P.S.S. "The Legend Of The Primal Keys"::Ch.2 b- Desolation [IC]

[Sutoratosu]

"And so we have the group consensus," Anansi said, creeping ever closer to lucian. The man had backed up to the point where he was now halfway across the bridge... just what The White Judge was planning encase it was needed.

"The three of these heroes have decided to spare your life for the time being if you cease your ways, Lucian. In their eyes, you are not entirely deserving of only death... now the choice lies with you. What are you going to do now? Your life has been a bad one since it's beginning, yes, but you do not have to let initial circumstances entirely decide the man you are. You're only...what, 19, 20, 21 at the very most? You are not on the streets of Redrashire anymore... the things you've grown accustomed to out of necessity aren't necessary any longer... You have the chance to become something greater now, and all that is required is that you lend your abilities and aid to these men."

"Answer me one question..." Lucian said. "Why should I help you? every time I've ever done something for someone else out of altruism, or 'kindness', or because 'it was the right thing to do', it's always came back to bite me in the ass horribly. So why should I stick my neck out for them, knowing full well the massive repercussions and ill fortune that will most likely be my reward?"

Anansi grinned ominously, reaching out with another spindly arm and grabbing Lucian's legs with an iron tight grip. "Because of this, Lucian..." The next moment the White Judge had lifted the young man off the ground and was dangling him over the side of the ancient stone bridge by the feet. "DO YOU REMEMBER THIS DAY, BOY!?" He roared with power. "ALLOW ME TO COMPLETE THE MEMORY!" another arm whipped out of his body, this one holding Lucian's own fusil he'd used to nearly kill Darius. The sound of rushing water filled the air... if the group all looked down, they would notice a massive river now flowing beneath the bridge, savage and powerful were it's rapids. In fact, the entire scenery around them all had changed significantly, where they once stood on the outskirts of an ancient city, they now stood in the slums of a modern one. Vagabounds and ruthians and the like shuffled past them, not saying a word. The streets smelled of urine and disease. Horse manure coated sections of the road, attracting copious flies. The buildings were dull and grey, streaks of black running down their exterior from years of water damage and mold. The windows were all coated in layers of soot. "Do you remember now, Lucian?"

He said nothing... but the group could notice that he had changed significantly. He was shorter now, wearing a worn, torn tunic covered in grime. His face was at least a decade younger, His child eyes wild with fear...as they had been back then, at that very moment. What the group was seeing...was him as a child. Then Anansi was the next thing to change. he transmuted into two men wearing grey cloaks... easily recognizable as Magistrates. One held him by the feet, dangling him over the river below, the other held the fusil, aimed at his head. When they spoke, their voices sounded nothing like Anansi's had. "Is this not the day? The day when you felt helpless, alone, hateful at the world? This is the only fear you have ever learned to respond too, is it not!? the fear of DEATH!" The armed magistrate pulled back the hammer on the fusil, the one holding Lucian loosened his grip a little, laughing menacingly as if he was about to drop the boy. "I have but one offer to give you, child!" the armed one began. "Option 1: I can kill you, here and now, with your own fusil. then you can spend eternity in the pit, being made to learn the errors of your ways through anguish and suffering."

"Or option 2," the one holding him picked up, "You can choose to help these heroes, and I will absolve you of all past wrongdoings. You will not have to brave the horrors of the pit... your soul will be freed from the damnation it's already swimming in. Make your decision, and make it now, boy."

"Option 2!" Lucian cried, his voice pitch matching his child like appearance. "Please sir, option 2..."

"Ah, good...but no." Anansi's voice chimed from the mouth of the man holding the gun. "It is not that simple, boy... for there is still one who has not yet made his decision of what to do with you." The gun wielding magistrate turned his attention to Zoliver, his eyes golden just as Anansi's had been. "What say say you, Zoliver? what should this man's fate be?"

[Aurorix]

Zolivar sat down as he looked at the two pondering what he should choose. "If this man truly wants to live and help us, who am I to stop it?" He said to Anansi, "Let him live, I don't think anyone would want to endure option A." He should know because he just did a few moments ago, and he could barely stand one go around let alone for the rest of his existence.

[Sutoratosu]

The scenery faded back to normal after Zoliver spoke, the river vanishing as if it had never been there, the slums disappearing and becoming the ruined city once again. The two magistrates merged back into Anansi's form, and the judge pulled Lucian away from where dangled over the edge of the bridge, setting him down. The next moment he passed his hands over the man's rib cage, a white pulse of light issuing out.

Lucian coughed for a few moments, then stopped clutching his side. The pain was completely gone... His bones must've just been mended.

"Then the choice is final," Anansi said, offering the man's fusil back to him. "You have been given another chance, boy. Do not take that lightly; most have to endure death and countless trials under my watch before they can attain such a boon..." He turned his attention to Stratos, whom was still being carried by the Naga company. "Unless of course, you are one of the valiant.... like Leonidas..." Then back to Lucian, forcing the gun into his hands, which noticeably shook in the judge's presence. "Take this, and try not to piss yourself in fear."

Lucian didn't say a word, simply unloaded the gun and stowed it in his (Stolen) vest. He was quite obviously petrified of this Spider... even more terrified than he had been of those magistrates back on the day he was just forced to relive. he kept his eyes fixed to the stones of the bridge, not daring to look up at anyone around him. It was safe to say that there probably wouldn't be anymore issues from him.

"Ah yes," Anansi continued, taking Stratos's unconscious form from the nagas and draping him over the back of his carapace, waving away the nagas dismissively. "Go, return to your tribe for the time being, We've no need of your further assistance at the moment...but know there will come a day when I call upon your aid in the times to come."

Fangsalot glanced around at his men, turning and beginning to walk away. "Come then..." he ordered, all the while thinking to himself Thank the goddess we didn't have to accompany those mad men through the hell-fire they're walking into...

His troops followed behind him obediently, soon disappearing into the deeper reaches of the massive cavern. Anansi returned his attention to the heroes "Come with me, I shall open a path to where you must go," he turned and began making his way down the cliff, taking the time to stomp into the stone exterior with his spiked legs inorder to create footholds for the travelers. "And I will tell you the truth of the hero I carry on my back. I will tell you the legend that has never been told in full length... the legend of Leonidas. Or perhaps you'd be more interested if used the name you all know him as..." by the time he was at the bottom of the cliff, there was a makeshift stair case leading down that had entirely been carved by him maneuvering his steps in a specific pattern. He waited at the bottom for the quartet to follow. "Come, and I shall tell you the truth of Stratos Valgiri's existance..."

[Aurorix]

'Great,' Zolivar thought to himself, 'now I need to climb down the cliff. Why can't it be somewhere less high, maybe somewhere less deep like behind a rock or something.' He sighed as he cautiously went down the stairs and joined Anansi.

[Felicity]

Seeing the vision Anansi had brought forth... Darius knew he would be haunted, and he knew that he would do everything in his power to allow men the chance to avoid such horror. He shook his head to clear his mind of the memory and glanced around at his companions. In truth, he was not vaguely interested in Stratos' story. He was never one to enjoy the bards twisting tales, and this was no different, but if it was information he needed to know, he would listen. Because he was slowly beginning to feel that he had a duty to fulfil. It was a shame he didn't know exactly what that was to him, aside from the need to protect, save and bring justice to as many as he could.

Darius followed Anansi, not quite ready for much of anything, but willing to try and work through it all anyway.

[Ragnar]

After the nightmarish visions end, Gideon follows the group and the spider down below, without saying a word.

[Sutoratosu]

Absalom and Lucian were the last ones to make their way down the stairs, the boy insisting that the man go first... so that he would be able to kick him off the cliff and to his death if the Gunslinger still wanted to try something against them. Lucian though was still unresponsive to conversation.

"Good... you're here," Anansi mused, beginning to walk deeper into the depths of the Cavern. "Now keep your eyes peeled for any quartz crystal you see. I'll need it to open the way out."

"What of this 'Leonidas' Fellow you told us of?" Absalom asked, following behind the arachnid along with the rest of the party.

"The hero..." the Judge began. "His story is a long one indeed. But first tell me... what do you four know of Stratos Valgiri, or as you may be more familiar calling him, The Sky Slayer?"

[Aurorix]

"All I really know is that he killed God or at least wounded him." Zolivar said in respons to the spider's question. "Anything else would be that he fought with us against the black creature." He said scratching the back of his head.

[Felicity]

"Personally, I've discounted everything I've known of the man, and Azauqyar, and a few other things too. As of meeting this new Stratos, All I know is, well, a whole lot of nothing. Well, except for the fact that his name is Stratos Valgiri, though from the way you refer to him as "Leonidas" I'm inclined to forget even that Detail..." Darius grumbled, almost sounding spiteful despite the fact there was nothing to spite. He didn't like complication on this scale.

[Sutoratosu]

"well perhaps you were raised under a rock then, Zolvier..." Anansi said before turning to Darius. "And I mean not of the Stratos infamous for the Sky Slaying... but the one famous for his exploits in the name of the false theocracy. I speak of the Stratos from before the Sky Slaying.There are plenty of tale from then as well."

[Felicity]

"Well, he gained prowess as a great warrior, coming to be a powerful figure in the theocracy. Then there's the standard fare of saga songs that detailed the battles, though those aren't heard often, what with the disgrace cast on the man." Darius answered, sifting through his memory for what he knew of the Sky Slayer before earning the title.

[Sutoratosu]

"Now what if I were to tell you..." Anansi began, turning around to face the travelers. "That everything the Sky Slayer has done in the past... all four hundred years he has roamed the earth, from the day he was born, up until now... was all just the latest part of an Heroic Epic spanning nearly eight thousand years?"

"I'd say it was impossible for someone to ever live that long..." Absalom spoke up, crossing his arms. "But then again... the majority of what I've seen tonight would be considered 'Impossible'. Go on."

"As I have already apprised you all of, I am the White Judge of the Valiant, yes?" The Judge continued. "But what does this mean? I shall tell you; My task under that title is to bear witness to the lives of all people throughout history, to make record of their deeds within my web of knowledge, to recognize their virtues and vices and assign them to an Afterplain accordingly... and to ultimately stand as the judge and jury as to whether or not those who prove themselves to be true heroes are deserving of another life in this world." He reached up with a spontaneously generated arm and pulled Stratos off his back, laying the unconscious man on the barren floor of the cavern. "For those who prove themselves worthy...I reward them by suppressing their memories of the life they lived before, and leading their soul to the doors of Life of Death, where they are transferred into the body of an infant about to be born into the world." He cast a single glance down to the Sky Slayer. "They are born without knowledge of who they truly are as a soul, no conscious of the deeds they have preformed in the past. Their entire lives are seemingly as any other person's, starting the moment they are born and not a second before. But their are several things that they always retain; Their Personality, Their talents, their preference and aptitude with certain weapons, and most of all, their strength of moral character. But their true past remains hidden...until they again pass out of this life and re-enter Ellise, where they regain their true self and memories." he looked back up at the Travelers

"Do you all understand thus far?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"So, the cycle of life dost not end at death?" Sinbad said, as a grim look came over his face."However....you were trapped down in that place. Does that mean I will never see her again?"

[Sutoratosu]

"All is not as it seems, Sinbad..." Anansi said cryptically in response. "But soon... all shall be revealed." he turned back to the other travelers. "If no one has any more questions, I shall go on: Over the eras, several heroic souls have risen in the world, those fighting for the sake of others or for a dire mission for the greater good, etcetera, etcetera...and of these heroes, none has ever accomplished more over his or her combined Life times than...the soul inhabiting this very body before us. The man you know as Stratos Valgiri is in fact the latest of the incarnations of the greatest Hero to ever walk the face of the planet... Leonidas, having been born anew once again four hundred years ago on the day of Stratos's birth." he took the spear Adurmedes from where it was slung across the man's shoulders, holding it up like a trophy for all the group to see.

"Do you see this," he asked rhetorically. "The spear is the weapon which Leon has always wielded. Ever since his days as a Dragoneer. I assume that none of you have ever heard that term, and for good reason, it's not been used since the Nix War ended. Allow me to enlighten you now: You all know how the Legendary Dragoons would spiritually bind their souls with those of Wyrms and fight alongside them in battle, together as Rider and Mount, do you not? A Dragoneer is a much older type of Warrior... one that was the exact opposite of Dragoons in nature. They arose during the era before the Great Darkness and the Invasion, when Wyrm and Mankind were mortal enemies on the field of battle. They specialized in the tracking, confronting, and slaying of wyrms, many of them were hailed as Great men for the work they did; given that trying to mediate conflict with Dragons and the like was impossible at that point in time." he drove the thing deep into the ground by Stratos's side, like a black and white pillar to testify to the deeds of days long since gone by.

"And of all the Dragoneers, Leonidas... was the first. As a boy his homeland was destroyed by a Dragon known as Sitanas, and Leonidas witnessed this massacre and vowed to someday hunt down and kill the beast who had stolen everything from him. He spent many years training himself after that promise, studying his foe and becoming familiar with their habits, learning their weaknesses. He was known for his vengeful brutality and raw unwavering cunning in battle against them, but also just as much for his mercy and compassion for his common man... but the greatest thing he was known for was his death. As an aged man, Leonidas finally found the wyrm who had destroyed his homeland, he found Sitanus Lithadeis Dalcani Valechi... a long name... It means 'Son of hell, born of fear and bathed in fury' in one of the old languages... Sitanas had risen to become the Lord of all Wyrms since his assault on the man's country and village decades prior, and with his authority was in the beginning stages of organizing a full scale assault against the human race, in an effort to exterminate them and cleanse the planet of their influence...but he did not succeed. For the Hero traveled many miles despite his old age and intervened... to avenge his loved ones from all those years ago. the ensuing fight was so... fierce and destructive that mere words can do nothing to explain it's magnitude and significance..."

As he spoke, the Party experienced another change of scenery...this time the entire cavern simply fell away around them in the blink of an eye, replaced by a grass covered plateau, the winds howling in all four cardinal directions as the skies overhead were darkened with clouds of ethereal storm. It was night all around, a break in the black swabs of cotton painting the sky revealing a full moon that was far larger than it should've been. before the heroes lay a hilled landscape, covered in countless outcroppings of Granite... and many other stones none of them knew the name for, all of them glowing Eerily in the moonlight. Anansi turned to face them all, his face solemn and serious as ever.

"This is the lesser Continent of Ulsaro, in the 6,898th year before the Nix War... which makes it some near 7 millenia ago."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_K5FmtAC8

A horrifying roar shook the very landscape and sent them all to their feet as if they were actually there witnessing it in person. The judge himself was the only one left standing once the earthquake ceased. In the distance Clouds were descending from the Atmosphere, cloaking the plains in darkness so thick it could choke a man to death.

"Though he fought more for personal reasons in this particular situation, this single battle could've ended Mankind if Leonidas had lost... what you are watching may damn well have become Armageddon at any moment." a tiny light blazed into life nearby, bright and red like the face of the sun. the darkness cloaking the field cleared with a burst of white, glowing wind, sending the plumes of storm back into the heavens where they belonged. And standing there were the light had originated was a bearded, Elderly man, hair grey and white as silvery snow. He wore no armor, this geezer, nor held any shield. His lone armament was a slender carved spear of pure Wyvern bone adorned in silver accents. His shoulders were swathed in a white and grey shawl that draped down his back like a Nobelmen's cape. He wore a dull colored double-breasted coat upon his broad upper body, and a pair of matching bloused trousers, tucked into his black, cuffed boots. whatever he was fighting was not visible to any of them, however...

"Make sure you keep your eyes on this scenario," Anansi ordered coldly. "This is what apocalypse looks like, this is what it sounds like, this is what it feels like in your bones. This is what it looks like when the worlds hopes are all riding upon the shoulders of the few and the valiant." he turned, looking at the four warriors in turn.

"And you will someday have to face something a thousand times worse."

[Aurorix]

"Wait, WHAT!" Zolivar said in surprise, "We're going to have to fight that kind of power. I mean the odds aren't exactly in our favor here." he said worried about how he'll do against a dragon. "Quick question, when will we be fighting such a foe? It would be nice to know when exactly the fight will go down." he asked the spider with a little concern.

[Sutoratosu]

"not for a very long time... years and years ahead of this day." Anansi said cryptically. "This world... it is under dire threat yet again, as it has been in the past. and as in the past, Heroes have chosen to return to this life in order to combat it and restore the peace. But the threat it faces now... it is far more powerful than anything else mankind has known before... Stronger than even the Lord Orphont, My Lord Master." He turned to face Sinbad now. "Sinbad... you are, for lack of anyone else better suited among you, the leader of this group. In the future you will all have to make difficult decisions that seem to have no explicitly right or wrong choice of outcome. It will be up to you to guide them, Sinbad. You must be the resin that binds the four of you all together... and that later helps to also bind together those others that you must find." He looked off into the distance, pausing for a minute as he considered his next words.

"And don't ever think you are alone in this task," he finally continued. "That you have no allies and no one to turn to. Plan after meticulously careful plan has been laid out by the Lord Orphont and another individual. Over thousands of years they have weaved and maneuvered things, trying to prepare this world to be able to survive, to set the field for you and those like you. When the night looks to be the darkest, look to the conqueror, for he shall bear a path forward for you all." He turned his gaze down to Stratos now, something looking like nostalgia in his eyes.

"And even Leonidas himself has had an ample hand in things," he said. "There are six heroes who have proven themselves throughout history, six Souls who have answered the call of battle even after death and chose to re-enter this plain time and time again to restore order up until and all the way through the Nix War. Leonidas has fought alongside each of these valiant spirits at some point in the past... and he took it upon himself to assemble them all in Elise and gather them into a single Party. They all took the trials of rebirth... and all passed at different times. He was the first. it took the others far longer, but they are here now. They are all here to lend their strength to your fight, All you need to do...is simply find them all... and awaken their true Souls."

((It is highly suggested you begin firing off your questions now))

[Aurorix]

"How will we know who's soul to awaken? Is there any sigh at all?" Zolivar asked. "Also how do we awaken a soul?"

[Sutoratosu]

"Leonidas knows all those who need to be awakened, and the places of their rebirths," Anansi answered. "He will lead you to them. As for how to awaken them... you must first resolve their most pressing business in this life before they can realize who and what they truly are. It can be anything really... just know that whatever their greatest personal conflict occupying them is, it must be resolved." he returned his attention to the others. "And I suggest you ask me all your questions here and now."

[Felicity]

Darius was, quite simply, angry. What Extraordinary arrogance must there be in the minds of those who laid out "Plan after meticulous plan". And how much pain must these souls have gone through in the fight for mankind? This ignited a fury in Darius, and this fire burned and raged and scorched, until finally questions came from the forge of rage.

"What ungodly piece of shit forced all of us, every man, woman and child, into such a horrible time as the Nix war, and plans to bring worse once more? And why us? You speak with knowledge, but how? From what I can remember, you were a mindless drone, forced into servitude, how do you know of the incoming horrors?" Darius truly tried to maintain his composure, but he couldn't help the growl that sipped from his throat.

[Sutoratosu]

"Calm yourself, Darius," Anansi warned, his voice even and calm in response to the anger he sensed from the man. "Despite what you may be thinking right now, I am no enemy of yours." he turned and watched the old man in the distance begin to march forward along the field, gazing up into the sky, scanning for his foe. "And that 'Mindless Drone Routine You witnessed earlier? That was naught more than an act I put on to make it easier for you all to trust me. Tell me, how would you have reacted if right from the get-go, I had come out as some almighty spider being, proclaiming Prohpets and prophecies and saying you were all destined to help save this world? I know full well from your personas that not one of you would've believed it. So I had to take a subtle route, implaninting myself in an area where I knew you would soon arrive, and approaching you in a less grandiose and ridiculous sounding way. Forgive me for the deception, but I and Orphont see all the futures that can be... and this was the only path that would ensure you all would actually listen. But look at where you stand now, at what you are doing. It worked, did this path not? you all are listening to me council and not disregarding me as some figment of exhaustion."

He turned to Darius now, gazing right into the man's eyes without emotion. "And do not Blame the Lord Orphont, or God, rather, for this, boy... He has done all that it is currently within his power to do to prevent this from ever occurring. Long he even passed his mantle onto two others in order to fully devote his efforts to halting and destroying the thing that is threatening this world. You have no idea how long and hard he's toiled, since before this version of "Time" even began. But the thing he fights to hold back is too powerful... for it draws power from the very worlds that have been created, and from the darkness and oblivion in the hearts of all sentient beings, be they men or other races." he broke off his stare, returning it to the geezer on the battle field.

"The Alpha and the Omega are not enough..." he began, voice so serious is was damn near depressing. "God himself is not enough. Something older than time is encroaching upon us all." he cast a glance back to the group. "What we need are heroes...What we need are Saviors. And we need them now." he crept closer to Darius now, for the first time there was actual emotion on his face... it was anger, pure hot anger.

"And as for the Nix War..." he snarled viciously, just inches from the man's face. the amount of pressure his body was exerting felt suffocating. "Do not go condemning the actions of myself and Orphont and the Conqueror in that war's orchestration when you've no idea the state that the world was in immediately prior to it. I did not want to resort to such actions that were, but it was the only way." He backed away from Darius a little just as the Pressure began to get unbearable on his body, obviously wishing to avoid accidentally killing the man by standing too close. The feeling of suffocation lifted immediately. "The souls of most men and women in the world had fallen, you see. They had given in to the darkness and the void, their hearts tainted by evil. Do you know how many nations there were, boy? how many empires, tribes, overlords and abusers of the black arts? The world had become a complete shit hole, completely run by the wicked, the dishonest, the traitorous and the immoral. Armies swarmed across lands, raping and pillaging and murdering with every mile. People starved in the streets as their Rulers sat obese and content in their lavish palicades!!!"

He slamed a fist into the earth in his rising rage and man's past behavior, shattering the stone plateau like glass and threatening to destroy the whole rock formation. He composed himself a moment later, however, and the massive tremor stopped. "You have no idea how many individuals I damned straight to hell during that time!" he roared at the man. "They disgusted me, each and every one of them, each and every act! Men treated one another other worse than animals do! For every Virtuous and pure soul I judged, there were some fifty or sixty more befouled ones! An enemy was at the gates of this world, and myself and those others in God's service did what needed to be done to cleanse the world of such evil! I scoured the earth, taking note of all those virtuous souls alive, while another went into the realm of Nix and tore the portal open the a rift from that world to this one! You have heard of him already, I am sure you were told before; his name is Rossephus!" the tremors began again, and a bit of fire began to spurt out of the fissures running all across the place, but he further calmed his growing temper and they subsided along with the flames.

"I am the one responsible for the Nix War, Knight," he hissed. "But there is only one thing for you to know more about this; No good person was ever harmed during those one hundred years. I made sure of it, each and every nix that poured forth from the rift was programmed to overlook anyone whose heart was not engulfed in Evil. and even still, I watched over them all, guiding them to new homes and cities when theirs were ruined by the armies of the damned who had attempted fighting against the forces I unleashed to purge the earth. I ensured they lived... and then the day finally came when the earth was clean again... and I mourned...so long.... so much. By the time I had separated the righteous and good from the besmirched, barely any of the world's populace had passed judgement and survived. Do you understand, boy? God and myself nearly failed once, had we taken any longer to set about what we did... the Shadow would've won. Mankind would've fallen, and the end of all things would've occurred when he challenged my master and overthrew him and reset all things to zero; to nothingness... But I will not allow us to come that close to failure again." the determination in his voice was a bit contagious as he went on, passing out of his anger. "From that day forward, I plotted the endgame... the final conflict and resolution. The foe who seeks nothingness WILL be slain. Mankind WILL survive... but the future is written in sand, Darius, Sinbad, Gideon and Zoliver. It shifts and changes constantly, and so I shift my planning constantly, tucking and severing different parts of my intricate web... and in every outcome that is favorable that I have foreseen... you all always have a role in it." he turned to look at everyone.

"But you must be willing to take up that role..." he said simply. "I can not, nor will not force it upon you... but from what I see, you make up four of the ten individuals who are needed to find and awaken those heroes who are slumbering across the planet."

"what of us then," Absalom interjected, his face unreadable.

"You are worthless in this conflict." Anansi sighed. "Please, forgive the harshness of that statement, but there is no simpler way to put it, Absalom. You and Lucian both, mere fodder... I am sorry, but it is what I have foreseen. their are ten who are capable, and no more besides the heroes themselves. any others enter the fray at their own risk, and their own fate is left to great chance. Far greater than them." he gestured to the warriors.

Thats it? Absalom thought to himself. Worthless? Is that what I am? if that is it, if I honestly don't matter and can't do anything... then why should I bother fighting if they're the only ones who can do it? Then the memory of how his father died flashed through his mind... but even that wasn't going to shake his second thoughts now. From what this thing had just ranted on about...whatever they were facing was far more powerful than anything the world had yet seen... what chance did he stand? "Is that so then...?" he asked simply, his resolve slowly crumbling to pieces as he began to shake a little as he thought about how things could go if it came down to him and whatever these four men were going to be up against. the only thing that stopped his quaking from becoming noticeable was Lucian placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Fodder or no..." he said, "I will still fight beside them...to save my own soul if for nothing else. Being expendable isn't anywhere near as bad a fate as what you described to me earlier..." Absalom did not share the older boy's courage though, and did not feel any trickle back into him either.

"Then my offer for you will remain in place, Lucian," Anansi said, turning his attention back to the group. "As for you all... I shall now ask the ultimate question... will you accept this fight? will you accept your roles in helping to end this war?"

[Felicity]

Anansi's words. Every single one of them rung in Darius' mind. His words were naught but a whisper as he spoke, his whole body was still, no longer shaking with the uncontrollable anger. He was in control

Now that anger was focused.

"The Nix war was a culling.... For all those who succumbed to whatever darkness this "Rossephus" wrought into the world... What justice is in that...? None. You looked and sought out as many as you could save,but you still slaughtered so many... I will not fight for you!" Darius announced, his voice had risen until he was bellowing.

"I will not fight for you. Or you Lord Orphont!" He roared once more

"I Will Fight For Mankind And The Justice He Deserves. I don't care if this shit stain is older than time, if even your Lord cannot defeat him, I will rise above them both, and Mete out the Justice Rossephus so dearly deserves! I will be the bond that turns the sand the future is written on into stone! And I will do it all Alongside not only the heroes beside me, but Every Single Person who will take up the fight! That is how we will rise above you all! We will become more, with all the Arrogance, Pride, Desire, Wonder, Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Virtues that Embody our Damned Race as One! Mark my words, As Darius Renalim now, I will become the Arbiter to check these Monstrous forces, if no one else is willing and capable!"

Darius' voice never wavered, the flame in his heart now condensed into a focused star, shining bright, bestowing upon Darius a feeling he had never felt in his whole life. Even the pursuit of his sisters murderers had not made him feel this way. Perhaps it was because he knew he could not find the monsters if an even bigger one murdered them all...

[Aurorix]

"Eh, sure why not." Zolivar said laying on the floor, "Though this will not be my top priority. If anything I'll put my reasons first before this. But if at any point that this "awakening" business interferes with my main goal, I won't hesitate to leave the group." He said standing back up,

"Besides, I could kill twos birds with one stone if I took them both on at the same time seeing as I'm looking for someone at the moment!" he said as he stretched a bit and gave a smile to Anansi. He really didn't know how to respond to Darius's comment. He really didn't care much for what happened during the past, hell the only reason why he remembers the Nix war is because his last name is Nix. So he just stood there waiting for everyone else's response.

Edited October 30, 2014 by EXLink32

[Sutoratosu]

"Good." Anansi said cryptically to Darius, his voice a perfect monotone again. "Fight for for your fellow man, Darius, that is all that is needed to win this. But I must correct you on one account; Rossephus had no hand in the evil that perverted the earth before the Nix War. That was entirely of mankind's doing, those who succumbed willfully chose to do so and give in; without the influence of any other being. Those who did not, they chose to resist of their own free will. People have choices in what they do, and that can't be taken from them. Which is exactly why I am asking what you all will do. And I'm not going to bother asking you to disregard any of the stigmas you have heard about the man tonight... Someday he'll prove to you that he is far different in actuality than what Stratos or anyone else has told you."

He then turned to Zoliver, making a mental to keep an eye on him in the future... that smugness could end up posing a threat to his allies. "That makes two who have pledged out of you four..." he said. "What of you, Gideon, Sinbad?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Aye, we will meet the world with the power that is in our hearts and our souls. But I do it for her Anansi. I promised Bianca I would make this world a better place, one where people could laugh and cry without the fears of enemies on their borders. I will raise my bow to defend all that is good in this world, and it shall pinpoint evil and end it. She wanted me to make this world somewhere our children could have lived in peace. But I failed her in that goal, at least at first. I will make the world they should have lived in, so that maybe one day.....they can see it. I will fight so they can see it, even if my very soul is destroyed I will fight for what she wanted, and I will not waver. My answer is yes." Sinbad said, pale tears rolled down his cheek, as the image of Bianca rolled through his mind, her and the children they never got to meet, the ones that never got a chance a life. He made a fist, and clentched down hard. But he put it to his chest and kneeled. "I will fight for Bianca, and the humanity she knew should be the rightful owners of this world! And these fine men, these soliders, my friends, even though i have just met them it would seem. They shall be the ones that follow me into battle, for I see in them the spirit of those that one day, will help me to make that world."

[Sutoratosu]

"Yes!" Anansi said in approval. "Yes! this is precisely what is needed! Fight for no God, none of you, but for your fellow man!" he nodded to Sinbad and Darius, noticeably skipping over Zoliver... his reply had worried the judge. "That is what must motivate at the end of the day, when Orphont is unable to help you and you must rely on the help and strength of those fighting alongside you instead!" he then turned to Gideon, looking at him expectantly. "And what of you, Gideon?" he inquired. "Will you accept this fight?"