EVENT #10: AFFLICTION - IC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #10 - Affliction

go to the OOC event info & plotting post

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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

[shadowthief]

She stays sat where she is, watching as he reaches for the gloves. It is just them, but... "You don't hav-" she isn't blind to the fact that it's a show of making the effort with her, as promised, but... something warms inside of her at the idea that he'd do it now. But he shouldn't have to, not when his traumas are literally walking the streets of their new home-city. She rests her chin on top of her knees. "It's okay, if you can't." She would not be so cruel as to hold that against him, all things considered.

"That keeps happening," she admits with a slight nod. "Something is messed up with our connections to the Horizon, I think. Maybe because of- everything." Whatever was truly causing the undesirable things happening back in the real world.

She still hasn't been able to shake the strange dream she'd had before it all started. She knows enough about this world to know it probably means more than it seems to on the surface. "Did you have a dream... before it all started?"

"I've been praying to Sankt Demyan," she says in way of answer to his question. Okay is relative. She's unharmed, thus far, but... how far could that carry her when peace has been so thoroughly shattered as it has recently? "Are you?" Knowing the things he's admitted to her now, she can't imagine any answer to that question that isn't just a vehement, visceral, 'no'.

[itookashot]

Jesper is not afraid of heights so he's not worried as he leans out of the window precariously. It's the 'keep talking' that he recognizes the voice and immediately starts panicking. It's one thing for him to be stuck in a weird situation, but in true Jesper form, he gets intense about protecting the people he loves.

"Mat! Stay where you are!"

He frantically looks for footholds, not trusting the stairs or ways up through the weird building itself. It's very strangely put together, houses on top of each other, and that means getting up is going to be strange but probably easy when he finds the best path.

"I'm coming, love, just wait for me."

Mat can't come down it is too dangerous. For him, not for Jesper, he is as reckless as always. He leaps out of his place to grip a wall nearby, pulling himself up. If Mat looks to the other side of the edge, he might be able to see him, judging distances from things.

[philancer]

[ Shit. This is worst than he feared. He's really wishing he knew of one of those spa places here in Cadens now.

But he keeps his focus fixed on Jesper's face, keeping himself between the man and the source of the itch under his skin. The insatiable craving he can practically see in Jesper's expression. His grip on the man's arms tightens slightly when he feels that shiver, hears another burst of music and laughter behind them. He's got to get Jesper out of here. ]

You don't need it. You've just forgotten that. I've seen you walk past this place before, you can do it again. We're leaving, Jesper. Staying here is not what you need right now.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd has learned a lot of magic in his long life, he's a master at it, but he rarely has had to really deal with magic being done at him or on him. They trained and sparred as youths, to be prepared for trouble, but never with serious intent. Eventually the other mages did have to fight in the war, but not him. Lost to his books instead. He knows something is hanging over him but it's difficult to see through it, even for him.

When he bumps into the woman, at first he doesn't feel the effects, he is confused and apologetic. But Istredd meets her eyes and finally, he recognizes someone. Someone is clear to him. Stregobor's everywhere and all these strangers, and he feels that same sense of relief. In a world of no logic now, this makes sense.

"It's not just you. I think something is wrong, maybe illusion magic?" His head hurts, looking at them for too long is confusing. Illusion magic can do that, it can make your eyes see anything. He blinks and rubs at blue eyes, trying to clear them. "Are you okay?" At least she looks safe.

[carmesi]

[—it is, though, similar to wundagore mountain, but it is not like it either. the grounds are not cursed, otherwise she would feel it—the connection with her magic, the way repulsive energy crawls from her feet to her head.

regardless, the point stands that this is not a place either of them have been in before. not this particular mountain, anyway. in any case, it is easy to tell that all that is happening to them right now has to do with the singularity having one of its usual fluctuations, but to trap them here, in the horizon? now that she's truly trying to remove herself from it, she finds that the inhospitable wants them to stay.

her hands reach for the fireplace, letting her palms warm in the glow of the fire.]

Illusions can be as harmful as reality.

[she would know, as she's been responsible for wiring the fears of strong men to use against them, fueling their anxieties to break them from the inside out. wanda casts her glance away from her companion.]

Between this and disease spreading in Solvunn...

[frowning, wanda draws her hands back, crosses her arms and brings them flush to herself.]

You said you were trying to leave? Were you hurt?

[the biting cold is different. it feels too real. are injuries, too?]

[catholica]

( in hand to hand fighting, being close to those that you're fighting alongside and against tends to happen. matt's not surprised when he feels the other man growing closer. he trusts that he's trained enough and competent enough to stop them from running into each other or falling against each other.

and matt's right, he just barely brushes against matt but it's enough. everything seems to go black and then red.

he sees himself, on his knees, begging someone to take pity, to have mercy, to give him the death he deserves. it's what he wants, isn't it? and when it happens, the pain is unreal. his entire body sings with it and he knows that this death isn't going to be fast.

his hands drop as he fights, the ghouls managing to overtake him because he can't see what's in front of him, not right now. )

[magicalarchaeologist]

"No, it's not," he admits. Istredd does see that as concern and he appreciates it, and he ends up giving it right back when Lucifer says he should go with him. Istredd frowns and runs a hand along his bearded chin thoughtfully. Risking just himself, he is never concerned about that really, but Lucifer could get swept up in whatever is going on with him.

But everyone makes their choices. He looks up at his friend (yep, friend) and grimly nods. "I'm sorry, but I do have to. If my domain is going wrong, I have to see it."

Lucifer said that it was only happening there, but maybe he can soothe it. Something going wrong is strange enough. "You don't have to come with me, you might end up stuck somewhere too."

[catholica]

Do I look worried?

( matt doesn't laugh but, after he dispatches one of the ghouls, he points a hand at his face and gestures to it. get a load of that blank expression, steve.

he laughs a bit and then ducks when he feels someone getting closer. the ghoul takes a swing and growls as it stumbles forward. matt drives the point of his elbow against the thing's back and knocks it down so he can use the heel of his boot to knock it out. )

omens

[techmaturgy]

Viktor doesn't attend the same academy as Nadine--he's been at the Grand Academy for a few months now, but academia is such that they cross paths every so often. It helps that Jayce still takes physiology classes, so she's in their orbit, tangentially, and many of the academy students intermingle on various campuses anyway.

Being here at all feels like a waste of time--an attempt to pretend things are fine when they very clearly aren't--but work doesn't stop just because the Singularity is acting up again.

(It stops because Nadine is here telling him about zombies, or something).

"Sorry, what?" He doesn't really have time for this, but she seems to find it worth sharing. "Are you in danger?"

solvunn

[lightkeeping]

This is not the first time Aloy has simply wishes for machines to fight, instead of whatever's going on here. The risen dead is out of her wheelhouse, and as someone who generally eschews superstition and attempts to find a real-world explanation for everything, she's come up empty here. Fitting the Singularity and its power into her worldview has been a challenge, to say the least.

The good (??) news is that she still knows how to fight, no matter what's on the receiving end of her bow and arrow. Securing the commune is familiar, and the routine of a patrol helps take her mind off what feels like the world coming to pieces around them, slowly but surely.

Billy has more than proven himself on their supply run, so when she passes through her route and finds him at one of the shrines, she offers him a nod.

"Anything I can help you with?"

[gynvael]

[ Julie's room is the one place he almost never enters without her present in the club somewhere. In part, it's because when he comes looking for her she tends to know, shows up to greet him. The other side of it is that as a deeply private man, there are certain things he considers off-limits unless told otherwise. Personal rooms are one such thing. Especially those constructed out of one's thoughts and memories.

But all that is irrelevant in the face of her disappearance. He walks up the stairs, listening for movement, anything. The door opens under a light push. Her little creatures are there, alive but with a listless sort of aura. Like they either understand she is absent or her absence is dulling their usual vibrancy.

He peers into doors, closets, dressers. Wondering what kind of trail he'll find in a space that isn't in the real world. This is nothing like tracking out there. Everything inside the Horizon is mutable, ungrounded. He searches, anyway, even knowing he will find nothing. It's frustration and dread rolled into one when he slams one of her drawers shut, hard enough to tip a glass over. Fuck.

He crouches down to pick up the shards. The gold dragon peers around a chair leg. Geralt holds out a hand, letting it crawl into his palm. The infinite wisdom of Villentretenmerth, hm? Not as chatty as the actual dragon himself.

He sighs at it. (A stubborn part of him that refuses to acknowledge she may be gone. She isn't. It'd feel different if she were. He knows she's here somewhere.) ] Are you going to tell me where the fuck she went?

[gynvael]

Mm. [ Geralt doesn't appear surprised he's been recognized. Most do. Sylvain might also recognize his horse as the same one in the stables in the Horizon: a large black mare that he may or may not have been overheard conversing with often.

He tilts his head, intrigued for several reasons: Claude's name, the word conscripted, neighbouring kingdoms. ]

Geralt. I know him. [ They've spoken. He's still not quite certain what to make of Claude. On the surface, though, they're on amicable enough terms. ] Is that what you are? Conscripted?

[ Of those in Cadens, he's only aware of Sephiroth who enlisted. He's learned to trust Sephiroth to a degree, in part through Ciri, but he remains wary of anyone who aligns themselves too closely, too easily, with the Cadens army. ]

[carmesi]

[he clasps at her arms and wanda pulls back a bit, looking up at him and meeting his eyes as he guides her away—almost urgently, almost like trying to keep her from a fear that is his own so she may not experience it, too.

except—she's seen it, the pieces of memories and emotion slowly rearranging themselves into a clear storyline, even if context is missing. her fingers wring together, the feeling he has seeping under her skin as his hands remain on her arms. sylvain doesn't know this about her, does he? what she can do, how she can take in what a person things and feels, even without the effort to do so.

he speaks, and a hand raises itself to press against the side of his face, gentle.

no, it's not exactly safe, but—]

You survived it. It can't hurt you again — it can't hurt me.

[because sylvain exudes dread, looks so out of his depth, like he's scrambling to put the pieces back together.]

[carmesi]

[when michael speaks, it reminds wanda that she's not stuck in this moment of her body seeming to succumb weakly to whatever this is. he is here with her, and the cobwebs that form on her physical form are more likely from an illusion than anything else.

if anything, she is a witch well-versed in illusion. her hands glow in scarlet, her eyes turning red for a moment, as she phases out the momentary illusion—makes it flush out of her system.

her hands return to normal, and her panic is gone as she comes to understand that it wasn't real. wanda holds onto her hands, looks up at michael. he looks—fine.]

I— [what did she see? her life force escaping her?] I thought I felt like my life was been taken away from me.

[carmesi]

[his question about whether it ever belonged to someone may be answered by the pictures and portraits that adorn the shelves, but they are all unfamiliar faces, some frames too covered in dust to get a proper look at the faces.

it is best not to linger, though, even if wanda does stop to stare for a while, letting her fingertips brush a clean line over the surface.

when steve goes past her, she follows, walking with him through the front door and into the hall. she peers around the same as he does, but force of habit has her walking a few steps behind him.

a stairwell, then.]

How long have you been here?

[wanda presses her hand lightly against the doors, chasing after the feeling of something akin to stairwells and not the enclosed space of a home. the hallway is cluttered with items, the paint on the walls cracked, the floor covered with a rug in places, hardwood flooring on the other.]

—this reminds me of apartments in Sokovia. [somewhat claustrophobic, somewhat cramped.] Except for that pink thing.

[glancing over her shoulder, she pauses for a moment, and then continues.]

This isn't either of our Horizons.

[carmesi]

[the cycle will continue, she supplies to herself, the same thought that himeka has. wanda wonders what is the source, if there even is any, or if this is something that has to do with the singularity and—thus—another fluctuation they just have to ride out and hope it doesn't destroy too much?

wanda sighs, but not at the proposed offer.]

Yeah. [with a short nod, she picks herself up to stand again.] We could go further upstream to see if there's anything there.

[—but, with the disease plaguing the land, with the dead concentrating along the shrines, she wonders if maybe they should try to cleanse those instead? she offers her hand to help himeka up.]

There's something amiss in the Horizon, too. People are acting odd, and — [she bites down on her lips, drawing a thin line for a silent moment. she remembers the scathing words matt had told her, and she wants to believe badly that it isn't something he meant, but—] Could the Singularity be at fault? Has it ever — poisoned the minds of others, or their words?

[carmesi]

It is an enormous creature, and it is impossible for Wanda to not take note of it. Her domain has been acting strangely as of late, and there is no certainty in the number of things that are not meant to be roaming about, but she knows what is hers and what isn't.

This thing—this energy—this entity—whatever it may be, it consumes from her domain. It strikes against the forest creatures that slumber under Wanda's own magic gone awry, it feeds on the remnants of chaos and the devilish creatures finding refuge in the shadows. No matter in how much disarray her space is, it is her own, and a witch would be foolish to let it continue doing as it wills. This domain which took so much effort, so much growth, to nurture and to let grow with magic both her own and from the Singularity— it is not for another to consume.

She steps forward, like a curtain opening on the backdrop of the monotone-gray world, her garb of reds like a warning—her hand raised and scarlet magic spreading to try and corral the Greywaren. She stops it, lets her consciousness seep into it some, tries to gather understanding.

Approaching it, Wanda does not fear it, though she remains wary of its unpredictable nature should there be any.

"Stop your feeding," because she knows that's what it is doing. Her magic grips it, encapsulates it, stops it from moving. "This isn't yours to have."

[carmesi]

[the glow from his magic allows for better lighting, and she turns away from him to cast her magic's light the opposite way to take better note of their surroundings. there isn't a lot of ground for them to move in, outside this narrow hallway, and perhaps that should be cause for concern.

has she been walking in circles, or have the circles been predetermined paths?

it is as she starts to turn back towards him that something catches her eye on the usually-blank walls. etchings, carvings—]

Stephen.

[calling to his attention, she draws closer to the wall, places a hand over this symbol. it's familiar in a way she can't quite distinguish, like something she's sure she's seen before but can't remember where. but though the specifics may escape her, there's recognition here.]

Doesn't this look like one of the arcanas?

[the lines, the curves, the triangles.]

[carmesi]

[what jo finds is the empty ruin of something that was once, perhaps, habitable, but never here in this horizon. there is a doorway and steps carved in stone, yet it is incomplete—no four walls, hardly a ceiling to call it a building proper.

granted, this place is not supposed to be a refuge for what haunts the forest as of late.

there's a whistle close by—close to her ear, sharp and ringing—but no one there to take ownership for it. it is the ghouls, acting as arbiters of torment, trying to find amidst the darkness and the many obstacles in the forest for something living and breathing, for a beating heart. they whistle again, but their cackles as far off and distant. the world grows darker.

rather, it loses color, more and more, as if signaling that something approaches, something unknown. will she run and hide, or stand and fight? it will make no difference.

the mad laughing draws nearer, the whistling fading in the distance in turn.]

[carmesi]

[it is a darkness that wanda is well and fully familiarized with—the one here one that spells prophetic verses about her, in a language far too ancient for her to notably understand, but one that melds under her influence and her fingers into something with substance and meaning.

from the darkness she steps, emblazoned in the red hues that adorn the shimmers on the obsidian walls.]

Can you read it?

[this man— she knows him. they spent some time alone, enjoying the peace and quiet of sam's horizon many moons ago. his name escapes her, but comes to her with an easy traction of mind reading. castiel.

as she steps closer, the writings and markings on the wall blur out, like water rippling, making it impossible to see with certainty what it all spelled out. like in a dream, where one cannot actually read anything but gibberish. her mind's defense: keeping her from unlocking this forbidden magic once more.

except she doesn't wish for it to be here.]

It was written by a demon long ago.

[carmesi]

[jangled nerves he says, laughing nervously, and wanda acts unaffected by the way his hands shake and the way he nearly dropped the charm. eddie seems a lot more distracted than usual, a tenuous display of fear in his eyes as their gazes meet.

wanda does not take the charm from him, but she cups her hands in his, instead, trying to push towards him some of the confidence and reassurance that she feels despite how uncertain things are.

her hands are warm, either way, her hold gentle but strong. something has been on his mind—or rather, some things: voices. whispers.

when she draws her hands away, she takes the charm with her.]

They won't be a permanent fix, but they will help slow down all this disease. [she doesn't know what else to call it. the hand which holds the charm swells in scarlet as she syphons some of her magic onto it, and then hands it over to eddie again.] —do you know much about runes?

[perhaps, wanda thinks, he could benefit from learning a few runes.]

[carmesi]

[this should make it easier—severing ties that were never meant to last. if he was to act like this, if there was impulsiveness to his words, honesty in them, in wanting there to be honesty in them?

then— then it should be easy.

no satisfaction for matt of the tears he loathes to see (again and again); no satisfaction for matt in telling whether she's peered into his mind; no satisfaction for matt in any other words she'd like to say.

instead, as the world gives, as the darkness the collapses around them gives way to an exit, wanda takes it—leaves in silence. a closed door, a brewing tempest that tumbles through her domain as she locks every point of entrance, the lights turned off. her pain for her and her alone, in the silence of the quiet night in solvunn, wanting no more of this.

monsters don't get to choose forgiveness for themselves. monsters are just that, and any comfort provided is but a selfish dream.]

[carmesi]

[as the dog appears and approaches her, wanda listens to the man's words to provide context to the situation. yes, this one is a creation of his own, in the same way that she creates creatures with her magic—but stronger a bond still, like the phantoms of the children she once lost, to allow herself a moment of reprieve as she visits the graves she tries to keep their memories buried in.

something personal, something individual, owned by the master of the domain.

she sits down on her haunches, then her knees, as the dog sniffs at her. carefully, gently, she smooths a hand over the side of the dog's head, hoping to get her trust.

what an odd creature.]

Have we met before? [wanda looks up at him, hand resting still on the dog's head.] Something about you feels familiar, but I can't quite place— [she pauses] There's something about you.

[something magical, something different.]

[carmesi]

Wilhelm can rest assured that the mist is not something Wanda is consciously controlling, but it probably offers little respite when he is being chased so earnestly by it. It does not bode well to be caught within its asphyxiating contours; not even she can tell what kind of horrors will be lived within it. It is, however, something she is aware is happening as soon as she enters her horizon.

A predator hunting its prey—and she's feeling the surge of emotion from it: the adrenaline, the desperation, the mad dashes to safety that allows for no safe haven. She reaches for it with her mind to pinpoint it in the labyrinthine paths of the forest.

The ground under Wilhelm's feet will give way and have him hurtling downwards into a tunnel, and he lands on soft ground, over a patch of grass and flowers cushioning his fall entirely. Roots and loose rocks decorate the walls of the tunnel.

Shh, comes the hushed command, Wanda's profile in the darkness beside Wilhelm. The red mist passes over the mouth of the tunnel, chasing after the boy that no longer runs to stay away from it, casting them in darkness for a moment. The monochrome-gray pervades, still, even as Wanda turns to worry over him.

Her silence breaks after a moment.

"Are you alright?"

around

[techmaturgy]

By now, it's evident that something is happening, even though he can't exactly determine what. The dreams are easy enough to dismiss until a feeling of dread seems to hang over the streets of Cadens, but of course all Viktor can really do is put his head down and work. Or try to, anyway. Things feel more frustrating than usual, and he's quicker to anger. Even the slightest disturbance outside the open bay door of his workshop has him poking out, ready to unleash on whoever is making it so hard to get anything done.

The only thing that stops him this time is the fact that it's a fellow Summoned and not some local. She probably has business here, and that thought gets him to set aside a kneejerk reaction to being disturbed.

"Oh, Jo." Despite his attempts to greet her civilly, he's clearly giving her a once-over, possibly because she, like him, looks a little jumpy. "I didn't realize you would be in the area--is there something I can help you with?"