Twilight Elysium

Chapter 2: You get the T Pose Virus

Don't you love my shitpost titles lol

Abayek= Ah-buy-yehk     Nyatem= N-yae-tem (not nya you weeb)  Neeta=knee-tah

    "Once, there was nothing. Now, we have world filled with fantastic creatures and plants. Do you know how all of these wonderful creations came into being?" The guide asked your group.
     You tuned out her yakking and looked around at the massive museum. Your instructor brought your study group to the Center of Perception for an 'enlightening experience'. The problem was, you already knew half of the information. Your mother had made sure to keep you educated about the gods. It was rude to live in a world that worshiped gods and not know who they were, after all.

    The owner of the museum claimed to be a descendant of Santana. His shtick was that all of the knowledge that was in the museum was given to him by Santana himself. The only problem with that was that Santana had no children, but you didn't have the heart to call him out. The Center of Perception held all comprehensive knowledge of the gods. It was very impressive, you would admit.

    The guide led your group through the rows of towering bookshelves. She droned on about the creation story and how it pertained to the modern world, stuff which you already knew. You would grimace if she gave some inaccurate information, but said nothing. You didn't want to come off as pretentious or snobby, the other kids that you were with already didn't think very highly of you. It wasn't that you thought you were smarter or more educated than them, it was just that you knew more in certain areas than they did. Your use of "big words" wasn't to make them feel dumb. Words have meaning, you rationalized, and they should be used to convey exactly what you want to say. Your mother would often roll her eyes and giggle at your usage.

    She brought you up the massive marble staircase and on to the landing. 

    "This is the mock observatory. As you can plainly see, we have no telescopes or space viewing equipment. However, we have tons of stained glass," She laughed at her own joke.

    The ceiling had went from flat alabaster to a domed ceiling covered with blue stained glass. There impressions of dieties in the glass.  Nyatem was pulling the moon behind him, his pale skin reminiscent of the moon itself. Abayek was casting the sun out in the eastern part of the room. His glittering gold robes were flared out, a nice contrast to his dark skin.

    Abayek and Nyatem's myths were your favorite to read. They were two very different beings, yet they carried out nearly similar actions. Abayek would use his magicks to move the sun into the sky, and Nyatem would pull the moon into the sky at night. There was a long, drawn out story that went with it, but the gist was that they fought over who ruled the sky, Neeta intervened and brought them down a couple of notches and assigned them their own celestial bodies.

    The guide had to pull your group out of their mesmerized state to lead them in to the next room.

    "Now, this is a replica of Lord Kars' study, where he makes his newest creations. According to the Scription, written by the god of knowledge himself, this is what Kars' study looked like for most of his life," the guide said, her eyes lighting up.

    You looked around the room in awe. Books were piled in random stacks around the room.  High walls stacked with encyclopedias and various other source materials. In the center of the room was a regal looking lounge chair. In front of it was a fireplace that was still lit. Its flames roared with a comforting noise. A pale marble hand stuck out from the arm of the chair.

    "-asked that we include a statue that would depict him in his likeness-"

    Your group took off to gaze at the statue of Lord Kars. You waited quietly until they dispersed after getting bored of him. The guide managed to get them back under control and led them out of the room. You, however, stayed back to look around the room. You carefully walked around the chair. 

    The marble statue was beautiful. It was masterfully carved. Long, thick curls tumbled down from his head. His face was smooth with no blemishes. Soft, plump lips were pulled into a sultry smile, almost daring you to disobey him. He was carved with a cloak on. Runes were engraved along the inner folds of the cloak. 

    He was posed with his right hand sticking off of the right arm of the chair. His left hand was at his chin, his middle and index fingers resting against his cheek. Lord Kars' ring finger was pressed to his lips.

    You inspected the statue for a few more moments before your eyes landed on his free hand. It was unfurled with its fingers outstretched. It was almost like he was beckoning you to him. You gulped.  Who were you to say no to a god?

    With shaky fingers, you gently clasped his hand within your own. The cool marble felt soothing against your skin. A subtle tingling sensation filled your left hand. Almost out of instinct, your right hand took hold of the marble appendage as well. A searing, white hot pain shot through your whole body, yet you were unable to let go of his hand. The burning sensation was then replaced with a freezing one. You watched in terror as the cold slithered up through your veins, turning them a sickly greenish-black as if they had been infected. Your vision went spotty, and the last thing your remembered was the pain of hitting your head on the arm of the chair.

~

    "What do you mean you lost her? I found the address, gave it to you, and you still LOST HER?"

    "HRRK! Yes, my lord, I, uh, I could not find her. She was not there when I-"
     "I gave you SPECIFIC directions. If you couldn't find her, then you were to look."

    "I DID. I, uh, I did my lord. No matter where I looked I couldn't find her."

    "IF WE CANNOT OBTAIN HER THEN WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GAIN THE UPPER HAND ON KARS."
"I am aware of that, my lord. But I'm afraid that he has put some sort of protection over her, some type of-"

    "PROTECTED OR NOT, if we do not get this girl then we are NOTHING."

    "Yes, my lord."

~

     Santana groaned quietly. A sudden sharp pain had pierced him in his eye. He had tried to quell the pain through many remedies, but none had worked so far. He quietly ran his fingers through his hair. Pulling up his cloak, he stood from his chair and started off to Esidisi's room.

    Santana hated when he couldn't figure out what was wrong. It made him feel uneducated and foolish. He tromped through the fortress walls with anger. His eye twitched, bringing him back to the pain. He grasped the railing in pain. Santana sucked in a deep breath. 

     "Santana? Are you feeling alright?" Esidisi's concerned voice echoed softly.

     The young god turned is gaze up the stairs to see the God of War standing on the landing.

    "I think there's something wrong with me," Santana gasped. Another wave of pain jolted through his eye. He let out a painful grunt and collapsed to the floor in a clump.

     "Santana!" Esidisi shouted, running down the steps.

     The young god whimpered, the pain in his eye worsening. He gasped softly. Esidisi rested his hand on Santana's back.

     "Come now, let me see your eye," he whispered sweetly.

     Santana took his hand away from his eye and gazed back at Esidisi. Esidisi's lips were parted in concern. His eyes were wrinkled at the corners.

    "What is it?" Santana asked.

     "Have you always had runes in your right eye?" Esidisi inquired, gently pulling the eyelid down. Santana flinched. Runes? He had never even had a rune on his body.

     "What color?" Santana croaked out.

    "The same as your eyes. They're just a glowing orange," Esidisi said, pulling away from him. Santana sighed in relief. The pain had suddenly gone away. "And now they're gone."

     He shook his head. Odd, he thought to himself, nothing like this had ever been recorded in history.