Holy High: Pax Deorum (IC/OPEN)

[Luminesa]

Day 1

OOC

Co-Write with Luminesa and Finsternia

Orientation at Holy High had begun with a large gathering of gods and goddesses. Many new gods and goddesses, and many old. The story of a world which was re-growing from the ashes of a dreadful war.

The teachers standing around understood that the contract which the new students would sign would be binding in ways which would determine their own futures and stories. These students were young, many of them impulsive and nervous. Many of them were excited for the challenges that came with being assigned to represent their domains and their pantheons. They had several millennia of heritage to protect, and yet here they were, bright-eyed and ready to prove themselves. And yet such proof would only show itself slowly, as the students worked under the tutelage of their new professors.

Zeus was a rather disgraced being, among the gods who knew him. Still powerful, still respected, and yet the times were changing. Various gods understood that Zeus had committed many misdeeds in his time of existence. He was as powerful as lightning, and equally as impulsive. Yet he reserved his impulses as he stood before the students, looking grand and dignified and only a slight bit nervous for the day ahead. Several of the gods were talking and discussing matters amongst themselves, many were making friends, and the teachers were aware that many could make potential enemies. They hoped such would not be the case.

Hestia, being more astute at matters of positive relations and friendships than Zeus, walked around the main hall and watched the students interacting. Her motherly gaze, pumpkin-like face, and flowing robes of auburn, orange, crimson, and gold gave a warm and welcoming appearance. The students would feel more comfortable around her, she would make sure of such. To that end, she had cooked the marvelous feast which the students now enjoyed as they signed the Pax before the teachers.

The Pax. A document which held together the new universe, or perhaps the pieces of the old. An agreement which had once been an unspoken one, now brought to light by the scars and reminders of The Old War. While many of the young new gods had no idea of The Old War, all of the teachers knew. They understood what they lay before the students. An agreement which had carried the pantheons through the ages, which had survived a war, and which now depended on their cooperation. If the students would only so respect it, the world had a chance of regrowing.

Patriah had signed the document as he had signed all papers in his life, with some mild disgust for anything related to writing. Thanatos had sent him here for his education, and yet the food and the new other gods were more interesting than hitting books. He was not much of a talker, and did not bode well in many social situations. Just recently, he had spoken to a young Fae God, who had spooked him somewhat. If only he had brought an extra scarf, perhaps he would not look so ridiculous as a young, built man standing over seven feet tall wearing nothing but a colorful pair of wide-legged pants. His father-figure could not get him to wear a shirt, and the Wind god was determined to keep things that way. He held as many legs of fried chicken as his muscled arms could carry, while watching the other students interact.

All the while, the Pax glowed on a long, wide parchment document, reading the following:

•Integrity: The Pax Deorum demands all Powers That Be to keep the sanctity of reality. To wield the grand powers that could shake the Heavens and the Earth in order to change the fundamental aspects of the world is grounds for punishment.

• Deterrence: Respect your fellow divinities, and the strength that they wield. When all is capable of slaughter beyond mortal proportions, one must consider that your fellow God could match your own. Do not repeat the Great War that sundered the world.

• Property and Territory: All must respect the boundaries and claims set forth by each divine Lord and Lady. What is holy and what is sanctified must not be trampled, what is chosen and blessed must not be harmed, and what laws that have been laid down upon their lands must be honored.

Hecate, in her dark and stately glory, stood nearest to the document alongside venerable Ganesha, the Hindu god of wealth and luck among other domains. Holy High was a place which mingled the many domains who may never interact with one another. Zeus, Hestia, and wise Athena had all given speeches on the importance of making new friends and allies in such a complex environment. Much like any new children going off to high school or college, the possibilities of friends and classes were almost endless. Hecate, however, felt she had seen everything, and as she watched the students come to sign the effable document, she gazed around with plum-lidded eyes and adjusted her long, flowing, violet robes. Most male deities would have found her alluring in her own stark beauty. Yet bright, golden Ganesha stood with more mirth and less attraction to the deity next to him.

The world was wide open, as open as the mountaintop on which Holy High stood in the sun, far above the world and observing all that be.

[The H Corporation]

Azcóatl and Aemilia: Two Gods, Two Different Continents

Co-writted between The H Corporation and Zei-Aeiytenia

---

As Aemilia cured her self-inflicted malnutrition in both as rapid, yet, as elegant and neat a manner as possible, another of the students took seat at the far corner of the table. He did not say word. Indeed, he seemed wholly unaware of her existence at all. Bottled up in his own little world of thoughts, much like the Rumbling Caldera of Doom in the other corner of the room. Though, this meso-American fellow lacked the same... How do you say? Aura of smoldering rage and hate marinated in homicidal ideation?

That sounded about right. She certainly could not read minds, but such fanciful tactics were not necessary to identify someone still trying to adjust to this new, and very different environment.

Suddenly, between quiet contemplation and the mass herbivorous slaughter he engaged in, an entire container of enslaved moisture was rapidly consumed in it's entirety.

Aemilia only briefly looked up, returning her eyes to her bowl, and maintaining a likewise silence with the young god. She only vaguely recognized enough about his appearance to roughly place a geographic origin. A fact which simply COULD NOT be permitted to stand. Still, that does not mean one must be rude...

With silent deftness a glowing green arm of life's energy poured a glass of water for the distracted deity, setting it gently before him, and retreating casually to it's wielders side once more.

Azcóatl finally finished eating, it was a very delicious meal but he thought he could have what was left, besides he doubted anyone else would be bothered if the salads were to suddenly disappear from the table. Mother would always say “One must fill its stomach until it is satisfied”, or maybe it was “If you don’t eat you will become what humans call ‘skinny’ ”, he came to the realization that he might just have forgotten about it, maybe it probably has to do with the extended isolation in his own garden created by mother, whatever she said it was probably something wiser than what he thinks she said so he prepared himself to grab some more when he suddenly saw an arm pouring water.

He sat again motioning his head slowly from the glowing green arm to the deity to his side and then slowly retreating away from him. He was amazed, he thought he felt the presence of every deity or god in this place just to see another deity he had probably never seen before, maybe he was too distracted to notice her, though that was no reason to be rude so he grabbed the glass of water and drank from it, ”Thank you… I am, A-Azcóatl. Who might you be?” he said while shaking slightly out of nervousness.

Once again he grabbed the attention of another deity, maybe his show to enter the room did catch up some attention, and now he was talking to another stranger, he thought this was just what he needed, but nevertheless, this was a school, he was bound to be in this type of conversations sooner or later, but whatever he still felt nervous talking to new people.

The demeanor of Azcóatl quickly confirmed all her suspicions. Afterall, not everyone could be as worldly as a Roman, and even among them, as worldly as Aemilia. Each situation needed its own special handling, some needed the boisterous outgoing energy ball, some needed a more heavy and stern hand, a gentle heart and a hug, silly jokes and laughter, or even something as simple as a calm acknowledgement and an open ended invitation. Sometimes merely knowing they could escape without worry, was enough to make even the most shy of souls poke out their heads. It was almost always a good choice, not the best, but always good.

"I am Aemilia of Rome... And my apologies for disturbing your peace, noble Azcóatl. Though this gathering is not my own, the hostess inside could not help but show herself for a moment. Please, return to your thoughts if you prefer, let my humble intrusion not weigh upon you." She nodded, carefully drinking up the broth of a now absent soup, setting the bowl aside only to take up another dish.

Azcóatl slowly stopped shaking for a moment, he was not surprised that another deity would come from Europe since he does not know any other pantheons besides the Incan one and the Caribbean from which Abaguabana comes from. It was probably something that was expected but he had very little knowledge of them, maybe his next task should be getting to know more about these pantheons so he could not feel awkward around them.

He stood still, he fixed his composure and started to formally introduce himself properly this time “Nice to meet you Aemilia, I come from the Aztec Pantheon. I-I am fine with your presence, it was a… surprise but it was not a bothering to... me”, he said while turning his body and grabbing some salad on the way and then turning back to Aemilia.

Now what? He was struggling to find a topic of conversation to keep the talk flow normally, he would feel awkward if the talking stopped there, he tried to remember any advice from his parents about this sorts of things but failed to do so, but then the lightbulb in his head sparkle a new idea, ”So… w-what powers do you… possess? he said trying to not be awkward with the question, it was probably a good way to make a conversation, maybe something would come up from that, he thought.

Aemilia's head poked up, setting her plate on the table beside her. With a gentle grin, a flower from the gardens outside the school is retireved, and she holds it in right hand extended, between the pointer and middle fingers, palm facing the floor. Without word, an energy of total darkness engulfs it, crumbling the flower to immediate ruin.

In a swift and fluid motion, her hand moves to the right, turning in a semi circle and coming around below where it just was, now palm up. As it passes the halfway point, the dark energy is replaced by the familiar green light. In an instant, the darkness and ash of the flower reassembled into true form in a flash of light, growing and blossoming beautifully beyond it's original form.

"Duality. Yes and no. Order and Chaos. Life and Death. Destruction and Rebirth. And with it, the Wisdom to know their place and purpose in all things." She casually casts her hand up, flinging the flower into the air. It fell waywardly upon the table, then, glowing green once more, attached itself by the stem to the table, growing a small circle of roots, and growing even larger.

"What of your power, Azcóatl of the Aztec?" She asked, returning her plate to her hands.

Azcóatl was looking at the flower, such a beautiful creation of nature he thought, reminding him of his garden which was a very large place where he saw all types of flowers, trees, and animals, where a river flows calmly and a small fountain in the center of it which made sure to keep the garden as lively and colorful as it was, he would always go there to find his inner peace and sometimes practice fighting with the jaguars of his father, perfect for training.

He stared at the flower and then at Aemilia, maybe she was going to make a demonstration of her powers making him ask himself if her power involved nature or even life, then saw the flower being engulfed in darkness without a warning and then ruining the flower. He almost jumped out of fear seeing how the life of the flower was absorbed by the darkness, he also felt a little sad since he used to see the flowers as small companions, very silent companions.

Azcóatl stay put in his seat eating a little bit of salad to forget what he just saw, but then seeing Aemilia’s hand movements he knew this was not over, what was she going to do with that flower now? And then his question was answered, the dark energy was fading away and replaced by a green light, and then seeing the flower recovered its energy and become even more beautiful than what it was before. He felt a rollercoaster of emotions, from being scared to be relieved and then being amazed by Aemilia’s powers, from having teary eyes to having his eyes shining letting his body language do the talking.

Hearing what Aemilia said, it all made sense now, a deity that is the middle point between life and death, the responsibility of having such amazing powers, he was amazed and thoughtful about everything. He controlled himself for a moment, ”I am definitely amazed by such powers, the ability of life and death and how to keep it balanced is something I always felt fascinated about” he said a little bit excited.

Now it was his turn, Azcóatl crossed his legs on his seat, let his hands rest on his knees, and breathed slowly, in and out, in and out. He let the oxygen flow through his body and concentrate. Then clouds started to appear around him, he made moves with his arms to lead the movement of the clouds and then slowly stood up in his seat smoothly until he had the posture and lead the clouds around him and then engulfed him whole. The clouds kept moving around Azcóatl, as flashes of light from the outside could be seen as small patches of light and letting the characteristic sound of the thunder roar around the room, and then the clouds dissipated as Azcóatl moved his arms and extended them to different sides abruptly with a small number of clouds still flowing around him and then moved slowly around the arms and then floating above one of the hands of Azcóatl. The clouds gradually changed their color from a white to a grayish color and let rainfall on his hand, then a flower started to grow in the palm of his hand, shining in green color as the flower revealed its greenish petals to Aemilia.

The show was over as the clouds dissipated and Azcóatl opened his eyes and almost lost balance in his seat, surprised he was able to stand up in his trance, he sat as fast as he recovered his balance and showed the flower to Aemilia ”I control the rains, the thunder, the clouds and with it give life to the nature around me, I got this powers from my father Tlaloc and my mother Coatlicue. Both teaching me how to use these powers and then letting me learn on my own”, Azcóatl grabbed the flower and then offered it to Aemilia as a nice gesture.

Aemilia watched the small, though eventful, little rollercoaster the Aztec rode with a gentle smile. It was not the first she had received such response, it would near certainly not be the last. Azcóatl began his own demonstration without word, as she had her own. With a gentle discipline he executed his craft, standing in his chair with perfect balance, and moved body with perfect harmony to the riling storm at his fingertips.

There was so very much fascinating about people. Everything, really. Every little detail, so many went through life never paying heed to a single one. Few would go to the lengths she had taken to learn all she can about who she can, and to seek them out wherever they may be found to learn even that which is not known. How many would merely gaze upon this as a simple but pretty show? How many would have spent years gathering what scarce knowledge they could, so that they put as clearly into mind as possible, an image of true meaning? Not merely of sights like that in their own life, but to live near as could be possible, in the ethereal fringes of mind and thought, for a brief moment, in the true world of another? To see the clouds, hear the wind, feel the rain, to imagine the sea and the smell of natures embrace for its coming reckoning, all of the shores of a foreign land their eye has never truly seen, to imagine the thought and feeling of a people so distant their existence was almost mere theory, to those who had not exerted effort.

It would be hard for her to imagine anything else, were she not once a child that could even fathom the true depth and endless expanse of the world. It's reality is so absolutely and unequivocally finite, yet spills from all edges, an eternal splendor to challenge the minds of divinity itself. Yet mortal and god alike were ignorant, unbelieving of a such fact. Perhaps that is understandable, natural even.

For who could ever have predicted such a reality? All held the finite and infinite as unrelated. None could foresee that the history of the two would become one. None beyond that, could ever have foreseen that such elucidation would draw source from so simple a place as the hearts of the ordinary living.

Yet here it was. It was almost depressing to know that - perhaps no other soul, in attendance today - would see anything further. It was yet also comforting, to know that she would ensure at least some small part of infinite wonder, did not spend a single moment unappreciated.

As he ended his gentle dance with the storms, a sudden return to a quaint reality near saw him fall entirely. Though it would seem his reflex to sit down and breathe was swifter than gravity's malice, this time. She reached out her hand to take the flower, briefly engulfing it in a green glow. Though Azcóatl would not know, unless he asked of course, she had merely ensured it's life and vigor would be anything but brief. Quietly, she brought it to her head, placing the flower both in the embrace of her hair along her ear, and of the Civic Crown from Caesar himself. A noble place for a gift from new friends.

"My Duality comes from my father - Janus. My Wisdom from my mother, Minerva. I suspect that second bit may make things with Athena a bit... awkward. Ehehehe... i hope she will not mind it too much. Truth be told, i learned mostly on my own. Minerva helped a bit with the Wiseness thing, but my Duality was unlike my father's entirely, so, i had to figure out that myself. It was not easy, for a child to suddenly become the death of everything they touched without warning or knowledge why. But a new friend helped me find the other side. I hope i may learn more of your homeland and its people one day, i have read many books, but some information for the old Empire is hard to come by. I have only just enough to even know what 'Aztec' is!" She laughed heartily, taking a bite of what had now become a bowl of curry.

Azcóatl felt relieved that the gift was received, he let his face smile with a genuine and bright smile, thinking this was probably the first time he had demonstrated his powers this way to other gods, he could have done the same with Lanuru or Abaguabana but he kept it simple. He was not sure why he suddenly decided to do an overcomplicated show that made him thirsty.

Azcóatl grabbed two bottles of water to drink, he was still controlling his powers and controlling the amount of water used to make such things. His powers come from the water for the most part with bits of light and earth combined, he has yet to discover more about himself and since that “day” he knew he had a lot to learn and how to control such powers and even though he was taught well he still can’t control them 100%.

He used most of the water he gathered in his body so he was bound to feel thirsty, he grabbed one bottle and opened it to later drink it fully, that should do the trick for a while, but he would have to drink a second bottle if not a third one to recover all of the water used.

He stopped drinking his second bottle of water to hear what Aemilia was about to say, he didn’t want to be rude after both presented themselves properly as deities. ”I also had help but from an uncle of mine, he was of very help whenever my father could not help me understand my powers, even though most of them come from the water I have other elements that he is not familiar with, and neither my mother”, he stopped to finish the bottle of water and grab a third, ”I am sure we can learn from each other as we spent time here, I am very interested in your culture, since my knowledge of the Romans is scarce as well”, he said and then later drinking the third bottle of water, ”I hope you don’t find it strange that I drink water for the most part… I-It’s just that I… Uhm, to use my powers in the purest way possible I have to use the water that my body has uh… saved to put in words…”, Azcóatl was really nervous about it since he may have made Aemilia uncomfortable, hopefully, it was not a bother but he could not stop thinking about it at that moment.

She laughed softly at his mild embarrassment, the large flower of the table glowing green again, extending a vine which quietly brought over a whole pitcher of water to the god. "I think this may be more efficient as a delivery system, no? There is no need to feel embarrassed over our limitations, perfection is an impossible objective even to the divine. Imperfection is what makes anyone worth talking to at all, what would the world be without it? Nothing but a dull rock of mannequins. You are a storm god which needs water, i am a wisdom goddess which is too naïve to reliably detect lies! Something about being a bit too kind and believing people. A fine fault to have. As fine as healthy hydration levels!"

”I suppose that is true, we will never achieve perfection. Even gods make mistakes… right?” Azcóatl said lowering his voice before ending the sentence. He accepted the water and kept drinking for a little bit until he thought it was enough and stopped drinking water, ”Me too, I… I hope I get to experience different things that I could not do during my… my uh… nevermind” Azcóatl stopped before saying a little too much, it was too soon to reveal personal stuff besides keeping secrets it is something everyone does, some might be more open with this type of stuff but he wasn’t.

”Endless glory you say? I see you are very proud of where you come from, from my part there is also a lot of history though I don’t consider them glorious, just part of what the pantheon was represented in the past, if that makes sense…” Azcóatl said while standing up from his seat, looking around the room for no reason, maybe just enjoying the view of the room, some times you have to enjoy even the slightest things he thought.

”If it's not too much to ask, what do you think about this whole… well… idea to bring peace to all of the pantheons. I-I personally think it is a v-very good idea”, Azcóatl asked trying to get more information since he started to feel a little more comfortable with Aemilia. Maybe she could be a very good companion in the future, who knows what might happen in this place, maybe having more people to trust might help him to get himself involved in more stuff, and maybe open his little shell to more people.

"I understand. There is plenty I am not fond of my ancestors for, but there is nothing I can do to change the past. Only in the present can my actions bear fruit." She takes a short sip from her own glass of water, listening intently to Az.

"What good has war ever done anyway? It is unavoidable of course, it's nature is like that of my Destruction. It is conflict incarnate, and though it is often harbinger of incredible terror, it is necessary. Without it, nothing would happen, not ever. Our own existence would cease without little wars of endless Destruction on every plane of existence and fiber of our beings. My people were incredibly skilled at War... I am not fond of all they did with it, but I do not feel regret. It was something which was going to happen, and had to. The peace is nothing but sound accords and ideals and yet, given time, it will cascade into pieces once more. That is it's inevitable and doomed cycle. Conflicts will arise and simmer and boil and eventually one will not be content to remain restrained, many generations from now, and it will all happen once again." Aemilia stares, momentarily, out the windows nearby, as she thinks and speaks "Yet there is no place for us to worry over such a far future. We are now, and all we can do is enjoy it, and take every meaningful action to spread that prosperity and wonder to every corner of the heavens while we still hold tightly to it's warmth."

Azcóatl was astonished by the amount of wisdom in such words, it almost feels like talking to the elder gods, though he still wanted to be optimistic to find a way to break the endless cycle of war and the causes that lead to it. He was most likely one of those idealists who despite wanting a change in the world they were stopped by reality, but how else would he fix that one thing he did in the past. He knows he is stuck in the past, but what could he do to stop thinking about it?

Azcóatl stopped thinking about it, there was no reason to think too much about it, he probably just needed to find his inner peace once again, yeah, it was probably the better thing to do, ”I am certainly fascinated by your words, I never thought that far as you did. I am glad we met each other it was a very good talk”, Azcóatl said feeling more comfortable, ”I hope we meet again, for now, I will meditate… alone… uh, if you excuse me”, he said as he stood up and walked to a corner to meditate on his own and settle his thoughts.

Aemilia smiled, nodding to him, "Of course, i would not dream of keeping you. I know we shall meet again, and i look forward to it already!" She stood with him, taking a slight bow as he left, before returning once more to her seat.

[Finsternia]

Co-Write between Finsternia, Hallownest Eternal, and Zei-Aeiytenia

The Huntress Hunted by Nightmares

Lanuru is still shaken by the appearance of his Queen Mother. The Dark Queen mentioned that she will not be attending to the rites, as Albion is but on the beginning path of its rehabilitation, but it seems that the Queen has been watching him silently all this time. The snow on his shoulder pauldrons are left undusted, and he'd rather let them remain upon them lest she would have a problem with his gesture. The Prince simply nods to his companions as each finish signing the contract, one hand holding onto Patriah's scarf that he has now fashioned into a sash.

Something does catch his eyes, an indecipherable shadow that slithered, crawled, snapped and rolled towards Hecate and quickly signed off with a name that barely reads of anything. For a moment it was gone, the other he'd see slime trail across the floor, and the next it would be bloodied claws leaving notches and scratches along the marbles. It seems... intent in reaching him however, and he slowly bends down to greet the being whose form shifts and distorts like ink washed with water.

"Greetings, curious one... May I ask why one such as yourself... seeks me?" The halo behind Lanuru trembles and shakes, and darkness spills behind the corona of sunlight like tendrils waving and grasping at something. The nameless God would see a presentation of the Fair Prince meant for the night: hollow eyes that lead into lightless tunnels, blood vessels bulging and squirming like worms under pallid flesh, and a mouth that breaks the flesh and skin to show long and hazardous teeth. The gesture isn't a gesture of rudeness or to affront the newcomer, but rather a welcoming greeting from one nightmare to the other. "You are one curious individual... It seems that your form is to not be perceived... Shadows engulf you like its own child..."

With the strange, featureless yet feature-full godling, glimpses of a strange anatomy could be witnessed. Talons-or were they branches-or were they writhing, knotted pseudopods? And beaks turned jaws turned gaping holes in reality. A voice-or a thought? or a song? Wove through the fae prince's senses, burrowing into his mind with a strange, eccentric manner.
It introduced itself as Cowanden. It sought the Fae due to a similarity between them, and curiosity.

Its true form was not to be looked upon, it was not shadow that cloaked it, but rather the eye's vision subconsciously erasing it from sight.

There is a visage of delight on Lanuru's face as he watches the being shift and change before his very eyes. It's like watching a nightmare of a creatively tortured artist within his realm, full of abstractions and formless construction that collapse over each other. One moment he'd see human faces, the next they have bloated into bubbling boils of diseased puss, then after they would turn into hardened keratin and miniature horns.

Even its way of speech is odd, at least to some. The being communicates through the direct implantation of information. It isn't words, nor is it a voice that narrates. Lanuru, on his part, tastes imparted emotions upon his tongue and witnesses fleeting images that declare meaning. He smiles, nodding as if understanding the now named Cowanden. "I see... You are a fleeting memory. It is my pleasure to know you at this moment. Your name bears the name of an inhabitant of our realm. Quite... curious."

"My name in the mortal tongue is Lanuru. I am Prince of the Unseelie Court... and God of Nightmares. It is a pleasure to see... a similar being to me." The Prince extends a hand towards the cryptic God, and inky tendrils rise from his shadow to greet its other rapidly shifting appendages.

Cowanden reached out and took Lanuru's hand The stump bled profusely the sensation was odd, like pins and needles-it was hard to tell what kind of appendage even reached out. Lanuru merely felt the signifier of greeting and something coming in contact with him.

"...My, my..." The grin on the Fair Prince's face splits his skull in half as shadows and dream stuff spill from the conceptual wound inflicted by the memetic being before him. His hand has vanished, replaced by nothing but a bleeding stump. Instead of mortal red, there spews forth silver ichor that smokes and seethes with purple and pink miasma that glimmer with stars. The hand regrows quickly, and for a moment it was a bundle of black tentacles that slither and writhe in order to twist together to form the musculature of his hand.

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought you are rude." Lanuru retrieves his now reformed hand, silver claws deck each finger as he flexes each digit. "I have given you the gift of my hand for our first greeting... What would you give to me in return, Cowanden? I believe my blood is quite delicious for someone like you... Give me something delectable. Quick." The grin still is on his face, horrid and full of sharp teeth that move like feelers around the wound.

Astrid paid little more heed to the newly entering students than the ones already here. It was easy to forget their presence, as if furniture on the set of a play. She required no conscious effort to observe them of course, a task simple as drawing breath. Though more than a few seconds in her shoes would likely cripple the mind of another from the sensory overload. It's hard to describe to normal people what being able to see air pressure, or magnetism is like, or to hear a color. Make no mistake, they all had different sounds to them. You might thing Green and Turquoise would sound similar. You would be mistaken. They do not. Not at all.

Yet her senses still behave like others, simply operating on a higher level. Sometimes the senses behave in strange ways, fusing together, or giving off false or mistaken information. Part of her heightened ability was to parse through this, but every now and then, it would still get through. It was quite the adventure when this occurred, too, the ability for senses to create temporary sensations of a memory - a deja vu - were heightened as well. A simple lingering to others, if allowed to flow, would become almost like walking back in time.

Strange, she thought, now nearly returned to her corner-home, it seems one is happening right now. A gentle grazing wind which blows from nowhere, a sound of radiant color and vibrating life from a forest of stone, stale air became scented of the spreading pollen of wheat, and dreary walls blurred their hue into endless streams of gold and green and blue. A familiar sight, rolling plains of home she had not seen in years. This was... a good time, and a good fuckup to have. A bolstered aura of calm is exactly what was needed now.

A few brief moments of this wonderful lie passed, and its fabric began to shake and fray. It was never long they lasted, before correcting themselves once again. Now those threads broke down completely and...

Pound. Rush. Thump. Sear. Tense. Pull. Flood. Shock. Tremor. FEAR. A torrent of sense. Many seconds ago... this was unimaginable. Had never happened, nothing even close. The fragile fake world around had not merely disappeared, but crumbled into a devouring abyss of nothing. Infact... so was everything around her. Everything beyond her body became a ravaging blur, and in turn, the only thing she could still sense... was herself. The adrenaline, the fight response, the. The fear, like nothing she can remember. A constant charging bolt of energy up and down her spine, ripping viscerally through every nerve and cell. Her beat so fast, it seemed almost to become a simple hose of pressure. Veins unending river tides of blood, and every muscle gripped to bone like casted steel.

Without any given command, her body spun around to stare at the disturbance. To stare... at an abyss of toiling shadows and... bits and severed pieces of every animal or creature she had ever known to exist. Maybe some she had never known of, she couldn't tell, they were only visible right before she blinked. And... no one else saw it??? No one else was responding to this fucked monstrosity. It's just... of course, you've been tortured in a cave for two years Astrid, it's just a traumatic hallucination...

But... Astrid, dear, if it's just a hallucination...

... Then why the FUCK is the Fae shit talking to it...?

Without command once more, her legs began to walk back from the monster, a living black hole. A thing which should not exist, how could it exist? HOW COULD SOMETHING EXIST THAT EVEN SHE COULD NOT SEE IT!?" Was this... the real plan? All along? Those pieces... were those...

Nothing more than the torn shreds of her victims, beast and divine and mortal alike? A twisted divine retribution to end her? W-why... why else... why else would it be here? Or exist!? IT'S NOT NATURAL. Nooooo no no. Someone... someone made this... a monster of monsters.

The godling was about to acquiesce to Lanuru's request, coiling around him in a horrid parody of a Serpent, ready to strangle and whisper secrets untold by mortal mouths. Before it stopped. Its possible head pulled away, a feeling of attention elsewhere, on the cowering hunter goddess.

IT WORE HER COMRADES LIKE CLOTH.

There was an air of intrigue and satisfaction in its un-stare, before it informed Lanuru that it appears to have given him a meal already. An exquisite one.

Lanuru bends down, ready to caress the serpent in his hands, before his neck snaps towards the direction of Astrid. She now sees the Fae God's visage, a yawning cavern of flesh split in half with teeth wriggling like feelers for a surface to latch on. A tongue runs across each writhing fang as it tastes something... sweet. It was a delicacy unlike any other, the sweetness of joy nothing compared to its delectable pang and richness. The manic girl, who has hid herself away from the many Gods around, is exuding a fear that she has never had for a very, very long time. And to the God of Nightmares, her fear is the taste of vintage wine left unopened for centuries.

The divine halo of the Prince trembles and shakes, as if something wishes to escape. It pulses and shifts like a portal to someplace else, and the light around him and the Nameless One is slowly consumed by their presence. And from the dark... figures, shadows, presences seemingly called by the influences of the two dark divinities to make manifest. Their faces may be obscured, their figures wrapped in shadow, but the Nameless One's power grant them connection to the bodies upon its form. Their eyes... they are unmistakable. Her dead comrades rise to see her once again.

An eye appears on the hand that is now in the possession of the one named Cowaden, staring at the being with glee as it feels something on it. A maw in its palm, salivating as it smells and tastes a beautiful treat. "You are one devious being... And your gift is such... a delicacy too... We shall be great friends, you and I. I just know it." The Prince's voice travels into whatever Cowanden could call its consciousness, like fleeting dreams vanishing by daylight's arrival.

This congregation of dark powers isn't left unnoticed. The iron willed Goddess stands guard with her attention towards the gathering. Not even the presence of Mab, nor the signing of the Elder Spirits that accompanied Abaguabana, has made her leave her watch. She nodded sternly at each passing student, before her attention is grabbed by an odd creature. It was the creature sent by her Lady Great-Grandmother, a thing of missing pieces and forgotten things. To her eyes the Nameless One appears as an incomplete thing, a bubbling morass of abyssal filth and amnesiac tears that tries to piece itself together before collapsing into sludge. She nods to it as it passes, returning to her duty as guard, before she senses something is wrong.

Fear. Fear is rich in the air, as ripe as a rotten fruit during a hot summer day. To the Goddess of War, she is more than knowledgeable of fear and this fear is an oil rig ready to explode. "...Excuse me, Lord Father." Athena curtsies towards Zeus before she moves with lightning speed, trying to get to Astrid before her fears make her combust. Many would try to run from their fears, but Astrid would not. She would rather tear into it as she herself breaks in her endeavor.

Athena calls to Astrid, calling her name, but her voice is drowned by the intense focus of the girl and the two Dark Gods' influence. It wasn't until her boots click close, and that she is able to interpose herself between the Storm Goddess and the two nightmares, that Astrid could perceive her. Clad in a suit made from draconian scales, the Goddess makes a firm hold on her shoulders. "...Young lady, focus on me. On me, not on them. Do you wish to be excused? I shall accompany you outside."

The endless vortex of devouring ravaged ever onward all around her, no amount of stepping away changed anything. Distance itself, did not seem to exist any longer.

There it was again, that same sudden and absolute crescendo, she could scarcely see anything. Yet... it was looking right at her. They both were. She knows it. Then, then came the voices. One, then two, than four and forty and thousands? Was it thousands more? Of course... of course OF COURSE OF COURSE OF COURSE! An amalgamation of every soul she had slain, of course it was thousands! So... the rebirths from the endless battle still counted as death then. They must have. Where else did these come from? They shouted such ethereal and meaningless nothings. Screams, pleads, anger, regrets, all their worthless and vile misdeeds.

"Astrid!"
"Where did you go...?"
"Please... coughing help..."
"They never let us eat, you know it!"
"Why did you leave?"
"She's forgotten us..."
"I wonder what they gave the strongest sister to leave..."
"Maybe she simply gave up and died."
The tearing void spoke clearly, echoing over and over in her ear. Each voice she recognized, she knew them all. They grew up together, as the only family any of them had. Why... she'd nearly brought a pantheon to its knees for them.

Nearly killed her own mother, even...

So of course she didn't leave. It wasn't her choice. She was taken. Locked in a cave to torment. There was no giving up, no surrender, she would never die to something so pathetic and cowardly. Never... Was the world shaking, or was she? Was this even the world anymore? Was it falling, or was it her own body hitting the wall? Were... there still walls? Where even is this? And why... does it feel like it very nature drains all strength?

A loud... something. B-boots? A towering golden figure blurred and faded in and out of this broken reality. A woman, perhaps? She appeared to be, though her identity was unknown to Astrid. She spoke, but her words were scattered among the many voices coming to her now. What exactly was she saying...?

"Did you hear that?" A new figured appeared from behind Astrid, walking infront of her, it was... a translucent vision of herself.

"Do you wish to be excused?" She spoke the words, apparently of the golden figures, in total sarcasm and mockery. "You know what that means... you're still in the school, hun. And this... this isn't just some hallucination. You get it don't you dear? Something like this... She stepped forward, smirking with unimaginable confidence, as Astrid got into... her own face?

"It's an attack. Straight up, in broad daylight. Tortured for years just so they could have time to make this little tool of theirs and know it would work. They figured, like this, they could incapacitate you. Remove your strength, no need to face it. That they could then just..." She began to laugh, a mix of incredible rage and actual joy in her voice, "Just suggest, nay, nonononono, not suggest. No, this is an attack, THIS, this is under duress. This is an order and they flaunt it because they think you're broken enough to flee and surrender like a coward now!" She grabs her own wrists, pulling herself upright again, as her blood begins to surge...

"Cmon, we both know that was a lie before, about Aina and Rune. If they aren't hitting them right now, they're sending this monster there after. They're your host, so they'll punish them like you, no matter their innocence..." Now boils...

"If you retreat, they get their dreams. Your family slaughtered, and you, subservient. Easily killed whenever they wish." Sears... "But... that's not we play. In our world, when these situations come up, the choice is simple. We hit first, they DIE first." Now rushing like lava, a familiar feeling. It brought more power than could be imagined with it. Racing, pumping, a feeling of life indescribable, vision begins to fade...

Athena grabs hold of the girl and pulls her close with one arm. She has seen those eyes far too many times. War is depicted as glorious by mortals, but in truth it is nothing but the manifestation of every sin of mankind. It is greed and violence that fuels it, it is the animalistic want granted swords and guns. With one unbreakable arm over Astrid's shoulder, a volumous red cape flows out of the Goddess's back. "I shall be back, friends! And Aemilia..." She turns towards her progeny, born of her wisdom and the God Janus' power of beginnings. "...Conduct yourself properly."

She wraps her cape around them and the red velvet swirls around the two like a tornado of cloth. With one revolution, the pair is gone... and the odd Magic transports them outside. The main hall is a block or two away now, and the Iron Goddess holds Astrid's arms to her side tightly. "Focus on me Astrid. Take deep breaths. You are safe now." Golden light pours out of Athena like the rising of the morning sun, and as it touches Astrid it grants clarity in its shine. Her madness and fears are staved off for now, under the light of the Goddess Athena's wisdom. "...No one will harm you. Not while I am charged with the protection of you and the other children. Breathe, young lady."

The Nameless God relaxed as the panic-afflicted godling was removed from the room by Athena, slowly sliding back up into Lanuru's grasp, coiling around him. It apologized for the sudden deprival of a good meal, and offers to compensate with secrets and ancient fears.

The Fair God's visage molds back into perfect beauty, smooth glistening skin that reflects nonexistent moonlight, beautiful golden eyes, and an all-too-perfect smile. Lanuru savors the fear in the air. It was only moments of exposure but to him... it was a grand feast of delicacies rarely offered by either man or God. The last time he tasted this kind of fear was during and after the War, when fear gripped the hearts of men too tightly.

"...You do not need to apologize, good friend. You have already paid me your due... and it was a meal most wonderful. Please, no need to pay me more." His eyes squint at the being before him, its form still shifting and turning. "...It seems that the other students are less inclined to be close to you. A shame for the daylight walkers, isn't it?"

A rapidly closing window of light, as darkness begins it's rule, is at once seared back by sudden and blinding golden rays. She winces, stepping back reflexively and covering her eyes as they adjust to the sudden change from voidly abyss to golden rays between the forests. Her hands lowered, revealing a face still contorted in a predatory rage, eyes with, for the moment, still gentle glow of hostility restrained. Though Astrid's blood still felt most like magma, she had not yet crossed the line between girl and rabid beast.

With a mind forced clear, the powerful thought emerged that perhaps such lines need not be crossed, not now, certainly. Yet, she remained in this limbo, a state which had never graced her before, now neither animal nor elf. By now she would either have calmed or been in the middle of a field of corpses. Instead her senses were witness to a strange war between the viscerally slashing cold of her scars and the boiling predatory instinct of her bloodstream.

It was just a theory, but perhaps the scales needed to be tipped in one sides favor? She took several more steps back, or tried to, yet Athena's grasp would not relent. Well... this is complicated, she can't well wait this out. A Wisdom Goddess may at least figure out it isn't intended for her. Now, hollowed out eyes now dissecting realities parts. She had no formal education in these pieces, of course, she had merely learned through trial and error. This one here was air pressure, and it's control to put simply, is where wind comes from. Next to it was electricity, all low-level static energies, but identifying them allowed her to more rapidly call upon the storm, and call with greater force.

A savage crackling rips from the sky, a chivalrous cyan streak answering her call. As thunder roars through the air, she surrounds herself in a tightly held bubble against the heat and pressure. Lightning itself was very hot, but brief, by trapping the air around her in it's own miniature storm vein, the intense heat of the lightning would warm it as well.

It was unfortunate to have to do this, however. Before she had tried to conceal her self-treatment so as to avoid obvious suspicions. Having to go this far gripped byAthena was beyond unideal, but losing control was very well worse yet. The super-heated air began to turn into plasma from the intense energy, only now with Athena's view being obscured did she finally allow a direct application of force to her wrists and she'd done before.

Almost immediately her expression relaxed. Tensed rage faded, replaced by a cathartic calmness and few wincing hisses as ethereal ice was torn asunder by lightning and fire. She remained in her ultra-heated cocoon for what must have been half a minute... Half a minute of this just for the damned cold to be gone... And even worse with a Wisdom Goddess of all things watching.

Still, this was the better of two options. She could at least turn to face her side to Athena, for whatever weak attempt at hiding her uncharacteristic reserved posture that would provide. The roaring lightning ceased, shortly followed by the dissolution of her cocoon, both lived on by a constant though subtle charge raking across her like a blanket. Time to start the acting...

Astrid threw her head back, adopting a typical annoyed and defiant expression, her tone matching such in kind, "As if I've ever needed protection. I'm the thing protected from. Like... Right now. All because you, without warning, dropped a divine monstrous amalgamation infront of a Hunter and got predictable and natural responses."

Thunder and lightning crackled around the vicinity as the Godling reflexively shutd herself down from imagined threats. It strikes and lashes at the earth and the marbled streets, scorching the surface as they whip about with her rising fear. The air turns hot, imbued by lightning and electricity, and the Goddess of Wisdom is caught in the storm.

Lightning lashed at her, superheated air roared and tried to swallow her, but the Goddess continued to hold down Astrid with nary an expression of pain in her face. Her suit withstood the divine shock, the golden scales showing no scorch marks even when plasma bites at her. Golden light still continues to flow out of the Goddess, intent to contain Astrid's outrage and to calm her. When the storm subsides, Athena lessens her grip upon the young lass but not entirely letting go.

"...I am a Goddess of War and the Goddess of Protection. It is my duty to look after my fellows, to protect them from themselves and others, and to protect others from themselves. You are my student now, Astrid. I will not leave you in a corner, afraid and horrified and a danger to yourself and others." She kneels down to be at eye level with the Hunter Goddess. Astrid, in her preternatural senses, realizes that Athena hasn't bulged even a bit when she released a storm out of her body. She stayed until it was over, simply to make sure she is calm and collected.

"...The thing that you've seen is another student. They have no name, and for a very long time they will never truly have one. It is understandable that their unknowable nature made you feel fear... however, I would like to tell you that it is also not a reason to harm others." Athena squeezes her shoulders before letting her go. Her grey eyes watch her, observe her, with no derision in them. Instead they consider what should be done. "I would like to offer our sincerest apologies on behalf of Holy High. But... it is a New Age, and with it we must come together with all sorts of beings. You are not in a place full of enemies, Astrid, believe it or not. You are in a place where you can start again. You're far away from home... and wouldn't you want to prove your Pantheon that you are more than what they think you are?" Her voice is strict and heavy with steel, and her presence almost blinding, but she speaks with slow consideration and with a trying pace.

There are many Gods and Godlings scarred by family, and divine families are not perfect. The Greeks are the Number One Fucked Up Family since the beginning of time, and with this new age of peace she wants Godlings of the new era to live in better places than the Pantheons they once called home. She wants these children to grow strong, in a place safe enough to heal their scars. "...I shall speak with the Nameless God on the way back. I shall find a way on how their influence could be lessened on you. Is that amicable for you, Astrid?"

Athena, unsurprisingly, had not budged. Though quietly, Astrid retained more respect for her than the War Gods of her kin, whom had proven weak and cowardly time and time again. That was hardly her best lightning anyway, given the circumstances, but even the best would've changed little to the stalwart Olympian.

Still, the maneuver had been successful, at least to the point she could contain the frost with a constant and low frequency. The towering Goddess knelt down to look her in the eye - and for a brief moment - it dawned on Astrid that she was actually rather... short. Compared to literally everyone else in attendance, anyway. She knew what came next, now was lecture time. Long, long ago, Freyr would have done this. At one point, if she remembers correctly, Freyja even tried to be a parent one time herself. Every second of these was only moderately less agonizing to listen through than dealing with an incurable frost.

Yet, she had learned by now to keep her mouth shut. At this point failure to do so would only escalate the annoyance to higher planes. It was far easier, and better, to simply stare quietly and wonder to herself why it was always just so important she believed whatever crap they'd spew. Look, how is this even believable? Danger to herself? Her powers have literally never turned on her, how does that make sense? This entire place is already a danger zone, so lashing out at it doesn't really change a whole lot either.

Oh, here it comes, the 'i'm on your side, i'll protect you!', they say the classics never get old, but this down right stale and rotting. Let's count to ourselves, both sisters, mother, uncle, entire extended family, and... at least a dozen? Different once-notable names of the eternal battles, have all at one time or another made the same claim. And yet... here she was a prisoner in everything but name.

Sure, maybe full of enemies was an exaggeration. Most of these kids have all the self awareness of a sea sponge, most probably had little if any idea about her or what she'd done, and so they couldn't possibly see an enemy in her just yet. For all that mattered, this song and dance has been played out too, just because someone else insists on living in denial doesn't mean she's buying it. And... how, frankly, in the flying fuck, do you create that THING? Weird anomalies created the damn Roman, how is THAT a student and not a failed summoning experiment?

Now, she had to bite her own lip, forcefully, in an attempt not laugh. Prove to her Pantheon, her family, that she 'Isn't what they think?'... this was intentional right? Like, it was meant to be a joke? Surely. Two elder war gods near death, the better part of a hundred great heroes slain, and five lightly injured gods who get PTSD tics from the wind blowing now. They think she's a monster. Well? Go on, convince them they're wrong. Astrid considered herself rather smart, but even she couldn't tell you how to do that. Short of erasing memories and replacing them in totality with lies.

Perhaps the worst part of this yet was the fake-as-all-hell pretense of her having free will or an opinion here. She arrived here from a prison, in chains, after being tortured, to be told that she's being watched, and is now already - understandably at least - being treated like a threat. Prisoner. In. All. But. Name. The sentiments are nice and all, and she's sure they're very pretty lies to believe, but cutting reality was always her preference anyway.

"Do what you want, i haven't had free will in two years, and they are nooooot about to give that back after last time. I'm not even here by choice, nothing i can do about anything."

"...Then here, you have free will... But free will doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want. We have peace, and it is fragile. You are free to be who you are, as long as you respect the peace we have now." Athena gazes at her with nothing to show on her face. The lass has gone through many painful scenarios, and she could only rely on herself. The Astrid in her eyes simply lacked discipline and guidance, and in this shaky peace... she doesn't want to lose a prospective student to the new laws that bind them.

"It is your choice if you don't want to believe me. But understand that I am not here to antagonize you, nor put you in harm's way. The peace we have now protects us... but it is also a guillotine above our heads." The new laws made it so that the anger and the seething discontent of Pantheons against each other are frozen into a Cold War. Everyone has the power to bring ruin to the world. The Pax makes it clear that those who shoot first allow others to shoot back indiscriminately, in order to preserve "peace". She could already see that Astrid is the prime target for other Gods and Beings who want to play the proxy game.

"Holy High is here to keep you away from your family. If you don't want to prove yourself to your family, then make it a statement to yourself; that you will be better than what they think you are. I suppose you are not the type to take the accusations and hate of your family while laying down, aren't you? What's the best revenge, if not proving them wrong about what they think you are?" Athena finishes her small speech, trying to instill that seed of desire, of competition and challenge, within her. "Will you accept this challenge, Astrid?"

Well, someone had best inform her allocated watcher that actually she has free will and monitoring someone is authoritarian as fuck, because that seems a pretty big shot to the heart of 'Free Will'. Just be yourself! With no privacy at all! Sure.

If this damned peace is so important, could someone also explain... why is she here!? Against her will, no less! At this point her best guess is one side doesn't actually value it at all and sent her here for that reason, and the other is high off hopium thinking they can do something about it. Guillotine over our heads, cute. Is she aware there's literally been one over hers, or is this just a hilarious accident?

Ah, now comes the appeal to the rebel warriors pride. The challenge made as much sense as anything else. What her family thought she was stopped bothering her many years ago. Because... she agreed. Though Astrid to this day has never once retained memories of an incident, beyond vague disconnected pieces, she's seen what the world becomes afterwards. She knows what it feels like as it comes in, and what tiny glimpses of during she has gotten, are more than enough to have convinced her they were right about that much.

No, their point of contention had long since been not if she were a monster, but whose fault it was. Who should suffer and be blamed? Did the beast have a point to consider? Was there a reconcilable path? They agreed only on the third question. No. No, there was not.

She sighed, there was no use speaking even a word of this, the sentence she dropped earlier had already made it worse. It was time to take some wise advice given by Rune, once upon a time. He had said to her, 'Whenever you're getting grilled out by your boss, or teacher or whoever! Don't say anything. Just smile and nod, works every time!', and he had done so with his same usual, dorky grin.

Faking a smile wasn't in the cards now, but... she could at least pair her rolling eyes with a quiet nod, and hope for it all to be over.

"...Good. If you have any concerns, come to me. I will not fault you for not trusting anyone, but I will do my best to gain yours." Slowly Athena lets go of the younger God and she stands up. She has high hopes for the young lass. There is still a future somewhere in there, the Goddess believes. "After the ceremony, there shall be a raffle to choose your roommate. All by chance, to show you that Holy High is not here to set you up for failure." A rare smile cracks on the Wisdom Goddess' face, before she turns and walks to lead her back. "Come. I shall protect you from the Nameless God's influence."

[The H Corporation]

Did I want to go?
- Illari / Killari

The sun rose up, marking the start of a new day and a new way of thinking, Illari opened her eyes feeling the grass where she was lying, once again with the shenanigans of Killari bringing her this far deep into the pantheon's domain, she probably wanted to be alone as always. Not that it was a bother to her since both of them did not have anyone to talk to but she brushed away those thoughts and purged them with the rays of the sun. She stood up and walked to her home where she was invisible, she hated that, was there a good reason to leave her wandering like this? She will never understand grown-ups, but with a smile on her face, she kept a good sense of independence, at least she can survive on her own!

Illari finally arrived at home, where all of her uncles and aunts were sitting alongside her parents, she tried once again to get their attention "Hey there family! Hope you had a nice day" she said and surprisingly everyone looked at her noticing her presence, it was weird and scary because it didn't matter what she said or did they would never look at her, a warning from Killari passed through her mind "They want to do something with us, run!" Killari screamed in Illari's mind, Illari knew there was something wrong so without doubting she left and ran away from her home if they noticed her it only means bad things she does not want to repeat, so she ran and ran as fast as she could trying to lose them.

Her family was pursuing her, they were far more numerous and powerful, Illari nor Killari would stand a chance against them, her father made a wall of fire surrounding Illari that has nowhere to go, she felt anxious, she did not want to think what horrifying things they would do to her, what kind of things they would do to hurt her, and then, she once again relived the pain that she had to endure during training, the pain of being trained until she could not even breathe, the pain of being punished if doing things the wrong way. She lay down on the floor in a fetal position letting tears flow like a rainfall, almost to the brink of collapsing when her father stood up in front of her, she felt his fiery eyes piercing her soul as if she did something bad, something 'unworthy', and that she will regret it.

It was a surprise when her father bowed down and offered his hand, this wasn't something usual of him, so Illari failed to understand what he was doing, why he was doing it? She felt anxious about not knowing why he was like that, so in response, she crawled away until her father started clenching his fist and she immediately walked closer to him, "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, as her father did not answer and took her back to her home, where she was giving the news that she will be attending to Holy High, and it was an order made by her mother, so she can't say no to it. The reason they told her was to 'set things straight with the other pantheons', more of a diplomatic mediator rather than anything else, the idea was very good for Illari since the far away she is from home the better right? She will get to do things she never got to do since she was excluded to do anything outside of the pantheon's domain.

Illari stayed in her room, excited about the things she could do, the people she will get to know, the amazing adventures she would have, and everything else! She was excited just thinking about the world beyond her room as the sun was setting and she went to sleep, while another one woke up.

Killari woke up inside her room, it was finally night and she wanted to leave this forsaken place where only the damned souls are condemned to stay and pay for their sins, she knew no one would care if she left the house for a bit, Illari was such a naive person thinking they did actually care for her and the pantheon when she knows she is being used as a pawn for her family's pretentious plans for their own selfish future. She left and walked around and as the moon rose up she felt her powers become stronger with each hour that passed, maybe this time she would have more time with her only friends the skeleton guardians she created last week, they could not talk but served very well as companions to hear her thoughts about her family, her cursed and damned family.

She arrived at her usual spot, she would always sit in front of a tree that is near a small lake, a perfect place to start training her powers of necromancy and water control. She sat, crossed her legs, and tried to communicate with the deceased asking them for companionship and protection for one more day, her eyes were shining in purple color, and the ground shook as she levitated from it. Suddenly the ground stopped shaking and her very skinny friends rose from the ground with knives and small wooden planks, presumably used as shields, and asked them to seat around her, and started to talk about how unfair her life was the pain she endured is not something she will ever forgive and that this idea of theirs to send her away for their own selfish needs was something she disliked.

Hours and hours of rambling until she realized something, what if she went there to provoke all of the younglings like her to fight each other and also ruin the reputation of her own pantheon? She could think of many things this plan for her family could go wrong, she could even find godlings with the same intentions as her and maybe do more harm to this whole idea of Holy High and if the pieces fall into place kickstart another war between the gods, it was a brilliant idea! Not even Illari could do anything to fix it.

Killari decided to go ahead and accept to go to Holy High, but if she wanted to cause havoc there she needed to train her powers with the little time she had, she trained with her skinny friends the tactics they are used to, two attacks from the sides and one through the center while she used her water tentacles to attack the tree, then defend her making her skinny friends stayed in front of her and then surround her to ensure her protection. It was very tiring so she immediately decided to rest, just before daytime.

---

Did they expected me?

Illari arrived alongside her father at Holy High, it was a majestic scene she could never think about, not even in her most incredible dreams had she seen such a thing, her father was looking at it with a serious face as if he saw better things in his life than this, he motioned to Illari to say something in her ear "Do not mock of me saying you are my daughter", he said and motioned her to go along as he walked away from her as if he has never seen her. She was used to it yet she still felt sad that despite everything he still did not recognize her as a daughter, probably not even as a god, "I will make sure to put our pantheon where it belongs... fa... Inti god of the Sun" she said with one thing in mind, do an outstanding job and make her father and her family finally recognize them and be a family as they used to be in the past.

She entered Holy High looking at the number of godlings that have arrived earlier than her, there have been probably a lot of interactions while seeing at least enough to understand that in someplace things weren't as cool as she might have thought so she skipped directly to where the food was and eat something to distract himself, only to find wonderful foods she has never seen, she was only restricted to eat bread or hunt for herself food for her own, she could get used to this new life as astudent.

[Tuboo Shippers]

The Late Arrival

Vix had made it. It took a week of climbing, getting lost, falling, and climbing up again, but she had finally made it to Holy high. As she had no real means of convenient godly transportation, she had to scale the Appalachain Mountains manually; She was lucky there were foxes around to give her directions and places to stay. She'd nearly given up and decided it wasn't worth the effort when she realized that she could just become a fox and sniff it out.

And so, with many profanities and numerous naps, she reached her destination: Holy High. Shifting out of fox form, Vix realizes she's covered in sweat, woozy, and exhausted. She stumbles through the main entrance and musters what energy she has left to make it to the main hall. crashing through the entrance and interrupting the orientation, she shouts, "HOW MUCH DID I MISS?", Laughs, and passes out.

[Luminesa]

Patriah - I'll Be Late for That

Patriah continued to watch his classmates trying to make new friends, with mixed success. Of course, some were not as interested in making friends as they were observing their classmates who had quicker fuses than themselves. Then again, saying Astrid had a quick fuse was an understatement. As the Wind God continued to eat more food, he watched Lanuru examine Astrid as though she was a petit four on a dessert plate, one of many in various colors and flavors. He managed to look continually uncanny when he was not talking about scarves and giving glowing butterflies to friends. More surprises showed themselves-a mouth that stretched and twisted across his jaws, shadowy tendrils which danced behind his head, a dark, sparkling light which allured and frightened.

For a visceral, emotional goddess like Astrid, all of those features meant bad news, trauma, and awful memories which rose like weeds through the marbled tiles of the school's main hall.

He was watching over deities as well, including one who also seemed as though he might instill nightmares in Astrid, or in most of his other, less-volatile classmates. Yet unlike Lanuru, this cryptid-looking being was less perceivable and more of a walking aura of dread. He seemed to respond to Lan's invitation to make another new friend, or another new acquaintance, and yet he never spoke. Something about him seemed off enough, and he shuddered after swallowing an entire bowl of baked meat pies.

The worst part was seeing that Astrid and Lanuru did confront each other, at least from a distance, and the explosion that almost happened only halted due to Athena stepping quickly toward the girl and calming her nerves. Hestia had also taken a look, while Hyperion stood near Patriah and simply looked around the room for any other possible signs of trouble. Nothing presented itself, and so the Sun God stayed close to the food, which incidentally enough gave him a good vantage of the rest of the class alongside Astrid. He played his radio a little lower than usual, though he still played a Sublime song over the speakers which was noticeable to Patriah and a few other students.

The Wind God gave a deep sigh of relief when Athena managed to avert a crisis, and then he grooved with the tropical-yet-grungy sound of "Doin' Time" playing next to him. He grinned over at Hyperion, and then looked at the rest of the class. "I've eaten so much food I think I'm gonna be dreaming of chicken tonight," he murmured.

"Hey kid, I'm not gonna be dreaming at all because I'm gonna be swimming in alcohol."

"Why do you do this to yourself if you know you're gonna wake-up miserable?"

Hyperion burped, and ate what looked like a hot chimichanga off a platter next to him. "It's all for the grind, kid. It's what we do. The grind, the hustle, the chimi-change."

"The...huh?"

"Money, kid."

"You get paid?"

"Psh. Who knows. Zeus said we'd get paid, not like we need money but it's nice for buying a munchies meal late at night from a human restaurant."

"Are there even human restaurants left? You know...with the supposed War?"

Hyperion paused, and he stared out the window for a few moments, strangely contemplative for a moment. None of the gods had quite assessed the damage to the human world up-close, but he knew that the students would be handling that task soon enough. After all, they were receiving this ruined world, one which they could always reshape and rebuild anew...or somehow break and make worse. "Eh. There's a Waffle House somewhere." He finished his chimichanga, and Patriah grabbed one too. The year would be long and confusing, but hopefully the enormous tasks ahead would be worth their time and inheritance.

[Luminesa]

Zeus and Teachers - Roommates and Changing Dates

Zeus looked over the list of the students who had signed the Pax document, and he nodded to the class as they stood around, talking, and possibly confusing each other with the various levels of strangeness in the room. Of course, he was not one to discuss strangeness, given his pantheon. He smiled at the students and took a step forward, and he looked at Hecate. The students needed to have their roommates as they moved to their new dorms, and she was the goddess of any and all contracts in the Greek pantheon. She still rolled her eyes at him as he kiijed at her, and she looked toward the class.

"We do need to get them paired away, before we start classes and quests tomorrow."

"Quests?...Ah right. Their little...field trips." Hecate gave a small smirk behind a sheet of parchment, and she flickered a bit of violet-tinted magic toward the sheet. "I'm sure they'll have plenty of fun once they get started on their little dangerous fun. After all, what is a god or goddess who never steps into the gauntlet? Some of these children are most certainly going to need it."

"Now wait a minute, we're not sending them into the lion's jaws now...are we?"

"You're the principal, there's quests for them to do. They're not here to be coddled..." She lowered her voice and whispered. "Because you know one or two of the teachers will most certainly try. And then the Pax will be in danger, in the hands of a class of marshmallows."

"Now let's not get so testy, Hecate, let's...get them situated in actual dorms first."

She gave another snarky look, before she handed him the sheet. He looked it over, and he showed it to Hestia as she walked back over. Hestia, however, was more focused on the wellbeing of everyone, and not just the Greek pantheon. "I wouldn't suppose you would like to discuss those quests with other teachers before you send the students away to be hurt, would you?" she whispered, her voice gently demanding for Zeus to be honest. The goddess of Magic glared at her over her shoulder, but Hestia was still an Olympian at heart and thus stood her ground.

Zeus turned toward some of the other gods and goddesses walking around the room. Hera had not come to greet the class, as she had other duties which also interested her. Saraswati and Tenjin walked around, greeting students and talking to them about their home-lives and expectations. Both were elegant and far more serene than Hecate, who though an elegant figure had a rather vicious undertone, like a luxurious snake hiding in wait. He hoped that the other teachers would balance her own contemptuous nature, and that she would not be so worrisome around the students. "We'll have plenty to discuss, yes. But first, the students need beds!"

And so he held a hand in the air, and every student got a copy of the lists of roommates and their locations around the campus. Once he got their attentions, he smiled broad and fatherly. "Students! This has been a wonderful afternoon! Though short, it seems, your journey has just begun! Please, find your roommates on the list we have provided, and go make new friends. Directions to the dorms are written in the script below the list."

"Ah yes, we've double-checked Hecate's handwriting to make sure it is legible!" Ganesha, who was not scared at all by Hecate, moved back toward the front and made the crack as she scowled at the elephant-headed god. He was ever as bright as his golden skin and glittering jewels, and he winked to the students. "You'll find the room-and-board to be very pleasant, I think, with all the amenities and goods you'll need to relax and find comfort in your new home! And if you need anything, as long as it does not violate the Pax, all you need to do is ask!"

Zeus looked toward Hyperion, who raised a beer bottle almost as a question, and he shook his head. "No alcohol in the rooms!" The sun titan lowered his bottle, which he then emptied into a plastic cup with an annoyed glare.

And so the class would move to the afternoon and evening, getting themselves settled in their new dorms. Their design was completed by Hephaestus, who thought that Zeus's insistence on classical rooms full of marble statues gave no true sense of identity to a very diverse class of students. Of course, the King God had thought he was foolish, but the Blacksmith God was correct.

The dorms were enormous and spacious, with a minimalist luxury which allowed for the students to design them much as they pleased. Walls in either ivory, teal, or ink-black, with silvery tile in the kitchen and bathrooms, and luxe carpets in the bedrooms, the first impression was that the rooms were sleek-but-welcoming. They even had fireplaces in the living room, in case the students did get cold at some point in their time at Holy High.

Light bounced and danced all over the dormitories. The walls had gold trimming, and the living rooms and bathrooms had large, sparkling mirrors as well. The ceilings were domed, leading up to a tall central point from which a glittering chandelier hung. All of the rooms had plenty of natural lighting glowing through the windows as well. Light was endless, both inside and outside of the campus, soft-but-effervescent, ready for the students to fill with their presences.

Holy High was not just their training grounds, but their home for the next few months, and here the light hopefully would stay awake for them.

[Weissa Major]

Cepha - Signing On

The Greek-inspired architecture of Holy High was magnificent, with towering marble pillars serving as bastions of a new era. The entire school was a monument to the Pax, to a promise of an age where gods and goddesses of all pantheons could work together and create a better future. It was a magnificent sight, and still, it was welcoming, just homely enough so that its opulence and grand scale wouldn't scare off newcomers.

Unfortunately for Cepha, the architecture was the most welcoming part of her first day. Normally, she enjoyed leaping head-first into new experiences, but this was different. For the first time in her life, she was surrounded by other divinities, some of whom were from places she hadn't even heard of. It didn't help that she had arrived unaccompanied while others had brought their entire extended families with them (Pax or no Pax, Gaia was…less than welcome in the presence of the Olympians).

Even the Gods she could recognize surprised her. She had heard that Zeus would be the school's principal, but she hadn't been expecting him to be so…earnest? He was more like an awkward Dad than the impulsive God-King Gaia loved to criticize. And for a Titan, Hyperion was far less intimidating and far more…she couldn't even think of an accurate word to describe him.

What was intimidating, however, were the stakes. While her grandmother had exaggerated some of the details, by observing some of the interactions of the other deities, Cepha could tell one thing: the Pax was held together with little more than duct tape and prayers. One wrong step, and it could all unravel, kickstarting a war that could potentially be even worse than the first one. While she was among the youngest of the godlings, never having experienced a world before the war, even she knew just how devastating such a disaster would be.

She tried not to think about it too much.

Things can only get better from here, right?

She took a bite of some tiganites, savory pancakes covered in honey and sesame seeds. They tasted even better than the ones from home (although that wasn't a huge accomplishment, considering she could never quite get the timing down). Still, it was a welcome surprise, one that would hopefully be one of many.

Holy High didn't quite feel like home yet, but with any luck, it would in no time.

Once she had finished, she, along with the other students, grabbed a copy of the rooming sheet Zeus was handing out. She eagerly scanned the list, quickly finding the location of her new dorm, as well as the name of her soon-to-be roommate. Astrid? She hadn't heard of an Astrid before. That's a nice name. I wonder what she's like.

[The H Corporation]

My room, My new home
- Azcóatl

Azcóatl after a little bit of meditation walked to hear the lecture of his new teachers, it was a very cool introduction for him, it is never too late to hear from your elders he thought as he grabbed the list to see where his room was and who his roommate is, it was certainly a surprise when he read his roommate would be the Chinese godling that he heard wanted to have relationships with humans. For him, it was not a problem but it is not something he could have heard in any conversation he has been so far, but he decided to not judge this goddess with this small interaction, there will be plenty of times when he could interact with her if the time and moment are presented.

Azcóatl walked around trying to find his room, he was at some point lost but he managed to find a way into his room, he did not want to waste time and he decorated his part of the room to make it look more like home, he grabbed a minimalistic eagle on top of a cactus eating a snake, it was a nice touch and it has a very interesting background but that is not what he wanted to talk about and it is not very important as of now, he added some wildlife decorations to symbolize his home and then adding a small but very well made statue of a jaguar in combat position, never has he ever thought that decorating his room was nice, hopefully, Ao Chao will arrive at any minute and maybe engage in a normal conversation.

[Finsternia]

Lanuru - Nightmares Awaken

The bells ring, and thunder roars, as Zeus announces the end of the entrance ceremonies. It was brief and short, and a simple showcase of the array of teachers and students that the establishment currently has. The opening ceremony also places an emphasis on the importance of the Pax, and this new age of peace that all Pantheons must now share. It was a shaky peace, but a peace hardwon nonetheless.

Zeus has waved a hand in order to distribute a list of students and their roommates to each of the student body. A silver clawed hand grasps at the scroll before him, made from golden vellum and inked with divine power, and Lanuru unrolls it to see what this is all about. His golden eyes gaze through the list of names, some he knows and many he does not. It seems that the school indeed pursues camaraderie and the forging of alliances between Pantheons, as even the housing of the students must be shared with another. Lanuru does frown a little, as he expected grand reception and his own manor as Prince and great divinity, but the expression subsides soon after. It presents another way of allying with another personage and his eyes glimmer at the thought. The Unseelie Court needs all the friends it could get in this high place.

The Prince of the Unseelie looks around, and finds his new allies ready to disperse and find their own residences. He casts each of them a nod and a practiced smile as he too steps out of the establishment. The baleful Sun is sinking beyond the horizon, taking its harsh rays with it as it sinks into the abyss of stars. The God of Nightmares sighs in relief as he stretches his arms out, and a greater aura of divinity bursts out of his body. His halo almost explodes with a dark power as tendrils of shadow wave and writhe out of it, and its golden corona transitions into a blinding silver edge. His body takes on the veil of night, as galatical stars shimmer upon his skin like how freckles would grace a mortal. They move and flow upon his body like the movements of the stars above, and they escape from him as motes of silvery light. Under the shadow of night the Dark God takes his grandest physical form, crowned by moonlight and draped in the light of stars. Lanuru shudders and sighs once again as his muscles feel more relaxed now that the sun has fled the celestial atlas, his body and existence freed from its suppression. He eyes the bleeding twilight horizon for a couple moments with eyes blazing with ambition. He then steps out into the night with a renewed vigor.

Wild life springs from the steps of the Eclipse God as he traverses the campus, thorned brambles and flowers blooming with eerie purplish and bluish lights rise at his wake. Shadows follow him like servants eager to please the Prince, taking half-formed shapes as they curl with every step. With the help of the scroll granted by Zeus, Lanuru finds his place of residence. It was a grand building, built less as a house and more as a temple palace for each pair occupying them. The architecture was that of the Greeks, with their marbled floors and marbled pillars, but the design is wondrously divine and glamorously etched with gold. Lanuru raises his hands and dark magics flow out of his fingertips as thorned vines wrap around the pillars of his new home. Poisonous berries and enchanting flowers grow out of each vine, decorating the front of the building with a primal yet alluring sense.

The God steps into the dorm and sees its design. It was the height of luxury as marble, gold, and other precious textiles deck the halls and walls of the shared space. Every single amenity is provided, from food to entertainment. Even the bathrooms are stocked and designed in a way that even the most extravagant monarch of mortal society would feel poor and destitute before its artistic grandeur. There is only one flaw, however.

Light.

Light is everywhere in the dormitory, with each surface reflecting and providing light. It certainly gives off a divine feel, as if somebody has arrived at the gates of Heaven and its eternal fount of brilliance. Lanuru frowns at the blinding divinity of the building, and thus his halo erupts with power. The figure of a dark moon, lightless and silent, hangs high above the ceiling. With its appearance, the holy light dims until its intensity reaches the softness of moonlight. With his power, the Dark Prince casts his dominion over the building and thus casts it into the calmness of night. He smiles as he looks around, his new residence now perfect as thorny vines crawl upon walls to bloom with glowing nighttime flowers. He picks a seat in the living room, one with a high back and with great comfort, as he opens the scroll upon his lap. His "roommate" is a name unknown to him, and thus he shall await for this stranger to see who shall be the partner that Fate has chosen for him.

[Luminesa]

Co-Write with H-Corporation and Lumi

Something to Taco Bout - Night

Illara, after the introduction ceremony, she felt the sun finally about to set and the moon rise over the land to bring darkness to her mind. It was too soon she thought, she could not even introduce herself to anyone yet, but as the sun went down she felt tired. So tired she could not resist and slept in one corner until Killara woke up, with her mind set on one thing, revenge on her pantheon. She walked around grabbed the papers and read the list and walked around trying to figure out where her room was.

Out of nowhere she crashes with another god. It was just perfect she thought, not only is she lost, but she had to crash with another god. She wanted to get to know with her roommate before anything now part of her plan for the night, and so with an angry face she walked towards the god she crashed into and yelled, ”Be more careful of your surroundings!”

The evening brought a cool mountain breeze over the school, which helped Patriah to relax as he walked out of the main hall and out toward the rest of the campus. He had to wonder where in the small world his dorm was, and as he looked at the map he scratched his head. “…So…north of campus…and apparently there’s an oasis there. That sounds fun. Need to go swimming a bit sometime.”

He was mumbling and thinking as he walked across campus, not carrying very much luggage except for a single carry-on bag and the sheathed sword over his back. He might accumulate things to use and to decorate his room in time, but for now he just hoped the fridge was full and the shower had warm water. Warm water that wasn’t red and full of screaming souls.

He felt the cool grass under his feet, and he almost enjoyed the slow stroll across campus, until he found himself suddenly face-down in the same grass. His nose and face crashed into the dirt, but he had a high tolerance for pain and only grumbled a bit as he hit the ground. Rolling over, he looked up at the girl goddess who had attacked him. “…Ha. Ha. Hahahahah. Okay. Nice one. Now uh…can I go please? Unless you want to spar, which would be fun.” He grinned up at her, confused but eager if she wanted a quick match.

”Spar? Are you challenging me?!” she asked in a very serious tone. She certainly needed to let go some of the steam she has been saving for her family once things were even between them for a fair fight, another thing was to assert a little dominance, but it would be preferable to not do anything stupid since she technically signed those papers, and she did not want to be expelled without doing enough damage. She suddenly pointed her finger, ”Why would I want to spar with you? It is clear who would come out on top if that were such a case,” she said confidently.

She grabbed the paper and try to guess with who was she talking to, but it certainly wasn’t her roommate. ”I would certainly win if we spar right now you… I don’t even know who you are,” she said while trying to read through the names the list had but she did not guess who was he. ”Ugh… whatever I will just call you ‘clumsy boy’, it certainly fits you,” she said as she looked around and noticed he was carrying something, while she was carrying nothing.

Were they supposed to get something from home? She asked herself remembering she technically doesn’t have anything to bring from home that bring her good memories, the more she thought about it the more anxious she felt, she started to lose confidence and trembling remembering all of her trauma at once, and had to step back a little bit.

She was definitely feisty. She had confidence for miles, believing that she would defeat Pat in a fight without even knowing him. Yet he did not take her so seriously. Her tone was grave and dead-set on chaos, but he simply enjoyed a good fight when he could get one. Either way, he could tell that she was possibly as volatile as Astrid, and even if he could win in a fight, starting one might have been starting a wildfire he would not be able to stop.

“My name is…right here.” He pointed to his name on his paper, which had landed a few inches away from him after the girl had tackled him. “Patriah. I’m Greek, Wind and Lightning, I have a big sword and I eat a lot. I dunno about clumsy, though my dad gets angry at me for not wearing a shirt. He’s one to talk since he won’t wear shoes. Do you have a name?”

Killara tried to set her mind straight, but she was finding herself repeating those painful moments. But then after Patriah got close enough and point his finger at his name she snapped out of it barely escaping the mental breakdown ”P-Patriah huh? That is just a name I will forget so I will just keep calling you ‘clumsy boy’,” she said arrogantly trying to make him upset or something, starting to build tensions was key to make Holy High divided.

”I am Killara, daughter of…” before continuing she remembered those cold words her father made before she entered the school, besides she was not proud of being her daughter. ”It does not matter, I am Killara, and I am certainly not telling you about my powers,” she said thinking telling everyone her powers was a very easy taunting to find her weaknesses, but it was good Patriah immediately gave her an idea of who she was up against.

"Okay, call me Pat then," Patriah answered, not entirely sure why she was now being so hyper-aggressive. He raised a brow as she tried to fuss over his name, which admittedly was rather strange and possibly not even Greek. Thanatos had told him how he was born a few times before, and even then he was not sure if he entirely believed the story. That was a question to settle once he was more well-rested and less annoyed by the girl trying to dogpile him.

"Eh, you know, you don't have to feel bad. I dunno who my mom is either. It happens, our pantheons are all screwed-up." He filled in the blanks in her speech with his most definitely clumsy manner, and yet he was still well-meaning, as he had been with Lanuru when he had given him his scarf. "You ate at the orientation-thing, right? Or your stomach's probably angry and that's why you're all...this."

”And I ask who are you to give me orders clumsy boy?”, she said, once again trying to annoy Patriah as much as she could, thinking this was a good way to create tensions. Later she would probably spread very mean rumors and create even more conflict in the future, but everything has to start small and besides not everyone is going to believe her at some point. Oh well, it was a strategy that can be molded depending on how things develop.

She was surprised to hear that Patriah doesn’t know who his mom was. Still she could not relate to him because her situation was completely different, a child born that was supposed to be the greatest of all times just to be abandoned to her own fate. ”Ha! And aren’t you curious who she is? Why she is not present with you? Why she left you? And for the record I do have a mother, and a father, but talking about them is infuriating, don’t you feel that way when you think of who your mom is?”.

She thought about the food, Illara did make sure to eat properly at daytime but it was night time and she also needed to eat something, but she never thought Patriah would be so clever to try and annoy her by saying she was like this because of her stomach, ”You think this is about food? I am always like this, thank you very much, I…”, before she could continue her stomach roared asking for food making Killara embarrassed covering her belly, ”M-Maybe I am a little hungry, but I still don’t see what is the point of that!” she yelled.

Patriah shrugged. “Greek myths are wild. Some gods don’t even have moms in the first place, some are human, Lady Athena got born from Zeus’s brain, it is what it is and I can’t really change that.” She did make a point, however. If his mother did make him, then she did leave him. And yet he felt no attachment to this shadowy concept, only faintly to the mystery of who she might be. Thanatos was not privy to giving away such secrets, not yet.

His mind turned to simpler problems as the girl indicated through her growling stomach that she had not eaten at all. He snickered. “You know, my roommate hasn’t shown-up yet, once I find my room maybe Hestia will have dropped some ingredients in the fridge. Want me to make tacos for the three of us?” Hyperion’s love of tacos had inspired him, though he doubted he could make them as well as Hestia. “Tacos and some sort of soda. I bet Aunt Hestia wouldn’t mind if I snatched some stuff from the kitchen and brought that too. Er…wherever the kitchen is.”

Killara stared at him confused, how could he be focus solely on food at a moment like this. Maybe Patriah was a very simplistic kind of deity. There was nothing so far that made him unlikeable and far away of her thoughts she was a little bit hungry, and she did not want to meet her roommate as of now in this state. ”Is there something in your mind that is not food? Ugh… fine, I will give you the honor of eating with me, you should be grateful clumsy boy,” she said proudly throwing confidence to Patriah.

Well it seemed so far that her methods needed some work with this one, the fact that he did not even thought too much about what she asked him about his mom, he probably just threw away the thought to the bin and called it a day. So jealous she was that he was able to focus on simple things as food. It was a rocky start, but somehow this shirtless god managed to keep the conversation smooth, he is probably a great danger to her plans. There was so much to think about for now eating was a priority.

He easily pulled himself off the ground, with the much smaller deity sliding off as he stood and dusted himself. He then helped her to her feet, and looked at his map. “Now uh…if my calculations are correct…we go this way.” He pointed in the right direction, and he led her to the dorm.

Having lived in the dark underworld with a messy room in an enormous palace, he was shocked to see a living quarters so clean, so sparkling, so full of light. Even with the backdrop of twilight outdoors, he still felt as though he was walking through daylight. He stared at his surroundings for a few minutes, and then put his small bag by his bed.

“…Uhhhh…is a place like this even going to have actual food?…Or do we just eat the air?”

He walked to the fridge and opened it, looking inside with awe as he realized that Hestia had filled it with necessities for making food. Breads, cheeses, juices, sauces, ingredients for sauces, drinks, fresh fruits and vegetables, and even a few sweets. He looked in the freezer and saw all sorts of other meats, fish, ice cream, and ready-to-cook ingredients. He turned to look back at his new guest, and he thought to Bana who would arrive soon. His puzzled expression then gave way to a wide grin.

“Come sit in the kitchen, I’m whipping-up dinner!”

Killara followed the big clumsy god around. Illara was surely reasonably excited when they entered, she was used to living in dark places where her soul remained tortured for the eternity against her own will, and it was amazing how big the place was. She never liked small spaces anyway, she was kind of claustrophobic. She just let it slide as Patriah led the way to his dorm, and the room was certainly something she has never seen before. She could stop herself to be amazed by such rooms, she could only imagine what awaited her in her own dorm.

She took a sit in the kitchen just looking around, she has never seen this type of things before, a big box full of food? A big box that has doors? A big box that had switches? It was certainly a different world for her, her curiosity made her eyes wander everywhere and she moved near the stove wondering what it was, what kind of magic sorcery is this? ”I can wait for the food, its not a problem. Just make sure it is good. If not, I will be mad until you make good food,” she said, moving the switches of the stove turning a flame on. She just stared at it, remembering the times her father would punish her with fire whips. Solely thought made her jump away and stay in her seat without turning the flame off.

"Alright."

He nodded to her, and he began to grab the necessary ingredients for making tacos. Beef, seasoning, beef stock, butter, salt and pepper, some veggies and cheese to go on top, and tortillas. He could have made his own tortillas, but he figured that the guests would want their food quickly. He turned to his work, throwing spices, herbs, garlic, beef stock, and butter into the meat as he cooked it. He then heated the tortillas on a different pan, and he turned back to his new...friend.

He was not sure if this girl would be interested in being his friend. He had a similar issue trying to determine if Lanuru had wanted to socialize with him, especially after he had insulted him severely without realizing the damage of his words. All he knew was that only certain people would appreciate "your mom" jokes with the lightness they deserved.

"Gotta make enough for you and for Bana, he can have some when he gets here. So uh...you prefer anything specific as far as toppings? I just grabbed a bunch of things." Conversation with Patriah did not tend to become deep, as he did not know how to answer many of those questions himself. Yet easy conversations about food, drink, and games made him feel right at home. Almost as if he was back in Eurydice's kitchen while she fussed over how much spice he did or did not use. She had been the closest person he could compare to a mother, and the thought warmed him as much as the butter and stock warmed and filled the beef in the pan. Giving it flavor in the same way that Eurydice had managed to fill his life with something almost like...joy. Normalcy. He could cook and be mildly functional, thanks to her. Now he got to show just how well she had taught him, and such was enough for him.

Killara was letting her eyes wander around the room. Anyone could say she was in her own world, ”Its fine, I never had someone to cook for me as far as I remember, and the only thing I know is edible is the food I used to hunt for myself. So my tongue has only eaten raw foods for thirteen years,” she said, and it was true. After being diagnosed with DID at the age of 8 her family refused to make food for her and kicked her away from her own home, having to hunt for her own food that would cross around her path or just steal whatever foods she could fine in their family’s kitchen. But most of the time she ate raw stuff.

Killara suddenly felt sad, remembering those times she spent alone in many places until she could finally sneak into her own room to sleep and then being punished for it, was it worth it though? It was, but it hurt, she understood that life is very disappointing. She wonders how she could make this plan of hers work, since it surely won’t work on Patriah. Maybe someone more volatile would do a job for her, but for now she wanted to eat, ”I hope that food is ready, because if it isn’t done in 3 minute I am going to explode!” she said hoping to annoy him a little bit.

“Well now you’re gonna eat cooked food for once. It might taste good to you,” he suggested. The scents of spices, pepper, and garlic filled the kitchen and gave it life, and soon enough he had set-out various plates of toppings as well. Pickled onions, pickles, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, shredded carrots, lettuce, and bacon. Patriah, being a glutton, would put a little of everything on his. After all, he had plenty of toppings, and enough meat to feed four or five more students comfortably.

“It’s pretty much done now, so come serve yourself and don’t explode. And uh…lemme find some soda or something in the fridge.” He dug for drinks in the fridge as he laid all the ingredients out for her to serve herself.

Killara was staring at the food. It looked good, or she guessed it was a very nice-looking dish since she never had any interaction with the cuisine world. When was the last time she ever had a meal like this, and why her? Why does she deserve this meal? What has she done to deserve this? She had many questions, how does a simple god like him being nice to her, she was annoying and she is not very good at many things anyway, so why, why is this happening right now.

”You are very weird clumsy guy, why are you being nice to me after being so annoying?” she said as she ate a taco. It was something she never tasted before, it was definitely better than raw food and didn’t notice she ate it very quickly, she looked at the toppings and she could not decide which one to add, ”You need to value yourself more you clumsy, I will take advantage of your hospitality and eat all your food. You really should not be so kind to me, I don’t deserve it, I don’t deserve anything,” she said as she grabbed another taco adding a little bit of everything.

She was certainly enjoying the food, it was something she never got the chance to eat like a queen in such a long time, and pleasing memories of her eating in a happy family came back to her for a moment. But she knew this was not her family giving her what she wanted, besides has she ever deserved their hospitality? She again questioned why suddenly Patriah was being nice, it was really weird for her to understand.

“Uh…” Patriah turned around, trying to think to all the times Eurydice had cooked for him. When he was frustrated, when he was down, when he was exhausted and literally fainted in her kitchen, when he was just glad to see her. So many deep and meaningful reasons, and yet he did not have those connections with this girl yet. “You were hungry and I like to cook? And if you come back around looking for food I’ll…cook more?” He continued to be confused at her hostility, yet he noticed that she was still eating his food anyway. He grinned, and he nodded to the bacon and cheese. “Try those, and the lettuce, and the sour cream. Good start.”

Killara chuckled at what he said. He surely is trying to make conversation, but its not like she was very good at it anyway. Illara would be complementing anyone and that is annoying for herself, if she had full control then she would already be making plans 24/7 on how to destroy the reputation of her family or tear this project down with her. Besides, this maybe was a little trick to make her change her mind about this or maybe it was an opportunity to get an ally for herself, but again looking at Patriah she doubts he would be of any help besides bringing food to the chaotic party she wanted to throw.

She tried the taco with the toppings Patriah suggested. It was a mind blowing experience every time she had a bite of them, she was baffled at why Patriah would still cook her this magnificent dish, ”Where have you learned to eat this way? Who taught you how to make this?” she asked curious of why he is so good at this, not even at her best she could make things like these.

“You know, I said I didn’t really have a mom that I knew…but there’s a nymph in the Underworld named Eurydice. And she’s kind of like my mom. She got mad when I didn’t bring a shirt, so she made me a scarf. I gave it to someone else who was cold, so now I just have…pants.” He pulled his head out the fridge as he spoke, and pulled along with him two bottles of carbonated punch. “This looks kinda tasty. Anyway yeah, she taught me how to cook. But she’s far better than I am. I can make…bar food and that’s it. But it fills you up?”

He smirked as he saw that she had already eaten as he had uncorked a bottle for her. “I’m glad you’re liking it. Maybe it’ll wean you off raw meat.”

”Must be nice to have a family,” she said, trying not to tell too much information about herself since it was best to keep most of her life as a secret. ”It isn’t good, I am just obligating myself to eat… this! Yeah, its not so good,” she didn’t believe her own words and she could not hide the expression of her face that clearly said the contrary, she was enjoying the food and there was nothing that could topple this experience, since she had no good experiences and so far she was feeling comfortable.

”I am just kindly accepting your gifts since I am benevolent!” she said confidently and gladly accepted the beverage and drank it.

“It’s called tacos.” He watched her face, and even a complete moron could have noticed that she was happy with the food. Seeing that she was trying to keep her façade of being unhappy with everything, he just chuckled. “Well I’m glad you’re be…bun…beneviolent then. You can have more. I’m putting some to the side for Bana when he gets here, that’s my actual roommate.” In all honesty, even if she was bizarre, he was glad for her company. He organized some plates on the table and looked over at her, before he took a swig of his soda. This was not the worst way to start the first evening at Holy High.

”Never in my life have I ever heard about this tacos you are talking about,” she said. She thought that maybe it was time to leave and meet her roommate, since trying to make this guy mad at something is certainly not going to work. But it was something she enjoyed doing, never in her life has she ever been treated like this, not even when her family actually noticed her.

”Anyway! I think I need to go to my room. I hope that next time you serve something better. For now, thanks for the gifts you call tacos, I will be heading over to my room,” she said as she stood up and grabbed 2 more tacos before leaving, she waved to Patriah and walked away truing to find her room or her roommate, whatever comes first.

“Uh…bye?” Patriah watched her run out of the room a little faster than was necessary, and he blinked. “…Well…huh. More for me?” He thought she might finally decide to hang-out, but perhaps the idea of staying and conversing was something she was not ready to do. Tomorrow would be another day, and maybe he would try again if she came his way. He turned back to his food, and he made sure to leave some aside for Bana before he served himself.

“…Huh. Eurydice might just like these if she was here.”

[Zei-Aeiytenia]

A Co-write With Zei-Aeiytenia and Weissa Major
Starring:
Astrid & Cepha in...
Astrid Vs The Forces of Black + Decker, Kenmore, and Frigidaire

The last few minutes of the orientation had, thankfully, returned to its previous uneventful state. Though she was far from pleased about "needing the aid" of anyone or anything, let alone an elder god whose status quo she dreamed of shattering into smoldering tinders. She maintained that regardless of the supposed status of that thing that its existence was of utmost and absolute hostility to the natural universe and that, therefore, her services rendered as a huntress in its rightful extermination would have been generous to say the least.

Whatever, that didn't matter now. Zeus and the staff had finished their little 'private' chat - as if anything could ever be with her around - and had promptly received the list of roomates and a small map. Before Zeus had even punctuated his sentence, she had turned around and walked out, bags on her back. Anything else being said would be well within earshot for her anywhere she went in this glorified prison, anyway.

As she approached the room, her lamentations over not being assigned a lone 'cell' faded, replaced by a genuine appreciation and fascination for the structure and design of the whole wing. To be expected, this was the work of Hephaestus. Astrid had designed many buildings on her own of varying functions and even built some of them, but not one could ever have hoped to so much as dream of being near this level. Such a simple fact, yet the tinge of rising sadness could be felt welling, before facing her brutal suppression. Those days had their own problems, but designing bridges and cities under a tree while hungry were better memories than a Forever War.

She stepped into the room, having completely forgotten now her brief mental question - 'What the hell is a Cepha?' - as she continued to marvel at the beauty of the room itself. To her side was a... sort of its own room? It was partly detached and separated yet there were no doors... and its purpose was unclear as well? Filled with strange metal boxes, too. A large one between the cabinets, on the floor, another against the wall - it was far taller - as well as a smaller one on the counter.

Walking over to the smallest of the contraptions, she picked it up, overlooking its entire exterior. It was smooth, and without blemishes, just painted metal. A glass window was on the front of a door, wire crossing through it. A small, particularly dark rectangle to the right rested above an area painted out in gray shapes with numbers, and words on some. Ever curious still, she began poking at them, being greeted by a "beep!" each time. She continued, until suddenly, the machine began to glow, and released a droning, hell-piercing screech of violent radiation and whirring.

Astrid jumped back, slamming into the tall, large box. It's upper part detached harmlessly from it's body, and began an impromptu assault with icy cold. Almost immediately, it's own demonic growling began. She spun around, kicking herself back and somersaulting backwards onto her feet from the beasts. The shock in her eyes now replaced with an angry glare.

"Oh lemme guess, you're watching this! Fine, fine, i thought when you said 'dangerous' you meant a collared lion or something pathetic. Props for actually bothering to make magical metal demon golems, i guess. However..." She stood straight now, bracing her stance and extending her right arm and hand, as the power of the storm began to race around her, "Might i suggest next time you reduce the transformation time? And send my regards to Hephaestus." She stared down the length of her arm with a mix of boredom and determination, with the hopes this at least indicated something interesting actually planned later, if they set an ambush so soon.

Cepha’s mind raced as she imagined what the new dorms had in store. She had heard good things about Hephaestus’s work—scratch that, good was an understatement—but she still looked forward to what the master craftsman had in store. On Earth, you were lucky if you were able to get a toaster working. But these rooms were to have full amenities. Gaia probably wouldn’t approve, but Cepha wasn’t one to object to such luxuries.

As she approached the dorm, however, her enthusiasm slowly changed to concern. The air became colder as she got closer, its sharpness stinging her with each breath. And, if she hadn’t known better, she could’ve sworn that she heard the sound of wind racing. But that was impossible. Logistical improbabilities aside, you can’t fit a storm in a dorm room.

…or so she thought.

When she got to her room, the door was already open. The chill had grown even stronger now, and Cepha could’ve sworn she felt strong gusts rushing pass her as she approached the open doorway.

The dorm was spacious, even more so than she could’ve imagined. Cepha was by no means an expert in design, but she could easily tell just how much thought had gone into the layout. The room truly did have full amenities, being stocked with all sorts of appliances and other features, many of which Cepha had only ever seen in scrap heaps or in pieces. She would’ve admired the room more carefully if it hadn’t been for a more pressing issue at hand; an actual storm was forming, with a young godling standing at the center. And she…had the microwave on, with nothing inside of it? And why was the refrigerator open?

She tried to speak over the gathering storm without startling the other goddess. “Hey! Is everything alright?”

Astrid did not respond immediately to the girl in the doorway, instead taking a long, slow sigh. "I retract my earlier compliments, these are obviously test duds. Otherwise the hapless idiot would've been blasted by now." She rubs her temples, growing more exasperated, "Still though, gonna blow them up, thanks for ruining my fun i guess." She continued, as if she could see or somehow knew of the presence of someone other than Cepha, her right hand extended again, now covered with crackling lightning near ready to let rip.

As the storm dissipated, so did Cepha’s apprehension. “Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to interrupt your fun.” As she spoke, she walked over to the microwave; with a press of a button, the machine shut off, all lights powering down except for the display timer. She was about to close the refrigerator door, but she paused, opening the door just wide enough so she could observe the inside. “Strange. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a working one before. It’s just so….bright.”

With that she closed the door, turning to face who she could only guess was her new roommate. With a smile, she extended her hand outwards. “I’m Cepha, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She simply stares, first in mild surprise, then contorting into a distrustful glare. The storm around her body intensified several-fold, as her head tilted to the right, eyes of simmering madness staring into Cepha's.

"What the fuck was that shit. Explain your consorting with the demons. NOW. She lowered her arm, though kept both fists clenched, ready for the demon-consorting-girl to explain herself.

"WOAH, woah, woah.” Cepha put her hands up, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. The sudden change in tone definitely caught her off guard, but she still made sure to speak to her new…“friend” with kindness. “Those, uh, aren’t demons. They’re appliances. You can use them to…well, actually you can use them for lots of stuff.” She gestured over to the refrigerator. “You can use that to make food last longer by keeping it cold.” She then gestured to the microwave. “And you can use that to heat up that food when you want to eat it. I’ve only ever seen one working one, and that one always overcooked everything—anyway, they’re machines. They run on storms. Well, kind of. They run on electricity, but I’m sure you know more about that than I do.” She laughed, nervously, momentarily looking away from Astrid’s intense gaze.

Astrid raised an eye, not entirely trusting what she was told. "These monstrous metal apparitions are your familiars? What hell world are you from? In my home we call any lifeless entity screaming with the cacophonous slaughter of rended bone and souless devouring 'Demons' and nothing more. But I understand, lightning resistance" she points to what Cepha calls a 'microwave', "and ice resistance. Noted." As she points to the refrigerator.

The storm begins to lax slightly around, her glare softening along with it. "Keep your monsters behaved or I will put the knowledge of their resistances to use." The storm now fades, and she turns without further word to walk further into the dorm, now eyeing just about everything with great suspicion, as begins to methodically clear every room, looking for anything 'blatantly demonic' in nature.

She sighed a breath of relief. “Alright, I’m glad we could talk that through. I’ll be sure to keep the, um, ‘familiars’ in check.” She might not have known too much about appliances, but she knew enough to make sure they didn’t explode or, hopefully, cause too many problems. Her new roommate’s, shall we say, wariness of technology reminded Cepha of her grandmother, who was also less than enthusiastic of such developments (although Cepha was smart enough to not joke at her roommate’s expense, especially after that dramatic introduction.)

As Astrid explored the dorm, Cepha sat down on one of the beds. She took off her satchel and removed two items from it. The first item is a small wooden box, which she carefully set next to her. The next is a modest-sized lyre. Methodically, she begins tuning it, the instrument’s hollow sound ringing out through the room.

“So, you’re Astrid, right?” As she speaks, she plucks a small series of notes. “I saw your name on the list, but I didn’t think to ask.”

Her paranoia sated for the brief moment, Astrid took to the second bedroom as Cepha gently strummed a lyre. And immediately began asking personal questions . Just great.

"Yeah, sure, probably." She said dismissively, pulling book after book after book... Really the entire bag was mostly books, notebooks, pencils, markers, erasers, and so on and so forth.

Probably?

Cepha tried not to give it too much thought. The first day had been a whirlwind for everyone, and it was clear that Astrid needed some time to adjust. She played a calming song on her lyre, one with successive notes that sounded not unlike falling rain. The calm after the storm, if you will.

Like before, the song echoed throughout the dorm, but this time, it had a more haunting quality, as if the instrument itself was speaking through its performer. Although comforting, it had a bittersweet quality to it, like a cheap chocolate bar you’d buy in a town you’d never visit again. The music sounded like it was missing a piece of itself; it evoked not mournfulness, but longing. It was beautiful, and it was sickeningly homesick.
[12:58 AM]
That’s enough for now.

After the last few resounding notes vanished in the air, Cepha put her lyre back in her bag. She picked up the wooden box she’d take out earlier, carefully lifting the lid. The box was larger than it appeared on the outside, its contents consisting entirely of dirt. Gently, she lightly tapped the side of the box.

The box vibrated ever so slightly as the dirt inside shifted. A small creature poked his head through the surface: a mole.

“Hey, little buddy.” Cepha smiled, placing an open palm in front of the creature. Instinctively, he scuttled across her hand and up her arm, before perching himself on her shoulder.

With a sigh, she closed the box, placing it in one of her pockets. She headed for the door leading outside, but as her hand waited over the handle, she hesitated. She considered stopping by Astrid’s room to let her know she was headed out to explore the campus, but ultimately she decided against it. She turned her head to face her mole-buddy. “You ready?”

The mole blinked.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

And with that, the two of them left.

The Lyre was, admittedly, a nice touch, as Astrid took note of more suspicious objects which appeared similar in relation to the demons prior. Were these demons present in all dorms, or had she simply been stuck with a Demon Lord? Perhaps the latter was not so bad, they may be amenable to greater plans to destroy the hierarchy of the gods in a grand armageddon of heaven.

Planning of such would have to wait for later, the potential Demon Lord made a good point. Exploration. Taking the smallest of her bags, pouch of pencils, and of her iron bands and rings, she made quick notes of the demons - both confirmed and suspected - in the dorm room. Highly detailed drawings listing known names, weaknesses and resistances, and their supposed "uses". Warming "Food"... certainly a clever euphemism for the rending and burning of mortal and, perhaps, even divine flesh. Nonetheless, these seemed weak enough, young of their kind or possibly even just weakened versions.

She exited the dorm house, gazing at the maps given to them. Of course, it was wholly inadequate for her needs, being nothing but a simple drawing with squares on it. Two things were now needed, firstly, high ground, readily available up the mountain. Secondly, privacy, also available up the mountain. Not available here, though, her business was not for the eyes of others. With a deep breath, her presence faded away, utilizing the same Imperceptibility from earlier with the boorish Slav. Walking, as the power of the storm began to encompass her body, renewing its strength with the speed and power of lightning, balance and lightness of air, the hardness of ice, and the fluidity of its falling rains. She burst into a full sprint for the trees, with such force that any in the near vicinity - though she could not be seen or heard or felt directly - would know full well something just happened by the displaced wind.

The forest floor was a difficult place to navigate at any speed. Even the divine could only move so quickly when life and death made their homes all around without concern for the want or the intent of the sentient. To a Huntress, however, these were not obstacles. They were opportunities. Over fallen trees, under branches, leaping into the arboreal to dash from trunk to trunk, contorting the body in wondrous displays of acrobatics around vines and branches and all manner of things which make this their home. All the while, holding journal in left hand, and documenting what she saw with the right. A feat, perhaps, as impressive as the mobility itself.

She quickly found herself at the base of the mountain, as she landed in a small gap between branches above, immediately shifted forward, putting all carried momentum and strength into the sky. A gentle boom echoes through the leaves and sky beyond. Astrid soars through the sky, upwards, ahead to a giant among giants whose hands stand above the heads of its lesser to overlook the campus. She twists her body through a somersault, landing perfectly upon its extended branch. The giant shakes modestly, but does not yield, providing the perfect perch from which to observe. She dons all ten of the iron rings on her fingers, and bracelets for her wrist, now orchestrating the same spectacle of magnetic levitation and note-taking as before on a far grander scale.

The magic Journal glows, spitting out dozens of pages which surround the Goddess on all sides, ten different pencils levitated to them. Each begins rapidly racing across pages, one takes a simple worded observation the area. Another creates a hyper-detailed and accurate map of the placement of all structures and the elevation gradients they sit on. Another is documenting air pressure, humidity, air quality, temperature, and creating a chart of weather metrics to inform further observation. A precise drawing of the parts of the school she has seen internally from memory, a page of staggeringly accurate portraits of every student, followed by a page for faculty, including three different angles, names, known abilities and currently known information on dispositions and personalities. She draws the forest from which she came, and focuses to pierce the canopy as far as she can to gain insight on areas she had not run through.

As she finished her observation objective, there was an overwhelming, and somewhat random urge. Far beneath the branch of this mighty tree, lay a massive bed of moss. For one reason or another, she couldn't help but think... what if? She would have to walk back to campus and drop her imperceptibility eventually anyway so... hood up, close your eyes, arms out, and let fate guide your descent.

... Was that an eagles piping call? Such odd timing. No matter.

[The H Corporation]

The Fox and the Moon
- Killara/Illara
- Vix

Cowritted between Tuboo Shippers & The H Corporation

---

Killara was a little bit on the bright side of things after talking with Patriah, she never had a sense of belonging with her family, but she could not let those feelings beat her to change her plans, her evil master plan she was trying to build to take down everything her family was attempting to do and what this project was. ”I can only imagine their terrified faces when I take them down” she said laughing, after making sure no one was close to her or anything.


Killara as she walked noticed around the halls and got back to where the introductions were remembered that she was lost before meeting Patriah and still had no clue where she was, tired to find her room she decided to explore the halls when she found a little fox girl lying on the floor, it was a random thing to see but she was glad that they were alone, maybe she was her roommate, so she stood in front of the fox girl and shook her to wake her up.


Vix was back in her village, and everything was normal-as if she’d never been kicked out. closing her eyes, she drank in the sounds of h-

Blearily opening her eyes, Vix realized she was being shaken awake by what appeared to be a human grape with hair. She blinked a couple of times, then realized that this was not, in fact, a grape. It was a god.

Feeling embarrassed, she attempted to wave her off before realizing she was on the floor.
Vix sighed and sat up.

“Sorry…”, she muttered, “I passed out, didn’t I?”

Without letting the godling respond, she stood up, asking “Who’re you?”


Killara watched as the fox deity stood up asking her questions, it was not a bother but it did say how much sleep she was during the introduction but anyway she was in a good mood so Killara gave her one of the papers they were given, the paper had all the names of the gods that have assisted and who they will be pairing with, ”I am Killara, and yes you were sleeping like a baby on the cold floor, not sure what that was about but welcome back to the world of the living” she said in a sarcastic way, ”I am apparently paired with someone called Vix, do you know who may that be?”, she asked.

Vix froze. “How did they know? I just climbed the Appalachian mountains without human- or godly- help, didn’t tell anyone, and, I’m assuming, passed out. Unless YOU knocked me out, which is…” She looks Killara up and down. “a questionable theory, at best.” She reads over the sheet.
“Yeah, no, I’m Vix. Somewhat okay to meet you.” She reaches out for a handshake.


Killara already felt insulted by her words, she could have easily knocked her out if she wanted to, but because being impulsive never works she decided to be more smooth about her intentions, ”It almost feels like they are watching us at every moment, isn’t that scary?” she said trying to scare her a little, ”But hear me out when I say this, I would have knocked you out if I wanted to, but I am feeling benevolent right now”, she said as she accepts the handshake and pulls Vix closer to her, ”Nice to meet you Vix, shall we go to our room? I am sure we can talk much better if we are in a better place like this if you know what I mean”


Vix Snorts at her first question.”Only if they watch us in the bathrooms, and even then the question would be if it was for security or….” Vix makes a face. “Anyway, Even if you could knock me out, I’d just come back- I’ve been hit in the head so many times I think my skull is either super tough, on nonexistent.” She nods. “Lead the way to the rooms!”


”Oh you are not the only one used to being hit in so many… ways…”, she said a little bit afraid of her words and feeling a bit down but she just grabbed Vix by her hand and walked their way to the dorms, ”I am grabbing you by the hand because there is no way I am letting you sleep on the floor, we also have to move quickly because I don’t want the sun to rise right now”, she said while quickly walking around Holy High, almost getting lost a couple of times but eventually arriving at their dorm.

”Finally! I can’t believe this place is huge! At least we know our way to the gym right?” Killara said while she grabbed some decorations left in the boxes to decorate her part of the room, ”Okay, while we are settling in our room let’s have some boundaries, your territory will be your bed, the rest of the room is my territory. To cross my territory you have to ask for my permission, we are not debating this we are doing this my way!”. Killara said while putting a golden sun and a silver moon in her part of the room.


Vix rolls her eyes. She says as she puts something TACKY on the wall! “You actually brought expensive stuff?” She laughs.

“That’s gonna get stolen. As for my territory being my bed…” She takes a couple of bed sheets, a large nightstand, and some blankets, placing the Items on the floor, and spreads them out. “This entire area is now my bed. And It’s not like it’s just mine!” Suddenly, Vix Shrieked; after a few minutes about three foxes trotted in. She grins. “These guys are staying here too!”

Smirking triumphantly, She sat on the floor, and twisting her tail around, pulled out a hairbrush, toothbrush, nail clippers, and a sphere of amber the size of a marble.

"I lack the energy to be fighting over this, tomorrow we will settle this dispute! Hope you are ready for the beating you are going to receive...", she said as both Vix and Killara stare at each other while lying on their beds to sleep for the rest of the night.

[Hallownest Eternal]

Chapter I, Side B: Cohabitation

Dorm #5

It was a beautiful day, although prior to orientation, he had to find his room. While he could in theory drag his own luggage around across the school, he only had two hands and didn't feel like utilizing his aerokenisis for something so trivial. Bozhidar Stirbogivitch was a social animal-and besides, it would be good to find out who his roommate was. Finding the dorms was rather easy, the trusty map helped him out plus his innate sense of direction-thanks to his parents pedigree as Lord of the Winds and the Morning Star respectively, he was never truly lost.
Now misplacing things, he could believe, which is why he had taken stock of his bare essentials, and since the room appeared to be empty he shrugged and threw his belongings onto the top or right bunk.
He felt...strange, he doubled then triple checked his items (pillows, blankets, Dostoevsky, toothbrush, the essentials). Yet something felt missing, the hairs on the back of his head stood up-which didn't make sense because he wasn't flying, he wasn't listening to the wind, and he certainly wasn't in any danger.
Was it because he hadn't found his roommate yet? Or guilt for not conversing with them to determine who's bed is who's? It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Something Wicked had vanished from the sight of Lanuru and Athena alike-to the former's disappointment and the latter's chagrin, and likely to the detriment of the paranoid Astrid. The only hint of its tracks was a paper, seemingly absentmindedly discarded but covered in marks and bleeding ink, illegible and surrounded by scratches in the floor.

The Slavic Godling's senses were not entirely wrong, something was in the walls, slithering under the door at that moment, a formless, unseeable figure that contorted and shifted anatomy with every movement of the eye. It elongated, stretched, horrid chimerical anatomy causing it to expand and contort horribly, an object that could pass as a head swiveling towards the young Godling.

The drips of water and blood chipped away at his body and mind, the scent of noxious stagnation and screams plagued his mind but only for a moment, and then he turned.
And saw.
And knew fear once more

He allowed his eyes to stammer as the thing shifted from a [ur=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallikantzaros]black-hided goblin thing, sawing the roots of the world tree[/url] before surging upwards to a long nosed bony woman, the repulsiveness of age, perched on a broom and dustpan like a carrion bird.

He wasn't sure if it smiled, or if it could, but he knew that such ancient things that even Grandpa Perun spoke of in hushed whispers are fickle, so it is best to be polite. "Good...day." he stated, uncertain if this thing really was a woman, "Were you looking for...a roommate?" The Faceless stared at Boris with a mix between curiosity and assessment, many limbs articulating and bending with its convulsing spine as it slithered past the slavic godling and further into their shared dormitory.

It introduced itself as Kallikantzaros. It asked if it was speaking to Bozhidar Stirbogivitch.

"Perhaps." He answered neutrally, almost remembering the little creatures from his...capture. He would bow and extend his hand for a handshake. While names have powers, good manners tend to dissuade the wicked. "You may call me...Boris." Kallikantzaros contorted and shifted, muted, horrid noises coming from its form as it stretched and bent at unnatural angles to approximate something pretending to be human. It took Boris' hand, the sensation as though nothing had actually come in contact with the Slavic Godling's hand. It crumpled like wet tissue, slithering, crawling, and scratching its way into the main area of the apartment. It seemed to lack any means of carrying luggage, nor did it seem to have any-but also, its relative politeness seemed to expose it as not what it seemed, so caution would be understood with that assumption.

"But, ah, yes..." "Boris" stammered as he felt the unnatural angles once again. It wasn't the fear of something new and unknown, but something deep and what he had hoped to forget. "You...looking for Bozhidar Stirbogivitch? What for, if I may ask?" It coiled around on itself, seeming to phase into its own body as a myriad of insectoid and humanoid limbs poked out to support its phantom weight.

It was to lodge with Bozhidar for its stay at the academy, and was looking for the Slavic godling. "That...that would..." His ears rang with the whispered fear of a thousand superstitions, the "what was that's" of a hundred pairs of eyes peering in the dark, the scent of rotting flesh being gnawed by the buzz of a million pestis flies. "be...me..." he squeaked in admission.

Snap.

The creature twisted in a disgusting manner, antler-like protrusions sprouting along its body as witchfire-colored eyes stared into Boris' soul. He could feel the sensation of a yawning jaw opening along the length of the fellow god's body, stretching intangible fangs outward-
Before it closed, and Boris realized It was yawning.

There was an odd sensation in the air, that carried the feeling of the phrase "Well Met." as the creature turned and exited the main area, crawling for its own bedroom and leaving a long, scaly tail slipping around the corner before it vanished completely. Boris could hear the sound of things rustling and scratching, no doubt the strange creature somehow unpacking luggage that it did not have when he first saw it, and the occasional sound of something too close to flesh ripping and slithering.

He should run. He should really really really fucking run. But his legs locked up as he saw those eyes again.

He should have learned his lesson, never to stick his nose in business he never understood...but he banished those thoughts. He was the heir of Perun the Thunderstriker, he endured against Veles the Arch-Serpent in his own realm. And he was fucking Bozhidar...whatever that name meant, it blazed ever so slightly against the fear that permeated the room. His name meant a gift-a gift of home, a gift of safety

It also would mean hospitality, and after stiffly walking over to the room of the creature, he politely knocked. "D-do you n-need...help...with that? Luggage, I mean?"

If the creature didn't find him handsome or humorous, Boris hoped that it found him handy. The door was unlocked, and hinged open easily at his knocks.

The room was completely dark, but not even a minute after entering had his roommate turned it into an occult nightmare.

Half-completed symbols littered the walls, warding chickenscratch that hurt the eyes to gaze upon. Dreamcatchers hung forlornly from the ceiling, faintly glimmering with jewels and metallic baubles. Markings were smeared on the floor-he could not see what they were made of, but they emanated the same wrongness as his Faceless Companion's form.

Speaking of, the godling could not see it in the dark, gaze casting about the room before catching on something slithering beneath the bed, two glowing white disks flickering into existence in the ephemeral darkness and staring out at him.

His assistance was unecessary, for now.

"okay." he spoke, his voice like a kittens' breath swallowed by the gaping void. Iriy whose sheer imensity spanned the cosmos, had come close. And while Iriy had been forged by Svarog Godsire to wall in That Which Is, there was That Which Was Not, where Veles was rumored to get his powers from the coiling primordial chaos outside of Iriy. But this was not chaos. This wasn't anything

It was a prime excuse to politely back out, close the door, and enter the fridge to see what forms of alcoholic beverages were available. The highest proof, preferrably.

The closing preceded without incident, but a shift of the light caught his eye on a symbol adorning one of the vertices of a half-finished ward. Greek figures. The Symbols of Earth, surrounded by those for the planets Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, and one...scratched out.

It felt important.

As soon as he closed the door, the cacophony of moving objects resumed, scratching and dragging and a dozen other horrid noises. He saw the symbols, their meanings, the Romans saw Perun as their Jupiter-which in some ways they were, most ways they weren't. The coiling serpent of Typhon, and the worries of the mind continued to gnaw at him. What...what the hell was that thing?!

An excuse for a drink as he rummaged through the icebox. The less he thought on the symbols, the better.

Gradually, as Boris continued to rummage through the icebox, the sound of scraping and shifting subsided. However, so too did the pressure of The Thing's presence increase in his mind.

If he were to turn, he would find it perched on one of the couches in the main room. It seemed...apologetic. The sensations changed, now instead of mere fear of survival, it was fear of disappointing. Something he knew quite well.
"Do you want anything while I'm in here?" He asked half turning while doing the squat of his people. It stared for a few seconds, and Boris could just faintly make out the aura of fading magical exertion around its body-what had it been doing in there?-before it seemed to bow slightly, conveying the sense that It was sorry about frightening him before.

"Oh is...is fine." He dissuaded with a disarming smile. He was still shaken, and didn't feel like pressing, but wanted to be an amicable host. "Just...didn't see you before. Did Grandpa Dazhbog send you to shadow me? Grandpa Perun? Great Uncle Simargl?" It seemed that he had not quite discerned It's true nature. Due to It's appearance, the godling thought it was one of his own pantheon.
Perhaps it could use that do it's advantage.

The Nameless listened impassively, before bobbling back in forth in what could be assumed as a negative answer.
It was not born or crafted by any God. Its Birthplace was Outside.

The Beyond...
He had asked his great-grandfather of what lay beyond-as any godling had in the past, and Svarog Godsire spoke not of how he sundered the Void from That-Which-Is, nor the true breadth of Rod's charge to the Godsire on his duties to existence. But to meet something from beyond existence was...

The vodka materialized in his hand, and he chugged. He wiped his mouth, and attempted to salvage the rude behaviour he demonstrated.

"You sure? Didn't see you at the feast." Bozhidar continued. "I'm a decent cook." The Outsider paused, before slithering off into its room. It returned a short time later, with a worn scroll that it rolled out across the coffee table in front of the couch.

It was a map of the World Tree, but...extended. Where most diagrams stopped at their creator-religion's underworld, this one continued far deeper...it outlined Hades, Niflheim, the Duat, the writhing outlines of the Kallikantzaros and Nidhoggr and Cipactli, the corpse of Tiamat providing nourishment and foundations, the bedrock stretching down to where only the thinnest of roots reached a withering dark star, full of depictions of chained humanoids...
Tartarus.

It went deeper, to where the bedrock faded to dark and scattered chunks of Firmament. A single spot was marked with a green dot, which It tapped once and then pointed to itself.

The Birthplace.

Boris peered at the breadth of the map, recognizing the landmarks that he himself had espied from the edge of Iriy. Deeper, deeper, beyond the roots of the World-Tree, beyond the Kallikantzaros, the rotting corpse of Tiamat, beyond the stagnant Nav and dread Hades, beyond them further still.

Tartarus, the coiling void beyond, to where the Firmament itself began to crumble away.

"Huh." he noted. "That's...where you were from?"

Finding the map once more, he placed a strange area in the far east of Russia, along the Podkamennaya Tunguska River. "That was where I landed when I was born!" he regaled cheerily, then traced his finger through a hidden bight in the north of the world. "That is where I was taken into," Lukomorye, the Gate of the Gods, and where the curve of the Iriy intersected Earth-where beyond still was the Golden Land of Belovodye, where Perun the Thunderer stood guard at the World-Tree and Svarog Godsire shepherded the good souls beyond. He traced up and high, above the clouds, to where the constellations danced around a glistening island of red-gold. "And that was where I grew up!" Bunyan Island-the meeting spot of the Slavic Pantheons, and where most dwelt when not among their realms.

Bozhidar seemed far more relaxed and eager to trade stories, now that this thing[/green] had a tangible origin.

[color=green]It seemed to watch intently, before laying a finger on its birthplace and...not moving it.

It seemed like it didn't have much of a childhood.

That being said, it took stock of the protecting sun setting over the horizon. and pointed it out to Boris, rolling up its map and scuttling back to its dorm as it wished a good night, closing the door behind it. Boris smiled and retired also for the evening. It seemed he made himself a friend on the first day-two in fact! Both were like, well, any deity he had encountered.

---

Dorm #6

The Factory had quietly lumbered out of the mess hall after everyone was assigned their living companions for the duration of their stay. The metallic godling themselves was assigned with one called "Aemilia", who they were unfamiliar with. They were unfamiliar with many.

They entered the assigned(and quite spacious) living quarters and were immediately taken aback by the presence of modern...nonmagical human appliances. Surprised, they walked over to a toaster oven, laying a hand on it and causing the appliance to come to life as they took stock of the quality of manufacture.

Aemilia would find herself lagging well behind on leaving the gathering hall for her dorm. That wasn't her fault of course, she was busy talking to an Aztec, and then if that wasn't interesting enough a barely noticeable fog of shadows rolled in and caused the Tsar Bomba's twin sister to nearly activate a Deadman switch. AND THEN Athena of course, calling her out Infront of everyone, as if she could just ignore such a thing.

It was an unexpectedly eventful few minutes, and, she was hungry and eating the whole time. This means it was only maybe, like, five percent her fault. Maybe eight? Six and a half. Definitely six and a half.

Nonetheless, she was here now, admiring the... Well in general, the layout of the entire campus. She wondered who designed these, were they Hephaestus' work as well? Which reminded her, when you make the authoritative and noble entrance, Aemilia, do not fling the door open too much, you might damage something of more value and elegance than you can bare to comprehend.

With that, the dorm room flies open! Rather forcefully, certainly enough to gather anyone's attention without leaving any unsightly holes in the wall! Probably. She's not even that strong anyw-oah. The dorm in it's entirety was rather large ontop of it's obvious masterful beauty, a fact which had completely hijacked whatever it was she was thinking about before.

This was then swiftly hijacked and deported out the nearest metaphorical window into a Moat in the city of Prague, starting a new 30 years war which would surely rend the heart of Europe and may even give rise to the Swedish Empire once more!

...Why was she thinking about the Swedish Empire? When there is a fridge right here! Now if her expectations are going to continue to be blown away then opening should reveal... "Aha! Thank you Hestiaaaa~"

Aemilia suddenly stood upright and a bit wide eyed, slamming her hand against the wall. Of course it had just occurred to her mind that the SENTIENT METAL PERSON THING is right there and she has not been said hello yet. Such rudeness, surely understandable though, it is Hephaestus crafting, and Hestia's food in a fridge and, "Is this microwave human-made or did Hephaestus get into consumer products now?" She tilted her head curiously, observing the high-end box of many nights of hungry salvation.

Loving feasts was great and all but when you've been awake sixty-eight-hours looking for obscure books that may never have actually existed and are hungry, you be quiet and happily microwave your chicken Nuggies.

Aemilia abruptly slams her fist on the counter. THE FACTORY. She turns sharply, looking a rather odd mix of completely distracted and overwhelmed and hyperfixated and focused beyond belief, extending a gentle bow to the metallic being, "Hello. My paper says you are known simply as "The Factory", maybe we can come up with a cooler sounding still factory-themed name..." She trailed off again, looking into space momentarily before a slight tic preempted her return in attention, "but in the meantime, I am Aemilia! Nice to meet you. Do uh, do you do handshakes or, fist bumps, what's the tradition for a Factory I'm not familiar, ehehehe." The Factory turned, molten gaze settling on the...questionably attentive goddess.
The CRT monitor that was used to communicate with Boris had relocated to its chest, to be less cumbersome, and it began scrolling text.

GREETINGS. THERE ARE NO TRADITIONS FOR US

Aemilia watched with the most attention she'd displayed since entering the orientation, quietly ooooooo'ing to herself. "None at all? Surely you came from somewhere, they must have had history and traditions!"
The monitor scrolled once more.

NEGATIVE. WE STEM FROM NO SINGLE GROUP.

WE STEM FROM HUMANITY.

Her jaw gaped, eyes widening massively and sparkling with awe and joy at The Factory. Excitement breaking free of her control, she cannot help but shake Factory as she shouts, "HUMANITY?!? LIKE ALL OF IT!? YOU REALLY MEAN ALL OF HUMANITY!?" She begins jumping up and down in pure joy, "YES!!! I am so prepared for this! Okay where do you want to start? Europe? Africa? Asia, the middle east, Indonesia, Pacific islands, or the Americas? Maybe a more precise subregion..." The metallic God holds up one hand, trying to get Aemilia to stop long enough before reaching out and grabbing her on the shoulder.

PAIN

The feeling of suffering and despair flows between the two gods, the endless scream of every human who died a tormented death, of every human still suffering in the modern day.
It was not born of collective worship.
It was born of collective suffering.

Aemilia ceased her excited jumping, her expression, her eyes, all at once she calmed, mellowing in totality in mere moments. For a moment, if only a second, did she wear the visage of true sadness and anguish. As quickly that it appeared, it faded, with a deep breath she closed her eyes and dropped her head, calming once more.

"Now that is one I have felt before..." Her head rose once more, to look factory at eye level, "I wonder many times about that night. It was during the war, as a teenager I of course, was securely in my home in the skies. Against the advisement of my caretakers, I took a step outside, to gaze upon the world. To gaze upon an endless torrent of absolute destruction. I wonder what would I have done, if I were the same little girl that night I once was."

She gently places her right hand on Factory's shoulder, then brings her left up, engulfing it in the pitch black of Destruction as she placed it on the forearm of the right.

"When I first discovered my power I unleashed a similar torrent upon my own world. Everything I knew in a instant was destroyed and left as little more than ash." The black energy grew, and became rampant, aggressively ripping and tearing into her arm. She winces slightly, it certainly did hurt, but a gentle green glow emanated from beneath the assaulting hand.

"An old friend gave me advice as that small girl, but I never did tell anyone how I found the answer alone late that night. I still believed I was a monster, and so I wrought upon myself what any monster should face. Destruction. It was a pain I had never before imagined, and it rended my body and soul as it did the new world around me, just like the first." The dark energy intensified yet again, beginning to encompass her entire body, save her right hand and left shoulders. Hidden deep within its black depths were faint visions of an Earth under attack from every source imaginable, snapshots of the war itself. The green light, began to shimmer brighter and brighter.

"But it was not enough, no matter how hard I pressed it would not do with me as it had my world. I tried with all my heart and passion to do it, but I did not achieve the result I had wanted. Instead, I learned..." The flame-like clouds now began to obscure her entirely, save for a sparkling energy that looked near ready to burst.
"That no matter how hard Darkness tried to consume, there will always come in turn, the time..." The Green light suddenly exploded forth, consuming the black with a ravenous appetite, "...to sear Darkness with the Light. I smiled, on that night, seeing the war. Not out of joy, but of somber remembrance, and because I knew of a future already on its way. Bright beginnings always find their nourishment in the ashes left by dark ends, my world did, as will yours. I knew it would not be easy for me, nor will it be for you..."

The Green light, the energy of Rebirth exploded a second time, this time overtaking [i]all[i] of her body, and even spreading to embrace the metallic being, in it's wake, the rising darkness wilted, suffocated, and then died without a trace. "To accept that when the end has come, and the beginning is yet here, as we stand in a void between Destruction and Rebirth, that the best we can do, is to calmly continue forward. Do not forget the weight of that which was lost, but also never let it sunder the strength of your heart, only with it, can you make sure that the coming flash of light is a little brighter each day..." The dancing green pillars of energy, mimicking the darkness, now shown faint pictures of the world after the war, of where suffering began to end, where healing and rebuilding in peace had begun to to rise from the ashes.

"Until when it comes, there will be not even a trace of the old shadows left. I know that is easier said than done, but it is what keeps me sane and hopeful through those days since. May it give you some resolve for your own heart, and peace for your own mind, as it has granted me. They will get better and rise once more, and you shall rise with them. I know it to be true."

The Factory felt the wash of power flowing around them from the goddess, and her words calmed the fires within...if only slightly. Once she was done, it gingerly lifted its hand and stepped back.

WE ARE SORRY FOR DISTURBING YOU. OUR BURDEN IS. HARD TO CONSTRAIN.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORDS.

Aemilia smiled once more, softly, giving Factory a thumbs up. "You are no trouble or burden to me, I am happy to help any who may need it, no matter the task! Anyway I think saw actual separate bedrooms, wonder what those look like..." Her mind trails off, body shortly following suit into one of the rooms. Their eyes briefly followed Aemilia as she departed, before turning and lumbering into the other bedroom.

It had, for a long time, believed the Gods to be callous, uncaring things, only concerned with power and enrichment regardless of cost. However, that assumption was...being challenged.
Perhaps a new age truly was coming.

[Luminesa]

Gym Class Heroes - Day Two

Morning

Most of the students had gym or physical education on their list of classes, and so Hyperion was ready with an opening…lesson. One had to question whether or not the Sun God was entirely capable of making a lesson plan, and even worse one had to question if he was capable of remaining intelligible for a single lesson. Yet he had agreed to this assignment, for whatever reasons.

Perhaps the strangest thing about him, beside his propensities for strong liquor, old cars, and stoner music, was the fact that he was a Titan actively working in a school with his much younger Greek relatives. If “younger” could be used to describe a god who did not adhere to human measurements of time. Zeus and other Olympians would have locked away the Titans at some point during The Old War. Yet here Hyperion was, laying in his bed at Holy High at sunrise, groaning toward his massive ceiling and reminding himself that his first class was today.

“Ugh…myself…uhnnnnhhhhhhh…” He rolled out of the massive bed and onto the floor, sheets and blankets piling on him like a heap of snow landing clumsily on a hiker who had wandered into the weak point of an avalanche. A loud burp, wet and reverberating, sounded from under the pile of blankets, and he slowly pulled himself up only after about five minutes of sleeping on the floor.

If the Sun Titan did dream, he would have never told anyone what crossed his mind. When he would look out the window, he saw the light rising slowly over the campus, and he immediately reached into his nightstand’s drawer for a pair of sunglasses. He would shower with them on, throw some clothes on, swallow a breakfast burrito which he had somehow stolen from the kitchen despite staying in bed, brush his teeth before splashing them with a bottle of jack, and then he would leave for class.

The gods had absolutely no reason to drive anywhere on campus, given the proximity of all the buildings and amenities to each other. And yet when he turned on his dirt-brown station wagon, which looked as if he had stolen it from the set of a 1970’s cop movie, he saw that the time was five minutes late for class.

“...I need to invest in alarms…”

His speech slurred only a little before he miraculously drank some water and shifted the station wagon into gear. He drove haphazardly across campus, and had students or teachers been walking around campus, they would have had to dodge a Sun Titan whose driving abilities while sober were already questionable. Ten minutes late, and as the students stood on the south side of campus near the “beach”, they would have seen the same station wagon unceremoniously smash into a tree.

Any students who were not yet awake would now awaken to Hyperion throwing open the car door, as the front end of the station wagon smoked like a Chicago mobster, and rolling out of the front seat and into their presence. Dressed in a tan-and-white, striped, floral Hawaiian shirt and what the students hoped was not floral boxers, he stood and looked over the class as he adjusted his sunglasses.

“Okay!...So…class. Good morning. A tip of advice.” He burped again, swallowing hard before continuing. “...Do not drive drink…do not drive drunk. Now, you may ask, ‘Hyperion, but you drove drunk!’ Incorrect. I sobered myself before getting into the car. How? Because being the sun means I can burn away basically anything inside or outside my being if I so choose. The reason I stay drunk for 95% of other activities is because alcohol is my mistress, and like any mistress, she becomes your main chick while your woman becomes your side-chick. Who’s the woman? Nunya yo’ business.”

He took a swig of some liquor from a flask, chugging it down as he finished his beginning speech and the front-end of his station wagon set on fire. As he turned and noticed it, he snapped his fingers and the fire vanished. He then turned back to the class and nodded. He spoke slowly, as though his throat might stumble over the wrong syllable and cause him to spill his guts.

“Today we are going to learn…about the basics of combat. Some of you have fought before. Others of you have not. Sissies. But combat is not just pummeling your enemies like a game of Mortal Kombat on XBox Live with your teenager friends, using the curse-words that’ll get your mom to take away your chicken tendies if she catches you. No, combat is a puzzle. A Rubiks Cube. A game of Who-Dun-It, and it was Colonel Mustard in the fridge with a tailpipe. Mm. I’m not here to judge his…interests though. That old man is old enough to know better. I’m here to teach…you soft, hard-boiled…eggs.” He swallowed hard again, and then nodded to himself.

“...At the end of my instruction, I’m gonna give you a puzzle, you have to solve it through combat. Any questions?”

[Finsternia]

Lanuru - Gearing for a Fight

One of the many perks of being the God of Dreams is that you do not need to sleep. For Lanuru, sleep and wakefulness are simply states of existence that propels other beings through the veil that separates the Dreamlands and the waking world. The God exists in both states, both awake and deeply rooted in his realm of power. The moon high above the celestial atlas travels the sea of stars as time passes, and the Unseelie Prince stayed awake for the arrival of his new roommate. Alas, they did not arrive even when the sun has risen.

"Perhaps they are still en route?" Lanuru slowly stands up from his seat, the dormitory still shrouded by night. At the very least this sanctum of his could protect him from the harsh sight of the sun. He proceeds to ready himself for the day, where he showers and changes into a more appropriate attire. As the day before is the day for first impressions, Lanuru dressed in regal princely clothing of billowing sleeves and volumous silk. But now, before a mirror, the Fair Prince is dressed in a simple black leather armor, with black bracers at his wrist. He takes Patriah's vibrant scarf and expertly ties it upon his outfit, using it as a sash and a belt. He takes a good look at himself, smiling at the visage that looks back. The Fair Prince turns to leave, leaving his unmoving reflection in his room.

Lanuru arrives at the designated spot for the first class. It was Gym Class, and it was only right for the class to be done someplace spacious. The "beach side" is spacious enough to accommodate for the actions and tussle of the Godlings, and the warm comfort that the springs could give afterwards would be a wonderful gift for the aching bodies of the young divinities. Lanuru's nose could only crumple at the idea as he waits patiently under the shade of a tree, manipulating its shadow to shield him from the rising sun. It was also the best place and position to witness a carwreck, literally and figuratively, as Hyperion slams his beaten automobile against a tree across from his vantage point.

The God of Nightmares could only try to prevent his eyes from twitching. The display was unflattering and crass, and his instructor to the martial arts is the alcoholic Solar Titan. He does clear his throat when Hyperion finishes his long monologue on his alcoholism and the purviews of his class to ask a favor from the Titan. "...If I may... ask a question... or a favor, good sir? During our class, may you please not focus your rays upon me? The sun's light dulls my faculties, you see..." The halo behind the Eclipse God shudders, its corona now that of a sputtering solar gold, as it tries to shield its owner from the first light of the morning.

[Zei-Aeiytenia]

Aemilia & Astrid - A New... Dawn?

The plan was simple! Or it had been. Her excitement had been too much to keep the young Roman asleep for long, and that was perfect! She could start an impression right by being the first there! Especially for this, a Titan as a teacher? Making a good appearance before Hyperion would be an honor in and of itself.

Or, that was the plan. Unfortunately, there was the small problem of... THE FAE. He, of course, was here already. Well, if she were going to lose at least it was to a noble and fascinating being like a Fae. A Fae and... whatever that odd resonance was off to the side? Curious, she formed a green bubble of sorts, gently flicking it in the direction of the anomaly. What spectacular coincidence the very kind of distraction she would need not to be bothersome to the Fae was here! It floated over for a several seconds, before a bolt of lightning struck it down. In the same instant revealed, was the local Case of Nitroglycerin - er - her name was Astrid, right? She sat on the ground, back upright, right leg stretched out, resting arms and head on a perched left knee. Unlike before, she wore her hood up now, and unceremoniously craned her neck to stare at Aemilia. The half-elf's eyes were accompanied by rather blatant bags, though this served only to make her lifeless glare more discomforting.

"I swear i will gut you and roast you over a fire before feeding samples of my 'late night fishing' to everyone. Piss off." Astrid turned her head forward once more, leaving Aemilia to balk at the incredible bluntness and hostility. The huntress did not appear to be lying either... that or she was very good lying. Both were deeply concerning realities in their own right, for their own reasons. As the two waited for their classmates, Aemilia swore she heard the faint sound of rumbling, as if someone had not eaten breakfast for some reason, accompanied by the Norse girl gripping her stomach and grumbling.

Astrid had, indeed, no eaten. How could she? With what food? Like hell was entrusting her nutrition to the bowels of a whirring metal demon. Natural poison resistance can only go so far if you play with fire like that. No, she hadn't slept much either, would you? In a tiny house filled with demon familiars, stranded on what may as well be an island surrounded by enemies, all with some lurking super-monstrosity around? Of course she'd had no sleep. As inconvenient as all this was, it was only one meal and one night. Comparatively it was nothing, she hadn't eaten or slept in a week when she fought Thor, a fact most would probably not have guessed given the result. The resolve of a warrior, and a predator at that, was most remarkable indeed.

Not nearly, however, as remarkable as the choices made by this establishment for its educators. Both girls had the... er... pleasure? Of watching Hyperion's 'spectacular' entrance. Spectacular was the right word for it. Not in the usual complimentary form of the word, no, but it fit nonetheless, as snugly as the now mangled front-end of the station wagon he had, for some unknowable reason, driven here in. Why had he done this? A question best asked of others as Aemilia stared half in interest of the machine itself, and half in awkward surprise at the conduct of the Titan. Astrid's patience, if one were bold enough to claim any of it remained prior, immediately took flight to brighter skies, preferably not filled with the billowing smoke of literal car wrecks.

What followed next, as Hyperion's personal introduction of himself as a teacher and his... 'lesson plan' left Aemilia turning red in embarrassment for the Titan, and Astrid turning her head and delivering a magnificently executed and classic 'stares motherfuckerly' at the bumbling buffoon of a purported teacher. When Hyperion finished and asked for questions, the Elf once again displayed her incredible ability to challenge Thor's hammer in unrelenting bluntness.

"Suuuure, i've got a question..." She broke off, giving a broken if not mildly deranged sounding laugh, "What exactly are the faculty parameters of this establishment and - more importantly - how the FUCK are you anything OTHER than an example held up of what not to do, let alone a teacher!? The only thing i've bore witness to you competently executing since our arrival is making an ever grander farce of yourself!" Astrid capped off her outburst with a most resounding face palm, pinching the bridge of her nose afterwards, and briefly looking at the sky, a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes? Given her disposition, it was most likely for a swift death from above.

Aemilia simply stared into space into shock. Her head simultaneously trying to process the absurdity of Hyperion's behavior alongside the unmitigated audacity of a young Goddess to speak to a literal Titan as if he were just another worm at her feet. Not that what she had said was wrong, of course, it's just... the delivery.

None of this was according to a plan... either of their plans. Not one had expected a New Dawn in billowing smoke and alcoholism, and yet, here it was. Both wondered, independently, and with different tones, 'What's the worst that could happen?'

[Luminesa]

Lanuru - Gearing for a Fight

One of the many perks of being the God of Dreams is that you do not need to sleep. For Lanuru, sleep and wakefulness are simply states of existence that propels other beings through the veil that separates the Dreamlands and the waking world. The God exists in both states, both awake and deeply rooted in his realm of power. The moon high above the celestial atlas travels the sea of stars as time passes, and the Unseelie Prince stayed awake for the arrival of his new roommate. Alas, they did not arrive even when the sun has risen.

"Perhaps they are still en route?" Lanuru slowly stands up from his seat, the dormitory still shrouded by night. At the very least this sanctum of his could protect him from the harsh sight of the sun. He proceeds to ready himself for the day, where he showers and changes into a more appropriate attire. As the day before is the day for first impressions, Lanuru dressed in regal princely clothing of billowing sleeves and volumous silk. But now, before a mirror, the Fair Prince is dressed in a simple black leather armor, with black bracers at his wrist. He takes Patriah's vibrant scarf and expertly ties it upon his outfit, using it as a sash and a belt. He takes a good look at himself, smiling at the visage that looks back. The Fair Prince turns to leave, leaving his unmoving reflection in his room.

Lanuru arrives at the designated spot for the first class. It was Gym Class, and it was only right for the class to be done someplace spacious. The "beach side" is spacious enough to accommodate for the actions and tussle of the Godlings, and the warm comfort that the springs could give afterwards would be a wonderful gift for the aching bodies of the young divinities. Lanuru's nose could only crumple at the idea as he waits patiently under the shade of a tree, manipulating its shadow to shield him from the rising sun. It was also the best place and position to witness a carwreck, literally and figuratively, as Hyperion slams his beaten automobile against a tree across from his vantage point.

The God of Nightmares could only try to prevent his eyes from twitching. The display was unflattering and crass, and his instructor to the martial arts is the alcoholic Solar Titan. He does clear his throat when Hyperion finishes his long monologue on his alcoholism and the purviews of his class to ask a favor from the Titan. "...If I may... ask a question... or a favor, good sir? During our class, may you please not focus your rays upon me? The sun's light dulls my faculties, you see..." The halo behind the Eclipse God shudders, its corona now that of a sputtering solar gold, as it tries to shield its owner from the first light of the morning.

Hyperion - Welcome to Paradise

No two deities could have ever been more opposite than the actual young Fae Prince of Nightmares and the Sun Titan. Lanuru had arrived with his usual graceful style, darkly glamorous with his obsidian armor fashionably clad over his body. He had decided to wear Patriah's scarf along with it, and the bright, warm colors of Eurydice's handiwork gave his look the sort of life that only came from a motherly nymph's cottage. He looked stately, like a model student and warrior ready for combat...

And Hyperion was playing Green Day's "Welcome to Paradise" on a boombox which sat near the sorry excuse for a vehicle sitting under a tree. He burped a little too loud before turning to Lanuru to answer his question, only to immediately vomit on the ground as he opened his mouth. He clutched his stomach, looking a bit winded before he wiped his mouth and stood with guitars still blasting on the radio behind him. "Uh...no sun on your head. Well hm. You're the spooky boy, yeah. Alright. Okay. My stomach has finished updating, in the way you kids talk about your computers and your TikToks. Ugh...okay." He scratched his head and replaced his sunglasses, which he just noticed had fallen onto the ground in the midst of his vomiting. He cleaned them with his shirt before replacing them, and he looked to Lanuru.

"Okay here's...uh...what we'll do. Since you're gonna fail if you sleep, I'm gonna..." He did not finish talking, but instead lowered his sunglasses just a little to turn toward the sky. The light and the heat falling on the water behind the students shifted, and Lan would have noticed a much cooler, softer light falling over him. Hyperion also stood closer to the tree, which allowed for him to monitor when his rays moved toward or away from Lan. For all of his faults, he understood his own powers well.

"I had a lady who once told me during our...courtship...while riding in a golf cart, 'You know it's really hot and the sunlight is getting in my eyes.' I said, 'The sunlight is getting in your mouth too.' And she crashed the golf cart and I never saw her again. I recovered...after a severe beating from Hera. Remember kids, thugging is not a violation of the Pax, as long as violating the Pax is not a part of the thugging." He swallowed hard, before taking a sip of "water" in a flask.

Patriah looked as confused as anyone who would have arrived to this class, the only one for him which did not include books and texts. He was eager to start, but had to suppress his laughter at the absolute farce happening before him. More of Green Day's album played behind Hyperion, though as "Basket Case" started Hyperion turned the volume down to begin talking.

"So kids, today is your first physical educative session. If you didn't get my name at orientation, my name is Hyperion. I am a Sun Titan. Zeus is in my family which means I have seen everything screwed-up you could possibly imagine and maybe a little more. I used to be locked in a mountain, which sounds amazing when you think that you can drink eternally and never get a hangover from sunlight. Then you remember you are the sun. And none of us can ever truly escape ourselves. But questions about my personal life, drinking habits, and actual lesson will come after we start this...facilitative activity. SO. Your first lesson. Ahem. Any of you kids ever take a sobriety test? No? Good. But in case you do, what's the first thing you need in order to tell the officer, 'Drunk, I am not sir?' Don't answer it, I'm gonna do it for you. FOCUS."

He summoned an enormous golem, which first glowed with a burning light-aimed away from Lanuru-and then turned into a molten, magma-like substance that floated and bubbled with impossible, plasmatic heat. It began to swing through the air at a variety of speeds. "Focus doesn't just mean, 'Stare really hard.' It means you move toward something with the intention of hitting every time! You play drunk darts, you stab your friend in the eye with a dart, there's a medical lawsuit and your friend gets rabies from the dart." He aimed toward the golem, sending several enormous, spiraling flashes of sunlight to crash into the large golem.

The golem exploded in the air, dazzling with the colors of a volcanic eruption. Smoldering graphite and hellfire vermillion. Taking another swig of his flask, he then turned back to the students. "Now. What do you kids not understand so far? Or do you absolutely need to know something about me before I pick a vic-er...volunteer?"

[The H Corporation]

Getting Cold
- Azcóatl

Azcóatl was not a big fan of waking up, he would prefer to stay in bed for a little bit before waking up to do his duties at home, but this time he was not at home, he was at school and punctuality is important in schools, if he remembered correctly Tlaloc would be very mad when he arrived late to training sessions and making gods mad was a no-no. He let one of his feet touch the cold floor so the rest of the body moved accordingly to leave from the comfy sanctuary that was the bed, and then he moved his right leg and then touch the cold floor with his other feet, and finally, the rest of the body started to move away from the bed on its own, brushing his eyes he walked to the shower to have wash himself.

He entered the bathtub and let the cold water fill it, he preferred to bath himself with cold water since it was perfect to make him be at his 100% by the time he arrived at his class plus absorbing a little bit of cold water might come in handy for the practice. He did not stay for too long, he immediately changed, look at himself in the mirror to fix himself and to try and get some confidence in himself, he was nervous but it was his first day how bad would it be? It's not like they are going to be tested immediately in real-life dangerous situations without proper training.

Azcóatl left his room as soon as he was finished, luckily his room was close to the gym so the only thing he had to do was to walk to the gym until he finally made it, he was not the first but it is good to see he was not the only one taking this class, he stayed a little bit in the back so he does not take too many reflectors to himself, he had bottles filled with cold water and with hot water, just in case, he thought to himself once again as he waited and waited until the teacher finally arrives at the class just when he was about to call it a day and leave before he was put to fight against someone.

He heard the monologue of Hyperion paying attention in case he said something important and despite his really bad jokes he did say something important so he took notes inside his head, "No questions... from me at least..." he said a little bit nervous because they will spar between each other, he did not have the spirit of a fighter, especially because of what happened last time, so he will mostly stay on the defensive if the situation requires it so.

---

The Sun rose up
- Illara/Killara

As the sun started to show, Killara went to sleep and Illara woke up with a lot of energy, as she jumped out of the bed and as quickly as possible trying not to disturb her roommate or her pets, it was the time to present herself to everyone and she had the spotlight for herself now that Killara went to sleep. She took a really hot bath, since she liked the hot water the most, dressed up, and quickly ran towards her first class trying to be the first one there, but she was not, maybe she took a lot of time on that bath, she thought.

Her eyes wandered across the room looking at everything and everyone, Killara may have interacted with someone first but she will have had the advantage to meet everyone in one class, she was so excited her face was shining bright, not so bad for being the daughter of the sun. She heard that the teacher had powers of the Sun, something that was similar to hers and that was something she was looking forward to, she was also excited to test her abilities in combat, but something was so unfair about this, she thought, oh right! Killara won't be training, despite her wanting to be the only personality or person, however that works, when that happened she would need the powers of the moon and she did not have that ability that only Killara had, it was for the best if they trained at the same pace.

As she thought about these things, the teacher arrived, and once again was her smile shining across the gym, the bright was not strong to cover the room but some might have noticed her presence a little bit annoying. When they got to the 'Any questions?' part of the class, she raised her hand and asked Hyperion to get closer, closer enough to whisper in his ear so anyone would not hear what she was going to ask, "Hyperion, I am sure you were informed of my... disorder, and I wanted to ask if I can use this gym at night to practice", she asked

[Weissa Major]

Cepha - "Say, Uncle..."

The previous evening had been both peaceful and productive. Cepha explored the campus, getting to know where her new classes would be, while taking the time to appreciate all the beautiful scenery Holy High had to offer. While it still felt strange being there, the campus felt more welcoming with each passing minute. It was a calm, satisfying end to a long day.

If only her first class could've been half as tranquil.

Hyperion's entrance was, shall we say, dramatic. The moment he stepped out of that wrecked station wagon, it was clear that he was completely improvising the lesson. Cepha had a hard time understanding what, exactly, he was trying to say (apparently, solar flame wasn't as good at burning away alcohol as the Titan claimed). She could only pick up pieces of a coherent thought among the barrage of slang and buzzwords that she couldn't even begin to understand.

...who's Colonel Mustard? And what's "Mortal Kombat"?

While Gaia's family history lessons may have had a slight bias to them, Cepha still couldn't believe that the person she was looking at was none other than her Uncle Hyperion, the Sun Titan. She wasn't sure what to expect, but this definitely wasn't what she had imagined.

At least he has a good taste in music.

Aemilia & Astrid - A New... Dawn?
-snip-

As she heard Astrid's tirade, Cepha looked like a deer in headlights. She knew Astrid was a bit volatile (to say the least), but insulting a Titan to his face was another level of....well, it was just wrong. Thankfully, Hyperion seemed to take it in stride, as he gave an impressive demonstration of his abilities, paired with an attempt at explaining the combat philosophy behind it. His definition of "focus" in terms of combat was surprisingly insightful, even if he did use an unusual anecdote to get the point across.

When she heard the word "volunteer", Cepha's eyes lit up. But before she could do so, she had a question that she had been meaning to ask. "When you say combat is like a puzzle, are you saying that there's only one way to solve a specific challenge?"

[Luminesa]

Hyperion - She

Hyperion looked around at the class of students as they started to bring their questions along with his demonstration. He put his hands in his pockets, looking around at the students as they each had their various concerns and reservations about what was to come for the rest of the class. He continued to stand under the tree, giving a little gravitas to an otherwise questionable "professor" who dressed as if he was heading to Hawaii and not to class. Patriah and Azcoatl did not have any current questions, and so he looked to the others.

Cepha gave a good question, and so she went to her first. "Okay, so. You kids play puzzle games, right? Uhhh...your mobile games have tons of them, but they're all terrible. And then you have jigsaw puzzles, which...you only make one picture. But you have a thousand pieces. If you don't do the corner pieces first, bad time. Or if you play...I dunno, Super Smash Brothers, and you run your opponent over repeatedly with Wario's motorcycle, it's a horrible time for everyone, but you won the game."

He coughed a bit, and swallowed more liquor from his flask. "But there's multiple ways. For this activity you'll do...there's a couple of ways to tell if you're doing it right. After the first demonstration with a student, I want you to think about...what works and doesn't. See...capitalism, doesn't work. Jeggings and thick thighs, they work. And anarcho-capitalism doesn't exist, buncha terminally-online social-media eaters..." He burped messily again, before he adjusted his sunglasses and looked to another question.

One of the other girls gazed toward him, looking a little nervous as she stood in front of the rest of the watchful class. Hyperion had pulled out a piece of mint gum and started to chew on it, as he saw that time was dragging without questions. As Illara moved toward him, however, he nodded to her, as if to let her know that she did not need to be afraid of him. He walked over to her and leaned over to hear her question. Usually, he gave strange, labyrinthine responses, but her question was beyond a classroom issue. His eyes widened a little behind his sunglasses, and he nodded to her affirmatively. "Mhm. Gym's yours, kid. Use it when you need it, curfews are for sissies anyway," he answered in a similar whisper.

He began to walk back to his spot, wanting to get the sun out of Lanuru's face, before a screeching question whaled over him. He turned back around as he stood under the tree, tossing his flask into the crumpled station wagon before pulling a brown paper bag with some sort of alcoholic bottle inside. He did not even remove the bottle from the bag before removing the cap with his teeth and listening to Astrid's demand. Green Day's "She" played behind him, and he frowned as he spit the cap and some of the liquor on the ground.

"The faculty parameters are that you uh...breathe, I think, unless you're an Undead God...I think you also need to read a handbook, which I promoted covered in doodles of various levels of skill and tastefulness before throwing into a fire...and you also need to not try and get with other teachers in the broom closets. We don't even have brooms, we have Hestia who has innumerable brooms. What does this look like, an episode of Grey's Anatomy? Anyway uh...standards. We have them." He nodded, and took another sip of the liquor, before coughing it back up and vomiting a second time. As he managed to pull his spine out of a nasty-looking curvature, he wiped his mouth and nodded. "This moonshine I made with petrol, grapes, and some fruit actually tastes like petrol, therefore it is not up to standard. Now, any other questions?"

[Hallownest Eternal]

Chapter II: The Second Day

The Gym

The Factory lumbered onto the training grounds at roughly the same time as Hyperion's failed attempt at parking. As the other students were busy with the...quite frankly wreck of a Titan, the metallic God was walking over and examining the crashed station wagon, molten gaze taking in the absolutely human hands that crafted it and then also quietly seething at the disregard for mankind's works. With naught a sound, the machine deftly picked up the Car and carried it on a shoulder to a suitable parking spot, setting it down with a definitive thunk as the machinery around the ruined front of the car began to seemingly regrow and reshape back into a proper state, the components seeming to grow like plants as the front end of the vehicle was repaired to a better state, possibly even better than it was since Hyperion got his hands on it.

They then calmly lumbered back over to the rest of the students and stood silently, arms crossed.

---

The Library

The Creature slunk through the doors to the library, the austere doors closing silently behind it as it began to skitter along the floor. Slowly, it made its way along the aisles, looking for a book that might interest it, before suddenly-

thump

An errant tentacle had knocked a book off its shelf. A dozen eyes turned to stare at it, taking in the title;

"Become Prometheus"

A spidery limb snagged it, and the creature swiftly departed for an abandoned corner of the Library where it could partake in the book's contents undisturbed.

On its way there, it saw another book-"The Court of Seasons: A guide to the four Fae courts." Seeing as it could be useful for conversation with its fellow nightmare-spawn, it snagged the book as well before continuing on its course.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Lanuru - Gearing for a Fight

One of the many perks of being the God of Dreams is that you do not need to sleep. For Lanuru, sleep and wakefulness are simply states of existence that propels other beings through the veil that separates the Dreamlands and the waking world. The God exists in both states, both awake and deeply rooted in his realm of power. The moon high above the celestial atlas travels the sea of stars as time passes, and the Unseelie Prince stayed awake for the arrival of his new roommate. Alas, they did not arrive even when the sun has risen.

"Perhaps they are still en route?" Lanuru slowly stands up from his seat, the dormitory still shrouded by night. At the very least this sanctum of his could protect him from the harsh sight of the sun. He proceeds to ready himself for the day, where he showers and changes into a more appropriate attire. As the day before is the day for first impressions, Lanuru dressed in regal princely clothing of billowing sleeves and volumous silk. But now, before a mirror, the Fair Prince is dressed in a simple black leather armor, with black bracers at his wrist. He takes Patriah's vibrant scarf and expertly ties it upon his outfit, using it as a sash and a belt. He takes a good look at himself, smiling at the visage that looks back. The Fair Prince turns to leave, leaving his unmoving reflection in his room.

Lanuru arrives at the designated spot for the first class. It was Gym Class, and it was only right for the class to be done someplace spacious. The "beach side" is spacious enough to accommodate for the actions and tussle of the Godlings, and the warm comfort that the springs could give afterwards would be a wonderful gift for the aching bodies of the young divinities. Lanuru's nose could only crumple at the idea as he waits patiently under the shade of a tree, manipulating its shadow to shield him from the rising sun. It was also the best place and position to witness a carwreck, literally and figuratively, as Hyperion slams his beaten automobile against a tree across from his vantage point.

The God of Nightmares could only try to prevent his eyes from twitching. The display was unflattering and crass, and his instructor to the martial arts is the alcoholic Solar Titan. He does clear his throat when Hyperion finishes his long monologue on his alcoholism and the purviews of his class to ask a favor from the Titan. "...If I may... ask a question... or a favor, good sir? During our class, may you please not focus your rays upon me? The sun's light dulls my faculties, you see..." The halo behind the Eclipse God shudders, its corona now that of a sputtering solar gold, as it tries to shield its owner from the first light of the morning.

Hyperion - Welcome to Paradise

No two deities could have ever been more opposite than the actual young Fae Prince of Nightmares and the Sun Titan. Lanuru had arrived with his usual graceful style, darkly glamorous with his obsidian armor fashionably clad over his body. He had decided to wear Patriah's scarf along with it, and the bright, warm colors of Eurydice's handiwork gave his look the sort of life that only came from a motherly nymph's cottage. He looked stately, like a model student and warrior ready for combat...

And Hyperion was playing Green Day's "Welcome to Paradise" on a boombox which sat near the sorry excuse for a vehicle sitting under a tree. He burped a little too loud before turning to Lanuru to answer his question, only to immediately vomit on the ground as he opened his mouth. He clutched his stomach, looking a bit winded before he wiped his mouth and stood with guitars still blasting on the radio behind him. "Uh...no sun on your head. Well hm. You're the spooky boy, yeah. Alright. Okay. My stomach has finished updating, in the way you kids talk about your computers and your TikToks. Ugh...okay." He scratched his head and replaced his sunglasses, which he just noticed had fallen onto the ground in the midst of his vomiting. He cleaned them with his shirt before replacing them, and he looked to Lanuru.

"Okay here's...uh...what we'll do. Since you're gonna fail if you sleep, I'm gonna..." He did not finish talking, but instead lowered his sunglasses just a little to turn toward the sky. The light and the heat falling on the water behind the students shifted, and Lan would have noticed a much cooler, softer light falling over him. Hyperion also stood closer to the tree, which allowed for him to monitor when his rays moved toward or away from Lan. For all of his faults, he understood his own powers well.

"I had a lady who once told me during our...courtship...while riding in a golf cart, 'You know it's really hot and the sunlight is getting in my eyes.' I said, 'The sunlight is getting in your mouth too.' And she crashed the golf cart and I never saw her again. I recovered...after a severe beating from Hera. Remember kids, thugging is not a violation of the Pax, as long as violating the Pax is not a part of the thugging." He swallowed hard, before taking a sip of "water" in a flask.

Patriah looked as confused as anyone who would have arrived to this class, the only one for him which did not include books and texts. He was eager to start, but had to suppress his laughter at the absolute farce happening before him. More of Green Day's album played behind Hyperion, though as "Basket Case" started Hyperion turned the volume down to begin talking.

"So kids, today is your first physical educative session. If you didn't get my name at orientation, my name is Hyperion. I am a Sun Titan. Zeus is in my family which means I have seen everything screwed-up you could possibly imagine and maybe a little more. I used to be locked in a mountain, which sounds amazing when you think that you can drink eternally and never get a hangover from sunlight. Then you remember you are the sun. And none of us can ever truly escape ourselves. But questions about my personal life, drinking habits, and actual lesson will come after we start this...facilitative activity. SO. Your first lesson. Ahem. Any of you kids ever take a sobriety test? No? Good. But in case you do, what's the first thing you need in order to tell the officer, 'Drunk, I am not sir?' Don't answer it, I'm gonna do it for you. FOCUS."

He summoned an enormous golem, which first glowed with a burning light-aimed away from Lanuru-and then turned into a molten, magma-like substance that floated and bubbled with impossible, plasmatic heat. It began to swing through the air at a variety of speeds. "Focus doesn't just mean, 'Stare really hard.' It means you move toward something with the intention of hitting every time! You play drunk darts, you stab your friend in the eye with a dart, there's a medical lawsuit and your friend gets rabies from the dart." He aimed toward the golem, sending several enormous, spiraling flashes of sunlight to crash into the large golem.

The golem exploded in the air, dazzling with the colors of a volcanic eruption. Smoldering graphite and hellfire vermillion. Taking another swig of his flask, he then turned back to the students. "Now. What do you kids not understand so far? Or do you absolutely need to know something about me before I pick a vic-er...volunteer?"

Alkibiades - Holy High, Late for Good Reasons

The night was spent deep in the cellar of his father's vineyard: Not out of some strict etiquette or instruction, but Alkibiades felt it was too much of a waste to visit new places and not bestow upon them the gift of wine. Maybe it was how his domain manifested: those who commanded the aspects of war probably felt an unending call to it, as those who commanded the aspects of love... well, one can follow along the train of thought.

Yet his expertise and care for the delicate art of wine making - and even if he often sped it up considerably, he still took his sweet time producing it - took his thoughts away from the fact that even if he didn't have to go on a journey to go to school like a regular human being... he was late. Quickly filling up the bottles he was carrying - some, as gifts, while others were for personal use - and finishing them up with his personal touch, consisting of vines that went along the body of the bottle, closing it with an intricate sculpture of a flower made out of the vines he grew, he rushed to the portal set up by his father to reach HH in time.

As the students were already gathered nearby Hyperion, Alkibiades searched hurriedly for his staff and the gift he brought for the faculty - in this case, the faculty being Hyperion, someone that shared with Dionysus the love for a good drink - before adjusting his "basic" outfit and presenting himself to the others.

"Ladies, gentleman of this oh so lovely divine gathering! Pardon me for my untimely arrival, but some forms of art refuse to bend their will to time, and you may witness that in due time once I am properly set up: For I am Alkibiades, son of Dionysus, a God known by his extremely exquisite wine production and consumption! I do say in due time since the preparations for my arrival took me quite some time, so I could not produce a special bottle for each one of you! I brought, however, one for my roommate and..."

With a slightly theatrical flourish, he reached below the leopard pelt that was strapped around his shoulder, partly covering the richly ornamented purple robes he wore below the particular pelt. one so golden that it almost looked divine: below it, came a bottle made of clear crystal, with light brown vines sprawling across its body, culminating in a flower that didn't blossom yet.

"This one, made for you, Hyperion, as a gift from my father. I produced it, but he sends his regards to you through this bottle and all of that."

Quietly, he moved next to a God with a bright orange sash above a quite... revealing black leather armor. Gripping his staff tightly, he awaited to see what the Titan had in store for them.

[Finsternia]

Lanuru - Wine and Madness Go Hand-in-Hand

The Solar Titan's mannerisms and lack of propriety has caused Lanuru to take a step back as Hyperion, drunk enough to create another ocean upon the planet, heaved out the contents of his stomach right before the Fair Prince. Vomit splashed by his feet and his shadow snapped at the vile concoction with sharp teeth. With a disgusted look on his face, Lanuru flicks his wrist and a bramble grows out of the sludge and muck. Its branches are blackened as if it is diseased, and its leaves too jagged and too red to be safe. Berries pop out of the bramble bush, and at first glance they look like simple grapes. However, under the inspection of a better eye, one could see that each grape fruit is in a deep reddish-black color... and there is something unsightly with how light reflects from its surface. It's as if its too soft, yet too firm at the same time.

Despite his brashness and lack of decorum, Hyperion does have a heart for his students as he commands the Sun to lessen its baleful glare upon the Fair Prince. Lanuru sighs, his shoulders relax as the suppression lessens, and he bows deeply. "Thank you for your grace, Lord Hyperion..." He still remains underneath the tree shade, however, zoning out Hyperion's rant about some tryst of his as his golden eyes find somebody familiar. He gives Patriah a gaze and a nod, and the other could see the colorful scarf tied upon his armor.

The Fair Prince then turns back to the Titan, who presents a challenge as an automaton of fire and earth rises as their opponent. Hyperion's words do not make sense at all in the ears of the young God of Nightmares, but his actions do. Strength and pure power are always at the top of every combat scenario, but the wisdom and ability to wield power triumphs all. Even with a lesser power and fewer numbers, one could defeat opponents greater than oneself if they play their cards right. The Solar Titan could have pulverized such an automaton with but a brute punch, but his blows with his solar rays carry the intent of strategic strikes. Each strike would have hit a weak point and an unguarded vantage, and together they vanquished the golem.

Lanuru's hands twist and crack as he watches the thing go down. It seems that their Combat Teacher doesn't simply want a show of strength, but also a show of wits on how they could take down opponents with grace and efficiency. He has no other questions, and his other classmates do voice out their own. There is no need for him to ask when others could, he thinks to himself as his fingers flex and crack in anticipation for a fight. There are a couple ways he could deal with the problem. Entanglement through either shadow or bramble, enchantment though dreamlike fantasy, strong strikes through his own blade coordinated with nightmarish creations. The Fair Prince is simply sorting through his options, trying to pick what is best and, most honestly, what is the most glamorous.

There is a new Godling who arrived though, one who was not present in yesterday's proceedings. He does not know their face, but their name he does. It was the name of his supposed roommate, who has not appeared during his vigil last night. The Fair Prince would have frowned if not for the Godling's mirthful excuse of creating wines for the faculty and student body. He even created one for Lanuru. The faint shadow of a smile graces his face, nodding and acknowledging such a gesture. Late arrivals are to be forgiven, if the time spent is to pay for the time wasted. The Wine God does settle down, and it seems by fate that he goes to stand in the very shade that the Unseelie Prince has chosen to hide from the Sun.

Lanuru turns towards him, the halo behind his head pulsing with undulating shadow and light, wearing a practiced smile. "Greetings, fellow sir. It was you who have proclaimed that your esteemed name is Alkibiades? It seems that the fates brought us together in partnership, as it was your name that was written to be my... roommate. This one's name is Lanuru, Prince of the Unseelie Court, and God of Dreams. It is a pleasure to meet you... and hopefully it would be a pleasure to know you." Remembering yesterday's interactions Lanuru holds his hand forward for a handshake, however almost robotical in his reenactment of the new custom.

[Tuboo Shippers]

Vix-The quick fox

Vix bursts through the gym door, shouting.

"I'M NOT LATE!"

She puts her hands on her knees, panting. She surveys the area, staring down each godling, challenging them to make a comment. Alright, finally made it, she thinks,Hopefully I'm in the right place. It had been a long night; one of her 'Helpers' snored all night, keeping the other two awake, while at the same time her roommate stared her down. In the end, she just didn't sleep.

Vix guesses she made her way here, and although she wasn't really sure, she thought that her class was in the gym, so here she was.