A New Beginning

[Sora-No]

Click here for Character Sheet

    The day was dry, but it smelled of fire and brimstone.


    People moved and walked through the city of Avalon. While many found themselves wandering, some talked with others. Many socialized with friends or family. Some bought items at shops, or sat outside on benches, watching. In the distance, the temple was visible, large and immaculate, with its crystal and flora.

    At one of the shops, there was a group restocking. These were older gentleman, and grabbed the boxes out and bringing it into the store, then coming back out. They stopped when they heard another voice, this more adolescent and approaching the men.

    "Here, let me help."

    The owner of the voice was a teenager, of a mediocre height and build. His skin tone was also average, slightly tanned and smooth. He had dark hair, almost black, swept to the right side of his face. His eyes were bright blue, with a tinge of green in it. With a smile, he walked over, picking up one of the boxes and helping out the other men. He brought in a couple boxes along with the other men. One of the men reached into their wallet, offering some money.

    "Oh, no, I don't need any money." He'd give an awkward chuckle, waiting for the guy to put the money back into his wallet before giving a wave, a beam on his face, "H-Have a good day!" He'd then leave, letting them go back to their business, a smile on his face. He put his hands in his jacket pockets, giving a huff as he looked around at everything.

    This is going to be a short stay, isn't it?

    The day passed as follows. He went about his business, helping out those he could on the way. He arrived at a hotel, giving them money for a week's stay. After ditching his bag in his room, he'd hit the bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling for quite some time.

    This is Chris.

    He's currently seventeen, and he's been away from home... for a long time. He hasn't really kept track of it. He's been known to roam from place to place. Though, at the moment, he's just looking for a place that he can finally sit down and lay his head to rest. And by rest, he means stare at the ceiling for hours before he does something else to pass the time.

    Night soon fell on the Steppes, and Chris found himself still unable to sleep. Getting out of bed with a sigh, he began to walk the streets. He found himself on the open area in front of the temple, looking at the actual place. What should he do? Where does he go from here? Questions filled his mind like a broken record, repeating over and over constantly, keeping his mind occupied. He'd sit on a bench, looking out on to the area and attempting to figure out what he should do about all of this.

    He had a place to be, he just doesn't know where.

    "If only things were that easy..." He'd mumble to himself, tapping his finger on the bench as he attempted to figure out what he was going to do. He'd look at his fingers, letting that familiar warmth flood through his body as his finger tingled. In an instant, a single flame trickled across his finger, before fading just as quickly. He'd do this a couple times, moving the hand closer to him and moving the fire between his fingertips, letting the dancer of heat move its cryptic dance with no answer.

[[God] - Incarnidine]

Death walked with a quiet tread. It had been a short day but a long night for him. Many new things had to be done. He recalled the Pixie Dragon outbreak over on the far coast, it was surprising the amount of damage that such a small species could do if their numbers were too high. He had culled them, as was his job, they were more manageable now, more easily lead. They'd learned that aggression and numbers lead to danger, they were smart.

He wondered how smart people were in the same regard, not very. He hadn't needed to cull them properly yet, just a few small groups here and there when they started to grow too dangerous, expanding into territories they were not meant to be. It was always worse with sapient species, they could beg and plead for him not to kill them. That was difficult, not because of his own feelings on the matter, he had long since come to terms with his work and what he had to do. No, it was how it affected his lover, the Goddess of Life. She was a pure soul, almost too pure and he knew that such culls hurt her but she also knew they had to be done.

He tilted his head slightly, a silent sigh leaving him before he reached up and took the glasses off of the bridge of his nose. It wasn't his real nose of course, it was the beak of a perfectly crafted porcelain mask. It was where Plague Doctors had taken their masks from actually, it was the original. Pure white and with a red slash across the bridge of the nose. He cleaned his glasses and put them back on, only his eyes visible under the mask, dull orange and flecked with black.

It was only then he looked up and realised where he actually was, near the Earth Temple. All was quiet but he could detect life, life that wasn't sleeping. It was late for humans and he was alone, perhaps someone violent? Incarnidine went to investigate.

He walked slowly up to the bench, only the click of the heel of his dress shoes sounding into the darkness. He wore a fine suit with a tailcoat, the tails flapping behind him and a pair of black leather gloves. Not a single part of his skin could be seen. With practiced, fluid movements, he stepped up next to Chris, flicked his tails aside and then sat down. It was only when turning that the massive pair of raven wings on his back could be seen, folded neatly against his shoulders. He took a seat and let out a sigh, happy to be sitting. He was getting old now, very old.

"Nothing is ever easy." He started, his voice was soft, smooth, noble. "If it was, life wouldn't be worth living, would it? You need challenge, you need competition." He turned to the young boy and gave him a nod. "I do hope you forgive an old man's rambling, I don't speak to... People much these days."

[Sora-No]

Click here for Character Sheet

    To be honest, Chris had spaced out, thinking back as his broken record of a mind thought back to moments, to questions unanswered, and maybe to new destinations. Different ideas and thoughts moving through his mind, but going nowhere, as he sat at the bench, tapping mindlessly on the arm of the resting spot. It wasn't until the other spoke that he even registered someone was next to him, and proceeded to jump out of his skin.

    He was sitting next to a god.

    Now, while many don't make that deduction very quickly, there were a couple things that he noted right off the bat, firstly being the plague doctor mask, though this one was much more primal in look compared to a normal one, or at least those that he's seen, which isn't many. Or any at all. Hmm. The other part would be his overall... aura? He could call it that, but it's more of a placeholder to compare to the feeling in his gut being around this person. Wait...
    
    This was the god of DEATH

    At what the other said, however, he'd give an awkward chuckle, "Oh, no, you're fine!" He'd give another awkward chuckle, going silent for a second. What does he say around the god of death, of all people? Are gods considered people? Beings? What is it? Focus, it's going silent, Chris. "It's really quiet out tonight."

    If you thought his thoughts were in a million places before, they were much worse now. Why is the god of death here? Why are they just chilling trying to strike up a conversation? What's the deal with the mask? Is he dead? Is he going to die? What is even going on? God, he needs to breathe. This is honestly terrifying for him right about now.

[[God] - Incarnidine]

"The Steppes lives during the day when labour is rife. They work this land and in turn they harvest their life from it and give it out to others. What must that be like, you think?" He turned to look at the boy for a few moments before turning away, looking out into the empty street. "Working your entire life to give away what you create to others for something symbolic? That's all money is, in the end. Although some do still use a bartering system. It's growing rarer now as we rely on coin." His hand flashed and a gold coin appeared between his fingers.

"I wonder if you could answer this question for me. What is this actually worth to you? This coin. To me, it's worthless. It's a pittance compared to what is heaped upon me by others, people giving away what they have in a hope for a blessing that I can only sometimes provide. Further than that, it is worthless for I do not need to pay for things. If I were to walk into a market and take whatever I liked, not a single person would stop me. Not just because of who I am or what I am but what I am capable of. Not a single person in this city currently is capable of killing me. That lends me power."

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and to give Chris some time to gather his own. "Yet I do still pay. Always. In fact, I overpay. I give them more than what it is collectively decided that the item is worth because money is meaningless to me but to another, it's the only thing that truly matters." He put the coin down between them and rested back on the bench, folding his hands on his stomach.

"So I ask you again, my erstwhile friend, what is that coin worth to you? Think about it properly."

[Sora-No]

Click here for Character Sheet

    He'd listen to the other speak, his heart hammering in his chest. They spoke of all of the things that people do with their lives as foreign. Though, that's to be expected. They are the god of death. This isn't something that he could even explain, really. Oh, gods, he's screwed. When the other continued speaking, he'd put his hands in his jacket pockets, focusing on what the other was saying while he focused on the ground.

    Okay, they might know what they're talking about.

    When the other had finished talking, he was startled after the silence by the question. He'd look at the other, then back at the ground, thinking of what he should say. He used money quite a lot, but it wasn't everything to him, was it? Sure, he uses it to sleep in the hotels at night but he doesn't have to do that, he has other options.

    "U-Um..." He stammered out, his mouth suddenly unable to work as his mind was screaming and setting itself on fire. "Well, I think of it as more of a matter of c-convenience." He'd give a pause, before giving an awkward chuckle, starting to almost ramble as he continued on, "L-Like, sure, I use that to sleep in a hotel when I'm going from place to p-place, but I don't have to do that. I have a sleeping bag, I have other means. It's more of whether I want to do something, not that I have to. If I get a job wh-while I'm in a town for a bit, I'll save what I have, because it's for the next adventure. The next destination. Even if I don't have to go, I want to. Until-" He'd cut himself off, going silent.
    
    After a bit longer, he'd give another awkward chuckle, "Sorry, I probably didn't explain tha-that right. It's just how I see it, you know?" He'd give an awkward chuckle, along with a sigh. He probably didn't say it right. Was it some kind of test? Some riddle? Was this the ticket between him living and dying. No, don't be crazy. It's not like that, right? Right? Oh gods he's freaking out internally.

[[God] - Incarnidine]

"So to you, it is a way to live comfortable? It grants you convenience, luxury, pleasure. For many that is the same, for others it is life itself, people unable to buy food normally. I aid such people, as does my Wife. We understand how difficult existence itself can be at times. Trust me for I have seen it since the beginning." He turned to look at Chris and tilted his head to the side as though smiling, his eyes lighting up.

"It is your thoughts, my friend, there was no wrong way to explain them. As the words come to you, you speak them, how can that possibly be wrong? I told you how I see money and you told me how you see it, an exchange of information, opposing views due to different circumstances." He reached up and rubbed the beak of his mask for a moment. "I can tell emotions from a glance you know. There is terror in the way you act and the way you speak. You needn't be afraid. I might be the God of Death but in several ways I am just a man like yourself. I want, I laugh, I cry and I love the Goddess of Life." He chuckled softly and leaned back, seeming to become more relaxed.

"The Gods are kept in checks and balances by one another, those that are evil are held back until they learn, until they understand that without people we can't exist, we aren't rulers, we are Guardians, the ones that watch and protect and care for this world and those that live in it. Some of us may seem to have evil domains, evil personas that we adopt but in the end, this world is what matters to us. I am Death for without it there can be no life, we will strangle each other, choke the world. Sometimes there are species that do not work, oversights that Maisha makes and I must correct them. Checks and balances." He looked up into the sky and closed his eyes.

"Sanguis, the God of Blood.... You'd think that evil, no? He exists as the God of bloodshed and murder as well, at least for some of those that worship him. Yet did you know he will make clothes for any that have need of them? He would not have anyone walk around in rags when he can make something for them that fits perfectly. He cares. What are the Gods to you? I want your opinion, I don't want you to taint what you're saying by what I've said. As I said before, I make mistakes, I have beliefs and opinions."

[Sora-No]

Click here for Character Sheet

    Chris would listen to him, his hands in his pockets as the other kept speaking. His head swam with so many thoughts, it was difficult for him to even pin them down. All he's focusing on at the moment is keeping calm, making sure that his internal panic doesn't go out externally and make things even worse. Though he wouldn't consider this bad in the first place, the god does seem extremely calm.

    He would go silent, an awkward chuckle going out of his mouth when Incardine had finished speaking, having noted his obvious... well, panic. After a short pause, he'd give another awkward chuckle, speaking at a rather fast rate, "S-Sorry. My mind usually takes one thought and just kind of r-runs with it." He'd give another awkward chuckle, "Forever, p-pretty much." He'd scratch the back of his neck then, after another pause, would give yet another awkward chuckle, speaking, "Believe me, it's not just you I'm l-like this with.  Though different circumstances, ob-obv-" He'd give a sigh, re-attempting the previous word, "obviously." He'd give a short huff, leaning back in the chair a bit more, going silent again.

    Would Chris like to be able to talk to more people? Yeah, he would love that? Does he want to constantly fail in an interaction until he eventually gets it right? That's a no from him. And even if his mind is in overdrive with this god right now. He'll just- you know, avoid everyone for the most part. Until he finds a good spot he can stop at.

    When brought with the question, Chris would give a shrug, speaking, his words more falling out of his mouth at high speed more than him actually forming a sentence, "W-Well, I don't really have an opinion on you g-guys." He'd give an awkward laugh, continuing, "L-Like, you guys are people, you guys just have your jobs. I-I c-c-can't." He'd sigh, restarting yet again, "I can't judge you for your jobs, even if my brain is spitting a m-million thoughts about them at once." Huh, like just now. How interesting. He's lost in his own irony.

[[God] - Incarnidine]

"You see it as an occupation? How curious." Incarnidine mused quietly and he fell silent for a while, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. With a soft chuckle, he broke his reverie and nodded to Chris. "There are many that don't see it as such, they see it as Divine Right, that only those pre-ordained can become a God. Some see it as more of a title, something that can be fought or bargained for. In a way, being a God is all of those things but only by virtue of being crafted by the Gods themselves to be that way.

"I always wonder, why was I the first God of Death? I was never given a proper reason, I was never told if I was made to be such a way or if I simply came about when Death became an immutable part of the universe. Am I always to be the God of Death or will someone take my place one day, cut me down and become a Harbinger of the end? Only two people know the answer, one unwilling to tell me, one unable. Is such the same for you? Do you wonder why you exist in your current state, in your current time? Do you think you have some grand destiny in the works or are you simply flowing along the river of life, waiting to see what happens?" Incarnidine seemed genuinely pleased to have someone to actually talk to about some of this. Being honest, it was one of his favourite pass-times. He liked to speak with mortals, they were so varied, so unique, all of them with their own views, their own understanding of life and their place within it. These were the specimens of Maisha's that he admired most, simply because of what they had made of themselves.

[Sora-No]

Click here for Character Sheet

    Chris would listen to Incardine, trying to form his own thoughts on it. He's always just thought it as more of just a job he was given and told to handle. Sure, it's more complicated than that, everything in life is, but at the same time his job is to handle death, the God title is just something tacked on to the side. These are, or were, or still are people? Honestly he doesn't know, he hasn't seen any instance of Incardine in a picture or piece of literature without his mask, so he has no clue, really.

    Oh god the existential questions.

    His nerves are already firing off at the speed of sound, don't go bringing the way his life could be into this. He doesn't know these things. Sure, he'll sit at night sleeplessly attempting to piece it together himself, but he's never put it into words. Oh god how is he going to attempt to word this. He'd take a long silence, his brain blowing alarms off like crazy as he attempted to remain calm around a god of death, along with the existential worth that he's going to have, and have now. He'd take a couple of breaths, then would give an awkward chuckle. He's looking for a response Chris, come on man.

    "Hmm..." he'd go silent once again, returning to talking, his tone still filled with anxiety and the rushed words spewing out of his mouth, with breaths in between and the occasional awkward chuckle, "I've, um, always had that-" a pause, "kind of thought. I think everyone, um, everyone has it. I may know how to do, um, do this and that, but I'm mediocre at best compared to others.

    "I just kind of, um." He'd give another breathy, awkward laugh, "I think of it that destiny is what people use as an excuse for adversity. Destiny is what a, um, a writer will put for a work of fiction." He'd give another laugh, "Everyone follows a um, follows a flow of life. Some flows are like a river, where it leads to the ocean, to a big life or meaning. Some are just the current of a lake, or even to the ocean itself, a part of some-something big but, um, but not knowing it."

    "For me, though..." He'd give a long pause before talking once again, "I think that you're not supposed to know what role you played-" He'd give another pause, attempting to continue the sentence yet again, "until after you're dead."

    He'd give another awkward chuckle, putting his hands in his pocket and going silent. Did he want to know what he was in the world. Would he eventually just be a meaningless nobody lost to time and forever? Will he become someone? Would knowing ruin what makes life life? He didn't know, but all he knew was that he had no clue why he's here now.
    
    Not as in 'why he's been put in this world', no. What he means is why is he here, at this time. Sitting here, talking with the god of death, talking about the ins and outs of life itself, and what his life would be and if it would have any meaning. He doesn't understand why this is happening, or how events led up to this moment. Attempting to wrap his brain around this simple question is giving him immense amounts of anxiety, and he's panicking at where this will end. What made Incardine, the literal god of death, come and sit on a bench directly next to Chris, and begin conversing like two friends, staring at the stars and talking about the affect their life will have in the vastness of the universe itself.

    He's only seventeen, he can't answer shit like this.

[[God] - Incarnidine]

"You have an interesting view point, my friend. It's always refreshing to hear what people like you have to say. As people get older, they get more stuck in their ways, they refuse to believe anything else... I think that's dangerous. Despite my age, I always try and learn from those younger than me, the world is constantly changing and I won't be left behind. You however sound unsure." Incarnidine got to his feet and looked around for a few moments before turning around to look at the young boy and give him a nod.

"However, it is better to be unsure than to lie. You should think and decide on where your stream will take you because although everyone is a stream or part of a river... The paths of such can always be changed, by an alteration outside of our control or by putting down a block to forcibly change where the river will lead. Don't think too hard on it, you have a lot of years yet. Perhaps in a few decades we'll have another talk and you can tell me what you think then and how much you've grown. If I'm still around that is, perhaps you'll be the one to come take my divinity off of me, hm?" He seemed to find that amusing, his eyes twinkling behind his mask. He let out a soft laugh and then turned to start walking away.

"You're doing just fine, keep walking your path and don't be afraid to talk to people. Words can bring opportunities." He said before his wings extended with a loud 'whump'. The black pinions shifted for a moment before flapping and sending him off into the sky, his hands in his pockets.