kenoslogs | the boy is back in town [diplomanon conclusion]

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the boy is back in town [diplomanon conclusion]

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.

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.

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.
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.
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.
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…

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

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Oh~? I can do that. And I have plenty of lances where that came from if you need more.

Guess it's showtime.

[ Childe's hand comes to pull his red mask that's sat off to one side on his head now down over his eyes as they suddenly spark a deep violet. Visible electricity of the same color crackles around him, although any tendrils that touch Dimitri seem to not affect him—save for as soon as the electricity collapses outward and disappears, his lance will immediately change elements. beneath the mask Childe grimaces at the pain of activating his delusion, but it's always been like this to the point it is almost a feeling of comfort. Outwardly he shows no signs of discomfort.

guess it's time they jump in too. ]

[ His entire world has boiled down to Vander.

Not that that hadn't been the case for Amos even a few minutes ago when he'd been more sentient, but that had been when he'd been worried about his friend; now he just wants to kill him. And everyone and everything else too, for that matter, driven by a bottomless rage that he knows, on some level, makes up his entire being. In normal circumstances, he knows his anger is something to keep an eye on and respect; being introduced to worlds with magic has made circumstances well beyond normal. Made it so that his rage is all he is, lets his id take over entirely.

There isn't even a satisfaction as his claws tear into Vander, dripping with his blood, because he's still standing. Still alive. Still fighting him, like he has any fucking right to, and he roars with pain and anger as Vander's claws connect, tearing into his arm and slicing it open. His muscles reinforce themselves, still ready to attack, even as blood flows in rivulets down his arm. It's a flesh wound in this state. It's easily ignored. The beast in front of him needs to die.

The surrounding area and all its people mean nothing to him; he'd just been speaking to Childe and Dimitri moments ago and nothing in his brain registers so much as their existence. All he can think to do — all he can do — is retaliate, charging forward into Vander's body, arms and claws outstretched in an attempt to bury into his own, restrain him, drive him to the ground with his mass and leverage and hopefully stay on top of him where he can hack and slash and kill. ]

[Vander too has always known that anger should be handled with a certain level of care and respect. He’s seen what it’s like when when someone lets it get the better of them—hell, he wasn’t innocent of that either, even before now. He spent too much of his youth letting it be his driving force, his motivation. It led him to some good things, but it’s so easy to let it go too far. He’s toed that line before, but not like this. Never like this.

All that exists within that anger now is the desire to draw blood, to see the life fading out of vibrant eyes. And the eyes staring him down now are so full of life with that fury to match his own. Every successful strike urges him to push harder; every wound received entices a whisper in the back of his mind that there needs to be payback. How can anyone dare try to stop this pure and primal force? Didn’t they understand that needed to be free and unhindered?

He would make them understand, then.

The man—the fellow beast—that Vander should know better to be a friend, charges forward, his own claws sinking into Vander’s arms. His opponent’s use of momentum is a good play, and for the second time now he goes careening into the dirt with the other man following. But he can’t let this slip-up stand a second time, and he twists as they go falling, pulling the pair of them to land heavily on their sides. His arms are still within Amos’s grasp, but those fangs of his remain free, and he makes a snap at his face now that they’re in close quarters.]

[ with Vander and Amos in their own world of violence, it's rather easy for Childe to move in and find an angle to best attack from somewhere that will give Dimitri a clear opening without a chance of Vander seeing it coming. Circling around, Childe uses the shadows cast by the tree and their own natural blindsides to sneak and then launch an attack at Vander's flank that will get him to turn away from Dimitri's position if he reacts at all while coaching with Amos. His blades go to strike and sink into the flesh aggressively once they cut knowing it should give a little bit of help to Amos if he can jam his blades in far enough. With his delusion activated, the electro blades will send some jolts into Vander, top— on top of pain they might cause some of his muscles to spasm in ways Vander might have to let up on his fully aggressive maneuvers even if just momentarily.

It's not something he's betting on, however, and too much current is a bad idea if he and Dimitri are trying to avoid killing. So he'll just keep extra alert in case he needs to move away quickly (from either of them, since he is well aware of Amos is totally gone might retaliate over any interference, too) while twisting the knives inwards. ]

[ Dimitri would prefer not to kill either of them, even if knows they'll return from it. But if they have no choice... so be it. He grits his teeth and waits as Childe starts his own attack, the sound of the struggle between the two berserking men (or beasts, maybe) filling the air. Then as Childe comes in, Dimitri likewise lunges, attacking from the blindside. He tries to sink his lance through Vander's side - and then through, bearing down with as much of his weight and strength as he can to try and pinion him in place. ]

[ There's an unappreciated intimacy to violence in such close quarters.

He takes it as Vander twists and rolls them to their sides, his own face close — too close, judging by those teeth that snap at him, sink into the top of his head. He practically barks in response, sharp, furious, as his claws sink further into Vander's arms, vision obscured by his fangs, rendered immobile—

There are other sounds around them. Something else is happening, his senses allowing him to perceive something other than this one narrow point in the world. That there's anything else going on beyond his need to kill this animal he's entangled with... Well, it pisses him off.

He jerks his head upwards into Vander's teeth, without a mind for the pain, for the way they just might sink in further, the way blood freely streams down his head and into his eyes, his mouth. He wants this thing off of him. Wants to see what else is going on. Wants to kill it too, whatever it is.

But he keeps himself thoroughly entangled, refusing to let go of his hold on Vander's arms until he's forcibly removed. ]

[It’s so easy to forget everything else around them when in this state. There’s more to see, more to fight, but for the moment it’s all unimportant. There is the bloodshed right here in front of him to keep him more than occupied for now.

At least, until the rest of the outside world decides to come barging into this scuffle of beasts. There’s the taste of blood on his tongue as his teeth sink into his opponent, and with it the hum of satisfaction even as Amos tries to jerk his head away—then suddenly the sting of pain blossoming in one side makes a bid for his attention. On its own, something easy enough to ignore, but that unexpected shock that follows barely a moment later has him seizing up just long enough to give Amos the opportunity to free himself from his bite.

His attention wheels onto this new attacker, finding the one who had first been the target of his rampage once again joining the fight. Even as Childe twists the blades deeper, Vander responds with a low growl and tries to lunge for him, snapping almost futilely toward him while Amos still has such a fierce grip on his arms.

Within this close-quarters tangle of bodies, their ploy for a distraction works wonders. Vander struggles to retaliate against Childe while simultaneously being unwilling to fully disengage from his fellow berserker, and it gives Dimitri the perfect opening with that lance of his. It finds its mark low on one side, piercing first through his back. The force of it makes the edges of his vision fuzz black, his enraged flailing coming to a near halt.]

[ this time Childe is extremely focused, and for better or for worse is usually quite in agreement with both Amos and Vander over the thrill of a fight. It's just that when out of four people participating, Childe is now the second most sane individual in terms of having any sense of self and control, that's a problem that can't really be ignored even by something like Childe himself— because if Childe lets go and gives into his natural penchant for battle this will end up a complete and utter disaster beyond what is already shaping out to be.

When Vander turns attention on him, Childe's mask hides his expression in the face of gaining the mutated Bearer's attention. Although that lunge is thwarted mostly by Amos having a hold on the Meridian and Vander himself unwilling to fully focus on a single new opponent, the younger Zenite of this group doesn't doesn't take any chances.

He shifts to pivot back, pulling one blade out of Vander's side only to flip it around and jam the butt of the handle against the other blade's own. The current of electricity cracks and amplifies as the weapon elongated itself into a double bladed spear, and the force applied to connect them as well as the momentary selectivity surge will be felt from blade still wedged into Vander going a little deeper. He doesn't bother attempting to confine on digging into the flesh than that initial extra force and, instead, uses his weight to launch himself backward by using the spear itself as his momentum base. As a result, Vander will feel the weight in the blade trying to tear down further into him, but because of how built and resilient Vander is, it's
really intended to try and add some pulling force downwards that might cause his balance to teeter rather than try and inflict further damage by exasperating physical wounds.

It's all not done for very for long, either; Childe's maneuver is quick and ultimately will end with the electro-weapon being ripped free of its target just as Dimtri's weapon impales Vander from behind.

Childe lands a distance away— just enough that if Vander were to suddenly swing himself in a violent reaction, Childe will still be out of arm's reach, while assessing what is needed next. ]

[ Battle, as it always is, is a rush of emotions and jagged flashes of moments that will only be strung together in memories later. For the moment his focus is on the now, the immediate, ignoring what has come before, barely thinking of the future. He just needs to follow their plan and hope that it's enough. He can feel the strength in Vander's body as the great mass struggles to move - and he sees Childe go darting back out of reach. That makes him (and Amos) the next likely targets.

So he'd better do his part.

He can smell the blood and the sweat, can feel the strain in his muscles. There's a grunt from him, a noise of exertion and power, and he puts his great strength and weight into his weapon, shoving it deeper and deeper, trying to pass it entirely through the other man and into the ground beneath him. There's a spurt of warm, steaming blood and he can practically taste it on his tongue and lips. His voice rises in a low murmur. ]

I'm sorry, Vander-

[ But he does it all the same, because it has to be done. ]

[ There is suddenly too much going on for him to properly follow.

Head free from Vander's bite, he's able to rear up some, look around with wild eyes. There are two others attacking — not him, but his prey — and the only instinct that's able to rattle through his head is that they're trying to take this away from him. The way Vander's limbs stop, the way Childe and Dimitri attack him, look to nullify him, look to pin him...

Like a dog that's forgotten it already has a bone in its mouth and wants the new one you're holding right now, he disengages from Vander, ripping his own claws away and out from him. Whatever's being done to Vander — it's no longer the priority. He can come back to him later. Or not at all, if he doesn't even remember him (he won't). But Vander isn't the threat anymore, Vander isn't the target anymore...

Dimitri is the closest now, so with a snarl he whirls on him, eyes empty but for mindless rage without a hint of recognition or even humanity, and claws at the ready. ]

[The tables have turned on him here, and all he can do is snarl and flail at every flash of movement, every glimpse of another body. He would revel in the chaos of it if it weren’t for the precarious position it has already put him in. Each jolting shock of Childe’s weapons do their job of further staggering him, but at the cost of further turning up the dial on his blind and now confused rage.

He is noticeably more sluggish when he snaps for the younger Shard-bearer again, and with as hard enough as it is at this angle and amidst this press of bodies, his teeth find nothing but open air to sink into. Particularly when Childe maneuvers to pull himself out of reach and Amos suddenly relinquishes the iron hold he’s had on his arms this entire time.

The momentum and the shift of the Zenite’s ever-changing weapon do their job of throwing off Vander’s balance, allowing Dimitri’s impressive strength to sink his own spear further into Vander’s side and drive him into the dirt. Practically pinned in place, his vision swims and it takes every last remaining ounce of that rage that’s been pushing him forward here to keep himself conscious despite it.

A pained growl rises from his chest, and dazed, he makes a feeble attempt at swinging at whatever movement suddenly draws within eyesight, but it’s uncoordinated and lacking the same fervor of his earlier swipes.]

[ It’s then that they’ll all feel it. There’s that strange, crackling feeling in their Shards again, an impression of teal light, but in that moment, time simply stops the moment after the portal whorls into existence.

Aetós steps out with a huff of breath like they’re tired, then tuck a pocket watch back into the folds of their robes. They look around at the chaos and murmur a noise that sounds distinctly pleased, though there’s no one to hear it now. It’s not ideal how all of this played out with Manon… But it could be valuable otherwise, and that’s why they’d caused a distraction more than anything else. Manon was a completed project. New material was needed.

So, they look around and appraise the entire group fighting against Vander. They’re each appraised in turn, and a silver hand is placed over their Shard, wherever it may be. This is what they’ll remember when time restarts. But whatever the masked figure is evaluating isn’t clear. Finally, they turn back to Vander, caught mid-swing and sigh. ]

I was hoping it wouldn’t be the biggest one.

[ Vander has nearly a foot on them, after all, and nothing about Aetós’s frame implies the strength needed to carry him. So, it takes a little magic. ]

Periorízo.

[ Threads of teal light shoot from their fingertips to wrap around Vander, and similarly, this is where he’ll begin to have memories of what’s done to him once time restarts. The light crackles against his skin oddly, but it’s not painful. It’s just an odd sensation as Vander suddenly begins to… shrink. As if magical threads were compressing him, he’s quickly, painlessly reduced to half of his size. If he took the time to look through the entire spellbook granted to pursue at Tier 2, he might even recognize this spell as Enlarge/Reduce. However, interestingly, the way Aetós’s shoulders sag, it doesn’t seem like it’s an easy spell for them to use.

But Vander is solidly more portable, and that’s what matters. There’s no real elegance to it as Aetós simply grabs the back of Vander’s shirt with the metal hand and starts to drag him to the portal. It’s still not the easiest, but it’s at least possible. The moment Aetós’s footsteps through that frozen portal, there’s a click like the movement of a watch’s hand, and time begins again.

The silhouette of the masked person and Vander’s much smaller silhouette are the last things the group will see before the teal portal closes and dissipates into motes of energy. ]

[ It happens in the blink of an eye. One moment he's focused on Vander and the next Amos turns on him with a snarl and Dimitri is fighting for his life all over again. He releases the weapon that pins Vander to meet Amos, his own great strength rising in him as he tries to fend off claws and teeth. There's blood and pain and then-

Time slows, stops, resumes, in the blinks of an eye. Dimitri roars out in frustration and anger as he tries to find off claws and bites. ]

He's gone-

[ He staggers back one step, then another, and then he lowers his shoulder and tries to bullrush Amos back. ]

[ he is immensely dumbstruck by the sudden disappearance of Vander, and while he thinks he catches the tail end of Vander being kidnapped by someone— is that Aetós as the second silhouette in that closing portal?— it's far too late to confirm nevermind do anything about it.

Any chance Childe might try to (futilely) pursue is gone in favor of turning to aid Dimitri. He'll move to rush towards the two of them, a sudden successive bolt of lightning rapidly connecting to the ground before dissipating only to then repeat itself several steps forward ahead of Childe in a continous pattern. The approaching bolt will continue on a path to strike Amos from one side perpendicular to where Dimitri is. He can still avoid it completely if he disengages and ceases attacking the Meridian; otherwise, it will be a single hit strike before it dissipates. Even so, Childe is coming behind it and intends to slam into Amos too— he's not as built as Dimitri is nevermind Amos, but he's hoping between the lighting bolt and his own force he can create enough destabilization in Amos's center of gravity to make it easier for Dimitri to get the upper hand. ]

We'll have to worry about it after!

[ they can still be angry about it now, though, if it helps them not get killed by Amos.

(And really, there's just so many reasons to be angry over this turn of events now. ) ]

[ There's a blip, and something happened, but he doesn't have the capacity to recognize or even care what it was.

He stumbles in his next step as he roars at Dimitri, looking to find purchase into his shoulder with one of his claws, when there's a sudden destabilizing pain at his side. Childe's lightning strike — not to mention his body — hit true as his roar turns into one of pain, immediately swallowed up by more anger. The side of his shirt explodes, torn apart by lightning to leave a Lichtenberg figure along his skin, and he whirls around, falling to the ground at the same time, with a claw reaching out to dig into Childe.

His back is to Dimitri now, wild and furious gaze set fully on Childe as he works to push himself back up to his feet. To get a proper hold on Childe, because he had the audacity to attack him and that's all he can think about. People are attacking him now, he has to kill them, and in his mindless rage he's incapable of recognizing the fact that he's boxed in, exposed, ultimately vulnerable between the two of them.

That is, unless he can just dig his claws into Childe's arms to immobilize him, sink his teeth into his throat... ]

[ Well, at least with Vaner gone, Dimitri can get his weapon back. He swiftly bends to retrieve the weapon and then straightens in time to see Amos tear into Childe (or try to, anyway). It's a blur of motion and fury and it stirs something in him. He remembers something like this - although perhaps he was on the other side of it the last time something like this happened. A jolt of guilt that he'll deal with later. He grits his teeth and then with a battlecry of his own he goes back into the fray. He lashes out with his lance, trying to score a blow against Amos' legs and trip him up - perhaps even bring him to the ground so Childe can finish him off somehow.

More blood. More death.

It's their lot in life, isn't it? ]

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the boy is back in town [diplomanon conclusion]

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