Great Temple
Highest Council Chamber
"Despite his... quirks..." Luthor groaned. "Izana had his uses. He was a seer, and an accurate one at that. Whatever's coming our way, its dark and dangerous enough to send shivers down the spine of a God. You'll have to forgive me for looking for advantages, wherever they may lie..."
"We don't give orders, Maddie. We're not a military. You're not conscripts, and we're not the Coalition," Lex drifted across the chamber with his hands joined behind his back. His black eyes met Maddie's. "But I think part of you wants to see how this story ends. The Goddess gave you a second chance at life. That's something most beings would kill for. Why not use this chance to fight for something more. Why not use it to be something more. You have the chance to save the world. Better yet, you have the chance to change it. I won't force you to come with me... but I hope you'll change your mind." Lex turned away from the girl and made his way back across the hall. "Marching into Hell might not sound fun, but it beats a life of insignificance. Of that, I'm certain..."
"You don't have to worry about Mephisto…" The towering doors of the Council Chamber came swinging open and, from the blinding light of the waiting room, the silhouette of Eli White emerged. "There's a Civil War going on in Hell as we speak. Blackheart has gone to war his dear father, and Mephisto is responding accordingly. The war has freed a fair few souls, too. It's a mess down there. Quiet... hellish..."
"Ah, Captain White, you've arrived!" Lex directed Eli towards the rest of the Chosen. "I trust that you remember our Saviours?"
"I don't know about Saviours, Lex..." Eli offered his hand to the nearest soldier. "But some of these men saved my life... that gives them a pass in my book. It's good to see you all again. And that's something I don't say often..."
"It's strange to see you playing nice with a Secularist, Luthor..." Nox's brow grew tense. "I suppose we'll find Hell frozen over when we arrive..."
"You're willing to go back there, White?" Veranke scowled and thinned her eyes. "You're siding with Luthor?"
"Lex briefed me this morning. If his plan ends with Blackheart getting his just deserts, I'm in."
"Your team is starting to grow, Luthor..." Nox laughed. "You can count me in too."
"You'd turn your back on the Secularists? You'd throw away our fragile peace? We need to work with Mephisto. His world still holds some sway in Hell. Most of the Netherworld still sees him as the realms legitimate leader. If we work with him, we can free Izana without starting a war, or raising any alarms with the UN, or the Kanzukis, or the Coalition!"
"Sorry, your majesty, but Big Mother is right. A little 'war' could do the Fellowship some good. I never thought you'd be the one arguing against a plot of vengeance. Besides, Blackheart's head will fit nicely on my mantle..."
"Blackheart was never a part of this council. He lacked the influence. He lacked the prestige." Luthor rested his cheek on his fist. He smiled lackadaisically, and lowered himself back into his chair. "His authority was confined to the Wider Council.
"The Fellowship is organized like this:
"At the top of the hierarchy, sit the Highest Council. Upon it, 6 Goddessians and 6 Secularists sit. We debate the issues that matter, and then we pass our decisions on to the Wider Council. They're given the chance to overrule our decisions, but they rarely do. The Wider Council find themselves in disagreements more often than we do, if you can imagine that, and they can rarely secure enough votes over rule one of our decisions. If the Wider Council fails to overrule one of our decisions, our orders are passed on to our agents, and changes are made.
"Blackheart proved himself to be an... influential figure within the Wider Council. We was good at getting his fellow delegates riled up. He got them angry. Active. His manipulations almost pushed to Wider Council to overrule a decision or two. Almost. I believe Blackheart grew tired with all the bureaucracy that sat between him and a seat on the true council. It might have been one of the factors that pushed him to separate himself from the Fellowship.
"Well, that and his undying hatred of the Goddessians. But that's different story"
"I'd love to find the tomb," Luthor sighed. "But it's not that simple. We don't know where it is. The Ancient Goddessian Texts we discovered tell us so much, yet so little about the Goddess' first 'life'. The details surrounding her death are vague, to say the least. Her ancient followers weren't the best book keepers, and time has left wounds in their spoken histories. Without Izana's power, finding the Tomb of the Goddess in an infinitely large, ever expanding multiverse would be like trying find a specific atom in a hay stack. Like it or now, he's our best lead."
"As for the war effort, we have allies across the Multiverse." Eli added. "Last time we fought Blackheart, he caught us by surprise. He won't have that advantage this time. We will. The Demons won't know what hit them. Besides. I have some friends on the ground who can lend a hand when the fighting starts. Luthor's scholars will have plenty of times to study the Goddess' texts whilst we're on the ground. In the mean time, we need to focus on recovering the seer."
Nox leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingers together. For a moment, he fell uncharacteristically quite, and simple observed the Chosen from his throne.
"That's... troubling. If Blackheart believes that he has a claim to your souls, then, sooner or later, we're going to have a fight on our hands. Demons take what they're owed, without fail. I should know. I... dabbled in some soul-dealing in my youth..."
"It begs the question- what creature has promised your souls to the devil?" Veranke muttered, her lips pursed and light. "And how have they done so without your knowing?"
"We have more mysteries than leads, Your Majesty. It's time we changed that. Kolin's instincts match mine-- he could have spies within our midst. Blackheart's rabblerousing has left its impact on the wider council. They're using it as a rallying point. We could be witnessing the birth of a New Faction within the Fellowship." His eyes grew thinner. "A collection of faiths who've rejected the teachings of the Goddess and the Order of the Secularists. A cancer to bring the Fellowship to its knees. Radicals. Rabblerousers."
"Care to place a name to your pain, Luthor?"
"What would you call them? Seperatistis? Blackheartians? Blackheartists? No...To side with a man like him, to reject the Goddess, to take a knee before a demon... they're Godless. We need to nib this threat in the bud before their forces grow. We need to purge the Fellowship of Blackheart's followers and prepare for war!"
"I can't allow that, Luthor. We can't throw away all we've built! The Fellowship is our Birthright! It's the accumulation of decades of work. It's ours greatest hope of bringing honour to our Gods and making a difference in the cursed multiverse! And you're willing to burn it to the group in the name of revenge?"
"Don't go soft on us now, Skrull."
"There was a time when I would have been the one leading the charge, Darth," Veranke spat. "But my people have lost too much fighting for so little to throw their lives away in another pointless conflict. I won't bring shame to my people, my faith or my faction. I won't go to war with Blackheart!"
"It's not down to you, Veranke." A sinister smile crawled across Lex's cheeks. His eyes rose to meet the Chosen. "It's theirs..."
"You can't expect the Goddess 'Chosen' to vote impartially. We need to wait for the rest of the Highest Council. We Need to consult the Wider Council-- "
"Nobody votes impartially, Veranke." Luthor snapped. "The Chosen will vote on what they've always believe to be true. Every second we wait, another world is wiped of the map. Obliterated! We can't just 'wait' for the others. Consulting the Wider Council? We might as well send scream out plans into the nearest Hellmouth. He still has his loyalists within the Wider Council. Spies.
"The most democratic thing we can do now is gather a handful of delegates from a handful of worlds. Those who's loyalty we can confirm. Those who Blackheart has no love for... those he has already tried to kill once before..."
"The Fellowship's Texts allow for a temporary War Council to be formed in times of Crisis. Like it or not, we can only truly trust a handful of delegates. Most of them are inside this room. I vote we go forward with the formation of the a War Council, composed of the survivors of the Second Citadel Attack."
"That's two votes to one, Veranke. A temporary War Council is hereby formed from the Goddess' Chosen!" Luthor slapped the arm of his throne before the Skrull could object. "And we pass the choice of to them."
"Fine!" The Skrull hissed. "We pass the burden of this world changing decision onto the Chosen. We've both said our pieces. It's their call now."
"So what will it be?
"Do you vote 'Goddessian', and send the Fellowship off to war with Hell?
"Or do you vote 'Secularist', and prepare to work peacefully with Blackheart's foe and father, Mephisto?"
@Takumi @Raynar Saassin @Minerva @Lucky @Crunch @Nightwisher @Crow @Yun Lee @York @amwexia @everyone
"The choice is obvious." Big Mother responded. "To work "peacefully" with a being like Mephisto is idiotic. Any deals we will do with him will backfire and leave us at a disadvantage. Him potentially owing us for getting rid of his brat without asking, however...Goddessian is my vote and anyone who thinks that's a bad choice and finds my short explanation not enough," Big Mother turned to face the other chosen. "I will be happy to go into further detail on the matter."
@Takumi @Raynar Saassin @Minerva @Lucky @Crunch @Nightwisher @Crow @Yun Lee @York @amwexia @everyone