The doors to the great study opened up, the entourage of guests pouring in quietly. Typhon Kairos and his wife Tiamat kraken walked in followed by Altair who walked side by side with Wukong and finally behind them walked Xerxes with Tania, her hand held within his. Kairos wore a silk like robe of dark green and amethyst sash tied around his waist, the attire etched with images of ancient monsters and told a story, the pieces moving. Tiamat on the other hand made Moyo freeze in his seat, deep black hair that moved lazily like sleepy tentacles, deep black eyes with a pin prick of green light, black painted lips and dark brown skin.
She wore a robe that looked more like oily shadows than an attire itself, sticking to her luscious curves, her body subtly large in a way that didn’t actually click for the first few seconds of meeting her, dark black painted nails and a smile that revealed pearly white set of canines, marking her as something otherworldly. Moyo however maintained his composure, and if the glint in the eyes of Kairos was anything to go by, the lord of monsters knew just what effect his wife had on people.
Altair on the other hand wore a blue suit with an inner white shirt, Moyo wondered if the thousand blades got such a fashion sense from his world or there was some other world with humanity on it with the same fashion sense. The titan doubted it though, and seeing the shrouded power the thousand blades sought to keep on a leash, he smiled at the gesture, Altair was subtly trying to proclaim his alliance with him, seeing as he oozed the power of a nascent primordial. How and when this had happened, Moyo had no idea, but he suspected the prime aspect had a hand to play in it, Altair with his hair tied behind his head in a knot, two long strands left to float next to his head like some anime character and his silver and white eyes gleaming, Moyo felt the strength untapped by the soon to be primordial.
Xerxes was another case entirely, his face a stone-cold mask, dressed in red suit as well with an image of a snarling golden dragon pinned to his left breast, the leader of the dragon’s brigade was a rigid and imposing figure. Tania on the other hand bore the look of an exasperate woman who had been arguing with a child, her tight smile hiding the simmering frustration she had locked down, she smiled at him and then diverted her eyes to Xerxes before turning back to him, Moyo inclined his head in understanding, the Terrangazer was not in a happy mood.
Then a figure entered, dressed in white suit with gold cufflinks and golden shoes as well, Moyo chuckled as Mardar grinned as he entered, arms folded behind him as he held his power to his body. The jade of the first order also had a new feel to his power, something deep and primordial, at least, whatever passed for a primordial in the jade ranks, for as far as Moyo knew, after the first order came the rank of the jade lord and Moyo was pretty sure Mardar wasn’t in the ranks of Lucirion just yet, close, but not there.
Dressed in a purple suit with black shoes and the crest of his clan etched into the breast of his suit, Moyo stood up, smiling at his guests, eyes flickering as he saw shimmering shadows pour into the room with silence,
Spiders,
Idris walked in briskly, his master ranked power on display as he channeled the aspect of the titan, his knights armour a burnished gold and painted purple along with a helmet tucked under his armpit, he walked briskly to stand behind the titan in absolute silence, eyes straightforward. if his guests were insulted by such, they gave no show of it, except Xerxes snorted as Tania jabbed him in the ribs, the sun-burner giving her a look of exasperated guilt before he rolled his eyes.
Moyo opened his arms,
“Lord Kairos, lady Tiamat, lord Altair, lord Xerxes, lady Tania, lord Wukong and lord Mardar, welcome to my humble domain” he said nodding at them,
Kairos spoke,
“As far as planet domains go lord titan blade, this is far from humble, I must admit, I am impressed” the great maw said,
“Nothing less for the man who won the heart of our Ashira” Tiamat said and her voice sounded as sultry as she looked,
Moyo cleared his throat, fighting off a blush as Tiamat giggled, Kairos laughing, Moyo flicking his eyes to Wukong, the great sage glancing around the room, eyes picking out the shadowed forms of the spiders,
“It seems your people have no trust in us, titan blade” the sage said mildly,
“Please, excuse their excesses, my people are quite overprotective of me” he said,
“Fascinating, what I would love to do is meet whoever trained them well enough to be this good, even with my eyes I can only pick them out at the edge of my sight, like fleeting images” Wukong said,
“That would be one of my sect leaders, lady Martha of the hands of Anansi” Moyo replied,
The sage nodded and walked towards a shelf, picking up a book as he dismissed them entirely, Moyo turned to Xerxes who stared at him in silence, till, Tania cleared her throat and spoke,
“Lord titan blade, feels weird saying that but as it befits your station, I must follow the appropriate protocols” she said,
“Please, call me Moyo, you and I have come a long way for that, you are family” he said,
Tania caught off guard merely nodded in surprise, then she jabbed Xerxes at the waist as the Terrangazer hissed,
“Stop hitting me woman” he grumbled,
“Xerxes” she growled,
“Lord titan blade, on behalf of the dragons’ brigade, I greet and congratulate you on such a momentous accomplishment in record time, now, what do you know about Ajax and his- “she said as Tania gripped his arm tight,
Moyo smiled,
“Whatever the omega blade is doing currently, I have no idea and while we both share a bond, it is not so deep as to follow him into whatever dark path he is threading” Moyo said,
“That being said, I hope we can converse as allies rather than strained friends, for I consider you an ally” he finished,
Xerxes raised an eyebrow,
“Perhaps we can work something out, lord titan blade” Xerxes said,
Moyo inclined his head in acceptance,
Leading them to the plush chairs, they all sat, with the exception of Wukong who kept perusing through the books in silence but no doubt attentive to the happenings around him. Moyo tapped his chair and the doors of the study opened up again, servants with trays of food poured in, setting up the table around them with meat, fish, tea, wine and all assorted meals, Kairos nodding appreciatively,
“Are all these meals from your home world of Gaia titan blade?” Tiamat asked,
Moyo nodded, picking up a biscuit,
“All things I could get on such short notice, I have no idea just what the agricultural state of my…ah, world is like, seeing as I just recently awoke from my slumber” he replied,
“The first thing you’d learn about a world domain my friend, is that you can grow anything in a flash, there is no need for planting” Kairos said,
Moyo raised an eyebrow,
“Well, that eliminates famine or hunger” Moyo murmured,
“One of the benefits of venerations, although, one wonders just what you’ve been using yours to do” Wukong murmured clearly, snapping a book shut and picking another one,
“Actually, nothing, apart from forging my blades to a stronger state” Moyo replied,
Xerxes nodded appreciatively as he opened a bottle of wine, pouring it into a wine glass and sipping,
“a warrior, I approve” he said, Moyo inclining his head,
“so” the titan started,
“The trial” Altair said as Mardar sat next the thousand blades in silence, his eyes roaming the room as well,
“That, perhaps we can discuss why the war council would want my head served on a platter” Moyo said softly,
“The jade order stands with you, let’s just clear that out of the way” Mardar said as Xerxes froze and turned to the scourge rune who lazily bit into a piece of meat,
“really?, and has the jade lord declared this, or do you speak for him now?” Xerxes asked coldly,
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Mardar shrugged nonchalantly, snapping his fingers as a scroll appeared and unfurled itself, a recorded image of the aether blessed revealing itself,
“I, lord Lucirion aether blessed of the jade order, by unanimous vote of the jade clans, have sworn to side with the titan blade over the upcoming trial to assess his involvement in crimes relating to genocide and accusations of being a traitor” he said as the scroll folded itself up back and disappeared from reality,
“Just like Lucirion to be as sharp and straightforward as a blade” Altair said,
Xerxes rubbed his forehead, Tania glancing at him in concern, Ashira picked that moment to enter the study, dressed in a black gown that hugged her curves and black painted lips. Hair tied up in a bun and lips pursed together, she froze at the sight of her mother and her attire, a spitting image both in dressing and looks, Wukong snorted as she resumed her walk to Moyo’s side, sitting on his leg.
Tiamat smiled,
“Like mother like daughter” she said with a smile,
If Ashira was irritated at the similarity between them, she gave no response, Moyo however was pretty sure that if he was human, he’d be sweating buckets as Kairos’s eyes drilled into his,
“daughter” the great maw said,
“father” Ashira replied,
“sister” Tania said with a mischievous smile on her lips,
“sister’ Ashira said rolling her eyes,
“goddaughter” Wukong said fondly as Ashira stood up to hug the sage,
“uncle” she said fondly, hugging him tightly as Wukong smiled,
“You know you just have to say the word and I’ll have plantsmen rescuing you from this place, right?” he said jokingly, or at least, Moyo hoped he was,
Ashira laughed as she hugged him again before sitting right back on his legs, Kairos doing his best not to glare at Moyo,
“As we were saying” Xerxes said,
“The war council, mainly the harbingers and the influential rulers, ancients and primordials are puzzled as to how you essentially wiped out an aspect of the abyss and want to question your ties with Ajax as well” he said,
“and you?, aren’t you an harbinger as well?” Moyo asked,
“My patron has decided to stay my hands” Xerxes said bluntly,
“Left to me, the brigade would have you in one of their more humane cells awaiting trials, but as someone close to me has managed to convince me that you’re trustworthy, I have stayed my hands” he said glancing fondly at Tania who shot him a brief smile,
“Tsk tsk tsk’ Kairos said,
“Threats again child?” Tiamat said, smoothly taking over Kairos's interruption,
“he’s a brigade leader, he takes his work very seriously” Wukong said returning to the books, Xerxes nodding along with Wukong’s words,
“Then again, threats are what they’re good with” the sage finished as Xerxes froze,
“Side insults, lord Wukong?” Xerxes asked tensely,
“Hmm?” Wukong asked blinking innocently as he looked up from the book,
“Please, we all are here to find an amicable solution to the situation on ground, that and find out just what transpired and how we can turn this into a weapon we drive straight for the heart of the remaining lords of the abyss and Rohan” Altair said softly,
“I’m just here for the food and violence, peace was never an option” Mardar said as he picked up another piece of crispy meat, biting into it with relish,
“That and his ties to Ajax” Xerxes said,
“You don’t have to answer that final question Moyo, house Kairos is prepared to stand by you” Kairos said,
Moyo nodded as Ashira squeezed one hand of his she held, Moyo sighed and closed his eyes for a brief second,
“Ajax was a sort of mentor to me, no doubt, you all know by now that he somewhat helped train me on the path of the blade to an extent” he started,
“a fact that house Thousandblades are still facing severe sanctions for” Xerxes said darkly, glancing at Altair who nodded softly,
“Sanctions?” Moyo asked darkly,
“Indeed, the law was Ajax should have no disciple whatsoever” Xerxes said,
“No, the law was that he shouldn’t pass on the path of the reaping katana, nowhere was it said in writing or words that he couldn’t have a disciple” Kairos said,
“And before you deny it, we were there when it was written, we petitioned the supreme beings for leniency for a child who had no reason to be chained up like a war criminal” Tiamat said darkly,
“Infact, if we look at the current situation on ground, all this is the consequences of your actions Xerxes, you were the one who handed over a child to the Dracons, why should we care that he’s on a crusade of revenge, hmm?” Wukong asked,
“I didn’t see you guys refuting the decision when I made it, or were you too busy ensuring your vassal rulers gained more systems for your venerations?” Xerxes bit out,
Tiamat cocked her head, but Moyo felt a chill pervade the entire room and slammed his aspect down immediately over the silver and gold ranked spiders around, Tiamat shooting him a look of apology,
“Millions of refugees I took in when your system ending battles raged all over the archailect cosmos, and you dare accuse house Kairos of greedy ambitions?” she snarled at Xerxes,
Wukong sighed as he closed a book, flicking it back to the shelf as his aura placed it gently back in place, turning to the seated people, he spoke,
“Since everyone wants to play games, let me state things as they are” he started,
“Moyo, the council along with the influential rulers have called you a sham trial, a sham because, let’s face it, you have the archailect’s most powerful individuals barring the brigade on your side, Eses herself is rumored to be neutral, but we all know she’s waiting to know those baying for your head before bringing her rumoured cult down on them like a dying star about to go supernova” he said,
“The brigade and primordials, believe you have a secret weapon you aren’t telling us about that enabled you to end Molrik and cleanly wipe out a part of the abyss, and seeing as you’re on the cusp of becoming a ruler and primordial, I believe so as well” he continued,
“And also, the little fact that there is a rumored story about a rune of decay and mutation in your safekeep that if valid, the forces of the abyss would do all in their power to gain seeing as it gives them a chance to revive the aspect of mutation and decay and anoint a new lord of the abyss” he finished,
Moyo appreciated the sage in that moment, he knew when and how to cut to the point, he reclined on the chair,
“I do not have a secret weapon I used, my path has revealed itself to be quite versatile at dealing with the denizens of the abyss, over time, I had developed immunity to the aspect of mutation and decay which culminated into me being resistant enough to the attacks of the lord mutator himself” he explained,
“Is that even possible?” Xerxes asked,
Moyo turned to the Terrangazer,
“From the onset, the first skills I got allowed me to absorb things and what I now know to be tiny bits of aspects from enemies I fought, over time it evolved into a very potent skill that made me almost invulnerable to whatever enemies I faced, that and my skill that was legendary in its right to regenerate me at an absurd rate, coupled with a few strokes of luck, it has molded me into the perfect abyssal killing machine” he explained,
Altair nodded,
“I can attest to that” the Thousandblades said,
“And the rune?” Kairos asked,
Moyo flicked his hand, a dark colored stone with a green pulsing rune appearing in them, the room honing their attention on it. The stone disappeared just as fast as it came,
“Give me that and the brigade would throw in their support for you” Xerxes said almost immediately,
“I give you that and Rohan would personally come for you” Moyo replied,
“he’s welcomed to try assault Orbio” Xerxes replied,
“Be that as it may, that will be a bad decision” Kairos said,
“You want it for yourself?” Xerxes retorted,
“No, but seeing as your greed knows no bounds, let me clarify, apart from the jade order, Eses and the titan blade, I see no other forces defending the stone perfectly, not the brigade, not the primordials and definitely not me” Kairos said,
“You look down on the brigade” Xerxes said and Moyo knew nerves were being frayed,
Idris stiffened as he felt the tensions in the room and Moyo could feel the spiders communicating, feeling the beginnings of a working of power that would deflect attacks shot towards him. It was commendable seeing as Moyo amusingly wondered just how many golds it would take to deflect an attack of a primordial or harbinger, then again, Martha wasn’t stupid, there had to be another plan in place. Subtly extending his consciousness outside the study, he smiled as he saw his clan leaders all around, positioned at angles that would enable them crash in with blistering speed, runic circles emblazoned around the entire castle and Martha herself along with his guard literally on edge, no doubt the message of brewing tensions passed along to them.
He even saw Augustus with what he was surprised to be maids holding guns of human designs that ran on mana and intent waiting outside the doors of the study, a cold feeling of bloodlust emanating from them all. Wukong chuckled, drawing his attention back to the room,
“My oh my” he started,
“It seems we’ve riled up the titan blade’s people, such show of loyalty, you run a tight team here Moyo” he said,
The titan smiled thinly, gesturing to Idris who nodded, no words needed, tapping his titan’s weapon softly on the ground, an echo reverberating throughout the entire castle as the forcers arrayed stood down, Moyo noticed their weapons weren’t put away though, he nodded to himself,
“apologies” he simply said to the room, Mardar chuckling,
“I love this” he murmured,
“Fine, the rune stays with the titan blade, the trial starts by sunrise tomorrow according to the time standards of your planet, you’ll be expected aboard the brigade ship, the eye of Lotes to stand before the council, do I have your word that you would behave in a civil manner?” Xerxes asked,
“You have my word” Moyo replied firmly,
“Good, then this meeting is at an end, it was nice seeing you titan blade, no doubt, you still have a few tricks up your sleeves, but it would be interesting to see how high you keep climbing” Wukong said,
Tiamat stood up the same moment Ashira did, mother and daughter inclining their heads at each other, some form of battle going on between them. Moyo turned to Kairos,
“I look forward to doing battle with you at my side titan blade” he said,
“As I do as well, lord Kairos” he said,
“Please, I told you to call me Typhon, besides, Viaris sends his regards, the ruler of Khemet has things to deal with and will soon join us” Kairos said,
“Then I shall look forward to his arrival” Moyo replied,
Kairos nodded and stepped backwards for Tiamat who hugged him lightly,
“I see happiness in my daughter’s eyes young titan, I welcome you as an ally and family, you look energetic enough to deal with her…. ah…. needs” she whispered as Moyo froze and blushed unconsciously, inclining his head at her as Ashira narrowed her eyes at her mother, her tail flicking nervously behind her till Moyo placed one hand on her back, calming her,
“What did she say?” she hissed,
“Nothing serious dear” he replied as Tiamat winked at him, no doubt attempting to rile up her daughter,
Xerxes nodded at him and Tania hugged her sister before turning to him,
“You treat her right, you hear me?” she said,
“As I would treat royalty” he replied smoothly, Tania smiling and visibly dragging Xerxes towards the exit,
Wukong nodded at him formally, turning to Ashira,
“Are you sure?” he asked,
Ashira smiled,
“uncle” she said in exasperation as he chuckled and turned to leave,
He faced Altair,
“How are Killian and the rest?” he asked,
“They are more than fine, pushing up to the ranks of ruler, the kids are now full-fledged masters and now control the day to day running of their respective systems in the empire, they send their regards” he said,
“And you?” Moyo asked,
Altair smiled as his eyes glowed,
“What do you think?” he asked,
Moyo chuckled,
“Whatever you did to push us to this realm of power” Mardar said with a whisper as he got close to them,
“You have my undying loyalty” he finished,
“Thank you” Moyo said with all seriousness,
They made their way out of the castle to the cold silence of the clan and its people, his clan leaders staring down at them from the heights where they floated. Moyo shook his head in pride and embarrassment of equal measures, nodding to his guests as they left, Idris at his side.