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 Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:18 pm
What Remains in Broken Places...? continuedIvynian The clasp of the book was not difficult to work if one was in possession of claws. It was a disk, sealed into a lower disk, that had a labyrinth worked into its surface. Inserting a claw and solving the puzzle turned the mechanism, and it ground open with the protest of an accumulation of ash. The volume of pages were a myriad of different materials, skin, leather, etched glass, thin gold leaf and more, each covered in different letters or languages. Some known, some unknown. It was all of the same hand. The book was dated by the rings of the world tree, many of the first pages were writ on strangely preserved and cut to square leaves, the size of which, uncut, must have equaled a mortal man's cape. It begged knowledge of what age and era one wanted to look at, where would the likely information be? Ivynian Universe pushed the pages of the podium book with his knuckles, messy but effective, scanning while his wings shivered behind him and dropped motes of fire like children's sparklers. "This one is spells, I think. Old hymns and names of old things, in the High Tongue. Some of the pages art torn, drug across by claws, but whole. He was looking for something. I don't think it was here. It is but one book, one he chose out of countless, and only found frustration. "
"That one?"Sosiqui "One moment," Tian Yue murmured, blowing ash off the surface and giving the puzzle-lock one long look before reaching up with one foreclaw. One false start, and then a smooth passage through the tiny labyrinth with one talon extended brought the odd tome's ancient mechanism grinding into life. The dragon peered at the unusual contents.
"Old words, written on materials of all kinds..." The dates confused him for a moment before memory asserted itself. "... in dates calculated by the rings of Yggdrasil." Gingerly, he moved some of the quite literal leaves. "But when to look... the first days, the last, somewhere in between..." He hesitated, thinking. "Perhaps the first, in echo and mirror of these Last Days. What is being Unmade now was Made; then..." Ivynian It took some pages to come to a readable tongue, starting at the beginning, beyond the strange runes on the leaf text to words that were borne on some early plant-paper like to papyrus. Quote: This pastime is, perhaps, one I could not tire of. Countless joys there are yet to be discovered and made, but this simple, profound thing will keep more then one hand busy. Whole existences, I don’t doubt, will be dedicated to it, the drawing of sound.
Useful, useful that I many a memory will not be so long lived as Ours, but they will want to keep the experience of their elders in more then just song. Pages are harder to lose or forget, and do not altar so easily with the imperfection of rote memory.
This tome is yet beginning, but it was a masterful gift. I should not have expected less, though, he puts thought into everything. It is his nature! But ever busy, busy as I expect he should want me to be with this great binding. Though all my hours cannot be dedicated to just this. In Ages to come, I may build this house of leaves into a great haven, and someday lend it back for his perusal. I expect I may find a cup presented me and a hand dragging me to a forum to discus the lot for an age before he is satisfied. Or nearly so, and I will be given another tome to fill and corrected to do so with more regular dedication.
I wonder how many languages are designed. Here I write in yet another he shared, and it is fair enough. So far the first I favor best, but it is not well adapted to symbols. I think that vexes him most, that anything should be so locked to an abstract concept of …being? That it defies definition and calculation, recording and tidy bookkeeping. The oldest tongue doesn’t come naturally to all tongues, if at all. It is too much of me, and does not disseminate except in single words.
Knowledge has been patient though! He’s taught some of the fair First races at least a handful of the words. They are intuitive and creative words, and they have made some marvelous sights with them. I do not begrudge it. It is joy to witness their celebration. Sosiqui Tian Yue stared at the first few leaf-pages with a vaguely disgruntled expression; no matter how he stared at them, willed them to make sense, they would not do so. Wistfully, he turned them with delicate touches of his claw until, at last, he found something he could read. "The first pages... are a tongue that I do not understand," he admitted, his ears flicking back a bit at that. Had he known it, once, before the Fading? "It seems... to be a tome put together by some one, a scribe or sage perhaps, to serve as memory contained outside the skull. It speaks of the First races, and of Knoweldge's teaching..." So the book was not Gianfar's, then. That was surprising; if anyone would be an avid chronicler, he would have first chosen the quiet gray god.
"'Pages are harder to lose or forget, and do not altar so easily with the imperfection of rote memory,'" he read, and snorted. "Too correct, that. A direct thrust." He glanced over at Lucius. "Have you any suggestion, since your own memory seems to be awakening more than mine? Times that might be relevant... how far back does this go, I wonder? The Fading, perhaps? Or has Destruction fallen so before, come close..."
The dragon shook his head, annoyed. All the riches of history, perhaps, and here he was pricking at beginnings and ends. It should be Gianfar here, indeed; Knowledge would know where to look, if one could get him to stop drooling over the tome's mere existence and actually read it. Ivynian Lucius abandoned the pedestal book and came over. He looked over the younger's shoulder, "You know as well as I that is Harmodius' own hand. It could be no one else's. See there-"Universe reached over the dragon and set his knuckle beneath the chosen line, "many a memory will not be so long lived as Ours. That's the Crown, the dual aspect. It was hard to get I's from him in those days because he was balanced, and they were closer to one thing in will and happiness. Harder then in this new memory, where none of us remembered Destruction existed until I earned him."
But if any of us knew the pertinent times, where we could find answers, we probably would have already gone and gotten them. What don't we know? Well, so much of the far past is shrouded from most eyes, but Harmodius himself was less interested in that for our well being. His council was always that we should look forward except to not remain or become wholly what we had been. Memories scattered as our mana and selves had been. No, that may be it?
"Look for entries after the we had ceased...none have memory then save He. If he wrote at all, maybe there will be something. Maybe, at worst, we can....bind what is left....maybe even into a crystal.... somehow. "With all his own fear the idea of locking Harmodius at all within the close prison of mortal coil was blasphemy. What would the consequences of it be? Would it all unmake them anyway the instant it happened? Could what was everything even truely die? Lucius' brow knit with a pang, even as a god the theoretical implications and broad conceptualizations were getting more difficult then he cared to deal with. Well, if it came to that as a choice of oblivion, I'd rather it be fast and instantaneous than this waiting for the axe to fall. Or making what yet lives wait and suffer each curse of unmaking. Sosiqui Tian Yue blinked at the other god; his ears flicked barely backwards for a moment in vague shame at not having recognized his Lord's hand right away. But the voice...
He glanced down, and wondered at it again. The tone was almost playful, riddled with a delight in All. Such things he had not heard from the mouth of the Crown in a very long time, it seemed, his newer memory of Destruction's predatory smiles overriding dimmer ones of old. "Would that He could write so again," he said, quietly. A quick glance at the date brought a wry smile to Tian Yue's face. "This was before I or my brothers were born. They must have been golden days..."
He carefully turned the pages on Lucius' suggestion, seeking the later days, after the Fading. "A stone and then what being for that rebirth? Could any mortal survive such a thing?" The dragon sighed and flipped another page, peering at them carefully. "Perhaps a divine body, giving itself willingly - well. Let us hope it does not come to that." Ivynian Lucius paused. Did he just say that?
“I think it’s the point that they don’t survive, Worldshield.” It may have been the very stress that made the whole this inappropriate, but a smile etched over his face and he shook his head as the pages poured along in a constant stream. The sound was very like the rustle of autumn. The reams of pages pushed aside were remarkable, but were defined by the passing of long ages, not weeks or days as mortal diary contrivance. Then finally the dates leapt away, skipping and erratic. The pages themselves were each different, different materials of different places far away. The writs there were just as chaotic, undecipherable poetry and darkness, marches of letters in uncertain lines. At last they steadied, a top-to-bottom text that fell like a spring from a deep well somewhere in the spine of the tome. Quote: It would be nature to start at the beginning, but I have not been afforded the luxury of all the pieces coming clear for that. But this will be close enough. How close it all feels. Strangled and already bound in the freedom of my own form while they are all scattered. Wind over water and –dust- they are scattered. It is searching for pieces of myself, and hoping there is still enough of them in that.
I have the first though, condensed like the first by my own name. A seed out of strange chaos, a jewel like ..
his. An anchor for a soul, something solid and ageless to plant. It is no Gaia, but Universe was as broad and will serve to be the conduit in which the pattern can be woven anew. One of them must be outside of me. It all unraveled. There must be a frame to anchor the tapestry.
I gathered the threads these last …I do not know how long it has been. Ages. With no speech it all blurs in empty cascade of unloving light and unplaying darkness. There is no soul around me anymore.
Morbidity will be the gallows of all joy, cease it. There is hope.
They failed by the Unbelief, unwoven by their own wonders and marvels. It will be the key. Within the prison will be freedom anew if they have the courage to seek it, I am sure. I will find a proper creature to house it, bear it. It will work. Each to each will give new spark, and shore up in them what was flawed. The flawed will heal the flaw? A fitting paradox. But the mortals hold what they did not, they hold the true born balance of me, diluted, but it is there.
Sosiqui "Pfft. I meant what happened with Futs Lung's first host, a body crumbled to dust and the gem left alone," Tian Yue said, fighting the sudden absurd urge to stick his tongue out at Lucius. A smile, such a strange thing to see on Universe's face, especially at this time. "I seem to be tripping into little follies left and right. Good that I have your sage wisdom to guide me," he said, half almost teasing, half actually grateful. The stress was getting to him, too. "Hmm..."
He turned his attention back to the book. Near the end it became scattered, scribbled, piecemeal... but then, something marked with comparatively amazing clarity, as if written with deep deliberation, the will to make this remembered against all that would have it forgotten. "He speaks of... the jewels..." The dragon read, quietly, then looked up at Lucius. "Of you. Your jewel. The first." Tian Yue could barely imagine Universe in a jewel as well, even has he himself had been; he had only seen Lucius ascended. To think of him fleshed in a host was beyond strange.
"'But the mortals hold what they did not, they hold the true born balance of me, diluted, but it is there,'" he read aloud, continuing. "The mortals. Belief, unbelief - that lack caused the Fading, yes... the true balance..." The dragon whuffed, softly, in thought. "In you, the framework. In mortals, the true balance..."
Tian Yue read over the passage again, thinking. "'A jewel like his.'" A tickle of memory, there, of opal around the Crown's neck; not one from this life. "That name again, unspoken." Ivynian "The spell was by his own name, " Lucius pointed at the description of the making of jewels. "It is no longer his name, though." Universe seemed at once far off, speaking softly while reading the text again, "That Gehenna wakes...the First Name is eaten. We cannot use that to recreate somehow the making of a jewel from the soul of the fallen. "He looked at Tian Yue directly, and the present returned to his gaze, " I don't think we'll be able to use anything that relied directly on his Name. Well, there may be other ways to achieve similar or workable aims. ....What of Byrne? He is Rebirth itself, immolation in sacred fire and ash and anew from the old is the young. Perhaps with his nesting on the thing and a stone, and his power? Though one may not be enough. If we could get an edelsteine from that, it may need other treatments before it is ready for a host. Something to return .....him into it, not just a new beginning? I may be talking out my a**." Universe shook his head slowly. It was the window below that made him cautious. The bird could restart the cycle, but it seemed like jumpstarting an already empty battery. The supports of the crown, pictured in the leaves about the rose window, must serve some purpose, mustn't they? "The stories are all around us, its just coming up with the right connections. Damn you, Harmodius. A plain writ with directions woudl have served better then obfuscated clues and hints and Glory-to-the-Mysteries."
"Pillars come to my mind. Like the ladders before....toppled one at a time like the broken windows. The High Weeks of each domain of His Glory. Its all symbols for members of our order one way or another....no, there is another more obvious. The title, Tian Yue, the title! Why didn't it come earlier? The Emblem Pillar. He is reborn, is he not? You all are... he should be spoken with. "
But is his memory whole? I doubt it. Something in the magic, or perhaps in the very fact that it is only pieces of us that can be gathered to rebirth, leaves holes in all our memories. Sewn together scraps to make whole blankets. But there must be some way to jog a dragon hard enough to get something out of it. Sosiqui "The circle of pillars stand half toppled in disarray," Tian Yue said, with a sigh. "He told me to gather the Kings. I searched... the Fangbridle is here, as you know. Qian Lung, Shadowshield, still fleshed in her host - I would not be surprised to find the Black Dragon at Kishara's side in these cold times. Shenlei I spoke to, and he spoke of Mang, but I have not seen them in a very long time. Kawagiri, briefly... but I have not heard anything from Ti Lung since. His room is silent." The dragon drooped a little, then raised again. "Futs Lung, though, he is reborn. Of Great Chien-Tang and Yu Five Claws I know nothing. I could not find them, nor any sign of their rebirth."
His tail lashed back and forth in frustration. "Where are they, where are they? We are lax in our duties - no, this is not the time for that," he said, taking a deep breath. He could rant about that for hours, especially in this state, with what had happened. "My own shield, as it is now, is useless against Void; it merrily ignores my power. Perhaps it was not always so. I... no, I do not remember." Another flick of frustration, at himself this time.
He glanced down at the page, the age-marking on the side calling something to mind. "Yggdrasil... the Tree... perhaps a revival could stabilize the Mana of All? Zhijian has his bit woven of Sardis, still alive. Another pillar to hold the world in place, while I seek the Kings, even as Futs Lung binds the End. I must return to the ancient Pantheon to seek the fate-stones' counsel in any case. Perhaps we shall be fortunate and this calamity will call in my other brothers as well."
Time to stop freaking out and to start thinking. Ivynian "I am personally unconvinced of the use of the tree. If I am a pillar of what is, my existence doesn't seem to help or hinder the progression of the weeks. Though it should be revived anyway....but that is Gaia's business. It is an extension of her...her roots. As for powers and what is inside that thing downstairs, I don't think it was ever meant to be shielded against once it had come, which shouldn't be now...that's the arguement. " Whether or not they were all meant to be standing to experience the horrors of the tearing down in the end, he didn't know either. It seemed malevolent, the process of how what Was came to ruin. If the Fading had never come, and all things were left to perfect age and progression, would some more peaceful end have been devised? What if's were no more plain then Harmodius' journal. But this dragon at least said he was leaving on other errands. "I will try...no, I will find the Emblem Pillar and speak with him. "
I can find anyone within me. Sosiqui "One pillar alone may not support a building, but a multitude... well. It is an idea to file away, along with Rebirth's care." He had not met this Byrne, but to know such a domain walked the worlds was very useful information indeed.
The dragon hesitated over the book. "If you find him, I would meet him as well. Futs Lung was unknown to me until this very day; my calls for him were left unanswered when I searched originally. Jin Huang said he was only very newly come. Perhaps the same is true of Yu. More dragons... would be welcome." His heart pounded a little faster at the thought.
"Something else Harmodius said, in that conversation. The bindings are lost; the Manacles, clearly, in hindsight. The pillars are the Dragon Kings, as I believed then and now. But there was one other thing he mentioned. 'The mirrors are gone.'" Tian Yue tilted his head to one side in an unconscious thinking pose. "If the other two things are significant, than surely that is no idle phrase... The bindings remain lost, the mirrors are gone, the circle of pillars stand half toppled in disarray." Ivynian "Mirrors? When was this all said? Harmodius says many things that relate to here and there and nowhere all at once. The context may be important." Then again, it may not. Lucius wanted to claw the books himself in frustration. Wasted action won out as the more annoying, so he refrained, seething a moment more before allowing himself to speak again. "How long will will you be gone, Worldshield?" Sosiqui "When I returned to him after visiting the Gallery of Celestia... he instructed me to gather the Kings with those words. We stood there in the last sunset of a dying world... he had taken it for his own. 'It was the heart that I wanted. The heart that was needed.' He said that as well as we left the oil-slicked place behind." The memory made his heart ache. The scene had been a bit disturbing, true, but he had walked with his Lord. Would he ever do so again?
"'All was made from chaos, so chaos remains within all. In some things it plays the greater then laws or intentions. It is often so in the passing of ages, that things should not go as planned or should be....'" Tian Yue shook his head, a toss of his mane. "And now it has fallen onto us. Riddles indeed when plain talk would have done as well, or better. Perhaps he did not understand what he needed... any more than I did. Everything was so new."
He sighed, stepping away from the book. "I will not be long, I sincerely hope. I must gather what word I can of what has happened, in more detail - I felt everything change; I must know what was at that moment. I must approach the fate-stones with wisdom to interpret, and after that... I do not know. More seeking, perhaps, unless an idea comes to mind. I will consult my brothers and those of us who remain will ring 'round the Throne." Ivynian "I'll think more on it, and may look for Gianfar as well to bring here. The tomes may as well stay here, in his rooms. I should not tarry with a purpose in hand, I think." Universe looked at floor hard, as though he could see through the indefinite spaces that made up the illogical reality of the Pantheon building itself. Through to the Chrysallis that festered below. There was writ somewhere a prophecy of the exactly events to come. It may be in that tome, in some ridiculous language that we should have to stand on our heads inside out to read. But I think...I think I will die before the end itself. I do not want to go near the thing again....it feels troubled. A waking sleeper. He moved towards the door, if the dragon wished to stay he could. The room and books themselves were oppressive, and Universe needed something less charnal to concentrate. Sosiqui "I am sure if you so much as breathe a word about these books to Gianfar, he will come running so quickly that all but the god of Speed will be astonished," Tian Yue said, with a wry grin. He shook himself, lightly, trying to clear his thoughts and mind.
Then he padded after Universe, a quick movement to come to the other god's side. "Thank you," he said, quietly. "I will seek you out when I return, hopefully with good news, or at least interesting news. This foolish dragon would be quite lost in hole-pocked memory without your guidance in the old ways. Perhaps I should seek them out, as well. The fullness of what Tien Lung once was." Ivynian "I doubt that all that you would find would be pleasant. Memory is unkind." There were things he did not wish to focus on yet, perhaps not ever. Though 'ever' was a quickly shortening word. "Shout loud enough to the skies and I can hear it, once again. Even if I am not directly here, you can reach my knowing."Even the upper hall, with its spiraling tortures and grotesque scenes felt fresh and open, and he longed for the stairs already. Out of doors and place and then he could think clearly. Sosiqui "That may be true... but if the only way to stop the future from being very short indeed is to dive headlong into that painful place, then I can do nothing less." The dragon paused, one forepaw off the ground.
Then he smiled. "I shall. Fare well, Lucius, in the interim." Tian Yue coiled lightly up off the ground and sped to the stairs, lofting himself into the air above the wing stair and straight across to the other side, where the gods' chambers lay.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:19 pm
Blasphemy and Benediction
Tian Yue shoved the door to his chambers open with a push of his nose, then padded inside. Once safely within, he let the dragonshape go, sighing a bit as his form melted down to human. It felt weaker, more vulnerable. A bad thing, in these times.
But he couldn't fit in the bath with scales on.
Tian Yue had just enough time to pick up and don a robe from the side pegs before the inner door banged open. "You're back!" Toki scurried into the room from the Aoidei chambers, his eyes bright with hope. "What did you learn?"
Tian Yue shook his head. "Dark things, unfortunately."
"Oh..." The Aoide drooped. "You saw... it, then... the Blasphemy..."
"The... Blasphemy...? You mean the chrysalis?" And here he'd thought Toki ignorant of the true circumstances.
"Yes," he replied, and shivered so much that for a moment Tian Yue was sure the Aoide would fall to pieces at his feet. "That."
"I did. Universe was there; I spoke with him... ah! No, there was one good bit of news," the Dragon King said, quickly, so as not to overwhelm fragile Toki with doom and gloom. "Futs Lung has returned, reborn once again in mortal flesh."
"Oh! That is good news," Toki said, brightening. "You are important, you know. All the Dragons."
"So it seems. He has gone to seek the Manacles. Toki, tell me... do you know anything, any lore of these days? Zhijian and I met an ancient Aoide, with wings and greenish hair, in The'ta'naa..."
"Ohhh..." Toki's brow wrinkled in thought. "It is familiar, Lord, though I do not recall a name. A... leader, a good, good servant... though I do not recall what god he served... he lives, then?"
"Indeed he does. As do you. Do you perhaps know anything about the Last Days? Lore of the End? The fate-stones? Anything?"
The Aoide sighed. "Lord, I wish very much that I did, but you saw the effort it took to simply remember the name of The'ta'naa..." He drooped.
"I am sorry. I should not have asked," Tian Yue said, with a sigh of his own. "I myself am as bad. There are great holes in my memory... I was expected, I think, to remember things that I could not." He hesitated. "Toki... do you think it might have been a mistake?"
Toki tilted his head to one side. "What, my Lord?"
"To... to merge with a mo- no, that's wrong... to take on the title o... no... damn." Tian Yue sat down on the couch with a thump. The two points of view, two memories before his birth, were conflicting again. Was he himselfShaiming or himselfCrispin? Or something else altogether? "I mean... the choice he- I- we- made, to become one? If it might have... destroyed some things of import along the way..."
"My Lord, if it was so, then it was worth the sacrifice," Toki said, with surprising conviction.
"Heh. Your feelings are touching, if not exactly useful."
The Aoide looked hurt. "Surely not, my Lord."
"Well. What is done, is done... but there are so many things I need to know. You... did you see many gods in your time before when I- Crispin- came?"
"A few," Toki said, after a moment. "Why, my Lord?"
"I wonder... how long does it take to grow further? To ascend?" Tian Yue held up one hand in front of his face and gave it a thoughtful look. "Surely this is not all I was meant to be."
"No, Lord... but I do not know... perhaps the answer lies in your own self... those memories you speak of? Perhaps you must more... more fully become who you are."
The Dragon King blinked. "Oddly profound, for you."
"I may not have much more time to think," Toki said, in a small voice. "I should do what I can, while I am able."
"You will have plenty of time to think, and live, and do as you wish," Tian Yue said, vehemently.
Toki bowed. "As you say, my Lord. But what shall I do this evening?"
"Draw a bath, if you would. I must bathe, then sleep, then... save the world, it seems."
The Aoide smiled. "Yes, my Lord."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:20 pm
Tien Lung Demands an Explanation for this BSSosiqui Tian Yue coiled through the air in dragon form, his eyes narrowed. Things at home had been grim enough, but now he needed some answers, some word. Zhijian had not yet returned, lending credence to the idea that there was time dilation between this plane and the Ancient Pantheon.
For now, he was drawn to a particular house. Echo. How was she faring? Had Nergal returned, and in what state, if it had indeed been foul play? How was she after all that had happened? Perhaps she would know something. She was the closest friend he had after his brothers, but they were flung about on their own business of saving the world.
He should be, too, but saving the world ill-informed sounded much more difficult. The dragon coiled and landed in front of the door, then raised one claw to delicately knock so as not to break right through the thing. Zero Dream "Myaaaaaaaaa..." ...While the lady Echo kept cats, this seemed a bit extreme. "Oh, stop quivering like that, mya. If it's another mortal wanting to pick a fight, ill't be in the same kind of unpleasant surprise all the other ones where in !" Apparently, the cat also spoke to herself. It wasn't long before the handle turned and the dragon came face to face with one of the feline aoide, whose eyes widened at seeing a dragon on the doorstep, who took a few steps backward and bumped straight into Alto, whose lingering look of fear was quickly fading with recognition. "...M-Myaaa ?!?" Sosiqui ... Nebula? Tian Yue thought, for one mad second, before smacking himself internally. Nebula was gone; he had seen Phaedra upon the throne. Here was another Aoide, like Asherah. "I am Tien Lung Tian Yue," he said, hoping this would calm the cat. "Is your mistress at home?" He met Alto's eyes and nodded. The question was for him. Zero Dream Oh. A god, then. She'd been so startled by... well, a dragon on the doorstep to actually look. The black cat smoothed her fur out, side-stepping to allow him entry, head hung low. "I must apologize for this, lord Tian Yue. In times like there, the mortals have become quite.... daring, myaaaa." Not to say anything about her own instincts, which where thankfully kept in check, for now. "Quite a few have tried to break in, mrr." Alto sook his head in reply to the question. No, Echo was not home - but how to explain the situation... ? He had no idea if...
Well, the dragon was a scholar - it might be worth a shot.
She is gone in search of the lord's consort with lord Nergal - I do not know when she will return. He gestured, bitting his lip. The mute aoidei seemed a bit nervous, as if there was something beyond this that yet bothered him.Sosiqui It took Tian Yue a moment to put together the meaning beyond the Aoide's flowing gestures, but his ears flicked up sharply. "Lord Nergal? Underworld is returned, then? That is good news..." There was precious little of that to go around, these days.
But... that meant his journey was in vain. The ears tilted back again. "Then do you... either of you... know where I might find someone who knows what has happened here?" Zero Dream The two aoidei looked at each other for a moment, as if pondering things over before the catgirl spoke again, tail going back and forth like a metronome. "There is my lord, myaa. He might know of some things. He did tell me that Echo has left some notes behind... But I do not know the extent of his own knowledge." Sosiqui "Your lord? Ah... you would be Ankou's, then? I would certainly speak to him, if he is able." The dragon nodded. Zero Dream "He should be, myaaa." Jinx knew at least this much - even if he wasn't, he would make himself look to be. Being hard-headed probably ran in the family. "We will need to head back to the pantheon then, lord Tian Yue." Sosiqui "Hmph." Tian Yue grumbled and backed out of the doorway. "Bid your lady greetings from me when she returns - I would like to see her again when she does," he told Alto, then turned to the feline Aoide.
"Climb onto my back. It will be swifter that way." It was not a request. Zero Dream Jinx, in despite all apparences, was quite smart - she knew better than to contest a somewhat irate dragon king, so she climbed right on his back with not even a peep or a meow of protest, even if that seemed quite blasphemous in her own mind. A lowy servant atop a king's back - what madness. Alto nodded in answer to the dragon before he took off. Hopefully she would be back home soon.... and safe... with all the little lifeflames accounted for.Sosiqui As soon as he felt the Aoide was securely seated, Tian Yue jumped into the air. "Hold on to my mane if you must," he rumbled, pushing himself to his top speed almost immediately. He would not be slowed in this, not with answers promised at the end. It seemed only a few moments before the Pantheon was in view again; he entered through the roof of his own chambers, a long sharp coil that knocked over some furniture on the way. Zero Dream And hang on the cat did - less she be blown away by the sudden burst of speed. She was not quite willing to test out if she would fall on her own feet from this height, no thank you. After the dragon had led her out of his chambers - thankfully the knocked off furniture was quite easy for her to jump over - the black-furred catgirl took the lead, her black skirt almost melding with the rest of her shape as she reached for one door, gave a few knocks of warning, and slid inside. Ankou had been sleeping, but he, thankfully, rarely slept deeply. The knocks of warning had been enough for him to awaken and slid out of the bed on somewhat wobbly legs. He was far from being in the state to receive visitors, and if the situation had been less dire, he would not have. The bandages on his chest where apparent, even after he put on the trenchcoat to at least have some resemblance of decency to him.
He rose an eyebrow at seeing his kitten trailed by a dragon, but quickly the pieces added up. "Tian Yue." He knowledged with a note - what other dragon would seek him out ? Sosiqui "Ankou," Tian Yue replied, with a nod of his head. He was different, changed. "I see you are enfleshed, now. A welcome change in these dark times, to have another become more powerful..." And yet he himself seemed to have stagnated, almost. Why was this?
Thoughts for another time, foolish dragon. Focus! "May I come in? Is there room?" he added, looking a bit sheepish. He could have stopped and grabbed some clothing on the way through his rooms... Zero Dream "Of course." The spirit guide nodded, and Jinx moved inside to stand beside him, red eyes somewhat worried. The set of rooms where not exactly furnished well - there simply had been no time after the recent events.
"It is... fairly recent yet." As if his stance wasn't all but screaming it. He was curious about why the dragon had come, but decided to let him pace the conversation for now. Sosiqui Tian Yue nodded and stepped inside, though he kept his tail curled close to his body so that he wouldn't inadvertently make Ankou's chambers messy as he had just done to his own. "I am sorry to impose on you, but I must. have. answers." He gave the young god a serious look. "I was away when everything... happened... and I have been able to garner no information about why my Lord lies entombed below, Name stolen, very being shifted..." The effort to keep his tail from lashing about in agitation was very great.
"Please. If you know anything - enlighten me..." Zero Dream Ahhh. Answers. "I do not hold quite a much of those as I would like." He frowned a bit. "Adrian passed out from the wave... I did not get to see anything firsthand, but... Echo was there."
Oh, decency be damned - the god shifted to sit on the hard-wood floor, thanks to the lack of chairs about, doing his best to ignore the pair that throbbed in his back muscles as he moved, wing-tandrils twitching a bit. This was better than just tumbling down in front of the dragon, after all.
"Jinx - the notebook, please." He tilted his head toward the catgirl, who nodded and darted off toward another room. Lyra floated by, silent as she watched the deities interact.
"From what I gathered, all of this was caused by a group that call themselves the Grigori. Somehow, one of them managed to wound the crown... resulting in what you saw in the throne room. That being escaped, in despite of those who rushed there after the wave... and if her notes are correct, it is likely to return with yet more of it's kind." This bothered him greatly, how could one single thing managed all this. "They wield Void..." Sosiqui Tian Yue shifted to lay down so that Ankou would not feel awkward, but he stilled, half-up, half-down, at the mention of the Grigori. "That... race..." he hissed, slowly, and fell the rest of the way to the ground with an abrupt thump. "I..."
Flickers of memory, far, far too vague. They had been young, then, full of the flush of their power, and yet those... things... "The War of the Forgotten Throne. The Void-Eaters... yes... I know that name, Grigori." His eyes narrowed. "So one of them was the catalyst?" Zero Dream "Indeed." There had been little information revealed in his presence when Light had came for his brother - and even if there had been, things where somewhat foggy thanks to the stunt he had pulled back there. "Samyaza. Their leader, one could presume, through I have no way of making sure of such." After all, one could logically think the strongest of them would be needed to take down the Crown. Or had he been worse off than he had looked like in his presence... ?
The catgirl returned with a notebook in hand, and the god flipped it open on his knees. "Knowledge was one of those present... and thankfully Echo wrote some things down. There is little, yet there are some important points raised here, some important information indeed should they return..."
The god cleared his throat, then started to read out loud. "The grigori are a group at war with Creation. They wield void. Samyaza is one of them. She is the one that attacked Harmodius. Void will unmake even Destruction. Without Creation, Destruction cannot exist. With that logic, Creation may not gone as I feared... He had to remain a part of Destruction in order for Destruction to Be. The grigori where at war with us before even the fading - they can only be wounded more permanently by direct influences of Creation - Gaia, Rebirth, gods related to animals or plants. During the war there where artifacts made, but only some strong enough to vithstand the void and perhaps survive to this day - Aristogeiton’s sword, Harmodius’ glaive, Gaia’s shears, and Rebirth’s jesses. Perhaps the search of Aristogeiton will lead them to the sword..."
He finally glanced upward again, golden and yellow eyes on the dragon once more. "She left with my brother, Light, and Hunt - in search of the fragments of Aristogeition's soul. Hopefully, if he can be made whole again, he may know of things we cannot recall." Sosiqui "I... see." He let out another long, hissing breath. "So that is who we have to blame." His jaw spasmed for a moment, teeth clattering together, aching to rend this Samyaza to pieces with every power in his possession. "The Crown should not have suffered them to live any longer... back then..."
His head swayed from side to side, slowly, and then he sighed. "So. And they have summoned up our doom. Gehenna slumbers within that chrysalis. The primal form of Destruction, locked within. The Primordial Gods created a set of manacles to chain that End, but they were lost in the Fading." A shortened version of events, but true. A trade of knowledge for knowledge. "Do you know where the Grigori are now?" It was perhaps quite foolish - a phantom pain burned up one side for a moment, memory of a forgotten war-wound - but his instinct demanded nothing less than battle. Zero Dream "I do not know where she went. I do not think anyone knows." He pushed a lock of hair away from his eyes. The dragon seemed itching for a showdown, and even if he had known, he wasn't about to send him to what seemed to be certain doom. Dragon king or not, others more powerful than them had attempted to stop the grigori.... and failed.
"Manacles to chain that End... Unfortunately I cannot say that I have heard of such item." He sighed. In reality, his thought where on something completely different.
"If only I could bind his soul, keep him from unraveling further... Or draw out Creation..." Ankou shook his head. "But it seems like madness. I doubt I would be powerful enough to do this, even in my prime." Sosiqui "Damn..." Tian Yue growled, his tail lashing dangerously for a moment - but then he forced himself to calm and lower back to the floor, pinning his tail again under one hind foot. "Very well, then. Until then... here is what I know. The Manacles exist, and have been located; Futs Lung goes to claim them, and attempt to use them." He met Ankou's steady gaze with his own. "The Fangbridle and I were traveling to the Ancient Pantheon when this Grigori attacked our Lord. In that place there are fate-stones that foretell the future. The gods in battle against Gehenna will not stave off the end. You must tell them - such effort is futile. It will fail," he said, bluntly. "The binding of the Manacles will also fail, eventually, but in the meantime it may well slow the descent and allow us more time in which to work." Zero Dream "I will take note of that." Ankou nodded, eyes not once leaving the dragon's own as he thought for a moment.
"Time is indeed the essence here. We need as much as we can afford, so even if the manacles are only temporary, it is worth looking into." He had been about to comment on Futs Lung having found a new host, but really, now was not the time for this. "Those fate stones... Do you think there would be a way to get more answers out of them ? Perhaps more leads ?" Sosiqui "I believe so. Three of them displayed their stories for us; there are others. I wish to seek better futures, but I felt I lacked knowledge of the situation, so I chose to return here before looking for the other stones. You have already filled out some of the picture, as has Universe."
That reminded him, and he shifted position a bit. "His Name has been taken. Lord Harmodius', I mean. That must have been part of what that Grigori did." Zero Dream "His name... ?" The true name, then ? Those where powerful things. "It is quite possible... As I said, I was not there to witness it. I do not think anyone actually saw what actually happened."
He frowned a bit, for a moment. "Would binding a new name to him work, do you think ?" Could such thing even be done ? He had no idea, but at the very least, he could brainstorm. Maybe they could come up with possible things to ask to those fate stones... Sosiqui "That, I do not know. Lucius said that 'the First Name is eaten'. Perhaps such a thing could be found. I believe that much of his hunger, his near-madness, was in seeking that name... that he was forgetting." The dragon's head dipped low again, ears back; he had seen the symptoms, but not ascertained the cause. "Perhaps Aristogeiton will help, or at least know the location of his sword. I wish them luck, those seekers.... but in the meantime, we cannot lie idle. So many ideas to bring forth, but which will lead to the future we seek?" He resisted the urge to claw in frustration; he would be a very bad guest to damage his host's floor. Zero Dream "I have only seen him once, but he did seem like something was bothering him." Ankou sighed. "I did ask what might be bothering him, but I did not get any direct answer. I remember he was holding a scroll, but I have no idea what was on it." He closed his eyes. "He told Adrian... if he'd ever thought about what it would be like to truly be immortal... He said... But sometimes, we stumble upon things that wake the memories we'd rather forget. Gods... Adrian, gods didn't always have that luxury. Some of us still do not."
He opened his eyes again. "I wonder what he truly meant... but it is too late, now." Something, however, came to his mind all of sudden. "Oh, while I think of it - Nergal has left a letter for you."
Jinx, who had been standing silent all this time, had darted off before Ankou could get up, returning swiftly and mostly ignoring the look her master was sending her. He needed rest, and she would make it happen.
"Here it is, Lord Tian Yue." She handed the envelope to the dragon, but neither noticed the note that had been scribbled on in the back corner, written in blue ink in a flowy handwriting that obviously was not Nergal's, but identical to the one that had bound the notes to the notebook he had read out loud.Ankou, tell him he will be godfather. Sosiqui "Memories," Tian Yue said with a sigh that made his whiskers ripple. "Mine are all full of holes - no, gaping chasms - and the immensity of what is simply not there becomes more clear to me every day." Nowhere more clear than his exploration of the Crown's chambers with Lucius. "Please, give me as much to stumble upon as possible..."
When the Aoide darted up with the letter, he took it gingerly between two claws, peering at it curiously. He was about to slice it open when the note on the back caught his attention. "'Ankou, tell him he will be... godfather?'" Tian Yue gave the other god a very confused look. Zero Dream Ankou seemed to look equally puzzled for a moment, before he perked up slightly to look over the dragon's shoulder... so to speak. When he did, he had to bite back his laugh. Oh, the little imp...
"Well... This is exactly what it sounds like. Echo is expecting, and apparently she wants you as the godfather." Had she even asked Nergal first ? Probably not. There hadn't really been time. "And while I have to admit the timing on their part wasn't exactly... brilliant... At least not all news are grim ones ?" Sosiqui "Expecting?" Tian Yue's jaw dropped, and he stared at Ankou, looking thoroughly ridiculous. He had absolutely not been ready for that!
A moment later, he regained his composure, and smiled broadly. "Indeed, good news in such times is a treasure... and that is definitely good news." Godfather! His tail, still stuck under his hind paw, twitched back and forth happily. "That is quite an honor. I would be delighted to accept it. I assume, then, that your brother is... well?" Surely Echo would not have produced offspring with anyone else. Zero Dream Oh, his expression was priceless. He hadn't known that a dragon was even able to make a face like that. Still, he made himself be serious when the question came. "Well.... he's in one piece." He wondered if anyone less knowledgeable would even notice what he had seen - Nergal had never been one to keep most others close, or to confide in them openly. "He... returned on his own, soon after the wave... Probably used it to his advantage to escape wherever he had been held at. Whatever happened there... He isn't saying a thing. Yet, at least."
It was evident that this was worrying the spirit guide, but he shook his head. "Other than that, he is well enough." It wasn't that he wanted to purposely keep things vague, it was just that he knew he would have a rather upset judge on his case should he babble about what he'd noticed.
"You know, when I think of it... If you are going to return to the old pantheon to read the other fatestones... Maybe it would be worth a shoot to see if any of the weapons she'd written about might be there. I.... figure it has been the dying place of many." Gaia, in particular, probably wouldn't have left her husband's side. "There is a chance that they might still be there. If she's going to come back..." His eyes grew hard. "...I do not plan on letting her get away, this time. I do not care if she brings a whole army with her - if those weapons can be found... We have a chance. If there is a chance, we need to all stand together as one and fight. Send them back to the void they should have rejoined ages ago. Any effort to re-balance the crown will be useless if they can affect him once more." Sosiqui "Mmmm." Tian Yue's face took on a serious expression again. "Perhaps this letter has more information, but I doubt it. We met only once before." Still, he did not yet open it. There were more matters to discuss.
"These weapons... Lucius located the Manacles, and... Phaedra, using her Sight from her ascension, confirmed the location. I would seek Universe and ask him, and if you can use the god on the Throne for confirmation, so much the better. Fighting Gehenna is useless, but the Grigori cannot be allowed to work treachery against us as well. The one thing is bad enough." His eyes narrowed. "Still, the stones will not locate anything, I don't think. Perhaps the use of the weapons, that result, can be laid out... but if the ending is all oblivion again, what then?" Zero Dream "Oh, I did not mean using the stones to locate them. I figure there must only be few left, and those will be precious. What I meant is that while you will be there - to look, in the most likely places. See what was left behind, and see what could be useful... I figure it would be useful, at the very least. And a bit more workable when one can fly." The thin limbs at his back twitched, betraying his irritation on the subject.
"While the weapons would be useful at stopping the grigori... If this is information Knowledge has found, then there is really no room for doubt there. However, I do not know what they would accomplish as far as re-balancing the Crown will go, or at the very least at stopping Gehenna - which really would be the bigger problem there... And the one where this is no obvious solution of." After all, where the circumstances any different, if it had been Harmodius' conscious decision, would any of them even be thinking about stopping the end ? Sosiqui "No clear solution, perhaps... Lord Destruction himself must have felt it coming, though I am sure he did not expect the Grigori's attack. Universe and I found books in the Crown's chambers, histories and other such. He was searching for something." His ears perked upwards. "Histories... oh, if only I had known of the Grigori at that time! Ankou, there was a journal there, Lord Harmodius' own. Surely he would have written of the Grigori and their ancient War, and perhaps of the weapons as well. Their location afterwards, perhaps, or the means of their forging." Zero Dream The god's eyes widened in surprise. "Surely. There must be something there..." At the very least a mention of the war. How it was won. There had to be.
"It may be worth it to go take a look once more..." Sosiqui "Universe and I discussed a few ideas - crazy things, perhaps, like trying to force a jewel's rebirth of the Crown... though that was discarded, as the Name by which the jewels were conjured is no more-" That itself brought a thought that made the dragon's ears flick back again. "Perhaps that means... that no more deities will be reborn? If that is the case, then new godlings like Echo and Nergal's will be even more important..."
That wasn't relevant to the matter at hand, though. "At any rate, you - someone - should go there... oh, what else, what else." He snorted, frustrated. "We must lay plans, and we cannot do this alone. We must all work together, as one, or we will be defeated. This is no time for vigilante actions or petty feuds." Hell, hadn't he even worked semi-companionably with Phaedra to get the Manacles located? Sort of? Zero Dream "Indeed.... We also need to get the information out. I think there are still many who does not know what happened... That don't know about the grigori."
He bit his lip, without really noticing it. Could he really go there... and look inside that journal ? That seemed like blasphemy above everything else, somehow. The thought made him uncomfortable, no matter how much he tried to convince himself the information may be crucial. Sosiqui "Perhaps a meeting should be called. My siblings and I should hold sway enough to summon the pantheon together... by force, if needed... we cannot waste any mind, any ability. The solution may lie in a single memory, or in the most minute power, or in a distant mortal myth..." Zero Dream "I agree. Perhaps this should be done after you return - so that we may know exactly what will work... or at the very least... What will not. It is... however possible that I may be gone - if I am needed somewhere.... I refuse to remain idle, but being as I seem to have more knowledge than most, right now, I need to, at the very least, spread it at much as possible before I go."
...Not to say anything about his aching back and his still unsteady lack of control over his body, but that would come in time. During at time, he could gather what he could.
"I am planning to go look in the Library - perhaps there may be mortal legends there." Sosiqui "And I will continue gathering what information I can. Have you any other suggestions of people I should speak to, since Echo is gone with Underworld and the others?" He hoped that the return of Aristogeiton could at least do a little to salve gaping wounds. "I will look in the ancient Pantheon for any knowledge that could aid us, and for those Weapons you mentioned. Now that I know the way, it is not so difficult to reach... provided that time does not slip again as it did when I returned." He twitched a little. He couldn't afford to lose weeks again. Not when time was so precious. Zero Dream "I know of at least one other that went to find the other pieces... A lady named Cinder, host to the fire goddess Karaskis. I doubt she went alone - but I do not know if she has returned yet, or not. Knowledge would probably be able to tell you more, of course. Other than that... I fear that I do not know much. I have not been well enough to go about as freely as I wish I could." By his own fault, none the less, but it was hard for him to regret when it had saved the little group a precious amount of time. Sosiqui "Fire's host - ah, my Aoide, Toki, met with her directly after... the event. She checked on my follower for me. I owe her thanks for that... yes, Penny had met a goddess who was looking for relics. I sent word to Light-" He laughed, then. "So that was all truly about Aristogeiton, was it?" He shook his head. "How strange. The plot thickens." Zero Dream "It would seem so - or at the very least, that is what my brother thought. The other letter he wrote is for her, and while I did not read them, I can't think of anything else he would bother to take the time to write for. I do find myself thankful for this - if they had needed to go for all the fragements on their own... It seems like there would not have been enough time."
Four windows are broken Nergal had said. ten remain. And that was at the very least one week ago... Sosiqui "Ah, yes, the letter..." Tian Yue picked his up again, and carefully slit the envelope open with one claw. He wasn't quite as dextrous for small things in his dragon form, but he could manage to not mangle things. He plucked out the paper and peered at the even, clean handwriting. Nergal's Letter To the Great Dragon King Tien Lung, Worldshield I deeply regret that I am not able to meet you personally, but the matters at hand leave me with little choice. If you received this letter from the hands of my brother, or one of my Aoidei, you have no doubt been told of our venture already. We are leaving today - Light, Hunt, Music and I - to head for a plane or world called "Wellhaven", in hopes to recover at least one of the fragments of our Crown's Consort scattered throughout All That Is. Of the fragments, there are seven, and I firmly believe they may be of some aid at least to restore the order of things. I have received word from an Aoide of Fire's, that she too is part of this undertaking, following a different path. To my knowledge, only two fragments have been found until now: A soulless body, by me, and a strange decanter filled with liquid and a key-like artifact attached to it, recovered by the Lords Light and Hunt. The body remains in care of my brother for now. There is more: I came to know of the circumstances of the Consort's last death through a faithful soul who has been part of the searching party even before the Fading. Aristogeiton - or Sanatruces, which was the name he last bore - was struck by a sudden ailment while dwelling in my realm in company of Gaia. He died within a week, with Gaia, Healing, Medicine and even Death remaining unable to help him, or as much as being able to tell the cause of his sudden wasting away. That, and the fact that his soul seems so torn asunder and the fragments littered throughout His creation, left me deeply suspicious. Even more so now that I heard of the Grigori. I know precious little of them, but what I do know is that apparently they once warred with Us, and thus their powers must be not underestimated, and eventually were exiled to a realm referred to as the Ashlands, containing only the influences of Universe and Gaia. One of them, Samyaza, was brought back by the hands of fellow deities, but as I firmly believe this was an act of folly and naivety, not treason, forgive me that I shall not mention the names of those involved. It was Samyaza who apparently brought about the current calamity, or at the very least, hastened it to happen. She managed to escape, however, carrying with her an arm of Gaia's. She, as she is one of the two influences which make up the Ashlands, is also the one through which the path to that domain was opened. It is almost certain that the Grigori wench will attempt to use her prize to free her kin. Ways must be found to prevent this, or if that cannot be done, at the very least to war with them. What can be done, weak as We are so shortly after our rebirth, I do not know. Knowledge was present, however, when she appeared. He may be able to offer sound advice. It saddens me that, in these dark times, I cannot bring you better news. May you fare well, whatever your next steps are. My highest regards, Nergal, Overseer of Souls Zero Dream That made him raise an eyebrow. That, apparently, he had not been knowledgeable of. "The gall of that wench-" He stopped abruptly, shaking his head. Losing his temper would do no good.
They should not have been allowed to live on The thought made his eyes narrow. There is probably a reason why they where spared after the war, but we should have ended them, right there and right then. Sosiqui "If there are to be more of them, then we must seek out these weapons with all possible speed." Tian Yue's smile was grim, and showed teeth. "Thank you, Ankou. I may not have been looking for you originally, but I am glad to have seen you. I have... much to think about, and search for."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:21 pm
Ruins by the RiverSosiqui On the way back from Echo's house, Tian Yue let his flight drift a little, not going directly back. Time was of the essence, that was true, but Gehenna would not worsen or better in half an hour's time... and he badly needed to calm himself, to gather his own equilibrium. The dragon found his flight matching that of a river, one of those that would flow eventually into flooded Koiso. Here and there the river was slick with contamination, but bits of it were still clear, by some magic or perhaps divine blessing.
That certainly seemed the case at a sudden section of clear river, which reflected the broken pillars of a former temple, white marble now clouded with age and ash, cracked and tumbled, but bits still spoke of its once-elegant lines. A temple to a little god, to the river itself, to Water, perhaps... he couldn't be sure.
Still, Tian Yue curved down towards it, and let himself land in the water, ducking his head underneath. It was surprisingly cold, and while it wasn't quite pure, it was better than any river-water had a right to be in this day and age. Fyre May hadn't wanted to move into the dim deathly quiet building that Li Shing had brought them too. They had traveled in the open for so long anyway, she's grown used to it. Li Shing had suggested the place, and looked on it with a certain amount of deference that he hadn't bothered to explain. He was asleep now, or at least that was what she equated it too though she wasn't sure how a being with no body of his own could exhaust himself exactly. From the edge of the ruined temple platform she saw the splash of the dragon landing in the river, and as she watched the great creature ducked its head under the water like a bird washing itself. She'd never seen a dragon before, of course. She had seen drawings and ruined statues at old temples, but no thing of ink or stone could do justice to the animal she was watching. It was beautiful. When Li Shing moved inside her, was this what he was yearning for and missing, a lithe body like that with scales and claws? She'd stood and taken a few steps closer to the river, to stand by the base of a crumbled pillar and watch like someone afraid they might frighten away the wildlife if they moved suddenly. Sosiqui Tian Yue ducked his head again and opened his eyes underwater, blinked twice at the blurred light below the surface, then rose up again with a snort and a spray of water. As he did so, he tried to imagine the water washing away the contaminants within, the fear and worry, the hopelessness, the guilt. All flow away, fade away. Leave nothing but resolve, cleverness, and courage behind...
It felt like there was a voice behind his, echoing the mantra, faintly. One ear flicked to the side.
When he opened his eyes again, there was a woman at the river's edge. Tian Yue swished his tail in surprise, scaring up a few waves to slosh against the bank and wet her feet. "Pardon me," he rumbled, lifting his ears up to a friendly perk. "Are you a priestess of this temple?" Fyre May blinked, as surprised as the dragon was, but then she smiled. It felt like it had been a long time since she had smiled much at all. "I don't think there's been a priestess for this temple in a long time. I'm just...staying here. I was told it was a good place. Safe." She shrugged, placing a hand on the pillar beside her, "I'm not sure why, but even while I've been here the water has gotten a little clearer." She hadn't really expected the dragon to speak, but it shouldn't have surprised her. And now that he had, the surprised faded quickly. "Is that why you stopped here..the water?" Sosiqui "In a sense." Tian Yue shook his mane out with a toss of his head. "It may be safe, in as much as any place can be called so in these times." Perhaps the ancient echoes of the deity the temple had honored gave it a sort of protection. He wondered if whoever-it-was had been reborn.
There was a soft haze of presence around the girl, too, but it was masked, muted. Maybe just overflow from the temple. "I will not trouble your sanctuary for long, nor muddy your water." Fyre "Oh I don't mind." The girl said, quickly, "I've never seen a dragon before." It suddenly occurred to her that it might be a sort of silly thing to say, and she flushed a little. "I'm May Tseng." The surname seemed necessary, for the sake of formality somehow. "Of the places nearby a person could camp, this should be the best. I," She hesitated minutely over the word, "trust the judgment of the person who offered the advice." Sosiqui "And my name is Tian Yue, Tien Lung." She seemed strangely... fresh, clean, for this Age - as if she'd dropped in from the sky and found everything sudden and shockingly gone wrong. The lines of concern on her face had not yet had time to etch deeply. "I am sure it is as safe as any other place in these times. Perhaps a little bit moreso." He could recommend no truly safe place now, dared not take the responsibility. Fyre "I've camped in worse places," Was all she said, in a curiously absent way. Tien Lung was a name that sounded familiar, as if someone had mentioned that name recently. "Its nice to meet you. Would you," Again she hesitated slightly, "would you like to sit and talk? For a little while?" Sosiqui Sit and talk? But he had places to go, people to talk to, a world to save...
... and none of them would end in five minutes. (Oh, perhaps it was possible, but that logic led only to unfeeling and constant panic. He could not be everywhere at once.) "For a few moments," Tian Yue agreed, sliding through the water until there was land under his claws. But what was there to talk about? So, did you know the world is ending? How about that Apocalypse? Perhaps if he had pictures of his alleged future godchildren, he could have brought them out.
"... what brings you here, at this time? Many are clinging to family and home, these days," he said, finally. Fyre She considered that quietly, not sure how to explain exactly and feeling a little pang of guilt for not staying with the family she had left. "I'm trying to save the world." She answered finally. It sounded foolish, she thought, even if it was true. "There might be a chance, and even if there isn't everything just keeps getting worse and there's no real point in just living day to day." Sosiqui Now that was unexpected. "Trying to save the world? What a coincidence, so am I," he said, with a rippling sigh. "Still," he added, in case that was discouraging, "it is good to see mor- people facing the world with hope rather than pessimism... and you're right, there could be a chance. Has to be a chance." Fyre May shrugged, "I don't know if I'd be facing the world with anything much at all if things were different." She leaned back against the pillar, "But I've traveled a long way, and the center of whats wrong is, apparently, here. I guess its not the most impressive start. I expect you're better at saving the world then I am." Sosiqui Tian Yue snorted. "Perhaps... perhaps not. I haven't done a very good job so far..." But the guilt was an old, old path that he was increasingly tired of treading. "But things aren't over with yet," he added, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Then again, it was odd that she'd know about the center of things... "What do you mean, the center of things?" he asked, curious. Maybe she wasn't an ordinary mortal after all. Fyre She frowned slightly, at the dragon, trying to decide what was behind the question. Maybe this dragon didn't know? It seemed more likely it was a question leading to something else. "Whatever is gone wrong with the world, the center of that. Not Here," she indicated the temple surrounding them, "I mean not precisely here, but in that great building just over the hill." Sosiqui "The Pantheon," he agreed, tilting his head to one side, reassessing her. There was power around her, but it was definitely masked. He had thought it was overflow, but maybe... maybe it wasn't.
Maybe it was someone hiding.
"What do you know about gods?" Fyre What did she know about gods? And what did she know that was true, or that she believed. "I'm not sure, I've only just started believing in them." She admitted, then, eyeing Tien Yue with lifted brows she suggested, "Some of them take the form of dragons, apparently. One I know pictures himself as a dragon, huge and powerful as if he thought if only he were like that again he could hold the world together with with his claws if nothing else." Sosiqui "One... you know?" Tian Yue tilted his head to the other side, then leaned in and took a long, suspicious sniff. "What dragons do you know, May Tseng?" Fyre "Well I know you, now." May answered, in a tone that suggested she should have put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin when she used it, although he didn't move from where she leaned against the pillar. "Its sort of hard to explain." She continued, a little quietly. No one likes to admit they know a voice in their head. But when you're talking to a dragon, who is probably also a god, well... "He calls himself Li Shing. l think he has two names, like you, the other is Chien Tang. But....he's not...I mean he's not like you. He doesn't exactly...I don't know how to say it...exist. Not physically. But he calls himself a dragon." She finished, lamely, and then wondered if Li Shing would be annoyed by that description of himself. Probably. Sosiqui "Chien T-" Tian Yue couldn't even finish the name. A Dragon King, one of the missing, one he had searched for, so long, so hard, and nothing-
For a moment, he was irrationally angry, frustration and pack-loneliness crackling through him. He, they, had needed each other so desperately and there had been nothing where were you??
Then, with a sharp shake of his head, he shoved the anger away. What mattered was not that Li Shing had come late, what mattered was that he had come at all. "Do you... are you... is that dragon's breath I smell on your skin?" he asked, thoroughly flustered. "Do you carry his jewel?" Fyre May, who had found her way here guided purely by Li Shing's instinct - for neither of them had been offered any direction or explanation - wasn't sure if Tian Yue's question was a metaphor or if he meant something literal. She could tell, however, that something about the dragon's mood had changed, so he answered carefully. "I...well...Li Shing has been with me for some time. If that's what you mean." Sosiqui "I would speak with him," Tian Yue said, firmly, though he dialed down his body language a little so as not to startle the girl. "If he is with you, inside your mind, then please.... and if not, tell me where he rests." Fyre "He exhausted himself speaking to others, earlier." She admitted, still hesitantly, "I'm not sure how to wake him up, I could try." Previously, when Li Shing had been so withdrawn he either awoke in his own time, or some shock of fear or danger had brought him to the fore of her mind - his own life tied in with her safety as it was. Sosiqui "Please," he said, quietly, settling himself before her. "He is one of my brothers. Even if you simply relay his thoughts, that would be enough..." Fyre She actually grinned a little, in spite of Tien Yue's clear belief in the gravity of the situation. "He probably wouldn't want to suffer the indignity." If the way he'd reacted when Zhijian had said his name was any gauge, Li Shing would push himself in order to be able to interact with this dragon as well. "Let me see...I've never done this before." She closed her eyes, to help her focus. She was, often, someone else - someone she had been lifetimes ago - in his imagination. When she called his name it lent a certain amount of insistence to it, because of who she had been rather then who she was.
When he had been only just awakening, pulled more by unnamed worry then anything else, that similarity had confused memory and reality. Even now it colored the way he viewed the world.
She had always been his. And when she called, he had always heard.After a pause, of apparent internal conversation, May opened her eyes. She looked as if she was about to say something, but then instead almost jumped in surprise, pushing herself off the pillar to stand straight and closer to the dragon. With the next blink her eyes warmed with a golden light, and you could see it then in the way she stood, and in the tone of her voice. "You would speak with me?" Sosiqui Tian Yue stilled as the power he had sensed unmasked - yes, there was no mistaking it now, that the power was sourced in the girl and not radiating from the surroundings. His ears lifted at the sound of her voice, now subtly changed. "I would. I am Tien Lung, Worldshield, called Tian Yue in this new life... and you, you are... my brother, Great Chien-Tang?" His voice actually cracked a bit on the name, which surprised him, visibly. Fyre Li Shing studied the other dragon for a moment, eyes narrowed very slightly as if trying to discern something he couldn't quite make out. "I am Chien Tang, blood shogun of the Twin Crown, General Li Shing." He recited the full title for the sake of tradition and propriety, but it was the first time he had announced himself formally in this new existence and if he not have said he didn't enjoy it just a little. "You are much changed Tien Lung. More then Ying Long, much more." The statement offered an opening for explanation, without demanding one. Yet it was clear that Li Shing was vaguely confused, both by the difference in Tien Lung from his memory and by the apparent emotion when the other dragon had said his name. Sosiqui Oh dear. That was an internal twist he hadn't experienced for a while, and he stepped on it for now, giving no external indication of the sudden cold rock in his stomach. "I have, yes... but by my own choice," he acknowledged, with a slight nod. "It is good to know you are well - we searched for you, and feared you lost. You have met Zhijian, then?" That must have been recent; Zhiji surely would have told him as soon as possible, otherwise. Fyre Li Shing accepted the explanation without comment, although he stowed his curiosity about the circumstances of that for later. "If not well, I am here at least. Although I've come by mortal paths through the world and with only the barest idea of direction, else I might have been here sooner." He paused for a moment, thinking of the difference between this meeting and his reunion with Zhijian. The essence of Ying Long had been so immediately recognizable - so like he remembered, even somewhat changed. This was markedly different, and the sense of familiarity - of automatic trust - was absent. "I have spoken with Zhijian, and with one who serves you, Toki. But as yet no others. Your servant was not entirely certain when you would return, when you speak with him again he will undoubtedly relay my request to speak with you." Sosiqui "Ah, Toki." Tian Yue wrinkled his nose. "He is a faithful servant, if a bit... battered by Time." He shook his head. "I am sure he was quite excited to see you. I am sorry that you come to find the world in this state..." His ears tilted back. "But, then, with your strength returned, we have a new advantage. It is so important to have us all together. The Crown said as much, before he... before." Great Chien-Tang had not been named on the fate-stones. Was his return unseen? Perhaps the Blood Shogun could tilt the balance of battle. Fyre Li Shing looked very slightly amused for a moment, "He was rather excited. I fear I may have been somewhat had on him, as he was the first being I spoke to and had no particularly clear information." He shifted to look past Tian Yue to the river and lifted a hand to his own chin - an odd gesture on the girl. "Zhijian confirmed that I am the last to return. But he said four are missing." Missing, Chien Tang said, rather then absent, and there was a certain amount of concern in his voice but none of the hurt that had colored Zhijian's comments. Perhaps because Li Shing had found himself half mortal and afoot as the world collapsed and was prepared to give his brothers the benefit of the doubt. "And of my former strength," He admitted, almost hesitantly, "Very little is with me now." Sosiqui "Some are missing, yes... but now, with you, I have at least met all save Yu Five Claws in this life. Shen Lung, Mang, and Kawagiri, though...." He paused. "They have not been seen for some time. I worry that they will not return, or that something has happened, but already we have more dragons among us than an oracle foretold." Take that, fate. He grinned, toothily.
"Ah, well, we all have to start at the same place," Tian Yue added, trying to be comforting. "Futs Lung, at least, is in your same position. Strength will come in time." Fyre Li Shing's eyes narrowed, disliking both the platitude and the news regarding the other dragons. Annoyance colored his tone, "Time is a luxury we do not possess." He turned abruptly and paces a few steps in apparent agitation, "That Futs Lung is as weak as this is unfortunate, I had hoped I would be the only one." Sosiqui "Perhaps not, but trying to force things may burn out your host - Futs Lung's first host actually failed him entirely, though I don't think that was precisely the reason. But I understand your frustration. How much do you know about what has happened? I will gladly tell you what I know." Fyre "She is stronger then you might expect." Li Shing snapped, but he stilled, apparently fighting his own rising frustration. "The world is crumbling, and Gehenna is coming. Through some treachery of the Grigori, apparently, for which all of us and as far as I can tell any other soul was absent. That you and Zhijian saw prophecy on stones at the old pantheon, of which I was not a part - and that one might infer from them that to attach Gehenna and hope to with would be futile." He appeared to be almost forcing himself to be still, Chien Tang had always been used to making fast decisions and acting upon them. "In short, I know what Zhijian could relay himself, and nothing more." Sosiqui Tian Yue shoved away the prickle of annoyance - hadn't Great Chien-Tang always been firey and swift to move, in comparison to the Worldshield's more deliberate demeanor? That seemed right, somehow. Offense and defense. "Yes, the Grigori. More of them may be coming, as well, to try and influence our Lord. The one who attacked Lord Harmodius took Gaia's arm, to build a bridge to their exiled Ashlands." He parroted back what Ankou and Nergal's letter had said. "There are apparently weapons that can harm them, as can powers closely affiliated with Creation." Fyre Li Shing's focus sharpened, as any general when he is given strategic details of an enemy. "That, then, must be dealt with. They must have some specific purpose, and its possible there is a way to undo what they've started. Zhijian suggested asking Gianfar to scry for the details of what occurred - perhaps he has done so already. Perhaps none of us has the power to reverse what has been done, but understand how it occurred would help." Pieces were being arranged, as Li Shing arranged the information he had in his thoughts. "But who is doing what, about ...anything? No one seems to know." Sosiqui "There is a contingent of gods looking to revive the Consort, Aristogeiton; Underworld, Light, Music and Hunt are on that journey, as are Fire and some others. As for other plans..." He sighed. "I do not know. I arrived after the fact, along with Zhijian; he might have told you that we were away when our Lord was struck. The only one present was Gaia, and the Empress was not a match for the Grigori. I have been trying to gather as much information as possible, and as I told Ankou - we cannot afford to act alone, vigilantes. We must put aside petty grievances and work together if we are to end this thing. Or, rather, prevent the End." Fyre Li Shing killed the urge to suggest that Tien Yue did not need to lecture him on cooperation....him of all beings. That wasn't how Tien Yue had meant it, of course, and Li Shing reminded himself of that and nodded. He and Shaiming had argued like this hadn't they? Action and caution, one fought battles with daring plans and sudden attacks and the other defending with careful observation and cautious moves. "The weapons you spoke of should be found. And what of the Empress? Is he safe now? Has anyone spoken to her?" Sosiqui "The Empress lives, even though the Grigori took her arm... but that is all I know on that score. I pray our sister Qian Lung has found her and resumed her guard." Tian Yue sighed. "It is so damned hard to get information - one god saw this, another that, and who knows where to find them all. Knowledge lectured those who challenged the Grigori, and he has apparently been a source of much new information. I haven't been able to speak with him myself, yet. He may know about the weapons, at least, if not of Kishara's whereabouts." Fyre "Unity is important, if not in physical presence, then we should at least know what others are trying to accomplish and pass information. Perhaps a runner might be found to pass messages." He paused to consider, "Perhaps we should go together, to see Gianfar. There seems to be much he may be able to tell us, and there is little point in passing messages back and forth when not necessary." Sosiqui "If nothing else, I would like to gather a conclave of the Kings, whichever we can gather, though I know Futs Lung is away seeking the Manacles to bind the Gehenna-chrysalis - with any luck, such an action will buy us some time. It seems the windows in the Pantheon tell the story of the End, each one numbering a week. There were fourteen, I think." Tian Yue raked the ground with his claws for a moment, frustrated that he had nothing better to offer Great Chien-Tang. "Did Zhijian tell you of the fate-stones in the Ancient Pantheon?" Fyre Li Shing nodded again, as Tien Yue spoke, finding himself basically in agreement, "He did, in basis. That there were five of us pictured, all were attacking Gehenna and all were destroyed, and that I was not among them. " The Great Chien-Tang, for his part, was frustrated he had nothing better to offer in return for information save basic organizational thoughts, which would have undoubtedly occurred to Tian Yue. Or, they would have occurred to the Tien Lung he remembered. Sosiqui "But you are here now... surely, that must have some significance." Tian Yue stretched, first the back legs, then the front. "You do not wish to stay in the Pantheon, then? Then again, you always did like the little river-gods, almost as much as Kawagiri, didn't you?" The memory crept up on him, and he smiled, fondly. Fyre The sudden familiar memory clearly caught Li Shing by surprise, he smiled, "The rivers may be Kawagiri's to command, but the dragon spirits of those rivers are mine. Although," He motioned vaguely at the temple, "It was May who wished to remain outdoors. Though I cannot say I am disappointed, the Pantheon feels twisted now." He paused and lifted eyebrows at Tien Yue, "Perhaps, brother, you are not so much changed as you appear." It was the first time he had let formality fall away and called Tien Lung by that more affectionate term.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:22 pm
No Rest for the Weary
Tian Yue coiled down through the skylight with a sigh, looking for some quiet, some time to think... a little sleep, perhaps...
... and was met by absolutely nothing like what he desired most. There was a buzz of conversation, multiple voices, coming from the front room, and his ears went back as he landed with a whump on the bed. The curtain moved aside immediately, and Toki rushed in, looking flustered as he pulled the curtain firmly back over the doorway. "My Lord!"
"What," he rumbled, "is going on here?"
"My Lord, they have all come... your... followers..." Toki gestured towards the curtain, his finger held to his lips. Tian Yue carefully stepped out of the bed and snuck over as best he could, putting one eye up awkwardly to the gap between curtain and door. Immediately, his ears went back even further.
"Evin and Shartha and is that Captain Jax and who are all those people?!"
Toki cringed. "They... came... along? The world is in a terrible state, my Lord, moreso for mortals... Lao Shu is here as well. And some of, er, his... friends."
Tian Yue couldn't deny he was glad to see the gruff Captain well, but there were times and places for dealing with Captain Jax, and this was neither the time nor the place he would have preferred. "Lao Shu's friends? Oh, stars, is that what the scuttling noise is?"
"He is a rat, my Lord..." Tian Yue groaned and backed away from the curtain, awkwardly, then shifted to human form. Toki was immediately ready with a robe, one far more grand than he usually wore around his chambers, a proper garment for grand audiences. "I have kept the throne clear for you, my Lord. Your first true audience! It is thrilling, is it not?" Toki's expression was full of nervous hope. Surely his Lord would think this was exciting, too? Surely?
Tian Yue sighed. "I... suppose it is. If Jax is here, is Penny...?"
"He brought her as well. She is in Morgan's old chamber. I did not think you would mind..."
"I would if it had been anyone else. Is Nebula's old room full of people, too?"
"Oh, no. It's full of Xing Yun."
"Well, that's g- who?!"
Toki sighed. "Maybe you had better just come and see, my Lord."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:23 pm
Followers and Confrontations
The small crowd in Tian Yue's living room fell silent as he entered; Shartha bobbed her head up and down in a gesture of respect, and Evin made a half-bow, but the others stared with a mixture of awe and fear. Mostly fear.
Except for one.
"There y'are," growled Captain Jax Corvus, folding his arms over his chest. The strangers moved to let him pass. "What the hell's going on? I take the Bandit out for service and next thing I know, the whole place's going to s**t worse'n it was before, and when I finally get back Penny's babbling about needing you and gods and temples and you owe me a ******** explanation, Dragon-boy. What the hell is this place?"
Tian Yue sighed inwardly. He'd figured this confrontation would come eventually, but this was a really bad time for it. "You are in the Pantheon, the seat of the reborn gods - and you are welcome here, in my chambers," he added, as several of the strangers stared at the walls as if expecting them to grow mouths and consume them all. "You came here for sanctuary and I will offer what I can. Captain..." He focused on the man. Jax had not been untouched by the damage that had raged through the worlds. He was markedly thinner, his skin marked with new scars and the remains of disease-borne lesions. "You are right, I do owe you an explanation, and I will give you one."
They scattered as Tian Yue moved, but he did not go to the throne - instead, he stood next to the couch, and waved the mortals that jumped up from their seats to sit down again. "Captain, I apologize for not being forthright with you, but Penny shared the circumstances with me and we agreed to remain discreet to keep our journey as peaceful as possible. You knew that I had some magic... but I am not here in this Pantheon by chance. I am the Dragon King Tien Lung, and my title is Worldshield. I used that power to protect the Bandit when we traveled. I am not merely magical - I am divine. A god."
He watched as Jax processed that knowledge, saw him pale for a moment, then redden with a fresh spark of anger. The man opened his mouth, but Tian Yue stepped in quickly, leaning in to speak quietly to the Captain alone. "Penny told me of the accident. About your anger. That is why I did not tell you... and, at the time, I wasn't too sure of my identity myself. No deception or harm was meant."
"That... that may be," Jax spluttered, trying to regain control, "but... gods! You call, you call all that has happened, all this-" He made a wild gesture, nearly hitting one of the people on the couch. "How is this..." His mouth moved, trying to articulate his rage, but he settled for another sharp gesture.
"I know," Tian Yue said, this time to the room at large. Besides Jax, there were six or seven new faces, pale, focused on him. "The eternal question of theology, isn't it - if there are gods, and if they care, then why do bad things happen?" I think I wrote a paper about that in Comparative Religion class. "I cannot possibly answer every question, but I can tell you why the world as it is now is breaking down. How did you enter this place?"
"Penny directed us, in through the front door and up the stairs to your door."
And I bet that sudden arrival scared the hell out of Toki. "Did you look around at all?" Jax shook his head immediately, the others in the room following suit. "Good. It's as well you didn't, for there are gods that are not benevolent and kind - no, I'm not going to argue about that now. You're welcome to look around and find out for yourself, though I'd rather you didn't. But... downstairs, there is a throne room. It belongs to the Twin Crown, the highest of all gods, ruler and embodiment of Creation and Destruction. But right now, that throne is empty." Tian Yue took a deep breath. "I'm sure you remember when everything suddenly started to get worse. At that moment, a... a foul being struck our Lord in a moment of weakness. I... I'm not sure if you can understand this, and I don't ask you to, but that strike began the end of the world. The true Apocalypse. In that throne room right now is a chrysalis, and when that chrysalis hatches it will spell doom for all of Creation. All of it. Not just you, not just this world. Everything. All worlds. All beings. Even gods."
The mortals were white with utter terror, even Evin. Shartha made a strangled sound. After a moment, Jax swallowed. "And... and.... so... ....?"
I am sorry... "But there is hope, I think." I hope. Please. "The gods are working with all their strength to stop this Ending. I know you are all angry, that you have all lost people and possessions precious to you. I am not asking you to forgive us. What I am asking is that you hold those grievances until afterwards... after the worlds have been saved. You may chastise or even harm the gods, but in the end you may be preventing us from saving you all. None of us - not even the wicked deities - want things to end this way."
They all stared at him, then at each other - then at Jax, who had become impromptu spokesman. He was silent for a long moment before clearing his throat. "You're telling the truth. Nobody bullshits on that scale." It was not a question. "I... god damn it, I want to be angry! I need to be angry! Why won't you let me be ******** angry?!" He shouted the last, his fists clenched at his sides.
Then he drooped, broken. "Whatever... happened to... to Martin," and the name was half-choked, "I... if all you bastards are dead, I can't enjoy it if I'm dead too, right?" He lifted his chin.
Stubborn to the last. But that was a stubbornness he could use. "Quite possibly. If you will hazard your principles to believe - just for now - that we can save the world, in our power and the power of Creation, then you will be doing more to stop the Apocalypse than you can possibly understand." He gave Jax an acknowledging nod. I'm not asking you to forgive what has happened to you.
The man nodded, just slightly. "Fine. But only until then. And we can stay?"
"You can stay - though, for now, please don't bring anyone else. I have limited space here, and while I'd like to shelter everyone, I-"
"We're all that's left," Jax interrupted. "From the Cosmodrome. Everyone else ran. Or died."
A chill ran down Tian Yue's spine. Only eight - no, Toki said there were more in the other rooms - but so few? Stars... "You are welcome, regardless. Toki, the pale one with the wings, is my servant. He will try to meet your needs as best he can, though our resources are stretched as well. Still, being gods, we have some resources that you do not, and I will aid you as best I can - though, you understand, my focus must be my duties in stopping the End." They all nodded, and some of the tension flowed out of the room as the mortals relaxed. Tian Yue smiled, briefly. "My name is Tian Yue. Please, be at ease."
Then he turned to Jax. "Penny... she is here? Where is she?" He could feel grudging embers of belief stirring in the souls of the mortals, soft next to the flames that were Shartha and Evin, but Penny... she was his first true mortal follower. Precious. Special. "Toki told me she was injured."
"The bunny-man settled her down in a bed. That way." Jax jerked his chin at the door that led to the Aoidei quarters. "There's some goat-girl here too. She one of yours?"
Goat girl? "Er, perhaps. I'm not sure, I haven't met her yet." Tian Yue moved forward, and Jax stepped aside. "I will go talk to her... there are others in the rooms, I am told. I will tell them as I told you." He paused. "Captain?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. I'm... I'm sorry."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:24 pm
Keeper of the Spark
The other mortals in the Aoidei chambers brought the numbers to about a dozen - the strange faces had been tucked into beds and pallets in Toki's room and the storage area. They were more marked with injuries and disease than the others. Tian Yue spoke to them as he had to the main group, and if he could not ease their pain, he could at least let them sleep a little easier. I may have just confirmed their fears that the world is ending, but I have also given them hope. I pray I can follow through with what I have promised... for all our sakes.
Finally, there was only Morgan's old room left. Tian Yue hesitated on the doorstep, then knocked and entered.
Penny was tucked into the bed, and someone he did not recognize, someone blue-furred, with horns, was tending to her. A goat-girl, an Aoide like the one Phaedra had serving her. The stranger jumped up and bowed immediately. "My Lord..."
"Be at ease - yes, I am Tien Lung. I welcome you and shall receive your fealty, Aoide, but first I must speak with her. Will you retire to your chamber and wait for me there?"
"Yes, my Lord." She straightened up and slipped past him, pulling the door closed behind her. And then there was only Penny -
... Penny, who was pale and marked with the scars of disease, but who smiled at him like the sun, and tried to sit up. "Tian Yue," she whispered, her eyes bright. "I missed you."
"I missed you too... Penny... I'm sorry," he whispered back, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. He reached out and brushed some of her hair back from her forehead. "What happened?"
"Toki... and the fire-goddess... they told me about the end of the world," she replied, with a sigh. "I was hoping you'd come back. Jax came back after two weeks... some of the Cosmodrome collapsed at the beginning. I hit my head." There was still a bandage drawn tight around her scalp, he realized. "It was... we had to run, Jax had to fight because I couldn't, I get dizzy whenever I stand up... still. I'm so tired of being in beds, on couches..."
"I'm sorry I couldn't come to you sooner," Tian Yue said, quietly.
Penny swatted at him, though she missed by a mile - and probably not on purpose, either. "I told you to stop being sorry for everything."
"I don't think I've done a very good job of being a god," he admitted.
"Psh. I don't know if you have or haven't, but you're still a god whether you're 'good at it' or not, right? Toki told me about everything. Gehenna." She sounded the name out carefully. "You can stop it?"
"We're going to try. I hope so."
"What did Jax say? Did you... did he..."
Tian Yue smiled. "He was angry, but right now he's angry in our favor - at least until the world is saved. After that, no promises."
"Oh, good." Penny settled back with a sigh. "I was worried." She reached one hand over to his, found it with a bit of fumbling, squeezed. "Thank you for taking care of us."
"You're my follower... of course I'd take care of you..."
"Yeah, but Jax isn't... but somehow I'm sure you didn't throw him out. Did you?" She grinned.
"Hmph. No."
"I didn't think so. I can't do a whole lot until the dizzy thing goes away, but I can lie here and believe as hard as I possibly can..."
"If only everyone could do so much," he said, firmly, and meant it. "Thank you. I mean that... I really do. If we are to succeed, we need all the mortal support and belief we can get."
"Good luck," she whispered. "Good luck."
He squeezed her hand, then released it. "Thank you."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:25 pm
New Vows
Tian Yue shook his head after closing Penny's door. He had not done enough - but no, that way lie madness, and more swats and scolding if she found out he'd been treading that old path again. Despite everything, he felt strangely rejuvenated, as if merely being in the presence of her belief had replenished something in his being.
Only one thing more, then, for now. The door to Nebula's old room lay ajar, and Tian Yue knocked before opening it completely. The goat-like Aoide was inside, and she moved fluidly to her knees and bowed low as he entered. "Lord Tien Lung."
"Be at ease... but please, tell me your name, Aoide. How did you come to be here?" He did not recognize her, and there was no soft ping of memory. Phaedra's Aoide had also been goat-like; perhaps recent events had catalyzed another birth or rebirth of servants, much like when all the feline Aoidei had seemingly popped up all at once? I hope she is more... stable... than Nebula was...
The Aoide straightened, though she did not rise. "My name is Xing Yun, my Lord." She brushed back a lock of purple hair and tucked it behind one long ear. "The changing of the world woke me and many others like me. I have served no god - I came into being after the Fading of the Gods, but was taught Lore by my elders. It was they who wove the spell of sleep. Perhaps too well. Gehenna's first release broke it at last..." She sighed. "Is there any hope, my Lord?"
"There is always hope," Tian Yue said, firmly. "Always. But please, continue - why me, if you have served no god before?" He gave her a curious look. He was flattered, but it seemed rather a random choice.
"The Elders spoke well of the Dragon Kings... and I was a bold child." A wry smile flitted across Xing Yun's face. "I always declared that I would serve nothing less... so here I am, my Lord. It is my vanity, perhaps, but I swear to you that I will serve well. Judgment will find no fault in my actions."
"And of all the Kings, why the Worldshield?"
"Quite honestly... you were the easiest to find," she said, looking sheepish. "But Toki greeted me warmly, and he was so excited..."
Tian Yue laughed. "Yes. He would be. Well, Xing Yun. I will happily welcome you into my service. Simply the desire to serve and care is enough; I do not demand that you have dreamed of Tien Lung all of your days, or something silly like that."
She bowed low again, smiling. "Thank you, my Lord." She pressed her palms flat against the ground. "Then I, Xing Yun, do swear myself mind, body, and soul to the service of the Worldshield, Tien Lung, Lord Tian Yue, for as many years as Time and the Crown shall grant to me."
A faint tingle of power hissed in the air; Tian Yue felt the response-words come unbidden to his mind, called up from distant memory. "And I, Dragon King Tien Lung Tian Yue accept thy service, Xing Yun, and welcome you into my house and my court for as many years as Time and the Crown grant to thee- and, if I've any say in it, that will be many years indeed," he added, firmly.
Something snapped, and he felt a brief surge of connection form between him and the Aoide - then it was gone, and she got to her feet, beaming. "Thank you, my Lord. I am most grateful."
"I am glad chance brought you to me," Tian Yue replied, bemused. "And thank you for being kind to Penny."
"She is a sweet girl - fitting to bear the mark of High Priestess."
"High Priestess?" He blinked.
Xing Yun laughed. "With a flame like that, who did you think she would be, for you? I mean no disrespect," she added, quickly.
"None taken; I do not demand constant obeisance." High Priestess? Really? Tian Yue had just about gotten used to the idea of being a god, but the idea of having priests and priestesses and temples was very strange. If he had those things, should he also have hymns? rites? rituals? churches? holy writ?
Maybe after we save the world. "I am going to rest, now. Please, assist Toki in tending to the refugees."
She nodded. "It will be done, Lord."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:26 pm
The Voice of the StoneSosiqui Tian Yue descended the stairs with the beginnings of a headache. It wasn't enough that the world was ending - a dozen mortals, another dragon, and several rats had to come roost in his chambers as well? True, he had offered them protection, and he could hardly send away Jax and Penny... or their friends... and, well, the rats were dubious except for Lao Shu, but...
"I'm too nice for my own good," he muttered, and stepped down onto the floor. He turned towards the Throne Hall instinctively, and saw a flicker of familiar, bright blue. Ah... Now that was a welcome sight. "Zhijian,' he called out, walking quickly to the entrance. Nobody was on the Throne, but the sense of slow unraveling trickling from the Chrysalis did not feel like one that needed - or had - a master save the Form Defiled itself. "You're back," he said, simply, relief in his tone. Meepfur Zhijian had been sleeping - and not just sleeping, but snoring. When addressed, he came awake with a snort. Tian Yue! "Brother!" He swiftly uncurled himself from his spot on the floor and padded towards his fellow dragon. Skipping over the observation that he was indeed here, he was quick to spout, "We have three more brothers with us now!" Sosiqui "Have you been keeping watch?" Tian Yue asked, quietly, glancing at the Chrysalis. "Any change, that you can see or sense?"
Zhijian's words, however, drew his attention away from the mass on the dais. "Three... more brothers? Futs Lung and Great Chien-Tang I have met, but... who is the third?" Had Shenlei or Mang returned? That would be auspicious indeed. Meepfur "Yes," he confirmed, before shaking his head sadly. "No, not that I have been able to tell."
Zhijian bumped against his brother and settled back on the floor. "Yu has returned. His host is...odd, to say the least, but physically quite suitable - a large canine, a shapeshifter. He arrived sometime during our absence, according to Ashoka." Sosiqui Tian Yue followed Zhijian to sit on the floor, one hand wandering over to pat at his brother's head - but the movement stilled when he heard Zhijian's news. "Yu - why, that's fantastic news!" His heart beat a little faster. "The fate-stone was not wrong when it foretold his coming... though somehow it missed Great Chien-Tang. Oh, Universe, Lucius wanted to speak with him. He thought his title of Emblem Pillar... that it held significance in these times. So that means, with Yu... we are all enfleshed again?" The circle of pillars is not broken. Not anymore. They may not be here, but it's not broken... Meepfur Zhijian looked a little smug - he had known something Tian Yue hadn't! That was always fabulous fun. He gave him a moment before nudging his hand - you could pet and be excited at the same time, thank you. "Yes, but it still leaves us with three absent."
Lately, it had grown to bother him more and more. Where were they, and how dare they stay away when so needed? They were his siblings, and yet...they had shown him no such respect, made no attempt to honor old bonds, while he pined and worried for them. He could not help but be bitter. Sosiqui "Fewer than we had, and that is a blessing. Perhaps Great Chien-Tang can help tip the balance; I am most curious as to why his coming was not foreseen by the fate-stones, while Yu and Futs were..." He scritched a little, absently, behind Zhijian's ears. "Speaking of which... have you learned anything that might be of use? I have, but I am not sure where our knowledge overlaps." Meepfur "I assume you've noticed the....noticeboard?" Zhijian inquired, his expression shifting from pleased to be scratched to just somewhat bemused; while it was certainly useful, what god made a noticeboard? It seemed very...ungodlike. Sosiqui "Noticeboard...? No, I was distracted by your exquisite pelt. Tsk, perhaps you should dye it, tone it down, so that people won't miss important details despite your presence..." Tian Yue got up, bemused. A quick glance out into the 'common area' revealed said noticeboard, already marked with several pieces of paper. "Ah... huh. That's a good idea." So prosaic, it probably wouldn't have occurred to him.
"Oh, Ankou has been here already," he said, after quickly scanning the posted notes. "I talked with him to get most of my information... and what I told him is here, too. He certainly is organized... hmm, and... Light as well, or rather an Aoide under his service..." Those notes he read more carefully, the information there being new to him. He snorted audibly at the line about Grigori treachery; that had indeed been proven true, more than true. "More riddles," he said, at last. "Couldn't ancient chroniclers have written in plain language, perhaps with bulleted lists of instructions and ingredients?" Meepfur "You could have too, but it seems you missed out on it, a little like better jaws, hmm?" The idea of dying his pelt was largely unappealing, seeing as he currently had no reason to be 'dull.'
Zhijian snorted, then. "That would be something to take up with Gianfar. But, brother...perhaps you're ready to return to the City? I have been waiting for you. Yu expressed an interest in going to see the stones, though his host seems to roam. I'm not certain we could find him, but I would like to try." Sosiqui "Yes... this seems a good deal of information... I had spoken with Ankou, and he told me everything that he wrote here. If nothing else, this saves me the trouble of having to re-tell it. Perhaps I should add more information... but.. yes. Later." Tian Yue turned to his brother. "I think we should return. Time grows short and the decay that creeps through the world... I do not want to find the stones crumbled." His tail lashed back and forth, and for a moment a chilling fear gripped him. What would they do if they had squandered this resource?
"I would love to meet Yu if he can be found, but... unless he is near..." Tian Yue shifted uneasily. Now that the idea of the fate-stones decaying had entered his mind, it was unnerving him rather badly. Meepfur Zhijian nodded understandingly. Though he longed to share an 'adventure' with more of his sibling dragons, there was not always time to do such things. "I will go and look for him, quickly. I will meet you by the tree the errais use as a door? With Shanti in tow, of course." Sosiqui "Of course. I will call Gringolet; I am sure he will come to me." Everyone else I know is in my rooms already, I wouldn't be surprised if Toki had Gringolet in a closet or something.
....
Gringolet was not in the closet, as it turns out, but he was close by - he was in the remains of the garden, pacing with care around the lava pools. Such things are preferable to what the world has become, he said, sadly, when Tian Yue asked him what he was doing. "Will you carry me again? Zhijian and I are returning to the Ancient Pantheon. We will not trouble The'ta'naa this time; you two can enter with us, I believe."Of course. It is my honor to bear you."Can you avoid those temporal fluxes?" Tian Yue asked, with another twist of unease as he climbed onto the erras' back.I can do my best. The place between was much agitated by the Wave, but now I feel I understand its new movements better. I believe I can dodge the tide. I do not wish to lose time either, he added, swishing his tail. "Very well, then. I trust you." There was still a twist of unease in the pit of his stomach, fear and guilt- just because last time you left, something bad happened, doesn't mean something bad will happen this time, he thought, trying to grind the truth of it into his brain. He could not be paralyzed by fear. Making no choices for the sake of avoiding bad ones would result in the same blank, obsidian ending.
Gringolet bobbed his head and trotted to the meeting-place. Meepfur Zhijian - and Shanti - arrived at the tree ten minutes after Tian Yue, with no third dragon in their wake. He had tried his hardest to find Xia Lu Ling in that short amount of time, but had failed. He was sure his brother would forgive him, however, and they could always go together at a later date...provided they still existed by that later date.
"I flew, and could not find him," he said sorrowfully as he approached, "And Ashoka was not about either. He will have to wait for another time." Sosiqui "Ashoka? Did she want to come too?" True, the fate-stones might be quite interesting for a prophet - for that matter, she might be able to give more insight to the inscriptions - but then again, Ashoka was so... ... so Ashoka that her usefulness in this time was debatable.
Tian Yue shook his head. "Let us go, then. To The'ta'naa first, and then through the Gate. If we ride the errais they should come with us when we speak our Names."Gringolet tossed his head and danced sideways into the abyss. Meepfur "No, but she might have been able to tell me where to find Xia Lu - or his host, rather. She is...quite taken with him." Annoyingly so, because she was supposed to be his servant, but he would have her back when Fragment was gone.
After Zhijian had pulled himself onto her back, Shanti followed Gringolet into the space between. Sosiqui The way seems clear, Gringolet reported, and indeed his path seemed sure and swift. Here and there lights still floated in the darkness, though not anywhere near as many as before the Wave had hit. I have traveled this path twice. It is familiar now. See- and then the darkness was gone, replaced with sharp cold and bright sunlight reflecting from the snow. The'ta'naa.
For a moment, Tian Yue pondered seeking out the ancient Aoide, He Who Knows, again, but... no. Now was not the time. Perhaps they could consult him before speaking with the fate-stones, when more concrete plans had been laid. When they knew more.
"Between the caryatids," he ordered, and Gringolet obediently changed his path to curve between the massive, tumbled statues. "Zhōng Xīn," he breathed, and the scenery shifted for a third time.
They landed on the floor of the Throne Room, Gringolet's hooves clattering on stone. Tian Yue dismounted immediately and took a long breath. The air was still stale, though pathways in the dust showed others had been here recently. Jin Huang, no doubt, and Zhijian's previous trip.This place is... big, Gringolet said, after a moment, and the last word was laden with thick emotional overtones, a sense of being nearly overwhelmed. "I know," Tian Yue replied, quietly. Meepfur The trip proved much smoother - and much faster - than the first had been, to Zhijian's relief. And there would be no need to languish at the warpost again, waiting for memory to stir. He and Shanti followed the other pair, and he spoke his passname, "Anax."
He slid from the erras' back and looked to Tian Yue. "We should begin our search; the sooner we have found our answers and gone home, the better."
Like his brother, he wasn't keen on being gone for weeks by some bizarre circumstance. Sosiqui "The question becomes.. what are we looking for?" Tian Yue frowned. "The fate-stones we found were the only three complete ones on that row. I suppose we should walk down another avenue and see if there are some complete ones there..." He walked quickly to the top of the stairs leading down and looked out over the City below, forehead wrinkled in thought. "It was the center avenue before, wasn't it? Let's take the left, this time." He couldn't tell from here if the stones were complete or not. Meepfur "We'll just have to do things the hard way and look at every whole one we can find, I suppose." Hence why they needed to start now. Zhijian padded down the stairs, dropping to all fours at the bottom and taking the avenue to the left, as Tian Yue suggested. He began to look, pausing at each intact stone long enough to watch it play out and determine whether or not it might be useful before bounding to the next one.
He was several stones into this when he stopped, sitting before one. "Tian Yue...?" Sosiqui "What is it?" Tian Yue had been studying the stones on the other side of the canal, the surface of which had been cracked and crazed. He lofted himself over the canal with a flight-assisted leap and landed in front of the stone...A cat-tailed female and dragon enter a Tree that does not fit onto the surface of the stone and leave from it, traveling across the surface to a likeness of the Chrysalis. Rings and chains like a spider's quarry snare the egg. A man deploys his aura.
Four figures appear beneath a caryatid, and a city grows out from around it. They force lotuses into the mouths of the people around them. A procession follows them to the bound egg and start to worship.
Four gods, marked by harp, sun, bone crown, and hunting knife come together with small stars, but stand there doing nothing more.
A quill, a rat and an atom join together. They take tokens of the firebird and the Mother.
A spread of gods flee from the center of the panel towards three objects: jesses, a glaive, and shears.
Pilgrimages of servants and young gods walk among ruins and seem to gather small followings like tails.
A great ritual then is shown, many gods gathered around the bound Chrysalis. They seem to be taking varied actions.
The Chrysalis shifts, and the sides of it push open like a thing pushing out from within the bud of a flower. It is not the beast of other panels, but a bound man that steps out.
The stone finishes its tale and goes blank."Zhijian..." Tian Yue breathed, his heart in his throat. Meepfur Zhijian's response was somewhat less sedate than Tian Yue's; he leapt, springing a circle around his brother before stopping only to wind around him and stare again at the stone. Even then, he wiggled as he clung to the Worldshield, unable to completely contain himself. There were no words for his joy - only a rumbling purr that at times wavered and gave way to something more akin to a dog's excited whine. Sosiqui "We can... we can fix it. We can do it!!" Tian Yue clung to his brother, reeling as he watched the fate-stone pick up again from the beginning and scroll through its tale again. "Look, look... oh, stars... there, at the beginning, that is surely Jin Huang seeking the Manacles... with... is that Phaedra?" He blinked at that; certainly not the traveling companion he would have selected, but... well. If she was useful in saving the world, then she was welcome to it.
"And they surely retrieve the Manacles, there, and bind... and there, that... Zhiji, I think that's me!" He reached out and tapped the stone as the man unfurling Power appeared. He would play a part... oh, thank you, my Lord.
"The others... I do not recognize the city... lotuses?" His brow furrowed in thought. "Harp, sun, bone crown, and knife... ah, surely Music, Light, Underworld and Hunt on their quest to reunite the Consort..." But that seemed to go nowhere, and he sighed a bit. Echo would not like that.
"The quill, perhaps Knowledge? I do not mark the rat nor atom sigil, myself... firebird, Rebirth? And Gaia, surely..." That bit made very little sense to him, but he filed it away mentally and moved on. "Gods, seeking... the Weapons, those most be the weapons! But only three... and there, gods and Aoidei... the mortals, yes, we must gather them! And then... a ritual... and then...." He squeezed Zhijian a little tighter. "That is not the Beast. Oh, my Lord..." Meepfur While somewhat jealous that he was not featured, Zhijian was too full of glee to be bothered. His tail lashed behind him, and his wiggling turned to more of a quiver. He half-listened to Tian Yue think aloud, hardly able to concentrate at all.
"Rat may be Sh'khin," he said after a moment, "Plague. He mentioned working with Gianfar, trying to make some kind of vaccination against Void."
"We need to go back, tell everyone - the noticeboard!" Where before he had found the noticeboard a droll idea, now he had a reason to like it. They could write what they'd seen, and everyone would not only know, but know who had found it: Ying Long and Tien Lung. Sosiqui "Yes, yes, we must..." Tian Yue took a deep breath to try and steady himself. "No... you should go. Carry this news, and swiftly. I will remain here for a time. Perhaps there are other stones that contain more answers... or clues as to where the Weapons can be found." The tale of Plague was interesting, and Tian Yue mentally marked it as a possibility. "But this information must be spread among the gods as quickly as possible, the aspects identified and set in motion..." He was dizzy. Meepfur Zhijian nodded. Last time, he had stayed behind, but this time it would be Tian Yue. He hugged his brother tightly around the waist, rubbing his cheek against him in a parting gesture. "Be safe, and I will find as many as I can." Sosiqui "Go... carry the news of the salvation of the world," Tian Yue said, trembling a bit in disbelief and joy.
They had the plan. Now all they had to do is decipher it... and succeed.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:27 pm
Breathing Ancient Air I: Hope
Tian Yue barely knew what to do with himself... he trailed his brother back to the errais and wished him well before Zhijian mounted Shanti and the pair vanished. The news was good? Gringolet asked, with a hopeful perk of his ears.
"Very," Tian Yue confirmed, with a wag of his tail. "We must simply decipher what the stone displayed and put it into motion... and then the world will be saved."
Gringolet whuffled and danced backwards. Praise be to Dragons, then!
"And I am going to look around here a bit more, to try and see if I can unearth any more information," Tian Yue explained, with a nod and a smile. "You may wait here, if you like, or follow me."
I will follow, the erras said at once, and moved a little closer to the god - obviously a little nervous because of the 'bigness' of the Pantheon City, and just as obviously trying not to appear so.
"Let us go, then." Tian Yue walked briskly through the Throne Room and came to the edge of the stairs, looking out over the Pantheon City below - but this time, with his heart full of hope. Surely there were more answers, maybe even one of the priceless Weapons, or other precious things that they didn't know they needed.
Perhaps not. But he had to look. Looking here had already given them so much. His heart was beating hard in his chest. They were in a race against time now, perhaps more than ever - but they knew they could succeed, surely, if only they tried. Gather belief like comet-trails, protect the mortals. Fill the sky with stars.
Carry forth the news of the salvation of the world.
He leapt downwards, half-floating, and began his descent into the unknown.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:28 pm
Breathing Ancient Air II: The Sudden Edge
But where to begin?
Gringolet trailed Tian Yue as the Dragon King padded through the city, giving everything he passed a speculative look. The fate-stones he passed displayed either garbled visions, impossible to decipher, or were cracked and broken. Disappointed, Tian Yue instead peered into tumbledown temples and former dwellings of glory. There were fewer artifacts left behind than he would have expected; perhaps the faithful Aoidei had fled with their masters' treasures, as Toki had. The more fragile things may have simply decayed, though there was no scent of putrid rot anywhere. Only soft, nose-tickling dust and emptiness.
Thus, Tian Yue was taken completely by surprised when the house he was exploring suddenly ceased to exist.
The walls and floors had crumbled away, that much was clear, but so had the ground. Sky was all that remained, colors streaked here and there, but even that felt oddly empty, carried no sense of up or down. A pebble thrown into it vanished immediately; a test shout proved that it ate sound just as easily.
Tian Yue looked at it, and shivered. What is it? He didn't get a sense of malevolence from it, but the absence was disturbing in its own way.
He quickly padded back down to the street, where Gringolet waited. "There's a gap. In the world," he informed the erras.
A strange sky? There is such down this street, too. See... The stallion trotted down into an alleyway, which also abruptly ended as the house had. Something was here and now is not.
"Is it the same as the nothingness you travel?"
The erras tilted his head back and forth, studying the crumbled edge. No... but I can feel a connection there. This half yearns for what was taken from it, but it is not powerful enough to attract it anymore. He stamped one hoof on the road.
"What was taken..." Tian Yue frowned. "This city broke into pieces; some of it fell into different places in the mortal planes, like The'ta'naa. Do you suppose...?"
Gringolet's ears angled forward. It may be. What is here misses what is gone.
"Gringolet..."
I think I could follow the connection, the erras said, immediately. It is not the same as where errais run, but it is not entirely different, either.
Tian Yue nodded. "In that case... let us try. There may be something important left behind. Or someone." He mounted the erras again, then stroked the stallion's neck when he was settled. "Let's go."
Hold on, Gringolet warned, then leapt forward-
light light no, not light, DOWN- the sky was blinding, impossible to understand, absurdly like drowning in streaky paint-
-but the erras' staggering movements were clearly purposeful, not random, there was a path, the faint desire for wholeness, for what was lost-
It hit them hard, at the end, both the stone - with an impact that made Tian Yue nearly fall off and made Gringolet yelp in pain - and the heat, a staggering, wet and foul thing that drenched them instantly. The erras skidded and would have fallen over had Tian Yue not leapt off of his back, slipping himself into something wet and smelly. But with his weight removed, Gringolet was able to keep his feet, and came to a halt trembling, one leg held up gingerly.
We are here, wherever that is-
"A swamp," Tian Yue said, staring. "One hell of a swamp."
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:28 pm
Breathing Ancient Air III: Beyond the Beyond
The Pantheon City was there, sure enough - but only just. Lichen, moss, and vines clung everywhere, covering nearly every surface, and what greenery didn't obscure, mud and slime did. Clouds of flesh-biting insects quickly realized there was new prey, bringing Tian Yue to shift into dragon-form with an angry bellow, daring them to chew on his scales. Gringolet, however, was not so lucky, and stood with his tail swishing violently back and forth, twitching his skin to try and get them off.
"Go back," Tian Yue ordered, swishing the fanned tip of his own tail over the erras' head to try and shoo the midges away. "I am certain there is a Gate here; I can use my password to return. The Pantheon should be safe. Can you move?"
I can; my leg is sore, but it will allow me to move... are you sure, Lord?
"Yes," Tian Yue said, firmly. "Go."
The erras nodded, then trotted forward and vanished abruptly around the corner, leaving a cloud of confused insects behind. Tian Yue swatted at them again, for spite, then rumbled and settled, his ears lifting as he turned to examine the area more thoroughly. The swamp had tried to swallow the city, but it had not entirely succeeded; it was mostly smothered, but not entirely.
The dragon padded forward, carefully, wrinkling his nose at the pools of stagnant water and muck that quickly clung to his feet. He lifted his tail to try and keep it clean, in vain. Here and there gnarled and moss-draped trees had found purchase, stretching their limbs high above the ruin of the gods; he thought he saw fish in the pools, one or two at a time. Cries of birds or frogs ceased as the dragon approached, fearing the unknown predator.
And yet, even through the decay and slime, there was recognition. I had tea in that pavilion, he remembered, suddenly, as the line of a crumbled roof asserted itself from beneath a tangle of vines; for an instant there was a sharp memory of spiced liquid in his throat, on his tongue. Whose was it? Why can I remember the damned tea but not the one who served it?
The vines curled upward, prettily, and ended in a white flower with iridescent petals and a massively engorged base the size of a cantaloupe. That was new. Curious, Tian Yue raised one claw and poked at it, only to have the soft flower-flesh give way and-
Laughter, a warm wind. Sunlight. Chimes-
-they were gone, all gone, why, why-
-falling-
-PAIN-
Tian Yue reared back and fell into a fetid pool, his head pounding as the flower's pollen drifted down around him, dusting him with a surprising blue shade. He focused with effort, then righted himself with a twist and a heave, shaking his head slowly.
What in the world had that been? Odd thoughts, memories, but not his; carried with them had been a sense of being small, two-legged, softly winged, devoted, Aoide, he realized.
And that last hit of final pain, the moment of death, had brought with it a phantom echo of being crushed. Tian Yue slid back to the vine-tangle and slashed through them with his claws. The vine that had borne the white flower twined underneath the fallen roof of the pavilion. He shoved with all his strength and managed to scoot the stone aside, just enough to see underneath.
The pale roots of the flower-vine were wrapped around a shape, so thickly that Tian Yue could not discern what was within the white filaments. He reached under with one forepaw and clawed at the roots until their core was revealed.
Bones.
Aoide bones, crushed by rock, and then this... this plant, this thing had wrapped roots around the corpse, eaten it up, and flowered with thought and memory trapped within the blossom, carried on the pollen.
The dragon shivered and withdrew. Experimentally, he leaned in to a patch of fallen pollen and inhaled; the moment the blue powder tickled his nose, a faint memory of sunlight and joy danced through his mind. It was nowhere near as strong as the initial assault from the flower had been.
"Rest in peace," Tian Yue murmured, tilting the stone slab back into place. He had been that fallen Aoide for a moment, felt the faithful creature's delight in service and the pain of death.
He paced backwards and away, shaken by the implications.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:29 pm
Breathing Ancient Air IV: Pale Petals
The iridescent memory-flowers were everywhere now, further into the ruined portion of city. At first Tian Yue shied away from them, afraid to bump a flower and become some long-dead being for a moment, echoing ancient memories back and forth in his mind.
But there was something somehow intoxicating about them, the way the light slid on the petals, the soft temptation of finding precious relics, ancient thoughts that just might hold something of value...
The dragon stopped by a vine and followed it, digging down to the roots, revealing the wrapped corpse below. Another Aoide, it seemed, or other Ageless... and that brought another thought that made him shiver. What if there were god corpses here? Zhijian's bones were in the Pantheon; could he, perhaps, bring one of these vines there and watch as the flower gorged itself on the past?
His tail twitched. The thought was both impossibly alluring and impossibly disgusting. He reached up with one claw and popped the flower, inhaling deeply as the pollen released-
war! swords, blood, the fury of battle, frenzy, intoxicating-
-plunder, delightful, spoils of war, a stream-
-there were too many of them-
-a sword, slicing, blade-
-not dead yet-
-rot, a face stretched corpse-thin, bones, broken smiles-
And then it let him go, and he shook his head slowly, dazed. A warrior, then, of some variety. Perhaps a member of the Crown's forces. Interesting... but ultimately unhelpful.
I cannot possibly listen to them all. There are far too many. The dragon sighed, stirring up a little more pollen that brought phantom war-cries to his ears, and a brief disorienting sensation of muscles tearing before a weapon he had never wielded before in his life. If only he knew which ones to hear... but that, too, would likely require research and other things he had no time to do. If they were indeed all Aoide and lesser beings, and the memories scattered if vivid impressions, then they wouldn't have anything pertinent anyway.
Fascinating, but I think it's time to go back. When I have more leisure, later, perhaps... Tian Yue picked his tail up out of sludge for the hundredth time and splashed over the broken street a bit further. The foliage was far thicker up ahead, twining around two massive, mountainous shapes nearly entirely smothered in greenery - the caryatid of this Gate, no doubt. It took him five minutes of scrambling and clawing to get his way through.
As he approached the Gate, he caught sight of something strange. Lying just beyond the two caryatid was a mass of white filaments, taller than he was, blocking the entrance to the Pantheon City like a wall. A prickle of unease ran up his spine, making his mane stand on end for a moment. What on earth is that? He padded closer, ears back, eyes narrowed.
Yet, as he approached, he realized the mound was in fact a mass of roots. He snorted at them and poked experimentally, then jumped on top of the pile. To his surprise, the root-mass stretched out to block more than just the Gate opening, a long, thick wall that went for a good hundred yards, if not more, to either side. Above him, the vines clinging to the caryatid and the walls hung thick with memory flowers - massive, swollen orbs that shone in the light, many times larger than the ones inside, most larger than his own head. A good dozen separate tangles of roots lay in front of the main mass; those vines sprouted much smaller flowers, like the ones he had already seen.
The dragon poked experimentally at the roots below his claws. They were much tougher than those around the other corpses, almost like steel wool. He bounced up and down, and got nothing for that effort but a faint organic groan.
Curious now, Tian Yue drew back and began digging at the roots in earnest, scraping away even though they bit at his paws. Tougher they may have been, but they were no match for a dragon's persistence. After ten minutes of hard work, the roots underneath Tian Yue's bulk suddenly gave way, dumping him rudely downwards.
There was muck underneath, thick and extremely unpleasant smelling, but it made for a soft landing. The dragon hissed and tried to get his bearings again. Above, the hole he had fallen through, the edges frayed... and arching beams holding everything up? The root-mass was hollow, like a hallway. There was metal hanging from a few beams, here and there...
Wait. They can't be beams. Those... those there look like... vertebrae...
He walked into the flower before he even realized it was there, and it released a fetid mass of pollen with an angry puff. Tian Yue was flooded with a sudden feeling of fear, guilt, exhaustion, hopelessness-
The dragon roared and jerked backwards, flailing wildly at the pollen, a sudden terror in his eyes. He scrambled upward, kicking and biting, digging frantically at the roots above. Need sunlight, need daylight, need something, anything but this, anything but these-
Bones-
Dragon bones-
My...
bones...
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:30 pm
Breathing Ancient Air V: Dive Headlong
Tian Yue stood between the caryatid, stared at the root mass - no, at the corpse - and trembled violently. The decayed flower had still hit him with unmistakable emotions, along with a sense of the mind that had been their source.
Me... no, Shaiming...
A tear slipped unbidden down one side of his muzzle.
Zhijian died in the Pantheon. Jin Huang died in the roots of the Tree, below the City. I shouldn't be surprised to... to find...
But he was. Surprised, and terrified. Here he was, confronted with unmistakable proof of divine mortality, unmistakable proof of his own death... and all those thoughts of Shaiming friend, father, mentor that he thought he'd left behind. Weren't they one and the same now?
Weren't they?
Why do I think of him, now? Why don't I think of him as me, as I told Lucius? Did I believe it when I said it, then?
I don't know...
The memory-flowers hung innocently above him, temptation shining in white petals. Tian Yue took a hesitant step forward.
I could... I could know. I could find memory... these flowers, they must be so massive because they fed off the memories of a god's corpse... He swayed back and forth, slowly.
I doubt that all that you would find would be pleasant. Memory is unkind. Lucius' words on their last meeting echoed through his mind, followed by his own - If the only way to stop the future from being very short indeed is to dive headlong into that painful place, then I can do nothing less.
Oh, brave, brave words, dragon. It was one thing to say, and quite another to do. Tian Yue swallowed, hard.
"I damned myself, didn't I?" Nobody answered. He wondered if this counted as calling into the sky, if his words would reach Lucius' ears. If he wanted them to.
Tian Yue's own ears flicked so far back that they were nearly plastered against his neck, but he took a deep breath. There were so many flowers....
No. Not a big one. Not yet. A... yes, a smaller one, sprouting from one of the smaller piles. That would do. For a start. Tian Yue half-jumped, half-flew over his own corpse with a shudder, coming to land among the muck and matted roots on the other side. It was the work of a moment to rear up, select a small flower, and claw it open.
Let the pollen fall.
Breathe in....
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:31 pm
Breathing Ancient Air VI: The Last Barrier
His body was small, tiny, unexpectedly; even moreso than human shape; no, it was not his, but someone else's. Potent, powerful.
Someone else was weeping, grief tearing through her, body and soul.
"My Lord Shaiming," she cried, gasping sobs that shook her ribs and nearly broke her lungs with every heave. "My dear, sweet and beloved Lord..." All around, through tear-waved vision, were other Aoide, all weeping, all mourning.
All gathered around the vast, scaled expanse of Tien Lung's corpse.
There was no swamp why should there be a swamp?; the city seemed whole should it be otherwise? But still the corpse had rotted some; the scales were beginning to fall off, and all the Aoide carried herb-bags around their necks that blocked the smell of decay. Someone else caught a stray whiff and shuddered even more violently.
"W-when will it be over?" came a startlingly familiar voice. Someone else turned her head.
"Oh, Toki," she said, her voice breaking, "never."
There were no bunny ears atop his head, but the beginning of familiar nervous tics and twitches were visible on Toki's haggard face. He hugged himself, white hands rubbing his arms, then moved to embrace someone else. "I cannot... cannot bear it," he whispered, into her ear. "I shall go mad-"
"Then join us," she begged, grabbing his arm. "It is honor. It is sacrifice! Perhaps it will help..."
He pulled away, hard, fear in his face. "No! No... I cannot..." Toki swayed on his feet. "Someday, the Crown will..."
"Perhaps our sacrifice will bring someday sooner!"
"They tried that," Toki snapped, hands coming up to cover his ears. "They tried it, and it didn't work! You're cowards! All of you!"
Anger boiled up in someone else. "You are afraid to die!"
"Yes!" Toki screamed back. "I am! I am, I am, I am..." He shuddered, wings scraping against each other. "I am..."
"Then... then go." Someone else turned away. "Go, and leave us to our business."
There was no answer but the sound of wings flapping and a shadow overhead. Someone else sighed, raggedly. "Coward..."
"There is work to do," another voice reminded her, and she turned back to the work at hand. The Aoidei were delicately stripping the decaying flesh from their Lord's bones, setting the scales lovingly in the long cage of his ribs. Someone else reached for a strip of flesh, held it up to her mouth. Ate it, despite everything.
This went on for a very long time indeed, the memory stuttering, jumping about, then stabilizing again. Bones, white, clean now - and the Aoide decorating them with great chains and metal plates strung between the ribs, plates studded with Tien Lung's scales.
"A barrier, as He would have wanted," someone else whispered, reaching out one dark-skinned hand to chime the metal with one finger-flick.
"May His bones guard the Pantheon forever," came another reverent voice.
"It is finished. Let us join Him."
A feeling of deep relief flooded someone else, and she felt the coolness of metal in her hands, arched her back. "Let us... go."
Fluid, one movement, then a flower of pain - but it was at one remove, drowned by a sense of gratitude I don't have to live in a world without Him anymore, thank the Crown, blessings on Him-
And then there was nothing but darkness.
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