crownless falcon ;

#visage ☉ (child of the cosmos; a ruler of the skies.)

AARON FONTAINE as TOBIN AEGISFORD in THE OUTPOST SEASON 2

"Hypnos and I once fought for freedom; this is not the same." Everything had a natural end; nothing was meant to persist forever; eternity wasn't built to withstand the buckling weight of all. "I'm not afraid for them, Horus, I'm proud of them, and I admire them. Billions of souls find ways of distilling such meaning from such brief periods of time. What is a century to you? A decade? To humanity, that can mean everything." Thanatos was accustomed to being misunderstood, and he would always accept as much from Horus, even if it took the form of contempt. They called it inaction, that he was a fence sitter when the great Judge was anything but. "One life ends and all their pain, darkness, and grievances are swept away. Then, someday, they get the chance to begin again. Death is not an end. This is me fighting for them, I wish you could understand that."

#// you can end around here if you like but i kept it open :)#// more airplane replies while my friends are showering #interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& thanatos #& thanatos 001

Horus had been asleep for the majority of humanity's existence, ignorant to the deeper meanings that Thanatos' words might have inspired. To understand what it was to be mortal was beyond him. Mortality fascinated him, and it put care into his heart, but it was the former that made him no different from other Gods that were so disconnected to the fear of death. But while Thanatos had been someone that Horus had avoided most of his life by pain of grief, he seemed to inspire within Horus more trust than the former prince could explain. With that, he was not so ignorant he could not recognize there was something he himself was blind to. But the world was wide, it was complicated and he had woken among the ashes of what had been destruction. He did not have the energy to humour the part of him that Thanatos had inspired with thoughtfulness. He worried too much for this world and all others, opening his eyes after centuries to all that was still wrong.

“What I understand is that we have all shed too much sweat, tears and ichor to build this. All of it.” Horus gestured with both arms around them, as though to speak not just of Rome but of this world and all those attached to it by the Tree. “They have all come too far for this all to end because of this fate you speak of. Even your sight and understanding for endings must have its limitations.” He spoke calmly but with sincerity and stubborn determination. For this world to prosper was what Ihy would have wanted for the humans that he had cared so much for, and it was the love that Soranus had always inspired within the God. “If you will not take up arms for them, Thanatos, I shall.” His head inclined, a wordless and respectful goodbye, before he would turn away.

@thegodhorus location: Lupercal Fairgrounds notes: for the lovers

Fortunately for Soranus, he was never alone, but at present Justice was sleeping trying to rally his strength for the upcoming fights. He knew how the other felt about Horus, jilted on behalf of Soranus in the way that the dawn elve just wouldn't allow himself to acknowledge. When he saw the God saw alone though, he moved to join him as he offered him a glass of the warm beer that was being passed around. "I think it's safe to drink, but I wouldn't want to make any promises." Soranus moved to take a seat next to the other as he looked out at the festival grounds, lycans scrapping together, people dancing, bands performing. The air was so alive, it was strange to feel so alien around happiness, but here he was, Soranus thought he should be used to it by now. "Did you sign up for any of the events?" Soranus did not want to come across as too eager, but he would like to see Horus in action again. It had been a long time and he thought that if there was nothing else that would make Horus feel like himself again, then it was seeing what it was that this realm had to offer.

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& soranus #& soranus 001

He had learned much from Aelia, Artemis, and many of the elves that had come to pay respects and greet him. The world had changed in a way that was almost too much for his mind to comprehend, but at it's core, it was still the same. It grew, it changed, it was the home of love and war and endless lessons to be learned. He could tell humanity was still cruel and callous, but they were also still curious, bright-eyed and kind and, most important, they learned and adapted. The Eye was no longer this awful thing that he'd left behind, at least not where Ariadne's influence reached. There was still much to be done there but Horus would focus on learning more and making sure that this inter-species peace lasted as long as he drew breath. Horus felt like he had his feet a little more planted on the soil, just as he'd promised Soranus.

Horus looked towards him now and found his lips curling up into a smile before even noticing. Without any reservation, the god took the offered cup and drank from it. "It's not... wholly unpleasant." It definitely wasn't something he'd ask for more of though. "I did." The smile returned. "I intend to see how the warriors of this kingdom- err, city- fight in this day and age. I believe there is no better measurement to the strength of a society than among those who are willing fighters. And while it is one thing to watch, it is entirely another to test their merits with my own blade." His expression softened. "And what about you, Sora?"

Comforts were for the cat sith, everyone loved the felines, and the reapers he'd hired were good at comforting mortal souls. Few people ever looked upon Thanatos's cold face and felt warm at the thought of being shepherded anywhere by him. Despite personifying Death in its most peaceful form, peace was not what people felt when they approached, instead after when they passed through. After they entered The Void and stepped through the door to that next adventure that was to follow. Nothing was truly immortal, elves had coined this term and decided it meant that they should never die, and while the essence of a person lasted into eternity, it was the ego that people feared losing. The Seldarine clung so hungrily to themselves that they stopped to see the fear that had shrouded them, that disquiet and resentment towards Thanatos was his oldest and most unwanted friend.

"I hate to be the burden of bad news," Thanatos admitted, "most of all to you." Horus held out hope because that was his nature, as bright and as infinite as the open sky. The stars above in their unending complexity would be ceaselessly proud of her grandson, of that, Thanatos was certain. "These mortals, Horus," Thanatos pivoted a bit as he brought his attention back towards the city that was overlooked by the hill where they stood. "The Seldarine does not give them enough credit, this world was brought to the brink of annihilation, the entirety of the World Tree destroyed by machines: organic life was at an end. But it was a small few, a collection of fey, vampires, witches, and few others that saved us all. Yourself and the rest of the Seldarine included." He wished to place a hand on the other's shoulder but kept himself still instead, "We evade one fate only to encounter another, that is the way of things."

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& thanatos #& thanatos 001

Horus considered those words but it was difficult to believe anything but perhaps that the great Archfey Titania, the Muses and the proclaimed goddess Keket hadn't perhaps bared the greatest burdens of all during the end. He was fond of mortals, he'd spent so long trying to help them. He wanted to believe that they were stronger than the worlds gave them credit for but Horus had been raised in a way that made it difficult. He tucked away the thoughts, promising himself to take Thanatos' words into greater consideration as he continued learning of the world around him. Arrogant as the Gods might be, Horus attempted to look past all that he had learned; his life had already proven it to him that there was more than what the Seldarine taught him.

"I won't argue with your logic, Thanatos," Horus said, not in an irked or in a defeated way but instead thoughtfully and patiently. "But we cannot give up. These mortals and all the creatures of the World Tree have been given much by us. They have been given much by the divine... I will make sure that they are given more until the World Tree itself decides it is finally time to wither. You have never fought before Thanatos, but you are made of one of the greatest warrior kings of all. Fight now if you truly fear for their fate. You cannot say that there aren't those among us that don't deserve it."

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Shattrath City 1

This reminds me of waiting to enter a dungeon so I could ding. Good times…

#music ☉ (ancient tongues that have been marked in stone.)

"Your King has been running since The First War was won, you just never wanted to see it." Thanatos would lend Horus' extensive sleep to his lapse in memory, The Seldarine had never run from anything, alas, even Horus was not immune to the arrogance that defined the creatures. Corellon Larethian had separated Arvandor from the World Tree long ago because he knew that Thanatos could not reach him there, but there were fates worse than Death and being absent from the weavings of Fate did not promote immunity to it; the spellplague was the greatest threat that they had ever faced, and the creatures of the Abyss were immune to it. "Elysia has fallen to Archfiends from the Abyss, Asgard as well." Thanatos wasn't a newspaper so Horus was fortunate that they were family. "The spellplague that ran rampant when you went to sleep has only continued to ravage the World Tree. No riddles, Horus. In your absence only but a few of the Seldarine have chosen to remain here; the rest have fled or are in hiding." And Death would come for all of them.

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& thanatos 001 #& thanatos

A warrior, once proud and noble, Horus remembered the Seldarine history with grand teachings of war and victories, many of which he'd eventually helped to make. Of confronting all their enemies and reigning victorious in the end. He could not recall stories around the holy fires and riverbanks told of running, or of being frightening away by anything other than, perhaps, the Spellplague. To look at their history in another way as Thanatos did, it was unfamiliar to him. But as he stood there in silence and thought, he realized Death had found another way of looking at things and it wasn't untrue. Every evasion of their enemies had been painted as them not needing to waste their energy. Arvandor's separation of the World Tree a symbol of independence and superiority rather than fear.

"This is..." His gaze hardened, his eyes falling absently on the space beside Thanatos as his mind raced. "This is trying news." Horus fought the the whirlwind of thought and emotion going through him as he met the dark elve's eyes again. "Our realms have been faced with great threats before. The Spellplague may be the greatest threat that any of us have ever faced but it is not unfamiliar... Just as the plague has grown, so have the lives and the minds of the creatures inhabiting the World Tree. Not all is lost yet." Though he wasn't sure who was trying to convince, Horus' words and facade of confidence had never fallen short before when it came to speaking to others.

#visage ☉ (child of the cosmos; a ruler of the skies.)

AARON FONTAINE as TOBIN AEGISFORD in THE OUTPOST SEASON 2

Concern wasn't something Thanatos was writ with; he knew when the Deaths of all were prescribed, even his own. To that end, Thanatos had a great deal of time to prepare. "Valhalla... Elysium... The list goes on, they're all trifles, arbitrary designs with similar functions. They all began the same; someone wanted power, others couldn't let go." Artemis was strong, but she was so much like her brother in that neither of them knew when to let go. Life wasn't fair; Thanatos knew that was true, and while people always protested the contrary, Death was. It came for everyone in the end. "It's coming, Horus." The final curtain call, the end of ends. The age of the Seldarine was at its close, but where would this world be without the sky? The Sun? Without Death? The Gods had made themselves important; now, the realms depended upon them just as surely as they depended on the air, the grass, and the trees. "The Seldarine are running out of places to hide; those who could not get to Arvandor came here: you were asleep for a long time, but they're being corralled."

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& thanatos #& thanatos 001

It's coming, Horus.

Lathander had said the very same before his final battle; the hairs on Horus' skin prickled him as though a chill had run down his back. He tried not to show this sudden concern and the god was relatively good at playing a stoic, fearless figure. In the end, it was the same as playing soldier but he wielded no weapon but his own power and confidence. "Corralled? By whom?" The stoicism broke for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he took a step forward. No anger or threat towards Thanatos, only the seriousness of one who was clearly on edge. "The Seldarine have never hid before. What has changed, Thanatos? Do not give me riddles... this is my family you speak of." The Seldarine, as much as Horus resented them, were family enough that he did not wish them harm. He only wished to be away from them.

"You know as well as I that I cannot lie," Horus retorted. He found himself on the verge of a smile. Justice was a very hard creature to warm up to but no matter how difficult the spirit's presense was, years had made Horus softer to him. The rough-hewn part of the Revenant was fully a warrior and that was who the God had been for the majority of his life. Ihy had loved the Revenant, his son considering Justice the fun and interesting one between all of the men at home despite the very hard edges of his personality.

Any trace of softness and amusement faded away. "I woke up. All the worlds were shaken; that's what I've come to learned happened while I slept. I don't know if it was the war of Gods or... if it was that I'd promised to wake from my sleep only when humanity tried to make amends for what they'd created in my name. They are trying."

They'd been good friends at one point, as friendly as a revenant made from Justice could be. He was harsh and demanding, but loyal, true, never strayed from what he knew was right. As of late, however, things were different. He felt rage. He felt something that was no longer considered righteous fury; he felt...like he was owed blood. Blood for blood, an eye for an eye; he knew the words. Those that had done nothing to slight him personally would still know death, Vengeance would make sure of it. His purpose tainted, his identity skewed, he had nothing but to look ahead at what next fight he could find.

"What do you know of what happened?" He said finally, knowing that Soranus was perhaps desperate to come out and talk to the other. He'd have to wait his turn. It was Justice's time to be a bully. "Did you have a nice nap while the rest of us continued on?"

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& justice #& justice 001

Nap. Justice was in a foul mood but Horus would not begrudge him that just yet. They'd only just begun speaking and the god had sorely missed him. "I have spoken to Artemis who found me almost as soon as I stepped foot in the city." The goddess truly loved her divine family but he hardly knew the young one despite all the enthusiasm she had in seeing him. "And a ghoul named Aelia has been kind enough to offer me a lot of information about this world and what she has seen happen most recently. A battle for the Necronomicon... The book that should never have been made. She says it was destroyed in quite a series of unfortunate events, including the waking of Time itself. But they both say there is peace among the people now, in this capital of the world. Would you say differently, Justice?"

"Lupercalia." Soranus stated simply, "Chancellor Zahrya has a fondness for the wolves of Lupercal, and I'm inclined to join him and his manifest; I'm sure Justice will have some with the games as well." Soranus, too, would manage to distill some fleeting joys from the gathering of supernatural species. It reminded him of ages that he'd long given up on, though there was a disquiet that lingered in the very base of his gut, he was resolved to see this age through to whatever would come next. The thought remained that this was not his home and that he missed the things that had been taken from him, but missing things did not bring them back; it just hurt. "Hopefully, we can meet then; welcome back, Horus. You have been missed." Soranus tipped his head lightly towards the other before moving to put the God behind him again. It was bittersweet in every sense of the word, unbearable to look upon someone who once thought you hung the sun in the sky but see their pain instead. If Soranus could take it for himself, he would if only Horus could walk this world as he should, with bright eyes and an open heart.

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& soranus 001 #& soranus

It was an excuse really; even Horus had nerves and fear. No one gave him as much of those emotions as this gentle dawn elf. While the God's mind was indeed wrought with the confusion of waking in a new world, he knew deep down in his heart that some things never changed - such as the devotion he still felt towards this elve and that he would have liked to express that. It might have been a fine time to do it when it seemed that Soranus held no resentment but... no. No, not when the flame in his heart would become a wildfire and he'd burn simply from the nerves. If Soranus turned away from him it would simply consume him. A clear mind would do him well, the time and space to figure out how to undo the knot of apprehension in his chest. It tightened in that moment; Horus didn't want to leave but he also couldn't stay.

"Lupercalia," he agreed, the word unfamiliar. Perhaps Horus would find someone well-versed in the affairs of mortals and their offshoots while he was here. Nothing would keep him from attending this event. In fact, if it was as big as alluded with an elven Chancellor attending than it would grant the God the opportunity to see the vitality and strength of the people of this age at the same time. Perhaps that would give him courage. He nodded than tipped his own head in return, the knot in his chest painfully tight now as he watched the elve walk by.

END.

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Ahn'Qiraj Intro

You can also hear this beautiful soundtrack at various Cenarion Expedition outposts throughout Outland.

#music ☉ (ancient tongues that have been marked in stone.)

#visage ☉ (child of the cosmos; a ruler of the skies.)

AARON FONTAINE as TOBIN AEGISFORD in THE OUTPOST SEASON 2

egypt-ancient-and-modern

Relief of the god Horus in the temple of Pharaoh Seti I in Abydos.

#aesthetics ☉ (sunshine all the time makes a desert.)

Horus had approached, and it was simple for Soranus to close the distance between them. This seemed to be the price for loving a God; it was impossible not to be drawn into their orbit regardless of the circumstances surrounding their arrival. Many years ago, the elve was resolved to spend eternity with the man standing before him; it hadn't been Soranus' decision to go their separate ways. Truthfully, his disposition didn't allow him to beg or crawl; everything about him was sympathetic, and if it pained Horus to look at him, then he'd endeavored to make it easier for God to not see him.

"Oh Horus, I don't resent you; I could never resent you." Soranus lightly touched the other's arm, "I understand you." The elve was reasonable and empathetic enough to know that Horus had never intended to hurt him, that whatever emotional injury Soranus had sustained was a casualty of Horus' decision to protect his own feelings. That did not negate Soranus' hurt, nor did it take away the fact that while the elve had also been grieving, he hadn't been alone at the very least. Some had long periods where they were liberated from the pain of recollection, but Soranus wasn't among them; the smiling faces of this younger generation with all their hopes and dreams only served to remind him of those, like him, who'd once been filled with that very same optimism. "That you chose to awake at all is something I respected; truthfully, I never expected to see you again; if our situations were reversed, I'm not sure I would have returned." Uthenera sounded nice and peaceful. Rest for the weary soul. "But I am glad you did."

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& soranus #& soranus 001

Perhaps that had been what had initially drawn Horus so closely to this elve, a bringer of dawn that exemplified the very opposite of what the Seldarine strove to be. Warm, gentle, empathetic and humble - letting himself shoulder burdens that weren't his own despite having no obligation to. It had been curiousity and awe at first to know this elve. However, it quickly became clear to Horus that not even the Sun elves with their gaudy, sweltering castles and fire could warm him to the core or set his very soul aflame as much as Soranus could. Simplicity like this was not simplicity, it was strength and bravery of a different and far rarer variety. He'd fallen for Soranus because, deep down, all that Horus had wanted for himself was a life just like the one that the dawn elf tried to make for himself and for his people. If Horus had been warrior enough to be the eternal, careless killer that he had spent most of his life being he would have never fallen to such grief and ruin. He accepted that now. A part of his very being had known before his mind ever did, and that little part of him had been drawn to Soranus from the very beginning.

Now he'd likely all but ruined that. But he would hope to mend what he could - to establish some sort of relationship and camaraderie with the elve even if love was something Soranus wouldn't want anymore. His love for Soranus had once been a wildfire in his soul and it had since become a flicker of a candle for his own sanity. But even now he could feel the flames spreading, warming him, but threatening to burn him down if he caved in too quick. "I've always known you are kind and forgiving... I only hope with every ounce of my soul that that never betrays you again, Sora." There was a moment of hesitant silence as he considered him, a part of Horus aching to reestablish the too-brief physical contact but withholding. "I am not here to hide away more but I fear for what I would say to you without any sense of how this world has changed yet. Would you meet me again? Before the start of spring... as the snow begins to melt. I hope to gain my footing by then."

Gods was a term that had risen after Thanatos' birth; in life, they'd merely been rebels who chased a dream that seemed impossible. Life, freedom, autonomy, and safety... What the Seldarine became, what they still were today. Corellon Larethian held the blame, though fixed at the summit of the pantheon, a mass of unrelenting power beneath him; Thanatos understood why, even among the would-be Gods, he was venerated. Clearly, Corellon had learned from their predecessors that it was easier to worship something than to fight against it. "I'm not convinced they ever had used for them." Thanatos simply, though what went unsaid was how glad he was that Horus had awoken and returned.

"She was defeated, as before I can't be sure where the remnants of her soul went." The Uthenera she'd placed a portion of herself into was not within his grip. The principle was the same as the accelerated levels of necromancy that some sorcerers had managed, based on an Abyssal spell long developed by the Great Old Ones to protect themselves from Death's definitive judgment. They sealed a portion of themselves elsewhere for safekeeping; it weakened them, but power could be accumulated and gathered again so long as the soul persisted. As Thanatos understood it, Persephone had embedded a piece of herself into a pomegranate in the Otherworld. She'd resided in Pluto for a time, but a transference had taken place with his betrayal. The draconic deity remained elusive, but Death found everyone eventually, and Thanatos was nothing if not patient. "She is not in any Underworld or Afterlife; if she were, I'd find her easily enough."

#interaction ☉ (my heart's a hieroglyph; it talks in tongues.)#& thanatos #& thanatos 001

"That is concerning," he admitted. Horus wasn't sure exactly how much he should be concerned but it was always a concern when one of their own went missing and was reputed to be troublesome. Tiamat had never been an easy goddess to deal with and, from what little he'd been learning since waking, she had been a cause of much devastation in the ages since he'd last seen her.

The gods' head tilted. "I also hear the Afterlives have all but crumbled to ruin... That there is none left." Artemis, who loved all divinity, found Horus quite quickly and wouldn't stop complaining about the fact she couldn't bring her Valkyries' souls to paradises anymore. But the younger once-godling's concerns were not his own. "Tell me how concerned you are about this, Thanatos." Despite keeping away from the God of Death, he trusted his word well enough. "Everything has changed since I've last been here... I can hardly wrap my mind around all that should worry me."