agogemod: (Default)
⌞THE AGOGE⌝ MODS ([personal profile] agogemod) wrote in [community profile] agogelogs2018-02-12 10:55 am

Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three.


We do not merely destroy our enemies;
we change them.


WELCOME TO THE END OF TIME.

The Regency has its spies and its cloaks and daggers. You may have even brushed shoulders with one and not have known it. There is a place for such tactics. You are not in that place any longer.




On missions like these, the Regency prefers to keep its base close, in a intradimensional time pocket. You're apart from Gallipoli, no longer technically on Earth or in the 1910s. There are multiple segments to this complex base of Regency operations, but you can only really see two places...

THE BRIG

This is your holding cell, a constantly shifting room of indesctructable grey squares. It folds and bends to hold you and your seven companions as you await... something.

There are no guards in this place. There are no bars to look through, or sounds to listen for. You are simply in the box, left to your own devices.

Occasionally, holes will open in the ceiling, and packaged, processed rations will fall from them before immediately closing. This is the only way to measure time. There are always exactly eight bags, each with the name of one captive written on the side in their native language.

Holes will occasionally open in the walls, and they always bring with them a searingly bright light. Sleeping and sitting is difficult on the ever-shifting floors, and when you try, it always seems like a pinhole of light opens right on your eyes. Even leaning on the walls has mixed results.

DON'T GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT

The windows of light that open always stay very small, making it difficult to look through, and always pour radiantly bright, hot light. If you're feeling particularly self-punishing, you might be able to peek at an odd angle and see something of the world outside without being completely flashblinded. The world outside the Brig looks rather like the interior of a Dyson sphere. In the center, a great, bright, hot energy radiates out like a sun, and it reflects off the exterior globe the pocket dimension functions within, illuminating everything from every angle. The Brig floats around it in a slow orbit, as do many other similar looking box-rooms made of similar material, connected by constantly moving tubes and chutes. Some boxes have more chutes going toward them than others. No chutes connect to the Brig, unless someone is about to disappear into the floor...

Getting this view will be difficult, but not impossible; it will just take characters willing to blind themselves with an overabundance of light multiple times until they get the correct angle, allowing them to see outside for roughly a half second before the room shifts to redirect the light back into their eyes.

not so solitary confinement

Occasionally, the cube will split into smaller segments, throwing characters together with others at random in close confinement. This is unpredictable and fast, splitting you off from the whole for what feels like hours at a time, often with only one companion as the cube shifts and squirms around you.

technical malfunction

The power nullification is still in full effect. No magic or special abilities rule this place. Your only master are the walls, undulating with no discernible pattern, always moving.

The Regency has also attempted to break the BCE's translation capabilities, but due to the fact that COST-jailbroken BCEs work on a different system than Regency ones, this is an intermittent problem that occurs sporadically. (ie, have the translation capabilities blink in and out at your discretion.)

THE OTHER PLACE

And then, suddenly, the floor drops out from underneath you. The shifting walls make a hole perfectly your shape and size, and sucks you through. The hole closes neatly, immediately, and you slide along in a world of boxes pressing close to your skin as you are moved from one holding area to another.

When you emerge, you do so in total darkness. Power nullification is still in effect, but even if you can naturally see in the dark, it doesn't matter. All you can see is an endless blackness, and walking doesn't help. You can keep walking for however long; there is nothing to walk to. The floor is perfectly level, but you'll never reach a wall.

Finally, there's light in the distance. A spotlight from nowhere shines down on a person with the head of a jackal. Looking closer, you'll find it's some kind of highly technical mask. They are wearing armor that obscures their exact shape-- no skin shows, no hint of identity or personality, just the cold eyes of the mask. They turn to you, and speak in a voice clear and soothing, almost gentle.

"I am Kebechet. I have been looking forward to speaking with you."

agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-16 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
"I know much of Ancient England. Some of my ancestors hailed from those shores."

But Kebechet lets her go. She crashes through the door, only to find a wasteland outside. A battlefield, knights dead and dying in the mud, screaming horses and broken swords. The sky is dark, and ravens circle, looking for carrion. In the far distance, the fighting continues.
bloodings: (your life means)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-16 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
She's seen this — or something like it — before. The hill where she killed her father, and where her father killed her. A hand goes to her chest, half-expecting to find Rhongomyniad piercing through it. But it's not the actual battle of Camlann, just a scene equal in destruction to it. Destruction on a scale that should only ever happen once.

Mordred doesn't turn her face away, though. She stares in silence, listening to the screams, smelling the rot.

"Yeah? Then listen close," she says, finally. "I won't fail like my father did. Even if he was perfect— I'll surpass him. I'll show you that you're wrong."

About her. About him. She faces Kebechet again, her hand sweeping wide, taking in the battlefield.

"After all, I'm the only one who can destroy this land. You don't get to decide Britain's fate." And if she chooses to preserve it, instead, then this scene should never come to pass. "You're just pissing me off. Quit messing with my stuff."
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-16 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
"Why do you think I have any judgement upon you at all?" Kebechet's head tilts slightly in the putrid breeze. "Do you often find yourself judged and found wanting? Considering your unique circumstances..." Kebechet shrugs, and steps over a body before them. They plod through the mud and the blood. "But your fragile feelings are not why we are here, Mordred."
bloodings: (their lack of faith in you)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-16 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
She flinches, almost imperceptive. Not at her name, not at being called fragile, but at the implication of what they might know. Even if the Regency know who she is (and they do, clearly), none of that made it into the history books. None of her hatred, her anger at her birth, life, death. Only the final confrontation, with none of the emotion.

The fact it might just be bait doesn't occur to her. Balling her hands into fists, she steps follows Kebechet, her footsteps heavy.

"Shut up." It's angrier, carrying none of the smug attitude of before. "I'm going to kill you. So if you have something to say, then say it now."
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-16 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
Kebechet raises their hand. Mordred stands in rags, defenseless, without weapons or armor. "How do you intend to do that?"
bloodings: (i let you know)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-16 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
She shrugs.

"You can't keep me here forever. Eventually, you'll either kill me or trade me for something. And when that happens..." Her fist smacks against her open palm, the smirk on her face a little forced. "I'll come for you. You and your stupid mask."
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-17 12:15 am (UTC)(link)
"You seem very eager to do harm to one who has done none to you. A worrisome trait in royalty."

Kebechet sighs. "But I see you will not be reasoned with. I wish only to converse with you as befitting both our stations. I will ask you one last time: Will you calm? Or will I be forced to take more serious measures?"
bloodings: ♫ break } before their eyes (sometimes i feel)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-17 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
"You kidnapped me, asshole. And now you're messing around with Britain."

Maybe they haven't harmed her physically, but the isolation — taking her away from her Master — is still disruptive. If anything happens to Ryuji, or to anyone else, because she isn't there to help, she'll feel responsible.

"If you want an obedient pawn, look somewhere else. I'm not playing along with your crap." With no better way to show her distaste, she lifts her middle finger and thrusts out her hand. "I've already seen what you're trying to do."
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-17 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
"I do not want a pawn. I wish to speak plainly with this king I've heard so much about."

Something like a sigh emanates from Kebechet's mask.

"But it seems you are not the regal creature I've read so much about. So be it." And Kebechet... begins to disappear so subtly that it's as though they were never there, leaving Mordred alone on the battlefield. She may begin to feel something strange in her gut-- not painful, but shifting, heavy and familiar. Looking down, there will be a sword hilt growing out of her midsection, less as though she was stabbed, and more like it was always meant to be there. It's proper place, the stone it could be drawn from.
bloodings: (their lack of faith in you)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-17 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
The relief she feels at Kebechet's disappearance is tinged with wariness — at what might come next, at the idea of being left here instead of in the cube. Her instincts brace for an attack, but there's no preparing for what actually comes. She stares, dumbfounded, as the sword grows out of her, grabbing the hilt as if to try and stop it.

"Hey! What the hell?" A demand shouted across the bloody plain. Mordred has no doubt Kebechet, or someone else, is watching. Watching to see if she breaks. She hisses in anger, even as her gut churns. "Screw you! You think you could stand before my father with this?"

With both hands on the hilt, she yanks, grimacing at the sensation. It feels rooted in her body, like she's ripping a part of herself out. And yet she pulls with all her strength, as if she's proving her worth to the real sword in the stone, no matter her own fate.
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-17 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
The sword doesn't budge. It stays where it is, growing larger, the full length and more of the weapon that killed Mordred so long ago. The sharp edge embeds itself in a great ash tree behind her, sticking there, firmly in place. Mordred is pinned, trapped, stuck watching the scene unfold in front of her.

A coronation.

The Once and Future King sits on her throne, holding a circlet crown. She places it upon the head of another woman, blond and identical, but the beatific smile, the inner peace and grace, all point to an imposer. This is not Mordred. This is someone else. A third in a line of regal women, a late-comer, or something worse. Whoever she is, this replacement is deemed superior; she receives the crown with grace. She bows, and assembled crowds clap. All acknowledge her, and bow in return.

No one acknowledges Mordred, if they can hear or see her at all.
bloodings: (in the eyes)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-17 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
She can't pull it. It belongs in her, doesn't it? After all, she died still impaled by that lance; reaching out for her father one last time. Begging for his touch, and going unanswered. Her greatest fear—

—And it's happening again, right before her eyes. It has to be an illusion. But without her Instinct to guide her, to clear her sight, it feels as real as any other, and she howls. Full of rage, misery, and above all else, pain.

"That crown... belongs... to me!" Not really — but in her mind, it does, as surely as it belongs to King Arthur. Of course, she's deflecting. It isn't the crown that bothers her the most, but the acknowledgment. That her father would deign someone else worthy over her. No one loved the king more than her. No one followed the king as earnestly as her. And yet: "Do you hate me that much? Then I'll kill you! King Arthur!"

King Arthur. The impostor. Every single person in the crowd ignoring her. She reaches for her father, hands outstretched, as if to choke the life out of him herself. Even if she has to drag her entire body along the weapon growing into it.
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-17 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
None of the guests at the coronation notice Mordred. None save Arthur, perfect and resplendent as he was in life, turning his head toward Mordred at the last moment. He raises a gloved hand to point at his rejected heir, and makes a decisive gesture, a downward slash.

Blood begins to pour from the wound in Mordred's gut. Only now can the pain of it be felt. Still, it won't move.

Kebechet is at her shoulder, curious. "Is this how you want things?"
bloodings: (to save us all)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-17 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
She screams. The pain can't kill her, but it's almost enough to make her wish for death; even as she keeps trying to drag herself forward. Clenched against the shaft, her palms start to bleed, too, knuckles white from the force of her grip. And still, she lives, her rage refusing to subside.

"Father," she says, looking at the man (woman) that forms her mirror image. It sounds angry — but more than that, heartbroken. Her voice cracks when she twists her neck to look at Kebechet, eyes blazing with hatred. "You're the one holding me here! Let me go, you fool!"
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-18 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
"Is that what you want? To slay the king?"

Kebechet holds out their hand in an offer.

"I can arrange this for you. This king is but an echo of a possibility. You wish to kill the substance, do you not?"
Edited (jackal helmet malfunction) 2018-02-18 00:57 (UTC)
bloodings: (it's the me that)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-18 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
"Of course! But I'll do it myself. I don't need you!"

Says the girl pinned and bleeding. Mordred glares daggers at Kebechet's hand, hating the part of her that wants to take it. But—

"You can't force him to acknowledge me. Even if you did, it's meaningless." Only the Holy Grail can grant her wish to confront the sword in the stone. Only that will make him see her. She coughs violently, spitting blood, the redness staining her teeth as she bares them. "So go to hell. And take your shitty deal with you."
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-18 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
"Acknowledgement?" There's a derisive sound, almost like a scoff. "I was speaking of defeat. You wish to destroy him. We will not aid you, only provide you the opportunity."
bloodings: (i'll never show)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-18 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"No. I have no intention of becoming king that way."

Mordred squirms again, refusing to remain still and compliant. How long can she survive like this? Probably forever, if Kebechet wants. She isn't even sure any of this is real, though the pain certainly is.

"My wish is different. I want to do more than destroy him." He'll look at her, finally, whether it's with love or hate. For that, she has to earn it. "You don't get it at all."

No one does. Not even Mordred herself, in truth. She wants the crown because, without it, her father could smile and laugh like a normal person. But she's so hellbent on surpassing him that she can't see her own wish.
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-19 03:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"I do understand," Kebechet says, soft, soothing. "I wish to do more than destroy my enemies. They need to be reformed, remade, erased or re-purposed. Do not assume your dreams are alien to me."

The Arthur in front of them smiles, beatific, reaching out for something distant, behind Mordred and Kebechet both.
bloodings: (one day it all)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-19 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
That's even worse, isn't it? Even when she longs to kill the king, to surpass him... she doesn't want to remake him. King Arthur was, is, perfect, from beginning to end. Instead of the king failing the people, the people failed the king. Including her. But only she had a reason for betraying him, no matter how selfish.

"If you tried to do any of that... I'd stop you. Don't you dare talk about changing him."

Even still, she twists her head, trying to see what her father is reaching for. Another wave of pain surges through her gut, and she clenches her teeth, nearly hard enough to crack them.
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-02-22 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
"Change? No. If we wanted to do that, we would have already." Said without the slightest care.

Another figure, clumsy and harsh, identical and golden-- Mordred, or a shadow of her. A ghost image, a possibility. She dances behind the genuine article, shimmering like a reflection caught on the water. Arthur smiles. She smiles back.

"What we could offer is an opportunity."
bloodings: (you can't shake)

[personal profile] bloodings 2018-02-22 11:27 am (UTC)(link)
"An opportunity, huh."

She's tired, she realizes. Not physically — despite the lack of mana, despite the blood pooling at her feet. But mentally. The Arthur before her isn't real, the Mordred behind her isn't real, and yet it hurts to watch them both. She wants to say stop it. What she says instead is—

"So I'm supposed to betray my Master, and everyone else, just so you can use me." The moment she does something the Regency doesn't like — what then? Do they offer someone the 'opportunity' to change things, and get rid of her? "Maybe I am a treacherous knight. But I rebel on my own terms, not for someone like you. And no amount of sweet talk is gonna change my mind on that."
agogenpc: (⌞KEBECHET⌝)

[personal profile] agogenpc 2018-03-03 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"We shall see." Kebechet says, with a touch of obvious regret in their voice. "But there are worse things than compliance with a peaceful kingdom."

Somewhere beneath their feet, a fire starts, crackling and smoldering. Everything begins to burn, and King Arthur goes first, their screams empty and silent as the fire consumes them.