[hr]ATTN: [hr][hider=Meeting The Boss]Before Maedelyn left the office to go fetch her final handmaiden, she would hear someone call out to her. 

[color=662d91]”Leaving? I had only just returned, having been busy dealing with the Association's messes.”[/color] The voice came from a violet aura that eventually materialized into a familiar man. Arteus stood in front of the desk opposite Mae, his arms folded with a smirk on his face. 

[color=662d91]”I see you had no problem making yourself at home, [i]in my office[/i] no less.”[/color] He said, walking closer to the table. 

[color=662d91]”I thought we might take this time to actually talk; Hopefully wherever you’re going isn’t too awfully pressing.”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]Such timing...[/color]" Mae says, barely off her ass.

[color=662d91]”I imagine that you haven’t made your presence known to the other members of the Tower? It’d cause a little too much…tedium, if so at this point. They wouldn’t quite understand the ‘contract’ between us right now, and the assistance I’m hoping you’ll provide when the time comes.”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]I've sat right here, for the most part,[/color]" Mae says, "[color=7851a9]I did conduct a job interview. But, that's neither here nor there.[/color]"

Arteus raised a brow. [color=662d91]”A job interview? I thought that was my role. No offense to your judgment, but it would pay to be mindful about who joins our ranks. I did just bring a new recruit to the Tower though.”[/color]

Arteus was now standing just about a foot or so away from Mae, who had sat back down on his desk. [color=662d91]”You’ve piqued my curiosity, but we’ll set that aside for now. Our agreement takes precedence. Care to discuss what the terms actually are? There are some concerns I have, and I have to take the well-being of my staff and co into consideration.”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]Oh, worry not, your pretty head,[/color]" Mae says, "[color=7851a9]It was a secretarial interview. My Handmaidens are all accounted for, now,[/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9]I was actually stepping out to collect the last of them. But...[/color]"

Mae looked back at Arteus, to whom she had her back to - exposed, vulnerable, yet wholly unafraid of anything he could do to this shell she inhabited. It was a display of power and confidence in defense akin to that of a hermit crab and seagull; a predator that was preyed upon, itself, and took aims to safeguard its existence, so it could boldly stray wherever it pleased.

Granted, Mae was so much more inside than a mere hermit crab, but the analogy held well enough in her mind, and afforded her the confidence to be so disrespectfully defiant of social norms - even if Arteus broke her "shell", she could scurry off into the sea or sand, and return with a new one...

"[color=7851a9]To terms, I have fewer than you,[/color]" Mae says. "[color=7851a9]I seek to maintain a universally important balance of knowledge, and overthrow powers that upset it,[/color]" she shifted, her position as neutral as before, "[color=7851a9]I don't seem money or power myself, I leave that to mortal - such is their profit. I merely need minds to fill with knowledge, and that's why I've come to you, the neutral party, with an offer that will allow you to weather the coming storms and shift the tides in your favour.[/color]"

Mae set down a glass container, no larger than a soda can, and no less around, but clear with a screw cap, and a solution that contains small pockets of air, and more importantly, an eyeball with a colorless, yet defined iris and a fully dilated pupil.

"[color=7851a9]I offer the power of my eyes, and the knowledge that can be gained...[/color]"

Arteus looked at the eye floating in the glass, oddly fascinated by it. [color=662d91]”I wasn’t aware that you were into collecting body parts. Although, members of my team, myself included, also have our strange hobbies. As for the contract, it seems to be vague and overly ominous. More or less like the contract one must sign when becoming a researcher or the HQ’s private reaver team.”[/color]

He walked closer to the eye, further inspecting it. [color=662d91]”So, this eye grants a user ‘knowledge’, does it? I…believe that I can find a use for it somewhere down the line. As for my side of the agreement, they seem numerous simply because I have other lives to consider. This is ignoring the fact that any party involved would classify your maidens as malfested, and therefore target them for immediate extermination. However, it’s not as if they’re the only members who the Church would take issue with. Part of our agreement means that you will also aid in dealing with the inspection.”[/color]

Arteus held out an elegant white folder of sorts, and it looked to contain a few documents. [color=662d91]”This is an official declaration from the Holy Church, the inspectors are due to arrive. But, one of the ones coming concerns me….”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]Collecting body parts,[/color]" Maedelyn laughed, before she unfurled her habit's blindfold, and looked back - missing all three of her eyes, "[color=7851a9]It's quite the opposite for we, the Diverged Divine, dear sir,[/color]" she chuckled, before carrying on, "[color=7851a9]I do apologize for being less clear. I've already explained the way the world works to my new secretary, so I'm not much for repeating myself. I'll leave her to do that later.[/color]"

Mae placed a hand on her cheek, and smiled. "[color=7851a9]If you like, you can give the eye a test run. It's no threat to you, or then - beyond a potential addiction to maintaining the knowledge you glean from my ken ad infinitum,[/color]" she offers. "[color=7851a9]As for the numerosity of lives to care for, I can understand that on a universal scale. However, I'm not here to compare numbers, but maintain and swell them.[/color]"

"[color=7851a9]Now, this...[/color]" Mae sighed, "[color=7851a9]My old stomping grounds... or rather, this body's. My churches has long fell, as have the churches of my brothers and sisters, the Diverged Divine are no longer worshiped, thanks to the attractive benevolence of The Six Scions,[/color]" she thumbed through the documents, "[color=7851a9]I know pretty much everyone here. Question is, what do you want me to do? Vouch for you? Erect mental barriers? I don't even do that for my Handmaidens, as it's not my priority.[/color]"

[color=662d91]”I see, well, the newer Church has its fair share of problems as well.”[/color] Arteus said. [color=662d91]”As for the coming inspection, the person who concerns me the most is the Holy Seer. No doubt you know who she is?”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]In passing glances,[/color]" Mae says. "[color=7851a9]I'm what you might call, "the serpent," in her, "Garden of Eden," passing out apples to all the naughty boys and girls that aren't smart enough to know better,[/color]" she says, driving a well-kept fingernail into the picture of the woman in question - creasing a line between both her eyes, as if slashing them out. "[color=7851a9]Suffice to say, we aren't on a first name basis or chummy enough for drinks, but she does her rounds like a good, little follower of The Six.[/color]"

There was some inherent bitterness to her tone and resentment in the machinations of her finger.

[color=662d91]”You don’t seem to be willing to break the ice.”[/color] Arteus replied. [color=662d91]”The reason I brought her up is because Kiff had come into the possession of a grimoire that used to be in her care. But because of the unstable state it tended to leave its owner’s minds in, they eventually threw it away. I understand that now the tome has found a new owner- Leon Hyksos. While the book, by all rights, belongs to the Tower now, I don’t know how they’ll feel about a Church relic being picked up by our sect through backdoor means.”[/color]

He rubbed his chin for a moment. [color=662d91]”Your knowledge seems to be quite vast. I trust you know of Damian Florestas?”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]Break the ice? My dear sir, you overestimate the import of this mortal shell. This woman is barely a competent sister, much less someone that Her Holiness would break ice and bread with,[/color]" Mae says with a gay cackle, as if Arteus told quite the knee-slapper. "[color=7851a9]That said, your pesky book is well-known to me. After all, I bound it together,[/color]" she says, sliding off the desk, and slapping the feeling back into her numbed cheeks, "[color=7851a9]Walk with me, Arteus, and we'll discuss your friend, who I'm sure is in my library somewhere, if his deeds were worth cataloguing.[/color]"

Mae snapped her fingers, opening the Void Portal to her Null Space, her Domain, so Arteus could step foot into her Library.

He could easily see The Maiden Abyss, binding a book with needle and thread in the center of the space, despite all the moving shelves, as they went up-and-down, and side-to-side; as if, she would always be the center of attention, when viewed from outside.

Not looking, she lifted her sewing hand, and made a come hither motion - the same motion that Mae would make with her back turned to him.

[color=662d91]”Oh?”[/color] Arteus peered into the portal and saw the being who referred to herself as the Maiden Abyss. Walking in with her, he gazed upon the countless tome-filled shelves that lined the space. [color=662d91]”I feel that you and Kiff would likely get along famously.”[/color] He jeered. 

[color=662d91]”You know, you still haven’t told me about this ‘secretary of yours…”[/color]

As the portal closed, Mae would slump over, and collapse to the floor; her body floated and lifted into a chair.

[color=7851a9][b]Just that mousy, little girl. Bruum, I believe.[/b][/color]}

Despite the fact that Mae fell and was moved like a puppet, her voice was clear and present through the Library - even though the lips of The Maiden Abyss never moved.

[color=662d91]”Brun?”[/color] Arteus let his face slip into a bit of surprise, and not just at the puppet show that his host decided to put on. [color=662d91]”You’ve already met with her? Mousy isn’t how I would describe her, but her case is quite special. I was going to be particularly careful in how I was going to inform her of this arrangement we made.”[/color]

Arteus looked at the lifeless Mae sitting in front of him, as if examining it for a moment. Her voice rang throughout the entire space, but neither of the women in front of him made any lip movement. He then started walking toward the Maiden. 

[color=662d91]”I don’t doubt you were involved with the book’s origins. I would ask about what effect the book will have on the boy, and see what you could offer in the case of Damian’s situation. I’m not asking you to fix all of our problems. If need be, I can certainly handle it. In fact, I feel that Damian himself is more than capable of his own way out of it, if need be. However, I would like for him to understand that we can be trusted. ”[/color]

{[color=7851a9][b]I have nothing to do with the creation of that book that troubles you. Merely binding its pages to its cover, and setting it free upon the world, as all Knowledge should be.[/b][/color]}

Raising her sewing hand, the little girl would leave her needle to float, and flick her wrist; materializing the book into her hands, and casting it open before her.

{[color=7851a9][b]I remember this one. Amusing. Tell me, is the boy talented in Espermancy?[/b][/color]}

[color=662d91]”Leon? Yes, it’s the divination that he specializes the most in, and the book seems to have amplified it somehow. The main aspect I’m aware of is that it is able to show him different ‘futures’. I wonder if these futures are things that may happen, or perhaps [i]could[/i] happen?”[/color]

{[color=7851a9][b]Divination is such a strange way to put a specialization...[/b][/color]} The Maiden flipped through the pages, and looked up, {[color=7851a9][b]Yet queerly fitting for a book that speak of futures, could-bes, and can-bes.[/b][/color]} Casting her hand dismissively, the book would disappear to its current shelf. {[color=7851a9][b]There. I have redistributed the book, so the Church cannot claim it, nor can Eon Tower. It is mine. Consider it a loan, eh?[/b][/color]}

Returning to her sewing, The Maiden would resume binding the book before her. {[color=7851a9][b]And, yes, I would call my darling secretary a ‘mouse,’ before me. So small. So cute. So nosey. And, she squeaks, little adorable noises. She is quite darling, indeed, little Bruum. So determined to sweep up behind you, dear sir... [/b][/color]} Her eyes shifted to Arteus, {[color=7851a9][b]To the second matter, now; your friend. Explain his situation, and I’ll determine how much I can, or cannot, help.[/b][/color]}

Arteus decided to ignore the comments and the new nickname the Maiden had given the assistant admin of the Tower. [color=662d91]”You redistributed it? I imagine that means that you’ve made the book a part of your repository here, therefore, no one can have the will to remove it then?”[/color] He said. 

[color=662d91]”As for Damian, his is a much more intricate case. He is the victim of a terrible magical experiment that resulted in the death of two other people. This process severely amplified the esper abilities he possessed, however, it also was a source of much trauma for him. He now has the energy of two other minds within him. However, the main point is that despite being a victim of circumstance, the Church will see his existence as heretical. His current state is a violation of natural law, magic ethics, and humanitarian principles. Therefore, they would likely set him for execution and label our Tower as breachers of the treaty between them and the Association. The latter, in that case, would label us traitors and attempt to do away with us as well.”[/color]

[color=662d91]”I don’t suppose you have any suggestions? Despite my station, I’m not necessarily well liked at the Association, so I won’t have any pull in this circumstance.”[/color]

{[color=7851a9][b]I said, the book returned to his current shelf. Not me.[/b][/color]} The Maiden paused her binding. {[color=7851a9][b]You are... well, nevermind, I suppose.[/b][/color]}

There was a long silence, as The Maiden seemed to be in thought; her eyes didn’t move, not even to blink; her muscles were completely still, not even moving with the concept of breathing. All that moved were the shelves and the magic of the Null Space, itself.

{[color=7851a9][b]There are three options. All of them come with flaws. First of them, I simply erase the Church and the Association. It would be as simple as snapping my fingers, and creating a simultaneous explosion and implosion to collide. But, that is the most extreme solution.[/b][/color]}

Suddenly, The Maiden slumped over, and tilted in her chair. There was a ruffling of papers, as the book she’d been binding pulled away, and fluttered into an aisle formed of risen shelves.

{[color=7851a9][b]Second of them. I can remove the Knowledge of the experiment from his body - physically and metaphysically. It would relieve him of his burdens,his powers, and whatever lies in-betwixt the first letter and the last period. That should be his choice, however.[/b][/color]}

As suddenly as before, Mae sat up, and tilted her head; stretching, as if she’d been taking a glorious nap.

"[color=7851a9]Third of them,[/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9]I just kill him. No more problems for anyone.[/color]"

[color=662d91]”I feel that I shouldn’t even bother entertaining the first and third options. I feel that a being of your standing would opt not to involve themselves to affect our world so directly.  I can’t imagine what would be left if you were to do such a thing. However, the second option is certainly worth considering, I would certainly bring it up to him.”[/color]

[color=662d91]”Now then, barring the inspection, there are other concerns that need attention, but those will come with time. What will you do about your handmaidens? In particular this final one, I can also presume that she’ll also be added among our ranks? ”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]I don’t make presumptions, dear sir. You are free to invite her in at your discretion,[/color]" Mae says,"[color=7851a9]This is your house of cards. I offer you another, but you may add it to your stack, if you wish.[/color]" A popping would roll like thunder, as Mae cracked her neck and her back, "[color=7851a9]Stiff as a board. I’d trouble you for a message, though, what fair trade could I offer in turn?[/color]"

As she propositioned him, the Library would be replaced, as she ejected them from her Null Space, and back into the office; Arteus in his seat, while Mae was lounging across his desk.

"[color=7851a9]Perhaps, Bruum has a hand for it,[/color]" Mae says, "[color=7851a9]A good secretary ought to be skillful in many things, after all. Knowledge is power, y’know.[/color]"

Arteus ignored Mae’s proposition and her comment towards Brunhyldia yet again. 

[color=662d91]”Just what are you expecting of Brun, exactly? This ‘role’ you’ve picked her out for doesn’t sound like the role I asked you to play if it comes to it. As I said, her situation is quite…different, we’ll say. ”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]You’re a very confident being of flesh and blood, rendable and exsanguinable, as those two facets are,[/color]" Mae says. "[color=7851a9]You dare to keep secrets in the presence of Knowledge itself, and have the bravery to do so with a straight face and a calm demeanor,[/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9]It’s as impressive as it is irksome. But, understand you this: you do not give me a “role” to play. I have afforded you my pawns, and I can rescind them, and turn them against you, as easily..[/color]"

Mae faded out of sight, before she reappeared, sitting with her back to Arteus once again. "[color=7851a9]My expectations of darling, mousy, little Bruum are as follows,[/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9][i]To keep you in checkmate, dear King.[/i][/color]"

"[color=7851a9]We aren’t playing on the same side. I’m Black, and you’re White. This is but a temporary armistice, before you turn me back into your enemy, like you do all that are born of Miasma,[/color]" Mae turned her head; her habit done up. "[color=7851a9]My pawns are in need of promotion, Black King. That’s why I brought them to you, the one that caught the eye of those Pets of the Six Scions, the Dragons...[/color]"

[color=662d91]”I’m more curious as to what matter of being you truly are.”[/color] Arteus mused. [color=662d91]”Malfested don’t generally act like you and your so-called handmaidens. You say that I keep secrets, the same could be said of you.”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]I am me. As I said, born of Miasma, not made of it,[/color]" Mae says. "[color=7851a9]Malfested are just weak, mindless intimations of what I am,[/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9]I did actually explain all this already. Hang on...[/color]"

Mae would snap her fingers, and open a Void Portal; yanking Brun through by her panties.

"[color=7851a9]Secretary, answer his question,[/color]" Mae says, "[color=7851a9]Oh, I should say what it is, I guess.[/color]"

[color=fff79a]”[i]Unhand me[/i]!”[/color] Brun exclaimed, her voice full of annoyed fury. Brun generated a bright spark of light from her palm, which exploded then after. The flash separated her from Mae; She quickly inspected her suddenly changed surroundings. [color=fff79a]”What in the Scions’ name do you want now?”[/color] She grimaced, irritated that Mae had solicited her a second time. That ire was amplified when her eyes immediately fell on Arteus, who’s look gave away his loss of comfort. 

[color=662d91]”....Uh, evening Brun.”[/color] He stuttered out. Brun’s eyes began to pierce him more than any dagger could. [color=662d91]”I know I’ve been gone quite a while, most of the day in fact, but I trust things have ran smoothly in m-”[/color]

Arteus was cut off mid sentence, as his fellow sage had chained him from neck to toe in her holy chains. He looked as though he was having trouble breathing. 

[color=662d91]”Hurgh! Brun…there’s…no real need for this!”[/color] He said in a panicked breath.

[color=fff79a]”Lout! That’s your current designation! Tell me who this woman is and why she’s here! She claims to have entered into some sort of agreement with you, and keeps talking about how I’m a secretary!”[/color]

"[color=7851a9]Oi, oi, bad secretary,[/color]" Mae says, flicking a finger, and lifting Brun by her smallclothes once again. "[color=7851a9]Fiery temper, this one.[/color]"

[color=fff79a]”Enough you pervert!”[/color] Brun snapped, attempting to blast her hand away again. 

Mae would find her hand removed again, but this time by a serpent and not a blast of luster. Arteus was now standing between the two women. 

[color=662d91]”Mae, it’s quite alright, I’ve got this.”[/color] He said. [color=662d91]”I’m sorry for not telling you this before, but it’s complicated. Just know that this woman, or being rather, has entered into an arrangement of sorts with the Tower. Or more specifically, me. With the resources she can offer, I feel that she can be of great help to us in the coming days.”[/color]

[color=fff79a]”Does her help involve her touching my undergarments?!”[/color] Brun retorted. 

"[color=7851a9]Touching? Espermancy does nothing of the sort,[/color]" Mae says, lying across the desk, "[color=7851a9]I can touch, though, if you are so tempted. This puppet is not so weak.[/color]" Mae yawned, "[color=7851a9]That said, this arrangement is tenuous, at best. People like you, the cloth from which you’re cut is unfit to make paper from, so tempered, and impulsive - a down feather quill would tear your paper right open with a single stroke before the ink thought to stain you...[/color]"

"[color=7851a9]Still, I’m listening... so, tell me, darling, little mouse... what do you want,[/color]" Mae asks. "[color=7851a9]If its Knowledge, I have that in spades. If not, I’m sure my Handmaidens can fetch it,[/color]" she grinned broadly, "[color=7851a9]...or, would you like me to just leave? I can do that, too. Leave you to your wars. I’m sure you can handle them alone, eh?[/color]"

[color=fff79a]”Insufferable….”[/color]

[color=662d91]”Brun, I also had her come here for you as well.”[/color] Arteus said, stopping her from making further outbursts. Brun looked over at Arteus, baffled at his statement. 

[color=662d91]”You remember what I promised you all those years ago, right? Well, even now, after everything we’ve built, I want to make sure we keep it. She can help with that, and with you.”[/color]

[color=fff79a]”Arteus…”[/color]

Mae was oddly quiet, as Arteus and Brun spoke; like before, when she contemplated on Damian. However, her chest was rising and falling, so she wasn’t lacking a pilot, so to speak. She was just... quiet.

[color=662d91]”You've told me that you've started to hear the voice again, right?”[/color] Arteus said.

[color=fff79a]”...Yes. At first, it was only while I slept, but… As of late, it comes spontaneously.”[/color] Brun said, hesitant to answer.

[color=662d91]”Damn. Will all that's been going on it may likely be [i]her[/i] stirring again. I felt that she's been quiet for an odd amount of time.”[/color]

Same as before, Mae just seemed to be listening; being unable to see her eyes - or rather, lack thereof - made it impossible to really tell if she was even present in the moment. It was very clear that the woman that called herself “Maedelyn” was a puppet born of the woman named “Natalie”. That fact alone lent itself to question: [i]How many puppets did The Maiden Abyss have under her thrall?[/i]

Just how high did her infiltration go? To the top of the Holy Church? To the ruling power of the Association? Just how many had she tempted with Knowledge, itself, and twisted to her power and decree?

Was it really [i]just[/i] Scarlett, Lupina, and the unknown third?

[color=fff79a]”I've started to hear her voice again as well, so I believe that to be a safe assumption.”[/color] Brun grimaced. Her expression was especially dark. 

[color=662d91]”Mae.”[/color] Arteus said, now directly addressing her. [color=662d91]”The person we're referring to is someone who threatens all people, and she just so happens to be someone Brun and I know all too well.”[/color] His eyes had a distinct sharpness to them.

[color=662d91]”In order for you to effectively help us, there are things I'll need to inform you of. I need to know that what we say won't leave this room.”[/color]

Brun herself, had a look of uncertainty, and seemed as though she wanted to stop Arteus. 

[color=fff79a]”Arteus, can this being really be trusted? I mean, we don't know what she even is!"[/color]

[color=662d91]”It's alright, this person knows that we are of benefit to her. Meaning, she and perhaps everyone else, has more to lose by not aiding us. Besides, she wouldn't breach the contractual vow we've agreed upon. I don't enter deals without insurance.[/color] He said, smirking.

Mae shifted, finally moving, which resulted in her rolling off her side, and slamming into the floor. "[color=7851a9]I’m awake! The answer is: Infinity equals Causality divided by Determinism squared![/color]" Mae grunted, as she snapped into a cross-legged, attentive position, before yawning, and slumping back against the desk she’d fallen off. "[color=7851a9]...I’m tired... go to sleep...[/color]" she grumbled, before fading out of sight, and returning to her usual sitting position. "[color=7851a9]...talk too much... worrying... pointless...[/color]"

For a moment, the Deity was almost still; rocking back and forth by mere inches, before she stretched her arms and scratched the back of her head. "[color=7851a9][i]Haaaa...~Good morning...[/i][/color]" she yawned. "[color=7851a9]Apologies... I feel asleep... Were you talking to me?[/color]"

Brun and Arteus looked at the scene that just played out before them with blank expressions, before eyeing each other for a moment. Brun appeared to be the more annoyed one, between the two.

[color=fff79a]”Who were you telling to go to sleep just now?”[/color] Brun asked cautiously. [color=fff79a]”If I even dare ask?”[/color]

Mae tilted her head, before she raised her right hand; chains slammed into the wall, and twisting around Brun - snaking through her clothes, and nailing into the wall. Clenching her fist, the nails multiplied, and shackles formed around the nails - her wrists, ankles, and throat held tightly in place. Raising her left hand, she held her palm at Arteus, and turned her head to him in a regarding tilt.

"[color=7851a9]This is what she does to you,[/color]" she almost seemed to ask, "[color=7851a9]It’s so simple to counter, childish in nature, and yet you allow her to do it, don’t you?[/color]" Mae scowled, "[color=7851a9]Pity, dear sir? A pittance for her nature? Or, is it mutual?[/color]"

Twisting her left hand, she formed a shackling gag over Brun’s mouth, and pinned her head in place. "[color=7851a9]Dare you ask? Sure. I don’t mind. However, I won’t answer. You don’t trust me, after all. Your disdain is like a sword, digging into my side - bleeding me; hurting me; wounding me...[/color]" Mae suddenly fell, and The Maiden Abyss stood on her body like a platform.

"[color=7851a9][b]I am no BEING,[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss snarled, "[color=7851a9][b]I live! I breathe! I think! I feel! Your words have meaning! More meaning to me than anyone else you speak to, because [i]I GAVE YOU THOSE WORDS[/i]![/b][/color]" she shouted, "[color=7851a9][b]I AM the Goddess of Knowledge, the Diverged Divine of Learning, and I ask for no reverence, no worship, no sacrifice, only respect for my domain![/b][/color]"

The Maiden Abyss huffed, and tossed her hands to the air and her sides - breaking the chains, and freeing Brun. "[color=7851a9][b]Let’s be out with it, then, the truth,[/b][/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9][b]My end of the bargain with Arteus: to control swelling geyser, boiling in the depths of what you are, and what you were born to be.[/b][/color]"

"[color=7851a9][b]In short,[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss turned her eyes to Brun, "[color=7851a9][b]I’m meant to put a leash on you, because I’ve already failed to leash your other half.[/b][/color]"

[center]"[color=7851a9][b]To fail again, means the end of the world...[/b][/color]"[/center]
Brun’s eyes sharpening into a powerful gaze, her eyes glowing with a bright crimson flare. She broke herself free of the shackles the Maiden placed on her, creating a sizable hole in the wall. Full of anger, she prepared another attack.

That was before Arteus stepped between them. His void serpent separated the two of them, distorting the space between them by continuously altering the distance between them to prevent any further conflict. 

[color=662d91]”That’s enough, both of you!”[/color] He declared. [color=662d91]”It seems that the two of you have gotten off on the wrong foot upon meeting one another, but this [i]will[/i] cease. The point of our contract is that we’re all allies, and as I’ve already stated, she is here to help you, Brunhyldia.”[/color]

Brun, her energy now calming down, looked at Arteus with a more concerned look. She dropped her aggressive stance and sighed. [color=fff79a]”Forgive me, Arteus.”[/color] She said, repairing the large crater she had made in his wall with alchemy. 

She then turned to the Maiden. [color=fff79a]”I also apologize to you, as well, all things considered. You do indeed, seem to know of my situation. The voices, the nightmares, the way it feels as though I’m about to lose control…. Sometimes it doesn't feel like I know who I am at all. And…I don’t even really know why.”[/color]

[color=fff79a]”You also mentioned my other half. Then, you know about…her?”[/color]

"[color=7851a9][b]I know everything; past, present, and future,[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss says, [color=7851a9][b]Though, the future is no such certain thing as to be predictable. It moves, like a pawn, promoted - unpredictable,[/b][/color]" she says, [color=7851a9][b]Spare me your tears, however, they aren't worth boiling for tea. I'm cleaning up, nothing more, nothing less.[/b][/color]"

"[color=7851a9][b]And, what I do know is something
 you must earn, however... I'll gift you a nibble at the apple...[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss narrowed her eyes, "[color=7851a9][b][i]Beneath God lies a coin with two faces; one advises the other, one lies to the others, and this coin is a penny.[/i][/b][/color]"

Brun wasn’t sure what the Maiden had meant by her statement, having chosen to speak in riddles and metaphors. Apparently, perhaps due to the pact she made with Arteus, she couldn’t directly state information pertaining to certain topics and events. 

[color=fff79a]”I…I don’t understand. Beneath God, and one with two faces?”[/color] Brun said, puzzled. 

[color=662d91]”That’s alright, we can discuss the riddle later.”[/color] Arteus said, reassuring the Chaos Witch. [color=662d91]”Brun, just know that for now, we can trust her. I promise, and when have I ever broken a promise to you?”[/color] His face now wore a confident smile. 

Brun made a small scoff at the statement, but still had its intended effect of calming her. [color=fff79a]”You really are such a lout, do you know that Arteus?”[/color] 

[color=662d91]”One last thing, Mae.”[/color] Arteus said, his attention back on the Maiden. [color=662d91]”You said you were on your way to bring back your final ‘handmaiden’, you called her? What can you tell us about her?”[/color]

"[color=7851a9][b]Right now, she's a corpse,[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss says, casually, as she stepped off Mae's body. "[color=7851a9][b]So, there is that. I'm so nauseated, I might throw up before I can revive her,[/b][/color]" she groused, "[color=7851a9][b]When have I ever broken a promise to you? Oh, you're such a lout, you know that? Gross. Not even using the damn word in the right way, for Divine's sake! Treating it like it's a term of endearment. Disgusting. Hate it. Humans, Fae, Belua, you Things in-between,[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss threw up her arms, as she ranted, "[color=7851a9][b]You think you're so smart, you can just change the definition of words to have different meanings. I worked hard, okay, for two goddamn centuries, around the clock, coming up with shapes and sounds, for all you ungrateful creatures, and this is the thanks I get TO. MY. FACE.[/b][/color]"

"[color=7851a9][b]Honestly, it's maddening. Truly. Lout. An uncouth and aggressive male. This prima donna pantywaist looking man is a fearfully far cry from that insult you are abusively using as endearment, [/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss worried her face with her hands, "[color=7851a9][b]It was so much simpler when you didn't have words. Just those silly grunts and groans, poking at things, like infants...[/b][/color]" she sighed, "[color=7851a9][b]I miss those days.[/b][/color]"

The Maiden Abyss pulled down her lower eyelid with a groaned, "[color=7851a9][b]Maybe, a good cataclysm is what is needed.[/b][/color]"

Arteus and Brunhyldia looked at the Maiden with blank expressions on their faces, not expecting the sudden outburst of grievances; Apparently she was quite the stickler for words. The two sages shot each other a glance. 

[color=662d91]”A prima donna? Uh, yes, quite. I suppose I’ll take that as a compliment.”[/color] Arteus said cautiously, not wanting to start another outburst. 

[color=fff79a]”Yes, well, you mentioned that the girl in question was a, [i]corpse[/i] currently? Is…necromancy a part of your repertoire of abilities. I think it’s worth saying that such a thing is rather…unethical, shall we say? Especially in the eyes of the Church.”[/color]

"[color=7851a9][b]Is that what you call it,[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss asks, "[color=7851a9][b]I'm just holding her soul down with my thoughts, and reviving her heartbeat, while sealing her wounds. She was eaten by a Belua.[/b][/color]"

[color=fff79a]”Eaten?”[/color] Brun said, her expression becoming more alarmed. [color=fff79a]”A cannibal Belua…”[/color] She looked at Arteus. 

[color=662d91]”It may not be the man we’re thinking of, or beast, rather. But it’s best we keep our guard up all the same.”[/color] Arteus said. [color=662d91]”We wouldn’t mind adding her to the Tower, so long as we got to speak to her first. I hope you can mend the poor back up to par.”[/color]

"[color=7851a9][b]Already done,[/b][/color]" The Maiden Abyss says, "[color=7851a9][b]I'll leave you to fetch her. News will reach you soon enough,[/b][/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9][b]Spring is coming, Arteus. Time to clean house. All three of them.[/b][/color]"

The Maiden Abyss leapt back and into a Void Portal. At the same time, Mae would disappear from the floor, and reappear at the desk; sitting and staring at the floor, as if powered off still.

The Maiden Abyss had vanished back to her domain, leaving the vessel known as Maedelyn sitting on Arteus’s desk like a lifeless husk. Arteus and Brun remained silent for a moment, processing the whole exchange. 

[color=fff79a]”Arteus.”[/color] Brun was the first to break the silence. [color=fff79a]”I don’t believe she informed you where we are to find this final ‘handmaiden’, did she?”[/color] 

[color=662d91]”It seems she didn’t…”[/color] Arteus said. 

"[color=7851a9]Secretary, I'm out of chips. Run out and get me some,[/color]" Mae says, sitting up with a groaning stretch, "[color=7851a9]Don't dally, however. Pick whatever is cheap and hurry back. I'll need to take your eyes for measurement,[/color]" she says, "[color=7851a9] Lot's to do, if we plan to save the world and all that jazz...[/color]"

Mae looked up, and smirked, "[color=7851a9]I'm excited to see them again...[/color]"[/hider]