[b]Redana![/b] [i]Daimyo Mengekai - he should never have been a soldier. He was a creature of golden fur and faultless trust. His gifts were a smile and a kind word. If only you hadn't had to mislead him so. [/i] "Of course, Director," he said and oh, so gentle! "Simply put, we reclassify this world as destroyed. We signal the Sowers." [i]And isn't this atrocity upon atrocity? A blood-soaked innocent, still naive despite the oceans of blood upon his hand - he believes you so totally he doesn't see a problem with extending your lies on to your last pure children. Like a drop of ink in the water your falsehood extends twisting tangles to corrupt everything without end. And yet tick, tick, tick. The number on the Auspex counting down until the Spear of Civilization is finished grinds down so fast and there's no time left.[/i] The emotions crush upon you, the agony of racing against time and losing - but they're not [i]quite[/i] yours. You can feel its colossal heaviness but the full weight doesn't stand [i]entirely[/i] upon you. Something has gone wrong with the weapon - you're experiencing someone else's pain and your own self becomes clearer in the contrast. [b]Dolce![/b] As warmth spreads through your veins your ears pop - Demeter is howling, howling so loud you have spent minutes entirely deaf without knowing, and that sound was hollowing you out from the inside. But as calm starts to settle in the kitchens the sound starts to resolve and it's not a howl at all. It's a song, sweet and twisted, the song of a maiden on an island all the wet and raging things in the ocean. [i]"You want to sail - you want to stop You want to thrive - you want to lie You don't want to see Let my hoe break your spine Let my hoe grind your bones Let my hoe till your soil Till you're all just compost It's the way you want it It's the way it is It's the way you want it Come back next year"[/i] The voice fades away until it takes up unwelcome residence in the back of your mind, a twisting earworm that runs deeper. Then - Ding! Order up! The receipt from the service desk slides into the back and you hang it up on a peg on raw instinct. It's the glyph of Artemis, a black circle of ink like an iris - a simple and ancient ritual and message: [b]You are being hunted.[/b] The assassin knows you have evaded her first attempt and she must now ritually appease the Goddess of the Hunt by giving you notice and a few minutes head start before she tries to murder you again. The door out is still locked. [b]Alexa![/b] "What are you on about? You don't give a single shit about the Alced," said Aphrodite between puffs of smoke. It hangs preternaturally thick and heavy, spreading to block out the external windows. "At best you care about these girls. So just steal a ship and get the fuck out of here. Leave the others to die, fuck 'em, what are they to you?" The smoke flows grey-purple and faded pink, curling and cascading, filling the whole room and rendering everyone else flickering red silhouettes. "You go to Athena for tactical solutions to military problems. You come to me to get what you [i]want[/i]." [b]Vasilia and Bella![/b] Green light strobes softly somewhere deeper in the Anemoi and the ships silence and stillness begins to break and stir like rain on a stagnant pool. Distorted footsteps echo in the distance - heavy boots stepping on soft and wet mush rather than sound absorbent alloy. You are not in immediate danger but this place is not safe.