the boy is back in town [diplomanon conclusion]

[beleos]

Who: Manon, the Shard-Bearers, and special surprise guest(s)!
What: Manon has been revived, and there are questions to be asked
Where: The Tree of Life
When: March 3rd

MANON'S REVIVAL

A few days prior, Manon’s Shard had been planted at the Tree of Life (Tier 2 Meridian and/or those involved with the purification process would know it was by the Tribune himself), and as promised, his revival is providing a neutral ground in which to meet and talk to the man. The Meridian involved in purifying him have been given some basic clothing for Manon, including an eyepatch since just like every other Shard-Bearer who has suffered dissipation, he’ll be hatching from a cocoon the tree weaves. It’s at least a little dignity to be given as a belated “apology” for his revival being a spectacle.

Indeed, when he frees himself from the cocoon, he won’t be ready to be questioned. He’s weak and shaky on his feet, but he’s still rather quick to collect himself and get dressed. Surprisingly, with no apparent shame over being that spectacle!

Some people have “met” Manon already by Communing with his Shard, but otherwise, this is the first that most will be able to see the man causing all of this fuss. He’s short with rust-colored hair and one eye completely covered by the eyepatch he’d been given. He doesn’t exactly seem pleased to be here, though. He looks like he’d much rather be anywhere else. But he’s eventually ready to talk. Best to get this over with.

INTERRUPTIONS

People are given their chances to question Manon and ask him whatever they wish, but not for long.

Quite suddenly and with no more preamble than a strange, crackling feeling throughout everyone’s Shards, a portal suddenly opens behind all of them. First, out steps a small, slight looking girl whose eyes immediately fall on Manon. But a much larger, more monstrous figure steps out behind her with odd, misshapen hands plodding onto the ground and gripping the roots.

A massive creature plods out, and the flowers that surround the skull ripple as if alive. Both the petals of the flower and the very human hair that drift on the creature’s neck are lavender. A very specific shade of it, in fact. And it howls in a way that would be deafening, were it heard with your ears. No, this scream tears through your very Shards in a way that’s almost paralyzing, and as the portal starts to close, other, smaller creatures skitter out along the larger ones’ feet. It seems someone doesn’t want Manon to talk at all.

And for one of the Shard-Bearers among you, that scream digs deeper. Like a poison into their Shard, it pulls out something vicious, something feral, something they had long wished was left behind—But the past isn't always the past.

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OOC NOTES

This portion of the log is divided into four portions because the majority are limited for the mods’ sake. With the exception of number four (which is not limited), you may only sign up for one of these sections or to chase Manon (see next section) because these are all taking place essentially simultaneously.

1. Vander ; Vander (exhound, played by Thirteen) has entered a berserker state and will attack friend and foe without being able to solidly distinguish between the two. Vander can be injured (even severely), but this thread will end with Vander’s capture by Aetós. You can find this toplevel here.
   
   
2. The Girl (Adelfoúla) ; This is a NPC who will be played by Prince, and is limited to a group of no more than three characters. This thread will end with Adelfoúla’s capture since she will be interrogated to find and rescue Vander. You can find this toplevel here.
   
   
3. The Creature (Aeternae) ; Is limited to a group of no more than three characters, but will be controlled by these players a la a PvE encounter. The Creature is able to attack with psychic powers (similar to the Force in Star Wars or biotic powers in Mass Effect) and is otherwise very large (Hayame-sized the size of a very large horse) and strong, but not overly so. It will regenerate from all attacks unless the skull is smashed, and it can close the petals of the flower to temporarily protect itself. You can find this toplevel here.
   
   All characters that participate in this thread will also be given psychic information about what happened to create the creature, so comment here to note your participation so I can give you that info! The Creature will also subject everyone present to opt-in effects, which are not limited to only the thread participants.
   
   
4. Smaller Creatures ; Are not limited encounters, and are controlled by the players a la a PvE encounter. These are smaller, more easily killed monsters that are able to use minor psychic attacks as well as poison when someone is clawed or bitten if you want to go a combat route or can cause more temporary versions of the Aeternae's effects as listed. You can also make up your own style of lil' skullbeast! This is free for players to get creative with and create a fun encounter however you see fit. All characters that participate in this kind of thread will also be given psychic information about what happened to create the creature, so comment here to note your participation so I can give you that info! In addition, please place all threads to engage the smaller creatures here.

GIVING CHASE

As soon as the chaos breaks out, the first to take advantage is… Manon. Though weakened from just hatching from the Tree of Life, Manon immediately runs into the labyrinthine maze of roots that make up the Tree of Life. He’s not so honorable as to stay and fight, and this may be his only chance to actually escape. However, it does also leave him without the protection he was promised…

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OOC NOTES

This section is limited to a maximum of three characters from each faction, and they will not be able to participate in the previous section. Manon is fleeing immediately, so giving chase means that these characters similarly will not be sticking around to witness what happens.

We encourage discussion of which characters will be participating in this portion of the post in the associated Discord Thread for this plot since the factional makeup of this team is likely very tied to Manon’s fate. As Loremasters, we’re truly cool with whatever, so we encourage players discuss how to make a satisfying narrative and future plot opportunities out of Manon’s overall fate rather than trying to “win” the encounter. Also to note, Manon is weakened, but will be attacking anyone that attacks him assuming (probably correctly) that they’re trying to kill him. There is a risk of dissipation in this encounter!

If a conclusion to this thread is not reached by Wednesday, March 8th, Christy will reach out to all thread participants, and we’ll come to an OOC conclusion for Manon’s overall fate to prepare for the Setting Updates that Friday! We can obviously continue to thread it, though! The toplevel for this chase can be found here.

CODING

Comments

[passio]

[ dextera listens. there are a number of things of concern here. manon’s insight into levels of discord, his own history, the trails of aetos—and what he thinks of the tribune, even as a relative ally at this point in his life. all of the information is taken and noted, but what dextera really wants to do is to make it stop. manon has been through so much, dextera has been through so much, and his attachment—he knows it’s unhealthy, over-invested—means that he would prefer for manon to stop being forced to relive it.

when he wants to go, dextera will let him go. ]

…

[ the only thing he tries to do is seek eye contact with his fellow meris, just to make sure they’ve all heard the same things. ]

[sterngaze]

[When Manon finally resumes his tale, Liem slides his gaze back to him, leaving Hayame to keep an eye on the strangers who had followed them down into the cavern. He is ill inclined to leave them entirely unwatched, but Manon deserves his full attention.

As before, during the main body of the questioning, Manon clearly struggles to recount some aspects of his experience. Liem does not dare to speak, concerned that if he is interrupted he may not be able to delve back into his memories again. Instead, he watches and listens, taking note of some things he hadn't known before: the possibility of Meridian involvement without the Tribune's participation; Manon's low opinion of Cyrus; some details about Discord that he hadn't previously heard.

The information about the monsters in Alenroux is not entirely unsurprising, given Aetós's use of similar creatures above, where the others presumably remain.

But although the man is clearly on edge, Liem senses no description from him. He seems simply like he's been under pressure for far too long, and how he just wants to escape. There is one thing, however, that Liem does not understand.]

Why is it that you were willing to go to the Tribune with your information, even though you thought Meridian may also be involved in this matter?

[kenosnpcs]

Where else would I go?

[ The question is answered with one in return first, but Manon sighs and shrugs as he continues. ]

I thought I could use him. I'm assuming most of you know what I wrote in my journal, so... Shouldn't be a surprise that I'd be underhanded if I need to, I hope. I figured if the Tribune thought he could get something out of me, he'd make sure it was harder for Zenith to off me. I guess I was right, but I also didn't expect it to become all of this.

[warmare]

[There is much to be potentially gleaned from what Manon says in these moments... but Hayame is only half-listening. She is a warrior before she is anything else (always has had to be, to strive to be), and so she refuses to split her attention from the Zenites or the entrance to the tunnels around them in case the others above failed and Aeteos' beasts skitter through. The words go in her ears, but she doesn't have the time now to ponder them.

Her arrowhead remains leveled, unshaking, unyielding, at those she has labeled her potential enemies, at those Manon has requested be kept at bay in exchange for his testimony. She moves her gaze only briefly to Liem, just long enough to get the nod from him that the newly revived man wasn't lying, before it's back on the others... and she speaks, though she does not turn her head Manon's way.]

Where else indeed?

There is still much we need speak about, and much to be seen if you can recall with time. So we will escort you to Heliopolis, where the Zenites and this Aeteos will not dare be so bold.

[Her voice has an intensity to it that tends to make everything she says sound like it has already been decided, and now... is no different.]

[eyesite]

( once manon begins to speak, the Archivist falls into something of a trance. the rest of the world falls away, becoming little more than vague backdrop and distracting static; the only thing of import are the various threads that begin to unspool from the account that had been at the heart of this mystery, of this debate, from the very beginning. but the fabric of this statement isn't complete. some of the threads are frayed, others... potentially missing? — he can tell, even before it becomes painfully obvious. there's a flicker of something like surprise and something like aggravation that contorts his expression for just a second before it disappears, though his brows do draw together in solemn consideration.

for the entirety of the account, he doesn't blink. there is only the dark intensity of his stare, so focused and eerie that it can cause gooseflesh to prickle at the back of one's neck — a gravitational void into which the experience flows, toppling, before disappearing.

he comes back to himself with a shudder; his eyelids flicker and then close into a blink, opening once more with a sharp intake of breath to focus on the arrow once more, as if suddenly remembering that he's impaled through the shoulder and pinned to the wall like, like — the sympathetic experience of taking a statement from someone in person still swims in the forefront of his mind, so for the moment it makes him feel like manon had felt, pinned to a table, helpless against whatever it was that his captor planned to do with what made up his soul. his breath rattles out of him unevenly, fear thrilling through every vein.

it feels dreadful. and it feels — fantastic. even in the state he is, having lost as much blood as he has, john suddenly looks haler than anyone might have seen him since he arrived in kenos; the sickly sort of pallor to his expression and vague shakiness to his limbs had vanished with the satisfaction he found in this fear. it's as if every moment he's struggled through up until this moment had been one in a half-conscious state, but now he's awake. he's alive.

he mentally sorts through everything he'd heard as liem asks a rather salient question that had occurred to him as well. the answer... is satisfactory, though john still has his own thoughts on the matter. they are not meant for the present mixed company.

he swallows, then he says, ) ...Thank you. ( and for all the world it sounds like a guest thanking their host for a delicious meal. a small sound of pain scrapes out of the back of his throat as he very slightly readjusts his position. ) Even if we wished to stop you, ( which john, content with this statement, personally doesn't care to, ) we're certainly not in any position to try.

( he thinks for a moment to chastise the meridian here present for speaking and acting as they have without any real show of violence or threat from the Zenites either here present or back up above, but... it feels like it would be a pointless waste of breath (and possibly enough to gain him another arrow). so he goes tensely silent, a thick and aggrieved sort of judgment emanating from his gaze. )

If there are no further questions that need to be answered, ( he glances to cid and zhongli, ) The Meridian can leave with Manon. Once you've departed, ( he exhales, flinches — are they still fighting those horrible monsters back the way they came? ) ...we will make our own way back.

[youngprodigy]

[He'd have... questions about what John is getting out of this, exactly, but there are far more pressing things now.

Yima had said that whatever information Manon can give to Meridian doesn't matter, and he has no reason to doubt her.

He also doubts Cyrus is a fool, but that's Manon's problem for underestimating the man.

Nevertheless, Cid doesn't move from his spot, whispering to John once more.]

My... connection to Zenith has grown. I'll be able to heal you completely once the arrow is removed.

[Just in case his words can be heard, he doesn't say anything else.]

[sharethememory]

[ There's much to mull over in what Manon says, and although Zhongli would like to pull apart as many details as Manon can remember, those other creatures from the portal are still out there hunting. Furthermore, their current tenuous understanding (it truly cannot be called a truced with the sides unmatched as they are) will probably crumble if they have to be maintained much longer. It is not safe here - not for Manon and not for John who still is injured. Best to close this encounter, the agreement between Meridian and Zenith upheld to the best of its ability.

And so Zhongli inclines his head politely: ]

I too offer my thanks, Manon, and wish you a safe journey back to Heliopolis.

I do have one final question, however. The person who tried to kill you when you went after Aetos - an old friend, you said. Would you be willing to tell us who that is?

[ If so, it would be one more thread to add to the ever growing conspiracy board as they try to unravel the mysteries behind what they learned today. ]