Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

4

primary

Initially serene and reverent, then overwhelmed by sudden terror as violence erupts; her peaceful rituals replaced by incapacitating shock.

Arana moves through the hall in quiet devotion, placing a rose on the altar before engaging Shockeye with cautious curiosity. After being struck from behind, she collapses unconscious, her autonomy and dignity stripped in a single violent motion. Her aging body and mind are immediately commodified by Shockeye, reducing her to a tool for temporal experimentation.

Goals in this moment

• To fulfill her devotional ritual undisturbed
• To survive the sudden, unprovoked assault

Active beliefs

• That sacred spaces are sanctuaries where harm is unlikely
• That politely acknowledging strangers is a safe social norm

Character traits

devout elderly vulnerable unwitting

Follow Doña Arana …'s journey

Shockeye of the Quauncing Grig

Androgum Culinary Artisan

primary

Ruthlessly pragmatic, unbound by empathy or moral constraint; driven by hunger for control and exploitation.

Shockeye enters the scene as a destabilizing force, initially unnoticed until Arana’s stick alerts him. He responds with instantaneous, brutal dominance, striking her with precision to neutralize resistance. Assessing her body clinically, he views her as raw material rather than a person, prioritizing utility over ethics. His attempt to delegate the task exposes his reliance on coercion and the fragility of his alliance with disciplined forces like the Sontarans.

Goals in this moment

• To dominate and eliminate perceived interference
• To claim Arana’s body as a resource for Chessene’s scheme

Active beliefs

• That all things exist to be used, particularly the weak
• That violence is a valid and efficient means to an end

Character traits

ruthless opportunistic predatory dominant

Follow Shockeye of …'s journey

Varl

Major

primary

Coldly dismissive of civilian demands, maintaining rigid adherence to Sontaran protocol despite contextual urgency.

Varl appears as an imposing military presence, bound by strict hierarchy and disdain for civilian authority. When ordered to carry Arana’s body, he refuses with uncompromising defiance, asserting Sontaran superiority and chain of command. His refusal highlights the tension between brute force and structured violence, revealing that even Chessene’s ambitions require military cooperation she cannot fully command.

Goals in this moment

• To uphold Sontaran military discipline and hierarchy
• To avoid complicity in unauthorized civilian operations

Active beliefs

• That orders from civilians are inherently illegitimate
• That military strength derives from strict adherence to protocol

Character traits

disciplined contemptuous uncompromising hierarchy-bound

Follow Varl's journey

Supporting 1

Chessene

Augmented assistant to Professor Dastari

secondary

Coldly analytical and detached, prioritizing temporal advantage over individual suffering.

Chessene remains physically absent but exerts absolute psychological control over the scene. Her voice carries authority through Shockeye, who executes her will with immediacy. She evaluates Arana’s attributes remotely, recognizing value in her age and mind, reflecting her cold calculation and disregard for life. Chessene’s orchestration exposes her reliance on operatives who balance ferocity with functionality, even as their alliance cracks under scrutiny.

Goals in this moment

• To secure Arana’s mind for temporal engineering
• To maintain operational momentum regardless of collateral cruelty

Active beliefs

• That intelligence and resources justify any act
• That others are merely tools for her ambitions

Character traits

calculating manipulative absentee dominatrix strategic

Follow Chessene's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

3

Arana's White Walking Stick

Arana’s white walking stick initially serves as a mobility aid and devotional aide in her quiet ritual, its polished surface and fitting grip familiar to her frail hands. After she inadvertently hits Shockeye’s foot with it, it becomes an accidental catalyst for violence—knocking against his flesh like an unheard greeting. The cane is then jolted from her grip and abandoned on the tiled floor as she falls, its functional role reduced from support to a silent witness to the assault.

Before: In Arana’s possession, polished, erect, functioning as a …

After: Abandoned on the floor after being struck away, …

Before: In Arana’s possession, polished, erect, functioning as a mobility aid and ritual accessory. Located near her hand as she moves toward the altar.

After: Abandoned on the floor after being struck away, dislodged during the violent scuffle, no longer of immediate use.

Saint Teresa Statue (Doña Arana's Entrance Hall)

The statue of Saint Teresa stands as a mute witness to Arana’s devotion, its carved stone face upturned in serene prayer beneath flickering gaslight. The statue’s presence offers fleeting sanctuary, its sacred aura contrasting with the sudden brutality unfolding. Arana’s final act before collapse brings her into unintended proximity with the statue’s pedestal, embedding the moment of violence within the sacred space, transforming reverence into profanity.

Before: Standing undisturbed on its pedestal, draped with Arana’s …

After: Still upright, but now overshadowed by the fallen …

Before: Standing undisturbed on its pedestal, draped with Arana’s rose and bathed in dim, reverential light.

After: Still upright, but now overshadowed by the fallen woman and the scent of fresh violation; the rose remains at its base.

Altar

The makeshift altar becomes a grotesque inversion of its sacred purpose when Chessene uses it to usurp Arana’s mind. Though no explicit ritual occurs here during the attack, the stone slab—worn smooth by devotion—bears silent testimony to the transition from piety to predation. Its surface now bears the imprint of a life violently repurposed, marking the first step in reducing Arana to an instrument of temporal domination.

Before: Positioned at the center of the entrance hall, …

After: Same physical structure, but now associated with coercive …

Before: Positioned at the center of the entrance hall, bearing faint traces of offerings and reverence, serving as a locus of quiet ritual.

After: Same physical structure, but now associated with coercive domination; marks the first stage of Arana’s mind being claimed.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

3

Entrance Hall Altarpiece Alcove

The altar alcove serves as Arana’s sacred retreat within the larger hall, a space where her quiet ritual is momentarily intact. Shielded from full view and softly lit, it becomes a target precisely because of its association with fragility and hope. The shadows here deepen as violence erupts, and the space itself becomes the first site of temporal appropriation, where a living mind is literally claimed for Chessene’s purposes.

Atmosphere Hushed, intimate, reverent before the attack; becomes charged with sudden, suffocating terror amid sacred symbols.

Function Sanctuary transformed into staging ground for coercive extraction, symbolizing the perversion of faith into domination.

Symbolism Represents the sacred violated by profane intent; where the spiritual gives way to the grotesque.

Access Implicitly open to those who enter the hall, but the alcove’s seclusion makes it a …

Dim light pooling in shadows, enhancing seclusion Scent of old incense or beeswax lingering in cool air

Killingworth Public Mining Bathhouse (Grand Entrance)

The entrance hall functions as a transient sanctuary where Arana’s fragile piety encounters Shockeye’s predation. The warmth from geothermal pipes, muted brass lamps, and miners’ coats lend an illusion of communal safety, quickly dispelled by bloodshed and coercion. The tiled floor becomes a stage for violence, absorbing the sounds of struggle and brittle resistance, while the hall’s openness ensures no refuge exists beyond the immediate clash of wills and orders.

Atmosphere Peaceful yet brittle, with an undercurrent of latent violence beneath the surface warmth and routine …

Function Stage for confrontation between predatory force and vulnerable faith, and battlefield for asserting control over …

Symbolism Represents the erosion of sanctuaries and the fragility of safety when malevolent forces intersect with …

Geothermal warmth rising from subterranean pipes Flickering gas lamps in brass sconces casting long shadows

Centre of Leisure

The main staircase functions as the path of egress and power for Chessene and Varl, its worn stone steps carrying the weight of retreat and authority. After the violence, Varl and Chessene ascend, their movement signaling the transition from violent subjugation to strategic ascendancy. The staircase itself broadcasts the theme of ascent—spiritually or morally bankrupt—and the architectural division between violence below and planning above, reinforcing the power imbalance.

Atmosphere Heavy with latent authority and the squeak of protesting timber, echoing the shifting balance of …

Function Means of escape and symbolic rise toward dominance, separating the enforcers from the site of …

Symbolism Embodies the trajectory of unchecked ambition—upward, away from consequence, toward higher rungs of control.

Wide stone steps with heraldic sigils blurred by centuries of dust Carpet runners, once rich, now moth-nibbled and frayed

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 4

Causal

"Doña Arana's devout and peaceful nature as she prays (beat_9699be77c29adebd) makes her exploitation by Shockeye and Chessene's plan to use her mind all the more tragic and horrifying (beat_c53d4cfefa05d30b), emphasizing the theme of exploitation."

Shockeye strikes prayerful Arana