[center][img]http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/wowwiki/images/6/63/Skywall.png/revision/latest?cb=20140619023455[/img]

[color=6ecff6][h3][i]Celestial Citadel[/i][/h3][/color][/center]




Like a diamond in the sky, the Celestial Citadel floated high above the surface of Galbar, up at a height where the atmosphere was thin enough for the stars to be plainly visible. Its walls and spires of dazzling white stone were breathtaking, and the blue gem adorning it pulsed with power. The clouds billowed about it, holding it aloft as though they were foundations as strong as the earth itself.




Teknall stood about a hundred meters from it, standing in mid air, admiring the craftsmanship of his own hands from when he had first landed on Galbar. Why had he not visited more often? Across the sky he walked, alighted onto one of the many landings, and strolled into the airy halls.




Yet he was not alone. The bold presence of Zephyrion was hard to miss, but others were present too. Illunbar, the Muse, made her presence here. And there were a few others who were less familiar. About a thousand tall, humanoid beings with three eyes, which he hadn't seen before, made their homes in a couple of the towers and chambers. Air elementals flitted about the open corridors and windows. But two individuals in particular caught Teknall's attention. One was human in form, wielding almost godly power, yet not quite, and bearing several artifacts he could tell were made by gods. The other was more human, and held some power, although nowhere near as much as the first.




[i]What use was an ogre?[/i]  Zephyrion had been ruminating upon that question as he stared out a window towards the verdant Venomweald that carpeted the land far, far below. It had been a long time since he had left his creations to their own devices there, and still he had not quite decided what was to be done with them. Perhaps he would simply leave them to fend for themselves as Toun had done the Hain.




Such thoughts were interrupted when the Lord of Change felt a familar presence rapidly approaching.  With a tugging thought he quickly summoned Ventus to his side. [b][color=Gold]"My dear brother Teknall approaches; you must go forth at once and welcome him, for he is to be an honored guest! Be to sure to walk him inside straight to me!"[/color][/b]




The Vizier sighed at the needless complexity, but then again he had already known that his master oft took a liking for absurd formality and grandeur. Quickly Ventus billowed through the halls to emerge upon a large terrace where he anticipated Teknall would land. He found the god already there, for as fast as the windjinn could fly, it remained near impossible to outpace a god.




[color=0072bc]"Hail to Your Divinity, O great Teknall! You are well met by this humble servant of Zephyrion, the Vizier Ventus. My lord would meet with you in his chambers, just through here!"[/color]




The Majordomo moved to lead Teknall through the palace, though such courtesy might have been unnecessary for the one whose very hands had built the place. Still, with so much formality and politeness as he could muster, Ventus led the way. Never once did he insult the god by showing his back, so he found himself flying more or less sideways. [i]'The things I do for Zephyrion...'[/i] the djinni found himself thinking.




[color=Peru]"Ah, thank you, Vizier Ventus,"[/color] Teknall replied. He had not been expecting such a welcome, but he took it gracefully, following Ventus to Zephyrion's quarters.




Through winding spiral staircases and halls hall did the two go, until they at last came to one of many large rotundas near the uppermost reaches of the alcazar. In the center of that vast, rounded room there was Zephyrion.




He received his guest, [b][color=Gold]"Dearest brother Teknall, it has been far too long! I bid you make yourself comfortable and at ease here."[/color][/b]




He examined Teknall more closely, noting with some shock and disapproval that the god had seen fit to take on the form of a lowly Hain. For what purpose did he disgrace himself so? [b][color=Gold]"But Teknall, why do you take on such a form? You debase yourself with such simplicity; to inspire civilization and great things, you must be marvelous, perfect, and larger than the life of any mere mortal!




Alas, I am carried away. What deeds have been yours since last we met?"[/color][/b]




Teknall looked around the room, and found it practically bare. The gaseous form of Zephyrion had needed none of the comforts of home, so when Teknall had built the palace he had included none. But now he saw this as a serious shortsight, something he would have to fix if he were to spend any appreciable amount of time up here. At a whim, a chair of stone rose from the floor, the floor rippling as though it were water, and Teknall sat upon the chair.




[color=Peru]"It has been far too long indeed. But I have been busy, for the same reasons I have taken this form. To inspire civilisation, I need not manifest in my full glory and awe all who see me. Instead, I have spent the past few decades walking amongst the Hain, [i]teaching[/i] them from within. Civilisation requires progress, and progress requires critical thinking, something that is hindered by appearing as a god.




"The Hain were made with great potential, yet Toun has abandoned them. So I took it upon myself to foster that potential. I've taught them many things, giving them the tools necessary to grow and develop into a fully fledged civilisation, given a little time. I've trained an apprentice to continue that task for me, as I have noticed the emergence of many other intelligent races.




That's what I have been doing. What have you been up to?"[/color]




[b][color=Gold]"Then woe and wanion unto those who knew not that they were graced with the presence of a god! I have been given little cause for action. With infinite foresight I created the spiryts that this world calls djinn so as to carry out my will and direct the forces of Change autonomously.




Heretofore I did find joy and solace in shaping and protecting my own corner of the world: that stretch from the blue waters of the Sparkling Sea, past the salt flats and rolling dunes of the Firewind, and finally stopping somewhither in the jungles at the foot of your own mountains. With your Urtelem as a foundation I built a mighty creature with which I am determined to people Galbar with; perhaps one day in the near future, you might visit them as you did the Hain.




As of late, however, I have taken to offering guidance towards the young Lifprasil. A demigod brought forth by the perfidious Vulamera, I still see potential in him yet, and perhaps under my tutelage he will become something great."[/color][/b]




[color=Peru]"Ah, another race. I shall indeed have to visit them some time. And talk to the other people here, for I am sure they have interesting stories of their own,"[/color] replied Teknall, [color=Peru]"Speaking of the world, could you set this Citadel moving, such that it will tour the world? Many new things have appeared in this world which I am yet to see, and here is one of the best vantage points to do so from."[/color]




[color=Gold][b]"Ah, the view is indeed marvelous from these soaring heights! As you wish, so will I command,"[/b][/color] Zephyrion obliged. An ethereal appendage writhed its way out of the god's vortex and from that hand there came a golden wind that found its way to the massive gem crowning the Citadel. The conduit for Zephyrion's power activated, Teknall would feel the hum of magic as it poured throughout the palace and the sky itself. Mortals would hear or sense nothing; the Citadel would simply take motion and begin speeding through the stratosphere's thin air, the land below gradually changing.




[b][color=Gold]"I now leave you to converse with those droll 'inhabitants' that flit back and forth through my halls; it was well to see you, but now I must attend to some matters with my Vizier."[/color][/b]




In that moment both Zephyrion and the nearby Ventus dissipated into smoke that simply wafted away, the two beings having traveled to somewhere far away. Teknall was left alone to find his way through the palace. Normally the god might have seen that as rudeness fit to be called nothing less than an insult, but in Teknall's case, there had been no ill intent. The palace's architect surely could not become lost!




The next place Teknall visited was Illunabar's quarters, which was really an entire floor of the Citadel. The Muse had expressed her beauty in the space she had been given. So for some refreshment from the bare halls he wandered up to her lavish halls. She had hidden them behind illusory walls, likely to keep the mortals out, but such measures were transparent to him. Even if he couldn't see straight through the illusion and other walls, he was an expect stone mason, and could tell that such walls were foreign to the Citadel. Before crossing through, he knocked on the adjacent wall to announce his entrance and stepped through.




The difference between the sides of the walls was striking, Ilunabar had never been lazy on her work across the Celestial Citadel, yet most of her best designs were left to her quarter and Zephyrion's rooms. Some statues and paintings were piled on the ground, indicating that they had been moved recently, some spots of dust along the walls of the Lifprasilian quarters would make their previous locations quite clear.




The central bit of her area was a small square room with a fake sky drawn into its roof, the paint moved around and changed colours to simulate day and night and the fake sun and moon glimmered gently over a round fountain decorated with flowers. There were four rooms. Right now, Meimu's room was decorated with flowers and marble furniture, and many birds could be heard singing from their large and luxurious cages. Notte's room was full of clothes and jewellery, some of it noticeably from Hain villages Teknall had visited, and oddly, the many mirrors were covered with sheats or turned down. The third room was empty. Finally, Ilunabar's room. Many would theorize it was a luxurious place, full of delicious treats and gorgeous artworks. Instead it was messy, scrolls left on the ground, dry paint and used brushes ruining fine pieces of marble and a lot of doodles and maps left floating in the air. 




Once inside the room however, one would quickly notice a small terrace to the side, far tider than the mess of a studio. There the muse was calmly writing on a small notebook, while enjoying the view, in fact, the Aurora she had created could be seen from this altitude. The furniture of the terrace was familiar, those crystal chairs and table were an old design that Teknall and Ilunabar had made back when the world was young.




Walking past the fountian, Teknall realised that one thing the Citadel lacked was drinks for guests. Morphing out of the stone floor and floating up to his hand came a stone cup, and with it he scooped a cupfull of water out of the fountain. With it he took a sip of the water through his hain-beak. It was not that he actually needed water, but it was a habit he had developed over the past few decades. Finally he spoke to Illunabar from the central room. [color=Peru]"I like what you've done with the place, Illunabar."[/color]




The muse had already sensed the presence, even so, as she stood up and walked toward the voice she felt surprised when she actually saw him in his Hain form. 




[colour=ec008c]"Oh! Teknall? It has been an eternity! If I knew you were visiting I would have called my girls here."[/colour] she walked toward her brother and grabbed his hands, a smile on her face [colour=ec008c]"You changed a lot huh? I see that you became quite fond of the Hain too..." [/colour]




His head to the side so he could see her and beak upturned, he replied, [color=Peru]"Indeed. The Hain hold much potential. I have left an apprentice with them to carry on the word of teaching them. So what have you been up to, sister?"[/color]




"Oh quite a lot I believe" she rested a finger against her chin "You left before I even ended up my project, The Arpeggio." She formed a miniature image of the tower that stood in the center of The Raka. "I'm quite proud of this building, and it brought dreams to all mortals across the universe. Other than that, I have been working a lot with the girls, have you ever got to see the flower I, uh, actually, Meimu, made for you? The one that changes its colours depending on the minerals underneath it" her excitment to finally have someone to talk with was almost touchable. The divas were too bound to her, and the other gods didn't care much about design.




[color=Peru]"Ah, I had noticed it, although I hadn't been able to identify the artist. It is indeed a wonderful piece of work. A beautiful fusion of form and function,"[/color] Teknall said, [color=Peru]"You mention your 'girls', Meimu one of them, and I see rooms for them, although I know nothing about them."[/color]




"Ah! I thought that you had run into them already, considering how much both have been working with the Hain. They are the divas, something like a pupil you might say, perhaps a bit like the Gerrik fellow you walked with? Meimu is the Diva of Petals and she is tasked with promoting natural beauty. Notte is the Diva of Mirrors, she deals with mirrors and is the one who has the most contact with civilization" she then took a step back and looked for some notes.




"Piena is the third one, she is very young but by far the most responsible, she is the Diva of Aesthetic, and her mission is to organize my projects" she looked outside for a bit "She was here just a while ago, but she left to scout villages for my next project. I will do what I can to promote culture brother, while at times our will clashes, our objectives are the same."




[color=Peru]"Ah, some helpers. It takes a load off having someone to share the work with,"[/color] Teknall replied, [color=Peru]"And it is good to hear that we are aligned in aiding civilisation."[/color]




"For me it's less about having extra hands and more about having more minds and voices. It is something I learned from our Sibling's mistakes, without the clash of opinions one's worldview becomes weak like the muscles of a sedentary person." 




Teknall considered these words for a few moments. Eventually, he said, [color=Peru]"Indeed. Perhaps I could make a voice with a second opinion some time, too."[/color]




Then Teknall turned his head and, with one pair of eyes, looked down at a point on the floor, as though distracted by something. [color=Peru]"You've noticed those two talking?"[/color] he queried.




"Oh? Lifprasil has been around for a while, a spoiled kid, but has potential, if only he would stop bringing so many annoyances to the citadel" The Muse sighed and started to write again "You have not met him yet, have you? He talks a lot about empires and whatnot, so he might be of your interest. I myself am far too busy with this big project, so I fear I won't be able to accompany you on the rest of the vist. But it was nice to talk with you, and considering how this play is evolving, I believe we will have to meet again very soon"




Teknall nodded and turned up a palm. [color=Peru]"Indeed. I look forwards to our next meeting. May your project go well."[/color]




And so Teknall departed from Illunabar's quarters, and headed off towards the gardens.




[center]-=-=-[/center]




In a secluded albeit easily accessible chamber near the bottom of the Celestial Citidel lived the critic.  Having risen from a dreamless coma in a pool of his own blood, he set to work immediately.  Prior to his agony-induced siesta, Allure had taken to his new habitat with utmost irreverence.  He truly hated the place his defeat forced him to call home.  In the featureless walls and the empty rooms there existed no beauty whatsoever, not even the faint prettiness of nature.  The base floor of the Citadel featured no more than nine square rooms arranged in a grid, but in short order Allure observed that each chambers' vertical pillars would serve to alleviate his boredom.  With only enough hesitation to ensure the quality of his disassembly, the hero of beauty got to work whittling away at the pillars.  Shards of stone flew and skittered across the floor as a testament to the hero's destruction.




Yet from the ruins arose something new.  Slowly, and poorly at first, he freed from the confines of stone a slew of shapes.  He shaved off more and more slivers of rock, creating contours and edges, all according to his whimsical creativity.  An hour of ceaseless labor passed before his first statue, a featureless woman with long hair, stood in the empty wreck of a room.  He paused after her completion, just long enough to learn from his mistakes and gather up the shards of rubble into a neat pile, before beginning on his second statue.  This time, he depicted a woman sitting, with hair done up in a bun.  While troubled by the pose, he managed to tease the material into a shape that pleased him.  More disposal and contemplation followed, and over the course of a half-day Allure ate nothing, drank nothing, and slept not at all, for there was no food to eat, or water to drink, and no beds in which to sleep in this austere citadel in the sky.  Where applicable, he dabbled his fingers in the only paint available to color in the hair and eyes of his invariably female subjects.  At the very end of his hours of toil, he decided that he had honed his talents enough to try and capture true beauty.




By afternoon, a new, larger statue stood, separate from the others.  Allure collapsed, exhausted in mind and body from such intensive labor, but he smiled to see a likeness of Notte standing before him, frozen in a coy pose with a hand curled near her mouth like a noblewoman.  The hero of beauty did not find much peace in his art, for the pain of the new lines plowed in his brain would not abate so easily.  Unyielding taskmasters, they forced him to continue. Groaning, he willed himself to his feet and set about dragging slabs of stone where he needed them.  From rough, useless blocks with pointy corners he hewed a table, a chair, a stool on which to rest his feet, and a primitive and unpleasant sort of couch on which to rest, only better than the floor for the sake of aesthetics.  These he applied only enough care to in order to make them functional; they did not fit into what he considered the realm of beauty in any way.  Lying upon his couch, he ruminated.  [color=E62020]"What a truly awful place.  It did not escape my imagination that the immortals might not have any use for the objects of mortals, but I did not expect it to be so laughably stark. I walked every inch of the palace, but witnessed nothing but walls and the spirits that flitted about between them.  No furniture, nor food, nor fortifications, nor anything of any kind.  A building is perfectly worthless if it is less interesting and useful than the nature upon which it is built.  Even in the sky it is true; this castle is a waste of good air.  I have created the only things of value inside it, even with my small power, and the gods who inhabitit this place with all their powers have done nothing.  Who is more insignificant?"[/color]




What pleased him least of all, however, was that there was nobody around to listen to him give vent to his displeasure.




After the speech faded into the abhorrent nothingness of the Citadel's alabaster walls, wreathed in waves of teal threatening to overtake the simplicity of the place; a small oval landed on Allure's chest. The white game piece was crafted from stone, with a surface worn down over hours of concentration in part of Lifprasilian craftsman. Now, Lifprasil stood at the entrance to Allure's den, having escaped the emergence of the other deities to check on his compatriot. 




[color=orange]"The one who is insignificant is the one who resigns to nothingness, satisfaction is the death of work, and work is, coincidentally, what is needed to express satisfaction. How that work is applied, however, rates the individuality of an individual based on their goal - it defines the word."[/color] Lifprasil said as he walked into the room, wrestling a tiny, black orb against the palm of his hand, kneading the material into his flesh. He only wore a tunic in this confrontation, he had left his armor, and his weapon behind.




Allure laughed.  He hadn't suspected that the room might grow even more boring.  [color=E62020]"Another pithy statement.  It is fortunate that I never break my word."[/color]  He picked up the white game piece and studied it.  In seconds he deduced both the greater time taken to make it and the poorer standard to which it had been made, in comparison to his work.  [color=E62020]"Huh."[/color]




[color=orange]"If your goal is to rid this world of the ugliness that blights it, your resignation to just sculpting images of a puppet confounds me, you have changed a single room, when you could change this entire citadel into a work of art; rather than the droll fortress of the Wind God."[/color] Lifprasil continued, and paced around the sculpture in profound silence, running a finger along the nape of the faux Notte's neck. [color=orange]"Your quest goes to waste if you do nothing to mend the issue you're faced with - creating beauty requires only an eye for such, but I plan to extend leadership to [i]teach[/i] it when I descend from this place."[/color] the Demi-God finally finished, and turned his head to look down upon Allure and his own white game piece; similar to the one he held in his hand. [color=orange]"Perhaps you could teach it, too."[/color]




These words struck Allure as particularly amusing.  As if the concept of true beauty could be taught!  [color=E62020]"Go and quibble elsewhere.  Tell the so-called gods, who can do anything with a snap of their fingers, to make works of art.  All I have is my eye for beauty.  My hand does not hunger for creation, and doing so is too strenuous for me, like trying to force a spoon to serve like a fork, not that there's a smigen for a poor mortal to eat around here.  It can only destroy; what you see is the beauty in destruction.  What interest have I in the beautification of this bare fortress anyway?  Bland is, at the very least, not ugly."[/color]  He stood up from his couch, coaxing himself to his feet, where he swayed slightly as if lightheaded.  [color=E62020]"Beauty can never be taught.  It is not a skill.  It is a calling.  An ultimate element of the universe, beyond sovereignty, power, or honor.  I neither can nor will teach it, especially to disgusting creatures like hain."[/color]  He crossed his arms and smirked.




Lifprasil shook his head in disapproval. [color=orange]"Pathetic, you have become a reclusive barnacle."[/color] he teased, before he extended a hand to him. [color=orange]"I will treat you to a meal, as my High Lifprasilians have prepared food on the walls of the Citadel. Maybe then we can continue our talk."[/color] Lifprasil offered.




A dazzling, handsome grin appeared on Allure's face, though his voice was acerbic.  [color=E62020]"I do so endeavor to rise in your estimations.  I will take food, though.  Can't live without it."[/color]  For the second time in as many days, he refused the hand offered to him.  Instead, he extended his hand upward, and carved into the ceiling a triangle-shaped hole through which to spring.  [color=E62020]"Lead the way.  As for me, I cannot tell one featureless hallway from the next."[/color]




A sigh escaped Lifprasil, before his feet left the ground, and he flew through the melo-dramatic triangle carved into the ceiling. He flew, and flew, past massive arches, extensive hallways that went on forever, and most importantly; masses of High Lifprasilians spending their time either training, sleeping, or inventing more weapons from the primeval materials they had been given. Eventually, Allure found himself being led onto a sweeping balcony far too big for a pair of mortals. Instead, it was occupied by a small group of unassuming High Lifprasilians, all of which focused their efforts on tilling, and harvesting the soil that had balanced itself within the myriad of abnormally sized vases and pots installed by the efforts of many before them.




The hanging gardens had developed into a beautiful sight, thanks to the favor of Zephyrion, and the farmers that had clung to the sides of the Citadel, a garden that became anything but frugal was created; primarily through trial and error. [color=orange]"While you waste away, Barnacle, I begin my plan."[/color] Lifprasil exclaimed over the violent winds of the outside. [color=orange]"My army trains, it feeds, it sleeps, and it refines itself like a weapon, a machine, even, something created from so many moving parts that many would be hard to understand the machinations and motions directing it. Each part in my machine, my Empire, moves in key with one another, no matter the pace they set themselves to. Those that cease perish, but those that persist continue to function; a predicament I believe you would find yourself in, if you expressed insight."[/color] explained Lifprasil in congruency with his former statement, before a single high Lifprasilian with an arm quite unusual approached with a basket of fruit.




[color=blue]"M-m'lord! Look w...what I harvested!"[/color]




She was tall, lanky, and her unusual arm shimmered like crystal in the sunlight, her normal one extending the hefty basket to Lifprasil himself. [color=orange]"Thank you, Lakshmi."[/color] Lifprasil said, and took the food into his hands, and then passed it on to Allure. [color=orange]"Sit, the both of you, progress moves around us, so we may rest in the center of it."[/color] he demanded, to which Lakshmi obediently did.




The very act elicited a chortle of derision from Allure.  His eyes took in every detail that surrounded him, and he found nothing worthy of praise.  Loyal knight that he was, however, he would not keep the shortcomings of the great Empire to himself.  [color=E62020]"What was that?  An Empire?  Ah...hah hah hah hah hah!"[/color]  The hero of beauty forced himself to cover his face with a splayed-out hand to hide his merriment.  When he spoke again, however, his tone cut more cleanly than a surgeon's knife.  [color=E62020]"Oh, hail the great conqueror!  Master of a featureless floating shell in the sky, and lord of a herd of ready-made minions manufactured for you by the gods.  And you kill whichever ones might express a morsel of free will and think twice about blindly following your every wish?  I am the first challenge you have overcome, Lifprasil.  You have not earned a single thing you have.  I must confess myself, lowly, pitiable mortal that I am, unimpressed by all of the gifts heaped upon you.  Though I would kill to be so favored."[/color]  He drew his finger along the edge of an orange, severing it in two in a single stroke, and taking the top half, he held it over his mouth and tipped his head back, dribbling the juices across his tongue and down his chin.  [color=E62020]"Perhaps you do not like my observations,"[/color] he murmured after licking his lips, trying to get a word in before Lifprasil replied.  [color=E62020]"No doubt your first experience with a being expressing contrary beliefs--indeed, not feeding you drivel about how special you are."[/color]  Allure expected Lifprasil to be smoldering, but did not fear him.  Without his armor, the demigod could not withstand an attack, yet no matter how cruelly verbose Allure grew he would wait for his great liege to strike first.




The surrounding gardeners, and passing warriors all take pause, even the air around Lifprasil stopped in anticipation as he just sat, legs crossed, and hand splayed over the fruit basket. With a slight shudder, Lifprasil took a banana, a low murmur escaping his lips, before he squeezed the fruit into a very explosive demise. [youtube=https://youtu.be/hSE_xs9RoHg]His murmur exploded into a fit of laughter,[/youtube] a cascade of merriment that could easily rival Allure's own condescending giggles. This heaving fit of gasps and ensuing laughs from Lifprasil continued for a minute - until his expression snapped to its default all too suddenly. [color=blue]"U-uh... Eh hehe... Heh..."[/color] Lakshmi mumbled with a worried frown, clasping at an apple, and accidentally biting her tongue when she went to consume it. She recoiled and yelped, which caused Lifprasil to avert his gaze from the sky he had fixated himself upon, and back to his allies. [color=orange]"On the contrary, I love your opinions, Barnacle, it's why I didn't concede to destroy you when we fought. In fact, if I have earned ONE thing, it is you."[/color] Lifprasil explained with some pluck, giving Allure a light poke on the nose; and a smile. [color=orange]"Your existence is my own. You are not my slave, but my friend, my brother by choice. You may be the first hurdle I have faced in the grand order of the divine, but I have faced many smaller obstacles helping tend to my own ilk, and look how they have blossomed! As I have said before, one's own signifigance is dictated by what work he does, and I expect to make us both very, very significant people. I will rule Galbar, and with your help I will continue overcoming obstacles even larger than you."[/color] Lifprasil finished, before he took the apple from Lakshmi, and had her crane her mouth open so he could look at her tongue. [color=blue]"Aaaauuugh..."[/color] Lakshmi groaned, while Lifprasil busied himself.




For once, Allure remained solemn and still.  Confusion did not mar his features, though he did feel it.  Every moment he expected Lifprasil, or one of the beings egotistically named after him, to attack, but the assault never came.  All that assailed him was a light touch, which he did not find any magical significance in.  Therefore, the man listened, and when Lifprasil finished, Allure appeared pensive.  [color=E62020]"Interesting.  I am sure that any god would have struck me down on the spot.  I got an inkling of your nature in the desert, and here it seems you have passed my test.  Make no mistake, I meant every word, but it rather...pleases me that you consider what I say."[/color]  After a moment, Allure seated himself.  With his dry hand he pushed his hair back, and with the wet one he pulled a pear from the fruit basket.  Studying it, he said, [color=E62020]"Overcoming great obstacles suits me.  Ugliness is one such, but there are many out there.  It would not be so much a tragedy if you ruled, I suppose.  Perhaps my service will not be a waste of my time after all."[/color]  He bit into the pear, and stared off into the sky, thinking as he often did of Notte.




Lifprasil's smile only widened when he released Lakshmi, and she found her tongue to be healed. He took a bite from her apple, and then handed it back to her, which she nearly dropped on the floor upon the exchanging of food. [color=orange]"We are equals, these people are my equals, and all of Galbar will be equal to me, and maybe one day, the gods... Now, Barnacle, express some posture. We are in the presence of one such a creature, and I would not want to disappoint a guest of my people."[/color]




Lifprasil's current guest said nothing in reply, but his expression made his paucity of delight utterly clear as he consumed his fruit.  In the presence of a god, such impudence would not serve him well.  For the time being, his disrespect would lie hidden.  With a sense of morbid anticipation he waited.




Walking into the garden came the humble figure of a Hain. Teknall had been listening in on the conversation between the Demigod and Hero as soon as he had arrived, and had carefully considered their words and actions. The Demigod, who was called Lifprasil, was a charismatic individual, although he had plans, for unification by conquest, for an Empire. Teknall had misgivings about this, but at the same time Lifprasil did not seem malicious. The Hero, who the Demigod had jovially called Barnacle, although he suspected this might not be his actual name, seemd to have an almost religious stance on that of beauty, and to Teknall's ire he considered the Hain 'disgusting', although his critique on the state of the Citadel was fair. He also observed his abilities, with his ability to slice through fruit and stone with equal ease and precision using spectral claws. He had evidently put those skills to use, creating an assortment of well-crafted stone statues in what was his room.




[color=Peru]"Greetings. I'm afraid we haven't been properly introduced,"[/color] said Teknall, beak upturned in a smile, and extending a hand to the pair, [color=Peru]"I am Teknall, the Great Artisan, architect and builder of this palace."[/color]




Allure's uneasiness could be palpably felt as he slowly stretched out his hand to shake Teknell's.  Under normal circumstances that hand would have turned the Hain before him into a bloody smear, but Lifprasil's warnings and his own senses made that possibility very remote.  Awkwardly he shook Teknell's hand, clearly not familiar with the gesture, and he said nothing before returning to his seat.




Lifprasil smiled, and took Teknall's own hand, wrapping his palms around both Allure, and the god's visage. [color=orange]"Prosit, what would your plight be here, good creature?"[/color] he questioned. Lifprasil's grip on Teknall's power was apparent, as he expressed respect towards a god so gentle as to be an artisan.




[color=Peru]"I am simply here to see what is happening up here,"[/color] Teknall replied. He reached out and took a pear from the basket of fruit, [color=Peru]"And to rest and eat. I like what you've done with this garden, Lifprasil. I'll need to put more plants about this palace of mine."[/color] He then looked to Allure, and said to Lifprasil, [color=Peru]"While I have heard your name, I'm afraid I still don't know your friend's name."[/color] To Allure he added, [color=Peru]"I have noticed that you have quite a skilled hand as a sculptor."[/color]




[color=E62020]"Did you?"[/color]  The man did not know whether to appear pleased or humbled.  He settled for cautious optimism.  [color=E62020]"Thanks be.  I am called Allure."[/color]  Without any semblance of his usual theatricality, he remained still, waiting in anticipation.




Teknall could sense Allure's unease. Perhaps Allure was not used to speaking in the presence of a god, an interaction Teknall had not done for many years. [color=Peru]"Well met, Allure. Be at ease."[/color] He pulled up a chair and sat down before biting into the pear he had taken, the juice running down his chin. From the pocket in his leather apron he procured a square of clean, white cloth, and wiped the juice from his porcelain shell. Then he turned to Lifprasil. [color=Peru]"You are a new being, and I have not heard about the existence of any demigods before now. I have heard that you were brought forth by Vulamera. Was she the only god involved in your birth?"[/color]




In silence, Lifprasil shook his head, his face entering a state of placidity once again [color=orange]"The god of Chaos, Vestec, is my father. I do not harbor his nature, however."[/color] he said, looking up to Teknall from the floor. [color=orange]"What I have in mind is the good of the mortal realm. And you, Artisian?"[/color] he questioned.




Teknall's eyes widened and his beak turned slightly towards Lifprasil in surprise at mention of Vestec. [color=Peru][i]Vestec and Vulamera? I did not expect that...[/i][/color] he thought. [color=Peru]"I am working towards the good of the mortals too. I work to build civilisation."[/color] Teknall's eyes stared firmly into Lifprasil's [color=Peru]"I do hope that you keep the good of mortals in mind while you make your Empire, both during and after."[/color]




Lifprasil met Teknall's own eye, and his golden eyes flared with an intensity as bright as any challenged mortal, but he remained mild in tone. [color=orange]"Of course. My only nature would be the good of mortals. Any discrepancy would be to go against my domain: Emotion. As a vessel of emotion, I empathise towards sentientkind in its entirety, and I know they need something to look to, an international factor of unity; an Empire unhindered by landmasses or oceans, a World Order, if you will. Something more... Personal."[/color] Lifprasil finished, his gaze in all its intensity shifted back to Allure and Lakshmi, and his expression changed back to its original, reassuring grin. He then turned his head back to Teknall, wearing a much more controlled expression of goodwill.




[color=orange]"Surely that's agreeable, is it not?"[/color]




While Lifprasil's words were indeed agreeable to Teknall, a small part of his mind couldn't help but to be wary that they might just be honeyed words. But this was only a small suspicion, a mere possibility, and something about talking with Lifprasil just seemed to put him at ease. [color=Peru]"Indeed it is. If you need my help for anything, just let me know."[/color]




They may have conversed further, if Teknall did not perk his head up as though hearing someone call to him from afar. For a message had been broadcast to all the gods, and it bore grave news.




[color=Peru]"Kyre?"[/color] Teknall said aloud, [color=Peru]"I haven't heard from you since Creation... Oh my, he did what?"[/color] His fists clenched and teeth bared. [color=Peru]"How dare he!"[/color]




Teknall looked to Lifprasil. [color=Peru]"I'm sorry to have to cut our chat short, but your father Vestec has decided that marching an army across Galbar would be a fun game."[/color] He spat this last word. [color=Peru]"I must go now and make preparations of my own, before he slaughters half the planet's population."[/color]




Abruptly, Teknall left, disappearing. There were armies to be observed, plans to be made, and counter-attacks executed. A lot of work had to be done if he was to protect those he had pledged to protect.




[hider=Summary]

This encounter takes place some time soon before Vestec's armies mobilise, and before the Phantasmagoria.

Teknall visits the Celestial Citadel, and has a friendly chat with Zephyrion, Illunabar, Lifprasil and Allure, mostly about what they had been up to for the past while, a bit about their ideologies.

Lifprasil and Allure also have a talk about the nature of beauty.

[/hider]