First Day
Samain Seraph looked up into the empty eye sockets.
"Thanks Father Tovias" he mouthed. It was Samain's first day at Council. He was nervous but the presence of his ancestor Tovias, who had served Kylorin himself, was very reassuring.
He looked around to see Cassiel looking over at him. He raised his glass in greeting. If Cassiel saw it, he made no effort to acknowledge the greeting. Perhaps, the great Cassiel thought himself too amazing to deign to acknowledge Samain. The other Councillors had not been so aloof. It had been interesting the way some offered condolences on the death of his father first while others prioritised congratulating him on becoming a Councillor. After his father's demise, he was the natural choice for the Death seat. It was not a position he'd sought or expected to enjoy. It was, however, the way he could be of most service to the family and the Amurites. As such, he accepted this duty.
The Seraphs placed great value on service and duty. One did what one could to be of service during life and then continued to be of as much service as possible to one's family and people when that first life was over. Even as Samain sat here, the preparation for his father's return was underway.
Samain remembered his arrival in Council. He'd arrived with Uncle Alejandro, who was supposed to introduce him to all the other councillors. He wasn't surprised when Uncle Alejandro vanished from his side as soon as they arrived. If there was one thing you could rely on Uncle Alejandro to do, it was not to do whatever he was supposed to. Alejandro Salvador had blown around the room like a leaf in the wind. He'd settled for the moment with Belle the Enchantress. From her laughter, it sounded like he was doing the enchanting.
The first group to intercept Samain had been led by Devus Aragade, the Mind Councillor. He seemed to want to make Samain the latest addition to his voting block and his reasons were very persuasive. Samain played the naivety card to buy himself more time. His rescue was completed by Catreena Uiscenna. The water councillor had a calming effect on discussions and Samain felt less pressurised after her arrival. Devus and his cabal had moved on. Shanda, the Councillor for the Seat of Chaos had been next to introduce herself. Samain still was not sure what to make of her. He wasn't sure whether she actually was trying to convince him of the rightness of her point of view or just provoke a discussion (or maybe an argument) out of him. She was a great contrast to the serene Catreena. Shanda's blunt challenges seemed to flow like water off a duck's back to Catreena. Samain had excused himself to meet the other Councillors.
A withered hand had grabbed Samain and a second equally withered hand began to pump Samain's left hand. "It's great to have you once more in the council chambers. Just like old times." Samain was faced with the blind, old face of Landre Osh. Old was too mild a word for it. Landre could be the reason why someone invented the word ancient. He looked like he could have been around long enough to witness the creation of Cassiel. Samain tried but found it difficult to follow the ancient Councillor's chain of thought. He was impressed with the grandson who stood by Landre's side always ready to assist. Respect is something that is earned and Landre obviously had his grandson's respect.
Before the session began, all of the councillors except Cassiel has made themselves known to Samain. Samain had sat in the Death seat to try to pull his thoughts together. He'd learned as much as he could about the councillors after his father's accident. Samain would need to understand the motivations of all of these councillors if he was to be an effective councillor himself.
Cassiel stood at his chair and called the session to order. He spoke with authority and all of the other councillors responded quickly, moving to their seats. Cassiel was an intimidating figure. One could almost see an aura of latent power around him. Samain closed his eyes and remembered his father's words, "Cassiel may have been an arch angel but now he is defined not by what he was but rather by all the things he refuses to do. A good man who will take what actions he can to help his people is worth more than a thousand angels who will fold their arms and refuse to oppose the tyranny of the Gods." He felt a skeletal hand rest on his shoulder. Samain opened his eyes, ready to say what ever needed to be said and not to bow to intimidation or what ever other force the other Councillors might use against him.
The agenda for the session this day was not too contentious; exploration, defence and developing means to better use our resources. Time had even been included to discuss raising a monument to Kylorin's victory over Mulcarn, given that it was the centennial.
OOC
Cast of Councillors
Samain Seraph - Death
Alejandro Salvador - Air
Belle - Enchantment
Devus Aragade - Mind
Catreena Uiscenna - Water
Shanda - Chaos
Landre Osh - Sun
Gyra
Gyra sighed. Countless souls were dying. At least, they would be countless to anyone else. Gyra felt them all. She knew when the other Gods claimed souls. She accepted those she could into Arawn's Vault.
With the ice gone, the number of people living on Erebus had increased. The numbers dying had increased also. Gyra wondered whether it could ever reach the stage where she wouldn't be able to manage.
There was a disturbance. A soul was being drawn back out of the Vault. She focussed her attention on the soul. Even as she did, part of her continued its awareness of all the other arriving souls. She could prevent the soul leaving but as she focussed, she felt the bonds of familial love that were pulling it back to Erebus. A tear rolled down her left cheek. Her compassionate nature would not allow her to stand in the way of such love. The soul left and Gyra continued her work.
The skeleton rose from the cold slab. Samain stepped forward and embraced his father.
A wee bit for Danalin (until we've a dedicated player for him)
Every day he looked at the sea. He couldn't help it. His front door faced that way. They said the ship that brought them here had disintegrated as soon as it touched the shore. What he thought was amazing was that the ship had lasted until it reached the shore. In all his life, he could not remember a single week when the sea had stayed calm. Any small boats that foolish people had tried to make had quickly been reduced to kindling. Most people accepted that noone could master the sea. When the storms weren't smashing into the coast, you'd occasionally see life out in that ocean. It was big life, the kind that would think nothing of snacking on a ship. Now the wind was building and the waves were too. The storm would be here within an hour. He turned in and closed the door behind him. Even a hundred feet above the shore, when the storm hit, the spray from the waves splashed his house. More than once, he'd woken up in water. Before he did, he always had the most horrific nightmares. He placed his cloth bags filled with sand down on the floor at the gap in the door. Tonight, he hoped to stay dry. . .
Spoiler :
Samain Seraph looked up into the empty eye sockets.
"Thanks Father Tovias" he mouthed. It was Samain's first day at Council. He was nervous but the presence of his ancestor Tovias, who had served Kylorin himself, was very reassuring.
He looked around to see Cassiel looking over at him. He raised his glass in greeting. If Cassiel saw it, he made no effort to acknowledge the greeting. Perhaps, the great Cassiel thought himself too amazing to deign to acknowledge Samain. The other Councillors had not been so aloof. It had been interesting the way some offered condolences on the death of his father first while others prioritised congratulating him on becoming a Councillor. After his father's demise, he was the natural choice for the Death seat. It was not a position he'd sought or expected to enjoy. It was, however, the way he could be of most service to the family and the Amurites. As such, he accepted this duty.
The Seraphs placed great value on service and duty. One did what one could to be of service during life and then continued to be of as much service as possible to one's family and people when that first life was over. Even as Samain sat here, the preparation for his father's return was underway.
Samain remembered his arrival in Council. He'd arrived with Uncle Alejandro, who was supposed to introduce him to all the other councillors. He wasn't surprised when Uncle Alejandro vanished from his side as soon as they arrived. If there was one thing you could rely on Uncle Alejandro to do, it was not to do whatever he was supposed to. Alejandro Salvador had blown around the room like a leaf in the wind. He'd settled for the moment with Belle the Enchantress. From her laughter, it sounded like he was doing the enchanting.
The first group to intercept Samain had been led by Devus Aragade, the Mind Councillor. He seemed to want to make Samain the latest addition to his voting block and his reasons were very persuasive. Samain played the naivety card to buy himself more time. His rescue was completed by Catreena Uiscenna. The water councillor had a calming effect on discussions and Samain felt less pressurised after her arrival. Devus and his cabal had moved on. Shanda, the Councillor for the Seat of Chaos had been next to introduce herself. Samain still was not sure what to make of her. He wasn't sure whether she actually was trying to convince him of the rightness of her point of view or just provoke a discussion (or maybe an argument) out of him. She was a great contrast to the serene Catreena. Shanda's blunt challenges seemed to flow like water off a duck's back to Catreena. Samain had excused himself to meet the other Councillors.
A withered hand had grabbed Samain and a second equally withered hand began to pump Samain's left hand. "It's great to have you once more in the council chambers. Just like old times." Samain was faced with the blind, old face of Landre Osh. Old was too mild a word for it. Landre could be the reason why someone invented the word ancient. He looked like he could have been around long enough to witness the creation of Cassiel. Samain tried but found it difficult to follow the ancient Councillor's chain of thought. He was impressed with the grandson who stood by Landre's side always ready to assist. Respect is something that is earned and Landre obviously had his grandson's respect.
Before the session began, all of the councillors except Cassiel has made themselves known to Samain. Samain had sat in the Death seat to try to pull his thoughts together. He'd learned as much as he could about the councillors after his father's accident. Samain would need to understand the motivations of all of these councillors if he was to be an effective councillor himself.
Cassiel stood at his chair and called the session to order. He spoke with authority and all of the other councillors responded quickly, moving to their seats. Cassiel was an intimidating figure. One could almost see an aura of latent power around him. Samain closed his eyes and remembered his father's words, "Cassiel may have been an arch angel but now he is defined not by what he was but rather by all the things he refuses to do. A good man who will take what actions he can to help his people is worth more than a thousand angels who will fold their arms and refuse to oppose the tyranny of the Gods." He felt a skeletal hand rest on his shoulder. Samain opened his eyes, ready to say what ever needed to be said and not to bow to intimidation or what ever other force the other Councillors might use against him.
The agenda for the session this day was not too contentious; exploration, defence and developing means to better use our resources. Time had even been included to discuss raising a monument to Kylorin's victory over Mulcarn, given that it was the centennial.
OOC
Spoiler :
Cast of Councillors
Samain Seraph - Death
Alejandro Salvador - Air
Belle - Enchantment
Devus Aragade - Mind
Catreena Uiscenna - Water
Shanda - Chaos
Landre Osh - Sun
Gyra
Spoiler :
Gyra sighed. Countless souls were dying. At least, they would be countless to anyone else. Gyra felt them all. She knew when the other Gods claimed souls. She accepted those she could into Arawn's Vault.
With the ice gone, the number of people living on Erebus had increased. The numbers dying had increased also. Gyra wondered whether it could ever reach the stage where she wouldn't be able to manage.
There was a disturbance. A soul was being drawn back out of the Vault. She focussed her attention on the soul. Even as she did, part of her continued its awareness of all the other arriving souls. She could prevent the soul leaving but as she focussed, she felt the bonds of familial love that were pulling it back to Erebus. A tear rolled down her left cheek. Her compassionate nature would not allow her to stand in the way of such love. The soul left and Gyra continued her work.
The skeleton rose from the cold slab. Samain stepped forward and embraced his father.
A wee bit for Danalin (until we've a dedicated player for him)
Spoiler :
Every day he looked at the sea. He couldn't help it. His front door faced that way. They said the ship that brought them here had disintegrated as soon as it touched the shore. What he thought was amazing was that the ship had lasted until it reached the shore. In all his life, he could not remember a single week when the sea had stayed calm. Any small boats that foolish people had tried to make had quickly been reduced to kindling. Most people accepted that noone could master the sea. When the storms weren't smashing into the coast, you'd occasionally see life out in that ocean. It was big life, the kind that would think nothing of snacking on a ship. Now the wind was building and the waves were too. The storm would be here within an hour. He turned in and closed the door behind him. Even a hundred feet above the shore, when the storm hit, the spray from the waves splashed his house. More than once, he'd woken up in water. Before he did, he always had the most horrific nightmares. He placed his cloth bags filled with sand down on the floor at the gap in the door. Tonight, he hoped to stay dry. . .
That should be interesting. I've thought of a way to make that fun already.
)
Without Divine Intervention in my favour this game is already near over.
