[color=6ecff6][b]A collab between Lugubrious and Inuyasha: Introducing Eroneus, the Birdbrother [/b][/color] Not so long after it had saved the lift and elevated the existence of a certain, lucky horse, Escre approached an agricultural settlement. Ever since it had first taken note of a certain someone, a mental link had connected man to divinity, and now on the eve on the great journey, Escre saw fit to tie up that loose end. And now, as it skirted the fringes of a farm, its senses told it that certain human resided within. Escre hauled itself up and seated itself on the fence, waiting for the farmer to take notice of it. --- A cool breeze licked the back of Eroneus boots, which dug into the dirt as he picked wheat crops with avidity. He wiped sweat from his brow, looking up to the glaring, beating sun and the azure sky. A pidgeon circled overhead, cooing softly. After a swooping by several times, the pidgeon, little by little, dipped and declined in the air until he accomodated himself promptly on the top of the wooden handle of Eroneus' sickle. Eroneus reached in his breast pocket for some bread crumbs, offering them up to the pidgeon, watching the bird with attentive and observant eyes. The pidgeon cocked it's head pompusly, turning it's beak up high to the bread crumbs. "Oh just take it you spoiled bastard," muttered Eroneus. Almost as if the pidgeon could understand him, he began pecking at the crumbs, gobbling them all. When he was finished he looked at Eroneus inquisitively, as if to say [i]More?[/i] "No my friend, you ate my last couple of crumbs," he said, petting the bird's black feathery head. The pidgeon, apperantly satisfied, flew off, the green and purple feathers around his neck glimmering in the sunlight. With the sun still glaring at him, Eroneus cut his last crop down with his hardy sickle, bagged it, and began walking back to his farm. Eroneus carried the sack behind his farm house, throwing it in a pile of filled sacks. It was where they kept all the freshly picked wheat, and he and his father would have to thresh it later to be stored in the granaries. Wheat was in high demand these days, so his family made a decent coin, and was not that bad off. Out here in the country side, you didn't see a lot of trouble. As Eroneus rounded the farm house, he saw a ghastly man with a wide brimmed hat and a long flowing dark cloak. "Holy lord..." mumbled Eroneus, as a very heavy headache set into his scalp. It always intrigued the god of Life to see bonds forming between humans and animals. By all logic, they shouldn't exist, but like invading grasses they grew quietly beneath the apparent surface until they breached the soil of reason, their verdant lengths showing how closely the two disparate souls had connected. For some time, the pale eyes of the warden had been affixed to this particular farmer, at first out of chance, but then out of fascination. Now, looking upon him as he staggered from the headache that accompanied Escre's presence, the Great Spirit knew it to be a fortuitous time. Life on Galbar would forever be in the purview of other gods' meddling, but the universe was vast, vast even for a divinity. And after conducting a rudimentary analysis of the human mind, Escre had decided that it did not want to travel alone. Languidly, the cloaked figure jumped down from the fence. It tipped its hat to the farmer, and the headache subsided. [color=C0C0C0]"Good day to you,"[/color] it said genially enough as it approached. [color=C0C0C0]"You recognize me from the dreams, and know why I have come. I entreat you, however, do not grovel before me. No god deserves that sort of praise."[/color] Escre stood with its hands clasped in front of it, a slight, warm breeze stirring its clothes. Eyes and teeth flickered in its cloak, momentarily visible, but they did not stir. [color=C0C0C0]"How would you like to go on a great journey, Eroneus?"[/color] The question resounded in Eroneus' head, pinging around the walls of his mind, reverberating in his cerebrum. The question caused a memory to resurface, once which was far suppressed, deeply withheld in his memory. He saw flashes: his mother and father fighting, his father hitting his mother, Eroneus hiding away on the hill that overlooks his house. A bluejay sat on his hand, and Eroneus pet it lightly with his index finger. Eroneus had always believed that birds had an uncanny empathy and understanding of human emotions -- and it was his belief that Bluejay was attempting to comfort him from the day's dejection. As the sun set that day, casting a warm crimson glow on the farm, the Bluejay flew off into the sunset. The sun drowned into the horizon, bleeding it's last rays of light into the stratosphere, and the Bluejay, beatific as ever, danced into the sky. Never before had Eroneus ever wanted to fly away from all of his problems... just like the Bluejay had. To slip the surly bonds of Earth and to pirouette the sky with silvered wings; to feel the wind ripple through his hair as he soared. With a very glazed look in his eyes, Eroneus responded, "Yes. Yes I would." [i][color=C0C0C0]"Then let us begin."[/color][/i] Escre knelt, and placed its hand on the ground. Around the two men, the world suddenly began to splinter, breaking apart and spiraling away into a tumultuous, multicolored void, like a world of dream. Shades of white and red washed over them, each altering the terrain to the tune of the planet's beating heart, until with a final pulsation the two stood in a different realm. It was a sprawling city, ancient and heavy with omen, but its air was no longer still, and neither was the sun a departing, burnt-orange sliver on the horizon. A hearty breeze washed through the eternal city, carrying feelings of vigor, and birds with strange shapes. Overhead, the sky was spotted with stars and nebula, all of them shining brightly and without diminishing one another in an incredible, celestial display of light. Escre wore robes now, and dark armor inlaid with gold. [i][color=C0C0C0]"This...this is the Spirit World. All living things must come here eventually. It was once a realm devoid, nothing more than stone and sunset, eternally on the brink of something special but never quite there. But two new rhythms have come into being: a chorus of light, and an aria of wind. The latter came first, beginning when I made contact with you, and from that moment I knew that you would rise. If the reverberations of the souls of two mortals can bring such excellence to the Spirit World, I knew that they would bring far more to the waking world. So Ull'yang, the bringer of light, has risen. And so you, Eroneus, the birdbrother, must rise. Now rise up, like the streaming air, and flow."[/color][/i] The Spirit World vanished. Escre, in its Nightwalker attire, stood just inside the fence of a farm. It was a hot day, but a cheery and refreshing breeze had arisen, for Escre did not stand alone. Before it stood a man with purpose, power, and golden wings. A screaming white light blinded Eroneus. Lightning coursed through Eroneus' veins, his bloodflow pulsating in unison with the expeditiously swift beat of his heart. He felt ethereal and celestial, and when he focused he could feel the wind breathing and speaking to him. He could feel the cool air around him, he felt a great connection to it. He felt the air particles scampering, breathing, feeling. And most of all, he could hear them; the Birds. An incessant chirping filled his ears, it's volume rising in decibles until it became near deafening. Suddenly and abruptly, the chirping stopped. The silence stung. He could feel it now; he was at one with the air. Slowly, Eroneus regained his vision, seeing double as his eyes swung into focus. He felt odd for a brief moment, as if he had extra muscles or something, but then he felt right, almost as if he was in a perfect existence, the odd feeling quickly dispelled. That's when he realized what it was: he had a large set of golden, shimmering wings. He tried to speak, and for a very long while nothing came out of his mouth. Finally, he mustered up a greatful, [b][color=6ecff6]"Thank you."[/color][/b] He was at peace, and he felt a great power at his finger tips. The air coursed through his soul, bring him true nirvana. The Great Spirit inclined its head. [i][color=C0C0C0]"Indeed. We will travel together, us three, through the universe, and bring light, air, and life to a thousand worlds. But I have other business to take care of before we depart. In the mean time, stretch your wings, and weave a good air over a planet stifled by war. If in your travels you encounter a multicolored being of malice, Vestec the Execrable one, I implore you treat him as a dire adversary, and if you meet a dark-haired goddess in white, know that she has surrendered herself to Vestec's malfeasance. Rise now, Eroneus. It is time for you to fly."[/color][/i]