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

[carmesi]

Old enough to not need his dad.

[she teases, but fully sympathizes. she doesn't know what it's like to be twenty with living parents, and how she would have reacted in her own life at that age under those circumstances. and her boys? well.]

My boys were ten when I saw them last. [said with a bit of a sigh, a shake of her head.] I think parents will always worry regardless of the age, right?

[wanda pulls her shawl closer, the path they take diverging away from the main area of the settlement.]

I can't imagine them being twenty and me allowing them entirely free reins.

[wickedprayers]

Indeed.

[ She teased, but that is exactly the reason he was able to finally let go and be at peace. Kolyat didn't need him anymore, or his intervention. With Shepard's help, he has set him on a better path, and the boy has been thriving.

But hearing her boys are only ten, and that was the last time she saw them — that's entirely different. Thane had left Kolyat when he was still very young, around the same age, and it was a difficult decision that pained him. Being apart from his son was hard. ]

I was never particularly knowledgeable about what being a parent meant, but I can agree...I believe we are predisposed to worry.

[ He wonders if this place is the reason she is separated from her boys, but the way she worded it..."the last time she saw them", might indicate otherwise. Though if she's been here a while then it's not so farfetched. Either way, he doesn't ask. ]

One son is certainly something, two must be...exciting.

[carmesi]

Please, I am hardly an expert.

[in case thane has reason to imagine her judging him for what he did or didn't do, as inferred from the memory that she witnessed. truth be told—she was barely a parent, and yet the sentiment remained with her. she had given birth to them, after all, even if it was inside the hex and propelled by magic; a part of her was with the two of them.

she smiles at his supposition that two sons must be exciting.]

Oh, yes. They have a mind of their own, but when they work together, I know that I cannot win against them.

[she is weak to them, after all. how much she loves them, how much she would drop everything to just hear them go on about their silly stories and arguments. she wonders if most of her memories are really just the vivid dreams she has of them, living through scenarios she wishes she could belong in.]

Apparently we can share memories if we touch, but I wouldn't recommend the side effects of it.

[wickedprayers]

[ That makes two of them in the barely a parent department, even if for two completely different reasons. But it's nice to hear someone else talk about their children — it's not a discussion he ever held at length with someone who understood. Especially considering he was never very social before he served aboard the Normandy — and even then he struggled.

As an aside, a stray thought occurring to him on the topic of parenting, he hopes Samara is doing well.]

Ah, the headaches. To be honest, drell memories are...different. We can get lost in them very easily, and relive them as if they were happening to us in the moment. That includes the pain. This whole experience has been more or less normal for me.

Though we don't tend to see the people's memories.

[ Basically, ain't no thang. ]

[carmesi]

[oh, that's interesting. wanda can't particularly imagine how it works for his species—definitely not human—and so she tilts her head, looking back at him with furrowed brows. it almost sounds like he wouldn't mind at all.

alternatively, wanda could just use her magic to implant memories onto him. makes the process easier and less randomized.]

I can't imagine you would be so open to it. Has it not bothered you that others can see your memories, too?

[wickedprayers]

Not particularly. In fact, were this all voluntary, there would be...a beauty to it.

[ A world where you could share a memory on a whim, however small or intimate, with friends and loved ones. He couldn't say how often he'd partake, if at all, but there is definitely something warming about the thought. ]

Besides, when I relive a memory I tend to..."blurt it out", as the humans would say. I don't talk about things I would rather not be "seen", so to speak. I know my son sometimes worries about recalling something inappropriate. He's young.

[ There was that time Thane spontaneously recalled a very intimate moment when talking to his Commander...if that didn't embarrass him nothing will. ]

[carmesi]

[this is a lot of new information for wanda; definitely their species process things differently, and she hasn't really been able to experience the world the way a drell does. she does, however, chuckle at the mention of his son having trouble with this.]

I can imagine it would be any teen's nightmare.

[they're walking down a path that leads away from the settlement, just about, and closer towards farmlands. wanda stops just a bit on the way—a statue of an old god sits nearby, and she turns to him.

she offers him her hand.]

Shall we try?

[wickedprayers]

[ Thane won't say his son has recalled something embarrassing in front of people before...but he has definitely recalled something embarrassing in front of people before. At least once, when they went on vacation to Earth.

When they stop Thane passes a glance at the statue, giving it a respectful acknowledgment before he turns to Wanda. He hadn't really gotten the chance to test out how this works...if they could think hard enough about something and have that be the projection. All he knows is that the memories thus far have seemed significant. Wanda's children are obviously significant, so maybe...

Ah...first... ]

I would be happy to. However, our contact should be brief. Drell and humans...well, prolonged skin contact may give you a...rash.

[ This might be the first time where he sounds...at least mildly embarrassed, funnily enough. ]

I normally wear a type of glove that gives my hand flexibility while also minimizing contact should it happen, but...

[ He lifts both his hands to demonstrate, uncovered. These clothes definitely take some getting used to. ]

[carmesi]

A glove?

[well, this certainly gives her pause—considering what he means by... a rash. she had never stopped to consider that perhaps those of a different species altogether may show different constraints and limitations as far as contact goes.

it definitely makes thane feel some kind of way—embarrassed?—considering the way he relays the information.]

Is this generally a problem?

[fastidious, an annoyance, a reason to keep from others?]

[wickedprayers]

Not...it doesn't come up often, no. I tend to keep to myself enough that I hardly ever had to worry about it.

[ If he so happened to have too much prolonged contact with one of his targets then it didn't really matter. They would not be alive long enough to suffer the effects. Besides, he dressed appropriately for his work. ]

Even drell can suffer prolonged effects from our own toxins. That's why we can't wear environmental suits for long periods of time. And why I wear gloves that only cover parts of my hands.

[ Now he's just rambling. Sort of. His version of rambling. Forgive him, he never had to have this conversation before. ]

[carmesi]

[wanda tilts her head as the explanations continues. this feels improvised, in a way showcasing that perhaps thane has never really needed to explain this with his own words. her shoulders relax, looking him over for a moment, keeping her silence.

gears turning in her head.]

Can I?

[is what she asks easily enough, bringing a hand up between them to hold one of his.]

[wickedprayers]

[ Thane is very, very, grateful that Wanda breezes right through...whatever that was. While Thane has spent a very long time being the opposite of social he usually did well enough. But this was uncharted territory for him, and his training didn't quite prepare him for this conversation.

He glances down at her offered hand. He hadn't even given much detail aside from "my skin is poisonous" and she was still willing to take the risk. That's...intriguing. ]

If you are sure.

[ And with that, he reaches for her hand. ]

[carmesi]

[right before their hands join, wanda's scarlet magic starts to cover her hand and, slowly reaches for thane's own. he will not feel a thing from it, as she does not intend to use it to hurt him otherwise. in fact, all he will feel is the tightness of a glove that fits his hand just right.

only then, when the layer of fabric is wrapped around him, does her magic stop and wanda gently takes his hand in hers.]

It isn't much, but perhaps I can help you with your gloves situation.

[she cheated a little, taking from bits and pieces of his memory with her telepathy to draw upon what the gloves would look like. generally, it seems that physical contact allows them to experience memories, but—right now?—it looks like they're merely just holding hands.

wanda scrunches her nose, smiles a bit, and shrugs her shoulders, taking her hand back.]

Looks like it isn't as immediate as we thought. [she motions at his other hand] Would you like a matching glove?

[wickedprayers]

[ He hadn't been expecting to see magic, but it almost looks like the flare of his biotics only a brilliant red as opposed to blue. The tightness around his hand takes him by surprise, but no more than when he sees the glove form around it.

It doesn't occur to him straight away that they are now holding hands as he's still transfixed on what she just did, two sets of lids blinking curiously as he stares down at their hands. Their little memory experiment may not have worked, but this was certainly just as interesting. Perhaps whatever force controls this phenomenon prefers to take people by surprise.

More likely, it's a random occurrence. ]

That is quite extraordinary, Wanda.

[ When she releases his hand he turns it around, inspecting the form fitting glove. Literally made to fit his hand. ]

Ah, that would...I would appreciate that very much.

[carmesi]

[there is something about the way he talks that is surprisingly gentle, and his reaction kept to something more restrained, somehow humbling. unused to such words from a stranger who has witnessed her magic for the first time, wanda finds no words to offer in return—only a smile, and reaching for his other hand. the same process unfolds, of magic from her hands creating the glove of his own: another perfect fit.]

Solvunn— [hm,] Abraxas in general is a little behind on the technological department. [she steps back, bringing her hands back onto crossed arms.] I can turn objects into different objects, if you ever find yourself needing something that you cannot find here.

[wickedprayers]

[ Much like with the first glove, he watches the second one form in admiration of her unique skill. ]

I noticed. It takes getting used to, but there is something humbling about living such a life. [ He's sure Shepard and Garrus are unlikely to be in agreement right now, though. ] That being said I appreciate the offer very much. You have been too kind, and I am very grateful.

[carmesi]

[wanda scrunches her nose lightly at that. being too kind? thane is definitely making it seem like she's gone out of her way to do something for him; this is simple, this is easy—hardly breaking a sweat here.]

We Summoned tend to stick together, whether you are about that or not. Besides, I know what it's like—to be different.

[which almost feels like she's preaching? considering that she's not as different, outwardly, as he is. she grins lightly at him.]

Let me show you to the tavern.