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

[frontlinetitties]

Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't.

[Says Gideon with the blasé attitude of someone entirely accustomed to being kicked for her insolence. Then they share that quiet wistful moment, and Gideon finds herself momentarily drifting toward the thought of what it would have been like had her mother lived. If she had some other parent out there who might yet be living with the question of what had happened to her still lodged in some quiet space of their mind. It does count for a lot, she thinks, that it existed for him even for a time. She finds herself caught partway between jealousy and gladness. Fuck knows he's endured a lot of darkness. It's good that he got to experience the thing she'd spent so much time daydreaming about as a child.

The not-question brings her sharply back into the room, however. And she looks at him narrowly - as though that might tell her everything, with no words needing to be said - before taking a bigger, deeper swig of whiskey. This time she does cough, meaning it's a moment before she's able to give him any kind of verbal response.]

Fuck. That shit is definitely strong. But yeeeaaaah, go on then. Let's have it. On a scale of one to totally boned, how bad was what you saw?

[cryptsleeper]

You only did it once. Second time, you'll be limping for a few days.

[His smile is casual and as light hearted as can be after a friendly threat. Easy, unlike the time Gideon's having with her current drink. With that though, Alucard sobers himself.

It won't be the worst discussion they've had. Not by a mile.]

I'll assume that you and Harrow getting into a fight is normal enough. Being dragged into some bone church for a trial or tribunal though would be out of the ordinary though, yes?

[The questions are soft enough so that no one can overhear, trying to be direct about what he saw without adding too many over the top details. There's no politeness to be had with this kind of thing, but he wants to try to allow for any grace that can be found.]

[frontlinetitties]

[The chill threat behind his smile only draws a shitty grin out of her, but she says nothing more on the subject. Consider her duly warned.

As for what he says-- she nods, slowly. She and Harrow had fought tooth and nail their whole lives. And as for the rest...she feels an odd rush of feelings as she considers that wretched day in hindsight. What had been the worst day of her life to date had blown out into...what? More shitty stuff, sure. But even considering how things had ended in Canaan House, she knows right down to the bones of herself that she'd go through it all again in a heartbeat, if she had to.]

Not a trial. An announcement.

[She says, at length. Still trying to disentangle her own feelings.]

And yeah, you're right. I'd avoided stepping foot in that shitty place ever since I was small and it became desperately apparent that I'd never be a nun, or an obedient servant of the Tomb. That was the day my last escape attempt ended up totally fucked because the Emperor Undying - of all people! - sent Harrow a letter. The shuttle I'd organised to get me the hell off that rock and take me to the Cohort got requisitioned by Harrow's real Cavalier, and with him gone...it didn't happen that same day, but that was the start of it all. How I got strong-armed into becoming Cavalier Primary of the Ninth House. It stung like a motherfucker at the time, having Ortus bugger off with my getaway vehicle.

[Which is a significant understatement. It had, at least temporarily, crushed her.]

But it turned out to be my ticket off world, and I have no regrets about that.

[cryptsleeper]

Could've fooled me. Not your best look either.

[Alucard does not doubt that the joke will fall flat, because what Gideon describes sounds like an actual nightmare to him. Not just the lengths that she went to get out of the House (and now, having caught a glimpse of the place, he gets it even more), but by how close she missed the chance to escape.

Sure, it all worked out in the end for a time (and guess who really hates the whole set up of that system! It's Al!) but it doesn't change the dhampir's dislike for anything related to Gideon's homeworld that isn't Gideon.]

As relieved as I am that it worked out, I can't imagine what it was like at the time. And may I say: your tombmates need to learn a little restraint in the decorative arts.

[frontlinetitties]

What?? Are you telling me the beaten all to shit by skeletons and a shitty old Marshal who hates my guts look isn't hot as all hell? And I thought I'd nailed it.

[She's trying, but there's definitely signs of strain around the edges of her glib words. The broken ribs she'd sustained hadn't mattered much, nor the tooth that had been shoved back in again (and subsequently hurt like a motherfucker) by an indifferently talented bone adept. Getting literally dragged into the inner sanctum of Drearburh had sucked all to hell, but it's the other thing that hurt the most. Just as he suspects, getting so close to freedom only to have it snatched away at the eleventh hour had thrown her into the darkest mental space she'd ever encountered.]

You're right though. It fucking sucked. Worst day of my life, and trust me, there were a lot of very shitty days. But hey! I'm not there now, and I'm never going back. Not if I can help it.

[She takes a more tentative sip of her drink, then tilts him a thin smile.]

Not even to tell them they gotta mix up the decor a little. Like, I know they'd be scandalised to hear it, but there's such a thing as too many bones, you know?

[cryptsleeper]

All I am saying is that you've had much better. As have I, for that matter.

[Actually, has he? Alucard's not sure, he just sort of wears things and lets the rest fall where it may.

But they're still talking, and Alucard's trying to be careful to not brush against anything too roughly. Gideon's been respectful of all his delicate things. The very least he can do is return the favor.]

I'd pop in, give them a few new blueprints, and then disappear forever.

[This seems like the ideal way to pivot away from the worst of it, if Gideon is inclined.] There are more tasteful, artful ways to achieve similar effects. I could sign your name as a final farewell, if you'd like.

[frontlinetitties]

[Gideon snorts a laugh, takes his offering and runs with it. It's enough reminiscing over her shitty past for one day, and the part she fears spilling the most - those figures shrouded in rusty black lace, their bodies stiff and strange - has been nicely glossed over. This acts as a sharp reminder though that the desert is the safest place to be right now. That she can't risk spilling any secrets that are not her own.

For now they're here though, and at least if she's had to share anything, it has been shared with a friend.]

I dunno. I mean, it's a tempting offer and all, but I kinda feel like the blueprints would just be wasted on that place. Better if we could just blow it up from orbit.

[She says it, even as she knows it isn't something she would ever do, even if it was within her power. She's glad to see the back of it...but it's in her, a part of her now, branded down into her bones. Besides. It'd make Harrow boohoo for hours if she blew up her beloved mausoleum with it's chilly weirdo at the centre of it all.]

Anyway. It's behind us, right? All that stuff. We've got this place instead.

[cryptsleeper]

I suppose you're right. And it isn't like I've had the best of luck with giving people a chance to do better.

[It is the first time Alucard's managed to joke about any part of that sequence of events, and once the words leave his mouth, he looks surprised at himself. His eyes go from Gideon to the glass, and you know what? He's going to blame the alcohol here. And only the alcohol.

He leans back, holding his glass in front.]

That's a fine a toast as any that I've heard.

[And a finer way to gently step away from this all together, if either of them want. There's a quiet acknowledgement that this could have been way worse. and eventually it will be. For now though, for now this is not great but survivable.]

[frontlinetitties]

[There's the quick hike of one eyebrow toward her hairline when he cracks a joke about that, although her face is quiet clearly devoid of judgement. Instead there's a smile playing around the corners of her lips, because it's a good thing, right? If he's reached this stage. If he's beginning to view it with something slightly more detached than out-and-out horror and self-hate. Progress!!]

Cheers to that.

[She announces, lifts her glass aloft in a brief toast before taking another, slower sip. The nausea lingers at the edges of herself, and there's still the unspoken threat of more to come if they both remain in this place for too long...but for now she pushes that thought aside. She can afford to spend an evening drinking with a friend, before the desert swallows her up for a while.]