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

[gynvael]

Ah— [ He grunts, debating an answer. How many has he got? How many had he once had? A number is not really one he wants to say out loud. It is far too few. ] It isn't how you imagine. We're all of us raised at Kaer Morhen.

[ He did, indeed, say a bear, though that story will need to wait as the tunnel's low ceiling clears. Geralt straightens up. It's dark, musty, and there's an odd ash-like substance drifting in the air. He peers up, around. What...?

It's not anything he recognizes, but it isn't Steve's cozy attic, either. ]

This isn't my doing.

[ In case Steve was wondering. He glances over his shoulder. Does Steve know where this is? He can admit, there's something familiar in the air. Something he might've scented back in the Horizon, before they collapsed into this place. ]

[hairington]

[ as much as geralt may have planned that answer to clear some things up, steve just ends up pausing, frowning, and then turning to look directly at geralt rather than at the hole. ]

What do you mean? Like a home? [ he means foster home, but ya know, slang and all that business. still, steve follows in behind geralt easily, keeping his head low and the knife in hand as they keep walking, and walking, and walking until the they come out in a larger space.

once steve's able to straight, he moves to crack his back, glancing around to see where they've ended up. it's not until he's able to focus on the falling ash that steve's stomach drops, whipping his head around in both directions down the tunnel. ] Shit- [ he curses, panic fairly clear in his voice. ] Yeah- I mean, this. This is back home again, sort of like up before the goo? But it's- [ it's not that it's wrong, because it isn't. it's almost exactly how he remembers, with the vines breaking through the dirt all around them, the dust in the air, the dark, damp smell of it. but it's...quiet.

maybe geralt can hear it - the sound of creatures, a whole swarm of them, off in the distance. they might even sound a lot like hounds, without any of the usual barking. but then somewhere in it is also the sound of footsteps, of people. steve, meanwhile, starts off in one direction before coming to a stop not five steps later, trying to right himself in the space. ]

We need to go up, right? There's going to be an opening down one of these tunnels, in the roof. It's how we got in in the first place.

[assembles]

[ For Steve the beer is more a means to an end than anything else, a way to fit in and have a pretense for being here so that he and Murdock can chat.

And Murdock wastes little time in pointing out the elephant in the room. Steve responds with a one-armed shrug. ]

It was more about right place, right time. [ Not once, but twice. ] Though I already had my suspicions when we talked in Nocwich. [ Steve isn't unfamiliar with the idea of vigilantes and their attempts to keep their lives separate, so he isn't surprised that Matt's kept his activities and his skillset on the downlow. ] Don't worry, I don't plan to spread it around. Who else knows? Wanda?

[gynvael]

[ Now it's Geralt's turn to pause, unclear of the term. It is home, but he senses that isn't how Steve is using the word. He doesn't reply just yet, choosing to focus instead on the more pressing situation: the odd space they've stepped into, that Steve says he knows.

When they've escaped, he needs to ask Steve about what in the hell exists in his world.

He can hear it, scuttling and claws and strange squelching. Footsteps and heartbeats. His brows furrow. Up it is. If Steve knows an opening, that's the most ideal path. After a second, he shuffles to the side to let Steve take the lead. It's between that or leaving the boy to bring up the rear. Point seems to be the safer position, where Steve can see what's ahead.

Besides, if he's right, there's no turning back. The attic will be filled with the same substance outside by now. ]

The keep. In the Horizon, where we train. We call it Kaer Morhen.

[hairington]

[ it is complicated, and steve's not entirely sure he's the best person to try to explain it, either. but this is somewhere he knows, something he knows how to traverse, even if he was dealing with a concussion the entire time he was last down here.

and it's odd thing, to see it in this light. with what they know of the upside down, with what this place really was. geralt steps aside for steve to go on ahead, and that is what steve does; taking off in one of the two directions not quite at a sprint, but a more direct walk. he wishes he had a flashlight, kind of wishes he had his bandana, even when he knows it doesn't really matter that much. ]

Kaer Morhen? Oh- you mean that's not a castle? Huh. [ no, steve had no idea there was a difference. oh well. he guesses he told eddie wrong then, too. whatever - steve moves on ahead without much worry about where he's going, but what geralt can probably hear is the sounds of all of that getting louder. possibly some distant yelling, too, something about hurry, hurry, faster.

steve doesn't notice it until it's much closer, a distant roaring, movement, something that almost sounds like... ] Dustin? [ it's whispered, confused, and steve comes to a stop around the next bend of the tunnel. this part he does recognize completely, the exact length of the tunnel. this is it he thinks, but then stops, because something is wrong. off.

the tunnel is flipped.

there are more voices now, yelling and cheering, moving them all as they run faster off in the distance. meanwhile, steve is a bit frozen to the spot, confused. because as he looks around, the opening that is supposed to be on the top of the cave isn't where it's supposed to be. he looks around for a few moments, trying to place it, before he notices it on...the ground? he frowns. ]

The hell?

I GET TO USE THE ICON

[actualwizard]

[ He leans into her embrace as soon as she pulls him in. Between everything that had gone on between them, and the voices in his head that just will not quiet he needs the embrace like he needs air. His arms go up wrapping around her waist tightly and he holds on as she moves them, trusting her implicitly.

He lets out a slow breath when they land, letting his mind quiet as much as it can now that the worst of the ghouls are gone- the voices never fully quiet though, do they? Always lurking in the back of his mind, letting him know he can never fully banish them. ]

not your fault.

[ he says it quietly, still pressed against her in an embrace. ]

[godshattering]

[ That gets his attention. Claude had been, in the loosest sense of the term, applying something vaguely like whatever care he can towards his side. The first mention of the nightmares, that Kyle's heard about them: that doesn't phase him. It'd be strange enough to get around.

It's the dream Kyle mentions that makes his head snap up to stare at the other man, attempt at his own first aid immediately forgotten. Those nightmares from before - they were different for everyone. But this one? ]

A flower, a cup, and a mirror. [ That part's said in a tone which might suggest Claude meant to say them to himself more than anything, or maybe didn't mean to say them aloud. The realization he did gets him to blink and refocus. ] Or was it something else for you?

[tobeclosetohim]

[ They could be so so so much worse. Their main problem isn't so much the massive problem presented to them by the zombies themselves, so much as the tide of them doesn't seem to ever utterly stop. For a few hours or from a certain graveyard. But then there are other outbreaks after in other places. Coming in from the desert. ]

Sounds good to me.

Lead the way, Ninja-Boy.

[thedevilwhorose]

[Maybe he can't win but he can be a complete and total asshole with item usage.

Hmmmm.]

Wanda. [And then he's ricocheting against an NPC's cart and spiraling off to a stop as he blinks a little distractedly, staring down at the controller because he had no intention of saying anything, certainly not about people he's close to.

His recovery, both talking and in-game, are mild.] Certainly not you.

[nadine_he_loves]

Nadine shudders a little in pleasure and lets out a small sigh as Dean's teeth just barely bite at her skin. She grips tightly at him, head tipped back and breasts swelling over the top of her snugly cinched corset with each breath she takes.

There's no slow build up for her, no creeping growing of arousal. It only takes a few moments and her blood is boiling and skin flushing. Shamelessly, she rubs against him, rocking her hips and pulling him against her with her legs. The lacy fall of her skirts is nearly all the way up, folds of it trapped between them and draping over the table. The contrast of pale skin and black lace is a stark one, purposefully chosen.

She knows she looks good in black.

[gynvael]

[ The towel ends up in his hands out of nowhere. Geralt frowns, distracted momentarily. He wipes his hands, then drops it on one of the long benches.

His instinct is to want to be alone. But the truth is, being alone will do little to help. Nero has already seen...all that. And Geralt is not ashamed of his reaction; it isn't about that. It's more. A discomfort. The kind that comes with being seen too closely, too clearly, before he's ready. Before he's allowed it.

He huffs. Bragging rights. Not quite sure that's what he'd call it. Still, the lines of his shoulders relax a hint. He tips back the bottle and swallows several long mouthfuls. ]

Mm. It's where we're made, trained. Live. [ Not where they die, though. Not since...that night. The only piece of them that often make it back are the medallions, if that. Most of those hung—they're from the ones who perished in the massacre.

Nero, he thinks, is the first to call it warm; in a sense, he isn't surprised. They grew up similar, from what he's learned. The Order, as Nero calls it.

He hesitates. Does he wish to talk about it? No. He just. It hangs in the air, a dark shadow, leaving his fingertips cold, an uneasy prickle over his skin. So fuck. Perhaps saying something will dispel that. ]

That cellar, it isn't meant to be there.

[stations]

Wow, okay, well... that was unnecessarily rude and also completely obvious.

( He returns flatly, steering his kart around Lucifer's as he adds insult to injury and fully laps the guy. )

You're terrible at this game, and also a terrible person, so I'll try to conceal my heartbreak.

( Whoever Wanda is, she must be a saint. )

Anyway, I'm glad you found, like. One friend, at least.

I'M UPSET

[carmesi]

[they are never fully silenced, but there's enough balancing here to counteract the negativity that's tried to seep itself through. wanda doesn't know how to explain it, but she feels fulfilled to the point of tears—this fragile, tenuous thing, of a son that is not her own, but with whom she shares so much to make her think — does it matter?

it's billy. william. vision had picked that name for him, for the boy she birthed. they are still one and the same, aren't they? and now—especially now—even though her sons had been pulled into the world with magic, she did give birth to them, she felt them grow, all the pains and anxiety a mother-to-be goes through. it was real to her then.

just as billy, here, is real to her, too.

wanda's hold on him tightens, and she clings to the memory of those in her family who would hold her similarly. she presses her head against his own, finds her cheeks stained with tears, even as she tries to hold fast to her own strength. she breathes in—

then exhales.

she stays as she is, holding him.]

Are you okay?

[thedevilwhorose]

I'm not a person, so thanks, that's a compliment. [He knows it wasn't supposed to be but he'll take it and use it against Jack.

Better than shoving his hand through his chest, right?

He blinks up, slow, as the TVs with it's amazing (Sarcasm™) scenery changes. Flickers. The black void just turns to static. The other trips over the landscape of Apocalypse World and briefly shows a full-body cage hanging with a whine before it returns to the dead-land tour of the world.

Lucifer still tilts his head at it, then makes a face, and grabs for the stupid controller again like Absolutely Nothing Happened and Everything Is Fine.]

wah these two D:

[actualwizard]

I'm okay.

[ he is, or he will be given a little time to sort out his head. the things they were saying, it had been years since it had been that bad. and that's when he had quit superheroing and refused to leave the house. it had taken therapy and medication to get him moving again.

that wouldn't happen this time, he had grown a lot since then, and it had taken too much work to pull himself out to let himself get sucked under again. he just needed a moment. ]

Just give me a moment. That was...a lot all at once.

[londonbound]

It did. Julie-- [ His voice breaks, as he huddles into the sweater. It might not have come out perfectly the way Julie envisioned, but any imperfections are minor, and he has no idea what they might be. He doesn't exactly have a mirror; all he cares about right now is that he can put his hood up to muffle the wind a little bit, and he can tuck his freezing fingers in the sleeves and pockets. ]

Thank you.

[ It takes him a minute again to find his composure and keep his voice from cracking again. This time, when he speaks (he's gotten used to raising his voice without it feel like he's quite yelling all the time by now), there's a note of confusion. ]

I saw the Magician sign here. In the sky above the ocean, very faintly. I recognize it because it's Kell's-- my brother's. It's his arcanum.

I'm not sure what the one I glimpsed back then was. It wasn't mine or his. It wasn't one I recognized.

[wiedzminka]

Yes...? [ What's he so confused about? Ciri shoots him a scowl as she moves to climb into the seat without the steering wheel. See? She's not an idiot. ]

I'm not going to get sick from a little movement. It's not like--

[ Hold up. Whatever she was going to say is immediately forgotten when he drops that suggestion.

Ciri stares at him, mouth dropping open, not sure if she's offended or amused or what. It's not like he had any reason to know they're related (figuratively speaking), but not like that. Her mouth closes. Opens again, apparently settled on affront even though it really isn't Nero's fault. ]

I'm not his sister. I'm his daughter.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd does see the corruption, it's hard to miss for someone like him, and he makes a connection to when she almost summoned a dark magic book the first time they met. He knows all too well the way magic can darken a soul, how it is a constant balancing act to remain neutral when controlling chaos. Magic can't rip them apart quite the same way it can her, but power is always the true problem. And Wanda doesn't truly want hers. It separates her from people like Stregobor.

He holds her during her outpouring of grief and while this is not something he does often, he rarely lets anyone close enough to him to feel they can let go this way, it isn't uncomfortable. Just because close friendships are new to him doesn't mean he dislikes that vulnerability or can't show up for it. No one's really tried to give him the chance.

Istredd is only thankful his words got through and she is letting the chaos flow away from them. He can see it slipping away from her and where they are, and that will make this easier for her too. He remains a steady and constant presence while she cycles through her pain and grief, and she can feel his affection and care through their bond. Perhaps a little awkwardness, as this is new to him, but nothing bad about it. If anything he's somehow ... honored. That she wants to let him in.

"You have nothing to apologize for. We're under the influence of powers far beyond the norm. Very clever ones too."

Istredd has already been able to pinpoint that outside forces have started this, he just doesn't know why or how. Thorne hasn't prepared them at all for possible gods, and clearly is not prepared either. Perhaps that's part of why this is easier on him than others. He doesn't fight them, he just pushes through them.

"I know your powers scare you, but it won't be forever. You'll master them in time, I promise you."

[magicalarchaeologist]

"They don't know. Or at least no one who lived on any of the spheres understood why it happened at the time. It was sudden and brutal and violent. But they all had to learn how to live with the result."

Some of them didn't live with the result. Some were slaughtered by each other, which is unsurprising, given the nature of living beings. He has seen no text where they talked about an event that caused it, which was certainly frustrating to them at the time. No answers for why their world was permanently changed and scarred.

"But I recently discovered that the monoliths aren't scars, they are gateways. All the other spheres weren't destroyed or abandoned as we thought, they were merely cut off. There may be much information that was lost."

Like perhaps the monoliths existed before the Conjunction. Or maybe someone did create them and put them in place for an invasion later. He doesn't know. Princess Cirilla is the only person he knows that is capable of using them, but that is private information.

"I think the Singularity and the monoliths are connected."

[magicalarchaeologist]

"I suppose Thorne could be hiding a great deal of information on the gods from us, yes, but ...."

Istredd assumes they're hiding entire libraries' worth of information from them, actually. Even with the impressive library they have there, he has noticed lacking subjects, the kind that shouldn't be gaping holes of details. Even small things. His arms fold and he rubs a hand against his beard, contemplative.

"It seems unlikely they are secretly worshippers hiding these details. Someone would have messed up. If not here, in the town. I am more inclined to think they consider themselves more powerful or above them now, as the magic users grew more arrogant. That can happen generations later, information and truths are lost over time."

He sounds like he's speaking from experience because he is. The mages have access to all kinds of power and knowledge and yet most of them don't even notice a word of it. Istredd is the only person in his group that know about the elves giving humans magic, and even if he tried to prove it, they'd either ignore him or shrug it off. What does it matter? They have the power now. And that can easily be happening here too. Over time they stopped believing.

"From what I can tell, the last war is when Free Cities and Solvunn became free. And Solvunn is being left alone, the only group who perhaps acknowledges the gods." He has to ask Wanda to be sure, but. "Maybe they were behind this, Lucifer. Or the gods are reacting to protect them in advance."

[catholica]

Wanda, yeah. I told her myself.

( and frank knew but frank wasn't here anymore. there might be more people with suspicions but those were the only two people with confirmation. )

That's pretty much it. If other people suspect, they haven't said anything to me. But, it's just you two that know for sure.

[carmesi]

[wanda pulls back a touch when billy says he's okay, and it hits wanda just how similar they are. not only in that they both harbor chaos magic, but in the way similar thoughts of self-deprecation, dread, of being ostracized (either by others or themselves) courses and ricochets through their minds.

her hands move from him, and instead cup at his face. billy may notice something different about this, about how wanda seems to finally see him. there is warmth in her eyes: the love of a mother.

it's tender, the way she grazes her thumbs over his cheeks.

she's been awful at this—so, she tries to amend it a little.]

Tragedy and loss seems to run in the family. [there's an i'm sorry in the silence, that she doesn't voice.] I'm here now.

[carmesi]

Pulling back a little awkwardly, listening to his words and feeling the magic unspool itself from the chaotic kaleidoscope of spells and mesmerisms, Wanda sits back. Somehow, they've ended up on the floor of the house she's created from her imagination. Istredd's understanding of what's happening to her and the world is a precious anchor, invaluable in what it offers.

She manages to look back at him, as he makes a promise to her.

A promise that she will master her powers in time.

"That's what I fear," she replies, hands flat on the floor as she pulls herself up to sit straighter, glancing about. She grips onto a bookshelf, holds fast to it, rises to her feet. "Mastering them might make me — something else entirely."

[actualwizard]

[ He let’s out a choked up laugh. And let’s her pulls back and cup his face. She’ll see the tears in his eyes that’s he’s trying to keep at bay when he looks at her.

He can feel that something has shifted, something on her end. How many times have his moms held him like this? He knows what maternal love feels like- he’s lucky enough to have two amazing moms, and he didn’t know ho much he had been missing them until now. How much he’d been missing everyone from home. ]

That’s putting it lightly. Thank you, for getting me out of there. Usually I’m much better at that but I wasn’t expecting it and whatever is going on lately…

[itookashot]

Jesper doesn't particularly handle the concept of having nowhere to run easily either, that is his go-to move when feeling overwhelmed. And it's kept him alive many, many times. But they're in the Horizon, right? No matter what happens, they can't die here. (Right?)

"We'll have to build our way out, somehow. We're not helpless, Mat, you did make a ladder."

Okay a ladder isn't super impressive but it still was helpful and it got him here. He has to think positively. Especially because when he glances over he can swear that the strange toxin seems to have grown. It could be in his mind so he watches intently, and genuine concern ripples through his expression that Mat can read, when he sees that it is moving. Slowly. But upward.

"We'll just have to keep creating floors and going up until ...." He doesn't know until what, until is the only thing he can think of.