Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was late afternoon, the sun was dipping towards the horizon and the heat of the day was ebbing as the business of the marketplace began to wind down. Towards the center, however, a group of individuals had been hard at work. Among them stood Glyph, tall and unmistakable now that he’d mostly come into his own and around bustled the Aoide and mortals who had given him their aid.

The Wardens of Deepwood had harvested their forest, successfully hauling in a deer and several rabbits and fowl. Platters were piled high with nuts, fruit, mushrooms, and other finger foods one might gather from the woods. A spit had been set up for the meat just outside the sturdy building the mortals had built and the delicious smells of roasting game wafted through the market, inviting mortal and god alike. Just inside, tables had been set up with the vegetables, roots, and fruits of the bounty of the pantheon collected by mortals and immortals alike and varied enough to appeal to any appetite. A separate table, centered among the rest because Glyph would not have it any other way, was the dessert table featuring the cake Xun had ordered for the occasion – confections of all sorts from jellies and flavoured honeys to bonbons and pastries, it sparkled with sugar and sweets much to Forest’s delight. Indeed, several mortals had taken it as an opportunity to offer up sacrifices to the gods they wished to garner favor and the small provisions Glyph had initially produced had grown into a potluck banquet of offerings.

Beyond that, a dancing square had been arranged with the shuffling of some of the more transportable stalls, edged on one side by a mixture of tables, chairs, cushions, and whatever other furniture had been loaned and to the left of the dance floor, a small stage had been raised with wood provided by Glyph for Echo and any others to perform from.

Glyph hadn’t had much to offer in way of furniture but he’d spent time cultivating the plants in the area so that they were in full bloom, fragrant and beautiful and had worked an oak into an arrangement the children might find fun to climb on like a jungle gym.

Forest had written invitations to the Pantheon’s denizens a few days before, encouraging gods of all walks to attend – especially the Council and the Dragon Kings. A notice had been left on the notice board as well for anyone who wandered by. Word had been passed to the mortals as well as Rush and Damien had been instructed to send out the notes and invites to those they found in the market place while Aelondrael had organized those merchants willing to temporarily relocate for the evening’s festivities. The stalls were welcome to be open and many had decided to shine their wares in the hopes of catching the Gods’ eyes or those of their followers.

Everything seemed to be running on schedule – they were simply waiting on the arrival of the revelers.

It would be no good to be late to his own party, but he couldn't help it. Xun Jiang, dragon king Ti Lung and Lifewater of Worlds, was definitively... well, nervous.

Somehow court would have seemed easier to deal with.

He had tried to tame his mane of hair, really, he had. But it refused, stubbornly, to sit in any way that could have been considered pretty, so he had given up.

He wasn't far from Glyph, actually, through carefully hidden, hoping his heart would stop racing leaps in his chest already. His outfit was flawless - custom made hakama in fine blue fabric with patterns mimicking waves, and a top to match, through it left little of his upper body to the imagination. At least no one would freak out by seeing boobs.

He moved along the fabric to confirm, for what seemed to the hundredth time, that the box containing his gift to Forest was still there. It was, but even then. the dragon king remained at the sidelines for a bit, hoping to calm down some before making a proper entrance.

It was a good thing that Echo was so focused, else she might have given one hell of a double take.

Lament had known about this - really, with his mother involved, it would have been hard not to know - but he had showed no hint that he would attend, choosing to surprise her.

Really, it was a little scary and he was nervous - through he hid it well, clinging to the calm behavior he showed most of the time. But if he wanted to assert himself among the reborn gods as one equal to them, even if he did not have ages and ages of old rule below his belt, well... He had to start somewhere.

His apparence was flawless - hair perfectly combed and braided, his veil, and the black roses he wore woven in his hair. He turned toward Grace to look at her. "Are you ready ?"

Grace had been the first, in a way, his first follower, and it had seemed fitting to walk these first steps with her. That people might think that he and the young girl where something more than what they were never crossed his mind.

Grace was another member of the party with a case of nerves. It had taken a whole hour of begging for her father to let her go to the party with Kios. Her argument, he was a god, who safer to be with. Which might have been a bit naive but she was only fifteen after all.

She didn't have many clothes, certainly nothing very grand. She wore a blue top made from a light, floaty material and a long cream skirt. Her mother had bartered for at one of the markets. Her red hair was tied back loosely as always with a clip in.

Grace gave a small smile at Kios's question and nodded.
"Yep." It certainly looked like it was going to be fun. There were plenty of people there already. None she knew though. Then she saw Echo.
"Look, there's your mam." At least if she got separated or paniced she would be able to seek the goddess out for help. "Is it going to be mostly gods? They won't mind me coming will they?"

Whisteria had spent the better party of the day meditating and attempting to sort out her thoughts. She was still a bit shaken after her meeting with Lifewater the day prior. Hopefully coming to this little gathering would ease her mind a bit and let her relax. Elik had been the one to suggest it to her after hearing about it from Adi. So she strolled into the market wearing the best clothes she had brought with her, hair falling loose over her shoulders and despite it all she felt oddly naked. Perhaps it was the lack of shoulder armor and other trappings that had grown so familiar over the years.

As she wove her way through the steadily growing crowd, she looked for signs of Elik, Adi or anyone else familiar. It was easy enough to pick out those gods who attended, especially the one looked quite like a tree and towered over everyone else. Cenarius? He did not look like the one she had glimpsed back in Darnassus but it seemed right. Unconsciously she touched her bare forearm, where the faint pattern of tree bark still lingered on her skin. For a moment she considered going to talk to him but it seemed her feet had no interest in obeying. She was more than a little intimated by the prospect of just going over there to say hello than she would care to admit.

Ser had followed Morgan to the market grounds and then made her fair wells. After reminding her to stay near the ground and not get lost. It was fair warning after what happened last time she went wandering. She had wandered circling the area mostly watching as people started to gather. She was trying to gather herself. She rubbed at her chest. The gem that laid their now didn’t cause the worst pain but it ached still. Too many distractions let’s stop thinking about it and go have fun.

For the outskirt were she had been circling Ser took off run full force to the edge of the party ground. She smiled though a bit winded. She looked around for where to start. The first thing catching her eye was the desert table; followed by the giant living tree next to it. So cool

Ser moved over to the table taking a piece a cake; then moved over to the giant tree. “Hi I’m Ser who are you?” she said up to the tree straining her neck to even make an attempt of seeing his face.

It was a rather striking case of beauty and the beast.

Adi was perfectly styled, in her lovely green dress and carefully styled hairstyle... and then there was Elik, who looked like he'd been tumbling in the woods a few minutes prior, then did remember he had a party to go to.

He was also wearing a simple shirt and brown pants, and was wandering about shoeless. It was the only thing he owned here that wasn't leather armor, and that would have been even more out of place in a party !

"Did you see Adi anywhere ?" Elik asked Whisteria, as he was scanning for his newly-minted girlfriend among the crowd. His aunt was staring at something, which made him follow her gaze.

And stare.

Wait, what. What.

Was that Glyph ?

"Holy s**t !" The words came without thinking. Elik hadn't gotten that memo.

Cenarius the mental call drew his attention, crumbs and frosting from the cake he'd been enjoying dotting his upper lip and he turned, the sway of leaves a soft rustle amidst the other sounds of the gathering. His gaze followed the impression and he found a night elf staring at him, looking as if she might be related to Illisia. Brows drew down in a quizzical look as he tried to think over their visit and didn't recall seeing that face...

"Hi I'm Ser who are you?"

The question from below shifted his attention back to his immediate surroundings and he smiled out of reflex as the woman strained to see him. Shifting about, he bowed his head in greetings as he spoke, "I'm Glyph, Forest. A pleasure to meet you Ser... I don't believe I've met you before! Are you new?" He held out a hand to her then inclined his head to the table as his free hand wiped the crumbs from his lip, "It's a delicious spread. The candied fruits are very good as well, make sure you try them!"

He glanced around, caught sight of the mysterious night elf and her companion, mouth agape as he too stared at Forest and caught the youth's eye, winking in greeting - yes, it certainly was Glyph! Ah, Elik. If he was back that meant Adi would be about too... which begged the question of where Xun was lurking about - he'd made the other promise not to be late!

Chuckling, he knelt before Ser so their gazes were closer to being even, and tilted his head, "Where are you from? And... who do you bear?" He could feel the faint aura of divine mana about her, likely indicating a newly forged bond.