Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had begun to rain. Heavy, large droplets that cascaded from the sky. They hammered on the roofs of the temple and ran off the tiles, down the chains at the end of the guttering and into growing puddles on the ground. The women were still slaving away in the kitchen, the men? Possibly studying, working on repairs inside the temple. It was certainly too wet outside.

Cosine breathed the fresh, damp air in deeply as she carried the tray of tea along the corridor that lead to the main hall. She quite liked the rain, the sound it made on the roof tiles and the scent of it on the air. If she had been back at the pantheon she might have been sat on her terrace, watching it fall.

As she passed through the main hall she heard a caw. At first she thought it might be the crow they had met on their arrival. She would think that in a temple of hers there would be a space for her companions. The goddess looked up and smirked at the bird that sat on the head of the statue that sat on the altar.

Ankou.

As if she couldn’t tell him a mile off. She smiled at him a moment, and kept her focus, going to the door that the women had described to her. It was to the left of the altar and was rather modest compared to all the pomp that Pythagoras enjoyed. Then again, it as not his door in reality was it?

Pythagoras listened to the rain as it poured off the roof outside, so it was true ... the gods were returning and his cover was about to be blown by the number goddess. She looked different of course, but he knew it was her. Each god, they had a certain feeling. Who else would be in this temple, trying to expose him?
A wrinkled hand reached out to touch Gungnir, to toy with one of the feathers than hung from the impressive spear. The male with her though, he had the look of the Underworld. Not Underworld himself though, no. It had to be the other ... the owner of Gungnir. He had to get rid of them somehow. There was no way he was giving up what he had built. it was perfect. he had security, food, goods. He was comfortable and he was –not- going back to the Underworld. Not for anyone.

Cosine pushed the door to the small room open and stepped inside. It was small, with a low desk, bookshelves lined the walls. There was a large window that was open allowing the sound of the falling rain to drift though. She stepped towards the desk and placed the tray down carefully.
“Your tea.”

Pythagoras watched the woman walk into the room. Yes, he could see it now, the Counting Crow.
“Thank you.” he said, reaching for Gungnir and pulling it closer to him. “But I think we can drop the pretence now. I know who you are.”

Cosine looked up at him and smiled pleasantly.
“Oh I don’t think you do.” She replied, soft and even.

“The Counting Crow. Goddess of Numbers. Weak and cowardly. I remember you, always hiding in the shadows. I’m amused you came. To claim what’s yours? You did nothing when your temples were falling.”

Cosine gave him one of her patented unamused looks. Her eyebrow raised and her lips curled in a small smirk.
“Again, you do not know me. knew, yes. Know ... very much no. And you, Pythagoras have greatly overstepped the mark.” her voice remained calm, almost dangerously so. That was her gift after all. Though inside she was raging she did not show it. No, there would be plenty of time for that. Instead she let her guise drop, her wings grew slowly, her skin and eyes returned to its natural colour and in her simmering anger the vectors that followed her grew, swirling like a green mist at her feet.
“Now, give me the spear and leave.”

Pythagoras watched her as she showed her true form. Even he could tell it was hardly impressive. So she had wings and a well practiced death glare? She was not at her full power and he would take advantage of that fact. He lifted Gungnir in the air and spun it swiftly, swinging the blade towards Cosine.

Cosine reacted quicker than she would have imagines, stepping back instinctively and raising her hands to call all of her essence into invoking One. At the same time a surge of cold air hit the room and Gungnir awoke. Not fully, but enough to call forth a surge of souls. Although neither the goddess nor the man could see them, they could feel the drop in temperature of the room. Feel the presence of something not of the mortal world.

“One, un, uno, ichi, asxu, oino, nane, ein.” Cosine shouted as she watched the blade coming towards her. Her voice seemed to double in volume, take on an unreal tone, deeper than her usual voice. More spirits poured forth from Gungnir, these went straight for Pythagoras, surrounded him Cosine could hear them, they were that strong. Shouting and screaming, clawing at the man. She watched him shake, tears filled his eyes. He could see them, hear them. Ghosts from his past.

His hand shook and Gungnir tumbled to the floor. Cosine stepped closer, watching as he sank to his knees in the whirlwind of ghosts. Her eyes blazed with anger and when she looked back on the moment she would almost be sure she grew.
“How dare you, how dare you take my name in vain.” She concentrated her power, the sorrow and pain of the spirits on him. He began to cry, to whimper with fear as he watched the ghosts close in. “I should destroy you for what you have done, for the lies you have told, for the thievery.” She took a step closer. I should let these spirits have you and leave your bones for the crows to pick clean.” Her smirk returned. “Fitting for one who tries to destroy a god.”

“Please no, no make them stop.” He had his head in his hands now, his eyes shut tightly as they reached for him, those he had betrayed. “I’m sorry, I’ll do anything, I promise. Anything.”

Cosine watched the pathetic man and glanced up as the crow entered the room.
“What do you think Ankou?” she asked, her eyes moving back to the man. As that was all he was. “I think I would take great satisfaction from watching my crow friends feast on your flesh.”

~ revelations ~

Cosine left the small recess and walked back across the main hall. Pausing, she glanced up at the empty altar. Once an icon would have stood there, a statue. In the future one would again. She would see to that. This time she would not allow people to forget about her. There were offerings at the foot of the altar. Fruit and beakers of water and tea. As much as she was angry with Pythagoras she had to admit that he had done some foundation work. Now all she had to do was get them to believe in her.
The temple would be a good starting place for spreading her cult. It was structurally sound. There were a few renovations that needed doing but nothing too drastic. That would mean the followers, if they chose to follow her would be able to get the temple up and running quickly. She walked across the wooden floor to the kitchen. it was empty now, the soup bubbling away, filling the kitchen with delicious scents. It seemed much more welcoming now than it had before. Possibly because her mind was not elsewhere.
Cosine stepped down onto the cool, stone floor and wandered past the bubbling pots to the open door at the back of the kitchen. It led to a flagstone courtyard. Cosine walked out into the late morning sunshine and smiled. She never wanted the sky to vanish again, the warmth of the sun was far too nice a feeling.
The courtyard was deserted. Brooms and dust pans propped up and left by those that had been using them. Cosine flexed her wings and stood still for a moment. She focused on the sounds of the complex, the birds in the forest, breeze in the trees. Not too far away she could hear the voices of the temple followers. The sounds led her to yet another wooden building. She recognised it as the one that they had eaten dinner in the night before.
The entrance was plain, much like the hall proper. Unremarkable when compared to the others. Though this one was not for show as the others were. She stopped a moment before entering and took a deep breath. It was important she did this right, slowly she made herself appear taller, exaggerated the smoky green vectors that swirled around her feet. It was important that she looked every part the goddess.
The door slid open easily and Cosine, the Counting Crow, Goddess of number made her entrance. She stepped onto the same woven matting that seemed to be everywhere. The scent of incense wafted on the breeze that drifted through the windows. The followers of Pythagoras were sat on the floor around low tables, sipping from small cups of tea.
The whole room seemed to turn and look at her. She imagined they were expecting to see their leader. Slowly she watched an expression of confusion cross their faces.
“Lien?”
The question came from one of the younger women. Cosine recognised her from the vision she had received.

Cosine shook her head.
“I am afraid I have deceived you.” She projected her voice off and into the far corners of the dining hall. She was here to convince them of her divinity and power after all. Number was not an obvious realm to perform great, obvious miracles. “I am not Lien, I am Cosine, true goddess of Number.” Her bright green eyes took them all in as they stared back.
“But...” An old man began to speak, she raised a hand up bidding him to be silent. She was not finished.
“It is true, the gods are returning. From Water to Desert, Greed to Charity. We are being reborn, new gods emerge daily as more people begin to believe. “However, that man, Pythagoras was not one of us. He was not a god. He took advantage of your situation, saw that you needed faith, something to believe in. He abused that desire. Took your money, belongings and used you as his slaves. I have come to free you from his lies.” she fell silent, leaving a pause for them to digest the information.

First they glanced between each other, then the whispers began. Some expressed denial, others embarrassment and anger.
“How can we believe you?” The question came from the back of the room. From an older woman.
“Faith.” Cosine answered, smiling a little as she realised that was what they had had when following Pythagoras. “In the kitchen earlier, do you think that those vegetables peeled themselves?” She raised an eyebrow. Not exactly a miracle but a display of power at least.
“I came here because of you.” Cosine pointed to the young woman who had spoken her host’s name. “And you.” Now her finger fell in the direction of the old man next to the girl. “I saw you before he came. You resided here alone taking care of my temple. You prayed for help and I heard that prayer. My companion The Spirit Guide and I have travelled from the home of the Gods to help you.”

Those in the room gawped at her and she wondered if they had ever believed Pythagoras’ lies. Perhaps it was the security he offered they had faith in more than his cause.
“I do not believe in making slaves of my followers. If Number is where your interests truly lie. I will empower you to represent me here, to help the community. To teach and advise, not force doctrine on people. Together we will make this temple what it once was. it will set the standard. If you are with me, if you wish to follow me, to have true faith, then stay. If you joined Pythagoras for the power he promised or the wealth he might have shown you then you may follow him to wherever he has crawled away to. There is no room for that kind of selfishness. Oh, and women and men will always work together.” She smile and looked around the room. They sat in silence, watching her with care.
“I am a deity of thought and logic, rarely impulsive. You have until sunrise tomorrow to consider what I have told you and make your decision. If you wish to speak with me I will be around the complex. Do not hesitate to approach me.” She bowed turned to leave them to their thoughts.

Cosine woke to the sound of birds in the trees of the forest. it seemed every day they were there more and more life was being breathed into the tired town. Perhaps the gods of nature were growing stronger. She had not seen Forest for a long time, she knew he was no longer host but she had not seen him since Baadris. Slowly she opened her eyes, that had been the best sleep in a long time. True sleep. Not resting her eyes and her mind.

Ankou’s arms were still wrapped tightly around her, his breathing slow which told her that he was still asleep. A novelty. He had not needed to sleep since he had evolved last. She found she missed the intimacy of sleep, but, there were other things they shared together. Cosine pressed a kiss to his cool forehead and eased herself out of his arms. She would not wake him. If he needed to rest then it was better that he rested until he was naturally ready to wake.

She made herself some tea, changed her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair. A brush might have been a useful addition to her pack. Though you always forgot something.

It was not early. The temple was already buzzing. People seemed to have a renewed sense of purpose and energy. There were a few sweeping and weeding the courtyards, others working with wood to fix the divination boxes. She could hear chatter and banging from within the temple too.

Smiling she greeted her followers and wandered through the peaceful grounds until she found the people she was looking for. The older man and his daughter. He was sat on the floor of the courtyard working with something on his lap. His daughter sat next to him painting a wooden abacus.
“Morning.”
The pair looked up and smiled at her.
“Morning.” They said in reply.
“I was wondering if you would give me a tour of the complex. You have been here a long time have you not?”
The man smiled and nodded, he placed the object, which she could now see was another abacus down on the floor and stood slowly. Now she was closer to him she could see that he was not quite as old as she had first thought. Just worn out perhaps.

“My family have worked in this temple for generations. Perhaps even back when you were well remembered. They always taught me the importance of number.”
His daughter stood too and brushed her trousers off.
“I taught her everything that I have been taught. I am Yuki and my daughter is Aiko”
Cosine nodded. “Nice to meet you both.” She had made the correct choice then. She wanted to take those who were truly dedicated back with her to start a new legacy.

“This way.” he led them slowly to the dinner hall where they slipped their shoes off and stepped up into the empty room. They did not stop there, she had been in it the day before and it was rather unremarkable.
“This part of the temple was quite badly damaged.” The young woman said sliding open the door. The room inside smelled of must and damp, the sun shone through a hole in the roof. There were several of the low tables inside, though they were rotten and clearly had not been used in a long time.

“The scribes worked here.” Yuki said, stepping just inside the room and poking at the read matting with his toe. Accounting and finance for both the temple and the town. Once this was filled with the sound of the abacus. Though, once banks and computers became the fashion we used it for teaching and rented it out to clubs.
“Computers, they are something I am rather interested in. I think i would like to see them re-instated. Here too perhaps? This could be restored for community use.” she certainly wanted such a room or rooms in the new temple she was planning to build.

They continued to the next room. A similar space where they would prepare the numeric fortunes and make the almanacs. Cosine decided this was something they could do once more. She would like the divination to be re-instated. Numbers could tell people a lot about themselves.
“There used to be a statue in the main hall.” Yuki said as they made their way down a long hallway to the large space. “I am not sure what happened it though. Many other towns adopted a generic god to worship but not here, the space has been blank for as long as myself or my father can remember. We will have a new one carved though, a new representation.”
“Yes, yes that would be good. There are two of us ... Number. Myself and my brother. it would be useful for people to know which they are paying homage to. I would like a space for crows and perhaps a sub-shrine for The Spirit Guide in the grounds here.”

They stepped up onto the large altar and looked back across the worship hall.
“Actually, I would very much like for the two of you to join me when we return to the Pantheon. I would like to build a new temple in that world. A central temple, a mecca if you will for my worshippers.” She smiled and turned her green eyes back to them. “I know this has been your home for many generations but I hope to tempt you away. I will provide for you. Accommodation, food whatever you need. I want to thank you for your dedication. For your prayers and I think you have a lot of knowledge that would be of benefit.

The father and daughter looked to each other.
“May we discuss this for a moment?” he asked, making the goddess smiled. Of course she liked those who thought about their decisions.
“Of course, please do. I am going to wander a little. Come and find me when you are ready.”

Cosine walked out the left door behind the altar and found herself in another room, this one was filled with shelves. Of course it would make sense for her to have a library there. She would have to make sure she made regular trips back to oversee the restoration of the temple. She was sure those who had stayed would do a good job but she did not want a repeat of Pythagoras. Beyond the library there were stairs. She tested them first and then started to climb them. At the top was another non-descript room. There were doors that opened out to a roof terrace. Spotting some chairs, she opened the doors and walked out to take a seat.

It was a perfect day and she could not imagine a better place to sit and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. This was something she wanted to replicate. A while later she heard the doors open and turned to see Yuki and Aiko in the doorway.
“Well?”
“We will go with you.” Yuki said, answering for both of them. “We do have history here but no family left. I think it would be a great honour for us to begin a new life elsewhere. And to help you set up your temple.”
Cosine smiled and stood.
“Excellent. I promise you will not regret the move. I think we will leave either tomorrow or the day after. It depends if Ankou is ready. In the mean time we will get everyone together and work on the things that need doing here.”
With a sense of purpose the goddess pushed the door open and beckoned them to follow her. “We will start now.”