Aetius flew above in Eridanus, quite frustrated. She decided to land in the Fern Trench which was located in Eridanus. The snowy owl landed with nobility, then without realizing that Mercurius, the Kingdom's artisan, was taking a drink right nearby her. Aetius started rambling on loudly, loudly enough for everyone in the fern trench to hear, even though she didn't mean to. She was too frustrated to even notice. "Of course! Yes we are all gembounds who write our own destiny, but for the love of the caves what good is that without a proud history to fall back on?! No gembounds in the caves know of their home's history! And the masters! They know everything to know of the cave's history, and its secrets! But do they share that information?! No! Do they want us to know?! No! We just have to move on without knowing ANYTHING of our history. Why do the masters INSIST on keeping these things secret. We deserve to know, this is our home too!" Aetius took a deep breath before continuing. "I am just going to assume that since they are the masters, they get to hold our history as a secret. How awful." Aetius loved and greatly respected the masters. But they deserved to know their history, not dig it up piece by piece.

@Mercurius

There Mercurius was, in his natural habitat: surrounded by immense ribs that seemed to scrape the roof itself, lowered to his stomach and lapping away at a gentle stream. It wasn't such a common haunt for him, but the old lion thought it was a nice change of scenery --- grim and morbid as it was. Serene, beautiful, quiet ---

Oh, perhaps not.

Water dripped down his chin as he paused, ears and head turning toward the owl tromping about, rambling mostly to herself. Ordinarily, Mercurius would consider himself to be simply eavesdropping on a personal conversation, and simply let words flow from ear to another, yet... he had seen this particular individual before. He was guilty of being fairly unfamiliar with his fellow members in the Kingdom --- wholly due to his very hermit-like nature, yet he had seen this owl at least once before. And here she stood, frustrated with the history of these caves to no end. A bit childishly so, but at least the old lion could sympathize.

So, throwing a proverbial bone, he interrupted with a sharp woof! Once he had Aetius's attention, he offered, "have you considered that the Masters may not all be benevolent?" Mercurius paused, mulling over his words carefully. "A history is often full of suffering that is seen as better left in the dark. Seen by those in power, of course," he rumbled. Exhibit A.: all that had occurred between Vazi and Arkrael, with few Gembound left to remember it. Fewer to speak of it.

@Aetius

Aetius noticed a lion who had called out to her, and the owl listened with interest. She considered what he had to say, then moved closer to him. "Well yes, I know that. But there was one I have met who was very kind. His name was Astraea, also known as Deer Dad, but he didn't tell me much. I know history may be full of suffering, but we still should have the right to know it. We should at least known the visible things." Aetius shook her head before continuing. "For instance, what are those carvings in Tunnel J and who made them? Why are they there? Also, what is the history of the spire? Why is it there? The buildings in Orion, what's their history? I'm studying this with my hindsight magic to see if I can learn these things." She then stayed quiet to see if Mercurius understood her frustration, and allow him a chance to speak.

@Mercurius

Mercurius's ears flicked back minutely at the mention of Astraea, idly thinking, ah, the only master she's met. Of all the--- The stag couldn't have been wholly honest with the owl, providing little substance to her that she thought it required no elaboration. But, ever-curious (oh, Pride was rubbing off on him, wasn't he?) the lion pressed, "what did Astraea tell you? He isn't--- exactly an unknown face in the caves. I've not heard of him referred to as 'Deer Dad' in... quite some time."

He shook his head. "I never stated that hiding history was a good thing; simply that those in power prefer to pick what is revealed and known, and what lies in the past forever. As one picks between a sweet fruit and something rotten," he rumbled. Ah, he was in a philosophical sort of mood, now. "What have you uncovered so far? I'm curious. I have some limited knowledge, but have never truly spent my time--- researching, as it were."

With a polite smile, he added, "my name is Mercurious--- Mercy, if you so please. I've seen you about--- with the Kingdom here, yes?"

@Aetius

Aetius gave a polite nod as she introduced herself. "It is a pleasure to meet you Mercurius. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Eridanus." Then she decided to tell Mercurius exactly how she met Astraea, and what happened. She was going to tell Mercurius all she knew. "I met Astraea in Tunnel J when I was looking at one of the carvings. Then he said that the creature in the carving was the being that guards Orion, and this being guarded all the gembounds in the cave as well. Astraea also referred to this creature as the Creator. Astraea said that the Creator has many forms. He said that in a way, the Creator is in each of us. But Astraea said that it is dangerous to meet the Creator, as his magic is very strong and can corrupt the most gentle of minds." Then Aetius's voice got slightly darker as she spoke to the lion. She looked at him straight in the eyes. "After that, I decided to take my research to Orion. I used hindsight on The Throne in Orion a few times and caught glimpse of a creature with a round ruby in the middle of its forehead. On the last vision, I saw the creature in it's entirety, speaking to Nemean, and I heard it's voice. What I saw was Astraea's previous form, before he was a deer." Aetius took a deep sigh. "Nemean was yelling at Astraea about other creatures being liars. Then Nemean mentioned two names. Totum and Enki." Aetius decided to stop there. "That's what I uncovered so far, Mercurius. Honestly, those in power should not pick what is revealed and hidden. Though whatever their decision may be, I will find the truth." Aetius was not any owl, but a researcher, and she just now realized this.

@Mercurius

Mercurius bowed his head in greeting, but said nothing further as he listened, tentatively reaching out to Aetius's mind with his own magic, careful to keep the connection one-sided and his eavesdropping entirely private. He hoped only to catch glimpses of the owl's sight as she reminisced, told her tales. Yet, he fumbled, too preoccupied with the Astraea's apparently casual interaction with one of the Gembound --- the old lion had believed that the master thought highly of himself, that they were simply slaves to fate itself, owned by the masters. He kept this to himself.

He thought over the carvings, the few times he passed by them: something resembling a fungal bloom spreading many creatures through the world. It had been the birthplace of myths of an All-Mother, the Monarch given a history--- ah, no, he was thinking of Tunnel I, wasn't he. Tunnel J connected Monoceros and Orion. Mercurius, in his time of 'living' in the starry vault, had never ventured toward the Merrymen's nest, for clear, obvious reasons. Aetius meant the statue. Hadn't it appeared draconian in nature? He wondered, quietly, if this was the creature that had been seen by Khloros, with its acidic-green eyes.

Or, if it was the centaur Khloros had seen.

Theories aside, it was entirely possible that Astraea was simply bluffing, spreading a conspiracy about a Creator. Something referred to as He, capitalized. Mercy's ears flicked back. He couldn't be sure. Besides, the owl had apparently seen the stag's prior form --- had he had one? Did he suffer the same fate as Khloros, once? "Astraea's previous form? Can you describe it to me beyond--- beyond a ruby? Or," he paused, musing over Aetius's apparent penchant for mind-based magics, "could you show me?" The lion would see for himself, but his magicka was still something to fumble with, to tangle about his claws.

He paused, thinking over the other names. Totum was fairly familiar --- "I know of Totum, but--- not this Enki. The former is very tall, black, and wears armor across its body. I believe that they are made of two halves, but I don't know exactly where they are. Only that they are one of the Elders. I've heard that they are benevolent." Perhaps, even one of the Masters.

Mercurius's voice dropped low, hesitatingly, "I'll tell you something I know, but I cannot bring myself to speak it aloud and you cannot share it freely, if Astraea has chosen to show an interest in you. Give me--- a moment to work my magic, trust me."

@Aetius

"Of course, I can gladly explain to you what his previous form." Aetius thought for a moment before speaking, then spoke with certainty. "He was a two legged creature with long flowing hair sweeping around his body. He had weird, smooth skin and perfect complexion that was so pure and white, it looked as if it might be carved from alabaster; or perhaps it was lacking in color at all. In the middle of his forehead was a gleaming, round ruby, like he does now. His eyes were pale blue, lacking true pigmentation, they were intense and bright in the darkness though. His body was slender. He had pale colorless skin and silvery white hair draped from his head, almost as long as his body. He was also very tall. That was his previous form." When the white lion offered to share something, Aetius decided to trust him. "I trust you and I promise not to share it freely." The owl waited to see what Mercy wanted to tell or show her.

@Mercurius

Even with the mind of a storyteller, Mercurius found himself at a loss, trying to imagine the appearance of Astraea's prior form. Still yet uninvited, he tried again with his magic, extending it to the owl's mind and peering closely at it for images of such a creature. Nothing.

He sighed softly, almost disappointed. Perhaps the flow of magicka was off, today. Just enough to disturb his attempts. Moonset eyes regarded Aetius softly, then closed, making another attempt to imagine what Astraea may have looked like before. His ideas drifted toward the alien, centaur-esque creature; perhaps as tall as they but with only four limbs. Beautiful, but with a haunting edge. An underlying danger. The pale beast wondered if there was a comparison to be made there, if there was a connection between the two.

Mercy tilted his head, gazed at his paws, "alright--- a moment, please."

He reached out to the flow of magicka again, focused on the gemstone atop his skull, arching back like a conduit. Hooking his claws into the invisible strings, he hoped to link them to Aetius's mind, to open hers to his, and vice versa. A two-way street of communication. The lines sputtered to life, fizzling into an image of a pale, flat-faced Astraea of the past, sitting atop the Throne in Orion. Imposing, yet ethereal. Lethal even with tired eyes. Mercurius looked to the snowy owl for a moment, before offering to her: "despite what you may see, Astraea is not among the benevolent Masters. He has harmed and, likely, will harm again."

A pause. Brace yourself, Aetius.

The connection flared with memories telephoned to him, brought from Khloros and spread to Pride later. Polaris, with a furious stag juxtaposed across from a rail-thin, sickly-green horse with a ghostlit gaze. The ruby atop Astraea's forehead glowing red, red, red, crawling fungi devoured by plague. The Spire alight with energy, whips lashing as the Virgo Master's magic forced the horse into a torturous end. Mercurius fumbled slightly, the intensity of the borrowed vision obviously lessened to a dull roar of pure, unadulterated magic consuming flesh and bone. Then, silence. An endless white. A warmth. A being, centaur-esque and alien in nature extending a hand to cup Khloros's sickly cheek. Mouth moving to whisper something without sound.

The lion's breath hitched with the effort of maintaining his magic with such vivid visuals, and let it slip back to simple communication: "that was Khloros--- he has reemerged since, no longer that sickly stallion, but without his magic and disoriented. Astraea had waited by the Spire... likely to finish what he had started; though, he chose not to, since that was in the middle of the Olympics, and there were many Gembound around. He is hidden, now, but I do not know where specifically or wish to disclose that. But I wonder if--- it's the same magic that gave Astraea his new form, that gave Khloros his."

Mercurius tiredly cut the tether between his and the owl's mind, murmuring, "but, why, is the question."

@Aetius

As Aetius's mind connected with Mercy's, and her eyes widened in pure shock. She saw the images of Astraea attacking and ending a sickly looking horse. The deer looked furious as he did it. The snowy owl did not understand why Astraea would even do something like that. Why did he cause the horse to enter a chrysalis, then try to permanently end him? The owl knew she had to second guess this deer, because it was obvious he wasn't as benevolent as he seemed. More research was definitely in order. The owl spoke softly. "Why did Astraea do that to that horse? Why try and finish him off?"

Then Aetius thought of the theory that Mercy just gave. She continued to speak softly. "It very may be the same magic that gave the both of them their new forms. Why, however, I have no clue myself. Maybe the masters only know that question." She waited for the lion to speak, to see what he thoughts he may have.

@Mercurius