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 Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:03 pm
Journey to the Old Pantheon, Part IMeepfur "Wake up!""No," Zhijian rumbled unhappily. He rolled over, away from his pard-servant's insistent poking, and curled up, trying stubbornly to remain asleep."Wake up, silly dragon!" Since poking wasn't working, she tried tweaking his ear. "You need to be awake!" When he swatted at her, too lazy to snap, She deftly avoided his claws and huffed at him. "Fine! Keep sleeping, then, and see if I bother to try again when your brother gets here!"B-brother? That got his attention. The dragon flailed awake, rolling right off his bed of furs. "You should have said something sooner!" Sosiqui The knock on the door came moments later. Tian Yue was flushed with success, and a bit disheveled from running over as fast as he could - but he'd found it! The book was clasped tightly to his chest, the pertinent page bookmarked with a long leather strip. Finally, a map, a name that matched Toki's rememberings.
"Zhijian!" He called out, before the knock had even faded from the air, antsy to show his brother what he had found and be off - away from this place, away from the frozen feeling of not being able to accomplish anything. Away from waiting for news, unable to help. Meepfur Fortunately, Zhijian didn't need to fuss with making himself presentable - not wearing clothes definitely had its advantages. He scrambled to his feet and to the door, shaking strands of mane out of his eyes as he pulled it open. "Tian Yue!" A book? "Have you found something?"Ashoka curled up on the pile of furs that he'd vacated, happy to steal the nice warm spot, and settled down to watch. Sosiqui "I have indeed! My Aoide, Toki... he remembered. He was there; he survived the Fading and the Fall! Here, look..." He knelt down on the floor and laid the book in front of him, then flipped it open to the marked page.
"According to Toki, the ancient Pantheon fell when immortal realm collapsed into mortal, after the Fading. He lived there for some time, but he couldn't recall the name. We used the Library, and every atlas we could possibly find, until at last... this jogged his memory." He pointed at the page, the paper yellowed and ink faded, but still legible. "A snowy place, on a world very, very far away... another plane. But Toki assures me this is the place! There is a Gate there."
If the ancient Pantheon still existed, perhaps the glorious realm could be reclaimed, re-raised, and then, then, then...! I could serve my duty truly again! The thought brought such a surge of excitement, despite all that he had to worry about, that his tail waggled around behind him. It looked rather silly, but he did not care. Meepfur Zhijian had never been so happy to see a book in his life! He knelt on the floor beside Tian Yue, his own tail lashing. He wasn't sleepy anymore! Not at all. A Gate...a Gate, with a statue of their Lord on each side. One Creation, one Destruction.
"It's snowy?" The dragon's ears fell a little - it had to be snow! Again. "But how do we get there?" Knowing it was there was all well and good, but if you couldn't get there.. Sosiqui "That part... I don't know," Tian Yue admitted. "Toki came using a tear between worlds that no longer exists - possibly it was opened solely for him to pass through to the new Pantheon. He doesn't remember precisely what happened. It is on another plane, and we will need some way to pass through." There was something niggling, but he couldn't lay hold of it no matter how hard he grabbed, mentally. Not relevant. "How did you get to the lands of the Tenquistel?" Meepfur "Another plane?" Everything always had to be complicated! "I paid a mage," Zhijian answered, but then admitted grudgingly, "And then I ate him when I got back." He hadn't spared it a second thought until now, happy to have his treasures back, but apparently he had reclaimed then too quickly. Sosiqui "You... ate him. Ah. Well." Tian Yue rubbed the back of his head. "That does throw a wrench into things, doesn't it? Hmm..."
He leaned back and realized they were not alone. "Oh. Hello, Ashoka. Er..." He glanced at Zhijian, then back at the pard. "Do you know any good ways to get across the boundaries of worlds? Or see any way we will do so in the future?" Eh, it was worth a shot. He'd found the name of a world all but forgotten except to a half-mad Aoide - surely getting there would be easy in comparison!
... Right? Meepfur "I didn't think I'd need him again." He'd been a seedy, annoying little man anyway. "And he charged too much." Of course, in his mind, just about anything was too much. He didn't like parting with his things.Ashoka chuckled, beaming at Tian Yue. "He knows! Ask him."Zhijian flattened his ears unhappily. "There are...creatures capable of crossing the boundaries. Seppa knew one." Sosiqui "Really? Will they carry us with them? How can we find one?" Tian Yue wasn't entirely sure if he was addressing Zhijian or Ashoka. Either would do, really. Meepfur "They should." Zhijian ran a hand through his mane, very clearly unhappy. "We find Hyksos. It is not necessarily difficult, but...there are pards. Lots of pards.""Zhiji wouldn't want to run into Lahja, oh no." 'Shoka kept on chuckling. "She is angry, very very angry, and a mage like her mother, but not the same kind." Sosiqui "Oh..." Tian Yue made a face. "Seppa's friends and family, I assume? That could be... very awkward." At the very least! If he went back to talk to Crispin's family, at least he was still... sort of... Crispin.
But that wasn't the case for anyone else, as far as he knew. "Maybe I should go and talk to them. I was one of Seppa's friends... they may know about me, I don't know." He smiled, a bit wistful. It was a hard thing to deal with, even for someone like Zhijian. Meepfur "Yes. There is a very large pride of them." Zhijian considered his brother's idea, frowning. "Sabah may know of you, but she isn't the one to worry about. Otherwise, Seppa was very close-mouthed."
The dragon eyed the spotted pard who'd taken over his bed. "Ashoka could go. She could bring Hyksos to us."Ashoka tilted her head. "I could do that." Sosiqui "That would probably be easiest." Tian Yue sighed a little bit. He could understand why they were angry - he wasn't exactly being best buddies with Tien right now, for example - but at the same time... how could any of them help but do what they had been re-created to do?
Foolish. All of it. And yet... not. And he couldn't pin it on them being mortal, either. Meepfur "Then I will go." It made sense, after all - if she got any attention, it would simply be from others wondering where she'd been, and she knew better than to tell them. It wasn't likely to go over well with some if it got out that she was serving the dragon who'd taken Seppa. Ashoka stood and stretched, leaving the comfortable warmth of the furpile. Flexing her wings, she undid the latch and opened the window. After perching on the sill for a moment, she launched herself from it and was gone.Well, that certainly made it easier. "And now we wait, I suppose. If there's anything you'd like to take, you'd best go and get it." He grinned. "Assuming we are going now, yes?" Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded. "Yes, as soon as possible. The faster we leave, the more quickly we can return." He shifted a bit, antsy. The shield should hold in his absence, and Toki... well, he would wail, but he would be fine. "I should speak with Toki and have him pack a few things." He nodded to Zhiji and quickly slipped out the door.
"Toki!" he called, as he reached the door to his own chambers.
The Aoide met him at the door, a look of confusion on his face. "My Lord?"
"I'm going with Zhijian to seek the Gate. Pack... something, will you? Whatever you think would be useful? You've been there before."
Toki spluttered. "What? Now?"
"Yes, now. Now that we have the name, there's no reason to wait. Tend to it, please? I'll be in Zhijian's quarters." Tian Yue nodded firmly, turned around, and darted back to his brother's rooms. He wasn't sure how long it would take for their 'rides' to arrive. Meepfur Zhijian's grin spread, and by the time Tian Yue had returned, he'd gathered up his poor abused messenger bag, and had set to finding things to put in it. His katars were the first things to go in. He hovered over a line of potion bottles, peering. Now, where had the fire one gone...? Oh! There it was! He plucked up the half-empty bottle, and that went too. Snowy world, snowy world...cloak!
"Now, where did I put that..?" he mumbled, before seeing it sticking out from under his bed of furs. He seized on it and carefully extricated it. "Toki will pack some food, yes?" Hunting was a possibility, yes, but there might not be much there... Sosiqui "He should. He is good about things like that. Surprisingly practical, really - I wouldn't depend on him in a bar fight, but in packing and organization... absolutely." Tian Yue plopped down on the pile of furs, then frowned a bit. "I shall have to change clothing before we go." He picked at the edge of the satiny robe he was currently wearing. It was worn and comfortable, good for studying. Bad for travel. He certainly was scatterbrained today - perhaps from excitement, perhaps from worry. Perhaps both. Meepfur "As if you would get into a bar fight," Zhijian teased. "Yes, you might wear something warmer. You haven't even got fur! And something with pants, I think - I doubt robes are much good for riding in. I wouldn't want to be responsible for losing you because you slipped off."
"I do not think our Lord would be very pleased with me, even if I did make it back with my things." Sosiqui "Oh, I'm sure I could manage a proper brawl... if I had a good reason," Tian Yue made a face at his brother. "Anyway, I'm not going to fall off of anything. Hm." He peered down at the book. The map wasn't current - it didn't have any sign of the Gate and ruined bits of the divine realm that Toki assured him were there - but it did bear the all-important name and location. "Is this enough information for these traveling beasts of yours?" Meepfur "Are you sure about that?" he insisted, still mostly poking fun. "If you fall off, you'll be quite gone. I hear there are some very unpleasant things that live in-between worlds." Zhijian nodded then. "I believe so, yes." Sosiqui "Dragon Kings don't make a practice of falling off of things," Tian Yue said, sticking out his tongue at Zhijian. "Then again, I hear Ying Long fell out of the sky a while back... such a terrible thing..." He shook his head and tsked.
Maybe this trip would be good for him in other ways. Zhijian's presence was always a boon. A good distraction from things he could do nothing about. Meepfur "As I recall, it was Ying Long's brother who started the fall in the first place." Zhijian stuck out his tongue. "So very irresponsible." Sosiqui "Dragons these days. For shame." Tian Yue grinned. "I'm not sure how much snow gear I have, but Toki will do his best, and with any luck we'll be able to get some additional clothing from the locals. If there are still Aoidei there, they should welcome us." His eyes were bright. "Someday, I want to raise the city back. Somehow." Meepfur "We can hope. Perhaps one of my own might even linger there..." He could certainly hope! Ashoka was certainly a help, but she wasn't an aoide. "It is certainly an option worth exploring...it may take more than just a pair of dragons, though." Sosiqui "Oh, I didn't mean now - finding the last of your tack is a big enough ambition for this time, but simply finding the Old Pantheon is a huge step forward. Perhaps we won't even need this place anymore, in time..."
Or perhaps they would lift this city out of the ground and raise it high... but no, that didn't sound right. There was something missing, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what. Instead, he turned around and peered out the window. "How long does it take to find these creatures?"
So it had only been ten minutes, maybe fifteen - he was a Dragon King, and he wanted to go now! Didn't that count for something? Meepfur "True enough." Zhijian wiggled a little, excited by the prospect of returning to the old city. "But we will have to look around a little, at least. Perhaps some old treasures yet remain."
"Well, Ashoka has to get to Iden's - hopefully Hyksos is there, or else she will have to wait for him. And then they must come back here, and errais cannot fly. Assuming she doesn't have to wait...another twenty minutes, perhaps?" Sosiqui "Bah." Tian Yue sighed. Now he was all antsy again. "I suppose I should go find some suitable traveling clothes, at any rate. I'll be back in a few minutes... hopefully Toki has done most of the packing by now." The Aoide was extremely efficient when he wanted to be.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:04 pm
Whirlwind Departure
Tian Yue darted back down the hall and nearly collided with Toki at his own door. The Aoide squeaked and almost fell over; Tian Yue reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder, steadying him. "Oh! Thank you, my Lord," Toki squeaked, trying to bow and straighten his rabbit ears at the same time. "I have begun to prepare our things!"
"Good, Toki, I-" Wait, 'our'? Oops. Tian Yue sighed, and smiled. "Toki. I know you want to come, but I need you to stay here."
The Aoide blinked, and his face fell. "My Lord?" His lower lip trembled, just a little.
"I need you to stay here, in my absence, and manage things in my stead. Think - should Lady Echo require some aid, some comfort, what will she think if no-one is here? If the Crown should have some missive for me, and none to bring it? I need you here, as my aide, my adjunct." Big words tended to impress Toki; Tian Yue wanted to get out of this with a minimum of fuss or pain on the Aoide's part. And it was true - he really did need Toki's presence here. "It would be selfish of me, wrong of me, to drag you along when I require your aid here so badly. Do you understand?"
Toki looked confused, for a moment. "So... I'll stay here... and help you...?"
"More help than anyone could possibly give," Tian Yue assured him. "And you know where we're going, should anyone need to know."
"I... okay, my Lord. I will do the task you have given me, with honor!" The Aoide brightened up a bit. He had been given a job, his very favorite thing in the world, even if it wasn't exactly what he would have chosen...
Tian Yue resisted the urge to heave a sigh of relief. "Good man. Thank you - there is so much to worry about, being able to leave things here in your capable hands is a huge help."
At that, Toki practically glowed. "You will not find yourself disappointed, my Lord! I promise you that!"
"I know." He smiled. "Now... we need to finish packing. I really am leaving with Zhijian as soon as possible. Our transport is on the way. And I need to change into something more suitable for travel."
Toki saluted, or tried to. "I will move with all possible speed, my Lord!"
"Good, good! Well done." Tian Yue walked quickly into his bedroom and opened the wardrobe, even as Toki busied himself with zooming all around the chambers, scooping things up here and there. The Aoide meant well, but he could be exhausting.
Coat. Gloves... hmm, my claws will poke out the end a little, but that's better than nothing. Hat still fits. Tail... ugh, tail. The Dragon King made a face and rummaged around. Why wasn't any winter clothing designed for tails? He settled for cutting a pair of sweatpants in half and fitting one leg, tube-like, around the offending limb. It looked rather stupid, but stupid was better than cold. The impromptu tail-warmer went in the bag as well.
So. I guess... we're really going.
Toki buzzed in behind him, a backpack on his back, awkwardly placed behind the Aoide's own purple wings. "Ready, my Lord!"
"Ah, good." Tian Yue quickly reviewed his own things. "Put these in, and let's go."
"At once!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:05 pm
Journey to the Old Pantheon, Part II / The WaveMeepfur By the time Tian Yue would return, Ashoka was just clambering back in via the window. "Found him! Hyksos is here, yes. Down below, waiting for you." The pard giggled. "He is very curious what I've brought him here for." Sosiqui Tian Yue didn't bother to knock this time, just opened the door. Toki was trailing behind him, a large travel backpack on his back, stuffed to the gills. The Dragon King had discarded all robes in favor of a stout pair of jeans and a sweater, with a coat slung over one arm - Crispin's things, altered long ago by the helpful Aoide to fit his changed body. He looked almost normal, if it hadn't been for the point to his ears and, of course, the dragon tail.
"Any - oh, Ashoka, there you are." He paused to listen to her words, then nodded and looked at his brother. "Excellent! And he'll know how to get these creatures, yes?"
Toki wedged himself unobtrusively into the background, staying well clear of the Dragon Kings for now. Meepfur "He is one of these creatures!" Ashoka supplied, giggling, before waving at the rabbit-eared aoide trying to be unobtrusive. "Well, are you going or not? Out the window, or out the door?" She peered at Tian Yue for a moment. "Perhaps out the door, since brother-dragon has no wings.""Yes, we are going," Zhijian groused at 'Shoka, then turned to Tian Yue. "Is Toki coming as well?" He did have Tien Lung's pack. Sosiqui "I can still fly, you know," Tian Yue said, shaking his head. "No, Toki isn't coming. I need him to stay here and listen for news, and handle anything that should come up in my absence. He's the only one that can do that for me right now." True, Toki would probably be next to useless should a Dragon King's strength be called for, but the Aoide was far better than leaving entirely. And he had promised Echo.
Toki nodded, then wobbled a bit as the backpack set him slightly off-balance. "And I will do it well, my Lord!" Meepfur "Well then, how about we get going?" With that, he shouldered his bag and hopped out the window. He was tired of waiting!And away he went! Ashoka peered after him, then looked up to grin at Tian Yue. "Then fly, brother-dragon!" Hopefully he was better at backpack-carrying than his servant. He looked like he might fall over. "Go on, go on!" Sosiqui "Hmph. Cheeky thing," he called out after Ashoka, then took a deep breath and nodded to Toki. "I'll be going, then."
"Please... be well, my Lord," Toki said, his voice trembling like he was about to cry. He took off the backpack and held it out to Tian Yue, looking a bit like a kicked puppy.
Tian Yue sighed and took the backpack, then tousled the Aoide's hair, nearly dislodging the bunny ears. "I'll come back. Please, take care of everything while I'm gone. I trust you completely." He smiled. "The only reason I'm leaving you here is because I know you can take care of things perfectly. You're the only one who can. Make sure Echo stays well, and safe."
Toki sniffed and smiled. "Thank you, my Lord." He re-adjusted the bunny ears quickly. "I will do my best!"
"I know you will. Now..." He put on the backpack and walked over to the window, then waved back at Toki. "I'm off!"
"Good bye, my Lord!" Toki said, and then Tian Yue grinned and jumped out the window. Truth be told, even if he did prefer to fly in dragon form, there was something... awesome about just walking up to a window and jumping out of it and into the sky. Like being Superman. Meepfur On the ground, Hyksos stood waiting, though he hadn't exactly expected them to just drop out of the window! That surprise was quickly eclipsed by surprise at the first one to land before him. The erras quickly bowed in the best way any equine would.
He didn't know him, but he knew him. "Lord." He projected his voice with his mind - both dragons would be able to hear. "No one said who had taken Seppa. What may I do for you?"Zhijian's smile was a pleased one. "My brother and I have need of transport to another world - would you fetch a pair of your brethren for us?""Gladly. Where do you need to go?" Sosiqui "To... The’ta’naa," Tian Yue replied, saying the unfamiliar name slowly and carefully. He still had the atlas, and he flipped it open to the marked place, holding it up for the creature to see.
Inside, he was thinking A unicorn! A real unicorn! And it's telepathic!! So. Cool. But he wasn't about to say that out loud. Instead, he settled for a simple "Thank you for your help." Meepfur "I know it." Hyksos bobbed his horned head. "I cannot go with you, for I have obligations here, but I will find two who can. Wait for me here - I will return." With that, he pivoted on his hind legs and disappeared with a faint, sucking sort of noise."And now we wait again," Zhijian said when he had gone, "Though likely not very long, provided there is a Way close to here. Most of them can't just pop in and out anywhere they please the way he does." Sosiqui "Oh. Really?" Tian Yue drooped a little bit - he wanted to get going, at least before the spontaneous mood left him and he started to worry again. The fact that he was thinking about that in and of itself was probably a bad sign... "What are they? Err-something, you said earlier?" Meepfur "Errais. Well, Hyksos is an erras - errais is plural. They have plenty of different names, but that's the one they seem to prefer. Somehow or another, they managed to forget their actual one, along with most of their own language." It was Seppa's knowledge he related, what she'd picked up from the caretaker of Sabah's siirae. Sosiqui "Hm, interesting... and they travel between worlds, do they? You're lucky you're the Fangbridle, or they might run away at the sight of your fearsome visage." Tian Yue let the backpack slip to the ground. "What's it like there? Should I put my coat on, hold my breath?" Meepfur "I'm sure they've seen stranger things than a giant dragon-cat." Zhijian bared his fangs and grinned. "No, just make sure you hold on, because if you fall off you're gone forever. It's a great emptiness, a blackness...they call it a chasm, though it has no sides. There are strange things that live there, but they are few and far between."
"Lucky, because some of them are very big and very hungry." He clacked his teeth together. Sosiqui "Void." Tian Yue's eyes narrowed, slightly. Deep water there, more prickling of old secrets fallen nearly to dust, begging with tiny incoherent flickers to be recognized. "I will not fall." It was a statement.
This might be a fun prospect, but it also wasn't a game. He had no desire to tangle with such beings. Meepfur "Yes, void." He observed his brother's reaction, curious, but was interrupted by Hyksos' return. He turned to watch the erras come trotting up from the side, with two others behind him. One was a white mare, the other a painted gray stallion. Sosiqui "Ah... hello, there," Tian Yue said, nodding to the two new arrivals. Could they speak as Hyskos had? "Thank you for coming?"
What on earth did you say to a telepathic world-traveling unicorn? Meepfur "My favor to you is done." Hyksos dipped his head respectfully. "Good luck on your journey!" The brown erras turned away once more, though rather than disappear, he simply ambled off.The mare bowed before the dragons and spoke, her mind-voice soft and pleasant, "I am Shanti. We will take you to The’ta’naa."
"Good." Zhijian held out his hand, inviting her closer. Sosiqui The gray stallion bowed as well, then straightened, his ears pricked. "I am Gringolet. I will carry you on my back, Dragon-Lord." He stepped towards Tian Yue. "Thank you," Tian Yue repeated, giving the stallion a curious look. He'd never seen any creature quite like that before - true, there were plenty of stereotypical drawings of unicorns and suchlike in dozens of books he'd read, but somehow they were completely different from the real, flesh-and-blood being standing in front of him now.
Come to think of it, the dragon illustrations hadn't been such hot stuff either.
He stepped over to the stallion and gently laid one hand on the erras' neck. "Where should I put my bag?" There didn't seem to be a saddle, but he wasn't overly worried about that. Crispin had never ridden a horse, period.The erras peered back at him. "If you might keep it on your back?"Tian Yue nodded, then looked back at Zhijian. "Are we ready to go, then?"Meepfur Zhiji scratched fondly behind Shanti's ears for a moment, then patted her neck and mounted - carefully, with claws sheathed. It wouldn't do to scratch creature who was doing him a favor. He nodded then, to Tian Yue. "Ready when you are." Sosiqui "I am," Tian Yue confirmed, patting lightly at his mount's neck. "What happens now?" Meepfur Once the Dragon Kings has indicated their readiness, the errais set off at an easy lope that would cover ground without tiring them unduly; they would need all their speed once it came time to run the chasm, where there were things that might take notice and give chase if they lingered too long. Their path took them roughly in the same direction of the Hunt's temple, though that was not their destination.
They had ridden for close to fifteen minutes when their mounts picked up the pace, from lope to gallop, and headed straight for the base of an ancient oak with no indications of any intention of slowing down; and then with a jerk and a feeling like being turned suddenly and unceremoniously upside-down and rightside-up again, to the protests of one's stomach, the world fell away and then there was only nothing. Nothing above and below, and in every direction imaginable - the space between. Sosiqui Tian Yue grabbed at his mount's mane in a most undignified fashion, then stared as the world he knew somehow slipped away in that moment of sharp disorientation.
It was nothing like the space between planets and stars. Though vast, space was not empty in the least. Not like this. Never like this. He concentrated on the feel of the erras under him, the sway of movement. On Zhijian and his mount, a precious island of something in the vast blankness. Meepfur Soon enough, they had attracted some attention - nothing to worry about, just one of the smaller anomalies that inhabited the space between. It didn't precisely look like anything, but the best way to describe would probably have been a large, electrified jellyfish with a hint of raincloud. It appeared to their left, and cruised along beside them for a few moments before whipping out a tentative tentacle that would pass through Tian Yue's arm with a feeling like to a static shock.
What exactly the point of the 'touch' was was debatable, as was whether it was feeling, tasting, or something else entirely. It was, however, most certainly curious. Sosiqui Tian Yue turned to watch the being with great curiosity - so ethereal, so otherworldly. It was impossible to imagine it existing anywhere but here (if it was even worthy of being called 'here'; could nothing be a place?). He flinched as it flicked a tendril at him. "Is it dangerous?" he wondered aloud.No, came the breath of thought from the erras. Tian Yue nodded, then glanced over at his brother. Meepfur Shanti's giggle came as a mental tickle, amusement at the creature's curious poking of the dragon Gringolet carried. It then switched sides in a drifting-darting sort of motion to give Zhijian the same treatment, which caused him to growl faintly in annoyance and sweep out one hand to swat it away. Of course, it wasn't exactly effective, considering all his hand did was pass through it with the same, unpleasant electric tingle. Grimacing, he returned his hand to Shanti's mane.
...just in time to be blindsided by pain in a weighted blow that would have caused him to fall, had he not been holding on with both hands. Claws came unsheathed and dug into the white erras' neck as he roared, head spinning as the Nothing seemed to whirl beneath and around him. Something was Wrong - every kind of wrong imaginable.
Beside them, the between-being flashed brightly and winked out of existence, and Shanti faltered and stumbled. Sosiqui Tian Yue laughed as the creature moved on to tickle his brother, and-
It slammed into them all like a physical force, driving Gringolet to his knees with an equine shriek; Tian Yue scrabbling to keep his balance for the split-second before pain overrode all thought, all instinct, all reflex.
His blood was boiling, every molecule seemingly flashed white-hot in an instant, white-hot and torn apart and shoved back together again by a mad thing, a power like ash and apathy. The erras screamed under him again, and all around him puffs of light flared as lesser beings fought and failed, winking into nonexistence in an instant.
Somewhere, far away, the shield around the Pantheon crumbled to dust in an instant, and that, too, came with a burst of agony as the Worldshield's scales were snapped from within, by force. Meepfur It was everything Zhijian could do to stay on Shanti's back, and he literally clung for dear life. He could not fall, he absolutely could not fall. And once he had presence of mind and balance enough to do so, he glanced beside him to see if his brother was still with him; he was, and the Fangbridle clung to that one good thing while everything else felt like it was falling apart. What it was he didn't know, but one thing was certain: they had to go back, and they had to go now. Finding pieces of his old glory didn't matter anymore.
It seemed like forever before his mount had her feet again, but once she did, he gasped out, "We have to go back. Take us back!" Sosiqui Gringolet surged back to his feet in one desperate shaky movement, the stallion's skin twitching and trembling visibly. "We must - go! Something destroyed my shield! Zhijian!!" He glanced to the side, desperate to see his brother safe.
Whatever had just happened - no, there was no question. The Twin Crown - their Lord - something had- "Lord Harmodius!"
The urge to shift to dragon shape was strong; he had to bend an inordinate amount of will, and still he felt the scales crawling up his legs and his canines lengthening. Meepfur Shanti stood as she was for a moment, shaky and disoriented, and looked to Gringolet in wordless desperation. The wave had hit her hard, thrown everything off-kilter, stolen her sense of space and direction. For the first time in her long life, she looked at the Nothing that surrounded her and was afraid. Not to move in this place was to die. To be lost was to die. Their small tag-along had simply ceased to be, but what of the larger things that could be found here?
If they had not been extinguished like their smaller cousins...they were something to worry about. Very, very much. Sosiqui Gringolet tossed his head and took a few tentative, shaky steps forward, then stopped. I... do not know... the way... The thoughts were thick with dread, and fear. When did an erras ever lose its way? When? Up until now, he had never truly thought it possible. "Please - please, go, please, move," Tian Yue pleaded, shaking with his need to be gone. Merely an hour before he had been desperate to go far away, now his only desire was to return.Meepfur Shanti quivered. The situation was frightening to begin with, but they were also in the company of two very desperate dragons...and dragons, of course, could be dangerous. Already she'd felt Zhijian's claws, and that had been unintentional. To confess that they were lost....but she had no choice.
"I....I do not know the way," she admitted haltingly, "It...it is gone."
Zhijian threw his head back and roared, desperate and angry. Sosiqui Gringolet took a few more steps forward, over to Shanti's side, and pressed himself against her as best he could with consideration for both riders. We must... dragons, lords, can you smell the path? The way back to your own Lord?Meepfur Shanti butted Gringolet lightly with her nose, taking and giving what little comfort there was to be had. She could never have imagined that this would happen, when Hyksos came to call. Stranded in the space between, and with someone on her back. Someone depending on her ability to know what she was doing and where she was going.
Though he shook still with anger and shock, Zhijian breathed in, trying to scent something, anything...but there was only dragon and erras, and even that was faint here. In the distance, something crackled with both sound and light, and Shanti tensed under him.
"We need to move. Now." They weren't the only things here that had survived the wave. Sosiqui Gringolet tossed his head, hard. We must move, he confirmed, nosing at Shanti. The kraken-"Kraken?" Tian Yue hissed. His stomach felt tight and cold with fear, but not of whatever-it-was that made sound and glow. They had to get back. They had to get back. "Get past it. Do whatever you need to do." He damned his helplessness, thus removed from his element. He could do very little astride the erras' back.Meepfur This was definitely Not Good. They didn't know which way to go, but they to to go. Now. They had to go back, but where was back? Was it still behind them? There was no way of telling, not in a place like this. Regardless, Shanti gathered herself and wheeled around, pivoting on her hind legs and surging into a run.
Being lost was bad enough. Running into one of those things was bad enough. But together? Disaster. Like his brother, though, all he could do was hold on. Helplessness did not agree with Zhijian one bit. Sosiqui Gringolet whirled after the mare, twisting around as quickly as he could, feeling the warning twinges as the overexertion strained his muscles. He couldn't injure himself, not here, not now, not with his Lord on his back and his liege beside him, but there was no such thing as safety with the old, dark ones awake. He would gladly ache for days afterwards if it helped them move now. Tian Yue was trembling, a strange and potent mixture of fear and pure rage crackling through him. Something had happened, something had happened yet again, and he hadn't been- no, no, that was an old guilt, well beaten already. He shoved it away, hard, and gathered his power. So he couldn't take dragon-shape, couldn't move from the erras' back, but he was the Worldshield still and anything seeking to take a bite out of them would still get a big surprise.
At least the first bite. He wasn't so certain about the second.Meepfur They needed to find somewhere to break through. It didn't matter where, not now - anywhere was better than here. Shanti closed her eyes, forcing back the panic that had siezed her upon the realization that they were lost. Panic blinded. Panic meant staying lost; staying lost meant dying, and the Kings on their backs could ill afford to die.
Not that she particularly cared to, either. She stopped thinking about where she was going, and went. Confident that Gringolet would see and follow, she altered course, angling to the right. Here, somewhere, close.
Hopefully closer than the void-monster. Sosiqui Gringolet followed Shanti at once, focusing on her and doing his best to ignore the old things that stirred in the dark. Giving them attention was a good way to get their attention on you in return. Everything has changed, he told the Dragons in a mental whisper. Home, destination, and everything else - nothing is as it was when we entered. It has all shifted. And that was another thing not to think about. Such a thing should not have been possible. Tian Yue clung grimly to Gringolet's back. There wasn't anything else he could do. "Just find somewhere - anywhere - where we can stop, and think, and move." He had never felt more useless.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:06 pm
Aoide Side Story: Toki and the WaveCinderfae Cinder walked away from the Pantheon some, blood dripped from her brow making her feel just a tad woozy. She could hear various sounds of wreckage and people running about, something had happened and people were panicking. It was after all a very human thing to do. Blood dripped from her brow she could see it out of the corner of her eye. I blame you for this, well just about all of it.That's fine, just shut up and keep walking we need to know what happened. Some sort of explosion or burst. Get moving and try not to pass out.Cinder mumbled to herself about backseat drivers, she looked over at a family standing in front of a large victorian house not far from the Pantheon. They stared up at the structure with wide eyes. The windows of the home broken and the walls in places splintered. She could hear Mycroft working, the AI wasn't speaking but soft sounds from the unit on her belt told her that he was at least scanning the area. "Got anything there, Mycroft."Cinder likely didn't need to ask, there wasn't a huge reason to other then to help herself keep going. And likely to give herself something to say. "I triangulated the positioning of the shockwave. It started at the Pantheon, your assumption was correct."Cinder frowned and turned back toward the building she had been meandering away from. Sosiqui Toki's time since his Lord's departure had been a brief flurry of activity. The Aoide had cleaned the chambers thoroughly, but that had taken only an hour and then he was back to fretting. Then one of Light's Aoidei, the odd legless one he had relayed Medicine's message to (and what an odd long chain that was, from god to follower to god, Aoide to Aoide before at last coming to rest in a god's ear once more) interrupted his pacing; her Lord had returned, and would Toki see fit to bring Penny to speak with him in the near future, once he had rested? He agreed, and that was another five minutes. She did not linger to distract him further. Toki envied her. She had a task, a Lord returned to tend to. He cleaned the chambers again, then forced himself to settle to sleep before he cleaned or paced a hole in the floor. Time always passed faster in dreams. He had slept much, but not enough, in times past. Thus Toki was sleeping when everything, everything happened - a blast of power, of madness, of the dark thing that lurked in the bottom of his own mind. The Aoide shrieked and fled to tremble and scream under his bed, clutching at his ears and rocking back and forth in a fetal position. It was worse, much worse, than anything he had ever felt - worse than when Universe had struck Creation, worse than when the Old Pantheon crumpled into mortal realms... maybe not worse than the Fading, but he was in no position to compare the two. He felt his Lord's shield try to contain it, stretch, fail, shatter. That drove him out from under the furniture, wringing his hands in abject distress, unable to stop shaking. "My Lord! My Lord Tian Yue!" The window Tian Yue had left through was now broken, and he shoved the glass outward heedless of his own safety, slipping through it himself and half-flapping, half-falling down to the ground below. No, no, no they were already gone, he'd seen them go, it was the worst possible time, the worst possible thing- Toki clawed at the air and wept. Then he took a long, long breath. "He's counting on me. Trusting me. Have to - what can I do, what can I do, such as I am... no, breathe, breathe-" No. He could not do anything about what had just happened. He was too small for that. What could he do? The Stars. Tian Yue's Court- they - no, no, the answer was clear. Penny. The girl, his Lord's one follower. He had to find the girl! With all the world gone wrong in an instant, and she so mortal, the one little flame his Lord had yet found, and wanted by Light besides? Favored of two deities? Toki took shaky flight and zipped out of the Pantheon, even as he saw others going towards it, doubtlessly drawn by whatever had just torn everything to pieces. Cinderfae Cinder used a bit of cloth from a bag to wipe the worse of the blood from her face. Then with a resigned sigh she moved toward the Pantheon, leaving the sound of sirens and shouting behind her. It was a strange moment she felt...empty. Cinder had felt this before, during the worse jobs of her career the ones where the most died and things ended in more useless bloodshed. A defense mechanism of sorts that allowed her to push away the chaos around her. It was definantly the fault of the gods, the newborn gods were going to rip the world to shreds and most weren't even close to being fully reborn. "What more will come in the end."Karaskis had been quiet for sometime, but at Cinder's muttered comment remarked harshly. This is bad Cinder, worse...worse then you could imagine. I'm not sure what it is, but it's bad get in there and stop stalling.Cinder frowned at her ever internal commentary and turned to actually go in. However before Cinder made it up the steps a blur of movement ran into her. Causing her to back peddle to keep from falling. Just barely catching herself she realized she had semi-caught whoever it was. Something fuzzy and white was in her eyes making it hard to see, shaking her head and spitting out a bit of fluff Cinder found a slight male wearing bunny ears in her arms. Blinking slightly she regained her composure before speaking, "this is the wrong time for a costume party." Cinder mumered looking down at the new rather frantic arrival. Sosiqui Toki flailed, twisting awkwardly away from the person he had just run into- no, no, not just a person, he could feel it now. Jewel, god, host. "Ohh, I am terribly sorry- no, no costume, no-" he stammered, what little composure he had managed to regain now thoroughly shattered. He glanced at the woman's own clothes, then stopped. They looked a bit like Penny's- "Oh! Oh! Oh..." Toki wrung his hands again. "Are you a...a space... person?" He gave her a hopeful, desperate look. It was beginning to dawn on him that he had no idea where Penny was, only that she had a space-going conveyance that usually rested somewhere in the area. Cinderfae Cinder blinked again in surprise, he seemed to be panicking. Panicking in a slightly different fashion then everyone else was at the moment. Quirking a brow the pilot studied the man with bunny ears as he seemed to be inspecting her. Cinder smirked at his question, "space, well you could say that. Though lost my ship..." Space person and the rabbit man, he belongs to one of the reborn...though I can't tell who. I feel it...someone..."You came out of the pantheon didn't you?" Cinder's voice was demanding standing at her full height she gave Toki a long look. "I need to know what the hell is going on here. And...well I'm going to do something about it." Even to her own ears that sounded a bit silly she wondered if the man with the bunny ears would think so as well. And you complain about me...your not a people person either. Cinder took a moment to look down at her clothing, a bit as an afterthought she wondered how much like a 'space person' she looked. It's got to be the boots...Sosiqui "I - yes, Lady, I did, my Lord Tien Lung being... away... right now..." Toki tried not to think about that. He had to be responsible, he had to find something to do! But his nervous energy was wavering. Surely what had just happened would summon his Lord back at any moment, surely, surely- The Aoide bowed before Cinder, the movement awkward since he was still trembling. "I do not know, Lady, only that this poor servant had nothing to do with it- please, forgive my rudeness, but I must know. My Lord, his follower, his only follower - only one yet, as you please, he will have more later- that doesn't matter!" Toki shook his head sharply, falling to bits right in front of her, wringing his hands over and over. "She is like you- no, not quite, not a host, my pardon to your esteemed Lord or Lady-" and he executed another bow, a quick bob that set his bunny ears even more askew- "but a person who travels in the stars, and... I... need to find her, my Lord will be crushed if she is hurt, and Light besides, and I don't know where she lives... and..." He ran out of words. "Please?" Cinderfae Cinder wondered first off why he was bowing, though from the ears and his speech she had a feeling he was likely a bit sporatic as it was. He's not bowing to you, he's bowing to me. Karaskis' smug voice filled Cinder's mind. Hmm, sweet little thing as well. I wonder if Tien Lung is one to share.Stop being a pain in the a**...Cinder for a moment wondered if the hormone thing was just a god trait, then again she realized it might just be one of the very human things about them. Cinder glanced to Toki right she had fallen silent, and then heard him going on about someone. "Er...right first things first. The rock is calling itself Karaskis a fire goddess." Cinder picked the least flattering term she could think of. Wench. Karaskis' reply was short and not overly heartfelt. She then quirked her brow, "and what exactly are you asking please about? I'm pretty sure I never met uhm, Tien Lung or any of his followers..."He's going to try to get you to do something...likely find her. Your not an errand runner. Tell him you have a job finding out what is going on.I don't need your coaching. Cinder sighed, "listen I'm trying to find someone that knows something about how to fix Harmodius...and well the whole wave of doom doesn't make things look up as it is."Sosiqui "Your grace, Lady of Flame," the Aoide murmured, bobbing another bow, but his mind was racing on. "To fix, to fix, to fix-" Toki did not let himself think about the implications if fixing is needed then something has broken but mulled the concept distantly for a moment, before snapping back to himself and nodding, hard. "Yes, yes, yes, she might know. The girl might know, Light would know - she brought a message from Medicine, far far away. I do not know... much at all." His fingers twisted around each other. "But. His Aoidei, they said... it was a quest. A mission. Aristogeiton, that old, old name. I remember him, his smile, so fair..." Toki shook his head again, the bunny ears dangerously close to falling off entirely; it was a mark of his own panic that he seemed not to notice. "Yes. Light needs her for that reason, I think. My Lord needs her because... because she is His." Cinderfae "Lady of Flame, careful there she is already too full of herself." Cinder replyed dryly and then paused attempting to piece together all that Toki was attempting to convey in his frantic babbling. A mission...Aristogeiton...Seems everyone wasn't being lazy asses...just figure out what exactly she was doing. Cinder frowned thoughtfully a moment, noticing the falling ears she reached up and tipped them back in position with a quick motion, "Light, Medicine. What other names do they use?"He's at least somewhat insane, but he may have something here. Might be worth finding out what the mission was... Karaskis pauses for a long moment. That name it feels familiar, but I cannot place it. I have forgotten...slept too long.If this follower had news, well one walk after so long a sleep shouldn't be too much trouble. Sosiqui "Light... is Illumin, I think; Medicine..." He tilted his head, noticed the alarming sway in the bunny ears and pulled them down tightly over his hair. "Panacaea, or something of the kind. The girl is Penny." The pleading, desperate look was back. "Please, do you know? Where do space travelers go? Or if..." He gave the Pantheon an uneasy look. "If you... no, I could not ask, my apologies for even thinking such a thing." He bowed again. Cinderfae Cinder holds a hand up, the local space port wasn't far she was actually rather familar with the area. Even if the local technology wasn't quite the same as what she was use to. A bit of Toki's frantic pleading had likely gotten to her as well, but she was decidedly intrigued by the girl that she could hopefully find. Your going soft."Right, your worried about Penny. She is a follow to your lord and your sort of like...a secretary or something. Boss is away and things are confusing." Cinder spoke with a measure of preciseness to her words. A bit different then a secretary, an ageless that slept for very long and then came back to their master. Karaskis had a hint of annoyance at Cinder as she spoke. Cinder went along attempting to ignore her. "I'll see how Penny is, and find out what she knows. And then come back here and talk to Illumin. At some point we'll be able to figure out what all is going on. Plus I think after hearing Karaskis musings over interesting ways to -" Cinder cuts off probably wasn't polite to tell him that the goddess that wasn't developed yet was acting like a horny school girl. "Anyways, I'll check on Penny. Then we meet back here." She gestured generally to the area around the Pantheon, "and see if we have anything figured out."Sosiqui Vague relief flooded through Toki, and he bowed low, less shaky this time. Someone was telling him what to do; he didn't have to try and forge his own terrifying way through this upside-down world. He could return, and wait for his master. Waiting for his master was something he was very good at. "I... thank you, Lady, and your own Lady besides," he whispered, his wings rustling behind him as he knelt. Best to leave such great things as this to the gods. Cinderfae Cinder shifted uneasily at the whole kneeling thing, yeah this was definitely Karaskis' territory as it was just making her feel...odd. Not knowing what else to do Cinder reached out and rested a hand on the top of Toki's head between the bunny ears. As Cinder did this Karaskis pushed and used her host to speak to Toki. "You do your master proud, now go and do as my host has said." Karaskis voice was dusky and held within it hints of things from ages past. After a brief moment Karaskis fell back into her host settling, tired but pleased with her accomplishment. Gods I hate it when you do that. Cinder was once again a bit sour it was only lessened by the fact that at least now she was getting use to Karaskis being able to do such. "Right as the hijacking goddess said...lets get to work." Cinder's eyes flickered out over the horizon toward where she knew the Cosmodome would be. She now needed the walk more then ever. How long before Karaskis was in her body more then she was...before she was nothing but a memory, perhaps even less. Throwing aside the uneasy feelings the pilot set ready to head to find Penny.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:07 pm
Journey to the Old Pantheon, Part III / Faces of Stone and SnowMeepfur The crackling in the 'air' was disconcerting to say the least, fueling her nerves and her flight as she searched with her senses for a way out of the between, until finally she found it. Shanti charged through, leaping out into a world of shining white and bitter cold just in time to escape a gruesome fate.
...and it seemed that, somehow, they had found their way to exactly to where they'd been headed in the first place. Well, perhaps - there were plenty of snowy worlds, after all. Sosiqui Gringolet snorted in surprise, his breath forming a long plume in the air as he skidded to an awkward stop, his hooves plowing up snow. Where are we? The'ta'naa?!Tian Yue very nearly fell off of the erras' back, falling to his knees in the snow, his breath coming in clouds. They weren't home. Where were they? A place to pause, a place to breathe-
All around him was ice, snow, and stone - and such stone! What he had assumed was a cliff actually stretched high above him. A shape.
A face...
Two shapes, two faces, stretching upwards, world without end. "Zhijian. This is The'ta'naa," he said, with distant certainty as he stared, memories and names swirling in his mind. The Caryatid. Origin. Gehenna. Primal. Ancient.
The Gates.
"We are on the threshold," he said, quietly, heedless of the cold even as Gringolet shivered next to him.Meepfur Zhijian stared dumbfounded at the broken, yet rezognizable, chunks of the caryatid for long moments. They weren't just safe, they were here. And it was cold, and the erras beneath him shook with the strain of what had just happened. Shaking himself back to the here and now, he slid from Shanti's back. She immediately began to pace, walking herself out.
"Well." The dragon blinked, scratching at his mane. "But...what just happened?" Whatever it had been, there was no way it was anything good. Sosiqui "I... I don't know," Tian Yue admitted. The cold was more biting then he'd planned; he twined his tail close to his legs and tried to ignore it. "Something... must have happened to the Twin Crown..."
What was he doing? They were here, yes, but they needed to be there! He whirled on Gringolet. "Can you take us back?!"Gringolet gave him a long look that was very nearly a glare. We... have worn ourselves nearly to bits to get here. We must rest, he said, firmly, then glanced at Zhijian and bowed his head. No disrespect, Lords, but it is a fact... He sidled over to Shanti, touching skin to skin, trying to share warmth. Tian Yue sighed. "Brother, our timing is truly abysmal." He looked away from the Caryatid and focused on the rest of their surroundings. Not too far away, a line of lamps gleamed in the stone, trailing away into the whiteness. "What should we do?" The errais were shivering. "We need to find some shelter for them, at least, if we must remain here for a time..." Meepfur Zhijian's ears flattened, and he let out a roar - frustration, and anger, and worry. Furious at himself for leaving; something had happened to his Lord, and he hadn't been there. Again. The cold was suddenly nothing as he quivered with anger and shame. His place had been with the Crown, not off on some ridiculous quest!
"We should never have left," he snapped, growling, and swung at the empty air with claws unsheathed. It was frustratingly unsatisfying. They had no choice now, though. They were stuck until the errais had recovered.
"We do what we came here for. The Pantheon city should be shelter enough." If the way there worked, despite the state of the caryatid. Sosiqui "Agreed, to all points," Tian Yue said, shortly. He wished he could roar properly in this form, but just plain yelling at the sky seemed foolish... and cliche. "Since we're here, we might as well do what we can, while we can - and then be gone, be back, as soon as possible." He glanced back at the errais. They had done well to bring them out of the darkness in one piece.
"Here is a Gate... now, what do we do with it?" He searched his mind and memories for answers. The Caryatid stretched stonily above them, their features blunted and dripping with icicles and wind-packed snow. "I remember... only fragments." A moment's pause, a... a spoken... something spoken... and then... "I remember... saying something, some word, some phrase perhaps... and a moment later, bowing before the Crown at His Throne..." Meepfur Zhijian opened his mouth, and then closed it, ears falling back. "...I don't suppose you remember what you said? Because I don't." And that was most certainly a problem. He glanced away toward the line of lanterns. "And it would probably be better to think about it somewhere warmer." Sosiqui Tian Yue drooped. "I don't," he admitted. The Dragon King took a few steps forward, into the remains of the arch of the Gate. On the other side was only more snow, more chunks of rock glazed by ice, pitted by storms. "I am the Dragon King Tien Lung, Tian Yue?" he tried, looking up at the statues.
Only the sound of the wind and the vague echoes of his own voice came back to him. Nothing happened. He sighed, making a plume of mist in the air. "I... don't." Saying his name... was... not correct, but it felt a bit less wrong than saying random things (like 'swordfish'; that brief mortal folly surfaced for a moment before he beat it back down). "Something about names, I think, more than just random, strange words... but obviously that wasn't right. Ngh."
The errais were shivering. They had to have shelter. And he was tired, too - whatever had happened had hurt, tired him out mentally. "Let's follow the lights, and hope they go somewhere useful. For now." He wasn't about to build an igloo or something. Meepfur Zhijian echoed his brother's sigh and rested a hand on Shanti's neck. They should probably walk, rather than mount up again and ride - the errais had been pushed close to their limit, and would likely appreciate not having to carry the extra weight.
The trail of lanterns was handy, though; if nothing else, they wouldn't have to worry about getting lost, wherever they might lead to. With his brother and hooved companions, he started trudging along. "Did Toki happen to say anything about whether or not there's anyone still here?" Sosiqui Tian Yue shook his head. "He left this place a very, very long time ago - not long after it fell. All he remembered was snow and what the name was, once I managed to stumble across it." The cold was starting to get to him, too - he didn't have fur like Zhijian, and he gave his brother a momentary jealous look. "I know, not helpful."
The line of lanterns blinked in front of them, then abruptly stopped. What Tian Yue thought was a cliff was truly a large stone wall, the top crusted with snow. Lanterns gleamed around the edges, defying the cold. "Well. It looks like it has civilization, at any rate..." Meepfur Furry he might have been, but it was hardly the thick, insulating fur of a cat like a snow leopard; still, it was better than nothing. It certainly beat what Tian Yue was wearing, but he wasn't looking forward to getting inside somewhere any less - perhaps sooner than he'd thought, provided whoever was inside the wall was hospitable.
And they had better be, or he was going to be a very unhappy dragon. "Well, let's go knock." Sosiqui No need for knocking, as it turned out; as the Dragon Kings walked up to the wall, a bit of stone slid away just enough to reveal a pair of narrowed eyes. "Who walks?" came a surprisingly delicate, lilting voice. It didn't seem to quite match with the suspicion that the eyes radiated. Tian Yue blinked in surprise. He hadn't seen an opening there before... "I am..." No. He wasn't in the mood to pussyfoot around, and even if he was, he was certain that Zhijian would blow any attempt at subtle diplomacy quite out of the water. His brother was never one to tiptoe around mortals. "I am the Worldshield, the Dragon King Tien Lung. My companion is Ying Long, Fangbridle. We request shelter from the cold for ourselves and our mounts."The eyes gave them a long stare that Tian Yue couldn't read. "I will make it known." The opening closed again. Meepfur That was...surprising. Zhijian blinked at the narrowed, bird-like eyes, and scented the air while his brother did the talking. It was hard to pick anything up standing out here, though, with nothing but that little opening. He might have leaned in a bit to get a better sniff, but it was gone too soon. There was nothing left but to wait out here in the cold, being hungry and tired and crabby and worried. Sosiqui A few moments later, the rock unfolded to reveal a passageway, with three figures standing silhouetted against more lantern-light. Tian Yue tried not to stare as they stepped forward - they were avian. Beakless, true, but their movements were bird-quick and feathers peeked from under their hoods. Two of them carried long spears in what looked like taloned hands; the third, whose face reminded Tian Yue vaguely of an owl, bore no visible weapon. They scrutinized the Dragon Kings with wide, thoughtful eyes.Finally, the owl-ish avian stepped forward, executing a half-bow that involved several flowing arm (wing?) movements. "You come to the Warpost of The'ta'naa, visitors. Shelter we may offer you. More..." His eyes flicked to look at each Dragon King in turn. "Is dependent on the truth of thy words." The two spear-carriers stepped forward and flanked the Kings, not coming within three feet, but clearly ready to move, and fast, if they tried anything hostile. "I am Shet'naa," the owl-faced one continued. "A geomancer. I will lead you to the Garicar, and he will take thy measure." He turned his golden gaze to the errais. "Your beasts will be tended." Meepfur While Tian Yue tried not to stare, Zhijian tried not to bristle; he did not like the spear-carriers coming up to flank them. It didn't help that they looked so much like birds, and birds were food. Birds were tasty food...but these bird-people had weapons and talked, and they needed them. Alive and unplucked.
Shanti shifted her weight from forehoof to forehoof, before correcting gently, "Not beasts. Errais. But tending would be welcome." The dragons were being straightforward, so perhaps it was best they were as well. Sosiqui Shet'naa blinked, then shook his head slowly. "You bring strange things among us. This way, if you would." He turned and began to walk back to the opening in the wall. The choice was clear: either comply and come, or remain in the snow. Well. Or they could make demands with their claws, but no insult had been given, other than lack of instant recognition. Tian Yue felt Zhijian's tenseness next to him and laid one hand on his brother's shoulder. "They mean well, I think. If not..." His voice trailed off. The guard was looking at him, steadily - not in a challenging way, but it was clear any violence would be met with spears, if not worse.
He took a few steps towards the opening. Gringolet whuffled and paced after, eager to be out of the snow; one of the guards moved with him, as well.Meepfur "I know," he replied in a low voice, leaving out 'but they smell like food.' Unsubtle though he often was, he did know better than to announce to their hosts that he was wondering if they were tasty. Not that he really would just up and eat one unless they made him really angry, but it bothered him to have a ptarmigan-man with a spear staring at him. Prey-things were not supposed to be in a better position than him.
Still, he took it relatively well, and managed to walk quietly and not glare at 'his' guard. He was a little out of practice with his manners, since he didn't like having to use them, but he hadn't forgotten them entirely. Sosiqui The interior of the wall was lined with lanterns like the one outside. They emerged into a twenty-foot wide strip of blank snow, sandwiched between the stone wall behind and a massive wall of solid, snow-caked ice in front of them. Again, the ice folded away to allow them passage, though there were no lanterns within this walkway. Beyond the ice wall lay buildings proper, at last; stone domes supported with curving ribs like flying buttresses. They were old, a bit battle-scarred, but the snow slid away from them and mounted in piles at their sides. Two other spear-bearers came up to them, then; Shet'naa stopped and made a few flowing hand signals at them. "They will bear your beasts to a place of safety. On my honor and that of the Garicar, no harm will come to them." Unless you force it, was unspoken in his polite but meaningful gaze. No insult said, true... but they were suspicious. He supposed he couldn't blame them. This was a place of protection, a place of war. "Go with them," Tian Yue told Gringolet, patting the shivering erras on the rump.He did not need to be told twice. Gringolet walked, shivering, over to the two new spear-bearers. One of them held out a taloned hand for the erras to sniff at before taking a few steps away. When Gringolet followed, the spear-bearer nodded and kept going, letting the erras trail behind as he headed for one of the nearer buildings. Meepfur More birds with spears! Though he understood it somewhat, Zhijian still didn't like it. Still, they were being nice enough, and he ventured, "Who is the Garicar?"
Shanti trailed after Gringolet, going to the other guard, who also held out his hand before leading her off with the others. Unlike the dragon, she was neither offended nor taken aback; bird-people were relatively low on the list of Weird Things she'd seen over the course of her long life, and she was happy to go along. Sosiqui "She is the leader of this Warpost, honored one," Shet'naa replied. "If you would follow me, she will greet you at once." He set out across the courtyard area, heading for a different dome than the one the errais had been taken to. Tian Yue couldn't see anyone watching them, but he could hear them - soft rustles, here and there, feathers and breathing. A fascinating people, truly; for a moment, he keenly regretted having come here so rushed. Well. He might be able to relax enough to speak with them, learn a bit about their culture, while they were forced to wait for the errais. And for their own memories... "Has anything come to mind, yet? About the Gate?" he asked Zhijian, in a low aside as he began to move forward. The guards paced their movements, as before.Meepfur Honored one? Well, that was better! Appeased, Zhijian was at least a little happier as they followed Shet'naa across the courtyard. "No," he said to his brother, "Not yet. You?" His tail twitched with annoyance directed at himself - he needed to remember, and would prefer not to have to take a header in hopes of jogging his memory again. Sosiqui "Nothing," Tian Yue admitted. Maybe when they had the chance to settle, and he had a moment to rest, a moment to breathe...The stone of the dome folded away to permit them entrance; from here, however, they could see that the backside of one of the domes had collapsed into a shower of stone and snow. One of the great ribs had cracked clean through. Elsewhere, workers picked at great gaping holes in the ice wall, filling them with water, but they moved slowly, lethargically. Whatever has happened... has happened here, too? Tian Yue wasn't sure - the Age of Destruction had not been kind, either, but that looked like recent damage. Still, jumping to conclusions was foolish. He could not afford folly. Not now.The stone closed cleanly behind them, and at last blessed warmth flooded in. The dome, windowless, cupped heat inside it and held it fast. "The Garicar is very close. Come." The doorways they passed, covered with thick cloth curtains, told them much. There was hushed conversation, more sobbing then they understood, and eyes that held blankness and exhaustion. Tian Yue's own eyes narrowed a bit with every new piece of evidence that presented itself. Perhaps Shet'naa had been presenting a brave front to the visitors... but there were cracks, here, this deep inside. Meepfur Zhijian hadn't given it much thought until now, but apparently there were advantages to having a wall made of ice; all it took to fix it was water. Of course, they had one made of stone as well, so they'd have the pros and cons of both. Interesting though it was, he was glad when finally they were led inside. Warmth! He closed his eyes briefly, momentarily content.
It didn't last, of course, and soon he was peering at their new surroundings, rounded ears flicking this way and that to catch what sound they could. He, too, wondered at the state of things, though it was more idle curiosity than concern. He was worried about more pressing matters - remembering how to get to the Pantheon, and then getting home. Impatience already nagged at him, even if he was looking forward to eating something and then having a good nap.
After meeting this 'Garicar' - first thing was first, after all. Sosiqui Soon, they reached an archway with more high-quality cloth curtains hanging across it, and two more spear-bearing guards. Shet'naa nodded at them, and they pulled the curtains aside, giving the Dragon Kings calm, assessing looks as they went by. "Shet'naa," came a firm, female voice. "What have you brought in from the cold?" An avian with a ptarmigan face, shorter than the geomancer, peered at them. But she had a calculating, commanding look to her. Her feathers were black-spangled, the longer-quilled ones held away from her face with some sort of wooden clip. The geomancer performed the complex gestured obeisance again. "Garicar Lesh'taa," he said, "these two were sighted at the gate. They sought shelter from the cold. I will let them tell the rest, as they will. Honored ones," Shet'naa finished, indicating the Garicar to them. She merely gave them a 'well?' look, tilting her head to one side, as birds did. Meepfur Green eyes surveyed the room before focusing on the Garicar, Lesh'taa. He made no move to imitate the geomancer's obeisance - he probably would have done it incorrectly anyway - nor to make any at all. He simply nodded politely, before introducing himself and his brother, "We are the Dragon Kings Zhijian and Tian Yue, Ying Long and Tien Lung, Fangbridle and Worldshield. We seek a safe place to rest before we continue on."
Whether or not they had any idea what 'Dragon King' or any of the rest of it meant, he had no way of knowing just yet, but he would certainly enlighten them if it was necessary. Sosiqui "You would claim kinship with the faces of stone, then." Lesh'taa's expression was unreadable, though Tian Yue wasn't certain whether she had an excellent poker face or if he just wasn't looking for the right cues. "Yes," Tian Yue said, simply. Now that they seemed to be waiting in one place, he let his backpack down to rest on the floor. "We do, and we will travel between them before long." Hopefully. Please."What proof do you have of what you say? A featherless face and a visage like a great-cat..." Her eyes narrowed, just slightly. "Shelter I will offer to whom I can, but times are hard, and I will brook no falsehood under my domes." Meepfur This time, Zhijian did bristle, hackles raising and tail lashing. He did not appreciate the implication that he was just some lying pretender, that he was untrustworthy. It prickled unpleasantly at him. Still, he contained himself well, and slid his bag carefully from his shoulder. It clinked when set on the floor, and it occurred to him that, surprisingly enough, they hadn't been searched. He wondered if they would object, should they discover his katars.
...not that he needed weapons, which brought him back to the point. With a glance at his brother, he nodded to himself and changed, sliding from one form into another. Let the Garicar doubt he was dragon now. Sosiqui A quick murmur raced around the room, but one look from Lesh'taa silenced it. "That... is certainly strong evidence," she said, looking directly into Zhijian's eyes and lifting her chin slightly. "I mean no offense, but claims as large as the one you make must be weighted and tested carefully. We would do the same for any who came and said thus. Do not misunderstand." Her nod, this time, was a bit more respectful, but still wary. "I trust Ying Long's scales are enough for you; I could do the same, but that might be a bit much for this one room," Tian Yue said, mildly. He rested one hand on Zhijian's side."Indeed." Lesh'taa's gaze traveled over Tian Yue's tail, which lashed slightly behind him. "Still, this is a larger claim than one mere Garicar can measure. I must send for the One Who Knows." She made a quick gesture, and a younger one, grey and dark with down like a young bird's, scurried to her. "Go, and have rooms prepared." The chick nodded, and darted off. "I will send a messenger. The One Who Knows can measure better then I, in these matters." The title was spoken with great weight, with respect. "While we wait, I will have rooms set for you, with all hospitality." Meepfur Zhijian settled himself on the floor beside his brother, tail snaking over to flick against his. Now that he had changed, he would stay this way for a time, especially since Lesh'taa had decided to send for someone else to come and see; there wasn't any sense in wasting both of his transformations for the day, and he was perfectly comfortable like this besides.
Curious, he rumbled inquiringly, "The One Who Knows?" Sosiqui "A Sage of old," was Lesh'taa's only reply. "He will speak of himself, when he comes. I would not permit any less." "Thank you for being willing to house us under your roof, at least," Tian Yue said, politely. They could have been left out in the snow, after all. "When we came in," he added, carefully, "I saw damage to your domes, and to your wall. Did something happen recently?""A calamity," the Garicar said, her feathers rustling. "A great impact on all that is, was, and will be. So it was said. And now a malaise spreads through the people." But there was nothing more - they were still not entirely trusted, it was clear, and speaking of weakness at this juncture would be foolish. Meepfur A sage of old? Zhijian tilted his head, curiosity unsatisfied, but didn't bother to ask again. It was clear they would just have to wait a little longer still. In the meantime, he was content to let his brother be the polite one; not that he was by any means ungrateful, he just didn't generally bother with pleasantries. Gracious hosts or no, they were still bird-people, and he was still a god.
An unhappy growl, the sound soft in the back of his throat, rose at the news that whatever had happened in the space between had happened here as well. He had hoped that, perhaps, they had been mistaken in assuming that something had happened to their Lord, but if everything had been affected...
"What is it you mean, malaise?" Nosy? Oh yes. She might not answer, but he was still going to ask. He peered at the others in the room, looking for some hint of this affliction. Sosiqui "A great tiredness. I feel it myself. Getting up is an act of w-" She stopped herself, sharply, and turned away. As she did, the chick-child reappeared and ran up to her, nodding his head. "Ah. Your rooms have been prepared... though, please, be mindful of the doorways and halls," she added, glancing at Zhijian. "As is our custom, the guards and... yes, I think since Shet'naa began, he should continue. Shet'naa will accompany you as well. If you travel separately, another geomancer will be summoned as companion. I am not yet sure that I will bargain with you and make branding on your flesh." Branding? Tian Yue thought about this for a moment, then let it drop. "A warm place to sleep and some food is all that we desire for now. Will our erras be tended to? Our mounts?""They already have been," Lesh'taa replied. "I will send for you as soon as the One Who Knows sends word, or comes himself. Clear skies," she finished. And that seemed to be a dismissal. Meepfur A great tiredness...granted, he was rather tired himself, but he had attributed that to their experience in the space between. Perhaps it was more? But then, perhaps it wasn't. There was really no way of telling, and so he simply let it go. He wondered at the mention of branding as well, but had no time to ask about that before they were dismissed.
"Well then." He turned his head to look at Shet'naa. "Lead the way?" Sosiqui "Indeed. One moment, honored ones." Shet'naa went over to the chick who had brought the message and spoke to him for a moment, then returned. The guards resumed their formation around the Dragon Kings, and two more new guards followed behind. "This way, please." He led them through twining halls, up ramps that marched through the dome structure. It was rather mazelike, but peppered with vast internal spaces here and there. Tian Yue once caught a glimpse of something almost like an atrium, with plants in it and a breath of sweet, sharp cold air. At last. Shet'naa stopped in front of another large curtained door. "Our guest chambers." The two new guards took up positions by the doors. "Please, make yourselves at home." Within, the stone roof arched overhead. There was a central room, with a fireplace, though the fire was merely smoldering, not roaring. Still, it was comfortable, and braziers were set here and there. The other rooms contained nest-like pits of pillows, blankets, and furs, with warm fur sacks rather like hot-water bottles nestled within. A low table was set with simple food: bread, fish, and a hot drink. "I apologize for the sparse comfort, but such things are precious," Shet'naa said, indicating the fires and the table. Tian Yue put his backpack down again with a sigh. "Thank you, Shet'naa." He stretched, then took a few steps to hold his hands out over the fire. The heat felt good on his skin, especially after the chill outside. Even now he could still feel the cold in his bones."You are welcome, honored ones. These two will remain, one at each of your doors. I myself will sleep here. Feel free to speak with me at any point." The geomancer nodded as the two guards moved to take up their posts. Meepfur Zhijian retrieved his bag from the floor, letting it dangle from his jaws by the strap as they set off again. He was glad that he was yet relatively small in his dragon form; if he'd been too much bigger, navigating the mazelike interior of the dome would have been a terrible nuisance. As it was, it was merely awkward, and he was careful to mind his tail. Wrecking Tian Yue's room was one thing, but it probably wouldn't go over very well if he were to be so careless here.
He wasted no time in trundling into their accommodations, drawn by warmth and the smell of food. He would have preferred some sort of fowl, to be perfectly honest, but that craving wasn't likely to be satisfied anytime soon. Now that he'd been presented with food, he paid little attention to Shet'naa and the guards any longer. He hastened to the table, eager to become acquainted with his portion of the fish. Sosiqui Tian Yue followed his brother to the sideboard after a moment. "Be sure and save some for me, dragon," he said, with a wry if weary grin. He grabbed up a bit of fish, put it on the bread, and nibbled at it. The drink was hot and tasted, surprisingly, like summer fruit. "At least we have food, warmth, and a roof over our heads." It could have been so much worse.
Sleep was sounding like a very good idea, right now - but he had a few more questions. "Shet'naa. When did this malaise that Lesh'taa spoke of begin?"The geomancer closed his eyes for a moment. "Four, five cycles of the sun ago. A great trembling swept across the world. Not a shaking of the earth, you understand, but a shaking of all that could and could not move. We lost the second dome then, and part of the third. Rebuilding should not be hard, but the workers must be poked and prodded even to awaken. A hopelessness marks their eyes." That same hopelessness swam in Shet'naa's own gaze, for a moment. "We do not understand. If you are as you say... perhaps you know?" Four or five days?! How could that be right? But perhaps the travel through the between-place had caused some distortion of time, as his trip to the stars with Penny and Jax had. Penny. Jax. I hope they're well. A new squirm of worry squeezed his stomach, but he forced himself to calm down and took another sip of drink, another bite of bread. Meepfur It was nearly automatic for Zhijian to reach over, neck snaking, and try halfheartedly to steal his brother's snack. The playful gesture was cut short, however, when Shet'naa revealed how long ago the wave had hit. Four or five days?! But...they'd only left a few hours ago! Or so it seemed, at least. A vague sense of impatience poked at him again, but he was terribly tired, and they couldn't have gone rushing back just now besides.
"We...do not know for certain," he answered with a sigh. "It struck us while we travelled here. We fear something has happened to our Lord." Sosiqui "I see." Shet'naa bowed his head, but not quickly enough to hide the look of disappointment and - was it fear? - in his eyes. "Perhaps the One Who Knows can tell us all more." With a nod, the geomancer retreated to a chair by the wall. Tian Yue sighed, under his breath, and returned his brother's half-hearted attempt at food-stealing with an equally half-hearted swat. "Fussing won't help anything now," he said, partly to Zhijian, mostly to himself, as if by saying the words aloud he could believe them more thoroughly. "When we have rested, we will be able to think more clearly... and hopefully the errais will be ready to move then, as well, if we need." How long could they afford to wait and think of how to get through the gate?
His brain was muzzy with sleep. "I need to rest, brother. Which room do you want, or would you rather share...?"Meepfur "Two guesses," he rumbled, butting Tian Yue gently with his snout, "And the first one doesn't count." Sleeping piles were the way to go under any circumstances, as far as he was concerned, but doubly so in times of worry and stress. With no further ado, he made his way to one of the rooms...and approved very much of the nest-like beds provided. He stepped in gingerly, trodding on the bedding like a kneading cat before circling and curling up - leaving room for his brother, of course. Sosiqui "Heh." Tian Yue smiled and followed his brother, though he noticed that Shet'naa unobtrusively moved and positioned himself near the door of the room Zhijian had chosen. He waited until Zhijian had settled himself, then clambered contentedly into the space left for him.
Even if the world was going all topsy-turvy, at least they were together - there was something to that, at least.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:08 pm
Sleepless Thought
Tian Yue roused before his brother, and snuck quietly out of their shared bed, careful not to wake the other Dragon. The guard at the door shifted a bit, a subtle reminder of his presence.
He had no idea what time it was. The windowless walls were no help, and while there may well have been a clock in the room, it wasn't of any variety he could recognize. Instead, Tian Yue took a pillow from the bed and settled himself in a corner, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on his hands. Thinking.
What has happened? The thought chased its tail in his head, round and round. He was itching to leave, but now it seemed they were to be presented to this 'He Who Knows', and it seemed unlikely that they would be allowed to leave until after that. True, he had no doubt that the two of them together could force their way out, but then what? It probably wasn't worth it, unless the supposed worthy sage took his sweet time getting here.
The lethargy, the malaise that the Garicar had spoken of - that worried him, too. Were the two things, strange wave and malaise both, connected to each other? He might have passed it off as mere mortal fear if he hadn't felt the same thing gnawing at him, just on the edges. It wasn't natural, whatever it was. It was external. Something creeping in from the outside.
What has happened?
He shook his head, sharply. Not helpful, not in the least-
The Caryatid, now. Those he remembered, vaguely, with other shadowed thoughts lurking behind them, just out of reach. As if those Gates were not only the literal gates to the Ancient Pantheon, but their mere memory also a gate to further, ancient recollections. They milled about, teasingly.
How on earth were they going to get in there? A word, yes, that was very well and good, perhaps he should read a dictionary to the damned things until something worked? The tip of his tail tapped against the wall, betraying his frustration and impatience. No, right now there was no reason to hurry out into the snow again, not to stand in idle fury under the uncaring faces of stone.
He envied his brother for being able to sleep. At least then, the whirl of worry wasn't quite so damnably loud.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:09 pm
The One Who KnowsSosiqui The dragons' slumber was interrupted by the soft chime of a bell - Shet'naa stood in the doorway, carrying the small bell between his taloned hands. "Honored ones, the One Who Knows has come to us. The Garicar has summoned thee." Tian Yue felt bleary, still sleepy, and he swore he could feel that same tiredness, that malaise that Lesh'taa had spoken of, laying over the top of him like another, smothering blanket. Still, he got up from in front of the fire. He had changed into clothing a bit more appropriate to his station, if not to the weather, and the cold-weather aspect had been somewhat mended with the loan of a soft fur-lined cloak from their hosts. "We should go," he murmured to Zhijian. True, the erras were probably rested by now, but it would be rather rude to just blast out of the Warpost when the Garicar had gone to such trouble to call this Sage to them.
He only hoped the Sage's judgment would be correct.Meepfur It was difficult to bring himself to move from the comfort of the 'nest' that was his bed. He was warm and exceedingly comfortable, and his stomach still full. He would very much have liked to resettle himself and go back to sleep, all but ignoring the bell, but he soon sighed and stirred. After a careful stretch from nose to tail, he once again lifted his bag in his jaws and was ready to follow. Sosiqui Once the dragons were ready to go, the guards re-formed around them. Shet'naa lead them, ringing the bell between his hands as they moved. There seemed to be some ceremony here, much moreso then had happened when they arrived. After twining their way down through the maze, they came at last to the room where they had met with the Garicar the day before. Ivynian Here is He Who Knows. Tell us the Old Words, tell us the Old Days. The chant was on the lips of many as they entered, the chime mixing with the birdsong trills of the younger members of a crowd of strange tribe. There was a structure like to a palanquin before the Garicar’s chair, though she sat not in state behind it. The poles were topped with a cage of bones bent like reeds, draped with heavy furs which were still blotched with the dark of melted snow from keeping out weather. In the shadows there sat the slim figure of a man. His silhouette was filled in by robes and a cape of white feathers that had bars of black and grey across their tips. His eyes were deep set, hollow black in the thin skin beneath. The set of his lips was grim, making what may have been attractive appear severe and worn, a mask of old time that had been marked by time, care and weather as the fallen caryatids some leagues beyond the walls. He Who Knows stood when half the distance was crossed, and the procession stopped. The avians all knelt or sat crosslegged, regardless of age, all now young and seated by a fire as eager students to a respected tutor. ”Welcome, guests of the Wintering Age. You gave names of yourselves to my people. Names they knew, but could not blindly trust. Please, humor us, and give to me your names.” Meepfur Zhijian rested his bag on the floor, neck extending and nostrils flaring as he scented the air, hoping for some insight into the identity of this leader. Wings folded against his furred form, and he cast his brother a look. Perhaps this time, they should each give their own names, instead of one introducing both. "I am Zhijian," he rumbled, his voice thrumming deeper in dragon form, "Ying Long, and Fangbridle." Sosiqui Who is this 'He Who Knows'? Tian Yue wondered as he took in the ceremony. The honored figure seemed different from the rest of them, though it was impossible to make out detail, obscured as he was by robe and shadow.
He stepped up beside his brother. "And I am Tien Lung, Worldshield, once named Shaiming, now named Tian Yue." Ivynian  "Fangbridle. Worldshield. These titles are also known to me. You have the same feel about you as such names. The same taste, though it is tainted different. Forms the gods may often have in plenty, but your joint majesty is dulled. Please, lords, forgive the faithful. Many have there been in the past, who knowing the names of the faith this people follows, have come before in hopes of ease or war. I remember you both, unchanged before. Though I know not why you come now....how you come now. Nor why."The figure motioned nearby geomancers to his sides, and they gently lifted beneath his arms. Supported up, he could stand, and managed to bow with spotting. "I was once a servant. Aoide. I remember you, True Ones. Dragon Kings. Born of Crown alone and chiefs within the houses of Lords. "Meepfur Zhijian drew himself up slightly, in unconscious response to being recognized and bowed to. As proud as ever, respect for this ancient aoide was nonetheless there as well. He wondered to himself where his scars had come from, what his name was, who he had served. Though he recognized them, the dragon did not share his recognition.
"I have come to find the Pantheon City," he explained, "To search for the saddle and armor I once wore. My brother has come with me." He dipped his head to lip at Tian Yue's shoulder. Sosiqui An Aoide... Toki had not died after the Fading, but he had not lived as this one had, the trail of time so clearly marked on his body and face, even immortal as he might be. Part of him was awed at the recognition; the other part accepted, pleased at being given his due. "They did not know," he murmured. "It has been long since the true gods walked the worlds. Our journey is as Zhijian says. So much has been lost to us that now must be found." His tail flicked from side to side, shifting under his own robes.
Then he paused, and glanced at his brother for a moment before focusing on the ancient Aoide once more. "While we were journeying here, something happened - something cataclysmic. I am sure you know of what I speak. Our transport to this place has not yet recovered enough for us to return to the Crown's side." His tail lashed this time, in response to his emotion, and he had to put forth conscious effort to stop it. "Time and the Fading has eroded much memory. Might you know anything of such an event, its nature or cause?" Ivynian “To search for the Pantheon city…” The Aoide was carefully lowered to his seat again by his bearers. “You come to a place where that is possibly, surely enough. The City Fallen From Bleeding Stars. That is as this chunk is called, at least, though it is only a splinter of the jewel, the area that kept the gate. The gate is mostly broken, but the mana and lines of the caryatid remain fair and strong….or did. Perhaps nothing is certain anymore. “The Geomancers slowly backed away, blending in with the ground of the scene. Recognized, the brothers were afforded distance of respect. They would want privacy, perhaps, in speaking with the One who Knows. ”Long it has been, Shieldscale. I was certain the True Gods would not rise again…” The lines carved in his face seemed graver for the flickering of horror and memory in his eyes. He did not speak for a length of moments, not until the shifting of a wing on the periphery of the circle, a young one who did not leave as the others did. “Better to worship the dead then hold up a lie. “
”I do know, though the timing is strange to me. The horns will echo stronger here, in the shadows of the caryatid….in the memoryplace of the Old City. The windows of the story of the Crown are shattering. Gehenna is coming, growing. If they still stand, the fate-stones will also be solid and slowly eroding into dust. The End of What is…..what swept us All was the last echo of the Heart of the Crown. It does not make sense….things were terrible, but the lines of what is did not seem aligned for that yet. Now should not be the time I think, but with that crippling blow, perhaps there will not be much choice in the matter for the rest of us.” Meepfur The End? No! But how? Horror spread Zhijian's bestial face, as ears pressed back against his skull. How could it be? Truthfully, the state of the worlds in the Age of Destruction had not worried him, so while others had sought ways to heal them, he had been content to pursue his own ends; but the prospect of the End - that distressed him. Who in their right mind would want that? He wanted to live! He was only just beginning to do so again, after all.
There was more to it, however...worry much stronger, less selfish. What had happened to their Lord? Had He been once more betrayed? Could He be helped?
"Can it be stopped?" Perhaps it was a futile question, pathetic for a god to look upon servant with pleading eyes, but already the aoide had been able to tell them so much...and asking could not hurt, no matter the answer. Sosiqui "The last..." Tian Yue breathed what words he could, then stopped, the rest squeezed out of him. How could such a thing have happened? Lucius had been worried, feared there was something wrong - but this? No, no, it couldn't have been the time. Why resurrect the Pantheon only for the end of the world?
... So that we could stop it?
"Perhaps some here may find it ridiculous for us to petition you, ancient one, yet time has ground so much of the story to dust and gone, even to our knowledge." He glanced over at Zhijian, saw the same desperation in his brother's eyes. "Time, death, and rebirth - if there is any lore, any prophecy that you know, anything, we will carry it and we will use it to stop this." His tail lashed behind him. Ivynian “Lore of the End, as I'm sure you can guess, tended to be quite final. It was never something foreseen as bad by the learned. Often enough there is fear or the completion of things, but there was never reason before to consider wanting to prevent the natural course. ”
except that we have all here decided it does not seem natural
"My best advice is to look on the fate-stones. They are not a single answer, ever, nor would all answers they give lead to the thwarting of the current flows. If indeed any do. They lined the main arcades of the city, shifting ever in their stories. If they still stand. "
I would offer to go with you, to try to read the signs right, but I cannot stand, lords. I would slow your journey.
How. How do you come before one such as me now, when I am as I am? to come at all? Where were you all before? An age ago? Fifty ages ago? Why did you not come then ?
That wave. ..well, at least I still survive to help as able.The Aoide shifted, stroking a single feather towards the bottom his cloak. The cloak shifted, revealing itself to have once been wings, like many of his station, now tattered and hanging in a strange, boneless crush from his back. Meepfur Fate-stones, lining the main arcades of the city. Zhijian had been considering suggesting to his brother that they simply return home as soon as the errais were rested, but now...it would seem there was need to go to the city beyond retrieving old treasures. He nodded, a quiet thanks for the advice, and looked on with curiosity as cloak was revealed to be broken wings.
What else was there to be said? He glanced again to Tian Yue. Sosiqui "Fate-stones," Tian Yue repeated. "We will seek them, and their knowledge. This... cannot be natural. I cannot believe that the Twin Crown would bring rebirth to the Pantheon a mere three, four years before the End of All. What purpose would that hold?" He shook his head. "I have only ascended into this form barely a year ago... no, it cannot be right."
He glanced over at Zhijian. "He did tell me," he added, with a mirthless laugh. "Told me to gather the Kings, for they would be needed. Perhaps it was for this."
Then Tian Yue looked back to the Aoide. "You have been faithful for so long," he said, quietly; even as a god, he could hardly concieve of it. Eternity, or nearly. "What can we - I - grant you for that service?" Perhaps a fledgling Dragon King could do little, but the ancient form stirred respect. A sage, indeed, as Shet'naa had said. Ivynian “Time has been its own reward....I was kept well, after their fashion, lord. I have a place here. I have seen Gods returned. ”
"But payment...since you ask it, I would wish to know....how is it you come here? How do those Dead come back and stand as more then spectres of memory before eyes that watched them fall? And how many are there? Who is returned? I have apparently been succored far from the center of things.""Beyond that, I have no wants, and my people survive on their prayers and toil. .....Do you remember how to get into the city? " Meepfur "As yet, we only half-remember," he admitted grudgingly, "We think still on the names."
"We were...collected," Zhijian answered after a moment of considering the phrasing, "Held safe in jewels, and now reborn by mortal sacrifice. As to others...there is at least Gaia, Universe, Knowledge, each of the Loves, Light, Number, Wind, Plague, Hunt, Dream, Underworld, Shen Lung, and Qian Lung." The names were recited haltingly as he rummaged through memory, both his own and his host's, and he included those who had yet to take over from their host. He had a fair memory for things - things from this life, at least. "And Wind and Hunt have spawned." Others would be left to Tian Yue. Sosiqui "As Zhijian says," Tian Yue added, picking up where his brother left off. "Harmodius collected our essences in jewels and set them in mortal flesh, giving us body again and rebirth with mortal soul for fuel." A crass way of putting it, perhaps, but it was the quickest answer. "And I know more. We are not fully reborn, not at all, but still remain... Ti Lung, I have met. There is also Music. Medicine, Silence... Archery, a daughter of Wind and Hunt. Science. Greed, Poison. ...Trickery. There are others, but not many. We are perhaps fifty, all told, our eldest here merely four years, I believe. All except the Twin Crown. Empress there is. Consort... there is not."
He nodded to the Aoide. "And there is the measure of it. I am sure that you would be welcomed there, when times are better." Not if. When. There would be no 'if'. He would not allow it.
Another pause, then. "I do not remember. A word, spoken between the Caryatid... but nothing more... but I will remember." It was spoken as firmly as the 'when'. Ivynian “Few....so very few. ”
Barely enough to fill a choir. And strange the list of those returned."Thank you lords. Until the time you have remembered, please partake of our houses. What we have is meager in the eyes of gods, but rich for these days and the days to come. While the mana lasts. " Meepfur Zhijian dipped his head in another nod, grateful and respectful, but leaving any further words to his brother. They tended to be more his specialty, anyway. Sosiqui "Thank you," Tian Yue repeated, giving the ancient Aoide a respectful nod. "We will not burden your people unduly. As soon as memory wills, we will be gone... and your long service spoken to the Crown, when we can." He could give the Aoide that, at least. "We will work with all our strength so that these lives will be long, and happy. I may seek you again, Master of Lore."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:10 pm
Scraping the Barrel
The return to their chambers was different than it had been before. Shet'naa walked ahead of them with his bell chiming sweetly, and their guard escort had become more of an honor guard. Most of the Warpost's population had remained in the Garicar's hall with the ancient Aoide, eager to hear his knowledge. The soft plea had followed them back. Tell us the Old Words, tell us the Old Days.
A singular figure, truly.
Tian Yue had a brief meal and then excused himself to the other side room. Tonight he had to think, and think hard. He had to remember. Otherwise all was useless, and they might as well return... but how could they, with such potential treasures waiting for their discovery? What else might be in the Ancient Pantheon that could help them stop the end of the world?
The end of the world. The apocalypse. Here it was, looming. Save the world.
Tian Yue paced across the room, unwilling to lay down lest sleep steal his valuable thinking time. A word. Not just a word, a name. What name? Tian Yue, Tien Lung, Shaiming, Worldshield, Starscale... no, no, those were wrong. Not a name for himself.
The Throne. Heart of All; core of his being, his trust. His Lord sat there resplendent. From Gate to Throne, lightning-quick, a gift for the Dragon Kings. They should not have to wait to come before their most worthy master.
Harmodius. Creation. Destruction. Origin. Gehenna. Pearl that Fashioned All.
No. Those names were known to All, at least in some form. Wrong.
His tail lashed behind him in irritation. Why was it that every time he needed something, it required scraping of memory, digging through wisps so tangled, so diminished that it took sheer chance more often than not to produce a result? Tien Lung's long life all squished, tangled, mangled in his mind, presenting only bits and slips of useful information. Here a breath of warm wind, there the memory of laughter, and nothing else to show for it.
Finally, when he could walk no more, Tian Yue let himself fall into the bed, exhausted, and slept the sleep of the highly annoyed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:11 pm
Serious BusinessMeepfur Zhijian strode smugly from his room in the dome, intending to go and see his brother and give him the news that he'd remembered his passname, but paused when he saw that there was food on the table - fish again. With anything bird-like pretty well off the menu, he really wished that at least red meat would appear every now and again. There had to be something meaty roaming these snowy lands; at this point, he was seriously considering going and looking for some himself. Still, food was food, and he was still happy enough to stop and scarf some down. He ignored the bread, since there was nothing particularly tasty about it - no gravy or cheese or anything to make it worth filling his stomach with. Sosiqui His brother was moving. With a sigh, Tian Yue got up from his own bed. He didn't particularly want to face the day, especially since he'd thought hard about the caryatid until he'd fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, but if he didn't move soon all the food would probably be gone.
"Good morning," he mumbled, dragging himself out of his room, "don't eat all of that." Meepfur "I'm not," he answered cheerfully, not finding it necessary to wait until he was finished chewing to speak, "There's plenty of bread." So saying, he scooped up a piece and lobbed it in Tian Yue's direction. He was much happier for having remembered, oh yes! And was impishly considering withholding the information past breakfast, even if it was important. He was feeling exceedingly playful for some reason, strangely so. Sosiqui Tian Yue made a face. "I meant fish, and you know it," he said, tugging Zhijian's tail as he walked by - and then quickly lunged for the meat. Ugh, he was tired. Did they have some coffee-like beverage here? Meepfur Tail tugged, Zhijian predictably swatted at his brother's hand - apparently exactly what he had intended, as it left the fish open to attack. With mock affront, he pouted, "Didn't you know dragon-cats need to eat their weight in fish if they're not getting any real meat? I could waste away! Well, maybe this will do..." Looking speculative, he picked up the other dragon's tail to examine it. Sosiqui Tian Yue did laugh, then, but he whipped his tail firmly out of Zhijian's grasp. "You're certainly in a good mood. Good dreams?" Meepfur "Mm, something like that," he replied, though disappointed to lose his brother's fine purple tail. The Fangbridle was not so easily dissuaded, however, and settled for trying to have a nom on Tian Yue's arm. Sosiqui Tian Yue dodged that, too, though Zhijian did end up with a bit of fabric. "Explain," he demanded, threatening to throw the bread at his brother. Meepfur Aww, thwarted again! There was nothing fun about a mouthful of fabric. He released it, giving up for the moment. "Hey, easy on the bread!" he pleaded, shielding himself with one arm. "You want to know, hmm? Maybe it's something you'd rather not hear!" Sosiqui "Now, you know my mouth's no good for biting in this shape," Tian Yue complained, dropping the offending bread and putting his hands on his hips. "Spill." It was a nice release, anyway. He was already vaguely dreading going back and thinking hard, scraping the inside of his mind for long-forgotten words. Meepfur "Now who's fault is that?" he teased. "You could have found a host with better teeth!" Of course, it would have been a slightly more effective joke if Tian Yue weren't...well, Tian Yue. "I remembered my passname." He beamed proudly. Sosiqui "Bah, I happen to like being m-you what?" Tian Yue stared for a moment, then scooped up the bread and threw it at his brother, hard. "You did? And you didn't tell me? You... you... fuzzy a**!" he spluttered, though to be fair the (lame) insult did come through laughter. Meepfur "Ouch!" he protested melodramatically, "Was that stale?" Zhijian rubbed his shoulder, but could keep a straight face for long, and soon burst into laughter. "You should see your face!" Sosiqui "If I didn't care about wasting mana, I would shift and give you such a n**," Tian Yue scolded, but then his expression turned serious. "What was it? A name, you said....?" Meepfur "It's not like you can't anyway," he pointed out, "Just not as well as I can!" Zhijian wiggled a little, before rolling onto his back to eye Tian Yue upside-down. "Anax." It was simple and, quite frankly, rather unimaginative (though he would prefer to call it straightforward), but he'd never been a poetic sort. It probably wouldn't be much of a stretch to guess that his brother's was prettier. Sosiqui "Anax...?" Tian Yue pondered. "A name..." Something was niggling in his memory - finally - but it was still distant, refusing to come into focus. "Why is it special? It doesn't feel right. Not to me. A name, a name..." Something different from the others. Lord Harmodius, Twin Crown, Creation, Destruction, Origin, Gehenna, Pearl that Fashioned All... Meepfur "Because it's not yours, silly dragon," he chided, absently thwapping his brother with a paw, "It's mine. Yours was probably fancier." Zhijian stuck his tongue out - strange enough with a maw like his, and even more so upside-down. Sosiqui "A name. A name special, just for Him..." Tian Yue didn't even dodge the thwap, but sat down and was quite still, thinking as hard as he possibly could. Probably fancier; his brother meant it as a joke, but it was probably true. A name, a name, a name...
There-
A memory, soft breath, dragon face tilted up to regard the Twin Crown in teasing delight. "A name, a name among your many others, O Crown, O Pearl," came Shaiming's his soft voice, words spoken cleverly to entertain his Lord. "From a people who honor dragons. Their language is lilting, a praise to the ear. I would name thee Zhōng Xīn."
His eyes snapped open. "Zhōng Xīn!" he breathed. Meepfur Zhijian snorted, chuckling. "See? I told you - prettier!" Feeling quite finished with being serious, and attempting to take advantage of his brother's distraction, he wriggled closer to see if he could get in a nibble this time. Sosiqui Tian Yue was taken utterly by surprise that time - he yelped as the touch of teeth on his tail snapped him out of the memory reverie, then swatted at his brother. "Hey! I'm trying to have a serious moment, here!" Meepfur "What?" he asked innocently, "Is this distracting?" He grinned impishly, licking the captured tail with his rough tongue. "Mm, refreshingly not fishy!" Sosiqui "You... you would make a terrible inclusion in a dramatic legend," Tian Yue scolded, tapping on his brother's nose with one finger. "It would go like this: 'And lo, the noble Dragons did ride, except for one of them, who was chasing his own tail, even so, and did miss out on the whole thing.'" Meepfur "No, I don't chase my tail," he corrected, nipping harmlessly at the offending digit. "Yours works much better!" He poked Tian Yue's tail with a padded finger. "Meatier, too - mine's all fur and bone." Sosiqui "You could have found a host with a better tail," Tian Yue retaliated, then shook his head. "As much fun as it is to swap insults... if we both remember, we should move. The End of Days isn't going to wait around for us to finish playtime, unfortunately." He sighed. Meepfur Zhijian frowned heavily at the retaliation, and sighed when Tian Yue had to be a voice of reason. He was very keen on cuddling today, for some reason. "You're right," he allowed, "But this is much more fun."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:12 pm
Tempting FateSosiqui They had said their goodbyes to the Warpost, to Garicar and geomancer alike; the errais were left in the care of the The'ta'naa, for now, until the Dragon Kings returned. There would be true farewells later, when it was time to collect their mounts and return to the Crown.
For now, there was snow, and ice, and the faces of stone broken. Tian Yue stared for a moment up at the caryatid again, his breath forming a plume in the air. Name. The name, the ancient name. Heart's name.
"Zhōng Xīn," he breathed, closing his eyes and letting the name fill him. Core. Heart. Center around which all stars dance and spin. Pearl that Fashioned All.
When he opened them, there was silence, and stone, and broken splendor all around him. He couldn't catch his breath. Meepfur Standing between the broken caryatid with his brother, Zhijian didn't bother to give himself a moment to take it all in, or think about what they were doing. Instead, he was impatient to get this done, and wasted no time in uttering the passname he had finally remembered. "Anax." It was simple, meaning only 'master,' but it was the inflection that mattered, the intensity of feeling behind it. It was adoration, devotion, and love, and it was his. And in that moment, the cold and the snow disappeared - or rather, he supposed, they were the ones who disappeared.
It had worked! Hah! He might have preened, but now finding himself at the Seat of the Throne, he was much too preoccupied with gaping. Memory seemed to echo in the empty remains of the room, fleeting and difficult to catch hold of. This splendid place was everything he remembered and more, but also less. It was unsettlingly quiet and still, and he was caught between happiness and mourning, for what had once been. Even if he remembered little, he still missed it. His ears fell, and he sat back on his haunches. Sosiqui "Perhaps... but I think we have become small," Tian Yue murmured, taking a step forward. All around him was crumbled, fallen, but there were echoes of memory everywhere, treacherous reminders of what had once been. The Gallery of Celestia had been insignificant compared to this.
He took a slow, deep breath. Rot, and dust, and a whiff of growing green. No more frozen chill, but no heat either, merely a static, unmoving temperature that was neither warm nor cold. No wind moved. They had interrupted utter emptiness.
The Throne Hall arched around them, and crumbled, and lay in ruins. Of the Throne itself there was no sign, only a dais worn. Behind... "Yggdrasil," Tian Yue said, breathless, and walked forward to lay a hand on the cracked and shriveled wooden mass. He remembered green, growing, life. Meepfur "I think you're right," he agreed grudgingly, with a touch of a sigh. he did not like the idea of being small. Shaking himself, he stood and wwatch Tian Yue put his hand against the dead World-Tree. Zhijian's heart sank, and he thought of his bridle - was it now all that remained alive of Yggdrasil? Though he was not often a sentimental sort, it was impossible not to be moved by the sight. Still, he did not wish to linger, not yet. For now, there were things to be done, and so he turned away. "We should find the stones he spoke of." Sosiqui "Yes," Tian Yue said, a bit reluctantly. There was so much here, so many memories, that they could probably wander forever, living stuck between past and present. He patted the remains of the Tree before withdrawing and turning.
The mountains- oh, he remembered them, the suns and moons that rose in gift from Universe, and there the mountains were, astonishing still in their clarity even as their edges were crumbled and flaws crept in. They reflected only a dim ambient light across the remains of the City below them. Canals, some scummed over. Here and there a riotous smear of green, some garden gone wild in the absence of caretakers.
He walked to the edge, to the stairs down, and something snapped under his feet. A bone, human in shape. Aoide, perhaps. "Even though I know we must, I somehow do not want to go," he admitted, turning to look at his brother. "We.... spent so much time here... did so much..." His voice echoed against the remains of the walls. How many times had it done so in the past, when he was Shaiming? Meepfur "I know," Zhijian said sympathetically. Even without truly remembering, the memory was there, the recognition, the familiarity. Still, it wasn't a comfortable familiarity - it was too different now. Everything that had mattered here, that had made it home, was gone. It was a pretty, hollow reminder of the past, and vaguely creepy. "Come on, brother," he rumbled irreverently, swiping harmlessly at Tian Yue with a heavy dragon-paw. "Let's save the world - then we can sightsee." Sosiqui "Hmph." He smiled, then. "True enough. We will have all the time we need, then." He padded down the stairs, then paused. It was already too warm for the clothing from The'ta'naa, and it felt wrong to pad down the great - if ruined - stairs on such small feet. Though it took a moment, he made it out of his clothes and shifted immediately to dragon, stretching out and then up to blink at the ruined Pantheon through new eyes.
"The stones are on the walkways," he said, coiling into the air to land heavily on the plaza below the stairs. "And what of your armor?" Meepfur He followed his brother's leap down with wings spread. "We should find the stones first - some things do take precedence over treasure, after all." Zhijian laughed, and the deep sound rang strangely in the empty city - how long since such a sound had been heard here? Joviality was odd, considering the circumstances, but it suited him better than whispering and moping about. There was nothing wrong with trying to keep cheerful...or at least not distraught. "They shouldn't be hard to miss, at least." Sosiqui "No, not at all..." The sky was bright like fire, for some reason, even though he could see no sun, no moon. Tian Yue sniffed at the cracked plaza stones, then padded over to a tangle of greenery and tore it free with one claw. There was a stone underneath, but it was broken in half. "Hm..." He turned and paced towards the entrance to an avenue that stretched away into the distance, lined with trees outlined darkly against the sky.
One glance down the avenue made further searching unnecessary. The canal, stagnant, reflected the stones - more like walls, really - in their ranks. As Tian Yue walked past them, astonished, some of them leapt into life, tracing glyphs and images in glowing gold across their surfaces, weaving stories that shifted and changed. "Zhiji..." Meepfur Zhijian's ears flicked forward, and he trotted hurriedly over to see Tian Yue's discovery. Another time, he might have given him a playful bite for shortening his name, which only Ashoka really ever did, but he barely noticed. Instead, he came to a halt and stared, fascinated, at the shifting stories on the stone. Were they not looking for anything in particular, he likely could have spent hour after hour just watching, mesmerized. As it was, they did not have time today. "We need to find something...something to do with the End. With Him. Perhaps with us?"
Tearing himself away, he padded further down the row, peering at each for something useful. A few minutes later, he called, "Look! There are dragons on this one." Sosiqui "Dragons?" Tian Yue bounded down after his brother, looking rather silly, but he didn't much care. He paused and sat, peering closely at the stone through narrowed eyes.
Dragons, rampant - five of them? and a creature, a thing with lashing tails, facing them down... "That's... that's me," he said, quietly, indicating with one slightly trembling claws. "And you, there - see the wings..." As if in answer to his questions, the stone wrote glyphs in white fire above each form, flickering for a moment before diving back under the surface again. "Tien Lung, Ying Long... Qian Lung, Yu Five Claws, Futs Lung..."
The glyphs flared over the figure. He swallowed. "Gehenna."
As he watched, the combatants moved, the dragons flowing over the dark form and then... thrown back, crumpling, withering away to nothing. The monstrous figure grew to fill the whole stone, and then nothing - all black, suddenly, like obsidian.
Then it cleared, and went back to the beginning. Meepfur As the scene played out, Zhijian's ears fell back, and he swallowed hard. "Well...that is one thing not to do," he noted humorlessly, and turned away. He did not particularly want to see that again, and there were many more stones to investigate still - hopefully there would be at least one with a less terrible prediction. "At least now we know what Gehenna looks like." It went without saying that he would rather not see it in person, not to mention prefer to avoid the horrifying idea of flinging himself at his Lord in violence. He could scarcely imagine it.
The dragon moved on, shaking off the image with a twitching of muscle and skin as though something had crawled along his body. Sosiqui "Gehenna," Tian Yue repeated, shaking his head from side to side, a look of confusion on his face. "But that is an ancient name for our Lord, for Destruction... how... why..."
He swallowed, hard. "Lucius was afraid that our Lord was declining... too primal, perhaps? the destruction of All? And we must... it is He who will..." The thought was too horrifying for words, and he bounded heavily along to the next stone, which cleared and began to 'play' as the dragons approached.
Again the dark figure of Gehenna, but this time the creature was bound, lying sullen and cold. It remained thus for so long that Tian Yue thought the image was static, but suddenly the bonds snapped, and the creature threw back its head, and - black, obsidian, nothing. Meepfur He let his brother speculate, adding nothing to his brother's musings...he didn't really have anything to add. And so he followed to the next stone, to see whatever it had to show them. While considerably less violent than the last frame, and far less disturbing to the Fangbridle, the end was the same - nothing. The End. Zhijian sighed. "So we cannot fight him, cannot bind him. What can we do?" he growled to no one in particular. "This is nearly useless."
The next stone to offer up a relevant scenario was eerily similar to the first, but the five dragons were joined by other gods - all of them, or nearly all. Still, the end was the same: violent ends, until Gehenna stood alone, and then nothingness filled the space. Sosiqui "We must... no, we must find the answer," Tian Yue growled, reaching out with one claw to shake at a fallen stone. "Somewhere there must be something displaying something else, something with another ending..." He felt like destroying one of the three treacherous stones with their obsidian ends, but there would be no purpose. He could release his frustration in better ways. "How many of these stones are there?!" Meepfur "I don't know," he groused, "But we'll look at every single one if we have to." Why couldn't anything just be easy for once? It always had to be complicated, or tedious, or pressing. "Come on, then. You take half, I'll take the other? It would be a little faster, anyway." Sosiqui Tian Yue scraped at a blank, broken stone, then paused. As much as he wanted to tear through the City in angry search... there was an insistent logic nagging at him. "I think... perhaps we should wait," he said, reluctantly, knowing that his brother would not like the idea. "Hear me out - we know so little of what happened to cause this, only that it is the Beginning of the End... and that it involves this Gehenna." He twitched his tail away from the fallen stone, as if they many-tailed apparition might ooze from it and bite him. "We know three foolish paths, but that's all... I think we should go back, see precisely what has happened, and tell the others - what if our siblings are even now planning to attack, not knowing?" The thought made him shudder, the image of the stone-drawn dragons leaping, being thrown back, reduced to nothing. Meepfur Tian Yue was right - Zhijian never really did like the idea of waiting, and now was no exception. They didn't even know how much time they had! In going back, they could waste precious time that could go towards finding a solution. Still, however grudingly, he had to admit to himself that his brother made sense. "You go," he suggested, "I'll follow after I find my armor." Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded. "You should have that, at least... are you sure you don't want my help?" Then again, perhaps finding one's own corpse was something best done alone. Some things were too personal even for the kind of bond they shared. "I will tell the Garicar to have your erras ready for your departure." Meepfur "I'll be fine," he assured Tian Yue. Though he wouldn't have been bothered to have him there, he didn't need him, and it was important for him to get back. "It shouldn't take very long." Of course, there was never any telling, with some of the luck he'd had. Sosiqui "I understand." Tian Yue nodded, then nuzzled at his brother. "Be well. Come back soon. I will do what I can in the meantime."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:13 pm
Journey Home
The journey back up to the ruined throne room was quick; Tian Yue shifted back to human and dressed himself again before speaking his passname before the Throne again, envisioning the Gate. A moment later a blast of cold hit him, and he found himself in the snow again, beneath the Caryatid.
The guards of the Warpost let him in immediately, and once they had entered the inner courtyard Shet'naa scurried up to meet him, bowing with that fluting, flowing gesture of his. "I must depart," Tian Yue told him, "with all speed, but I would say farewell to Lesh'taa, first. Will you have our mounts prepared? The Fangbridle will follow me before too long."
Shet'naa bowed again, then sent one of the guards off to the appropriate dome. "I will accompany you, honored Lord, if you would permit it."
"Certainly. Thank you."
The geomancer did not have his bell, this time, but he led Tian Yue to the Garicar's hall with no less ceremony. Lesh'taa rose as he entered, and bowed herself, the soft movements of the obeisance a bit clumsier than Shet'naa's. "Welcome, Lord. We have tended your mounts in your absence. You will be leaving us?"
"Yes. I must seek the Crown, and do what I can to protect your people. All people." The ancient Aoide seemed to have left; the activity in the hall was sparse, normal. "The Fangbridle will depart as well, later today I expect."
"Will you return?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.
"Yes, to the Gate at least. There is knowledge we seek, there. Perhaps we may need to speak to He Who Knows again. I'm not sure."
"Should you need, simply send word - I would be honored above all The'ta'naa to place my branding upon you, Lord. As if I, such unworthy creature as I am, would be worthy to pronounce Gods fit to wander this land, but such is the custom."
Branding... that sounded unpleasant, but clearly the Garicar didn't think so. Tian Yue nodded to her. "I will send word. Thank you for your kindness, Lesh'taa - and yours as well, Shet'naa. Yours, and that of all your people. Keep safe in the coming winter."
She looked at him with grave seriousness. "I will guard them."
"And I will do what I can do shield you all."
Gringolet was waiting for him outside; the erras whuffled and lipped at his clothing affectionately. Welcome back, Lord.
"You were treated well?"
Yes, Lord, though they didn't have much grain. Gringolet flicked his ears. We go? The path is far more clear, now. We will not be lost.
"We go," Tian Yue confirmed. The guards escorted them to the outer gate, and bowed in unison as they closed the stone wall behind them. Tian Yue glanced at the Caryatid again, then mounted Gringolet. "The Way is close?"
Very, the errais confirmed, and leapt forward. The world melted away, replaced by the darkness. Hold tight; there is a strangeness, a flux, but we will pass through it.
As Gringolet moved, Tian Yue flinched, slightly. The soft lethargy that had hung on all that week in The'ta'naa suddenly flowed away, replaced with a sudden, burning jealousy - but that, too, sideslipped into nothing as the erras grimly continued on. The dragon flushed suddenly red as desire hit him, Morgan's face and body swimming in his mind, and wasn't that extremely embarrassing-
And then, thankfully, that too dove away to be replaced with a soft, persistent hunger of a different kind, and the nothingness peeled back to reveal the darkness of simple night. We are here. The flux was strong. Time has changed, Gringolet said, his ears back. But we are here.
"Well done, Gringolet," Tian Yue said, sliding off the erras' back. "I would reward you, but now I must fly to my Lord's side - come to the Pantheon, seek Tien Lung there."
I understand, Lord, Gringolet replied. Tian Yue nodded, then sprang into the air, gathering his full speed about him.
Make haste, make haste to the Crown.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:13 pm
Shifting World
The world had changed again. Tian Yue had more or less memorized the patterns of Destruction in the world around, so that he could see how they changed under the influence of his shield. But his shield was gone, and the town below was even more destroyed, damaged and shaken anew by the thing that had happened.
There was a scar in the ground around the Pantheon; he wondered at that, but came flying down to the skylight of his chambers, kicking it open with one well-placed blow. "Toki!"
There was a startled squeak from below; then, as Tian Yue descended, Toki nearly brought him down with a flying hug, the Aoide's wings fanning behind him. "Oh, my Lord, it has all gone wrong, all ash and ruin and broken glass!"
"Easy, Toki," Tian Yue managed, landing them both heavily on the bed below. "What has happened? Be quick, I must go to my Lord." He peeled the Aoide off of him and quickly shed his clothing, grabbing for the wardrobe to extract something more suitable. The'ta'naa clothing was far too warm for this place.
"Oh, my Lord," Toki sniffled, wringing his hands, "I ran away, I broke the window - I'm sorry! - and I met the host of Fire, bade her seek Penny-"
"Penny!" Tian Yue paused for a moment. "And?"
"She was injured, but lives, my Lord - I left her in the space-person-building, there was medicine," Toki said, bobbing his head up and down. "And there was... such strange feelings, scary feelings in the air... oh, I missed you... can you fix it?" He looked up at Tian Yue with pleading eyes.
Tian Yue sighed. "I will try my very best, Toki." He decided not to mention the end times, not just yet - that would probably send the fragile Aoide into a full-out gibbering panic. "And the Crown?"
Toki hung his head. "I was too afraid, Lord..."
"It's alright. Zhijian should return soon, with his armor. We found the Old Pantheon; it has secrets, things that will be useful once I have the measure of this situation. I am going to the Crown, now. Remain here until I give you further orders." He would have to check on Penny, and Jax, and on Shartha and Evin... Echo...
... Lucius...
"Lord," Toki bowed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:14 pm
Before Her Throne
Pleasantries complete, Tian Yue half-ran, half-flew down to the Throne room, praying that he would find something less terrible than what his imagination could throw at him. Yet, as he finally caught sight of the Throne, he nearly fell out of the air, his attention immediately drawn to the shining, golden presence seated there. Who...
"... Phaedra?!" he gasped, incredulous. It had to be her, but changed - Nebula's form shifted - but... on the... Throne... ??
"Yes?" She laughed, golden; he could feel her power tugging at him, playing at the edges of his being.
"What... what are you doing?" He could think of nothing else to say, so complete was his shock.
"Ruling, My dear Dragon King, ruling in truth. Such a gift from what has become of our Lord." She gestured with one delicate hand.
Now Tian Yue focused on the other, darker shape in the room, and his stomach twisted. It was the Crown's Form, but distorted, defiled, gaping wound nurturing something as filaments and stretched flesh curled everywhere. A chrysalis, foul and slumbering. Worse than he could have imagined.
He whirled on her, striding up to the Throne itself. "How can you do this?"
Was that a tiny, tiny flicker of fear in that single peacock-blue eye? "Do what?"
"This! Sit so indolently on... do..." The rage was so great that he could barely force any words past it. "Sit there, while this rests so close at hand! How dare you!" He knew that there was no way she could have so reduced the Crown; it was not possible. She was not to blame for that, at least. And yet....
Phaedra's eyes narrowed. "I do not sit indolently, Tien Lung. The Emperor is My Lord as well. My mere presence, My ability to even take this Throne is proof enough of that. Or have you forgotten the Seven?"
The Seven - of course, of course, he had been so blind. "The Domains are enthroned, then."
She laughed again. "Indeed. A golden and exquisite week. You are in My Time now, Dragon King. Oh, fear not... I am not the foolish one you suppose Me to be." A cold anger crept into her gaze. "Those who have so reduced My Emperor will suffer. I will stretch out My hand, My will. I will find them, and destroy them."
"Who are they? Where are they?!" Tian Yue slammed his hand down on the arm of the Throne.
"Ask nicely," Phaedra purred, and Tian Yue recoiled.
"Ask... ask nicely?! Even now, you would..."
"I am Greed, My dear, now more than ever before," she said, smiling. "I can See, I can Hear, I can Know more than you could ever dream. Gather this Court before Me and I will reveal what I See. Then you may all fly forth to action under My most glorious banner. You will do that, won't you?"
Oh, how he wanted to grab her, throw her treacherous shape down the stairs of the Throne - but she was right, damn her. They needed that power, that knowledge. Restoring, avenging the Crown was All. "They will come," he said, through gritted teeth, "but not for any love of you."
"So long as they come. Such an honor, to see the divine gathered in court before My throne. Fly swiftly, dear Tian Yue. Perhaps I will reward you for such service."
He pivoted, sharply, and left the room, her laughter following him the whole way.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:15 pm
A Brother FoundIthiltari Delmin approached the Pantheon alone this time, Jin Huang having decided to leave his servants behind. It was risky to travel like this, his host still unresponsive, but the dragon had decided that the greater risk lay in bringing them with him. While he held himself as being relatively sacrosanct during this Week, of all Weeks, he had no such hopes for those bound to his service. It was, however, with a significantly lighter attitude that he made his way to the Throne Room. Of all the Dragon Kings, Jin considered himself most in tune with the nature of Greed. They all had within them that primal desire to hoard and to gather, but he alone was charged with doing so on a much larger scale. It was during this happy train of thought that Del's body awkwardly shuffled to a stop before running into the fleeing Tian Yue. Excuse me. "Excuse me," Del said absently, echoing Jin's own mental tone, taking a step or two back to get out of the way. The still engemmed Dragon was ready to dismiss the other and proceed, but the tingle of recognition finally penetrated his thoughts enough to make him react. Brother? "Brother?" came the incredulous echo. Sosiqui Tian Yue walked fuming out of the Throne hall - bad enough that his Lord was reduced to such a thing, such a silent and foul thing. Finding Phaedra resplendent on the Throne, in power and knowing it - oh, no, she couldn't do anything to him, not by force, but she could blackmail and manipulate as well as ever. Better, with the cards she now held.
Damn her.
There was someone in the outer hall, some sycophant come to spew praise at Greed's feet, no doubt; Tian Yue didn't notice the other figure until he smacked right into them, unintentionally. "Excuse me," he muttered, echoing the figure's own words, then stopped after a few more paces."Brother?" He turned, surprised. Who would call him that, now? His eyes searched Del's face, questioning. "Who asks?" Ithiltari Del's face would hold no clues to the true identity of the speaker, without his Dragon's direct control, the man remained blank faced. Jin struggled briefly with one of the last barriers between himself and his host before offering a reply; Del's consciousness might remain submerged, but his subconscious desire to retain control of his own body was what had led to the echoing nature of his speech and awkward movements At last, however, that too was overcome, leaving Jin Huang free to speak without delay. "The Dragon King Futs Lung, called Jin Huang in this life," came the reply, flavored and nuanced with the power to back his claim. A brief stab of envy shot through him, as the other was clearly not still bound to gem only. He had once regained such form, only to be lost, burnt and spent, leaving him only the jewel once more. Sosiqui A shifting of features, odd and awkward, met Tian Yue's question - extremely unsettling and strange, even to one used to blank faces and unfocused gazes from many conversations with hosts and gods.
But when the man finally spoke, the simple name did much to wash away Tian Yue's frustration. "Futs Lung," he breathed, amazed. "Shenlei... he told me you were lost, host crumbled away around you." Clearly, that was not the case now. Another of his brothers enfleshed in truth, at last, and when had they ever needed Dragon Kings more than now? "I am Tien Lung, called Tian Yue in this life," he said, echoing the other dragon's phrasing. "And I am very, very glad to see you well." Ithiltari Del's expression gradually lost it's blank and unsettling aspect, instead taking on a more animated look as Jin settled himself into better control of his host. Much less awkward this way, although it was slightly strange, being in a form not his own, but with nearly full control. "Shenlei?" Jin echoed, name not immediately calling anyone to mind. "What he said was true, however. I made my decision too hastily, and the soul I had selected could not fuel my further growth," he added, making a small dismissive motion with one hand. "The Crown took me in and gave me another chance at life." Here, the dragon smiled wryly, Del's mouth twisting slightly. Yes, another chance at life, but that could end, and in a far more final fashion than his last. "It is good to see you as well, even in such times as these. I find I have missed my siblings, over these long years. Have you any news of the others? Or," a slight hesitation, and Jin's gaze flickered briefly to the Throne Room before focusing once more on Tian Yue, "Of what has befallen the Crown?"Sosiqui "Shenlei is Shen Lung, though I haven't seen him recently. Zhijian, Ying Long, is in the Ancient Pantheon seeking his armor of old - he should return shortly. I was there with him until a few moments ago." It seemed like a lifetime had passed since breathing that ancient air, even though it had only been an hour in experienced time. That flux...
He shook that thought off, sharply. "Qian Lung the Black Dragon roams as well, though still in diminished form like your own unless something has changed. Likewise Ti Lung. Of Yu the Five Claws, Great Chien-Tang, and Mang.... I have no news." He sighed. "And our Lord..."
He would not turn around and walk back for a glimpse of that thing their Lord had become; not now, with Phaedra sitting mocking on her stolen Throne. "I do not know what has done this thing, but he stands enmeshed in some vile thing, egg to some viler thing. An ancient Aoide has said it heralds the end of the world." Oh, how he wished he had something better to tell his brother! Wonderful to see you well, unfortunately, the world's about to end... too bad, so sorry... Ithiltari "I see I have some catching up to do," Jin replied with a much more genuine smile. "It is good to hear that so many have returned as well," the dragon replied thoughtfully. There was something there, when Tian Yue mentioned the Five Claws, the faint echo of a memory of a sensation experienced while Harmodious had him under his care. Jin dismissed it with a small shake of his head - not now. "The End?" he echoed, taking a step back in shock. Surely not! Not now, not when everything and everyone was in the process of returning. Surely the Crown would not...No. This was not right. "It cannot be that time so soon," Jin growled out, lightly balling one hand into a fist, as though he could strike a blow against whatever had done this. "Is there nothing to be done, then?" Sosiqui Tian Yue shook his head, sharply. "It is not natural; the Aoide, the lore-keeper, agreed. As to stopping it..."
They had to stop it, he had to stop it, no question. But how? "There are stones in the Ancient Pantheon that may provide answers and help. That is why I came back here now, to learn what I could about what exactly happened, so I might know what to look for when I return." So far, he had learned nothing other than that Phaedra was a b***h, which was nothing new.
And that Futs Lung is alive, he reminded himself. That was worth knowing. "Zhijian and I saw three futures played out for us. Gehenna..." His tail twitched back and forth. Saying the name here, with that behind him somewhere, made tiny prickles of unease run up his spine. "In one, the Dragon Kings did battle. Five of them." Futs Lung had been named there, as had Yu Five Claws. Had that worthy King returned as well? "In another, the End was bound. In the last, all did battle. All ended in empty failure. I know what not to do. What to do?" He laughed, mirthless. "I have no idea."
He would have to get an idea, and quickly. Someone would have to. Ithiltari Jin Huang stilled himself, his anger, to listen to what his brother had to say. So - battle was out of the question; just as well, to his mind. Direct fights and brute force had never been his style. But bound? That tugged at something within, something he should know, but did not. It was not something to trouble his brother with, not over something so small, and with another small shake of his head, Jin dismissed the thought as something to go over later, when there was time. "Nothing of the Consort?" he asked idly. That there was a search for the missing Aristogeiton was something he knew quite well at this point. One of his own servants was among those searching, and he had received quite a bit of information on the subject as well. Then again, if these fate-stones had shown naught of him, perhaps the search was futile at this point. Just as well, then, that he himself had not gone. "I know that he has been the subject of much searching, in order to avert this very problem."Sosiqui "I have heard that Medicine was seeking such - other than that, I do not know," Tian Yue said, with a sigh. If other gods were doing so, then that was well and good and something he did not have to personally worry about. "Doubtless if he is useful, we will find out as the other gods fail or succeed. I... have gone too far from the Throne, too recently, already."
He would have to return to the Ancient Pantheon, that much was certain, but he was loathe to do so just yet. He needed more information. The lack of true knowledge he had regarding this whole situation was beginning to get to him. Ithiltari "Medicine, and now others," Jin confirmed. Not that he was overly concerned with the search; while the Dragon had sent along one of his own servants, as well as the larger part of his 'hoard', he remained indifferent to the overall end results of the quest. If they did indeed succeed in finding the missing Consort, and better yet, that it actually had some effect, well, that was all to the good. As it was, Jin Huang was content to have merely provided some momentum towards it. "I leave such things in their hands. There is more than enough to concern ourselves with here," he added firmly, another flickering glance cast into the Throne Room. Jin shrugged uncomfortably. "I know little enough of what happened here, save only that it happened." Sosiqui "Others? That is good to know." Tian Yue sighed. Phaedra's promises not withstanding, it was nice to know that others among the Pantheon were moving, in their own ways. Trying to help.
He caught the other dragon's glance towards the Throne hall. "The goddess of Greed has taken the Throne for a time. She spoke of power granted by that ascension. Perhaps it might be useful, but she is... difficult to deal with." Understatement, but he didn't need to poison other gods with his own anger. He would not set god against god, not now. They could war later, when the entirety of existence was not in danger. Ithiltari "I would do something here, to help, but I think it unlikely I would be of much use, trapped as I am," Jin Huang replied with a slight grimace. Trapped not only by the limits of this form that was still not his, but trapped by his host's catatonic self. Forcing him into control like this, so early on, worried Jin more than he would like to admit. It hit too close to him, to his previous failure. Jin curved Del's lips upwards in a smile at his brother's words. "I had hoped she would there," he said, glad to have his suspicions confirmed. Obviously, there was something between the two, but that was not his concern, just as the reverse would have been true. And had been in the past, he dimly recalled. But it was not something to dwell on, and the dragon found himself obscurely glad that Greed was the one he would encounter on the Throne. "Difficult to deal with, yes, but has she ever been otherwise?" he asked, largely rhetorically. It was entirely her nature to be such, and Jin was accepting of that fact. Sosiqui Hoped? Tian Yue twitched inwardly at that, but then again not everyone had been on the receiving end of Phaedra's acerbic tongue. Thankfully, Jin's other statement provided ample distraction from the topic of Greed. "Trapped? How so?" Ithiltari A frown appeared at the question. "By my host, actually," Jin Huang replied slowly, almost sheepishly. "The original wave that started all of this sent his consciousness deep into hiding." Or something else, Jin wasn't entirely sure. Del had resurfaced briefly sometime last week, although he had quickly gone away again once Jin had spoken with him. "It simply leaves me in an awkward position," he added on with another shrug. At least he'd managed to get more control over the body. It would be even more awkward otherwise. Sosiqui "Ah... I see..." Tian Yue gave Del a worried look. One host had already failed his brother, and this one was barely functioning, it seemed. "If you require mana..." Ithiltari "Ah," Jin Huang replied, flashing a quick, but grateful, smile. Tian Yue did, after all, know of the previous failure. "I don't think that shall be necessary. It doesn't...feel the same." It had been terrifying, and more than a little painful, making it an experience he was loathe to repeat. He'd already failed once, and he could not afford to do so again. There likely wouldn't be anything left to stuff back in the gem, if this played out the same way. A faint shudder rippled through his body at the thought. Sosiqui "I was worried," Tian Yue murmured. "We needed you, so desperately. We still do," he added, glancing up with a very faint flush on his cheeks. Ithiltari "I know. And I regret not being here," Jin replied, feeling frustrated. He'd missed so much, but now he was returned, and here he would stay, unless the Crown required him elsewhere. Sosiqui "You could hardly help that," Tian Yue said, firmly. He understood, though; he-Shaiming had felt great guilt at not being there to stand between Universe and Creation on that distant day. "You're here now. That's the important thing. And when we set things right, you will be here for a very long time to come."
Surely they, the Dragon Kings, could set things right. Not in battle, as the fate-stone said, but through some other method, surely... otherwise, why else would Destruction have wanted them so? What other purpose did they have for existing? Ithiltari "If only we were all gathered here," Jin Huang replied wistfully. Of course, Ying Long was otherwise occupied, but what of the others? Why were they not here? "Not for battle, of course." Even with all arrayed against the End, it was unlikely to make much of a difference in that terrifyingly final result Tian Yue had spoken of. Sosiqui "I am sure that will come, in time - once Zhijian has returned. For now, though..." He resisted the urge to glance back at the Throne hall. "I must learn more about what has happened here, and use that knowledge to find answers in the fate-stones. And you? Your office will be needed, no doubt of that. All of us will be needed." Ithiltari "I look forward to that day," Jin Huang replied. When they all could be gathered, before the true Crown, and not whatever waited in the Throne room. "For myself, today I came to pay my respects to the Lady Greed," he continued with another small smile. "I wish you luck in your search, brother. And please, if you learn anything..." Jin shook his head lightly. "I ask only that you keep me informed if there is time to do so." Sosiqui "Of course. Always. Be well, Futs Lung."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:17 pm
What Remains in Broken Places...?Ivynian The letters of the word b r e a t h e had become a mantra, and the repeated in-and-out a form of meditation while waiting for everything inside to settle into remaining so. Time had passed in obscurity, if it still passed. If it hadn’t died like everything else must have in the Pain. He could stand again, tattered edges of comets trailing his tails and steps, bright plasma light to burn off and fade like disappearing bread crumbs of the way he went. There was no telling who or what may be down there now. The upper halls were quiet as they ever were. Some doors may never be opened by their owners again…if any of the younglings had met their end. It was a house of cards, poised in the eye of a tornado. The definition of his own edges felt blurred, half real and yet not. Both a particle and a wave. Destruction must be down there beneath it all. If he found ruby slippers he would scream. He did not pause on the stairs. “It has been sometime since you stood by my side here at the Pantheon. “
“It has, Lord.”
“Titles are not necessary between us.”
“Esteem makes for the heart its own necessity.”
White is warm, definition of strength and smoothness, a hand that gentle breaks between the spaces of feathers overlapped. Father. Always your hands lift my wings and hold me up. Were there voices below? He could not tell, and leaned more upon the rail while the splitting of his skull beneath the ex-brand worsened and throbbed. “Have I brought you hence before?”
“No”Sosiqui His brother had gone, and technically Tian Yue had no reason to remain in the Pantheon - not with knowledge to gather and Phaedra's ruthless demands to appease (and how that rankled, but such power, such ability to seek out whoever had done this thing, was not something he could toss away for petty grievances).
Yet the Dragon King found himself loathe to leave, this time. Had he and Zhijian not left before - even on business of their Lord's - could they have turned the tide against whatever had so fouled and defiled the Form of the Crown? He did not want to lurk in the Throne Room, feeling Phaedra's knowing eye on him always. Instead, he stationed himself outside, near the stairs, a momentary vigil. Something to appease the angry, guarding dragon.
He had been there, silent, with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, ignoring the slow stream of penitents summoned by Phaedra's geas; they ignored him, for the most part. But then came something, someone, that he could not ignore. Never ignore.
"Lucius," he said, surprised by the sudden swirl of stars that descended the stairs. But he seemed stumbling, weak - damaged, perhaps, by what had happened? But the mark on him had changed...
He was on the stairs, leaning hard, failing? Tian Yue hurried, not daring to touch but with worry plain in his eyes. Had this turned everything, everything to dust and gone, bleeding and wounded, the walking dead? Ivynian Here was a someone. The images faded, chased by scales and stars and familiarDifferent tones that chilled his spine just the same. He looked over, waiting for his eye to focus. The same that had brought him back his treasure from some far forgotten reach. That had fashioned it. "TienLung..."
No, different. Not in this life. He is different.
"What has happened? Harmodius...The brand burned away, my powers are unbound." Though my hands are not. "The throne....what has happened to the Throne. There are trumpets in my mind, through my bones they echo. It's all gone mad inside, churning. "Sosiqui His powers unbound... then he is free? There was a small, inner leap of exultation, but he quashed it quickly, shoved it away. "I do not know what did this - I was gone, away, at the doorstep of the Ancient Pantheon. But there is a thing, a foul egg, a chrysalis in place of the Crown... and the ancient Aoide we met in that far place spoke of the end of the world..."
No, it couldn't be allowed. It would be too cruel. It would not be allowed-
You were right, you were right - something has done this, but one hand alone surely could not have felled the Crown so completely. He must have been disposed - you were right, god damn everything- This he did not say, dared not say. He would not burden Lucius with more guilt. But the what-ifs chased their merry path all around in his own mind. That, too, he tried to ignore.
"He - it - is in the Throne Room. The fate-stones in the Ancient Pantheon spoke the name Gehenna, and told foul futures. Let me help you-"
As we were to go before the Crown together, as you wished. Too little too late. Why does it always seem so? Ivynian “Aoide? We? Ancient Pantheon?” He was coming into the middle of a longer tale. A bound hand moved from its press against the stair banister and opened out to the familiar. More reaction then thought, he accepted help from this dragon in such an hour. Ge-he-nna…The syllables sounded almost pleasant, a soft chain of mild sounds. The name lacked any of the staccato feel of war drums or the screams of mortal minds. “Risen from the bones and sinew of the old order comes the maw….”
”It should not be now. I have to see it.” Ridiculous, he could already feel it, see it from where he was. Knowing that Harmodius, or what had once gone by such a name for countless ages of men, was there was enough to focus every returned thread of his power and mind there. It throbbed inside, shifting turmoil of an unfathomed body within a place half realized. He knew the outside, but deeper in it reached out of what Existed. A blacker epiphany that crashed together with other images, bringing another tempest to the fore. Lucius ground his teeth, “Please…” Shai- No, different- “keep me focused on the here and now.” Sosiqui "Please... keep me focused on the here and now.”The request, unbidden, sent a tiny shiver down Tian Yue's spine. It echoed with a thousand past memories, finding ancient resonance. A touchstone, then... and now...? But he is here, isn't he?
... perhaps the wires bind the Form, but all else...
He would take up that service again, then.
"I will explain later," Tian Yue said, quietly. "For now..." He reached out and put one hand on Lucius' shoulder, then hesitated before offering the other to Lucius' own bound pair. "It is this way. Greed is there, Phaedra, on the Throne. She may be unpleasant; I will stave her off should she put her nose where it does not belong." His eyes narrowed for a moment. Ivynian “Those are not names or titles I recognize. A latecomer, then, to this living farce. Well, she woudl be hard pressed to match the majesty of her predecessor to the throne.” Pretender, usurper. Though his heart knew it was not so. Each of the brides and bridegrooms to Destruction's powers would have their 'hour in the sun'. Three-minute happiness. Youngling. He had already suffered them all before they were remade. The damnable reason for this mess in the first place. The dragon's hands were solid, and unconsciously Universe's shoulders unwound by degrees to a more manageable stress. Those last few steps were less laboured dragging, and he straightened to full height and slowed to walk with poise instead of desperation. If some troublesome cur saw fit to wait and live beside the festering of the world....they were not the sort to desire council of any kind with. Bidden or unbidden. And the less she had to comment on the better. Sosiqui That made Tian Yue smile, even if wryly. "That is only too true," he murmured, and straightened himself up next to Universe. An quiet approach to the Throne, together; more resonance."Back already?" came Phaedra's bored tone, and then a sharp intake of breath as she realized the dragon was not anywhere near alone. "And this is... ah, of course. Universe, I see the binding. Such a shame.""We are not here for you," Tian Yue said, firmly. Ivynian See the binding? As though you have seen anything of me to so casually call my title like a horse at a track, child. Lucius paid the voice that came from the Throne itself no heed. It was a seat, a chair to be sat in or discarded and another found. Just like the current occupant. His gaze, the moment passed the archway between the spaces, locked on the chrysalis. "What has happened to you, Lord?" The whisper was a hiss from his parted lips. What indeed. There were bones bent back from scales and flesh, wrapping something. Inside was outside but what did that mean? What had always been kept away from them, kept Outside...out of him and out of Gaia, was there. Growing. Gehenna itself, once beyond the seeming of Destruction, name eaten. Gehenna was the return of the Void. "And there is no word of what caused this? How-"No, no need for a stupid question. Of course they didn't know how. Most of them didn't even remember their own right names, their loves, or where they had left their last bodies, let alone how they might possibly reverse a mistake. A thing the Should Not Be Yet. There must, in that simple wrongness, be a way to engineer it. "He thought of nearly everything, once upon a time. Nearly. There must be some contingency. Harmodius knew the half of himself unbridled was dangerous. 'Destruction by nature will end everything, even itself, however a heart may desire otherwise'....Bridled. By a heart and will of man. "
I struck a blow near to his heart with a sword forged of things Neverborn, never touched by hand of Creation. Pieces, things, from a within a wall, far....far away. Perilous rare the magic and material of that sort that remains on this plane....remains? Was left here, left behind after losing a war. I remember....That was the resting place of the banished. The Name-Eaten and Name Eaters. Sosiqui Phaedra's face twisted in anger for a moment at being so summarily ignored. She was ruling, she was enthroned - and yet, her ascended power lapped at the primordial Universe as ineffectively as at the Dragon Kings. Perhaps she could demand, peck and poke at him until something happened - but what then, after this golden time was over, when she was reduced and he would still be exactly as he was? She wasn't stupid. The goddess contented herself with squeezing the arms of the Throne, hard, and extending her ear to hear their conversation. Tian Yue heard Universe's soft whisper, echoed it in his own mind. Looking at the Crown so defiled made part of him want to run and never stop, give in to unfeeling fear - and another part fly, and roar, and dig claws and teeth into everything until the cause was itself twisted and flayed.
At Lucius' question, he shook his head. "I returned only recently, and have not had a chance to find out what caused this, for myself." He glanced briefly at Phaedra; his jaw worked, for a moment. "The fate-stones in the Ancient Pantheon named Gehenna, showed three paths tot he End. One showed a binding, but... the end was eventually the same." Like the Fenris-wolf. Mythology. A college classroom, somewhere, worlds and an eternity away. For a moment he could taste the chewed pencils.Ivynian “But a binding that bought time, nonetheless, did it not? Is that itself not reason enough to enact it? Binding….he used to wear manacles. “ Clear the body of the Crown sat in his memory, glorious, unchanged, perfect. Artifacts of majesty and magic adorned him, but it was the bands, runed and hewn to attractive ends to grace the limbs of their Greatest that caught his attention. “Universe, at your pleasure, Lord!” an Aoide’s voice rang.
The crown stood at the approach, a clattering rain of jewels and chiming accompanied.
”Fair seeming in completion. But why, Lord? “
”It is nature to be balance and imbalance, child. Imbalance is chaos and discord, it cannot seek the other, so it must be enforced until the proper time. While there is both in each of us, Gehenna rules the greater part of the final peril. There is little need to subject what Is to undue portions when the pendulum swings to that left. “They were made for Destruction. Each Primordial had contributed. “See there, how they glitter, 13 bands connected by fair chains, all studded and wrought like living, breathing metal and jewel. Always there, shining. “He walked slowly, with Tian Yue’s help, all the way to the summit of the dais, up to the chrysalis. His eyes did not seem to behold it, but he stopped a foot from it. “He never took them off once they were forged. Where are they now. Why are they not here? Where are they?”The stars were shifting beneath his skin. Glitters of red and garnet, sapphire and diamond blue-white. “where are they” Sosiqui No cat's foot-fall or bird spittle to bind this one, then. Another glimmer of memory, soft and distant, but this one accompanied by scales, not stars. "Chains... no, not my office. One of my brothers, surely." But all he could see was scales and links, lying soft next to each other, and a quiet hiss of draconic chuckling that time had long since sucked all meaning from. "If such a thing can be found and time bought, then it should be done."
Still, that memory followed upon another one, words spoken under the sky of a dying world. "The bindings remain lost, the mirrors are gone, the circle of pillars stand half toppled in disarray." Tian Yue shook his head. "He told me that, to seek the Dragon Kings, bring us together. I tried to gather them, but they... were not to be found..." And where were Yu Five Claws, Ti Lung, Shen Lung, Mang, Great Chien-Tang? No, Yu had been named by the fate-stones. Four dragons, missing. Where had Shenlei gone, and Kawagiri? "They are want in their duty," he growled, under his breath, and he had to try hard not to grow claws in his frustration.
He turned, snake-quick, to stare at Phaedra on her Throne. "The Manacles. Where are they?" he demanded.She was startled by his sudden movement and drew back, the sudden direct words echoing loudly in her ears. "Will you-" No. No. That was not the time for that. He was beyond pushing, beyond play.
Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy, and good with catsup.
"... I will try to See," she said, under her breath. How infuriating. The presence of Universe had shifted the Dragon's demeanor entirely. She concentrated, spreading out her vision with the Power billowing for her from the Form Defiled, but...
"I don't know what I'm looking for or what direction I should even look at," she said, waspishly. "Give me more details, O Dragon King."Consternated, Tian Yue turned to Lucius. "She may be able to help... are you strong enough to lend aid, now?" He squeezed the other god's shoulder, very lightly. Ivynian “There is not much else to spend strength on in this age. “ More importantly, they would all have a much faster, perhaps more gruesome, end then they had all conceived of if they were not putting out their greatest efforts. How did it come this far?He put that distraction from his mind, while the other voices and faces crowded around. Stretching out thought was like extending his bad wing, stiff and clumsy at first until light and mana flowed again through the old, familiar channels. He had not extended his power…perhaps not since Panacea came to him and asked for the place of Aristogeiton. To mortal minds it was a lifetime away in more pleasant hour, before chaos had taken up reign here in the bastardized throne of the Twin Crown. ” Imbalance is chaos and discord, it cannot seek the other, so it must be enforced until the proper time.”
“ While there is both in each of us, Gehenna rules the greater part of the final peril. There is little need to subject what Is to undue portions when the pendulum swings to that left. “
“Our generous Lord FutsLung will keep theem in the stead that I do not bear them personally. They are precious, and should not be misplaced. “
But we all fell. Faded. Died. Only Creation stood at last. Destruction….Destruction fell back when the bones at last had crumbled to ash in his arms. The manacles were for Destruction. Harmodius took them off. Creation took them off. In the final battles, ridings, musters, the last deaths…it was just Creation that walked. He did not wear the Manacles. Futs….the last bones of the golden scale….“The Manacles lie with the parched bones of the Golden and Jeweled. In Yggdrasil, in the of what Is, that connected Gaia’s blood and mana into All….when indeed she was one with it and it lived. But it is massive, everywhere if you know the paths. I cannot find better. I am only loosely connected to it.”The boughs of the great body lifted its countless bare fingers up into his body, brushed as a mother would the neck and cheek of her child. A shoulder, a knee. They had been tender, long ago. Sosiqui "Yggdrasil... the bones of the Ancient Pantheon, then, could it be..." Tian Yue murmured. So many treasures left in the corpses of dragons. "I was there, Lucius. I touched Yggdrasil not even a day ago." Well, the flux had twisted time around, but the remembered sensation of the cracked bark on his skin had not faded more than that. "And Futs Lung - he is here, he is reborn! Surely he will remember the place where he fell. I must-" No, he made himself stop. The will to action was strong, now that there was a path to follow, but there were so many other concerns.
"Phaedra. There is a Gate in a world called The'ta'naa. It leads to the Ancient Pantheon still. Find it, follow the mana to Yggdrasil's bones. Send your Aoide. Find Jin Huang, and tell him. He may know where to refine your search." The words were spoken quickly, but in firm command.
Then he turned back to Lucius, quiet. "We will find them, and bring them. And then..." He made himself look at the chrysalis. "Binding... but we cannot bind alone, or else..." The image of the fate-stone flashing obsidian emptiness crawled through his mind. "Is there more that you recall? You need not carry it alone. Try-" and he stopped, an ancient echo ringing through his mind, lover. He caught the word just before it left him, aching.Phaedra bristled at the commands - oh, she could refuse, the words were on her lips... but then what? The two of them together could very well take her down, even now.
Snarling inside, she bent her will and power to Tien Lung's demands. The name made it easier - there, a shiver of mana along What Is, a dizzying sway of snow and harsh chill, crumbled statues linked with such a blaze that it seemed impossible to miss. Follow it, and-
The sight made her breath catch, just for a moment. "The Tree. I can see it. Down... along the bones..." A place to look. She sent her awareness skittering along the roots. So vast, so massive, crumbled and broken. Ivynian  Twisted were the million paths, the veins, of the World Tree. The lifetime maps of the Ageless that had tread the ways bore here and there as once-living reliefs, smoothed into the wooden surface upon the inner walls. There were dwelling places, ante chambers, great highways and pixie-width byways doubled back and forwards in countless fashions. If there was order, it was impossible to guess at upon first looks, quick searching. Down, further down into the heartwood and roots, the chambers long dark and no footfalls for ages out of mind the paths wound, until they opened out into the greatest chamber her mind had yet conceived. Huge, pillared with twisting, elegant knots that bore within them the likenesses of fair guardians...perhaps they had been living things once. The smooth floor was hewn with the death spasms of giant claws. Treasures scattered, some bent beyond recognition from the same catastrophe. Her eyes then spied it, the great bones of a wyrm far too lengthy and massive to belong to any but on of the kings. Treasure and artifacts there were in great stores nearby, netted and stacked as though they had once been brought there by dragging. The remains of a bit and harness were close, spat upon a pile of jewels and since rotted apart. There was no immediate sight of some great bindings, but the count of chests and cases, still whole and glimmering in hollow, silent gloom was promising. Such a thing could very likely be there. Ivynian “Always things dwell at the edges of my conscious now, waiting their turn to halting-scramble to the fore and break apart the current. Phantoms far too real. “ You get what you most deserve. Memory of ages packed into a skull bound by mortal conception. Primordial power was never meant to be so fastened in to mortal jewelry...this body. Body body body..“There was something before...he was talking about a place...never before been. He was about to explain something. No, it is gone now. Displaced by other things.”The stars slowed and ceased their dizzy shifting beneath his form. He scanned the room wearily, the myriad of gifts that littered it surely as the ash had once done. The altars before the dragons remained empty. Of course. Tian Yue had called her Greed. All for one.
The windows, some are missing? The air from without fouls the room and covers even what glitters in the death of the outside. But who would dare?
"The windows, Tian Yue?" Sosiqui So much so much so much- Phaedra bit her lip in frustration as her gaze flicked across distant root-paths, a trickle of blood winding its way down her chin. Down, down, down, down, downdowndown-
A sudden expanse flashed, and with it, brightness - color, sparkle, sure to catch Greed's eye. She veered her awareness back at once, circled hungrily. Gems and shimmering things, hidden for time out of mind, and ivory in their midst in an unmistakable shape.
"I have it," she breathed, licking her lips slowly, tasting the tang of her own blood. "Such wondrous treasure..." Her gaze flicked back to the Throne room, eye and gem focusing sharply once more on Tian Yue. "Bones. Dragon bones.""Good," Tian Yue said, with a sharp nod. "Remember their location, and send your Aoide, as I said. Jin Huang must know..."
Lucius' words drew his attention back to the elder god. "The windows?" He glanced up at the shattered glass and empty frames, and at those still left intact.Phaedra interrupted, with a throaty laugh. "That I can answer for you, Universe. They shatter all alone each time a new power comes, with the blast of a trumpet unseen. First Sloth, then Envy, then Lust. After Me, no doubt the others will follow."Tian Yue's eyes narrowed. "And at the end... Lucius, if the Domains are being freed, then... it is as if all the attributes of the Crown are being unmade. Destruction's first, and then..." His eyes traveled down the row of windows. "They mark our time... the time we have until...?" His gaze slid uneasily to the Chrysalis. "The bindings must be found. We must have as much time as we can."
I cannot lose any of this again. I cannot lose you again. A distant heartache. He could not see the Pantheon fall once more. Not by Fading, not by Gehenna. Not by anything.
"I will help you," he said, quietly, to Lucius. "We... I did, once... surely Tien Lung could do so again?" Ivynian Trumpets...It remained on the edge, coming no closer to realization. It was part of it, the mythology of the end. Did it matter? Lucius' eye followed the twisting stonework from the mantleplace of the hearth at the back of the chamber, up to the trefoil-like windows and Great Rose that headed the room. A Beast, crowned in horns with a nest of coils behind it that smote the sky that tore apart the fallen, living body of another, perfect and fair to look upon. “That is the end. That is Harmodius.” The words were harsh, gravel turning over in his throat before settling again. Until he tried to croak again. Facing it, the left held a being made of something like dichroic glass, flame-winged and tailed. Jeweled. The right, a man. He was steel-eyed, a mouth lined with sorrow and smiles. A King of old accounts and days that did not walk in modern, disillusioned worlds. The top, Mother, impossibly solid and timeless, majesty on her brow and strength in her infinite body. Connections...there was purpose to it all. He had been told once, plainly, by his Father. A rare confidence, close, and crystal tears had danced on the knife-edges of worry and eyes. The Crown had been....wounded. Not in body.
There may be nothing more here. The memory must come, but certainly not in the presence of the parasite on the throne. Keep wit about yourself. It is time to go.
"I think there is not else to be found immediately in this place. But there is meaning here. If it can be known." Sosiqui Tian Yue stared up at the trefoil windows as if he'd never seen them before. The Beast reminded him of the fate-stones, of the fruitless battles. How long had that been there, staring them all in the face? How many signs and portents were all around them, waiting merrily to be recognized for what they were, and all the gods too eroded and made blank by Fading and rebirth to understand until it was too late?
His tail lashed behind him, and he resisted the urge to grind his teeth in frustration. "We will find that meaning," he muttered, under his breath. A string of fine promises he wasn't sure he could keep - but did he have a choice? It seemed not.
Nothing else to find, and he could feel the tension under his hand that rested on Lucius' shoulder still. "Where will you go? Your stars are pale again." Tian Yue glanced down at Universe's still-bound hands. Why did that remain when the brand seemed to be gone? "I would walk with you for a time, if you will allow it."Phaedra watched them, her eyes narrowed; Avita was at her hand, waiting, but she would not fly on a Dragon King's orders alone. Only with her mistress' permission.
And Phaedra would not turn and stare at the windows until after they had gone. She would not gawp and stare like a fool, not in their presence. She had been made foolish enough already. Ivynian “Please, walk with me.”
Moments ago I asked to be kept here, in the present, but it is my memory we need. That I should ask to be thrown back to it? It is pain and sadness. Grief. It is losing and endings. We are alive and this is now, a time when we could live again. To have to look back on endings to preserve the new beginning? Universe turned away from the Chrysalis, the windows, the throne. Perhaps later he would return, if they still sought more there. As it was it was stifling, screaming echoes and mixed memories out of stream and time. Out of legends, books read in this life, and lessons from the old. So much memory in so little time returned. His brain was no better prepared and organized for it then Gianfar's great library up the infernal stairs. He passed down the dais again, fire and diamonds, to pass the arch again to the ante hall. May it be enough, similar enough. Lover walked beside me, faceless, but of such a width. Half-formed Shaiming. He is gone. Useless memory, he is dead and left me indeed...even so after such pursuit. And here I pursued his shadows. Black humor. But this doppleganger is here. What is it I must remember, Tien Lung.The Manacles....what else? What else could help? Trumpets? The old Pantheon?
"Talk to me. Tell me what you saw....the old home. The Court. Fate Stones? 'We' who went with you?" Sosiqui Tian Yue matched his steps to Lucius', turning his back on Phaedra and the chrysalis. Let her do what she would; they had the information they needed, and no blackmail to deal with, either.
"I went with Ying Long, the Fangbridle," he said, as they walked. "The Crown bade him seek his tack and armor for His riding, and the armor was with his ancient corpse, at the Pantheon where he fell." Futs Lung had fallen somewhere else; that was interesting. He wondered with a vague unease where Tien Lung's own bones lay. "We were on our way there when the Crown was struck, and were trapped as our mounts that carried us were too exhausted to bring us back immediately. We stayed with the people who lived near the Gate into the Pantheon, the The'ta'naa. A most ancient Aoide was with them, and he advised us about the End, and about some of the lore and the fate-stones."
Tian Yue sighed, quietly. It was so much to cope with, all at once. "We journeyed to the Pantheon and looked at the stones, at three of them; they depicted Gehenna in strength, and three sequences. The Dragon Kings against him, the binding, and the gods in full against him. All three failed. I chose to return here and learn more about what had happened to the Crown, that I might return with more information with which to search the remaining fate-stones." Ivynian Universe listened at to the short explanation, leading to the more unusual flight of stairs. The wing that bore the ready mark of tail and ash. His gaze trailed the length of the passage up and he leaned on the rail. Concision was necessity, though it had no heart in it. They had gone to the ancient court, it still existed, and that was all there was to say of it. Pieces of all of them must have laid there often enough for Harmodius to collect for the stones. He must have still gone. But founded the new Pantheon apart? New beginnings would be difficult beneath old shadows was true enough. there was no asking him for an explanation now. "Have any gone to his own chambers?"Sosiqui Tian Yue followed Lucius' gaze, up the ash-stained stairs. "I do not know. Not while I was here, but that was only a few hours, at best - though Zhijian and I reached the Pantheon City a few days after the Crown was struck, time flowed strangely between here and there. In the interval of weeks..." He shook his head.
Bits of old frustration were starting to rear their heads, now. Without Phaedra there to serve as a ready foil, he could feel himself sliding back, growing more tentative - dogging Universe's heels wide-eyed, quietly pleading for any scraps of permission to be what he knew he was... or had been, once. That awkward, stumbling dance. Too afraid to be bold lest I be rebuffed, and is this really the time for such things?
The thoughts came, even so. He brushed them aside and focused on saying something, if only to chase away the phantoms with the sound of his own voice. "With Futs Lung reborn, he may have sought out the Crown treasury, though I believe he is very newly come as well." That brought the uncomfortable thought that Phaedra might have done the same thing. "Or perhaps she may have. I would not put it past her to be so audacious." Ivynian color=blue]"The treasury, a more likely place for Greed, is separate from his personal chambers. It is of little consequence either way whether she be audacious in his spaces or not. Should we all win through this and restore him, he can easily reclaim what he cares to. It is all baubles to the Crown. He is the jewel. Creation can make other petty things at will. It is the regard, the feelings and ...worship. Thought and love or hate attached to objects that is the gift to a god. The rest of us forgot that, and attached importance to the gifts themselves, I think." He stepped up onto the first stair, hesitating. " I served Harmodius as his closest servant in this life before I was dismissed to make room for the Dragon Kings. I saw Creation breath shallowly, fallen to exhaustion in the gardens he kept as his rooms. I cannot imagine it is gardens up there. Not the chambers of Destruction. Gaia was lover to Creation, Aristogeiton was lover to Destruction. But the consort died long ago. There must be clues in those rooms...Tian Yue."Lucius looked back, across the face of the dragon by his side. The surety in his commands at Phaedra, ire-soaked though they had been, was gone again. Was it bravado as a smokescreen to distract her? From what? Nuisance only. The boy had been a geek, so he couldn't have been stupid. Uncertain yes. Inexperienced....most definitely. The host girl Morgan had seen to that. "Is it just the crown that unnerves you so? Or is there some other danger or stress you do not tell me of, Dragon King?"Sosiqui "Gardens." Tian Yue sighed, quietly. "There were gardens in the Ancient Pantheon, some dead and broken, others gone to riotous ruin and spilling green everywhere. I never saw His gardens in this life. I came too late..." But that path he had been down many times. And yet, Lucius' words filled in more of the clues. The coming of the Kings, a catalyst for what Universe had done? Then perhaps... he never could have come in time.
The thought wasn't anything like a balm, but it blunted that old edge somewhat.
Universe's last words surprised him; was he that easy to read? Perhaps that was a foolish question, and yet... a telling one. "A foolish thought, I am sure, but I am drowning in old, old memories today," he admitted. "The air of the Pantheon was thick with them, enough to choke. As you said, that day on the moon... we need not rush to repaint the shadows of our old lives, and yet it seems now that every part of it is coming back to haunt us." He glanced up. "Can you fault me for remembering the good, as well as the bad? The mind travels odd routes when it is... afraid."
Perhaps he wasn't supposed to be afraid, but if anything was permitted to strike fear into the hearts of Dragons, the End of All would have to be it. "And yet it seems that only those old, old things will save us, so we must mine, and dig, and scrape all through the shadows of what we used to be until something presents itself. I will help you search, at any rate. My own memory is too hazy and piecemeal yet for epiphanies like your own." He shook his head, self-depreciating. "Perhaps when I go back to the Pantheon I will lay there and breathe them in, fill in the empty spaces. Or find the Gallery of Celestia again. That place... was much the same." Ivynian "And yet I can find it strange that a new creature would carry cares of the old, separate, dead one. Do not take the words unkindly, though may seem it. It is just puzzling, that in your heart, a dragon bearing a different name, is left something that was Shaiming's. Cruel even."He had been given gifts from Ivynian, if they could be called that, but he was yet the same creature of old. "Old solace seems instinctual, I am guilty of it as well. I am sorry, I should not push such things on you even in this hour."He had demanded, without question, for aid of a personal sort. For balance and guidance. That was no less harsh. Truth was at least between them, things admitted that may or may not have been guessed otherwise. Whatever was left to them both, at least bonds enough there seemed that they had some suspicions, whether they chose to personally acknowledge them all the time. "Will you come up, or do you return to your brother and the old court?" Sosiqui Tian Yue looked at Lucius, surprised. "It was not meant to be so. I care for you, deeply, and would not have you a-" An expression of confusion came over his face for a moment. "No, that was... heh." The confusion was replaced by a wry smile. "New name, perhaps. Different, perhaps. But I cannot even think of he and I as being separate, any more. Tien Lung is Tien Lung. Rebirth of another kind." Perhaps it was the god-part devouring the mortal-part still further, fusing them closer together. "But I understand the... strangeness, there. As you can see, it confuses me sometimes, too. You don't need to apologize."
He snorted, then, and glanced back at the entrance to the Throne hall. "Join her court? Never. At least she was useful for something, in the end. I believe she will take news of the Manacles to Jin Huang. She may be a caustic creature, but she fears the End as much as anyone. No, I will come up." Ivynian What hope is there in scaled bodies and minds, I wonder? That may be too crass and obvious a question yet. The dragon would probably blush and bluster. He returned his gaze slowly to the stairs that loomed up from the lower floor, a great arch up like the exposed ribs in the other room. Only more vast and able to be tread upon. "Sad is the recent memory of passing on the stair." Destruction's clawed prints descended nearby, towards the center of the stair. The bannister was most often for show and not use, at least in the Lord's reckoning. Lucius was still dizzy, without the previously offered arm in his haste to leave, so he took it up on it again to curb his dizzyness. The ascent was slow. The upper hall of this wing was at once simpler and more impressive. There were fewer doors, only three. The walls were reliefed, but in incredible, nigh-entirely three-dimensional sculpture. Bodies of humoids and beasts suffered a thousand fates and whorled towards the facing door. What must have been the personal chambers. The Treasury door was on the left, gilded in gold, platinum and copper, depictions of loreseeking and war spoils danced around the runes of arch. The right passage had no door, but recessed into a dark hall the end of which was obscured into shadow and doubt. Lucius looked between them, incredulity creeping up on his mouth as a sneer. As if this was all really necessary. Beautiful, though a tad cliche." 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here'. " Sosiqui "Appropriate, perhaps, since the throne room is filled with dragons. Another old warning from old maps." Tian Yue shook his head, a faint smile on his face. There was a certain affection even for the rather obvious affectations his Lord took on - the lava outside, for instance, was that really quite necessary?
He glanced over at the ornate door, the reliefs, and at last the shadows again. "Gardens, you said... for Creation, lush and lovely, no doubt. I wonder what Destruction grows in his gardens? Bones, perhaps, with flame leaves and ash pollen, oil-slick rain." That brought to mind the last time he had seen his Lord whole, underneath that dying sky. "Perhaps something will try and eat us, for our temerity." Ivynian "Unless such a creature be very mighty indeed, I am in no mood to suffer the audacity of a lesser. " How the stars burn again, fevered as when they first fully joined to me. Ages ago. As when I first stood full wrought from skies, suns and moons, planets and comets. Beryl helped me then. Universe regarded the recessed door in silence. There was a bared maiden near the left hand side, about hip level to Destruction's usual height. Her mouth was open in a cry of agony, her stomach was hollowed back and open so that the bell of her wooden ribcage overhung empty space. "Reach up an in, there. You should find a thin chain to pull that will open the door. " Sosiqui "I would bite them back, myself, as I could not bite Phaedra. A tidy scapegoat." Tian Yue's tail swished back and forth with vague irritation, though it was somewhat mollified by memories of his more recent biting play with his brother Zhijian. Should have picked a host with a better mouth for biting, indeed.
He reached up and into the imposing cavity without hesitation, felt around for the chain as bound Universe could not. It was cold, and slippery in a rather disquieting way - not literally damp, but slick enough that one could almost imagine it to be a coil of the statue's guts. "I suppose I should be grateful that these figures did not decorate the front door; lava seems rather tame, in comparison." He tugged the chain. Ivynian Universe waited as the door slide silent back and in, an opening portal intoa darker hole. The effect of the carvings swirling back was more complete with the door open. He hesitated no longer and passed in. The ante chamber was dark, making a pause necessity for the adjustment of eyes. Eye, in Lucius' own case, he scowled. The walls were smooth, mirror-like in sheen, and black stone. They have been carven as many other things, opulent, runes and pictographs of lost ages and unknown scripts. A passage ran off for perhaps a hundred feet before opening into a greater chamber, singular, and styled like a gothic tomb. There were offertories and pedestals that lined the walls, art and treasure, though all seemed old and ageless. These were artifacts, kept separate for whatever reason from the rest of the treasury. The center itself held a carven altar cover that guarded over the stone bier-bed. Satins like liquid jewel pooled over the surfaces.
"Hardly a place of comfort to bring anyone to." Aristogeiton or otherwise. He couldn't help but wonder if this was just a later manifestation of the madness. He had expected something equally as opulent, but less saturnine. the things laid about they could spend far too long tryingto identify purpose and meaning to, but there must be some things that were worth the trouble. Books were usually the best start. There were two at least of those, one opened on to a podium and another, heavier bound manuscript the size of a large chest upon the floor. Well, that the dragon can prove his strength to lift. Lucius pointed it out, "That one could be moved to the.....bed...and opened easily there for viewing. I expect the language will be old. I can read it now, if not before. Are there any others with enough memory that you have met that could? "Sosiqui Tian Yue paused until his eyes adjusted to the darkness, then stepped forward, aware of the glow and pulse of barely-contained stars under his companion's skin, all the more brilliant for the dimness that surrounded them.
He peered at the books, ran one hand along the massive one on the floor, then nodded. "I might be able to recognize the script; there were some tomes of ancient make in the Library that study made sensible. And there is always Gianfar - I imagine he could read anything anyone ever wrote, however obscure." A faint smile at that; the other god had been one of the first to welcome him in his rocky entry into the Court.
The book was large, unwieldy to human hands. Better to use claws. Tian Yue paused. Well, he could hardly ask Lucius to go away while he changed, and as all the memories reminded him constantly, Universe would have long since seen everything Tien Lung had to offer. He lightly undid the belt of the robe to avoid breaking it to bits, then slid his arms out and shifted. The cloth slid off his scales and pooled to one side.
The scent of his Lord filled his nostrils, and he let out a whuffling sigh. "Now... let us see what my Lord's reading material of choice was, in these dark days." He lifted the book much easily than he would have in human shape, rearing up to place it on the bed.
I can be your hands for now, if nothing else.
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