The Serenade's Story

Cotillion said nothing, crossing his arms as he listened to the discussion wind on and on. This was his own answer to the Serenade's query of who should lead the assembled gods, for he was not the kind to lead. His shadowed eyes glanced towards the figures of Odin and Taima, Lobos and Anzo. They were the figures he could imagine leading a divine charge into the face of chaos, legions of chosen champions hot on their heels.

The wolf-god snorted, shaking his great head. "I yield the place of leadership to another."

Lobos shifted once more, restless. This discussing and delegating ill suited the beast, for his nature was for action. He studied the assemblage, eager for decisions to be made and done with.

Malinor had appeared in a flourish of green magic,nearby to some kind of Wolf God. The celebrative god took a seat upon the ground and began sipping away at his newly created cup of tea,staring at the god's as they discussed some kind of debate over a leader.

"Well..My apologies for being late everyone!, If you are unfamiliar with me I am Malinor of the Forest's of Lauralin. God of Nature and Celebrations recently forced to overtake Stone,Life,Death and Sand along with Water and War. Self exiled and pleasured to meet you all" Malinor said in a rather suave tone of voice,giving a slight bow as he sipped elegantly at his tea once again,one pinky outwards.

He was not one who seemed to be a leader,but the fact one such as him was a god of so many thing's before his self-exile seemed to be his hint that he was more then what could be seen. Otherwise,he seemed to be nothing but a jokester.

A slight breeze picked up within the hall and from the shadows walked a man in a modern suit with his hands in his pockets. His blue hues glinted slightly as he noticed the other gods and a warm smile appeared on his maw. "Although I do agree a leader is in need to push us in the right direction, we're all here for a common cause already, aren't we not?" He said, his voice thick with an accent similar to that of Irish.

"Sorry I'm late for the party." The man said, inclining his head slightly to show he was submissive. Or he'd like them to think he was anyway. "I'm afraid I did not receive the invitation until recently, and then I had to figure out what to wear. Is there any whiskey left?" The man joked, although he seemed dead serious.

However, his smile faded and he went to business. "I will have to agree with Norman's earlier subject. How will we determine an enemy of a world already in shambles? Is there truly an enemy to face? I will admit it is difficult to change something that has freedom to choose whether it should smoke or quit as its bad for its health." He commented. "Imbalanced as it may seem," His gaze turned towards Serenade, "this was chosen not by us. So why must we clean up the mess now? Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready for the party to go to the dogs yet -- No offense." He switched his gaze over to Lobos.

A line drew itself through the air, one that separated planes of existence, and dimensions that would otherwise we cut off from their brothers. The line widened, becoming a shape coloured in a mixed haze of purples and yellows, and as this shape expanded into a doorway, a man stepped through dressed ceremoniously for the occasion.
The purple trees behind him began to warp and collapse; the yellow grass that changed tones caught in the spiralling implosion. It wasn't long until the door too began to spin, rapidly growing smaller until it disappeared completely.
Cenoic stood in the room, watching the gathered pantheon with a dusty black tome held under his right arm that he seemed unwilling to release. The book was large, thick and sealed shut by ropes of scriptic runes written in his own blood; it glowed in response to the presence of the deities.

Cenoic, a man with a skin tone similar to grey, and pointed ears betraying the race to which he once belonged, stepped forth and into the fray. He took the book, and placed it upon the surface of something that wasn't there, where it sat and made ominous the air around it.

"I do not categorize myself as a God, but I will take my place in this gathering none-the-less. The gardens of the Nerami Ceren grow tired of the longing cries of its inhabitants - those who are there only because of the inadequacy of their patron deities to prevent such insanity-birthing paradox. The cells of my home are rapidly filling, my power and the power of all who serve me stretching as we try to contain that which has been caused by such chaotic release upon the mortal realms. This threat, whether organized or not, must be ended, lest you wish to risk the release of a much greater threat from a prison only I can warden."

A lovely soft harmony would be heard as a woman made her way up to the table, her dress seemingly made of flora, her face old but young, and eyes full of great wisdom. There would be tears in her eyes, as she bowed to Odin and no one else, "I apologize for the tardiness brothers and sisters, I am trying to keep Heaven from cracking into war, and thus this is not easy. I am Gaia one of the last Titans still alive in this realm, most have moved on including the Father of Zeus. You of course know I mean Chronos." pausing she would approach closer to the group, "I assume you have heard Yahweh the Christian God has abandoned his throne after the gates of heaven were smashed, we are slowly restoring order, but from what I heard, I agree. The planet is in pain, as am I due to this."

Sighing she would let the marks of the planet over her flesh, each burn, each wound, each cut a way something horrendous had been inflicted on her.

"I do not mean to shock my brothers and sisters, but I feel the pain more so because it happens to me, I have been trying to ignore this for a while, but being dragged to fore-front has opened my eyes to depressing fact, I have two decisions once this is over consign myself to the oblivion the original Titans did, or attend this meeting and maybe find a solution. Whatever the case, there is something approaching and we can't handle unless united, that means all even those who goals are mess than noble." surveying the crowd she would continue, "I wish we did not need to rely on them, but before I came here I called Hel to come, she is yes a tool in Ragnarok, but this is why we must have her on our side. If we allow prejudices to be our masters, we shall never progress."

Taking her seat, she would end, "I understand some may know I don't typical pick a side, but even my pacifism must die, because I feel with that, there will be worse threats to come. Threats that no one but us can handle."

With that she would point to shadows and slowly a girl whom hair was ginger-white, her face dead-alive, and her dress long and black, would approach, bowing to the Norse Gods carefully, "I hope I can help AllFather and thank you for this chance, despite what people may think..." pausing she appeared rather unsure, "I am Hel of Nifiheim the Realm of the Dead... I feel the disturbances too, but I feel unable to act or do anything, I shall simply try offer words when I can, thank you again."

Hel would then sit down, unsure of how everyone would react, and clearly apprehensive about all this.

Abubis, who all this time chose to simply watch and listen in silence as the more opinionated Gods stated their claims, concerns, and possibly solutions, finally stood from his seat to speak. The Jackel headed God was just as worried about the current state of the mortal world because it directly effected the Gods of Egypt in ways that demanded each and every one of them to be attending this meeting, yet he was the only one among them to show his face. He was sure it was the doings of the ever proud Horus that kept the other Gods away and the more he thought about it the more he came to the conclusion that it was probably for the better, had Horus come himself he would no doubt parade around demanding he be made king of the gods to declare war on unknown enemies, his absence saved them all a headache and allowed him the opportunity to speak freely.

" It seems as though we can all agree that the situation is bad and getting worse, every second this continues Ma'at continues to fade and the powers of Chaos continue to grow, if things keep up the way they are Apophis, the old enemy of creation will no doubt rise again to swallow everything. To put it simply if we don't figure this out there won't be a mortal world save and with them gone we are sure to fade as well "

Anubis held out his right hand which was folded shut but there was a bright light escaping through the spaces between his clenched fingers " However you all are clearly aware that not every one among us can be as easily trusted as others, if the Gods themselves cannot have order among themselves for even a cause such as this then there is no hope for Ma'at. This is my solution " he uncurled his right hand to reveal the Feather of Truth, the sacred relic used in his courts to judge the souls of mortal, if the posseser of the feather uttered even the smallest white lie they would be immediately consumed in flames and that applied to Gods and mortal alike.

" Each and every one of us here must swear a pact of absolute loyalty and devotion to our cause while holding the Feather of Truth, and I think you all know what happens to you if you dare to claim falsehoods while holding the feather, no God is an exception to this rule. This is the only way you will have the support of Egypt " he said as he gazed around the room, he expected quite a few of them to refuse the test out of pride and to be insulted by the fact that he would suggest such an extreme to test their loyalty, but if he could not fully trust them he would not stand by them and he would make no effort to convince Horus to do the same.

Norman was, to be frank, scared out of his wits. As a mage of whimsy and fate, able to bend Father Time over a bar stool and make him his bitch, here was Anubis forcing him to make a vow that not even gods could wriggle out of.

He was shaking like a leaf. "Anubis, your cause is just. However, my art demands that I possess a certain amount of flexibility in my words and deeds. I refuse this test not out of pride, but out of fear. I fear that were I to swear upon the feather, I would lose at least part of my capacity to contribute to our cause. As for the question about who would stand at our head, Odinson, I indeed meant no offense, and for agreeing to host this little gathering you and your kind have my eternal thanks."

Still quivering in nervousness, Norman shrunk into his seat. Literally. He was soon barely the size of a halfling, reflecting the size of his ego in the presence of so many others more powerful than himself. In any other set of circumstances, he would have been struck down on the spot for demanding that gods get their shit together, and the fact that he was now the size of a faerie reflected his mental fragility at the realization of this fact.

---

As the voices of the gods continued in earnest the meeting showed no sign of resolution. Points and counter points were exchanged among those gathered until at last Odin raised his hand to stem the voices.

"As I understand it, none propose the bringing of such order to the realm of man," Odin reassured Serenade. "It is to our own kind that we look."

The wizened god leaned back in his throne as he weighed the words of those gathered.

"Cichol is correct in her assessment though," he added after a time. "This world of man that you seek to protect is filled with a great deal of ills. If action is to be taken we must first assess the situation and the depth of Taima's words."

He looked to Anubis. "You would ask us to swear a pact before we yet know what it is we swear to. This we cannot do."

He rose then from his throne.

"My son, Thor, will accompany Taima back to the realm of man to investigate this matter," Odin declared. "If it is ascertained that our kind are responsible for the fraying of the realms then action will be swift."

"You send me from Asgard?" Thor spoke up incredulously. "What concern are these mortal affairs to us. We are gods."

Again it was Thor's tempered brother who stayed his words further. "You have much to learn, brother. Your time in Midgard will be well served." To Odin, Baldur nodded his head in acknowledgement. "It will be as you instruct."

Odin nodded in turn to Baldur's words before waving a hand lightly to dismiss the gathered gods.

Taima bowed her head to Odin as she retrieved her halberd from its place on the floor at her side. It wasn't all that she had hoped to accomplish this day, but it was a start.