The Grey Dust

Ascension (high casual)

"Not sticking around for a drink?" Eden smiled in his sudden victory over the dragonbreed. His opponent had healed himself nicely, however the humiliation of being so quickly dispatched over the stares of the onlookers was certainly enough to break the spirit of any warrior. Besides, Eden seemed to take this grudge match like a joke, giving the momentarily incapacitated foe time to heal up as he disengaged to quaff his expensive elixir. Not the smartest thing to do when fighting someone of Garooda's evident abilities, but certainly enough to make Eden appear to be the superior of the two by controlling the focus of the very battle itself. Maybe he was a great tactician, or maybe it was just his charismatic persona that naturally made the spotlight shine upon him as he worked the crowd? "Don't let the door hit you on the way out then, Garth or whatever your name was..."

Your friend... he is as handsome they say.

This comment slightly concerned Eve. While the angelic girl was very polite, and evidently introduced herself formally, giving both first and last name. Something which Eden never really cared for, only first names. See the trick with last names was if there ever was a war of succession and Eden's lineage would somehow be able to ascend the throne, there may or may not be several women claiming to be bearing his child. That being said, Eden was usually luckily unlucky, somehow managing to avoid having baby issues with the number of girls he shared intimate moments with all these years. And if all else fails? Those poisons from Nero usually did the trick and avoided all sorts of bloodline troubles. A little something to make it less hospitable for birth without harming his lover, or detracting from their love-making.

Back to the matter at hand, or at least at mind, As Eve shook her head in response to Astrea, "Well Ms. Nioré, don't let his charm get the better of you. He's cute and very well end-, I mean- Off. Yes, Very well off, is what I mean to say obviously." Subtle hints at the underlying desire that Eve had for Eden discussed with a girl who may or may not be the next object of Eden's attention? Oh she was slipping, but then again, as Eden proved, he wasn't just all about the ladies and a good time. Sure he was a cocky, arrogant, playboy, but at least he had the skills to back up his mouth. Even now as the dragon-breed submitted with a scowl at the ever-grinning Eden, Eve felt proud of her companion's victory, in public view now too. "At least he can back up his talk, most of the time anyways." Eve sighed and looked up at Astrea before watching Eden pull the sword out of the table and claim his prize haughtily watching Garooda leave with his damaged pride.

"Settle up everything with the barman for me won't you Eve?" Eden came back over the barside, reveling in his rather quick and decisive victory. There was at least two girls that he passed on the way back over who had a longing look in their eye. Yet, Eden dismissed them with a passing smile wading through the crowds who were moving back tables into proper positions after Eden proclaimed a round of drinks for everyone, courtesy of the Fotian Army. Of course, there was one girl who was on Eden's mind, as he extended his hand towards her and she curled tail around his wrist to inspect the heavy sack of gem he won. Surely enough to cover the drinks for everyone, and more as a generous tip for the serving gals and bartender. Although Eden had his own coffers upstairs, lying around as if this was the most secure place in the world. Although maybe it was given that there were two important people in one bar. Then without skipping a casanovan beat, Eden tucked Garooda's sword into his belt and gazed at Astrea with her coppery irises and soft pink lips with his boyish charm ever emanating from him. "But first, why don't you introduce me to your new friend here?"

"Eden... He could have seriously hurt you." Here comes the chiding, the scolding and the general disapproval from a miniature dragon who was busy sorting out jewels from Eden's sack, not those kinds of jewels in that kind of sack. She was happy to help Eden count out his winnings, along with whatever rare administrative tasks he was somehow given and then delegated to her. The fairy dragon could hardly let Eden have such heavy responsibilities, someone had to keep him leashed and that someone as she saw was her. Not some girl he would eventually settle down with, that is if he ever settled down at all, and married to have kids that would probably never become princes or princesses in their own right as by that time both sides of Eden's family would have even greater lines of succession. "Mind your manners Eden, this is Ms. Nioré. Be nice to her, she was going to patch you up if the dragonman beat you to a pulp." The drinks were flowing from the bar at this point, waitresses handing out drinks to everyone as Garooda's gems were being exchanged for frothy mugs.

"Oh Relax, Eve, he was easy. All brawn, no brain until I broke him. I'm sure he'll be back for this sword though and a rematch." His eyes never quite left Astrea's gaze though, as the royal blooded seemed to almost inspect the obvious Seraphim woman. A scent of chocolate, soft but present, like a lingering calling card which wafted between them in his study of her. Almost intoxicating, although most of the other waitresses had similar scents which varied from baking sugar cookies to lilac, Astrea's was the most prominent which tickled it way into Eden's nose. "But I wouldn't mind taking a punch or two if it means I get to be healed by her..." At this point Eve bit Eden's hand. Not that her teeth could tear into stone-hard skin, but it was symbolic of her disproval of his flirtation with someone so nice. "I said Punch Eve, not bite." Eden chuckled at his companion's attempts and picked her up to be set on his shoulder having finished her task with distributing the loot. "So what do you say M'lady? Care to inspect me and check on all my functions?" Eden, you know your horns are growing out of your temples right? They don't prevent anyone from slapping your cheeks. Then again, he was always this forward, and more important, if he was slapped, he could definitely have reason for her to give him a check up. Right?

But the lecherous flirting had to come to an abrupt end. It seemed a quaint and curious group of Nerons came into the bar. First the Fotians, now the Neros, surely this was a Vrondi bar right? Cautiously did Eden's hand find itself wrapping around the pommel of Garooda's memento. Nerons were often slippery and a group of them was bizarre to behold, especially above ground. Something was up, and bar was once again under the stress of being The Bar to go to today. Especially now as someone upstairs drew the spotlight on these strangers. Wait a moment, where did Eden see him before? Not the Nerons but the man from upstairs, they might have passed each other last night? No, certainly not, though he looked familiar. Eve might know, but her focus was on the Nerons. "Eden, I think we better leave, soon."

"And miss all the fun?" Eden jutted his head over to the seated Nerons, now being approached by the more familiar stranger of the lot, making sure the bartender would get the message. Buy them a round of drinks, on Garooda's pay. After all, if they were assassins sent here to kill him by some weird politics, it would be much nicer to give them a drink before lopping of their heads.

---

"Our Goals, Align..."
"Perhaps you shall come to serve us..."
"Or perhaps you believe, we shall come to serve you..."
"We shall betray him, and so too will you betray us, as we would betray you..."
"We need not your power, for we have his truth, which shall break the lies you weave before us..."
"We are the masters, we are the servants, we are prophets of his perfection. Join us, for the Grey One seeks perfection..."

Perhaps the longest the entities had spoken yet. Speech no longer in fragments, as if each retained their composure and individuality for longer periods of time as they began to surround the Other. Six against One, but the odds seemed fair, for certainly these six were merely representatives of a force beyond them. Yet even they had some degree of autonomous power, despite being trapped within the confines of the book. They could not perform the deeds themselves, but certainly an unsuspecting fool can be used as their peon to further their ends. Slowly would they corrupt R'lyeh with their will, transforming him into one of them soon enough. And perhaps, even the King of Nero will fall under their swap. For the sake the kingdom after all, what will a man do? To find his weaknesses, his desires, his goals. Then, twist them to align with ones own before assimilating them into your ranks. Thus the book adds another volume in its wake. And the Grey One? Collects a new world.

"No... The Masters... They do not trust you..." the Lassan stepped back, stumbling over an exposed root. He fell, and scrambled backwards, clutching the book in his hand while discarding the apple as his symbolic choice. They had been good to him, and they shall be the ones to grant him true sight. They whispered their sweet promises into his mind, their words weighing heavy upon the psyche. His devotion was not so easily broken by this Other. "They shall guide me through these woods!"

"Yes, forward through the forest..."
"Into the lands of light..."
"Avoid the God-king..."
"For he would destroy us..."
"For we would destroy him..."
"Bring us to him..."

Ascension (high casual)

I'll probably post tomorrow then if not this evening depending on if I can get motivated enough to come up with a decent ending.

Ascension (high casual)

Should we give the humans a chance to catch up and post their reaction going into the bar?

Ascension (high casual)

@rechonq

I am be wrong in my interpretation, however, I think "Feral" in this sense means Non-civil. That is to say, a dragon which considers itself more a beast of nature than a 'cultured' individual. Eve for example is a fairy dragon, but sees herself as a person, rather than the tiny dragon she is and will probably object to having Eden being referred to as her "Master." And Eden will probably say the same thing, pointing out Eve isn't a pet, she's free to come and whenever she wants, but she keeps sticking around. Then of course Eve starts attempting to set Eden on fire, shouting things like, "Someone has to keep you from doing stupid things!" or "I only stuck around because we both know you need me to keep you out of trouble!" While they go chase each other like siblings.

The Eden-Eve relationship is very odd.

Master/Pet - From differing species roles
Parent/Child - From Eden hatching Eve
Child/Parent - Because Eve is probably the more Mature of the two.
Big Brother/Little Sister - Because Eden would protect Eve from anyone who would harm her.
Big Sister/Little Brother - Because Eden loves to tease/annoy Eve.
Friend-Crush/Friendzoned-Girl - Because Eve is sort of jealous of the relationships Eden has with other girls.
Salt/Pepper - Because they are co-dependent. Different, but the same.

I almost want to make an "Adam" character...

Ascension (high casual)

Not sure what to do now. The fight was a bit anticlimactic. And we should all have some degree of imagination of how much Eden hates an anti-climax.

Perhaps I shall have him flirt with Astrea? Teasing Eve as she's making new friends? Then probably focus on whatever else is going on. Like the humans coming into the bar?

Quick question, when did the humans show up last time? Or are they only spoken of in stories. Hence seeing them in person would be very impressive. And clearly Eden at first would want to take one, preferable a female, to be sent back to his home in Fotia as a curiosity. Although Eve would probably be highly against it.

Ascension (high casual)

You Move @Rai.

Ascension (high casual)

I wonder what the healing angel will think of Eden.

Eve isn't saying it but she think Eden wants to get to know Astrea better. Maybe. Then again he DID just flirt with 3 girls in the bar so...

Ascension (high casual)

Blink, and you'll miss it. A sly move to be wagered against a much larger opponent. While Eden was primarily a marksman, he did have some training in martial combat, and more important, hand-to-hand combat to shrug off a opponent who managed to get within distance to him after being riddled by bullets or flames. Garooda was just that, a big brute of a man, maybe due to his dragon blood which was easily detectable by his appearance. Large, heavy muscles over a scaled frame, a bruiser with claws and a smoking temper to match. If Eden had a short fuse, this man had no fuse at all, given his bull's snorting and now that bull was charging.

It was hard to take Eden seriously, between his charismatic persona and almost childish nature, he was grossly underestimated by his peers. Yet that was fine, it made him a lover not a fighter, even with a few impossible marks under his belt, he preferred focusing on his conquests below the belt. Rumor was after all, he achieved his rank and position by some nepotism, but he did go through the training required, and also some more specialized instruction from the Royal Guards. This meant that even though he introduced himself as just Eden Niscent-Hanoxx, he could claim the title Captain and most definitely defend it. Now as he stood in the arena, his combat stance was evidence to those keen to look past the playboy. His powerful hips and core, gleaned through a regiment of training and kept through bedroom activities. His palms were open with curled back claws, neither a committed fist, nor a flat hand capable of deflecting or striking with a curl or uncurl. His smug smile, jeering at the opponent as he waited for the first move from the aggressor. The bait was taken.

There it was, in response to the incoming fist, thrown in from the right, aimed at his face. Did the guard think this was the first bar fight Eden took part in? And did he think he was the biggest foe he had to contend with? If it was one thing that was clear, Eden was more agile, quicker on his feet to react as he stepped into his opponent's space and drew his right elbow into the dragon-breed's chest. But this was not the main goal of the defense, but rather to close up the distance between them as Eden's trunk twisted around focusing on manipulating Garooda's extend arm into stopping the attack. His left hand deflected the strike down at the wrist, checking the attack as his the edge of Eden's right hand pulled it self across the forearm to prevent further extension as the pressure on the cubital joint barred the upper arm. Locked in position, and having both successfully blocked the attack and giving a wink at Eve and Astrea, whipped himself back around his center but not before gripping the dragon-spawns wrist and elbow joint.

His hips provided the power, the quick snapping motion of the power-stroke movement. Force applied at the lever arm, controlling the wrist and elbow, to take the forearm, forearm to take upper arm, and upper arm to the shoulder, and finally shoulder to take the body. Pushing against the shoulder joint, by means of forced inward rotation, spiraling clockwise towards the floor. The body must follow limb, and limb must follow Eden's will. A hip check bumped Garooda now as he was taken by Eden's artful grapple. More pressure pushed into his shoulder to force his upper body to drop beneath Eden as he stood hip to hip against his opponent and their apparent difference in height abated with the arm-lock control applying more anatomical discomfort to force Garooda into dropping towards the floor on his knees. Could he resist it? Or was it proper that Eden caused him to kneel?

A sickening crunch of bone was heard. Perhaps stopping the show for the crowd. But Eve knew exactly how Eden planned to fight. He was bold and rash, but not stupid enough to think he could take the obviously stronger Guardsmen directly. Eve sighed a moment of relief, when Astrea confirmed she could heal the fighters, more concerned about Eden than his opponent, even if her friend had just taken the advantage and pressed the attack. "My lady?" She inquired at the angelic being, "Oh I'm not... Well I mean to say Eden's... Just call me Eve, please, you don't need to be so formal to me, although I can see why you thought I was someone important because of Eden but... If I could get your name Miss?" A tiny dragon standing atop a bar counter, talking with a Seraphim. A bar brawl afforded some strangers who were feeling up the stairs, and some strangers who sat in the back to watch it all.

"You really should watch your mouth." Eden's eyes betrayed his grinning face, the humor almost drained and replaced with pure sadism. Letting go of the arm, was the easy part, now that it was broken. The elbow joint was destroyed, precise knee strike at the elbow to cause an unwanted force reversing the joint before his barefoot was set back down. "I'll break your other arm if you don't apologize to her when she wakes." A rather escalated response, but certainly a romantic notion to defend a lady's honor, even if she did sleep with Eden who had slept with more women than his cousin's slain dragons probably. Of course women were easier to come by usually, giving credit to King Hanoxx for all his kills.

With that Eden stepped back, as if giving Garooda time to reconsider the entire fight, and picked up his glass of wine before taking another sip to work the crowd. Were they not entertained? The sheer brutality of breaking a man's arm, disappeared into the gallantry of defending a lady's honor, to now self-indulgent hedonism. The wine helped soften the image, reminding the watchers what was at stake here was both just wagered drink, and more than just a wagered drink. The interplays of power, dominance, and that warrior culture, mixed in with sovereignty, authority, and free will. Was it an abuse of Eden's power to do what he did? To openly call out the soldiers? But was it not for the greater good with his intentions of having them restore the bar in proper order? To apologize to the harassed? The lines of right and wrong were blurred, perhaps there was no moral rectitude to be had at a bar all.

"My cousin kills dragons you know. Runs a whole guild of dragonslayers, when he's not too busy running a Kingdom." He taunted the injured guard, "And well you're no Dragon, but I wonder if I can drag your sorry ass to the guild and they'll let me in? So... How about that drink?" Salt on the wound, as Eden set the glass back down and prepared for another attack as he continued to stoke the flames of burning rage. All for the entertainment of his current company, and much to Eve's disapproval. Though they really should stop become someone gets seriously injured. But then again this seemed like a Tyro affair, and technically since it was an army member disregarding a direct order from both a superior and one of their royal families, who had the right to intervene with what could be considered Kingdom affairs?

---

"He shall bring us to him..."
"We find your proposal intriguing..."
"Meet us at the crossroads..."
"He is our student..."
"Now leave his thoughts..."
"We are the masters..."

Six against one, the voices within and without. A single pawn caught between forces beyond him. A shudder at the touch across his face, gentle but cold. He saw nothing, but darkness, or whatever it was he saw trapped in a sightless world. A void of vision only temporarily relieved by the use of magic, and even then sight was an illusion. The question unanswered, but perhaps it seems like his dark masters had the answers they sought. For in his hands now were both book and an apple. Symbolic of the fork now offered, a new stranger, a powerful force certain with a presence felt by not only R'lyeh but also perhaps concerned his masters as they were silenced by the appearance of another entity. The poor Lassan was lost, bringing the apple to his lips to feel what he could not see through the more sensitive touch.

"What are you?" the blind man asked, the question which also peaked in the minds of this master. Or at least they knew what it was, but not which it was. The cosmic entities which roamed the multiverse was plentiful, and the cosmology was too bastardized to consider even attempting to explain with beings who could not understand conceptions beyond the first 6 dimensions, let alone the idea of forces beyond their control.

"What do you propose?..."
"An offering to meet our ends?..."
"But what are you goals?..."
"The Grey One seeks perfection..."
"Tell no secrets between us..."
"We are the masters..."

Ascension (high casual)

My post is ready, although I shall wait for @rechonq in order to retain posting order.

Ascension (high casual)

Alrighty looks like for everyone at the bar has another cycle of posts round.