Spectre
eternal servant to the Fire/EMS gods
- Location
- NY
IC wise: Well Catherine did say to stop holding back
OOC wise: The dice givith, the dice taketh away.
Especially when said injuries include a few cracked ribs...
Of Gods and Monsters
- Thread starter Spectre
- Start date
- Original
-
- Tags
- original content
OOC wise: The dice givith, the dice taketh away.
- Location
- va
[X] I remember Catherine saying their was a firing range.
ConfusedPotato
Unverified Verifier
- Location
- Australia
[X] I remember Catherine saying their was a firing range.
Spectre
eternal servant to the Fire/EMS gods
- Location
- NY
Working on the next part. In the mean time here's another character sheet:
Name: Colin McCoy
Born: September 7th, 1858 Northfield Minnesota
Age: 159
Appears: 20
Host of: Apollo
Bio: Born in the quite town of Northfield Minnesota, Colin lived a fairly normal life helping his dad take care of his mother and twin sister Bridgette. Then on September 7th,1876, two things happened that would change his life. First Both he and his sister were chosen as the new hosts of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis respectively. Secondly, Jesse James made the mistake of robbing his town's bank.
Using their new found gifts, the twins helped their neighbors shoot the living daylights out of the James-Younger gang. The two went their separate ways afterwards, Bridgette following Artemis's guidance into the order, and Colin becoming a lawman. During his travels he crossed paths with legendary lawman Jim Masterson, who took him under his wing and eventual inducted him into the order as well.
Special instrument: Bow of Apollo. Guaranteed to hit its target in exchange for limited damage.
Combat modifier: Negates defensive roll when using his bow, +50 for all other ranged attacks.
HP: 800.
Name: Colin McCoy
Born: September 7th, 1858 Northfield Minnesota
Age: 159
Appears: 20
Host of: Apollo
Bio: Born in the quite town of Northfield Minnesota, Colin lived a fairly normal life helping his dad take care of his mother and twin sister Bridgette. Then on September 7th,1876, two things happened that would change his life. First Both he and his sister were chosen as the new hosts of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis respectively. Secondly, Jesse James made the mistake of robbing his town's bank.
Using their new found gifts, the twins helped their neighbors shoot the living daylights out of the James-Younger gang. The two went their separate ways afterwards, Bridgette following Artemis's guidance into the order, and Colin becoming a lawman. During his travels he crossed paths with legendary lawman Jim Masterson, who took him under his wing and eventual inducted him into the order as well.
Special instrument: Bow of Apollo. Guaranteed to hit its target in exchange for limited damage.
Combat modifier: Negates defensive roll when using his bow, +50 for all other ranged attacks.
HP: 800.
Last edited:
Part 14
Spectre
eternal servant to the Fire/EMS gods
- Location
- NY
"I remember Catherine saying something about a firing range?" You reply, not at all over the fact you almost killed someone who is both your teacher and who saved your life.
Christina's arm drops from your shoulder as she rolls her eyes. "All yours cowboy." She says, practically throwing you at Colin. "Clearing your head with gunpowder is a distinctly American trait." Despite the sarcasm in her words, you can hear a defined apprehension in her voice.
"Sure thing Ice Queen." Colin replies with a smile. "You headed off to find Enrique?"
"Gear head…" She replies as she walks out of the training room. "Fine, I'll track him down and tell him the new girl's awake."
"Another host?" You ask, wondering just how many people are living here.
"Yes," Colin replies as you walk towards the exit."He's the host of Vulcan. Been here a year since we rescued him from a cartel run by a couple of renegade hosts down in Mexico. He's a bit… well he's better with machines than with people, but that tends to be the case with all building and forge gods. You two should be fine though. Athena's been known to be a bit of an inventor herself."
"You ever fire a gun before?" Colin asks you, changing the subject as the two of you walk down the hall to the firing range.
You raise an eyebrow at that question. "I'm a cop's kid, remember." You reply rather bluntly. "My dad made sure I could qualify with a pistol as soon as I was old enough to hold one."
"Just asking." He says defensively. "You'd be surprised how many people I've trained in the last few years who think Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Wolfenstein count as firearms training."
As you walk into the firing range, you're marveled yet again by the place. Its relatively small compared to the one in Buffalo you went to, being only five lanes deep, but is surprisingly ornate and well-stocked. Antique and modern weapons alike hang on the walls. Along the back wall are what you guess is the actual arsenal, going by the generous supply of pistols, SMG's, shotguns, and rifles.
"Okay, I have to ask." You say, looking around. "If we have all these guns here, why are we still playing around with swords and spears?"
"The attention they draw, for one thing. Even in my day, walking around with a gun on your hip got attention." Colin replies. You activate Aegis in response, shoving it in his face as if to say, 'and what do you think this will do.'
"Doesn't that shrink down to a bracelet?" Colin asks in response, eliciting a muted "oh yeah" from you. "Catherine's knives can shrink down to the size of pocket knives, and you'd be surprised what humans can miss when you throw a little magic in the equation."
"The bigger issue with firearms is more about using them. How long do you think we'd be able to keep this war secret if we were constantly starting shootouts in New York, Tokyo, or Berlin?" You shrug, conceding to his argument.
"That isn't to say we don't use them when we can get away with it." He adds twirling one of his revolvers. "Just they're a tool for us rather than a go-to solution. Now take your pick."
You waste no time heading straight for a Glock 17 on the shelf. Picking it up, you remove the empty magazine and rack the slide back to make sure the chamber is clear before taking it over to a nearby table. You're half way through disassembling it when you hear Colin chuckling behind you.
"Athena sure knows how to pick 'em." He says with a smile.
"What?" You defensively respond, as you look over the recoil spring. "You're supposed to inspect a weapon before firing it, especially one you have never held before."
"And for most people that just means clearing the weapon and racking the slide a few times, maybe looking into the chamber if their smart. Rarely do they go so far as to take the gun apart to check every single thing. That's a distinctly Athenian trait."
"What do you mean by that?" You ask as you reassemble the weapon.
"Speaking as someone who has dealt with your predecessor before," He explains. "You guys don't take anything to chance if you can help it. You relentlessly scrutinize every aspect of a problem, win fights by stacking the deck beforehand, and even when you do get caught by surprise, like today with your fight against Catherine, you tend to catch on quickly. It's probably why you were able to do so well against her."
"So I'm now the all-knowing goddess of battle." You sarcastically comment.
Colin chuckles. "Not yet at least, in fact I'm willing to bet that little trick you pulled in the training room was all Athena's doing." The not so quiet 'you're welcome' that reverberates through your head confirms his statement. And that Athena has picked up modern sass. We are going to have a talk about this. You inwardly growled. "Give it a few years though, and you'll really be a force to reckon with."
"Now." He adds handing you a full magazine. "Today we'll just work on the basics, then we'll start worrying about your go-to's."
"Go-to?" You confusedly repeat.
"Your preferred weapons." Colin replies. "We all have weapons we're most familiar with."
"Like your peacemakers…"
"Model 3 Russians actually." Colin replies, taking one out to show you. "Easier to reload on the fly and a much more powerful round too, though nowhere near the hand cannon Catherine uses. I don't know how she does it, but the girl manages to wield a .455 caliber Webley likes it's nothing to her."
Rather than waste the last ounces of your sanity figuring out how a girl that small can wield a gun that powerful, you decide to get some trigger time in, rapidly blowing through hundreds of rounds in the following hours. Your aim's a little sloppy at first as you get use to the trigger pull on the gun, something you already make a mental note to have changed the first chance you get, but you gradually tighten your groupings as the day goes by.
Before long Colin taps you on the shoulder. "Almost dinner time." He says. "Let's get this place cleaned up."
After a couple of minutes picking up spent shell casing, the two of you walk back to the main building for dinner.
[] Dinner sounds good.
- [] sit with someone. (pick who)
- [] sit by yourself and think about what happened today.
[] see if you can't find Catherine first. Maybe apologize for what happened.
Christina's arm drops from your shoulder as she rolls her eyes. "All yours cowboy." She says, practically throwing you at Colin. "Clearing your head with gunpowder is a distinctly American trait." Despite the sarcasm in her words, you can hear a defined apprehension in her voice.
"Sure thing Ice Queen." Colin replies with a smile. "You headed off to find Enrique?"
"Gear head…" She replies as she walks out of the training room. "Fine, I'll track him down and tell him the new girl's awake."
"Another host?" You ask, wondering just how many people are living here.
"Yes," Colin replies as you walk towards the exit."He's the host of Vulcan. Been here a year since we rescued him from a cartel run by a couple of renegade hosts down in Mexico. He's a bit… well he's better with machines than with people, but that tends to be the case with all building and forge gods. You two should be fine though. Athena's been known to be a bit of an inventor herself."
"You ever fire a gun before?" Colin asks you, changing the subject as the two of you walk down the hall to the firing range.
You raise an eyebrow at that question. "I'm a cop's kid, remember." You reply rather bluntly. "My dad made sure I could qualify with a pistol as soon as I was old enough to hold one."
"Just asking." He says defensively. "You'd be surprised how many people I've trained in the last few years who think Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Wolfenstein count as firearms training."
As you walk into the firing range, you're marveled yet again by the place. Its relatively small compared to the one in Buffalo you went to, being only five lanes deep, but is surprisingly ornate and well-stocked. Antique and modern weapons alike hang on the walls. Along the back wall are what you guess is the actual arsenal, going by the generous supply of pistols, SMG's, shotguns, and rifles.
"Okay, I have to ask." You say, looking around. "If we have all these guns here, why are we still playing around with swords and spears?"
"The attention they draw, for one thing. Even in my day, walking around with a gun on your hip got attention." Colin replies. You activate Aegis in response, shoving it in his face as if to say, 'and what do you think this will do.'
"Doesn't that shrink down to a bracelet?" Colin asks in response, eliciting a muted "oh yeah" from you. "Catherine's knives can shrink down to the size of pocket knives, and you'd be surprised what humans can miss when you throw a little magic in the equation."
"The bigger issue with firearms is more about using them. How long do you think we'd be able to keep this war secret if we were constantly starting shootouts in New York, Tokyo, or Berlin?" You shrug, conceding to his argument.
"That isn't to say we don't use them when we can get away with it." He adds twirling one of his revolvers. "Just they're a tool for us rather than a go-to solution. Now take your pick."
You waste no time heading straight for a Glock 17 on the shelf. Picking it up, you remove the empty magazine and rack the slide back to make sure the chamber is clear before taking it over to a nearby table. You're half way through disassembling it when you hear Colin chuckling behind you.
"Athena sure knows how to pick 'em." He says with a smile.
"What?" You defensively respond, as you look over the recoil spring. "You're supposed to inspect a weapon before firing it, especially one you have never held before."
"And for most people that just means clearing the weapon and racking the slide a few times, maybe looking into the chamber if their smart. Rarely do they go so far as to take the gun apart to check every single thing. That's a distinctly Athenian trait."
"What do you mean by that?" You ask as you reassemble the weapon.
"Speaking as someone who has dealt with your predecessor before," He explains. "You guys don't take anything to chance if you can help it. You relentlessly scrutinize every aspect of a problem, win fights by stacking the deck beforehand, and even when you do get caught by surprise, like today with your fight against Catherine, you tend to catch on quickly. It's probably why you were able to do so well against her."
"So I'm now the all-knowing goddess of battle." You sarcastically comment.
Colin chuckles. "Not yet at least, in fact I'm willing to bet that little trick you pulled in the training room was all Athena's doing." The not so quiet 'you're welcome' that reverberates through your head confirms his statement. And that Athena has picked up modern sass. We are going to have a talk about this. You inwardly growled. "Give it a few years though, and you'll really be a force to reckon with."
"Now." He adds handing you a full magazine. "Today we'll just work on the basics, then we'll start worrying about your go-to's."
"Go-to?" You confusedly repeat.
"Your preferred weapons." Colin replies. "We all have weapons we're most familiar with."
"Like your peacemakers…"
"Model 3 Russians actually." Colin replies, taking one out to show you. "Easier to reload on the fly and a much more powerful round too, though nowhere near the hand cannon Catherine uses. I don't know how she does it, but the girl manages to wield a .455 caliber Webley likes it's nothing to her."
Rather than waste the last ounces of your sanity figuring out how a girl that small can wield a gun that powerful, you decide to get some trigger time in, rapidly blowing through hundreds of rounds in the following hours. Your aim's a little sloppy at first as you get use to the trigger pull on the gun, something you already make a mental note to have changed the first chance you get, but you gradually tighten your groupings as the day goes by.
Before long Colin taps you on the shoulder. "Almost dinner time." He says. "Let's get this place cleaned up."
After a couple of minutes picking up spent shell casing, the two of you walk back to the main building for dinner.
[] Dinner sounds good.
- [] sit with someone. (pick who)
- [] sit by yourself and think about what happened today.
[] see if you can't find Catherine first. Maybe apologize for what happened.
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Spectre
eternal servant to the Fire/EMS gods
- Location
- NY
to be fair, that's not entirely Alexa's fault. As Elizabeth mentioned back at Alexa's house, she's distant even to her own siblings.
- Location
- va
[X] Dinner sounds good
- [X] sit by yourself and think about whathappened today.
- [X] sit by yourself and think about whathappened today.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
[X] Dinner sounds good
- [X] sit by yourself and think about whathappened today.
- [X] sit by yourself and think about whathappened today.
Part 15
Spectre
eternal servant to the Fire/EMS gods
- Location
- NY
You can't make it back to the dining room fast enough as far as you're concerned. You walk across the mansion's massive backyard. Your stomach seems to agree, adding its protest to the list of body parts complaining to you after a hard day spent training. Colin holds the door open for you as you walk back into the mansion, where you're almost immediately knocked to the ground by someone flying down the stairs.
"Enrique." You hear Colin say as you pick yourself up off the ground after being steamrolled. "How many times have we warned you about running around here with your head buried in that tablet of yours?"
Looking over at the boy, you see a scrawny Latino male with short curly black hair and hazel eyes dressed in a black tank top and ripped jeans. He looks to roughly 18 years like yourself, but you've stopped relying on looks to determine age after realizing most of the people in the mansion could easily be your grandparents despite only looking to be in their 20's.
However old he actually is, those years have been hard on him. His arms and shoulders sport a multitude of scars that his tank top does little to hide. His eyes stare at the floor from behind a set of wire framed glasses that look like they've been hand-repaired several times, his expression downtrodden as he mumbles an apology in Spanish. It's almost like Colin's light chastising is him getting off easy.
"Just be careful, okay?." Colin replies. "And you should be apologizing to the little lady you knocked down, not me."
"Sorry." The boy says in broken English, turning to you. "Me...clumsy..."
"Don't worry." You reply, holding out your hand. "Alexa Myers, host of Athena."
You watch as the boy timidly grabs your hand, his grip surprisingly strong. "Enrique Calveres. Host of... Vulcan." With that the boy, takes off for the dining room, tablet safely tucked under his left arm.
"Seems like a nice guy." You say as Colin leads you into the kitchen.
"He is." Colin confirms, reaching into the fridge. "He's just had a rough couple of years. That cartel I told you about, let's just say they moved up our wanted list a couple of places after we found him and heard his story."
"Root beer?" he asks, holding up a bottle. "Or do you want something else?"
"Root beer's fine." You say as you take the bottle from him as you walk into the dining room. Inside you see Elizabeth, Christina, and Enrique, though the buffet is clearly designed to accommodate more. "Where's everyone else?" You ask Elizabeth.
"Catherine's up in her room, taking the rest of the night off per my orders." She replies. "Eric's taking care of her."
"Oh…" You say rather dejectedly, hoping you'd get a chance to apologize for what happened earlier in the day.
"Don't worry lass." Elizabeth says from the head of the table. "I've patched her up from worse injuries before. By tomorrow she'll be good as new, making the forces of chaos wish you had finished the job."
You can tell there's something off about her tone, like back when your dad used to tell you his on the job injuries weren't that bad, even when he was doing so over the phone from the hospital. Grabbing your food, you head towards the foyer. "If it's all right with you Liz, I'd like to eat in my room."
"Sure thing lass. Though If I may make a suggestion, the library might offer you a little help with what you're going through."
[] Room.
[] Library.
"Enrique." You hear Colin say as you pick yourself up off the ground after being steamrolled. "How many times have we warned you about running around here with your head buried in that tablet of yours?"
Looking over at the boy, you see a scrawny Latino male with short curly black hair and hazel eyes dressed in a black tank top and ripped jeans. He looks to roughly 18 years like yourself, but you've stopped relying on looks to determine age after realizing most of the people in the mansion could easily be your grandparents despite only looking to be in their 20's.
However old he actually is, those years have been hard on him. His arms and shoulders sport a multitude of scars that his tank top does little to hide. His eyes stare at the floor from behind a set of wire framed glasses that look like they've been hand-repaired several times, his expression downtrodden as he mumbles an apology in Spanish. It's almost like Colin's light chastising is him getting off easy.
"Just be careful, okay?." Colin replies. "And you should be apologizing to the little lady you knocked down, not me."
"Sorry." The boy says in broken English, turning to you. "Me...clumsy..."
"Don't worry." You reply, holding out your hand. "Alexa Myers, host of Athena."
You watch as the boy timidly grabs your hand, his grip surprisingly strong. "Enrique Calveres. Host of... Vulcan." With that the boy, takes off for the dining room, tablet safely tucked under his left arm.
"Seems like a nice guy." You say as Colin leads you into the kitchen.
"He is." Colin confirms, reaching into the fridge. "He's just had a rough couple of years. That cartel I told you about, let's just say they moved up our wanted list a couple of places after we found him and heard his story."
"Root beer?" he asks, holding up a bottle. "Or do you want something else?"
"Root beer's fine." You say as you take the bottle from him as you walk into the dining room. Inside you see Elizabeth, Christina, and Enrique, though the buffet is clearly designed to accommodate more. "Where's everyone else?" You ask Elizabeth.
"Catherine's up in her room, taking the rest of the night off per my orders." She replies. "Eric's taking care of her."
"Oh…" You say rather dejectedly, hoping you'd get a chance to apologize for what happened earlier in the day.
"Don't worry lass." Elizabeth says from the head of the table. "I've patched her up from worse injuries before. By tomorrow she'll be good as new, making the forces of chaos wish you had finished the job."
You can tell there's something off about her tone, like back when your dad used to tell you his on the job injuries weren't that bad, even when he was doing so over the phone from the hospital. Grabbing your food, you head towards the foyer. "If it's all right with you Liz, I'd like to eat in my room."
"Sure thing lass. Though If I may make a suggestion, the library might offer you a little help with what you're going through."
[] Room.
[] Library.
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Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
[X] Library.
ConfusedPotato
Unverified Verifier
- Location
- Australia
[X] Library
Knowledge is power, especially to an Athenian.
Knowledge is power, especially to an Athenian.
Part 16
Spectre
eternal servant to the Fire/EMS gods
- Location
- NY
You bite your lip, struggling to find a way to tell Elizabeth you wanted to go to your room because you want to go scream at the goddess crammed in your head that doesn't sound as crazy as that statement is. There's something in Elizabeth's smile and voice though. She seems almost motherly, like you're just the latest child to need a little help growing up. "Lead the way."
The library is oddly underwhelming compared to the rest of the house. You were expecting something that would rival New York or London, so large the only explanation for its existence would be magic. Instead, you find a much smaller room with a dozen bookshelf that stretch from floor to ceiling lining the walls. It's still impressive for a home library… you just expected more.
"Expecting the library of Alexandria were we?" Elizabeth says with a smirk as you walk in. "Don't let the size confuse you, you're looking at one of the richest collections of text in the known world."
"Let me guess. The bookshelves are magic and can pull up any text in the world at a moment's notice…" Your voice trails off as you see Elizabeth smirk at your reply. "I'm going hate that word in a couple of months aren't I?"
"Most definitely." Elizabeth replies stepping towards one of the book cases. "Journal of Elizabeth Sinclair, year mark 1783." Within seconds, an old looking leather-bound book pops out of the shelf across from her, nudging out just enough to be spotted. Picking it up, she gingerly set it down on a small writing desk in the back of the room and opened it up.
"If the discussion you are to have with Athena is the one I think it is, then I think this will help you." She says, turning to leave the room. "Just be careful about reading it out loud. Those pages are full of memories, and not all of them were good ones."
"I'll come back in a little bit to check up on you."She adds, closing the door.
You no sooner hear the click of the latch before a dull headache envelopes your head. "I was wondering when we would have this conversation." You hear Athena say. Turning around, you see the goddess in a white sleeveless dress with gold trim, though her helmet and shield are nowhere to be seen as she peruses the bookshelves.
"I thought you couldn't do that trick on command." You say, remember the last time she spoke to you outside of your head.
"In most places of the world that is true." Athena replies. "But this area has certain properties that make it easier for me to assume this form."
"Well, I was hoping you would show your face." You grumble, as you take a bit out of your food. "It'll make telling you to get the hell out of my head a whole lot easier."
"Unfortunately for you Alexa, that is a request I cannot grant even if I wanted to. Once a host is picked, the god that chooses them will only leave their body when they die."
"Just perfect." You say. "You can't even fix your mistake then."
Athena finally turns towards you. You expect to see anger or indignation towards you, but instead the goddess seems to study you like you're the horse she picked in the Kentucky Derby. "And why do you think I made a mistake?"
"Because I'm the wrong person for this." You shout, not believing that a goddess of wisdom would think an 18-year-old book worm like yourself would be the ideal candidate. "I didn't spend my life training for this. Hell, up until last night I never got into a fight before. I can't even control the powers you gave me. I'm just not ready for this."
"Tell me." Athena says as she walks up to you. "Do you think Perseus considered himself ready for the task of killing Medusa when my host assigned it to him? Or that Hercules was ready to capture Cerberus when I lent him my help? Or that Odysseus' beliefs were unwavering during his long journey to and from Troy? Do you believe me to be as short-sighted as Ares or Zeus in choosing my hosts, fawning over those solely to help them in the present?"
You try to reply but Athena cuts you off. "No, I did not become the patron of heroes by taking the easy option. I choose to forge those who would have otherwise been forgotten to history into some of its greatest names. I know you're not ready yet. But you will be, soon enough. And I can always take control when I need you until that time come…"
"The fuck you will," You shout, interrupting her. "You almost made me kill Catherine."
"And I saved your life the night before." Athena replies, her expression and tone becoming so cold. "Or did you honestly think you were fighting that battle yourself. As you said, you don't know how to fight, and you're no good to me dead. So I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, regardless of what you may wish. If you don't want me to take control, you must learn to control my powers yourself."
"You're not the first host to deal with these problems Alexa." She continues. "Many have trouble with our presence at first."
You follow her gaze to the desk in the back of the room, where Elizabeth's Journal sits. Walking over you see that she's left it open to one of the entries. "April 23rd, 1783." You read off the top of the page.
Within seconds you realize that wasn't a good idea, and just what Elizabeth was warning you about. The library disappears, turning into a bedroom. A girl about your age sits at the desk, furiously scribbling words down in a journal as tears stream down her face. She's dressed in a scarlet riding jacket and petticoat.
Behind her, you see a women in a red spaghetti-strapped dress seem to almost phase in behind her. She has caramel skin with strong Mediterranean features and blood red eyes. Around her neck and biceps is some heavy looking jewelry bands.
"Elizabeth." The women says, causing you to gasp in shock after realizing that the girl at the desk is indeed the very women who has been helping you all day. "Is everything all right?"
"You bloody well know everything is not all right Sekhmet." Elizabeth angrily shoots back, as she shoots out of her chair. As you get a better look at the front of her shirt, you notice its splattered with something that looks like brown paint. "What I did today… what you made me do…" She begins to say, clearly distraught.
"They stole from our king," The Egyptian goddess replies, acting as if what ever happened wasn't any different from a daily chore. "Disrespected him. This could not be allowed."
"Just like you cannot be allowed to make me perform these unspeakable acts." Elizabeth shoots back. "Ever since you came into my life, it has been one atrocity after another. I've crippled friends, nearly killed my own brother, and now this." You watch as she pulls a blood-stained knife from the desk and places it against her own throat. "Tell me," she says, her voice growing incredibly calm considering what she's thinking of doing. "What is stopping me from banishing us both from this world?"
Sekhmet seems to take a step back, before chuckling like the psycho she is. "We both know that will solve little Elizabeth." She says with a smile. "I'll just choose a new host who's less particular about my methods."
Elizabeth reluctantly lowers the knife, opting instead to throw it at Sekhmet. You can see the resignation in her eyes over how hopeless her situation is.
"Not a pretty picture is it?" Elizabeth, the real Elizabeth, says approaching from behind you. "I see you read the book out loud."
"Sorry, I..." Elizabeth raises her hand, silencing your apology.
"It's all right. She says. "These books just have... properties. The water used to make the paper comes from the river Lethe."
"Isn't that the river in the underworld that erases peoples memories?" You ask her as she closes the book, turning the library back to normal.
"That's a bit of a translation issue actually." She replies, putting the book back on the shelf. "What it does is stores the memories from a person. The books act in a similar sort of way. Whatever we write in them transfers part of those memories into the paper. It's good for memories we don't want to remember unless we absolutely have too. "
"So what happened that day?" Elizabeth's head drops as you ask the question, immediately making you regret asking it.
"It was a month after I had found myself the host of Sekhmet." She says, tears welling in her eyes. " I don't remember much, for good reason. Just that a couple of boys had picked my dad's pockets and Sekhmet made me kill them. I was at the edge of my rope, so to speak, distraught over the monster I thought I was becoming. That day, Sekhmet gave me a choice. Let her finish turning me into a monster, or learn to fight back and control her."
"But enough about that." She says, putting on a reassuring smile as you stare at her speechless. "We're about to watch a double feature of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Young Guns in the living room, and I figured you could use a laugh after today."
"How's watching a western going to..." You begin before realizing who else is there. "Let me guess. Colin knows for a fact that Butch, Sundance, and Billy all survived longer than history claims them to have."
"Now you're catching on." Elizabeth says as she leads you out of the library.
-------------
perspective change:
[] Catherine & Eric.
[] The Dark Archer.
The library is oddly underwhelming compared to the rest of the house. You were expecting something that would rival New York or London, so large the only explanation for its existence would be magic. Instead, you find a much smaller room with a dozen bookshelf that stretch from floor to ceiling lining the walls. It's still impressive for a home library… you just expected more.
"Expecting the library of Alexandria were we?" Elizabeth says with a smirk as you walk in. "Don't let the size confuse you, you're looking at one of the richest collections of text in the known world."
"Let me guess. The bookshelves are magic and can pull up any text in the world at a moment's notice…" Your voice trails off as you see Elizabeth smirk at your reply. "I'm going hate that word in a couple of months aren't I?"
"Most definitely." Elizabeth replies stepping towards one of the book cases. "Journal of Elizabeth Sinclair, year mark 1783." Within seconds, an old looking leather-bound book pops out of the shelf across from her, nudging out just enough to be spotted. Picking it up, she gingerly set it down on a small writing desk in the back of the room and opened it up.
"If the discussion you are to have with Athena is the one I think it is, then I think this will help you." She says, turning to leave the room. "Just be careful about reading it out loud. Those pages are full of memories, and not all of them were good ones."
"I'll come back in a little bit to check up on you."She adds, closing the door.
You no sooner hear the click of the latch before a dull headache envelopes your head. "I was wondering when we would have this conversation." You hear Athena say. Turning around, you see the goddess in a white sleeveless dress with gold trim, though her helmet and shield are nowhere to be seen as she peruses the bookshelves.
"I thought you couldn't do that trick on command." You say, remember the last time she spoke to you outside of your head.
"In most places of the world that is true." Athena replies. "But this area has certain properties that make it easier for me to assume this form."
"Well, I was hoping you would show your face." You grumble, as you take a bit out of your food. "It'll make telling you to get the hell out of my head a whole lot easier."
"Unfortunately for you Alexa, that is a request I cannot grant even if I wanted to. Once a host is picked, the god that chooses them will only leave their body when they die."
"Just perfect." You say. "You can't even fix your mistake then."
Athena finally turns towards you. You expect to see anger or indignation towards you, but instead the goddess seems to study you like you're the horse she picked in the Kentucky Derby. "And why do you think I made a mistake?"
"Because I'm the wrong person for this." You shout, not believing that a goddess of wisdom would think an 18-year-old book worm like yourself would be the ideal candidate. "I didn't spend my life training for this. Hell, up until last night I never got into a fight before. I can't even control the powers you gave me. I'm just not ready for this."
"Tell me." Athena says as she walks up to you. "Do you think Perseus considered himself ready for the task of killing Medusa when my host assigned it to him? Or that Hercules was ready to capture Cerberus when I lent him my help? Or that Odysseus' beliefs were unwavering during his long journey to and from Troy? Do you believe me to be as short-sighted as Ares or Zeus in choosing my hosts, fawning over those solely to help them in the present?"
You try to reply but Athena cuts you off. "No, I did not become the patron of heroes by taking the easy option. I choose to forge those who would have otherwise been forgotten to history into some of its greatest names. I know you're not ready yet. But you will be, soon enough. And I can always take control when I need you until that time come…"
"The fuck you will," You shout, interrupting her. "You almost made me kill Catherine."
"And I saved your life the night before." Athena replies, her expression and tone becoming so cold. "Or did you honestly think you were fighting that battle yourself. As you said, you don't know how to fight, and you're no good to me dead. So I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, regardless of what you may wish. If you don't want me to take control, you must learn to control my powers yourself."
"You're not the first host to deal with these problems Alexa." She continues. "Many have trouble with our presence at first."
You follow her gaze to the desk in the back of the room, where Elizabeth's Journal sits. Walking over you see that she's left it open to one of the entries. "April 23rd, 1783." You read off the top of the page.
Within seconds you realize that wasn't a good idea, and just what Elizabeth was warning you about. The library disappears, turning into a bedroom. A girl about your age sits at the desk, furiously scribbling words down in a journal as tears stream down her face. She's dressed in a scarlet riding jacket and petticoat.
Behind her, you see a women in a red spaghetti-strapped dress seem to almost phase in behind her. She has caramel skin with strong Mediterranean features and blood red eyes. Around her neck and biceps is some heavy looking jewelry bands.
"Elizabeth." The women says, causing you to gasp in shock after realizing that the girl at the desk is indeed the very women who has been helping you all day. "Is everything all right?"
"You bloody well know everything is not all right Sekhmet." Elizabeth angrily shoots back, as she shoots out of her chair. As you get a better look at the front of her shirt, you notice its splattered with something that looks like brown paint. "What I did today… what you made me do…" She begins to say, clearly distraught.
"They stole from our king," The Egyptian goddess replies, acting as if what ever happened wasn't any different from a daily chore. "Disrespected him. This could not be allowed."
"Just like you cannot be allowed to make me perform these unspeakable acts." Elizabeth shoots back. "Ever since you came into my life, it has been one atrocity after another. I've crippled friends, nearly killed my own brother, and now this." You watch as she pulls a blood-stained knife from the desk and places it against her own throat. "Tell me," she says, her voice growing incredibly calm considering what she's thinking of doing. "What is stopping me from banishing us both from this world?"
Sekhmet seems to take a step back, before chuckling like the psycho she is. "We both know that will solve little Elizabeth." She says with a smile. "I'll just choose a new host who's less particular about my methods."
Elizabeth reluctantly lowers the knife, opting instead to throw it at Sekhmet. You can see the resignation in her eyes over how hopeless her situation is.
"Not a pretty picture is it?" Elizabeth, the real Elizabeth, says approaching from behind you. "I see you read the book out loud."
"Sorry, I..." Elizabeth raises her hand, silencing your apology.
"It's all right. She says. "These books just have... properties. The water used to make the paper comes from the river Lethe."
"Isn't that the river in the underworld that erases peoples memories?" You ask her as she closes the book, turning the library back to normal.
"That's a bit of a translation issue actually." She replies, putting the book back on the shelf. "What it does is stores the memories from a person. The books act in a similar sort of way. Whatever we write in them transfers part of those memories into the paper. It's good for memories we don't want to remember unless we absolutely have too. "
"So what happened that day?" Elizabeth's head drops as you ask the question, immediately making you regret asking it.
"It was a month after I had found myself the host of Sekhmet." She says, tears welling in her eyes. " I don't remember much, for good reason. Just that a couple of boys had picked my dad's pockets and Sekhmet made me kill them. I was at the edge of my rope, so to speak, distraught over the monster I thought I was becoming. That day, Sekhmet gave me a choice. Let her finish turning me into a monster, or learn to fight back and control her."
"But enough about that." She says, putting on a reassuring smile as you stare at her speechless. "We're about to watch a double feature of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Young Guns in the living room, and I figured you could use a laugh after today."
"How's watching a western going to..." You begin before realizing who else is there. "Let me guess. Colin knows for a fact that Butch, Sundance, and Billy all survived longer than history claims them to have."
"Now you're catching on." Elizabeth says as she leads you out of the library.
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perspective change:
[] Catherine & Eric.
[] The Dark Archer.
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