EVENT #7: THE SIGHT

[abraxasmods]

Event #7 - The Sight

go to the OOC event info and plotting post

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The night before APRIL 18, your dreams are disrupted by a vivid image of the same eclipse that occurred last month. The black sun seems to be an endless void in the sky, growing ever darker - until it suddenly opens into an eye that stares straight at you.

When you wake up, much of your night seems a blur except for the vivid dream of that eye. Whether you find it unsettling or try to ignore it, the image is something you cannot get out of your mind. If you ask, you will discover that none of the locals of your faction saw another eclipse. Speak with your fellow Summoned, however, and you may learn that while there was no eclipse that formed over the world, you were not the only one who had this dream.

Of course, dreams don't need to mean anything. You can't feel or see any immediate effects, and nearly everyone around you is going about their day as usual. Maybe you should do the same.

The Awakening

It might happen that very morning or a day or two later. You could be discussing the dream with a fellow Summoned or perhaps you simply brush shoulders with them as you walk by. Whatever it is, as soon as you make brief physical contact, one of you is struck with a sharp pain in your temple that grows into a terrible headache. It's disorienting and painful as the world around you shifts to someplace you may or may not recognize. Like an old film reel, you watch the events of the past play out before you: the past of the other Summmoned. It might be something they would rather hide, a moment of failure or despair, or something they are immensely proud of and brings them great joy - or even a jumble of several images over the course of a person's life. But you see it as if it were real and right in front of you all the same. When you come to, you'll likely find yourself on the ground or bent over, possibly with one or more people around you to see if you're okay. It'll take you a bit to gather your bearings, and the subsequent pounding in your head could last from minutes to hours.

Or, maybe you aren't the one who receives the vision. Instead, as you watch, another Summoned might grasp their head and crumble in front of you. They may go silent or groan in pain. They'll be impossible to shake out of their stupor until it's over. If you ask what happened, they may be inclined to tell you the truth - that you, you were what happened to them.

Or, if your Arcana signs happen to line up in a specific way, you'll see each other in the shared memory itself. You may also find that for certain Summoned, you can help soothe the effects, calm their emotions, or help draw them out of the memory before it consumes them for too long. It's not entirely clear what determines which effect, but one thing is for certain - within each memory, every Summoned as they appear in the past seems to wear the mark of their Arcana somewhere on their person.

For some, they might experience this only once. For others, they might experience it multiple times: with the same person, with several other Summoned, or with a different memory each time. Over the next 7 days, you'll find the Summoned around you are all receiving a glimpse into each other's past, as if the Singularity has awoken an eye within each of you.

Flee for the safety of the Horizon if you want, but you'll find that in there, it's much the same. In fact, inside the Horizon, the other Summoned don't even need to be anywhere near you - just existing in the Horizon space itself together will be enough to possibly set off a headache-inducing vision.

The Factions

What has occurred between the Summoned will not go unnoticed within the factions. While it's difficult to say how faction officials have picked up what's happening, it'll be obvious they do know.

In THORNE, characters will be asked to remain in the castle walls until further notice. Characters will not be allowed to leave the castle grounds, not even to go into the surrounding city, and anyone who is already outside will be requested to not leave again as soon as they return. If asked, they will be told it's for their own safety, given the Singularity is behaving unpredictably and the Summoned have a unique connection to it. Soothing potions and healers are on hand to offer assistance, if anyone is particularly suffering from ill effects.

In the FREE CITIES, characters will find the army by the outposts show more activity than usual. A higher number of guards will patrol the streets throughout the event, particularly in areas frequented by the Summoned. Anyone who publicly and visibly experiences the effects of the memory share (pain, doubling over, etc.) will be offered assistance by the guards. They are generally there to help, but they are also there to maintain order and ensure anyone behaving erratically due to this incident is properly contained. This might include confinement for a day or two if anyone is especially posing a risk, but no one will be punished except in the most extreme cases, as the locals are aware this is not within the control of the Summoned.

In SOLVUNN, the locals will be watching what's happening with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity. Host families and neighbors will be on hand to help with charms meant to offer protection, as well as general care and assistance (soup, blankets, and so on) if your character seems to be especially under the weather or afflicted by the event. Towards the end of the event, more elders and mages will be out and about to check up on the Summoned to make sure they're doing okay. If asked, the mages will say they aren't sure what's going on, but that they are currently divining with the gods and hope to have a definitive answer soon in the upcoming days.

None of the factions appear to be doing much more than keep a watchful eye on the situation - but as the week comes to a close, officials will start making a decision as to what they want to do and how to handle the Summoned who have demonstrated this unforeseen connection to the Singularity.

Comments

[cryptsleeper]

Preparing to leave, in truth, and remain at my place of residence for as long as this endures.

[There has simply been too many misfired memories at this point for Alucard to do anything but send himself out of the Horizon. The real world is awful. This entire thing is awful, and everything feels that it might shatter at any moment.

Viktor asks from afar. It is the only good thing that has happened in the midst of all of this, and of course he too saw something. Of course.]

[techmaturgy]

I would recommend it. My hypothesis is that our proximity to the Singularity just heightens the effect.

["Hypothesis", like it's not an objective fact. They don't even need to touch other Summoned, to give and receive memories. For someone like Alucard, Viktor imagines this is the absolute last place he wants to be, now that they've figured out what's going on. He might stay--see if he can dig a little deeper, but he won't blame anyone else for doing what they feel they need to do, especially in the face fo such an intrusion.

Still, he appreciates the fact that Alucard seems amenable to a conversation, before he leaves the Horizon. Viktor will do his best to keep things brief.]

Should I come to your domain? [A tacit request, maybe.] I don't want to keep you here longer than necessary.

[cryptsleeper]

I've reached much the same conclusion.

[There's a debate that plays out in Alucard's head - domain or graveyard? Either is a risk. If Viktor sees more, then...then he might witness the worst of it. But does Viktor really need to know that the dhampir enjoys living in a hollowed out cactus in a graveyard?

Possibly not. There has been enough flak for it from people. So for now, the ball is in his court.]

If you prefer. Mind the weather.

[techmaturgy]

Noted.

[It's a good indication of where he needs to go, at least--just follows the bad weather. In the real world, this would, of course, be less than ideal, but here Viktor is able to literally will the water and wind away from him. Still, it takes some active concentration, especially in the face of what is clearly Alucard's turmoil. Viktor can't blame him, though he does wish he could focus a little less on trying to stay dry.

When Viktor finally makes it to Alucard's space, it's clear he's not making the effort to appear as he usually does in the Horizon--maybe it's not worth it, depending on what others may or may not be seeing of him, through all this. He doesn't snoop, knowing that Alucard likely already knows he's here. No reason to breach his privacy even further, at this juncture.]

Alucard?

[cryptsleeper]

[Sorry Viktor. Tepes Man Drama is an inherited trait and he is just sort of in the thick of it now. At least there aren't any heads made of smoke threatening genocide?

The path doesn't try to turn Viktor away though, which is the best that can possibly be said. Most would struggle to get through it, probably stuck in the mud until they realized this was a space they were not welcome in.

There's no art to Alucard's depression hut, no warm glow of windows this time around. The door to the hut opens with Viktor's arrival, and the only light inside is in the kitchen.]

In here.

[It is the voice of someone who is definitely not happy.]

[techmaturgy]

[Viktor doesn't even need to hear Alucard to know he's walking into an extremely fraught situation, but he takes the fact that there's a rather straightforward path made for him to be a positive sign.

He reminds himself that even though he considers Alucard a friend, there's still a lot they don't know about each other. Viktor isn't afraid, per se, but he also isn't sure how Alucard might act, when under duress. Best to approach this as gently as possible, with as much empathy as he can muster.

Which, incidentally, is kind of a lot. He approaches the hut with some amount of caution, even as the door opens for him and he makes his way inside.]

Are you all right?

[He imagines the answer is no, but there's no real good way to start this conversation.]

[cryptsleeper]

[The hut is all of three rooms, in the end. A small bedroom and bathroom, and the kitchen. As the focal point of the place, it has everything Alucard grew up with at home - a good cast iron stove, work benches with counter tops, copper pots hanging from a rack near the oven, and carefully labeled containers set on several of the counters. It is organized, but not used at the moment.

Alucard himself is seated at the kitchen table, nothing placed upon it save his own hands. His expression is dark and that doesn't change when he meets Viktor's eyes.]

We both know the answer to that question.

[His voice is calm, but there's effort put into it. A lot.]

[techmaturgy]

I know, but...

[It seemed like the right thing to ask, as awkward and insufficient as it sounds. Of course he's not okay. Neither of them are, and there's no real getting around that, not when they don't know what's happening or how to stop it. Viktor knows that Alucard plans to withdraw for the duration of whatever this is, and with no real way of determining how long it will last, he can only assume that it will be for some time.]

I would feel remiss, as a friend, if I didn't ask. I would also hope that if anyone received glimpses of my own experiences, that they would be honest with me about what they saw. So.

[Here he is. He shrugs a little, wanting to make it clear that he isn't here to judge or otherwise interrogate Alucard about his actions. Maybe Viktor just wants to let him know he isn't alone, even if he wants to be.]

I'm sorry about your father.

[cryptsleeper]

[The use of the f-word alone would provoke a reaction, one of hissing and spitting and trying to withdraw even harder. There's the temptation to just nope out of here entirely, leaving Viktor alone in the kitchen before anything else can be said. It in fact sounds very, very promising as a concept, and that's before Viktor offers what it is he witnessed.

It was bad enough having one person see it. Two feels truly unbearable, and the look Viktor gets is beyond crushed. It is mortified, wanting the ground to just swallow him whole. Hands become claws that dig into the table, trying not to lose all sense of sanity and propriety in the moment.

Never mind the graveyard. He is going right into the desert and destroying everything he can find.

But first, he needs words. If only to try and find some sort an exit here.]

I find myself in a camp that prefers discretion and not bringing these things up. [As hollow as his voice sounds, it is also not a lie. It is one of the reasons he's gotten along with some people here more than others. There's no prying into matters - only waiting until they come up in conversation, usually naturally or by some forced need that is entirely practical. This is none of those things.]

[techmaturgy]

[It's forward, he knows this. Perhaps more forward than he'd ordinarily be, and more forward that Alucard wants, in this moment. Viktor doesn't flinch at the expression, nor does he move away when those claws dig into the table. Instead, he takes the opposite chair, sinking into it with some effort. He supposes that if Alucard wanted him out, he would have made it happen by now.]

We don't have to talk about it. You don't owe me anything, and frankly, it would be intrusive of me to ask further questions.

[He knows how he would feel, in this situation. Hell, he's probably in this situation, with countless others who haven't made themselves known yet. Suffice to say, he sympathizes profoundly.]

I'm...similarly private. You may have noticed.

[He doesn't have secrets quite like this, but he knows it's less than ideal.]

[cryptsleeper]

[It's hard for Alucard to place exactly what part of this throws him off the most. The showing up? Okay, that's...it makes sense. Coming in, sure. Then he realizes it is the sitting down in a chair when every part of the room is screaming fuck off, get out, I need space that is doing it. Viktor is smart and, presumably, capable of reading a room more subtle than this one.

And yet, this.

There's the deep and feral urge to just bodily pick the man up and throw him out before retreating from the Horizon entirely. One that becomes harder and harder to resist at every moment. Nails dig into the table.

How the hell was this easier with Jayce?]

It is that last statement that has me baffled that you thought to come here rather than send me a note in Cadens.

[He really just needs to shut it down.]

Those events are things I do not discuss outside of those who were there in the same time and place with me. Period.

[techmaturgy]

[Maybe this had been a mistake--Alucard is clearly grappling with more than he truly understands, so maybe the best course of action would have been saying nothing and leaving him alone. Still, Viktor knows it wouldn't have felt right to do that, and given the fact that they have no idea what this is or how to stop it or when it might end, he didn't want to leave it alone.]

This seemed more expedient. [For practical reasons, of course. He has a much better chance of catching up with someone in here, than in the real world.] It felt wrong, not to say something.

[Or to try and see you, is what he doesn't say.] We can't exactly pretend this isn't happening.

[cryptsleeper]

[There's logic in that statement, and logic is the one thing Alucard can try to hang onto at the moment. The nod indicates that while he gets this, he really, really would rather not have this happen as it is.]

We cannot. But I dislike using myself as an experiment at the best of times, and this is the precise and exact opposite of that concept. [Like, there are exactly two incidents that were worse and this madness involves both of them. It's great.]

I think we can assume this has some connection to the singularity. Being in it's place of power may be a factor.

[Logic again, desperately trying to just get away from what others might be seeing at the moment.]

[techmaturgy]

For the best, then, to make an escape. I'm sorry if I'm preventing that.

[Another out, if Alucard wants to take it--Viktor will certainly understand if he doesn't want to spend another second in here. For his part, he thinks he might stick around a while longer, if only to see if he can find the source, or at least a hint as to why this might be happening.]

I can go, if you like. I intend to find out what's happening, even if this is all...how would you say it? Above my pay grade. But, if you saw anything in turn, or need me to explain, I'm able to do that.

[An openness that he doesn't expect in return--it's easier, for him, to talk about his own experiences, than he imagines it might be for Alucard.]

[cryptsleeper]

You are, yes.

[Sorry Viktor. He has nothing left in him to be polite about the fact that every second here is another risk.]

Vitkor, if I saw anything, I would not ask about it unless it came up in natural conversation or there was a dire need. Especially if it came out under these circumstances.

[techmaturgy]

[It seems backwards to him--because the whole reason he's here is to be honest about what he's seen, and he's not sure he likes the idea of this hanging over his head, waiting for it to become relevant. Still, he knows better than to stick around, because Alucard has made it clear that he's not about to weather this with company.]

Okay. Let me know if you need anything.

[He'll have to leave it at this, for now.]