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"...a grand destiny? So it's not just my delusional dreams then..."

His words seemed to cause her a rare, unguarded, moment of introspection, spoken aloud.
Musing, she rubbed her temples, then darted around, as if someone was behind her she intended to catch... but there was no one there.

"Sorry. Tired. A mere footnote will not be your fate, I promise. We can do far better than that. How are you doing regarding the vitae?"

Were it not for her slight distraction, she'd likely have picked up on the shakes, but as things stood, she did not. About to answer his comment about voices, she paused as he continued, and nodded once, settling into her chair with her smoke.

"Shoot. I will answer as best I can. What's troubling you?"

"....."

She sighed, dropped her head and rubbed her forehead, then glanced up at Dagoth.

"For every time I try to move those things out of the conscious mind, they find a way to get attention. They are like a rip in reality, and the more attention you pay it, the larger the rip becomes, the weaker the wall.

The swords. There are seven. Corbin has all my books and documents on them, but in essence, they contain deities from the old world, gods if you will, with specialised areas of power. They react only to the correct hosts however, and while powerful, they are sentient and dangerous in their own right. Anyone who is not of the right line will perish trying to handle them, and even those who are acceptable... well, they aren't benevolent.

The worst of them all seems interested in Corbin. I do not yet know whether this could work out in my favour, or against, and another seems interested in Nines. He is adamant its a bad thing, and I don't blame him for that.

Even my own symbiote is perplexed at the sudden levels of activities, now, here, among you all. it is very very troubling.

"You can't kill a storm, or a tornado, or a fire. They can be contained, delayed, quelled, but they never go away and people will always believe in them because they are real.

I once heard a plan to kill Santa Claus that would work, but you can't kill nature.

As for the hosts... for Corbin and Nines... perhaps. I won't lie, I don't know what the future hol... What will be will be, and we can only deal with what happens. For what its worth, I think Nines at least is too stubborn to let himself become that kind of problem. Corbin though... there's something... I don't know.

Apparently, it's all about the blood. Wish I knew exactly what that was supposed to mean."

She finished her smoke with one long, savage drag at the cancer stick before stubbing it out in an ash tray and shaking her head.

"Come with me. I will show you. That is, if you want to risk knowing more. Like I said, attention weakens the barrier."

"No, there's already too many of them where we're going, and no earthly weapon will help if the s**t hits the fan."

With that charmingly positive outlook, she led the way out of the bedroom, and down to the ground floor. There, she led the way through the crest-sealed doors Dagoth had already had one glimpse behind.

Down, down, into the rock, into the tunnel carved above the natural cave under the mansion. There, from the circular antechamber with the cells and the like radiating off from it, she pulled up the trapdoor carefully concealed in the floor, and shielded her eyes against the bright pulsing glow from beneath.

"Last chance to run like a sane person."

Smiling, she dropped the hole. If Dagoth elected to follow, a rather extraordinary scene would meet his eyes.
In the cave below, was a shrine. At one end, a pool of water, slightly cloudy and rimed with mist. At the other, a hewn stone alter, decorated in bizarre carvings, into the top of which was slotted a familiar sword - Roan;s blade, Ferago.

Between the two, sat cross legged in the middle of the floor, was the Daemon Také-Mikazuchi, deep in meditation. Electricity crackled around his immediate vicinity, arcing out to several other weapons suspended in mid air around him. One was a wicked jagged-edged sabre looking blade. The next, a scythe with a razor edge that seemed to cut the very light falling on it. The third, a straight bored greatsword looking weapon.

All three weapons sat encaged by the arcing bands of electric power, two of the weapons spinning and vibrating, while the third remained placid and still, the energy around it more constant and undisturbed.

"Now is not a good time. My brothers seek their blood rite. Denying them is taxing."
"I know. Prehaps it is time we stopped fighting it?"
"You should not have brought company. another witness weakens what little I can do."
"I know. But it is a decision I feel had to be made."

Standing behind the Daemon, with her hand on its shoulder, Roan's mismatched eyes appeared to be made of white lightning themselves as the power ebbed and flowed in its gentle pulse around the Daemon, flowing out to the three weapons.

"Please... even I do not have that blessed release, and I'd hardly allow my kin to achieve it before me."

Growling back at Dagoth half-heartedly, the Daemon cracked open one eye, before going back to focusing on his work.

"What Také means is... they cant escape, just as he is not entirely free of the blade I weild. He is merely attempting to contain their attempts to reach and bind with new hosts.
Like I said, I'm not entirely sure whether allowing it would be good OR bad, and so we've been trying to avoid it where we can. Lately though.. Okra and Damaris have both been reacting a lot, and Nines and Corbin have heard the Daemons within, even WITH Také trying to keep them at bay.
The only reason he is so potent right now is because this is a very old shrine dedicated to the storm gods, and sits on a ley line."

Without really realising she was doing it, Roan was massaging the back of Také's broad, huge shoulders, between the faint, vague impressions of wings in the air. It was clear from their proximity and this brief, unexpected tenderness, that the two were very close. Strange, considering their different stations and lots in life.

"My brother."
"His brother."

The two spoke simultaneously in response to the question, then glanced at each other.

"Not here. Take him elsewhere. At least the boy isn't in the house at the moment."
"Alright. Are... are you ok?"
"I am immortal. Do not vex me further. This isn't as easy as it looks."

Nodding, Roan beckoned Dagoth and led the way up the ladder to leave the shrine, and Také to work in peace. She would not speak again until they were on the second floor, near the guest rooms.

"Like I said, Corbin has all my books on this stuff at the moment. I'm sure he wont mind giving em to you once he's done."

"Only potential armageddon, and then only if we had all seven swords and weak hosts.
At this point, it would take a lot to push Také over the edge into his old self. We
have been... together way too long.

My concerns lay more with Nines and Corbin not bonding well with the weapons, should they try to take them up, or being driven mad by the Daemons themselves. I am resting easy at least in that Ice would not get what he wanted from them with those two anyway. Nines is too stubborn and Corbin has a child's loyalty.

As for the third blade... who knows.The danger, for now, lies with those I care for, not for the world at large. That is why I have asked Také to try and silence them, instead of letting people make their own choices.

I care for the outcome."

She shrugged, then noted his tiredness. Gently touching his shoulder she nudged him towards his room.

"Sleep. You are weary and I haven't helped."