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cancry2022-10-16 11:37 am
cancrymods) wrote in cancry2022-10-16 11:37 am
Acedia Intro Log
With Lana's blessing and direction it's at last time for the Executors to proceed deeper into Purgatory. Despite the downtime, the sense of unease that settled in you before has yet to wane, even at the prospect of making further progress in your journey. Unanswered questions still linger, as does the possibility that for all the progress you've made there still exists roadblocks that could keep you from fulfilling the duty you've taken on to Purgatory. Strangely, though, you feel your spirits lift as you begin your descent. Part of it is the relief that comes from the drop in temperature but mostly, you feel embraced by a sense of deep comfort and relaxation. As the snowy white landscape and gentle colours of Acedia swim into focus below you, it brins with it a sureness that whatever was going wrong before that none of it matters - you'll figure it out. | |
 ♪♫ Blossom – Sakuzyo A gentle, fluffy snowfall tumbles down ceaselessly over Acedia, the Sloth Layer. In contrast to the layers above, things here are chilly enough to warrant wrapping up warm and an occasional gust of wind seems to blow right through you. With snow blanketed everywhere, all the bustle of the town seems quite muffled and far away and the overall vibe of the settlement is... sleepy. Peaceful. If it weren't for the fact that you know you're in Purgatory, you could almost be fooled into thinking that nothing bad could or would happen in a place like this. Initial explorations uncover the town's purpose - Acedia takes the form of an onsen town, a settlement built and centered around the many natural hot springs that have sprung up in the area. Traditional inns with luxurious rooms and serving all manner of incredible feasts can be occupied free of charge with waitstaff who'll serve you like a visiting king. Even aside from the springs and the inns, the whole town is packed to the brim with the sort of entertaintment you might find in a town in the snowy mountains, but all of it comes at a gentle, relaxing pace as if the very existence of this town relied upon easing your heart and your troubles. More so than the town, though, perhaps the familiar faces you encounter here will be enough to bring you some comfort...
⚝ RESTAURANTS: Feeling peckish? Eateries serving cuisine of any sort line the streets and all of it is free of charge. If there's anything you can imagine wanting to eat, chances are good you'll find it here. ⚝ MOUNTAIN: The town as a whole sits at the base of a mountain with a towering peak. If you squint, you see what you think is some sort of structure at the very top... but surely not. Who would want to live in a place as lonely as that? | |
As discussed on Discord, the Executors aren't the only ones who seem to have found their way down to Acedia. Once they arrive in the Sloth Layer, each of the Executors will come across up to three of their castmates who seem to have been occupying the Layer for quite some time before their arrival. Each of these castmates will tell roughly the same story - they were once Executors too and found their way this deep into Purgatory but have found no way of progressing any further. They have tried every possible way to escape but no matter how long they stay here, they can't proceed any further. Despite the news, all of them seem happy and fulfilled and will encourage the Executors to try and settle here in Acedia and simply enjoy the miracle that is their reunion. It probably goes without saying that these are not actually the Executors' castmates. They are, essentially, a tangible illusion based on their memories of their loved ones. They can be talked to, touched, interacted with and basically treated like any other real person and the trickery is, at first, imperceptible. As time passes, it will become increasingly clear that there are some conflicts and missing spots in the doppelganger's memory of their lives together and confronting them on this will have them respond in confusion. If you continue to confront them on the conflict, they will become increasingly upset and eventually violent. Who is casting this illusion and why, though? Well... that's something the Executors will have to investigate themselves. | |
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(Someone tell Wolfsbane.)
When he descends into Acedia, he welcomes the brisk temperatures and chill wind. "Bracing, hm?" he jokes like a true dad. "Ahhhh," with arms outstretched, "it certainly beats the oppressive heat!"
Says the guy wearing several layers.
On the whole, he seems to find this place charming. Or boring. It seems to vary with his oscillating moods. At any given time during this period, several things could happen:
-disappearing from Acedia for days on end only to show up looking exhausted if satisfied, as perhaps from a fight, and slumping off to an onsen or a hotel to rest up
-speaking of onsens, hanging out in one not unlike the bathhouse of Limbo, comfortable in nudity and definitely taking a bottle of wine with him while he relaxes in the waters
-chucking a snowball from god knows where, complete with deep snickering; good luck getting him back as he likes to warp to odd angles and away again, but sometimes he might just be more Come At Me Bro about it
-muttering to himself, tucked between buildings somewhere quiet and out of the way, as if staving off a wholeass breakdown.
You know. Normal fun things!
doppelgangers
It isn't the hair that catches him. Enough young ladies have a blonde bob that he's stopped whipping his head around many layers ago, scrutinizing in surprise. It's the outfit, the white dress he remembers so well. She's wearing a more modern jacket on top of it, but the white catches, and the hair, and the--
She lets out a short yelp of alarm when he warps into her, wrapping his arms around her. "Aera," halfway to sob. He repeats her name several times, kissing her face tenderly, until his knees start to give out, and the giant of a man starts to buckle, knelt at her feet, still uttering her name. Until the shock wears, and she strokes fingers through his hair.
"Ardyn...I'm so glad to see you at last..."
He's overjoyed and despondent in equal measure. She's here! Oh no, she's here.
(And another part of him hisses it, she's here.)
Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong
***
I can't believe things could possibly go wrong said no one ever
When he sees him, Chiron freezes in place like a deer in headlights, torn between two equally intense reactions. He is delighted to see the little brother he cherished so dearly in life again. And. He is filled with a deep, flaming rage at the usurper who imprisoned him and erased his very existence from the annuls of history.
He does not approach Somnus. Keeps his distances. Watches him like an anxious hawk, from rooftops, around corners, through a store window. It's hard to tell if the blue-haired man is aware and simply not acknowledging Ardyn-or-Chiron until acknowledged first, or if Chiron is actually doing that good of a job being inconspicuous.
(It's Chiron, fucking look at him. What about this man screams inconspicuous?)
Maybe, uh, maybe someone needs to help him figure out what to do with this one.
***
If you happen to see Chirdyn with a riding-sized black bird, don't worry about it, this is all perfectly normal, there is nothing to see here if he trots through the streets atop a chocobo.
don't worry about if a chocobo is sapient enough to have been an executor bc it isn't but if a weird peacock thing can be in purgatory why not another burd
ernesta -- i mean somnus
What exactly is going on here, Chiron?
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I am [and he checks over his shoulder, and the man is still barely in sight but doesn't seem to be looking their way anyway] doing reconnaissance.
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[She watches quietly, frowning as this stranger mills about the street.]
Strange, isn't it? So many of these people we remember.
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At first. But when I did approach her, she claimed to have been an Executor. Really, I wouldn't put it past Rei or her not-so-avian twin to hide those details from us, but all of the lost Executors being down here, and all of them being people we know?
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sometime vaguely post-meeting
"Brother. I beg you reconsider. Whatever it is you are doing, surely a Beyond of rest and relaxation is better."
"I have to agree." Aera reaches out a hand to grab one of Chiron's in both of hers. "Whatever plagues you, allow me to ease the suffering."
Chiron laughs. "Oh? Oh, is that what you would have me do? Sit idle and remain, reliving the same days until I go madder?"
Somnus scoffs. "Do not twist my words."
"I'll do what neither of you could, then. We'll find the Authority and move on, as ever. I imagine, perhaps, at the peak of the mountain?"
"You always push yourself so hard." Aera tugs at him gently. "Stay. Rest. This can't be so bad. Remember how we used to sneak away to rest and spend time? We can do that as long as we like."
Chiron walks, the others following at either side of him, but he doesn't seem to have a destination. Except perhaps towards the base of the mountain. "Do you remember," he says slowly, "how you sold me out, allowed Somnus to do as he pleased?"
Her face pinches. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"He's playing games," Somnus grouses. "Not that he was ever very good at them."
"And how many times did I best you at chess, brother mine? How many games did I teach my dear baby brother and watch you struggle to keep up with me?"
Somnus crosses his arms. "I don't see it that way. I won. You lost."
"The throne was not a game. You chased me out, lured me back, and turned to ash all I cared about." There is black oozing from him. It hasn't stopped. "I would have hoped for an apology at least from you in the afterlife, but alas, that was simply too much to hope for."
The king stops, arms uncrossing. And after a few steps, Chiron stops as well. "I apologize." A deep breath. And then, a deep bow. "I wronged you, brother. The throne was ill-gotten, and I was a fool. The line of Lucis should have begun with you to lead the country into safety, and into prosperity."
Chiron turns to him, staring openly, mouth agape. When Somnus rights himself, Chiron pulls his hand free from Aera's grasp. "You are no brother of mine."
"You don't have to accept the apology for all the pain I--"
"No." A weapon appears in an instant in Chiron's hand. "I do not know what trick this is anymore, but whatever daemon or specter or illusion you are, you're hardly a perfect copy of him. If you think he would have ever accepted responsibility--even in all of his apologies, he still thought it the right thing to do, that he was only doing what he thought best, that even if it pained him to do it to what once was his brother, I was still a monster unfit to rule."
As Somnus summons up a blade, Aera hangs back. "Don't be so cruel. Don't be so rash! Things have changed; you've changed! Somnus can change as well!"
"What did you tell me at the waterfall, Aera?"
"What?"
Chiron's weapon gets turned on her. "The waterfall in the ruins. What did you say to me?"
"I...that isn't important right now!"
"Surely you remember."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Then you aren't her, either. You are both...here to torment me! I should have known."
She summons up her trident in the same instant he swings.