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 Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:40 pm
Things were getting back to normal, supposed Anubis. Or perhaps it was simply the calm before the storm. On one hand, things had been relatively routine lately. On the other, the hair on the back of his neck was permanently on-end, it felt like. It was nights like tonight that reminded him of old times, though.
Anubis had great appreciation for beauty. In particular, he had great appreciation for beautiful goddesses (and the occasional beautiful god, but that was neither here nor there.) He liked it when beautiful goddesses (and occasionally beautiful gods, but again, that was entirely besides the point) visited his apartment. He liked to serve them tea and pleasantries and find out what they were up to.
Her name was Selene. She was an old god, perhaps as old as he, regal as the night sky. She took her tea strong and sweet and requested Anubis's assistance.
Anubis was always glad to be of service.
In that case, would he please deliver a gift to a little girl in the greek quarter? Her name was Dia - Diamanti, really - and he'd know her by how the stars glittered in her dark hair. This moonstone pendant would be so befitting of her, didn't he agree?
And so Anubis the messenger was at work again this evening, seeking out a girl whose hair reflected the night sky. He was near Seasons. He could feel the paranormal activity that seeped through the district, almost shielding the girl from standing out above the background noise. But Anubis was a jackal god. He found her scent and he followed it.
He found a girl who matched the goddess's description seated on a roof less than a block from the flower shop.
"Are you Dia?" he asked as he pulled himself up over the edge of the fire escape.
Note to self: Designer suits and action hero stunts do not mix.
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:57 pm
Diamanti still wasn't used to all the stares.
She was terribly, awkwardly shy and was awfully sensitive to the whispers and points at her hair. It didn't matter if she went out in the day or the night; it still stood out rather jarringly. She supposed she should try to ignore them, but she couldn't. It was just difficult to pretend nothing was going on, pretend that she was normal.
She did rather like her hair though, she thought, gazing up at the stars. They shimmered in the dark sky, and mother often said other girls love to have her hair.
Would they really? She pondered.
Someone called her name and she jumped, turning to see who it was. It was a stranger, someone she was sure she had never seen, yet he knew her? "Y-yes." She stammered awkwardly, her gaze a mixture of fear and curiosity. "And you are?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:09 pm
In his two years as a messenger, Anubis had never fully figured out how to answer the question that Players seemed to invariably ask: who are you?
'And you are?' in this case, but the principal was the same.
"Just the messenger," sighed Anubis. He took a seat next to the girl. "I don't mean you any harm," he added quickly. "A goddess with very much personal interest vested in you sent me."
He glanced up at the stars. They were out in multitude tonight, which was a bit unusual.
"Dia, what do you know about the Game?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:26 pm
That was, indeed, an answer she was not expecting to hear. The girl blinked at him, her mind echoing his words. A messenger? And a goddess? She wasn't exactly sure if she understood what he was saying.
"The Game?" She spoke after a lapse of silence. A game? Whatever did he mean? Was he talking about a board game, or perhaps, a electronic game? He wasn't exactly being specific.
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:51 pm
"The Game," repeated Anubis. "Children all over the city have been joining it. Gods and Goddesses, fighting over the fate of the world...?"
When it became clear that the girl had no idea what he was talking about, he pulled out the necklace from his pocket and held it out. "Once I give you this, the contact will be established and she'll be able to explain for herself."
"Should you chose to accept, you will be granted power and adventure beyond your wildest dreams."
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:25 am
The child merely stared at him, looking a little confused and rather lost, then shifted her attention to the necklace. It was pretty, she thought, with the white gem and it seemed to call out to her. For an instant, Dia thought to reach out her hand. But... a little voice said, you're not supposed to take stuff from strangers.
Still, she sat there, not running away, many questions running through her head. Who was the she he talked about, why were there gods and goddesses playing this game and why were they asking children to help them...
Yet only one question fell from her lips. "Is this...she, a goddess, I presume, responsible for...this?" As she said this, she held a lock of her hair forward. However unusual this man and what he was speaking was, she was just as unusual, wasn't she?
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:48 am
Anubis didn't hesitate before nodding. "She is," he said. "She is a very old goddess. Her domain is over the night sky, the moon in particular."
He gestured to the sky. Over a crest of rooflines, the moon was rising. It seemed to glow brighter tonight than it usually did.
"If you take this necklace, you become her champion," he explained, "Her prophet here in the city, and her warrior. You will gain her followers and fight her battles."
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:51 am
Diamanti fell silent again, watching the moon, a small smile flickering over her face. The moon had always, for some strange reason, made her feel calm, made her feel better. Perhaps this was the reason why.
His words snapped her out of her reverie and she turned to stare at him in shock. "Fight? I-i'm not very sure I can do that." Why me? The question ran numbly through her mind. She didn't like violence. It wasn't nice.
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:04 am
"Perhaps you will find another way to make yourself valuable," shrugged Anubis. The last winner had preached compassion, hadn't he? "Strategy is important, just as much as brute strength."
"Your patron goddess would not leave you without powers and abilities enough to protect yourself," he said, and motioned to the necklace again.
"These are the kinds of adventures most people wish they could have."
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:11 am
The girl appreciated strategy a lot more than violence. Violence, in her opinion, was wrong and she would have simply denied if he had insisted she had to use it.
It was a terrible shame that she was getting more interested in his words. It was something out of a fantasy storyline, she thought. Something normal people wouldn't get to experience. She had always wanted to be normal though, didn't she?
But...she wasn't. She reached out a hand to touch the moonstone, then with some pondering, took the necklace. "How do you play this Game?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:18 am
Anubis felt like he was taking a liking to this girl. She was polite, so he felt like he could give her more information than he usually did. "All over the City, there are other children and young adults who were also selected by gods as their prophets. Some of them will be your allies. Some of them will be your enemies. You will be stronger than some, and no match for some."
"To play the Game," continued Anubis, "You must simply survive as well as possible for as long as possible, gaining a following of mortals and perhaps other Players. And perhaps you will do a little bit of evolving."
He motioned out to the street. "There is a shop not far from here, a florist called Seasons. I am the referee, and the owner of Seasons is the scorekeeper. You had best make yourself known to her as soon as you can."
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:25 am
She listened to this information quietly and simply nodded. The word enemies struck a chord of fear in her, but she clutched the pendant, drawing imaginary strength from it. Or perhaps it wasn't imaginary at all, she thought.
Dia had never really been content living the life of a normal girl when she wasn't one. Now, maybe, this Game would present to her something interesting, something she was born to do. She had already taken the necklace, become her goddess's...champion, he had said. It would simply be rude to return the gift.
There was a stir of excitement in her heart as her eyes followed his gesture to the flower shop and she smiled. "Thank you, Mr...Messenger."
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:30 am
"My name is Anubis," replied the man, motioning to himself. "Should we ever meet again, I daresay it will be under drastically different circumstances."
Were the girl to look closely, for a moment she would be able to see not only a distinguished black man with strange ears, but also a much older canine-headed beast.
"I am the Jackal god of judgement," intoned Anubis. "I bring Players in, and I take them out. I daresay this is our last meeting under such happy circumstances, miss."
He got to his feet in one smooth motion and nodded to her respectfully. "Good night, Dia, and best of luck to you."
Task accomplished, the referee of the Game vanished back into the night.
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