Dance of the Summer (Open, All Techs)

[Oulympos]

Olympus

The Gods were idle today. They were always and ever more idle in these years. Very few among the mortals had rekindled their worship, and thus their involvement in the world is still an ember waiting to be burned alight. Until that point, a curse had fallen upon the occupants of the heavenly abode of Olympus. A terrible curse, far worse than any had been inflicted on mortals. Boredom. Boredom reigned over the Olympians. It drove them to near madness, and the counsel of Olympus was at risk of fragmenting and disappearing all over again. Something had to be done. Nothing so far implemented this year had really stirred the passions that once drove the world round. Ares stirring the Persians against the American barbarians didn't pan out, and Apollo and Artemis' vengeance against the Seres for wantonly killing animals for medicine has seriously gotten out of control, yet in all these crises only very few turned to the Gods for respite. So the boredom continued.

Zeus, afflicted himself, went to the ends of the earth seeking a cure. There was none to be found, and the Olympians continued to languish in their gilded palaces. Then one day, a thought from within awoke the Lord Zeus from his slumbering. It was Metis, mother of Athena, still within his body from when he'd swallowed her whole all those centuries ago. Having fed upon the ambrosia that Zeus himself consumed, Metis had maintained her immortality. The Titaness of Cunning revealed to Zeus that the to maintain his control and rule, he needed a diversion to keep the gods in line. Zeus had looked across the earth and found nothing, but not among the stars. Opening the clouds, Zeus looked through his constellations, and scryed to find the distraction he needed. Then seeing the world of The Closed City, he realized that is exactly what they needed. A party, and new friends to meet. But how to get there? The Olympians could move along the world whenever they wished...but to cross Aether and Chaos is unheard of. Their chariots could do it, but who knew what it would cost them.

Metis, with her cunning, offered a solution to the travel issue. They could cross through the gullet of Ladon, the dragon constellation, directly to that world. Metis herself knew the way to lull the beast into a sleep, but would require that Zeus would spit her up to do so. Sensing a plot against him, Zeus agreed to do so, but on the condition that Metis wrote down the formula so that further travel through the aether could be done. Agreeing to this, Zeus coughed up the Goddess, and on the next day a great council was called to determine whom would go to Roania. The Council of The Twelve deliberated for days as to whom would go. Zeus, sensing Metis and her desire for revenge, refused to go. Maintaining his need to rule the heavens. Ares was rejected out of hand, for fear he would intitate war between the realms. After much debate, three were chosen that represented the good of The Earth. Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Apollo would go. Love, Pleasure, and Light and Music were diplomats of peace and good.

Summoning Ladon, guardian of the Hesperides, and the longest of the constellations...the beast opened its foul gullet revealing a path of travel between the stars. Metis, using her Titan magic, lulled the beast into a permanent sleep with the aid of the hairs of Hypnos. As she promised she inscribed the formula on the Aegis of her daughter, Athena. Just as the three representatives were about to go, Metis withdrew her magic, and Ladon began to thrash about, shaking the foundations of Olympus. Zeus demanded to know why she had done this. Metis said she wanted her revenge for her centuries of imprisonment. Revenge for the theft of her cunning, her motherhood. Athena begged her mother to cease, knowing none could stand before the father of the heavens and make demands. Metis cast her aside, denounced her as a traitor to her blood. Olympians bowed to Titans, not the other way around! Zeus, enraged threatened to cast a lightning bolt then and there, but knew this would kill Athena and many others. He demanded to know what she wanted. She wanted him to lie with her. To fulfill his the prophecy as decreed by The Fates themselves. Zeus agreed. Metis was the Titaness of cunning, but her thoughts and powers had been Zeus's as well for millennia. He hatched a plot to defeat her, and send the delegates on their way.

Metis, sleeping in the bed of Zeus, was come upon by him and they lay together for three days. Waking on the third, Metis knew she was with child, and attempting to rise from the bed she found herself bound to it with the net used to trap Aphrodite and Ares all that time ago. Zeus entered the room in a fury. His rage being felt across the whole of the world, he shouted at Metis, damning her for coercing him into relations. He laughed, however, in saying that he had defied The Fates. Zeus had not in fact lied with her. It was Hermes in disguise, and he had stolen her formula. Taking his lightning bolt, he struck off her head, and through her body into Tartaros. Her head would be copied by Hephaistos, as it was the formula to ease Ladon, and it would be affixed to all the chariots of the gods so that their immortal horses could travel into the Aether safely. In Tartaros, the Titans chained there would place her unborn child in a casket of gold, and when it was borne the world would know Apistios* (Son of Hermes and Metis), Lord of Underhanded Greed. Protector of Fraudulent Commerce.

In the coming day, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Dionysos would borrow the chariot of Helios to visit Roania and attend this gathering of great peoples.

OOC: Might've went overboard a little on the intro thing, and IC arrival at the party will come tomorrow. Consider this like an over the top "Tagged for interest". Apistios is a god of my own making, basically an modern replacement for Dolios and Plutus. He can be visited at his great temple of Wall Street.

[The JVP]

Inna

The JVP

Gerfried smiled sweetly. "You seem like you're full of surprises." He snapped his fingers and a servant appeared. "How about we start with a peach wine?"

The servant poured a glass and offered it to Inna.

Gerfried smiled. "You should be more confident."

Inna's eyes grew wide as a servant quickly appeared. "Umm. I don't really think I'm the one full of surprises now." She said, wonder if she could call someone over with a finger snap. She figured it was not such a good idea, as she told the glass of wine and sipped it.

The taste of the wine washed over her tongue, as she took the time to savor the flavor. "Oh." she said, as the profile of the wine over came her. "A lovely blend, I can tell these peaches were pulled at the very peek of their ripeness." She took another sip, as her taste buds relaid the information of the wine and what was in it to her mind. A perk of the Tark implant, making it very hard to poison someone, but also allowing her to breakdown completely what she was tasting.

"Confidences." She said. "I have plenty of that." She said. "Just don't know where my Nation fits in this new world." She said, looking at his cybernetic hand again. "But I see I may people may not have to hide like we did in the old days. Tell me. What happened to your hand?"

[Lotrabme]

the twins

Solvartuis grinned at the young prince. "Sounds good," he said, "What position do you play? I'm the best running back you'll see."
"Yeah!" Esmilsarin agreed enthusiasticly, "Mum says that's because if you get in front of him he'll just smash you out of the way with his hard skull!"

"Oh!" Chuckled Ezrael. "You guys are thinking of the other football. We have it in the Mind Empire but I don't think they have it in Roania. We are talking about Soccer, it's also called Football some places."

"You won't need to smash anybody's skulls I guess, it depends how good you can kick here." He continued. "I have a cousin who plays your football though, and he is really good at running into people like a wall."

[Oulympos]

Closed City

A dazzling light erupted across the sky of the closed city as the wormhole (now known as Ladon (or Draco)'s gullet opened for the arrival of the chariot from Olympus. Apollo may be conflated unfairly with the titan Helios, but his ability to dazzle did not cease in his limited capacity. Firework like apparitions erupted from the sides of the chariot as it descended to its port of call. The Horses of the Chariot roared with pride as they galloped and danced over a foreign sky, Eous whom turns the sky, Aethiops who parches the land, Bronte of thunder, and Sterope of Lightning. Each horse of burning mane and tail. As the chariot touched ground, the light dissipated, revealing an average wooden chariot driven by an average set of drab horses, with an oddly realistic carved head on its prow. Such is the form reserved for the eyes of mortals.

Apollo, Dionysus and Aphrodite exited their coach and took upon themselves mortal guises, lest they not destroy anyone who'd try to see their true forms. Apollo in a simple crimson tunic, his bright golden hair tied in a knot on his head, smiled happily and walked into the crowd to mingle. He of course had a lyre tied to his back, should anyone request some music. Dionysus was in a far more primitive garb. As always in his travel, the lithe and pretty boy wore simply a quite revealing leopard skin cloak that he draped over his shoulder, his long brown hair reaching his shoulders and crowned with a wreath of oak leaves. Carrying his thyrsus, the rod of of giant fennel covered with ivy vines and leaves and topped with a pinecone. Leaving the two, he went to see if he could improve the drinks or the party. Finally, radiant in a translucent stola and covered in pearls, arrived the greatest of all beauties, Aphrodite. Her long auburn hair, emerald green eyes, will stun all whom look upon her. Her golden belt, blessed with irresistibility, also helps in that regard.

Curtsying before the Princess Nailin, Aphrodite spoke. "My lady, truly you are one of great beauty to behold. I am Aphrodite, and the two mingling with your party goers and probably starting trouble are Apollo and Dionysus. We are of Mount Olympus, on Gaia. We came to this lovely soiree in order to alleviate a curse of boredom we've been dealing with recently. It all looks really quite lovely. I hope we can be fast friends, our people and yours. That all being said, I wonder how many singles are here...I could help with that."