EVENT #10: AFFLICTION - IC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #10 - Affliction

go to the OOC event info & plotting post

---

With tensions heavy across Abraxas and all the destruction that's happened, it's no surprise that the dark shadows which sweep over the land go unnoticed...at first.

Winds initially stir in Solvunn, where the influence of the Old Gods remains the strongest. Slowly each Herald infects Thorne and the Free Cities, as well. The Summoned are the first to feel its effects and are the most heavily impacted.

Though no one will realize it until well afterwards, Nocwich remains unaffected. After all, the Summoned don't reside there.

NOTE: This event will deal with themes of death (people and animal) and horror imagery.

Emergence

It begins sometime in mid-October, around the 18th. Not everyone will experience it at the same time. You might even believe you're spared until days afterwards when you're visited by an unusually vivid dream.

The dream starts the same for everyone: you are going somewhere, anywhere, walking to your bedroom or enjoying a stroll on the beach. You might be driving down a familiar neighborhood. Wherever you're headed, you eventually come upon a stone tablet engraved with your Arcana. Laid on the tablet are three objects:

◎ A dead moth trapped inside a wilted rose, symbolizing Koth of Festering Lands
◎ A teacup inside which sits a single nightshade berry, symbolizing Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues
◎ An ornate cracked hand mirror that contains no reflection, symbolizing Sannleikr of Many Faces

Make a choice. Something inside your soul will be drawn towards one of the objects. Maybe you spend hours in the dream deliberating, but sooner or later, you'll pick one of the items up. The moment you do, the other objects vanish and the chosen Herald appears before you. Where one might expect a god to seek subservience, the strange figure instead extends a friendly hand towards you - as though it's greeting you as an equal.

Whispered around you, you hear its name. Then it fades and with it the dream. You awaken.

Affliction

You go about your day as usual. That's when you realize something isn't right. Creatures and people around you behave strangely. You begin to sense that you are the cause.

Depending on your chosen Herald, you'll experience at least one of its afflictions. The effects might start small, then grow. They might rush you all at once. You can't shake what haunts you, though you can try. Spells, potions, and willpower can help keep the afflictions at bay but you won't ever be completely free.

As the afflictions seep into your mind, you start to find shadows of it following you: a dead moth here, a nightshade bloom there, a cracked mirror elsewhere. You may even wonder if it's following you in the first place. What if instead, you are the one leaving these signs behind?

Corruption

The first time you inflict your ability on someone else, you don't mean to. It might be a stranger, some unsuspecting soul, or it might be another Summoned. Regardless, the afflictions that ail you seem to spread through you into another. Someone falls down as if in the throes of an invisible death or secrets spill. You brush by someone and they're suddenly upset and confused.

The more this happens, intentionally or not, the better you feel. You may grow full of life and energy, gain a renewed strength of heart, or radiate a charm that turns heads and garners compliments. The afflictions haunting you could even start to fade or completely vanish. And if you use your newfound power deliberately? You'll feel better even faster for longer. Of course, these boons are temporary, lasting at most an hour or so. When the feeling wanes, you might miss having it.

You are not possessed. You can't control this power that spreads through you, but how you respond or behave is up to you. You could be attracted to the allure of power, enjoy the boons you are granted, or realize you can gain relief from your afflictions if you choose a victim. Not everyone will fall headfirst into the pull. Some are not easily swayed by power, some struggle to overcome their dark impulses, and others would rather endure their suffering than inflict it on someone else. But others still might succumb to temptation and turn on those around them with purpose: once, twice, multiple times. The choice you make is yours alone.

Blight

With the call of the Herald at your fingertips, the world around you twists. No one knows whether this stems from you and your newly imbued afflictions, or if the Heralds are exerting power on their own. It's for sure easier to think of what occurs as the influence of something monstrous beyond your control. No matter the cause, the earth is changed all the same.

Omens

The omens arrive shortly after the initial Summoned receive their dreams, but they don't come to every faction at once. SOLVUNN is first, being home to the Old Gods' shrines, before THORNE and the FREE CITIES follow only days afterwards. Depending on where you are, the omens will affect things a bit differently.

Solvunn

In Solvunn, the ground stirs. A desiccated hand breaks through the grass, a cloven hoof. Human or animal, they crawl forth, animated against their will. Some might attack, but most do not. At the same time, crops around the settlements begin to fail. Some chickens lay rotten eggs while cows produce spoiled milk. Any livestock that perishes overnight will surface in the mornings with empty eye sockets - pecked out by crows or gnawed on by rats. From a distance, the ocean can be seen bubbling as leviathans beneath thrash.

Worth noting is that many of the dead are concentrated around the shrines, especially the ones deep in the woods. They're too decayed to recognize, and some might not even move from the site, as though they are waiting for the earth to take them again...or as though they once chose to give up their life at this very spot.

Summoned can assist by helping to cast spells or place warding charms around shrines, farms, and gardens to protect crops and livestock. As a commune, the Solvunnites will share their resources as much as possible and would appreciate those who might lend a hand bringing supplies, herbs, and offerings to neighbors who are lacking. The Summoned can also brew a common herbal remedy to aid any animals who have fallen ill or to help purify the well water.

Free Cities

In Libertas, the dead buried under the rubble dig themselves out. More crawl forth from graves in Cadens' cemeteries. Beasts and bandits slain in the desert wilds rise, hungry or searching for the ones who killed them. At the same time, dead fish wash up onto the shores of Aquila while birds fall dead from their perch, dropping like flies from an unknown illness. Vultures and other scavengers begin to prey upon the eyes of the dead, leaving behind hollowed-out corpses.

Worth noting is that in the Badlands, a few very old and skeletal corpses rise with a metal plate or two screwed onto their bones, which are also oddly elongated. Only one or two make their way near the city. The army is quick to dispose of them before many can notice. They will not disclose any information about this and will claim these are just monsters like anything else.

Summoned can assist by going on patrol with the soldiers to put down any risen dead. Merchant caravans are also hiring escorts for their journeys. Additionally, they can help look through any received supplies and packages to make sure the food isn't rotting or worse, use a special dissolving compound to purify the waters, and donate staple food items to refugees and the less fortunate who can't afford the rising prices.

Thorne

In Thorne, the dead emerge only from the outskirts of the castle city. Thanks to information from one of their Summoned and their recent monitoring of the Singularity, Thorne was able to act swiftly and was able to ward any royal or otherwise significant burial sites. Graves and tombs of less importance, though, will not be protected in the same way. There are fewer encounters with eyeless corpses, though some animals might appear outside the castle in such a state. Normally extravagant dishes from the Castle's kitchens use simpler ingredients as they struggle to ration their food stores.

Worth noting is that a few unexpected corpses make their way up from deep under the castle in places beyond the dungeons. These are twisted and mangled, missing limbs, heads, fingers. The castle guards are quick to dispose of them before they get too far into the rest of the castle, but one or two may be spotted.

Summoned can assist by contributing to the wards around Castle Thorne and the city, using spells to put down the dead without mangling the corpse, and taking inventory of food stores. Further, in Nott the situation is more dire for anyone who is traveling there to continue assisting with repairs following the attack. Nott will welcome help with any problems caused by the omens. It'll be clear the kingdom has neglected the city somewhat. Thorne will claim the Castle takes priority, of course, due to King and Queen residing there along with the entire royal court.

Apprehensions

Across the factions, locals are beginning to catch on that something isn't right with you, the Summoned. No one will say it outright, but there's an air of caution and wariness around you where you go. Merchants might be quick to hand you your wares so you'll leave or locals give you a bit of space when they walk by. Chatty innkeepers are more reluctant to hold lengthy conversations.

Much of the time, it may not be conscious. The natives might simply sense something off that instinctually makes them want to put some distance between them and you. The only exception? If you've chosen Sannleikr of Many Faces, you'll continue to exude your charm towards people you encounter. At least for as long as you continue to inflict that ability you've been gifted.

Displacement

Everyone responds differently while in the Horizon. You might exert better willpower over your afflictions or you might feel its effects more strongly. It all depends on the individual and their mindset. Regardless, the Heralds are only one part of the equation. There's a much bigger disturbance going on.

It could happen as soon as you enter or it might be as you're stepping over the threshold into another's domain. Whatever the case, you are suddenly not where you're supposed to be. Instead, you're in one of two places depending: transported into a domain you never meant to go into or in a foreign setting altogether.

Visitation

Whether you're the one transported or someone teleports unexpectedly into your space, the Horizon becomes unpredictable for the next little while. Rooms normally locked to strangers, areas you yourself may not even realize exists - you and your fellow Summoned continue to pop in and out despite your intentions.

The effect isn't painful, just disorienting, like missing a step you didn't see or stumbling through a door into a too-bright room. The person whose domain you've inadvertently visited might sense an unwanted presence, whether they're inside the Horizon or not, or they may be completely oblivious. This will depend on the strength of their connection to the Singularity and the Horizon.

Not to worry. You won't be trapped or anything in these cases...unless the domain you land in happens to seal from the inside. You might stumble on secrets you weren't meant to find, though, locked away in someone else's mind.

Ensnared

The less fortunate will be pulled into a space that they've never encountered before. The bizarreness of it resembles the glitchy visions that flashed through a few months ago, but rather than an image flickering by, you are now inside the space itself.

Trapped between minutes to hours, you can't use the Horizon's creation magic as normal. Attempts will falter or go sideways: trying to fly out might cause you to tumble, tools and objects are broken or not quite right, wounds don't vanish or heal completely, etc. More significantly, you can't seem to send or receive messages through your connection. Anything that manages to come through will be garbled and distorted. It's as though the place you are in is just out of the reach of your control.

Luckily, you may not be alone. Someone else may have gotten lost alongside you. They might already be there when you stumble through or they might arrive after you do. They might even fade out sooner than you, unintentionally leaving you behind.

Eventually, you'll be released back into the Horizon proper, spat out in a random place in the Horizon. While you're stuck, though, you can try to survive, explore, sit and wait it out, or make friends with your fellow trapped partner. Each area has its challenges and quirks that you'll need to deal with.

Scenes to Explore

JUSTICE ◎
FULL IMAGE

High in the clouds, these snowy peaks are as cold as they look. Giant marble hands reach out, though their sheer scale means you might not recognize them as hands from up close. You can scale the mountain, but if you try to go down, the hands will flip the mountain, which sends you tumbling to the top again.

It's up to you whether you can be injured when you fall. Maybe the snow will feel like marshmallows, or you'll break a bone on the jagged rocks. No two experiences are the same. If you have a partner, they could end up faring better than you despite being in the same place.

Conjure some warm clothes or a log cabin even if you wish - they might not manifest perfectly, but it'll be better than nothing. At least the view's fairly nice...while the sun is up. A blizzard will come through by nightfall. With it arrives a strange hovering light that entices you or your friend to follow it into the frozen darkness. What draws you out depends on you. It could be a familiar voice, an image, or a simple compulsion. If you're lucky, the person with you is unaffected and can try to stop you. Or maybe you're the one desperately chasing after the other person?

---

THE CHARIOT ◎
FULL IMAGE

From a distance, it's hard to tell if they're shipping containers or houses stacked atop each other. A gooey mess covers the ground below. Oddly, the smell isn't as unpleasant as the goo looks. It smells like bubblegum or cotton candy, artificial and sweet. When you first fall in, you might land inside one of the homes, on top of the stacked structure, or the ground. You can try to reach anyone else who's there with you, but be careful: the ooze is spreading. Climb if you must or move from room to room. If you don't keep moving, you risk getting sucked into its sticky mass.

Each block of a home is different. Some are furnished, whereas others are empty or filled with strange knickknacks. Some might even have subconscious creations spawned by you. Keep ahead of the gloopy substance, and you'll be fine, probably. Or you can try to fight it back or block its path by sealing yourself in a room or otherwise, which can slow it down significantly. Mostly, you'll have to hope you fade out before the pink mass completely consumes the landscape.

---

THE WORLD ◎
FULL IMAGE

The hazy neon glow obscures a nothingness that seems to extend forever. In the middle of the wet ground are several stacked television sets with wires plugged into nothing. Inexplicably, there's also a cat. At first, it appears perfectly normal, but keen observers will notice that its behavior is on a loop where it will walk a certain path, pause at specific intervals to lick its paws, and meow at set points. It does not acknowledge any of its intruders. You can break its loop by picking it up, at which point it'll go limp as a ragdoll. As soon as you set it down, it'll resume its actions as before.

While you can see the same images as someone else on the screens, it's also possible you'll each see something different despite being in the room together. What you see is up to you. It could be an old fuzzy movie, home videos of your childhood, trivia questions you have to answer correctly, or even a memory or vision you wouldn't want to share. Words or faces taunting you could appear between staticky flickers, or maybe your very thoughts are projected onto the screens for anyone with you to read.

Break the televisions if you want, but given a few short minutes, they'll reform between one blink and the next. Looks like you'll have to keep watching until you're released.

---

THE FOOL ◎
FULL IMAGE

Sprawling and massive, you're unlikely to recognize at first that you're trapped in a labyrinth. Stone walls rise around you, and your surroundings are pitchblack. Manifest a torch or a flashlight if you can, though these will be prone to going out at inopportune times. Escaping over the walls will only send you into another section in the maze.

As you navigate the twisting corridors, you'll encounter any variety of trials and troubles: gaps in the ground, spiked traps, haunting whispers, monsters, decaying corpses. Some of these might've formed from your mind, others might've spawned from anyone else who's trapped with you.

If you aren't alone, do your best to locate your fellow Summoned. Voices do carry and echo over the walls, and there could be landmarks that help you find each other. Finding the exit, however, is another matter. Walk and climb all you want. A way out is impossible until the Horizon chooses to set you free.

Players can pick any scenario that interests them from the four choices above. Unlike the visions from before, characters can accidentally be trapped in as many of the scenes as you want, as many times as you want. Another option is that they can stay trapped in only one scene while a variety of characters fade in and out to join them, or some combination of the two. Choose what works best for your plans.

Each scene will once again carry an associated Arcana etched somewhere inside it, which can change from person to person or instance to instance. It might be on a wall, a table, or on the ground. Characters with a stronger connection to the Horizon are likely to be trapped for longer but the extent of this is your choice and it won't ever exceed a few hours. It's also your choice whether the afflictions continue to haunt them or not. If you want characters to deal with both problems while stuck together, you're welcome to!

Generally speaking, there are no restrictions other than that they won't be able to communicate with anyone outside the area, they can't escape it until the Horizon chooses to release them, and their creation magic will go wrong just enough that it'll make things tricky.

Comments

[tobeclosetohim]

"Yeah, I think not yet."

That was definitely a recipe for getting more viscera, blot cots, body parts, and god knows what, as it came spraying out of the zombie bodies, in her hair, on her clothes, and in her mouth when she wasn't paying attention. Things she didn't actually give two fucks about and would be right back out into after the slightest pause. A tiny break. A tiny bit of sleep, food, a once over on their places.

"Everything still ship-shape and untouched down here?"

It's weary, regimental, and under it, without the sound of it in her voice, hopeful. It's been a minor miracle that anything is, especially with how bad the Roadhouse is acting up (and everything that happened the first time she tried to come into the Horizon at the beginning of all this).

[wiedzminka]

[ There is a flicker of confusion in her eyes again. Behind him, dead bats start dropping like dry leaves from the ceiling, littering the floor, the steps beyond, the smell of decay sickly-sweet and cloying. She chokes despite herself, gasps when the distraction costs her the precision needed to dodge out of the way mid-lunge. His shoulder knocks into her sternum, hard enough to shove her against the wall and knock the air from her.

That's when Ciri screams.

One bony, skeletal hand slams her wrist into the wall, far off to the side to incapacitate her weapon. Her scream reverberates through the whole house. Cracks appear in the ceiling.

It isn't real. This isn't real. A nightmare. Another one of that nightmare's tricks.

The warped visions that have been plaguing her since the dead began to rise have only been in the corner of her eye before. Dead animals, insects, mold on food that's gone when she blinks, flies that buzz in her ears and aren't there.

It's never been something that could attack her before.

(Why does the voice make her feel so strange?)

Ciri screams again. This time, Sephiroth will feel it, a disorienting, perhaps even painful sound that burrows in his brain and rings in his ears. ]

[funbreaker]

[ At this point, Thancred has almost accepted that he isn't going to see the light of day again. It feels like he's been trapped in the Horizon for a full day by now, with no sign of being released. While he knows that it will have to let him go eventually, and that time itself could be warped here, it's all grown rather tired by now.

He's already made it up to the top of one of the shorter structures to escape the pink sludge for the moment, but it seems to be rising at an almost impossible rate. He can't be certain that it won't eventually reach high enough to get to where he is, and that means moving toward the tower that reminds him a bit too much of Eulmore in its shape.

Of course, that means he'll need to wade through the sludge to get there, and there's a chance it will simply consume him. Does he need to let that happen to get out of here? Does he want to risk that?

It's as he's considering all this that he hears a sudden splat from behind him. He turns to see Himeka on her backside in some of the ooze below. Eyes wide, he runs to the edge of the roof and extends his hand down toward her. ]

Himeka! Here!

B

[tobeclosetohim]

Fuck, no. This again???

[ Jo had been lying down and focused very hard on The Bunker more than the Bar. It was their one safe place, still untouched by the mayhem and mishaps of the Horizon. This was a slight reprieve, given how badly the rest of their domain had committed to the cause of chaos. But this. Is. Not. The. Bunker. This is a forest; and it doesn't even have the decency to be the forest behind the bar. The one they tell people not to go into, even when the Horizon is being good.

This whole place looks and feels off. There's something wrong with the light barely coming down through the trees; something wrong with the leeched-out color of the trees, maybe even their permanence; something wrong with the air that seems not as clear as it should be. She looks in several directions before spotting something that looks like the shape of a structure in shadow in the distance and sets off that way. ]

[thedevilwhorose]

"It just is!"

Sorry, did she expect an eloquent, mature response? Wrong archangel.

He feels his breath knocked out of him as the feline slams on top of him, all hissing angry and scampering to get back to its own feet.

Lucifer sees himself scratch through fur and flesh, glowing blood on his hand, before teeth clamp around his neck, and he goes limp, grace not even a flare through him because what else is left of him these days--

He shakes himself out of it and rolls out from under the cat, bumps into a sofa, and clambers to his feet.

"You know what, I can actually think how this is your fault," he says, tired of the deathloop rattling through his brain. But he doesn't tell her, instead reaching out to catch the lashing tail of the Gealaci Kucing and trying to push a smiting energy through it, but he can't pin it further down.

Dammit.

"Temporary truce?!" he loudly suggests.

true it could be worse

[funbreaker]

[ Thancred nods, acknowledging that Sylvain has his name right. Their conversation had been fairly short-lived, an introduction and speculation about the potential outbreak of war. If only they'd known then how soon that would all play out.

He recalls making a comment to Sylvain about how they might run into each other in the Horizon at some point, but he certainly didn't expect it to be like this.

At the question, he immediately shakes his head. ] Gods no. Why would anyone make a place so grim? [ He's well aware that the Horizon generally has a few snowy mountains hanging about, but that doesn't mean he understands why anyone would choose to decorate that way. ] This is only a theory, but it seems that the Horizon is bringing us to places that belong to no one. Or... to the Singularity, perhaps. I've not experienced aught like it before today.

[ He pulls his makeshift garment tighter around him. Those winds are cutting. ]

[sorser]

[You know, he doesn’t even expect an apology at this point. Which is fine, because what is there to apologize for, when this place has already been so disorienting he can’t tell up from down? Like her, he’s tried flying out of this place with little to no avail, only to end up face-first on the ground each time an attempt was made. And the final attempt? Ended with a Scarlet Witch pressing her joints into his back.]

Too long.

[—he says, vaguely disgruntled as a familiar red light ensconces them both, lending some light to the area. There still isn’t much to see as he lifts himself up, dragged up slightly to his knees by his cloak.]

Flying makes everything a little… topsy-turvy. Guessing you learned that the hard way, too.

[Stephen sighs and makes a gesture with both hands, casting a quick spell that summons a small, twisting mandala that floats just above his palm. It casts a bright, amber glow, as well.]

Closed; Istredd

[thedevilwhorose]

It's hours into the night, creeping closer to the morning. Lucifer can't sleep, and his roommate isn't in. That's not unusual in the slightest; Istredd's either working or asleep in a library. He checks Istredd's domain, anyway.

That's... that's short-lived.

Istredd I stopped by your domain and it's vibrating.

He doesn't get a response, which likely means Istredd is asleep. Lucifer sighs and drags himself out of bed. The mirrors and any other reflective surfaces have long since been broken by him. Like it helps. Like Lucifer still can't see fragments of his true form, warped and twisted in the cracks.

For the record, I didn't do it.

It's a follow-up, just in case. Missing strange sparkle text because you're distracted the first time is easy, but missing it a second time, well... Come on, man.

Pay attention.

He wanders about the library, hands shoved in pants' pockets, finally asking one of the late-night staff if they've seen the mage. The stout woman nods and passes instructions along and Lucifer trails a hand over her shoulder as he passes and feels a brush of power leave him and the reward it grants in return. Maybe now he can sleep, ignoring the shuttered way she looks after he leaves her.

"Istredd," he calls out. Definitely asleep, head on folded arms and stacks of books around him like a mini fortress. "Istredd. Hey, this might be important." He frowns and steps closer, about to reach out to shake him and then just barely stopping.

He retraces his steps to find the woman, his arms tightly folded against his chest. "Sorry, can you help me with my friend?" She beams at him, grateful to see him in her presence again. But when she shakes him for Lucifer, Istredd still doesn't wake.

"He's alive, I know that much," she says.

"Okay. Can you help me move him?"

She stares at Istredd like she's never before seen the man in her life. "He's a little..." she trails off. Tall. Lucifer gets it, but he can't--he can't risk doing to Istredd what he purposefully did to the aid.

With pulling in another worker for assistance, the two wobble Istredd back to their room and unceremoniously drops him to the bed. He ignores the retreating conversation. It isn't a good one, confused and stunted. Lucifer should have tapped the other worker.

Istredd hasn't shown signs of stirring.

"On a scale of one to ten," he mutters aloud, staring down at the body, his arms still wound up tight, "how bad would asking your ex for help be. At this hour."

He doesn't know that whatever has entrenched Istredd is close to wearing away.

[familysucks]

From where Michael is sitting, Lucifer is poking and prodding at his domain to see how far he can go before he'll snap. If he wanted to paint himself in an altruistic light, he'd say every minute he keeps Lucifer occupied here is time he's sparing someone less equipped from dealing with his brother's antics. The truth is that he's never wanted to fight Lucifer any more than Lucifer has wanted to fight him, and the last week has not let him forget that he watched his brother die by his hand.

It'd be a waste of effort, anyway. There is little they can do to hurt one another within the Horizon, beyond trading harsh words. Michael knows a choice few that would be guaranteed to ruin his brother's mood.

The last thing Lucifer says has Michael's attention snapping back to him. It's too absurd to be a lie. Lucifer is better at it than that, he knows how to make his words at least believable. Still, Michael dislikes the notion enough to deny it.

"Dean Winchester does not have wings," he argues.

That smacks of their Father's writing, giving the man a gift he most certainly does not deserve or appreciate. Why the likes of the Winchesters so captivate Castiel and Chuck are a mystery to him. Adam had been the best product of that bloodline by far.

[thedevilwhorose]

"He's excruciatingly bad with them, so I imagine it's a... new augment. 'Gifts' I suppose from the Singularity."

He perches oddly on top of one of the red booths, straddling it. Still playing with the sugar shaker, white occasionally falling free as he does so.

"It's a travesty, Michael." It's probably the most "normal people" conversation they've had since Lucifer stumbled in here. Bonding! Over bad-mouthing a Winchester. "An absolute insult." Annnnnd the reason Lucifer got his ass handed to him.

Closed; Urianger

[thedevilwhorose]

“I guess the real question in all of this,” Lucifer says, the cold winds whipping around them, “is how cold tolerant you are.”

Arguably, Lucifer used to be better with the cold. It was his entire deal. But then he got his grace gutted and he's been a little less than stellar. Being in the Horizon puts him on a more normal level. So... could be worse, all things considered.

Except they've already made it to the bottom of this mountain once and the weird UFO-flying hands flipped it like they were on an hourglass and Lucifer... Lucifer's got nothing.

He's really, really got nothing.

[gynvael]

[ No one's domain is functioning as it should right now, but Julie's bothers him most of all. Perhaps it's because she so rarely (or never, even) struggles to maintain control over it. His being fucked makes sense. It was hardly stable to begin with long before all this shit started.

But he doesn't know what could possibly be happening that's causing such a disturbance in the club. There's a constant wave of fear and concern that threatens to rise; as the hours, days, wear on, it becomes increasingly difficult to swallow it down. He isn't used to it. Being so quickly overwhelmed by what he's feeling. Lately, it's been near impossible to keep a clear head.

He pushes the mug aside, impatience bleeding through. He isn't here to drink. ]

You thought? [ What the fuck does that mean? He pauses, thinking it over. ] Are you saying she tried to come and never arrived?

[ Then: did she ever enter the Horizon at all? Is she lost in some edge between realms? Is that possible? ]

Horizon - Visitation | let me know if this works!!

[thearchangel]

An automatic door whooshes open in front of her. Leading into a fairly sizeable room. With really... really big guns. There's a quiet beep every so often. The low hum of massive engines and almost inaudible hiss of air through ventilation systems. Nothing in the room is terribly loud, but you couldn't really call it quiet, either.

The room's occupant isn't immediately visible, either. Though, he is audible.

"- absolutely."

A female voice answers, a bit distorted by the communicator: "Creepiest thing we fought?"

"The Thorian. Your turn."

Garrus sounds amused. Teasing. Like this is an old back and forth between himself and the other speaker. And the longer this goes on, the clearer it is that's the case.

"I'm going with the rachni."

"The queen?"

"No, the little ones. They look like spiders and they scuttle right toward you."

His voice is pure amusement. The kind of an older sibling getting the drop on the younger one. "I thought you liked it when things got up close and personal."

"Not when it's spiders."

Their voices fall silent then. And if Nadine steps in a little more, she'll be able to see the turian in question, in a corner, typing away at a console. He hasn't noticed his visitor yet.

[princessvegas]

[ Steven takes the slight in stride, merely returns the mug to behind the bar. He seems to need a moment to reflect on the question, to consider his experience. Julie has never asked how he knows when she's coming, when anyone is coming. She's never asked how he knows names and drink orders. It's possible that he doesn't know himself; he is, after all, tied uniquely to this domain, to her. He didn't exist before she arrived in the Horizon.

After a thoughtful moment's pause, he sets his void straight and nods. ] Yes, I suppose that would explain it. She was coming and then she wasn't. That was, oh... four days ago, I believe? Five?

[ The blob hums and Julie sighs, opening her eyes. The intruder in her head is still there -- most of them have been quick to disappear, only a minute or two, but this one lingers. Grows in intensity, even. It's not the worst feeling one she's experienced since they started. If anything, this one makes her feel less alone.

I'm losing my fuckin' mind again, she thinks, rising from her chair. She walks toward it again, where it hovers over the ground. It drones and the ground shudders under her feet. A new crack splits open a few yards away from where she stops and stares up.

The bubble around the blob shimmers in the unending light. ]

[familysucks]

As odd as it is, Michael supposes that gossiping with Lucifer about their least favourite human is no stranger than finding himself in a backwards, pagan-worshiping farming commune after being all but certain that he'd ceased to exist. Nothing has felt quite right since he was pulled out of that well. This might as well happen.

Since neither of them seems to be leaving, and neither of them seems inclined to fight, Michael slides into the closest chair.

"For once, we don't disagree. Wings don't suit him." Putting aside that he'd adopted Castiel, Dean had rejected everything about the angels: their plans for him, the life after death Heaven offered, and Michael himself. What right did he have to a pair of wings?

"I don't suppose you've been the recipient of the Singularity's beneficence?"

[gynvael]

[ The days line up from when he noticed to the time he's spent searching. He can admit he may have...deliberately tried triggering an entry into those unknown landscapes a few times. A slightly desperate, maybe reckless, gamble to see if he'll possibly stumble across Julie in one of them. He hasn't. He did see enough labyrinths and pink ooze to last a lifetime, though.

So now he's talking to to Steven. A second or two passes. Interrogating Steven is not the same as interrogating a real person. He can't tell how much of Steven's behaviour is part of the corruption, how much is from Julie, how much is from him existing in the same space with his own consciousness. ]

And she's not tried to come again?

[ Could Steven even tell? If she's lost in the Horizon in a place none of them can find, she would still be in the Horizon. Some of this reminds him of the first time they entered. Stuck for weeks. Unaware that anything was outside.

However Steven answers, Geralt seems to decide he's finished with questions for now. Instead, he starts towards the stairs—going to her loft if it will open for him. ]

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie follows, though not without a moment of hesitation. Alucard was friendly with him in Nocwich, but things haven’t exactly been right recently and Eddie’s anxiety has been so non-stop that he’s barely gotten a moment to relax.It doesn’t take long for him to realize that there’s nothing particularly scary here; just a kitchen, and he allows himself to take his anxiety down a few notches. ]

Yeah, uh...I definitely did not expect to be pulled into an all out war when I came here.

[ He seems just as convinced that it’s inevitable. The factions have started attacking one another and each others' means of survival, and that’s not just going to go away. Solvunn has yet to make a move, and he hopes it stays that way, but it's doubtful. ]

Aw, man. Pastoral living. Uh...parts of it kind of suck, if I’m being honest?

[ He laughs, but nothing about his statement is malicious. He continues quickly, trying to clarify: ]

I mean--not to sound ungrateful because I'm totally not. It’s just not really where I saw myself, you know? Where I come from back home, it’s like...ninety percent farms and you spend half your life trying to get away from it.

[ He does wonder what the Free Cities and Thorne are like, but he’s found that he’s actually relatively happy where he is. He wouldn’t choose the pastoral life if he had to do it again, but he’s made friends in Solvunn; people who accepted him openly and quickly and who he would be hate to leave behind. ]

But I like the people. Way more than I liked anyone back home, so it’s kind of worth putting up with the bits I don’t care too much for.

[thedevilwhorose]

"Interesting," he says, clicking his tongue.

He "stops" actively trying to push the door and instead leans his shoulder into it, arms crossed, offering a look very much in a come here often? way.

"So what's in here then?" he asks with a hum. "The World's Worst Choir?" Yes, he's referring to the screaming.

[gynvael]

In a sense, he's aware he's already shown his hand by trying to keep the door shut in the first place. Possibly, if Lucifer had caught him another time, he may have reacted differently. Lucifer, though, is not the first unwanted guest to end up here. Each time it happens, it feels...

Worse.

Geralt knows that without context it is impossible to truly discern what that place even means. He knows that even if the truth were to be known, it shouldn't matter. His past is not hidden. He doesn't speak of it because it isn't a pleasant topic to be had. Not because the details are secret.

But rational thought is a struggle as of late. This piece of himself, it's personal. There's an unshakable sensation of being intruded upon, digging under his skin. It sends a spark of something hot and cold all at once through his blood.

"We can either stand here for days or you can leave. Your choice."

[gynvael]

[ If there's one thing Geralt has learned about the Horizon—at least when it comes to creations formed from his mind—it's that if he cannot will it away, he often can physically destroy it. Or force it back together.

In other words, he's been doing a bit of...trimming. Where the leshy is concerned. Part of him tries not to think about it too hard. Does not seek out the leshy itself, afraid it will not take shape of the monster but of the corrupted mutated face of one of his brothers. Instead, he hacks at the crawling vines, burns away the roots and tendrils with a torch. It isn't a solution, exactly. Hell, he can't even say why he's bothering. Just.

He's fucking tired of his head twisting up his damn place. This is not near the first time it's occurred.

Fortuitously for his guest, it means Geralt hears the lashing vines, the voice, immediately. He moves towards it. The sword, heated red, is probably easier to spot first through the thick snow than the man who wields it. It comes down on the first vine, then the next. They withdraw, falling in chunks against the snow—but the creature is already rearing for another strike.

Geralt grabs the man (elf, he realizes) by the arm. Real monsters can be slain. This one cannot. ] Move.

[thedevilwhorose]

"I've got nothing but time, pal," Lucifer sings, eyes glinting, unblinking. Lucifer was already unconscious once in his room for days following Nocwich. Being hooked up to the Horizon for that long won't raise any red flags--

Eh.

Istredd might raise an alarm.

But, he's certain he could keep at this longer than Geralt could.

"And I have a thing about people and secrets, what can I say."

[thedevilwhorose]

Lucifer groans. Far as he can tell, the Singularity, though powerful, is nothing but a nightmare. Which fine! Great! He can work with that!

Just not against himself.

"'Beneficence.' Right. Nothing but curses." Barely a flicker, but Lucifer's glancing slightly behind him, corner of his eye, a haunted expression on his face before it's gone just as quick, slipped away. For all Lucifer's bravado about their Father, Michael's thought about it all being bluster is correct.

He can't stop expecting another round with his entity, and that isn't even real.

"The only benefit that I've seen granted from it is this place--which again begs the question, Michael," and this time it's spoken unfrenzied, "did you purposely make the Cage and if so, why is it here?"

[gynvael]

Patience-wise, Geralt can sit for weeks if need be. Time-wise, Lucifer is unfortunately correct. He has responsibilities to attend to. One that does not involve staring down an increasing fucking annoyance.

His eyes narrow. "Those who know me are well aware of mine. What about you?"

It's not a real question. If Lucifer's somehow actually been revealing his identity to the Summoned, he'll feed his own horse to a wyvern den.

[gynvael]

[ That is, in fact, completely accurate. He would do nothing except talk to his horse and wander the forests if left to his own devices. But there are always monsters to kill, people to protect, coin to earn. Life propels even the most solitary of them forward.

Point in case. ]

Beheadings? [ That's how vampires die in his world. Or how most creatures die, in fact. When in doubt, remove the head.

As for the cistern: ]

You've been adding improvements.

[thedevilwhorose]

He reaches up to rap his knuckles against the heavy door, like he highly disbelieves Geralt's statement. No burst of magic this time, he notes. But the door isn't locked. Hm. He's going to have to look further into this. Lock and relock their bedroom door, maybe.

"My secrets matter less in this world," Lucifer answers. There are people in Thorne--and Solvunn--that know exactly who and what he is, with varying reactions to the knowledge. Jack's nonchalance and Wanda's acceptance. If Geralt values his horse, he won't make it a real question.

"How about this? I stop prying into your creepy basement if you tell me what you are and why Dean Winchester can stomach your monstrous nature and the screams in said basement?"