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?

---

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.

---

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

[carmesi]

[he says stop, but the voices continue. everything plays on loop for matt as he stands there in front of the television sets, allows himself to take on the punishment from all those who berate him for what he's doing, for what he'll end up doing.

until, record scratch, and instead a jingle starts playing—happy and cheerful, a chant of wandavision! compiled in the happy tune. matt can't see the images, of course, but it's the cartoon sequence that 'opened' the show in black and white, back in the hex.

as if on cue to the starring wanda maximoff, she appears too, walking up to the televisions to stand beside matt. this is unusual, and it's—

it's definitely been far too long since she's thought about this. she's not making it happen, she knows as much. when the jingle ends, the tvs turn to static for a moment.]

What's this?

[philancer]

Huh.

[ And now you've piqued his interest. He turns an intent gaze on Claude, curious, because that was a lot of fancy dancing around an answer he seems hesitant to give. But considering Claude had even let him know there was an evasion there in the first place meant.... he either really wanted Sylvain to ask about it or he really was off his game tonight.

But as his own interest focuses in on whatever Claude was hiding, the other man might find it even harder to keep avoiding it. Not that Sylvain has ever been ever to will people to start spilling there secrets before and isn't attempting to do so now, but that doesn't mean he can't hope for it. And maybe see if he can tempt out a few more hints from him. ]

Well. I don't know if the Singularity did this or it's something else, but shit's certainly weird. What happened a few months back? I'm assuming you mean before Petra and I got here. Did the Singularity cause weird shit then, too? [ And why is this the first time he's hearing about it? ]

[catholica]

( the relief matt feels when the voices of his friends and loved ones are drowned by...a song is immense. he stands there, looking around, left to right and then back again, trying to figure out what this means.

but then the screen says wanda's name and he frowns, finally sensing her presence nearby. )

I don't — I didn't do that. I just ended up here and I don't know why.

[carmesi]

No, I know you didn't.

[this is something beyond what matt can do, and that's not calling him out on his lack of prowess to change things in the horizon. because this is the horizon, because this is the only way she and matt can meet outside of nocwich or any other neutral territory.

as she walks closer to him, wanda wants to take hold of his hand, but ultimately stops when the tv clicks on again.

a news report starts. she freezes, turning her head to the familiar, haunting words, condemning her actions so many years ago.]

What legal authority does an enhanced individual like Wanda Maximoff have to operate in Nigeria—?

[the tv clicks off the same way steve had done so before, but the images continue, of a played out memory, herself, younger, of her time in the avengers compound.]

I think it's... playing out memories.

[she and steve hold a conversation, and then there's — vision.]

Vis, we talked about this.

Yes, but the door—

[wanda uses her magic to shut it down, force it to shut off again. she's not willing, or wanting, to look at memories of vision, not right now. that's opening herself up to pain.]

How long have you been here?

↠ Rhy

[princessvegas]

[ Julie has no idea how long she's been in this place, this alien, barren landscape with the blob in the sky. She doesn't know what it is, only that it keeps humming and shaking the ground. It seems to have some awareness of her -- she has noticed that, when she tries to approach it, it drones so loud and so hard that she falls to the trembling ground. The cavernous cracks in the dirt widen and threaten to swallow her. So she stops trying to get closer, which only serves to further drill in the fact that she is alone.

She hasn't been alone since she stumbled into the Nevada desert and got picked up by Flagg's border patrol. He promised she'd never be alone again.

But here she is.

Having made herself hoarse from screaming -- for help, for answers, out of anger at the Singularity -- she curls herself in chair that this space allowed her to create without issue. Everything else she tried had been defective in some way; ladders were missing rungs, ropes were frayed, even shoes suitable for walking had holes worn through the soles. She's clearly supposed to be right here, in this space only. So it's a small bit of dignity to only be allowed to make a single chair. A small side table. A huge bottle of vodka that she's been drinking directly out of for an undetermined amount of time, as she can't figure out whether she's been here for minutes or years.

She's drunk. She has to be, because she already knows what happens now. As time passes, she'll start seeing flashes of people in the corners of her eyes. Hearing phantom voices call her name from a distance. Going slowly insane. She knows because she's lived this before.

So she's trashed, because she hasn't been granted the ability to make a working gun. Whatever is holding her here does not want to give her the option to leave at all. Not by exiting and not by death.

From her chair, where she is barefoot and folded into a ball, she furiously stares up at the thing through tears, chugging down the last mouthful in the bottle. It hums again, makes her insides rattle like too-heavy bass. She cannot remember the last time she felt this level of hatred, of despair. ]

Fuck you! [ She shrieks it without warning, lurching forward and throwing the empty bottle as hard as she can at the entity. The bottle, of course, gets nowhere near it, just sails in an arc and smashes on the ground. ] Fuck you, you stupid... thing! Fuck you for bringing me here! I didn't do anythin', I didn't ask for any of this. Let me go home!

[ There is a pause and she can't stop herself from weeping. Her voice drops instantly, caught in her throat. ]

Please.

—ENSNARED [ steve rogers ]

[carmesi]

[wanda drops in on a stack of boxes. it cushions her fall as they cave under her weight, but it's enough to keep her upright and sitting up. the apartment she is in: it's small, packed, and looks like it's halfway through the process of being packed. the windows are fogged up, and it feels warm inside, the air somewhat stale, but for a sweet smell, like—

huh. cotton candy.

standing up, she stumbles over more boxes until she reaches the door, heading out into the corridor of more and more closed apartment doors. it reminds her of — well, of her home back in sokovia, but this is definitely different. the place seems empty, but there's something off about the place.

as wanda steps outside into the hallway, her feet on the dusty, old carpet, she keeps a hand against the wall, dragging her fingers over it. she can't — sense anyone else here, not on this floor anyway.]

Hello?

[—she calls out, maybe futilely, as she reaches the end of the hallway, a dead end, and focuses her attention on the window to look outside. except it's ... strangely dark, and pink.]

—ENSNARED [ stephen strange ]

[carmesi]

[it's dark—unbearably so—when she awakens in this place. instinct allows her to create light from the magic that spills from her hands, though it is not enough to illuminate the entirety of her vicinity. as it were, the world around her seems to be a straight line forward and back. wanda follows the path, because what else ought she do?

one straight path turns into a left turn, then a right turn, and then she's caught in an intersections. the path she follows does not widen nor grow narrower, so it gives her pause.

is she making any progress at all?

in the end, wanda decides to push herself off the ground and towards the top, to get an idea of what exactly she is dealing with. unfortunately, that hardly offers any substantial help to her predicament, and instead she finds herself getting turned upside down and crashing, back to the ground, where the world is encroached in darkness, and toppling right on top of—

someone else? wanda pulls herself up to sit—or, rather, gets pushed upright by a... a cloak?

oh.

it's pitch black again, but wanda asks regardless, her hands fumbling on the ground for a moment.]

Stephen?

[satanicpanics]

[ However Geralt managed to approach so quickly and so silently, it scares Eddie half to death. He jumps and utters a panicked “Jesus Christ!”, and nearly loses his footing on the stairs.

Part of him breathes a sigh of relief; no, he doesn’t recommend it either, and he certainly doesn’t believe he could outrun or overpower this man (who frankly may be the coolest looking human being he has ever seen in his life) but it’s hard to ignore when another scream drifts up from below. He glances between Geralt and the bottom of the stairs and back again, weighing his options.

In the end, he opts for a joke. ]

Pretty loud basement you’ve got there, man. You, uh, might wanna check for extraordinarily large vermin or something.

[satanicpanics]

Yeah, sorry about that.

[ It’s good to know it isn’t his fault, at least, though it is concerning that the Horizon is malfunctioning. At least Alucard’s domain doesn’t appear to be particularly dangerous, but that doesn’t mean that the next one won’t be. ]

So, funny story. I’ve got the funds now. But between everything going on? I’m kind of lacking in the time department. But it’s cool. I’ll get it done one way or another.

[ Up until now, his neck of the woods had been spared from attack, but that never stopped him from being anxious before. Solvunn has been holding their collective breath, just waiting for the other shoe to drop—and now it has. ]

Solvunn. And you? Decidedly not Solvunn, right? I mean, there’s probably fifteen summoned total there, I think I’ve seen all of them.

[catholica]

( the report cuts off before it can get too deep into what she's done but matt winces all the same. he takes a slow breath and shakes his head. )

Not long.

( the television doesn't stay off for long, clicking back on to stick's voice. matt straightens and he hears himself as a young man, offering stick that bracelet and then — rejection. it's even harsher this time, the words cutting and sharp, calling him weak, telling him he would never amount to anything.

calling him pointless. matt winces and moves to actually shove his fist through the screen.

stick laughs from another screen behind him. )

[cryptsleeper]

Hardly anything to apologize for. Come in.

[Alucard doesn't really turn to make sure he's being followed. He just moves with confidence, and assumes that'll be the case. Once inside, the door leads right into the kitchen, all wood burning stove and natural stone counter tops, copper cookware on display and a table in the center.

Easy enough to start to fill a kettle with water.]

I believe none of us have time for anything that isn't desperately hoping that war isn't officially declared. [A gloomy statement to be certain, and one that seems convinced of truth. Not a winning combination.]

You'd be correct. I reside in Cadens when I am not here or in the desert. [Still, there can be some curiosity.] Is the pastoral life all it's said to be?

[ushiri]

[ The first time he's released from that nightmare-ish other space, he ends up at the doors to a familiar club.

Less familiar, today.

The quiet is eerie compared to the last time he was here. Instead of a dancefloor of bodies and flashing lights, he's confronted with a group of eerily calm denizens. Their blacked out eyes and the sense of this is wrong should've been enough warning to remove himself from the situation, but what of Julie? Concern has him moving with quick steps and a wariness toward the bar, and the silhouette behind it that he recognizes as the same bartender from last time he dropped off a note from the innkeeper's wife. ]

Hello Steven, is - [ Julie here? would be how that ends, except in the flickering light he finally catches a glimpse of the face, or lack of one... ]

[carmesi]

[the way his memories play out now instead to a familiar voice brings forth images that aren't quite — images. they're traced the way matt sees the world, and for a moment wanda can just stare as the words add to the context of the scene.

stick—not what, but who.

matt breaks the screen with a fist before she can try and stop him, but the taunting doesn't stop.

she reaches for him now, actually, reaching for his hand and pulling it away from inside the tv screen. his knuckles are bruised and bloody from the glass, and this feels like the horizon, but it also doesn't feel like it.]

Don't listen to him.

[catholica]

And who should I listen to, Wanda? Who?

( he snaps the words out, unable to help himself, unable to stop the bloom of rage that seems to take root in his stomach. he shakes his head and then his hand, staring at the screens while they play static.

it's almost like he's waiting for them to start again. )

Come on, come on!

[godshattering]

[ It takes an embarrassing amount of time for Claude to remember that instead of continuing a dedicated internal monologue to how terrible this weather is, he could do something about it. So, with Faerghus in mind, his outfit now resembles something... vaguely Faerghan, like the Horizon decided to play a practical joke on him by pulling elements of all of the Blue Lions' outfits somehow, but at least now he has a cloak with a hood, gloves, and better boots that look far more like greaves. Better than freezing, and being less cold means some of those aches from the fall aren't nearly as strong.

The other bonus to the greaves is they make stomping through the snow that much easier now that it's considerably deeper, which means he also gets to where a familiar figure is waiting. Before he can say something, they turn, he recognizes it's Wanda, and her hand is up in a way which seems rather ominous and he stops right where he is. ]

Wanda? [ The wind helpfully picks up then and sprays what feels like ice pellets now into his face which Claude wipes away with a grimace. ] Gods, I hate snow.

[ Wait. Further complaining's not important right now because Wanda looks - he stops to squint through the snow and takes a half-step, then thinks better of it - terrified. He knows what that means. ]

Does it help if I tell you that despite whatever you're seeing, [ because he is thinking now of what he's seen in recent memory, and knows this is rationally not a comfort at all but it seems worth a shot regardless, ] I still look as devastatingly handsome in reality as you remember?

[assembles]

[ After this experience, Steve feels pretty justified in his decision to not spend much time in the Horizon.

He'd decided to enter primarily to see if it would provide a means of getting away from whatever is happening to him. He knows he's not the only Summoned affected, not by a long shot, but he's already unintentionally put people around him into a state of distress. Maybe it won't happen in the Horizon, he'd figured.

But now he's in some strange domain (who does this place even belong to?), having to outrun a bunch of sweet-smelling goop. It would remind him of Coney Island if this wasn't all so bizarre.

He'd started on ground level but has been making his way up as the pink sludge makes a valiant effort to catch up with him. He isn't sure what will happen if it engulfs him, but he thinks it's safe to assume it won't be good.

Which is how he's taken to scaling the outside of the building. It's as Wanda peers out the window that she'll see a blur of American supersoldier leap upward as he vaults up to another balcony. His feet hang at her eye level for a moment as he works to pull himself up. ]

[godshattering]

[ It might look like Claude is focusing on just about anything else ahead of them in the room besides looking at Sylvain, but in reality, he's observing the other from the corner of his eye. Just in case. There's something being pieced together there, and Claude's not unaware of where it'll lead to should that train of thought reach its end.

And yet. For some reason - words he would've kept to himself, and has been successfully for a few months now, seem a lot more difficult to avoid saying. Claude doesn't want to think too long about why. ]

Yes. [ No point in denying it when he himself basically already confirmed as much. ] It was... nightmares, basically. Only not just your own, because that would've been bad enough, but you could've ended up in someone else's and lived that on top of it. Something I did both ways. Can't say I recommend it, really.

[ That's not even covering the entities, whatever they were, or the task the Free Cities gave them to help. Will they even bother with something this time? (The joke recommendation falls flat.) Claude stops talking to let go of his drink and drag that hand down his face, or means to but stops at his brow to absently rub it with his eyes closed, all the better to continue not making direct eye contact with Sylvain as he adds, ] None of it was pleasant, to say the least.

[gynvael]

[ There's a moment where he eyes the man. In theory, it is the Horizon. One can leave any time. But...

Nothing's quite right lately. He sighs. Brings his horse to the stable. She may not be real, but she's real enough. He tries not to think about it, the strangeness of the Horizon, its creations. It is what it is.

The creak of branches and groaning trees slithers into the air. His brows knit together. Is the rock troll still here? Was it ever here? (It was not.) These are questions that go unanswered, ignored as they so often are by Geralt.

Instead, he turns towards the stone arch. Whatever that sound was, it seems to have unsettled him. ] Come inside.

[gynvael]

[ Dean can, in fact, sucker him into it. He remains not as fond of being inside a car, but it doesn't bother him enough to turn it down. They navigate the blizzard howling outside the keep, which Geralt doesn't explain—doesn't have to—and eventually end up.

Hm. That's different.

He leans forward on the railing. It isn't old in architecture by his standards, but he's also visited enough modern domains to understand that there's an archaic edge to it. Something in the curl of the decor and the polish of the wood. ]

And here I thought your kind were all hatched in motor oil and steel.

[ Fancy indeed. It's elegant. Reminds him of a noble's manor. He makes his way down the stairs, step by step. Through the stone pillars, the room opens up. It smells of oak and mahogany, whisky, old paper and leather.

Curious, he pulls one of the tomes off a shelf, flipping open the cover. Built from memory, he doesn't know if he'll find the pages filled or empty or full of half-scribblings. ]

Abandoned? [ The place, he means. Was that how they stumbled on it? ]

[tobeclosetohim]

Jo's weight shifts a little, something not quite to surprise piquing toward that fact. The one she didn't know at all. Things have been a little weird here and there at the Roadhouse. Little spotty things that were here and then gone before she even got around to needing to check in with Dean about the fuck that might have been about. Maybe she should have.

She does at least decide to follow Geralt because he and the torches are going that way, and a look over her shoulder points out it's the same way he's going or just sitting there in that spot forever. And that idea is way too full of standing or sitting in silence, having to think about what's curling around all the edges of her thoughts.

(Case in point, right now,
It's the growl at the beginning,
and the one right at the very end.)

"If it's not yours, and it's definitely not mine—" And there's a wrinkle in even the last word in her head, even if it never touches her tongue. "—whose is it? Does someone else specific's domain look like this?"

Whatever this is.

Dark and creepy in a way that is more evoking of annoyed wariness than it is fear.

[righteously]

( He snorts lightly at motor oil and steel. It's not too far off base, if they're shooting straight here.

He trails after Geralt at a lazy amble, high contrast to how keen he was on keeping at the guy's heels earlier. Funny how things flip like that.

Geralt will find a maybe surprising number of the pages are filled. It's not the whole thing start to finish, only the chapters Dean's flipped through that were relevant or interesting enough to bother reading. The ones on these shelves will be lore about their most recent hunts, or biblical lore, or possibly recipes and instructions for useful spells. Much as he likes to say he's not the brains of the family, he's honestly practically a damn walking lore repository. )

Yeah. Well, no. Kind of. Not exactly. ( He settles his hips on the edge of one of the sturdy mahogany tables, content to watch as Geralt takes it all in for a moment. ) It used to belong to this organization that got wiped out a couple decades back. They called themselves the Men of Letters. Bunch of pretentious hunter scholars who screwed around above their paygrade and got wiped out by a demon they couldn't handle.

( He pushes off the table again a moment later. )

But, uh. This isn't exactly what I wanted to show you. You can get your nerd on in a sec, just- humor me for, like, two more minutes.

( It'll swiftly become apparent that this place is huge; hallways branch off left and right, disappearing further down, deeper, out of sight. They pass by the massive telescope, a full-sized fully stocked kitchen, the showers, on a ways until they reach an unremarkable door. He nudges it open, to reveal an equally unremarkable room.

Might take a second to notice it isn't a cookie-cutter vacant guest room. There are a few subtle changes. A wall rack for mounting swords, a comb on the dresser that Dean certainly doesn't need alongside a rather suggestive set of scissors (he's just saying), and an extra blanket on the bed — which he personally finds hilarious.

He gives the guy a second or two to take it in, and then volunteers: )

There's a back entrance. Through the garage. Leads out into the woods, so...

( You can come and go without needing to pass through the bar. Like he's trying to help sell the appeal of this whole thing. )

I

[funbreaker]

[ When the Summoned are affected by the Singularity (or in this case, by roused gods), there is never a certainty that the Horizon will be a reprieve. There are times that it is, and other times when it only makes things worse.

Thancred is willing to make the gamble in this case, though, in hopes of quieting the thoughts that have been dogging him for days now.

He's expecting to arrive in his own domain, as he usually does, but where he ends up is somewhere entirely unfamiliar. Thancred watches the fog roll in from the tree line, then turns to see a rickety cabin behind him. It's almost like Wanda's domain, but not quite.

Then a voice sounds, causing him to spin back around. ]

Ah. [ He smirks wryly. They just keep meeting like this. ] It appears I'm the one who's intruding this time. [ Not that he meant to. ]

A.

[familysucks]

[Michael nods as he joins her, both in greeting and answer to her question. Magical guidance wasn't number one on the list of things he'd sought her out for, but Wanda is a master of her craft if he's ever seen one. He'll take advice if she has it.]

I was, though I'd trust your instructions more than I would the locals'.

[He glances around them. The ground is looking a little dry, but at least nothing seems to be stirring beneath.]

Are they effective?

[Abraxan magic plays by somewhat different rules than those he knows, but it is a familiar concept nonetheless. He is just as familiar with the human tendency to make things up as they go, however. He hasn't determined yet whether the charms he was handed are worth the effort or merely a placebo.]

[gynvael]

[ His eyebrow lifts. Look, he isn't fond of folk nosing about, but he can tell the difference between someone looking for trouble and someone who's merely fucking lost.

Or about to shit themselves, apparently. ]

The large vermin live upstairs. [ Is he also joking? He is, but it might be difficult to tell.

He indicates for the man to come back up and follow him. The halls of Kaer Morhen are not at their best, but there's a concentrated effort from Geralt to clean it up as he moves through. Which mostly removes the blood and not much else. It's less for the comfort of his uninvited guest and more because he hasn't any desire to see it himself. ]

Let me guess. You woke up inside this place?

[ It's been happening. ]

[aquilus]

[The first time Altaïr arrived in Libertas, he thought he had seen its citizens at their most unfortunate. Victims of a bombing without warning, struggling to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives — he is a stoic man, but he was not left unmoved. At least things would get better for them, he'd thought. Unless and until true war arrived at the city's borders, they had come through the worst.

The appearance of the walking dead has forced him to revise this opinion somewhat.

He's no soldier, but he's not about to turn his back on this fight. He's battled the living; how much more difficult can to be to fight the dead, decayed as they are? He pulls his sword from its sheath and joins the fray, noticing the amateurs and the experienced alike among those who have done the same. His own skill is evident as he moves to fight beside one man who clearly knows what he's doing. Altaïr doesn't hesitate to strike decisively — but he's caught a little off-guard when his blade slices cleanly through a ghoul's head and it lands on the ground, only to continue chattering its teeth in apparent rage.

That deserves at least one wide-eyed stare.]