While the king is walking away, looking back softly in checking her reactions as human. It took one gesture. One flowing notion that took the room in shock. It took the idea of harming her completely out of any thought by all these nobility. The gesture of her merchant greeting. Used in this universe as the symbolic gesture for the teacher of gods.
Which this mage society has everything to thank this primordial first being for the mage island itself. Time works strangely as a soul, thus in the time that the universe started again to when she can be born, that wasn't wasted opportunity. Given she did this universe several favours before she went back to her origin - she was as a spirit waiting for human reincarnation, used her influence she gained from doing this ender a favour.
This tome was in ruin with an ender on last ropes - paid the price to have her and a team of others to erase and restart things; going as far as teaching god souls how to be gods aka true titles learning to be titles. She may have bring about the protection and favour of impure human bloodlines as god worshippers. To keep the island of its secrets from any outside influences.
It was until the modern day satellite imaging technology. Yup, the downside of google mapping put the mystery of the islands existence beyond reasonable abilities to keep secret. She was already human by then.
"Party foods and dancing right? It is exactly what I was signed up to wear this waist squeezer for." She play pats Raven. Josh stares bewildered this beyond his idea of an outcome of how the king was going to act.
While Arthur just found out his eldest brother was the guy always sharing tea in the dreams. That she always invited the brothers if they wanted to. The whole marking the floor with black sand before bed is one the calling cards to summon youself into the Nocturm land. The holy greeting about dream house in time sand isn't a joke.
"Dance first." Raven pulled her by waist and is the lead. They weren't the only partners taking the floor. Sure there were plenty at the start. But it was a boring slow step dance and other partner pairs were more a spectacular drama for nobles to watch. The slow pace ended with some other couple taking centre stage, pushing them as background people. Arthur and Josh have made it to the food table. Watching the dancing pairs as they sample food. It was also those two that caught trouble in the wings. Making small talk and a simple money bet for what will happen.
'The church has no approval for you. Especially after showing to be close to the king like that.' His fingers dances her hand they clasp together with. She very focused on dancing. She would attempt to watch around but he makes focus on him only. It was enough to know she needed to reply to his hand tap. Their own Clothus speak.
'The church of colour of the living world has never made any meaningful decisions. Its just the vehicle that allows god followers, and their gods, to enact within human living world. Their power is just the sway of the gods that powers the church. Pretty flimsy in focused decisions and dangerous when there is lack of guidance.' She twisted that motioned a change of topic, 'We arent dancing to the music. So what are we avoiding?'
'Your living families.' He makes sure she caught glimpses across the room with flare. If she didnt know better, she wouldn't have recognised anyone of them in how fast he spun her to see them. Yet it was enough.
'I have nothing against them now. They do of me.' She trusts him for a pulled lifted notion in this coordinate dancing. She focused with mirror matching him. He thinking over her opinion and how she clearly focuses on him alone. He felt a bit guilty, tilting with trying to understand. Wondering if she didnt get it.
'They didn't approval of the wedding. They were told you had died. And of half are witnesses, to when you fall off a cliff with their ceremony silver god sword.' He hug her tightly to block her veiw a little in likely to hide her potential expression from others. Sure she did flicker a sad tone that became an angry one. She has enough maturity and contorl to draw back to a plain expression again, 'There this assumption that you going to blindly go to them of your own free will.' He squeezing hard at that last part. Like his unconsciously afraid of her leaving him.
'Unless my pets souls are at stake, which isn't likely.' She felt him ease a little and she pulls him to meet her eyes, 'I have changed the font, languages and spelling of my soul name in the tomes. It isn't like the days of being a back stabbing spy. In order to have a god court conviction against them, I did everything to gain my knowledge of them.' He slowed dancing with that, 'I have a pretty decent hold over most Clothus laws. I can totally just eat their souls and move on.'
He stops dancing. She blushed a little in forgetting that seemed pretty dark topic. She holds him strong in this long pause between.
"You didn't marry a human after all. Not all my pets are exactly animals." She softly spoke aloud, "Besides, your name is beautiful. I can never get enough of looking at yours." Part blush out of him and a part fear of her. That she does love him in a twisted way back. They stand still in a crowd of dancers pairs. It had been a long enough stop for approach. Someone is taking it.
"Trixie, what brings you among the living?" Heard but ignored. She rather instead catch Omens in his flight and placed the bird on Ravens shoulder. A vacant smile in warning Omens to stay with Raven. Omens shivers at her vacant threat, and glares over to the person. He fully understand and knowing why she needed the vessel here.
"The angry one that was sold off to tear layers through several hell lands." Is how she recalls this soul and flinched Raven in her hold, "Well spent time and energy. So you retired here. Very funny." She speaks monotone and with a sharp step to plaster on Ravens side. Sort of posturing that its Raven is whom she sides only with and sees this man as a threat, "I got a neat price for selling you. Yes. It was peaceful while you were gone." She keeps strong with matching gaze into this twisted man, "Are you still owned by that thing? Left a little tattoo? Did you have a message for me?" The stress and confusion. He wanted to say a lie. He tries. He isnt able to, his has a collar. His soul name owned to another.
"My master wishes warm regards and wants more trades." He smacks his palm to his face with shock. She laughed. He shivered in how he hasnt any control at all of his actions. How his hands do a greeting and terms of exchange. Exact. Clothus law. Another soul sale.
"I should have got a contact exchange when it took you." She knows to keep speaking to him then the master through him, "I was just so empty when you killed all of them. I those things I love." She stands with body blocking Raven from being in the trade and strings gestures of how this deal will be, "A good thing I repair souls. You dont need that from me. No." She purred unnaturally and there back off by plenty not part of this conversation, a very clean circle of avoiding is around them, "Teared hell. Repair it? No." Gesturing makes clear and she translated it fine enough, "You want to rip the heavens. You need a soul to lift and tear back down. A soul with grace and grave error. Plenty suit that. But you need this soul to match the same as the last exchange. That master needs someone close to you."
She smiles with off set darkness. She rips her arm flesh, lifting the tome of human names as those tome keepers. She isnt bleeding out and the book isnt manifesting to a format that fits with local perceptions. She looks like she casting magic of a long script. Those of gift sight will see a flesh sloughing mess. A flesh book of dripping liquids and rotten skins. She finds interesting things about the tome keepers. Plucking names, souls taken from human bodies. She flickered several potential Seer and others whom married into Seer. All with the curse that death granted them. From page to air, she torn someone. She holds the soul - she inspected imperfections and the moral of this human soul. She then smiles passing it to her ex-father. She makes sure he holds that name tightly. The flesh pulls back on her arm, not a trace of that horror.
"Your payment." He unwillingly is doing something, beyond his contorl. Taking his own organs from his body. Dropping them on floor at her feet. These organs arent as they seem, thudding a dent onto floor between. The mess leaves no marks or traces in this world. He felt it, but it wasn't real to this reality.
"I am sorry that she made her life with you." She clearly is meaning the soul his holding in his hands, "I had some sort of hope you would treat your other children with better love. Better grace then the emptiness you left me."
Leana soften to make prayer. Concluding the exchange and clean cutting ties. No attachments but whatever revenge he may seek of her in some other next life. She began to walk away from that man, the organs gone on the floor. Blood not a trace. He drops into kneeling the floor, holding the soul in his hands. He looked at this soul in feeling who that is and what they mean to him. Trembling with shock this perosn was in this situation. He hold the soul tightly in sorrow in knowing now, this person is now been sold as a slave to his master. This person has his fate too.
"You sold her soul for a price." She tries to remind him of his sin, a whisper of clothus voice in his ear as a added reminder that she isnt a human, " I just so happened to be the monster that answered." She voiced trailing away. Both her and him vague flash backs memory of ritualistic call out for abyss creature. That the Seers and Fallowns worked together summoning in a cabin. Out in the woodlands of no civilisation for miles. The man on the floor stares bewildered of his consequences.
Getting off the dance floor and guides Raven to join Josh and Arthur at the standing food nibbles. She picks up plates for each and softly acts indifferent to the event. Arthur takes a ten pound note off Josh. Omens scratched beak trying to understand what he witnessed. He couldnt really tell what outcome will come about from such a broken laws exchange. Omens coos about things he does know with Raven. Took off.
"To my awareness of how your life is." Arthur speaking up towards Leana, "Everyone you knew is trying to kill you, you betrayed them or the few whom did care are about to learn you aren't dead and not mute." He plates second servings of some food in hiding that his speaking to her. She getting grub too, "No one is happy about you. Guilty or grudge. Even your mother thinks your a monster pretending to be human."
"This is the one the few universes that my poor mother is right. I was human." Leana muttered back, "If not dying to over exposure in my medical report was anything of a warning. Or that I am friends with the god of death." She cuts her tone there as she putting tongs down. A well trained and hard flat step breaks tension, the indifferent aura and a soft tilt of sadness seeing her among them.
"Where is the sword?" Her grandfather that was once her trusted. His tone was laced with disowning and lacking the familial bonds she had. Here he is with a plate, playing pretend picking nibbles. It is also very likely she sabotaged the Fallown cult to obtain the god smiting sword. He likely asked it as a favour.
"A life for a life." These words draw out of her, and is likely the active memories of her current life, "You can't pay that. She can't pay on your behalf." She blocks him from taking a food, "Equally I don't imagine any cult being on my good side. That sword is now in my private collection. A wealthy lady has a treasury to fill." He doesn't take any food and that clean plate placed back on stack. He studies each of the lads around her, "Not going to congratulate me?" She leans on Raven, "Being engaged and all." He now sharp measured Raven a few goes. He studies that Omens lands on shoulder. He bows nod to the god vessel and leaves.
"Damn... you play word games." Arthur returning the tenner back to Josh. Raven stares how grandfather is soon back his gang on other side of the room. Her mother unable to make up her mind of that information. There a lowering of heads, shock and vacant wide eyes. Her brother among looking towards her for anything. If she will make any suggestions of gestures. He glares dark of the vultures coming up. Raven did too, stepping tightly to her side eyeing the clean and to polished with wealth cultist.
"The ceremony sword not on listing's for sale, Penheart?" Some abandoned Fallown trying to be clever.
"Of course not, but your soul is." She whips back and they leave quickly. She finally able to eat some the party food at offer. She shares some of her favourite ones, shoving Ravens mouth with a few. He huffed and accepted this strange couples thing. He picked something and made her try it back. They shared a slight laugh.
"I feel like I missed a punchline." Seeing Twilight in glamour. She looked like as a stunning thin person with red flowing hair. She isnt wearing a dress or clothes for that matter if you know. Encrusted of her galaxy like shimmering scales that looks like a tight suit. A belt of gold. Wear bands of silver. Her mock hair is pulled back with a chain as like Leana own hair pin. A chain of charms showing status, places of authority and background of which gods favour.
"God slaying junk these days isnt worth the effort. Be it teeth or silver. I doubt it comes any use around here. Silver doesn't do squat for the monster that threaten." Leana speaks openly in the flow of mirror tone. Choosing to actively be on Twilight good side, "It turned out you didn't need my services. I still offer them." Twilight purred in hearing Leana, "You gave me Luna and Suna. They became happy where I left them. Many of the children that I adopted from you are happy in their new worlds." Twilight had a deeper purr.
"I knew you would find homes for them." Twilight soften with a tilt, "You love the cats. They are still with you?"
"Morpheus, Ragnar and Loki. Then I picked up Tyr and Narly. In the exchange of letting go of Luna and Suna. I gained Selene and Ersa. Two spiders. My last reptile passed away in the last tome." Leana shows plenty of love about the topic of her animals. Its written all over from her body language to loving tone, "I very much happy in the love I am given by them. I wouldn't have it any other way." She slightly laughed a little, "Well maybe a little less scratching, licking and biting." Twilight nods of this and smiles happy knowing Leana is.
"Do they approve of him?" Twilight sliding at Raven.
"I think the only one that hasnt was Loki. Loki keeps trying to eat Omens. He already ate death a few times." The look of a worried mother. Twilight snorts. Josh leans whispering to Arthur. Arthur explains about the pets thing that he does know.
"The speckled reptile bird is Loki." Raven recalling, "I haven't met him alone. I have made good deals and exchanges with the others at least. Selene bite me and wouldn't stop licking me." He thinks deeply, "Morpheus talks to me often."
"He is a chatter box chirping cat. No meows. Chirping." Leana tuts, "Islode is on her second life. She cant interact with the others anymore. Keeps leaving toys everywhere. She piled arms at my gallery bench. Not taken from the tributes. I dont know where she found them. And now I have a barrel of severed arms." Twilight laughed at that.
"I am happy that you are." Twilight huffed, "That you love them dearly. It made all that effort to carve them out worth while. I have taken a step back from excavating souls."
"I did see you put your poaching nickname and licencing back. I wouldn't trust the god of death at face value if I were you. I would hope you got tied rope with James Crafter." Twilight blushed bashful of her love affairs and a little shocked of Leana bad mouthing the god of death. Then again, 'face value'. Twilight doesnt know or understand how gods work. Twilight doesnt know God soul nature. The exact wording felt strange, "I would love to make a regular exchange trade. A flat fair rate for dream worm meat." Leana softly gestures in her merchant laws, "As much as you can carry for the same weight in liquids or metal." Twilight shakes this deal. Someone whistled across the room and it is Twilight's cue. Twilight scampers quickly back over to the group of divine winged ones. A small little party of angel beings among the gathering today.
"My lady." Creeps behind them, she know this is her death god in slave service to her crown, "What are you doing in this universe? What exactly is your point?"
"Ask him. I dont know." She takes the mail, a file of requests to Nocturm and a court file with related information. She openly reads the very long worded letter from this universes true title of death. It is actually part thesis science project about the god soul converter trend. All but death himself has become objects soul. The results have been muddled. Some can reverse this conversion and others are stuck. Some lost their ability to interact as titles. Bring about a sort of plead for help. To help the missing gods or help gods enact over as they should have. She folded the paper away into herself as she slowly at the tail end of conversation. This death explains himself to the lads.
"So your an ender of a tome." Josh got that much figured.
"But not of my original tome. My original tome has been erased. Unfinished but erased. I was helpless in the abyss and throws of isolation." This death lowered, "Then I picked up a worse sad soul then me."
"I thought I picked you from the abyss." She chuckled back, "Many of those that work for me. Are all souls I have been trying to find happy homes for. A never ending task. I find peace for a chapter and pick up some new tome." Death shakes his head with that, "I have learnt interesting things along the way. Forbidden knowledge, no less." She opens the case file now and peels through the whole lot, "I don't mind helping the true title out. The urgent ones take priority. As uncomfortable as this sounds. Put the stones into the body. OK?" This death leans confused of her meaning, "Right. All the gods have a gemstone. Those who are struggling to use their divinity need to consume or implant the gemstone. This will be dangerous. Might kill a few hosts. Yet it solves the issue." He made a narrowing stare, "As for the courts." She closed the file, "Nocturm is a neutral ground. Unless anyone is killing our neighbours or slaying gods; we give souls a place to rest or change for the better. A sort of step back and think about it." He removes a notepad and writes things down, "As for the five dead names I left behind. Assume them as clean slate. I am not going after anyone but the ones on my burn list. My ex-father has been removed from burn that soul list. His been added the the clients list. His owner has making us some very neat profit." A slow nod while writing and pause.
"Currently everyone that you ever known in your current life is on the burn it all list."
"Rename that list as the those to keep tabs on. The only two souls on my current burn list is this one and that demon lord that slaughters me several tome worth. As you can tell, I have put this guy on the back burner. The demonlord is slaughter on sight." Death takes out a different book and began sorting out the lists. Changing priorities of who is watched, hated and left alone. He passed over the list to her for finalising. She marked in new entries, shuffled a bunch of names around and returns the list file back to the death god servant. Death stare impressed of her maturity and very clean cut changes to her stances of others.
"That demonlord is here in this party." Death god informs her.
"Make his day go very wrong to entertain us." The order was accepted and plenty of misfortune spills its wave over a particular guy. This servant takes leave now, off to spead share about her change of priorities. How she sudden standing back from all her pety games. Withdraw of messing in other people's business. That she seems to change watch for some other reasons beyond what anyone her current kingdom will understand.
"What did I do?" Raven asked.
"Its more like what you will end up doing. I dont know what your soul has plans for. Each lifetime is a gamble of extremes. This lifetime you love me to death. In the afterlife, you seem to want to hunt me down and erase my existence. I dont know what your problem is." Raven thinks that over deeply, "I can only guess that you gain previous lifetimes memories as a not human. That you gain lost incomplete memories to the point you are driven to assume revenge. All those years I spend hunting to save your soul from Omens random tasks. You end up in strange places where you don't belong and you must be angry of me for something around that." She eats a lot of nibbles as he thinks over that.
"Omens does send you into danger worlds and assumes you come back fine." Arthur nodding at that, "I dont know why your blindly trust the god using you. I can understand the misunderstanding you would assume of Teixeira. She does look like a broken undertaker with black ink drool. Her mask so shattered that it practically flexs." Arthur huffed in accounting what he is aware of, "You are memory wiped clean each human life. Your going to feel she is dangerous but also safe. That you have this sense of undying trust with her and also fear her murdering you at any moment."
"You two are messed up." Josh voicing in, "I dont know why you trust Raven." He looked between everything and sighed to continue, "Your soul was powdered dust because of him. He didn't just murder you in the tome I am the Ender of." Does a nervous foot shuffle, "The lives you two had in my books wasn't rosy tinted love. You sided the Seers in my book. Became the cult boss and tore the dream worlds into human world. Slaying hell and heaven for a joke." Josh scratched afraid.
"I know. I know what I did. I own that sin with fully understanding the consequences." She looked around this fancy room, "What I gained was worth it. I found all those scraps. All those missing pages. The souls for pages. The god eater that ate them. I did all of that, finding and restored 20 other tomes." She softly shows off many markings that relate that are on her arms at least, "all those twisted cruel things were done to restore my tome of origin. The tome we came from. Among others." She cups her hands with using magic. She used air mosture to demonstration, "When I was removed, rejected by my tome. The book left behind turned into mulch. A tome literally melted." The shock of watching an ice mimic putting understanding, "But I learnt some very forbidden knowledge, I bent a few rules as the more my soul converted into a Clothus." She wasn't looking at anyone but rather in herself with recalling these deeply connected memories, "I forget being human." She showed failed attempts to do it as she thought would work, "I lost my goal." The show of her looking out to emptiness, "I gave up at somepoint." Breifly there was something trying to form, cleared away the ice before it could, "Then he was mad at me for forgetting him." She looked outwards again, "I totally forgot I had been holding him in my shadow domain all those lives." She smiles at that expression he made back then, "He reminded me. I felt my soul purpose was to restore and return him where he belongs. He was my first and I successfully did at a price. He doesn't remember. His soul doesn't recall it either." She smiled to herself with a rung sadness, "My tome flourished without me several god centuries." She straighten up, "It might have been longer. I was removed." She looked to Josh and smiles warm, "I felt the parchment paper the day it was sewn into the bindings. The exact spot his name was to be written." She looked at finary of the room softy and still sadness undertone, "As a soul excluded from the laws and flowing of passage." She shattered the plate that had been emptied by now. She wafted the plate back whole with her magic, "So I don't know what his mad at me for. In what lifetime he has such deep rooting attachment, for why he loves and hates me." She makes strange expressions that flex a little not human and wavered her words, "I am at peace with my souls purpose. I had my fill of all sorts of everything. I had to be existence in other books in the meanwhile of repairing tomes. I could have repaired our origin sooner, yet I was rejected all the same. I accepted that history and all the others I left behind to do what I did. Achievement of my soul crossing in so many universes." She tilts and brought her smile back normal, "There so many more I have yet to be, learn or become something of." She holds the shattered plate in seeing the flaws it held, "I wasn't actually planning on walking old grounds. I had this intent to move on." She puts the plate into her shadow storage, "I do know I am here because of Raven. I wouldn't be here and be a real living human. I am here because he took me here with him."
"Your a god title." Arthur huffed, "You know all sorts of forbidden knowledge."
"I am the personification of soul governance. Free will. The embrace of bravery, love and that acceptance. I am that satisfaction brought after death. Well I should have been. I was reincarnated into human bloodlines. A bunch of stuff. I am human now because he dragged me to be." She nods to herself.
"You are a old hag." Josh frowns and was smacked in the side by Arthur. Raven is plenty spaced out. A little soul shattered and twisted inside. Feeling small and uncomfortable. Dwarfed in cosmic knowledge. He holds on arm gentle in fear and would tighten up wanting assurance. He draw blood holding her arm. A deep creak of seeded soul energy consumed from him to her. Passing between.
She felt sickly full from the emotional he gave her as a damned type soul and the physical human snacks added. Outwardly is nothing special. Inside, the excessive pulsing energy is being used
- her soul was erasing damages. Her origin forced all the peices whole. His experience and emotional energy was knitting her broken soul puzzle parts back to her natural shaping as a soul. Her soul flaws stay imprinted but the pockets of trapped impurities is being removed.
She blacked out by his energy. Body locked as an undertaker in both human and not human. She just turned into a damsel in distress. An excuse to leave early and skip the nine course meal of poisoned food.