If

[Xirnium]

Shalamar’s extraordinary denunciation caused the sibyl to blush a peculiar apricot as she tried to speak. Attempting untidily to rise, she succeeded in knocking her glass and spilling water on the sleeve of her handloomed woollen cloak. Her murmuring was half-protest, half-apology. Water dribbled on the floor.

Fillide smothered irritation as she dabbed with a white cambric handkerchief at her sleeve. She pursed her lips in injured silence. The awkward clumsiness she presented was counterpoint to the Cat Keeper’s flawless sense of grace.

‘You must forgive my unkind words,’ she said apologetically to Shalamar, moistening her white lips. The corners of Fillide’s eyes revealed a faint hint of hurt and anger, but her tone expressed a genuine desire to placate.

She seemed almost embarrassed as she considered how calm the stars were. Should little ones rail when there was such a calm amongst the great? Or the distant hills, with the calm that adorned their faces. Should she be angry whilst they stood so serene?

‘I am deeply sorry if I gave anyone the impression that I doubted the sincerity with which they held their faith, or if I implied that the art of spirit mediums and mind readers was charlatanry.’ The sibyl look appalled. ‘I came to this conference in the highest hopes that we could confront the challenges of today in the spirit of understanding of others and a tolerance of diversity.’

Fillide became her old, stern self. ‘But none of us know Zana, or can be certain of her honesty. It would be a lack of forethought, of certain sorts of perception, to accept without some caution her fanciful tale. We do not know if there is danger, so it would be wise to be wary of decisive action! Supernatural insights and knowledge can also be used to deceive.’

[Ultaron]

Zana sat quietly in her room staring outside her window at the strange world below, and was afraid. Even tho she was the High Priestess she was still very young, this was in fact the first time she had ever left Ultaron. As she recalled Xanacort, the "religion" she represented was nothing but a religion that was crafted by the state to push the leaders goals. Her real beliefs where not those of Xanacort, they came from Korma's teaching. Yes Korma was her closet advisor, he had also been her friend, teacher and the closest thing she had to a father. A slight knock at her door woke her from her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Lady Zana there is someone by the name of Valkidris here to see you."

"Can you send her away for now?"

"She says she was sent by Lady Shalamar.''

Zana took a minute to compose herself.

"Send her in."

[Northrop-Grumman]

Almost six decades, nearly the entirety of the corporate state’s existence, had proven to be those of a nation still in its relative infancy as it attempted to distinguish an identity amongst the many thousands within the known universe and tried to provide a stable, lasting national unity. But these past sixty-two years had been plagued by tragedy after tragedy, events that had shaken the young nation to its core and constantly struck at the heart of its people. Wars had devastated immense swathes of the urban areas, laying waste to millions of those who were unfortunate enough to get caught in the path of the destruction, and the most recent religious strife had almost culminated in its very own civil war, which had been fortunately stopped by the intervention of an unknown party that had quite handily tore the corruption from the religious leaders but had also sent the hierarchy into almost utter chaos.

Fortunately for Archbishop Nikolai, his involvement with such matters had been limited as he attempted to keep his church free from the sinfulness that had plagued other Christian churches, but despite his success in that, his eyes had seen the result of the aforementioned intervention. Hundreds of families had been rent apart, both figuratively and quite literally, homes had been burned to the ground, and most of the ruling religious body had been strung up and crucified in one of the capital city’s largest cathedrals. It had largely solved the issue of the conflict within the nation, but it had been a cruel end, one that had shaken the population’s faith in their clergymen and had sent them into utter confusion

The archbishop’s senses had been dulled from this stream of events, but still, Korma’s death had provoked a certain uneasiness from within, especially at the sight of the severed head that had been before him; it was something that he could never get used to, the brutal savagery of such a death, no matter how much he had seen it. He remained totally silent while the other conference members bickered back and forth on how to proceed and fidgeted a little with the chain of the panagia engolpion, the icon of the Mother of God, dangling upon the center of his chest. He fully understood that he was not the slightest bit of a soldier and had no real weapon in which to defend himself, except perhaps his silver-handled walking stick. Any attack upon this building would require him to leave his defense to others, so understanding his own weaknesses, Nikolai did that which he could only do in these situations. His eyes closed for a few moments, his head bowing, and silently prayed for those affected by the loss of that man and for the future safety and guidance of those attending here this evening.

When his eyes reopened and his head razed, gazing across the table toward those still speaking about what had happened, Nikolai thought it best to speak up, partially to try to settle matters, but also to introduce himself. His old, tiring heavy-set frame rose from his seat, adjusting his coal-colored cassock slightly and scratching at his long grey beard, and began to speak, his voice still carrying the strength of someone accustomed to speaking to large crowds.

“As we can undoubtedly see, represented here today are a unique and diverse blend of religions from all corners of the known universe, but what can be forgotten are the different blends of personalities, feelings, thoughts, and backgrounds from each one of us. Conflicts can and have arisen from such things and it is easy to become divided over the such matters. However, we are gathered here for a matter which far supersedes any of these differences that we might have amongst one another, a matter which should be unifying us instead of driving us apart. We should be getting to know one another, learning from other’s experiences, and trying to unify ourselves to defend against this foe.

He paused ever so slightly before continuing. “And in light of this…and before I forget about it altogether, allow me to introduce myself, I am Archbishop Nikolai of Hawthorne, Metropolitan of All Northrop-Grumman, which is an autocephalous Orthodox Christian church, and Vice Chairman of the Council of Seven, which is a body that has allowed for the organization and communication of seven Christian churches that represent almost three-quarters of the Grummian population.”

[The Kyr]

The Kyrin representative, golden-skinned, golden-eyed, and golden-haired, bore an expression of increasing discontent as one of the attendees screamed, died, and decomposed in minutes. Such things were not common among the Kyr, to say the least!

"I am Inruil Razikhend sul-anTerais, the Atis anAjal-Hekhamet," he introduced himself. "In your tongue, an Atis is ... perhaps a guide, one who sees clearly? I have come from the Shrine of Ajal-Hekhamet to attend this conclave ... but I did not expect such happenings! Sister Fillide, of a certainly there is danger - I do not know much of Ultaron, but surely humans do not suddenly die so even there - but I am concerned of this talk of "evil". It is a human thing, not a thing of the Kyr; for we see clearly and know that there are Powers beyond our own - none could deny such a thing - but they are entities and not unthinking forces. No entity does ill thinking that it does ill. We Kyrai worship no Powers, but it is my task to negotiate with those that interest themselves in Kyrin affairs; some are malignant, for their own reasons; others are benevolent; and some capricious. They want things that are strange to us, and some of these wants are ill to us; but I have not yet found a Power to want such a thing as "evil".

"Whatever threat presents itself, it has a reason for its actions. If we can discover that reason, we can negotiate with it. In negotiating with it, we can negate its threat; and so restore the proper balance of things and the wellbeing of the people. Lady Edea, we must know - what is this threat you speak of?"

[Der Fuhrer Dyszel]

Silent and still, the unmoving statue, Edea sat motionless, her hands crossed neatly on her lap, her regal head held high overlooking the conference. The death of Korma, although tragic, seemed to make no impression on Edea's stone carved face. Not even her eyes denoted a sense of concern about the eminent threat.

Tessera stood, her long hair flowing softly behind her, like a precious flower petal drifting in the wind. "What my Lady means to say is that although Korma's death is very heartbreaking and regretful, this 'evil' force that had attacked him had only done such to him. We believe that there is little to fear from this threat. As it displayed in its power, it could have easily taken upon some of us here and claimed our lives, but it had not. We have no reason yet to fear this force."

Stopping as Edea took a sip of water from her glass, Tessera looked to her silent leader. For a woman of few words, she surely had her ways of speaking her mind.

"Thank you all for attending and for the wonderful introductions. We are most grateful for your attendance. Hartley, if you would like to, you may reinforce security should it help ease some of the nervousness of others. My Lady welcomes any extra security anyone would like to contribute. However, at this moment we do not feel there is an eminent threat upon us from other forces.

"Now to move to the purpose of this conference. We would like to explore a very important consideration. Inruil Razikhend sul-anTerais has mentioned evil and the concept of evil has been introduced into this discussion. While I do not find myself disagreeing with his beliefs, it has brought us closer to the purpose of why we wish to meet with you all. The question we must all ask ourselves now, is 'IF' there were something that would threaten all of our existences, how do we unite to protect our worlds and our lives?"

Allowing the question to settle some as the others pondered their responses, Tessera watched as Edea again sat back into her chair, overlooking the conference. "I realize that many of you may not be human or may be only partially human. While many of you may believe that this threat is exclusive to the lives of more fragile beings, I must ask that you consider what may not be within our level understanding. What if there were something more fearsome than merely ancient 'evils' or longstanding adversities of both spiritual and human elements? What if a threat we faced is not something living, never within our realm of existence? Something far more menacing than a being, a spirit, or even an ‘evil’.....something even Gods fear?"

[Midlonia]

“You find methods of protection be they physical or theological.” Hartley said simply as he produced from a small case that his aide offered him. “Such as these, developed to counter most magical and psychic powers and barriers, emits a field that I certainly cannot sit here and explain.”

The small device was circular in nature with several triangular feet that angled downwards gently. He placed it onto the table in front of him and clicked it. It emitted a small whine before a slight blue flash of light was emitted, the Angelis next to Hartley seemed slightly uncomfortable for a moment before coughly lightly and regaining composure.

“Are you alright, Helena?” Hartley asked quietly looking to the woman with wings next to him

“Just slight discomfort from the device, sir. Nothing I cannot handle.” The woman replied quietly.

“Very well.” Hartley nodded curtly and turned with a respectful nod to Lady Edea and Tessera. His tongue ran lightly over his lips as he began to speak, low and careful.

“The question is of course, what is the exact nature of the threat that God's seem to fear? Corporeal? Physical? A combination of both? Does it have minions that stride in the light amongst us to pave it's way?” He paused for a moment in thought.

“We are, after all from radically different churches, with radically different methods at our disposal when it comes to dealing with threats of evil. For us, it manifests in corporeal forms regularly as well as in the spiritual realm, and to which we have adapted to fight now after several years on the back foot.”

He motioned with one hand. “I am sure others here only have an abstract theological concept of evil, or ultimate evil.”

Carefully the Young Bishop laced his hands together in thought and leant forward. “As much as we like to sell it to our flocks we do not have the direct line to God except in very few miraculous occurrences because God gave us all Free Will.”

He pursed his lips. “Beyond vagueness the being you describe could be easily applied to any of our own religion-specific demons and visions of damnation. How could there be unity when we each attempt to preach that we are each the one true path?”

[The Kyr]

"Just Inruil, please." The Atis didn't mind Edea repeating the entirety of his name verbatim, but it was a mouthful for most people. "The Kyr would say that free will is innate to thinking beings, that it is opposed by the Powers that hunger for our supplication ... but theological differences are irrelevant if we are to combat some greater foe. Whatever that foe might be.

"How to fight it? I cannot yet say. The first law of warfare is know thy enemy."

[Kandarin]

Dimitri stepped out of the cab, pausing to catch his bag and tip the driver. The bright noonday sun of the conference site shone in his eyes, and he hoisted the heavy bag on his shoulder to block out the glare. The warm, dry summer of this place, with its lazy flowing trees and cicada songs, was quite different from the land he had last visited. There, summer had faded in its dying glories into a bright and chilly autumn, a prophetic change as nature itself heralded the coming of a pointless war. There he had tended the wounds of a soldier who had faced that which he feared and whose soul had come away scarred, even as his body was strong and healthy. Dimitri had left behind some vital lessons on the value of faith; it was best to wait and let the last such lesson run its course to a possible recovery. Any man who could endure the company that the doctor who had been Dimitri's patient had endured in would be valuable indeed in the coming struggle.

And yet that thought, that company he had kept, pulled his thoughts back to the strange dilemma it had presented. Dimitri knew full well who - and what - he had met in that place. He knew that it was that meeting, and others, that burdened Lady Edea's joyous heart so greatly. The thing he had met that had masked itself in pretty guise had been a fiend, an arch-fiend, and one that had bested gods and demons already. It, he knew with absolute certainty, was the spider that lay at the heart of the web that threatened his beloved East. And yet...it had not harmed him. In fact, it had seemed all too willing to help, all too concerned about the destruction that its wrath had wreaked. More to the point, it bore Keiga's mark; She had set it apart and named it as one who would play a part in her world. Could the Betrayer be shouldering its ancient responsibility once more, even as it geared itself for war? What did that mean for it? What did that mean for the world?

Dimitri wrestled these anxieties from his mind, and instinctively his hand ran to the teardrop sigil that hung around his neck. Every Aquarian carried such a sign, and each one was different; his was a pendant on a golden chain, wrapped in shining filigree that stretched out as wings of Hope. He knew then that Keiga's promise meant more than his fears. He knew in his heart that she had a plan, and that even the enemy was part of that plan. Now was not the time for worries, not as Edea waited within to welcome him. Dimitri rested in the cool of the shade and passed through the entrance with purpose greater than he had felt before.

[Der Fuhrer Dyszel]

Tessera respectfully bowed her head before looking to Hartley, "With all due respect sir, I doubt our differences with matter much when 'the storm' comes. The Enemy does not differentiate between friend, foe, creed, spirit, being, mortal, or immortal. It has not for a very long time. In the end, neither of our religions, correct or incorrect, will matter much as we all we need to cling to one another just to survive. No path is the right path which is why we all must work together. This 'evil' I speak of is unlike anything our respective religions have mentioned....it is the absence of life and that is difficult to fit into a hopeful embracing of life. These creat-"

Edea stood, cutting off Tessera mid-sentence. She looked about the attendees but met the eyes of the uncomfortable Angelis. Her eyes painfully seemed to feel her discomfort, empathizing, reaching out to try to save her from that discomfort. But as quickly as she conveyed that sense in one glance, she looked away and it was gone. In an instance she resumed the demeanor of the unfeeling being she appeared to be as she walked to the window. She stared out momentarily before looking to Tessera with a slight nod.

"Tonight," Tessera began as she redirected the attention back to her self, "we will watch the sky. A star will fade into eternal blackness tonight, its light having ceased billions of years ago. While this is not unusual, it is a reminder that The Enemies have for a long time been advancing. I cannot answer why they are drawn to any particular place. It is said that they are drawn to their own kind. Our knowledge of them is severely limited. The Enemy is an incredibly difficult specimen to study and observe which has limited our understanding of their kind. We know only they are lifeless soulless grotesque creatures capable of entirely removing a being from this world in both body and spirit. I wish we had more information to share with you but there are very few records of their existence because life is destroyed where they go, leaving little opportunity for anyone to record their existence. Some religions mention the coming of the end of the world, the most that can be said of these beings. While the promises of eternal life are assuring to many people, the grim truth is that these beings do not leave even a soul to pass to an eternal life. This is why we must find a solution. Faith alone is not enough. War, while eminent, is not the solution that will save us. Our best physical and spiritual weapons hold little power against these beings. It seems now that our best defense is turning this force upon itself. If I only knew how possible this could be I doubt we would have called this meeting. While there are few records of The Enemy's existence in any one religion, I am hoping our collective faiths may give us an answer. I agree with Inruil and believe we should understand The Enemy before engaging it. So perhaps we can explore what in our respective faiths mentions anything that resembles The Enemy…any hope that might help us survive against them."

[Ultaron]

Without warning the counsel hall got somewhat darker and colder. each person gathered there heard something. Those who weren't highly senseative to psyhic forces heard a low whisper that couldnt really be made out. those with a high senseativity heard a voice say <Im coming> those with very high sensativity saw strong violent images of differnt worlds being destroyed. Just as suddenly as the feelings and whispers came, they left

[Midlonia]

OOC: I'm just going to skip the last bizarre post by Ultaron as it makes little sense at the moment to the RP....

“A star fading into eternal blackness that ceased being a long time ago is a mixture of sciences and time itself. Do you believe, Ladies Edea and Tessera, that we can fight time? Be under know such naïve instance as to think that time itself can be stopped. That is all part of God's plan.”

Hartley scratched his chin in thought as he sat back a little into his chair before standing himself, moving to the window to look also at the sky next to her Ladyship, an aircraft of some sort drifted seemingly lazily across the azure sky.

“I do not believe that with our faith we are defenceless against such an Ultimate Evil.” Hartley said calmly, but loud enough that the rest of the delegation could hear him. He turned on one foot and walked calmly and slowly around the conference room, hands clasped behind his back in quiet contemplation. “I am not sure that there would be a shared vision or item of such a devil. It is possible that such things all have a basis as all religions do ultimately learn and evolve off of each other, or religions they assimilate and convert to make the conversion process less sudden and dramatic.”

He paused again and nodded to his aide who immediately started to browse all available and gathered religious matters as well as accessing various texts and passages that were technically classified as 'forbidden' by the church and kept under careful lock and key, with digital copies only being available to churchmen in charge of entire diocese.

“The obvious question...” Hartley said suddenly looking up at a rather pleasant picture of some pleasing watercolour of the Alluvion building. “...is what does Keiganism say about this evil?” Hartley turned and looked at Lady Edea and then Tessera. “Seeing as this is indeed your conference that you called for the purpose of this great discussion of evil.” He looked also to Fillide in which hartley seemed to find someone who was at least on the same vague wavelength. “Do you have any thoughts, Madam z’Allenàya?”

[Xirnium]

‘Should a man aid a God?’ wondered the sibyl in reply, considering the notion of a threat to the divine. Like Bishop Hartley she found disturbing the claim that faith would not avail them. ‘Between the Higher Worlds and the Earth flutter ten hundred thousand prayers that beat their wings against the faces of the Grey Lords. What can we accomplish where they will fail?’

Fillide adjusted her headdress of strawberry leaves and acorns, a little shy now that the room had her attention. The Doom of the Gods and the End Forever were familiar motifs to her.

‘The Goddesses of Fate are the Norvynàr, who preside over the birth and life of the people and looking see that which is to be,’ she explained. ‘And all the Grey Lords have felt a fear, if Gods may fear, for They have seen a look in the eyes of the Fates that regards beyond the Gods to the End.

‘The reason and purpose of the World is that there should be Life upon the Earth, and Life is the instrument of the Fates with which They would achieve Their end. But when the end of the Fates has been achieved there will no longer be a need of Life upon the Earth, nor anymore a game for the Grey Lords to play.

‘And then Time who is the Hound of Athgrêthe, the Destroyer of Hours, shall bay hungrily at the Grey Lords because He is lean with age, and He shall seek to tear out the throats of the Gods, excepting only Our Lady, whose dreams are the Gods themselves, dreamt long ago.’

Fillide wondered if this might be the evil Edea imagined extinguishing the stars and slaying the Gods. If it was it would be pointless to arm against it.

‘When all the Gods are gone Naugêryn, the Lady of all Deaths, shall turn alone and fight out Her last fight with the Hound. Time will seek to rend Naugêryn, who shall bring down Her scythe crashing through the shoulder of the Hound, and in the blood of Time that scythe shall rust away.

‘Then Our Lady shall be all alone, with neither Death nor Time.’

[The Kyr]

Inruil did his best to disguise his scorn for the Xirniumite priestess. How pathetic it was, to bleat of an Armageddon inexorable! Such water-veined cowardice could hardly do aught but wail in supplication to its deities, weakened by its fear of the Powers at whose feet it begged. The Kyr had learned long ago to stand, never to kneel, before the Powers.

"Should a man aid a god? That depends upon the god. Your argument, Sister Fillide, seems to hinge upon the idea of "predestination" - which is an idea foreign to the Kyr. If your At - Afkhrefe - if your Hound of Hours should seek to destroy the world, my advice would be to slay it. While there is one Kyr alive who still hopes for a better tomorrow, we must fight for that tomorrow, against anything that would deny it. There may come a time when we fight in vain - but we will not surrender to the end of all things merely because some Power desires it. We do not desire it.

"Fear will cripple you, Sister, if you let it; do not fear. Enough starlings can bring down an eagle; enough ants may devour an elephant. If our days wind down like the hands of a clock - break the clock!"

[Callisdrun]

Bare, pale feet felt the warmth of the sun upon the steps, and then the cool stone after their owner entered the place of the meeting. Slender, their nails were painted black, and the tendrils of tattoos ended upon them. These markings faded behind a translucent black gown, their intricacies over the rest of the body slightly obscured in areas covered. The inkings were mostly ceremonial in nature, as were some of the piercings, the metal of which glinted even through the thin fabric, though the woman who bore them enjoyed the decoration as well. Though the diaphanous gown, even in the portions of the body that it covered (the loose fitting garment left the arms, some of the flanks and revealed the legs through side slits), left little to the imagination, being so thin as to be easily seen through, not quite totally transparent, it was still a nod to what foreigners often considered "modesty."

Normally, within Callisdrun, Eszti Batory, as the High Priestess of the Goddess Ithtyr, did not wear clothing. The vampiric goddess was never depicted in anything but the nude, so her clergy went attired as on the day they were born as well. In Callisdrun's harsh winters, sometimes they would wear cloaks outside, but nothing else. Rank among the priestesshood was noted by specific markings. While she found the hangups many nations had about nudity to be strange, Eszti recognized the benefit in at least making some effort to placate such sensibilities. She wanted the other delegates to think about what was being said at the meeting, especially by her, not of their offense at her attire. Others who were familiar with her country and its culture would of course, know how seriously she must be taking this conference to swallow her pride and wear garments, and hopefully respond accordingly.

As she got closer to the hall in which the meeting was taking place, she thought more on its subject. The religion of Keiganism was quite new. She hadn't thought much about it, until now, as in Callisdrun it was very small, nowhere near the numbers who still worshiped the old gods. Yet, even so, the dangers that had been warned of were unsettling. As the de facto head of Callisdrun's ancient pagan rites (officially the same status as the High Priest of Odin and the High Priest and Priestess of the Pantheon, but during this period Ithtyr's Order was strongest and so she was essentially first among equals), she had come representing the faith. While the government of her country was very secular, it was known that the Queen was a follower of her particular goddess, and on top of it, Bente was a very close friend of Eszti's. The two had met privately before the Priestess' departure, as the nature of the conference interested the monarch. Some sort of catastrophically threatening evil, it was said. At this, the vampiress smirked slightly. According to Christians, the goddess she served was evil, a demon, in the words of some.

Though it was not her intention to make a large entrance for herself, her features made it somewhat unavoidable, even among this varied group. Quite tall, she also possessed the facial features of her family, high cheekbones and a sharply pointed chin, and of course the large black eyes. Even though her skin shone with a slight sheen of sweat, these features made her look, with her impeccable posture, somewhat imperious, though not quite as cruel as her kinswoman, Ilona, who, in her place, surely would have insisted on the traditional holy attire. Long, silky black hair was tied into one of Callisdrun's summer styles, about ten braids, which bounced and moved slightly as she walked.

Seeing that her late appearance was not likely to go unnoticed, she announced after striding in "My apologies to our hostess, Lady Edea, for my tardiness. I hope I did not cause any offense." Her voice carried the characteristic hiss of a moroii's speech, and her Callisdrunian accent was thick, but still clearly understandable. "I am Eszti Batory, High Priestess of Ithtyr and head of her Order in Callisdrun's faith." Looking around the room, she recognized most of the various delegates, at least in as much as vaguely recalling from where they came and what their beliefs were. As high clergy, she felt it was important to stay up to date with other religions, whether she thought of their clergies as rivals or colleagues. Eszti regretted that she'd probably missed formal introductions, and so would have to take time later to learn more about her fellows here, perhaps in a more casual setting. It would be rude to ask everyone to stop in the middle of things now. Inclining her head slightly to Edea, the most that anyone could expect from Callisdrunians, as they did not bow or kneel, she gracefully walked to a seat by the Grummian Archbishop... What was it? Nikolai? I think that's it...

[Der Fuhrer Dyszel]

"It is human nature to fight against the dying of the light," Tessera spoke softly in reply, her voice little more than a wisp of a summer wind trailing through maple leaves, "if we were not meant to fight against our own mortalities I doubt we would be given the power and will to do so."

She stared at the sibyl, expressing sadness much similar to that seen within Edea's eyes. "While I wish that I understood the wills of the higher powers, I am simply human and must live as such. But I do believe that if we were not meant to fight for our lives, we would not be given that desire. Keiga has taught us to embrace these things. Even though we may not understand them, the murders of children, the loss of innocence, death, corruption, they are embedded into the necessary order of life. This great order of life includes the human desire to live and is seen as our purpose. We are meant to fight for what we have little of in this existence. It gives meaning to our lives."

Turning to Harley, Tessera smiled softly, "my dear, Keiganism does not say much about these creatures. We just acknowledge that it should not be as it is. Even the least of all creatures in this world, though it will die, has the right to taste of life. To take that opportunity away before it can be had is unimaginable. It is Keiga who let us fully know the hurt and pain of these creatures, but not how to defeat it. Hartley, would you believe us if we said that even the gods know little of this creatures, that even the gods do not understand its actions? I imagine my question is, what if the gods needed us to save even them?



[Edit: Minor reformation of sentence structure.]

[Cats Keep]

At the conference:

Archbishop Nikolai of Hawthorne might have been Christian, but he has spoken wisely. Lady Shalamar had no problems with the core ideals of Christianity, but she had many - and they were profound ones - with what humans had done to them.

What if a threat we faced is not something living, never within our realm of existence? Something far more menacing than a being, a spirit, or even an ‘evil’.....something even Gods fear?"

Shalamar didn’t believe that most ‘gods’ existed – she knew that they did - simply if but for no other reason that-because if enough people believed ‘in’ long enough and strong enough then yes they existed. The Divine, the All That Was, had many facets. As she had said earlier each walked their own path to reunification with the Divine

"How could there be unity when we each attempt to preach that we are each the one true path?”

The young Bishop spoke the main problem as Shalamar knew it. Too many religions demanded to be acknowledged as the ‘one true path’ which was errant nonsense in her view, but then again she’s had a greater length of experience than many religions had existed.

Hartley, would you believe us if we said that even the gods know little of this creatures, that even the gods do not understand its actions? I imagine my question is, what if the gods needed us to save even them?

Tessera asked of the young Bishop from Midlonia

Shalamar awaited Hartley’s answer, unspeaking -for at the moment she was in listening mode, observing the others and considering their points of view.

Elsewhere - High Priestess Zana'as hotel room..."Send her in"

"Lady Zana, Lady Shalamar sent me." Valkidris introduced herself "I am the Tenerista Cevarra, second in command of the Towers and a full Keeperess in my own right. Yes, it is possible, if the conditions permit, to obtain a read in what you councilor Korma saw and experienced just prior to his death."

[Midlonia]

"Now you speak madness." Hartlery said spinning away from his picture and moving back to his chair to grip the back of it briefly.

"Our gods, certainly mine is omnipotent and omniescent." He waved his hand. "It means he is everywhere, even in this room and knows everything. To suggest otherwise would imply that my God is neither of those things and unable to do a thing to defend Himself."

He rubbed his chin in thought, slightly irritated now. "You don't have a clue about any of this what threat we face, our God supposedly faces, yet are sure enough to drag out here a number of high profile religious figures to talk like a manman babbling away before either the Church or a medical professional can help him!" He clasped the ends of his fingers together and gestured animatedly to Teressa.

He looked at Lady Edea. "Is this the purpose of this conference truly? To merely prove you and Teressa here are simply insane babbling people crying out about a darkness that's coming but nobody but you and your Keiganists can see it and even then you cannot comprehend, understand or even speak of it because you do not know even remotely what it is or what it stands for, means or even if it exists?"

[Almajoya]

Sewen gracefully lifted a hand as if to stop the madness. "I admire your passion, spirited one," she said to Hartley, "but there is no room for hostility amongst us. What you have posed is an interesting question, worthy of an answer, but poorly phrased. Perhaps you will consider the feelings of others when you choose your words, as your own God surely would have you do."

She now turned to Lady Edea. "I know not what the motives of my peers are, but I am here to learn more about the religions and viewpoints of others. If the reason for this conference is something more, indeed, a warning of a coming darkness, then please, let us hear more about that. Otherwise, I think it would be best to keep the conversation limited to the topic."

And with a smile and a flutter of her hands, she faded back into the pool of faces.

[Ultaron]

"Thank you Valkidris, I do have a slight idea of what this could be. I must warn you that if this is what i think it is then you may be putting yourself in danger. If your still willing to do this then your welcome to start whenever you wish."

[Callisdrun]

The vampiress leaned forward and shot Hartley a gaze that was... somewhere between curious as to why someone who appeared to be such an uncompromising, intolerant zealot had been invited in the first place, and irritation that he seemed to be trying to derail the conference. Raising her eyebrow, Eszti spoke, her barbed fangs glistening as her cruel voice cut the air. "Bishop, if you plan on doing nothing but arguing the superiority of your own deity and his worship, furthering divisiveness among us, why are you at this conference? Insisting on debating whose gods are better only aggravates the problem, crippling any effort to reach a solution, and for you to be blind to that fact, you'd have to be an imbecile, which I frankly would not believe."

"Obviously I believe my goddess is the most worthy of worship, as I'm the High Priestess of her Order. However, you don't see me insisting on her superiority, or demeaning the other delegates' faiths, despite some of them being diametrically opposed to mine," (a reference towards Christianity), she continued. "Nor do you see me dismissing the problem that faces us as insignificant to my mistress, or any of the other deities represented here." She folded her arms beneath her breasts, the gaze of her black eyes growing accusatory. "If you're here only to tell us how invincible you believe your god is, rather than helping find an answer, perhaps you shouldn't be here?"

[Kandarin]

Dimitri had sat by Edea's side since his quiet entrance. A full delegation that arrived late might have cause to apologize, he reasoned, but one additional member of a delegation was no cause for alarm. In any case, someone had been talking when he entered - the Kyr representative, if memory served. The Aquarian had rather liked the tone of the speech - defiant, bold, alive in vigor and zeal. Break the clock, he had jotted down in a little notebook. Still, he feared that breaking this particular clock would only make things worse. Nevertheless it would not have been well to disturb such a speech.

And so he waited. He did not look quite out of place besides Edea, for both of them carried a measure of regal appearance. In Dimitri's case, however, the impression was one of a knight and not a king. His ordinary black suit was fitted elegantly, its measure suggesting the fitness of a man half the age of the one whose piercing eyes peered out from a lined and neatly bearded face. He sat beside his Lady and complemented her company until the time was right to speak. Finally, the need was too great. A pointed word here, an accusation there, and Dimitri stood to address the room.

"Bishop Hartley." He began, "This conference and the faiths represented here would exist without us. We do not deny that. Some of you would have attended regardless of the crisis that we of the Keigan faith have brought up. Some of you are here entirely because of our warning. Some-" His eyes turned momentarily, imperceptibly to the sybil- "I cannot honestly judge the motives of. But all of you chose to come. We did not make you."

"High Priestess Batory," Dimitri added, his voice calm and conciliatory, "All of us are here searching for truth, and no one can be wrong in doing so. Obviously some of us have come to the conclusion that that truth is a supreme god. I know that that contradicts your beliefs, and that it diffuses the threat that we face. But to ask someone who believes that their god is supreme that they must change that to understand the threat will accomplish nothing. There must be found a way to see the threat within that framework."

"But I digress." He shot a glance to Edea, who nodded. "My Lady often speaks in questions and hints. It is our way; we are not here to try to convert you to our faith, but to see how yours seeks the truth. But if it is an account of the evil of which she speaks that you seek, ask me - for I have seen it."

[Callisdrun]

"It was not I who went on blustering about my own faith's supremacy in the middle of a conference about a threat to all of us, nor was I the one to disparage the sanity of our hosts" said the High Priestess. "I mentioned my faith being potentially at odds with others to emphasize that no one here has any more claim of superiority than any other. I don't care if others' beliefs contradict mine; that's not why I'm here, as there are more important matters than disputes about dogma, which will not help us. Now, please, I for one wish to hear any insights into this danger that you can provide."

[Third Spanish States]

Of course, when the timing for arrival depended on how well the wind direction helps the sails, it's not exactly exact to predict when exactly one ought to arrive. Nevermind how easy was to get past customs in most countries while wearing an eyepatch, a stylish captain's attire that looked to have come straight from early Victorian era and a hat with a Jolly Roger, and then a set of pretexts to justify arriving late was prepared. However, after showing his credentials as a... religious leader going for a local conference, the long-haired and beared pirate managed to get a taxi, and eventually reached the place where the Conference, held by the leader of a strange and unknown faith named Keiganism, was being held.

He seemed to not care about the cameras and those wasting their times watching, and in fact, as he slipped out of the car, he finally exposed his Holy Scepter, taking it out of a cylindrical bag. It was obviously a rolling pin attached to a seemingly petrified, but still flimsy swarm of pasta and noodly appendages, with two glass eyes in its middle, an image of his deity.

The "blackbeard" behaved naturally and seemed oblivious to his late entrance as he approached the crowd of representatives together with Edea, and, in a particularly boisterous manner, he then asked, with a very noticeable pirate "accent":

"Greetings milady, may I know the specific subject being discussed at this moment so I may bring the wisdom of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to this enquiry? And I hope you do not mind my late arrival, for global warming has been little helpful to an earlier arrival by culling the wind. I suppose the old days may be over, but I'm doing my part to fix the problem."

[Xirnium]

Fillide smiled benevolently at Inruil, with neither the hint of fear nor weakness the Kyr imagined he saw behind her black-lensed spectacles in her cold, grey eyes. There was only amused patience.

‘Time is not our enemy, creature of the Midas touch,’ the sibyl smiled, replacing a may-leaf that had fallen from her hair. No tea or biscuits made her feel very sleepy and silly. ‘How often has He gnawed to dust a mighty city that was sick and weary and too long had troubled Earth’s beautiful pastures? And does He not draw the plough through the fields which ripen the oats and our wheat for us?’

‘Without the coursing hound of Time, who would banish yesterday’s regrets and all the old, worn sorrows?’ Fillide asked the golden golem, sadly. She touched her ear. ‘Should we bewail the faded and withered and crumbled things that linger behind where He has been, when pleasant and rosy seem His wooded paths stretching ahead to the future?’

The sibyl turned her grey-haired head to Tessera and coughed crisply. ‘Happiness is not in dashing one’s dead, white fingers against iron cliffs. Seek not to storm Death’s fortress, for the slope on which it sits is steep as Eternity and its ramparts Inevitable. Your labours can only weary you, and you will return much worn, to rest at last about the place from whence you first set out.’

[Der Fuhrer Dyszel]

"Welcome," Tessera gently motioned to an open seat for the newly arrived attendee. Her eyes however fell quickly to the sibyl as Dimitri spoke and although she had heard his proclamation, it did not immediately register to her mind. With rapt attention she listened closely to the sibyl feeling an unspeakable pain within herself. How could they just turn their lives over without a fight? Was life not worth fighting for? Was life not worth living for?

"My dear....I cannot imagine life surrendering. We all have been given the gift of the desire to survive. Just today before this conference I watched but a small mouse struggle against its almost certain demise. Even the smallest of all creatures fights to live. While our fights may be in vain, we do what we must to steal one last breath. Had that small mouse surrendered its fight, it would not have lived another day to experience the joys of life: the warm sun, the fresh air, even the rejuvenating taste of Keiga's wa-"

"For I have seen it."

Life seemed to drain from Tessera as she clutched her chair and sank back into it with disbelief surfacing in her eyes. While Dimitri was never known to deceive others, no matter how painful or difficult the truth, Tessera still could not believe Dimitri's words. If it were true, he would not be standing before them. How could he face such darkness and live to speak of it? Even Keiga would be no match against the combined efforts of The Enemy.

"But how?" Tessera's shaken voice faltered as she attempted to grasp the full reality of Dimitri's news. "The Enemy....they consume entire beings. How? How are you here? What....was it like? Dimitri, you cannot be serious."

With long elegant strides, the floor length portion of the black frame-hugging dress danced behind her as Edea returned to the table. Her regal poise faltered none as she placed the long black gloved hand on Dimtri's shoulder, a simple gesture of reassurance. There was no need to ask the questions she already knew the answers to; Dimitri's journey was to seek the truth.

Reaching forward in what could easily be mistaken as a provocative gesture, she placed her hand on Dimtri's drinking glass and ran her gloved fingers around the rim. She watched the ripples of the water speak to her in a silent language lost ages ago when people began to use their words more than their ears.

"My lady," Tessera spoke, her voice a broken whisper as she looked to her own empty glass. Although Edea had said little, her gesture reminded Tessera of the importance of her position. They were here to find support and to seek the truth. Pouring herself a glass of water, she looked at the ripples of the water, seeing only ripples. While she never understood what Edea had seen, she had to believe. "My apologies. Fillide, please, as you were saying. If we are not meant to fight, what do you propose we do?"