tartaglia, or Childe.

[Syrlya presents to you: one redhead.]

He appeared to have expert control of water element magic when we fought, firing it as bullets and creating a large, serpentine form he could control suspended through the air. He could maneuver it with enough precision to restrain a person, so I'm sure that isn't the only form he can bend water to.

I don't know how much of that black sludge they have on hand... but he was able to keep it viable when it was suspended in the water, which gave him much more range and flexibility to force someone to consume it. Even attuned to the Pleroma, we shouldn't assume we are immune if forced to consume it.

I know little about him personally, so if anyone has any insight into his personality please speak up. [Maybe now he won't get yelled at for namedropping.]