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[Chidori Draconid]

(CHECK HERE BEFORE POSTING (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=21745#post21745))

Chidori Astram Draconid, although in a mortal incarnation, was no less than a divine creature. He was a god in the making one day to be worshiped by those he walked among, and yet he had spent a night in a smelly wagon. The homeless and penniless deity opened his eyes only to be poked with a straw of golden hay. The divinity wasn’t fully rested. He knew his body well enough to know that if something hadn’t interrupted his sleep he would still be dreaming of his friends and family in the sky. What interrupted his sleep though? It couldn’t have been the light of the sunny morning because he was buried under five feet of hay, and not enough light managed to penetrate to disturb him. The surface of the wagon floor was hard wood, but he had strategically placed the hay under him so that it was fairly comfortable. The birds were chirping, but they were chirping when he had gone to sleep during the wee hours of the morning. If they were enough to wake him, they would have been enough to keep him from falling asleep in the first place. Then the young deity heard the sound of a horse, and the horse’s owner speaking to it. They had stopped. The turbulence of the trip rocked him to sleep like a mother cradling her infant and as soon as it stopped Chidori’s mind began its trip back to the conscious world. He sat up slowly and carefully hoping not to poke his eyes again. The driver of the wagon nodded to Chidori as a silent good morning as his head poked out of the hay. The tall elven farmer was putting the harness back into his horse’s mouth, and tightening the saddle.

“Would you mind retrieving a carrot for me? The lots of them are in the bag to your left.”
Chidori slipped out of the hay like covers in a bed. Oh how he wished he had a bed.
“Did you have a good night’s sleep, Chidori?”
“Yes.” Chidori felt guilty that he did not remember the farmer’s name so he lied, “Thank you for the ride and your hospitality.”
“It was my pleasure, especially after that performance last night at the feast. Are you sure you haven’t had any vocal training?”
“No.” Chidori blushed and bashfully scratched his head as he looked in the bag and sifted through it with his cane. “None at all, sir.”

He could only see such a talent coming from his mother, the Muse of the Sky. His Dragon father sought to provide him with more practical talents. The night before Chidori had found himself in a small town on the Raiaeran countryside in a classy tavern that featured the best wine he had ever tasted, and a trio of bards who sang a plethora of great songs. They interacted well with the audience, and occasionally invited patrons to take the small stage area and sing. The divinity humbly accepted when they asked him to join them on stage, and he sang a supporting harmony instead of the main melody. The leader of the trio seemed to have seen some potential in the young deity and gave him the spotlight by asking to sing the melody. Chidori did so, and after a brief moment of shy shakiness, he naturally began to embolden his voice with better projection and a rather strong vibrato. Nothing seemed to please him more than to see the patrons of the small pub react positively to his performance. One of them, a local farmer who was just dropping in for a large barrel of wine, was quite pleased by the team’s performance, so he invited them and the entire pub back to his home to celebrate his son’s engagement. There the trio of bards now with a new edition entertained a group of approximately fifty men, women, and children. When the celebration was over they even sang the farmer’s younger children to sleep. In return for their outstanding performance, the farmer offered to take the group to a new location with no charge. The bards wanted to stay one more night, but Chidori was ready to move on. He had a fear of wearing his welcome.

“I’m sure you have heard of Istien University.”
“Yes, I have.” The divinity said as he hopped out of the wagon and handed the farmer a carrot.
“Perhaps that should be your next stop. It’s only on the other side of town, if that far even.”
Chidori’s face became blank with surprise. “We’re in Eluriand?”

The farmer pointed above and behind Chidori, and there stood the majestic city of Eluriand, capital of Raiaera. It was as vast as Radasanth, but not nearly as dirty. From where they were standing, at the top of a hill that gave him a perfect view of the entire city, the least vibrant sectors seemed to be more vibrant than the most vibrant areas of Scara Brae. The architecture exuberated elegance, and the palace of Velice Arta glistened in the morning sun. Not far from them was the main road which led to the arches that welcomed travelers with pride and grace. The farmer walked the divinity to the arches and bade him farewell for he was to sell his goods elsewhere. To Chidori’s surprise Eluriand was not as vast as previously thought. The city only had a few main roads, which he stuck to, and he passed the gates of Istien University on four occasions. He didn’t know why, but he was nervous about singing in front of a scholar who truly knew the craft. While exploring a section of the city the young deity would slowly build up the courage to enter the gates, but when the gates came into view that courage would disappear and he would walk past the university every time with his head to the ground. On the bright side Chidori knew the layout of Eluriand pretty well now.

”Has a certain scholarly institution caught your eye, Chidori?”
He looked up to see a woman with a smile on her face. She looked very much like Chidori, with caramel skin, and wavy black hair that was so silky and well kept that it reflected the blue sky above. Her starburst grey eyes ignited like supernovas upon eye contact with Chidori.
“I thought you and father were angry with me.”
”Come, son. How about we walk and talk?”
Chidori nodded and they began to walk as Astri, his mother and Muse of The Sky walked with him. Her dress did not glow like the nebulas of the nighttime sky this time around, which might have been a wise decision. A glowing dress would draw attention. Astri finally decided to speak up.
”This may be the only time you get to hear this, but I apologize on behalf of your father and myself for giving you such a hard time when we brought you here.”
“Are you sure you want to say that?”
”It had been so long since we had gone through this ritual. Fifteen thousand years for me, and almost seventeen thousand years for your father. When we descended to a mortal world we had plans and ambitions. The plans were faulty and the ambitions nearly crushed. We did not expect to even symbolize what we came to symbolize today. The way you’re living, as menial as you believe it may be, will probably put you on the path of a god twice as fast as normal. You let the winds guide you, which is what so many of us were told to do when we were here. ‘Let the god in you lead you to what you must watch over’ the others told us, and we found ourselves telling them the same thing. No one listened. But you… you will be fine, and I have no doubt that you will be back in the ethereal planes with us in no time.”
Chidori wasn’t sure how to respond. Was that a ‘yes’ to his question because it wasn’t meant to be rhetorical.
”Come.”

Chidori followed Astri to a random wooden door down the street from the university gates. She opened the door and motioned for him to walk through, and he stepped across the threshold onto grass of all things. The mid day sun, now directly above them, seemed to shine even brighter here as the long green grass swayed in the wind along the foothills resembling the waves of the oceans. Ahead of them lay a peach orchard that patterned the landscape and a stone path that led to a great white stone mansion glistening in the sun a few acres away. Chidori turned to his mother behind him. The door, the walls and any sign of their past location was gone. They were no longer in Eluriand, but he could see Velice Arta barely peaking over the horizon, so they weren’t too far away.
”Welcome to Nu Gua’s Ethiopia Estate, where gods, heroes, and ordained mortals can rest, seek council, relax, and celebrate life in general. Well, regular mortals and even demons can get in, but only during the evening celebrations. Nu Gua would often allow them to enter even without invitation. However, one needs special invitation to spend more than two days in a row here. As our son, Nu Gua has offered you shelter for as long as you like. Simply walk in. Do not let the two stone golems at the front door intimidate you. Nu Gua will be waiting for you in the main atrium.”

Nu Gua, a goddess of Chidori’s native realm, was in fact waiting for him in the front atrium. There she was in a pearl white gown that would shift to violet as she walked towards him. A smile appeared on her deep vanilla face and her black irises glittered as radiantly as the sapphire jewel placed between them.
“Chidori Astram Draconid, ‘tis high time you came to Althanas! Come here, child!” The single sport braid of her amber brown hair wrapped around him as her arms did, and she gave him a peck on each cheek. “So, how has your stay on Althanas been so far?”
“Well…” Chidori scowled as he looked down at the grey marble floor, “I think I could have had a better start.”
“Oh, darling, we all wished for that, believe me. But this place isn’t bad at all once you get used to it. I mean look at me, I love it so much I made my own place here. We’ll have time to talk about everything later. First we need to get you settled in. The servants are cooking you a meal as we speak, so you can take a bath in the hot spring in the back. We can also wash your clothes for you.” Nu Gua then extended her hand in a possessing fashion. It took a while for the deity to process, but his eyes widened when he realized that she wanted his clothes. “Honey, I’ve seen it all. In fact I’ve seen yours. When your parents put up the order for a mortal incarnation of their son I was the one who molded you out of clay and changed you to your picky mother’s liking.” She had a point there. “I almost forgot. Will you be attending the social gathering in a few hours?”
The deity didn’t even have to think twice about that. He was always up for a good party.
“Indeed I will be.” Chidori said with a smile as he tossed his shirt to Nu Gua.

Five hours later Chidori was in his new room, his first room in fact, lying contentedly on the comforter of his soft white bed which stood nearly four feet above the ground. He was staring up at the detailed canvas painting of himself of all people. Nu Gua told him that as he made accomplishments throughout Althanas she would call upon an artist to depict them. Even if no one worshiped him when he became a god this room would be a testament to everything he did, a shrine of sorts. A knock on the door disturbed his train of thought.
“Come in.” The deity yelled as he sat up and looked upon his clean grey and white marble room. As much as he felt like the theme was overdone, he didn’t make any objections. He had a room, and he should be content with that much. Surely his preferred attire, all black, would attract attention in a setting such as the Ethiopia Estate.
“You come out.” Nu Gua said jokingly as she opened the door, “The festivities are beginning.”
The young deity did so and entered the long hallway on the side of the mansion. He looked through the giant windows to be amazed for the first time in Althanas. Hanging just below the afternoon sun and just above the green horizon was an Alerarian airship. It floated in the air using propeller like disks, and its industrial body did nothing to diminish its beauty and grandeur.
“I want one of those!” Chidori said as Nu Gua lifted his jaw shut.
“Speak with the owners. I don’t think her majesty is with them tonight, so you might have the chance to get in good with them. Push comes to shove you can ask Hromagh the Strong for ordaining tasks.”

The Elder Thayne Deity of Kachuck was attending the evening’s social gathering? Chidori soon came to realize that this was the norm at Nu Gua’s Ethiopia Estate. Before the sun even set Chidori Draconid had the pleasure of meeting a large number of important entities. He met members of the Zuni Kachina, a spirit people who entered featuring elaborate masks, long hair, feathered gauntlets and leather suits and gowns. He dined with Indra, supreme god of chaos, to his right, and Varuna, supreme god of order, (and ultimate decider of Chidori’s role as a god) to his left. The Peach Group, eight humans who earned their immortal status counseled Chidori on the basics of moral fortitude. They were each quite peculiar, and quite frankly they bored him, but he smiled, nodded and responded as if he were listening until he saw her. An absolutely stunning woman seemingly of Chidori’s age stood speaking to another young woman. Her smile was captivating to the point that he had forgotten that eight immortals were lecturing him. Her long silky black hair twisted and wrapped around her shoulders like a scarf. A taste of light honey was left on Chidori’s tongue as he daydreamed of touching her skin, and the setting sun left a golden glow over her pure bronze eyes. Her long satin blue dress hugged her toned body as golden embroidery danced across her bust, wrapped around her stomach and danced down the right leg where her dress split all the way up to her hip.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Nu Gua said from behind him. Caught staring, and the Peach Group! Chidori suddenly snapped back into the real world and looked desperately for the immortals, but they were long gone, “Go. Talk to her.”
Chidori didn’t hesitate to approach. His heart was beating at the front of his chest as he crossed the crowded dance floor and arrangement of tables of the hall, but there was no holding back now. He couldn’t show that he was nervous so he simply gave himself something to do. The young woman was ordering from the bar, so Chidori followed suit behind her, hopping onto a soft stool beside her and leaning on the cold crystal bar counter.
“Red El’Ciron wine please.” The bartender nodded and glanced at the young woman to his right. He knew what Chidori was there for, “What wine did you order?”
The young woman looked at the young deity and politely smiled, “Champagne. Nothing too sweet.”
“Why not something sweet. I mean nothing by this but it’s socially acceptable for a woman to drink a sweet alcoholic beverage. I know if I could I would, but I’d be called a sissy.”
She chuckled, “I had a bad experience with sweet wine once. I was supposed to sing with an orchestra one night and the conductor sent me some wine as a gift. The sweetness completely closed my throat, and the thickness reinforced it by glazing over my esophagus. That night was challenging.”
“As a professional you would think the conductor would know things like that.”
“Well I should have known.” A moment of awkward silence passed, “My name is Avakra Ambul.”
“Chidori Draconid. ‘Tis a pleasure.”
“Yes.”
Chidori had nothing. Avakra was saying nothing, and he couldn’t fathom anything to talk about. He felt ashamed, for he knew that the pressure of impressing a member of the opposite sex was stifling his performance. It wasn’t too long ago that he befriended a table of seventeen belligerent, drunk, and overall uncivilized warriors at a pub on the bad side of Scara Brae. The threat of certain death loomed over that situation, for the young deity knew he couldn’t take them on. So now Chidori was able to comparatively gauge the two situations. Winning the favor of a beautiful woman was far more important than saving one’s own life. Then he saw Nu Gua spinning in the arms of a guest on the dance floor. She hadn’t changed since that afternoon, nor did she need to. She was beautiful in that dress as it swayed in the air like a set of wings.
“She’s great isn’t she?” the young deity said with a smile on his face.
“Yes, she is. How do you know Nu Gua?”
“My mother knows her.”
“My uncle knows her.” The two of them laughed in an awkward union. There was nothing to laugh about, but they laughed anyway. She was nervous too, which made Chidori feel better about himself.
“…Care to dance?” Chidori said as he looked at Avakra with a kind smile.
“Oh I don’t know the first thing about dancing. I’ll embarrass myself.”
“That’s good to hear, because I don’t know how to dance either. We can be embarrassed together.”
Avakra chuckled as she put her soft hand in his and followed him to the dance floor. The both of them were surprised at how fast they caught on to the dance as Nu Gua instructed them and provided example with her partner, whom Chidori had yet to speak to. They still tripped up a handful of times, but Chidori was grateful for them since they broke the occasional silence as they would laugh at themselves. That blink in time when she was in his arms was magnificent, but it was cut short when Avakra was called to dine. Different parties dined at different times, and she had come in late.

No worries, this time could be used to make amends with The Peach Group, who had to have been offended by Chidori’s ignorance. After what seemed to be an eternity of searching, he finally came across the round oaken table at which the eight immortals sat. They did not wait for him to present himself. As he approached they fell silent and stared at him with dry faces of disappointment.
“I would like to apologize for my display of ignorance.” He said in a stern tone as if he were punishing himself. “It was disrespectful, and I have no legitimate excuse for my actions or lack there of.”
“Even so,” Han Chung-li, leader of The Peach Group said as he waved his fan of peacock feathers. “We would appreciate it if you explained your actions.”
“It was the first time I had experienced such attraction in my mortal incarnation, and I had a difficult time controlling it and keeping conscious my social obligations, such as listening to the eight of you.” It was a completely fabricated answer. He truly didn’t know why he reacted the way he did when Avakra Ambul caught his eye for he had seen beautiful women before. Han Chung-li saw straight through it.
“That is not true. Do you know why? Because even gods possess the capacity to experience emotions such as attraction, no matter what incarnation they occupy, and you have lived with these emotions for twenty two years in your realm. Speaking of which, do you not have a wife there?”
Chidori nodded. He did have a wife, and he was aware of the fact that he was well on his way to committing adultery, but he didn’t give a damn. His union was an unwanted arranged marriage. In fact it was the only arranged marriage in heaven. In addition to that, his so called wife had her share of men when she came to Althanas. Speaking of which, he could have sworn he saw one of the many men his wife had slept with. Oh that’s right, the old hag sitting next to Han Chung-li, Li Tieh-kuai. Tieh-kuai was the immortal representative of life restoration, and he had made a beast with two backs with his wife nearly five years ago. Despite her godly title, Chidori considered her the Goddess of Bitches, and rightfully so. He would apologize for his rude behavior, but not for cheating on his adulteress wife, which he hadn’t even done yet. Chidori wasn’t even pursuing Avakra to get back at his wife; he was pursuing Avakra because he was genuinely attracted to her, which was more than he could say about his wife.
“I will tell you why your actions came about, Draconid.” Han Chung-li continued, “Because you are a hedonist, just as all gods are before they face the real trials of mortality. If you are truly worthy of returning to your place as a god, you will sacrifice your spoiled desires and not pursue Ambul.”
You hypocritical assholes, Chidori thought to himself… “You hypocritical assholes,” And so Chidori said in a low but truly sinister tone as the eight immortals and countless people within hearing range shrieked at his audacity, “When I return to my rightful place I will rip the eight of you of your bodies and force your immortal souls to float through time completely mute as you are slowly forgotten. You’ll show the gods a new meaning of sacrifice.” His irises ignited like a pair of supernovas.
The young deity didn’t wait for them to respond. He simply turned away and walked as a hiss of conversation proliferated in the area. He was out of hearing range, but he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of people talking about this crazy new deity who had the gallantry to stand up to The Peach Group.

Avakra must have finished her meal by now, so Chidori trekked across the giant party hall once again to find her. When he reached the table he was disappointed to see that her seat was the only empty seat at the table.
A light hand touched his shoulder. “You’re looking for Avakra, I assume?”
Chidori anxiously turned to Nu Gua, “Yes! Do you know where she is?”
“She told me that she was taking a stroll through the back fields.”
The divinity breathed a sigh of relief at the reassurance that she would be back, and he began to sit down. Before he could touch the chair, Nu Gua grabbed him and pulled him up.
“Get in the game, Chid Kid! She always takes strolls in the back fields, but she never tells me. Plus she does it to burn off the heaviness of the food.” She motioned to Avakra’s plate, which wasn’t even half finished. “She told me secretly hoping that I would tell you, and you’d be smart enough to connect the dots. You have much to learn about mortal courtship.”
“I need to take a walk, Nu Gua! Where do I go to do that?”
She pointed to a tall door across the room, and without a second thought he headed for the door.

Chidori was pleasantly surprised to discover how warm it was at night in this part of the world. Perhaps that was because the sun only set about an hour ago. It felt perfect nonetheless. The stars and nebulae glistened and sparkled. His friends and family were going about their business. The elephant leaves in front of him leaned away to give the young deity room to move through the path like curtains on a stage, and soon they opened to reveal Avakra. She stood among a large spring which emanated blue light that mixed with the moon’s silver gaze, and she was just reaching out to touch the small waterfall when she noticed Chidori. Her welcoming smile no longer made him nervous. It actually comforted him now.
“I like it back here.” Avakra said. “In fact I come to the Ethiopia Estate gatherings to be here. Please don’t tell Nu Gua, but this is the highlight of my evenings. One day she asked me why I took walks back here and told her that I like to walk off the added weight of the food… I lied.”
“For some reason you seem ashamed of that.”
“Shouldn’t I be?”
“No.” Chidori said as he hopped some stones to get to Avakra’s side of the spring. There he stood over her doing as she did, extending his hand to touch the waterfall. Once again they lingered in an awkward silence, but this time words did not need to be said. Standing behind Avakra, Chidori slowly wrapped his arm around her midsection and kissed her neck. She smiled and kissed his forehead before leaning back to invite a warm sensuous kiss on the lips. She then led him to the foot of a giant redwood tree where they lay consumed by passion.




Chidori Astram Draconid, although in a mortal incarnation, was no less a divine creature and he certainly felt that way this morning. He was a god in the making one day to be worshiped by those he walked among, and nothing would damper his spirits now. He had planned to spend the night in his new bedroom, but the canopy of a redwood forest would do, so long he was warm. And he was warm for the morning sun and a naked slumbering Avakra leaning on him kept him so. This was not to mention Avakra’s hair of seemingly infinite length, which now wrapped around both lovers’ shoulders stomachs and legs. Opening his eyes, the young god kissed his mate on the forehead and rubbed her side to wake her. Her eyes opened slowly, her cheeks turned flush red, and she smiled as she kissed Chidori back. They tightened their embrace, and before they could continue a pile of clothes, their clothes came flying from below to land on the two of them. Below them stood Nu Gua, presenting a mischievous smile from ear to ear.
“I thought I heard to lovebirds singing songs last night, on three different occasions as I recall.” She laughed as the two of them shrunk in embarrassment. She couldn’t really hear them having intercourse. They didn’t even make that much noise, but she had a sixth sense about happenings on her property. “Anyways, come on down, you two. We need to tend to something. It could be an emergency.”

Chidori and Avakra put on their clothes with haste, and within twenty minutes they were following Nu Gua down a vast white corridor of the estate. Chidori retrieved his cane as they passed his room.
“What’s this all about, Nu Gua?” Chidori said as he went into a light jog to catch up with them.
“The two of you will never believe this. Kyrol Ma’iltot, a world renowned sorcerer sent a messenger a few minutes ago asking the strangest question. He asked, and I quote ‘has a pair of divine beings made love in the garden on the rear side of your estate. If so please visit me at my home in Eluriand as soon as possible. It is an urgent matter of men and gods alike.’”
“You’re a god?!” Both Chidori and Avakra said in unison.
“I’m the son of Astri and Draco.”
“Daughter of Apa.”
“Apa?”
“The godly personification of the ocean. He dreamed of me in mortal form for three hundred years until my infant body floated from the ocean twenty three years ago.”
“Shhhh. Let’s try not to disturb The Peach Group.” Nu Gua said as she passed a door with, of all things, a peach on it. “They’re light sleepers. Speaking of whom, I heard you had quite a conversation with them last night, Chid Kid.”
“WHY YES I DID!” Chidori screamed letting his baritone voice echo down the corridor and back. With that the three of them ran down the hall and out of the building laughing.

Kyrol Ma’iltot’s home was a cottage compared to Nu Gua’s Ethiopia Estate, but that wasn’t saying much. The sorcerer still had a seven bedroom home, twice the size of the average home in Raiaera. The mahogany wood and brown stucco structure with the earthy interior design was a nice break from the pure white stone of Chidori’s new home. The three of them sat in large leather chairs across a coffee table from the elven sorcerer who rubbed his well groomed white beard in contemplation.
“First and foremost, I’d like to apologize for contacting you on such short notice.”
“No need, Ky,” Nu Gua said as she looked at the two divinities, “Everyone was up.”
Chidori and Avakra slouched in their chairs when they were reminded why they were here. They were the ones who had sex in her back yard, and this was the price they would be paying for a while. They would be embarrassed in order to entertain Nu Gua since it was obvious that she was entertained by their blushing and shrinking.
“I also must apologize,” the sorcerer said with a sigh, “for my son’s intrusion into your estate. However that brings us to the issue at hand.” Avakra’s eyes widened. “You need not worry, young lass. He did not see anything, but he was exploring your estate this morning for some new flora to impress his mother with, and he came across a peculiar looking flower. Now when two divine beings such as yourselves make love in your current forms you do as mortals do, you basically exchange fluids. However, unless Avakra here wishes to have a child she will not conceive, and so those fluids are discarded. As normal as they seem to be they are nonetheless divine essence, and combined they will always create something.” Kyrol motioned for his wife to come in and she presented a pot with a stone structure that spiraled up to a sharp point. “Now imagine if you will this stone cone pyramid green, organic, and full of life. Above it is a glowing blue orb. The four dozen petals, which now lay dead in the pot, never touch the orb, but simply rotate around it in mid air. This plant was endowed the powers of both the beings who conceived it, and whoever so possesses this plant will be gifted with one of those powers. That being said, Avakra, I am willing to offer two hundred golden coins to the hour for every hour that you tutor my son in water manipulation. But I digress. Was the foot of the tree the only place the two of you had intercourse?”
“No,” Chidori said nervously. “We did it beside the waterfall.”
“And in the spring.”
“And at the top of the waterfall.”
“And besi…”
“Either way!” Kyrol interrupted as he realized the releasing of such information was inflating the ego of the two deities. “The possession of this plant in the wrong hands could be detrimental. It is harmless with my son who can only lift water out of a glass for now. However, for the likes of those who roam the Ethiopia Estate such as self proclaimed heroes who wish to deify themselves, divine beings who wish to climb the pantheon ladders, and those just short of godly status, this will be their key. Omniscient beings with the wrong intentions will soon inform their worldly allies, and the Althanas elite will come down on the estate in waves. Luckily only the two of you know where you made love, for the gods turn their backs hours before and after to avoid watching mortals mate.” The sorcerer put six small veils of clear liquid on the table. “This will neutralize the flowers. Do so as quickly as possible?”
Suddenly Nu Gua twitched and the diamond between her eyes began to glow. She smiled even in the midst of all this. “It may already be too late. The house spells have already been taken over by… Han Chung-li of The Peach Group. Hahaha. Of all the people.”
Chidori, Avakra, and Nu Gua dashed out of the house as each of them swiped a few veils.
“I’ll send for help!” Kyrol yelled after them. They would certainly need it.

The three of them were now standing on same hill that Chidori and his mother stood on the day before, where Velice Arta peaked over the horizon and the grass flowed like the waves of an ocean. The two white stone golems that once stood idly by the gates now seemed to patrol the peach orchard in front of the mansion. Beside the closest one walked a young woman in a knit sweater with a torn dress and only one shoe. She carried a lute, which she played skillfully as she pranced along with the golem. The only person to dress for the winter in spring weather was Lan Ts’ai-ho, the immortal representative of youth and poverty, and a member of The Peach Group.
Nu Gua began to speak as she placed the veils she had taken into Chidori’s side pouch, “Although they’re immortal the bodies they inhabit aren’t. I’ve seen these people get killed numerous times, and they’re just as fragile as any other mortal. Their immortal souls and consciousness’ leave their dead bodies and report to Li Tieh-kuai, who will pour liquid from a life restoring gourd on their bodies instantly reviving and healing them, but the old hag has to get there first. So now you have the opportunity to make good on the promise you made last night.”
“What promise?” Avakra asked as she clinched her veils. She intended on fighting for what she had made.
“Honey, this is more so his fight than yours. Just trust me, give him the veils and I’ll tell you all about it later.” She turned to Chidori again. “If I were you I would be more worried about higher powers than these eight wannabes. Simply secure your flowers, and get out. As soon as you do I’ll take the estate back.”
“Wait… Why can’t you do something, Nu Gua. This is your property and you’re the only full fledged god out of the three of us.” Avakra had a good point, but Chidori knew the perfect counterpoint.
“If I let Nu Gua do that I’ll only be setting myself back. The gods will label me as lacking courage. No doubt my mother and father are watching and rooting for me, but you don’t see them here, do you?”
Avakra hesitated for a moment, and then slowly put the veils in his pouch. She stared into Chidori’s eyes and smiled with confidence, “Hurry back. If you need me simply think of me.”

Avakra wasn’t afraid for Chidori…

[INDK]

“Why this certainly is boring if you aren’t a demigod,” Damon muttered sarcastically. He was leaning up against a wall, having said practically nothing all night. It was a fairly uncomfortable setting for the child. Far too many people wanted to ask about the LCC. Some people were polite about it, but some of the elves he had met had seemed offended by the idea that he would claim to be the inheritor of the spirit of Damon Kaosi. The boy had actually come on a mission, not that it would have mattered much to most of the people there. Ethiopia Estate was the setting of a party now, the kind of hedonistic gathering that never could have happened in Raiaera during the undead occupation of Eluriand.

It was perhaps for that reason more than any other that the boy had wanted to remain in the background. While most of the attention of people at the party was directed towards high bards and half deities, Damon Kaosi’s involvement in the LCC had also meant that he was attracting more attention than he would have wanted. The famous name he possessed made it so Raiaera had looked on at the tournament with rapt attention.

A number of wealthy businessmen and noted bards had offered their introductions, their curiosity often overwhelming their skepticism. Still, while Damon appreciated the attention, he really had not come here to mingle and drink. Like his namesake, Damon had come to a party seeking business. It was a vampire he was looking for, a well known socialite that most recently went by the name of Raspien Evirus. The boy wasn’t sure why it was that he needed this vampire, but the brief glimpse that he had gotten into his past had told him that finding the villain would be essential for his future.

However, he had found no sign of Raspien at the party, and it was truly disappointing for the boy. Every rumor he had heard about the vampire had made the boy expect that he would find the former Kyorl officer at an event like this. Instead, the boy now found himself engaged in a conversation with a young bard from the Turlin school.

“So you’re Damon Kaosi, you just have none of Damon’s memories or know anything about your old skills?” the bard asked skeptically.

“Yes,” the boy replied. He didn’t care whether or not he was believed or not. Conversation only distracted him from what he wanted to do. “You haven’t seen a pale dark elf anywhere around here have you? He carries a delyn spear and has a pale face.”

“There wouldn’t be a dark elf in Raiaera,” the bard replied. “Just because we defeated the undead doesn’t mean hostilities with Alerar have ended.”

Damon blinked blankly and shrugged. “Guess not,” he said, wondering if the information he had beaten out of a ghoul was accurate.

The bard was going to elaborate more, but a rumor emerged that all Turlin bards were needed to create a barrier that would keep out N’jal should the malevolent Thayne and her spider mages arrive.

Damon merely sighed. He had no purpose at the party anymore. Quickly, the boy finished his drink and left. Had he stayed a bit longer, he would have heard a rumor about Raspien being in Fallien.

[Meow]

The place was huge and crowded for gathering of demigods and the like. Feru could hardly believe that there were so many gods in the world to fill the place with gossip. Well not all of them were gods, Feru surely was not a god but only an apprentice magus but even so the other Magus of the Hidden Word had set up an invitation to Nu Gua’s Manor and would meet her in this neutral place; not that any of the Magus were enemies of Khan and would use Feru to get to him but Kahn knew Magus Xyn for taking advantage of cute girl apprentices.

“Hey you must be Feru!” Called a tall dark man with ebon hair and goatee, his voice practically elated at seeing her.

“Meow, yup, I’m Feru!” The cat girl chimed as she ran to the robed man.

“Kahn couldn’t make it huh.” The man mocked a frown while Feru shook her heard before he burst out laughing. “Leave it to the old grump not to come, he’s always busy. Well at least he’s nice enough to let you celebrate. Well never mind that, I’m Xyn. It is a pleasure to meet such a sweet apprentice.”

Feru giggled a little as she felt Xyn take her hand and kissed it. “It’s nice to see you too.” Feru said earnestly as she twitched her tail happily. “I didn’t think Khan knew anyone so nice.”

“Well he knows you and you’re probably the sweetest thing to enter the order of the Hidden Word, well enough flattery. May I have a dance with you?”

“Of coarse, nya, I’d love a dance. ” Feru smiled as the elegant wizard led her to the dance floor. He led Feru in a simple dance that met the slow tempo of the elegant music. Feru fond it boring, moving her feet and swaying and the slow turns, she was about to fall asleep in the debonair Magus’ arms. Seeing this Xyn chanted a spell and Illusion enveloped the two. Spars flown from the pair as their feet touched the ground with every step and when the sparks went high enough they turned into little birds.

It was a tacky display as far as any guests were concerned but Feru loved it, her tail swishing happily as it tried to grab the magical birds but it was like catching smoke. But sadly it was all over.

The two went back to the table and ate the many foods that were available. There was lovely honey ham, and the most spectacular fish Feru had ever tasted, but couldn’t remember the name of the fish.

“Well Feru I must take my leave after I lead you to your room, I’d gladly stay but I’ve been busy lately.” Xyn smiled as he took Feru’s hand again but instead of placing a kiss on it he placed an object in it. “This is a gift from my brothers and Sisters of the Hidden Word. It would do me great honor if you would use your skills and enchant it.”

“Thank you. Meow I’ll do my best,” the cat girl assured with a smile as Xyn bowed and took the magus girls’ hand leading her out and through a hallway to a room.

“I must leave, get some rest and try your craft in the morning.”

“Bye.” Feru called as she watched the mage chant a spell and disappear.

Finally she could inspect the gift, which when she saw it truly, made her eyes go wide. A gold band with three small pearls inlaid circling each other. It was a precious gift that Feru would treasure. She would follow the advice and enchant it as soon as she could. The girl went to bed on the soft covers and fell asleep. Today felt so much like a dream to the kitten mage.

*~*~*

Feru had slept in; she noticed that her room was nothing more than a servant’s quarters for the guests to hold their hirelings. It was pretty unimpressive compared to the rest of the building. It wasn’t suitable for the ritual of enchantment. There has to somewhere better in the house. Feru thought for a moment before setting out. There had to be somewhere.

Something was not right in the manor as Feru moved through. The place was quiet, which was expected since the party was over. But still something was wrong. Sadly Feru couldn’t figure out what until something picked her up by her robes. “Meow, what’s going on?” The cat girl cried out.

“You don’t belong here. Now get out and stay out.” She never saw the man that grabbed her as she was escorted out the main doorway and swiftly thrown on her butt.

“Hey mongrel cat slut! Get out of here now or I’ll have the golems squish your pathetic butt.” Called the most rude and well crazy young lady the little cat girl ever seen. She was dressed in rags with a cute and youthful face that was tainted with hatred. Feru made good the threat and ran right up the hill as the huge Golems moved to the threat.

Once up the hill she collapsed and panting from the run, her body pushed itself too much in the attempt to escape that it needed the break. Well at least she had her life and the ring that she was given.

Looking up the cat girl blushed, there were three people up there and they must have seen her embarrassing exit. “Um… Meow er hi.” Feru said at lest not sure what to say, and her panting wasn’t helping.

[Krugor]

“What do you mean you don’t know of the Explosive Horn?!”

Krugor said loudly, slamming his fist on the table in front of him. It had been a enjoyable party ever since he arrived at the estate, but now, this weird looking waiter was about to turn the tide.

“I-I’m s-sorry, sir! I just don’t know…”

“Blasphemy! Who’s the chef tonight?!”

Still not lowering his voice the skeleton got up from his seat, a small wooden bench, and waved his fist somewhat angry in the air. Several other guests at the gathering were giving the man scrutinizing looks, but he didn’t care. This was outrageous.

“Again, blasphemy I tell you! Gods, half gods, deities, half deities, mortals and immortals everywhere I look! Yet not one of them knows how to make the extraordinary Explosive Horn! It’s a scandal, I say! It would be such a delicious treat on such an occasion as this.”

The young waiter was now starting to shake as the rattling skeleton yelled at him. A red blush colored his cheeks as more and more guests looked their way. “Please, sir. Calm down, yelling isn’t going to solve anything!” the boy carefully replied.
This seemed to ease Krugor as he walked away from the scene and softly spoke to himself;

“The kid is right. It is time I take matters into my own hands!”

Gracefully speeding towards the estate’s kitchen he already grabbed the steel pot hanging from his backpack. The heavy wooden door marked “Ethiopia Estate’s Kitchen. Please keep out.” was slightly open and Krugor could carefully take a peek inside. Several Elves and humans dressed in dirty, yet distinctively white suits with big hats, that were shaped like a large mushroom, were going about their business. A sweet sent left the kitchen through the narrow opening which Krugor was looking through. Such heart warming delicacies and yet they don’t know… he thought to himself.

A soft push against the door opened it completely and the man quickly entered the small, though really crowded, kitchen. “Who are you and what are you doing here!?” a muscular and bulky man said while approaching Krugor. Apparently he was the only one who noticed the skeleton being there for all the others were still to busy with their cooking.

“My name is Krugor and I’m here to show you what real cooking is.”

Shoving the man aside, which went relatively easy to Krugor’s surprise, he found himself a free spot behind a very hot stove. Slamming his pot on the fire he quickly grabbed his recipe book and a small sack with spices from his bag. “Hey you! You can’t do…” the man who approached started to speak again, but was interrupted by yet another young waiter who pulled him out of the kitchen. Laughing a bit for this lucky turn of events he went back to his book. Carefully examining the recipe he prepared all the ingredients on the table next to him. Another sack containing a wide variety of mushrooms was opened and without blinking Krugor pulled the right one out of it. Throwing everything into the water filled pot on the stove he looked satisfied at his creation.

Then suddenly it hit him. He had forgotten the most valuable part of the mixture. An ingredient not to be forgotten if you wanted that special taste. “You, cooking type guy, where do you keep the wines?”
The man looked somewhat dumbstruck when he noticed a skeleton in his kitchen but quickly responded. He had more important things to worry about, it seemed. Walking over to the place the cook had pointed out Krugor grabbed 3 bottles of wines from the rack. One very old, with a somewhat dusted bottle, red wine. Apparently from Corone. And two white ones, made in Raiaera. Emptying all of the three bottles into his pot he smiled again. It was soon ready. The most loved party snack of Althanas.

==//==

“WHY YES I DID!” a loud voice screamed through the hallway. To Krugor’s most sincere surprise it was morning already. Slowly getting up from the now cold and hard floor he rubbed his head a little. That Explosive Horn lived up to his name yet again he thought jokingly to himself. And indeed, his head felt like it was about to explode.

At first the skeleton had some difficulty recognizing his surroundings, but slowly the vagueness was disappearing and he had a clear view of the estate again. “Damn you deities! Screaming in the early morning! Some people are hung-over, y’know!” he yelled in the direction of the persons who ran past him.

Grumbling a little he managed to get on his feet and made his way outside. It was a very bright morning and Krugor had to cover his eyes a little to protect them from the rays of the sun. A slight yawn escaped him. He took small steps through the high grass and chuckled a bit as he saw a little feline girl getting rudely thrown out of the estate. “It seems not everybody had a pleasant night” he said to himself.

[Cyrus the virus]

Luc had attented a party of nobles once, at Harlaxton Manor. It had been a massive construct near Concordia forest, hidden away from the common folk of Radasanth and revealed only to those who were deemed important enough to visit. When he'd first gotten his invitation to that event, Luc set out to buy some nice clothes, spending nearly two hundred gold on the finest silks in Corone. The party turned out to be a cruel joke, a planned trap, as men Luc could hardly remember descended from the cieling and attacked.

Now he felt regal enough to avoid the whole shopping process. His typical clothes were nice enough anyway; a clean green tunic with copper buttons and black trim along the sides, fine black pants, shined black boots and a truly elegant green cape, emblazoned with rune designs of gold. He had changed so much since the Harlaxton incident years ago, when he was consumed by his need to make a good impression.

Here, with his different mindset, Luc saw the gathering for the farce it was. Haughty elves talking to each other in their snooty language, turning their nose at anyone who simply wasn't an elf of their arrogant caliber, women chatting about the goings-on of the land, not politics, of course, but fashion designs and the in thing. Elves seemed to be the most vain of races to him, now that he was observing them. Luc almost felt sick that he had once strived to be that kind of talky wretch.

The wine was making the whole trip worth it, he thought, as he took a long draw from his thin glass. He had money to spare, but a free half dozen glasses of Raiaeran Moon Murve was better than any paid-for drink. His eyes wandered lazily over the crowd on the dance floor, the only hint of excitement coming when he laid eyes upon a fine elven maiden. And how beautiful they were, these elves... Even the men were like incredible statues, Luc could see.

Still, that was no excuse for being an intolerant gossip.

The mage placed his empty glass atop a nearby table and declined another. His mind was becoming sluggish enough from the wine, and he wanted to stay sharp enough to Windwalk home without turning solid within a wall or mountain. Some time passed, and he remained against the room's wall. Luc was about to leave, tired of the uneventful night that lay sprawled ahead of him, when one of those elven maidens took her twentieth glance at him and finally approached.

She spoke some nonesense Luc couldn't comprehend, but the sound of her fluid voice made him straighten and take a calming breath. She grinned and corrected herself immediately, "Oh, I'm sorry! I don't speak this language very much. No need to, I guess!"

Luc smiled and nodded to acknowledge her, but didn't try to extend the conversation any further than that. The woman tossed her hair back and continued, though, not leaving him in peace. "You've been standing here against the wall for so long now, don't you plan on dancing? It's hardly a party if you just stand around sampling the wine, you know."

He felt all too much like he did when he met Venna in Radasanth a month ago. She had seemed to come from nowhere and take his heart in her grasp. He had been completely enthralled by her from the moment they met, but she had turned out to be something inhuman, quite literally. Luc's heart was racing now, but it was also wounded and angry.

"Let me tell you a few things," he responded slowly. "If I wanted to dance, I'd be dancing now. And if I wanted to pursue an elven woman who would die six hundred years after I will, I would be doing so. I don't know what you want with me, but I've been watching you elves all night. Maybe you know who I am and want the status that would come with having me, or maybe a human is like a pet to you, but I want none of it.

"None of that shit," he continued, gaining momentum. "Your beauty is only beaten by your obvious fakeness. Find another human to be your plaything for a decade or two."

She was stunned and silent then, eyes wide in shock. Luc's outburst was the last thing she'd expected.

"Enjoy the party," he stated finally, after the silence had become unbearable, and his being exploded into beautiful green wind that whisked from the room in a flash, leaving the elven woman to gaze incredulously at nothing but the wall.

[Solomon]

Why did I come here? I never have fun at parties. What makes me think that this one will be any different? The thoughts struck Solomon like clean blows on the chin, leaving him feeling out of his league and too small for his shoes. I belong in my cabin, away from so many people! He continued to think. As much as Solomon had been looking forward to attending such a party, within the first hour he wondered why he did it. There was some small fantasy inside of him that this time it would be different. That he just might get to know a couple of people, laugh for the first time in years, and possibly even meet a nice girl to dance with. Such hopes were never attained. His social awkwardness kept him from sustaining any sort of conversation that wasn't leading up to some sort of fight or journey. He just wasn't that good with people, especially when the goal was to simply 'be sociable.'

However, Solomon was out of adventures at the time. He had been for a while now to say the least. He needed to occupy himself with something other than constant trips to the pub in the evening. He was never a drinker until those last three months of nothing practically forced him into it. Existence was beginning to be questionable to him now. Yet there was always the hope that were there was people, and plenty of them, something interesting might come his way.

The hours went by, seeming like years to him. The heat and sweat of the great manor became irritating to him, and the look it displayed on his face was probably the reason nobody spoke to him. Either that or the fact that he was wearing a gi and traveler's boots while the majority of the company was dressed in the finest of all fine things.

Your gi? What were you thinking! Solomon thought silently. He dressed to be ready for the fight. That was the way he was and he never thought otherwise. That was until some of the prettiest girls he had ever seen gave him strange looks with their diamond eyes.

Not one person making conversation with him Solomon found himself on the balcony of the impeccable estate. It was nice of the hosts to keep their doors open to everyone. He was welcomed in as though he were a guest of honour, yet the moment he left the doorway he was just Solomon. An alien in the seemingly infinite land of Althanas.

The courtyard breeze was as sweet and dreamy as any. It blew softly through his black hair and cooled the sweat that dabbed his forehead and streaked along his scalp. The moon reached the point where it could rise no longer and had to begin the close of the grand party. Why had he bothered coming here? And how had he stayed here so long hating himself for it? Solomon knew what it was. Still that tiny hope that someone might just find him here, a girl, and be intrigued by him.

"You want a girlfriend so badly Solomon?" He whispered onto the wind. He didn't answer himself. Not even silently in his mind did he answer himself. He had no clue what the answer was.

Finally giving in, Solomon scaled the balcony and escaped both the manor and the stinging cut of his loneliness. Not spoken to, and not saying a word to anyone, Solomon left as though he had never been in the first place. Who would miss him anyway?

[Chidori Draconid]

As he descended the hill Chidori caught sight of a pale young woman with cat ears hastily making her way out of the orchard. The second golem, which he hadn’t paid much attention to, was terrorizing the young cat lady until she was a safe distance away from the house. Even then she continued at a fast pace until she made it past the orchard. Chidori backed up into Nu Gua as the young woman scurried up the hill and fell that the feet of the three of them.

“One of your guests, Nu Gua?” Avakra asked.
“Yes.” Nu Gua said with a sly smile on her face. “This cute little enchantress was to have a wonderful night with Magus Xyn, but it seems as though that was a bust. Feru Magus doesn’t have that certain glow, if you know what I mean.” She chuckled, “You two know what I mean.”
Chidori rolled his eyes. “Do you make it your prerogative to get people to spend the night together, Nu?”
“You youngling deities need a history lesson. Back in the day I made the first intelligent beings out of clay and when I got tired I taught them how to do the do. Ever since then it’s been my thing.” A golden apple appeared in the goddess’s hand and she took a big bite out of it. “Besides you two are probably the best match I’ve ever made, which you’ll realize later on. Why are we talking about this? You and this cat girl need to go back in there to get that plant and perform an enchantment, and I need to talk to Avakra about your wife, Chid.”

The young deity froze in shock. He had honestly forgotten about that woman, but now…
“You have a wife!?” Avakra’s natural outburst interrupted Chidori’s thoughts. Her voice wasn’t raised, but the astonishment in her voice gave him something to worry about. He turned to see a face that was more so forlorn than fuming, which in turn broke his heart. He wanted to say something, but before he could Nu Gua looked at him with a straight face for the first time and said, “Go, Chidori. I’ll explain everything to her.”

The goddess turned and led Avakra to the side of the hill opposite of the estate. Chidori felt horrible. The moral upstanding gentleman would have at least told her that he was in the middle of a marriage, and try to explain it to her. However, his chances of being with her would be nil after releasing such information. Perhaps the very immortals he was fighting against were right for challenging his moral fortitude the night before because quite truthfully if Chidori could turn back time he would have done the same thing all over again. That had to have made him a bad person.

A somber Chidori sat down beside the panting cat lady, who obviously heard all of this, and looked out at the orchard, “Let’s make a deal. If you don’t hate me for committing adultery and if you help me get to the back end of the property, I’ll get you anything you need for your enchantment or whatever Nu Gua was talking about. I know it’s a two for one, but it’ll make our tasks all the easier… hopefully.”

[Meow]

Feru could not help but look confused at the trio she ran into at the top of the hill. They were strange or humans, looking pretty much as an artists dream brought back to life. They looked too perfect to be real, almost as if they were dram people.

But how they looked was nothing much but the way that the one female talked about Feru as if she intimately known the cat girl but she talked like the kitty magus was not there. “Meow?” Feru said in confusion wondering why she was being ignored while being the topic of the conversation.

But then it ended when it was said that the male had a wife, why that was important to change subject and separate the male, Who Feru guessed was Chidori from being addressed as that. But thankfully she was no longer being examined by someone that knew way too much. And better yet, Chidori was offering to help her out if helped him.

“Meow, sure thing.” Feru chimed happily; somehow she felt that it wouldn’t be too hard even though she was chased out. “You’ll have to be quiet or the mean people will hear.” Her tail swished back and forth while she looked into the god’s eyes, such a strange yet beautiful color.

Feru then looked to the manor and saw something strange approaching, someone that was really skinny, now he was a skeleton. “Meow, what’s the undead doing here?” She asked her companion as she wondered if it would be best to ready for a spell to keep the walking corpse at bay.

(sorry for the short post)

[Krugor]

Still suffering from a headache Krugor walked up the grassy hill. It felt like an army of Dwarves were bashing away inside his skull. His bones rattled more this morning than any other day and the skeleton took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. It had turned out to be a good idea to get some fresh air, he already felt slightly better the moment he left the estate. And apart from some strange golems and cat girl nothing really weird had happened. Which was a nice change of pace for Krugor.

Little did he know that once he arrived at the top of the hill things could change. For once he fully stepped on the highest point he gave a short, high pitched scream. He grabbed his chest with his hand and breathed heavily.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!” he said to the two persons sitting in front of him. He immediately recognized the small, feline girl. It was the one he saw running earlier this morning. But the other person didn’t quite ring a bell with him. It could be that he met the man at the party last night, but even if he did he wouldn’t remember. Krugor chuckled again as he thought back at his drunken moments. Getting himself together again after the unexpected meeting he cleared his throat.

“Luckily I’m dead already, so no worries!” He flashed a quick smile before continuing “I’m Krugor, nice to meet you. What are you doing here?”

As he spoke the skeleton sat down next to the couple. Krugor took off his backpack and positioned the thing so that he could sit right on top of it. He wasn’t really invited to take a seat but these two didn’t seem like they would mind. And he could use someone to talk to this morning, to keep his thought away from his hung-over state.

Leaning a bit on his staff he watched over the orchard in front of him. It hadn’t really occurred to him that there were more persons down there than the single golem he saw before, but now he noticed another golem and a strange woman dancing around in filthy rags.

Curiosity hit him and closed his eyes a bit in an attempt to get a better view of the dancer. “Who is that?” he asked, genuinely interested, though not really directing his question at either of the two persons next to him.

[Chidori Draconid]

The undead? Chidori didn’t notice any undead on the property, not this morning at least. The Peach Group never really had the ability to raise the undead. It was either kill or fully resurrect for the eight of them, so if there was any undead that would mean someone else was raising them. A necromancer perhaps, but that would be an extremely bad sign because unless said person was in league with the Peach Group, he or she would have been informed by a god. Others wouldn’t be far behind.

Chidori finally caught sight of what Feru was referring to, a walking skeleton that seemed surprisingly animated. He was dressed in linen carrying a staff and a backpack as he wandered cautiously through the peach orchard. This skeleton was far to sentient to be resurrected from a necromancer. First of all an undead skeleton would be wandering aimlessly or hypnotically to its primary goal. In addition why resurrect a skeleton with a backpack and staff when one could resurrect a more battle ready skeleton, perhaps with a sword and shield. Lastly the clean linen clothing suggested a conscious need for clothing.

“That skeleton isn’t undead. He’s dead. See the way he’s moving? He’s far too self aware to be a necromancer’s puppet. There’s a soul in there. Let’s stick around and see if he might join us.”

The skeleton was lucky for he had just missed the eye of both the golems and Lan Ts’ai-ho, and now he was wandering in their direction. Even though his face was nonexistent and an inflexible skull represented a face, it was easy to comprehend that he was confused. It may have been the body language, and how he looked about as if his surroundings were somewhat unfamiliar. They felt unfamiliar to Chidori as well. The young deity knew he’d have to get used to this setting if he was going to live here. Although he wouldn’t be surprised or disappointed if Nu Gua decided not to offer her hospitality to him anymore, but even in the midst of this situation that seemed unlikely to Chidori.

That woman was atypical if he had ever experienced it. She seemed to be taking this situation with an exceptionally light hearted tone. This was her house being invaded and it was Chidori and Avakra’s fault. Was Nu Gua that powerful of a goddess that she could effortlessly take her home back, and that she was just allowing its usurping to challenge Chidori. It was possible, and even likely. The woman had a smile on her face throughout the entire ordeal until Avakra found out that Chidori had a wife. So that’s where the goddess’ priorities were. The seizure of her home was less important than the severing of an informal relationship less than twenty four hours old.

A yelp from the skeleton broke Chidori’s train of thought. The young deity felt sort of guilty for the way Feru had been treated upon her entrance so he made it up here by standing and offering a polite nod.

“I’m Chidori, and this is…” he was uncertain of his memory and he looked at the catgirl for approval, “Feru Magus? We were ousted by eight old men and women, one of which being the lady in the distance you’re curious about. Her name is Lan Ts’ai-ho, the immortal representative of youth and poverty. She and the other seven men and women are the Peach Group, men and women who earned immortality through morals.”

Should he ask Krugor to join him and Feru? Why did he even ask himself that? He needed all the help he can get, but he’d have to be up front with them both.

“I hate to say it, but they’ve taken over the estate, and it’s my fault.” He scratched his head nervously. “I had sex with another divine being last night and we produced something that they want to keep us from. So it is my mission to get what I rightfully created and act accordingly. Would you care to join us? I’ll make it worth your while.”

Chidori didn’t know how he was going to do that, but he would figure it out afterwards.

[Krugor]

The skeleton guided his slim, bony fingers over his hairless skull. Contemplating the bulk of information the man next to him threw at him he sighed, trying to get a hold of things. Taken a hold of the estate? he thought to himself. Apparently there was something big going on, for the man named Chidori spoke to him in a very serious manner. And he asked for Krugor’s help. An even bigger indication that the matter at hand was not to be easily solved.

He turned his head to look at the couple next to him. The expression on Chidori’s face revealed that the man had a lot of stuff to think about, even going about asking a complete stranger for help. Krugor smiled a bit. For a second there he saw a reflection of his wife in the man, always worrying yet not afraid to deny it. Slowly his eyes wandered to the girl sitting next to Chidori, a young girl by the looks of it. Krugor swallowed loudly as he saw a tail revealing itself from behind the girl. This was no ordinary girl, and there was probably more to it than the eye could see. He slapped on his knee, confirming his decision. This couple needed his help, even if it was a weird couple, to say the least.

“Alright, I’ll help you” he said smiling “it might help me get rid of this headache.”

He didn’t even knew the person dancing in front of him, nor did he have the slightest to clue as to how powerful she could be. It also wasn’t known to him what the power of the thing that Chidori created was, or if it was the right choice to help him. Maybe the woman deserved it more? It could be, he thought, but it didn’t matter. This man and girl needed his help and he gave them his word. Besides, the two of them looked rather cute and the woman dressed in rags had a certain aura around her, revealing a bit of cruelness. Then again, he could be wrong.

“So, how are we going to do this?” Krugor asked, reaching out for his staff “You said she was immortal. I never battled an immortal being before.”

He laughed as he it now sunk into him that Chidori indeed said she was immortal. How where they possibly able to battle her? Odds where against them, but Krugor already got up from his seat, pulling himself up using his staff. A smirk showed on his face. This was going to be fun.

[Chidori Draconid]

Avakra walked beside Nu Gua back towards Eluriand staring at the highest tip of Velice Arta. It was a habit of hers to stare at one object when she was lost in conflicting thought. How could she have done this to herself? When Chidori Draconid introduced himself, Avakra immediately envisioned herself with him the next morning, whether she gave herself to him or not. She didn’t see all of this, the seed the two of them produced, the seizure of Nu Gua’s home, or even the revelation of Chidori’s marriage. None of that appeared to her. She should have been enraged with the young deity for not being an upstanding citizen and telling her that he was marries. In fact he should not have pursued or even met her in the first place. It was wrong of a married man to do these things. And yet as Avakra looked into the future all she could see was the two of them sitting atop the estate’s roof gazing upon the Raiaeran sunset. She could feel his warm touch as they bathed in the very spring they intimately connected in. She could hear them singing to each other from opposite sides of Althanas professing their care for each other. But pride attempted to suppress these visions.

Avakra would never accept Chidori.

“Pretty palace, isn’t it, Avy?” Nu Gua seemed to have a nickname for every one, “I’m not going to ask you what you’re thinking about. That’s more than obvious, but I do need to ask you a few questions.”

“Ask me wha…” Avakra was dumbfounded, “Why didn’t you tell me he was married last night?”

“Because you wouldn’t have slept with him, but let’s not get off track. I’m the one asking the questions here, honey.” How dare she? This goddess had worked to get the two of them together knowing that they would be committing adultery and now Avakra, the victim, was being interrogated. “Do you know what’s funny about the gods and names?”

Avakra let her silence answer.

“The lot of us have names that represent what we symbolize or where we came from. Take my name for example. As you can see I definitely don’t show my age. My name comes from an old language long forgotten. It roughly means creator or enabler, which is fitting. Another example would be Chidori. His middle name is Astram, the male version of Astri, which is the name of his mother, Nymph and Muse of the Sky. His last name is Draconid, which roughly means baby dragon. Naturally so because his father is Draco, God of Dragons. The only thing unique to him is his first name, which… means nothing. It was made up and seemingly fitting to his demeanor and personality. This leads us to your name. Avakra means water in the language of the gods, and Ambul means mind.” a long moment of silence followed. “What are your powers, Avakra?”

There was no hiding it any longer. She had to come out with it or risk loosing a friend. Perhaps if she answered Nu Gua’s questions, she would answer Avakra’s “The entire gamut of extra sensory perception, but I excel in precognition and atmospheric empathy.” Her breathing became heavy and fast.

“That explains a lot. You’re a wonderful performer, but empathy would help on the bad days. Tell me one more thing and I’ll indulge your curiosity. Correction: your concern. Why Chidori? Out of the three years you’ve attended parties at my estate, he is the first man you ever accepted. Gods and men alike have pursued you. Your father tells me it’s been like that since you were sixteen, but you finally gave yourself to Chidori. What made him different?”

That was not a difficult question to answer. That was then Nu Gua noticed the look of panic on Avakra’s sweat drenched face as she answered.

“My precognition. Every time a man introduces himself to me I see my future with him. It would always end with that night. Whether I was going to give myself to them or not, they wouldn’t be beside me the next day, the next month or year.” Her voice was filled with anger, and her hands were balled into little fists. “I’m a good person. I’m a good woman! Yet none of them cared to stay with me the next day, and that made them bad men!” She dropped to her knees and tightly grasped the grass. “When I met Chidori I saw him by my side the next day. Let's be realistic. I’m not saying that I’m in love with him, and I’m not saying that he’s in love with me, but I could see it happening… I could literally see our relationship growing, and I’m still seeing it as we speak. There are so many things wrong with that. I would never take him and yet I’m still seeing this!….Ah!...Ah!...” Avakra couldn’t speak anymore. She fanned herself with her dirty hands as she began to hyperventilate. One of the drawbacks of her extra sensory perception was an unbreakable connection between her emotional and physical wellbeing.

Nu Gua sat on her knees next to Avakra and wrapped her in a warm embrace. The goddess then turned Avakra’s face towards hers. Nu Gua was smiling. In the midst of all this she was still smiling. “In all your life have your visions ever been wrong? In all your life have your visions ever changed? The answer is no. That’s because they are going to happen. Chidori and his wife are in an arranged marriage, the only arranged marriage in heaven. I don’t know what those people were thinking when they decided to force those two together. They don’t love or even like each other. In fact it was only five years ago that she was on Althanas and she found herself several mates. He never made any objections, and what’s a marriage without love? As far as I’m concerned Chidori has no wife.”

Avakra’s panic began to subside. It was amazing how a few words brought her back to regularity. It was a relief to know that this marriage was one that was not recognized by both partners. Her persistent visions made sense now, and she began to accept them. Chidori had gone from a wonderful man to an adulterous creep, and back to a wonderful man in just moments’ time. Out of all the people she had come across in this world, Avakra may have found the only good one for her, a god in the making.

Avakra could accept Chidori.

Only one question remained. Who was Chidori’s wife?

****

Chidori stood up using his cane as support.

“The Peach Group is a special set of immortals. They achieved their status by obtaining what they like to call moral fortitude, which blesses their souls with immortality, but not necessarily their bodies. It’s been a long time since they’ve achieved this status, so they’ve lost sight of who they are. Now they ride along on their high horse of hypocrisy shouting down useless words of conservative advice from the mountaintop. But I digress. The key to at least holding our own against the Peach Group is to take them down one by one. Their souls will rendezvous with Li Tieh-kuai, who’s probably somewhere in the middle of the house. He will then go to the bodies and use a life restoring gourd to resurrect them. The good news is Tieh-kuai is an old hag who will take forever to get to the dead bodies, so we’ll have time to advance to the back garden every time we defeat one of the members.”

Our first immortal will be Lan Tsai-ho, the representative of youth and poverty. The two golems guarding the front are under her control, and they’re invincible by our standards, but they’re kind of slow. Way I see it Krugor and I will each distract a golem while Feru pays Lan back for ever so rudely kicking her out of the house. When Feru kills Lan the golems will become lifeless.”

(Don’t respond without PMing me first. Krugor and I can bunny one golem each while Feru can bunny Lan Tsai-ho. PM me for details)

[Meow]

Feru wrapped her fuzzy little head around the idea of the Krugor being dead like the young man said. The dead didn’t move as Feru thought, if they moved they were undead. Still the skeleton man acted quite strange for any undead but he wasn’t dead or alive so she guessed her first guess was right.

Sadly all the planning went on while Feru was wondering what the skeleton is and soon it was her turn to take on the immortal. “Meow, Me?” She looked at the Immortal of poor taste. It seemed that the death of the strange woman was up to the feline of the group. Although compared to the huge Golems that the other two dealt with the girl didn’t seem so bad. “Um Ok.” Feru agreed figuring that she would have the best chance though maybe just knock the immortal out and get passed. Death was only a complication to her.

But to Feru it was final and the kitty girl knew it deep in her heart, as do all animals.

It was her job to deal with the woman, and it seemed that they wanted her dead. I never killed anyone before. Feru thought with a gulp as she went forward slowly, not wanting to be seen. But she killed mice, maybe think of the woman as a big mouse. But Mice don’t fight back. Feru gulped again as she went forward some more.

“Back for more, stupid Kitty!” Lan called in her angry voice pointing at the cat girl. “Golems, smash her!”

Feru yelped as she was caught before she was sure what to do but thankfully the huge golems would be busy and the immortal would have to get her own hands dirty. Sadly Lan was pretty quick to figure out the stone men were not helping at the moment.

“Dumb rocks.” The immortal girl yelled while stamping her foot but she started to play her lute and sent a feeling of harmful magic that sent Feru’s fur to rise and made the cat girl dive behind a rock before a spell could get off and the deadly thunderbolt simply put a burn in the rock of Feru’s cover.

Feru Shivered as she felt the spell go off. The immortal was a better spell caster than her and that lightning bolt was far stronger than the one Feru was capable of. “Meow, I’m going to die…” Feru whispered to herself for her stupidity. Lan didn’t wait and ran and jumped into Feru’s cover and sent her foot onto the cat girls butt sending her kitty target to slide along the ground while whimpering.

“Already you got your butt kicked.” The immature Immortal laughed as she walked up to the cat girl to play with her prey like a cat with a mouse. “You’re going to regret screwing around with… Ow, Ow, Ow!” Lan screamed as Feru bit into her leg, the immortal was too busy taunting to notice the cat girl lunge and take a bite. “Let go let GO!!”

“Oh!! U’ll ‘ill ee!” Feru said with her mouth full as Lan shook her leg and caused Feru to be losing her grip.

“That’s it you don’t stand a chance against my magic.” Lan backed off and started to sing a song, a strong and powerful one that would destroy the cat girl so there would be nothing of ashes left.

“Meow…” Feru looked at the spell and felt strong energies, Lan wasn’t kidding but Feru’s survival instincts control making Feru take her book and focus, a quick fireball erupted from Feru’s hand and went strait, Lan was a easy target and didn’t dodge until it was too late, her cheap clothes catching fire as easy as hot grass. Feru had to close her ears and eyes.

“Meow, I didn’t mean to go that far…” Feru said as she looked at the smoldering body; she always didn’t like it when a mouse dies like that.

“Nya, I, I think I made too much noise.” Feru whimpered to her cohorts, not sure if they were still dealing with the golems. It was pretty obvious that someone in the manor heard the messy fight that Feru had.

[Chidori Draconid]

With an intrepid glare, Chidori walked alongside Feru ready to face his share of the trouble. It seemed as though the universe stirred in excitement as the two parties approached each other. The wind made the peach trees lean to and fro as if they were dancing to the memory of the previous night’s music. The birds, for the most part unseen, stopped chirping. Even they knew what was about to transpire. Someone was going to die, but Chidori was determined to make sure that wasn’t him or his allies. It may have just been the pre battle anxiety but the young deity felt as if his senses were sharper at that moment. He hadn’t noticed the sweet scent of the peaches the day before, but today they filled his nose with such sharpness that he could just barely taste them on the back of his tongue. It was then that he realized the irony of the situation. He and his unlikely allies were about to fight to the death with an immortal surrounded by peaches, symbols of immortality.

They finally stopped in front of Lan with a fair amount of distance separating the two parties. She had seen Chidori and his people coming so she had summoned the golems near and now they stood at her sides. The young immortal addressed Feru with a bitterness that showed her immaturity and her true age at the same time. Whether she liked it or not, Lan Tsai-ho was just an old hag like the rest of the Peach Group. She just refused to grow up, and so she responded to thousands of years of knowledge and experience with a youthful arrogance. Seven internal spots inside Chidori’s body began to tingle as he took a few deep breaths. This wasn’t pre battle anxiety. This was pre battle preparation. Chidori wanted to summon and use his Stellar Energy at a second’s notice.

A second’s notice is exactly what he was given, if not less, when Lan ordered the white stone golem to crush Feru. Chidori immediately released his energy. Within a moment it formed as a small blue projectile that darted at the golem’s eyes. Although Chidori missed, he had succeeded in distracting the golem. It was no longer focused on crushing the cat girl. It was focused on crushing him, and it proceeded to do so lifting its massive arm straight into the air. That monster’s fist had to have been a good fifty feet in the air as it sparkled in the sun. Chidori simply backed up behind a tree. Seconds later its trunk was deformed and nearly flattened by the fist of the golem. Just at that moment a strange thumping sound came from Chidori’s right. It grew louder and more frequent, and the young deity turned to see that it was the left arm of the golem plowing trees over with ease. Some trunks broke over, others seemed to explode in half as the hand and arm of the golem came at them with unrelenting velocity. He turned away and just barely sprinted out of its reach as a breeze followed the colossal swiping hand. Unfortunately he couldn’t stop. The shadow of a misshapen tree was chasing him, for the golem had picked the tree up and was ready to swat the young deity like a fly. He had to close in on some trees. That way there would be something between him and the giant’s weapon. The shadow stopped and he could hear the trunk make contact with the ground behind him. The vibrations could be felt in his feet, and moist splinters of the once living tree sprayed his back like a shower. At least it wasn’t the tree that hit him.

Slow thunderous steps began to follow Chidori, but he kept running. He was no coward although his eyes were wide and his pace was desperately fast. He was just smart. This battle had to be fought from a distance and with the only useful weapon Chidori had, his Stellar Energy. It wasn’t even certain that it would be useful, but it was worth a shot. The bulky golem’s size was hindering its speed. It couldn’t run, but its purpose was not to pursue. It was to guard. This golem did not have to chase belligerent enemies of Nu Gua. All it really needed to do was flatten them when they came to the door. Lan Tsai-ho was using it for offensive purposes when it was clearly made for defensive purposes. The vibrations from the steps were decreasing in intensity meaning Chidori was making good distance. After a few more seconds of running he turned to see the golem moving through the trees in the distance. He was well out of the reach of the golem, so now he could really concentrate on his Stellar Energy.

The young deity put his palm up to face the golem’s head. This time he would definitely need to aim, and although no real gesture was needed to launch or even activate his Stellar Energy as a whole, he had a feeling that aiming with his hand would help. He began to breathe deep breaths again, and the seven internal points began to tingle again. A blue aura began to radiate about his personal space and ripples of warmth pulsed over his skin. The blue reflection off of the tree trunks around him indicated that the aura was quite luminous even in the middle of the day, but it began to disappear as he began to focus it. The glistening giant began to close in. He would be within its reach in a few great steps, but Chidori still waited. The golem stopped walking and coiled back for another smash, and that was when Chidori launched his projectile. It was perfect timing. His target would never be closer, and it wasn’t moving. The ball of blue plasma jetted at the golem’s head and exploded upon contact. The young deity ran some more as the golem regained his composure. The Stellar Energy projectile did nothing but slow the golem down, but Chidori’s intentions were not to destroy it, but distract it long enough for Feru to kill its mistress.

A few moments passed, and he hadn’t heard any thunderous footsteps. The golem was not pursuing him anymore. In fact it wasn’t moving at all. It was simply standing where Chidori had hit it. Then he heard the voice of the cat girl.

“Nya, I, I think I made too much noise.”

“Hah! You made too much noise?” Chidori humorously said in a projected voice as he followed Feru’s. “Those golems slamming all over the place had to have given the house a wake up call. Now where’s that skeleton?”

[Krugor]

”Yaaaa!”

Screaming his lungs out Krugor charged down the hill, catching up with his two friends. He had been caught within his thoughts for too long and now he was lingering behind. Feru and Chidori were already down below preparing for their battle. As Krugor increased his pace even further, almost tripping over a small trunk, he could see Chidori firing a blue projectile at one of the two golems.
It was their goal to distract the golems from Feru, who had the hard task of taking out the immortal. The skeleton didn’t know how he would possibly keep the golem from crushing both him and his comrades but it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was distraction.

”Let’s get it on!”

Using the momentum he gained while running the skeleton gracefully leaped from bottom of the hill onto the giant golem’s chest. Clinging to its bulky body with one hand Krugor grabbed his cooking pot with his other.

He started bashing on the golem with all the ferocity he could muster. It didn’t take long for the massive creature to pick up Krugor and throw him several feet into the air, but at least he had averted his attention from Feru. It now turned around and made its way towards the undead. Laying on his back and leaning on his elbows Krugor could see the giant heading towards him. He barely escaped the golem’s fist as it smashed into the ground, causing the earth to tremble. The skeleton quickly rolled to the side and got back up on his feet. He spun the cooking pot in his hand and gave the golem an evil look. Maybe I can intimidate it a little he thought to himself.

Apparently it only aggravated the giant even further for it came charging towards Krugor and with ease he picked up the skeleton in his enormous hand. Holding up the undead high above the ground he opened his mouth in an attempt to eat the bony man. “Wait a minute!” Krugor cried out “I cannot let you do that!”. Just as the golem moved his hand, holding the skeleton, closer to his mouth Krugor could see Chidori running through the forest, with another golem on his tail. He smiled as he saw the deity performing several acrobatic moves to get away from the golem. If he can outrun a golem, so can I!

When the giant was about to bite off Krugor’s head the skeleton poked his iron pot into the creature’s right eye. Screaming in agony he threw away his meal and covered his eyes with his hands.

Smashing hard into the ground Krugor could feel the pain shooting through his entire body. It had been a long way down but at least he was free again. And now he needed to run. Fast.

Then suddenly it hit him. Why run if you can ride? The golem was still busy with his eye but it wouldn’t be more than a nuisance to him after a few seconds, yet Krugor had been hurt a lot more from his fall. He couldn’t possibly outrun the thing now. So there was only one option left; to ride.

The golem started to grunt again and lowered his hands. Krugor would only have a split second before the creature came after him again. He quickly raised up his staff and focused his mind. “This’ll be some crazy, mad mushroom racing!” he said, forming a smile in the corner of his lips. Just after the words the decorating fungus on top of his yew staff fell off and dropped to the floor. Within seconds it was the size of a mature horse and Krugor climbed on the massive mushroom. Instantly it charged away, making his way towards Chidori.

Realising his target was fleeing the monster pursued the racing mushroom. It had no more interest in the rest of his surroundings and trampled everything in its path. The Krugor Escape Pod, which he had lovingly nicknamed it, was only moving at the speed of an arrow and the infuriated golem was still maintaining a close distance to the skeleton. If Krugor would slam into a tree of rock it would all be over. He skilfully managed to guide the mushroom through the many obstacles so far though, and he didn’t think the golem would ever catch him.

Until that sudden moment. There was no way Krugor could have seen it coming, it jumped out of the bushes so quickly, there was no time to break the fall. The little deer stood dumbfounded as a dressed skeleton riding a six feet mushroom came charging towards it, then steered right into the tree next to it. As the mushroom shrunk to its original size again Krugor lay beneath the massive tree, that appeared to be standing their for ages. Its thick branches had given the skeleton quite a slap in the face and he felt rather dizzy. The world was spinning in circles and it took Krugor a while before he figured out that the golem wasn’t coming towards him anymore. It was just…standing still. “Odd” he said to himself “Very odd.”

[Chidori Draconid]

It didn’t take long for the young deity to find his skeleton comrade. All he had to do was find the other golem. That wasn’t hard seeing as it was the other pile of white stone towering over the peach trees. Luckily the both of them had gone in the same general direction, and there Krugor was, not far from the frozen stone humanoid.

“Krugor! This way!” Chidori said with a smile as he motioned for the skeleton man to follow him. Just then he caught sight of a small deer. “Poor thing. He must have been scared out of his wits during that whole thing.”

The two of them followed the last sound of Feru’s voice and found her standing in front of a seared Lan Tsai-ho. The immortal’s skin was either burnt black or incandescent orange. Her limbs twitched every now and then. The soul never left the body until the body was completely dead, so Chidori knew that Lan was suffering somewhere in there. For a moment felt bad, then quickly shrugged it of remembering that she would be revived and in perfect shape soon.

“Well seeing as we made so much noise I guess we’d might as well go through the front doors.” That wasn’t the only reason. The mansion itself was attached to the thirty something high walls that surrounded the back garden and the spring area in which Chidori and Avakra intimately connected. In order to get there they would have to go inside for a minimal amount of time. The three of them made their way through the orchard. It would be a few minutes before they got to the highly decorated grand cascade that welcomed visitors, so this may be an opportune time to get to know his unlikely partners.

“So tell me about yourselves.” Chidori said as he knocked a peach off of a tree they passed with his cane. He hadn’t drawn his blade yet. That was a surprise. The young deity picked up some peaches and dusted the pebbles off of them and tossed one to each of his partners. Then he took a big juicy bite out of his own and looked to the two of them.

“What brought you to this party?” He said with a full mouth and a partial smile. He had a problem smiling. Avakra was probably somewhere cursing him to hell, and as much as he could act like he was perfectly fine, the thought haunted the back of his mind.

[Meow]

The three rejoined around the entrance of the huge manor that they were storming. Feru couldn’t get the last fight out of her mind, somehow she won but it shouldn’t have been that way. The woman was an immortal, a better mage and fighter on top of that. Anyone that would place bets would never bet on the cat girl to win. It was like a cat fighting a junkyard dog but somehow the cat won.

The battle was over and yet another should be hot on its heels since someone should have noticed the loud crashing and everything but each moment there was nothing and Even Chidori taken a relaxed expression and started eating a peach and handing one to Feru.

The Kitty girl sniffed the peach but tried to hide the face she made when the smelt its scent. The overly sweet fruit just was one thing a kitty girl wasn’t going to try, or at least while the scent of burnt hair and flesh was wrecking the taste buds. Feru let the fruit go and roll a short ways in the dirt but she didn’t mind the small talk.

“Meow, um I came for a celebration of my success in learning the basics in the ways of the magus. I was supposed to have a good time here with one of my master’s friends.” Feru said with a smile though she wondered what Nu Gua meant when she mentioned it. Was something more supposed to happen? It worried Feru a little when she thought about the idea that she might have disappointed someone. Did she do something wrong?

“I’m only an apprentice but I think I’m doing ok, nya?” Feru finished with a questioning mew as she wondered if she might have been the better mage in the last fight or if it was a fluke. Maybe Khan would be proud of her lucky heroism that she just did just now. Maybe she was a good sorceress and not a silly cat girl like everyone seemed to think about her at first.

[Krugor]

Krugor took a big bite off the peach Chidori threw at him as he listened to Meow telling her story. It was quite fascinating but he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering away. The peach he just took a bite from tasted unbelievably sweet, the fresh juice dripping along his boned cheek. It was so strange that he could taste. Unlike other skeletons he had met Krugor was the only that could sense, taste and identify foods and drinks. It was fairly odd for a resurrected person to experience the freshness of a peach, but Krugor enjoyed it. He could feel his energy being restored, the adventure with the golem drifting to the back of his mind.

“I always go to parties” Krugor started, when Meow finished her story “I always go there to enjoy the cookery of others.” The skeleton followed his two partners to the entrance of the estate as they talked. They were about to embark on a journey of epic proportions, yet they were talking as if there was nothing at hand. Maybe it was for the better, Krugor thought, because they needed to keep their heads cool if they wanted to get out of this alive. Alive being a relatively meaningless word with several immortals and a resurrected skeleton doing battle.

Krugor sighed and continued his explanation; “Before I started this new…life…I was a rather popular cook in the army. While my comrades were busy battling the enemy all over the world, I was searching the local libraries and taverns in search of new recipes. And I must say, even last night taught me a thing or two, even though the chef of the estate was really close minded.”

The skeleton smiled as he recollected the memories of the long night he had before. It had been a crazy party. And things were only getting crazier each second. Krugor threw away the remaining parts of the peach and turned his view to Chidori. He took a good, long look at the man before he started;

“We just battled two massive golems and the first immortal. According to your explanation there should be seven more. That’s okay, I gave you my word. But I think you owe us a little more information as to why they’re after you and what you “created”.” Krugor spoke in a serious, yet friendly tone. He truly wanted to know what was going on, but he also didn’t want to make Chidori feel uncomfortable. The skeleton knew better than anyone else how it felt to lose something loved.

[Chidori Draconid]

Chidori looked down in shame at the emerald grass as he flattened several blades with each step. As much as he didn’t want to tell his unlikely allies his story, it was only right that he did. He took a deep breath and looked up as the entrance of the house became closer.

“I guess I should start at the beginning. Feru, do you remember that girl in the blue dress that left with the owner of this house? Well, we slept together. Her and I, we’re not normal. We’re no more unique than a cat girl and an animated skeleton, but when we came together in the midst of nature we unknowingly produced a magical plant that endows normal people with her abilities or mine. But for higher beings it offers a step to godliness. It could grant eternal life for some, but omnipotence from others. For those already gods it may offer a way to defeat a rival god. Knowing this, a lot of the gods are calling fourth their earthly friends to come and storm the house as we speak. Think about the consequences. If you know of any of the religions of Althanas you can just imagine if this item comes into play. One of the Elder Thaynes could gain dominance over the other. In Fallien Mitra may be able to oust Survani and take the continent as his own. Those are only a few examples. Now I don’t know if you guys worship any deities. I sure have my favorites, but I’d rather this thing go to no one.”

The grass and gravel road ended, and the stonework of the front of the estate began. The young deity reached into the pocket of his black pants and pulled out a couple of veils of Kyrol’s potion. He handed one to Feru and one to Krugor then continued. “The Peach Group, the men and women who have commandeered the house, objected to my pursuit of Avakra in the first place. Not because this would happen. It’s not like they were watching every move, and it’s likely that they don’t even know about the plants. They’ve just taken over the house because they’re petty. The plants are in the spring of the rear garden on the opposite side of the mansion. We have to get back there and kill these plants before anyone gets to them.”

The three of them now stood in front of the vast Grand Cascade of the Ethiopia Estate. Chidori had to stop a moment to pay silent ode to this architectural masterpiece. It began at the edge of the front balcony two stories above them where a large waterfall flowed down a series of pearly steps, and from each step a fountain would shoot out a ten foot tower of water that would sparkle in the afternoon sun. This was the cascade, and in the center of the cascade was an artificial grotto faced inside and out with white stone. Fountains on the sides of the grotto were charged with the task of creating a grand arch to glorify it, and fountains below it flowed in a semicircular pool. Silver statues of divine figures stood in various places among this exhibit. One even looked like Chidori’s mother. This looked even more beautiful at night when it was illuminated. A large flight of stairs led up each side of the Grand Cascade to the front balcony, where the entrance was.

The front doors were looking a little less attractive now that Chidori thought about it. Now, after having faced a golem at the hands of the weakest of the eight immortals, the young deity knew that they would be pressing their luck attempting to face the other seven. It would be their heads if they had to face the more battle hardened ones without the help of a god. Plus they couldn’t waste time fighting them when much more powerful beings were on their way.

Chidori sighed as he leaned on his cane. He was at a loss. “The walls are thirty feet high, it would take too long for us to go all the way around, and the front doors are the only way in. Surely the Peach Group knows that. Oh well. It looks like we’re going to have to face them head on for now.”

[Meow]

Feru swished her tail happily, she really started to like Kruger who seemed rather excited and fun for being undead, most were very uninteresting and dull but this one seemed to like to have fun, even with a mind and soul of his own, Feru would guess he would be a rather depressing person.

Feru then listened to Chidori’s story and tilted her head with a questioning “mew?” She thought with the effort that threatened to send smoke out her kitty ears. “What does sleeping together do?” She whispered thinking of it in a platonic since of just sleeping next to a person and not mating. It was strange to her.

But then it came to getting in the manor and Chidori seemed stumped and not too happy. Feru empathized since the front door seemed stupid to even the Kitty girl but there was no choice. Still she had no ideas come into her little brain and she started to get restless and move around, jumping on the wall of the huge fountain and grotto as she started to walk normally using her tail as a balance. But she wasn’t as agile when she was a cat and fell in the pool.

Feru meowed loudly in surprise and discomfort, as she was completely wet. But during the fall she had hit something. “Meow, this isn’t going anywhere.” The magus whined as she shook off the water but she jumped and hid when she heard some growling noise.

“Nya, what’s that?” She looked to a statue on the fountain moving to the side and revealing a hole with some ancient stairs. The cat girl went to look down them with curiosity and forgetting that she was still pretty soaked. “I wonder where it leads? Meow.”

[Chidori Draconid]

“Well then it looks like you’ve found an alternate route for us, Feru.” Chidori said with a smile as he watched the semicircular pool at the bottom of the Grand Cascade caved in to expose grey stone steps leading into pitch black darkness. The reflective water flowing onto the steps lit the narrow corridor up a bit, but it didn’t show them what was at the end.

Chidori had no idea where the flight of stairs led, but it had to have led somewhere on the property. However, this was the house of a Goddess they were trekking here. The young deity figured that it was still a safer bet than the front doors. He shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to enter the corridor. The black boots on his feet slapped upon the thick layer of flowing water as he stepped with caution.

“I hope this isn’t a deathtrap.” He said to himself as all light began to fade away from his vision.

Luckily for the three of them it wasn’t. It was just another Godly parlor trick, the same trick that his mother pulled to bring him here. Chidori’s next step did not land on a wet stone. Instead it landed on the soft carpet of Nu Gua’s master bedroom. The three of them were now in the midst of a deep passionate red theme. The white carpet lined the room’s circular shape and was patterned with magenta Venus and Mars symbols, which often overlapped and combined.

That was no accident, Chidori was sure of it. Across the room from the trio was a bed covered in red satin sheets and covers, which were soaked. The dominant smell that came from the bed was a musty scent of perspiration, but there was a faint sweet smell that was difficult to identify. Its mahogany wood headboard was cracked in the center, evidence of one of Nu Gua’s more turbulent sexual escapades.

She was a full fledged Goddess; therefore she needed no dresser for clothing. Nor did she need a bathtub. She was ‘eternally pure’ but she had a bathtub nonetheless against the white wall to the right just at the door. A mixture of rose and lotus petals floated and swirled in a continuous circle on the top of the water. Miniature clay figures of humans and other creatures lined the tub’s porcelain edge, and vines crept up from under the carpet to wrap around them. One figure in particular had ruby eyes and rose petals for hair. It was the only labeled one, with a slip of paper that said “succubus”. Naturally she would make a sexual demon.

The other side of the room had something that Chidori wouldn’t expect from someone like Nu Gua, a large study desk. However, it featured many things on its mahogany surface that would be expected of her - accurate, detailed, and overall well done sketches of men and women in all their glory with each other or alone. He had heard about these sketches. Whoever so touched these sketches would be possessed with the emotions of the subject or the artist (Nu Gua), whichever was more likely to drive the victim towards sexual acts. On the edges were various statuettesof things generally unmentionable. Once again one of them looked like Chidori’s mother. At least she was fully clothed unlike the series of seven glass statuettes depicting a demon’s transformation from a fox to a seductive woman.

The afternoon light shined through the window’s magenta drapes on the a glass table with a bowl of cherries in the center along with some half burnt incense and a shining golden apple.

“Wow…” That’s all Chidori could say in reaction to this entire ambiance.

[Krugor]

“Sure…”

The skeleton couldn’t think of anything better to say as he pondered away in his bald skull. The story of Chidori had made him a bit dizzy, slightly nauseous even. Krugor knew there was something big at hand, but this was heavy. So heavy he really didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t even really make sense of it anyway, as he didn’t understood half of it. Deities, gods and dominance. It was all a bit too much.

Luckily the undead could he brake his train of thought and focus on something different as his kitty friend discovered some sort of secret passage into the estate. He was relieved she discovered this, even if it was by accident, for Krugor wasn’t a big fan of breaking into the building through the front doors. Carefully taking in account all factors he guessed their chances of survival had just been raised by about ten percent. Enough for Krugor to regain his confidence.

“Impressive staircase” he said, more or less talking to himself “I wouldn’t mind living in such an estate.”

The feeling of awe quickly replaced itself with jealously, crossing the thin line that runs between them, as Krugor gracefully entered the bedroom inside the cave.

The place was beautiful, unlike anything he had ever seen. Even more beautiful than the rest of the estate, including the enormous cascade with its many fountains. The skeleton charged into the room, carefully examining every single object and piece of art inside the room. If Krugor still had his eyes they would’ve popped out of his sockets about now, looking intensely as he did.

The undead rested his eye sockets on a large study desk, littered with pieces of paper and statues. Gazing at the detailed sketches he picked up one of the papers. Breathlessly he viewed the charcoal drawing of a man entangled in a woman’s embrace. Memories of his human life together with Allyson filled his mind and for a second he could swear he saw the woman on the paper turn into his former wife. Suddenly, without a warning, Krugor felt a strange tingling feeling starting in his toes. It didn’t take long for the warm feeling to take over his entire body. He gave the sketch a tender kiss, pressing his skull against the paper.

“It’s a funny yet strange feeling I’m feeling” Krugor said out loud.

And it was indeed a funny feeling, even though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Chidori and Feru now looked rather pretty and Krugor couldn’t help but smile at them. ”It must be this light” he thought to himself ”but they sure do look nice”.

Sliding his feet over the floor he walked up towards his deity man friend, still holding the charcoal sketch in his hands. His arms shot through the air as if he attempted to catch something, but he merely attempted to grab Chidori. Krugor tried to hug him as he continued smiling. This was a very, very strange feeling and it felt like it wasn’t his own to control.

[Meow]

Feru yelped at the smell that assaulted her senses. Her mind had not known the smell of sex but her feline instincts knew the smell and knew what it meant but wouldn’t tell the mind, just prepare the body. Feru looked about the room to enjoy the rich colors, her eyes had changed in transformation to enjoy the spectrum of color much like a human.

“Meow! The Bed’s so Big!” Feru yelped and giggled as she jumped onto the huge mattress that was rather bouncy and the cat magus decided to enjoy that for a few moments. But the smell continued, the one underneath the sweet flower scents, the scent of lovers and lust.

Nothing the feline lass could do to resist the smell as her body started to bend to the scent, thinking that it be mating season from the overwhelming pheromones that lingered about. “Krugor, what are you doing Meow?” Feru asked as she scratched her nose and stretched while yawning. The bed was just so comfy that she wanted to sleep but she couldn’t, the odd feeling was coming in full force and she just couldn’t hold it any longer.

The magus kitty let out a loud cat like howl and mews at the top of hr lungs. She couldn’t help it anymore and the heat had stricken her to yowl and meow hoping for attention while the skeleton moved to hug Chidori.

But still the mind was far behind, Feru had no clue what was happening to her body and why she was compelled to let out the screams of needed passion and what she wanted in the first place or how to make it stop. She grabbed her hands over her mouth and would have blushed but she was already blushing. “W-What’s going on? MEEeeyooOW!! Feru said before closing her mouth but she moved closer to the pair, she wanted to be close to them but not sure what else, her body wanted more. “Please don’t leave me alone!” Feru pleaded, she wanted them to touch her too though she wasn’t really sure why.

(Wow I’m so sorry for the huge delay. Really really sorry)

[Chidori Draconid]

The young deity shamefully buried his face in his hands and shook his head in shame as the skeleton and the cat submitted themselves to the enchanting environment Nu Gua had created for herself. Chidori still couldn’t get over the broken headboard. That had to have been done with a being far above mortal. Before he could allow himself to drift off into escapades of his divine landlord, Feru sunk herself into the rosy red satin sheets, and Krugor spread his porcelain arms in a loving embrace. The skeleton man was making his way towards him. With wide eyes Chidori lifted his cane and wedged it between the bends of his collar bone.

“Put… the picture… down!” He said as he pointed at the picture with his free hand. He then directed his attention to Feru. “You! Off the bed! The both of you don’t touch a thing. This entire room is a sexual deathtrap, courtesy of the goddess Nu Gua. We have to figure out where we are in the house and get to that rear garden before the cavalry arrives.”

He waved them forward as he approached the giant double doors and put his ear to the thick wood. That was when he heard something unexpected, a pair of high heels echoing through the hall outside. None of the Immortals wore heels, and all the civilians and party goers had been ousted from the mansion. It could have been Nu Gua, who, as a Goddess, at any time could have taken over the place with a single snap of the finger. No, this wasn’t her nor was it Avakra. Nevertheless this mystery woman was nearing the room they were in.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped just in front of the door. Chidori’s eyes grew wide as he literally held his breath and signaled for his allies to do the same. He could hear the woman on the other side breathing as she placed her hand on the door. Then a whisper came from that side of the door.

“Welcome to Althanas, love.”

The unknown woman continued her walk down the hall. Chidori waited for the steps to fall further away. With reluctance, and almost fear, he slowly opened the door. The squeaks from the hinges seemed to echo through the hallway. Too loud! The coast seemed clear, so he stepped outside of the door. On the floor lay a giant red feather at least the size of his forearm. Chidori knew not to touch it. Heat rose off the vane of the feather rippling the very fabric of reality. He knew who it belonged to… his wife. She was here, and she was up to no good.

[Krugor]

“Rawr!” Krugor said, something that was supposed to resemble as much as a cat purring. It was an erotic way of expressing his feelings for Chidori, who suddenly looked rather attractive. Still holding the sketch he came closer and closer to the deity, who seemed a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. From the corner of his eyes Krugor saw the cat-girl laying on the inhumanly large bed, but it didn’t mean anything to him; he only had eyes for Chidori. And he couldn’t really blame himself, for he hadn’t looked at the deity like this ever before. The man had such a smooth, silky skin that just begged to be stroked all day long. His friend’s wavy, dark hair appeared to be never-ending and completely perfect, and Krugor could already see himself combing it. Just watching the muscular but slender body of the man made the skeleton shiver with delight. If he wasn’t a pile of walking bones he would’ve had goose bumps all over his body.

And then that voice. That sweet, harmonic voice that seemed to pierce right through one’s soul. It took a while for the message to sink in, because Krugor was so absorbed by the erotic tone that Chidori seemed to use. It was almost nerve-wracking, so beautiful. Or was it? Slowly the meaning of the words reached Krugor’s mind and he made out the message Chidori was sending. Put down the picture?

With a quick motion he threw away the charcoal sketch and made a face that could very well be the same face he made when throwing-up. “Sweet mother of pies. I’m so sorry, Chidori!” he said fast, unable to look his friend in the eyes. Never in his life had he been so ashamed. And if it wasn’t for the stranger that appeared on the other of the doors Krugor wouldn’t have known how to get out of this awkward situation.

Watching the gestures that ordered them to keep their mouths shut Krugor willingly did what he was told. The master chef could hear the footsteps outside and the unknown voice that seemed to welcome somebody. It was apparent that his friend knew this person for right after the footsteps disappeared into complete silence he opened the door and watched the giant feather on the floor. The man’s face gave away his feelings and for a moment Krugor didn’t know what to say, but after a short while of careful thought he said; “You know that person? What’s going on?”

This day was turning out to be stranger by the minute and the skeleton didn’t really know how they would end up surviving it. Scratching his head as always Krugor pondered the many strange situations he had been in so far. Waking up with a hangover, battling gods, almost getting laid with a male deity and now almost being discovered by an unknown person.

I should’ve never attended that damn party…