EVENT #8: MÆRE - IC POST (FACTION INTERVENTION)

[abraxasmods]

Event #8 - Mære (Intervention)

go to the OOC event info and plotting post or the main IC event post.

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While it is each Summoned who is the focus of their Entity's ire, they are not the only ones who seem aware of its movements. The factions will soon approach each Summoned with an offer: work with them to help contain the threat and aid the suffering of you and your friends.

Please post your top level under your character's faction heading comment. Players are completely free to organize among themselves how they wish to play these threads out. You may make a traditional top level, join or create a free-for-all thread where anyone can tag in at any time, or whatever you like. Just be sure to communicate with everyone you'll be threading with!

For any questions, please ask on our question thread.

THORNE | FREE CITIES | SOLVUNN

Kingdom of Thorne

In CASTLE THORNE, Ambrose's most promising assistant mage Jolene has been having frightful dreams of late. Though she writes it off at first as regular nightmares, when she catches glimpse of a hulking shadow walking in the Castle's halls that looks exactly like one of the horrors she's witnessed, she instantly knows that something else is at play. She immediately meets with Ambrose who opens up one of the castle's most secluded experimentation rooms, located deep underground.

The Summoned of Thorne will be asked by Jolene to assist with an urgent matter that cannot just be left to the Thornean mages. If they agree, they will be led by Jolene and her assistant mages down to the underground corridor. Guards are posted outside of the rooms for security, but the Summoned and the mages will otherwise have free reign over the rooms. Inside they will find an array of tomes, scrolls, elixirs, and alchemy sets. Though not everyone will know how to use these, they will be told that the castle may be under siege from beings unknown and that the Summoned are their only hope in coming up with a new method to expel them from this realm.

Preparation

The Summoned will skim the scrolls and tomes, consult with the assistant mages on the equipment, and use their own inherent abilities through their connection with the Singularity to inscribe and create a new spell to bind and banish the Entities from Abraxas. Some of the tomes may be a codex that requires solving a puzzle to open while there may be boxes locked by enchantments that might contain special items to aid them in their research. For the less magically inclined who wish to help, items such as scrolls, potion ingredients, and notes will also need to be gathered and organized. It will take some time and once they have what they believe is a workable incantation, they will have to test it.

While you're free to have your character succeed or fail at interpreting certain codex or refining certain spells, within reason, if you'd like to have a mod roll for you, leave a comment here with what you're seeking to accomplish and we will determine both your rate of success and any consequences!

Performing the Spell

To begin the spell, all those involved will be led to a final room at the end of the corridor that is laced with silver inscriptions along the doorway, pulsating with ambient magic. A soft whisper from Jolene will grant them access inside. There, a shallow pool of water no more than a foot deep sits in a circle in the center of the room. The Summoned will be instructed to stand in a circle inside the pool and join hands at the edges. The door will close behind them and the experiment will begin.

The mages will rub an elixir on their hands and begin the incantation. At first, the room is still and silent except for the chanting of the spell. Then candles will flicker out and the water beneath their feet will glow, gurgling and bubbling as though boiling - except the temperature remains surprisingly cool. The Entity of each of the gathered Summoned will take shape in the water, towering above the circle in liquid form. Any Summoned with a connection to it may feel dizzy when it manifests as if the image is being pulled directly out of their subconscious. These liquid forms will lash out at everyone in the circle, but as long as they don't break the line of joined hands, it remains contained.

If someone breaks the circle, the water will begin to hiss and freeze, turning icy cold. Quickly rejoin the circle before the water solidifies the Entity into a living icy statue, or risk being consumed with it.

Eventually, the Entity will explode in a burst of water, soaking those in the circle. Then the incantation begins again to bring another Entity forth. Rinse and repeat.

When each Entity is accounted for, the experiment will end. The doors are opened and the Summoned are bid to return to their chambers for some well-deserved rest. But rest will not find them. For the next 3 days, they will feel exhausted and irritable, but unable to sleep.

The Free Cities

In the FREE CITIES, all is not well in the capitol. Aleksander reports seeing the reflections of several strange beings in his lab equipment. After his prized pigeon Nicola let out a terrified squawk, he turned to Cadens leadership to report the incidents. Try as he might to track down its source, all he was able to discern was a vague resonance not unlike that tracked when close to the Singularity which turns attentions immediately towards the Summoned.

Preparation

With Marlo's blessing, Aleksander travels with a group of Summoned volunteers, his own laboratory assistants, and a small brigade of the Cadens Military to escort them all to an outpost in the eastern deserts. Flanked by soldiers, the Summoned will be instructed they are to retrieve crystals located in the mines below the outpost. The soldiers are only there to make sure nothing untoward happens to these outstanding volunteers, of course.

Those who are familiar with the different types of crystals from the science academies will recognize these are not quite the same as those carefully mined and cultivated in Cadens for hefty experiments. Instead, these are duller, and more brittle. Gathering them will take effort, and the mines are slippery and dangerous in some parts. Watch your step or risk the ground crumbling beneath you.

While you're free to have your character succeed or fail at gathering crystals at your discretion, if you'd like to have a mod roll for you for whether they will slip and fall, if any of the crystals will break, or even conflict involving another character, etc., leave a comment here with what you're seeking to accomplish and we will determine both your rate of success and any consequences!

Performing the Experiment

The Summoned will have a moment to rest as their bounty is cleaned and set up in a claustrophobic laboratory room located underground. The rest will be important as Aleksander explains that it is only their energy and connection to the Singularity that can power these crystals. What are they for, exactly? His only response is "you will see soon enough".

They will be provided these special gloves and the Summoned can take turns laying their hands on a large glass structure reinforced with steel that contains these crystals. Even those without a magical inclination will find that their life energy is enough, causing the crystals within the glass to vibrate with their touch. Hours will be spent in this small room and as time passes on, the reflections that Aleksander had glimpsed in his laboratory begin to show themselves inside the crystals. What's more, while Aleksander could not identify what they were, the collected Summoned in the room will recognize them immediately as their own Entities. Their Entities that now, upon seeing their progenitors, will try to break free.

Aleksander nor his assistants can explain how this is possible, but the Summoned will find that channeling their energy through the gloved devices may cause small bursts inside the crystals as if they themselves have some control over that environment. Phantom bindings or hands created inside the crystals will keep the Entities at bay...if they try hard enough. Should anyone falter, the surface of the crystals will begin to crack. These cracks will grow larger and larger, and characters will either need to gather their strength or find aid in those around them before the Entity bursts free altogether. The gloved devices themselves may also prove to be an issue if they break during the process - and may need to be quickly repaired on the spot, however possible.

The effort will be exhausting, but they will be rewarded in the end as the crystals grow heated, splintering the glass container but retaining the Entities within the crystals themselves, trapped inside. Researchers will hurry into the room to make sure everyone is all right and to move the crystals into a more secure container. The Summoned volunteers will be thanked for their efforts and escorted back to Cadens by the soldiers. Aleskander and his assistants stay behind at the outpost to perform further research and appropriately contain the crystals. The Summoned will experience grogginess, headaches, and some weakness in the 3 days that follow.

Solvunn Commune

In the SOLVUNN COMMUNE, those on the Council are considered close to the Gods. When Rowan is given an ominous vision of mysterious beings found nowhere known in Abraxas, it falls to reason that the Gods are bidding those they brought to this world to deal with them. He can be seen early in the morning making his way across the town in the Primary Settlement to speak with Winifred and the Council itself is inaccessible for several hours. Later that day, Rowan emerges once again accompanied by several of the Commune's mages, usually seen leading ceremonies and other religious practices throughout the year.

Preparation

The mages and Rowan will beseech the Summoned of Solvunn, that the time has come for them to perform the acts with which the Gods had brought them hither. With their special connection to the magics of this world, they can help save the Commune and restore natural order to the world by ridding the land of unwelcome phantoms. That the Summoned agree to this is of utmost importance as their devotion and willpower plays a large part in their effectiveness against such threats. The Gods will know their intent, the mages say. And it is the Gods who need their aid.

Those who agree will accompany Rowan and the mages out of the Primary Settlement into the hills around Solvunn into a small wooded area. There, they will come upon an old unsettling ritual site. Before they have time to question the statues, they will be told to seek out specific herbs and plants in the surrounding brush as well as any animal bones they can find. The woods this far out are a little more dangerous. Watch out for some smaller but still dangerous beasts, and be careful of hornets nests and mildly toxic blooms that lurk among the herbs you are meant to gather.

While you're free to have your character disturb hornets or take a tumble at your discretion, if you'd like to have a mod roll for you for whether they will accidentally brush against flowers that leave behind a rash, upset the wildlife, or so forth, leave a comment here with what you're seeking to accomplish and we will determine both your rate of success and any consequences!

Performing the Ritual

Once they have returned to the ritual site, they will be instructed to weave together baskets with their fellow Summoned by intertwining the bones and plants, after the bones have been carved and blessed by the mages. As they work, the mages will close off the area in a line of salt and painted runes. The hour grows dark and the statues themselves begin to take on the appearances of the Entities, raising an alarm among Summoned and mages alike. They bid the Summon to complete the baskets as quickly as possible. Once they are completed, the mages will take the herbs and mix them with curious liquids inside the bowls, magically watertight no matter how well they were woven. The mages then bid the Summoned to repeat a stated prayer of protection to the Gods and drink concoction, which will imbue them with the ability to face the phantoms of their own realm.

Each Summoned will take a drink and find that the statues before them seem to move. The mages hand the Summoned chalk and ask them to write the name of their adversaries on their stone flesh so that the Gods can identify them and send them away. One by one, each possessed statue must be identified and marked as the mages chant, and one by one, they seem to turn to ash. The possessed statues do not wait idly to be caught, some will fight back and need to be tricked or captured so they can be marked. Yet in the end, all will be gone by sunrise.

Those who fail to drink the liquid adequately will find their limbs growing stiff and faltering, as if they, too, are beginning to form into a statue...and that their Entity occupying a statue grows more limber in return, like it means to exchange places. Consuming more of the liquid will cure the afflicted Summoned of these ails.

In the morning the statues that were once possessed have returned to their normal state, but they have moved across the site and are caked in ash. The Summoned will find that they are starving and that their hunger will not abate. The mages will supply them with potions to help deal with the hunger and Rowan will offer cheeses and milk from his farm, though the Summoned will remain ravenous for a 3 days after the ritual.

Comments

[ordinar]

Oh, is he grateful that Rhy at least politely pretends that his response passed muster. In the shadow of this casual exchange lingers a quiet ache of guilt — even though it was over between them, even though he might not ever see Simon again at all — but the salve for that surely lies somewhere at the bottom of this glass.

As Rhy tops him off again, replenishing the inch or so he'd already drained, Wilhelm worries he might be burning through it too fast. But then...Rhy is drinking straight from the bottle, so he's probably doing all right.

"I hope so. I can't keep doing this. Not this," he clarifies, tapping the page he's only begun to study. "But, you know...the nightmares."

[aquaveiled]

[ Himeka nods in agreement. The thought had crossed her mind as well, that they did seem to immediately know how to deal with it. Although... ]

I trust the mages, though I do have to wonder how much they are hoping that we may have part of the answer, you know?

[ Probably not something to instill much confidence into a newer Summoned, but Himeka has always preferred honesty. (Especially to a new member of Team Redhead.) ]

They believe gods sent us or have blessed us somehow. So by that line we would have to hold the answer to their problems, right?

[ She pauses then, placing the plants she has freshly cut into her apron. As for the other rituals... ]

It's mostly been a variety of chanting, uses of charms, runes, and like...burning of things and herbs? I figure that's what this is going to be, though I do wonder what it is out here that makes this place necessary for it.

[aquaveiled]

[ It's better with company, isn't it? And despite all the snarky remarks they can trade, she's come to trust Nero quite a bit. He's a gruff sort of person but with an incredibly warm heart, the kind of person who just wants to do good and help people out. (And look cool doing it, though the latter is still up for debate.)

To his question, she frowns--mostly because she's trying to tell if she does feel any different. ]

Um...not really...

[ That is--until the statue behind Nero is definitely wiggling a bit.

Hm... ]

...

[ Himeka points behind him. ]

But that one is saying "hello".

[ Or maybe "run"? ]

[hextechhead]

Jayce smiles weakly, knowing that's something of an inside joke with them, about how likely he is to thank Viktor for things. His attention moves to the glass and with a groan Jayce pushes himself back to his feet. He wavers a little, but he is going to be sore no matter what he does. He knows demanding the glove back won't be a good idea until Viktor offers it or allows it, and instead he looks at the fake Viktor on the other side.

He puts a hand reassuring on his partner's back, a silent gesture meant to comfort. He knows how shaky he gets every time he sees that child looking at him. It has led to a lot of agony lately. Whatever they're both haunted by, it is nothing they can't handle together. If he was holding the glove, it would be the child looking at them now.

"It's going to be trapped within this, that much is obvious. But are they going to destroy it, or keep it?" That is said a little more quietly, for Viktor's ears alone. Still trying to distract him, in a different way.

[a_better_man]

"I hope so, too."

And maybe he will, with Mat removed from that world. No-one else could let him out. But none of that is anything Wilhelm needs be burdened with.

"I guess you're right. I think some things...they can't be destroyed, so sealing them up and locking them away is the next best thing. But whatever we end up doing, I damn well hope it works."

One thing has been made abundantly clear, however. He is not prepared to live in this world. While his own has similar magic, his village had been so far removed from it all. Channeling was just something he heard stories about. And the magic here....

"And I can tell you this, I'm going to start taking my magic education a lot more seriously from here. Feels shitty to not understand what's happening or how to help or anything."

[nadine_he_loves]

"And America is just part of one continent. There's other countries on the same continent, but only one of them is around as big as America."

Or, was. Nadine isn't sure how it works, now that hardly anyone is left.

"I wasn't going back anyway, it's not like I had any family I was leaving behind. But yeah, it was a long long way. Without even a horse and carriage to make it a little easier. I...don't want to do that again."

At least they'd been able to use magic to get from Thorne to here. And the initial trek to Nott had only taken a week, with horses. A whole lot easier, even if it hadn't been any fun.

[lightkeeping]

You trust the mages?

[True, that doesn't make Aloy feel any better. Maybe it's a product of having been here so long--in absence of overtly suspicious behavior from the mages (which she still finds to be an uncomfortable term), perhaps it becomes logical to trust them. She hasn't been won over yet, still angry about her apparent kidnapping to be particularly cooperative.]

People believe a lot of things. [They look to imagined deities and cosmic forces for their answers. She's been in situations before, where she's been revered. Had superstitions imposed on her. She can't say she likes this any more.] It doesn't mean any of it is real.

[techmaturgy]

They're still dancing around the real issue here, which is not necessarily the fact that Jayce is concerned Viktor can't handle the physical strain of the experiment. No, the elephant in the room is their respective entities. Viktor hasn't seen his clearly, yet, though he had some suspicions. Now, all of it is made real as he stares down himself--or some version of himself, with molten yellow eyes and the glowing purple metal of the Hexcore slashing across his body. His limbs. Runes, carved into the parts of him that are still human.

"It's not me, Jayce, I would never--" Except that's not true, because he almost did. If his experiment was successful, where would he have deemed it sufficient? The leg would have been a test run--then his ailing lungs--but why stop there? Viktor had been on the verge of a breakthrough. He would have chased it to its logical endpoint. A new kind of existence for himself. "It isn't real."

Jayce will understand, is what he told himself. But would he understand this? Viktor, transcending his own humanity at the cost of...what? He doesn't even know. Perhaps that's what scares him the most.

"They need to destroy it. I can't have this--what if it breaches containment?"

[blackeyedprince]

That would be one of those.

[Kell intercepts the book before Stephen has time to reach for it. It takes one look for him to recognize the half of the symbol. Why only a half? He blinks when it dawns on him. Of course! That would actually make sense.]

There should be a second one like that somewhere here.

[The bottle gets only a raised eyebrow but Kell is grateful for distraction. They've been trying to make sense of it a bit too hard. Maybe Rhy is right and all they need is a break.

A break, and a fresh pair of eyes with a different perspective. So his offended tone is not even partially serious.]

Who's boring? Don't you see we're the life of the party?

[hextechhead]

It is true that the image of Viktor on the other side is deeply unsettling. It's difficult to see the person he loves look so inhuman, but the discomfort comes more from the reasons why than the actual image. If this is what Viktor ends up having to do to save his life, will he go too far from who he is now? This is their nightmare though, something they are afraid of. Not what they actually are. Jayce knows he would support anything to keep Viktor alive.

He sees that it is upsetting Viktor though so he runs his hand up and down Viktor's back soothingly. "Hey, it's okay." Jayce does understand, disturbing though it may be. Hasn't he taken himself down a horrible road himself? At least for Viktor it is to save his own life, he doesn't have an innocent's blood on his hands, not like Jayce. "I would love you purple limbed and covered in runes too." That he is sure of.

"I don't know if they will, we have to be prepared for that." Meaning, they may keep whatever this thing is, and there is nothing the rest of them can do about it. For now. Jayce is focused on getting rid of it first, but the reality they could be putting this monster into their hands is legitimate.

[londonbound]

Rhy's gaze softens, sympathetic. He nods.

"Everyone is doing their best. We'll help where we can. It'll be good to keep your mind busy, when you can."

He leans forward slightly, meeting Wilhelm's eyes.

"Did one of the dreams hurt you?"

[techmaturgy]

"That's not--"

It isn't what he's concerned about. Jayce has been nothing but steadfast, and extremely clear about not only his feelings, but his intentions. The real fear is how Viktor himself might change, as a result of all this. If there's a version of him that has achieved progress and saved his own life at the cost of what makes him the person Jayce loves. How many parts of the self can one replace before they're something entirely different?

He reminds himself that none of this is real, or has come true (yet). The real risk, now, is what the government plans to do with these entities, now that it has them. Viktor's brow furrows. His gloved hand against the glass wavers slightly, even as Jayce supports him.

"If they're taking them to the Academy we should at least investigate. Don't you think?"

[aquaveiled]

[ She nods again, though she does feel like she should add a caveat despite her initial statement, since hearing repeated back to her suddenly makes it so so final-- ]

Yes, though...I should say I trust that they are true to their beliefs. They haven't had me do anything I disagreed with yet.

[ Aloy's suspicions are more than valid. Himeka offers a sheepish shrug.

It's what Aloy says next that really gets to her--in a good way. She stands up and scoots closer so that she can keep her voice low, inclining her head towards the other woman. ]

Do you...have you heard of "Primals"?

[ordinar]

Sealing them up and locking them away. It's a little bit like repressing bad memories or feelings you don't want to feel anymore. And that's sort of what that nightmarish shadowy entity is to Wilhelm: an outgrowth of those crushing feelings.

"That's admirable of you," he says without a trace of sarcasm. He feels a share of that guilt, for not being able to help more. But he's not sure if he feels the same drive to improve. The thought of dedicating himself to too much of anything is a little overwhelming.

"Hey, if that book is making you go cross-eyed," he says, fishing a scrap of paper out of his pocket and waving it a bit to draw Mat's attention, "you could help me find all these weird ingredients. They're for...something to do with the spell."

That's as detailed of an explanation as he's equipped to provide. Somebody had scribbled down the list of spell components and passed it to him, and that was all. It's not in his job description to understand what's happening.

[ordinar]

Reluctance marks his expression and body language. Regardless of the circumstances, there's a sort of shame inherent to injuries. Injuries are weakness, vulnerability. But then Wilhelm nods and, pulling at the collar of his shirt, tilts his head away from Rhy to showcase the stretch of his neck. There, his skin is bruised in the shape of hands.

"I woke up with this the other day. That's how the dream ends every time," he explains, trying to cram as much matter-of-factness into his voice as he can, to leave as little room as possible for his actual feelings about it. But the shadowed marks speak for themselves.

[ofthesword]

Well. At least instant projectile vomiting isn't a worry.

[Not that he thinks he'd get sick -- him and illness aren't really a thing -- but. Look, it's gross. But he's gotta do it. Apparently. Whatever gets rid of --

He sighs, brings the bottle up to his lips, and swallows heavily. Once, twice.

Sour is right. Like vinegar.]

Huh?

[He turns around. Squints. The potion sloshes in his stomach, coats the inside of his mouth. Ugh.

The statue's mouth moves.]

Whoa. [He squints back at it, standing up. His knees crack. He's pretty sure his knees have never cracked in his life.] Can you even feel any magic in this? Or are they just drugging us for kicks?

[hextechhead]

Jayce isn't just talking about physical differences; he doesn't believe that Viktor as a person would change so drastically as to become someone new. There are a lot of things he would sacrifice to save Viktor's life. He knows Viktor told him to let him die rather than follow whatever path the Hexcore was bringing him down, so he has faith they would figure out a way around it here too. Either way, he doesn't want him to ever be afraid of losing him.

He will not take the glove from him yet although he wants to, because he can sense Viktor wants to prove to both of them that he can handle this longer than Jayce thinks. But his hand moves from Viktor's back to wrap around his middle, ready to be a sturdy weight if Viktor needs to lean at any point.

"Yes, I do, but it may not be easy. This is going to be top secret." He is talking quietly; the guards are watching the general situation, not anyone separately, but he is aware all the same. "Let's see if we can get closer to the situation, memorize the scientists coming in and out here. But we can't risk our allyships either."

While Jayce wants to find a way to juggle both, he can't risk them not getting to the academy, not getting to create the Hexcore for Viktor. They can't alienate the academy.

[londonbound]

Rhy's brows furrow, concern and sympathy turning down the corners of his lips.

"I'm sorry. That sounds awful."

Setting down the bottle completely now, Rhy raises a hand -- slowly, giving Wilhelm a chance to pull away if he doesn't want to be touched -- and brushes two fingertips very gently across one side of the bruise.

"I can help, if you'll let me. With the injury. Not the dream, I'm afraid."

[lightkeeping]

[Aloy doesn't seem convinced. "Beliefs" could mean many things, and just because they haven't asked anyone to cross a line yet doesn't mean they won't. Clearly the Summoned are here for a reason, and it's not just to be revered. Whatever their greater purpose is, however, Aloy hasn't managed to determine yet.

So she'll continue regarding all of this with suspicion, especially because the religious zealots she's familiar with spent a lot of time, you know, doing human sacrifices.]

No. [Maybe she can make a few guesses, but it's probably better to let Himeka explain.] A tribe?

[techmaturgy]

"Obviously it's going to be top secret."

Viktor snaps it a little, less at Jayce and more about the situation in general, and the increasing fatigue he feels as he fights both against the force of the experiment and his own discomfort with the situation. He'll let Jayce do the surreptitious looking around, instead gritting his teeth and focusing all his attention on the crystal in front of him. The entity inside mirrors his motions, stares him down.

"You're right, of course. We have to get through this, first. Then we can worry about the rest."

[itookashot]

"I mean, I don't know all the places in my world, there could be big continents on the other side, but from what I know, that's gigantic."

He wonders, actually, and it's funny because Jesper has never been an explorer. He loves Ketterdam, he's never seen a reason to leave. Inej is sailing around their area, but that's to hunt for slavers, not to see the world. He wonders what he would find if he did what Nadine did, just walk the country. Right then, walking anywhere sounds too tiring for him. He's not sure how he's going to walk out of here/i>.

"I would say it's unlikely, but who knows what will happen here. Maybe we will have to end up walking across the Free Cities." Into Solvunn? Into another location? Who knows. Jesper isn't closing doors if and when it comes to potential escape routes. "I don't know how to ride a horse, I should learn. You never know when a quick getaway is helpful."

[hextechhead]

Jayce knows it's not aimed at him and he's long learned when not to take his snapping personally. Despite often feeling like it is personal. He doesn't like the way the other Viktor is staring him down. There is something so menacing and malicious about this creature haunting them all. Jayce really is unnerved by it. It's bad enough it turned their Horizon disturbing enough he avoided going there.

"I have a feeling none of us are going to forget this any time soon."

The two of them absolutely will not, this hit their buttons way too hard, but he can see everyone around them being very focused. And the exhaustion that's been on the fact of every Summoned he saw. Jayce is grateful that they're together at least. They figured out their drama before this hit. He gets to wake up with Viktor in his arms. It helps.

"Let's trade again." He puts out his hand.

[ordinar]

He allows Rhy's touch, finding a measure of comfort in the gentle brush of warmth against his bruised skin. Though he hardly knows Rhy, he's lonely enough — and freaked out enough by circumstances that day by day swell to become more suffocating — to latch onto any sign of friendliness.

"You can?" Despite living in a castle crammed with mages and people with all kinds of power at their fingertips, Wilhelm still manages to be somewhat surprised by the offer. He nods slowly, sucking his lips in. "Sure. That would be...I'd appreciate it."

[techmaturgy]

Viktor doesn't reply, though his knit eyebrows and downturned mouth likely say more than his words could. He wants this thing gone--though of course there's going to be a price to pay, regardless. It doesn't surprise him that Jayce asks to take over, given his reaction to the thing inside the glass.

He wants to argue--wants to tell him that he can certainly take more of this, but maybe Jayce is right. After a moment, he relents.

"Only if you agree to switch back when you get tired again." He won't be arguing this point. "We can take turns."

Can wrap on yours!

[hextechhead]

Jayce is relieved to take it back, even if that means they'll have to be staring at a child instead, not something he likes to deal with. But it will protect Viktor for a little longer. Still, he knows it's important for him to feel equal in this, so Jayce kisses the top of his head.

"I promise. We take turns." Jayce leans his head in and playfully murmurs, "baby" at him. To continue to make them both try and find some humor in the midst of all this pain. He takes the glove and slips it on, focusing back on the glass again. Steeling himself to deal with the face of his worst choice. Oh, and also, to be sucked of his energy right away.

"Stay close?" He asks, reaching out with his free hand for Viktor's.