The Tale of Dragons and Dungeons

Chapter 6.5: The Meeting

Blader found himself winged and shirtless in a hall, looking upon a group of hooded figures, all of which wearing religious symbols. He recognized the marks of Bhaal, Cthulhu, Lolth, Kyuss, Karaan, and Nerull, but found a number more he didn't recognize. "Isaac, new Angel of Bhaal. Welcome to the Council of Dark Gods and Goddesses." The use of his real name made Blader fill with rage, but Blader was among a gathering of Seraphs, and he did not want to embarrass Bhaal. He bowed. "I am honored, but if you would, please call me by my nickname 'Blader', as my real name holds bad memories." He rose. "Of course, we understand completely. Jiraiya, if you would please bind your Angel." The Seraph marked with Bhaal's symbol rose and walked over and touched Blader's chest. "This isn't going to hurt, right?" Blader whispered in question. "Not at all." The hooded man reassured him, as the mark on the cloak glowed and caused a large mark to be branded onto Blader's chest, changing the large white wings into smaller black ones with a red tinge on the bottom. He flapped them a couple times to get a feel for them. Almost immediately after a collar with a chain appeared around Blader's neck. The Seraph grabbed the chain and guided him over to where the others were sitting. He found himself sitting on a short soft chair and looking across a round table at other Seraphs and their Angels. "Now that Bhaal's Angel is here we can actually start." The Seraphs began talking about current events and the Angels all just sat, listening to the words being tossed across the table as the Seraphs began arguing about who's Angel was best. He heard his own Seraph begin speaking about tales of what Blader had done after not speaking for almost the entire discussion. Then others began arguing about who would've done best in the situation. He wasn't really listening and he noticed that the rest weren't listening either. He heard something about a test, and then suddenly Jiraiya released his grip on Blader's chain. Blader looked questioningly at his Seraph, and realized that he must not have noticed the chain being dropped. He decided he would just sit there, the chair was comfortable, the voices were actually seeming quite soothing, and he was pretty happy. Unbeknownst to him, almost all of the Angels had snuck away to go exploring outside of the hall. The only ones remaining were a young woman who looked to be a 26 year old noble woman, wearing the mark of the goddess of trickery and knowledge, a man who looked to be an ancient warrior with the god of war's mark, sword at his side, and the last was a child bearing the symbol of Nerull, god of death and darkness. The sound of the escapee angels flying into the floor as they were kicked back in shook Blader from his thoughts. He looked over and saw a look of approval from his Seraph. "Well done. I knew you'd pass through blissful ignorance." Blader's mouth opened with a question, but someone else cut him off. "Well done Angels! You chose right to stay by your Seraph's side when your chain was released. You showed your loyalty. Blader, you surpassed it by not listening to our conversation and staying even when your chain was released. Thoben, you showed your loyalty to your father when you decided to write a magical mark of Nerull in the air while sitting there. Aretha, you showed the trickiness of your master when you listened to the conversation. You are all free to explore the unearthly realm in your dreams. However, you who left will be excommunicated from your faith. You will no longer be given the benefits of your deity." Blader smiled as the chain on him was loosened and it flew back into the collar, his wings glowing with his new ability of flight. His eyes were marked with the symbol of Bhaal. "Welcome to Disboard, Angels."