Lord Zee
Hos
Frettzo
DracoLunaris
The Weight of Neutrality.
Celestine paced around her personal chambers diligently as her mind did its best to comprehend the situation that was developing in Ha-Dûna. Her tournament had been disrespected by a third party, and the people of Ha-Dûna had found culprit in someone that had escaped. But things were not adding up for Celestine. Brian had been found executed far away and may have been used as some form of catalyst to curse Hilda, so if the culprit had been within Ha-Dûna until the time of Hilda’s curse and then escaped in the ensuing chaos, then they were most likely not the person who kidnapped Brian and put Hilda’s curse into effect.
Everything pointed to something more complicated going on than first appeared, and now the freshly peaceful Ha-Dûna was being dragged into war once again. A part of her wanted to intervene more directly but she knew that it would both violate her desire for neutrality and she would be acting upon assumptions and partial information. Nothing about the situation pleased her and it took a great amount of restraint to not scream in frustration.
Perhaps she needed to speak with another and have more than her own mind to talk with. Thinking over the gods that she had spoken to since her emergence the answer came to mind fairly easily: Thaa. He had earned the most trust from her by actively warning of the machinations of other gods and how everyone had their own agenda. Such a truth was both commendable and exactly what she needed at this moment.
Walking briskly to her visitation chamber, Celestine stepped through the portal to antiquity and moved with purpose to the portal leading to Thaa’s realm. Standing before it for only a brief moment Celestine stepped through confidently. Unlike the first time she knew what to expect upon the other side. When the misty reality of his realm coalesced around her, Celestine placed an arm across her chest and bowed in greeting to the general direction that she remembered the mountain of corpses being. Once that was finished she spoke loudly to offer a greeting and state her intent within the realm. ”Greetings Thaa. You have earned the most trust out of the gods that I have spoken to and thus, if you are able to receive my company, I come seeking your counsel for a matter that weighs upon my mind.”
With her intent spoken Celestine waited to see if the sensation of the ground moving beneath her feet would begin as it did in her previous visit.
There was no initial reply, no movement of the ground or herself for a long moment, just the roiling mists. Something moved in their hidden depths. Then there was something else, as a Goddess she could feel an intense sensation of folding, not herself exactly, but where she was, as if the reality there was switching some measure about.
And then she was no longer in the mists, there was light, and there were walls, three of them as if she was in a tetrahedron with the floor making up a forth triangular side. The light was red in the extreme and didn't seem to have a specific source, instead seemingly present in equal parts everywhere, there was no shadow or shade to anything.
Again she felt an intense sensation only a divine being could interpret with their senses, a feeling of arriving. And then Thaa was there, not as a mountain of corpses, but a great eye emplaced in a disk, not on the wall, he was the walls, the floors. One could trace the edge of the disk and find it in perfect curvature of circle, and yet looking at the triangular surfaces each seemed straight in their own right. Regardless of the physical divergences from Galbar's normal physics, Thaa spoke most cheerfully.
"Hello Celestine, what manner of issue weighs so heavily upon your mind? I may offer what I can in advice or information but I will first offer only a condition. As a Goddess you make your own choice and take full responsibility for all things that come of it. This may seem an odd condition, but too few of own divine fellows seek to take responsibility for present affairs."
When the usual feeling of the ground moving beneath her feet did not come for a long moment Celestine began to consider the possibility of Thaa simply not being present within his realm. The idea of leaving and coming back later began to broach her thoughts but was quickly dismissed when she felt a distinct sense of folding begin to overtake her. Instinct brought Celestine’s right hand to the top of her scabbard, but rational kept her left hand still. By this point she knew that Thaa’s realm wasn’t harmful.
Passing a brief glance to each wall as they closed in, Celestine took a few steps so that she better stood within what felt like the center of them. The dominating red light of the area was moderately irritating to her eyes but she was able to adjust after a few moments of exposure. The sudden swell of a feeling of a being arriving preceded the arrival of Thaa. When the great disk containing the eye that Thaa manifested himself as arrived, Celestine repeated her bow from earlier out of respect. Celestine found the way that Thaa defied what the mortals considered physics somewhat amusing, but didn’t comment on it. Instead she gave a nod to what Thaa had said and replied in kind. ”Of course Thaa. I pledge that all of my actions resulting from this conversation will have their responsibility wholly accepted by me. Speaking metaphorically, I will lie in whatever bed I make. Does this satisfy?”
Celestine understood Thaa’s reason for wanting assurance that Celestine wouldn’t ignore the consequences of the actions she took. It was far too easy for a god to redirect blame or simply ignore it for their own benefit. But Celestine carried herself differently. It could possibly be considered that Celestine was the most mortal of all the gods with how grounded her method of thinking was. By now Celestine’s right hand had relaxed at her side once again. Hesitant to explain what troubled her until she knew if her response was sufficient, Celestine resigned herself to wait until Thaa made his satisfaction clear.
Thaa’s great eye remained settled, gazing directly at Celestine as a response came, ”I am satisfied.”
There was only a momentary pause before Thaa continued, ”By what matter of concern so heavily draws you to ask for advice?”
Celestine gave a nod to Thaa’s response before beginning to speak. ”A war seems to be brewing within Ha-Dûna. At a tournament held in my name a woman who was competing was put under the cruelest of spells. The people of Ha-Dûna lay blame on someone they say managed to escape from the city, but something doesn’t quite add up to me. The First Knight asked me for aid, and in an effort to help them as I could I used my divine senses to search around the area for a missing person. When I found them, they were dead. And they had been dead for a fair bit longer than I would’ve thought. They were bound with their throat slit. Something tells me that their death might have been used as a catalyst for the spell, but I’m not sure. If that is the case then the person who escaped from Ha-Dûna could not be the culprit as they were there at the time of the incident… But there are so many things that I am not sure about. I have an avatar investigating the matter as it is an insult to me and my tournaments, but what really concerns me is the conflict that may come from this.”
Celestine took a moment to pause and think about how she wanted to express herself. After a few moments she would continue. ”I feel like I am divided against myself. Part of me wishes for peace and thus wants to stand with the people of Ha-Dûna in the event of a defensive war, but another part of me also screams for neutrality. My domain over soldiers has always instilled in me a strong requirement for it, as not only does nearly everything have their own form of soldiers, a viable candidate for knighthood could come from from anywhere.”
Celestine paused now. As she had continued to speak her tone had grown heavy. Giving a sigh using lungs that didn’t need to breathe, Celestine finished her thought. ”Part of me wants to protect them. Part of me knows that I shouldn’t. It irritates my mind like standing bare within a sandstorm to have such a strong duality battling within my being.”
Now Celestine took a moment to close her eyes and steady herself. Looking back up to Thaa’s eye, Celestine waited to see what he would say regarding the matter.
"Conflict will come to that region regardless if you manage to sort out their wounded ego's this time around."
Thaa's resounding voice of thousands paused for a moment, continuing in tone as a chorus of animals joined the call, "'Hilda the Leoness', they truly do like their Champions do they not? A most moral one at that."
"A Demon summoned into the body of a champion, not the most usual usage of Demons I have to admit but a creative one. In any case, I would hazard a guess that there was no intention of disrespect for your tournament, likely they targeted the Dûnan for her own moral qualifications."
"Regardless, you have the issue at present, and then you have the issue in any solution. You wish to be neutral to take benefit of knights from any corner, and yet you have desire to protect the Dûnan's in a defensive war because you desire peace. I do not think you will get peace from protecting those of Ha-Dûna, I think at least given the history of the region. But that is not the issue, the issue is that you are equivalating two concepts to yourself, that to be neutral you must be inactive."
"What action would you take to divert the war? Why would you take that action? Treading carefully and with great thought is a good way forward, the region is best notable for two things. A mixture of godly interventions diverging and displacing each's plans, and bloodshed from the first lies in Dûnan conquest to whatever end they will eventually find. There are thousands of places on Galbar filled with thousands more each, Ha-Dûna is not unique in that aspect."
Celestine raised an eyebrow in concern at part of what Thaa had mentioned before speaking. ”Hilda was transformed into a demon? I had not been informed of this particular event…” Celestine would take a moment to raise a finger to her chin in contemplation before lowering it and continuing to speak. ”If you happen to know what happened to her, then perhaps you will be able to answer a question that I hold: Would it be possible to restore her to as she was? Even if the intent of the action wasn’t meant to disrespect my tournament I still take offense to it as it happened during the event and I seek to render it undone as part of my investigation. If that is a possible thing then I would like to know how. If it is not… I will likely try and at least grant her peace.”
As for what else Thaa had said, he did have a fair point. The area of Ha-Dûna did seem to be volatile and prone to conflict. Thaa’s questions as to what she would do to divert the war provided an interesting twist to the conflict within Celestine’s mind. Asking the two sides to stand down would itself not likely work. Perhaps she could use some of her divine might to render the land impassible? But that would likely not last very long, and might be frowned upon by the other deities. Perhaps relocating Ha-Dûna elsewhere would serve the best purpose? But then that posed other issues. Where else would they go? Would relocating them provide only a short term salvation as a new and greater threat emerged? What if some were left behind?
These questions proved frustrating, and once more Celestine looked to Thaa for guidance.
"It is a complicated matter, I will give you some insight to my sources and you will perhaps have some understanding there." With those few words Thaa's eye disappeared from the walls, all turned to red briefly increasing in light before settling.
"...What will this curse actually do to her?" A man's voice, and figure appeared from the walls, the viewpoint was low, the surroundings clear as the place Brian's body was found even from what little Celestine could see.
A woman stood sharpening a blade and creepily hummed a little tune. "Oh, you’ll see. There’s a lot of power in child’s blood. Just be patient."
The view faded but another came, surrounding the goddess once more.
A new viewpoint, the arena on the day of the contest, was a small amount away from the arena and there were others nearby, a member of the watching crowd. Transfixed on Hilda, her skin was blistering and red pox filled her body, some starting growing to large tumors black as coal and of crimson shade. Boudicca dropped her spear in fear and was stepping back. But the view remained transfixed on Hilda, she was still standing, healthy, if one could call what was happening that. Her skin scorched and charred, her cries were not human in the slightest.
'Hilda' began charging towards the viewpoint, which was thrown aside in a splash of blood as it faded.
There was once again the tumultuous feeling of arriving and Thaa as his great eye returned to walls and floor. "I am guardian of the dead. They are in paradise now, but you must know that Hilda is not. From what I can gather the Demon was summoned into Hilda the Leoness as a specific form of revenge against her, perhaps more expansive than that but she was targeted, that much is clear from the memories of the child."
"In any case the soul of Hilda remains in her body, I have no knowledge of attempt to remove a demon from such conditions that did not result in death. In truth, it is likely better to smite the Demon and Hilda both, such would put a quick end to that if you were greatly concerned in that matter. But rest assured that is in all likelihood one simple reprisal for other attacks and past reprisals. The question remains what should you do? If you can identify them, the actual ones who did this, the Dûnans no doubt would be much eager to put them and their people to slaughter as they have grown most adept in the past.
Of course you could seek to punish yourself and leave the Dûnans out of it which would just see them to lead a war on wrong pretense, not the first time the Dûnans have done so. In fact the first wars started were perpetuated by the Dûnans’ leaders’ lies and deceit to trick their people into a 'reprisal' against other peoples. This is the cycle of things.
Then again war will no doubt come to Ha-Dûna regardless of what they do now, they've already killed a party of messengers and the nephew of another petty king of the region. You have much to think on and I cannot make your choice for you. Perhaps it is not best to try to intervene in matters of war, instead to shape the structure of what comes after, whether the mortals know you have a hand or not."
Thaa finally stopped speaking at length. He paused and then asked a question, "I have said much, perhaps it would be best if you had any specific questions?"
Celestine remained silent as she watched the memories of the deceased play. A part of her wished that she could go back to that moment. Drop her avatar nearby and slaughter the people involved, but what was done was done. There was no going back. The knowledge that the soul of Hilda remained in her body gave Celestine some hope that this crime could be undone. Even if the chance was small she was at least willing to try rather than resign herself to a less optimal outcome.
But as Thaa explained the cycle of violence that had existed around Ha-Dûna that hope shrank. Placing a finger against her chin in contemplation Celestine devoted herself to understanding the situation at hand. Even if this small crime could be undone the effects of it would likely never be stopped. So then it seemed that punishing the criminals responsible for causing this unfortunate series of events was pointless? But that made little sense, for nearly everything could produce such a rippling effect given the right circumstance and there were things that did matter to do. Punishing the criminals would merely be one step of her plan, then.
This war could not be stopped, but perhaps the cycle could be. The main problem to solve then became how to end the cycle. Perhaps the knights that she had plans to create could function as a sort of aggression deterrent? But then again a knight on horseback could only do so much and their movement, despite certainly being faster than on foot, would likely have issues with reaching a conflict in time to make a difference.
Perhaps the answer lay not in dominating the ground, then…
Looking up to Thaa’s eye once more, Celestine spoke confidently. ”Thaa. Do you perhaps know of any gods that have a mighty beast capable of traversing the sky that they would be willing to share with me? I have a plan I wish to put into motion and it requires something that is not bound to traversing the land.”
Thaa was quick on the response, "I know not of any beasts, but I know a people, come I will show you."
Thaa disappeared from the walls once more, however Celestine was not left alone, she felt the same pressure of folding that had occurred when she entered the realm and called out. And she was in the mists, again. To her right was the Massive eye of Thaa, emplaced in a disk looking behind her, he was once again attached to corpses but rather than a simple mound it took the shape of endlessly coiling tendrils, each made up of several corpses that moved as if part of a tendril in full form. They seemed to support his weight and it came to mass of roiling bodies that faded off into the far mists beyond view.
Thaa spoke, not turning his view from something in opposite orientation from the direction she faced when she was transported, "If you can convince one or others I will not stop them from leaving with you, only words and promises, they are already resilient to mind altering magics and I will fully be able to tell. They are named Dragons."
Celestine held firm as the sensation of the realm folding surrounded her once again. When it was finished she took a moment to glance around at her new surroundings and quickly spotted the great eye of Thaa. Turning to face his form once again Celestine listened as he explained that she was to convince them to leave with her.
The only question was… Convince who?
As Celestine began to look around the area to try and see who or what lurked nearby, she finally turned on her heel and spotted what she was meant to see. In the distance there was a massive wall of stone, alcoves dotted it up and down in a great many masses. It stretched from the horizon to the right and to the left, down to the ground and up to the 'clouds', it was hard to discern so thick were the mists. Figures moved along the alcoves, occasionally flying out to move between them. A flicker of green flame was seen here or there. Although they were distant, a goddess's sight could tell them apart and discern what they were. In truth most would have difficulty with how far away they were and with so little scale to see good idea of size, but to a divine sense that was not so difficult.
They were massive, scaled and armored to be sure, the flickering flames came from their mouths. Some had horns, all had mighty wings to carry them. And then in a brief moment Celestine was nearer the base of the wall, Thaa was no longer beside her. Instead a strange creature, three legs of different kinds, five arms each grasping a different kind of horn. They had no proper face on what passed for their head, a series of shifting gaping maws into a dark void in its center. It spoke only thus, "The Goddess may wish to cover her ears."
As Celestine regarded the Dragons from a distance she suddenly found herself quite close to the wall and able to see them quite clearly. What caught her attention immediately was the presence of a very oddly shaped being that was now standing nearby. Had it simply been cobbled together from random pieces of various creatures? Celestine resigned herself to never knowing since questions like those felt dangerous to ask.
As the being near her advised covering her ears, Celestine genuinely contemplated doing so but then decided against it. Thaa had said that only her words and promises could be used to convince them, and thus each of them would be judging her as she spoke. To cover her ears in the face of a noise could be seen as a sign of weakness, and Celestine did not want to undermine herself before she began to speak. Steeling herself, Celestine waited until the noise came and went.
Raising the horns to five separate maws intense screams, up down the spectrum of hearing for most mortal things resounded out most loudly. This got the attention of a massive host of the beings in the alcoves, who soon began to sweep down to the Goddess's location next to the strange being.
Instinct commanded the goddess to seek an alternative place to stand when the ground began to vibrate and shake from the massive dragons landing, but logic and reason cemented her feet where they stood. No weakness. Not here. As the last of the dragons landed, Celestine gripped the edges of her cloak and lifted it like a skirt as she curtsied. When she rose she spoke loudly and confidently. ”Greetings, Dragons of Thaa. I am the Goddess Celestine. I come to all of you bearing questions, the first of which is this: Who among you would wish to leave this realm for good?”
A dangerous question to ask first, but Celestine figured that it would be best to start with it, as those that would not stay with her would likely not enjoy the direction her planned questions went.
A dragon to her left spoke, she had a fairly golden metallic sheen to her scales and a hornless head. "Few wouldn't take the opportunity, if it had no hidden barbs once that path was tread."
As dragons settled in there were a few hisses and thrumming of agreement through the crowd. Although a very small number did take back off into the air and then to the alcoves.
Celestine would nod before contemplating her next move. Perhaps honesty would simply be the best policy? The dragon had mentioned not liking any hidden barbs upon a path, and so perhaps laying out the entire path would make for the best result. Looking across them, Celestine would begin to explain, speaking loudly once again to ensure that they could all hear her equally. ”Hidden barbs are not something I wish to employ, so in the hopes of being fair I will explain my entire plan up-front. My intent would be to have any who join me function in three roles: The first would be as an advisor to the happenings upon Galbar, a view that is not my own to converse and plan with. The second would be that you will be either the rulers of a new people, made in your image and guided by your wisdom to stand as equal partners for a group of knights that I plan on creating upon Galbar. Alternatively, you will be the heralds of a new population of your existing people who will, as before, stand equally as the partners for a group of knights that I plan to create. The third is that you will be an extension of my judgement. Should I come to find that something upon Galbar has sparked my anger, I will release any who wish to participate upon Galbar to destroy the object of my disdain as you see fit. Then, when you are finished, I will pull you back into my realm to spare you from retaliation.”
Celestine would pause for a moment now to allow the Dragons to digest her words before continuing. ”While you are under my charge you will be treated as honored companions. My realm will be modified to accommodate all of your needs and I will see to it that you do not want for sustenance. In addition, should you desire entertainment I will see about organizing a tournament for the souls that pass through my realm, and such an arena will have accommodation for all who join to view it comfortably.”
Celestine would pause once more to allow her words to sink in before asking a final question. ”With my plans laid bare, I ask the question: Who would stand with me?”
Now all she could do was wait and see if her plan would bear fruit.
The golden scaled dragoness from before blew a brief spout of green flame airward before saying, "A Gilded cage, I have no interest in such an exchange of one prison for another."
With that she took off, soon others began to follow, it became clear that a great host of Dragons were taking flight, delayed due to having to wait for the airspace to clear before the next could go so close together and large were they.
When it came to stop and those that remained moved closer, it became apparent she still had a good number of Dragons interested in her proposition. A black scaled dragon, horned and with most intense eyes gaze down at the Goddess, speaking, "What manner of Goddess are you? You speak of those earning your ire, you speak of arenas and advisors, knights and partners. You are not told of the great old gods said by the Great Eye, you number not among our creators, so I ask. What manner of Goddess are you? Why do you seek us? Who earns your ire and your praise?"
Celestine grew disheartened as she saw the multitude of dragons begin to take flight, disinterested in her offer. She did not blame them for doing so, however. The golden dragoness was correct: No matter how much she made it seem like paradise a cage was still a cage. When the black scaled dragon began to question her, Celestine waited until he was finished before speaking. Even though the crowd of dragons had thinned considerably she maintained her elevated tone to ensure that her words came through clearly. ”I am the goddess Celestine. I hold authority over soldiers, with a particular focus on Knights. I seek you for I have need of a people that can dominate the sky. Those that earn my praise are honorable people that are generally polite and speak plainly. Those that earn my ire are those that insult me and my efforts, and threaten the people that I have shown favor to dishonorably. Raging despots who use the people under them as tools and slaves instead of focusing on unity and balance. War and conflict are a natural part of the world of Galbar, and I make no attempt to disguise that fact. But I see a cycle of violence that is spiraling out of control and could create a tyrant that seeks to wage war upon Galbar until there is nothing left. I believe that it is time for that cycle to end to preserve the balance of prosperity upon Galbar as a whole.”
Celestine fell silent once more. This time for a bit longer than usual. However, she did speak again before too long had passed. ”Those that join me will be the guardians of the balance of the world, and your contributions will be celebrated at every step. What say you? Will you join my cause?”
The black dragon stood up, stepped forward, towering over the Goddess. He looked to his right and his left at the Dragons surrounding them, one or two had left during her speech and now he spoke. "I am Vol'srennen, I will join your cause."
After he stood, soon others stood with him and spoke, "Ajn'malssa, your cause is mine."
"Eio'vessen, I pledge myself to you."
"Iav'kronnon, my mind and claws are yours."
One by one dragons stood and pledged themselves to her and her cause. In total they grew to number only a fraction of those that had first come with the resounding call, yet still the dragons numbered one-hundred in all.
Vol'srennen, the first to pledge, spoke, "We are with you and will undertake what you ask of us should your words be held true."
He bowed his head to the Goddess before him, waiting for her to speak.
Celestine was impressed by the numbers that pledged themselves to her. When they finished she placed an arm across her chest and bowed wordlessly before speaking to the gathered crowd of Dragons. “Thank you, honored companions. At any time in the future you find that you disagree with my words or actions, you will be allowed to depart without question. There is much that must be done and time is not on our side. I must give thanks to Thaa for his generosity and then we can proceed to my realm and modify it to suit your needs. If you would kindly excuse me for a brief time.
Celestine would bow again before turning back to Thaa. This time she did not speak loudly for she knew that Thaa could hear her words regardless of volume due to his divine senses. ”You have my deepest thanks for this gift, Thaa. If there is ever a favor that you require in the future, I will do my best to see it fulfilled.”
With that said she would bow to Thaa’s great eye before looking around for the exit portal and, upon finding it, gestured for the Dragons to follow as she departed for her realm.
