[SpringsSong]

Giada blinked as Xadoc once again told her about how he loved her, but alas, at the moment, Giada could not say whether she loved him or if they were to just be friends.  She tried her best not to break down in tears as he turned away to go into battle against Deraj, but then, she heard the faintest whisper from her adopted father that caused her blood to boil.  Xadoc wasn’t all the previous guardians of the ocean; he was allowed to fall in love, and she only saw it fitting that he would not just protect the God of Water, but also the Goddess of Earth.

Then, she saw him fall from the skies with a large gash on his shoulder and several claw-marks marring his pinkish-white skin.

This caused Giada's blood to boil even more.  Deraj had taken Xadoc’s only apparent weakness, and he had exploited it to an advantage that the Goddess of Earth did not approve of in any way, shape, or form.  She could hardly believe that Deraj could do something like this, and it enraged her deeply to see something like that come from the man that had raised her.

No, Giada; now is not the time for our rage.  When Ath'yeri is here, and we can use our powers over Shadows... then we can let our rage fly.  When that happens... Deraj will regret doing this to us.

Giada ran over to Xadoc as he was placed on the deck of the ship, looking rather small next to him, considering the fact that she was in her human form and he, his Paragon form.  She placed her hand on the wound on his shoulder and drew back a hand that was covered completely in blood.  She felt tears forming behind her eyes as she began to wipe the blood away from his wound, although soon, that proved to be quite a bit of a challenge, and one that was not going to get her much of anywhere, considering how small she was compared to him.  When she noticed that his eyes were closed, she felt tears welling up inside of her.

“No... Xadoc, you have to wake up!”

Her voice was frantic as she moved to where she was next to Xadoc’s head, and she gently stroked his nose, tears starting to slide down her face.  She didn’t know why she cared so much about the Sea-Guardian; she hadn’t even known him for all that long, and already, his life was in danger because of an incident?  She blamed herself, and she knew it: he had said that he loved her, he wished for Ciren to protect her at all costs...

...even if he were to be harmed.

“Xadoc!  You have to come back to me; I need you!  I... I love you, Xadoc; you can’t leave me now!  I need you here with me... please, Xadoc, don’t leave me... please...”

[1.2]

---

Xadoc felt the blade pierce his shoulder, and then he felt the claws.  They were both so piercing, and then, he felt himself fall from the sky.  He had yet to lose his consciousness, so he could tell that he was falling, and he also felt Ekal catch him and take him to the ship.  He felt his muscles go limp as he was placed on the ship, and his eyelids slid shut.

Thank you... God of Darkness...

As he said this to Ekal, he slid out of consciousness, his wings and body limp on the boat.  Compared to it, he was still huge, and people aboard the ship were most likely start to gather around him, wondering what had happened and who he was, as well as why several of its passengers were now leaping into the air and taking their Paragon forms and attacking the SailFin male.

They were the only ones that would know.

Even as Xadoc drifted into unconsciousness, he could feel Giada come running towards him, and he felt her silky touch on his wound.  He knew that he had lost a lot of blood by now, and it was starting to pool on the ground beneath and beside him.  How he longed to nuzzle Giada affectionately and tell her that he would always love her, even if this was his end, but it was clear that he was not doing anything of his own freewill right now.

Then, he heard her frantic pleas.

You... you love me? he asked, his voice weaker than normal, and his eyes slowly fluttering open.  However, even as he said this, his body began to shimmer, and he began to shrink down to size, his wings remaining, but the rest of his Paragon form receding to the size of about a six-foot-tall human.  This, of course, would make tending to his wounds easier for Giada—and the medical staff of the ship—but it was still an amazing sight to behold, watching the Sea-Guardian take on a human form.

“Giada... I would never leave you.” Xadoc said quietly as he sat up, wrapping his good arm around her.  “I would never leave a jade as perfect as you are, Giada; you’ve no need to worry about that, I can assure you.” Xadoc’s voice was weak as he said this, but he didn’t seem to mind.  He kissed her cheek gently, and then, he looked at the pool of blood that he was sitting in.

“...I, ah... think we ought to go to the infirmary...” he said, leaning against Giada as he tried his best not to black out again.

[1.2]

[SpringsSong]

Laire blinked as she felt Aila’s claw at her neck, trying her best not to gasp in surprise or tell Aila that she was wrong about Deraj; she would dare not argue with her cousin about something she would know better than she would, no matter what Deraj told her.  Aila knew everything about this particular incident better than she would, but then, Ekal brought up the mention of the portal and the accident.  Almost as soon as he demanded Deraj to talk about it, Laire broke in, her blue eyes gleaming darkly.

“Deraj opened a portal so that only the High Pantheon would be sent to Evelon, but it is evident that the God of Darkness was following too close behind for him not to end up here as well.  It was Deraj’s intent to have Ekal removed from Aila’s life because of the pain he caused her, and so that when Ekal came looking for Aila and her children, he would find neither of them.” Laire said, spitting at Aila.  “And yet, you had to go running back to the God of Darkness just because you two were so in love with one another...”

Here, Laire exhaled a hot blast of air at Aila—no fire; she knew better than to light her own cousin on fire—and squirmed away the minute her grip loosened on her throat.  She was tempted to take on her Paragon form, but she did not.  Instead, she first looked around, trying to spot Giada...

...and then, she spotted not only her, but Xadoc in a human form.

This is not good, she thought to herself.  If I were to separate the two, then everyone on this ship would die, for Xadoc’s rage and sadness itself would whip up a storm more vicious than just beating his wings.  It is said that the Sea-Guardian will fiercely defend the woman whom he gives his heart to—it is evident that he has given his heart to Giada—so now our only bet is to... wait a second!  Ekal is flying using a Shadow that is connected to his being!  That’s it! she thought in a devious manner, turning to the skies and glancing up at Deraj.

“Sever the Shadow from his body, Deraj!  That will render him unconscious!” she said, shifting into her Paragon form and pinning Aila down now.  “I’m not going to be able to hold her down forever, Deraj; sever the Shadow from Ekal’s body!” she said again, her eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief now.

“Hurry!  Ciren is summoning the rest of the Pantheon!  They will all be here soon; now is the time to act!” she said, noticing how Ciren seemed entranced now.  If it weren’t for the fact that she hated getting wet and that if she let up even the slightest bit, Aila would worm her way free and shift into her Paragon form and take down Laire, which would not be good as Aila had wings, while Laire had no means of flight.

“If Deraj has his way, you will not see out the day as the Goddess of Music, and the essence of Re’klet shall die, as shall the powers of Darkness.  You have a choice, Aila; either go back to him, or kill off your native realm.” Laire was not sure how Aila would react to this turn of events, but she could only predict that it would be a reaction that Deraj would not like.  If her love for Ekal was as undying as it seemed, then... well, they were pretty much screwed for the day.

How lovely.

[1.2]

---

Deraj growled as Ekal restrained him with the Shadow, and then, Nyera had to come and attack and provoke him.  He supposed it was only natural; with how close Aila and Nyera were, he was surprised that Nyera had not made the first strike.  However, then he remembered that Ekal had been Aila’s first love, and now that Aila’s memory had been restored...

Bugger it, Deraj thought to himself.  If Aila’s memory has been restored, then... that means she remembers what I said to her, and... okay.  I’m going to take care of Ekal now, he thought to himself now, wrenching his head around and swiping at one of the shadow tendrils, causing it to disappear.  As soon as that happened, he knew Ekal would begin to fall from the sky, so he caught him in his claws, but not to keep him from falling.  Oh, no.

As he caught Ekal in his claws, he held him tightly in his claws, squeezing him tighter and tighter.  He could already tell that Aila was crying out in pain, but that only added to his delight.

“What will it be, Aila?  I’m not afraid to just drop him in the ocean and let him drown.”

Here, however, he knew that his secret had been revealed about the portal, and he glared at Ekal.  His rage was boiling over now, and his brown eyes seemed to turn red as he squeezed Ekal all the tighter, growling angrily.

“So... you’ve been eavesdropping on Laire and myself, haven’t you?” he asked, his eyes glowing darkly.  “Yes, it is true.  I opened the portal that brought us here, but I intended to get the High Pantheon away from you, for I knew that Yesac would have a mutual alliance with you, and if it’s important to Aila, it’s important to Nyera, and if it’s important to Nyera, it’s important to Ciren.  I’m the only one that’s not in the loop there, you see.  If it’s important to Aila and does not involve you...”

Here, Deraj clamped down even harder on Ekal’s body.  It was clear that he was angered with the God of Darkness, but even as he moved to speak, he could feel his powers weakening.

“Bugger it!  I will not bother stripping you of your powers.  Drown, for all I care.” Deraj said, flinging Ekal at the ocean below, and then, he turned to the west and noticed the sun receding quickly, and then, he turned to the east, hoping he was only seeing things...

...but then, he realized how much trouble he was in now, for even as he realized that the moon was rising prematurely...

...he could see one clearly defined form sailing towards him, sail raised and blue eyes furious.

[1.2]

[SpringsSong]

If Alyssa was interested in appearing in a form that Deraj could harm, then he would have been able to see the faint blue aura around her that would have been able to see that it was her coming towards him.  However, Kuille had warned her of Deraj’s rage towards her sister.

She wasn’t about to let Deraj harm her sister—or anyone important to her, whether it was Ekal or Nyera or Ciren or anyone else from the Pantheon that had yet to return in their true forms yet.  She knew what they had to do, and that was...

Well, the solution was quite simple, really.

Kuille would be made the new God of Life.

She was not opposed to this idea, but at the same time, she was a little hesitant about the whole thing.  She knew that he knew his powers well enough, but... to take his father’s place?

More specifically, could he take his father’s place as well as remove him from power, casting him out of the Pantheon, and essentially disown his father?  After all, he had hurt the woman that was not only essentially a second mother to him, but also the sister of the woman he loved.

Alyssa wasn’t sure that Kuille was quite ready to do something quite that drastic.  He knew what needed to be done, but at the same time, Deraj was his father.  Could Kuille overlook that in these next crucial moments and, despite his relation to the rampaging God of  Life, remove him from power, and not show any emotions about it?  Alyssa had to admit that she had her doubts...

...but knew, deep down, that he would be able to do it.

“Are you ready for this, Kuille?” she asked him.  “There’s no other way to go around this one, darling; we have to remove your father from the Pantheon.  I know that I would rather not have to see him put out of the Pantheon, but when you consider what he did to Aila and Ekal—and the rest of the Pantheon, High and Lesser alike, separating them when he threw the High Pantheon into Evelon the way he did... and then there’s still the issue of how he dealt with those two darlings that never got to see their father...”

Alyssa tried to keep the tears out of her eyes; tears of the Moon were far more magical then any old tears in that they were similar to moonbeams, and Deraj would definitely see those.

[1.1]

---

“Alyssa, it’s the only thing we can do.  My father needs to know that I am as opposed to this as Aunt Valisilwen was to even being a part of the Pantheon, and thus passed on her duties to you, her eldest sister, and became a mortal again.” Kuille said, his eyes firm in their determination and his sail raised as high as it would go.  “Climb higher into the sky, Alyssa.  That way, he will not be able to see you when you swoop down to attack him.  I must first save Ekal.”

Here, Kuille swooped down steeply and reached out one of his claws, waiting for Ekal to fall into it.  When he did, he examined the God of Darkness quickly and saw that, aside from a few bruises and a couple of stress fractures, his wounds weren’t all that bad.  He quickly flew over to the ship and placed him next to Aila.

“Aunt Aila—don’t worry, I can handle this.  Alyssa and I have a plan.”

He winked slightly as he said this, and then, he took off, his blue eyes fixed on the other SailFin.  He knew that, if Fire and Aila were not the same person, Fire would doubtless make some reference to the epic lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin in the third episode of Star Wars...

...but he doubted that Aila was in that sort of a mood.

“Father!” he said, trying not to spit the word like it was venom.  “It’s time to pay for the pain you’ve caused the Pantheon.  Don’t pretend I don’t know what you’re talking about; the ones who chose the original Pantheon have been talking with me as of late.  They are displeased with you, and they have decided...”

Here, he could not help but pause, but then, he remembered what Alyssa had warned him about: hesitation would ruin the whole deal for them, and the whole matter would be for nothing.

“They’ve decided that you are no longer fit to serve as the Head of the Pantheon.  Today... today shall be your last.” Kuille said, readying his tail blade.  He couldn’t help but remember that the man that he was about to attack was his father...

...no.  My father would not kill anyone.  My father would quietly end things with Aila and let her get on with her life with Ekal, not try to kill him.

[1.1]

[SpringsSong]

Aila blinked as she heard Kuille’s voice and then sensed Alyssa's presence, but soon, her mind was occupied by something else: Ekal.  Falling from the sky.  Rushing towards the ocean.  He probably had a few broken bones, as well as several severe bruises, but she supposed there was really nothing she could do about it.  She was getting ready to dive for the edge of the ship when Kuille caught him and placed him on the deck of the ship, and all she could do was sit there with a slightly dumb look on her face.  How could father and son... be so different?

“Thank you, Kuille.  And for the love of Zu'hai—stay safe.”

Aila knew that, if the Celestial Beings were intervening and replacing Deraj with Kuille, then they must have been greatly angered by something he did—and they had no reason not to be.  In fact, Aila already knew things about the Celestial Beings that most of the rest of the Pantheon didn’t—one of the Higher Celestial Beings was Atlantia, the Star Seraphent that had pledged her service to Aila as a mount, and the two other that she knew of thus far were Yeraith and Eruanna, who were both Evrens.  There were rumors that a fourth Celestial Being, in the form of a Malachite Hunter, had also returned, but she had nothing to base that on.

“Oh, dear Zu'hai, Nyera!” she exclaimed as she looked at her femme-mate nervously, and then, noticed Xadoc.  She sighed as she looked from Ekal to Nyera to Ciren and, finally, to Giada and Xadoc.  It was clear that Aila was conflicted, but after a few minutes, she looked to Ciren nervously.

“We need to get them all to the infirmary, Ciren.  If they don’t get medical attention...”

Xadoc would bleed out, Aila knew that much.  Nyera might be severely wounded and none of them would know it, and then, she would never wake up, and Ekal... well, if he tried moving, he would probably end up breaking the bones that had stress fractures on them now, and she didn’t want that that to happen.  She could not stand to see someone hurt that she cared for, and considering that Deraj was going on a complete rampage, she knew that she was not really safe right now.

“Come on, Ekal.  We need to get you some medical attention.  Can’t have you dying on me now, especially not with the Celestial Beings getting involved in this mess now.” Aila said, looking to the skies.  Hopefully, Atlantia and Eruanna would be on their way, and maybe also Yeraith and the Malachite Hunter, if she was also a Celestial Being.  If she was, then their lives would be much easier; Celestial Beings had the power to revoke powers of the Pantheon, but usually, three of them—if not all—had to be present, along with the one who would replace the one whose powers they were revoking.

“Atlantia... please tell me you know what you’re doing...”

[3.0]

---

Ekal instantly went from fully conscious to bordering on going unconscious when Deraj severed the shadow from his physical being.  He had known that this would happen, but that did not change the side effects of it any.  He felt a claw catch him, and then, he felt an unbearable pain that made him wish that he was completely unconscious.  He could feel the bones cracking underneath the pressure that Deraj’s claw was putting on them, and he felt himself start to black out when he heard Deraj ask Aila what her choice would be, but she had no time to answer, and he was thrown down towards the ocean.

Aila... I’m sorry...

He thought this as he fell, faster and faster, to the ocean, but then, he felt something hard catch him, and then, he felt himself being placed on the deck of the ship, and he heard a voice speaking directly to Aila.

Aunt Aila—don’t worry about this.  Alyssa and I have a plan.

As soon as he heard the voice, he used what powers he had to draw himself back into consciousness and look up at the skies.  There, he could see Kuille, the son of Deraj... and if he knew anything about the Celestial Beings and how they worked, the one that would succeed Deraj as the God of Life, and that would have the power to banish his father forever.  As he thought about the ramifications of that, he winced slightly.

“To... banish one’s... own... father... I could never... do that... even if mine... was never any good to me...” he said, his voice considerably weak as he attempted to move even the slightest bit.  However, when Aila said they needed to get to the infirmary, he relaxed a bit and nodded, realizing that she was right.  However, Ekal let his eyes close now, moving just enough so that his head was on Aila’s lap, but other than that, he was completely out of it now.  He could sense what Aila had said about hoping that Atlantia knew what she was doing, and almost instantly, he tried to sit up again.

“The Seraphent that is your mount is one of the Celestial Beings?  They must really hold you in high esteem, Aila; or else they want to stay in the know using methods other than their powers of being able to see us wherever we are.  Didn’t you say that... one of the Evrens was a Celestial being once?  The Nebula one?” he asked.  It would make perfect sense for Eruanna to be a Celestial Being, as she was Aila’s advisor, and one of the wisest pets in the whole Fire-Forests that was involved with them.

“I agree with you.  I hope they know what they are doing, mostly for their sake—they have never had to do this before, have they?  I don’t recall hearing anything about an incident like this...”

[3.0]

[SpringsSong]

Nyera blinked as she felt herself drawn out of the water rather rapidly, and then, felt herself land on the deck of the ship.  Soon after that, she felt how frantic Aila was, and she could only smirk as she opened her eyes, smiling at her femme-mate as she gently placed a hand on her face, her blue eyes fluttering open and shut as she drew in a shaky breath.  She allowed her eyes to focus on Aila for a moment, and then, she let her hand fall slightly.

“I’m sure Atlantia knows what she’s doing... and Eruanna, and Yeraith, and Fáreryniel... and the fifth being that has yet to return...” she said, smiling faintly as she moved to sit up, placing a hand on her head as she did so.  “Oy, this does not feel good at all... what the heck did he do to me...?”

Even as she asked this, she remembered what one of the powers of the God of Life was that he (or she) had was the ability to take the life-force of others, and, if it was from another God or Goddess, they would take on their powers for a short amount of time.  Almost instantly, she knew what it was he did to her, and she knew why it was he did it.  She looked at Aila nervously, her eyes concerned.

“Aila... he might have taken my powers.  We... need to get into the infirmary now.  Come on, Aila; we need to get inside now, otherwise...” here, Nyera’s voice trailed off, although she tried her best not to let her voice trail off.  Finally, though, Nyera convinced herself to continue speaking, although it did not sit well with her to speak.

“...otherwise... he might use the powers he acquired from me and... well... you know my powers, Aila; you know them better than almost anyone would know.  Aila... something tells me he is not below absorbing my powers just to try and get you back.  Sometimes I wish we were immune to other’s powers...” Nyera said, standing up slowly as she leaned on Ciren for support.  When she noticed that Kuille was flying towards his father, tail blade at the ready.

“So, Kuille has realized that he must take down his own father in order to restore the balance that Atlantia and the other Celestial Beings have ordained for the Pantheon... I sure hope that Kuille is up to the task, Aila; and I hope that, if he does take over, that he doesn’t make the same mistakes as his father.  If he were to... then I think, first of all, Alyssa would be heartbroken, and secondly, all of us would be devastated, for there are none to take his place this time.  Atlantia, Eruanna, Yeraith, Fáreryniel, I hope to the stars above that you know what you are doing!  Give Kuille your strength and guidance...”

Here, she began walking towards the infirmary, stumbling along slightly as she did so.  Obviously her fall had left her a little disoriented...

[2.0]

---

Ciren breathed a sigh of relief as Nyera woke up, but then, he remembered what she had said one time about Deraj having the power to take other God’s powers.  Maybe this was why, now, the Celestial Beings had gotten involved in this whole mess—to take the powers of a fellow God was like killing them from the inside out, yet allowing the smallest fragment of them to stay alive.  Thankfully, though, Nyera had let go as soon as she had realized what was happening, so he did not get much of a chance to steal her powers.  He gently kissed Nyera’s forehead, running a hand through her hair.

“At least some part of you realized what he was doing subconsciously, and you let go.  Maybe your connection to one of the Celestial Beings was alerted to that, and she took away your strength so that you would fall, and that so Deraj could not take your powers...” he said quietly, thinking as all of the wheels in his head began turning.  Maybe Eruanna was only Aila’s advisor because of the fact that they knew Deraj needed to be banished, and then... yes, this was all starting to make sense now, as he began to recall a particular dream he had where he, Maethorion, Yáviel, and Sairanhiniel had been spoken to by Yeraith, who said she was the one who oversaw their elements.  He suspected that Atlantia was the one who oversaw Aila, Nyera, Ekal, Giada, and Ath'yeri, and he knew for a fact that Fáreryniel was supposed to oversee An'ama, Yesac, Kylistern, and Quenaz, while Eruanna was charged with the God of Life in addition to Alyssa, Tirmat, and Ehecatl.

Then who was in charge of Fortunali, Bruicaunion, Lairelithoniel, and Sylira?

Here, he paused and thought for a moment and thought about the possibilities.  He knew that there was a fifth being that had not yet reappeared, but... would she ever reappear?  Yeraith told them that two beings—herself and Eruanna—were Evrens, one being—Fáreryniel—was a Hunter... and that two—Atlantia and... one other—were Seraphents.

That was what had him confused—who was the other Seraphent?

After a few minutes, though, he realized that Nyera had gotten up and was moving towards the infirmary, albeit shakily and slowly.  He walked up to her and put his arm around her shoulder, and then, he turned to Aila and Ekal.

“Nyera’s right.  We need to get inside now... otherwise things could go very, very wrong.” Ciren said, his emerald eyes full of concern.  “I can try and get in touch with Yeraith and see what it is that is happening, especially with this one that has not yet returned.”

He shook his head as he looked back up at the skies again, and he sighed.  Part of him wished that he had wings that would allow him to fly, but... he knew that this was impossible, and that they had to let Kuille take care of this.

[2.0]

[SpringsSong]

Giada laughed as she placed her arm around Xadoc, and she could feel herself blushing as she did so.  She never would have expected him to have such a gorgeous human form, much less any human form at all!  She had always believed that he had no human form; in fact, he had lead her believe that it was impossible for him to take on a human form, and yet, here he was... in one of the most gorgeous human forms she’d ever seen a Paragon possess.  She couldn’t help but glance back at Nyera, her eyes inquisitive.

Did you have anything to do with this, Aunt Nyera? she asked, a small smile coming to her face as she helped Xadoc to the infirmary, brushing her hair back into a ponytail as she looked for the infirmary, trying to spot it.  When she managed to find it, she noticed that the head nurse seemed a little freaked out by the sudden appearance of three pairs of human-form Paragons, three of which were injured.  Giada had half a mind to demand that they be given treatment and that she was a Goddess, but she knew that this would not be the wisest decision, so she just said what part of the truth was.

“My aunt, uncle, and boyfriend were injured by an angry SailFin that was been trying to take back my mother—I mean, my adopted mother—and they really need medical attention.  He tried to squeeze my uncle to death, and I think he might have succeeded had things not turned around when they had.  My boyfriend was originally going to confront him, but he caught him off-guard and... well, I’m sure you can see from the gash on his chest what happened...” she said, frowning slightly.

The nurse turned her attention to Xadoc first, because he was the one that was injured the most.  She got his shirt off and cleaned the wound, setting him up with a few machines to monitor his vitals as he breathed steadily, but there were a few times where his breathing was a bit shaky.  Giada walked over to him and placed her hand on his, smiling slightly.

“Hey,” she said, chuckling a little as she kissed his cheek gently.  “You told me you never had a human form, Xadoc... but you’re simply gorgeous like that, you know?  I mean... not everyone can pull off the long dark pink hair like that.  It takes a certain skill... you know?  Just like how my sister can pull off the Grim and Butterfly wings well, but not every female Grim could pull off the look without being ridiculous, know what I mean?”

She laughed slightly as she placed her head on his shoulder, smiling as she placed a hand on his chest, trying her best not to blush any as she did so.  She placed her other hand on his wings, gently tracing the feathers as she hummed gently, watching as the nurse tended to the other two.  She knew that Ekal would be next; broken bones were far worse than just passing out in midair.

“What do you think is going to happen?  Atlantia’s been talking to me a lot lately since I became the Goddess of Earth, and she kept mentioning that the fifth Celestial Being would return soon, and that, although not in their true forms, the other nine of the Lesser Pantheon will return...”

[1.3]

---

Xadoc could tell that Giada was blushing as she helped him to the infirmary, and once they got there and he got hooked up to the machines, especially now that he was shirtless, he himself felt himself blushing, especially once Giada had placed her head on his shoulder and one of her hands on his chest.  After a few moments, though, he helped her onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead gently as he listened to what it was she was saying.  He laughed as she commented on his hair, and he moved one of his hands to run it through his hair.  It felt exactly like his mane, which relieved him in some aspects.

“Even though I would never pick any other female over you, my dear jade, I must admit that you are right when you say that your sister can pull off the Grim and Butterfly combination marvelously.  If we had never met, and if she weren’t onto the God of Ice, I think I would have to say I would be rather attracted to her, I must say... but as we did meet, and as your sister is rather attracted to that Kylistern fellow... I won’t hold to that claim.” Xadoc said, closing his eyes slightly as he listened to her musical voice as she continued speaking.

Then, she mentioned how Atlantia had been speaking to her.

“Atlantia?  As in the Celestial Being that is charged with keeping the Goddess of Music, her mates—as long as one is not the God of Life, whose Celestial Being is Eruanna—and the Deities of Earth and Fire?  Well, obviously, she has to be the one in charge of you...” he said, shaking his head.  As soon as he heard her mention the other nine from the Lesser Pantheon returning in different forms, he knew that they were supposed to be like them; Paragons, but... returning in different forms?

“I’d laugh it Maethorion were something fluffy and cuddly.   It’s so unlike him...” he said, laughing.  “And if poor Bruicaunion has a form with wings, I will feel really bad for him.  He is not meant to fly...” he added.  “And if Sairanhiniel is a Kuchi Nagi, I will feel sorry for her—she would be unable to communicate with us, I think.  And Zu'hai help us if Sylira is a Chaos pet—she would never speak to anyone again.”

It was unclear exactly how Xadoc knew about the Pantheon, but one could assume that it was because he was so well connected with Ciren, and Ciren doubtless told him about the things that went on with the High Pantheon—and the Pantheon in general.  He smiled as he placed his hand back on Giada's back, rubbing her back gently as the machines beeped calmly as they monitored his vitals and such.

“I sure hope the Celestial Beings know what they are doing, choosing to intervene now... they should have intervened thirteen Re'klettan years ago, when Deraj first abused his powers.  He used his powers to sense that Aila was expecting, and then... well, that scheme of his was nine months in the making...”

He shook his head again.  If Kuille was the one that they felt would be the best head of the Pantheon, then he wished them all the more power.

[1.3]