And there she stood, a dying star pulling in those around her like a black hole.
Time was irrelevant, as slow as it was, while the demigoddess watched as those before her slowly - some almost gingerly - step up and regarding each with a pious stare. First, there was @
Cicatrix - an immortal, a Star Walker - whose enigmatic appearance was as incomprehensible as Caligo's own, yet so much more vivid. They shown bright, a beacon - soft but warm. The demigoddess regarded them with a gentle gaze but for a moment: "
Cicatrix, you may have no physical eyes but you see what Denocte is at its core: A home for all, and for wayward souls."
And then, little @
Araxes - how long has she walked Novus' soils? Caligo remembers the day when she was not bay and white and dripping gold, but white and tenderly spotted black with soft, small wings. Cryptically: "
Araxes, it has been a long time since you have walked these soils. Tempus wonders where you went."
Oh, the consuming void of her eyes, of her lips, of the wild tendrils of her mane softened just a little bit when she regarded @
Willoughby. Although not a Denoctian and although Caligo was fiercely protective of her own... "
Is a Vagabond not a lost soul in some way, Willoughby Lovelace?" a twinge of a smile at the corner of the demigoddess' lips. Such a statement was undeniably of a deity's mindset, thinking that those who do not believe are innately lost.
Then, an ombre and gold wolf boy they called @
Renwick. The imposing swath of darkness that was Caligo shifted, her head dipped to regard and peer at the eloquent, braided man. "
You are certainly are intuitive; you already know that Solterra and Terrastella mourn alongside us, don't you?" Sage words and gilded stare.
There was @
Ira then, cutting through the crowd like his sharp gemstone horn may cut through an adversary... if he was any more of a man to give in wildly to anger. "
Your father brought you to Denocte, a home away from his own. You, and I, owe much to him for that." She knew - knew Ira's father was gone, knew of the flames that had licked the night sky, knew that deep in his heart Ira held onto a chip of resentment. Caligo's voice, hushed and only able to be heard in Ira's own ear... as if whispered over his shoulder: "
The pyre was beautiful."
And the visionary! Oh how @Kassandra had
ran, fueled by a siege and surge of adrenaline through the halls of Caligo's home. But now she approached with almost nervous steps, and the demigoddess fondly regards her. "
Your visions are vivid and powerful. One day, you will need to tell me the words I spoke and pictures I painted."
The last - but certainly not least - to step forward was @
Katniss. Caligo's heart ached between the voids of her ribs - for she remembers the night that Metaphor was ripped from Katniss and knowing Kibou, from his fellow Denoctians and everyone. It was a day that her heart rang with pain and fury and
anger, forbidden from interfering by her Father himself. But all that did not define Katniss in the demigoddess' eyes - rather, Caligo remembered her
strength, in the times immediately after leading to now. So she stood, quietly as the champion of battle spoke to her fellow Denoctians - and only when she was done, did she greet her: "
Words are as strong as ever, Katniss."
There was heartache and passion in the growing crowd before her; the impact Morrighan and her daughter had on Denocte was undeniable. Each of those who stepped up to offer themselves to the Court, Caligo felt more and more... comfortable. Eyes made of eons of stars and glittering diamonds swept across them one last time, and it was then that she realized the choice was not
hers to make after all.
Her head was raised, the wild swath an untamed, beautiful mess that framed sometimes-cruel, sometimes-caring eyes. She looked at them all and motioned for them to come to her:
"Cicatrix, Araxes, Willoughby, Renwick, Ira, Kassandra, Katniss - come forward."
And with the Sovereign-hopefuls before her, she turned her attention to the rest of her Court. "
Denoctians!" Her voice, commanding and ever-present, called forth even those who were not yet
here to the Court's center.
"Today you will choose who leads you, us, onto the next path. Choose wisely, my children."
IF YOU ARE A DENOCTIAN, GO HERE TO VOTE
@Cicatrix, @Araxes, @Willoughby, @Renwick, @Ira, @Kassandra, @Katniss:
You may now claim this thread as completed for signos or EXP!
