Post by Pocono Pariah on Apr 9, 2013 18:06:04 GMT -5
The heat and smell of the charcoal stuck to his nostrils, the orders were simple enough for him. Rather, they were more simple, he was to murder a witch and need not worry about framing it upon another man. It was cold and quick, the catch was that this witch was inside a temple filled with other witches. The information told him that they worshiped a snake goddess and all were female within the temple, but the outside was guarded by a few men. That was not the problem, getting in without any magical barriers being broken or tripped would be his true feat in all of this.
Shifting his weight back to lay his spine against the cold stone, a stone gargoyle over his head had it's wings spread wide to cover him from the rain. The two eyes hidden underneath the cloak watched as the guard was being switched out for the midnight shift for the temple. The building he was perched upon was a church long abandoned for the slumber of a warm bed and glass of milk. Slowly standing, he surveyed the building he was about to infiltrate.
The building was five stories high, adjoined to a cliff, and beyond the outskirts of town. Shifting the glass lenses within the telescope, he began to look through the outside of the building. The walls were made of carved stone much like the pyramids of Egypt, but these stones were of a reddish brown and some even contained splashes of white. The guard count was only ten, but he need not worry about them for long, scaling down the church, he began to think.
The black cloak he wore soon grew tight and horribly cold as he walked in the utter downpour. The shadows covered him as he shifted from building to building, eyes locked on the target that was so far away in this horrid cold rain. Stopping just before the crest of the hill, he found his body against the grass as he pulled the small telescope from his belt, looking once more upon the guards and how they patrolled the temple. He couldn't help but snort, thinking of the conversation that had happened five days ago.
"Goddess upon the Earth? We shall see this witch Goddess." He spat out lowly from his thin lips as he slithered his way through the shadows and the grass, coming unnoticed by the guards. Getting inside was not a problem, his body hugged the walls and shadows like a lover upon a cold day. Shifting against a stone beam, he watched as two women turned a corner and began down the hall he was in. Climbing up, he found his back against the ceiling as he watched and listened to their conversation.
Picking up various things, he found that the 'oracle' or 'Goddess' was in her conclave, alone. His face was emotionless as he dropped down after their passing, sifting through the layers of the building until he found a spiral staircase. It went down instead of up, meaning there was more floors to this temple. Following the stairs quickly, he was spat out at the end of the case into a single line of a hallway. The smell of perfume and incense rocked his nostrils as his fingers playfully touched the hilts to his swords.
Taking steps slowly to be quiet, his boots threatened to click upon the stone as he watched the walls, waiting for some type of trap.
The Oracle, the Goddess of Light, and the one that most sought out for council was draped in her newest gift, a dress of silk. Her porcelain fair skin was seen through the flimsy garment, and gave off the appearance of mist around her slender body.
She reached out before her, lighting a wall of candles one by one. Each was white but gave off it's own scent which dance at her finger tips with smoke of blue, purple, and black shades of color. Soft pink lips pulled back in a sweet smile as her eyes, deep and bright as shallow ocean waters, flickered to each candle wick.
Lady Evangeline was many things, except three. She was not a mother. She was not a wielder of Evil doing, and she was not human. Lady Evangeline, the Oracle of Good, was a false Albino Gorgon of the Viper breed.
She had scales like sharpened pearls that perked like goosebumps across her shoulders and down her spine. Few dotted her stomach, circling her belly button. These scales grew in length and size as they carassed her rump and expand into a full serpents body. Lady Evangeline had no legs, but the continuation of a snakes tail. She was massivly long, but still graceful as she slither across the cool white marble floor.
Whispers and hisses echoed around the room, parting from the lips of three snakes, Eva, Angel, and Lin. These serpants were regular albino vipers, attached to Evangeline's scalpe. They did not speak, but hung from her head in unison, swaying back and forth as their owner moved.
Now that the Lady was alone, she sighed a soft breath of relief, for she was always content with herself and prefered her privacy.
The snake on the left side of her head, Eva, suddenly barred her fangs in a hidious hiss. She sticked at the candles, snapping her jaws and expanding her fangs.
"C'mon now Eva..." The Oracle spoke quickly until she followed the gaze of her hair. One of the candle had flickered out and within the smoke a figure moved as if stalking. "Hmm..." She mused quietly. "We have a visitor..."
The cloak flickered behind him as he entered the room, his body curved with the shadows as he watched the woman from behind. His eyes snapped towards the candles being lit, knowing full well that was something no ordinary person could perform, but when the woman began to move made his eyes shudder. The white of her scales shimmered brightly with the candles' flames, the smell of the perfumes rising up danced with his nostrils as his eyes followed her. The hands upon the dual hilts were white knuckled as he went over the misinformation of his mission. Someone was going to die.
Just as he was about to move, a few people came in, and a conversation erupted, this gave him time to think and to listen to the situation. Narrowing those eyes against her flesh, he noted the long serpents rising from her scalp. 'She has to be at least four to five hundred years old…' His mind was burning, she was no ordinary creature let alone a miserly witch.
Suddenly one of the serpents reared up and struck, a violent hiss escaping her maw as he had been made. The sound of her voice uttering his make was further proof, his spine pressed against the stone still. Burning, his brain flitted away as he closed his eyes and stepped out from the shadows, his hands still upon the hilts underneath his tattered black cloak.
Shifting his weight, the man took three steps towards the serpent who had found him, and showed his two leather clad hands to the snake. His fingers were pressed together, palm facing the serpent to show that nothing was in his hands.
Two of Lady Evangeline's snakes hissed and snapped at the intruder, but Angel, the longest snake that grew from the back of her mistress's head arched curiously much like a scorpion's tail. The Oracle examined the gorgon before her.
"It has been many years since I've seen another of our species," she spoke slowly. She slithered gracefully, pulling her body around herself so it wasn't stretched across the room, exposed as it was. She ran her hands over her hips, straightening her silk as if she was making herself look appropriate for a king.
"You come to my sanctuary bearing weapons...I'm sure you've not requested an audience with me to seek out advise..." She mused quietly, putting her hands together. "So, I'm left with a curious thought as to why you've slipped in, unnoticed, young gorgon." She questioned, though her icy blue eyes flickered now and then to his attire and weaponry. Lin spat at the male.
The man watched carefully at the serpents hissing, snapping, and rearing at him. The movement, the twitch of muscle, everything was noticed for his survival. Then his ears snapped to her attention fully as she began to speak and curl herself up defensively, and yet she was fixing her clothing as if he were something to be presentable to.
His hands were still within the air before him, fingers now curling as they disappeared once more underneath the cloak that was around his body, the hood shadowing his face as he watched her. The one thing that irked him, was the serpent who spat at him, thank god it wasn't a spitting cobra. Shifting his weight, he began to take the cloak from his body to fully show the dual hook swords at his waist.
His top was a simple white cotton long sleeved shirt with white strings tieing the cut 'v' upon the chest together. The assassin's lower half held knee high riding boots with gray cotton pants tucked into the brown boots. The black gloves upon his hands curled the cloak to a pinched pile upon the floor as his eyes shifted to her. Upon his left side was a massive amount of fabric, layers of lace, scales, and feathers wrapping from his left hip to run down to his right ankle then cutting back up to his left hip once more.
The wrap on his right side was clearly something to conceal various things, but large belt over this holstered his two swords. The serpents coming from his head were wrapped into a massive braid, giving the illusion of a hood to his neck. His flesh was a dark brown as the serpents turned a midnight black, but his eyes were the only bright thing upon him. The gorgon's eyes were at first dark as brown, but began to fade to an amber around the slit pupil.
The sounds of hissing exploded from behind him as the cobras that were his hair saw the light and heard the other hissing. They themselves began to untwine to look at the vipers who were baring themselves against their counterpart. Their stomachs compressed as their hoods stretched out as they hissed back, the eyes starting at the large three. The 'young' gorgon looked at the female target, not her serpents, and slowly closed his eyes as he swept into a bow for the woman.
"Forgive me." It was said low and quiet, much like his footsteps, it was something you barely ever heard.
The Oracle waved a hand, "nonsense. Forgive me, for I had spoke without manners." She cleared her throat, brushing her three snakes down as they quieted. "I am the Northern Oracle, the Witch of Light, and the false albino," she herself tilted her head downward. It wasn't quiet a bow, but it was enough to show the correct amount of respect.
"My name is Lady Evangeline, what may I do for you?" She questioned, for no one came to her without a question. It became tiresome at times, but that was her purpose. As an Oracle, she was a source of wisdom that offered counsel or on rare cases, prophetic predictions and precognition of the future, though she wasn't so generous with the information. "You slipped threw my guards and climbed my towers instead of seeking an audience with me, you must be seeking something important, Sir....?" She raised a brow, curious to her fellow serpents name.
To most creatures, eye contact was a showing of disrespect, but to snakes that was the exact opposite. One who keeps their eyes locked are showing respect, looking away was rather distasteful. He found himself enraptured by her blue eyes with her pearl white skin, it certainly was something unearthly to look upon. His ears pricked as he listened to her words, cooing her serpents, and finally hinting at him to reveal his name.
Placing his arms behind his back much like that of a soldier at attention, he was petting the one large cobra who kept itself coiled around his back protectively. Clearing his throat, he tilted his head to look at her from an angle, "M'lady Evangeline, no need to heed such manners when they've been broken by someone else." His one hand appeared as he motioned to the air around him. "Misconceptions are high lately it seems." Adrestos's hand rested on the one hilt as he cocked the hilt forward to have the blade sink back behind him.
"Plainly, I was sent here to kill you, but I have no such intentions now, and you have no reason to believe me other than the fact of how my mother brought me up. After all, she didn't eat him after starving herself for ninety days." He spoke out and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of what to say. Sighing, his other hand appeared, counting for some odd reason. "…It seems I've fallen into a trap with M'lady, I do hope that this deception does not run towards my head coming off," His eyes opened to look upon her once more, his cobras were braided behind him at this point.
"If it helps thee," He spun his wrist and bowed once more, "I give thee the most prized thing upon my frame, my name is Adrastos Lot of the Stheno clan." For an assassin to give up his name, was truly a disadvantage for the murderer.
The Oracles lips seemed to pout slightly, "misconceptions?" She mused quietly, listening to his words intently. With his old intention revealed, Eva, Angel, and Lin began to hiss once more, arching protectively over their fair lady. "Quiet my pets," She said sweetly, trying to stroke down her violent hair. Evangeline had no ability to turn other to stone, but her three snakes could if they agreed on the action. To irritate Eva was easy, to anger Lin was rare, and Angel never showed a violent temper. However, when their lady was threatened, all three began to snap violently, no doubt angered at the thought of their host slayed.
She broke eye contact with the Cobra, turning her back on the would-be assassin to assess her thoughts. Her snakes kept their eyes on their prey, threatening a life of stone if the male took another advancing step. The Viper touched her lips, listening to his final words.
"I don't have any inclination to remove your head from your shoulders, for you've not fulfilled your purpose and are clearly innocent. However, I am shaken with the idea of my death, and that others have willed it to be so soon." She chewed on her bottom lip and turned toward her would-be murderer. "I am honored that you have spared my life and revealed your name, Adrastos Lot of the Stheno Clan. You seem to be highly trained and talented....at what you do." She finished, folding her arms as if she had become cold. "My vision's of late have been of nothing but blood shed and murder...and only of our kind, all mythical creatures of the like. Perhaps I am not the only one favored by the knife." She spoke slowly to herself.
Indeed her words of her visions were true, he had slain quite a few higher ups in the past couple of months, to name a few were a gargoyle, a werewolf, and even a vampire. The gorgon was now tapping the pointed hilt with his index finger, thinking of what had happened and what may come to be, when Evangeline turned around, she found that Asdrastos and his cloak were gone without a sound, but his voice rose within the chambers.
"M'lady, m'lady….Everyone will eventually die, even if they have their immortality… I would no doubt a few of your visions were of my handiwork." There was no sense of pride in his words, but his voice was running around the room as if he were jumping from one location to the next.
The Oracle was not amused. "You do not have to hide from me young gorgon," she said firmly, the tip of her tail twitching slightly in irritation. "You have an interesting talent...throwing your voice. But there are no secrets here in this chamber. There is no need for you to be stalking about," her eyes narrowed, her three serpent's hissed, scanning the room for the owner of the voice. "Do I have reason to believe your words were false? That you..."
The lady-gorgon stopped mid-sentence. She became very still and her eyes seemed to unfocus as if she were deep in thought and out of body. Angel arched over her master's head protectively while Eva and Lin hissed, swaying back and forth as if guarding an unsuspecting victim. The Oracle was silent as she watched the events unfold in his mind's eye.
In the vision, she saw her temple ablaze. Fire licked the sky as it hungrily devoured her sanctuary. Servants, Lords, and Ladies scream in agony as their trapped bodies burned. Guards gagged on the smoke that was from the bodies, roasting in their heavy armor. The night was bright with flames and revealed four horsemen that galloped away urgently.
And then her spirit seemed to return to the chamber.
The assassin was upon his perch, watching the woman begin to doubt and grow a nervous tone as she began to rethink his words and actions. Smiling underneath his hood, he loved to play the coy little voice and how well he threw it made it truly sound like he was there instead of here. Shifting his body slightly, his eyes opened wide as the woman stopped dead, her serpents protecting her rightfully as it seemed she zoned out.
Clicking his tongue upon the roof of his mouth, his eyes narrowed as she seemed to tremor and finally return to her senses. "…Something horrid I would take," He mused darkly as he began to pull out a piece of parchment from his body, rifling through the names. "M'lady, no disrespect, but I find being out in the open rather… unnerving."
Evangeline quickly slithered from her spot, approaching the door. As his voice carried from the room, she paused, hand hovering over the handle. "Yes...something horrid this way comes..." she whispered. She understood his uneasiness and his willingness to hide. Had she not locked herself away in this very tower for a great majority of her life? She spoke clearly, as if she was trying to remind herself.
"As an Oracle, I often see events, past, present, and future...but I never speak of them, nor do I alter the events myself..." She folded her arms, turning her head to look around the seemingly empty room with her deep ocean eyes. She brushed her hands over her arms where her pearl like scales seemed to lift up in a chill. "I see my home, here, burning to the ground with no survivors...except for four horsemen that gallop away towards the Southern cities," she explained. "I can not simply let these people who have worshiped me die."
When the woman turned around once more to look at the room, Lot was standing in the center. His hands were on the hilts, a common habit he took up as he listened to her speak. "…Four horsemen you say?" He hissed lowly, "Does one rider have an arm missing? Another an eye patch upon his brow? The third seemingly mangy, as the last looks ready to die?" The gorgon then began walking towards the Oracle with a rather steady pace.
"You may choose to ignore your predictions, but I for one, am leaving before this temple lights like a candle, I have no use of my hide burning."
The woman curled up defensively once more as he approached, her eyes narrowing. "I did not see the riders well, for they were cloaked and most visions are cloudy with black mist, let alone this one with it's smoke." Angel curled around her owners shoulders as if shielding and comforting while Eva and Lin arched high, eyeing the gorgon.
"Very well Lord Lot," she spoke quickly. "However, to prove of my death..." she revealed a dagger of her own and grasped the silver blade within her fist. She sliced her palm, and her crimson blood dropped like rubies. Then, she took the sleeve of her new silk, soaked it in her blood, and tore it from her arm. She offered the torn and bloodied garment towards the assassin.
"To prove your mission went as planned..." She mused quietly. "I hope you leave the way you came, and you keep your blades clean of my people..."
The gorgon grimaced as he saw her slice herself open to bleed upon a dress that would cost him a head or two. Without a second look to her, now his eyes avoided her completely as his hand took the garment and he kept walking. The bloodied fabric was stored in one of the many pockets as he pulled the two hook swords from his belt and spun them twice around.
Pushing the door open, he began a rampage through the temple, slashing and cutting at what he could. He would aim at the people within a hair's breath, most were cut or punched, but no one was mortally wounded as he became a ravager through the temple. 'Keep your blades clean of my people…' He thought as he smashed stone, the snakes upon his back were beginning to get aggravated with the thoughts burning through their master's mind.
Shifting his weight back to lay his spine against the cold stone, a stone gargoyle over his head had it's wings spread wide to cover him from the rain. The two eyes hidden underneath the cloak watched as the guard was being switched out for the midnight shift for the temple. The building he was perched upon was a church long abandoned for the slumber of a warm bed and glass of milk. Slowly standing, he surveyed the building he was about to infiltrate.
The building was five stories high, adjoined to a cliff, and beyond the outskirts of town. Shifting the glass lenses within the telescope, he began to look through the outside of the building. The walls were made of carved stone much like the pyramids of Egypt, but these stones were of a reddish brown and some even contained splashes of white. The guard count was only ten, but he need not worry about them for long, scaling down the church, he began to think.
The black cloak he wore soon grew tight and horribly cold as he walked in the utter downpour. The shadows covered him as he shifted from building to building, eyes locked on the target that was so far away in this horrid cold rain. Stopping just before the crest of the hill, he found his body against the grass as he pulled the small telescope from his belt, looking once more upon the guards and how they patrolled the temple. He couldn't help but snort, thinking of the conversation that had happened five days ago.
"Goddess upon the Earth? We shall see this witch Goddess." He spat out lowly from his thin lips as he slithered his way through the shadows and the grass, coming unnoticed by the guards. Getting inside was not a problem, his body hugged the walls and shadows like a lover upon a cold day. Shifting against a stone beam, he watched as two women turned a corner and began down the hall he was in. Climbing up, he found his back against the ceiling as he watched and listened to their conversation.
Picking up various things, he found that the 'oracle' or 'Goddess' was in her conclave, alone. His face was emotionless as he dropped down after their passing, sifting through the layers of the building until he found a spiral staircase. It went down instead of up, meaning there was more floors to this temple. Following the stairs quickly, he was spat out at the end of the case into a single line of a hallway. The smell of perfume and incense rocked his nostrils as his fingers playfully touched the hilts to his swords.
Taking steps slowly to be quiet, his boots threatened to click upon the stone as he watched the walls, waiting for some type of trap.
The Oracle, the Goddess of Light, and the one that most sought out for council was draped in her newest gift, a dress of silk. Her porcelain fair skin was seen through the flimsy garment, and gave off the appearance of mist around her slender body.
She reached out before her, lighting a wall of candles one by one. Each was white but gave off it's own scent which dance at her finger tips with smoke of blue, purple, and black shades of color. Soft pink lips pulled back in a sweet smile as her eyes, deep and bright as shallow ocean waters, flickered to each candle wick.
Lady Evangeline was many things, except three. She was not a mother. She was not a wielder of Evil doing, and she was not human. Lady Evangeline, the Oracle of Good, was a false Albino Gorgon of the Viper breed.
She had scales like sharpened pearls that perked like goosebumps across her shoulders and down her spine. Few dotted her stomach, circling her belly button. These scales grew in length and size as they carassed her rump and expand into a full serpents body. Lady Evangeline had no legs, but the continuation of a snakes tail. She was massivly long, but still graceful as she slither across the cool white marble floor.
Whispers and hisses echoed around the room, parting from the lips of three snakes, Eva, Angel, and Lin. These serpants were regular albino vipers, attached to Evangeline's scalpe. They did not speak, but hung from her head in unison, swaying back and forth as their owner moved.
Now that the Lady was alone, she sighed a soft breath of relief, for she was always content with herself and prefered her privacy.
The snake on the left side of her head, Eva, suddenly barred her fangs in a hidious hiss. She sticked at the candles, snapping her jaws and expanding her fangs.
"C'mon now Eva..." The Oracle spoke quickly until she followed the gaze of her hair. One of the candle had flickered out and within the smoke a figure moved as if stalking. "Hmm..." She mused quietly. "We have a visitor..."
The cloak flickered behind him as he entered the room, his body curved with the shadows as he watched the woman from behind. His eyes snapped towards the candles being lit, knowing full well that was something no ordinary person could perform, but when the woman began to move made his eyes shudder. The white of her scales shimmered brightly with the candles' flames, the smell of the perfumes rising up danced with his nostrils as his eyes followed her. The hands upon the dual hilts were white knuckled as he went over the misinformation of his mission. Someone was going to die.
Just as he was about to move, a few people came in, and a conversation erupted, this gave him time to think and to listen to the situation. Narrowing those eyes against her flesh, he noted the long serpents rising from her scalp. 'She has to be at least four to five hundred years old…' His mind was burning, she was no ordinary creature let alone a miserly witch.
Suddenly one of the serpents reared up and struck, a violent hiss escaping her maw as he had been made. The sound of her voice uttering his make was further proof, his spine pressed against the stone still. Burning, his brain flitted away as he closed his eyes and stepped out from the shadows, his hands still upon the hilts underneath his tattered black cloak.
Shifting his weight, the man took three steps towards the serpent who had found him, and showed his two leather clad hands to the snake. His fingers were pressed together, palm facing the serpent to show that nothing was in his hands.
Two of Lady Evangeline's snakes hissed and snapped at the intruder, but Angel, the longest snake that grew from the back of her mistress's head arched curiously much like a scorpion's tail. The Oracle examined the gorgon before her.
"It has been many years since I've seen another of our species," she spoke slowly. She slithered gracefully, pulling her body around herself so it wasn't stretched across the room, exposed as it was. She ran her hands over her hips, straightening her silk as if she was making herself look appropriate for a king.
"You come to my sanctuary bearing weapons...I'm sure you've not requested an audience with me to seek out advise..." She mused quietly, putting her hands together. "So, I'm left with a curious thought as to why you've slipped in, unnoticed, young gorgon." She questioned, though her icy blue eyes flickered now and then to his attire and weaponry. Lin spat at the male.
The man watched carefully at the serpents hissing, snapping, and rearing at him. The movement, the twitch of muscle, everything was noticed for his survival. Then his ears snapped to her attention fully as she began to speak and curl herself up defensively, and yet she was fixing her clothing as if he were something to be presentable to.
His hands were still within the air before him, fingers now curling as they disappeared once more underneath the cloak that was around his body, the hood shadowing his face as he watched her. The one thing that irked him, was the serpent who spat at him, thank god it wasn't a spitting cobra. Shifting his weight, he began to take the cloak from his body to fully show the dual hook swords at his waist.
His top was a simple white cotton long sleeved shirt with white strings tieing the cut 'v' upon the chest together. The assassin's lower half held knee high riding boots with gray cotton pants tucked into the brown boots. The black gloves upon his hands curled the cloak to a pinched pile upon the floor as his eyes shifted to her. Upon his left side was a massive amount of fabric, layers of lace, scales, and feathers wrapping from his left hip to run down to his right ankle then cutting back up to his left hip once more.
The wrap on his right side was clearly something to conceal various things, but large belt over this holstered his two swords. The serpents coming from his head were wrapped into a massive braid, giving the illusion of a hood to his neck. His flesh was a dark brown as the serpents turned a midnight black, but his eyes were the only bright thing upon him. The gorgon's eyes were at first dark as brown, but began to fade to an amber around the slit pupil.
The sounds of hissing exploded from behind him as the cobras that were his hair saw the light and heard the other hissing. They themselves began to untwine to look at the vipers who were baring themselves against their counterpart. Their stomachs compressed as their hoods stretched out as they hissed back, the eyes starting at the large three. The 'young' gorgon looked at the female target, not her serpents, and slowly closed his eyes as he swept into a bow for the woman.
"Forgive me." It was said low and quiet, much like his footsteps, it was something you barely ever heard.
The Oracle waved a hand, "nonsense. Forgive me, for I had spoke without manners." She cleared her throat, brushing her three snakes down as they quieted. "I am the Northern Oracle, the Witch of Light, and the false albino," she herself tilted her head downward. It wasn't quiet a bow, but it was enough to show the correct amount of respect.
"My name is Lady Evangeline, what may I do for you?" She questioned, for no one came to her without a question. It became tiresome at times, but that was her purpose. As an Oracle, she was a source of wisdom that offered counsel or on rare cases, prophetic predictions and precognition of the future, though she wasn't so generous with the information. "You slipped threw my guards and climbed my towers instead of seeking an audience with me, you must be seeking something important, Sir....?" She raised a brow, curious to her fellow serpents name.
To most creatures, eye contact was a showing of disrespect, but to snakes that was the exact opposite. One who keeps their eyes locked are showing respect, looking away was rather distasteful. He found himself enraptured by her blue eyes with her pearl white skin, it certainly was something unearthly to look upon. His ears pricked as he listened to her words, cooing her serpents, and finally hinting at him to reveal his name.
Placing his arms behind his back much like that of a soldier at attention, he was petting the one large cobra who kept itself coiled around his back protectively. Clearing his throat, he tilted his head to look at her from an angle, "M'lady Evangeline, no need to heed such manners when they've been broken by someone else." His one hand appeared as he motioned to the air around him. "Misconceptions are high lately it seems." Adrestos's hand rested on the one hilt as he cocked the hilt forward to have the blade sink back behind him.
"Plainly, I was sent here to kill you, but I have no such intentions now, and you have no reason to believe me other than the fact of how my mother brought me up. After all, she didn't eat him after starving herself for ninety days." He spoke out and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of what to say. Sighing, his other hand appeared, counting for some odd reason. "…It seems I've fallen into a trap with M'lady, I do hope that this deception does not run towards my head coming off," His eyes opened to look upon her once more, his cobras were braided behind him at this point.
"If it helps thee," He spun his wrist and bowed once more, "I give thee the most prized thing upon my frame, my name is Adrastos Lot of the Stheno clan." For an assassin to give up his name, was truly a disadvantage for the murderer.
The Oracles lips seemed to pout slightly, "misconceptions?" She mused quietly, listening to his words intently. With his old intention revealed, Eva, Angel, and Lin began to hiss once more, arching protectively over their fair lady. "Quiet my pets," She said sweetly, trying to stroke down her violent hair. Evangeline had no ability to turn other to stone, but her three snakes could if they agreed on the action. To irritate Eva was easy, to anger Lin was rare, and Angel never showed a violent temper. However, when their lady was threatened, all three began to snap violently, no doubt angered at the thought of their host slayed.
She broke eye contact with the Cobra, turning her back on the would-be assassin to assess her thoughts. Her snakes kept their eyes on their prey, threatening a life of stone if the male took another advancing step. The Viper touched her lips, listening to his final words.
"I don't have any inclination to remove your head from your shoulders, for you've not fulfilled your purpose and are clearly innocent. However, I am shaken with the idea of my death, and that others have willed it to be so soon." She chewed on her bottom lip and turned toward her would-be murderer. "I am honored that you have spared my life and revealed your name, Adrastos Lot of the Stheno Clan. You seem to be highly trained and talented....at what you do." She finished, folding her arms as if she had become cold. "My vision's of late have been of nothing but blood shed and murder...and only of our kind, all mythical creatures of the like. Perhaps I am not the only one favored by the knife." She spoke slowly to herself.
Indeed her words of her visions were true, he had slain quite a few higher ups in the past couple of months, to name a few were a gargoyle, a werewolf, and even a vampire. The gorgon was now tapping the pointed hilt with his index finger, thinking of what had happened and what may come to be, when Evangeline turned around, she found that Asdrastos and his cloak were gone without a sound, but his voice rose within the chambers.
"M'lady, m'lady….Everyone will eventually die, even if they have their immortality… I would no doubt a few of your visions were of my handiwork." There was no sense of pride in his words, but his voice was running around the room as if he were jumping from one location to the next.
The Oracle was not amused. "You do not have to hide from me young gorgon," she said firmly, the tip of her tail twitching slightly in irritation. "You have an interesting talent...throwing your voice. But there are no secrets here in this chamber. There is no need for you to be stalking about," her eyes narrowed, her three serpent's hissed, scanning the room for the owner of the voice. "Do I have reason to believe your words were false? That you..."
The lady-gorgon stopped mid-sentence. She became very still and her eyes seemed to unfocus as if she were deep in thought and out of body. Angel arched over her master's head protectively while Eva and Lin hissed, swaying back and forth as if guarding an unsuspecting victim. The Oracle was silent as she watched the events unfold in his mind's eye.
In the vision, she saw her temple ablaze. Fire licked the sky as it hungrily devoured her sanctuary. Servants, Lords, and Ladies scream in agony as their trapped bodies burned. Guards gagged on the smoke that was from the bodies, roasting in their heavy armor. The night was bright with flames and revealed four horsemen that galloped away urgently.
And then her spirit seemed to return to the chamber.
The assassin was upon his perch, watching the woman begin to doubt and grow a nervous tone as she began to rethink his words and actions. Smiling underneath his hood, he loved to play the coy little voice and how well he threw it made it truly sound like he was there instead of here. Shifting his body slightly, his eyes opened wide as the woman stopped dead, her serpents protecting her rightfully as it seemed she zoned out.
Clicking his tongue upon the roof of his mouth, his eyes narrowed as she seemed to tremor and finally return to her senses. "…Something horrid I would take," He mused darkly as he began to pull out a piece of parchment from his body, rifling through the names. "M'lady, no disrespect, but I find being out in the open rather… unnerving."
Evangeline quickly slithered from her spot, approaching the door. As his voice carried from the room, she paused, hand hovering over the handle. "Yes...something horrid this way comes..." she whispered. She understood his uneasiness and his willingness to hide. Had she not locked herself away in this very tower for a great majority of her life? She spoke clearly, as if she was trying to remind herself.
"As an Oracle, I often see events, past, present, and future...but I never speak of them, nor do I alter the events myself..." She folded her arms, turning her head to look around the seemingly empty room with her deep ocean eyes. She brushed her hands over her arms where her pearl like scales seemed to lift up in a chill. "I see my home, here, burning to the ground with no survivors...except for four horsemen that gallop away towards the Southern cities," she explained. "I can not simply let these people who have worshiped me die."
When the woman turned around once more to look at the room, Lot was standing in the center. His hands were on the hilts, a common habit he took up as he listened to her speak. "…Four horsemen you say?" He hissed lowly, "Does one rider have an arm missing? Another an eye patch upon his brow? The third seemingly mangy, as the last looks ready to die?" The gorgon then began walking towards the Oracle with a rather steady pace.
"You may choose to ignore your predictions, but I for one, am leaving before this temple lights like a candle, I have no use of my hide burning."
The woman curled up defensively once more as he approached, her eyes narrowing. "I did not see the riders well, for they were cloaked and most visions are cloudy with black mist, let alone this one with it's smoke." Angel curled around her owners shoulders as if shielding and comforting while Eva and Lin arched high, eyeing the gorgon.
"Very well Lord Lot," she spoke quickly. "However, to prove of my death..." she revealed a dagger of her own and grasped the silver blade within her fist. She sliced her palm, and her crimson blood dropped like rubies. Then, she took the sleeve of her new silk, soaked it in her blood, and tore it from her arm. She offered the torn and bloodied garment towards the assassin.
"To prove your mission went as planned..." She mused quietly. "I hope you leave the way you came, and you keep your blades clean of my people..."
The gorgon grimaced as he saw her slice herself open to bleed upon a dress that would cost him a head or two. Without a second look to her, now his eyes avoided her completely as his hand took the garment and he kept walking. The bloodied fabric was stored in one of the many pockets as he pulled the two hook swords from his belt and spun them twice around.
Pushing the door open, he began a rampage through the temple, slashing and cutting at what he could. He would aim at the people within a hair's breath, most were cut or punched, but no one was mortally wounded as he became a ravager through the temple. 'Keep your blades clean of my people…' He thought as he smashed stone, the snakes upon his back were beginning to get aggravated with the thoughts burning through their master's mind.
