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

domain interior!

[satanicpanics]

[ This isn’t the first strange domain that Eddie has been dropped into. For awhile, it had been a nice reprieve from the whispers nagging at him and prodding at his guilt. The voices are quieter in the Horizon. Sometimes he can’t hear them at all, but the constant scene changes are beginning to weigh on him so heavily, he thinks he’d rather be back in Solvunn dealing with disgrace.

At least there’s been a slight stroke of luck here. He’s been dropped inside the halls of Kaer Morhen rather than outside, bypassing the blizzard, the wolf, and the grabby tendrils. The castle is far from welcoming, however, and Eddie wonders if it isn’t the same castle Steve described as “kind of boring” and “really cold”. It’s certainly cold, but “boring” isn’t the right word. It’s terrifying and if not for the lit braziers, he would assume the place had been abandoned after some sort of duel.

He gives a little yelp and shudders as he narrowly manages to tiptoe around a particularly large blood stain on the floor, and calls out hesitantly: ]

Hey, uh…If anyone’s around? I’m not trespassing in your big, creepy castle. I mean, I guess I am, but…sort of by accident?

[ He circles around the medallion tree, politely looking with his eyes and not his hands, and nearly trips over a vine when he hears the muffled scream from somewhere further in the keep. ]

Shit. Of course. Of course there's a freaky dungeon too. Why wouldn't there be?

[ He doesn’t want to, but those whispers keep nagging him for a lack of bravery, so he may as do something to shut them up, right? So after a long moment of hesitation, his teeth clenched, he begins to descend the stairs. ]

[gynvael]

[ Geralt has, for the most part, taken to his room for the duration of this bullshit. Lingering in Cadens in close proximity to others is a risk he'd rather not manage. And frankly, the soldiers can deal with the risen dead. They're hardly powerful monsters, and he's little desire to take up his sword when no one's paying him to protect the city walls. That's what the army is for.

So he does hear it, the instant the stranger entered the keep. He simply ignores it, waiting for whomever it may be to leave. He doesn't really want to explain the state of his domain. He's aware it's a problem.

They do not leave. He feels it, that spike that tells him when someone's wandered too close to the stairs.

It's difficult to say whether Geralt has walked or just appeared. His approach is near silent either way—until he speaks up from the edge of the steps above. ]

I don't recommend it.

[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.

[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. ]

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie does accept it as a joke, and it eases his anxiety just a little bit. He snorts, and that “I can and will die right here if anyone raises their voice at me” expression on his face lifts a couple degrees. ]

Oh, shit, my mistake.

[ Despite the joke, he’s clearly nervous, his fingers twitching and his feet shuffling against the floor, ready to bolt if need be. Geralt is intimidating, but he doesn’t seem vengeful when it comes to intruders in his big creepy castle, so Eddie scampers after him. He’ll never say it, but he’s more than happy to leave those mysterious screams behind. ]

Uh, yeah, pretty much. Sorry, dude. You know, you might wanna consider hiring a maid—

[ He watches as the blood disappears, and his joke dies on his tongue. ]

Or not. Uh...I’m Eddie.

[gynvael]

[ Twitchy is not an inaccurate descriptor. Geralt says nothing of it, but he does lead the man towards where the fires are warmer and the walls freer of grasping vines. He makes a vague noise that acknowledges the incomplete jest. Mm. It was fairly tidy once. Still worn and falling apart in places, but this is...more than that. ]

Geralt. [ He does not offer a hand. Instead, there's a mug of something strong and a hint spiced pushed towards Eddie. If he's to have unexpected company in these walls, then they're drinking. ] You can leave when the storm dies. It's not safe out there.

[ In a manner of speaking. There are certain people he would not hesitate to send out to find their way through a blizzard that isn't technically real and sort themselves out. He can take one look at Eddie and know that the boy is not one such individual.

A stretch of silence passes: not awkward, just steady, his eyes on Eddie like he's trying to read something there. After a second, he reaches forward, just over Eddie's shoulder to light the candles behind him—and maybe it's here that Geralt brushes against him just a hint, without quite meaning to. A single blackened rose petal flutters between the plates of bread. ]

Where were you intending to go?

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie follows nervously, and although it helps to be closer to the fires and to see the blood stains cleared away, he still can’t really relax.

He feels like he’s being sized up, and it does nothing for his anxiety. Even a particularly unexpected pin drop would be enough to make him jump out of his skin. Not that it takes much for him to jump out of his skin on a regular day either. ]

Uh, nowhere?

[ He gives a nervous laugh and takes a swig of whatever’s been shoved into his hand. He should really question it more, but his hands are shaking and he’s just going to spill it anyway. Besides, he needs this. ]

I mean—I don’t know, dude. Back to my area of the Horizon, I guess. I just kind of showed up here.

[ He glances outside where the wind and snow is still howling, and gives a shudder. He is not set for that type of weather, and he doesn’t really even know where he is. ]

Thanks for not just…throwing me out though. I’m sure I’m not the first person to invade your…particularly charming stronghold today.

[gynvael]

[ It's really just mulled wine. Geralt appears to be drinking the same as the hall steadily warms—as much as it ever can.

He's been waiting to see if Eddie's heart will slow, now that they're pulled away from those unnerving set of stairs. It hasn't. There's another beat, and something in Geralt's demeanour softens. Perhaps he's come to expect most of the Summoned to take things in stride, whether that's him, the fortress, the oddities of the Horizon. They've all seen...

A little too much. It's been awhile since he's made anyone so nervous. ]

Nothing will hurt you while you're with me. I promise. [ He gives a vague indication towards the general condition of the keep. ] Memories bleeding through, I suppose. It'll pass.

[ Probably. He'll put things back as they were if not. ]

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie is just naturally on edge. Everything about him exudes nervous energy, from the way his fingers tap against the cup in his hands, to the way he refuses to stop fidgeting.

He doesn’t think he was always this way. Circumstance just sort of made him this way, and he hasn’t really found his footing again since. When he first arrived, there was a brief moment where he felt truly safe and content, but the fear of the recent attacks in Thorne and the Free Cities ripped that away just as quickly. ]

Yeah, sorry, this is just—

[ He gives another nervous laugh. ]

This is just how I am now, which is kind of annoying? I mean, believe me, dude, I’m trying to get over it, but it’s just been one thing after another and—

[ He holds up a hand to stop himself, because he knows he will ramble given the opportunity. ]

Well, you know just as well as I do. I’m not gonna bore you with a rehash.

[gynvael]

[ Eddie talks, and Geralt makes no indication he means to interrupt nor that he's waiting to get a word in. A small pause follows, the kind that always seems to be there before Geralt says anything. ]

I'm difficult to bore. [ He can, in fact, watch paint dry. It's meditative. ] You're referring to after Nocwich?

[ He's prodding, gently, in part because he doesn't think the man means just Nocwich or the looming war or...whatever's been happening lately. Inside the Horizon, outside of it. Corpses and the rising dead. The strange corruption that's choked so many of their creations.

Either way, something about Eddie has caught his interest. Perhaps he's just looking for a reason to leave behind his own bullshit for a time. It is far easier to listen to someone else's troubles than the turmoil inside him that's been threatening to overflow for days now. ]

[satanicpanics]

Yeah.

[ He nods, fingers fidgeting around his cup. He loved Nocwich. He had a fantastic time there, spending the entirety of the money Wanda had loaned him on a tattoo that glows in the dark, eying all the things in the market that he couldn’t afford afterward, staging an overly dramatic theft of a platter of vampire food when the vampires surely didn’t care. It was a good time, but what happened afterward has almost soiled those warm memories. He can’t look back on Nocwich without the attacks in mind. ]

I mean, it’s just all this collective bullshit, you know?

[ It’s been one thing after another and he feels like he hasn’t even had a moment to truly get his bearings here. ]

The attacks, then don’t even get me started on how Solvunn is going to complete shit right now.

[ He laughs humorlessly into his cup. It’s a lot to deal with, especially when he’s yet to address what happened to him back home. Everything's just sort of pilling up. ]

And I guess it’s all extended to the Horizon too, so we’re really going on three for three here.

[gynvael]

[ He files Solvunn away as to where Eddie is from: information he did not ask after, but which he finds worth noting. Not too many from Solvunn. That they are still performing the spell despite their insistence on remaining out of the conflict tells much. ]

I've been alive a long time. Wars have come and gone, cities have fallen and reformed, but... [ Hm. ] This feels different.

[ It'd felt different back home on the Continent. An irrevocable change. Something that cannot be undone. Now that he's in this sphere, he senses the same. It isn't about the war. Or the destruction or the attacks. It's deeper. Like he's a part of it in a way he cannot describe, in a way he does not wish to be but can't seem to stop. He'd bound his Destiny to Ciri; he can accept that. He can embrace it. But he doesn't know if this world has bound itself to her. That worries him.

Even so: ]

The world goes on. [ Until it does no longer. He holds up the pitcher with the intent to refill Eddie's cup. As he does, the wood beneath his other hand begins to grow soft, rotting, unnoticed. A single moth falls to the ground; its wings flap weakly before it stills and shrivels. Magic stirs in the air, a curl of the dead and dying that flows between them. ] We go on with it.

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie’s gaze catches the moth and follows it to the floor, watching as it shrivels up at their feet. Morbid, he thinks, but pays it no further mind as he reaches for his cup again. It’s this movement, small and innocuous, that causes him to suddenly gasp in pain. ]

Shit.

[ It’s a familiar pain, one he’s only felt once and one he had hoped to never feel again. Like hundreds and hundreds of tiny daggers ripping into his flesh, tearing him apart. It surges through his body, worsening by the second. ]

Can you--just excuse me for a moment...?

[ He tries to be polite, tries to shove his cup back into Geralt’s hand before he stumbles backwards, doubled over and clutching his side. When he pulls his hand away, it’s wet with blood--at least, that’s what he sees, and he panics.

When he arrived in Abraxas, he didn’t have any wounds or scars. There was nothing concrete to prove that what happened to him actually happened. All he had was the memory and Steve’s word, and that had sent him spiraling into existential crisis, questioning whether he was truly alive or not. That worry never really went away, but pushing the memory into the very back of his mind and letting it collect dust (or fester) for awhile has helped quite a bit. An “ignore it and maybe it will go away” type of approach.

Well, he can’t ignore it now, not when he feels like he’s bleeding out on Geralt’s floor and the droning of hundreds of beating bats’ wings are suddenly filling his ears. The pain is blinding and his eyes can’t focus in the darkness of the stronghold to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. If he could think clearly, he might tap into his earlier logic: this is the Horizon, none of this is really real. But it feels real, and that’s what feeds his thoughts more than logic ever could.]

Jesus Christ...

[ He begins stumbling backwards toward the door, eyes blindly scanning the room. The blizzard outside isn’t even a thought in his mind right now, and he hardly even sees Geralt now. He's dying either way, right? Dying again? ]

[gynvael]

[ At first, Geralt imagines Eddie must've seen something which disturbed him. Something along the walls, the floors. He turns, alert, trying to see what more has disrupted Kaer Morhen this time. Doesn't pay attention to the cup pushed into his hands. He takes it without thinking, putting it aside. Eddie's up, stumbling forward—

Geralt is by the boy in an instant, grabbing him before Eddie can trip his way into the squalling storm outside. His grip is firm, a little insistent. ]

Hey. Hey. [ What the fuck. He can't feel injuries, can't smell blood. All he can hear is the stuttering beat of Eddie's heart. Fast, but not weakening despite his gasping breaths. ] Breathe. You're all right.

[ If he were to really stop and think, he'd put the pieces together. Realize this is not the first time it has happened. But the circumstances had been so specific then: trapped in that room, in the labyrinth with his head spinning and too many emotions boiling over. It's not occur to him the effect he'd had could be replicated in the midst of a casual conversation. ]

[satanicpanics]

Okay.

[ It’s all he has in him; a quiet, shaky confirmation that he’ll try. And he does. He takes a few labored breaths, but it’s getting harder, like someone is standing on his chest and stopping him from fully inhaling. He’s bleeding out; he knows he is because it’s all happened before. Maybe being here and being questionably alive was too good to be true. Maybe his death is finally catching up to him.

But where is Henderson?, he thinks, his eyes slowly scanning the room. The little shrimp should be here. He was before.

He opens his mouth, meaning to ask, but that’s enough for his last breath to leave him. His eyes lose their focus and for one terrifying moment, the light behind them goes out. They stare sightlessly into the darkness, empty and dull. Seconds tick by, the young man lies limp and as still as the grave, no longer breathing—

And suddenly, he bolts upright, gasping for air. This time, the weight on his chest has been lifted, and he sucks in gulps of air until he can cry out in his frustration and fear: ]

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shiiit. Jesus Christ! Shit!

[ After that’s out and he can unclench a bit, he performs a quick examination. The blood is gone, the pain is gone, and it’s as if those wounds were never there—again. No fluttering bats in the halls, just the sound of Eddie’s pounding heart as he turns to Geralt with a wounded and confused expression that clearly reads, you were the coolest person I’ve ever met; I trusted you. ]

What the hell was that?!

[gynvael]

[ A second passes where Eddie appears he may be all right. But Geralt is not prepared for someone who isn't just in the throes of panic; something has gripped him, beyond either of their control.

He can hear it. Can hear Eddie's breathing stop. An impossible thing in this place. For a moment, he thinks Eddie will vanish, snapped out of the Horizon from the shock of what's happened. (What had happened?)

Instead, he snaps upright. Geralt catches him, a deep frown that's equally bewildered.

Good fucking question. ]

I don't know. [ He's never—Jo had been struck with a vision. This is something else. Something that is much more real. Is it this place? His, in particular, with its walls steeped in death and blood as they are? ] You stopped breathing.

[ There's a long moment where he looks Eddie over. Concern is etched in his brows. ]

What did you see?

[satanicpanics]

Jesus.

[ He hisses the word out and clutches his chest, as if trying to feel his pulse—trying make sure he’s still here. He can already feel his heart beating in his throat, but he’s felt that sort of existential doubt too many times before.

Am I alive? Those were the words he’d asked when he first arrived in Abraxas, and he still doesn’t know the answer. He doubts it even more now, just like he did when they pulled him out of that water. Does a beating heart really prove anything? It sounds so stupid, but what is he supposed to think when he’s quite literally straddling the line between life and death?

His hands are trembling, and his eyes are impossibly wide as he turns his gaze to Geralt, hesitating. He doesn’t know this man. All he knows is that he’s everything Eddie wishes he was (the white hair? The awesome castle? He probably has a sword too) and that he has a creepy screaming dungeon. Eddie doesn’t often share his troubles, even with people he knows. He and Steve have been dancing around the subject of his death for months, but if there were ever a time to talk about it, it’s probably now. He did just see his death flash before his eyes in this guy’s domain. He begins slowly, his voice quavering: ]

So…I kind of…died back home? At least, we think I did? I kind of know I did. I mean, that’s something you just…know, right? That’s what I saw. A repeat of that.

[ He lets out a nervous, breathy laugh, running his hands through his hair. ]

Gotta say. Not my favorite rerun.

[gynvael]

[ Kind of died. Geralt withdraws his hands, abrupt, as though he's coming to a realization. After a second he offers it again to help Eddie up. It does not, in truth, yet occur to him that Eddie is struggling with his death itself. His mind is a little elsewhere, distracted, and he's known a few who have returned from the dead now—through the Singularity or otherwise. The notion has grown strangely. Acceptable.

This, though. This re-examining of a death through memory. ]

There was a woman. When she was here, she also saw— [ He frowns deeper. What the fuck does this even mean? ] Perhaps this place, or I...We should get you out of here.

[ It no longer feels as safe within as he presumed earlier. And isn't that familiar? Maybe he should've remembered, that these walls do not always keep the dangers outside away. He can—try to fix the storm, briefly. Give them enough time to leave.

He looks back at Eddie. ] Where do you stay? I'll take you there.

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie does seem to hesitate to take Geralt’s hand. He doesn’t want to blame Geralt for what just happened, not when he doesn’t know him and not when things are already strange, so he ultimately relents and allows himself to be helped up from the ground. His head spins, but he steadies himself and tries to get his head straight. He seems a little dazed and his hands are still shaking, but totally fine otherwise. ]

Solvunn. Or, uh—

[ He rubs his eyes and shakes his head, not fully understanding if he means within the Horizon or outside of it. Borders are difficult to cross in Abraxas, and there are some people who he hasn’t met anywhere but in the Horizon. His own domain isn’t quite a thing yet, and he vaguely thinks about finding Steve’s (that should be plenty safe, right?), but he doesn’t quite know what to ask for or how. ]

It’s cool, dude. Just help me out of here and I’ll find where I need to go.

wrapping!

[gynvael]

[ The Horizon is what he means, though it occurs to him shortly after that Eddie could simply...exit the plane altogether. In theory. He doesn't know how that might be working with the way things are going.

In any case, he doesn't clarify, just nods. He pushes open the heavy wood doors into the thick snow outside. The white flakes swirl down, but the storm is no longer raging and the skies are less foreboding.

They pass by the stables, where his horse is sheltered from the snow, and a motorbike is parked next to the animal by a pile of hay. The trek down to the bottom isn't long, just winding—and they're soon at the edge where his domain presses up against the others. The Singularity looms in the distance.

He nods towards the rest of the Horizon that waits. ] Be careful.