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 Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:54 am
...// Solo - From Then to Now At the advent of all that "world ending" business that had gone on, Llewellyn Hawthorn had been working at an up-and-coming genetics laboratory on Gaia called Coalescent Labs. There, he had been one of several researchers that worked in recombinant DNA - not just merging animal genes with those of other animals (or humans, for that matter) but also with those of various other substances. That was how Seven came about. That had been the start of the end, for his life.
When Seven came into the scene, Marie had left him. Not because the creature was vicious to everyone but him or that it tended to be distressingly, endlessly distructive - oh no. It was for a far more fundamental reason: Ed wasn't spending enough goddamned time with Marie! The fact that he and those working at Coalescent Labs had made such amazing strides in the field of recombinant DNA meant nothing to her...not even when he tried to explain that Seven wasn't just a flamingo mixed with some rare snowy-feline, but had properties from NEON insterted into it's genes!
Sure, scientists (mad or otherwise) had been splicing together creatures for years by then (sometimes with amazing results, othertimes with really horrific ones - Ed himself had been on both sides of that equation!) but as far as those working at Coalescent were aware, NONE had been able to merge elements in the same way. At least...none that had survived or lasted this long. Sure, there were "fairy tales" mentioned about a group of scientists and researchers that had managed to create miniature-sized humanoids based off of various elements....but there was no evidence to back such claims!
Mendels, indeed! Bah! Who needed such a fantasy when He, Llewellyn Edward Hawthorn had managed to combine a flamingo, a snow leopard and flourescent neon in one creature!
That Seven was batshit insane, violent and could barely be controlled was of no consequence to the scientist. Those were merely small issues that could be addressed at a later date; little things to iron-out in later "experiments" - glitches to be "refined" with each subsequent creature made!
But then...all hell had broken loose. Marie had left him. Coalescent Labs had...well, it had closed down because no-one would come in to work...then it had fallen to warring factions (mostly made up of differing ideaologies within the various fields of science and medicine that had been working together on the Elementals project...projects). Even he hadn't wanted to move, on some of those days - he who had never missed a single day of work that wasn't absolutely necessary (read: forced out of him by circumstances beyond his immediate control - like the emergency room visit necessitated by a minor heart-attack...or the time he had gotten bronchitis so severe his tonsils nearly burst) - and it had gotten only worse as the weeks rolled by.
So strange, to think that his life had been neat and ordered just a short time ago. Now it was in shambles, he was basically camping out and scavenging for those items that he could find to help him stay alive on a planet that had devolved into a pre-revolutionary state. No cars rolled down streets or highways, no lights guided pedestrians across great expanses of road safely. All was as still and empty as a ghost town from the 1800s. Electricity didn't work. Demons roamed the earth still - boy had that one been hard for him to accept! So pragmatic, and yet he'd basically been forced to accept the existence of demonic beings -- if it walked like a demon, talked like a demon and wanted to devour your face/eyes/soul like a demon...it was probably a goddamned demon!
It wasn't safe to go out after dark, no matter where you were or how safe you thought you might be -- doing so was a death trap, even if one was traveling within one of those roaming groups of humans that had formed. Ed just wasn't one for being pressed up against another person for eighteen plus hours of the day or night! He preferred to be alone, no matter that it was more dangerous than being with a group...or that he might have had an easier time of navigating the newly-nearly destroyed Gaia. Although he had very few martial skills, Ed was able to keep himself fairly safe; he was a brilliant man with a brilliant mind and many situations could be navigated more easily with a mind that worked quickly, the way that his did. So he stayed alive. Sometimes he didn't get enough to eat, sometimes he got injured...but mostly he was fine; and absolutely he was happier alone than if he'd been in a large group with others, regardless of those hardships faced daily in the wake of those strange, strange weeks.
One of the worst things was the lack of a sky. He wasn't sure when or where precisely the heavens had gone, but it surely wasn't there. It was disconcerting, distressing...it caused a great many mortals to feel extremely uncomfortable - even he wasn't immune. Trying to figure out just what was going on, just what was happening all around them (and yes, what had happened too) prompted the scientist to get off his a**, pack what belongings he had that were of use, seek out further useful items and then get moving. Surely he had no idea which way to go...but some strange inner sense seemed to point him ever westward. Llewellyn didn't believe there was a reason that going in such a direction seemed to call to him, to pull him - he figured it was some sort of lower-brain instinct or just a preference he'd developed over time subconsciously.
Subconscous or not, instinct or not, he travelled for days on end; scavenging and scraping by in a world slowly healing from weeks of endless rape. Along the way he bumped into and met various people and creatures, but no matter how genuine the invitation, he would keep his own company and persist in travelling only with himself and Seven. The experimental creature was never far from his sight or sound. Seven hunted small creatures for meat - sometimes he would partake, if he were feeling particularly famished. Being a vegetarian of any sort was extremely difficult; rare was it that one could afford to choose what one was going to eat. If you could eat it, you should eat it - there was no telling when your next meal would come...IF it was going to come at all. The first time he ate meat, he vomited and was violently ill for hours. After that, he tried to fight his body, to force it to return to being further omnivorous, as it had once been years past.
Once, late in his travels he allowed an odd-but-quiet person to join him briefly. A younger man, one that had claimed to have some knowledge with building things - a useful skill and one that he thought he could use. So Jared Danner was grudgingly accepted into Hawthorn's "camp", the two men and creature travelling and scavenging for useable foodstuffs and items often. Things were going pretty well until the idiot stupidly ate something he wasn't certain was edible - hunger sometimes made men go mad, do crazy or irresponsible things. Jared died a horrible death from some unknown toxin or group of toxins. No way of knowing without a laboratory array and an autopsy; neither things that were within Llewellyn's powers at that time, so he simply buried the man under a load of heavy rocks to keep predators away (trying to be respectful or something), said some words and then continued along his way. Seven, who had liked Jared much more, left a few of its neon-infused pink feathers wedged into the rocks covering the corpse before it would leave the gravesite.
After much time, when he and Seven arrived in a strange-feeling clearing in the middle of a small forest, Llewellyn decided that they would settle for a bit. It was secluded, there was water fairly near...and something about this place drew him there, wanted to keep him there, it seemed. Okay, seemed wasn't really the word...once he and Seven arrived, Hawthorn was not able to leave. For short foraging trips, yeah...but anything longer than that and he'd find himself wandering aimlessly, lost or whatever else until he was back in the clearing where they'd started out from.
"What the ******** is going on here?" He asked, many times but to no avail. Seven merely cocked it's head and hissed at him; answers - whatever they may be - would have to wait. Between the creature and him, they were not forthcoming any time soon.Word Count; 1,569
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:05 am
...// PRP - Gaining a Parasite Glyph was... perplexed. Standing in a swath of newly charred forest, one hand pressed against a dying tree that even now made him ache, Forest looked on with confusion, and irritation. A forest fire had burned through the area but there had been no storms, and he'd passed the Grove on the way to Pantheon some time ago... it was close enough the lush and vibrant effects of Creation would keep it hale... too moist for fire to have raged so awfully. No, it was a created fire and it hurt like a bruise to the ribs. Inhaling, he closed his eyes and stepped forward, following his ears as the woods parted around him, allowing him to move without fear of tripping or stumbling. There was life here still, thankfully, but it was cowed, fearful in the aftermath of the fire.
Clicking his tongue when he caught site of a deer lingering on the edge of the brush, he smiled at it but it flipped its tail up and dashed away like a bolt of lightning. Forest sighed and quirked his lips, drawing his sleeves up his arms as he cast his senses about, feeling for the living things in the ground, uncharred by the fire. Nothing to it but to grow again, really. The burned material would feed the new, a cycle never ending.
A few days passed and the swathe of burned grove was covered in a great number of seedlings, tiny yet, but impossible to have occurred without help. And at the far end, closest to the line of trees, Glyph was seated, eyes closed as he called the area before him to grow.
A cranky older mortal had missed the intial visitation by the Forest God, but then he didn't much care about gods, goddesses or anything else but science. Hawthorn narrowed his eyes as the light outside hit them, blinding him momentarily - that was new. One minute there was nothing up there and the next...something. Definitely not anything that had been in scientific texts before all the craziness happened.
"Bah, Seven - get of the way." He kicked at his creation, a strange creature that hissed and clacked at him before slinking off to find something to eat - perhaps some of the newgreen shoots that had recently - unexpectedly - appeared in the space that he had accidentally set on fire. The mortal, dressed in ratty khakis that had seen better days, a formerly white (now dingy grey and stained) wife-beater undershirt and an overshirt with loud hawaiian style print (also ratty), shifted the large-but-empty bag he'd been carrying. Today was a day to scavenge. This misbegotten world had nothing to offer him unless he was willing to turn hyena to survive; and he had. Hawthorn was not going to die, ******** that.
With scavenged hiking boots on his feet, the man started towards the previously destroyed forest for another look-see; perhaps there were no more labs, no more scientists than he himself...but curiousity could not be denied - the man needed to inspect this interesting turn of events...even more interesting was that today there seemed to be this weird larger thing at the edge that hadn't been there before. "Let's check this out, shall we."
Talking to himself, as usual; he headed towards Glyph, not knowing that today he would change his life forever.
He heard the crunch of sticks beneath booted feet and the complaint of a sapling that had been trod on as the mortal approached. Turning slightly, his face a profile as he looked over, "Mind the young ones, please. Step on them when they're big enough to step back." Whether or not a tree would step back was another matter entirely, but after his visit to the Night Elves, Glyph wondered if he might not encourage an Ancient or two come tend these lands in his absence. Wardens like the mortals he'd so named on the way in.
The man was a scruffy looking mortal, it seemed, and curious. Glyph smiled, shifted a little and revealed the carpet of grass and moss that had grown up around him, the little seedlings that trembled before him as they poked out of the dirt. "Hello! You look like you're on a mission. What're you looking for?" Glyph idly pushed his toes into the moist, cool dirt his legs covered in the dirt, ash, and forest litter of his efforts. Brushing his hands on said trousers, the god waved. His leaves were shifting colours as Autumn took these woods, echoing the seasons of the area. Soon they would fall and he'd grow sluggish but he rather hoped Winter would stay her touch a little this year, there was so much to do and a good frost would be deadly to these new shoots.
He looked back to his project and swept a hand out, watching as most of the tiny seedlings pushed their first leaf free of the soil and bathed themselves in the light of the sky-returned.
Hawthorn wasn't expecting to hear anything but himself or Seven, so when Glyph spoke, addressing him, the older man jumped and shouted in surprise. "What the hell--" He looked over at the creature that had addressed him - told him not to step on the 'young ones', whatever those are. "Young ones? Who the hell are you and what the hell are you talking about?"
He narrowed his eyes at the person that had addressed him, altering his stance and trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe the harshness of his earlier outburst was slightly over blown. "Sorry, yes. I'm a little strained. The world ending and all that." Hawthorne straightened and offered his hand out to this weird-a** creature that seemed to like plants a lot. "Dr. Hawthorne. at least, I was. What did you mean by 'the young ones?"
Glyph blinked as the man shouted and laughed, amused. He didn't think himself capable of startling anyone! "Well, that's good news at least! The world isn't ending anymore." Forest smiled broadly, glad to be the bearer of good news, "We managed to avert that disaster, also managed to reinstate a sky. It's coming back together, bit by bit." He'd gestured at the sky above then, "And to answer the question~ The young ones are the sapling and the shoots, I've spent most of the past few days getting them to grow so it'd be appreciated if you watch where you step. The woods won't recover if they all get trampled before they're got a chance to establish themselves." Glyph spoke fondly of the woods and the baby trees, and realized belatedly that he'd forgotten his introductions.
"Oh! And I'm Glyph, or Forest, it's up to you. Silvim Illustirre, from the Pantheon.... you know you're only a few days' journey from there right?" He tilted his head to the side, curious. "And... by doctor, you mean a healer?" Glyph had little experience with science - his host and his comrades came mostly from more magically inclined places. He glanced around, "I can easily help you find medicinal herbs if that's what you're looking for."
"It's not? That is good news...I was thinking it was another lull before the real fall-out began." The mortal looked down at all the little green things, growing...and then up again at the newly made sky-like thing. "How wierd...so, you're telling me that gods saved the world....and now everything is fine and you're trying to get this forest to regrow?"
Seriously, what ******** world had he stepped into? What happened to his wonderful, ordered existence? "So, Glyph...this Pantheon place is where all you gods hang out and do whatever it is you do?" Really. He thought he might want to stay entirely away from this place. "Sort of. I was a biochemical engineer working in genetics. I created s**t for a living, not really a healer sort of role." But..medicinal herbs would probably keep them in good stead...since the world had gone crazy, he actually had been doing a great deal of 'general practice' bull - setting broken bones and the like. "I'm more looking for things I can use as a chemist, but that would help. It's been difficult to find anything worth scavenging...especially food and medicines."
"Came close," Glyph replied somberly as he shook his head, "We lost Universe in the process and the sky fell. But yes, Gods saved the worlds not just this one, but all that Is. All the worlds. And right now that's what I'm doing, yes, this wasn't burned the last I was here, and the area's too moist for a fire to have occurred naturally so some hooligan decided it was a good idea to hurt my woods." Glyph let out a puff of irritation, "I don't think they realize what gets burned just becomes fodder for the next generation though. It's good for the soil. Not everything's fine, not yet, but we're working on it. Like I said, piece by piece." Glyph didn't think he needed to go into detail about the Grigori - most of the details of which he didn't fully know himself. He glanced sidelong at Hawthorne, pleased that the concept of Gods was not new to him, "Have you met some of the others then? Or are you a man of faith already?"
Glyph laughed, "Actually, it's a hub of sorts. I don't spend a lot of time there - some do, some don't. It's where the Throne is. What's a biochemical engineer?" He asked, interest piqued. It sounded complex, "Science might like you... I'm sure Dagny's around if you look for her." Forest clapped his hands together and stood at that admission and beamed, "Well! You're talking to the right person! These woods, and every Forest beyond, are my domain. What did you need? Pain relief? Fever relief? Hallucinogens? Ah... but food first. Come with me." He started towards the edge of the forest, waited a moment, and walked in.
Worlds? Worlds?! Well, that was something very interesting to know...definitely worth the consideration he would no doubt be giving it in the days to come. "Oh...yeah, that would be my fault. I was trying to start a fire to cook some rats that I trapped, using some of the chemicals from inside that old lab. It should have been perfect..I'm not sure what went wrong..but there was an explosion and the whole place caught on fire." He shrugged a little; it still bothered him that the calculations had been incorrect...not since graduation in junior high had he made such blatant mistakes.
"You're one of the only...I've come across one other person in my travels. He died from some sort of toxin ingested on his travels." As for the rest...and what a biochemical engineer was, the scientist would explain how he had taken dna, rna and other building blocks of a microscopic sort to create life. He talked while Glyph lead him around the forest to find plant matter that was edible, ingestible and otherwise useful to a human.
"Flint and tinder works just as well to cook rats..." Glyph had replied with a disapproving frown, trying to figure out why chemicals would be needed for such a simple task. He listened as the other explained his craft, trying to follow along but not entirely understanding the concepts. His expertise was in the growing things, the green and earthy things, not in tiny double helixes and unzipping and zipping things up. As they walked, the forest eased around them, making the travel both swift and pleasant. Every so often Glyph would stop and select fruits or roots or nuts that were good to eat, pointed out things good for teas, or poultices or the weaving of bandages from fibres. The forest was full of sustenance and when his arms were full Glyph turned back to his newly acquired friend and offered a bright smile, "Are you sure you were looking in the right places? There's been no trouble finding food here... if you want meat, you'll have to trap that yourself, calling a deer to the slaughter would hardly be fair."
Not that it was any of this god-creature's business, but that thought had never even occurred to him...which was odd, because typically he was a rational man; definitely not the sort that managed to burn down massive chunks of foliage just to char one pitiful meal. What the hell was happening to him? "Yes, well." And that was all he said for a few long moments before adding in one last quip, "The wood was too soaked to take flame without an accelarant. Unfortunately I didn't account fully for wind shear, or I wouldn't be having a conversation with someone that claims to be the god of plants, now would I?"
Even so, the geneticist would end up having spent the better part of his morning with Forest...who had absolutely no trouble in finding edible roughage in places that he'd already looked! It was bloody frustrating and the scientist could feel himself getting more and more agitated about things as they went along; the only good part of the morning he could fathom was that the pack about his shoulders was getting quite full. "I can live without meat, for now."
Oh yes, he was quite fine without meat so long as he had nuts and tubers to provide good protein...too bad he didn't have some B12 or fish oil to aid his brain functions. That was quite disturbing...for a man that prided himself on being very self sufficient to suddenly find that his own brain seemed to be failing him...well, it just wasn't pretty to contemplate. At all. "Well, thank you, I think. I'm not sure how I managed to overlook so many edible fruits and nuts, but I think perhaps this world ending event you claim has been averted had a great deal to do with it. My brain must be turning to mush." The man spoke these words with a sour expression on his weathered face.
"By the way, Plants is someone else," Glyph corrected with a smile as he padded over to a comfortable looking hollow and flopped down without ceremony, content to lounge in the grasses, "I'm Forest, not Plants, slightly different." The mortal's agitation worried him a little and he leaned back, wiggling his toes thoughtfully, "Are you alright? And it's not that you've overlooked them, we're a good eight hours' walk from the scorched grove. I doubt your foraging would have struck so close to the wood's heart. The edges are still recovering... people are still wary of venturing too far in, sadly enough, as demons still roam."
He gave a shrug and looked to the canopy above, "Gehenna, the event, killed a great deal of things. But as I grow in power, I'm better able to rejuvenate my realms, reclaim lost spaces as well." Glyph gazed at the other out of the corner of his eye, "I hardly think your brain is mush, sir. I was struck blind when the first wave of Gehenna crashed across the realms, others were dazed, some killed, you may still be recovering from that."
"Ah, is that so?" The geneticist chuckled a bit, not really understanding the differences in plant and forest 'gods' but willing to capitulate and call this odd fellow "Forest" if that was what pleased him. Unfortunately Llewellyn had little available that pleased him, what with his continued 'altered' state - so different from the calm, cool-headed self he was used to, that he had been born with. "Even so, we've journeyed places I have been...found things that I did not find on my own. I think this...Gehenna you speak of has scrambled something in my head."
Taking one of their gathered fruits from his heavy sack so that he might eat it as he sat with this strange 'god' of the Forest. "That's...not very comforting, but thanks for trying. My mind is failing me - whatever the reasons, I do not like it!"
"Failing? As in a disease of some sort? Stay away from Plague then. And Famine, come to think of it. They'd probably delight in playing with you." Glyph bit his lower lip, "A malady of the mind... I don't know who might help with that. One of the Aoidei perhaps. You're a doctor, is there a way of treating your symptoms or curing your ailment?" Forest was no healer, new very little of that profession and it was evident from his voice he felt bad about being less then helpful.
With a look that plainly said he could barely believe what he was hearing, Llewellyn listened to the Forest god naming off biblical scourges. "Famine? Plague?" And what the hell was an 'aoide'? "Without proper facilities and diagnostic physicians...I don't see how. As I said, I am not a doctor so much as a researcher...my experience in practical medicine is limited." Broken arm? Yeah, he could recall how to set one, fix it so that it healed straight and true...but a broken mind? That was entirely outside of anything he could manage, even with the appropriate facilities.
"Famine is Bazyli and Plague goes by the name of... Shkin? Shikn? Something like that. My peers, for better or worse." Glyph was finding himself amused by the other's double takes and arched a brow, "Perhaps you should come to the Pantheon, meet the others. Someone may be able to help you. I'd at least try to find Dagny - Science - as she may be able to work something out for you. I don't really speak to her, however, so I've no idea where to find her. "What have you been researching here?"
The man shook his head slowly; so many names and...he didn't really believe that there were these god-creatures running around under supposed banners like "famine" or "plague" or "science", "plant" and - for all he knew - "chickenfeet"! "You have some mighty strange peers" But did he want to go to this pantheon and meet more of them? "No research...I ended up here as the world was ending. I thought my travels were random, but perhaps not. A goddess of Science? Do you not find that ironic?"
He took several bites of the fruit, eyes dark and far away; "No. I don't think I can leave. Something keeps pulling me here. I have tried to leave twice, but always...something happens."
"Perhaps," Glyph mulled the comment over and shrugged, "Is there reason to find Science ironic? Without her, there would be no science, just as without me there would be no forests."
At that, Glyph sat up a little, curiousity catching at him once more, "Oh? What happens? Do you feel called somewhere? What happens when you try to leave?"
"I find it ironic that mythos-based deities would have among their number one aligned with the very thing that could disprove their very existence." Meaning, of course, that science and magic rarely went hand in hand; usually one was trying to disprove the other (or simply make the other look cheeky and founded by crack pots and snake-oil salesmen). For a moment, the geneticist's expression shifted; the foggy torpor that had couched this particular mortal lifting briefly so that the mind behind the man shone forth as clearly as it would have prior to Gehenna. "Scientific fields usually disprove any and all claims of "magical origin", that's all."
As the Glyph straightened, there was an almost visible haze that took over the man as he tried to recall the things that happened when he attempted to leave the area. "I don't remember all of it, but I came over this way during that lull...and I've been here ever since." Back in the beginning he hadn't thought it safe enough to leave the place he'd made for himself in the abandoned laboratory. "Not sure, but if I try to walk out of here, I find myself confused. I end up returning here...eventually, I stopped trying to leave." Here he shrugged, "As long as I know I'm returning, I can go pretty far - I'm here with you, right? But if I try to stay away, back I find myself." Sometimes, he didn't even know how the hell he had returned, only that he had.
Glyph shrugged, "Magic's different. You can't disprove what Is, the forest you nearly, for example. It had to have started somewhere, somewhen, didn't it?" He smiled, unconcerned with the other's lack of belief - magic was very different then the primal mana that touched everything. Even the most cyncical of people felt the power of nature and creation at some point in their life.
Glyph arced a brow at that, "Either someone's somehow locked you to the location or there's something here that's acting somewhat like a magnet. Where, exactly, do you keep returning to? Wherever you got the stuff to burn my woods, I assuming."
Edward's brow drew together in a thoughtful manner - though he was clearly a skeptic, he was also clearly a learned person and more than willing to listen to other opinions and information. Glyph was correct on two points: even he had felt the awe and power of creation within the blooming nature around him...and that he kept being drawn back to the part(s) of the forest that he'd accidentally burned down.
Yes well...I see your point but I still find it..." He waved his hands a bit and then shrugged, moving onto the next part because that was far more interesting (to him) and ultimately more pertinent to his ever escaping from this loop he'd been stuck within! "Not where I got the stuff, but near it...within the forest, actually. It's weird and annoying and I'm at the point where I've got less of a life now than I had back when the world was ending."
"Within the forest?" Glyph repeated, turning to regard the charred expanse, lifting a brow, "You chose to burn the stand down in search of it?" He didn't sound particularly happy at that thought and sighed, shaking his head, "You can feel its presence then? Which direction? Further into the woods?"
He wasn't giving any explanations as he turned to leave, gesturing for Edward to follow him, "Do you have anything else that will burn the forest?" The question was a tad bit pointed, encouraging the scientist not to lie.
"Not quite. That was completely an accident. Mostly. Whatever was affecting the world to make it so...harsh, did something to my calculations on the amounts of accelerant needed and it ended up burning down a large chunk of the forest here. It had nothing to do with my wanting to find whatever was keeping me here."
Truly, it didn't. Though now he was kind of pleased with himself for having done so - simply because the idea to go and look for something solid that was holding him in place would be so much easier with all the foliage burnt back! The mortal followed the Forest God, noting his sharp tone but shrugging to himself - nothing he could do about that now. "Yes, actually. I have a great deal of things that if mixed could cause quite the conflagration. However, I have no plans to mix them in this manner." There, he could be snarky too! Ha!
But snarking or sniping back and forth wasn't going to help either of them, so Edward dropped the attitude. "Burning the plants that had been providing me with food really wasn't my intention."
The path Forest followed seemed easy and simple, but as Edward followed after him, the ground seemed to be pitted and choked with charred roots and foliage, making progress difficult. Stopping a few meters into the woods, Glyph turned and regarded the other, the frown evening out into a neutral expression as the scientist pseudo-apologized. "Do not do it again, in any case. It would be a bad idea. I feel the injury you created here so do keep in mind that not everything as simple as what is seen."
The path before Edward opened up then and Glyph smiled, gesturing, "Come, which way?" Displeased though he might be, and aching from the burns of the clearing, Forest thought it best to get the other his anchor and have it out of his woods so the scientist wouldn't accidentally burn anything else down.
What more did this tree-bearing Forest freak want from him? Edward wisely kept his scathing thoughts to himself, prefering to not cause any further strife between the two of them...especially not when this was one of the first times he'd seen or met someone else in the longest time. Someone that could actually help him to figure out what the hell was going on, no less! "Wasn't planning on it, but I'll keep that in mind." Though the words themselves could have been taken harshly, the tone wasn't disrespectful - just words spoken honestly - the thought that Glyph felt the damage done during his accidental razing was sobering.
So the gods were more than just figureheads of their respective 'realm', huh? The pony-tailed older man frowned to himself as his quick mind caught on and took the next logical step in that train of thought: The Gods were their realm. Glyph was Forest - all Forests. He must have felt it deeply when people were raping the Amazonian Rainforest for lumber (something that he himself found disgusting - there were so many unexplored avenues there! So many species and scientific discoveries that needed to be found! And assholes logged it for some rich b***h's new mansion. Bleh.
"I think..." He closed his eyes and let that undercurrent of pull guide him - two steps to the left....one to the right...and then he was back towards the left; moving past Glyph with purpose until he came to a series of charred tree trunks and low-growing (well, at one point it had been growing!) shrubberies. "This is it. Always around here, for whatever bloody reason."
Glyph remained where he was, easing Edward's steps so that he didn't trip on anything while he wandered around with his eyes closed. He too turned his attention to his other senses, feeling for mana or power and felt something tickle against his awareness... slight, hard to identify. Following after the mortal, he stopped just behind him and peered at the shrubbery for a moment then crouched to begin looking. The dense foliage and reaching, sharp points didn't seem to catch at anything on Glyph, creating an optical illusion for anyone watching. Half buried in the charred greenery, Glyph reached a hand back and waved Edward forward, his voice muffled as he crawled in further, still untouched by the brambles and sticks, "Start looking - nothing will hurt you, I promise. I felt something here too..."
The mortal moved closer to Glyph, peering into the charred waste with narrowed, speculative eyes. He didn't see anything, but that didn't mean there wasn't something waiting there for him. Taking the Lord of the Forest at his word, Edward stepped forward even more, crouching down to fish around in the remains of the shrubberies. He wasn't searching long before he felt something long, hard and rock-like brush against his fingers, burning like cold-fire; he jerked his hand back and growled down at the offending item.
"I found something, that's for sure." The mortal swore under his breath and pushed things away so that he could make a visual examination of the burn-making article. It was smooth, round and had the look of dry ice...without the tell-tale smoke that accompanied dry-ice outside a freezer. "What the hell is that?" As he reached down again, moving a really weird-looking rock from atop the stranger rock, only to find that said weird-looking rock seemed stuck.
Edward shook his hand, rising and cursing more. "What the hell is wrong with this thing!? I've never seen anything so hideou--" Inside his head, a voice arose, pouting: 'I'm not hideous! Just a little over-cooked and that is your fault!' The mortal stared at the rock-twinkie attached to his hand and stared - it wasn't fused with him just yet, but it seemed to be...sort of...sinking. Into his flesh. Moving up his arm like a really weird rock-catapillar-burnt twinkie thing. Utter horror took over the man's face; his knees starting to give. "Ooooh...."
Glyph had his head down and was rummaging around, sweeping his hands over the ground when Edward jerked. Surprised, Forest looked up and blinked at the mortal, "Did something bite you?" When things were moved around, his attention focused on the rock wreathed with mana and he pursed his lips, "Oh, nevermind. I know--" It was too late.
Edward had already picked up the god stone and he could tell from the flaring of power the gem had found its host. He sighed, puffing out a breath as he dragged a hand across his forehead and left a dirty smear, "Well... I suppose it's late to tell you the stone of one of kin has been calling you, hn? We fell prey to our own shortcomings long ago... what was left of us was crystallized into gemstones... and you appear to have found one."
Reaching out, he touched the gem, found it warm and scorched and nodded, guessing from the mortal's expression he'd already been spoken to, "Who is it?" He rubbed his face again, knowing the mortal would probably blame him for the sacrifice he'd be forced to make now, and sat up.
The mortal glowered at Glyph; his quick mind putting together that perhaps Glyph had known that this might be the outcome of their searching - the more that came out of the Forest God's mouth, the more certain Edward was that he'd been duped into becoming a host to some ridiculous parasitical god. "You knew this might happen, didn't you?" Oh for the love of christ...
He began shaking his hand, his arm again, in a half-hearted attempt to get the disgusting-looking "gem" out of his flesh, but with this odd little voice sing-songing in his head...well, it just didn't seem likely that it was going anywhere. "Nowai, apparently." Edward's eyes threw daggers at Glyph - oh yes, he wholeheartedly blamed Forest for his entrapment. "How could you let this happen without telling me? Or a warning, at least?" It took him a minute to fish in his pack for a sharp blade; the man sat, face twisted in anger and disgust and utter rejection of what was happening. Five seconds later, he was trying to excise the charred twinkie from his flesh but all he got for his troubles was a bloody arm and pain....if anything, he seemed to cause the 'gem' to sink further into his right forearm until only the top of Failure's gem showed through the blood and flesh. Edward gave up trying to chop it out of his arm and wound a length of cloth around his arm to staunch the bleeding; he was fairly calm but was definitely on the edge.
Ears flicked back against his head in guilt and annoyance as Glyph watched Edward, "No, I didn't know what it was - I've never gone searching for one of our own before. I only felt something akin to my own power, faint and fuzzy. You grabbed your stone before I could explain and in your haste this is the outcome." He sighed, glaring right back at the mortal, "I would have liked to explain things to you and given you the choice, mortal but you robbed yourself of it. It is your failure, not mine."
It was clear by his tone that Glyph was not terribly impressed with Edward's blaming of his, "I understand your rejection, though..." He offered after a few moments, wincing as the mortal cut himself open and shuffled forward, "Don't do that... killing yourself isn't going to help anything, or anyone now is it?"
Either Edward was going to pass out from bloodloss or he was going to try murdering Forest, Glyph wasn't entirely sure as he crouched, and tried again, "Would you like me to explain?"
With a pale face dressed in a frown as stony as a mountain, Edward looked at Glyph as he crouched down, offering to explain things after having thrown the parasite-infection back in his face. As though he had any idea about god parasites and all this stupid bullshit! BAH!
But, he was starting to feel a bit faint...and at the prompting of a small voice inside his head where one hadn't been before, Edward's mouth opened and closed, the knife forgotten as he dumbly nodded his head. "I think...maybe you should." The words were a long time coming; slow and slightly slurred because while the mortal's will was weakened by his attempt to excise Failure, said god was taking advantage and locking itself into it's host deeply.
Booya.
He was tense as he waited, uncertain about that expression... and still partly mortal, he was still prone to physical damage from mundane things - he'd really rather not be stabbed in the chest, thank-you. When the answer finally came, Glyph relaxed and shuffled forward, easing that knife away and set it down away from Edward as he ripped his own shirt's bottom into a bandage, wrapping it tightly around the arm. Someone had told him pressure was good for wounds like this... he'd have to get Edward to a healer soon, regardless.
"Alright. I'll start at the beginning, The Gods faded, fell prey to our own foibles and ceased to be in the traditional sense. Ages passed and what was left of us was gathered into concentrated form - gemstones. In order to become restored, however, the life of a mortal is required to spark our own fires back into brilliance... but it cannot be just any mortal. A specific individual is often drawn to us and is the one who possesses those traits that will make us whole again, teach us as much as support us. As the deity grows in power, they consume the host and eventually take over - I have heard of exceptions to this rule but it is not common." He smiled gently, "In giving up yourself, you bring a part of Creation back into being and add a little bit of stability back into all that Is."
Resting there on the ground with Glyph kneeling beside him, helping to tend to the slowly weeping wounds he'd created on his arm, Edward Hawthorn felt...disconnected in a strangely vague-yet-not way. But he would be listening, and the only thing he said initially was "More pressure. I can't put enough on myself." before laying back so that his arm would be higher than his heart. That was his medical background in play.
The tale spun by Forest didn't impress the mortal scientist - whether or not he'd been 'hand picked' by the god-parasite didn't make the fact that he was going to lose his life and become someone wholly other than himself any easier for him to digest or accept. "I...see." What could he say? To Glyph? One of those that clearly had been someone else once, but was now a god? "Then I'm to die so that this...parasite might live again. I suppose there's nothing for it but to wait now."
Glyph did as he was told and applied more pressure, lifting the man's arm so he could rest the wrist on his knee as he worked, "Like this?"
When Edward called them parasites Glyph winced, his sure ministrations faltering briefly. He hadn't aimed to impress the other, merely inform... and that the mortal called him what Malh'reth had initially summed him up as stung, in part because of the insult, in part because he could not deny its truth. Instead of countering the comment, Forest spoke softly, gently, "I was called that by my own Host... parasite... do I strike you as a parasite?" He looked up, expression open and accepting even if he thought he knew the answer, "But... I gave Malh'reth his time, understood the injustice he felt at the situation... I am as I am now because of him and I am infitely grateful. All that he is influenced me, for good and for ill..."
Glyph was just talking now, speaking personally, his tone and worry and gratitude far more mortal then the story he'd given of the gods' deaths, "He wanted a choice, a choice that was stolen from him. Trapped in the stone as I was, my awareness was limited, a mere spark of life easily snuffed... I found out after that he had been tricked into taking his gem... into accepting me." Here, Glyph touched his chest, where the folds of the cloth fell away and revealed the stone set into his skin at the base of his throat, "I promised after that that if I ever had the opportunity again, that I would provide the choice and give full knowledge before a host took a gem... I am sorry I was unable to do so. You deserve the choice... I think part of our death was our lack of connection to mortals. Your belief is our bread and butter and arrogance on our part likely lead to our own starvation. We owe you as much as you owe us."
He sighed and continued his attempts to stop the bleeding, "So please accept my apology in this - it was not my intention. I had meant to help you find release from this place and nothing more." He frowned, earnestly worried, "... how deeply did you cut yourself?"
Edward seemed more inclined to listen to the more...raw version of Glyph's spiel about god-parasites and hosts and being taken over from inside out by whatever god had 'called' to him or whatever. "You don't look too far from the mash-up Seven is, but the fact remains that this process of 'rebirth' you gods go through is parasitical. I'm sure some find it a symbiotic relationship, but I - and your host, clearly - am not pleased nor honored by this developement. I've been trapped here for ages..after losing everything in some war started and ended by Gods...and now I'm going to lose the only thing I had left." His life. Edward's tone was bitter, but he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the concerned face of Forest...not wanting to see anything at all really. Just nothinh for a minute.
"I see." Gruffly, the mortal spoke two words; two words that had a whole world of words and meaning behind them. Could he really blame Glyph for not telling him before? Would it have changed anything? Probably not. If this was to happen...then it was damned well going to happen, wasn't it? "I will just have to resign myself as best I can." As for his forearm...well, he peered at it thoughtfully - the blood welling was slowing with the pressure and elevation; "Not too deeply, it's slowing now. Just a moment more and it will be fine...for a while, I guess." But he'd need a doctor or healer of some sort...how stupid of him to try to cut out the apparent bio-hazard dwelling in his arm.
Glyph shook his head, "I'm not yet myself... most of what you see is my Host's form. In time I will be myself." He gave a shrug at the statement of fact, "Not all are. Some are taken unwillingly and made into puppets others are embraced and welcomed or given their space. I feel, however, that you do not understand something..." He gestured at the sky, "When the sky disappeared and nothingness replaced it, it is because one of our own perished... the stuff that is space, the tissue between worlds and dimensions the very essence of the universe some mortals are obsessed with unravelling was lost. Anything that was in space is either destroyed or worse." His tone was factual, blunt, "If I were to perish, for example, the forests of all the realms would cease to be.. not exist at all, as if they never were. Now, imagine your science or the very earth beneath your feet or your very soul's resting place... imagine that those do not exist, in the truest sense of the word. Without us, there is nothing. The war was not started by us, but by old enemies, and we put in jeopardy the very fabric of all that is by standing against them, all for the sake of mortals like you."
He puffed out his cheeks as he adjusted the bandage, "Your sacrifice brings to life another force of the world, another balancing essence to strengthen the fabric of existence. I cannot describe the extent to which your taking on a gem will effect creation in a way that is easily understood... So resign yourself if you must but do so in the knowledge that you truly are helping in ways you cannot comprehend."
He bit his lip, "I will take you to the Pantheon, someone there will be able to tend to your wounds, I'm sure. When you are able we will make the journey, it's not too far."
All these things that Glyph seemed to think he didn't get, he'd gotten previously. Before the gem had smooshed into his arm like a ******** neolithic nuclear slug, Edward had been making the connection that the Gods weren't just figureheads of their realms, but actual manifestations; not that he spoke up to tell Forest that - he figured it would be a waste of his time to even try.
"Very well. You do what you must and I will do as I must where gods are concerned. At the least, wound-care is a welcoming thought. I'd appreciate it sooner rather than later...if you want to lecture me while I'm being fixed up, that's fine too." But he was very pasty-faced and a little voice in his head was telling him to buck up!
Glyph shook his head, laughing softly, "Stubborn, hm? Come, let's get you fixed up and you can form your own opinions. Your lot isn't so bad - I think you'll come to realize this." Rising, Forest helped the other up and steadied him before leading him away, picking medicinal leaves as they went - thinking they could be used for a poultice of some sort if neccessary.
"As stubborn as they come." The mortal gave Glyph a bit of a grin and then found himself leaning heavily upon the Forest god; his head floating and light due to blood loss. Eventually things would smooth out - they'd make it back to the Pantheon alright and he'd get some care....and maybe his opinion would change with time. Maybe not, but Glyph had done as much as he could for Edward and Nowai...at least, for the time being
~Fin~ Word Count: 3697 (Fail) / 3535 (Glyph)
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 8:06 pm
...// Solo - The First Night After arriving at the Pantheon, Lou had gotten his wounds tended as Forest had promised they would be. When the strange young God - for all the information offered by Glyph, there were things about his face, form and manner that spoke very plainly of youth - had offered him a place to stay, he had rejected the offer saying only that he and Seven would prefer to find their own way, but that he did appreciate the gesture. His rejection of Glyph’s offer was met with a frown and some measure of protest, but Lou was a determined man, seasoned in debate and well versed in how to get his way and in the end the young God of Forest could do naught but bow his head and offer aid should he ever find future need.
With a dubious Forest heading off to wherever his lodgings were, he found a semi-sheltered spot just outside of what appeared to be an open-air marketplace and set his belongings down. There were several small tent-like shelters, temporary camp for those wandering souls that found their way to the home of the parasitical gods for one reason or another. It was warm and clear enough that he didn’t feel the need to strike up a tent himself, but he did pull out a sleeping roll and stretched out upon it with the lumpy bundle of provisions as a pillow. Seven made a low, questioning sound before moving close and curling against his master’s side, fluffy tail swept around to warm the beast’s legs and beak.
Lou sighed and gingerly touched his bound forearm, feeling the hard outline of the - gem? - rock in stark difference to the tender softness of his wound. “What a s**t day, eh seven? From the heights of Coalescent Laboratories to…parasite host.” He made a derisive sound and reached over to stroke the feathery-fur of seven’s brightly hued head. It was like silk, softer than rabbit fur but with a bit more hold to it. So incredibly beautiful…despite the fact that the creature itself was a godawful wretch and obnoxious to boot. “To think that we’ve been brought so low.” Intelligent as the creature was, it could understand a small amount of what it’s companion said and made an appropriate chuffing sound low in it’s lengthy throat though it didn’t move save to shift it’s head under Lou’s hand.
“I don’t think having a doctorate matters anymore, either. So I guess I’ll just be plain old Ed.” He’d gone by Lou or Ed interchangeably for most of his life, using Lou only with those he felt some closeness too (since they often asked what it was short for and he disliked telling anyone his given name) while most knew him as Ed. “Yeah, Ed and his crazy looking pet. With a parasitical god-rock in his arm.” Seven lifted it’s head and nipped the man’s scruffy chin with it’s beak, squawking at him as though to tell him to buck up. “Fine fine…no more talking. Get some rest and keep your color down, I don’t want to draw that much attention.”
When seven resettled and tucked it’s head back under it’s tail, he sighed and put his unharmed arm up to cover his eyes from the…well, it wasn’t the Sun, not as he’d known it, but it was something meant to shed light as the Sun once had. It was setting - if that’s what you could still call it - and though he could have wandered around and learned more of the place he figured was now his home (until the parasite devoured him entirely!) he was tired. Exhausted in body and strained in mind, Llewellyn Edward Hawthorn knew it would be a long while before he was able to get any actual sleep, but he could still give his battered body rest, regardless of whether or not his brain settled before the faux stars showed up.
Laying on his bedroll with all his belongings in a lumpy bag pillowing his head, Lou thought about his situation, about how the stars had disappeared one by one…familiar constellations there one moment and gone the next. About how one day he found himself able to look up again without feeling sick, to see the space where the sky had once been filled with something once more. Remade by the Gods that Glyph spoke of. By the kin of the thing in his arm. Not the Twinkie-shaped rock…thing, but the being inside it. If he hadn’t felt something in it merging with him, Lou would have said the whole story was just that: a story. Something made up by a fevered and disturbed brain.
But no. He could feel it now, almost hear that obnoxious sing-song voice in the back of his mind. A ghost, a whisper crawling along the synapses of his brain and worming in ever deeper. It - Nowai - was pleased as a pig in s**t and the knowledge of this grate at his already raw emotions. ‘Stop being so ******** happy about this, parasite.’ It felt odd and distinctly smacking of insanity to be talking to himself - aloud or not - but he assumed it was something he would get used to…how else would one communicate with a parasite that could “speak” to him via his mind? There were so many questions to be asked, but only one was truly relevant: ‘Why me and not another?’
Nowai didn’t answer him directly but seemed to hum with satisfaction as though it had done a job well; an action that only served to cause it’s host further annoyance and distress. It was with mercy in mind that the God of Fail ceased with the humming that seemed to set it’s host’s teeth to grinding and many hours later when the new constellations of not-stars were at their brightest in the darkness of the not-sky that Llewellyn found himself able to join the elementally-augmented (and faintly glowing) seven in fitful, nightmare infused slumber.Word Count; 1,018
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:16 am
...// Solo - Things Learned in the Market As rough as his first night spent on the Pantheon grounds had been, it was nothing compared to how intensely unpleasant and obnoxious that first week proved to be. The nightmares had been nothing to trying to figure out where to go and what to do with a mosquito buzzing in one’s ear would have been bad enough, but Lou’s “mosquito” could do more than buzz - it could actually converse with him. In plain English. And it was incredibly annoying to have a voice in his head muddling and merging with his own thoughts, especially when he was attempting to speak with some of the other people that were wandering (or working) in the Marketplace.
He’d been utterly astounded - and terrified, he was not ashamed to admit - when he’d noticed a huge pitch-colored monster slinking about the aisles as though inspecting things. It had stopped and looked at him, flashing red teeth his way and winking with two sets of blue eyes as though it knew something about Lou that it couldn’t have. But then he’d asked one of the shop keepers that seemed familiar with the inky creature and learned that actually, yes, the creature had known something about him. It was the Dragon King Yu Five Claws and it came through the Market often, alone or with one of it’s spawn, apparently.
Nowai had thrilled to the news and insisted - as Lou set his jaw stubbornly and tried to pay attention further to what the merchant said - that they find the creature some time (soon) and speak with him. ’It’s the best way for you to get information and we can find our place! Go after him!’ The stirring of his limbs without his wont set Lou to balking stubbornly; he was not giving leave for the parasite inside him to take over just yet! They’d go when - or if! - he decided they would, not one moment sooner. “So there are a great many of these creatures roaming about?”
“Aye, but they are not creatures, sir. These are the True Gods and you would do well to not forget that fact and behave accordingly! Some of the Gods do not deal well with rude or insolent mortals.” The man shook his greying head and leaned across his table, gesturing conspiratorially at Lou. “The Dragon King Yu Five Claws has been known to devour those that displease him…he protects this place when not at the Twin Crown’s side. For all he looks like a Greater Demon, he is Fair and Just.” Lou listened to the merchant, watching his weathered face and tucking aside this information for later use - by him or by Nowai.
“Interesting. Thank you for the information…I’m newly come and have little idea about what I’ve gotten myself into.” Crabby as Hawthorn generally was, he knew how to be less prickly - almost ingratiating - when there was reason or purpose in his being thus. “Is there a place I can go, if I want more information?”
At this the shop keeper looked about, watching for a moment as the thrum of life among the Marketplace slowly gained volume and intensity. Soon enough there would be customers and he would have no time with which to indulge this sharp-faced man’s questions. “Within the House of the Gods it’s said there’s a Great Library. If there are answers to your questions, they will be found there. You may find Silence walking the Library, if you are lucky. He comes out to the Market to purchase books and scrolls from time to time and knows much of what has befallen the world.”
“And is this…Silence another God-creature with a foul face and disposition?”
“No, you’ll find the God of Silence to be fair of face and quite kinder than Yu the Five Claws. More patient by far, too.” With this last bit of wisdom imparted to Hawthorn, the merchant gestured that he should move along and make room for the tall, cat-eared woman behind him. An actual customer. Lou nodded and gave his thanks before heading back to where he’d camped temporarily; seven was guarding his belongings and by the looks of it pecked someone that had unwisely wandered too closely. There was blood on it’s beak and it’s feathery-fur was ruffled and puffed out in a sure sign of irritation. “Settle down, I’m back. With news.”
He was hungry too, so as he started into explaining to the strange creature how his walk among the Marketplace “stalls” (some were hardly more than tents themselves, others actual stalls made with walls and signs) had turned out and what he’d discovered, he fished in his pack and brought out some of the edible greens, tubers and fruits that Forest had helped him find. Seven pushed part of it’s share back at Lou with a loud clacking cackle; apparently it was less hungry than he’d thought it would be - had someone tried feeding the oddly put-together beast while he’d been gone? Lou wasn’t willing to over-think it, he just tucked away the items he felt would keep best and ate the ones that wouldn’t “Did you happen to see that giant black monster that was walking around?”
Seven bobbed it’s head “yes” and squawked loud enough that he had to cover his ears for the comfort of both himself and the parasitical God inside him. “Apparently that’s one of the “True Gods” Glyph told me about. Some people-eating “Dragon King” - whatever that is - called Yu the Five Claws. He winked at me. I think.” Lou felt a healing itch in his forearm where Nowai’s “gem” lay and frowned a bit. He would need to change the bandages and clean the wound - and himself too - sooner rather than later…would it be safe to journey out to the lake that Forest had pointed out to him on their way to the Pantheon?
“Safe…what a laugh!” Did it really matter? The merchant had said that Yu Five Claws walked around to protect them, and he was apparently one of those god-creatures now, or more accurately a “host” to one of them, so he would likely be included in that protection. Quickly he reasoned things out and realized that perhaps there was some small benefit to being the parasite Nowai’s host: he was safer here, now than he had been living alone with only seven for company. How many times had he found himself having to fight off wanderers to keep them from taking the few possessions he had work stealing? Perhaps they would leave him - and his things - be if they knew that he was host to one of the True Gods too? Those that knew such things, rather. It seemed a good many must, else why would that beastly Dragon King be able to walk about without the accompaniment of screaming and chaos?
’The mortals here are likely Believers, knowing about the Gods that protect them…or belong to one of the Gods themselves.’ Nowai piped in helpfully, humming with satisfaction once more; it was certain now that it’s stubborn host would visit the Library…which would put Nowai that much closer to those it wished to be near. The Twin Crown! Lou wouldn’t take Nowai to pay respects just yet, but maybe if they met Silence in the Library… Yes, the Library felt like it was just the thing to draw the interest of God and Host. ’You will go to the Library, yes?’ Lou grunted and rolled his bedding up, stowing it again with his other belongings.
“Bath first. Then maybe. Maybe.” Picking himself and his pack up, Lou headed off in the direction of the lake with seven at his heels; they skirted the bulk of the Marketplace and the throng of beings moving busily along the aisles and spaces. When he arrived at the lake he had to go halfway around it to find a location that suited him; either there were already people -beings - creatures - whatever the hell they were in the places that were most suitable or there wasn’t enough cover for him to feel comfortable. Seven clearly didn’t care about whom - or what - were wandered around them and settled to hunting small fauna in the area while it’s master bathed and cleaned his clothes as best he could using a coarse soap he’d made from rendered animal fat and lye.
Nowai continued that sing-song humming sound and Waited. It had lingered this long in meeting it’s ultimate goals, what was another few hours in the face of eternity?Word Count; 1,446
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