The group reappeared on the Amethyst Isle with the S.S. Grey docked nearby and Talion walking near a somewhat withered-looking mortal Mistral while a far more powerful-looking and ethereal Mistral walked among them.

Michael pointed over to both Mistrals. “So…what’s going on there?”

Noah in his full dragon self slowly and gently bowled over the Etherial Mistral fully able to make contact with things such as ghosts, specters, and even fabricate ectoplasm as needed. He would greet and give attention to each and every Mistral he ran into as it was well earned and well given.

As Noah explained his reasoning in his roundabout way, the otherworldly Mistral turned to regard Nefertiti with a demeanor of placid scrutiny.  At length she spoke, "'Thick history' is one way of putting it.  That is not my tale to tell, however."  While continuing to watch the reborn Egyptian Queen, she spoke with authority, "I have traced the link back to Isis and have determined with a great degree of certainty that Reine Nefertiti has been bestowed an Awakened soul, no more and no less.  I cannot say whether this is your âme originelle nor can I speak for Isis's intent, but I agree with the Moros that there is no trick nor trap here.  This soul is now yours to do with as you please."

An enigmatic smile touched the Archmage spirit's blue lips as she inclined her head to Nefertiti, "Toutes nos félicitations, Nefertiti."


The otherworldly Mistral turned toward the worldly figure of herself stubbornly struggling to walk their way, though Talion seemed ready to assist if needed.  The Archmage spirit said, "My new body, kindly remade by Talion."  The gaunt mortal Mistral arrived with a sheen of sweat upon her brow, white-and-blue hair wispy like a baby's.  The Archmage spirit faded away, and after catching her breath the mortal Mistral spoke, "I've much work to do before this body will be ready.  Considering that I took my first steps only two hours past, I believe I have made progress."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:58, Thu 29 July 2021.

Nefertiti looked at Mistral as she spoke of "Thick History" and wondered also as to what was Talion not willing to share about his involvement with her Goddess.  There is a history there but is it something he is willing to share with her.

She nodded her head to the otherworldly Mistral that spoke to her and congratulated her on getting an Awakened Soul.

"Merci Archmage. she replied with a smile.

Now she had to wonder how much time will they all be spending here at the Amethyst Isle, for she needed to make an exit and search the city for a lot of things.

Annddd archmage spirit Mistral was gone. He did not read too much into it as he hunkered down next to the real body Mistral. He was content to let things go now that he had sent things into a tailspin.

Noah's tail thudded. "Right, we stll need to handle Pan, fates, I need to deface the towers... But I've been awake for four days, the lot of us just got back from the land of the dead so rest and real food is needed." He blinked at Mistral as he ignored the tide of insane things he was hallucinating. "No doubt there are a lot of other things to catch up on."

"Give a day of rest and after that Ill start forging casting tools for our new mages. Make sure you leave a list of your spheres for me so I can tailor them to your casting styles."

"Michael... Double check the rosary. You may not be able to use a celestial fire item given what was done to the mana."

Michael handled the rosary and nothing out of the ordinary happened. He looked up at Noah. “Perhaps I should explain what happened. When I went through the portal, the shard of the abyss within my soul was being pulled out and a wall appeared before me with many names upon it. Two of those names were of Mages that I had hunted for killing children and raising them as undead servants. Their last words were about how they had lost their child at birth and just wanted children of their own who they could love and would love them forever. I cut them down and burned their bodies along with the undead children, so that they may finally know peace. Instead of writing my name on the wall, I took my sword and cut through the two names. I rejected the tower that had empowered those two despicable Mages and forced the shard back into my soul. I still awoke, but I will never write my name on any of those towers.”

He held up the magical lantern that had been given to him during the forming of the Cabal and reached inside to hold the flame of mana in his hand. Nothing happened. He put the flame back in and closed the small door. “It would appear that I cannot use tass to replenish my mana as a side effect of rejecting the tower, but I can still use mana from magical items to replenish my reserves. As this was part of the initiation when the cabal was formed and has some resonance of Talion’s power, it is resistant to my nature. My power has not grown strong enough to cause a major disturbance…yet.”

He nodded to Noah. “I do appreciate the assistance and teaching of how to make magical tools. I will observe with keen interest.”

OOC: Michael is now a Banisher, cannot use tass, and cannot become an Archmage.

 Talion sat at a nearby chair now than Noah was near Mistral. He observed the group. "I've heard of that phenomenon. 'Banishers', they call them. Mages are scared to death of them and I've had more than a few accuse me of creating them... but they're not altogether a bad thing.

 To close the wound of the Abyss, we must relieve the pressure between the supernal and fallen worlds. Banishers are nature's way of correcting that imbalance. As much as mages see Banishers as unnatural, the very reason they persist is because they are a natural phenomenon.

 For now, I would suggest some rest. We have done a great deal in the past few days. Personally, I've been working on a cocktail that closely resembles my favorite drink from my home world. It consists of absinthe, grain alcohol, black rum, and mead. My plan is to get drunk and build something. Anything any of you would like to do?"

"Rest sounds good." Fate spoke not having much else to say, then thought for a moment. "Hopefully I can get fully outfitted before the next time I go out." She said this more as a side note than anything, but that didn't change how true it was. "Congrats to everyone I guess. Mistral for making back to the physical world, us for making it back to the living one and Michael for becoming a Banisher? I'm afraid I don't know if that last bit is something to celebrate, but if it is then great, more power to you, literally." Fate smiled wryly at the group, she was tired. "Best of luck in you building Talion try not to go too mad scientist on us."

Once rested, Fate would go on to work with Noah (when he has time) on her new spell and the new equipment it would require so that it'd be ready for their next outing.

Nefertiti looked to Talion "Yes there is something I would like to know.. she paused

"What is the history with you and my Goddess Isis? she asked seeing that there could of been an issue with her not getting her soul for being associated with him.

After greeting his friends upon their return from the land of the dead, Sal nodded when Noah mentioned taking down Pan. When Nefertiti confronted Talion about her goddess, he excused himself. Getting better acquainted with Trinity was something that was long overdue.

"Trinity. Have you learned anything more about your identity or nature since we've been together?"

 Talion paused for a moment when Nefertiti called him out and, during that pause, the jovial fatigue he had been displaying drained away. The gulls stopped cawing and the wind stopped, leaving the gently lapping waves still and silent as if the island itself were holding its breath. His voice turned hard and it carried effortlessly in the surrounding silence. "When I was a child, she successfully conspired to murder everyone I knew. As I got older, she successfully conspired to turn everyone I cared about against me. Then, when I was no longer useful, she tried to have me killed.

 She blames be for the murder of her son... which I both have already and have not yet done... and, when she and her husband tried to confront me about it, I killed him and shattered their pantheon.

 … not because they made my life as a mortal utterly miserable, mind you, but because each and every one of them is a coward that ran away when the time came to fight."

 His hands trembled as he closed his eyes and he made a visible effort to regain his composure. Slowly the sound of wind and birds returned. "I'm going to go have that drink now."

 He turned and began to make his way back into the mansion.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Trinity emerged from... somewhere when he was called. "Perhaps. I have garbled, fragmented memories of a terrible place, of pain and suffering... and of a time long ago. I have pondered on the nature of my self but all I can come up with is that I am. I was not but am now. And you? What have you learned of your nature?"

Nefertiti took notice of how a simple question caused him to become so harsh and even change the atmospheric state. It was as if he was showing his control over the things around him. It only made her less intrigued of his tale About what Isis had done to him in the past. Every good story has two sides and she wanted to hear his side before she went to speak with her Goddess.

It was strange how he spoke about himself being a child when in fact he was a God and if that was ever so true how long ago did all this elaborate tale happen.

She continued to listen to what he had to say but her eye did squint a bit at the part and of him killing Osiris and Horus. Which in turn collapsed her Pantheon. He was an arrogant being to offer such information now. When after he himself used her to complete things that he needed. It seems that he was doing to her as the tale of what her Goddess did to him.  He would of withheld this tale from her forever and still use her to do his biddings. This didn’t bond well in her mind and she didn’t like the fact that he didn’t think about how this would effect her. His arrogance to create a Cabal with her for his own glory in the end. Such things are considered deceptive.  She was a Queen and he didn’t care.

Then he called her Goddess a coward

Her eyes sparked slightly as she looked him up and down.

Her mind raced and it’s wasn’t Isis who Noah needed to worry about but the one who just discovered that Talion was using her for his own satisfaction.

When he mentioned about getting that drink she thought it was a good idea to give space between them two.

Turning to the others “It seems that I have a lot to ponder upon. I will be taking my leave from here and I will inform you if I wish to return.

Then her white feathers wings extended from her back and she took flight to remover herself from the island.

 As Nefertiti went to transform, she found that she could not. In fact, she could not access any of the powers she had access to before her visit with Isis. Now, she only had access to the magic granted to her by her goddess.

Mistral’s gaunt clone nodded, “Pan will be more easily disposed of than the first time I ended him.  The trouble with Hook and the children is less simple.”  She narrowed her eyes at Noah’s remark, and gave him an unreadable look.  She also looked weary after spending the first hours of new life in grueling physical rehabilitation.  “Rest is in order, certainement.  Weariness is an aspect of mortality I did not miss.”


Mistral regarded Michael as he explained what had happened at the moment of potential Awakening, and the choice he made.  She said drily, “The conviction to reject the tower of these monstrous abusers-of-children is commendable, but yet still you hold a symbol of l’Église Catholique in reverence.  Interesting, where one draws lines.”  Such ironic commentary did not make Mistral popular at parties.  On the subject of Michael’s becoming a Banisher, Mistral warned, “The aberrant nature of your Awakening is not necessarily an evil, though the particular ideology that often accompanies it most certainly is.  Banishers sense one another, it is said, and it is likely you will be approached by others.  I would advise… caution in treating with them.”

The air was cleared on the history between Talion and Isis, with a displeased reaction from Nefertiti that was as understandable as it was regrettable.  Both sides of that conflict of gods had their reasons for what they’d done, and she suspected that neither side could be clearly proven to be entirely in the right.  Mistral inclined her head in a respectful farewell toward Queen Nefertiti as she made to depart.

Nefertiti’s eyes went wide for a moment when she wasn’t able to summon her wings to fly away. For a moment she did wonder if she was going to be weakened by receiving her soul.

Looking to Mistral “It seems I will be using the lovely portal you graciously provided she then nods her head to leave.

This discovery was another reason why she wanted to get to her Haven. The repercussions of gaining her soul was a upcoming discovery
This message was last edited by the player at 12:54, Tue 03 Aug 2021.

Michael shrugs. “If I am approached, I’ll just have to see how it’s goes.”

Noah sighed. "This is going to go delightfully. I hope she is going to be ok..." He typed out on a keyboard that wasn't there, setting a program to track Nef anytime she was in line of sight to a synth or a camera. Sure, it was invasive, but you look out for family.

He pulled out the Mana star cane and shrunk it down to person size. He stuck it in the ground on his side nearest Mistral. He wasnt going to take her burden from her entirely but he was going to give her options and be there when she needed a helping hand. Strong woman gonna be a strong woman. "Indeed, This time I think Pan may just be a blip on the radar. It is a bubble realm though, should be fun getting back through."

"And that means we can capture two airplanes?"

He nodded at Michael. "If you work baneish prime magic I can help you there. Counterspells are amazing."

 The sounds of machinery could be heard from Talion's room while Grey went off to play with her ever-growing cast of pets. Bellies were rumbling. For Mistral it was likely the first time her new body had ever had food. For the rest of the group, they had been in the land of the dead with nothing but hard tack and MREs for three days.

 A good meal and probably a little wine was starting to sound pretty good right now.

 … that and a nap. A comfortable bed would be welcome after a hard slab in a foreign dimension (something that everyone present save Sal had been experiencing for the past 3 days).

OOC: consider this my "move along to the next day" post :P
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:19, Wed 04 Aug 2021.