Darkness surrounded Eurus, a never ending calm of silence and nothing until *beep*. The sound seemed to echo through this place as beep after beep sounded without end. A soft clattering chimed in as well, often followed by the sound of moving fabric. The quiet cacophony was soon joined by the gentle whirring of a fan. This disturbed the calm further as suddenly the cold flow of air moved past and around his body. A few minutes of this unsettling sensation passed before the cold he hadn’t noticed was in his limbs finally began to pass. It was as if his entire body had been numb at the same time as a feeling of static covered him from head to toe.
Eurus’s discomfort was immense as he willed his body to move yet it remained immobile, the static coursing through him in waves of every growing intensity. Unable to act he waited, the discomfort fading as warmth filled his body and he breathed a deep breath of relief which upto this moment he hadn’t realized he hadn’t been breathing in the first place. As the warmth spread from his chest he soon felt mobility in his limbs and could feel the soft clothes and blanket covering his form.
The noise in his ears only grew with the beeping becoming especially oppressive and irritating. Soon after he felt the darkness begin to fade from his eyes as pure black turned to an illuminated dark. The source of which became clear as he became conscious of his closed eyelids.
Peeking through his closed eyes he slowly opened his eyes as he realized the room’s light was already lowered for its patient. Blinking fully open he was greeted by a plain white paneled ceiling, the fan he felt from his waking dream spinning lazily in the ceiling at the center of the room which he soon had to look away from as he realized it was also a light fixture. Lolling his head to the side Eurus looked to the right and realized his bed was pushed directly up against a window with tightly drawn grey blinds keeping even the barest hint of light out.
Moving his head with the strength he could muster he scanned the rest of the room. The corner of the room closest to the foot of his bed stood a door with a restroom symbol on it, the wooden door a light brown in the soft light cast from the ceiling fan. To the bathrooms left, a set of matching wooden cabinets covered the wall from door to door with a sink set into the cabinet. A dark frosted glass door separated the room from what Eurus assumed was a hallway, while he could not see much through the glass he could make out the shape of a sign on the doors upper half and the occasional shadow as people moved about on the other side.
Looking above his head to the left he soon found the source of the beeping noise, a tower on wheels filled with numerous different machines with one near the top being a heart monitor producing the beep’s at a steady rate. He contained his urge to knock the thing over as he realized that it had a large number of wires and tubes running from itself to his bed and his left arm. His discomfort only increased as he realized a number of these connections also connected to different points along his spine including one directly against the back of his skull where spine and head meet.
Finally his eyes wandered to the source of the clattering he’d been hearing since before he woke up. In the final corner of the room sat a woman quietly working away at a spool of thread, a warm light illuminating her as she worked away at her task. A lamp sat between the two which strangely cast no light towards Eurus despite him being able to see the bulb itself, he would think it was off could he not see that it was casting light on his guest.
The woman sat leisurely in her comfortable looking cloth chair, yet despite this an air of intensity emanated from her form. Her face was clearly human in appearance yet it seemed more like a ravens, sharp, distinct and elegant yet unnerving in its uncaring visage. The most minuet of age showed on her face in the form of small wrinkles in her lightly tanned skin beneath her eyes. Her eyes unblinking in their focus on her thread work shone the color gold with three rings surrounding the pupil. Her hair a similar gold was done up partially in a bun yet much still escaped this containment and fanned out behind her. White robes interlaced with bolts of colors covered her body, the colors shimmered like rainbows that streamed across the outfit like veins.
Eurus followed her gaze down to her hands as she unerringly wove and unwove a shimmering golden fabric that seemed endless in its creation and destruction as every portion she weaved soon disappeared from her lap and more fabric appeared for her to work with. Her hands were an endless blur of activity yet he noticed the source of the clinking as he realized she held knitting needles between her pinky, ring, and middle fingers occasionally using them for more stubborn pieces of thread.
“You were supposed to wake up thirty minutes ago.” The woman stated, implacable in her work as she remained focused on the threads.
“Is that so?” Eurus replied as he, with painstakingly slow movements, sat up, the bed following his movement as if it were a second skin.
“Yes,” she said, her eyes still focused on her work.
“Mom, you know you're allowed to take a break sometimes.” A genteel smile crossing his face as he spoke.
“I am on break, this is much less than the usual work. You should know that.” Her eyes flicked up to lock with Eurus’s, the golden orbs seemingly peering into his soul. “Did they regrow you wrong or are you just stupid.” Her words came quickly, carried with a deadly serious tone.
Eurus laughed heartily, a wide smile crossing his face as he looked at his mother. Her face remained unmoving yet he could see the mirth in her eyes at the landing of her joke. “Nah, I'm still just as smart as you raised me,”
“Then I have truly failed.” she said with an over exaggerated sigh. Her eyes flicked back down to her work, her fingers however have not been idle as for the entire conversation they seemed to be almost on autopilot. “And because you distracted me, I accidentally shortened this kid's life by three years.”
Eurus rolled his eyes at her words, pulling the blanket off his legs he swung his body around and made to stand up but was stopped by a look from his mother. “The doctor said you should wait awhile before you start moving about.” Her gaze intense enough to burn holes through a person's soul.
“And why is that?” Eurus said, matching her eyes.
“Because they had to regrow your body from nothing.” The two’s gazes broke with her eyes flashing back to her work.
Sighing defeatedly Eurus swung his legs back onto the bed and pulled the blanket back before saying. “Fine, how long until I'm freed from this place.”
Shrugging she pulled on an extra difficult thread before responding. “Who knows, you know how fickle new bodies can be, maybe a year or two? Speaking of, how did your old body get destroyed anyways?” Her eyes flashing back up.
“Who knows? You know how fickle death memory is. Try asking later.” He said with an amused grin on his face.
Just then a loud argument of increasingly close proximity could be heard from the hallway, when at its peak suddenly a beleaguered doctor entered the room and quickly bowed. “Lady Lachesis, I’m very sorry but the.” Before he could spit out the words a woman pushed past him into the room and rushed over to Eurus’s bed side followed by a handful of others.
“Hey dad, sorry to rush you but Uncle Zephyr is on the warpath and we need you to come quick.”
Eurus blinked a moment as the sudden action made his head spin a moment. Refocusing his eyes he realized the speaker was his eldest daughter Otrera, followed by a horde of his other children all murmuring in agreement with her words.
Otrera stuck out amongst her siblings, standing two feet taller than the rest with a pair of grey feathered wings that even when not extended nearly blocked the rest of the room. Much like the amazons she ruled, her body was that of a well muscled warrior, her skin a deep tan from training in the deserts of Elysium for so long. Her figure was garbed in white robes with red cords running the lengths of the limbs. Her mousy brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail, a few strands escaping the binding and falling in front of her face. Her green eyes peered at Eurus with the same hawkish intensity as his own, yet her face carried a much softer and caring visage like that of her mother.
Eurus soaked these details in before shaking his head in a vain attempt to clear the cobwebs from his mind before speaking. “Uh, sorry. Could you repeat that?”
Otrera hung her head and sighed deeply before looking back up at him. “Uncle Zephyr is doing stupid things, and you need to come quickly to stop him.” She said with exaggerated slowness an exasperated look on her face. Nodding his head Eurus leaned to the side to get a better view of Lachesis who made a show of dramatically sighing before shooing him off.
Throwing his blanket off Eurus swung his legs off the side of the bed. “Alright, I suppose we should get going then,” He said as he made to stand up, unplugging himself from the numerous monitoring devices. Nodding in approval Otrera backed up and started to turn around.
Eurus quickly realized the truth of his mothers words as his legs found naught the strength to carry him. The only thing keeping him from face planting the floor being the invisible cushion of condensed air he summoned beneath him. Otrera quickly helped him up, “My goodness father! I didn’t think you’d be this weakened.” The doctor who up to this point had remained mostly silent rushed forward handing him a cane speaking the entire time.
“Sir, I cannot recommend you leave this facility yet.” Looking sidelong at the others in the room he continued. “But I understand this is a matter of great importance, so all I ask is you take things slowly and come back as soon as you can.”
The entourage nod in agreement and with his left hand on the provided cane and his right arm being supported by Otera, Eurus left the room with an air of haste. As he left the room he caught the smug look on his mothers face in the corner of his eye.
The group made its way through the hallway with great speed, forcing any people along the way to move. At some points Eurus found himself being practically carried by Otera to keep up as the white hallway zipped by. Turning on their heels the group made its way down a series of turns and hallways which felt less like a hospital and more like a maze to the hazy Eurus. Until finally they turned through a door out onto an exterior platform of the building.
The platform stretched along the side of the building with six different drawn spaces for craft to land, with a single vehicle currently awaiting its passengers at the left far corner. The platform sat roughly five miles up with a series of other platforms wrapping their way up the rest of the three miles to the building's top with more going down as well. The building itself was like a spike to the skies as it was a near perfect circle with an ever narrowing width as it approached the heavens. Any space not occupied by glass was painted a bright grey which appeared in strips along the massive structure.
From his view Eurus was able to see three other spires piercing the cloud layer, two of them resembled the one he was standing on with their grey’s being slightly darker. However the third which stood at the center of the triangle the other spires made, was a brilliant white and the building stretched even farther into the sky. From memory Eurus knew the central spire reached fifteen miles into the sky. The Tower of the Angels was just as pretentious and gaudy as he remembered.
A small grin crossed his face at the thought as Otrera ushered him onto the vehicle the group must have brought. The thing was like a bus as it seated the group of thirty comfortably with around forty seats in total split between two halves. A large dome of glass covered the top with thin reinforcing bands of metal splitting it at multiple points. After helping him to one of the front seats, Otera moved to stand next to the driver who Eurus realized was another of his daughters.
It was at this moment that he realized that the group was entirely composed of the Aurai that worked beneath him as the Eastern Wind of Heaven. The Aurai of The Winds were all children of that respective wind that held an affinity with air magic. Eurus wondered to himself what could have happened to make all of them come out to get him.
After the last person was seated the vehicle took off from its spot and after a moment of directing it’s heading, they headed off. The spires disappeared rapidly beyond the horizon and Eurus found himself disappointed as the overcast clouds below blocked his view of the city. The lack of something to look at made the atmosphere of the bus much more noticeable, the normally gregarious group holding an uncomfortable silence in the air. Which only felt stranger as he felt his children avoiding his gaze as he looked behind himself.
Sighing loudly he said “Does anybody wanna tell me what my brother is doing that's turned you all into mice?” to nobody in particular. This only made the atmosphere worse as he could practically feel the looks they gave each other as they silently decided who would speak. As Eurus opened his mouth to speak again, ready to start calling on names, Otrera spoke up.
“It’s better if you see for yourself.” Ready to ask questions he turned but stopped as he saw the silent pleading look in her eyes.
Turning back to the window he sighed quietly to himself, annoyed at the soft side of him that his first born pulls out of him. Finally clear of the massive northern megacity of Elysium the clouds cleared and he could see the surface only to be greeted by desert as far as the eye could see and beyond.
Elysium was once the verdant home world of his people, a world covered mostly by large bodies of water. Or at least that's what the stories say. When Hell initially split from Heaven their first act was one of pure annihilation. Using thermonuclear and antimatter weapons they decimated the surface of the planet. Boiling away the planet's oceans and leaving plains of salt and deserts. The only region to be spared was the arctic regions of the planet as it was assumed worthless.
Even after their campaign of destruction, Elysium still lived, its people rebuilding their cities in the north and south of the world. An immeasurable desert separating the two halves. Even now five billion years after the war, the desert still dominates the planet's surface. The heat at its equator reaching levels that melt the sand. The massive temperature difference creating storms of mythic proportions with the most dangerous being storms of glass. These being so dangerous as to turn even the most prepared traveler into just another flayed set of bones in the desert.
Eurus thought to himself as he watched the dunes appear only to quickly disappear beyond the horizon behind him, soon the sun joined them and disappeared as well despite only a few minutes passing. As they flew deeper into the desert Eurus already knew where they were heading, The Palace of the Winds.
What truly dominated the human gods mind however was what could Zephyr possibly be doing to shake his children in such a way. Saying Eurus and his brothers did not have a very good relationship was both complicated and an understatement in the same moment. Being the twelfth and youngest son of Astraios he was born marked for insignificance amongst the royal court of Heaven. Yet in a twist of fate he was given up at birth by his parents and after a short span of time was gifted to the fate weaver Lachesis by the creator god Gaia.
This turned his relationship with his brothers from that of contempt to one of outright scorn and derision. Which only grew with time as soon after his thousandth birthday. His birth father convinced the high council of heaven that something needed to be done about the storms of Elysium. Through his manipulation The Winds of Heaven were created. Originally created with only his sons in mind, at the behest of the Council of Heaven, Astraios was forced to change the position to allow any noble of heaven who held affinity in air manipulation.
This turned the matter from that of favoritism to one of competition. And while Astraios got his wish that only his sons would gain the positions. To everyone's shock, the youngest and forgotten son took fourth place. Thus shattering the careful balance the brothers had created between them, having already picked and traded positions between themselves for decades.
“At least Boreas and Notus moved on.” Eurus murmured to himself, his eyes blindly watching the desert pass by as dunes turned to plateaus followed by brilliant plains of multi-colored glass. The fractured reflection of the moon on the ground breaking his trance. He knew then that they were getting close to their destination, as much of Elysium's equatorial land was covered by the glass desert, with some chunks reaching the size of skyscrapers.
As a Wind it was his responsibility to keep the storms from swallowing Elysium's cities like they so often used to. And while the beautiful sight of the desert soothed his soul with its vast kaleidoscope of images making even a brief sight brilliant and unlike the previous or next with its ever moving nature, the danger weighed heavy in the back of his mind knowing even an errant breeze can spell death in that place.
With only a handful of minutes having passed on their flight the plains rapidly turned into hills before giving way to mountains with the palace soon hoving into view.
The Palace of the Winds was a place of grandeur, with Eurus and his brothers having spent the better part of a millennium building it. Having started construction on it after they all gained their positions as Winds, it was their place of mutual meeting where all decisions would be made while also demonstrating their power to guests. The complex had nine sections in total. The first being the central ring, placed perfectly upon the point where the prime meridian and equator met. At the very center sat an agora, the meeting place of the winds, a perfectly circular building made entirely of carved white marble. Surrounding it was a carefully managed garden of jungle plants with numerous stone paths cutting through it. Its major arteries however all sat at the four cardinal directions which stretched out to the outer ring. This building circled the center with walls of glass on either side, with columns of onyx between the panes of glass holding up a tiled roof with a soft red color. Splitting off from the outer ring eight bridges connect to the palace's other areas.
Each of the Winds own their own section, four for the major winds, four smaller wings for the minor winds. Boreas to the north, Notus to the south, Zephyrus to the west and Eurus to the east. From the exterior the brothers' estates were much the same, two story buildings made of white marble columns, grey brick making up for the walls with dark tiled roofs. The distinction between each being the twenty feet tall marble statue standing at the center of a fountain in front of the building's entrance. A gift from Astraios, each statue being a replica of the wind themselves.
The minor winds all also received these things yet in less grand standing with their buildings being significantly smaller and only one floor with their fountains only reaching ten feet tall. Caicias to the north-east, Apeliotes to the south-east, Lips to the south-west and Sciron to the north-west.
The altitude the palace was built at was too high for most people to be able to breath without assistance. This forced the Winds to all maintain the air pressure of their own section and the center. Forcing them to always expend some energy on the place, after all if guests can’t visit then what would be the point of all opulence. While proud of the creation he and his brothers had wrought, Eurus often found himself annoyed that he hadn’t pushed for uniqueness in the places' construction.
The vehicle slowed down quickly as it passed overhead the palace before turning down to the left and landing on the platform set before the eastern section. Not waiting for his daughter's help, Eurus stood up and with significant help from the cane stepped down off the bus onto the outside platform. Taking a deep breath of the mountain air he smiled to himself, in this case literally as before him stood the giant statue itself.
Gaudy to his eyes the twenty foot tall statue stood, its face angled up towards the sky with a thin crown of laurels on its head. The medium length haired billowed out behind it as if a strong wind was blowing, the right hand held the sheath of a sword while the left held the grip as if it were about to draw the blade. The wings however were the most impressive piece as they were splayed to their full length practically blocking the building behind it, the details of which boggled the mind as each feather was carved and textured to perfection. Had Eurus not had to stand for the artist to copy him, he would think it was done by a machine rather than a man. The fountain was equally opulent with three tiers of marble spraying water patterns that created rainbows of color across the white and gold surfaces of the fountain's edges.
The whole thing was distasteful to the human god, yet he was not so uncouth as to refuse a gift from his father. Flanking the fountain halfway along on either side, a pair of stairs wrapped up and met at top. Beyond the stairs a set of perfectly manicured square hedges rose with the stairs surrounded by flowers that change colors with each segment, going from green to blue to purple and finally white.
Eurus stepped off on his own, his would be escort still busy with extricating themselves from the bus. Each step of his being significantly louder than he would have liked due to his cane, the stone beneath him uncaring of this fact. The noise of the fountain fortunately drowned out his steps rather quickly as he approached the stairs. Stealing himself for his climb he went up the first step, his efforts feeling like he was moving every muscle inside of himself just to climb a single step. With every bit of himself focused on the effort of climbing the stairs he failed to notice as Otrera suddenly appeared next to him.
“It would be faster if you let me carry you.” She said with a soft smile on her face. Eurus kept his eyes down focused on each step he took.
“While I appreciate the offer, Zephyr would never let me live it down.” While his body was physically fit, Eurus was completely un adapted to his new physical form. Through sheer force of will he made his uncooperative limbs move, the strain of which quickly giving him an ever worsening headache. Otrera frowned as she followed her obstinate father.
“Oh come on, uncle isn’t that bad.”
Eurus turned his head to look at her, a wry grin on his face. “Then you don’t know your uncle. Even the fact that I'm using a cane will be the butt of his jokes for the next thousand years.” Turning back to the task at hand he refocused his efforts and climbed the last few steps.
Standing at the entrance to his own palace had never been so daunting for Eurus. The massive marble pillars made him feel extra small as he moved past them towards the entrance. Due to his slow speed the rest of his escort has rejoined him. The front of the building was hidden in the shadows cast from the supporting pillars and the roof yet was lit from below with lights set in the ground. The lights themselves threw light on six, two story tall tapestries hanging from the roof. Each tapestry was a different piece of art that Eurus had rotated on a monthly basis. Many of which were created by either his mother or his children and were less an art display and more like the nobility equivalent of hanging a child’s drawing on the fridge. And while they were all beautiful in Eurus’s eyes he did have more than one guest question his choice of art.
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The entrance to the building was two twelve feet tall ornate dark wood doors surrounded by walls of glass that allowed guests to see inside before they even got inside. The room itself was rather simple in comparison to what he knew how his brothers decorated. At the center of the room hung a crystal chandelier which lit everything with ease from lights that seemed too small for the massive room. The white stone walls of the room were mostly bare save the occasional landscape painting or ornate weapon. The ceiling and floor were made of matching dark speckled stone slabs, the difference however being the floor had a red carpet that led in lines the major routes of travel. These routes were to the twin staircases on the far side of the room that hugged the side walls up to the second floor of the room, and the route beneath that went straight towards the center of the compound with two offshoots that went to the other ground wings of the building. On busy days or ones where they were expecting guests, the center of the room would have a welcoming desk with sets of couches and a piano for ambient entertainment.
The doors themselves were already flung upon awaiting his arrival. Stepping inside he had little time to gawk at the foyer as the group rushed him through the room. The soft carpet muffling their steps as they went, the soft scent of lavender hanging in the air. The smell gave Eurus a slight pause as he looked towards Otrera with a raised eyebrow. “You weren't around to say no,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
The group quickly made its way across the connecting covered bridge towards the center ring of the complex. Halfway across he understood a bit better why he was being rushed as he felt the presence of the other seven winds and their overseer at the agora. “Don’t tell me you rushed me out here just because there was a meeting,” Eurus said, giving his daughter a sidelong glance.
“You’ll see.” Otrera stated, a dark look imprinted on her face. The rest of the group shared in this emotion as if a cloud hung over them.
They soon entered the central ring, to the sides the ring stretched along until they disappeared around the circle. The floor, a dark black stone with a bright contrast of red carpet splitting the area along the center. Couches and other comfortable chairs were positioned in sections along each segment of window, some facing out towards the mountains and outside world with the rest facing inwards towards the manicured jungle that surrounded the central meeting room. The entire interior sat dark with only a scant arrangement of floor lighting leading the way with the occasional lit lamp, the rest sat dark fitting with the night outside.
The group quickly entered the jungle garden, where despite the tension in the air and the fact that the agora was now in view Eurus found great peace in. The garden itself was nothing too special with very little artistic creativity placed in it. With it being only two acres in size it was easily dwarfed by even the most measly of the heaven nobility. What made it special was that many of the plants located inside of it where considered long extinct since the desolation of Elysium. With a titanic amount of effort on his part and more than a little help from his adopted aunt Gaia he was able to bring back and raise the plants. His brothers couldn’t care less for the space as for them it was a bragging right to show how world saving the winds are for Elysium's environment. Yet for Eurus it was proof that even the apocalypse could be undone.
Eurus slowed his cadence just slightly as he mentally prepared himself to deal with his brothers. Even now he could hear the impassioned voices of Boreas and Notus arguing about the proper temperature of summer. “You don’t get it, Notus. People don’t wanna be melting to the sidewalk when it’s hot out,” the gruff deep voice of the eldest brother reverberating through the garden followed by a much more shrill incessant voice.
“Well if you had it your way we would only ever have winter!”
“What, is this the millionth time you two have had this argument.” Eurus said as he entered the agora. The agora was designed with equality in mind, having been built as a circle with each cardinal direction being an opening between marble pillars. The entrance was the highest point as there were seven steps down to the rooms center, which also acted as seating. Near the center sat four dais with matching wooden podiums representing the placement of each wind. Further back there existed four more dais for the minor winds, yet they lacked the podiums. At the very center sat one last dais where the wind’s overseer stood behind a circular wooden structure. The building was made of perfectly cut marble both inside and out, with each stair ring being made from the same chunk of marble. It also lacked a roof as the brothers blocked most bothersome weather and thus allowed the shining stars of the night inside.
The agora was well populated with all seven of Eurus’s brothers making an appearance. To his right Boreas, his beard moving wildly with him as he continued his argument unabated at his brother's outburst and arrival. His blue eyes locked to Notus as he gestured with each word. Boreas was the palest of the brothers, being as white as the snow he so loved, with brown curly hair, matching brown wings and the aforementioned beard gesticulating wildly as he spoke. To his left, Notus, the sharp definition of his face giving him a permanent look of malice contrasted highly with Boreas's kinder face. Although in this case the second eldest was actually mad which showed through in the murderous gaze his dark eyes cast beneath his smoothed raven black hair. His equally dark wings were just as rigid as his tanned fingers as they gripped the podium with growing annoyance. Across from Eurus sitting in a chair that he had brought and dying from boredom sat Zephyrus, his green eyes looking at the stars in the sky with his fiery red hair hanging behind him as he balanced on the chairs back legs. The third eldest brother's red wings splayed out behind him as a counter balance for his hanging legs.
At the center of the room sat Aeolus, an implacable serene look on his face as the two brothers argued past him. While Aeolus was significantly younger than all of the winds, he had the appearance of an older man with grey hair. Which in his own design was to demonstrate a sense of wisdom and restraint. The man was made quite literally for the job of managing the turbulent winds as an overseer on behalf of Elysium's council. And thus he sat at the center of the eight. Illusion magic making it appear as if his soft visage was facing everyone at the same time.
Eurus did not deign to look at his other brothers who made up the minor winds as they frustrated him as much as the others, yet only ever offered conjecture and never anything useful, instead acting often as extra mouth pieces and pawns for the three eldest brothers.
Behind each wind sat their breezes, with each outnumbering Eurus’s. Thus, the argument between Boreas and Notus was often peppered with additional words from their children, which only increased the vigor and volume of the whole thing. The robes of all who were gathered had dozens of different styles, with colors ranging across the entire spectrum of light, some going beyond the perception of those with only three color cones.
As Eurus made his way to his podium, Zephyr rather than falling backwards like Eurus had wanted, stood up, his eyes locked to him. A smile more fitting that of a harlequin growing across his face. With Eurus now in his place, Aeolus silently put his right hand in the air. The shouting match between Boreas and Notus instantly comes to a halt.
“With our late member finally arriving, we can now move onto Zephyrus’s proposition,” Aeolus spoke with a soft yet firm voice as if he weighed each word before using it.
His eyes like that of a predator, Zephyr cleared his voice clearly relishing the moment. “Brother, it has come to my attention that you have not been attending our gatherings for quite a while. And while I much prefer my niece's reports over yours. I must ask, where have you been?”
Eurus rested his cane on the inside of the podium, placing his hands on its surface he looked Zephyr in the eyes and stated simply. “I was dead.”
Immediately the room was filled with murmuring and noise, Zephyr ever the actor put his hand to his mouth and looked around the room aghast. “You mean to tell the council that you were dead for one hundred and sixty four years?”
Eurus looked off to his side at Otrera who softly nodded her head in the affirmative. “Yep, had to regrow my whole body.” He then stated, his eyes locked on his peacock of a brother. Zephyr with a victorious grin, bowed to the collection, his arms gesturing out towards the other two winds.
“Quit with your grandstanding and get to the fucking point.” said Notus with a exaggerated sigh, his fingers drumming impatiently on his crossed arms.
“Yes brother, please get on with it before we all require canes like Eurus.” Boreas chimed in, his face like that of stone as he looked at Zephyrus. Zephyr righted himself, a look of disdain on his face “Just ruin all the fun of it.” he said under his breath as he smoothed the front of his clothes. The wind taken from his wings Zephyr locked eyes with Eurus again. “Due to your unreliable nature brother, I propose that you be switched with Apeliotes to allow for better management of Elysium’s eastern hemisphere.” While he spoke with a matter of fact tone and a stone face Eurus swore he could see glee in Zephyr’s eyes.
“And after a long discussion a vote was had with everyone being in favor of this switch.” Aeolus spoke, his words unsurprising to Eurus yet deeply frustrating.
His mouth then began moving on its own. “May I not defend myself? May I not sway the vote and ask for things to be redrawn?”
“Y-” Aeolus began to speak but was immediately cut off as Eurus merely paused for a moment. “Have the storms of the east been that terrible? Has there been even a single deviation in weather patterns since my death?” A silence followed his words, a look of growing discomfort appearing on Zephyr’s face. “Have I or my progeny ever failed in our tasks to protect the cities and people of Elysium?”
Zephyr spoke suddenly “Brother, you know that’s not the point we need-” Before being interrupted just as quickly again by Eurus.
“Then what is the point brother? If not to keep the storms in check and the desert from growing then what is our point? If it is consistency you seek then why not one of my daughters as a replacement? Otrera rarely spends more than forty years indisposed where Apeliotes spends as much time as the rest of us. And since i’m being frank, i’d rather her take my place than the man who spends most of his time licking Zephyrus’s boots instead of helping me manage the east as he is supposed to.”
Eurus could feel Apeliotes’s eyes boring into him from the left but kept his gaze locked to Zephyr. While he was still boiling on the inside, he restrained himself from continuing his tirade, Boreas and Notus stone faced as they kept their eyes on Aeolus. Clearing his voice, Aeolus kept his calm demeanor, his eyes watching Eurus for a moment to see if he had more to say before opening his mouth again. “Unfortunately you know the rules, the vote has already been had and while you clearly object it is three against one.” Zephyr finally smiled again, the joy apparent in every part of him.
This more than the rest infuriated Eurus, slamming his fist down he spoke again. “I invoke the laws of heaven, article two section eight.” A deathly serious and calm tone taking hold of his voice.
Elysium and by extension the entire kingdom of Heaven was under constant threat from the empire of Hell, thus every major position in its government was also one of military significance as war was never far between the two. In this way there existed clauses in nearly every position where a more capable warrior is allowed to overturn the decisions of others by way of combat.
Zephyrus went from confused to laughing hysterically in but a moment. Boreas and Notus clenched their jaws, their whole bodies tense as their eyes remained locked on Aeolus. Ever the stoic the observer remained unperturbed, his soft gaze searching Eurus’s face.
In between bouts of laughter Zephyrus spoke. “You must be joking brother, you can barely walk yet you think you can beat the three of us?”
Aeolus spoke up shortly after with Zephyr still laughing in the background. “Are you sure about this Eurus?”
Nodding his head in the affirmative “Yes-.”
Zephyr shook his head widely saying. “Nonononono, no you don’t.” Finally done with his theatrics he smiled a devilish smile. “We would kick your sorry ass back into the grave, once you came back you’d call foul talking about not being at your best.” Turning away and waving his hand dismissively he continued “Give him five years and I'll accept the duel offer.” Boreas and Notus slowly nodded in agreement as the words sunk in. The unshakable Aeolus nodded his head in acceptance.
“If that's what you all desire, then we shall hold the duel in five years time.”
Eurus quickly cut in. “Three years, I don’t want you pulling that trick you did to Notus again.” Notus’s eyes shot to Eurus immediately and shook his head in agreement.
“I agree with my younger brother in this case. Zephyr has little honor and will likely try to use his wiles to make this disappear beneath a meeting.” His gaze shifting to Zephyr as he spoke with ever growing venom in his voice.
Zephyr awkwardly gazed down at his podium, withering beneath his older brother's gaze. “Yes, well um… Ah, three years works for me.” His words staccato, awkward and quiet. Boreas sighed through his nose, a tired look on his face. “If that’s really what Eurus wants, then so be it.”
Aeolus nodded once again. “Three years it is then. Does anyone have anything else they wish to say?” A silence followed his words only to once again be broken. “Alright, then I suppose our meeting is over. See you all in three years.”
Eurus felt the eyes of his brothers on him as he turned away from his podium, grabbing his cane in the process, he walked away from the whole thing. He knew Boreas and Notus would wanna talk but he cared not for their platitudes and just wanted a nap. As he passed them, his children stood and filled out of the room with him, the deathly silence above them a stark difference compared to the endless chatter that now filled the room.
The silence hung over the group until they were half way through the garden when Otrera rushed next to him. “Dad, what the hell are you doing?!?” a frantic look in her eyes as she spoke. “Just because you can beat Uncle Zephyr doesn’t mean you can beat all of them!”
Eurus kept walking forward, his face unreadable as he avoided her pleading gaze. “If I win then that's that, if I lose then I'll just be in the same situation I would have been in if I never tried.”
Putting her hands on his shoulders she stopped him, looking him in the eyes she spoke, her voice tinted with anger. “You don’t get it you stubborn ass, standing your ground against them doesn’t prove you right, it proves THEM right. They want you gone because you never agree, your always a fucking contrarian. Rather than following the group consensus you're arrogantly standing in their way and challenging them to a duel you know you can’t win!”
Otrera has tears in her eyes yet refuses to break eye contact as she continues. “I’ve been trying to build bridges with the others as you rested. But you come back and deal with the situation with all the subtlety of a monkey with a flamethrower!”
Eurus sighs deeply and takes her hands in his own which op to this point, had been holding his shoulders in a death grip. “If I did not stand against them that would not be the end of it. Zephyr has always had it out for me, and while I'd love to work with them, I refuse to roll over when they do something I disagree with.” He said, his voice and words steady and slow. “Would you prefer it if I just rolled over and gave in?”
Otrera shook her head “No, of course not! But you could have a little tact, bide your time maybe and get them to support your return.”
A grimace crossed Eurus’s face “Sorry, I can’t let that prick Apeliotes take my position. That idiot would ruin everything.”
Otrera sighed letting her arms fall to the side. “My uncles aren’t that bad..”
Smiling softly he continued walking, his right hand patting her on the back reassuringly. “That's because we have an unspoken agreement.” an inquisitive look crossed her face, silently asking him to continue. “All of us know our disdain for one another, but it isn’t any of your fault. So while it may not be a written rule, all eight of us refuse to extend our grudges.”
“That’s stupid,” she murmered, “Why can’t you guys just get along?”
Giving her a sidelong look, he asked. “Do you get along perfectly with your siblings?”
Looking behind her, Otrera shrugged. “I think so, what do you guys think?” her words addressed to the trailing group. Immediately another of Eurus’s daughters runs up to his side.
Named for her long purple hair, Violéta smiled massively, her red eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “Sis is a pain in the ass, don’t believe a word she says.” Otrera immediately glared at her little sister while Eurus laughed heartily as he rested his left arm on Violéta's shoulders.
“I suppose it helps that I don’t make you guys compete like my father did.”
Otrera scoffed, “Yeah, instead you just make us compete for attention.”
Violéta chimed in “Yeah! I bet you don’t even remember my birthday.” The rest of the group rushed forward to rag on Eurus in joking voices as well. The return to normalcy eased his heart as his children piled on the bullying, a smile being permanently affixed to his face.
“I told all of you that you only get two hundred years of attention before I become more sparse” The voices around him protesting, with different numbers being thrown about as they argued with him and each other. “Also Violéta,” gaining her attention she raised an eyebrow in question “June 20th.” Smiling broadly, Violéta turned her face forward ignoring the now raging voices behind them challenging Eurus to remember their birthdays with Otrera also now joining in.
With the spirit of the group returned, the walk was unfortunately short as they made their way back to the landing platform. Letting them go Eurus walked to the edge of the platform, his hands resting on his cane as he looked out at the mountain range before him. Even from his vantage point the mountains stretched beyond the horizon, the moonlight turning the clouds that covered the valleys into rolling hills of silver. The mountain wind flowing softly around him bringing a refreshing coolness with it.
Feeling Otrera’s presence behind him he turned to face her as she spoke. “Alright dad, we should probably get you back to the hospital. Gotta get you some proper rest, plus I promised that doctor.” Eurus nodded his head, pursing his lips as he thought for a moment.
Locking eyes with Otrera he spoke. “Nah.” before tossing the cane to her and falling backwards off the platform. Falling a short distance he extended his wings to their max and glided along with the mountain air, adjusting the air pressure around him to carry him along with minimal body effort. He smiled devilishly to himself as he rode the winds up, waving goodbye to Otrera as he flew back north.
Otrera smiled ruefully, briefly considering giving chase before sighing and sagging her shoulders. “Grandma’s gonna kill me.” She muttered as she walked back to her siblings, already preparing her explanations for when she got back to the city.
Carried along by his own manipulation of the wind, Eurus flew with practically no effort back north. Only flapping his wings when he felt the need to stretch. Cranking up his speed higher than he probably should have. He flew like a rocket across the desert sky. While he enjoyed the desert view and the cool air of the night, he felt his bed calling to him.
In minutes the desert turned to city scape, the northern city of Elysium as well as its capital, Sanctuary. The city itself was massive, nearly the size of the continent it was built on. A city built out of spite, Sanctuary was the last surviving point from the War of Apocalypse on Elysium. And while not intentional, the city itself stood against the ideals of Hell, it's very streets and buildings contorted and random.
Having been the result of rapid expansion from people and not city designers, Sanctuary would be considered chaos to the uninitiated. It’s billions of bright lights and colors blinding to all but its residents. While few buildings were more than four stories tall they truly went on for what seemed like forever. Smoke curling away from outdoor kitchens and chimneys, a never ending murmur echoing through the sky's.
Even with the night set in the city it was bright as day with light and activity. As he flew Eurus saw dozens of other flying individuals, some with wings and some without, one even had a broom to his surprise. The streets were even busier, with streams of people going to and fro about their business. With many people not requiring sleep for months on end, the city of Sanctuary never truly slept.
Flying over numerous districts he made his way north, and deeper into the city, until eventually the Tower of Angels appeared over the horizon, where he then turned east. The city itself was so massive that much of it was broken into massive districts with smaller communities inside them.
Eurus lived on the eastern side of the massive center district of Elysium. While anyone was allowed to live there, most often only those of royal blood or massive coffers where allowed the privilege of even renting in the district. And even then it was still a case of knowing the right people at the right time.
The central district itself looked much the same as the rest of the city beyond the occasional sprig of opulence and the slightly taller buildings. It’s only standout feature being it had the only “straight” road in the entirety of Sanctuary, bisecting the district across the east and west axis. This road met at its center point at the north pole, and the Tower of The Angels. Despite being the largest and most prevalent road in the city, it was easily the least busy, as barely more than a handful of people walked it’s way. All of them quickly stepping off to side roads as quickly as they could. The road itself held no name, yet depending on the circle it had its nickname, the “Path of Angels” being the most common and derided.
Following the road makes his navigation easier, as he soon comes to his home. The building was twelve stories tall, a rare yet unassuming sight in the city. It’s exterior was banal with its brownish red bricks and evenly set windows. The entire thing looked just like every other building around it, beyond its height. With the buildings front facing the straight road, Eurus was able to land without worry as the area was practically empty.
Climbing the four steps up to the wooden door, he opened the door and stepped inside the building's small lobby. The room was rather simple with white stone tiling for the floor and a round red carpet at the center. Two wooden doors sat on either side of the entrance with a small wall mounted bulb illuminating the wood paneled room. At the opposite end of the room sat an empty welcome desk inside of a partially caged room, with a staircase to the right of it leading up.
Eurus grimaced as he walked towards the desk. “And here I thought he would actually hire someone to fill in for him.” Stepping up to the desk he pressed the call bell, half expecting someone to pop up before him as the soft ring sounded. Leaning on the desk he checked to see if anyone was asleep on the other side but was met with an empty floor. The lower portion of the desk having a number of locked drawers on it with the names of the other residents on them.
“I guess I'll get my mail some other time” A tired sigh came from him as he began the arduous climb to his floor. While much of the stiffness of his body had been shaken away he still felt as if he had to pull strings like a puppet just to move at all. Using the handrail he ploddingly climbed his way to the eighth floor.
While the rest of the floors had two doors the eight had just a single wooden door, a small peep hole placed at the upper center. Grabbing the brass door knob he opened the door and stepped inside, his relief palpable at finally being home.
Eurus’s living room was blissfully dark, with the light hanging from the center of the ceiling off. A leather couch, with matching duo armchairs sat away from the door, the couch facing completely away towards the opposite window of the door, the armchairs positioned slightly towards the window, with a wooden coffee table between them. The room was positioned at the center of his apartment, with small beams in the ceiling sectioning off each area. The wall opposite the entrance was completely glass, a trick of technology allowing the occupant to see outside with other observers only seeing a solid brick wall.
Kicking off his sandals at the door, Eurus found himself strangely nostalgic as he walked across the dark wood flooring. His entire house was furnished with real wood, a massive cost on a planet where trees were outnumbered by people by the thousands. Preferring the more muted colors of grey the ceiling and walls were all colored the same lightly dark tone. Moving over to the right armchair, he sat down. A great sigh coming from his mouth as he propped up his feet on the table, his body sinking into the chair.
“Welcome home master, Lady Lachesis informed me you would be arriving shortly.” A voice spoke from nowhere in the apartment yet sounded like it was everywhere.
“Miranda, I asked you not to call me that.” Eurus spoke, his eyes closed.
Miranda, the voice of an AI that worked for Eurus and managed his properties when he was indisposed spoke again. “I apologize, master. I will consider your request once i’m done calculating pi.”
“How are things Miranda? Anything happen while I was gone?”
“One hundred and sixty four years, seventeen days, and five hours have passed since you've been gone. I have an itemized report of every single atom that has been displaced since your passing and can forward this to you if you’d like.”
“That won't be necessary Miranda, has any-”
“Oh woops, I sent it to the printer…. aw. It got annihilated by accident. Much like another person I know.” A small poof noise can be heard from the other room as she speaks.
“Miranda, did you just blow up the printer to make fun of me?”
“Perhaps.”
“Has my mother been teaching you again?”
“Perhaps.”
“In that case, tell her you’ve surpassed her.” Standing up from his chair he began walking towards the room nearest to him, his study. A room with a wall covered by bookshelves and filled with books of varying size and age, the wall to his left solid and grey with a painting of a field of flowing grain depicted on it. The center of the room, occupied by a mostly bare large wooden desk with a worn rolling chair behind it, only a shaded lamp and the dust of the old printer sitting on its surface. To his right a door to his bedroom. “If you need me Miranda, I'm gonna be sleeping.” As his fingers closed on the doorknob.
“OH, by the way master, you have a ‘guest’ in the kitchen.”
“Ah….. Why didn’t you start with that Miranda?”
“Have you ever tried to hold onto a joke for over one hundred years master?”
“Heh, how long have you been working for me?”
“Yes, I know, I'm amazing for keeping a joke like you alive for five thousand years.”
Turning around Eurus made his way through his living room to the dining room. A room with both of it’s walls being made of glass with fantastic views of the city beyond. The center has a dark wood table with eight matching chairs surrounding it, an unlit chandelier hanging above the table.
The kitchen moved into view as he walked. The left of the kitchen was dominated by a large silver fridge and numerous white shelves that wrapped around along the far wall. With a sink mixed amongst the cabinets. Dominating the center of the room sat an island with two ovens built into it, with bar stools positioned on the side Eurus was at. A small stair set went up to a door in the corner that sat in the far corner of the room. The right wall was like the rest of the apartment: a wall of glass.
“Ok, so where is this guest?”
“I secured him on the far side of the kitchen island.”
“Of course you did.”
Stepping around the side of the room Eurus ‘guest’ came into view. A lanky olive skin man with wild black hair, and even wilder magenta eyes, was secured to the cabinets in a sitting position, by numerous restraints phasing through the floor and walls. The only thing keeping him quiet being a mouth covering. His clothes, a ragged and dirty mess of poorly stitched scraps.
“So, when did you catch him?”
“Just last night, he must be lucky considering your extended absence master.”
Crouching next to the man, Eurus kept his eyes locked on his. His mind raced trying to see if he remembered the man. “Doesn’t seem that lucky to me.”
“You’re kinder than I master, quicker.”
“I suppose.” A strange grin crossed his face, lashing out, he backhanded the man, knocking him unconscious. “I’ll deal with him tomorrow Miranda, I need some sleep.”
“Of course master, would you like me to wake you at a specific time?”
Eurus made his way across his home quickly, practically throwing himself into his bed as he entered his bedroom. “Stop calling me that. And I think I'll just wake up when I do. Thank you, and have a goodnight.”
“Of course master.”