<P> La revolution (Isambard & Phaedra)

[midnight_medea]

Between his trip to the mountains and the rebuilding of the town Isambard had almost forgotten about his encounter with the consort of the Twin Crown. The Council was so non-existent it was easy to forget they were supposed to be there, he lived in a bubble of mortals.

His conversation with the foreman, Joe had brought to mind the dangers that still lurked, waiting for a time to take them all down. It was worrying and so his thoughts were brought back to the consort and his plans for a coup. He had not met any gods who seemed keen on taking the council on, they were all far too loyal to see sense. Why be loyal to a lost cause? It was more than a tad pathetic in his eyes, heads buried in sand.

It was time for a different tactic, he had one side of the story, it was time to weigh the other. There was only one Council member he had met, the one who had aided his return to the world. Lady Greed. After asking around he was told he might be able to find her near the town or in the settlements around the Pantheon. So that's where he was, walking, seeking places that might attract the goddess of Greed. He was sure he'd be able to spot her, it didn't seem in her nature to be inconspicuous.  

[Sosiqui]

There were a number of settlements around the Pantheon - some newly built, some transformed into little villages that wiped away all signs of Destruction's Age and the time of Gehenna. Hope was such a... charming trait. Phaedra plied her trade elsewhere, in the bits still marked by her Emperor, where stones had tumbled and not been replaced, where hope had foundered. Even here there were mortals, mortals who felt unable to enter the more pristine communities looked over by other gods. They had not been cast out, but their envy and sense of isolation made them feel as if they had.

It was a careful game she played. She did not wish to place her little faction at war against another; she knew the rebirth of All was too new yet to risk actual loss of life and resources. And yet she was Greed, and could not abstain completely. So here she entertained herself while waiting for the greater chessboards to be reset, the structure of cities and nations to re-form so that she could knock them down again. It was more meager fare than she was accustomed to, and she was getting bored of it.

It was well that Aris had given her a better game to play. She was only here so that she could ensure the mortals here did not destroy themselves while she was away - she wanted to actually be present for such a delightful thing. The goddess had perched herself atop a crumbled building that had once been a place of commerce, a temple to herself in all but name, though the builders had not known it. From here she could see all of the little enclave.

She felt the brush of another's power against her own, and her gaze narrowed. Cat-quick, she slipped down and jumped to another rooftop, then another, moving towards the intruder. It was a faint power, yet somehow familiar...

It took her a moment when she got within range to see, and then she laughed, a low and contented sound that echoed against the broken walls. "Well met in low places, God of Industry," she said, jumping lightly down to street level.

midnight_medea

 

[midnight_medea]

He had not expected her to find him, though really he should not have been surprised, Greed was a cunning thing, sneaky, it hid in so many places some obvious, others not so much. He felt the spike of power, something greater than his own. The laughter not a friendly sound. he turned, his eyes searching for its source as the goddess dropped from the sky.

A smirk formed on his lips.
"My Lady Greed." He glanced to the building she had come from. Not somewhere he expected to see her, though perhaps those at the bottom of the ladder were those who hungered for the top the most. "I was looking for you."

Sosiqui

 

[Sosiqui]

"Were you?" Her interest sharpened and she smiled. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" She studied him, tilting her head ever so slightly to one side. "I see you have come into your own. Did you find your host... tractable?"

midnight_medea

 

[midnight_medea]

Sosiqui

"He served my purpose." Isambard replied. It was true the boy had been loyal and willing, still, his sacrifice had been made. He studied the goddess for a moment with his own eyes, he had been nothing but a rock when they had last met, barely fused. She looked dangerous and he could imagine why some feared her, they claimed dislike but he was sure that was born from fear, greed consumed others easily.
"I've heard lots of people talking about a Council. A dormant one. I heard you were a member, as I know you exist I thought I'd come and find out what had happened to them. I know Underworld is gone, leaving a trail of angry gods in his wake." Those mutterings were plain enough.  

[Sosiqui]

"Hmph." Phaedra's smile twisted into a scowl at the mention of the Council. "Rule by committee. A great deal of talk without action... until now." She rocked back on her heels for a moment, the feathers at her back flaring. "I go to lost Underworld to seek out that which was given to him. Like old times, save that he is wrapped in silence, drowned in his realm, and thus nowhere near as entertaining." She feigned a yawn, then grinned again. "My Lord's Consort is wise. You have caught me in my last days before departing, good Industry... and so, you have some knowledge of my affairs. What of your own? How fare your own dealings?"

midnight_medea

 

[midnight_medea]

Sosiqui

"And who's wise idea was this balanced council? Every factory needs a foreman, every committee a chairman. And in a world as fragile as this one..." until now ... "You are taking charge then?" Or acting on Aris' scheming? "I spoke to the consort too He told me to gather others who, like me were fed up of silence from above and lack of progress. It won't surprise you to know I couldn't find anyone willing to make a stand. They'd rather wallow in honour. As for me I have been busying myself, mobilising skilled workmen, rebuilding the town. Looking for resources.  

[Sosiqui]

Phaedra's gaze narrowed at Isambard's first question. She didn't think Industry's essence had even been shaped into a gem during that time, and yet... "It was my suggestion," she said, with a scowl. "More fool, I. I had not anticipated that Underworld and Forest would vanish, Tien Lung be laid low by his own grief, and that the others would pick a mortal with no more sense than a gnat to round out or number. They would not have accepted my hand alone without some softer heart to 'temper'... and thus, I have gained only a shell of power that means nothing, so hobbled by my benighted cohort." She spat out the last word like an insult and her tail lashed behind her. Oh, she was angry, well and truly. "None of them have the will to rule, so we will return the power to where it belongs - the Twin Crown. No doubt some of them will be glad to be quit of it."

She was pacing in her irritation, she realized, and that irritated her more; she was not used to displaying so much of her true feelings unfettered in front of anyone. "Aris offered a clear path without foolish obstruction; I took it. I shall return what I was given to my lord Destruction's own hand, with Underworld's share beside." What he said about making a stand, though... that was interesting enough to divert her from her fury.

"Someone ought to find Forest, at least. And the mortal. The Dragon King dwells in the Pantheon and will cede power willingly when the Crown asks; the Dragons all exist only to fulfill His every need. And then all shall be as it should, with our Lord enthroned once more."

midnight_medea

 

[midnight_medea]

Isambard watched the anger rise in her as she spoke, it might have been a good plan, though he wondered how much influence she would have had over the other gods, ones he had not met, yet seemed to have held some power when they had been present. He let her rant, calculating what he would say to her next. Really he now had more questions than the ones he started with.

"Why did he not take the gems back himself?" He asked with honest curiosity. "Forgive my questions, I know only rumours and what Aris told me. It seems that if the Crown had wanted to be on the throne he would be there?" Why hadn't he intervened.

Sosiqui

 

[Sosiqui]

"He required healing, to merely Be after the treachery of the Grigori." Ah, there was a good focus for her frustration. "The end was so near, so narrowly averted - His restoration was paramount. Yet Creation now holds sway, my Lord Destruction so spent upon the near-unmaking of All. And in this aspect He would gladly drift for millennia. Aris spoke of something more... appealing." She grinned, showing a hint of fang now. "Of proper balance, of my Lord Destruction's restoration, the Twin Crown ruling twinned in truth. Such things have not been seen in many an Age."

midnight_medea

 

[midnight_medea]

Sosiqui

Oh now that was interesting, Industry could fare equally well under both creation and destruction. a balance sounded like a good idea, better than solely one or the other. Destruction needed to be tempered, annihilation served no domain well.
"And we can trust him, the consort?" When Isambard an his host had met the man he seemed a little ... bitter. "It sounds like the last thing we need is to be caught in another trap."  

[Sosiqui]

"The power will not pass through him," Phaedra said, gaze narrowing a bit. "I shall place what I was given, and Underworld's gift as well, into my Lord's hand and no other. Aris knows this. If he is false, I will make his heart an offering to Destruction."

midnight_medea

 

[midnight_medea]

That seemed a fair deal and he had no doubt that she would if need be.
"So, you are bound for the Underworld, not an enjoyable place if I remember, which I doubt I do. I can't see that I would have had many dealings with them. Is there any way I can help you? I've heard there are several relatives of Nergal wandering around. One of my company has met the young Funeral and I have heard rumours that the female Underworld walks among us."

Sosiqui

 

[Sosiqui]

"Enjoyable to steal from, I assure you. Immensely." Her voice dropped into a low purr of pleasure. How many times had she threatened the gates? To do so again would be the sweetest sort of nostalgia. "The industries of the dead are not for you. You would find them dull, decrepit. Lacking in the innovation I suspect you crave." Her peacock-blue eye shone with amusement at her own assessment. "But... the Lady of the Underworld, is it... I would hear more of this. A token, in exchange..." She held up one hand, golden mana coalescing around it.

midnight_medea

Phae's power allows her to produce a small item of worth, so whatever Isambard might like~

 

[midnight_medea]

Sosiqui

The god chuckled in amusement, yes he could imagine that was a satisfying game. He might not remember much but from what he did remember the Underworld was like a fortress, they were very precious about their realm.
"You are correct of course, the dead are of no use to me." Though he had discovered a new respect for life that perhaps he did not have before.

He watched the mana curl about her hand, something between a smirk and a smile on his lips.
"I will take you to my source, if you'd rather hear direct. I think you'll enjoy her, she is both slave and servant to greed, he business is not far from here. She enjoys pretty things, jewellery and trinkets." He said with a nod to her hand.