Future Fates of Lotus

[The Demented One]

It is the distant future, the year 968. Lotus has known the rule of the Circle, its Exalted God-Kings and God-Queens, for two hundred years, and openly acknowledge the divinity of their lords. Where once where provincial fields and humble shacks are now golden spires and flying towers, a city worthy of the High First Age. Mighty armies have fallen at its walls, great nations have bowed to its authority, and even the Empire itself has been forced to accept Glorious Lotus's presence, whether by force of arms or skill of words. It is a paradise unknown by Creation for a thousand years, and it is yours.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

The silver dragon stood on the balcony of the bedroom he shared with his Queen. He was bare-chested, and he felt the warm breeze caressing his skin. He smiled as he felt it, like the gossamer caress of a goddess against his flesh. This place that they had built was truly glorious - a monument to the limitless potential that the Exalted could harness when they worked in concert, with the blessings of the Incarna. He could see across the city, the temple of the Bronze Bull just finishing the Rites of dawn, the ziggurat a gleaming construct of orichalum, bronze and gold. In his own mine, he said a little prayer to Luna, as he did every morning, before turning on his heel. He dressed himself, waving off the servants who still insisted on trying to do the task every morning. In his blue-and-silver regalia, with a cloak of flowing silver-white, he was truly an impressive sight.

Thus arrayed, he swept out through the corridors. A pair of guards, second-generation Beastmen veterans, the marks of imbued Lunar exaltation glowing through their uniforms fell into step behind him. They were his own grandchildren, and some of the finest warriors out of the legion his progeny had spawned. Not that he needed protection, but some things one did for appearances.

As he walked through a perfumed courtyard where a fountain of liquid crystal burbled merrily, another beastman joined him - or, rather, a beastwoman. His second-born daughter, Scylla. She saluted him gravely before falling into step beside him.

Anything to report, daughter? He asked. He had always been somewhat informal when it came to his own children. He knew it irked some of the stuffier officials, but that was part of its appeal. Scylla, as always, was grave. She smiled only rarely, in contras to her father, but she was an incredibly capable second in command. She possessed that knack that the most talented lieutenants have of knowing exactly how to filter information for their superiors.

Things in the city are quiet as usual, father. The watch reports no significant problems. I'm somewhat concerned about the preparation for the arrival of the new Realm ambassador. The last one did die in somewhat suspicious circumstances...

Zephyr raised a brow, his face quirking into a broad grin. O'Shza was two hundred and seventy an died in bed with three girls less than a tenth of his age and enough chemicals in his blood to choke a Yeddim. It's not much of a mystery. Sharp old bugger, but he did enjoy his vices. Zephyr chuckled. He was not without his share, he supposed, but he was, after all, far more robust. His face turned grave, however, with his next words. "Any news from the patrols?"

Not as of this morning, father. Neither Fair Folk nor Abyssal forces have been spotted. They seem to be quiet. Almost -

He held up a hand. Luna's sake, don't say "Too Quiet." That's just asking for it. Mmmm... contact Tzumi and ask her if Fate is showing any ripples or echoes. She if her colleagues in the Bureau will give us anything. If they can get past the bronzies. Stubborn old bastards. His daughter saluted once more and headed off to see to her duties. He smiled. It always did him proud to see his own blood performing so well.

He sighed a little as they entered the High Hall of Judgment. As the Silver Dragon, one of his least favorite duties was that he was, with the powers of his office, the best person to oversee cases involving Lotus' supernatural citizens. He just didn't enjoy it very much. He nodded to his bailiff, putting on a serious face. Very well... What's first on the docket for today?

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

"Yes lord." The man spoke respectfully, though without fear of his fearsome lord because of countless years directly beneath his command. "The first is that of a young woman, she seems to have been a bit overzealous in dealing with a young pick-pocket. The young boy's name is Yool Zen and his attacker is... Oh hoho... The Golden Wrath, Konoko." He looks up from his scroll with a kind of melancholy smirk, "There are more cases here, but in comparison to this they might as well be slap fights in the streets between old ladies."


The Invincible Maiden Yomiko, having kept her title for so long, walked the streets in glorious golden armor over a black velvet dress, her two swords now replaced with swords that would shame her original pair(which now reside proudly above her fireplace in her grand estate). Folded over her shoulders and back are a pair of glorious orichalcum-feathered wings. She sings even more beautifully than she did in the past, a song not even all the songbirds in all of Creation could put together in unison... sounds that it seems nothing natural or supernatural could produce idly. She is content in the warm summer night air, though the darkness means little as she seems to produce a faint gold light.
"Watcher? I do believe I know when you're around by now, please stop hiding." She breaks her song to greet her ally with a smile. "Are you here to meet me or is this simply coincidence?"

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory Eyes left her bed as she did every morning: before the break of dawn, quiet as a mouse. Zephyr could hear her, no doubt--she was many things, but subtle had never been one of them. Even still, she made a show of her tip-toe silence, balancing her weight on her small frame: still petit, still youthful, but too severe and serene to be childlike anymore.

She dresses herself in a gown of thin, silky gold, pulling her hair into a tight plait kept in place by silver pins. She takes up a sword from it's place on the wall, a blade of moonsilver and jade now gilt with orichalcum--her cleavers, broken long ago by the furious attacks of an Immaculate monk, have been reforged. As she lifts the seemingly weightless sword it shrinks to the size of her pinky and slides neatly into her plait, the last pin.

Morning is just breaking as she moves to leave, greeted on the outside by Shawl, the latest in a long line of Greater Minions. Shawl averts her face, then hands her mistress the swaddled bundle she's been carrying, cradling. Morning Glory has his mother's pale complexion and his father's rogue smile, and Ivory smiles down on her youngest son as she moves forward, rocking him slowly.

Down three corridors, two flights of stairs, and a pair of great oak double doors: Ivory pushes one open quietly and motions for Shawl to follow. Balancing Morning Glory in her arms, Ivory makes her way to the great four-post bed at the chamber's heart and takes a simple wooden seat from beside it. A thin, spindly figure rests below the covers, and Ivory laces her young fingers with the figure's own taught, bony ones. She squeezes, and the old woman beneath the covers squeezes back.

"Good morning, First Flower," Ivory whispers softly, brushing a tuft of dry, gray hair from the face of her first child, her eldest daughter. First Flower's eyes open, her head nods, but she doesn't speak. Hasn't spoken in ages. Can't speak. Almost two centuries now: an impressive lifespan for a mortal, but that doesn't make it any easier for Ivory. She looks down, knows that her own hands should be even closer to death than her daughter's.

The morning sunlight slides in through the room's eastern windows and plays briefly on the brows of Ivory's youngest and eldest: a phantom Twilight castemark flares into being and fades, accepting the newness of the day. For all her fairmindedness, for all her infinite compassion, Ivory has always hated herself for favoring her Golden Children over her Moon-Born...their Moon-Born. Their Golden Children?

First Flower had been a particularly sticky subject: Ivory's first child, not Zephyr's. She had been so happy to see her mother again, after the feast was complete. She was drunk, she had sometimes claimed. Celestial Wine could do that even to the Exalted. Silently, every time First Flower's castemark burned, Ivory said a small prayer to the Sun: Sorcerers almost always had primacy of Essence enough to dominate heritage.

"Shawl?" Ivory asked, shaking her head as if to physically remove the thoughts that she fixated upon. The minion approached, bowing and scraping all the while. It was useless to tell them otherwise. Ivory handed over Morning Glory softly. "See to it that First Flower is taken into the gardens today. And Shawl? Braid her hair, please. She liked to have her hair braided. Alright?" she added, more to Flower than to Shawl. Her eldest merely nodded and then nodded off.

The Sorcerer-Queen smiles as she leaves, then takes a deep breath in the hallway, composing herself to present a confident air to Lotus proper. Rata-ji meets her in the antechamber, a large lockbox banded in orichalcum at his side.

"It's going to be one of those days, then?" she asks, nodding at the lockbox.

"I'm afraid so, m'lady," he replies in a voice that sounds like brass, setting the box on the ground before her before drawing back from it.

Ivory gives him a second glance--her eldest advisor and Amalgam will outlive her first child. It seemed entirely unfair, she thought as she knelt beside the box, running her fingertips lightly against the adamant ornament at it's top. At her touch, the bands faded, dematerialized, and the hinges swung open to reveal a collection of bracelets and rings, all connected by thin adamant chains. A dimpled holder rested on the palm of the device, and as Ivory began threading her fingers into the rings, she reached further into the lockbox, withdrawing a globe of...everything. The Protoshinmatic Vortex fit neatly into the palm, and the entire construction gleamed madly as it filled with Ivory's sorcerous essence.

"So. Who will be the first to receive the blessings of becoming an Amalgum today?" she asks, faking a smile.

[Lochar]

I hate you all.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr dragged his hand down his face with a long-suffering sigh. it was going to be one of those days, he could feel it in his bones. He straightened up, assuming his best expression of stern wisdom - which he always thought looked more like he had gas, but others insisted made him look properly dignified. He nodded to his bailiff. Very well. Bring them in

He glowered down from his seat as Konoko, entered, flanked by guards - though they were there as her honor guard rather than escorts. To attempt to arrest one of the Chosen of the Sun would have been foolish in any case, and a dishonor as well. He looked between the two of them for a moment, letting them feel the weight of his stare. On his breast, the badge of his office gleamed. At last, he spoke, addressing Konoko first.

"I do hope there's a good reason for this. Would you care to explain your actions, Konoko?""

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

She appears to be almost twenty years of age, but likely closer to eighteen or nineteen. She wears articulated armor of orichalcum, an artist's rendition of the sun imprinted on the breastplate and across her shoulder-plates. She has on thick gauntlets, one of which still has a bit of nearly dried blood on it. The young-looking Dawn caste looks a bit defensive and apologetic at the same time. Her guards kneel beside her.
She immediately begins speaking very quickly, in a way someone who had never quite reached out of her teenaged years, "First I just want to say that my mother isn't going to be happy about you dragging me in here, and it's not my fault if the little brat decided to take my pouch of jade!" She pointed at the boy of no more than fourteen years, he looked particularly shabby. Likely an orphan from one of the fires so many years ago and one of the few that refused foster parents or orphanages to life on the street.
The boy is stunned, fearful of having been assaulted by a Chosen of the Sun. He manages to spit out a shakey... well, less of a plea of innocence and more of a plea not to be killed by so many characters of godly power, "NopleaseIdon'twanttogethurtI'msorryjustdon'thitmea gain!!" His eye his black and his nose is bloody and smeared.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr sighed and shook his head. "And I'm not sure your mother will be happy you gave my guards reason to pull you in here, either. But that's not the point. No, it's not your fault he stole from you, but you should be able to control yourself better. You have far more power than a mortal, Konoko, and that power comes with the onus of using it wisely. The Exaltation is a gift, and not to be squandered on pummeling orphans. If something like this happens again, please just apprehend the offender. There's no need to beat him half to death. We do not want the people to have cause fear us, after all. If this boy was to be punished, it should have been after proper court proceedings. In Lotus, everyone gets the chance at a fair trial, no matter who they are."

He turned his eyes on the young man. And you, young man. What do you have to say for yourself? Calm down, speak clearly and tell me why you tried to rob one of the Chosen of the Unconquered Sun.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

"I-I-I just... I was hungry, and I didn't have food or coin to spend on food. I heard the... the girls in golden armor wouldn't mind if I took their money because... I... I heard they were rich..." He looks about ready to relieve himself in his ratty shorts. "Please don't punish me, I won't do it again!"

[Lochar]

OK, so I don't hate you. But now I have to rethink my first post. :P

Rising Echo stood on the top of a tall tower, looking out over the grand city that Lotus had become. The morning sun gleamed ahead of him, and he felt the woman walk up behind him, looking out at it as well. Looking to his side, Echo smiled at his wife. Forty years she'd been his wife, and only then after he'd spent twenty years wooing her and designing a specific charm tailor made to entice the Yozi themselves into making a binding promise not to torment her.

Mishka was worth all of that. It was funny to think that they spent well over a dozen years trying to kill each other, as she'd test Lotus' defenses and they'd repel her. He'd finally caught her, and had been enraptured almost from the first minute by her beauty. Even after he'd been checked over by the rest of the circle for Charms, the only one he'd been under was her beauty.

It was good for him that she'd been fairly infatuated with him as well.

Leaning against the railing with him, she chuckled as they both watched a nearby building in the market collapse. "It's not that funny, you realize?" He said, sipping from the expensive crystal decanter in his hands. "Horatio probably said something to piss her off again, and they're now tearing up the marketplace once more."

"Let them flirt, love. They'll figure it out eventually. We did, after all." Mishka said back, her fingers curling around his arm, hidden muscles bunching tightly.

"Yes, but we didn't destroy half a marketplace or so everytime. Come on, let's go stop them."

Carefully setting the decanter down, as it'd been a gift, Echo held his hand out to his Green Sun Princess, before both lightly jumped over the railing, falling a dozen stories, using balconies as stopping points to arrest their fall, playing a game of mid air tag and tossing each other around until they hit the ground.

He had to at least keep his daughter from destroying the visiting merchant stalls at least. They weren't as used to the damage she'd cause.

[Ellas Aramond]

"Watcher! We didn't know you were back."

"You know perfectly well that I prefer to keep you four on your toes, Thundermind."

"How fared your hunt?"

"Fruitless. If there truly is a Deathlord walking among the threshold, then he is going to great lengths to keep himself concealed. I hate to say this, but it looks like I need help."

"That's where we come in!"

"No, Archer. I need you here, you are well aware of that."

"We're here, Watcher. We always will be."

"I know, Ghost."Watcher says, a small smile appearing on his face as he looked at the group he had assembled.

Thundermind: The youngest, even though Watcher had found him more then a century before the others. A scholar that shared the masked man's vision of a Lotus where one could walk safely no matter what time of day, he was still one of the few people that could actively track him even when he was using all his power to stay unnoticed. It probably helped that he was a Chosen of the Twilight Sun.

Shaolin was an oddity, even at this day in age. A man with a body made of liquid orichalcum that had witnessed the First Age with his own eyes. Watcher had found him in a state of unending sleep down in one of the vaults underneath Lotus. With Thundermind's research, they had been able to awaken him, and discovered that the man was walking repository of knowledge. Though he still had not a clue how he was made.

Ghost Fox Killer was one that Watcher initially had reservations about. She was a Lunar from the Eastern Threshold who had been exiled and hunted by her tribe. He had never been able to get the reason why out of her, but none-the-less had proven herself time and time again. Watcher would never admit this to anyone, but he trusted her the most out of the four, and just maybe, his feelings went deeper then that.

Celestial Archer was the youngest of the four, though he didn't look it. A man of 25 years, there was no doubt that a small amount of the blood of dragons flowed through his veins. Yet, he was a mortal, terrestial power never having awoken in him. It seemed that fate still had a job for him though. Despite his lack of an anima of any kind, the fact that he could use a powerbow of red jade easily was not lost on Watcher. Out of the four, he had been the only one that Watcher had actually asked to help them.

Together with him, the four were a kind of secret police, one that he had not even told his fellow god-kings about. If they knew anything, it was only that four were separate vigilantes inspired by Watcher's deeds; not they were organized, or that it was Watcher himself was their leader.

"I will be in later tonight, but for now, I need to talk to a friend.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I guess the time had to come, sooner or later." Watcher chuckled as he stepped out of the shadows in front of her, looking quite different then he once had all those years ago.

His long coat had been replaced by dark, tight fitting robes, though they still looked well worn; with his two orichalcum blades hanging from his belt. His mask had also long ago succumbed long ago to the wear of constant fighting; having once been ripped by the claws of a river dragon, he had gotten rid of most of it and wore the remains now as more of a blindfold. Though, as always, it never impaired his vision.

"Ten years to the day I have been gone from Lotus. It's refreshing to see a friendly face."

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Yomiko hurries over to Watcher From Behind the Mirror and throws her arms around him, putting her chin on his shoulder and embracing tightly. "I've missed you, old friend. And so has Konoko... You must tell me what you've been up to this past decade. Surely you come back with great tales and incredible treasures." She lets go and looks him in the face, "But before you regale me with them, let us find my dearest Konoko. She'll be aching to see you."

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr massaged his forehead gently. I'm afraid I can't simply not mete out any punishment - there must be some sort of order in our city, for all folk, whether they be humble or high and mighty. So I'm going to kill two birds with one stone. He suddenly grinned a rather nasty grin.

Konoko. You will employ Yool Zen as a member of your household staff for no less than three months. You will pay him a fair wage, an there will be no reprisals or mistreatment while he is under your care. Yool Zen, for your part, you will work an honest day's labor and receive an honest wage. And by Luna's grace, if I see either of you in my courtroom again, I'm going to haul both of you over my knee and spank you. Act like thoughtless children and you'll be treated as such. Now be off with you. He said, smiling, and feeling better for the first time since he'd been told of the case.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

She can barely comprehend the order. She thinks about it for a moment and realizes it's not too bad a sentence, but she glances at the little boy. They're both silent, the boy in fear and Konoko more in thought but also a bit to make sure the boy stayed fearful. "Alright short stuff. I can get a bed set up for you, but I want you up at dawn... that understood, Zen?"
He blinks when she mentions the bed, "A bed? I... havn't slept in a bed since I can remember. Th-thanks, miss." He then flinches when she pats him on the back and walks away and the boy looks wide-eyed when he isn't punched across the face again.

Less than an hour later, Yomiko and Watcher return to the grand fortress near the heart of Lotus where The Invincible Maiden and The Golden Wrath still both lived together. Konoko had returned only a little while before Watcher and Yomiko, and the three meet in the antechamber at the end of the great hall. She looks up as they enter but does a double-take. "Watcher!" She runs toward him, throwing herself through the air and since she's gotten so skilled in battle there's been a bit more force behind every gesture she's mustered. Watcher takes the embrace like he might a meteor. "It's been ages, Watcher!"

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory Eyes fiddles with a block of Blessed Isle quarried stone, turning it over and over with eyes searching for the tiniest imperfection. A timid young boy, strong-framed and blue-eyed, sits at the center of the Cloister's countless arcane diagrams. Rata-ji clears his throat as if dipping a toe in water of uncertain temperature.

"I'm sorry, a little distracted" Ivory says, grabbing the bridge of her nose to combat a growing pain in her sinuses. "What form were you hoping for, Fiyero?"

"I was hoping for...I don't know. The strongest," the boy says, stammering only a little as he's addressed by his great-grandmother.

Ivory turns, appraises the boy with a tilted head. He's got her milky-white eyes and none of her ichor, no spark in his blood. The light runs out. It always does. It always would. Ivory had spent a year and a half trying to improve the Amalgamating process--improve, at least, by her standards. Remove the slavish nature imposed by the spell towards the caster. It had disturbed her enough when she transformed Rata-ji. To transform one of her kin--another one of her kin--it was, for her at least...undesirable.

"Have you considered Enlightenment?" she asked, taking a cross-legged seat on the floor, careful to keep her dress as dignified as possible. It bloomed out like the petals of a golden flower.

"So I can work twice as hard to be half as powerful?" Fiyero replied.

"So you can have a power that does not come from me. This is a shortcut, Fiyero. A cheat. You haven't had power handed to you. The blood ran thin. If you do this now, you'll never know what you could have been. I know you've been raised well, educated well...but there is more you can be. Sol willing, you could be as I am. Be the first of my kin to Exalt for their own merit. When is my next free appointment, Rata-ji?" Ivory asks, suddenly turning to her major-domo.

"Next Calibration, m'lady," he replied, same mechanical tone with reverb of brass.

"I'll make you a deal, Fiyero. If you give your training an honest attempt until next Calibration and fail, I will grant you whatever form you wish," she says, setting her hand softly on her great-grandson's face. "But only if you've tried. If you've lived up to every instant of your potential. Do we have an agreement?"

Fiyero's eyes searched the room to try and escape Ivory, but eventually he aquiesced, nodding softly.

"Give your grandmother a hug then," Ivory said, leaning over to embrace him. She stood, offering him a hand before turning back to Rata-ji as he exits, smiling.

"You wanted to get out of the ritual?" Rata-ji said, a knowing eyebrow arching over his left eye.

"Yes. But I wanted him to reconsider even more," she replied, setting her hand on the block of stone before recovering. For an instant, her awareness leaves her own body, slips through Lotus, long ago transformed into her sanctuary through sorcery of the Adamant Circle. She sees Zephyr and Konoko, Echo and Mishka. Most surprisingly of all, she sees the Watcher and then, in an instant, the Watcher--and anyone else present--likely sees her as she appears in a rather inglorious puff of luminous smoke.

"The Watcher returns to Lotus at last."

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr dispensed with the rest of the day's judicial duties in short order - as his bailiff had said, most of them were minor things - petty squabbles between god-blooded over orders of precedence, questions of inheritance among the city's supernatural population and, in once case, an issue of paternity between two hot-headed Lunars that almost spilled into a full-on brawl, stopped only by Zephyr's threat to get personally involved. Since its rise to prominence, Lotus had become a haven not only for new-exalted Solars, but also for Lunars of the Seneschal faction, who saw the place as a model for what could be. The fact that Lotus had managed to keep the realm at arm's length only added to the very real claim that the circle put forth that the place was Meru reborn, destined to be the birthplace of the Deliberative reborn.

He chuckled softly as he exited the building, his guards taking up flanking positions behind him. During his duties as High Judge, he often felt more like a father presiding over unruly children than the supreme Judge of the greatest city in Creation. Still, it was better than the alternative, he supposed.

His heart, however, was troubled. Pondering for a moment, he felt certain it was Ivory Eyes. Their bond had only grown stronger over the years, and he loved his queen with a fierce and unyielding passion so strong that her pains were his - often a discomforting thing for the Lunar who, while not a cruel man, did not possess the depth of sensitivity that his wife did. Instructing his guards to return to the palace, Zephyr hunched down and then leaped into the air, his form shifting int a swift-winged Steel Shadow. In only minutes, he had located his wife where she had appeared with Watcher and Yomiko, and he settled to the ground in a blur of shifting shape. He grinned at the others, moving first to Ivory Eyes, sweeping her up and giving her a fierce kiss and whispering :Hello, my Queen" gently into her ear, totally unconcerned with the presence of the others. Then he turned, his grin even broader, shaking both their hands.

"Yomiko! and Watcher, a pleasant surprise indeed. How fared you in your travels? How went your hunt?"

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher

Watcher was by no means a weak man. True, he preferred agility over brawn, but he could still throw down with the best in the realm. So to say that it took all the nightbringer's strength and willpower to keep himself from toppling over, is not to be taken lightly.

"Konoko, truly it is good to see you again." he smiles as he looks at her. He didn't think he would ever get used to her not being a child. His gaze turns grim, however, as he remembers the main reason he returned to Lotus.


"The Watcher returns to Lotus at last."

"So I have."He says as he breaks away from Konoko, thankful to have something else to occupy his mind, for the time being at least. "I assume you are still well, Ivory?"

His hand instinctively reaches for the tab of his long-since-lost coat to pull tighter. Truthfully, there was always something about the sorceress that unnerved him. Probably the knowledge about what she could do with her magic. Or maybe, it was what she hadn't revealed yet. Either way, he kept his demeanor pleasant, this was an ally after all.

Fortunately, Zephyr's arrival provided him with another welcome, if slightly annoying distraction. The others weren't supposed to know he was here until later in the night. He had always had a flair for the dramatic, after all, it usually made people take him more seriously.

"I am well, Zephyr. Thank you. As for my hunt, well, That is the main reason that I am back. I have important news, but I would rather only have to explain it once. Is there anywhere in the city that we can speak without being overheard?"

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Yomiko smiles as Zephyr enters, walking from Watcher to him and putting a hand on his shoulder and a peck on his cheek. "It's been almost a week, you should visit more. Konoko and I have missed you. And Ivory, it's been even longer since I've seen you... I trust your children and grandchildren are doing well?" As she says that, Konoko kind of stiffens, hoping today's events do not make it to Yomiko's ears.

She then listens to Watcher as he speaks, before Zephyr can answer. "My chambers are nearly sound proof, it seems architecturally convenient for such secrets to be kept. Follow me?" Her guards and handmaidens bow as she passes, but she gives them a look as though it were unnecessary and gives a smile to the newly cleaned and dressed orphan boy from earlier that day. "I'm glad we could give a home to that boy, he looks so thin and underfed..."

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher

"One moment, Yomiko. Watcher says before the maiden can get too far. "We are, after all, missing someone as vitally important as any one of us."

"Ivory." He turns to her, chucking inwardly at his need for the sorceress. "Is there any way you can find Rising Echo and bring him to us?"

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory Eyes turns her attention to the streets of Lotus, blazing over each one in turn before settling her distant perceptions on the leaping forms of Rising Echo and Mishka. She nods to the Watcher and disappears, manifesting before the Eclipse and his Green Sun Princess in a similar plume of glowing white smoke.

"Your presence is requested, Echo," she says politely, turning towards Mishka. "And I suppose, then, your presence is merely...acceptable," Ivory says, a familiar dangerous slant in her eyes, a narrowing that signaled her continued dislike of the Infernal. "The Watcher has returned to Lotus."

[Lochar]

Ivory appears in the midst of a trashed building in the market district, where both Echo and Mishka are in the middle of punishing their daughter Irminsula for fighting once more.

In what would probably be a fairly interesting sight, Irminsula is getting a bare butt whipping at the age of twenty. Were there any patrons left in the building, they would have been treated to quite the show. "Now I know we've told you time and time again that you're welcome to do all the fighting you want." Mishka says, as her daughter squirms and tries to pull away, essence flaring as she tries to shield herself from her mother's blows.

"But where were you told to fight?" Echo's asks, leaning up against a wall. Next to him is an unconscious War class Amalgam, Horatio. His four armed and bare torso body is bruised and battered, but he shows no signs of actual broken skin.

"On the training grounds! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the young woman's voice wails as she flinches from another blow.


Echo turns to Ivory. "One of these days, Ivory, you're going to actually give my wife a smile. On that day, I'll alert Zephyr to prepare for another Fair Folk invasion." He gives her a dry grin.

"Don't worry about it, love. She's got her reasons." Mishka says, letting her daughter go. Irminsula quickly jumps away, pulling her breeches back up. "Now, you're going to stay here and help the people who's business you've destroyed. I expect to see this place rebuilt by tonight. Make your boyfriend there help, when he wakes up." Mishka waves her hand at Horatio.

"Mother!" Irminsula protests.

"Do it now, or I'll have you put on the construction for the next twenty buildings going up. How would you like that, having to spend all your time and energy building the next few golden towers?" Echo says, his voice warm but with an edge. "If I recall, you had to do so as punishment a few years ago. Didn't like it then, I think."

Irminsula sighs and bows her head, wordless.

"I'll stay here with her, love. You go find out what Pale Eyes there wants with you. But don't go warming her bed." Mishka adds, flipping a hand towards Ivory.

Echo rolls his own eyes and looks to Ivory. "Where to then?"


Think a much bigger built Goro of MK fame for Horatio.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr nodded in response to the Invincible Maiden's question. They are, and I hope the same is true with you. he added, deadpan. I know I should visit more often, but there's a million things to do - organizing security for the new Realm ambassador's arrival procession, not to mention managing the patrols and the guard, as well as the military. Ugh, and the trials! By Luna, I swear that every Exalt and God-Blood in the city has some petty squabble to bring before my bench.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

"Every Exalt and God-blood you say? Dear me. I only hope our good citizens did not harm anyone of lesser strength. If you need someone else on the guard, I'm sure Konoko and myself would not mind in the least to provide an extra set of eyes." Yomiko suggests politely and warmly to Zephyr as she awaits the return of Ivory Eyes and Rising Echo. "Which is not to doubt the strength of your guard, my dear friend."
Konoko seems to cough as Zephyr speaks of Exalts and God-bloods, as if the firewand is being pointed right at her. She seems to stiffen her back when her mother mentions her specifically.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr laughed gently at Yomiko's comment. No, no... it is my responsibility, and I will bear it as befits a champion of Luna. I am only whinging. I suppose I am just nostalgic for the days when we had less responsibility... but what we have built here is good, and I would no trade it for the world.

He smiled a little, then frowned as a messenger hawk landed on his shoulder. There were, of course, technomantic solutions to providing up-to-date information, but the net of eyes-in-the-sky that Zephyr's Charm-enhanced birds provided worked perfectly well - and besides, he prefered the feel of them. He spoke with it for a minute, then rolled his eyes, sending the creature spiraling back up in the sky with a little sigh.

Looks like Echo's child has been playing in the market district again. I've dispatched a cleanup crew. It would be so much easier if she and her little playmate would just get through the fighting phase and move on to the fun bits. Easier on my guardsmen, anyway. Children The coarse-spoken Lunar said with another sigh and a shake of his head.

[GryffonDurime]

"Come," Ivory says, disappearing. "You know where to find us," her voice echoes, listing their location before returning to the gathering in another luminous puff.

[Lochar]

Echo shakes his head, before looking back at his wife. "You know I won't." He gives her a smile, and a stern look to his daughter who bows her head once more, before he smiles at her as well.

Looking around and getting his bearings for a moment, Echo looks in the direction he'd been given. Pulling a slight bit of essence from around him, Echo fed it into his legs and gave a single graceful jump, and vanished, Creation parting as he moved at high speeds through the sky in a single jump.

Echo only caught glimpses of the buildings around him as he landed on the roof of a fifteen story building, before jumping once more, now clear of the skyline.

Landing gracefully, one open palm touching the ground, Echo smiles to himself as he stands, smiling at the others. "Welcome back, Watcher. You've been missed."

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher

"I have missed being here." Watchers nods back, slightly surprised by Echo's falling from the sky. "But I doubt that you will be as happy to see me once you hear my news. So Yomiko, if you would."

The masked man stays silent as the maiden leads the way, speaking only once th circle has entered and the doors have been closed.

"When the armies of death breach the walls of the flowered city, the golden maidens shall fall, and the moon-chosen king will betray all he holds dear; ushering in a new age of darkness. These are the words of the prophet, Liu Bo, spoken late in the first age. He also was the one to have foretold every major event since the first age. The fall of the Solars, the rise to power and disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, the return of the Chosen of the Sun to Creation. All of his prophecies have been accurate. It is this, along with the fact that rumors of a Deathlord wandering creation, that has kept me for ten years. It is this that leads me to believe that our brilliant city of Lotus is destined to fall."

[Lochar]

Echo blinks. "That's oddly direct. I assume your prophet was a Bronze factionist? Doom and gloom naysayers, I say."

Echo smiles and pulls a flask from inside his jacket, taking a short pull. "Their prophecy was self fulfilling, and they fell apart so quickly after Kejak's passing. The Exalted break the mold, Watcher."

[GryffonDurime]

"Echo is right," Ivory says, flaring her castemark--a tell-tale sign of the Sorceress' irritation. "Prophecy requires a Fate, and even the newly Exalted touch Fate only lightly. Our stars in the heavens burn almost as brightly as the Maidens."

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr bristled and nodded. "Agreed. We are the Chosen of the Exalted themselves. I'll walk right into the Buerau of Destiny and rearrange the Loom of Fate with my own two hands before I betray Lotus, before I betray my Queen." said the Lunar, clenching his fists as he stole a glance at Ivory Eyes. "I would sooner tear out my own heart."

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher

"None of us question your loyalty, Zephyr. he says, hoping to calm the Lunar. "I bring this up because I believe it deserves our attention."

He turns to Echo and Ivory, annoyed they we're taking this so lightly. It may be true that things work differently for us, but this threatens every being in this city; and I will not be the one to stand around while there is the chance that all the work we have put in over the years might have been for nothing. I will not allow the same arrogance that befell our ancestors to affect us as well."

[Lochar]

Echo shakes his head. "Alright, I'll entertain the thought for a moment. You spent ten years searching down rumors of this, looking for this prophet's words. Have you forgotten that Lotus has thrown off the might of the Empire of the Isle dozens of years ago? You were there and helped. Their armies had no chance."

He shakes his head. "I've been into the Underworld, Watcher. I've walked the dead halls and listened to the Neverborn scream torments at me, and walked away unscatched. Lotus stretches three hundred miles in any direction from the center of the city, between farmlands and suburbs. Any one of us can reach any point within moments. It is not arrogance to state that Lotus cannot fall."

Echo then lifts a eye. "Unless you think it would fall from within? What motivation would any of us have? We've spent our lives here, building the city up. Hell, you've been the one most on the fringe, even not counting your latest sojourn."

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Yomiko listens to Watcher's recollection of the prophecy told to him in silence. Her usually warm smile seems to fade when she hears it, sitting into one of her many comfortable chairs set up in this particular chamber. The golden maidens... she and her daughter... The moon-chosen king... it's Zephyr for certain. She has known many powerful men, women and monsters alike, people and creatures capable of putting the chosen of the sun and moon directly into the path of Fate itself.
"...I don't think Watcher would come to us with such a prophecy unless he knew it were a threat to us." He looks at Watcher, "You know this is a real threat, don't you my friend?" She expresses something she rarely has, even after hundreds of years... fear.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr flexed his hands again and had to contain a snarl. He straightened himself up. You are right, Yomiko. Watcher, you are not a stupid man, and you must have some evidence that this is a significant threat. But I will not let this come to pass. We will not let this come to pass. I will not let anything harm my family, harm Lotus. I don't care if all the Deathlords themselves march against us, I will seize them and hurl them into the maw of the Neverborn themselves if I must.

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher

"I spend so much time out of the city, not because I like it" The gravelly voice the nightbringer hasn't used in ages slowly winds its way back. "I do it because someone has to."

"I know this city just as well as you do. I know its might; but it is not immortal. Just as everything has a beginning, it has an end. This news concerns me, because I do not want death and destruction to be what spells Lotus' end."

He looks to Yomiko and Zephyr, glad that they were at least taking him seriously. Though, he wonders what their reactions would be if they hadn't been named in the prophesy.

"All of you know me. I will admit, I have had my fits of paranoia before. But this feels different. Different then anything we have faced before."

[GryffonDurime]

"Fear what you like, Watcher," Ivory says, tucking a tuft of hair behind her right ear--an annoyed tick. "Prophecy can only whimper before us. It's no more than a wet paper jail. It contains us only so long as we do nothing to contravene it."

The Sorceress disappears in an unceremonious gout of smoke--seemingly brighter than before. She reappears, seated on her throne: a gilded chair carved to resemble her anima. She gestures lightly with her fingers outstretched, light glinting madly off the rings and chains of her phylactery. An image of Lotus blares into being, a turning blue hologram projected just before her dias.

Not for the first time, Ivory wonders how she would change the world. Many people wonder it: what if I could? Ivory can. She knows that if she set her mind to it, she could tear down Creation just for the challenge.

The problem, once one has changed could to can, is figuring out what one should do to change existence. After all, some people like existing in a certain way and may very well object to changing it all just to change it.

This would all, Ivory decided, be must easier if any of her children had Exalted. They had become fine Amalga and noble Half-Castes but none had ever been graced. She had never confided her ire, even to Zephyr, but in the end he was the only true confidant she had. Whatever love Ivory had for Echo was tempered by her fear at his judgement--taking one of Malfeas' lot for a bride? The Maiden and Ivory had always remained professional, somewhat distant. And the Watcher? He probably thought Ivory didn't know that he whispered her name behind her back. The incident with Ivory's mother hadn't earned her any love from him. That, at least, she could justify. But that grudge was long past it's expiration.

What Ivory needed was a project. She always felt restless when she didn't have a goal in mind, a practical purpose. She gestured again, and the image of Lotus became a stylized spider's head, slick and glossy black-blue.

"Hello Bronzeheart," Ivory said.

Hello mistress, it replied in a cold, even-toned voice. He'd lost something when his body was destroyed in a skirmish with the Realm. Ivory had been lucky to recover his personality at all. Sudden clarity washed over her, a sense of obvious purpose: why hadn't she done this before?

"How would you like to have a body again, Bronzeheart?"

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephry

Zephyr Nodded as Ivory Eyes spoke, and when she had finished, he voiced his opinion in turn. My wife has a point. Certainly, the events foretold in this prophecy are a warning to us, and one we should not ignore. But we are not mortals - this is not going to be some fairy-tale where we struggle to avoid the grasp of fate and are pulled in regardless. With this warning in hand, we will take all precautions necessary and prevent the events foretold from coming to pass.

He paused before continuing. If there is a Deathlord threatening Lotus, and that is what this prophecy refered to, then it would indeed be a threat different from any we have yet faced. But we will triumph, as we always have. There is no other option. We were not chosen because we are doomed to fail. We were chosen because we conquer our enemies and bring prosperity to creation where we walk. We are the Chosen of the Celestial Incarnae, and we will not fail our people in their hour of need.

He nodded to Watcher. Do you have any other details of how the prophecy will unfold? If not, let me know if anything else comes up that I need to be aware of. Otherwise, if you could work on tracking down whatever else we might do to stop this thing, I will keep my eyes open as well.

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher

A smile comes to the man's face as Zephyr makes his bold claims. This was exactly what he had wanted to hear.

"Unfortunately, you know know as much as I do." Watcher says, going back to the task at hand. "None of the prophecies that I have unearthed have been very detailed; but when compared to the history they are meant to foretell, they match almost perfectly."

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr nodded, smiling "Then we shall keep a watch on the walls of Lotus, and come what may we will stand against it, unconquerable champions of Incarnae and mortal alike, as we were meant to be."

With that, he bunched himself up and threw himself into the sky, his form shifting like liquid. His trained hawks flocked about his Steel Shadow form, screaming the praises of their master as he flew like the swift Eastern wind to his home, shifting again as he streamed through the windows and went in search of his wife, his innate connection guiding him to her as it always did. He picked her up and kissed Ivory Eyes soundly on the forehead, giving her a grin.

"And how fares my Queen today, other than the news that the Watcher brings?"

[GryffonDurime]

"Just fine, Zephyr," Ivory says with a measure of tenderness. She kisses him back and then seats herself on her throne again, gesturing towards the dias before her and the hologramatic image wavering atop it. It's a large, armored figure, many armed and lithe. Adamant and orichalcum glitter madly across it's frame.

"Just trying to figure out how to make the schema work. Aesha's old design, remember? The warstrider-based reality engine. For Bronzeheart," she adds, timidly, not willing to admit her true reasons. "I've been so busy since...has it really been so long since our first skirmishes with the Realm?" she asks, turning her gaze entirely to her husband.

"I don't know where my priorities have been, Zephyr. Bronzeheart is one of my dearest friends. He was my home until I found Lotus. How could I have just left his intelligence in the aether for so long?" she asks, slumping down with her fist against her cheek. It's a supremely undignified position, and thus: immensely comfortable.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr smiled at his wife, his expression unusually soft. When they were along together was practically the only time the hulking Lunar felt he could let his guard down. He nodded briefly, giving her an understanding look. It's easy to lose things, even important things, as busy as we've been. But you've remembered now. And I'm sure you'll be able to fix things.

He sighed. Speaking of the realm... the new Ambassador is due tomorrow, you know. I'm a bit concerned about security. There are a lot of folk with grudges - Even mortals have long memories, and the war with the Realm was costly. Old grudges die hard. I doubt a mortal could harm the Envoy, even if they are only a Dragon-Blood, but an attack would reflect poorly on us - and if someone does decide to try something, they need not necessarily be a mortal.

[GryffonDurime]

"I can keep my eye on the Envoy as soon as he crosses the threshold of Lotus," Ivory Eyes says, soft-toned and unenthusiastic. "Not that I'm particularly motivated to stop the people from doing what they wish. It's a mess, Zephyr," she says, eyes falling back to the image of Aesha's engine. "Creation is a mess. Wouldn't it be easier just to...just to start over?"

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr's ears pricked up, and he turned to his mate, his eyes confused. Deep in his heart, he felt a twinge of fear. "What do you mean? Look at all we've built. Look at how far we've come. Sure, there's still much more to do... but I'm not sure that simply giving up on Creation as we have it is a good answer..."

[GryffonDurime]

"Deathlords. Yozi. Raksha. The threats we know--and the threats we don't, Zephyr," Ivory says, taking in a shaky, uncertain breath. "An uncaring Sun sits atop the world. It's different for you. Every breath, every mote brings you nearer to your patron. Every breath takes me further from mine," she admits with a sigh.

"Do you remember the other Twilight? The newborn who came to Lotus three years ago and asked me to initiate him into the Circle of Adamant? He saw the Sun when he Exalted. The Zeniths all have! And Luna is not foreign to her Lunars...it's bitterness, Zephyr. And it motivates me to ask: could I do better?" she says, her eyes dipping below eyelids. A feint.

"It would take me...I don't even want to think. It would take me a long while, Zephyr. But I think I could--I think I could finish Aesha's design, stride out into the Wyld, and order my own Creation from the chaos. Weave a fairer Loom. Mortals were made for this world. This would be a world made for mortals. Isn't that worthy? Isn't that worth trying?"