NationStates Jolt Archive

Note: Keen observers among you may notice that my nation is populated entirely by Gods. Gods who have lost the vast majority of their power, but Gods nonetheless. In order to counter the obvious advantages this would give me, my population is and shall remain 54. I realize this means that, divine powers aside, I could get my ass owned by most other nations. But ya know what? I really don't care. It's not about winning or losing, it's how you play the game.

Ra sighed, not the easiest task with a beak, but he managed it. His sharp eagle eyes took in every detail of the vast hodge-podge of architecture that was New Afterlife. The an outside observer, the place would resemble a floating city more than anything else; hundreds of buildings situated on top of a gigantic metal platform, with hundreds more built on top of them, and more on top of them, in a huge, multilayered affair. The next thing our hypothetical observer would notice about New Afterlife would be its distinct lack of consistency in the style of architecture. Buildings appropriate to the level of technology required to build such a structure could be seen, but mixed in with Ancient Greek-style structures, all marble pillars and courtyards, as well as rough sandstone constructions one might expect to find in Egypt and wooden huts and longhalls in which Vikings might hold their feasts. One could be looking at an enormous pyramid one second, only to change perspective slightly and find oneself staring at a huge Greek-style statue of a man who is clearly using his impressive musculature to compensate for inadequacies elsewhere. Here, one could see an entire forest somehow growing on a metal deck while just below it is a great wooden hall carved with ancient runes and rough-hewn statues of Norse heroes. And towering above the whole chaotic construction was Heaven Tower, a great white collumn which seemed to almost glow in the blackness of space. And at the very top of this tower, tiny by comparison to his surroundings, stood a man with the head of an eagle.
Ra was not one given to sullen angst, but he did sometimes pine for the glory days, when thousands would throw themselves at his feet and sing his praises above all others, when a nation of people would live and die at his command. Still, he reasoned, one must make do with what one has. New Afterlife wasn't, when all things were considered, a bad place to live. And although his power was barely a fraction of what he used to command, it must be said, he was still a being of respectable ability. He turned his gaze upwards, into the infinity of space. There was nothing between him and it, not that it mattered. No matter how far he had fallen, the day would not come where a God could not breathe without air.
Again, he sighed. He had allowed himself more than enough time for brooding. Unlike certain thunderbolt-throwing philandering old men, he still had responsibility.

“Darkshines!” Shouted the captain to the commander in the waiting room

“Excuse me” Questioned the commander clearly baffled

“Oh nothing I just came up for the perfect word to space.”

The Commander always hated his captain ever since they were assigned together on the Turbaries. He was always to excentric, the captain that is, Captain Joro. Commander Huro was the quiet type more for regulations and protocol.

“Right …” Huro still very confused

“Look at it this way. We humans instinctively move towards the right light…” The Captain shook his head “ I mean light right”

“yes I guess”

“And space is of corse dark, but humans are still fascinated by it so I decided to call this fascination Darkshines” The captain did a sweeping motion with his hands

“That’s amazing sir, but I don’t see what they has to do with me being here”

“Oh yes that’s right”

The desk the captain sat at, beeped

“Sir we are coming in on something” The message came in from young boy by the sounds of it

“Fine I’m coming… bring us out of Sub-Space”

The ship was easily 5 ks long, as it went to the back it rose, making it look like a spire that leaned back over the end of the ship. On this ‘Spire’ were two short ‘wings’
A span of about 0.75ks on to that top of the spire

The ship coming out of sub-space was a awesome sight to, be it quick, all you would see as a bystander was a ship growing out of nowhere and a huge velocity, but slowing down to a almost full stop all in about half a second.

The Cruiser SS Turbaries came out of Sub-space outside the city

“hail them” Ordered the captain now in his chair he spoke.

“This is Captain Joro of the SS Turbaries I represent the military of the Government of The Union of Humanity and as a government rep via proxy, I request the exchange of knowledge.” The Captain looked to the Commander to his right “How did that sound?”

“They can still hear us sir.”

The Captain coughed embarrassed “We await your response in.”

In a little, out-of-the-way plinth, a young man in a disc-like helmet and winged sandals was lying back in a chaise longue, quietly musing to himself. Apart from his chair, the only other piece of furniture in the tiny shrine was an ionic pedestal housing a space-age communications tranceiver which was, for the first time ever, receiving a signal.

This is Captain Joro of the SS Turbaries I represent the military of the Government of The Union of Humanity and as a government rep via proxy, I request the exchange of knowledge... How did that sound?

They can still hear us sir.

*cough* We await your response in.

The man blinked in surprise. He had been coming here every day to sit by the tranceiver for many centuries, yet it had never picked up anything until now. He had begun to doubt that it was still working. To tell the truth, it was gratifying to hear a mortal's voice again, asking him for something. It was almost like receiving a prayer. He casually flicked a switch on the machine and put the microphone to his mouth.
"This is Hermes, Messenger of Olympus, God of Roads, Patron of Travellers, Gamblers and Thieves. What specific information do you require, my dear captain?"

OOC: What time period is this?

OOC: What time period is this?
OOC: The good ol' future m'good buddy.

OOC: Nice, my favorite
IC:

Out of Pressure Space came two Greywatch frigates, at least, that's what it would look like. There were actually five ships, PSR was special because it caused powerful gravatation fluxuations which masked the exact number of ships that exited it. There were two Starshadows, in full cloak and not moving, there was also a small scout ship, it didn't possess cloak but when it turned all its lights off and reduced engines to about 10%, it became very hard to see and target. The two frigates, one Gambler and one Plow, moved forward at slow speed. They stopped only about 10Km away from the other ships, their companions sitting quietly and obscured 40Km behind them.

<This is Greywatch Exploration squad. Greetings to all.>

Hermes burst into laughter from sheer excitement. Two messages! Two! After centuries of silence!
"Greetings, Greywatch Exploration squad!" he cried happily into the mic "So I see you mortals have finally made it into outer space. 'bout time, eh?"
Putting the mic aside, he threw his arms into the air and laughed uproariously, the wings on his sandals flapping in sympathetic glee. It was a good day to be the messenger God.

At the bottom of the multi-layered stone and steel wedding cake that is New Afterlife, there is a small swimming pool the like of which one might find in someone’s backyard. It seems small and shallow right up to the point when you actually enter it. Suddenly, the other side is no longer visible and neither is the spot where you just got in. You can’t see the bottom either, and my, don’t those waves look big?
The one thing which is still visible from the Infinite Ocean, as it is called, is the equally infinite depths of space. And right now, it contained a small cluster of ships which were not there before.
Njord looked up at them thoughtfully. He had always been a sensible, stoic God. Thoughtful and slow to act. But there was no question about this. The fact was, there were space ships hovering around New Afterlife.
"POSEIDON." Njord’s voice boomed across the entire expanse of the Infinite Ocean. Technically, it did not have to be so loud, as the individual he was talking to was all around him. Both of them were manifested in every part of the Infinite Ocean at once: two Gods occupying exactly the same space. A certain type of mind could construe from this that they were having intercourse. It would be best not to tell them that.
"Yes, Njord?" said the luxuriantly-bearded merman who had just risen out of the water beside him.
"There are space ships out there."
Poseidon followed Njord’s gaze. "Yes. It looks like the mortals have finally found us."
"So it would seem."
"Yes."
"Yes."
The two ocean Gods gave each other appraising looks.
“Someone should inform the Triumvirate," said Poseidon, endeavouring to suggest with his tone that that someone was not him.
"Mm. Someone should," Njord replied, his tone purveying exactly the same thing.
"Yes."
"Yes."
The appraising looks continued.
"They'll probably notice it for themselves," Njord said carefully.
"True," Poseidon agreed "For someone with only one eye, very little escapes Odin's notice.”
"Yes."
"Yes."
After taking one last glance at their new visitors, they gave each other curt nods and disappeared into the endless water.

OOC: Hmm. I made a lovely, big post but it has not appeared. That is odd. Rather odd. Should I wait a little longer, or type the whole thing out again?

OOC: See if you can go back and copy it. And from now on if you make a big post, do it in word to make sure you have a backup.

OOC: I tried it again and it didn't work. Is it a censorship isse? I used to word spelt with an S, an E, and an X. Is that not allowed?

EDIT: Yes, I've found the problem. It's a spam filter that blocks users with less than ten posts from posting certain words. I suppose I could use the word 'intercourse', but that's not as funny.

The captain aboard the Plow, which was actually leading the expidition raised an eyebrow. "Well that's.... different." He muttered.

<We've actually been doing this for a while now, but it's the first time we noticed energy signatures from this region of space. You refered to us as mortals, would that mean that you are immortal?>

OOC: Sorry to leave you hanging, but it's 2 am for me and I don't think I have another post in me. I'll make another one in the morning. Or, more realistically, the afternoon, since I'm more than likely to sleep till past noon.

OOC: Cya, its noon where I am.

The Captain coughed. “Hermes?” Joro said to the commander. The Commander shrugged his soldiers.
“wasn’t he some old timer god or something?”
“I don’t know sir. It should be very unlikely that any god out there should share the same name, incidentally, as a old timer god back in our primitive time before FTL however, due to the nature of space and the fact that the UOH has only ever encountered one ‘god’.”
The Captain was clearly not listening “Yes, yes indeed.” He had his hand on his chin, deep in thought, and not listening to the commander. A ensign from behind them on a control panel spoke “Sir we have contacts appearing, they look like Graywatch”
“Graywatch didn’t they just establish a embassy.” The Captain looked back to face the ensign
“I don’t know sir, I just run this control panel” The Captain looked shocked at the ensigns sudden attitude
“I am you captain ensign and as a result you speak to me with respect, now a you punishment you shall work harder!” The captain sat back in his chair, back in his thoughtful glaring, not listening, position. The commander was still speaking but The Captain was still not listening. Something about gods again. Joro pressed a button on the arm of his chair.
“We request the transfer of scientific, cultural and philosophical knowledge and in the future establish diplomatic relations.”

Onboard the Plow frigate an alarm went off signaling the arrival of a message. The captain looked back, "Comms? WHat did we get?" The officer looked back at him, "A message from Prime sir, they wanted us to know that we've set up an embassy on the world those ships come from." The captain raised an eyebrow, "That was quick..." The comms officer shook his head, "Sir, we have a live connection, they can see what we see but can't hear anything we hear. That's probably why they sent the message." The captain nodded, "Tactical, put those ships in our databanks, we may need the info later on." The tactical officer nodded and the comms officer looked down at the message and then back up at the captain, "Should put a message through?" The captain shook his head, "No, we can wait. Monitor their transmissions though, they don't appear to be encrypting them and I'd rather find out more about why they're here. They should have already heard our reason since none of our past transmissions have been encrypted."

The image that filled the Emperor's inner sanctum's viewscreen made him drop the glass of water to the floor, sending shards of crystal flying and slicing his leg in the process. He made no motion to correct this, he just stared at what looked like a Katamari birthday cake, a cake flecked with... immortals.

His mind raced as he cleaned the wound and dressed himself. The Mundus quest for immortality could finally be complete. All he needed was to appease these gods, the old ones, the ones he had been secretly searching old tomes and the depths of space for. He reached his office, and quickly typed up orders and a message.

Deep space near New Afterlife
A Belkan probe shot a video message of the smiling, well dressed Emperor Julius Mundus XVI towards the station, the message went as follows:
Greetings, great and powerful dieties of old. I am Julius Gnaeus Mundus the Sixteenth, ruler of the Imperium of Belkaros. I contact you seeking your favor, and a taste of that which you posess. I am familiar with the legends and tales of old, how Hercules was made from man to god, and how others were granted similar immortality. I seek the same for myself, and fall on bent knee before you and beg for the chance to deem myself worthy.

Hermes hesitated over the tranceiver. Things were getting quite serious. He was about to open diplomatic relations with humans. Perhaps he should refer this upwards... but what fun would that be? No, best to handle this himself. Was he the messenger or wasn't he?
To Greywatch, he replied "Indeed we are. Gods of old, no longer worshipped by your kind. Have to go somewhere when our time is passed. After all, it's not like we can die." Quickly switching over to the Order Makers' frequency, he addressed their query. "I'd be happy to tell you whatever you need to--"

Greetings, great and powerful dieties of old. I am Julius Gnaeus Mundus the Sixteenth, ruler of the Imperium of Belkaros. I contact you seeking your favor, and a taste of that which you posess. I am familiar with the legends and tales of old, how Hercules was made from man to god, and how others were granted similar immortality. I seek the same for myself, and fall on bent knee before you and beg for the chance to deem myself worthy.

"Ah," said Hermes. This somewhat changed things. requests for knowledge was one thing, but this... this was a full-blown boon. He began to have serious doubts about whether he could handle this.
"Your doubts are justified," said a stern voice from behind him. Hermes almost vomited from fear.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he shouted, spinning around "And don't read my mind, either. It's creepy."
"I apologize, Messenger," said Ra, not sounding sorry at all "I will handle things from here."
Hermes bowed and scraped respectfully and awkwardly backed away. Ra gave him the creeps.
Not bothering to pick up the microhpone, the eagle-headed God addressed all three groups simultaneously, his voice going directly from his beak to their ears without occupying any of the intervening space.
"I AM RA, KING OF THE PHARONIC PANTHEON, LORD OF THE SUN, AND CO-RULER OF THE THE UNWORSHIPPED GODS. I WELCOME THE SPACE-FARING MORTALS TO NEW AFTERLIFE AND REQUEST THAT YOU LAND AND MEET WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR COMMUNITY PERSONALLY. YOUR CONCERNS WILL BE ADDRESSED AND YOUR REQUESTS TAKEN UNDER CONSIDERATION. BLESSINGS BE UPON ALL OF YOU."

"Ow," was the only word that came from the captain's mouth and many other agreed. "Tactical, pay attention to that probe, someone is being a real ass-kisser." The tactical officer nodded and added, "Immortality, stupid thing to ask for."

Mundi rarley left the Janari home system, and when they did, it was with full escort. The Mykrul class battleship holding the Emperor slipped into realspace twenty meters from the deep space probe, followed by dozens of cruisers and frigates. The large battlegroup traveled half of the distance between the probe and New Afterlife before a single frigate recieved the Emperor and continued on. 100 kilometers from New Haven, the frigate turned back to hold orbit, sending the Emperor out in his custom Gerberra Terra Mobile Suit, which landed at the indicated area on New Afterlife.

The giant crimson war machine ducked and clutched its hands to its bosom, lowering them again and revealing the Emperor, clad in one of his finest black suits, its maoist collar and cuffs inlaid with gold and rubies. His heeled black boots clicked as he walked across the platform to the creature waiting to greet him. He approached to within five paces anmd bowed, introducing himself, "Greetings from the Imperium of Belkaros and the race of the mortal Janarii. I am Julius Gnaeus Mundus the Sixteenth, ruler of the Imperium of Belkaros, and all of her colonies. I am honored to meet you, old one."

The God who was waiting at the designated point bowed deeply to Mundus. "Pleased to meet you, honoured guest. I am Bes, of the Pharonic Pantheon." he said, smiling lopsidedly.
The creature before them was not regal or beautiful, but still possessed an aura of age and power, but with perhaps a tint of good-naturedness that the others lacked. He stood roughly four feet tall, but would be taller if he was not hunched over. Bes was hunchbacked, bow-legged dwarf with ruddy skin and scraggy tufts of hair in random places all over his body. His face was not something for those of a weak constitution; a deformed-looking mess of uneven eyes, a long, bent nose, and an enormous underbite. He also had a furry tail like one might find on an ox.
"I know, I'm not much to look at. It's part of my function: I protect babies by scaring demons away with my fearsome visage," he said conversationally, as if discussing the weather. "BOO!" he shouted suddenly, lurching forward threateningly before collapsing into hysterical laughter.

At the top of Heaven Tower, the mood was less friendly. Ra, Zeus, and Odin were at an impasse.
"After the Loss of Belief, we swore to never again involve ourselves in the affairs of mortals," Ra insisted "We will listen to what this Julius Mundus has to say and then politely ask him to leave. If we condone mortal interference just once, it will set a precendent for all the other Gods. Do you want Ares or Set or Surter once again governing mortals' lives?"
"Ra makes a good point," Odin agreed "We have worked hard to establish our doctrine non-interference. If not handled carefully, this incident may well destroy our tenuous peace."
"I would like to point out," Zeus interjected "that these mortals approached us. I believe that changes the situation somewhat. It's not as if we have sought them out. And anyway, I have never been wholely in favour of this non-interference policy."
"As you have told us many times, my dear Zeus," said Ra dryly.
"Zeus's argument has merit, too," Odin said, calm as ever "That doctrine was crafted with the assumption that we would have to initiate contact. Perhaps it has become outdated."
"Perhaps you should commit to one side or the other," growled Ra, feathers bristling.
"Leave Odin alone. He allows himself to see both sides of an argument, instead of just pig-headedly forcing his own point of view. I say we should welcome them with open arms and as much grace as the Gods can show. I'll get one of my most diplomatic Gods, say, Athena, to talk to them, and-"
Ra's eyes gleamed dangerously. "Drop this ridiculous pretense, Zeus! We all know what your real agenda is: worship. You think that these mortals can help you can regain your old power."
"Ludicrous!" he snorted indignantly.
"I will not allow you to use these innocent people as a vehicle for your own self-advancement."
"Where are they right now?" Odin asked.
"I've sent Bes along to keep them busy," said Ra dismissively.
"Oh-ho!" Zeus cried "Now the pieces are falling into place!"
"What are you prattling about now?"
"You accuse me of trying to take advantage of the mortals, but who was it who asked them to land? And now you have their first contact established with one of your Pantheon... you're trying to turn them into your followers. And I'll be damned if I'll allow that!"
"You paranoid old-"
"Bird-brained hypocrite!"
"ENOUGH."
Both Gods turned their heads towards Odin, who had risen from his seat, his face set in stony anger.
"We will have them speak to one representative from each Pantheon. They will not receive exposure to any one more than the others. We will NOT try to instill any worship in them. We will listen to their demands and deliberate on them. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Good. Ra, tell Bes to lead them to the eighteenth floor of Heaven Tower. Our diplomats will meet them there, and we will personally keep an eye on the meeting so as to ensure adherence to our policies."
The three God Kings nodded and joined hands, sealing their agreement.

The ship's bridge became alive with activity as the new arrival came in. "Shit," said the captain, "Send down a diplomat, make it a Drone. If these guys are gods, Drones shouldn't be affected by whatever they do." In a few minutes a single transport was sent to the same location as Belkan vessel, <Greywatch Transport 47, waiting for permission to land.>

OOC: G'wan, folks. Get postin'. *poke poke*

OOC: (raises hand) How could you forget Marduk, Tiamat, Rama, Ganesha, Chac, Quetzalcoatl, Coyote, and so many others? Or do you plan on sticking with "classical" mythology?

OOC: (raises hand) How could you forget Marduk, Tiamat, Rama, Ganesha, Chac, Quetzalcoatl, Coyote, and so many others? Or do you plan on sticking with "classical" mythology?

OOC: I'm sticking with Ggreek, Egyptian and Norse. They're my favourites. I don't like Babylonian or South American mythology and it doesn't make sense for Rama or Ganesha to be there, since they are still actively worshipped.

OOC: NA, we're waiting for you. Read our last posts.

OOC: Ah, I see you're right. But I did reply to Belkaros, and the Order Makers appears to have disappeared entirely.

"His royal nibs did invite you to land," said Hermes "Permission isn't needed after an invitation. Nice that you're polite, though. I've missed that."

<Understood.>
The transport touched down softly and an Elder Drone exited. It was no diplomat, it was more a multipurpose soldier, one of many. Its black hair was well groomed and combed back, it wore all black. Its lips, nails, lips, eyes, and unusually dagger-like teeth were all black. It stood quietly, awaiting to be greeted.

OOC- Sorry about the delay, I will be able to start posting again soon.

OOC-Is this thread dead? I really liked it.

OOC: Dunno, post Belkan, post!

OOC- Im waiting for New Afterlife to talk about greeting our diplomats again. I have nothing to say without him.

OOC: Aww, nothing to say about my Drone? That usually turns a few heads in Rps. :D

OOC- Oh fine.

OOC: LOLZ, I know I'm so difficult.

Mundus looked at the drone, recognizing it from intel reports on Greywatch military forces. He walked over to the drone, extending a hand.
"Good to see another mortal here. What interest does Greywatch have in these gods?"

The Drone turned to face Mendus and took the hand, "Well, they said they were gods and we just happen to be curious. I suppose that's our only reason. And You?"

"I am here seeking what we Mundi have been seeking since my ancestor Gnaeus Mundus Prime, immortality. I know stories of gods granting it to mortals, and with their help, I will be forever young, able to rule Belkaros as it has always wished to be ruled, by one man, hence the cloned Emperors." replied Mundus, his eyes looking dreamily into the distance.

The Drone looked away, "You look for something I, to an extent, already possess. Interesting. I doubt that a god would give immortality away just because you asked, they will either request something in return or there will be one hell of a catch..."

"I fear you are right, drone. I am sure, though, that the Imperium will be able to pay this price." mused Mundus. He drew a cigar from his jacket, and offered one to the drone. He lit it with a reflective expression and blew a smoke ring. "Relations between our two nations have always been rather unstable, and I for one feel that there is much we stand to learn from one another. Tell me, how does your nation feel about the Cyprion Circle?"

The Drone took the cigar, a small flame appeared on its thumb and it lit the cigar before taking a puff. "Huh, never heard of 'em. From my knowledge we had that one contact back on the chaos world and that was it. Though Greywatch was still working on the archives before that time so it might not be documented if we met any time before that."

"Good," said Mundus, savoring the scent of the fine Belkan tobacco smoke. "Belkaros is free to establish relations with Greywatch then. I recall a rather messy colonization attempt by one of our ships that was stopped in part by Greywatch, so I was curious to your people's involvement with the Circle, a group the Hermes Alliance is at war with. I will send word along and perhaps an embassy can be established within Belkan space for your people."

"Ah yes, that event... Greywatch got involved for a different reason that existed outside of the influence of this 'Circle.' We were there rather to help defend seomone from having their claim stolen. I must ask, do you always act in such an imperialistic manner? My Council does not look up to those who act like nothing more than bullies. No offense."

"None taken. That event was the result of an overzealous local commander, lack of background intel, and incomplete claims charts. Had we known the world was claimed from the start, diplomacy would have been our weapon of choice. However, the claims were unclear and the world was of specific interest to the Janari people. This kind of incident takes place from time to time, but we do our best to work with locals and other nations, no matter the circumstance, instead of against them." said Mundus

The Drone exhailed and looked at Mundus, "Understood. That information will most likely put my council to ease..."

OOC: Whadda ya mean you're waiting for me, Belks? Look at my last post. I've been revisiting this thread every day hoping you'd reply to it!

OOC: LOL, you were so close to catching us! I'll try TGing the other guy and seeing if he'll come back.

Come on Afterlife! Your turn

OOC: No, it bloody isn't. You never replied to post #20.

The God who was waiting at the designated point bowed deeply to Mundus. "Pleased to meet you, honoured guest. I am Bes, of the Pharonic Pantheon." he said, smiling lopsidedly.
The creature before them was not regal or beautiful, but still possessed an aura of age and power, but with perhaps a tint of good-naturedness that the others lacked. He stood roughly four feet tall, but would be taller if he was not hunched over. Bes was hunchbacked, bow-legged dwarf with ruddy skin and scraggy tufts of hair in random places all over his body. His face was not something for those of a weak constitution; a deformed-looking mess of uneven eyes, a long, bent nose, and an enormous underbite. He also had a furry tail like one might find on an ox.
"I know, I'm not much to look at. It's part of my function: I protect babies by scaring demons away with my fearsome visage," he said conversationally, as if discussing the weather. "BOO!" he shouted suddenly, lurching forward threateningly before collapsing into hysterical laughter.

OOC:
1. No need to sound snarky, just re-post the part he hasn't responded to.
2. Belkaros, the quote above is what I think NA's refering to.

OOC- OH! Sorry, thats my fault entirley.

The Emperor hesitantly laughed with the dwarf.
"I know little of you, Bes, but I am truly honored. Please, allow me to meet with this Pantheon."

Bes smiled, his crooked teeth glinting an unpleasant yellow. "All in good time, my good emperor. There are representatives of the three Pantheons ready to meet you. But what of our other guest?" He ambled over to the Greywatch drone and extended one twisted arm in greeting "I don't think I've ever seen a creature like you. Mortals certainly didn't look like that in my days. Must be this evil-ooshun thing that Ptah's talking about. Don't trust it myself, but there you are. Anyway, let me take you to Heaven Tower, where the diplomats will meet you. You can't go all the way to the top, the atmosphere doesn't extend that far. But come on, I'll show you the way." he said, moving off surprisingly fast in his waddling gait.

The Drone took Bes's hand, "Oh, I'm not mortal. Far from it, but that can be explained later. All anyone here needs to know is that I'm harmless." The Drone gave a toothy smile before following. Really brother? Harmless? That would be lying would it not? Said a voice in the Drone's hive mind. They need not know what is not important. I will be harmless until the situation calls for something more... The Drone replied in his thoughts.

The Emperor followed Bes in silence, his heels clicking softly as he walked. He was in awe of the buildings around him and gawked as he passed them, something quite out of character for the Emperor.

Bes led them through the twisting, labrynthine streets of New Afterlife, many times making use of stairs and bridges to cross the different levels. Anyone could get lost in this place and never find their way out. Interestingly enough, they saw very few inhabitants. They caught a glimpse of a winged woman flying over them and saw a toga-clad youth and an enormous, red-bearded man drinking huge barrels of ale from a distance, but it seemed for such an enormous place, New Afterlife was very sparsely populated. Bes at last led them to the ornate oak doorway of Heaven Tower, which swept open at their arrival. Inside was a grand room made entirely of white marble. Columns and statuary adorned the place, but it looked piecemeal, no two carvings looking like they matched. There was a huge golden harp and a gauntlet that a man could crawl inside and a set of masks whose eyes seemed to stare directly and the emperor and the drone.
"Take the elevator," said Bes, pointing to a fairly ordinary-looking metal sliding doorway "It'll take you where you need to go."

The Drone absorbed everything it saw, being from Greywatch made it familiar with the Elden but it had never seen something like this. I never thought this possible... according to the Elden, all gods died and in the process created all life... but these creatures... The Drones eyes looked into what it saw. There was no Cryptic energies in these beings, so they were not too closely related to the Elden, at least not in the Cryptic sense. Such great amounts of energy... I can feel it everywhere. Were there a different set of gods other than our own? This all seems to be so much... Again the Drone looked around, the winding streets used as a path were being memorized by the other 49 minds, being hive minded had a lot of benefits. But this was very different from anything the Drone, and possibly anyone in Greywatch had ever seen. "Interesting place you have here," the Drone muttered as they arrived at the marble room. The Drone made sure to capture everything with its eyes, information was a great thing to have. He listened to Bes's instruction and looked to the emperor, "Well then, Emperor, after you."

OOC: Bump and shoutout to Belkan to post

Mundus stepped into the elevator, looking once more around the ornate room, taking in everything. He straigntened up and smoothed out his jacket, not sure who he was about to meet. He motioned for the drone to join him on the elevator, stepping back and making room.

The Drone nodded and stepped onto the elevator, "Quite a place. Wonder who we're going to meet..."