old man moomba

Sangus smiled, “It would be best if I let her introduce herself, I think.” Sangus nodded to Ashley, yielding the floor to her. She sighed, smiling slightly. “My name is Ashley Remorares. I’d call myself a mercenary, or perhaps a contractor. I do jobs for various people, both gods and mortals. I’ve lived quite some time, thanks to some advice from Sangus. I was willingly cursed by one god or another so I could never truly die, except by the hands of a god. When I am killed, my body is reincarnated somewhere else, usually very far away from where I died, and I have no memories of my past. Eventually, I get my memories back, though I’m not entirely sure how. I have some knowledge of magic, and quite a bit of other things I’ve accumulated over the years. Luna explained the threat you all face to me.” Ashley paused for a moment, “Quite frankly, it's terrifying. These people, they will not stop if they have killed every last god. No, I believe they will attempt to be gods in their own right. That is why they want to slay all of you.” Sangus looked at Tut'Kor'Anuumo, seriously considering what the god had said. “How can you be sure we share the same motivation? Barbados himself stated that he would not stop simply at destroying the Complex, that he wanted to bend mortals to his will. Men, as flawed as they are, deserve at least a little freedom.”

Ashley felt a little out of place among the gods. For all her skill and power she was still just a mortal. She was dwarfed by their power, which she could feel like a physical weight on her shoulders. She took a deep breath, concentrating her entire self into a single point. It helped to clear her head, and the pressure on her shoulders lessened. There was a slight ripple in the air around her, almost like the armor of hardened air she often used in battle, but less solid. She’d managed to project her calm into the area around her. A simple spell, but she’d not managed to do it unconsciously yet in this reincarnation. One of the things that grated on her the most. When she was killed and reincarnated, much of the somewhat innate skill she’d gained was wiped away. Oh, she still knew how to cast spells, but it still required some effort. Her skill did return eventually, usually long after her memories did.

Sangus stood up. “Luna, go find Ashley and bring her back here please. A smile briefly crossed his daughter’s lips, before she grabbed her sword off the table and flashed away. ———————————————————— Luna shifted into the edge of a forest, close to a highway. Shaking her head slightly, she strode out into the road just in time to spot Ashley driving past on a motorcycle. She tapped her foot on the road, causing it to ripple like water. Ashley slammed on the brakes, nearly pitching herself over the handlebars. Luna walked out into the road and caught Ashley’s longsword in one hand. “Careful with that.” she chided, “You might have actually hurt me.” Ashley sighed, smoothly sliding her sword back into its sheath. “Luna. Did Sangus send you, because I’ve got no time to run errands for him.” Luna grinned, relaxing a bit. Luna liked Ashley, though she could never be sure if the feeling was mutual. “This is important. More than just another errand for Father. It concerns the fate of every deity on this planet.” Ashley raised an eyebrow sceptically, though she was concerned. Luna didn’t make jokes like that. She gestured for Luna to continue. “What do you mean?” “The God Complex.” Luna said simply, “They have managed to slay a number of gods, and capture others. They must be stopped, at any cost. Some time ago, Barbados called a meeting of gods. He wished to form a pantheon to defeat the God Complex, and to make mortals bow to him.” Luna shrugged, “Something like that. Among the gods he had gathered, a few sided with him, my father among them. However, a number of other gods disagreed with Barbados, and Sangus saw wisdom in their words, and sided with them. The remainder have banded together into... something. It’s not really a pantheon, but then again it is.” Ashley whistled, “I’ve heard of the God Complex, they seem much more dangerous than any rumors. Where do I come in?” “Well, we cannot defeat them alone. We will need mortals to help us. You have several advantages. Firstly, you have experience training mortal soldiers.” Ashley nodded, already guessing what number two would be, “And secondly,” Luna said, “The nature of your curse makes you unkillable by mortal hands.” “Fine, I’ll come with you. Where are we going?” Ashley asked. Luna just grinned and put a hand on her shoulder, shifting them back to the fortress, where Sangus was waiting. He simply nodded at Ashley and picked up the paper, which was still on the table. The three of them disappeared, flashing into existence outside the door. “This is the place.” he said simply, opening the door and walking in, followed closely by Luna. Ashley walked in after the two of them, taking in details so she wouldn’t forget this place.

Sangus thought for a moment. "There is someone I should talk to, then. An old friend of mine." He smiled, "One of the few mortal friends I have. She has some experience in training and leading soldiers. I assume that would be helpful to our cause. She's also got a few... special powers that would make her a true thorn in the Complex's side." Sangus chuckled softly, returning to his seat.

"Thank you, my friend. You are far, far more eloquent than I." Sangus nodded, placing both hands on the table."As for pressuring the Complex into making a mistake, that seems like a fine idea. After all, if you push on something hard enough, eventually it will slip. And when these fools slip, we'll be there, with a knife to their throats. They will realize their wrong, perhaps beg for mercy. But there will be no mercy. For they have slain our friends and our families, so we will give no quarter." All of this was spoken in a calm tone, albeit one edged with a cool certainty.

"I will invite my chosen few here, to inform me of what they know. They will also spread the word among my followers, many of whom are respected as givers of wisdom." Sangus smiled at Leila, "Perhaps we could do more than just a letter. I shall tell all of my followers to spread our message, whatever it may be."

Sangus chuckled. "Luckily, what we can do is much more than any mortal can dream of. My followers will give good advice, that I am sure of."

“We could bait them into a trap.” Sangus ruminated on this for a moment. “But in doing so, we risk overextending ourselves and letting the Complex strike back.” the god of wisdom stood up, pacing back and forth, occasionally puffing on his pipe. “The best course of action would likely be two attacks at once. We bait their main fighting force out, entrapping them into a losing battle. But at the same time, we must strike against their strongholds.” Sangus turned to look back at the other gods. “I shall contact my followers as soon as we are done here. They will have much to share, I believe.”

Ok so, this is being written as I'm listening to Revolver, which I must say is somewhat of a shift from their earlier work. Everything before it was somewhat similar, but not in a bad way. For some reason, certain songs reminded me of surf guitar instrumentals which I will occasionally listen to when I'm not in the mood for my usual playlist or my soundtrack music playlist. But I digress. Now, I've not listened to the Beatles much before this point (I know, I'm a heretic) but I definitely prefer Revolver over Rubber Soul. Both are good, but I like most songs on Revolver more so than on Rubber soul. More to come (maybe)

“Well, I have followers around the world.” Sangus said, a pipe appearing in his hand, already lit. He puffed on it for a moment, blowing a ring of smoke into the air. “I will contact a few of them, to inquire what they know of the Complex. Together, they know much, perhaps more than me.” Sangus looked at the assembled gods. “We will also need mortal manpower, I think. Alone, we will not be able to destroy the God Complex.” ----------------------------- A cold mountain wind blew Ashley’s hair in front of her face. It swept away the scent of blood that drifted up from the corpses around her. She turned into the wind, letting it blow her hair back. She smiled somewhat grimly. She didn’t even know who these soldiers had been. Likely, they were mercenaries, like her. Ashley sighed, whispering a prayer for the mercenaries who had died. They had simply been collateral damage. No, she’d been paid to retrieve an item off the man whom the mercenaries were protecting. She flipped the man’s corpse over, taking in his half melted, half blasted skull in expressionlessly. He’d taken a shotgun blast to the head, apparently. Must have been caught in the crossfire. Ashley looked through his pockets, finding a USB stick, a wallet, a small journal, and a key card. She took everything, as she’d been told to do. She recalled her orders. She didn’t need him alive, luckily. No, the job had been to take everything he had on him. So she searched the rest of his body, finding a couple more things, including a small pendant with the symbol of Luna on it. Apparently he’d been looking for protection. She chuckled for a moment, then stopped. Luna wouldn’t like that, she wagered. “Sorry friend.” she whispered quietly, tucking his things into her pocket and standing up. There wasn’t anything else to be done, so she left the campsite, walking leisurely down a trail to the highway. Her bike was where she’d left it, so she vaulted onto it and shifted it into gear, heading back for the small mountain town she’d been staying in for the last few weeks.

“Certainly. There is much to be done if we are to defeat the God Complex.” Sangus led the group up a set of stairs carved into the stone, torches coming alight as they walked. The entire fortress seemed to be carved from the same stone, with no visible gaps. Eventually, they came to a landing rather high up within the fortress. Sangus smiled a little, and pushed a set of doors open. Within was a large room, with floor to ceiling windows on the far side, which looked out over a snow-covered mountain range. “Perhaps a little dramatic, in hindsight, but the view is wonderful.” Sangus gestured to the round table situated in the center of the room, with many chairs around it. Both the table and the chairs were carved from stone, though they looked comfortable enough. He seated himself with his back to the windows. Luna sat next to him, laying her sword on the table in front of her.

Sangus watched Balhaan sadly. “You’re right. These mortals do not deserve to live. They cause us suffering just by existing. But, we mustn't mindlessly slay them like animals. That will surely lead to our own destruction.” he glanced at his daughter. “Luna, would you mind taking us away from here. Somewhere private, please.” Luna nodded wordlessly. She tapped her sword against a rock, causing the crystal to ring with a pure note. Luna listened for a moment, then shifted them away. The group appeared in a hall carved from stone, with shadows overhead. “We’re in the northern reaches of America. One of the last true wildernesses.” Luna said quietly, her words echoing. “This is an old fortress, carved into a mountain. My father had it built some time ago. We won’t be bothered here.”

Sangus looked on expressionlessly. He felt little sadness at the death of the gods, and less anger. No, he was almost overcome with a deep sense of dread. These mortals were slaying gods for no discernable reason. Unchecked, they would tear this world apart without realizing. Every living thing would cease to exist. Their world wasn’t the perfect ideal, but it didn’t deserve to be destroyed. “These slayers of gods must be stopped, and if that means killing every one of them, then so be it. But we must not kill them simply because they have killed our brethren. They must have some motive for doing it, and likely they are misguided in some way. We must at least try to convince them that they are wrong. That, and free the gods they have captured.”

"There is no such thing as an ideal world. Anything that can think will push against a perfect world. Perhaps the most ideal plane of reality would be one with no thinking being upon it to muck things up. I'm Sangus, god of wisdom, among other things."