A Meeting of Brimstone (Closed IC)

[The Hell Legions]

A grating, squelching buzz echoed within the inner ear and vibrates its way down the spine. The odorous fumes of sulfur filled the air and engaged the nostrils. A seam tears through the very empty air, warping the fabric of spacetime, blinding the eyes with a brilliant flash of light. Gazing into opening, gaping seam one could see distant stars and galaxies, along with other, alien celestial bodies.

From the rift a being materialized, a female demon with soft, light red skin, and long black hair, parted by small horns. She wore an old, maroon trench coat with white and black epaulettes, black pants, shiny paratrooper boots, and a short, maroon patrol cap with silver trim, a uniform obviously intended for ceremonial dress occasions. She carried a sleek, stark white rifle, with smooth curves, holding in a gloved hand, by the buttstock. Though mostly ceremonial in nature, the weapon was quite real. On her hip was an officer saber, with a blade made of a translucent, blue material, which looked more like plastic than metal. This too, was a real weapon.

"His Royal Majesty, King Adam of Epping? The Hell Queen of Pride, Lucy Fair agrees to the meeting. Will the meeting be held here, or in Hell? If the latter is decided, I will escort you to Hell. Feel free to bring your own guards if desired." the demon asked, her scarlet eyes gleaming. Her voice was stern, that of a highly disciplined soldier.

---

KEY

#AF1145 = Royal Bodyguard of Hell

[Catholic Great Britain]

Adam, King of Great Britain, had been working away looking at reports from the Prime Minister concerning the various events both nationally and internationally in his office in the Palace. He wore his typical black suit with a black tie that he wore on a casual basis when out in public, his office was highly decorated with paintings detailing historical moments in British history.

When the being from the rift materialised and spoke, the King turned round slightly after finishing his writing before getting up. His face while stoic at the sudden intrusion into his office did reveal a mixture of passing fear (mostly due to the suddenness of the rift and the demon) and slight annoyance, if one was to study his face for emotion. He dusted himself off slightly and put on his suit jacket.

"In Hell but before we go, I must stress the fact that I am slightly annoyed that I was not warned in advance before a literal gate to Hell appeared in my office... Do you have manners in Hell? Where I come from, it is rather rude to burst on to the scene without notifying someone" He rubbed his chin and fixed his tie "But alas, shall we head off? I'd hate to keep Ms. Fair waiting even if she did do something slightly rude..."

[The Hell Legions]

"It was not Her Royal Subjacentness's decision to come without notice. She left it to a closed circle vote in Parliament. Parliament came to vote, with majority vote saying to hold the meeting immediately and without notice." the demon said. "As a result, the Hell Queen was merely abiding by what had been decided." The demon gestured to the vortex. "After you."

Travel through the Einstein-Rosen bridge was brief, but not instantaneous. It was comparable to floating weightless through a long tunnel, staring out into the starry void. As the travel through this tunnel came near a close, the stars began to take on more alien forms, a space filled with unblinking eyes, toothy maws, and writhing tendrils. The end of the tunnel became a gargantuan, gaping, circular mouth, lined with thousands of pointed teeth.

Upon arrival, the two were dropped approximately two centimeters above the floor, into one of the rooms of Hell's great palace in the city of New Sheol. The room had large, obsidian tiles across the floor, each measuring half a meter by half a meter. The walls were made of slate, with a slight blued finish. The ceiling was vaulted, and featured intricate and exquisite carvings of scollery inlaid with polished lapis lazuli, jade, onyx, and moonstone, meeting together in a large, polished opal. Light shone in through the opal, illuminating the room with a variety of colors and hues. Large double-doors lead out of the room, made of a polished black-colored wood, with red-black tourmaline embedded near the top, giving it the appearance of having eyes. Antiqued brass formed the handles. In the middle of the room was a large, round table made of the same black-colored wood as the doors. There were two, small chairs set out, of the same wood as well, crafted with elegant curves and ergonomic design. On the table was a white linen doily, featuring images of blooming flowers, atop which sat a cast iron tea pot inside a knitted tea cozy which prominently featured Hell's flag. Two black and white ceramic tea cups were laid out, along with a matching sugar bowl and milk jug. On a cast iron tray, several small sandwiches were presented, and a small plate held some macarons, in a variety of colors.

Sitting in one of the chairs was Lucy Fair. She appeared as a young adult with long, blonde hair, a gentle fair, and icy blue eyes. She wore a long, black dress with thick frills, decorated with pentagram patterns in white, a white blouse with puffy shoulders and long sleeves, and a black corset over her outfit. Around her neck was a necklace which features a string of several pentagram pendants together, each made of a simple pewter, but with tiny opal gemstones. She smiled warmly.

"I see you've made it." Lucy Fair said. "You wished to meet with me? Of what matters did you wish to discuss?"

---

KEY

#AF1145 = Royal Bodyguard of Hell

#FF11AA = Lucy Fair

[Catholic Great Britain]

"I do not see the point of putting it to a vote, ask Parliament's advice perhaps but don't put it to a vote, she should make her own mind up on the matter" He spoke, more annoyed if anything.

Travel through the bridge disturbed the King greatly, often loudly voicing his displeasure at the "Ne'er-do-wells and savage monsters in the darkness", the 'literal mouth of hell' phased him for a moment, sudden fear crossed his face before being hardened yet again to unleash another torrent of vocally addressing his displeasure.

When the two arrived, he was overtaken with a desire to observe the architecture and the interior decorations before coming over to see Lucy Fair. He smiled and bowed slightly as a sign of respect before taking his seat.

"I did wish to meet with you, Ms. Fair, mostly to discuss general topics and matters... However, I must stress that I was not fond of the 'portal travel' nor not being warned in advance... I understand that you put it to a vote but it was an invite for a discussion with you, I was expecting you as a person to decide for yourself" He raised an eyebrow "but alas, I am not here to simply complain."

[The Hell Legions]

Lucy gave a brief nod of her head to the bodyguard, who closed the rift behind then walked over to the door to stand guard.

"General topics, you say? How descriptive and specific." Lucy said, bemused. "The 'portal travel', as you called it, has been in use for billions of years now. The Einstein-Rosen bridge has been used by us, our allies, our enemies, and pretty much every advanced interdimensional civilization. It is perfectly safe when done correctly. And it is the only way you'll be able to get back home from here."

"Democracy is quite important to us, here in Hell. It is far more than just a decision-making process, it is our way of life. You say you expected me to make the decision myself? I did, I decided I would meet with you, then left the details to a vote. The same vote said that we should have tea if you chose to meet here."The Hell Queen reached for the tea pot, and began raising it. "Would you care for some tea? It's freshly brewed."

---

KEY

#AF1145 = Royal Bodyguard of Hell

#FF11AA = Lucy Fair

[Catholic Great Britain]

"I'd happily accept some tea" Adam gave a smile and leaned forward slightly.

"Leaving the details of a meeting to democracy is somewhat a waste of time, in my opinion, when I decide who to meet with, it is then my responsibility as the host or guest for that matter to sort out the details myself, after all, Parliament is more interested in domestic and foreign issues than deciding who I should meet with and how it should play out... It would be considered democratic madness, the only input I require from them is some advice from the government itself, asking about whether or not it is in the national interest or simply asking for a brief rundown on the person I'm meeting."

"But seriously, you personally paint hell as a lovely place yet I had to basically walk through what one would describe as a 'monstrous maw'... Surprised you haven't tried to spruce the place up a bit with a bit of a saying 'Hell but not Hellish', I'm not overtly surprised because I expected to see such things, I'm more surprised by the company within Hell than the appearance."

[The Hell Legions]

Lucy smiled warmly and poured a cup of tea for each of them. "Tea is a wonderful thing, I think. Real drink for the soul."

"But to us, such a meeting is a foreign issue. Diplomacy is an issue; one's choice of company paints quite a picture, especially in this day an age. There is a saying, that if a person were to sit down at a table with nine Nazis, there'd be ten Nazis. Diplomatic engagements, protocol, and choice of allies is important to the nation. Pardon our level of caution and discourse when meeting with foreign leaders. It isn't you, this is just how we've been having to deal with these delicate matters." Lucy sipped some of her tea, and took a deep breath, inhaling the steam.

"Hmm... how to put this..." Lucy pondered her options and choice of words for a moment. "The appearance, I suppose, could seem frightening, but the truth of the matter is quite different. That is, in essence, what Hell is, on nearly every level. Judge not by appearance, but by deeds, and you might find the beauty within. I believe the human saying is 'don't judge a book by its cover.' If it helps any, we could arrange a tour sometime?"


Lucy gazed over to Adam with her icy blue eyes. In them was a sense of whimsy, but also a cold cunning. "I imagine you didn't ask to meet me so I could show you the bustling cities and joyous partying or to discuss the finer points of what diplomacy means to a nation surrounded by nations that they don't know if they can trust. What are these topics and matters that you wished to discuss?"

---

KEY

#AF1145 = Royal Bodyguard of Hell

#FF11AA = Lucy Fair

[The Hell Legions]

This still active?
/bump