Side Story The Goddess

[Yun Lee]

Kolin was silent as Urien responded, giving him that much respect, at least. There was much that she could say in response to these insults. But there was no need. Because every word just proved Kolin right. This Multiverse....she was newer to it, but even she approached it with more tact than he. That was because of one thing, the fundamental difference between Urien and Gill. Urien only cared for himself, and things that related directly to himself. Those who pleased him, those who angered him...everything else was insignificant. But Gill...he served this world, as any ruler should. Everything they did, all they worked for...it was for more than just themselves, even if the ignorant couldn't realize it. To think that one couldn't serve multiple people...when serving the Goddess was on behalf of Gill in the first place.

But then, quite literally, Hell broke loose. And none of this mattered anymore.

Right way, Kolin recognized the voice of that armored heretic. Good God...what had happened for him to gain such a hold in this realm? And so quickly... Suddenly she regretted wasting time going after the President. He was so...insignificant now, in the grand scheme of things. Who knew what was being unleashed outside? Well, not her, if she stuck around here much longer. Taking hold of her fellow Chosen, Kolin would surround the two of them in an icy shell. From below them, she'd create an upwards geyser of snow that would propel the two up and out of the wreckage.

If Urien were able to swallow his pride long enough, it might get him out of there, too.

@Sark @Lucky​

 

[Jeremi]

The Throne Room

... GIVE IN TO THAT VOICE THAT CALLS IN THE BLACK OF NIGHT...

...GIVE IN TO THE CLAWS SCRATCHING AT THE CORNERS OF YOUR MIND...

...ABSOLVE YOURSELF OF THE LIMITS THEY HAVE PUT UPON YOU ...

YOU ARE AN ANIMAL

YOU ARE A MONSTER

YOU ARE CHAOS

And as with all things, it continues in war.

Eliphas smiled. He could not stop smiling as he could feel the weight of a thousand souls lift off the back of his mind. Even in his state as the Inheritor of Blackheart's Throne, Mephisto's spell had effected him just as it did the rest of the chosen. That was cause enough for the Dark Apostle to see the dearest Mother undo his works. But there was no time to celebrate and mock. Now, there was no time at all.

View attachment 4975

"Thank you, dearest Mother. May the Four bless you in your endeavors."

"But truthfully... you should have believed me from the start. You all should have listened to my words, dearest children. Perhaps, then, you would've been spared this nonsense war between the whore-Goddess and Blackheart's mutts."

Eliphas' voice changed. The supposed 'strain' from containing the throne's power vanished. It took a more joyous, enraptured tone, as he forced his hands against the side of the concrete seat and slowly rose to a stand. The Inheritor's from towered over the Chosen in the room as he turned his gaze down towards them.

The storm of empyrean power swirling around Eliphas exploded to a billowing tornado of energy that slowly crept towards the ceiling above him. He wrapped a hand around the Crozius' handle, dragging it in front of himself and planting the eight-pointed star into the concrete before his feet. Insidious whispers filled the air, and nonsensical words peeled back the layer of the Chosen's minds, filling their minds with maddening truths if they didn't plug their ears.

Even if they did so, however, Eliphas' voice echoed in their mind.

In everyone's mind, no matter where they were.

"Every action you take... every emotion you feel... it is just a fragment of Chaos yearning to be released from the prison of Order imposed upon you all. You all claim to act within their own interests... dreams and ambitions motivated by your heart... but look upon your works and ask yourself if what you're told you want is what you truly desire. The answer? No, I think not."

The Apostle raises his hands to the air, head tilting back to the sky. "You yearn for Chaos."

The swirling tornado of Warp energy pushes against the top of the ceiling, buckling the ancient stone upward before shattering it entirely. Those standing outside of Blackheart's fortress bears witness to faint streaks of indigo light beginning to streak across Hell's burnished skyline. The faint lights hadn't done anything but fill the sky with their dark markings. Someone, somewhere, was doing something - and the streaks were originating from Blackheart's fortress.

Suddenly, pieces of thin air began to split open, and arcs of warp lightning slammed into the black, ashy ground of Hell, obliterating those pitiful souls that happened to be standing nearby, leaving smoking craters in their wake. As the ground had begun to buckle and shudder beneath the weight of some unknowable force, structures began to slowly rise from these craters - icons fashioned from solid black stone and metal, depicting an eight-pointed star of Chaos.

View attachment 4976

"You hear the voices too, don't you? The song that calls from the black of the night? The claws that scratch at the corners of your mind? You surely can't deny it any longer, my brothers and sisters. You've been lied to. The Goddess has lied to you. Blackheart has lied to you. They led you here to die. You just number in this pathetic war, aren't you? Soldiers to be added to the casualty."

Eliphas the Inheritor lowered his head, slowly stepping forward off the throne platform. His crimson cape billowed behind him with every shuddering step he took. Something behind him began to occur - a transformation. Blackheart's former throne began to twist inward like a living thing. The stone took on a skin-like color and quivered. It began to breathe and twitch, and shudder.

"But now... you have nothing to fear. I can offer you all an escape. You were never meant to be caught in the crossfire, after all."

A red, organic substance crept off Eliphas' footsteps, spreading along the floor and walls. The entire room shuddered and began to gently melt inwards like clay, deforming into shapes determined by the sharp bony spines that shot out from seemingly random parts of the room. Parts of the fleshy wall quivered and then split open to unblinking, fetid eyeballs.

Twisting inwards like meat, an icon etched itself into the floor beneath Eliphas' feet. It softly glowed in a clouded yellow light.

View attachment 4970

Eliphas looked upon the icon as he spoke. "This war has grown far too large for Them to ignore. Fly too close to the sun, and you learn to fear that which lurks in the darkness left behind. They told me that an 'expansion of assets' is in order... that is why I have come here, my children. That is why this irritating conflict must come to an end."

Eliphas lifted an open palm directly above himself, the storm of whispers growing louder and more maddened as he continued.

But then they stopped. And he crushed his fist inward.

"Haha."

"Ha-ahahahah!"

"HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAH!"

The skyline ruptured at the beck and call of the Inheritor, as the ripples of Warp energy began to grow in number and intensity. A sharping ringing split the ears of any soul unfortunate to be within the vicinity of the epicenter, but they would have been long dead before they were granted a sight of what came after. The buzzing, the streaks of lightning, and a swirling tornado of energy originating of Blackheart's fortress all began to pool inwards towards a single point of the sky directly above the landscape of Hell.

The ground quakes and shudders. Chunks of concrete structures built by Blackheart's demons collapsed upon themselves in billowing clouds of debris that were blown into the air as a result of their destruction. Deep cracks, at least five feet wide, appeared in the crust beneath the unfortunate souls' feet, many Fellowship soldiers being sent hurtling into the depths screaming. Debris began to drift into the air and swirl around the point in the sky where much of the energy had coagulated, forming a smaller cyclone of concrete, brimstone, and steel lifted from the sundered plains of Hell into its brown, ashy atmosphere.

And then.

The very sky to tore itself open.

View attachment 4972

The air shrilled and screamed in a chorus of tormented souls and broiling, thundering, earth-splitting clouds of psychic energy. Amaranthine colors spilled out across the landscape of Hell, consuming it in a miasma of Chaos beckoned from the depths of the Immaterium, originating from a swirling vortex of shrieking energy hanging over the dimension. A maddening vision of a sort ultimately indescribable seized Hell in an icy grip, consuming it in a levy of abhorrent visions of a place far beyond this uncertain veil, a place so subsumed in the unfathomable essence of chaos that what it truly was twisted at every microcosm of every second.


The Battlefield & Outside Areas

The approach to Blackheart's fortress was quickly subsumed in chaos as the ground and sky were consumed in a horrific storm of psychic energy. Regardless of what the Fellowship or Blackheart's remaining forces had done to escape the torrent of energy, the air around then shrieks as purple rifts suddenly tore open around them.

BOOM BOOM, BOOM!

Bullets soared out from the rifts and clapped into several Fellowship soldiers, blowing them apart in an instant. After a moment of sustained gunfire, hulking silhouettes began to silently file out from the portals. One of them lurched forward and smashed fallen Goddessian soldier's skull into the dirt, planting an icon of a Chaos star beside the corpse.

View attachment 4973

The entities were humanoid in appearance, towering over the common man and encased in fleshy, crimson armor similar in appearance to Eliphas the Inheritor. Heavy rasps escaped their helmets as they lumbered onto the battlefield in small squads, stopping for a moment to take in the stunning silence of their prey before slamming fresh clips into their block-like rifles and beginning to unload on anything that wasn't them.

Small arms fire futilely deflected off their armor. Anything that got too close was met a brutal end by the marines as they gouged out abdomens and legs with cruel, sword-like chainsaws clipped to their belts. Attempts to communicate with them were met with maddened gibbering and more gunfire, more violence.

The only option was a retreat. Communications across Hell seemed to indicate that these 'chaos marines' were appearing all amidst the swirling energy-consuming the sky, and they were eradicating anything that didn't run away.

@Capri @Jackythejack @Raynar Saassin @Takumi @Minerva @York @Sark


The Wreck

Through the intensity of their fight, Urien and his opponents only now began to notice the Chaos outside as chunks of steel collapsed from the chamber's roof as a result of the thundering quakes. Suddenly, the walls began to whine under a buffet of heavy banging from something outside. A visible dent suddenly juts from the wall. The banging continues for a moment until a spindly pink fist manages to puncture the steel plating.

View attachment 4974

The steel hole is suddenly flooded with movement as several creatures resembling balls of pink flesh with teeth, horns, spindly limbs, and eyes began to invade the chamber. The daemons gargled words in some unknowable language as they leaped over the remains of the glass roof and skittered along the walls and ceiling like spiders, before dropping to the floor and lunging towards the nearest thing that wasn't them.

Urien was abruptly buffeted by a number of these creatures, as they maintained a distance from him and instead pelted the man with small balls of warp flame. Attacking the creatures proved futile that they seemed to ignore the pain and the mortal laws of damage. However, they were relatively easy to avoid... and the large opening in the ceiling was a prime escape point.

@Yun Lee @Lucky @Sark

***

The armored hulk approached his throne once more, stepping up atop the platform and turning to look at the Chosen in the room with him. The swirling vortex of power surrounding made it difficult to approach for any meaningful attack. He stood upon the platform, taking his works in silence and wrapping his hands around the pommel of his Crozius. Once again, his voice intruded upon the minds of the Chosen - all Chosen.

"Let the galaxy burn."

@Jeremi @Sark @Takumi @Raynar Saassin
​

It was time for Big Mother to leave. She had seen everything. "Zamasu!" She shouted into the chaos trying to locate him. "We are finished here and we need to retreat. Now." She looked around to her other chosen. "Has your ego been bruised enough for you to realize how insignificant you are compared to the wider universe? We are the only ones who know of your betrayal and perhaps by the time all of us have escaped this place safely none of us will inform the greater counsel about your sins. Do you hear and understand what I am saying?"

@Sark @Takumi @Crunch

 

[Takumi]

The Battlefield
The moment Hearts left the realm, the face of the battlefield transformed. Kamin and Oren, who had been doing everything within their power to slow the mutated Cunber, vanished in a flash of light. The Droid ships vanished from the skies. The anti-air canons faded away. The Sith traitors and masked troops disappeared.

One minute the Fellowship had been locked in a stalemate against a mighty, advanced army. The next, the fighting the war Luthor had promised them. Their men were carving through a fleeting fighting force of thing, pale demons.

"What the Hell happened...?" A solider muttered. He removed his helmet stared up crumbling towers of Blackheart's fortress.

"The Fat Lady just sung..." Luthor grinned. "Keep pushing on."

***
"I'll worry about then," Azrael nodded. "You need to leave. Go! Go!"
***
A clear path through the madness had been carved. Roman and Kuro's journey to the fort was quiet. Almost to quiet. Perhaps they would grow to miss the noise. Where there had been screaming, there had been life. Now, silence stalked the battlefield. Everything was still. Dead.

The pair soared past the beaten bodies of the soldiers the soldiers they had sent off to the war. Their faces were smooth. Their eyes were wide and glassy. These men- these children- could have been so much more. They had their whole lives ahead of them. Big Mother had promised them a morale boost. The Fellowship had promised them purpose. White lies.

Some had fallen before they had a chance to draw their weapons.

But they were with their Goddess now. Knowing that didn't make the sight of their scared, desperate faces any easier to bare.

Their journey was short in distance, but each moment seemed to linger on for far too long. By the time they reached the walls of the fortress, the Fellowship's main fighting force had already broken down its main wall. Or maybe the mutated Cunber had been responsible for the carnage? It was hard to say.

A wall of solider help the line, unleashing round after round into the chests of the defending demons. At the heart of the battle, a young soldier stood upon a pile of fallen stones. She waved the flag of the Goddess proudly. The sight of the emerald sheet was enough to inspire her brothers in arms. It served as a reminder as to what they had been fighting for. What they had been dying for.

A beam of light leaped from one of the demon's mouths. It pierced the girl's chest. All her armor? It made no distance. She remained standing for a moment. The flag slipped from her fingers. She fell back into its embrace, staining its green silk red. Another solder rushed to her side. He removed the flag from beneath her and raised it above his head. He remained frozen in fear for a moment or two. Bullets whizzed overhead. The earth shook. He swallowed hard as sung a silent prayer. He raised his sister's flag and took to her post. His tears in his eyes, he continued what she started. He waved it with pride, his eyes wet with tears. His body fell beside hers a moment later.

"Hold the line!" Luthor roared. "For the Goddess! Hold the line!"

Luthor's attack drew the fighting away from a nearby stairwell. The Goddess had filled Roman and Kuro with a new instinct. It guided them towards the stairs and upwards towards Izana's cell.

@York @Capri

As the darkness of Silque's spell swarmed Xalek, he drew his arms inward. He searched his feeling. He pushed his anger aside. He wouldn't let it blind him. He reached deep into his soul. He reached for his hatred. His loathing. The loathing he felt for his master. For Nox. For those who did his bidding. He took a hammer to his hate. Like a blacksmith, he struck it. He let it harden like tempered steel, and molded it into a weapon.

His hatred called out to the force. He commanded it. He shaped in into a dark, crackling shield. His dark thunder surged forth, parting the clouds of nosferatu. The lighting continued to burn through the air until they struck Silque square in the chest, throwing her back into one of the cell doors. Izana rushed to her side. He reached out through the bars of his cell and planted his hand on her shoulder. She felt her burns fade and her bruises lighten.

"Please, please, please, please..." He muttered. "Up, up, up, up..."


Xalek's lightsaber ignited in a flash of purple. He reached out with the force and let his weapon sit in the air before him.

"I should have choked your weeks ago..." Xalek spat against his marrow mask. "Still... I can make up for the mistake of my mercy..."

His blade started to spin. It span faster and faster with each subtle gesture from the Sith's hand. His blade transformed into a shimmering, whizzing wheel of light. Xalek slowly walked towards his prisoners, his razor-wheel closing in on them.

"Go on. Pray to your Goddess."

@Capri @Jackythejack @Raynar Saassin @Takumi @Minerva @York​

BOOM!

Ashe hissed, thrown back from the attacks exploding force. Arms shielding his face he was glad to have come out of it with only minor burns and scrapes.

"I've faced far worse than you, Zamasu!" He grit out, quickly preparing to cast another spell.

Then Eliphas sat on Blackheart's throne, leaving the demon's body in a heap on the floor. Things changed in seconds.

Shielding his eyes, the magic in his hands faded, his heart beat so loud it nearly drowned out Zamasu's words.

When Big Mother ultimately suggested retreating, Ashe made sure his bow was in place and his arrows were in place despite not drawing one during the confrontation, and was more than happy to leave and, hopefully, reunite with the others if they were still alive.

He prayed to both Seiros and the Goddess that the others were alive.

---

Silque gave a shuddering gasp as she was thrown back, her form slumped and twitched as she groaned. With Izana coming to her aid, however, she found it easier to breath as the pain began to fade away. The smell of burnt cloth and singed flesh lingered, but their marks on her skin along with her bruises were almost gone completely by the time she had reopened her eyes. Her teeth, once grit from the pain and struggle to even keep drawing breath, were now clenched with her jaw as she set her lips into a tight line.

"Thank you, Izana," She murmured, briefly and gently placing her hand on top of his as her features relaxed and her expression became calm, "and may Mother Mila watch over you in these trying times." She added as she got to her feet glancing to him briefly, then Xalek was in her sights. She stood tall and her gaze grew stern, like a mother ready to scold her child.

Her gaze didn't leave him as she lifted her hand and tried to cast a spell in retaliation, to protect Johanna, and Maddie, and Izana, and Jasper, and even herself.

Then the air changed, and a voice spoke to her, and every other Chosen.

The Throne Room

... GIVE IN TO THAT VOICE THAT CALLS IN THE BLACK OF NIGHT...

...GIVE IN TO THE CLAWS SCRATCHING AT THE CORNERS OF YOUR MIND...

...ABSOLVE YOURSELF OF THE LIMITS THEY HAVE PUT UPON YOU ...

YOU ARE AN ANIMAL

YOU ARE A MONSTER

YOU ARE CHAOS

And as with all things, it continues in war.

Eliphas smiled. He could not stop smiling as he could feel the weight of a thousand souls lift off the back of his mind. Even in his state as the Inheritor of Blackheart's Throne, Mephisto's spell had effected him just as it did the rest of the chosen. That was cause enough for the Dark Apostle to see the dearest Mother undo his works. But there was no time to celebrate and mock. Now, there was no time at all.

View attachment 4975

"Thank you, dearest Mother. May the Four bless you in your endeavors."

"But truthfully... you should have believed me from the start. You all should have listened to my words, dearest children. Perhaps, then, you would've been spared this nonsense war between the whore-Goddess and Blackheart's mutts."

Eliphas' voice changed. The supposed 'strain' from containing the throne's power vanished. It took a more joyous, enraptured tone, as he forced his hands against the side of the concrete seat and slowly rose to a stand. The Inheritor's from towered over the Chosen in the room as he turned his gaze down towards them.

The storm of empyrean power swirling around Eliphas exploded to a billowing tornado of energy that slowly crept towards the ceiling above him. He wrapped a hand around the Crozius' handle, dragging it in front of himself and planting the eight-pointed star into the concrete before his feet. Insidious whispers filled the air, and nonsensical words peeled back the layer of the Chosen's minds, filling their minds with maddening truths if they didn't plug their ears.

Even if they did so, however, Eliphas' voice echoed in their mind.

In everyone's mind, no matter where they were.

"Every action you take... every emotion you feel... it is just a fragment of Chaos yearning to be released from the prison of Order imposed upon you all. You all claim to act within their own interests... dreams and ambitions motivated by your heart... but look upon your works and ask yourself if what you're told you want is what you truly desire. The answer? No, I think not."

The Apostle raises his hands to the air, head tilting back to the sky. "You yearn for Chaos."

The swirling tornado of Warp energy pushes against the top of the ceiling, buckling the ancient stone upward before shattering it entirely. Those standing outside of Blackheart's fortress bears witness to faint streaks of indigo light beginning to streak across Hell's burnished skyline. The faint lights hadn't done anything but fill the sky with their dark markings. Someone, somewhere, was doing something - and the streaks were originating from Blackheart's fortress.

Suddenly, pieces of thin air began to split open, and arcs of warp lightning slammed into the black, ashy ground of Hell, obliterating those pitiful souls that happened to be standing nearby, leaving smoking craters in their wake. As the ground had begun to buckle and shudder beneath the weight of some unknowable force, structures began to slowly rise from these craters - icons fashioned from solid black stone and metal, depicting an eight-pointed star of Chaos.

View attachment 4976

"You hear the voices too, don't you? The song that calls from the black of the night? The claws that scratch at the corners of your mind? You surely can't deny it any longer, my brothers and sisters. You've been lied to. The Goddess has lied to you. Blackheart has lied to you. They led you here to die. You just number in this pathetic war, aren't you? Soldiers to be added to the casualty."

Eliphas the Inheritor lowered his head, slowly stepping forward off the throne platform. His crimson cape billowed behind him with every shuddering step he took. Something behind him began to occur - a transformation. Blackheart's former throne began to twist inward like a living thing. The stone took on a skin-like color and quivered. It began to breathe and twitch, and shudder.

"But now... you have nothing to fear. I can offer you all an escape. You were never meant to be caught in the crossfire, after all."

A red, organic substance crept off Eliphas' footsteps, spreading along the floor and walls. The entire room shuddered and began to gently melt inwards like clay, deforming into shapes determined by the sharp bony spines that shot out from seemingly random parts of the room. Parts of the fleshy wall quivered and then split open to unblinking, fetid eyeballs.

Twisting inwards like meat, an icon etched itself into the floor beneath Eliphas' feet. It softly glowed in a clouded yellow light.

View attachment 4970

Eliphas looked upon the icon as he spoke. "This war has grown far too large for Them to ignore. Fly too close to the sun, and you learn to fear that which lurks in the darkness left behind. They told me that an 'expansion of assets' is in order... that is why I have come here, my children. That is why this irritating conflict must come to an end."

Eliphas lifted an open palm directly above himself, the storm of whispers growing louder and more maddened as he continued.

But then they stopped. And he crushed his fist inward.

"Haha."

"Ha-ahahahah!"

"HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAH!"

The skyline ruptured at the beck and call of the Inheritor, as the ripples of Warp energy began to grow in number and intensity. A sharping ringing split the ears of any soul unfortunate to be within the vicinity of the epicenter, but they would have been long dead before they were granted a sight of what came after. The buzzing, the streaks of lightning, and a swirling tornado of energy originating of Blackheart's fortress all began to pool inwards towards a single point of the sky directly above the landscape of Hell.

The ground quakes and shudders. Chunks of concrete structures built by Blackheart's demons collapsed upon themselves in billowing clouds of debris that were blown into the air as a result of their destruction. Deep cracks, at least five feet wide, appeared in the crust beneath the unfortunate souls' feet, many Fellowship soldiers being sent hurtling into the depths screaming. Debris began to drift into the air and swirl around the point in the sky where much of the energy had coagulated, forming a smaller cyclone of concrete, brimstone, and steel lifted from the sundered plains of Hell into its brown, ashy atmosphere.

And then.

The very sky to tore itself open.

View attachment 4972

The air shrilled and screamed in a chorus of tormented souls and broiling, thundering, earth-splitting clouds of psychic energy. Amaranthine colors spilled out across the landscape of Hell, consuming it in a miasma of Chaos beckoned from the depths of the Immaterium, originating from a swirling vortex of shrieking energy hanging over the dimension. A maddening vision of a sort ultimately indescribable seized Hell in an icy grip, consuming it in a levy of abhorrent visions of a place far beyond this uncertain veil, a place so subsumed in the unfathomable essence of chaos that what it truly was twisted at every microcosm of every second.


The Battlefield & Outside Areas

The approach to Blackheart's fortress was quickly subsumed in chaos as the ground and sky were consumed in a horrific storm of psychic energy. Regardless of what the Fellowship or Blackheart's remaining forces had done to escape the torrent of energy, the air around then shrieks as purple rifts suddenly tore open around them.

BOOM BOOM, BOOM!

Bullets soared out from the rifts and clapped into several Fellowship soldiers, blowing them apart in an instant. After a moment of sustained gunfire, hulking silhouettes began to silently file out from the portals. One of them lurched forward and smashed fallen Goddessian soldier's skull into the dirt, planting an icon of a Chaos star beside the corpse.

View attachment 4973

The entities were humanoid in appearance, towering over the common man and encased in fleshy, crimson armor similar in appearance to Eliphas the Inheritor. Heavy rasps escaped their helmets as they lumbered onto the battlefield in small squads, stopping for a moment to take in the stunning silence of their prey before slamming fresh clips into their block-like rifles and beginning to unload on anything that wasn't them.

Small arms fire futilely deflected off their armor. Anything that got too close was met a brutal end by the marines as they gouged out abdomens and legs with cruel, sword-like chainsaws clipped to their belts. Attempts to communicate with them were met with maddened gibbering and more gunfire, more violence.

The only option was a retreat. Communications across Hell seemed to indicate that these 'chaos marines' were appearing all amidst the swirling energy-consuming the sky, and they were eradicating anything that didn't run away.

@Capri @Jackythejack @Raynar Saassin @Takumi @Minerva @York @Sark


The Wreck

Through the intensity of their fight, Urien and his opponents only now began to notice the Chaos outside as chunks of steel collapsed from the chamber's roof as a result of the thundering quakes. Suddenly, the walls began to whine under a buffet of heavy banging from something outside. A visible dent suddenly juts from the wall. The banging continues for a moment until a spindly pink fist manages to puncture the steel plating.

View attachment 4974

The steel hole is suddenly flooded with movement as several creatures resembling balls of pink flesh with teeth, horns, spindly limbs, and eyes began to invade the chamber. The daemons gargled words in some unknowable language as they leaped over the remains of the glass roof and skittered along the walls and ceiling like spiders, before dropping to the floor and lunging towards the nearest thing that wasn't them.

Urien was abruptly buffeted by a number of these creatures, as they maintained a distance from him and instead pelted the man with small balls of warp flame. Attacking the creatures proved futile that they seemed to ignore the pain and the mortal laws of damage. However, they were relatively easy to avoid... and the large opening in the ceiling was a prime escape point.

@Yun Lee @Lucky @Sark

***

The armored hulk approached his throne once more, stepping up atop the platform and turning to look at the Chosen in the room with him. The swirling vortex of power surrounding made it difficult to approach for any meaningful attack. He stood upon the platform, taking his works in silence and wrapping his hands around the pommel of his Crozius. Once again, his voice intruded upon the minds of the Chosen - all Chosen.

"Let the galaxy burn."

@Jeremi @Sark @Takumi @Raynar Saassin
​

'I am not your child, nor will I ever be you dastard of a man.' Silque thought with a deep frown. She wasn't sure what exactly happened with the others, but whatever it was it was big.

She tried Nosferatu one more time against Xalek, then attempted to cast Warp on Izana so that he would teleport away, out of the castle as it shook and held the sounds of war that seemed to be amplified outside. She wanted to teleport him somewhere safe. He was who they came here for, after all, and she would see it through.

It occured to her just then, that she could also do this for the other members.

@Sark @Crunch @Jeremi @Lucky @Capri @Minerva @Everyone

 

[Capri]

MADDIE

As Xalek was about to kill Johanna, Maddie merely watched. No remorse for this wannabe.

But then the chaos unfolded around her. The voice rang in her head. Told her to embrace chaos. It was... tempting. He was right about the inevitability of death, and the Goddess being a whore, but despite all of the similarities in viewpoints she can’t bring herself to cause chaos.

She is a healer, after all.

Not only that... there’s Ashe...

Using this opportunity, she began to run as fast as she could.

@Sark @Crunch @Minerva @Takumi

---

ROMAN

Roman ran up the stairs. Using the Goddess’s new instinct to head straight to Izana’s cell.

Right as he reached the top, that was when Eliphas happened.

When the marines came down, Roman activated his powers because now he has control over them. He used the force of his lightning to propel off of the wall and into the nearest open crevice. He began to flee, because he can feel these people are more powerful than him.

@York​

 

[Sark]

A vicious grin crept up on her face as she extended her arm towards the Inheritor. "I look forward to see," She clutched unto his hand tight. "What you will do with the place." The power of hell started to flow into her and she knew what to do. This was all Mephisto's game, he had held all the cards and even as it was eventually he would sit on this throne. But when he would Big Mother that the domain would be an empty one. "I release all souls from this domain. All debts have been paid in full." She uttered looking at Eliphas. With a tug, their position could be switched. He was only a zealot in armor after all and she was so much more. Instead...

It happened just as Mother had commanded it.
View attachment 4987
The skies of Hell opened wide. The barren mountains that stalked the horizon were consumed by a magnificent white light. It burned like a second son, cutting through the dark like a knife. Daggers of light erupted from the gritty sands of the wasteland. They took to skies and soared towards the second son. Thousands of daggers vanished into the clouds. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands.

The Souls of Blackheart's realm were free, and the Land of the Living just grew that little bit more populous.
​

The ground quakes and shudders. Chunks of concrete structures built by Blackheart's demons collapsed upon themselves in billowing clouds of debris that were blown into the air as a result of their destruction. Deep cracks, at least five feet wide, appeared in the crust beneath the unfortunate souls' feet, many Fellowship soldiers being sent hurtling into the depths screaming. Debris began to drift into the air and swirl around the point in the sky where much of the energy had coagulated, forming a smaller cyclone of concrete, brimstone, and steel lifted from the sundered plains of Hell into its brown, ashy atmosphere.

And then.

The very sky to tore itself open.

The air shrilled and screamed in a chorus of tormented souls and broiling, thundering, earth-splitting clouds of psychic energy. Amaranthine colors spilled out across the landscape of Hell, consuming it in a miasma of Chaos beckoned from the depths of the Immaterium, originating from a swirling vortex of shrieking energy hanging over the dimension. A maddening vision of a sort ultimately indescribable seized Hell in an icy grip, consuming it in a levy of abhorrent visions of a place far beyond this uncertain veil, a place so subsumed in the unfathomable essence of chaos that what it truly was twisted at every microcosm of every second.
​

It happened just as Eliphas' had commanded it.

The Netherworld descended into chaos.

Blackheart had been cruel. Blackheart had been mad. But at least he had kept his demons in line. At least he had provided the realm with some semblance of order. Without his hand to guide them, his children ran amok. They were no match for the forces of chaos.

Scared and overwhelmed, the forces of the Fellowship didn't fair much better. The arrival of the Chaos Marines had brought their namesake to the battlefield. Luthor did the best he could to slow the largest of the marines with a telepathic attack, but with his forces scattered and the tower collapsing around them, he too began to fall back towards the breach.
View attachment 4988
"Cowards! Hold the line!" The Apex Predator screamed. "It's not over yet! Converge on my position! Conver---"

[zip!]​

Right way, Kolin recognized the voice of that armored heretic. Good God...what had happened for him to gain such a hold in this realm? And so quickly... Suddenly she regretted wasting time going after the President. He was so...insignificant now, in the grand scheme of things. Who knew what was being unleashed outside? Well, not her, if she stuck around here much longer. Taking hold of her fellow Chosen, Kolin would surround the two of them in an icy shell. From below them, she'd create an upwards geyser of snow that would propel the two up and out of the wreckage.
​

With the forces of Chaos closing in, Urien placed his pride aside. The odds were not in his favor. It wasn't a fight he could win. Stepping into the icy shell, the President rode the geyser back up to the surface.
His eyes cut deep into the destruction. Fellowship ships sank from the skies. Battalions were falling. Stragglers were slaughtered.
View attachment 4990
"By the prophets..." Urien hissed. "The Chosen have revealed themselves as Devils... traitors to the Fellowship. Luthor's dream is burning down before us. The War is over... the true war can begin at last..."

[zip!]​

It was time for Big Mother to leave. She had seen everything. "Zamasu!" She shouted into the chaos trying to locate him. "We are finished here and we need to retreat. Now." She looked around to her other chosen. "Has your ego been bruised enough for you to realize how insignificant you are compared to the wider universe? We are the only ones who know of your betrayal and perhaps by the time all of us have escaped this place safely none of us will inform the greater counsel about your sins. Do you hear and understand what I am saying?"

@Sark @Takumi @Crunch

Zamasu slowly shifted the rubble from his chest and rose up from his place in the dirt. He remained silent. His jaw remained clenched. He slowly staggered towards Big Mother, his arms swinging limply.
View attachment 4991
"You'd offer me... charity?" He spat, his teeth chattering. "You'd offer me mercy? Who do you think I am?!"

"WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?!"

Dark Ki crackled across his knuckles. His fingers coiled into fists. He punched the air and sent a blazing ki ball across the chamber

"PLANET BOMB!"
View attachment 4993
The Ki ball exploded mere inches before the throne and filled the chamber with an orange cloud. A wave of heat filled the crumbling, mutated tower.

"There are others. Others who know what I've done. I can sense them. I tried to kill them, but they live. They still live--" A hint of something glimmered in Zamasu's eyes. Was it fear? Or madness? "I have no home there. Not anymore."

He placed two fingers two his forehead and closed his eyes.

"I have no home with the Godless, either. I risked everything to get here. But now? I have nothing to lose. I won't forget what happened here. I won't forget who it was that took it all from me. You'll see me again. You will. The Goddessians. The Secularists. The Godless and the minions of Chaos. You'll see me again..."

In a flash, Zamasu was gone.
​

'I am not your child, nor will I ever be you dastard of a man.' Silque thought with a deep frown. She wasn't sure what exactly happened with the others, but whatever it was it was big.

She tried Nosferatu one more time against Xalek, then attempted to cast Warp on Izana so that he would teleport away, out of the castle as it shook and held the sounds of war that seemed to be amplified outside. She wanted to teleport him somewhere safe. He was who they came here for, after all, and she would see it through.

It occured to her just then, that she could also do this for the other members.

@Sark @Crunch @Jeremi @Lucky @Capri @Minerva @Everyone

Xalek span his lightsaber faster and faster. The force of his rotations was enough to part the dark clouds of Nosferatu before they could reach them. The mental exertion was agonizing, but the pain simply fueled his hate.

"Did you truly think that you coul--"

[Boom]

The castle trembled. Eliphas' dominion over the realm had continued to grow stronger. A great crack divided the corridor, throwing the Sith apprentice off balance. Xalek staggered, his focus slipping. His lightsaber slipped from his telekinetic grasp. Stunned, the Sith tripped backwards. His fell into the jaws of the crevasse, and vanished into the black...

"Noooooo!!!!"

"Thank you... thank you... thank you..." Izana wrapped his arms around his savior. He wept. "Thank you... thank you..."

At last, Izana was safe.
The mission was complete.
The War was lost.

[zip]

The Goddess
Act 1- Emerald Dawn
Episode III
The Tomb Opens
The War for Hell has been lost! Through the intervention of
ELIPHAS THE INHERITOR , the NETHERWORLD has fallen into the hands of
the CHAOS MARINES, and the FELLOWSHIP OF THE FAITH's fighting force
has been crippled. Defeated, the GODDESS' CHOSEN were saved from
certain death by a mysterious ally of the Fellowship and left to lick their wounds.

To the demoralized Followers of the Fellowship, a singe flicker of hope remains:
IZANA OF IZUMO, and his visions of the GODDESS. Saved from Hell by SILQUE, the
tortured seer has been driven mad by his spell in the Netherworld. Many on the HIGHEST
COUNCIL doubt the accuracy of his new predictions. The mysterious JOHANNA, a fellow
prisoner of the Nether who assisted in Izana's escape.

Betrayed by the villainous ZAMASU, the Followers in the Fellowship have started to
loose faith in their leaders. High Councillor URIEN has weaponized this doubt to
strengthen the divide between the Fellowship's two main factions, the GODDESSIANS
and the SECULARISTS.

ELIPHAS joined the Fellowship to spread chaos. He succeeded. In the darkest corners of the
universe, the dead are walking. A mysterious transmission from an old foe has chilled the
council to its core. The War Council is summoned once again. A greater burned awaits them...

_________________________

"Ah. At last. You're awake." The stranger boomed, he already commanding voice echoing from inside helmet. He snapped his book close and floated from his wooden chair. He glided across the library towards the Chosen. "To remove souls from the Netherworld- even 'living' souls- is burden too great for many. I endured it, but it came at a price. You slumber has been great. You have been asleep for weeks."

View attachment 4994

"Time has healed your wounds and returned life to your old bones. The only injuries that will linger from your time in Hell will be those inflicted upon your minds. Trauma. Nightmares. I am certain the other medics will be able to assist you with such afflictions once our business is concluded. As you can see, time is not our ally..."

You sit up and look around the room. You're in the Temple's Great Library. Towering bookshelves stretch on for as long as the eye can see. Each are packed full with thousands of sacred texts from thousands of cultures. Their engraved wooden walls have been etched with scenes of birth and death. Destruction and creations. Even the shelves are telling stories. They're telling the stories of the faiths that lead you into the arms of the Fellowship.

The chamber smells of old paper and dust. A hall once built to be enjoyed in silence was full of noise. The chandeliers shook as medics rushed to tend to their patients with what little medical resources they had to spare. So of these patients- these soldiers and school boys- were gossiping and chatting to distract themselves from their pain. Others cried out in pain. Those most deserving of pity remain silent, their eyes fixed on the walls. They were each bound to their fates.

You did this. You chose to go to war. Revel in its consequences.

"Our resources are spread thin enough as it is. If you're well enough, I would like to lead you back to the Council Chamber. My Fellow Councilors are in need of your guidance, now more than ever..."

Cast List:
@Raynar Saassin as CFW Magic and CFW Brave/ Compa and IF
@amwexia as Roman Halliday and Madison Palmer
@Yun Lee as Kolin
@Crunch as Eliphas the Inheritor
@Lucky as Jester Lavorre and Beauregard Lionette
@Nightwisher as Dinasadhaka "Din" Vipatti
@Crow as Omnimon and Dukemon
@Jeremi as Big Mother
@Minerva as Johanna
@Takumi as Ashe and Silque
@York as Kuro Kyoka​

 

[Jeremi]

It happened just as Mother had commanded it.
View attachment 4987
The skies of Hell opened wide. The barren mountains that stalked the horizon were consumed by a magnificent white light. It burned like a second son, cutting through the dark like a knife. Daggers of light erupted from the gritty sands of the wasteland. They took to skies and soared towards the second son. Thousands of daggers vanished into the clouds. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands.

The Souls of Blackheart's realm were free, and the Land of the Living just grew that little bit more populous.



It happened just as Eliphas' had commanded it.

The Netherworld descended into chaos.

Blackheart had been cruel. Blackheart had been mad. But at least he had kept his demons in line. At least he had provided the realm with some semblance of order. Without his hand to guide them, his children ran amok. They were no match for the forces of chaos.

Scared and overwhelmed, the forces of the Fellowship didn't fair much better. The arrival of the Chaos Marines had brought their namesake to the battlefield. Luthor did the best he could to slow the largest of the marines with a telepathic attack, but with his forces scattered and the tower collapsing around them, he too began to fall back towards the breach.
View attachment 4988
"Cowards! Hold the line!" The Apex Predator screamed. "It's not over yet! Converge on my position! Conver---"

[zip!]


With the forces of Chaos closing in, Urien placed his pride aside. The odds were not in his favor. It wasn't a fight he could win. Stepping into the icy shell, the President rode the geyser back up to the surface.
His eyes cut deep into the destruction. Fellowship ships sank from the skies. Battalions were falling. Stragglers were slaughtered.
View attachment 4990
"By the prophets..." Urien hissed. "The Chosen have revealed themselves as Devils... traitors to the Fellowship. Luthor's dream is burning down before us. The War is over... the true war can begin at last..."

[zip!]

Zamasu slowly shifted the rubble from his chest and rose up from his place in the dirt. He remained silent. His jaw remained clenched. He slowly staggered towards Big Mother, his arms swinging limply.
View attachment 4991
"You'd offer me... charity?" He spat, his teeth chattering. "You'd offer me mercy? Who do you think I am?!"

"WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?!"

Dark Ki crackled across his knuckles. His fingers coiled into fists. He punched the air and sent a blazing ki ball across the chamber

"PLANET BOMB!"
View attachment 4993
The Ki ball exploded mere inches before the throne and filled the chamber with an orange cloud. A wave of heat filled the crumbling, mutated tower.

"There are others. Others who know what I've done. I can sense them. I tried to kill them, but they live. They still live--" A hint of something glimmered in Zamasu's eyes. Was it fear? Or madness? "I have no home there. Not anymore."

He placed two fingers two his forehead and closed his eyes.

"I have no home with the Godless, either. I risked everything to get here. But now? I have nothing to lose. I won't forget what happened here. I won't forget who it was that took it all from me. You'll see me again. You will. The Goddessians. The Secularists. The Godless and the minions of Chaos. You'll see me again..."

In a flash, Zamasu was gone.


Xalek span his lightsaber faster and faster. The force of his rotations was enough to part the dark clouds of Nosferatu before they could reach them. The mental exertion was agonizing, but the pain simply fueled his hate.

"Did you truly think that you coul--"

[Boom]

The castle trembled. Eliphas' dominion over the realm had continued to grow stronger. A great crack divided the corridor, throwing the Sith apprentice off balance. Xalek staggered, his focus slipping. His lightsaber slipped from his telekinetic grasp. Stunned, the Sith tripped backwards. His fell into the jaws of the crevasse, and vanished into the black...

"Noooooo!!!!"

"Thank you... thank you... thank you..." Izana wrapped his arms around his savior. He wept. "Thank you... thank you..."

At last, Izana was safe.
The mission was complete.
The War was lost.

[zip]

The Goddess
Act 1- Emerald Dawn
Episode III
The Tomb Opens
The War for Hell has been lost! Through the intervention of
ELIPHAS THE INHERITOR , the NETHERWORLD has fallen into the hands of
the CHAOS MARINES, and the FELLOWSHIP OF THE FAITH's fighting force
has been crippled. Defeated, the GODDESS' CHOSEN were saved from
certain death by a mysterious ally of the Fellowship and left to lick their wounds.

To the demoralized Followers of the Fellowship, a singe flicker of hope remains:
IZANA OF IZUMO, and his visions of the GODDESS. Saved from Hell by ASHE, the
tortured seer has been driven mad by his spell in the Netherworld. Many on the HIGHEST
COUNCIL doubt the accuracy of his new predictions. The mysterious JOHANNA, a fellow
prisoner of the Nether who assisted in Izana's escape.

Betrayed by the villainous ZAMASU, the Followers in the Fellowship have started to
loose faith in their leaders. High Councillor URIEN has weaponized this doubt to
strengthen the divide between the Fellowship's two main factions, the GODDESSIANS
and the SECULARISTS.

ELIPHAS joined the Fellowship to spread chaos. He succeeded. In the darkest corners of the
universe, the dead are walking. A mysterious transmission from an old foe has chilled the
council to its core. The War Council is summoned once again. A greater burned awaits them...

_________________________

"Ah. At last. You're awake." The stranger boomed, he already commanding voice echoing from inside helmet. He snapped his book close and floated from his wooden chair. He glided across the library towards the Chosen. "To remove souls from the Netherworld- even 'living' souls- is burden too great for many. I endured it, but it came at a price. You slumber has been great. You have been asleep for weeks."

View attachment 4994

"Time has healed your wounds and returned life to your old bones. The only injuries that will linger from your time in Hell will be those inflicted upon your minds. Trauma. Nightmares. I am certain the other medics will be able to assist you with such afflictions once our business is concluded. As you can see, time is not our ally..."

You sit up and look around the room. You're in the Temple's Great Library. Towering bookshelves stretch on for as long as the eye can see. Each are packed full with thousands of sacred texts from thousands of cultures. Their engraved wooden walls have been etched with scenes of birth and death. Destruction and creations. Even the shelves are telling stories. They're telling the stories of the faiths that lead you into the arms of the Fellowship.

The chamber smells of old paper and dust. A hall once built to be enjoyed in silence was full of noise. The chandeliers shook as medics rushed to tend to their patients with what little medical resources they had to spare. So of these patients- these soldiers and school boys- were gossiping and chatting to distract themselves from their pain. Others cried out in pain. Those most deserving of pity remain silent, their eyes fixed on the walls. They were each bound to their fates.

You did this. You chose to go to war. Revel in its consequences.

"Our resources are spread thin enough as it is. If you're well enough, I would like to lead you back to the Council Chamber. My Fellow Councilors are in need of your guidance, now more than ever..."

Cast List:
@Raynar Saassin as CFW Magic and CFW Brave/ Compa and IF
@amwexia as Roman Halliday and Madison Palmer
@Yun Lee as Kolin
@Crunch as Eliphas the Inheritor
@Lucky as Jester Lavorre and Beauregard Lionette
@Nightwisher as Dinasadhaka "Din" Vipatti
@Crow as Omnimon and Dukemon
@Jeremi as Big Mother
@Minerva as Johanna
@Takumi as Ashe and Silque
@York as Kuro Kyoka​

"Spare me your kind words," Big Mother was quick to get to her feet as Doctor Fate spoke to them. She had had quite enough of false platitudes by now and she simply cut to the chase. "I don't much care to hear the Councilors whining and pointing fingers at one another and the annoying supposed divide they are dealing with. Through nothing but their own idiocy, I might add. So unless you can guarantee me that they will actually be quiet and deal with the situation as adults. Then I'm afraid I have nothing to say to them."

@Sark @Everyone

 

[Takumi]

It happened just as Mother had commanded it.
View attachment 4987
The skies of Hell opened wide. The barren mountains that stalked the horizon were consumed by a magnificent white light. It burned like a second son, cutting through the dark like a knife. Daggers of light erupted from the gritty sands of the wasteland. They took to skies and soared towards the second son. Thousands of daggers vanished into the clouds. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands.

The Souls of Blackheart's realm were free, and the Land of the Living just grew that little bit more populous.
​

It happened just as Eliphas' had commanded it.

The Netherworld descended into chaos.

Blackheart had been cruel. Blackheart had been mad. But at least he had kept his demons in line. At least he had provided the realm with some semblance of order. Without his hand to guide them, his children ran amok. They were no match for the forces of chaos.

Scared and overwhelmed, the forces of the Fellowship didn't fair much better. The arrival of the Chaos Marines had brought their namesake to the battlefield. Luthor did the best he could to slow the largest of the marines with a telepathic attack, but with his forces scattered and the tower collapsing around them, he too began to fall back towards the breach.
View attachment 4988
"Cowards! Hold the line!" The Apex Predator screamed. "It's not over yet! Converge on my position! Conver---"

[zip!]​

With the forces of Chaos closing in, Urien placed his pride aside. The odds were not in his favor. It wasn't a fight he could win. Stepping into the icy shell, the President rode the geyser back up to the surface.
His eyes cut deep into the destruction. Fellowship ships sank from the skies. Battalions were falling. Stragglers were slaughtered.
View attachment 4990
"By the prophets..." Urien hissed. "The Chosen have revealed themselves as Devils... traitors to the Fellowship. Luthor's dream is burning down before us. The War is over... the true war can begin at last..."

[zip!]​

Zamasu slowly shifted the rubble from his chest and rose up from his place in the dirt. He remained silent. His jaw remained clenched. He slowly staggered towards Big Mother, his arms swinging limply.
View attachment 4991
"You'd offer me... charity?" He spat, his teeth chattering. "You'd offer me mercy? Who do you think I am?!"

"WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?!"

Dark Ki crackled across his knuckles. His fingers coiled into fists. He punched the air and sent a blazing ki ball across the chamber

"PLANET BOMB!"
View attachment 4993
The Ki ball exploded mere inches before the throne and filled the chamber with an orange cloud. A wave of heat filled the crumbling, mutated tower.

"There are others. Others who know what I've done. I can sense them. I tried to kill them, but they live. They still live--" A hint of something glimmered in Zamasu's eyes. Was it fear? Or madness? "I have no home there. Not anymore."

He placed two fingers two his forehead and closed his eyes.

"I have no home with the Godless, either. I risked everything to get here. But now? I have nothing to lose. I won't forget what happened here. I won't forget who it was that took it all from me. You'll see me again. You will. The Goddessians. The Secularists. The Godless and the minions of Chaos. You'll see me again..."

In a flash, Zamasu was gone.
​

Xalek span his lightsaber faster and faster. The force of his rotations was enough to part the dark clouds of Nosferatu before they could reach them. The mental exertion was agonizing, but the pain simply fueled his hate.

"Did you truly think that you coul--"

[Boom]

The castle trembled. Eliphas' dominion over the realm had continued to grow stronger. A great crack divided the corridor, throwing the Sith apprentice off balance. Xalek staggered, his focus slipping. His lightsaber slipped from his telekinetic grasp. Stunned, the Sith tripped backwards. His fell into the jaws of the crevasse, and vanished into the black...

"Noooooo!!!!"

"Thank you... thank you... thank you..." Izana wrapped his arms around his savior. He wept. "Thank you... thank you..."

At last, Izana was safe.
The mission was complete.
The War was lost.

[zip]

The Goddess
Act 1- Emerald Dawn
Episode III
The Tomb Opens
The War for Hell has been lost! Through the intervention of
ELIPHAS THE INHERITOR , the NETHERWORLD has fallen into the hands of
the CHAOS MARINES, and the FELLOWSHIP OF THE FAITH's fighting force
has been crippled. Defeated, the GODDESS' CHOSEN were saved from
certain death by a mysterious ally of the Fellowship and left to lick their wounds.

To the demoralized Followers of the Fellowship, a singe flicker of hope remains:
IZANA OF IZUMO, and his visions of the GODDESS. Saved from Hell by SILQUE, the
tortured seer has been driven mad by his spell in the Netherworld. Many on the HIGHEST
COUNCIL doubt the accuracy of his new predictions. The mysterious JOHANNA, a fellow
prisoner of the Nether who assisted in Izana's escape.

Betrayed by the villainous ZAMASU, the Followers in the Fellowship have started to
loose faith in their leaders. High Councillor URIEN has weaponized this doubt to
strengthen the divide between the Fellowship's two main factions, the GODDESSIANS
and the SECULARISTS.

ELIPHAS joined the Fellowship to spread chaos. He succeeded. In the darkest corners of the
universe, the dead are walking. A mysterious transmission from an old foe has chilled the
council to its core. The War Council is summoned once again. A greater burned awaits them...

_________________________

"Ah. At last. You're awake." The stranger boomed, he already commanding voice echoing from inside helmet. He snapped his book close and floated from his wooden chair. He glided across the library towards the Chosen. "To remove souls from the Netherworld- even 'living' souls- is burden too great for many. I endured it, but it came at a price. You slumber has been great. You have been asleep for weeks."

View attachment 4994

"Time has healed your wounds and returned life to your old bones. The only injuries that will linger from your time in Hell will be those inflicted upon your minds. Trauma. Nightmares. I am certain the other medics will be able to assist you with such afflictions once our business is concluded. As you can see, time is not our ally..."

You sit up and look around the room. You're in the Temple's Great Library. Towering bookshelves stretch on for as long as the eye can see. Each are packed full with thousands of sacred texts from thousands of cultures. Their engraved wooden walls have been etched with scenes of birth and death. Destruction and creations. Even the shelves are telling stories. They're telling the stories of the faiths that lead you into the arms of the Fellowship.

The chamber smells of old paper and dust. A hall once built to be enjoyed in silence was full of noise. The chandeliers shook as medics rushed to tend to their patients with what little medical resources they had to spare. So of these patients- these soldiers and school boys- were gossiping and chatting to distract themselves from their pain. Others cried out in pain. Those most deserving of pity remain silent, their eyes fixed on the walls. They were each bound to their fates.

You did this. You chose to go to war. Revel in its consequences.

"Our resources are spread thin enough as it is. If you're well enough, I would like to lead you back to the Council Chamber. My Fellow Councilors are in need of your guidance, now more than ever..."

Cast List:
@Raynar Saassin as CFW Magic and CFW Brave/ Compa and IF
@amwexia as Roman Halliday and Madison Palmer
@Yun Lee as Kolin
@Crunch as Eliphas the Inheritor
@Lucky as Jester Lavorre and Beauregard Lionette
@Nightwisher as Dinasadhaka "Din" Vipatti
@Crow as Omnimon and Dukemon
@Jeremi as Big Mother
@Minerva as Johanna
@Takumi as Ashe and Silque
@York as Kuro Kyoka​

As Izana hugged her, Silque patted his back gently. She was a bit caught off guard by the sudden hug, but returned it nonetheless.

"You're welcome, Izana...let's get out if here, hm?" She spoke gently, giving the seer a soft tired smile.

***​

Once the group found themselves awake in the library, Silque's attention went to the injured almost immediately as they were spoken to. She wanted to help heal, if not the mental and psychological wounds than at least the physical wounds. Letting the lingering feelings of sleep fade and flexing her fingers and stiff joints, she frowned.

She was no stranger to war, but that didn't make her heart clench in sadness all the same.

"I wish to stay and help heal the injured as best as I can." She spoke up. She didn't feel like listening to the arguments of higher ups, and felt like she could do much more here, even if it wasn't a lot it would still be something. She couldn't help but wonder where Izana was, and hoped he was doing better.

Meanwhile Ashe was a bit overwhelmed, but remained silent for a moment. They'd been asleep for weeks? That was...a long time to sleep, really. He frowned as he saw those who were injured and in pain. He wanted to help them too, but he didn't have any healing magic or a whole lot of medical knowledge.

Maybe he could see about learning some kind of healing spells if he ever found the time for it?

@Sark @Jeremi @Capri @Yun Lee @Minerva @York @Everyone

 

[Yun Lee]

"Guidance? Or could it be they just want scapegoats for this whole thing?" Though she'd been asleep for weeks, the memory of all that had transpired in Hell was fresh in Kolin's mind.

"The Chosen have revealed themselves as Devils... traitors to the Fellowship. Luthor's dream is burning down before us. The War is over... the true war can begin at last..."

Bastard. Disgusting, arrogant, self-righteous pig. For so long Kolin had endured him. Endured the insults, the names, the constant attempts to undermine Gill at every opportunity. And now he had a new stomping ground. a place to make a name for himself at the cost of the greater good. And he still treated her like some kind of animal, called her one. Rat. Dog. Well. He was free to do as he pleased. Kolin knew she'd only done right this entire time.

From what she could tell, what had happened in Hell was the result of letting the more...ambitious of the Chosen run off without proper supervision. But of course they were all lumped together because they had all been in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is exactly why she hadn't wanted to be revered. Because now everything would come crashing down at the very moment everyone needed to come together.

"If the council wants me, they can come and collect me themselves," Kolin said. "I have no interest in wasting my breath on those who refuse to listen to reason." The only one on that accursed council she could stand was Luthor, but she never put faith in man. Truly only the divine were worth her time.

@Sark @Takumi @Jeremi​

 

[Sark]

"If the council wants me, they can come and collect me themselves," Kolin said. "I have no interest in wasting my breath on those who refuse to listen to reason." The only one on that accursed council she could stand was Luthor, but she never put faith in man. Truly only the divine were worth her time.

@Sark @Takumi @Jeremi

"I wish to stay and help heal the injured as best as I can." She spoke up. She didn't feel like listening to the arguments of higher ups, and felt like she could do much more here, even if it wasn't a lot it would still be something. She couldn't help but wonder where Izana was, and hoped he was doing better.

Meanwhile Ashe was a bit overwhelmed, but remained silent for a moment. They'd been asleep for weeks? That was...a long time to sleep, really. He frowned as he saw those who were injured and in pain. He wanted to help them too, but he didn't have any healing magic or a whole lot of medical knowledge.

Maybe he could see about learning some kind of healing spells if he ever found the time for it?

"So unless you can guarantee me that they will actually be quiet and deal with the situation as adults. Then I'm afraid I have nothing to say to them."

@Sark @Everyone

View attachment 4996
"One does not need gifts such as mine to know that council does will remain uncooperative until this crisis is resolved." Fate sighed in frustration. "If you do not wish to speak before the Council, I shall not force you. I shall do what I can to quell their anger, but I believe that restoring order to that rabble is beyond even my capabilities. Go. Heal the sick. Maintain your Holier than Thou stances. I will do what I can to mitigate the damages..."

The Temple remained abuzz for the remainder of the week. Wounded soldiers came and went. Very few of them recovered. Funerals were being held around the clock. You could hear prayers of remembrance echoing around the Temple night and day. Some of you might've tried your hand at volunteering once or twice. The Temple Healers were spread thin-- To them, a helping hand was a helping hand, no matter how inexperienced that hand might be.

With each passing day, the Temple grew emptier and emptier. The Council remained locked inside their High Chamber. Those who wandered past its great hall could hear them arguing long into the night...
___________________________________________________
Normality never truly returned to the Temple. But its residents pretended that it had. Perhaps, if they tried hard enough, they could convince themselves that the Great War had never happened. The Dining Hall was cleared of beds. The tables were cleaned and filled with food once again. The soldiers drank and ate and reveled in all the joys that came with living. It was their right. It was their reward. They did everything they could to distract themselves from the memories of the Nether and all it took from them.

Another week passed. Then another. The Council remained locked away. Hiding.

The Soldiers devoted themselves to their mission of distraction. On 1 month anniversary of the conclusion of the War, a great festival was held. Colored streamers littered the main halls. The great shelves were pushed to the walls and the library was transformed into a ballroom. The Followers of the Fellowship took to the floor in their most sacred robes, uniforms and garments and danced and sang and drank deep into the night. It was a night for mortals, not gods. It was a night conceived by the living to celebrate the greatest gift they had ever received -- life.
View attachment 5004
The Hall was filled with a warm glow. The Living were chatting and gossiping. The music was swelling and soothing. It called you to find a partner and make your way onto the dance floor.

Mephisto and Hearts were still at large. Eliphas was still missing. Izana was mad and the Goddess was nowhere to be seen.

But those were tomorrows problems. The world outside the Temple's walls seemed to melt away. Tonight was a night for living and loving.

The End of the World could wait.

@Raynar Saassin as CFW Magic and CFW Brave/ Compa and IF
@amwexia as Roman Halliday and Madison Palmer
@Yun Lee as Kolin
@Crunch as Eliphas the Inheritor
@Lucky as Jester Lavorre and Beauregard Lionette
@Nightwisher as Dinasadhaka "Din" Vipatti
@Crow as Omnimon and Dukemon
@Jeremi as Big Mother
@Minerva as Johanna
@Takumi as Ashe and Silque
@York as Kuro Kyoka

Present NPCs-
Captain White
Urien
Izana​

 

[Jeremi]

View attachment 4996
"One does not need gifts such as mine to know that council does will remain uncooperative until this crisis is resolved." Fate sighed in frustration. "If you do not wish to speak before the Council, I shall not force you. I shall do what I can to quell their anger, but I believe that restoring order to that rabble is beyond even my capabilities. Go. Heal the sick. Maintain your Holier than Thou stances. I will do what I can to mitigate the damages..."

The Temple remained abuzz for the remainder of the week. Wounded soldiers came and went. Very few of them recovered. Funerals were being held around the clock. You could hear prayers of remembrance echoing around the Temple night and day. Some of you might've tried your hand at volunteering once or twice. The Temple Healers were spread thin-- To them, a helping hand was a helping hand, no matter how inexperienced that hand might be.

With each passing day, the Temple grew emptier and emptier. The Council remained locked inside their High Chamber. Those who wandered past its great hall could hear them arguing long into the night...
___________________________________________________
Normality never truly returned to the Temple. But its residents pretended that it had. Perhaps, if they tried hard enough, they could convince themselves that the Great War had never happened. The Dining Hall was cleared of beds. The tables were cleaned and filled with food once again. The soldiers drank and ate and reveled in all the joys that came with living. It was their right. It was their reward. They did everything they could to distract themselves from the memories of the Nether and all it took from them.

Another week passed. Then another. The Council remained locked away. Hiding.

The Soldiers devoted themselves to their mission of distraction. On 1 month anniversary of the conclusion of the War, a great festival was held. Colored streamers littered the main halls. The great shelves were pushed to the walls and the library was transformed into a ballroom. The Followers of the Fellowship took to the floor in their most sacred robes, uniforms and garments and danced and sang and drank deep into the night. It was a night for mortals, not gods. It was a night conceived by the living to celebrate the greatest gift they had ever received -- life.
View attachment 5004
The Hall was filled with a warm glow. The Living were chatting and gossiping. The music was swelling and soothing. It called you to find a partner and make your way onto the dance floor.

Mephisto and Hearts were still at large. Eliphas was still missing. Izana was mad and the Goddess was nowhere to be seen.

But those were tomorrows problems. The world outside the Temple's walls seemed to melt away. Tonight was a night for living and loving.

The End of the World could wait.

@Raynar Saassin as CFW Magic and CFW Brave/ Compa and IF
@amwexia as Roman Halliday and Madison Palmer
@Yun Lee as Kolin
@Crunch as Eliphas the Inheritor
@Lucky as Jester Lavorre and Beauregard Lionette
@Nightwisher as Dinasadhaka "Din" Vipatti
@Crow as Omnimon and Dukemon
@Jeremi as Big Mother
@Minerva as Johanna
@Takumi as Ashe and Silque
@York as Kuro Kyoka

Present NPCs-
Captain White
Urien
Izana​

And the idiocy continued. Instead of trying to solve problems they acted like there was no issues to deal with. Big Mother had situated herself by a nearby wall looking at the fools having a good time. She had come her as a formality. Show that she was still alive, but one couldn't suffer much more merriment. Perhaps though...Big Mother increased her height slightly to see if she could find one of the council. Especially Queen Veranke. Maybe a one on one conversation between two powerful women could be... beneficial.

@Sark @Everyone

 

[Yun Lee]

The music was nice. The ball was nice. The fact that people had moved on was nice. That was really the only word Kolin had for the situation. Nice. She was never one for parties or trivial things of that kind. All she ever knew was working. Working for her cause in her youth, working for her cause now within the Society...and now just working here. There was no cause anymore. Just politics. How she hated politics, and how she'd grown to hate the council more and more.

The only real option had been to channel her anger into work, so she'd been a prominent volunteer. When that was done, she started reading books within the library. Which is what she did now, out of the way of everyone else. They could have their ball and their fun. She would have hers.

@Sark @Anyone​

 

[Sark]

And the idiocy continued. Instead of trying to solve problems they acted like there was no issues to deal with. Big Mother had situated herself by a nearby wall looking at the fools having a good time. She had come her as a formality. Show that she was still alive, but one couldn't suffer much more merriment. Perhaps though...Big Mother increased her height slightly to see if she could find one of the council. Especially Queen Veranke. Maybe a one on one conversation between two powerful women could be... beneficial.

@Sark @Everyone

As Veranke made her way though the crowd, she would find herself brushing shoulders with many new and unusual faces. Some were reclusive Wider-Councillors from smaller faiths, reading to mingle and network. Others were fresh faced volunteers. Others were familiar faces that had since been marred with scars.
A young woman placed a hang upon Mother's shoulder. For a moment, her flesh turned green. Her ears sharpened into points. Her chin developed distinct ridges. She only remained in her true form for a second or two. Long enough to catch Mother's attention without alerting the rest of the ballroom.
View attachment 5006
"Mother," Veranke hummed. "It has been too long. I heard of all you accomplished in the Netherworld. Allow me to be the first upon the High Council to thank you for your devotion. My people can rest easy knowing that the souls of their forefathers are free. You performed a great service for the Skrull Empire and its people. He thanks you."​

The only real option had been to channel her anger into work, so she'd been a prominent volunteer. When that was done, she started reading books within the library. Which is what she did now, out of the way of everyone else. They could have their ball and their fun. She would have hers.

@Sark @Anyone​

"When the sun sets on the Soliton Mountain, the black moon will break into seven pieces and fall on the people "Ultania". Nothing can prevent this... Death and destruction will violate the land. Misery and suffering will assault the people..." Urien cawed as his shoe click-clacked down to the back of the library. "I shouldn't have to tell you where these words come from, should I? Now where are you..."

His sneering face peered around one of the bookshelves.

"Ah, here she is. Scurrying in the Shadows like a.... oh, I shouldn't say..."
View attachment 5007
With a creak, he opened his copy of the Book of Miraha once again and traced its dusty pages with his finger.

"'After 130 days of nothingness, a boy who controls the elements will come to save the people', Verse 3:11."

"Sounds quite apocalyptic, doesn't it? Almost chilling? For a prophecy such as this to be coming true, well... you'd think it would have inspired my brother to accept my invitation and attend tonight's gathering, wouldn't you? Or at least ask for a copy of my speech? Your precious master is hiding from me, once again..." Urien taunted.

He wasn't mincing his words. He wasn't 'playing nice'. He was speaking freely about Gill publicly in a fashion he never had before. He snapped his book shut and tossed it carelessly onto a nearby shelf.

"The world is burning and who is coming to its rescue? Not him. Not this Emperor. Me. It's enough to make you think that the elders might have gotten things wrong... But I didn't come here to just to blaspheme. No. I'm here as a professional courtesy."

The High-Councillor grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Kolin's table. It creaked as he cockily threw his body weight against it and sat down.

"From one member of our Society to another, something big is going to happen tonight. You'll want to be in the Ballroom when it happens. I'd ask you to trust me, but you've made it very clear that you could never do that..."

***
In the ballroom, Ashe would find a hand on his shoulder. His eyes would meet those of Captain White. He was dressed up in a meticulously pressed military uniform. The kind one might find in an old colonial painting. His breast was adorned with medals and insignia commending him for an act of bravery in the face of certain death.

But didn't he...?

"Might I have this dance?" He muttered. Despite his fine attire, his face seemed... different. His stubble was unkempt. His hair, left to grow unchecked, and been quickly and crudely tied back into a ponytail. His tired eyes stared with intently, as if to say 'trust me'. "There is a pressing matter we need to discuss."

@Takumi​

 

[Capri]

MADDIE
Maddie hasn’t been at a good party in ages. So, even though she seemed stand-offish during most of her debates and fights, she was trying to mingle amongst the crowd.

---

ROMAN
Roman mainly stood near the back, his eyes scanning the crowd. Unlike Maddie, he doesn’t really do parties. His husband Lovis is the more party-heavy person.

@Sark​

 

[Takumi]

View attachment 4996
"One does not need gifts such as mine to know that council does will remain uncooperative until this crisis is resolved." Fate sighed in frustration. "If you do not wish to speak before the Council, I shall not force you. I shall do what I can to quell their anger, but I believe that restoring order to that rabble is beyond even my capabilities. Go. Heal the sick. Maintain your Holier than Thou stances. I will do what I can to mitigate the damages..."

The Temple remained abuzz for the remainder of the week. Wounded soldiers came and went. Very few of them recovered. Funerals were being held around the clock. You could hear prayers of remembrance echoing around the Temple night and day. Some of you might've tried your hand at volunteering once or twice. The Temple Healers were spread thin-- To them, a helping hand was a helping hand, no matter how inexperienced that hand might be.

With each passing day, the Temple grew emptier and emptier. The Council remained locked inside their High Chamber. Those who wandered past its great hall could hear them arguing long into the night...
___________________________________________________
Normality never truly returned to the Temple. But its residents pretended that it had. Perhaps, if they tried hard enough, they could convince themselves that the Great War had never happened. The Dining Hall was cleared of beds. The tables were cleaned and filled with food once again. The soldiers drank and ate and reveled in all the joys that came with living. It was their right. It was their reward. They did everything they could to distract themselves from the memories of the Nether and all it took from them.

Another week passed. Then another. The Council remained locked away. Hiding.

The Soldiers devoted themselves to their mission of distraction. On 1 month anniversary of the conclusion of the War, a great festival was held. Colored streamers littered the main halls. The great shelves were pushed to the walls and the library was transformed into a ballroom. The Followers of the Fellowship took to the floor in their most sacred robes, uniforms and garments and danced and sang and drank deep into the night. It was a night for mortals, not gods. It was a night conceived by the living to celebrate the greatest gift they had ever received -- life.
View attachment 5004
The Hall was filled with a warm glow. The Living were chatting and gossiping. The music was swelling and soothing. It called you to find a partner and make your way onto the dance floor.

Mephisto and Hearts were still at large. Eliphas was still missing. Izana was mad and the Goddess was nowhere to be seen.

But those were tomorrows problems. The world outside the Temple's walls seemed to melt away. Tonight was a night for living and loving.

The End of the World could wait.

@Raynar Saassin as CFW Magic and CFW Brave/ Compa and IF
@amwexia as Roman Halliday and Madison Palmer
@Yun Lee as Kolin
@Crunch as Eliphas the Inheritor
@Lucky as Jester Lavorre and Beauregard Lionette
@Nightwisher as Dinasadhaka "Din" Vipatti
@Crow as Omnimon and Dukemon
@Jeremi as Big Mother
@Minerva as Johanna
@Takumi as Ashe and Silque
@York as Kuro Kyoka

Present NPCs-
Captain White
Urien
Izana​

Silque didn't quite know what to do with herself, she gained one more spell, one she wasn't quite sure how to use, in the past month. Now though, there were no more people to heal or soothe, and she didn't know what to do with her hands. She didn't want to dance, something in the back of her mind told her that something wasn't quite right, plus she was mire content to let the others mingle as they pleased and simply forget for a single night.

Ashe spent the last month going through books in the library and practicing his magic when he found time, otherwise he was helping with the injured to the best of his abilities. He was happy enough to have gained at least two new spells under his belt, at the very least. With his and Silque's healing magic to help at least the medics had an easier time with patients.

He didn't necessarily want to be at the party, but at least most of those present found enjoyment in the gathering. It was nice, but made him think of his fellow classmates and a pit of sadness began to form.

As Veranke made her way though the crowd, she would find herself brushing shoulders with many new and unusual faces. Some were reclusive Wider-Councillors from smaller faiths, reading to mingle and network. Others were fresh faced volunteers. Others were familiar faces that had since been marred with scars.
A young woman placed a hang upon Mother's shoulder. For a moment, her flesh turned green. Her ears sharpened into points. Her chin developed distinct ridges. She only remained in her true form for a second or two. Long enough to catch Mother's attention without alerting the rest of the ballroom.
View attachment 5006
"Mother," Veranke hummed. "It has been too long. I heard of all you accomplished in the Netherworld. Allow me to be the first upon the High Council to thank you for your devotion. My people can rest easy knowing that the souls of their forefathers are free. You performed a great service for the Skrull Empire and its people. He thanks you."

"When the sun sets on the Soliton Mountain, the black moon will break into seven pieces and fall on the people "Ultania". Nothing can prevent this... Death and destruction will violate the land. Misery and suffering will assault the people..." Urien cawed as his shoe click-clacked down to the back of the library. "I shouldn't have to tell you where these words come from, should I? Now where are you..."

His sneering face peered around one of the bookshelves.

"Ah, here she is. Scurrying in the Shadows like a.... oh, I shouldn't say..."
View attachment 5007
With a creak, he opened his copy of the Book of Miraha once again and traced its dusty pages with his finger.

"'After 130 days of nothingness, a boy who controls the elements will come to save the people', Verse 3:11."

"Sounds quite apocalyptic, doesn't it? Almost chilling? For a prophecy such as this to be coming true, well... you'd think it would have inspired my brother to accept my invitation and attend tonight's gathering, wouldn't you? Or at least ask for a copy of my speech? Your precious master is hiding from me, once again..." Urien taunted.

He wasn't mincing his words. He wasn't 'playing nice'. He was speaking freely about Gill publicly in a fashion he never had before. He snapped his book shut and tossed it carelessly onto a nearby shelf.

"The world is burning and who is coming to its rescue? Not him. Not this Emperor. Me. It's enough to make you think that the elders might have gotten things wrong... But I didn't come here to just to blaspheme. No. I'm here as a professional courtesy."

The High-Councillor grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Kolin's table. It creaked as he cockily threw his body weight against it and sat down.

"From one member of our Society to another, something big is going to happen tonight. You'll want to be in the Ballroom when it happens. I'd ask you to trust me, but you've made it very clear that you could never do that..."

***
In the ballroom, Ashe would find a hand on his shoulder. His eyes would meet those of Captain White. He was dressed up in a meticulously pressed military uniform. The kind one might find in an old colonial painting. His breast was adorned with medals and insignia commending him for an act of bravery in the face of certain death.

But didn't he...?

"Might I have this dance?" He muttered. Despite his fine attire, his face seemed... different. His stubble was unkempt. His hair, left to grow unchecked, and been quickly and crudely tied back into a ponytail. His tired eyes stared with intently, as if to say 'trust me'. "There is a pressing matter we need to discuss."

@Takumi​

Ashe's eyes widened for a moment, brows raised as he took in the fact that Captain White wasn't dead.

"Captain White?" He muttered in surprise, blinking, then promptly stopped talking when the man spoke. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes," he said with a nod towards the question, before hesitating a moment when he brought up some matter that sounded rather urgent, "and how can I be of help?" He asked.

@Sark

 

[Jeremi]

As Veranke made her way though the crowd, she would find herself brushing shoulders with many new and unusual faces. Some were reclusive Wider-Councillors from smaller faiths, reading to mingle and network. Others were fresh faced volunteers. Others were familiar faces that had since been marred with scars.
A young woman placed a hang upon Mother's shoulder. For a moment, her flesh turned green. Her ears sharpened into points. Her chin developed distinct ridges. She only remained in her true form for a second or two. Long enough to catch Mother's attention without alerting the rest of the ballroom.
View attachment 5006
"Mother," Veranke hummed. "It has been too long. I heard of all you accomplished in the Netherworld. Allow me to be the first upon the High Council to thank you for your devotion. My people can rest easy knowing that the souls of their forefathers are free. You performed a great service for the Skrull Empire and its people. He thanks you."

"When the sun sets on the Soliton Mountain, the black moon will break into seven pieces and fall on the people "Ultania". Nothing can prevent this... Death and destruction will violate the land. Misery and suffering will assault the people..." Urien cawed as his shoe click-clacked down to the back of the library. "I shouldn't have to tell you where these words come from, should I? Now where are you..."

His sneering face peered around one of the bookshelves.

"Ah, here she is. Scurrying in the Shadows like a.... oh, I shouldn't say..."
View attachment 5007
With a creak, he opened his copy of the Book of Miraha once again and traced its dusty pages with his finger.

"'After 130 days of nothingness, a boy who controls the elements will come to save the people', Verse 3:11."

"Sounds quite apocalyptic, doesn't it? Almost chilling? For a prophecy such as this to be coming true, well... you'd think it would have inspired my brother to accept my invitation and attend tonight's gathering, wouldn't you? Or at least ask for a copy of my speech? Your precious master is hiding from me, once again..." Urien taunted.

He wasn't mincing his words. He wasn't 'playing nice'. He was speaking freely about Gill publicly in a fashion he never had before. He snapped his book shut and tossed it carelessly onto a nearby shelf.

"The world is burning and who is coming to its rescue? Not him. Not this Emperor. Me. It's enough to make you think that the elders might have gotten things wrong... But I didn't come here to just to blaspheme. No. I'm here as a professional courtesy."

The High-Councillor grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Kolin's table. It creaked as he cockily threw his body weight against it and sat down.

"From one member of our Society to another, something big is going to happen tonight. You'll want to be in the Ballroom when it happens. I'd ask you to trust me, but you've made it very clear that you could never do that..."

***
In the ballroom, Ashe would find a hand on his shoulder. His eyes would meet those of Captain White. He was dressed up in a meticulously pressed military uniform. The kind one might find in an old colonial painting. His breast was adorned with medals and insignia commending him for an act of bravery in the face of certain death.

But didn't he...?

"Might I have this dance?" He muttered. Despite his fine attire, his face seemed... different. His stubble was unkempt. His hair, left to grow unchecked, and been quickly and crudely tied back into a ponytail. His tired eyes stared with intently, as if to say 'trust me'. "There is a pressing matter we need to discuss."

@Takumi​

"What I did I did not do for you," Big Mother replied as she changed her shape once more. "I did it to teach Mephisto a lesson, and I believe I succeeded in that mission."

She looked around to see that no one was listening. "I wish to speak with you. Alone from prying eyes and ears. It involves your arrogant green fool and Mephisto's plans. You have no doubt spoken about it with the rest but...I'd prefer a quiet venue where shouting and flexing one's power is at a bare minimum. Does this sound like something you'd be willing to discuss?"

@Sark

 

[Yun Lee]

Bastard. Of course he was able to sniff her out. Urien had the natural talent for showing up when you least wanted him there...and running his mouth when you wish he would just shut up. But perhaps this came as a blessing, because the fool decided to brag to the one person who was going to do something about this. "Is that so?" She smiled, closing her book and putting it back on the shelf. "In that case, I will go and see for myself. If you'll excuse me." She gave a polite bow, then left her table for the party.

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! She knew whatever he had planned was pure evil. No doubt he was going to try and act like it was for the good of their Society, when in reality it was nothing more than a gambit for his own ambitions. Kolin needed to find someone she could trust. She didn't know if she could go to one of the council right away. It would be far too obvious. Instead, she found a few of the others milling about. One she knew as Roman, the man from the wreckage, and another was a young lady...Silque, was it? With the two of them away from the main crowd, she walked to them, all smiles.

"What a lovely party, is it not?" Kolin asked, oddly happy when she was normally so serious. "How unfortunate it would be if something went terribly wrong, don't you think?" She hoped the way she was asking combined with her countenance would tip them off that something was very, very wrong. "In the event that it did, though...who would you think would be best to speak to about it? After all, even in merry times, it is always important to be wary of emergencies..."

@Sark @Capri @Takumi​

 

[Sark]

Ashe's eyes widened for a moment, brows raised as he took in the fact that Captain White wasn't dead.

"Captain White?" He muttered in surprise, blinking, then promptly stopped talking when the man spoke. His brows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes," he said with a nod towards the question, before hesitating a moment when he brought up some matter that sounded rather urgent, "and how can I be of help?" He asked.

@Sark

The Captain led Ashe across the ballroom. The music was loud. Had they not been standing so close together, his words would no doubt have been lost in the sea of sounds.
"It's not about what you can do for me," White added, content with his privacy. "It's about what I can do for you. What I need to do for you. I owe you a great debt. Same goes for Mother. Before I leave, I need to repay you both. I'll pay you in information--"
The music started to swell. The Captain leaned in a little closer.
"The Godless have found the Tomb of the Goddess. They haven't managed to break inside yet- you still have a chance- but you need to hurry. The Goddessian Council wants to keep it a secret. They don't want the Followers to panic. But men like Urien? They could use that panic to their advantage. Look around the room. There are no Goddessian Council Members here. Only Secularists." His pupils darted across the room. He was searching for prying eyes. "This isn't a party. Before the night's over, it's going to be a rally. Things are about to change, Ashe. You need to be ready."

@Takumi

Bastard. Of course he was able to sniff her out. Urien had the natural talent for showing up when you least wanted him there...and running his mouth when you wish he would just shut up. But perhaps this came as a blessing, because the fool decided to brag to the one person who was going to do something about this. "Is that so?" She smiled, closing her book and putting it back on the shelf. "In that case, I will go and see for myself. If you'll excuse me." She gave a polite bow, then left her table for the party.

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! She knew whatever he had planned was pure evil. No doubt he was going to try and act like it was for the good of their Society, when in reality it was nothing more than a gambit for his own ambitions. Kolin needed to find someone she could trust. She didn't know if she could go to one of the council right away. It would be far too obvious. Instead, she found a few of the others milling about. One she knew as Roman, the man from the wreckage, and another was a young lady...Silque, was it? With the two of them away from the main crowd, she walked to them, all smiles.

"What a lovely party, is it not?" Kolin asked, oddly happy when she was normally so serious. "How unfortunate it would be if something went terribly wrong, don't you think?" She hoped the way she was asking combined with her countenance would tip them off that something was very, very wrong. "In the event that it did, though...who would you think would be best to speak to about it? After all, even in merry times, it is always important to be wary of emergencies..."

@Sark @Capri @Takumi

"If I didn't know better," A clipped voice tutted from behind Kolin and Silque. "I'd say that you know more than you're letting on." Seteth's hand drifted to his chin. His brow descended a little as the cogs in his mind began to turn. His eyes thinned and he sighed.
View attachment 5011
"If you know anything regarding a plot or a scheme, it is your role- no, your duty- as a member of our Fellowship and a former representative of our War Council to report it to me." The Secularist Councillor pursed his lips slightly. "As your superior, I'll ask you this once and once only-- do you two know something?"

@Yun Lee @Takumi

"What I did I did not do for you," Big Mother replied as she changed her shape once more. "I did it to teach Mephisto a lesson, and I believe I succeeded in that mission."

She looked around to see that no one was listening. "I wish to speak with you. Alone from prying eyes and ears. It involves your arrogant green fool and Mephisto's plans. You have no doubt spoken about it with the rest but...I'd prefer a quiet venue where shouting and flexing one's power is at a bare minimum. Does this sound like something you'd be willing to discuss?"

@Sark

"Of course," Veranke sighed. The Queen's posture began to shift. He shoulders tightened. Her shoes turned away from Mother. She was closing up. "I should not have humored the thought of a Demon to act of out of altruism. That was my mistake."
Veranke turned away from Mother and gestured for her to follow. As the pair cut through the crowd, the Skrull turned back to her companion.
View attachment 5012
"What is it you want Mother?" The Queen added, perhaps more hostilely than she had intended. "You've killed one of our own. You've led thousands of my troops to their deaths. There are many on our council who wish to see you in a cell, and I'm finding it harder and harder to disagree with them the more I learn of you."

"Unlike you, however. I am more inclined to talk to women before I kill them," Veranke came to a gradual stop at the jaws of the library, passing Kolin on her journey. Urien, a smug grin on his lips, crept back into the shadows of the library and vanished down the hall and left the hall empty. "You want to talk about my 'arrogant green fool'? I'm surrounded by arrogant green fools, Mother. Perhaps you refer to the scheming Skrulls who wish to steal my throne from under me? Or perhaps your refer to Seteth of Serios? He's certainly prone to making a fool of himself. The Goddessians have taken to wearing Emerald Sashes. Perhaps you're referring to Luthor? Talk openly, Mother. Which of my fools are you inquiring after?"

@Jeremi​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Counciller Seteth!" Kolin didn't change her demeanor once, still acting as if everything was fine and happy. Now this man she didn't know very much at all. Confiding in him could prove to be a very dangerous gamble, but she was extremely limited in her options. And he was volunteering himself, so... "Indeed, I would love to discuss something with you. Is there perhaps somewhere private where we may go? The music may drown us out, after all."

@Sark @Takumi @Capri​

 

[Sark]

"Counciller Seteth!" Kolin didn't change her demeanor once, still acting as if everything was fine and happy. Now this man she didn't know very much at all. Confiding in him could prove to be a very dangerous gamble, but she was extremely limited in her options. And he was volunteering himself, so... "Indeed, I would love to discuss something with you. Is there perhaps somewhere private where we may go? The music may drown us out, after all."

@Sark @Takumi @Capri

"Oh, yes..." Seteth muttered, taken back by Kolin's alien behavior "There's a hall just down here--" He turned towards the ballroom's great doors. He a slight huff of exertion, he parted the towering barriers and lead the pair into a long winding corridor. As the doors clicked shut behind them, the music seemed to grow duller in an instant. It was as if they had placed their heads underwater. "There. That's better. Now, what was it you were hoping to discuss?"

@Takumi @Yun Lee​

 

[Yun Lee]

Immediately Kolin let out a sigh of relief, the tension she'd felt since being in that room lessening the tiniest bit. Still, she needed to make sure that Seteth was someone she could fully confide in. He was a Secularist, after all, the same as Urien, so there was no telling how he felt about the man. "If I may, Counciller Seteth...I would like to start by asking you a question. What is your opinion of Counciller Urien?" His answer would affect what she said and how she said it. For all she knew, he was in on the big plan.

@Sark​