Foraines
A Foraine -- French for 'fairground' -- is a phenomenon that traps people and causes their Shadow to be trapped within a supernatural space within their cognitive selves, manifesting as a space that reflects that individual's desires: what they want, what they crave, what they miss and long for, and what shields them from the world. A Foraine, just like its name, typically appears as a deceptively positive and pleasant place; it is the escape from reality, often but not always viewed with rose-tinted glasses with powerful draws of nostalgia and comfort.
A victim trapped in a Foraine retains full functional behaviour in the real world, but they are manic and deliriously happy, to the point where they may hurt themself through carelessness or excesses, not to mention lacking any judgements or cautions within their role in society that may cause other people harm as a result.
If left alone for too long, a Foraine will ultimately collapse in on itself, consuming the victim's Shadow and leaving the host body in a Shadow-less state not dissimilar to that observed in people with Apathy Syndrome.
The difference from Apathy Syndrome is that in physical reality, the victim's body instead presents as being trapped in nostalgic bliss, barely functional, as if they were playing the greatest day of their life on repeat.
It is also noteworthy that unlike other spaces like Ateliers and Palaces, Foraines do not possess other Shadows or Cognitions within them. A victim isn't capable of simply creating an ideal, fond clone of a person they're attracted to in a Foraine -- but are inevitably drawn to the idea that if they want that person there, they should lure them in. Indeed, in this sense, Foraines are dangerous spaces, as they have the capability to lure unawakened bystanders close to the victim in. As a space that represents the victim's cravings and desires, they have the tendency to play on the wants of those close to them as well, appearing as inviting and appealing -- until it is too late for them to back away.
Foraines have the tendency to draw in Demonic archetypes that feed on the intense emotions that they generate. These Demons are typically themed to suit the Foraine that they become part of, and become part and parcel as the defence system of the Foraine itself as the victim asserts control over lesser archetypes and weaves them into their blissful narrative.
Bystanders that enter a Foraine typically become ensnared in the Foraine, forced to play out a part of the victim's desires or nostalgia, and are jealously guarded by the Demons that will do everything in their power to keep them there until rescued. A Bystander that stays in a Foraine when it collapses will ultimately suffer the same fate, their Shadows consumed and leaving them in a state of repetitive bliss.
Notably, Foraines are not naturally occurring spaces -- though they're ultimately constructed from the natural cognitive fabrics within the victim, the manifestation and population of one is inflicted by external forces. Foraines move along with the victim in material reality.
A Foraine is typically labelled by a trait relevant to the victim -- Foraine du/de/de la <trait>.
Accessing Foraines
If you are awakened as a Persona User, you can spot cognitive "tracks" (that vary and are personally relevant to the person afflicted by a Foraine) in material reality within roughly a half-kilometre radius of the victim that, if followed, will lead you to a Foraine. While they are colloquially called "tracks", they do not need to be literal tracks -- the image of a deceased loved one suddenly appearing before a bystander and convincing them to follow, or one's nostalgic song that they associate with the death of a family member, for instance, is one such instance of a "track."
These tracks also appear to those close to the person, as discussed above, even though they are unawakened, as Foraines represent an individual's cravings and desires, and thus have a tendency to appear very inviting and appealing to those close to them as well. This does mean that Foraines cause danger to the unawakened by being able to snare them into danger. Indeed, Foraines have a tendency to catch bystanders in their wake and put them at risk.
A Persona-User typically has enough integrity of self to not be lured into a Foraine unless they wish it; they'll be able to identify the threshold that they need to cross in order to actually enter said supernatural space. This is prudent, since even to experienced Persona-Users and Hunters, it's a dangerous idea to simply follow cognitive tracks without preparation. This is because…
Quarries
Above and beyond the Demons that populate a Foraine, the person's Shadow manifests an Armoured archetype to defend its territory in the form of a beast known as a Quarry. The Quarry typically is a type of beast or creature of legend, though not always, depending on what suits the person in question.
A Persona-User or bystander that enters a Foraine without preparation typically immediately alerts the Quarry of the Foraine, which is how Bystanders typically get caught and trapped within the Foraine. In order to enter a Foraine without alerting the Quarry in question, one has to have a solid idea of the victim of the Foraine, via gathering information about them through mundane methods. The more complete the picture of one's profile of the victim, the better chance one has of safely entering into a Foraine.
The most effective information, as might make sense, relates to what the victim longs for or craves most -- the very things that created the Foraine in the first place, which is not always something that one may reason out without insight from those close to them. It's also why it's a bit of a race against time -- with Foraines naturally drawing those close to the victim in, those that can explain best are also at highest risk.
Even after safe entry into a Foraine and navigating the obstacles and defeating the Demons within, one will ultimately come to the innermost sanctum of the Foraine where the victim's sense of bliss and avoidance is at its greatest. At this point, even if one engages the Quarry, they'll find that it's virtually indestructible in its sanctum of power: A Quarry, more than anything else, represents the Shadow's avoidance mechanism, as reinforced by the Foraine in question. As an archetype forged from the emotions created from this avoidance, it has supreme power over other cognitive beings within the Foraine.
Another, final step of investigation is required in order to make the Quarry vulnerable.
The Silver Bullet
This step involves a Silver Bullet, a metaphor for an item, argument or fact of direct evidence that contradicts the very existence of the Foraine. The Silver Bullet needs to be produced to pierce the victim and correspondingly the Quarry's veil of bliss and avoidance. For instance, a Foraine centered around the idea of someone's mother still being alive may have a Silver Bullet of evidence and an argument that their mother, in fact, died in a car crash.
The act of "breaking the glass" by firing said metaphorical bullet agitates the person's Shadow to a massive degree, sending the Quarry into a frenzy -- but this same frenzy also makes the Quarry vulnerable, as the fury and agitation causes them to drop their guard.
Inevitably, an agitated Quarry needs to be confronted in battle and hunted. Upon the completion of a successful Hunt, the Shadow will be vulnerable to negotiation and dialogue, having been exposed to the Silver Bullet. What follows is typically an integration of the Shadow back into the self, and from there, the process of healing is a simply mundane one that involves the hard work of having to accept that what one believed as blissful was, in fact, not reality.
This, then, ties into how the Wild Hunt have been doing it, through Laurent's special Capture ability, which forcibly brings the Shadow out of the Foraine and into his own in order to be released from the effects of their own cognitive bliss. While on the surface, this looks like a much easier and cleaner process, it does miss the confrontation of one's reality and ultimately has a much weaker process of allowing oneself to heal from what caused the distortion of the Foraine in the first place.
Wariness Level
Within a Foraine, there exists the hunter and the hunted. Who is in what position often depends upon the wariness of the Quarry, the beast of myth that a Shadow has armored itself with.
One must take care within a Foraine not to alert the Quarry. Fighting Demons recklessly as to give them enough time to cry out for help is the quickest way to do so, but even taking as much care as possible, killing enough Demons to leave an eerie quiet within parts of the foraine will be noticed by the quarry.
As wariness level rises, the Demons of the Foraine begin to draw upon skills that camouflage resonance. They no longer wander in predictable patterns, instead they hide, they seek to ambush.
And worse yet, the Quarry begins to stalk the hunters encroaching upon its territory.
The Quarry, with its form disguised to appear as a dark blur, will begin to ambush Persona Users mid-battle with other Demons unexpectedly, attacking with savage speed and efficiency, before running back into cover and vanishing using Anti-Navigator abilities. (For more on these abilities, see: Resonance)
These attrition tactics will begin to wear upon the Persona Users hunting the Quarry, forcing them to withdraw lest they be overwhelmed.
It takes at least a day for Wariness levels of the Quarry to drop, usually until the person in question is able to sleep next. Until then, they'll often experience extreme anxiety and paranoia that someone is out to get them.
At the lowest level of wariness, the Quarry is not aware of Persona Users, and Demons will appear throughout the Foraine without trying to conceal themselves overmuch.
At Wariness Level: Apprehension, the Quarry begins to wander the foraine outside of its center, searching for the signs of what is wrong. At this level, it does not ambush Persona Users unless they are careless and spotted out in the open. Demons of the Foraine will only occasionally ambush Persona Users.
When it reaches Wariness Level: Hypervigilance, the Quarry begins to stalk the party personally. There's roughly a 20% chance that it will interrupt any encounter with other Demons to attack the party, before then running into cover again with hit and run attrition tactics. Not only that, but the majority of Demons will lay in wait to ambush the party themselves.
Once the Quarry reaches Wariness Level: Frenzy, it not only knows of the party's presence, but it understands its prey implicitly. The Foraine is eerily quiet with only the illusion of being empty, and an ambush awaits Persona Users around every corner. The Quarry is not only actively aware of all Persona Users within its domain, but it's empowered by its knowledge of them from reading their resonance during their clumsy exploration.
It will jump the party in roughly half of all encounters with demons, and not only that target, it will target weaknesses nearly exclusively. If it does not have attacks that target someone's weakness, it gains them from some facet of their domain while it is at this wariness level.
There's no way to get around 'Frenzy'. To remain isn't possible without potentially paying the ultimate price.
Credits
Writing Credits:
- Ruzica Crvena
- Penguin Sniper - Wariness Levels