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

Memory 1

[thearchangel]

Just another day out and about in the city. Just another day trying to fit into a world made for human beings, with no tech, nothing even remotely familiar. So naturally, if he sees a familiar face, he'll gravitate to it. In this case, it's Nadine, a casual brush of shoulder -

And then his head feels like it wants to implode.

He's suddenly in what looks like an old bunker. Or barracks. Maybe some kind of prefab shelter, judging from the kids and the bunkbeds. Everything looks... old. And they're playing with some kind of board? He vaguely recognizes the writing, like something he'd seen in more human-dominated portions of the Citadel.

"I... have no idea what I'm looking at," he mutters, mostly to himself - mystified by this scene.

[nadine_he_loves]

It isn't as though Nadine can just stop going to work and classes because she's sometimes sharing memories with other Summoned. And there are so many people in Cadens, she figures the risk is relatively low.

But of course, accidents happen.

Oh god, she's here again. A part of her wonders if this is the universe trying to tell her something. If so, she gets the message. But how the hell is she possibly going to explain this, or put it in any context? She barely knows Garrus...

"It's...uh...it's somebody else's memory."

At least she's been through this already and knows what it is - if not why it's happening. She can only watch along with him, though.

In the memory unfolding before them, one of the girls on the floor is speaking.

"...said it's the devil's work, we shouldn't be playing with it," she says, and another girl laughs dismissively. All three turn their attention to the fourth girl, sitting on a bed. Her nightgown, white and old fashioned, is a stark contrast to the t-shirts and sweatpants of the rest. Her long blond hair is pulled back in a tail and she's facing away from the circle on the floor.

"Come on, the more power from us the better it works. Get over here, new girl."

And the blond girl does, shifting and slipping off the bed to join the others. She kneels and they all four place their hands on the planchette in the center of the board.

"Spirits..." The girl who'd laughed earlier intones. "The door is open!"

[thearchangel]

Someone else's memory

Whose, though? It's definitely not his. But he doesn't know Nadine well enough to say. One of the kids' features looks familiar, though he could be totally off. Human kids - he hasn't seen a lot of them before. He's utterly mystified by the symbolism here. Devil's work? He looks to Nadine, hoping there's going to be an explanation.

"What are they talking about -"

Like a record skipping, he cuts off, his head whipping toward the door. Logically, with all his time around human beings, he knows the words don't line up properly. He's never been religious, himself, but hearing the word Spirits is kind of a shock, out of nowhere like this.

"What is this, Nadine?"

[nadine_he_loves]

"Uh..."

Nadine shakes her head, feeling helpless and turning a matching expression to Garrus. Where to even begin?

"It's...this is my memory. I was a kid in an...orphanage." That's a good universal term that everyone understands. "It's called a talking board. It's supposed to be a game, but some people believe it can channel ghosts and spirits and things like that. They move the planchette and it writes what they want to say. One of the other girls, Lacey, she snuck one in."

Why? Why the hell had she done it? Not that Nadine imagines anything would be different, in the long run.

Nadine's memory continues to unfold before them. Nothing happens at first, and one of the girls asks if that's really it? The first explains that that's how it works, you open the door and the spirits came through if they wanted to. As the two debate about whether or not anything more needs to be said, the planchette moves across the paper.

"Slick move, knock it off," one accuses.

"It's not me. Seriously..."

"Stop playing around!"

As the girls argue - save for the blond girl - the planchette continues to move. They all watch, wide eyed, as a name is spelled out in wobbly block letters. 'NADINE'.

They all look to the blond girl, who's face holds an expression of confused fear. Accusatory looks are cast in her direction. She swears she didn't do it, she wasn't moving it. The others swear the same.

Suddenly the planchette moves with aggressive speed. It pulls the girls with it, their hands looking as though they're being yanked along. One wails that she can't remove her hand. Fear is building quickly. The planchette moves off the paper, jerking back and forth with enough force to carve letters into the wooden floor.

The girls are screaming. The lights flicker. A haunting, masculine voice can just barely be heard over the screaming.

"Nadine...Nadine..."

The planchette flies into the wall, the lights go out, three of the girls scatter once released, running out into the hall. When the lights come up, the child Nadine is kneeling in front of the message scrawled into the floor.

NADINE WILL BE MY QUEEN
we are of the houses of the dead nadine

[thearchangel]

A talking board? He's never heard of anything like that. But hey, at least he'd been right about the whole 'spirits' thing not meaning what he'd thought, originally. Ghosts aren't real. Ghosts are feelings you get in ominous places. Or old battlefields. They're things that chase you in your head at night - they're not real.

He doesn't get the chance to say as much, fortunately. Things are happening in the scene before them. The tension in the air rising. He finds himself trying to grasp for a firearm he doesn't have, out of reflex. Especially as the little device starts... actually writing something. Starts writing the name of the woman with him.

"Why - how is it - "

But, again, he doesn't get the chance to finish. Kids are screaming, the device is going insane, and Garrus is throwing an arm out to try and block Nadine from the scene. Reflex, again. She's a civilian, says his mind, his instinct, if something is going down here, she's the one to take priority. Her safety takes priority. He's looking around, wildly, for something to use as a weapon. His stance has shifted - in the absence of weaponry, go to hand-to-hand.

There's... no man in the room. He's the only one. And he sure as hell didn't call out to Nadine. A hidden speaker?

Garrus, frankly, is left dumbfounded by the scene. It's like a horror vid, frankly. Someone unseen is claiming a child is their... queen? What the hell? His mandibles are flared way off his jaw, turian expression of the old "Hit In The Face By A Two-By-Four".

"What... was that?"

[nadine_he_loves]

Oh that's...sort of sweet, actually, the way Garrus moves to protect her from her own memory. Pointless, but still sweet.

"It's just a vision," she explains. "Nothing in it can hurt us or even knows we're here. It's like watching a recording. This happened over twenty years ago."

And it isn't the first time she's relived this particular memory since all this began. It might not be the last, she doesn't know many times she'll relive this but it's made a mark.

At least it's done now, the room of the children's home fading around them and reality reasserting itself.

"And it's...it's a really long story." That she doesn't know how to begin sharing, with no foundation whatsoever. This isn't like Geralt or Julie, who already know all the important parts and the context for the things they'd seen.

"And obviously I'm fine, I was twelve then and now I'm almost forty and still here. There's just been....weird stuff in my life. I don't know if concepts like the Biblical God and the devil and any of that mean anything to you, or have any place where you come from. But they meant something where I come from."

[thearchangel]

Sorry, Nadine, it's reflex. Memory or no, years of training still dictate his actions. He sees a threat - he reacts. If he'd had a gun, he'd probably have drawn it. Come to think of it, can he even get a firearm here? No - think about that later.

"Old habits," he tells her, at her explanation. It comes out a little sheepish. Because, yes, it's really absurd to try and defend someone from their memories. He even ducks his head a bit, scratching at the scarred side of his face.

A long story, she says. No kidding. She says Biblical God and devil and quite honestly, Garrus' experience with those has been limited to the occasional human vid and, well. Legion. A geth platform. Garrus grimaces.

"I know a geth platform who took its name from your Bible," he admits. "Which probably means about as much to you as 'devil' means to me."

[nadine_he_loves]

"Uh...yeah, that means nothing to me."

Some kind of video game, maybe? Nadine isn't about to ask, there's no need to confuse any of this any further.

"Okay, so, here's a really short and basic explanation for context. In my world there are forces much greater than mankind, usually unseen, that are tied to and get involved with mortals. They're opposing forces, and we understand them as God - the great force that's responsible for good and order and that sort of thing - and the Devil - the force of chaos and bad things. Both of them have...underlings, you could say. Angels for God, demons for the Devil. They also are very powerful and tied to and get involved with mortals. What you just saw was my first experience with one of those forces."

That's pretty understandable, she thinks. And puts across the main points without any of the messy details.

"It's mystical magic stuff," she adds, for further clarification.

[thearchangel]

"I didn't think it would."

He doesn't mean it unkindly. He really didn't think talking about a geth would mean anything to anyone in this situation. He really, really wishes Thane were in this position, or at least here instead of in some other corner of this world. The drell would understand this - Garrus isn't even sure he believes in Spirits, let alone...

This.

"Right. Gods, and the opposites." He can follow that fairly easily he thinks. Plenty of species had that kind of thing. They just weren't... real.

Right?

"So - mystical magic forces were contacting you as a kid?" Okay, yeah, that tracks better.

[nadine_he_loves]

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. And he's not around anymore, so..."

So no need to go into any further detail. Flagg's been gone since the onset of last fall. Nadine is doing her best to move on, to forge a life beyond his influence. And she's made great strides.

But the marks remain, and always will.

"That was all stuff from another lifetime. I...I like to leave it there."

Garrus really doesn't need to know all of it, anyway. It wouldn't make sense, they aren't close friends or in any position where he needs to know. He's a very nice alien and Nadine likes him, from what little they've interacted, but you don't dump demonic trauma on a nice acquaintance.

[thearchangel]

"Well, glad to hear it."

No need to elaborate, regardless of how they'd just met. If someone could pull that kind of stunt, and were some kind of powerful spirit thing, then... yeah. Definitely good they weren't here. No one needed that crap stalking them.

He makes an understanding kind of noise. Somewhere between a hum and a vibration, not bothering to hide the uncertain flick of mandible against his jaw. I like to leave it there. Honestly? Fair enough. Who didn't have things they were trying to move past? Forget about, or atone for.

"Understood," he says, in the simple, direct way he would if he'd been given an order. "Pretty sure no one I know would believe me, even if I tried to tell them."

That... was probably supposed to be more humorous than serious.

[nadine_he_loves]

"If it hadn't happened to me, I probably wouldn't believe it, either."

Nadine even manages a small laugh. She's grateful that Garrus seems content not to pry or press. Luckily, most people in her life are good about that.

"But hey, I'm never empty handed when it comes to campfire ghost stories."

Making light of it is easiest, here and now. And she can make light of it, to an extent. It was over twenty years ago, and the longer Flagg's gone, the further she feels from all of that.

At least until it comes crashing back like this.

"Are you okay? I know I usually have a headache after."