Sosiqui
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Phaedra and Nergal: Old Gods, Old Names
"Thabara" Nergal's attention, when he entered the Pantheon through the main door, was almost immediately drawn towards the throne, the golden figure lounging lazily on the twisted seat. What Right did she have...?! His eyes narrowed, surprised by the surge of immense dislike he felt at the mere sight of that golden goddess. He had never seen her before, not in this life at least, and yet.. and yet.. Avaritia. Slowly, things were starting to make sense. If it was indeed Her time to ascend to the throne - and the air was thick with the influence of her domain - then.. He needed to know. He turned, looking over the small group which had followed him inside. "Go on," he said softly, addressing Echo directly. "Go ahead to Light's room while I pay my respects to the throne." He took the blue-haired goddess' hands into his for a moment, and breathed a chaste kiss upon her forehead. "I will be with you in a minute - this will not take long." Then he turned and strode towards the throne, not looking back, hoping that Music would heed his words. He did not want to give Greed even the slightest chance to mess with the gentle goddess. "Sosiqui" Such a motley crew before her Throne - no wonder her Emperor had been so displeased, with the state of things. Mortals came glazed, dazed, barely understanding the import of what they saw. Their offerings were pathetic. If this was what they brought when forced, she could only imagine the paltry and empty things they offered of their own wills. They had forgotten the Ways. A flash of white caught her eye. White- that was strange, in this landscape. What had been white was usually reduced quickly to gray or worse, tainted with ash and the radiant foulness of the Age. Purity was to be treasured. ... But the dead, those remain pure, do they not? Even when they shouldn't? A slow smile curved across Phaedra's face. "Welcome, Underworld." "Zero Dream" Echo glanced at him, worry in her eyes. Was that.... really safe ? But.... she had been right there, as well. He deserved to see for himself - maybe he would see, understand something that had eluded her. "Be careful." She whispered softly, before turning and leading her little group upstairs. "Thabara" The unusual cold that seemed to come with his presence, was enough at least to make the mortals shift out of his way, many of them bearing an expression as if someone had just stepped onto their graves. But it only lasted for moments - a little longer for those who'd been within the vicinity of his wingspan - before their senses were enraptured anew by Greed's golden glory. He did not stop his pace until he stood right in front of the dais, his alabaster-white skin and formal appearance a stark contrast to the goddess' lavish luxury of black and gold and glittering gems. "Avaritia," he said, inclining his head politely, showing only the barest minimum of respect. He did not smile. There was the cocoon the others had talked about, a strange shape turned inside out. Changing. There were the windows, masterpieces of stained glass, telling the story of the Making of All That Is. Four of them were broken. Shattering glass. A trumpet blown. "What is the meaning of this?" "Sosiqui" "An old name, that." She reveled in it for a moment, her feathers lifting slightly behind her. "From an old..." She let that trail off, just into a smile. She would not say friend, but if he wished to fill in the blank himself, with his word of choice... then she could learn from his reaction. Learn how he had changed, or failed to change. "Something terrible has happened to our Lord, as you have no doubt divined." Phaedra indicated the Chrysalis in a slow nod. "Surely you have felt the touch of other influences. Sloth, Envy... Lust." She lingered on that one, just for a moment. "Sadly, they were not available to take the Throne. But I am, and I have, as is my right. Does that answer your question?" "Thabara" The judge's lips pulled into a thin, mirthless smile, not doing her the favor to complete the sentence. He hated this careful tiptoeing around at another's court, were things unsaid could mean just as much as things said. More even. He'd never been good at this game, avoided it whenever it had been possible. Let them come to me instead. Sooner or later everyone did. "I have felt it," he admitted, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. But he cast a short glance at the small group ascending the flight of stairs towards the upper floor, lingering on Echo's white-clad figure - and the tiny, wispy flames which trailed after her - for a moment longer than was probably wise. "Yes, that answers my question, to an extent." War, Famine, Plague.. Those would be next, he was almost certain. He had been familiar with those. But after that, it got hazy. There must be more, there were more windows that remained still unbroken. Countless deaths, and he was not ready. As if that would matter. "Do you know what brought this about?" The more important question remained still unsaid. Did she know what could be done to stop it. "Sosiqui" Phaedra spotted the glance, registered it, and filed it away. That, that was interesting... but now was not the time for needling Underworld, as amusing as the prospect might be. She looked down at him with a frown, instead. "I do not. If you do, tell me." It was not a request. "Thabara" "Mind you, I was not here myself when it happened, so my information is only second hand." He turned, looking over Greed's worshipers while carefully weighing what to tell her, and - more importantly - what to withhold. "From what I heard, this was a single grigori's doing, who escaped her exile in the Ashlands. She fled, but she took with her a prize, an arm of the Empress. She goes by the name of Samyaza." "Sosiqui" "Grigori." Another old word, that summoned to mind whispers of ancient things, and time of great glory for her brother War... but little else. "I see." She filed the name away, Samyaza, with narrowed eyes. So that was who to blame. A name, a species, and little else. Such a small thing to search the whole of All for, but she would not prostrate herself before Underworld for knowledge. For a moment, Phaedra pondered trying to force it out of him, but if he had not seen... "Who did see? Who was there?" she demanded. She would find a better target, someone more pliable than cold Underworld. "Second-hand information is of little use to me." "Thabara" "The Empress of course, Kishara. But I know not what state she's in, or where she may have been brought to heal." That was information he certainly would like to have himself. "Most others present were younglings, hosts." Like hell he was going to mention that Echo had been there. He did not want Greed anywhere close to her, nor his children. Children. The thought was strange, still. Eamnonn had been there as well, but he - just as Illumin - had been involved directly with bringing Samyaza to this plane, so he quickly discarded the idea of mentioning him. They did not need Avaritia messing with their leave. Who then, who? Had anyone else been mentioned by name? Ah. "Gianfar," he said, firmly. Echo had mentioned him while she had packed, how he had seemed strangely familiar with the grigori. Lien had spoken of him too, a while ago, seeming rather fond of him. "He is Knowledge." There, that hopefully should give her what she wanted. "A question for you then, Golden One." He stepped back, quietly counting the windows. Four broken. Ten more remaining. "What happens when the final window breaks, do you know?" "Sosiqui" Phaedra filed those names away as well. She was, frankly, surprised that he was answering her questions without protest or chastisement. Perhaps rebirth had made Underworld less hidebound and stuffy. Or perhaps he simply didn't want to risk her wrath. That was a nice thought, but she doubted it was true. He had never been afraid of her. "Oh, that," she sighed, leaning her head on one hand. "The End, I suspect. The Influences are peeling away from the Form now. When we Seven are ended, then..." What followed? She wasn't sure. "Then will come other things, none so kind. Ask your Knowledge if you seek a scholar's detail." She said it in a bored tone, as if she had better things to worry about than the world ending. "Thabara" The End. He had feared as much, but it was another thing to hear it said out loud in so casually a tone. "Perhaps I will." Ten more windows. Ten more weeks. If we are lucky, that is. Who knows what the influences will be.. No more time to waste. He turned to leave, but then he paused. There was one more thing.. And it was too important, too dangerous in nature to not to mention it. "That grigori woman.. There is a reason as to why she took off with Gaia's arm. The plane to which her kind was exiled could only be reached through Gaia's flesh, and now.. it is likely that she seeks to free her kin." "Sosiqui" Phaedra blinked, then frowned, her tail tapping against the Throne as it betrayed her unease. If one such creature had done all of this... "Passing strange," and by that she meant not just the actions of this Samyaza, but Underworld himself as well. He was being practically cordial, and that was odd enough to nearly set her off-kilter. He was supposed to be the stone and ice to her laughing mockery. Thief of the Dead. Jikininki. Barbs came to mind, and died on her lips. She could not manage it. "Thabara" Nergal quirked a brow, taking note of the goddess' unease. The gods knew, he had more than enough practice deciphering the body language of anything feline by now, thanks to basically tripping over those annoying furballs every single day. Greed was not her usual self, it seemed, which was strange, as one would expect her to be even more so in her current position of power. He had expected her to taunt him, to point out how many of the riches presented to her had been stolen from the tombs and crypts of kings and nobles - he had recognized quite a few - but she didn't. And, honestly, he wouldn't even have cared, if she did. Not now, not anymore. Strange how his priorities had shifted. He wondered if it was perhaps simply that - the Throne, the responsibility that came with taking the Crown's Seat. Don't be ridiculous. She, least of all, wouldn't let herself be bothered by responsibility. But certainly the End of All could not be in her interest either? There was no point to be gathering all those riches if one couldn't keep them.. That he himself might have something to do with her apparent unease did not even remotely cross his mind. He turned fully and looked her over, a lone, elegant figure in ebony and gold, like one of those art deco statuettes. He remembered distinctly how put off he had been when he had first laid eyes upon the Throne - that there was only one, when he knew for sure there'd been an Empress at His side, reborn even. There'd been two thrones at the heart of his own realm - even long after she had been gone, never to return from that futile quest of hers to save him, and his domain. But before that.. Before Ankou, even.. "It is quite lonely up there, is it not?" he asked absently. It was not meant to taunt - she, least of all, would wish to share, such a thing was wholly against her nature. But.. he saw no one else of his kin around. She would want to be admired, remembered. Golden, shining glory, everlasting. Everyone wished to be remembered, once their time was over. He shrugged, not really expecting an answer from her. What would he do, had he the right to ascend to the Throne? But he had found nothing which referred to the Realm of the Dead when he had skimmed over the stylized motives of the windows, and - honestly - why should there be? What raison d'être was there for him, if All was going to End? "Give my regards to War, should he appear to take the Throne," he said, and turned to leave, for real this time. He had wasted enough time here. |
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O noble conflagration, incinerate all! Razing Phoenix!
X3 heart
P.S. - Don't forget to save the world!
O noble conflagration, incinerate all! Razing Phoenix!
X3 heart
P.S. - Don't forget to save the world!
