Welcome to Gaia! ::

She was aware of eyes where there should be no eyes-- their gaze following her. Teira found herself feeling rather clumsy. Not just because she wasn't fully coordinated with her new form, but because she didn't know how to deal with the gift she'd been presented with. Her feelings on the whole affair, were mixed at best. Chewing her lip, her new mind worked itself in circles as thoughts raced 'round and 'round.

The sound of Maximos' training, of him engaged in swordplay, was a comforting whisper in her ear. And yet, she couldn't relax.

Teira hadn't looked in a mirror or caught her reflection on any surfaces since she'd 'met' the Brothers, so she wasn't aware of her changed eyes as of yet. Otherwise, she may have been even more self conscious. Crimson locked with ethereal white, and that piercing flicker of white light sent a tingle, that had nothing to do with being cold, chasing up and down her spine. It was THAT that startled her, not the gaze, but rather this new body's reaction to it. Her old form had been capable of feeling pain and touch, but this was different. A surprised and somewhat awkward squeak pierced the darkness as she shuddered, her mind debating for a moment as she couldn't quite decide if the feeling was pleasant or unpleasant, and then shook it off.

"I see you've met the brothers. Walter was right."

'Walter again? I don't understand... what could he be thinking?'

After a moment, she seemed as if she realized, that she had just been standing there; glaring at the twin blades even as she hugged them to her breast and that she hadn't answered him.

"--!

I, we've met yes."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, come here so I can get a look at you. Have they given you their names? Are they to your..."

One hand picked absently at her skirts, running over the same place repeatedly as if she would smooth some non-existent crease.

"They've given me a-- family name? I'm not sure if that's the right way to describe it, but if they have individual names, I've yet to learn them."

"...what's wrong Teira?"

She flinched, and her face seemed torn as she grappled with the words. In the end, that feeling of clumsiness was too great. A trip in her thoughts, and all the words came tumbling out in a rush.

"I'm sorry Nii-chan! You left the Lady Glamor with me, and I, she-- I wasn't able to stop them and I'm sorry! If I had only accepted her sooner instead of rejecting her-- But then Walter said this was planned? And I don't want to question Walter, or you Nii-chan, I don't want to doubt... But why? Why was the Lady's death necessary? The swords are a gift-- so I should say thank you, that's the polite thing to do-- and they ARE beautiful blades-- but they killed her, and they attacked me-- and yet when I-- And why do I feel like I was in the wrong, like I was the rude one-- after what they did?! It feels like they want control-- But I won't give it, I don't want to be played with like a doll-- what DO they want? Was I wrong? And what they said-- I, I'm sorry Nii-chan."

All her thoughts were jumbled together, it was like one big run on sentence. And when she came to the end of it, she took a deep breath, having forgotten to pause and breathe as she spoke. Guilt, shame, embarrassment, humility, sadness , confusion, anger. They all mixed together for one killer cocktail of emotions. Her head, HURT. There was a dull ache starting behind her eyes.

She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes again, for fear of the disappointment that she would surely find so clearly expressed there. She had failed him, embarrassed him even, and it left her feeling ill.

It all came out in a barely intelligible stream. Of course she was confused. Teira, even despite all her years was not used to the layers with which Maximos planned. The shadowling spoke, and when she finally finished speaking Maximos was in front of her, because thats what Maximos' do.

The Shadow's hands moved to cup her face, but his eyes did not find her eyes. In silence his eyes found her chin, her neck line, even her forehead. With a slight turn he found the side of her face and continue down to her shoulders. As his eyes lowered, so did his eyes hands moving in cue to her shoulders, then down each of her arms. Then, finally, his eyes met hers and his hands slid to his side. Come here so I can get a look at you. Thats what he had said, and what he had done. It seemed, in all honesty that Teira needed a moment to catch her breath and let her mind officially sort the issues before he could address them properly.

But without much further delay, Maximos began addressing. He started by saying.

"You have very pretty eyes. I dont think I've quite seen anything like them." Maximos smiled. Whatever anger or reaction she may have been expecting was not infact what she was receiving. Teira was receiving a bright smile. Which is to say that Maximos was wearing a smiling. He was not necessarily smiling.

"People make outrageous claims in the name of "love" every day." The shadow took a step back. "They say they'll pull the moon from the sky, hunt down a star, even stop the world from turning. To one who has spent a long life in the darkness, the Light is the single worst and single greatest thing I've ever known. It is a curse and a gift I will never touch. Understanding this, you can perhaps understand what I mean when I say that I would sacrifice even the greatest light for you. I would drown the world in darkness."

Maximos smirked. "And with Walter's help, I have. Because you are dear to me, because I love."

"The Brothers Harite would not stand being given, they have too much pride for that. They hunger for strength and to be in the hands of strength, true strength. They saw something in you when you faced the Lady, as we knew they would, and they took you. The Lady was a light snuffed from all the worlds forever, she was a price to see you safe." Maximos smiled weakly, and then folded his arms across his chest, his sword simply hovered around him. "That is precisely why I cannot understand why the would not give you their names, that is usually the very first sign of acceptance."

Maximos rubbed his chin, and then he spoke, but when he spoke his voice came out different than one might expect. Maximos' voice had a sort of dual nature to it, as if it was echoing twice in Teira's ears. More so it was smoother and more natural than likely anything she had ever heard him say before. "Heart----", he said. And it seemed that the moment he spoke the word his voice cut off even though his mouth kept moving. It was just like when one is speaking to someone and then something louder drowns them out, only there were no other sounds. Maximos seemed unawares as he continued, "Heart----".

Whatever Maximos said had an effect. At one of Teira's sides the darkness coalesced into the shape of a black cloaked brother, at the other there was a sudden dancing blaze that refined into the shape of the second red cloaked brother. Both appeared with their arms crossed in a defensive posture. Both wore scowls. Maximos continued. The words flowed from his mouth like Gaian never had. With no hesitation or pause and with an inherent grace Maximos pronounced the Arian tongue, his voice echoing in Shadowspeak. The Brothers did not hesitate either, one spoke and then the other but their words made no sound they were simply a pantomime of speech. The the red cloaked brother seemed far more agitated than the black cloaked, though the black cloaks demeanor was absolutely dripping with disdain. When they were done, Maximos' forehead dropped into the hand he was using to hold his chin and it shook. Both brothers vanished in reverse of the method from which they appeared.

"You have insulted them greatly." Said Maximos after a moment, his hand rubbed down his face and seemed to be visibly erasing whatever was on it and replacing it with a calm smile. " But it couldnt be helped, you know no better."

"The Brother's are Arian blades, and while you are an honorary Arian you know nothing of our culture. This...is my fault, I never thought there would be a need." Maximos shook his head, the smile vanished for a moment and for that split second that shadows played at the gaunt edges of his face and made the man out to appear far more tragic than he had seconds ago. And then it was back, as if the up curve of his lips had never left.

"On Aria we are given one name at birth." With a wave of his hand Maximos gestured to himself. "I was born Maximos. Nothing more. This name is unique and signifies us until we reach quarters. That is, fifty years of age, the time in which all Arian's must choose how to age. There is a ceremony for this."

"At the ceremony the friends, family, and loved ones of the Arian pool their memories and knowledges about the individual and present them forth to the divine. The Arian is then given a second and third name." Maximos stepped forward and placed a soft hand on Teira's shoulder. "This name is theirs, and only theirs. At marriage it does not transfer, as in such bonding one individual must never over write the other."

The Shadow paused to add the necessary weight to long upheld Arian tradition and to let the information sink in before he dropped the key line. "Neither does it pass to children."

"The Shadowfather Nocturne dubbed me with 'Lucillien Dark'." Maximos said his own name with a kind of smooth grace, the words were accented in such a way that made all other pronunciations seem as mistaken as they likely were. "This name is mine, it means me. Even though fearing Nocturne I hid it for many years."

Maximos' hand slid slowly up to the side of her face. His eyes were soft, and warm, and sympathetic. This was the sort of face one wears before telling someone their dog was killed or their parents had died. From that face Maximos said. "You do not carry the name Dark." As Walter carried Worthington. As D was too young to carry anything other than D. There was only a slight pause before he immediately followed with, "And the name Dark...no...no name, stands for any amount of willpower or strength."

Something solidified in his eyes, as if Maximos did not want the sympathy he felt in correcting her to be confused with the strength and truth of the words he must now say. "By using my name in claiming the Brother's you showed great weakness. As you told them you wield them through me, and not you own strength and will. The name Kos. The name Teiraesia."

"Your names." He gently pat the side of her face. "Yourself."

"They are displeased, as they believed you stronger. Strong enough to stand on your own, and so they were more....honest, than necessary. Their lives hang in the balance of this union as well, they must know that in the thick of battle you will fall on me and my power. Or else...why not simply stay with me? The entire sacrifice becomes naught."

And lovingly he leaned forward to kiss her forehead and said. "Do you understand, my little mystery girl?"

Maximos could see he had wounded her. Her body had practically recoiled as if struck, and while he was not crazy about it there was always a rather brutal part of the Shadow that said he simply must do what must be done.

Teira, had led a sheltered life and for that he was to blame. She had never been corrected though by Arian tradition it was a great insult to take a name when not given. But Maximos did not want to upset her. Even so many years later when the science and magic of the events had been all hammered out Maximos still looked at Teira and saw the forlorn face of the woman he found on the cusp so long ago. He saw a woman brought to the brink by the malice of the world, and he remembered the silent urging in his heart that said it was a Hero...no, it was a man's job to make that pain go away.

He wanted to shield her, to shelter her, even before he really knew her and for no real gratification of his own. It was just the right thing to do. And yet...it wasnt. The more things that were withheld from her, the more shocking realizations that had to come to pass. And yet, he still kept so very much to himself. So very many opinions and feelings on what is and had effectively become her life, were kept to himself. Teira would never know what went on behind that soft smile, even when it did reach his eyes. She could be no shield as he continued to shield and carry her, but he needed and asked for none and nothing but her happiness.

And so in the face of all, he comforted himself with the knowledge that he did his best. Maximos had never asked to be a parent. He owed no responsibility to anyone, and so in the face of that, and in light how she had become Maximos could form that soft smile Teira knew so well. The soft smile he wore here, and now. The same soft smile that parted as Maximos now spoke.

"Calm yourself little one. They are displeased, they are offended, but they have chosen not to abandon you." His hand reached out to rest softly atop her head. Resting, but not ruffling. "I can teach you the words, and you may say them. The act will having meaning but, they are ultimately only words and are muted against actions. Your time with them will prove your character."

He chuckled, a soft and yet sad thing. Whatever had brought the Shadow down, it was not this and it was not resolved. "Thankfully, your kind persist eternally until slain and so you have quite alot of time to work this out."

"Now, listen carefully." His hand returned to himself, fingers to his chest and began to speak. After several decades of speaking Arian and only Arian, it was only natural that the tongue flow more smoothly than any of his others. Maximos had since learned many many other languages, and from this experience had trained away most traces of accent, but none were could be his native. Slowly and deliberately Maximos said. "Ego. Sum. Rumas." And then he paused and said it again, stretching out the words to make their phonetics more clearly audible. "Eygo. Soom. Roomahs. I. Am. Sorry."

And then his hand glided from his chest toward Teira. "Now you."



The Shadow had exhausted his options. As much as he tried to play at hope, everything he knew had been used and had failed miserably. He was at the point where he was trying entirely random things in order to perhaps accidentally stumble on a break. Needless to say, such endeavors were...dangerous. And so, when Joshua, another magical practitioner and inter dimensional traveler spoke up, Maximos was all ears and eyes. But not mouth, that was busy. This was good steak.

Listening, and talking however are not usually two talks that can be simultaneously performed and so Maximos was entirely silent. And yet there was no mistaking the focus in his eyes, he even cut his steak blindly as opposed to breaking eye contact. When Joshua was finished, Maximos, still holding his fork and knife continued.

"Something permanent?" He said, but his tone hinted at the rhetorical nature of the question. His mind swirled with fresh possibilities and ideas and as they clicked and formed he gave a few voice. "I believe they can transport out, and as long as they are Aria born and linked to the world as we all are, they can return. But then...to build...if I cannot send..."

Maximos fell silent, there was a pause. His eyes moved from Joshua to his plate, and then darted back and forth as if reading something, text that simply was not there. His brow furrowed with an unseen effort, and then suddenly his eyes popped open wide.

"Your right, by Nocturne, Razliek your entirely right. I've been so set in thought I never imagined any other way. I've tried sending, but not taking. I cannot communicate but..." His silverware dropped, a hand gestured to the demon. And while the other man was certainly not, Maximos still questioned... "...Are you suggesting that I could steal someone, convince them to assist me, and then send them back to work on a portal from the other side to match one here?"

"However you want to go about it is your own decision..." he answered. Of course it was. Kidnapping was not necessary but Maximos always did like to at the very least make things interesting for himself. He smirked, and then moved to take a sip of some sort of black liquid bubbling of its own accord in a glass beside him. The other man continued.

"But if getting in is 'almost but not quite' and getting out is easy, you might just be able to make it work if someone leaves the door open." Maximos grinned, wide and twisted. He knew it was wrong. But for the moment he didnt care. Instead, with a voice just verging on a laugh he said.

"Prince Razliek..." Despite the fact the two Reapers usually used less formal titles. "Let it never be said you do not earn your keep. You have my thanks, and the thanks of the people of Aria."

"I'll gladly accept yours, but we'll see how much Aria likes it that I've helped you learn how to abduct their sons and daughters."

Maximos chuckled at the words, at the demon's tone, at the entire direction in which this evening had turned. No, this was no happy thing the Shadow was about to begin. It was not a cause for celebration. If he captured an individual it would be unlikely that they would be willing to assist in anything that involved Nocturne even if it was requested by some long lost Hero. This meant more forceful persuasion was necessary.

This...was not to be a mission of peace and glory and butterflies. This was a dark thing, this was to shake Aria to its complacent roots. To bring a sword. And yet, while the depth of this undertaking struck Maximos at his core, he knew what had to be done. And no matter what he would do it. Still...there was no crime against enjoying ones job.

"Worry not, my friend." He said with a warped grin. "They'll likely curse your name before they ever praise it. And yet, I'm sure, eventually they will thank you."

And then the moment was past and it was time to change the subject to more pressing matters. "So, will you be needing anything in particular to help get the Lady Gale here back...or rather, on her feet?"

It was that laugh.

It had very little to do with humor and jesting and everything to do with a prospect so thrilling it caused a joyous outburst. Usually something dark. This was not cheering or hooting or hollering, but laughter. Dark, sinister laugh. The sort of laughter that makes you uncomfortable when it fills a room because you suddenly feel everyone in the room shares some vital piece of information that you do not...and that that piece of information could mean your life.

Thankfully, Maximos was informed. He did not laugh so much as chuckle softly to himself along side Joshua. It wasnt as much of a piece of news to him, he had weighed the costs and found them acceptable. Luminous was one hundred percent in line with Reaper laws, mandates, and clauses. But what he was doing just wasnt right. Maximos likely would have never made these leaps for Gaia, but for his home...for Aria...not even Death would stand in the way. And who said he never broke the rules?

The chuckle had faded to an uneven grin as Joshua's laugh settled, and then attention rolled from upcoming anarchy to something a bit more immediate.

"Time, I see, excellent." And then his eyes followed Joshua's eyes.

Max was no doctor, but he was rather sure that the look on Gale's face was not that of a healthy person. There were no buckets close enough. No bags or stomach emptying spells to be readily accessed. In some cultures a proper party consisted of eating and drinking until you were about where Gale was and then manually emptying ones stomach and starting again. Maximos leaned protectively forward over his steak and prepared to mourn the loss of many a plate of food stuffs. This was not one of them.

He shot a doleful look at the door and from it came a few Skellions bearing mops, buckets, and wash cloths. A free hand slid his drink a bit farther back. The dining room prepared for the worst.

Really, a shallower and perhaps more childish part of Maximos would have loved not to see Lady Gale in that light. And yet, another deeper and perhaps paternal side of him saw her in the same light Joshua did. Helpless but not hopeless. Growing but not a child.

There was doubt in Gale's eyes, a fear, a dread even and then it happened. And honestly, it was not the most Lady-like thing in the world, but Gale at the moment was both a proper Lady and not. She reminded Max in a very many ways of Teira in her early years. And yet in every way the two were similar they were fundamentally different. So much so that the comparison scurried out of his mind upon realizing it was an insult to one or both.

Now without a command or a gesture the jet black servants of Shadow Island went to work. Walter presented Joshua with warm towels to help clean Gale, and Maximos...strangely enough, was smiling.

The Shadow did not so much eat his food as he waited for the clean up, as he stirred it around his plate with a knife. The knife balanced so that it lay across four fingers with his thumb guiding its fluid motions. Maximos was smiling...and as the seconds passed the smiling grew into a wide grin. And then the grin twist oddly at its edges and that warp crawled up the sides of his face and creeped across his eyes. Maximos realized that he was not so much cutting his meat as shanking it. And at that point he put the knife down.

"You know what Razliek...I think Lady Gale has the right idea." Maximos' face was at that precarious place just before a laugh. He twirled a fork across his fingers like one might twirl a small blade. "I think we should work off all of this food. No sense getting fat, resting on our laurels right?"

At which point he impaled a chunk of steak with a motion that spoke of a bit more deadly intent that necessary in deal with cooked meat. And he popped it eagerly into his mouth. He had said everything that needed to be said.


Metals kissed and sparks filled the air like indigo and white confetti both. Truly, this was something worth of the celebration. The rasp of steel versus steel still filled the air as it had with the sword clash before, and the one before that. Razliek had brought his blade down hard, Maximos had brought his own up in a two handed defense, and now as he absorbed the impact through his arm and legs he rolled into a motion. He shoved off the balls of his feet and cleared a few feet of space. Razliek had manifested that sword from nothing, just as Max had manifested this arm-gear.

The Arian body fast asleep still burned through fuel and fat with the efficiency of the Gaian body at work. This exercise had nothing to do with fitness and everything to do with enjoyment. Maximos had been cooped up in a lab, behind a counter, at a desk, on a sales floor or worse for more than he cared to remember at the moment. His senses had grown dull, his blade regardless of its health or nature felt blunted. He wanted this. And he just could not stop smiling.

This was not an epic conflict to prove powerful view points. This was a clash of wills. No ancient blades or companions were at risk. This was sport. Refinement of one's skills. Pure. Simple. Utterly enjoyable. Max left his sword in his left hand flicking his wrist to spin the blade once while he shook out his right. The armored contraption on his right arm jostled and clanged softly.

It was a simple thing really. A sheet of black plated armor that covered his shoulder like a spaulder and ran down to just above his elbow. It was secured with various visible straps, from his elbow to his wrist was a similar piece of plated armor, scaled in a way similar to Razliek's own bracer's, the armor lead into a proper gauntlet that covered Maximos' right arm and extended a bit over his fingers ending in slightly elongated sharp lengths. Inside, a sturdy metal plate protected his palm, and smaller joints protected the spots on his fingers between joints. Effectively, it was like fighting with his gauntlet, without awakening a furious and hungry soul eating monster that...could be very distracting.

"Whew!" The shadow said, wiping his brow with his long formal jacket sleeve. He had not changed clothes. Why would he change clothes? His blood was pumping, his heart was racing, this was what it was to be alive. And he savored every second of it, just as ready to let it all go in the next. "I almost felt the breeze on that one. Are you sure you didnt eat too much as well?"

He smirked and chuckled jokingly, gesturing forward with his black longsword, his gauntlet and black blade reflecting the dark peach and sort of golden tangerine hue of the sun fading off on the horizon. His right hand ran affectionately along the pommel of Sha'yd strapped to his back even with his hips, and then rose defensively. He made a flicking motion toward himself. "Come on, again!"

The sound of steel on steel, blades biting clash and vying for blood. The crushing force of another's attack colliding with your own. The whimsical whistle of a keen edge slicing through empty air and the eager anticipation that came in those precious heartbeats between strikes. A few heartbeats, and yet it was almost unbearable. He missed it like a dear long lost friend.

This was was what it was not to fight for Death. Or the world. Or even for blood. This was what it was to fight just to fight, to give in the rush of adrenaline, to the pounding in his chest and to the unmistakable pull of his hands willing his blade into motion, willing him to strike the next blow, to conduct this orchestra and lost himself in the sweet sweet symphony.

"What can I say?" Max said in an easy breath, smirking. Not because there was no strain in his actions, but more that strain had become so ingrained in his being that it existed as thoughtlessly as breathing. And so it let him breath. "I learned from the best!"

The joy of the experience itself defied words, but in that did his partner an injustice. Joshua. Razliek. The Demon Prince. In the man standing across from him Maximos found a mirrored opposite. They were reflections of each other, and yet it seemed that in every way they reflected each other they opposed each other. Two men that had come to the same place in life by completely opposite means, going in opposite directions but walking the same path. Of course, in a spar like this, a fight for training, a fight for growth, there was no better way to refine yourself than by looking in a mirror. Even now, one dressed for a ball, the other for a brawl. Both men were excellent killers, and yet excellence breeds excelle--

"Ha! Don't make me wait so long for those counters-- I thought I was going to hit the ground first." He was letting his mind wander again, wasnt he? So caught up in the experience he almost forgot to experience. He wouldnt make that mistake again. The Shadow chuckled, rolling his fingers along this sword's grip.

Josh tapped his weapon to himself, he smacked his chest. He felt it too, just as Maximos did. A horrible shame it was that he had let those precious heartbeat between hits drag on so very long. "So don't make me wait!"

"My apologies friend Joshua, it will not happen again." And then, as if it were the exclamation point to close the statement, Maximos burst into motion. The sword strike ran through his entire body. He felt every motion, analyzing them even as he performed them. His right foot moved first, stealing ground and digging into the grassy turf. He pulled himself forward on it, while pushing off his left. He brought his left arm up, cocked slightly back, his knuckles whitening over the jet black hilt of his jet black sword. And then, much like a punch came the snap. From the hips, then the stomach, then the shoulders, then the arm. The burst forward across the space between both men cutting a swath of black in its wake. Maximos' armored right arm came up, balled in a tight fist and raised around the level of his face sort of like a boxer's defensive stance only one armed.