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 Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 11:47 am
 It was a beautiful day today, and so Echo had decided to settle in the gardens for the time being. For now the goddess was idly tuning her lute before she could begin playing. She would most likely gather a crowd, but it certainly was not a problem for her at all.
Strings were plucked, sound echoed in the air, and them Music moved - tightening or losening strings - accordingly.
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:01 pm
Valyrmora and Alva found themselves walking through the gardens too, it was a nice day and important, Val felt to enjoy the peace of the upper world, she knew that when she was able to get into the Underworld she was going to be down there for a long time sorting the place out.
The music drifted easily across the peaceful gardens and caught attention of the pair of them. Val liked music, granted more jaunty tunes, probably accompanied by a bawdy song, but she was still able to appreciate the beauty of the strings and their refined tune. Alva too was interested. She had never heard anything so beautiful in her life, no one in her family played an instrument, she had heard simple music in her childhood at fairs but nothing as skilled as this.
Let's see.
Val did not object and followed her ears to find a beautiful goddess, one she recognised practicing her domain. Music. They had met briefly, but had not been introduced, of course she had heard much about her. She was a friend to Number, Aunt to her grand nieces and nephew and consort to Nergal ... for her sins.
She wondered at first if she should walk away, she did not want to make the goddess uncomfortable, yet she also wanted to meet her. She was a fellow goddess, at her full power and female too, strong women were worth ten of strong men, or so Val believed ... perhaps that was why they had made women into the Valkyries.
She stopped near to the goddess and listened, enjoying the feel of the music as it danced through the air.
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:05 pm
At first, host and goddess were not noticed. Music was lost within herself in some way, her awareness poured inside her own elements as her hands went though motions that were etched into her memory, etched so deeply she could have carried those motions while sleeping.
And then she played, as she always did, and became aware of an audience, though she finished with her song before addressing her audience. She had clearly the feel of an host to her, that familiar twinge of something more, though she could not tell exactly who this was. "Hello." She smiled.
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:07 am
Val and Alva were quite content to stand and listen to the beautiful music the creative arts were not something that came as natural to either of them. Both were a little disappointed when the goddess stopped playing and addressed them.
"Hello." They said with a smile. Val was in two minds about meeting the goddess, on the one hand she did not want to make her uncomfortable, on the other why should she hold back? She was independent of her brother's messes and needed to forge alliances where she could. This goddess was still family in the broad sense.
"That was beautiful, I don't think I need to ask your name. You must be Echo?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:59 am
Being recognized merely by her talent or even word to mouth was not an uncommon thing anymore, so the goddess thought little of it.
"Yes, I would be. And you would be ?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 10:40 am
Here went nothing, she was quite prepared to be greeted with suspicion as Kios had.
"I am Valyrmora, Queen of the Fallen." She paused and gave a small smile. "Underworld. This is my host, Alva. We met briefly when yourself and Number prevented a spirit catastrophe."
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Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:21 pm
...Well. That was something else. Valyrmora was not met with open distrust, but rather a somewhat startled rise of one eyebrow. To be honest, she was uncertain if she should have felt sorry for the goddess or not. She had her fair share of people coming to her looking for her once-husband and she figured being the other half of that coin would only make it worse.
"Ah, yes. I remember now that you mention it." She had been more worried about the children back then and had not completely taken notice of her.
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Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 12:30 am
Well that wasn't bad. Alva said within her mind.
"We were all a little distracted." She said with a small smirk, "I'm glad I ran into you again obviously sharing space with Ankou, Cosine and the children I hear a lot about you, all good things." She felt a little awkward, what did one say to the woman her brother had abandoned with children. "I um, I went to your rooms the other day actually, to speak with Ianthe."
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Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 9:49 am
"A little." That obviously amused her. Yes, just a little bit... But how did she know the mayhem three children branding together could create.
What the goddess said next was rather interesting, as was betrayed by the fact Music's ears perked. "Did you ? Were you able to get to him ? Nothing I ever said seemed to help..." She had been worried for Ianthe, alone in there, clinging to a past that could only poison him like it had done to all of them.
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Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:15 am
Val and Alva took a seat beside the goddess. She of course shared the goddess' worries.
"I was, well, sort of. I think he spoke to me more out of duty than anything else. He was very much my brother's servant and remains so." She smirked a little. "I have a niggling feeling that he feels I might be looking to step on toes." She shook her head. "Not my intention of course. I just want the best for my realm and those it affects."
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:39 am
"That would not surprise me of him." Echo admitted. Ianthe knew where he belonged, deep down, but there was only so long he could spend alone in seclusion, waiting endlessly, before the aoide lost all that had managed to regain after she had found him.
"There are so many broken shards, still. It may very well be that only you might be able to put some of them back together." Ianthe being one of them. If given purpose again, then hopefully the man would manage to keep going.
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:03 am
"Well, that is my plan." She smiled and looked down at the rough hands of her host. "Picking up the pieces and glueing them back together again. I think it would be easier if I could remember more but that was not the point Harmodius was trying to make I suppose." No, they had to grow and learn from mistakes like the child with a mind of an adult. "No one seems to remember who I was, did they remember you when you began your rebirth?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:26 am
"Not particularly... But I was also among the first." Echo admitted. There were only a few gods that preceded her, many of which she had not seen for quite a long time. Music started idly plucking at her strings once more, though her attention remained on the goddess. "We could only barely remember ourselves, much less anyone else... I do believe your brother was the first one to actually remember me for what I used to be."
The whole thing was spoken with the careful distance of the past remaining where it lay. Where Akakios seemed to be a ball of thankfully contained rage, his mother seemed to have sealed the cracks of her hearts shut and simply accepted to let things come as they may, and moved on. It had been a long time, and a painful time in coming, but at least it had come.
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:04 pm
"So you are one of the elders here." She was impressed, there were so few gods about and even fewer who had been reborn in full. At Echo's mention of her brother she could not help the look of surprise that crossed her face.
"Interesting, when he could barely remember his own family. I mean no disrespect when I say that. I have spoken at length with Ankou about my brother, trying to understand why he became what he has become." a smirk formed on her lips. "Though I am not really surprised, just sad he had to hurt so many in doing so. I have met Akakios, he is a handsome and polite young god, I am sure you must be proud of him."
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Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:00 pm
"One of them, yes." There were only a few she knew for certain preceded her... Dear friends she had not seen in such a long time. It made one heart's heavy, so she simply let the feeling go. Hopefully wherever they were, they were well.
"I should have seen it coming, in retrospect." Music admitted. "I have forgiven him so many time before... But this time I simply cannot." Not when it had gotten her children hurt as well. This time had been the one time too many, the one drop from which the vase spilled. "Even if he came back right now... There is no love in my heart for him, not anymore." Neither was there particularly hate, either. She had taken an hard decision, and was at peace with it now.
"I am very proud of him, yes, though he has his share of struggle... As you may have noticed." She could not blame him, in a way - her son had, after all, lost his father when he perhaps needed him the most. "He was the closest to his father, so you can imagine what happened when he never returned, one day. The last time they have seen each other, Akakios was barely older than Isidore is."
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