<P> A Time For Adventure (Ankou/Isidore)

[A Wandering Esper]

It had been yet another case of over-thinking it, and missing the obvious.

He had thought about where exactly he could take Isidore to, and what he could show him. The Spirit Guide had thought about this for days, as he continued his work, when it finally hit him.

Start with the beginning. Then go from there. As the boy understood more and more, they could deviate for the beaten - and safer - paths.

He still needed ways to lighten his workload. He did not want his children to end up like Akakios did - he had heard a little from her last encounter with the boy, and that had been enough for him. He had no wish to be the absent, distant father - but could it truly be helped ?

He needed assistants... Aoides... But who ?

For now, though, he had more pressing matters to deal with. He knocked on his son's door softly. "Are you ready, Isidore ?"  

[midnight_medea]

Was Isidore ready for an adventure? Of course. He was so excited, if he'd had a tail it would most definitely be wagging.
"You have to stay here Scim." He said firmly to the puppy who was wagging his real tail. "Cae and Kyrie are gonna look after you but I'm going on an adventure." He puffed out his chest a little, yes he felt very important.

He looked to the door at his father's voice and smiled.
"Coming!" He had a bag, yep and in that bag he had things he might need for an adventure, a lucky bit of bone that he had found in his father's workshop, a half eaten cookie and a lucky feather his mother had given him when he was a little younger.

Once he'd checked everything he opened the door and looked up at his dad.
"Ready!"  

[A Wandering Esper]

Ankou would wait until his son came out of his room, leaning against the wall until the door opened. He noticed the bag and smiled. "You are prepared, good. It is very important to be prepared before you leave for an adventure." Isidore's level of foresight in said preparations was probably questionable, but the intent was there. For now, this was all about fun, and the boy would learn as they went, as they reached out more and more.

He would stand again and head toward the main hallway, then. "As you know, mortals... No, most living beings, really, be they mortal, immortal, aoide or even gods themselves, are made of two things - a body, and a soul." He pushed open the door leading to outside their quarters, and let Isidore exit first. These were things that he would find interesting, he supposed. "The body can be finite or infinite, depending on which entity inhabits it. Immortals do not age past a certain point because the power in their soul - their mana - stops their body from aging. Mortals eventually grow old and die." That was where he came in. He had explained such to his son, before, and would do so again if he needed to.  

[midnight_medea]

Isidore followed after his father, he was rather excited, though of course playing it cool. Going on an adventure with his dad was terribly grown up. He listened to his father as he walked a little ahead of him, a pale minature.
"Yeah, i know." He said to show that he had been learning some things. "I went with Phirren to the cemetary and we saw something. Some people with a um ... a person but not a person. They burned it and had a party." He said this all matter of fact, as he had seen things. "No soul."  

[A Wandering Esper]

"Different cultures honor their dead in different ways." He nodded. He was not familiar with most funeral customs, but he did know a few, if his son asked him. "Rituals meant to honor the soul and the body both. The two of them are very important."

He would pause in front of a blank door. Usually he would have simply world-walked at random, but having a little passenger in tow made that a little more difficult. "A soul does not die." Usually, at least. "The soul breaks free from the body after it dies, remain behind - ghosts, poltergeists, spirits... Mortals have many name for a soul broken free from it's tangible anchor to the world. Those souls have their own rituals, too. They need guidance. I find them, bring down down into their own place - deep within the earth. The Underworld. From there on, the soul is given over to Rebirth - and so they are born again, in a new body. The cycle of life and death."

He did not expect Isidore to understand and remember everything. But he felt like it was important for his son to know of such things - understand the cycle his influence was a part of.  

[midnight_medea]

Well, his dad certainly used big words. Isidore mostly followed what he was on about. Bodies died, souls were set free, his dad took them to the underworld where they were put in new bodies. It was all pretty straight forward. Mortals were attatched to the body and soul and so they had to perform a ritual to say goodbye to both.
"I help the mortals." He nodded, very sure in this. He had seen a funeral. The young god looked up at the door, it seemed very big.
"Who lives here?"  

[A Wandering Esper]

"Yes, you do. You and your cousins." Though... He had seen little of Lacrimosa, or even Sotiris. razz erhaps that had also tinted Lament's mood some. It seemed like only his mother made her presence known... But even Echo was pained, overwhelmed, hiding the scars on her heart like a bird would bear a broken wing.

Eventually, she would need to let go. He found himself unable to side with his brother on this. It had been so long - years, Cosine had reminded him - since any of them had heard anything of Underworld.

"No one lives here. That is why there is no marking on the door, see ? Those doors do not belong to anyone else yet." He reached to touch the smooth surface - a sign that his son could do the same, if he wanted to. "I would like to show you something - you will be able to do the same, later." Later. When his son would no longer be small and looking up at him with such wide, curious eyes. The thought was... oddly unsettling. No rush on that, children.

He could only hope that none of his own would come to recent him like Akakios resented his own father.

Still, he would wrench himself away from those thoughts - Isidore might not be able to replicate what he could do, but perhaps he would understand, and remember it for later. "I will let you teach that to your sisters later, hm ?" "The doors that have no marking on them will lead you wherever you desire, as long as you know where are going." He would smile a conspiratory smile. Caelia had seen him do such a thing before, but had never truly paid attention.  

[midnight_medea]

Oh, that was interesting. Isidore reached out to touch the door. It was indeed very smooth. Not like the ones that led to his home. They were very different.
"Anywhere?" That seemed rather exciting, you could go places through these doors, if you knew where. He didn't really know anywhere ... However, the thought of teaching his sisters something knew was a draw.
"Okay. I'm going to watch carefully." He stared at the door so he could see what his father was doing.  

[A Wandering Esper]

Oh, yes, he had thought Isidore would find the prospect of knowing something his sisters did not quite interesting indeed. It was a good thing for them all to learn from their parents, but also from each other. He hoped that even when grown, the three of them would still go to them, and each other, if they needed help, or if they had questions. No one ever knew everything, after all, and there was always something new to learn, even if one was a god. He understood that now.

"Keep your hand on the door, and just focus on what you feel and now what you see, alright ?" Mana was pushed though and flowed, the door covering in dancing runes before he pushed it open - on the other side was a bright and sunny field.  

[midnight_medea]

Isidore nodded, he could do that. He watched his father as he effortlessly opened the door. Feel and think, that was certainly easy enough to remember. The little one was rather surprised when the door opened to reveal a beautiful sunny field. Not a room at all.  

[A Wandering Esper]

"Not what you expected ?" He knew this place well - the inhabited settlements were quite far away from there, so the likelihood of them being disturbed was low. Blending in was a lesson that would come later.

"Ready to go ?" He looked at his son, smiling. He would let Isidore go in first. The path was staight and easy to follow until they were at the other side, and he preferred to come in last - if something happened, then he could find his way back.  

[midnight_medea]

As they were on an adventure Isidore hadn't been entirely sure what to expect. Still he was not disappointed by the beautiful green scenery and the sun.
"Yea, let's go!" Isidore took the first steps. Walking out into the sunshine, it was lovely and warm. "Where is this?"  

[A Wandering Esper]

"This world is named Terra." He said, stepping out in turn. The sun was high in the sky and shone brilliantly over them - the wind was warm and pleasant. This was a good day indeed. He would not have minded rain, not really, but his son might have.

"There are all sort of people here... Humans, elves. Dwarves. Dragons, even."

He would let Isidore explore his surroundings a bit before continuing on his explanations. After all, he was still wondering how to explain to him he could not touch, see, or perhaps even felt ? Akakios had heard spirits, but he had not mentioned anything of it for quite a long time. Perhaps the ability had been lost with Nergal withdrawing, or had become ignored as the boy focused on the living. But... if the ability had come from the boy's closeness to his father, then perhaps he could, likewise, lend Isidore his sight ?  

[midnight_medea]

"Terra." Isidore replied, trying the word on for size. It seemed very nice indeed and the young god was rather excited by the thought of dragons. "Dragons like Uncle Xun?" He asked, he liked Xun, he was funny. The young god crouched to touch the grass, pick a flower and examine it, yes it certainly did seem like their earth.  

[A Wandering Esper]

"Not quite, but similar creatures." He had seen the Dragon King's other form, and he had caught dragons flying overhead a few times.

"Still bright colored scales, but larger bodies. Shorter and bulky rather than long and slender." Maybe, if they were lucky, the dragons would oblige and show his son exactly what he was trying to convey. "Less similar to a snake, I suppose ?"