Floating Castles

Cool We're on the same page, then

Lady Syra of Death-

It wasn't difficult to tell that I was rather jumpy. Crisis had gotten herself into a bad sitution, and it was quite obvious that Ektorion had means to kill her, without any hope of being persuaded out of it. So when Ektorion left and didn't come back, it was no surprise that I began to freak out. Axelle stayed by me, trying with a great effort to keep me calm.

After a little while, Palaeron came to me. "Where is your brother?" I asked him quickly.

He shook his head. I felt my face drain of the little color it had to begin with. He looked at me worriedly. "But I placed guards at Crisis' door, so he won't go in to bother her." I nodded slowly, calming down for the first time. "But...perhaps you should go to her anyway? I imagine we're about done here. I'll inform you of anything you might miss in your absense."

I nodded gratefully. "Thank you, my friend," I said, and hurried out of the room.

Sure enough, when I reached Crisis' room, two archers were guarding the doors. Toisen was there too. The guards bowed simply to me as I approached them. I nodded to them.

"Toisen, my nephew, what are you doing here?"

He walked up to me. "I need to speak with you," he told me.

I sighed. "Very well," I said. "Can it be done inside? This business with Crisis has got me reeling."

Toisen merely frowned.

Akira ~ Goddess of Lust

She stood in the middle of her spacious chamber, staring up at the sky light there. Beautiful sunlight fell from the heavens, and settled in the room, illuminating it, ehancing the effect of the silvers and golds plated into almost all details. She couldn't help but stand in front of her many mirrors and watch the effect of the sunlight on her appearance. It made her seem more angelic, bathed in this bright light, while the darkness seemed to reflect how indeed she was feeling.

Akira did not know what to think. She had always trusted her brother, bringing him to the gates of the immortals and begging for him to be made one of them for her, she could just not imagine a world without her brother even if it meant her feelings being broken, and left to painfully mend over time.

His words had stung her more then they should have. She had been called many things overtime, including a whore. But she just couldn't take it from her very brother, the one who she had been with since birth, the one she had always coveted before herself. And it turned out he hated her, could only think of her as the gods lapdog.

It was then that she noticed, the tears gently falling down her cheeks. Even in her tortured sadness, her beauty was never discarded. She wished it was gone at this point, that she had not found enjoyment in the eyes of others, that she had not grown to the girl she looked like today.

A loud rapping came from the door and she stepped back insurprise, landing on her red velvet cushioned, and canopied bed. She flicked her wrist, and the door opened revealing the Lord of War, Cypher. Mild surprise and a euphoror of embarassment flooded through her, yet he did not seem angry, nor any other emotion that he had usually displayed. She wiped the tears of her cheeks quickly in hope that he would not notice.

"Hello Cypher," she spoke lightly, adverting his eyes.

Malik ~ God of Greed

"I believe we should form a team to guard the stone. People who can be trusted." Malik spoke, to all the gods in the room. He shifted his scythe so that he would not be underestimated for his size and appearance. "Only the finest Gods should be there. A smaller team works better then one made up out of millions."

Malik walked towards Aria, and fell gently to one knee infront of her, lying his scythe to the ground. "I here swear my loyalty, to Aria, who in Lord Khan's absence shall take his spot in command." He looked up at her here, watching noticing the gentle arch of her eyebrows in surprise. "Lady Aria, if indeed we do make a team, I believe I would be fine addition."

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~Incognito

Namason - Lord of Judgement

Malik's suggestion of a small squad, and his own volunteering to be a part of it, seemed to the god of Judgement to be little more than a thinly veiled attempt to get close to the jewel again. He had been refused personal guardianship of the jewel, and so was now reduced to asking to share it with a few of the others gods.

Namason's decision to step forward and volunteer himself was partially born of this suspicion, and partially born out of the oath he had sworn to Lord Khan long ago. He set the head of his hammer against the ground and leaned forward a little, hands at the very base of the handle.

"I second Malik's oath of loyalty to Lady Aria. Lady, I swore many centuries ago to your father that I would always protect him and his house. As you are his only daughter, I swear to protect you and the Yujin Emerald with my life, if need be." He paused for a moment, then stepped back. For but a moment, his eyes flicked to the also-rising Lord of Greed. To a practised observer, it would be clear that he had just internally judged the god.

"I think Malik's suggestion is wise, Lady Aria." He said slowly. From out of the corner of his eye, he saw the younger god beaming with pride, seeing this as some kind of selection, clearly. Namason hoped that Aria would be more perceptive, and notice the double meaning in his next words, "I suggest you exercise the utmost caution in selecting those who will guard the emerald and yourself most closely."

Tosien

The Lord of Sleep frowned a little at his aunt's suggestion that they speak in Crisis' room. He had planned to speak to her in private, about something that, while it did concern the other gods, concerned the two of them a lot more.

"Well," he said, "I suppose we could."

Syra nodded, seemingly contented with his answer, and then turned to the guards. "Open the doors."

The two archers did as they were bid, and opened the doors. Tosien was confronted with the sight of a sulking Crisis, sitting on her bed, arms folded and wrapped in smoke. He glanced at the Lady of Death, whose expression offered no explanation, but Tosien didn't press. It was clear that Crisis had been 'badly behaved' again.

Syra smiled at Crisis, although there was a hint of concern in it. "Ektorion is nowhere to be found." Syra said, "So I'm going to stay with you for a while."

"And him?" The Lady of Fire asked, jerking her chin at Tosien.

"He needs to talk to me." Syra replied.

"It's about your brother." He murmured.

Syra stiffened visibly, her eyes going icy as she turned them on her nephew. She said nothing immediately, but the message was clear, Don't call him that. "You mean your father." She said after a moment, her tone as chilling as her eyes.

Tosien simply shrugged, sitting himself down in a chair in the corner of the room. Inside, he was as furious at Syra connecting him with Sehre as she was with his connecting her. "You know he's behind all this." Syra rolled her eyes, clearly everyone knew about it, and nodded. Tosien's frown deepened a little, "He hasn't dreamt of late. I think there's something more to his attempted theft."

"He wants Lord Khan's power." Crisis said, leading Tosien to believe that his young appearance was, once again, leading people to dismiss him early.

He shook his head, "Why just Lord Khan's? If he had the emerald, he could take so much more power for himself. After all," He looked straight at Syra, "He would hold the key to all life in his hands."

*I'm going to include another character here, Phollosia, Palaeron and Ektorion's mother, but as I probably won't write much about her again I won't post a profile for her. It's also quite a long one for Ektorion, so I'll give Palaeron a break*

Ektorion, Lord of Glory

Ektorion hulked through the castle, his foul mood made clear to all observers. He smashed his way through a few walls, taking a short cut towards his destination. Eventually, he reached it. The shrine to his father, Chetoron, the patron god of the heroes of old, who disappeared centuries ago, marking the end of a Golden Age for heroes. Palaeron and Ektorion did their best to continue his legacy, but even after over a thousand years of experience the mortal heroes continued to pray for the day when Chetoron would return, marking the beginning of the age of the heroic trinity of Chetoron, Palaeron and Ektorion. With every new year, such an event seemed more and more fanciful.
A golden statue of the ancient god stood on the far wall, looking down upon Chetoron with diamond eyes. The walls were covered with Chetoron's tapestry, which told the stories of all the great adventures of mortal and immortal heroes up until Chetoron's disappearance. Ektorion dropped his sword to the ground and climbed the giant statue of his father so that he could look at it face to face.

"It's me, your son," he said, "I have a favour to ask. The others have humiliated me, and what good is a god of glory without any dignity, for surely glory requires dignity? I need to avenge myself against that...that..."

The diamond eyes continued to stare at him, expressionless.

"You can't hear me. Damn you. DAMN YOU!"

He punched the statue, causing its right eye to come out. Ektorion looked down at the large, oval diamond for a long second, before dropping to the floor.

Sorry, father," he whimpered, picking the diamond up and slotting it back into place, "sorry, so sorry-"

"He can't hear you, son."

Ektorion turned around to see his mother, Phollosia. In ancient times she had a youthful appearance, among the most beautiful goddesses, but her husband's disappearance caused her so much grief that she aged at the same rate as a human, yet she never died. Now she is akin to a walking corpse - her skin is barely distinguishable from the bones of her skeleton, all but a few strands of her wispy grey hair has gone, her eyes are no longer eyes, but rather a pair of shapeless white jellies where her eyes used to be, and her ears have become so deformed that they certainly do not function. Physically blind and deaf, it is only through magic that she continues to see and hear.

"I know. I just wish he could. Just wish I could talk to him."

Phollosia stared at him for a few seconds, and gulped.

"Ektorion, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time. I've just never found the right time, but I suppose no time would be 'right'..."

"Speak, mother."

"It's about Chetoron. When I told you I didn't know where he went...I wasn't being entirely honest."

"What do you mean?"

"Palaeron was not your only sibling. You had a sister as well."

"A sister? What was her name?"

"She went unnamed. Shortly after you three were born, Sehre struck. I awoke the night after giving birth to find that only you and Palaeron were still there. Sehre, that twisted fiend, left a note in her cot to say that he had kidnapped her. That is why she has no name, as far as I am aware, for I did not decide on your names until that morning, but I saw no reason to name my daughter, for what chance was there of her coming back?"

Ektorion rested his head on his chin in deep thought. A small tear drop fell from his eye - he had experienced an unhealthy amount of emotions that day.

"And my father? How does this relate to him?"

"He left almost immediately that morning to confront Sehre and rescue our daughter."

"Then I must confront Sehre myself!" Ektorion boldly declared, picking up his sword and raising it to the air. "By rescuing Chetoron, among the most renowned of gods, and my unnamed sister, not to mention clashing with the greatest evil in existence, I shall take my rightful place as the god of heroes. And once I have done that, no god will ever dare to aggravate me again. Not even that despicable fiend, Crisis. Aye, they shall bow down to me, call me their master, and as their master I will bring retribution down upon those who have wronged me. Yes, the age of Lord Khan has ended, and the age of Lady Aria has dawned, but even now her dusk is in sight. The age of Lord Ektorion, son of Chetoron, the glorious, the courageous, the almighty shall begin!""

"Son, are you mad?!" Phollosia stared at him in disbelief. "They disappeared many centuries ago! What hope is there that they are still alive? None! What hope do you have of achieving where your father failed when he was better than you and your brother combined? None! And suppose you do manage that, you think you will ascend to leadership of the immortals? Why, that thought is almost amusing!"

"Nevertheless, mother, it is what I must do. If I do not return within a year today, you may assume that I fell, gloriously, at the hands of the arch-enemy, though assume also that I dealt a devastating blow to Sehre, so devastating in fact that he shall not harm the immortal gods or mortal men for another millenium."

With that, he pushed past his mother, who fell to her knees, agony carved over her bony face.

"Ektorion, you know not what you are doing! I beg you to reconsider!"

He continued to walk away, not caring for his mother's desperate words. Eventually, she realised there was no way of changing his mind.

"Very well!" She cried. "But at least take all the forces at your disposal, and be prepared to turn back at all times, for this will be the greatest challenge you will ever face!"

But by the time she uttered these words he was out of earshot. He entered the castle's armoury, ignoring the guard's questions, and from there found the golden chariot upon which his father once rode. He dragged it to a balcony, again ignoring the guards' inquiries, and blew through the horn which hung on the balcony by a rope. Two winged horses answered the call, and allowed themselves to be attached to the chariot. He immediately drove the chariot into the clouds, holding the reins by one hand and his sword in the other, heading for the legendary stronghold of Sehre, the Lord of Darkness.

Cypher - Lord of War

"Hello,Cypher" said Akira calmly. It was clear from her face she had been crying yet even in sadness she was a vision of beauty.
"M'lady." I stuttered.
Why did she have this effect on me? I was the perfect soldier yet something about her confused me.
"I will make your brother pay" i said simply.
"No, no. Thats not why your here and you know it." She laughed seductively.
I coughed before wiping my brow and placing the head of my hammer on the floor and leaning on the handle.
"I admit i had other motives, mainly your well being. What your brother said was rude and out of line. Your are no whore and anyone who says otherwise will not live long enough to regret it."
She smiled and sat demurely before offering me a seat.
"What do you think of me Cypher?" She asked calmly. Oh dear, i thought, this could be a long day.

Lady Aria of Beauty

"I suggest you exercise the utmost caution in selecting those who will guard the emerald and yourself most closely."

Aria was surprised. Did wise Namason not trust young Malik? Such an age! Where even the youngsters were not believed. And there was such beauty in Malik's youthfulness; it was hard to believe he could think any malicious thoughts.

But Aria trusted Namason. He was, after all, the god of Judgement.

"Yes, I believe it is a good idea," she said, bowing her head to him. "I trust your judgement, dear Namason, so I ask of you if you were the one to choose who shall be the guardians. It should soothe my anxiety should I know it was you in charge of such matters."

He looked surprised, but Aria did not look at him for long. She turned to the Gods and Goddesses who remained, and they were few.

"I think it best if we should rest for tonight. We are all rather stressed right now. A night's sleep should calm and soothe us, so we should be ready at dawn to continue our talk."

Palaeron, Lord of Honour

Palaeron did as Aria suggested and retired to his chamber. There was a note on his bed, 'Palaeron' written in his mother's handwriting. He picked up the note, frowning as he read it:

Palaeron

I spoke to Ektorion earlier today to find him in an unhappy state. I shall hide the topic of our conversation, for I fear that your reaction may be the same as his. He has taken your father's chariot from the armoury and summoned two winged stallions, and with them he has left the castle in search of the stronghold of the Lord of Darkness himself. I do not wish to tell you why he has done this - it is a futile endeavour anyway.

The loss of Chetoron, your father, was almost too much for me to bear. Now that Ektorion has also left, almost certainly never to return, there is nothing left for me in this world.

"What about me?" Palaeron asked, teardrops trickling down his face, before reading the rest of the note.

It is for this reason that, by the morning, I shall be dead. Since Chetoron's disappearance I have aged as a mortal, but using my divine gifts I have been able to cling on to my life. Now I am tired of life, and it is time for my life to end. Therefore, I ask you to heed the following words of advice, for they will be the last thing I will ever say to you.

Attempt to rescue your brother. I have no doubt that, whatever I say, you will make that attempt. But first I beg you to amass a force capable of such an enterprise, for Sehre is the most dangerous enemy an immortal can have. Death does not come easily to immortals, so it is likely that Ektorion will survive his quest for many days at least. But he is alone against a god with many followers, so death or a worse fate will come to him if you do not hurry. Waste no time in finding companions to aid you on your quest, but do not forget to rest, for a fatigued fighter is not a fighter at all.

Now as I leave this world and go to the world beyond even the wisest and most powerful of gods knowledge, I bid you farewell and good fortune,

Phollosia.

Palaeron read the note twice over, before sinking his head into his arms in despair, screwing up the paper as he did so. A sleepless night would follow as he considered whose assistance he would require to rescue Ektorion.

I've got a smoke demon coming in if anyone wants to describe that. Any takers?

Guys, I'm off on hols. See ya in two weeks. Keep an eye on Taivas, keep him outta trouble Lol.

-Moo

Just to let everyone know, I'm leaving on the morning of the 6th, but I'll be back sometime on the 10th.

Thank God for laptops!! I'll be bringing mine with me, so I may be able to get a connection, as hotels usually have free wi-fi. If not, anyone who's left here and still posting, I trust you'll try to keep all characters alive

Thanks guys ^^

~Rayne

**EmmaJane, can Malik kill the demon, and because of that Aria wants him on the team? ;O
I really want Malik there to stir up some trouble.

Akira ~ The Goddess of Lust

"What do you think of me?" The words slipped out of her mouth before she could think of the consquences. She was talking to Cypher, one of the most dangerous and hard core Gods over all, and she was asking him personal questions. Cypher obviously looked uncomfortable as he was put on the spot with this question. She eve thought she saw a slight blush come to his cheeks, but then she told herself it was probably just an effect of the lighting.

"You are certainly beautiful." He spoke unsurely, obviously doubting his own words.

"Aye, I have been told that many times, but even I seem to doubt their words on occasion. Aria is the Lady of Beauty, she is the embodiment of that inheritance, even her soul reflects that. How come I have been made the Lady of Lust? How come I am not given a respectable title. Is my personality flawed?"

Akira knew she shouldn't have asked that question for she knew the answer herself and the only choice she had brought on for Cypher for him was to lie. He did not know her, he could say her personality wasn't flawed, yet he did not know the feelings in which she had, or the thoughts. She hated her being at this moment, she hated everything about herself.

"Every personality is flawed." He said, sitting uncomfortably on the edge of her bed. It was surprising, something she wasn't expecting to happen.

"What makes you say that?"

"Just take a look at all the Gods and Goddesses, myself for an example." He seemed to dislike calling himself flawed. She couldn't help but find that amusing. "I can be brash, tempered, and blind with rage."

She couldn't help but smile. She moved closer to him, and looked up at his eyes which seemed to still advert hers. "But it is those flaws that I like about you." Her hand graced across his knee and lay there. She was trying to comfort him, but he seemed to tense even more and his eyes stared at her hand so fiercely that she believed it could possibly catch fire.
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Emma, tell me if I have the go for Malik!

~Incognito

Cypher - God of War

"I can be brash, tempered and blinded with inconsolable rage."
"But it is those flaws that i like about you." She whispered seductively, placing her hand on my knee. Instantly i tensed staring at the hand now resting on there. Stange emotions began to run rampant in my head. Anger, rage. All things i could understand. Then an emotion older than time. Fear. I, the God of War was genuinely afraid.
I looked up at Akira and it suddenly dawned on me. This wasn't fear. It felt like the thrill of the hunt. The joy of victory. The euphoria of an enemy laid low. It was love.
That was why she confused me, why i was so enraged by Maliks words. The God of War was in love with the Goddess of Lust. I am si screwed, i thought still staring at the hand.

Totally! Go for it!

HELLOOO!!!!!!!!

I'm back from Cali!!! Sorry to those of you that didn't know I was gone I'll just finish this up and I'll catch up on EVERYTHING and post, I PROMISE!!!

It's good to be home ^^

~Rayne

*Come on people please don't let this die!!*