My entrance into the Senate chamber resulted in hurried whispering and furtive glances. It might have worried me if I didn't know what the commotion was about. The [System Announcements] had reverberated across multiple Universes, and the consequences of those announcements would begin here, in this [Universal Nexus]. The whispering only intensified, with the glances becoming worried or challenging stares as Danu followed me into the room.
More than that, I felt the flurry of [Sending] as some of those present sent telepathic communications to those they were sworn to. Or those that held [Authority] over their Pantheon. Whispers of intent and warning that reached out across the cosmos to give warning or call to Senate those with the real power to affect the [Tapestry of Fate].
Danu seemed unfazed by the increasing frenzy of whispers, more interested in the chamber itself. The Senate building had been created shortly after the Tuatha de Danann were forced into [Sleep]. It served as a nexus, the event horizon where each Divine Realm intersected, where many membranes from divergent multi-verses joined.
Only the Tuatha de Danann had been excluded from that Nexus, while the Sidhe from Talahm had finally claimed a seat; that seat represented a single universe. An exclusion that Danu addressed. I felt the very fabric of existence warp as she drew upon her position as the Supreme [Authority] of the Tuatha de Danann to tear an opening into the Nexus so that she could insert a wedge of our Pantheon's resonance from the multitudes of reality we were connected to.
I felt her drawing on my [Authority] and the [Authority] of every member of the Tuatha de Danann. That [Authority] contributed to the forced inclusion and claiming of our position as a part of a Senate that controlled the [Nexus]. That control had remained inviolable since its inception.
The feeling of having my [Authority] borrowed and merged with that of my brethren was uncomfortable, more an itch that needed to be scratched than painful. And quickly gone as the borrowed [Power] was quickly returned.
It was a lesson in humility. A reminder that no matter how far I had come, there were greater [Powers]. Even Danu, as Queen of the Tuatha de Danann, was only one part of a Cosmic whole. A player in the vastness of eternity that she, herself, was dwarfed by. There were entities such as [Order], [Time], and [Eternity] that eclipsed anything that she might attempt, at least when they were acting within the [Authority] of their [Domains].
Danu's action attracted the attention of [Justice]. Or, more likely, Lady Justice was interested in events that had begun on Urt and had set a mental trigger to remind her to manifest in the present when the [System Announcement] had echoed across the cosmos. A reminder to herself that this Universe and this point in time was when and where events would unfold.
[Justice] was not the only Cosmic personality to manifest. Still, she was the most obvious as she moved to take the seat as Senate Judge, making it clear she was her in her capacity as [Justice] and would be acting as [Judge pro tempore].
I felt the [Auric Scrutiny] of some of the other Celestial beings. Their interest in today's proceedings was curiosity instead of concern. The Celestials seldom stirred themselves to notice the happenings of lesser beings, and for all the vaulted hubris and power of Odin and Zeus when it came to power on a cosmic scale, they simply didn't stack up.
To be honest, Danu didn't either. Of the Gods sworn to the Tuatha de Danann, I thought that only Gwyn ap Nudd was likely powerful enough to be worth their notice, and that barely. Even he was worth noticing only when acting as an [Agent of Justice] because of how tightly his [Domain] was tied to [Justice] and because of how intricately his [Authority] was tied with the Summerlands.
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Without that connection, Gwyn ap Nudd would be little more than a [God of War], but when balanced against the unyielding tide of [Order] and [Chaos], a [God of War] was barely a spark of Divine interest.
Odin, Zeus, and, surprisingly, Shiva arrived soon after. I wasn't certain what Shiva's presence meant, entering as he did with the other two. I hadn't been around when the Tuatha de Danann had agreed to enter [Sleep], so I had no real idea who the masterminds behind that scheme had been.
I'd always thought Odin and Zeus had been the masterminds for that orchestration and that Odin was probably the true puppet master. But perhaps Shiva and other [Rank SSS] Gods had a hand in what had happened.
Odin and Zeus were bold enough to walk to the lectern reserved for those individuals that wished to address the floor. Shiva had peeled off, moving to speak with the delegation for his Pantheon.
"The Tuatha de Danann have broken the covenant they agreed to," Zeus thundered as soon as he'd gained the lectern. "They have acted, and their actions have consequences.
"They agreed that the control of the Summerlands would pass if they left [Sleep]. That agreement must be enforced, and the Summerlands passed to another's control."
"We did agree to that," Danu said, walking forward to stand in the well of the floor of the chamber- in a position that all could see. "But there were exceptions made to that agreement. Events that would allow us to wake and remain awake without repercussion.
"We act in accordance with the agreement forged by the [Host] of Gods. This collective may stand witness to our return. A return heralded by System, our awakening conforming to the agreement that was outlined in our original bargain."
"You lie! What exception was met that allowed you to leave [Sleep]?" Zeus demanded.
"Be very careful whom you accuse of lying," Danu warned the hiss in her voice, belying the Mother Goddess image she projected. "I am not without recourse and will call upon Gwyn ap Nudd and the Hunt to respond to any other insult.
"Our Pantheon already has charges that I intend to levy. Dereliction of agreements that this congress will need to address. Issues that may concern [Oath-breaking].
"We agreed to enter [Sleep], but you agreed to shepherd and protect our people. The Sidhe were to be given the same opportunities as any of your people.
"What do we find instead?
"Our people much reduced, until recently chained to their home planet. They had been barred from galactic trade, bereft and denied Senate representation, and forced to endure an attack against their very existence- orchestrated with the manipulation of the System using a virus that was so insidious the System had to use transmigration and reincarnation to remedy the repercussions of that virus.
"An attack that happened because you over-reached. You blatantly compromised the System's impartiality, injecting a virus that targeted the Sidhe.
"Before you go slinging false accusations about how the Tuatha de Danann broke the accords, prepare your defenses," Danu raged. "We demand an explanation. A thorough accounting of how planets were claimed to this point and why the embargo was placed to keep the Sidhe contained to Talahm."
Each sentence was punctuated by the appearance of another member of the Tuatha de Danann faction. One God after another took a position within the Senate chamber as her words echoed across the chamber.
The Nexus fluctuated with the appearance of each God until finally, at the cumulation of her attack of words, the entire Pantheon had manifested, the well of the floor of the chamber expanding to accommodate the influx of so many powers and to contain the [Authority] of so many [Domains].
The Nexus regained its equilibrium when that last God arrived. The wedge that Danu had forced into that intersection of Divine [Authority] accepting the change and ringing with the bell-like tones of a System Message.
[System Message: The Tuatha de Danann have taken their rightful place among the [Conclave of Gods]. The Nexus has achieved equilibrium. With the alignment of disparate Divine energies [Balance] has been restored. The [Conclave of Gods] has been made whole.]