The Osiris Open: Round 2 (Josette vs Philomel)

The Temple of Ea was the jewel of Fallien. Laying in the lands of the Blight, past the glassy sands of Nirrakal, it was the world's most important secret; the home of the king of gods Eiyuu Ou.

The temple seemed to be alive.

Deeper into the intestines of the legendary Ea, the wood and oil torches that flanked the corridors would spontaneously burst into flame and illuminate the path in front of you, though the flames were hardly adequate enough to eat into the cool darkness.

Though the majority of the ancient sandstone masonry was intact, dangerous footfalls and dangling vines emerged from the shadows.The passageways open up into a larger, elaborate and more ornate room. It was polished glass; ocean blue, smooth to the touch and covering every inch of the room's floor, save for a pedestal in the centre which was dwarfed by the sheer expanse of the chamber. Carvings in the ceiling sailing high above seemed to depict the goddess Dryx sentencing a defiant Eiyuu Ou to death. The askew lid of the golden sarcophagus in the middle was decorated with runes which looked as if they were meant to serve as guardians over the body, keeping it sealed forever.

It would seem they failed.

Philomel knew little about the gods of these lands.

Throughout her childhood her mother had taught her the importance of one goddess: Drys. And Drys, through time, had blessed Philomel well - firstly granting her the companionship of her dear beloved Veridian, and then the majestic abilities which Philomel now possessed. Like an awakened hero, born of legend, Drys had made the faun over time a wonder to behold, gifting her strength, wisdom and a dragon.

Ea, however, was not one that she recognised, nor could claim to have heard mentioned - not even in the great Fire Hall, Church of All Gods in Radasanth. There Philomel had spent much time in her youth, conversing with her very old friend Master Draak. But that was another time, another place. Before the title 'the Nightingale,' before the Crimson Hand, before even becoming the Matriarch of the Gilded Lily ...

It was clear Ea meant much to these people. Rough but proudly-hued sandstone made up the majority of the walls. Carvings by the finest smith-hands were numerous and tapestries made of rich colours and silk thread were present where the etchings where not. Depictions of ancient battles and miraculous events resided, along with runes that told the history of the people, and the worship to their goddess. The myths of what she had achieved, the legends of her birth. The pride she had bestowed to her priests, and the uncountable times she had saved them. Walking through these halls, lit by high arrow-slit windows and wooden torches that seemed to light of their own accord, was similar to stepping back in time - treading a path that ancients had done before her, with her clopping hooves making loud thunders on the floor.

Gently Philomel ran her hand across a curving rune, run so deep into the sandstone it was like a major wound. The thought of what this place would have been made her smile - right in the heart of these desert wilds. They were in a long, seemingly endless passageway, that directly stemmed from the open doors, and it still only seemed to be the beginning. Just what depths were here, just what secrets this place could hold made a shiver run down down her spine.

Shinsou had certainly chosen a fine place for this battle.

Philomel!

Taking her hand from the wall, the faun glanced around. From the thin shadows and strewn lights darted a lithe, russet red form. His ears were cat-like and his tail was brushy like a myersii fern. Deliberately named so, for their translated name was 'foxtail,' hinting at the reality of the creature's essence.

She tilted her head, eyes darting to the direction he had come from. It was back, towards the entrance, the way they had come. Up through the goldenrod halls and still vivid tapestries. Watching as he dodged around a rare piece of tumbled flooring, the tiles falling away to the foundational, basement layer beneath, Philomel was unsatisfied to see his eyes wary with worry.

Our combatant, they approach, he cried with eagerness and wariness in his voice.

Philomel nodded slowly, wincing slightly as she realsied she would have to stop gazing at this beautiful place. After all, their purpose for being here was to play at Shinsou's violent game. His 'Open' he called it, his entertainment and distraction. The first one he had merely been her vaguely known watcher - this time he was her dear friend and stoic, powerful ally.

But an ally who she eternally was cautious about.

Quickly, she nodded and began running back the way she had come. For a moment Veridian thought her gone mad - after all down the passage was back to where they had begun and where he could see the hazy shadow of their now enemy approaching. But when he saw what in fact Philomel was heading towards, and when he read it in her mind, he realised. He too saw the power in the secret vine that grew in, unchecked, through a crack in the wall and headed down towards the broken floor. As Philomel sucked in her breath and thought 'portal,' he too imagined the same. For close as he was to her, he too was drawn through the well of earth that opened beneath her. It was as if a mirage had grown there, and the light had shifted, for the ground itself did. One moment a faun and fox were there, and then they were not. To their oncoming assailant it would appear as if they had disappeared - and that was not far from the truth.

For they were now hiding beneath the broken floor, under the cover of the darkness, and the vine that had seemed so pleasing trailed down into there. With a reaching finger Philomel touched it and began to plead with it to be their ally for this moment of time. She sought it, but quietly, for stealth was not their enemy.

Thread is closed for judging.

Philomel wins.