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.

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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

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. ]

[cryptsleeper]

--Indeed so.

[Alucard does not wear exhaustion well. His eyes have bags under them, and his shoulders are more than a little slumped. His current spot is a rocking chair outside of the shack, feet up on an ottoman and blanket on his lap, watching the scenery and seemingly nothing more.]

It is the same principle as your domain, except one takes a long walk through the woods.

[funbreaker]

[ The rocking chair, the blanket, it's all not quite what Thancred would have expected out of Alucard. He raises an eyebrow, then moves over to climb the few steps up to the porch. ]

Yet I made no such walk, at least not so far as I remember. Nor did I have any intention of coming here.

[ Which is all rather troubling. He heaves out a sigh, then takes a seat on the top step for now. ]

Apologies for the interruption.

[ Alucard likely came here to be alone, but the Horizon has other ideas in mind. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Sometimes you just want to be a cozy grandmother out in the woods, Thancred.]

Both the real world and the Horizon seem to be at odds with our desires lately. [Alucard can recognize the weight of that sigh. It is familiar, and he's made it several times already.

He can't offer another chair to sit in, not with how the Horizon is acting at the moment. Going inside would be an option but...he'd be a liar if he said he wanted that to happen.]

There's precious little to apologize for, all things considered. I can fetch a chair from inside, if you'd like.

[funbreaker]

[ He's still firmly in his dad phase, so can't relate. (Yet?)

Alucard describes what's happening as the worlds, both physical and not, being at odds with their desires. Thancred knows there's more to it than that, a corruption of sorts that's spread out from newly awakened gods. Is that common knowledge at this point? Perhaps not.

At the offer, he's quick to shake his head, more or less comfortable on the steps. Though he does shift so that he's facing Alucard more directly, not wanting to be rude. ]

I suspect I'll simply need to wait here until the Horizon decides to spit me out. Or send me to another part of it. [ He shrugs in defeat. ] I take it you've also been feeling a bit... off, then?

[ The Summoned tend to always be affected by these things as a whole. ]

[cryptsleeper]

That's...yes. A very polite way of putting it.

[He almost bit Ciri, he had to impale corpses to prevent them from rising up from the grave, nothing is holding back all of his petty thoughts, and frankly it is a relief to be in his cave in the waking world.

There's a tired sigh, hands digging deeper into the blankets.]

I've decided to remove myself from the immediate area of the Free Cities, if only to lessen the chaos. I don't know if it will be effective.

[funbreaker]

I imagine it won't hurt, at least. The effects seem to largely have to do with how we interact we each other.

[ And with the people native to this place. Thancred had at least a few random people in shops around the castle town say some unprompted, awkward things about themselves. He's gathered now that he can draw secrets out of people, which isn't new, but it has never worked like this.

Of course, Urianger had also tried to go into hiding, much like Alucard, only for Thancred to track him down out of concern. It's possible someone will find Alucard before long.

Thancred averts his gaze for a moment to look back toward the woods, then lets out a sigh of his own. ]

... To warn you, people have been finding that their tongues are rather loose around me. With any luck, it won't trigger as easily here, but who's to say?

[cryptsleeper]

I'd argue that those things hurt more, but perhaps that is a discussion for better times.

[And moreover a statement of the obvious. Alucard has not mistaken Thancred as an unthoughtful man, and he wouldn't dare presume to say as such now.

Ahead, the fog of the forest rolls by on the lightest of winds, a few stray leaves following. If nothing else, this place has quiet going for it. An almost splendid isolation.]

I've been having the same issue. [So have many, it seems.] Tell me, did you find the issue to become worse when in conversation with others with the same affliction?

[funbreaker]

[ Thancred shakes his head. ]

You misunderstand. I meant to say that your idea to isolate yourself in the waking world is not without merit.

[ Doing so in the confines of Thorne is easier said than done, however, which is why Thancred had turned to the Horizon in the first place. Now he wonders if that had been a mistake, and yet at least he isn't encountering quite so many people here. And all the Summoned know that there's something affecting them.

So he and Alucard are suffering from something similar. Thancred reaches a hand up to pinch at the bridge of his nose, but there is little to be done about what thoughts they might share unbidden. ]

Do you have some theory about it? I think you're the first who's affected as I am who I've spoken to for any length of time.

[cryptsleeper]

Well, thank you then. [Alucard finds no solace when he's right about these kinds of things. He can only make grim faces and wonder how long a matter might go on for.

He breathes out, slow and more than slightly exhausted by the entire affair. He hates this.]

In truth, I think I've given up theorizing about any of it. It's probably the singularity, and there's no rhyme or reason to that rock other than it is and it would like to express power in some novel and deeply annoying way. Have you managed anything more nuanced?

[funbreaker]

[ At the mention of the Singularity, Thancred's head snaps up. While it's true that they can almost always shove at least some of the blame onto that massive rock in the desert, he does suspect that there could be more to it this time.

He pauses for a moment, wondering how much he should say. But then the words start spilling out, and he isn't sure if he's been affected in this moment or not, but it happens all the same. ]

Perhaps. I happen to know that a group of Summoned in Solvunn made some sacrifices at one of the old gods' shrines in order to test if they would receive any sort of answer. They saw a vision, an entity of some sort...

[ He pauses then, circling his head for a moment to crack a few of the kinks in his neck. ]

Prior to this all starting, I had a dream where I also encountered an entity. Between that and the way the land's been affected, it feels like there's a connection.

[ Based on his experience with primals, at least. He can't say it all works the same here. ]

[cryptsleeper]

That's--

[Entities. Solvunn. Alucard's lips thin into a sincere frown.]

Last year, something happened out in Solvunn that caused the dead to rise. To my knowledge, that involved no Old Gods but it did raise some concerns about magic. If news that some of Solvunn's Summoned did something that can even be perceived as bringing this about, we're all worse off. Especially Libertas.

[Having a neutral party is too important right now. Causing chaos like this? That's a real pretext for war, one that has nothing to do with assassination attempts and everything to do with releasing real chaos into the world.]

It's too unlikely not to be related.

[funbreaker]

[ Thancred nods, having heard about Eifstide even if he wasn't here when it happened. Himeka's given him the basic rundown of what came about during that time, and while this particular instance of the dead resurrecting seems different, Alucard nonetheless makes a good point. ]

It's not something that I intend to spread around, I assure you. These sacrifices were also made before the attacks between Thorne and the Free Cities.

[ Perhaps they would have thought better of it, if the continent had already been pushed into such disorder. Thancred knows that Himeka feels it's her duty to further understand the old gods and what role they play here, and it isn't as if she could have expected their reach to extend so far.

Either way, he isn't naming names. Not if this could lead to her being blamed for what's happening now.

He lets out a small sigh, then tilts his head up to the Horizon's ever-changing sky. Here, it's rather dark and gloomy. ] The question now is, what happens next? These gods have reached out to us, but what do they want?

[cryptsleeper]

Before? That's too easily weaponized.

[How easy it would be to just say that some gods that Solvunn's Summoned fucked around with threw everything into chaos. Alucard's never been fond of religion, but here it has seemed easier to deal with.

Not anymore. Great. Fantastic!

He's so glad he is far away from the Free Cities right now. A long, tired exhale follows.]

I'd say war. Chaos. Blood. These effects seem designed to sew all in equal measure. Or else we need more information about how gods and the Singularity interact, as well as a somewhat decent history of religion here. Something I doubt the Free Cities will have.

[funbreaker]

I might be able to dig something up in Thorne's libraries, but I suspect it's Solvunn that will have the most accurate information.

[ Thancred reaches a hand up to rub at his eyes. He needs to have a long conversation with Himeka about all of this, which is not very feasible when the Horizon has gone berserk and they're all having unintended effects on each other. ]

Where I'm from, false gods called primals could be summoned with enough fervent belief and aetheric energy. Bringing them forth would drain the land around them of its natural aether, and any person who got too close would be enslaved to their will.

[ Which makes him wonder yet again why Himeka thought this was a good idea. She must believe she can handle it if things spiral out of control, but is that truly the case here? These gods are not quite the same as what they know. He shakes his head, more to himself than anything else. ]

If they continue to run rampant, putting them down may be our only option.

[cryptsleeper]

Doubtlessly, but would it be wise to ask the same individuals responsible for the problem in the first place to do the research?

[Alucard is aware that it sounds unkind, but he has little compulsion or control over that at the moment. Moreover and much more importantly, the query is genuine. It could raise eyebrows, it could put too much attention on them.]

I'm not precisely against the idea of doing such damage, but there would need to be careful accounting for after effects. If this is what reaching out gets, what happens if one dies?

[funbreaker]

[ Even if the question might cause Thancred to bristle for a moment, he has to acknowledge that Alucard has a point. Himeka is a friend, one he would trust with his life (and has, in the past), but that doesn't mean there aren't times when she leaps before she thinks. ]

I can vouch for one of them, at least. [ He doesn't know Nero particularly well, and while he likes Wanda, he can't say that he completely trusts her. Especially in light of some of the things Stephen's mentioned. ]

My own experience is that a dead primal is better than one alive, but I fear it would be foolish to assume that these beings function the same way. I believe that's why my contact in Solvunn opted to try and treat with them first.

[cryptsleeper]

[Yes, something like that would make Alucard pause mightily. But for now, he'll take a vouch. Thancred has not come off as unserious, and the fact he's shared even this much is remarkable in and of itself.]

One out of three is...not ideal. But a place to start, I suppose.

[There's a sincere nod of agreement with dead over alive, but the rest of the point stands as well. Wearily, Alucard tips his head back.]

We've overburdened with abundance in terms of decisions, and all of them could go poorly. Assuming we can even find any useful information.

[funbreaker]

[ If possible, Thancred would like to speak to all three of them about this and judge their responses to it, but with the way the Horizon is right now, it remains to be seen if he'll even find them. ]

Just so. [ He sighs and rubs at his eyes. ] I've seen one of them in a dream, but beyond that, we can't even say how to locate them. I assume they're all physically in Solvunn, but who's to say they can't teleport long distances?

[ None of these gods have physically shown themselves, as far as he's aware. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Why would they limit themselves to one area anyway? [Gods, after all, can do whatever the fuck they like.] If their goal is chaos, they've achieved it.

[It circles back to needing more information. Alucard knows that, just as he knows it is going to be a long, long time before all of this truly settles.]

The other way to think of this would be to ask what gods counterbalance them? Who do you implore for calm rather than what we're dealing with now? Solvunn might have readier access to those answers.

[funbreaker]

It's the people of Solvunn who still honor them and pay them tribute. Yet when it comes to spreading chaos, as you said, there's no reason to limit themselves.

[ And they haven't. Clearly. Thancred scoffs and shakes his head. It seems like every faction is being affected similarly, even if Solvunn might be the source.

As for counterbalancing the likes of Adelwyrd and aught else that's been roused, Thancred certainly can't speak to it. ] I will admit I haven't researched these gods much, but I also think that's because Thorne has a suspicious lack of information on them. It's only the people of Solvunn who keep to the old customs. Regardless, I'll see what I can find out.

[ Himeka will be wanting to look into all of this too, he's certain. Now it's just a matter of finding her... ]

[cryptsleeper]

One might even think that Thorne and the Free Cities would get it extra because they >don't offer tribute.

[Alucard knows enough mythology to consider it plausible at any rate.] Maybe the better thing for you to focus on would be why Thorne has a lack of information. Easier to sniff out, at any rate, whereas...frankly I can already assume the Free Cities and their focus on progress have reason in the words I've just said as to why they don't focus on any deities.

[Sometimes, it is nice when things are obvious.]

I'm not sure where this path leads, but it feels safe to assume it will end up fueling conflict.

[funbreaker]

[ That's a fair point, and yet as far as Thancred has heard, all of the factions have been affected in much the same way. It makes him wonder if the effects are simply what happen when the gods are roused, rather than something purposefully enacted by them.

They simply don't have enough information to draw any reasonable conclusions. ]

I would guess that Thorne is also rather narrow-minded in what type of magic they want to endorse, and the actions of these gods don't fall under that umbrella.

[ It's only a guess, however. ]

You're right, though. This is a question that deserves a definitive answer.

[ He stands then, more to stretch his legs than anything. And because having some manner of plan makes him feel energized. Not that he can do anything with that feeling at the moment. ]

[cryptsleeper]

Hm. [While they're throwing guesses at the wall, he may as well point out the obvious.] They must have at one time, and there was probably an era of transition. Perhaps that is the area to focus on for now. If there's a time period, then we can calibrate it against the Free Cities and their founding and declarations of freedom to see how firmly entrenched any sort of belief would have been.

[It stands to reason that if Thorne was far from the gods when they began the Free Cities, then there's no reason that belief would have carried over at all.

Alucard breathes out, then tilts his head slightly.]

Would you like to come inside? I can at least make coffee.

[funbreaker]

Piecing together Abraxian history. Who would have thought?

[ Still, Thancred has both Urianger and Istredd to interface with when all of this unpleasantness is over and done with, so he'll keep this all in mind. He is curious enough about this old god business and concerned enough about what it means for their future here that he'll put the work in.

There's a brief moment of shock that passes over his face when Alucard invites him inside. He's such a private person that Thancred expected the inside of his cabin to remain off-limits, but they are stuck with each other for the moment. ]

Well, far be it from me to say no. [ He gives a bow of his head and a little flourish, indicating for Alucard to lead the way. ]