event } this ain't a scene, it's a deus ex machina (act one)

[seeingyou]

WHO: All y’all.
WHAT: Act One of This Ain’t A Scene It’s a Deus Ex Machina
WHERE: On Navi; Rizyeria and New Estos on the planet Merox.
WHEN: This month of April.
WARNINGS: Add these to your comment subject lines as needed! And if you get yourself smote, please report it on the death page.

scene one.

Navi has an announcement for everyone, and as per usual, it’s being broadcast right into your brain:

Attention, passengers.
I apologize that it has taken so long, but I believe I’ve found a solution to the problem where some of you have been transposed into a body that is not yours.
We are approaching an anomaly in the current galaxy known as the Blenga Zone. This area is known to be a hotspot of strange energy - some even describe the energy as “mystical” in nature. I believe that plotting a course directly through it may provide the catalyst to reverse your consciousnesses back into your original bodies.
I do admit this is not an area in which I have any expertise, so if any of you do have experience with this sort of thing, I am willing to listen to your advice.
For the rest of you, you’ll find sturdy restraints emerging from the walls. Please be ready to strap yourselves in - I imagine this part of our voyage will be less than smooth.
Please stand by …

As promised, wherever you are on Navi, a padded harness emerges from the wall nearby, ready for you to utilize when the turbulence begins. And what turbulence it is! The shaking begins gradually, but quickly increases in intensity until the movement becomes severe, and Navi shouts for everyone to strap in and brace for impact. Warnings blare over the PA, lights flicker out and are replaced with the dim red glow of emergency lights, and it seems as if Navi will be shaken apart at the seams. The ship pitches in varying directions, over and over again, until the crash of final impact can be felt, and Navi flips over a few times before skidding to a stop. On the bright side, Navi landed right side up.

On the even brighter side … at least you’re back in your body now?

scene two.

Eventually, through your combined powers of investigation, it becomes apparent that Navi is offline. The glyphlinks won’t connect, everything on the ship is in low-power mode, and even the drones are nowhere to be found. It’s not hard to guess that Navi has sustained some injuries after that extremely rough landing. Luckily, the loading dock is still functional, so you can still leave the ship to check out the planet!

Checking out the planet means discovery that Navi’s crash ended not far from a walled city, and what looks like a factory town on the outside of that wall. Any passengers curious enough to investigate will find themselves soon met - with wariness and suspicion - by local inhabitants, and escorted into the heart of the slums to meet with their leader, who resides with other locals in a large, abandoned warehouse. Roughly made tents are scattered throughout the warehouse floor, giving it the appearance of a refugee camp more than permanent housing, and a small crowd of children is seated around a larger hooded and cloaked figure seated on a stack of wooden crates. He stops imparting whatever wisdom the children had been attending with rapt attention and glances up at the newcomers.

“I see we have some visitors,” he says, in a neutral, slightly metallic voice. “Welcome to Rizyria. We don’t have much, but if you come in peace, we’re quite happy to share what we have.” He stands and pushes back the hood from his cloak to show his unobscured face, which is covered in numerous fluttering miniature wings, which are in turn covered with even more eyes. “My name is Hanna’morith. What brings you to us today?”

scene three.
Once the exposition cutscene has been cleared, Hanna’morith offers to assist with healing Navi, and he promises to recruit some of the other Rizyrians for the effort as well. There’s just one thing he’ll ask in return - your assistance in locating the Imrathic Shattershards, which are scattered to various public buildings and private collections inside the walled city of New Estos. All you will need to do is locate one of the shards, liberate it from its current abode, and return it to Hanna’morith for eventual reconstitution.

A handful of Rizyrians appear at Hanna’morith’s side to start planning the various infiltrations, and Hanna’morith asks to be taken to see the injured Navi. Feel free to mingle while you wait, and once your plans are finalized, you can head out whenever you’d like - though sooner is better, obviously. If not undertaking this high-risk scavenger hunt, you can head back to Navi, or stay in town to take in the entirely terrible sights.

Comments

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Many mortals would say they don’t enjoy the experience too, so Murmur isn’t alone in that sentiment. Jon finds the way the angel talks about the experience both curious and endearing, and a small smile curves his mouth as he steals another glance of Murmur from the side.

But Murmur probably won’t be surprised when Jon questions him on the whole vessel-inhabitation thing anyway. The Archivist must know!

“How does that work, by the way? The, erm - the essence-containing thing. I assumed you look like this to - to blend in, as it were, among humans. Like a disguise?”

[albatrossomen]

At least he isn't alone in his dislike of the experience. It was novel for a short while, then quickly became inconvenient. Murmur was too busy listening to catch that smile, but he did feel Jon's eyes on him. The question does not come as a surprise.

"That is one reason, yes. It is easier to work and move among your kind appearing as one of your own. In the past when we have shown ourselves to mortals we discovered that few can look upon our true forms unscathed. This eliminates the risk of harm." Yes, he knows Jon's only going to be more curious, so he shoots the man a 'don't you try' look before continuing.

"Building a vessel from scratch comes at a significant cost of energy, and we never quite get the details right. Instead it is simpler to take one that already exists. I prefer them empty, though it is not impossible to borrow one in use with permission. Though with an angel of my Sphere the resultant end is not favorable for the host."

It's a very gentle way of saying he burns out the mind.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Murmur wouldn’t need to be the Angel of Sight to foresee Jon having more questions - just knowing him for the span of a few hours would be enough to pick up on that particular inclination. Jon dutifully closes his mouth without uttering a sound, sheepish at being Seen, and listens quietly until Murmur finishes his explanation. Then he asks.

“So when you say empty … you mean dead?” Which means the body Murmur inhabits now belonged to someone who died. Jon immediately has a dozen more questions about the mechanics of it all, but there’s something else he needs to ask first.

“Hang on … are you saying … angels can possess people? The same way demons supposedly possess people, like in all those horror films?”

[albatrossomen]

Fortunately Murmur didn't mind the questions, it was only the possibility of Jon blinding himself because he let his curiosity overwhelm his sense that concerned him. As much as he would love it if Jon were one of the few capable who could perceive his kind without harm he wasn't willing to risk it for his own ego.

"Yes, I believe that is the classification you use." Death is an intangible concept for him, as souls do not die and therefore the permanence isn't what it is to him as it is to mortals. Simply a different stage of existence. Death for an angel generally involves ceasing to exist entirely. He's still not sure how it is that he still exists.

"Of course, where do you think they get it from? The very first demons were fallen angels, after all. Both require permission, demons simply... bend what counts as permission more than your average angel." Or coerce or manipulate their way into it, though Murmur can't honestly say angels don't do the same. They just use religious fervor instead of despair for their cause. In the end they are two sides of the same coin.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Jon had never considered the mechanics of possession overly much, being neither religious nor a horror film aficionado. Murmur’s explanation of it certainly gives Jon a good chunk of new information to mentally gnaw on - he exhales a quiet huh and goes silent for a long moment, falling deep into his thoughts. He re-emerges with another question, of course. Softly, he inquires of the angel:

“Did you know the, erm - the vessel’s previous occupant? Before you acquired it, I mean.”

[albatrossomen]

To be fair to Jon, even the religious often fail to truly consider the nature of the beings they call to for help. Even with so many damning stories at their fingertips they instead choose to exalt them as heroic tales of good vanquishing evil. Even in ages long past things had never been quite so black and white.

"It was quite empty by the time I came upon it. Only fragments of memories remained trapped within what echoes still lingered. Nothing of substance, and long since discarded." Yes, discarded, as Murmur had no use for the attachments of the previous owner. Wherever the individual's soul was now was not his concern, nor did he give thought to whatever family might be left behind wondering what happened to a loved one. Such ties were strange to angels, and easily overlooked.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

“Oh … I see,” Jon says, tone hushed. There is a kind of existential sadness, he thinks, to the need for wearing a discarded body, but he decides to keep that particular thought to himself. The gate is just ahead, and he’ll need to focus. It’s been a while since he’s had a statement, what with being stuck in Alex’s body for however long that episode had lasted, and while starvation effects are a ways off yet, he’s not in tip-top form, either. Jon halts his steps to take a moment for digging up a reserve of courage. A deep breath in, a slow exhale, and he turns to Murmur with a soft smile.

“You wear it well.” The vessel, he means. Then, with a nod toward the gate, he asks: “Shall we?”

[albatrossomen]

He's a little surprised Jon didn't ask how the previous occupant died, but that is perhaps not the most important question on the table. Murmur had one of his own, once, but that vessel had been destroyed after he had, so now he was stuck using scraps. In time this one would fully become his own it was just still a work in progress. He was still pleased enough to hear Jon's compliment and flashed him a brief smile before turning his attention to the gate ahead, expression returning to that cold neutrality that was his default.

"Are you certain about this?" It struck him that this likely wasn't a good idea, he only hoped that the two of them could fly low enough under the radar to not draw any unwanted attention to themselves. With that thought in mind he pulled his power in close, burying it tightly lest something be capable of sensing him through Jack's sigil. At worst he should appear rather weak, certainly nothing to be concerned about. Jon on the other hand... he doesn't know if he can do the same.

finally adds this endtag after forever 9_6

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Jon laughs dryly under his breath. "Not really," he admits, offering Murmur a thin smile. "But I ... I think it's what I need to do."

He shrugs lightly and starts moving again toward the gate.