The world around Zuriel dropped away, expanding into streaks of light that drew lines across his vision. He had the curious sense of falling upward, and then there was no sense of direction or time's passage. He held his breath, frozen between the strands of a tapestry of light that danced before his eyes as they wove themselves together to resolve into the pure white snowdrifts surrounding the Eternal City.

As before, Zuriel stood before the Dawn Gate, one of the twelve entrances to the city. The rosy marble of the wall surrounding the city emanated ribbons of irridescent energy that arced high into the heavens, forming a perfectly spherical dome encompassing the entirety of the holy metropolis. As Zuriel approached astride Shahara, the auroral shield shimmered and ghosted, changing hues from green to deep purple to blood red and back.

The hulking angelic guardian stood aside as Zuriel drew near, nodding in silent greeting as the paladin passed the wards that prevented the entry of non-Celestials. Once through the gate, the city proper sprawled out before him.

The Eternal City was a perfect circle, with twelve wide avenues leading from each of the gates towards the central plaza. Adjacent to the avenues were clusters of buildings, spires of the same rosy marble that rose in height the closer the towers were to the city center. Though the avenues boasted burbling fountains and pleasant beds of flowers and a strange gold-leafed tree that seemed to radiate its own light, most of the city seemed to be far above street level.

Each spire was ringed with wide balconies leading to airy rooms within the towers, between which flitted clouds of winged beings. Zuriel spared a longing glance upwards, wishing he could join his people in the skies. Walkways connected many of the larger buildings, though they seemed to serve exclusively as planters for more of the luminescent trees. The tallest towers towards the city center were ringed with entire gardens rivaling anything to be found at the ground level.

No building, however, could rival the majesty of the Spire of Light. Jutting up from the exact center of the city, the massive tower was the focus of the entire city, like the hub of a wheel. Rosy marble gleamed with a pearlescent glow that reflected and amplifie all the light around it. Gilded ivy crawled the hundreds of feet up the side, and given the golden trees, Zuriel wasn't quite sure whether they were living plants or flawlessly worked metal. As impressive an edifice as the Spire was, it was the massive hourglass crowning the top that took Zuriel's breath away. Easily the size of a small cottage, the golden frame holding the hourglass was an extention of the tower below. Within the frame, the twin globes of the hourglass were held suspended. A prismatic stream of sand trickled down from the upper globe to the lower, sparkling blindingly as it fell. From anywhere in the city, a citizen need only lift their gaze upwards to behold the Sands of Time.

It was this Spire that Zuriel and Shahara marched towards, intent on the Eternal Council that resided within.

Dismounting lightly from Shahara, Zuriel strode up the wide marble steps leading to the enormous golden door that served as the single entrance to the Spire of Light. Idly, he wondered how often the steps had actually seen use.

Upon reaching the doors themselves, Zuriel pressed a hand lightly against its warm metal surface, and waited.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:05, Fri 10 Apr 2015.

In reply to Zuriel Silendril (msg # 2):

The paladin needn't wait long. No sooner had he pressed his hand against the surface than the panel slid silently to one side, allowing access to a spire's staircase.

The door slides shut behind him, and a celestial clad in a ceremonial tunic approaches him, a sheaf of papers cradled in one arm and a curious look etched upon his features.

"Welcome, citizen," he says, the phrase sounding more like a question than a statement of fact. "I am the clerk of the court today. What business would you bring before the Council?"

Zuriel gives the clerk a short bow. "I am here to report on my Council-given Duty," he replies solemnly, "And awaken the Goddess of Light from her slumber."

In reply to Zuriel Silendril (msg # 4):

If the clerk is taken aback by this statement, he masks it well.

"Very good," he says, jotting something down in his papers. "This way, please."

A grueling climb (or an easy flight, for the clerk) later, Zuriel emerges in the plush waiting area where appellants are held until their turn before the Council arrives.

"You will be summoned at the appointed time," the clerk says before flitting away.

The chamber is not public; rather it is one of dozens of smaller, private rooms populating this floor of the spire. Zuriel finds himself rather enjoying the accommodations, which include an elegant tea set, a small fire, an armchair, a bookshelf, and -- somewhat alarmingly -- a daybed, wash basin, and chamber pot.

Some guests, it seems, are made to wait longer than others.

Zuriel's summons does not come in the next five minutes, nor in the next hour, and he has plenty of time to poke around.

Zuriel's lips tugged into a slight grin as he recognized that however hopelessly beautiful the angelic beings appeared, they did, in fact, still poop.

He settled down to await the summons, idly reaching out with his mind to touch Shahara's comforting consciousness. Though anxious to begin his task in earnest and keenly aware that any delay in the heavens was magnified on Prime, he couldn't help but to relax and enjoy the amenities of the chamber. The bookshelf in particular caught his interest, for he had never before seen anything but religious iconography written in Celestial.

He settled down with tea and a small pile of books to flip through, outwardly composed but for the tapping of his foot that betrayed his restless energy.

In reply to Zuriel Silendril (msg # 6):

After far longer than Zuriel anticipated, the door to his room simply opens. He pokes his head out, and notes that the large double doors in the center of the hallway are likewise open. Gathering himself, the paladin heads toward the opening and into the Eternal Council's presence.

"Greetings, citizen," one of the Counselors says when Zuriel enters, the door closing silently behind him. "State your name, duty, and the purpose for your visit."

The paladin clears his throat. "Sir Zuriel Silendril, Shield of Ma'or. My Duty is to awaken my Lady Light. I have come to complete my duty, and inform the Eternal Council of how."

In reply to Zuriel Silendril (msg # 8):

"The Eternal Council recognizes your presence, Sir Zuriel Silendril," another Councillor says. "And congratulates you in advance for following your Duty through to completion. We would hear the details, and bear witness to your final moments in the aftermath of your Duty's resolution to chronicle it for posterity in the appointed way."