Post by Wonder Woman on Sept 7, 2015 19:45:47 GMT -5
PART 1 - With Royal Welcome
Elaine:
Switching from one Earth to another, or from one universe to another, was something that Elaine had done before. It was not as if her job required her to do it, not at all, but something things could get quiet in Earth 0, technically the original Earth of Yahweh’s creation. There was only so much that she could watch and sometimes she got bored. And sometimes she got curious.
Today she was in Earth 1 and she had gotten curious about a strange island. Its habitants seemed to be only women and they seemed to share a culture much unlike the one she had known in London where she grew up and went to school and everything else. And then she did something about it. She descended from the sky and landed by one of the beaches, one out of the view, at least for a bit. Her clothes, a short dress with a circlet on the side of her hips and brown boots did not match those from the habitants of the islands though.
“Let’s see what I can wipe up for me here” she said to herself before her powers of creation transformed her dress into the outfit of a proper amazon, the most common one. It was not magic though, what she had created was as real as a real outfit could be.
Her angelic wings were gone too and now Elaine looked like a proper amazon, her age was complicated to guess but she looked like a young woman, regardless, maybe a newbie among them? At least that was her plan, to be found and thought of as someone like them who was a bit lost as to what to do. She wanted to know more of their culture.
And with that idea Elaine started to walk more into the island with bright curious eyes and a expression that matched that curiosity, but also mixed with an appearance of being lost, even though she knew where to go, in theory, it should be seconds before someone found her.
Hippolyta:
The island of Themyscira was home to the ancient, mythic Amazon race, who, until recently, had been secreted away from Man's World, half for their own protection, half for the protection of the men who had wronged the Queens and their people. Until recently, the island and its warrior women had been lost to the annals of mythology, but with the appearance of "Wonder Woman," the Princess Diana, and her sister Donna Troy, as well as the young Demi God known as Wonder Girl, Cassandra Sandsmark, the Amazons were once again part of the outside world, and yet, their island had remained a secret.
"My Queen," one of the runners, fleet footed Hermitia, came to Hippolyta's side. "There is an unknown woman on the beach."
"Is she one of ours?" the Queen said, her brows drawing together as her mouth turned down a bit, wondering who this could be, as Hermitia knew most everyone of the Amazons on the island, in fact there had only been three additions to their number in the thousands of years since their creation; Diana, born of Hippolyta, her sister Donna, and the daughter of Zeus, Cassandra Sandsmark.
"I do not recognise her," she said. "But she dresses as one of us."
The Amazon Queen nodded, her shoulders straight and spoke with a calm, regal tone. "We should go greet her," she nodded to the messenger and her confidant cum body guard, a dark skinned Amazon named Philipus, one of her generals.
The trio of women would head to the beach head where Elaine had been first spotted, with the queen in her dark purple robes and a simple diadem on her forehead, raven curls about her shoulders. While she looked older than the other two, she did not look old, but perhaps wiser, and more commanding.
"Greetings, traveller," she called to the girl on the beach. "Welcome to Themyscira, home of the Amazons."
Elaine:
Elaine walked around with grace, calmly and with the same curious eyes, she was not doing a perfect job at trying to seem like one of them, but then again, she simply was not one of them, and besides, she was too distracted with the beauty of the beach to care to change her approach.
Eventually she would be found and much to her own pleasure she was also greeted and welcomed with good and proper manners, she already liked them. “Greetings to you too, thanks for the welcome” Elaine replied with an accent of a girl of someone that had been raised in London. She offered a smile and a wave.
“My name is Elaine, I hope that I did a good work with the outfit, I figured that it would be less of a shock, in any case. It is also very comfortable” she said as her hands gently signaled to the Amazonian-like outfit that she had created, clearly an attempt to break the ice. She spoke with a beautiful voice, young, fitting voice for her appearance, and she also seemed to be fairly friendly.
“I’m sorry for walking around the island uninvited, but since such invitation was very unlikely to come to me I figured that I could try to satisfy my curiosity about the island and its people on my own.” She explained, to the three of them, although her eyes were set on the Queen, since Elaine had assumed that she was in a position of command.
Hippolyta:
The Queen smiled, sensing that there was no reason to be wary of this girl; she seemed sincere and earnest in her desire to be part of the Amazon community, though she was still somewhat on edge as to what the girl was doing there. "The lack of invitation does not vex me, child," she said with a small, regal nod. "But rather, how you were able to find our island to begin with?" The Queen stepped forward, leaving the messenger and Philipus standing in the sand, her arms opening. Drapped over her left was a white linen cloth, which wound up, over her back and came down over her right shoulder. "We do not get many visitors, for the Gods and Goddesses have protected us from the intrusions of the outside world for millenia," she explained. "But we welcome any who have found us by accident, or seek guidance and refuge from the world of Man," the Queen continued, her mannerisms genteel and welcoming, though all the while the keen, amber eyes of the dark skinned warrior remained on Elaine, hardly as trusting as the Queen.
Elaine:
The Queen seemed to be extremely nice, she reminded her of her own mother in a way. The other two seemed to be wary of her but that was understandable, all in all, everything was going better than she had imagined as a worst case scenario. “Because just as I seem to be extremely visible for the right eyes, your island is extremely visible for the right eyes too and specially from up there” she said as she pointed up into the sky “it is just that I think that there are not many eyes that can see your island and those that can probably don’t care at all, like my uncle, my father, my grandfather and others I suppose.” She shrugged somewhat as she walked closer to the Queen when she also did.
Elaine’s expression brightened a bit as she was once again showered with welcoming words. “I seek to learn of your ways, of your culture, of the island, there is only so much that you can observe from above so I was hoping that my presence would have remained secret just so that I would not disturb, or not shock anyone, for example, how familiar are you with angels? I mean, as a concept?” she asked with curiosity, but it was not the curiosity of a child, but more that of something else trying to figure which route of action was the best, unsure as to whether or not revealing her nature would be positive or negative for the Amazons as a whole.
Hippolyta:
As the girl spoke, Hippolyta's grin broadened in a knowing fashion, revealing just a flash of tooth between her dark lips. Indeed, there was something special about this girl, she thought to herself. And while Philipus and the runner may feel differently, naturally protective not only of Hippolyta but the safety and security of their homeland, the queen sensed no malice in her intentions. "Themyscira is open to any woman who wishes to seek her secrets, child," she said, her hands spreading sligtly, the expression on her face warm. Indeed, the Queen had never forgotten what it was like to have youth around, and while she understood that perhaps this girl was not as young as she appeared, she did seem innocent, nad Hippolyta longed to have that maternal connection once again.
"The concept of Angels? As in the Judeo Christian creatures who distribute justice and benifit?" the Queen asked as Elaine came to herself, the elder woman ushering Elaine to walk with her, back in the direction Hippolyta and the two guards had come from, her other hand gesturing for her companions to stand down. "Is that what you are?" she asked, raising a brow. It would be a hard move to truly surprise Hippolyta, who bore two children of Chaos, was not quite immortal but surely ageless, and had seen the rise and fall of countless Gods, Goddesses and Demons.
Elaine:
Elaine nodded and without much further delay she started to walk with Hyppolita in said direction. “More or less, when anyone talks about angels as a concept, another concept, like heaven, comes to mind, just like Hell too. And you could say that angels live in heaven and demons in hell and since we’re playing with concepts… in order to reach heaven you would have to play around with the concept of up and up up up up up” she said while pointing up into the sky “just like you would have to play around with the concept of down and down down down down in order to reach Hell, if you wanted to visit it for some reason.” She said, pointing down towards the ground with a finger in a similar way.
“So when I said that I was watching from above, I didn’t mean it literally, like in this sky, but playing around that concept too, somewhat up and above, and I wasn’t in this form either obviously, do you follow me?” she asked with the same accent from London, just in case as she was unsure just how clear she was being to someone like Hyppolita. “So let me do a proper presentation then?” she said before she made her wing appear behind her back, white and pure, just like herself. “Elaine, daughter of the Archangel Michael Demiurgos, which makes me an Archangel among other things, granddaughter of Yahweh and… of course I’m also the niece of Lucifer Morningstar” she added a little old fashioned courtesy too. “Do any of those name have any meaning at all for you?” she asked with a clear hint of curiosity. After all, what were the chances that their culture knew of any of those names? And what if for them it was heresy? She also knew that if they did not ring any bell it would probably be for the better.
Hippolyta:
"Christianity was always more about concepts and metaphors, wasn't it?" she spoke, carefully navigating the rocky outcropping as she climbed her way over the beach head wall, offering a hand to the younger girl out of politeness, not that she thought she needed it. Even through the rough terrain, never once did her right hand uncross from her waist, holding the delicate fall of cloth which draped over that arm. With every movement the Queen made she was graceful, though perhaps to an Angel she would not seem as captivating as she would to a mortal. "We are a far more literal religion; there is a direct staircase to Hades located somewhere on Themyscira, and if you go up the proper peak of Olympus, you will find a doorway to the home of the Gods."
They walked for a while, Elaine speaking, the two guards remaining silent, as Hippolyta listened. "Of course they mean something," she said with a soft smile. "It would be a fool who hadn't heard of the Christian God's avenging sword, or his fallen favourite. Something you may have already noticed among pagans, I suppose you would call us, but we are open to other's religions. My daughter has fought alongside the avatar of Shiva on occassion," the Queen smiled broadly. "Pleasant fellow; unic, unfortunately," she murmured, still desirous of grandchildren as ever.
She offered a smile, listening intently as the child explained her linage. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Elaine of Heaven," she gestured, uncrossing that right arm from across her midsection finally, in a grand, waving gesture, beckoning Elaine to take in the grand city which lay before them, far enough out that they would be able to see many of the grand structures, including the ampetheatre and the colleseum. "We welcome you," she said. "But I must ask, what has brought you to our humble home from "on high," as the Christians like to say?"
Elaine:
“Oh yes! Lots of metaphors, they love those, it goes in the family.” she smiled, amused, thinking of Lucifer and Yahweh’s love for metaphors, her father also used them too and even herself ever since she became a Goddess. She seemed to be enjoying their conversation. She also took the offered hand, she didn't need it, it was true, but she was a very well educated young lady after all. Elaine did notice the inherent gracefulness of the Queen because, after all, she had been raised in London, more or less normally like any other girl, and not in heaven or hell.
“I see. Literal is good, it makes things simple to some degree” she commented. Then she kept listening to the queen replies and she understood that the myth had replaced the truth at some point, hiding the real story.
“More or less? I wouldn’t call my dad the avenging sword, not at all, and I wouldn’t call Lucifer Yahweh’s favorite either, but there is always some truth to the myth and the stories, right?” she said with a smile. Elaine didn’t know of the queen’s daughter, nor of Shiva, other than ringing a bell from history of religions and such from school and fortunately, Elaine’s eyes were observing the beauty of the grand city at the moment.
“Oh no! Call me just Elaine please, even if my biological father is Michael, I’m sure that some of the host up there would dislike even the sole idea of me considering to visit the Silver City… plus Lucifer isn’t very popular nowadays up there either” she said with a giggle, but she had referred to that location not as a concept but seemingly as a real place in heaven.
Then she tilted her head to a side, smiling “Thank you for the welcome, it surely looks much more amazing from this angle than from above” she said this time with a nod. “Curiosity and… boredom too I suppose, it also has been some time since I was in a corporeal form, you kind of forget that you can actually get tired and things feel more intense” she said with a frown before she made her wings vanish, she wasn’t going to fly off after all.
Hippolyta:
The Queen led Elaine into the city and nodded, a patient expression, mixed with understanding, on her face. "All things that come, shall pass," she said, as confident as she was cryptic. "I remember a time when the sun and moon were worshipped for their warmth and beauty, the way the the Patriarch's world now worships war and money," she said with a bit of a snide smirk, making a half joke. "I am sure there will come a day when you will be as welcome there as you wish to be, in the meantime, you are very welcome here."
Hippolyta lead Elaine through the city, explaining the apothacary, the library, the various smiths, bakers and other professionals who kept the island functioning. "We all have our strengths, and our weaknesses," she said, clearly proud of the system they had perfected in the three millenia they had been around. "No one is good at everything, but everyone is good at something, and we play to those strengths and use them to bolster the weaknesses." Indeed, it seemed idealic, especially if one considered a major patron, whose statue stood along side his venerable sisters, Aphrodite and Athena, was Ares, the God of War. His would be the only male image Elaine would see on the island.
"There is no competition here, at least not for resources," she chuckled slyly as they came across the colleseum, where many varieties of games were held.
Elaine:
“I remember a time when the strangest thing in my life was seeing and talking to ghosts, my grandmas the witches included, things seemed easy back then” she giggled softly, clearly there had been a change of perspective at some point in her recent past. “It’s true what you say about money, my friend Mona died because of money and there wasn’t even a reason to kill her at all, her murderer thought that she could identify him as a drug dealer but she didn’t even remember him at all, he was her school director” she commented “She is a Goddess now so, don’t worry, that was a happy ending” she grinned a bit.
“As for being welcome up there, I guess, I mean, I could visit, provided I was with either Michael or Lucifer, they might still call me an abomination but that’s ok” she said, by -they- she was referring to some of the angels of the host, but she was perhaps assuming that the Queen would understand a lot of that implicit language that she used, although knowing the young girl, she would be more than happy to clarify. Elaine just seemed to feel comfortable around her.
She listened to the Queen, finding all the information about the habitants of the island rather interesting, and it showed in her expression, full of interest. “In a way it’s not all that different from how my school was, each student was good or better than others in one subject or another” she said before getting quiet and listening again. Elaine did pay attention to the different statues, an eyebrow raised at the obvious different one but she did not ask about it now.
Then they came upon the coliseum and she smiled “That’s something that I wanted to ask about, you seemed to be sparring against one another when I watched you from up above, what’s it about?” she asked curiously.
Hippolyta:
The Queen smiled, a benevolent expression of patience and gentle maternal function, listening as Elaine spoke on of those who may not welcome her to "Heaven," understanding that perhaps Christianity's figures were as rigid and stiff as their dogma. She paused, in the ring Cassandra, a product of a Godly affair with a mortal herself, much like Elaine, was sparring with Artemis. The young blonde demiGod was putting up an admirable defence but Artemis was Themyscira's second best warrior, or best in her own eyes. They were training with staves, hard wood poles six feet long. "While we are a peaceful people, we understand that we need to be willing and able to defend not only ourselves and our values, but also those who cannot defend their selves," she said, watching as Artemis threw Cassandra down onto her back with a thud that shook the dirt, sending a plume of dust into the air.
Elaine:
Elaine watched the other two fight while she listened to the Queen. It was only then that she remembered something that she had learned and she started to cite it from her own memory.
“My eldest brother sees the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house. My elder brother cures sickness when it is still extremely minute, so his name does not get out of the neighborhood. As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time my name gets out and is heard among the lords.” She said while looking at the Queen and then she spoke again.
“It is from The Art of War, from Sun Tzu, I read it once while I was still going to school. What do you think of it?” she asked to the Queen. Elaine clearly was trying to figure out which brother represented their culture best and at the same time which brother might represent the Queen and others personally too. Elaine’s eyes got lost within the dust that was in the air for an appreciable moment and then she asked quickly “Is it polite to intervene from here?” she seemed to have something in mind with the dust.
Hippolyta:
"Sun Tzu was a wise man," she smiled, somewhat slyly. Her knowledge of the Ancient one, or at least one who for Elaine would be ancient, came from what she had learned from Ares, who had intimate knowledge of the great Chinese warrior. "We prefer to make peace over war, but do not shy from a fight presented to us without alternative," Hippolyta said. "But our war is not man's war. We may subscribe to total war doctrines, as you may refer to them, but not total defeat." The Queen paused as Artemis seemed to demonstrate just that. The redhaired Amazon artfully and skillfully spin the staff, stamping it down into the dirt with one hand, reaching down to extend Cassie a hand up with a smile. "Much improvement," Artemis said. "But you still lack the commitment to your strikes," she finished as the Amazons clasped hands and the smaller one was pulled to her feet. "I do not think you need to intervene; there is no risk of injury."
Elaine:
“I suppose that he was, although you sound as if you actually knew him in person. I think that I personally prefer the eldest brother even if his name doesn’t get out of the house” she smiled back at the Queen before her gaze returned to the arena, but of course Elaine, like a good young lady, kept listening to the Queen with all of her attention, or most of it. Elaine seemed to like what she heard and at the same time she liked what she was watching in the arena with Artemis and Cass. At the final statement from the Queen, Elaine looked back at her and shook her head “No, you didn’t understand me, I did not intent to intervene myself to stop them or to join them down there, but when the dust flew up at some point while they were sparring I got an idea. To give them a challenge in the form of a dust cloud. I was wondering if they can also spar when they cannot see, or if they should, after all if both combatants are unable to fight, do they really have to?” she asked with a hint of curiosity.
Hippolyta:
"He was a friend of a friend, shall we say," the Queen said simply, slyly, thinking back fondly on her dear "friend". "What an interesting thought," Hippolyta mused, pursing her lips as she considered it for a moment. "I would have to argue that if neither opponent is capable of fighting, then there would be no ability to fight and thus no confrentation. But, we must alwasy be careful not to mistake a lack of physical confrentation with a lack of conflict," the Queen cautioned and then smiled and waived for the two Amazons to come over. "Artemis, you are as fast as ever," Hippolyta said. "Still not fast enough to defeat nepotism," the redhead shot back, clearly a little bitter about something. In time, Elaine might learn that it came down to Diana and Artemis for the mantle of Wonder Woman, and Diana managed to win by a hair's breadth and little more. Had the wind blown in a slightly different direction, it could be said that Artemis would have been the victor. The Queen introduced the two women, "And this is Cassandra, I do believe you'll find you have a fair bit in common," the dark haired woman smiled, a knowing gesture that had been placed on her features dozens of times before. Cassandra smiled and extended a hand. "It's nice to meet you; there aren't a whole lot of people my age around here," she laughed. "Exactly my thinking, Cassie, and like you it seems Elaine is at home in Man's World. Perhaps you would be so kind as to show her your favourite places on the island? I think perhaps your perspective may be closer to what Elaine will enjoy than mine." "But, Hippolyta, Cassandra's training..." Artemis attempted to interrupt. "Can wait. Time is nothing for the children of Gods," Hippolyta put a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "Besides, Diana sent word that she might need some assistance with something right up your alley. She wishes to teach women in Nigera to defend themselves." Lyta knew this would trigger two sentiments in Artemis, self defense and the defense of Africa, which had been home to the Bana Migdal Amazons prior to the reunion with the Themyscirians. The two elder Amazons left Cassie and Elaine alone to their business.
Coming next, Part 2 - Children of Gods and Women
Elaine:
Switching from one Earth to another, or from one universe to another, was something that Elaine had done before. It was not as if her job required her to do it, not at all, but something things could get quiet in Earth 0, technically the original Earth of Yahweh’s creation. There was only so much that she could watch and sometimes she got bored. And sometimes she got curious.
Today she was in Earth 1 and she had gotten curious about a strange island. Its habitants seemed to be only women and they seemed to share a culture much unlike the one she had known in London where she grew up and went to school and everything else. And then she did something about it. She descended from the sky and landed by one of the beaches, one out of the view, at least for a bit. Her clothes, a short dress with a circlet on the side of her hips and brown boots did not match those from the habitants of the islands though.
“Let’s see what I can wipe up for me here” she said to herself before her powers of creation transformed her dress into the outfit of a proper amazon, the most common one. It was not magic though, what she had created was as real as a real outfit could be.
Her angelic wings were gone too and now Elaine looked like a proper amazon, her age was complicated to guess but she looked like a young woman, regardless, maybe a newbie among them? At least that was her plan, to be found and thought of as someone like them who was a bit lost as to what to do. She wanted to know more of their culture.
And with that idea Elaine started to walk more into the island with bright curious eyes and a expression that matched that curiosity, but also mixed with an appearance of being lost, even though she knew where to go, in theory, it should be seconds before someone found her.
Hippolyta:
The island of Themyscira was home to the ancient, mythic Amazon race, who, until recently, had been secreted away from Man's World, half for their own protection, half for the protection of the men who had wronged the Queens and their people. Until recently, the island and its warrior women had been lost to the annals of mythology, but with the appearance of "Wonder Woman," the Princess Diana, and her sister Donna Troy, as well as the young Demi God known as Wonder Girl, Cassandra Sandsmark, the Amazons were once again part of the outside world, and yet, their island had remained a secret.
"My Queen," one of the runners, fleet footed Hermitia, came to Hippolyta's side. "There is an unknown woman on the beach."
"Is she one of ours?" the Queen said, her brows drawing together as her mouth turned down a bit, wondering who this could be, as Hermitia knew most everyone of the Amazons on the island, in fact there had only been three additions to their number in the thousands of years since their creation; Diana, born of Hippolyta, her sister Donna, and the daughter of Zeus, Cassandra Sandsmark.
"I do not recognise her," she said. "But she dresses as one of us."
The Amazon Queen nodded, her shoulders straight and spoke with a calm, regal tone. "We should go greet her," she nodded to the messenger and her confidant cum body guard, a dark skinned Amazon named Philipus, one of her generals.
The trio of women would head to the beach head where Elaine had been first spotted, with the queen in her dark purple robes and a simple diadem on her forehead, raven curls about her shoulders. While she looked older than the other two, she did not look old, but perhaps wiser, and more commanding.
"Greetings, traveller," she called to the girl on the beach. "Welcome to Themyscira, home of the Amazons."
Elaine:
Elaine walked around with grace, calmly and with the same curious eyes, she was not doing a perfect job at trying to seem like one of them, but then again, she simply was not one of them, and besides, she was too distracted with the beauty of the beach to care to change her approach.
Eventually she would be found and much to her own pleasure she was also greeted and welcomed with good and proper manners, she already liked them. “Greetings to you too, thanks for the welcome” Elaine replied with an accent of a girl of someone that had been raised in London. She offered a smile and a wave.
“My name is Elaine, I hope that I did a good work with the outfit, I figured that it would be less of a shock, in any case. It is also very comfortable” she said as her hands gently signaled to the Amazonian-like outfit that she had created, clearly an attempt to break the ice. She spoke with a beautiful voice, young, fitting voice for her appearance, and she also seemed to be fairly friendly.
“I’m sorry for walking around the island uninvited, but since such invitation was very unlikely to come to me I figured that I could try to satisfy my curiosity about the island and its people on my own.” She explained, to the three of them, although her eyes were set on the Queen, since Elaine had assumed that she was in a position of command.
Hippolyta:
The Queen smiled, sensing that there was no reason to be wary of this girl; she seemed sincere and earnest in her desire to be part of the Amazon community, though she was still somewhat on edge as to what the girl was doing there. "The lack of invitation does not vex me, child," she said with a small, regal nod. "But rather, how you were able to find our island to begin with?" The Queen stepped forward, leaving the messenger and Philipus standing in the sand, her arms opening. Drapped over her left was a white linen cloth, which wound up, over her back and came down over her right shoulder. "We do not get many visitors, for the Gods and Goddesses have protected us from the intrusions of the outside world for millenia," she explained. "But we welcome any who have found us by accident, or seek guidance and refuge from the world of Man," the Queen continued, her mannerisms genteel and welcoming, though all the while the keen, amber eyes of the dark skinned warrior remained on Elaine, hardly as trusting as the Queen.
Elaine:
The Queen seemed to be extremely nice, she reminded her of her own mother in a way. The other two seemed to be wary of her but that was understandable, all in all, everything was going better than she had imagined as a worst case scenario. “Because just as I seem to be extremely visible for the right eyes, your island is extremely visible for the right eyes too and specially from up there” she said as she pointed up into the sky “it is just that I think that there are not many eyes that can see your island and those that can probably don’t care at all, like my uncle, my father, my grandfather and others I suppose.” She shrugged somewhat as she walked closer to the Queen when she also did.
Elaine’s expression brightened a bit as she was once again showered with welcoming words. “I seek to learn of your ways, of your culture, of the island, there is only so much that you can observe from above so I was hoping that my presence would have remained secret just so that I would not disturb, or not shock anyone, for example, how familiar are you with angels? I mean, as a concept?” she asked with curiosity, but it was not the curiosity of a child, but more that of something else trying to figure which route of action was the best, unsure as to whether or not revealing her nature would be positive or negative for the Amazons as a whole.
Hippolyta:
As the girl spoke, Hippolyta's grin broadened in a knowing fashion, revealing just a flash of tooth between her dark lips. Indeed, there was something special about this girl, she thought to herself. And while Philipus and the runner may feel differently, naturally protective not only of Hippolyta but the safety and security of their homeland, the queen sensed no malice in her intentions. "Themyscira is open to any woman who wishes to seek her secrets, child," she said, her hands spreading sligtly, the expression on her face warm. Indeed, the Queen had never forgotten what it was like to have youth around, and while she understood that perhaps this girl was not as young as she appeared, she did seem innocent, nad Hippolyta longed to have that maternal connection once again.
"The concept of Angels? As in the Judeo Christian creatures who distribute justice and benifit?" the Queen asked as Elaine came to herself, the elder woman ushering Elaine to walk with her, back in the direction Hippolyta and the two guards had come from, her other hand gesturing for her companions to stand down. "Is that what you are?" she asked, raising a brow. It would be a hard move to truly surprise Hippolyta, who bore two children of Chaos, was not quite immortal but surely ageless, and had seen the rise and fall of countless Gods, Goddesses and Demons.
Elaine:
Elaine nodded and without much further delay she started to walk with Hyppolita in said direction. “More or less, when anyone talks about angels as a concept, another concept, like heaven, comes to mind, just like Hell too. And you could say that angels live in heaven and demons in hell and since we’re playing with concepts… in order to reach heaven you would have to play around with the concept of up and up up up up up” she said while pointing up into the sky “just like you would have to play around with the concept of down and down down down down in order to reach Hell, if you wanted to visit it for some reason.” She said, pointing down towards the ground with a finger in a similar way.
“So when I said that I was watching from above, I didn’t mean it literally, like in this sky, but playing around that concept too, somewhat up and above, and I wasn’t in this form either obviously, do you follow me?” she asked with the same accent from London, just in case as she was unsure just how clear she was being to someone like Hyppolita. “So let me do a proper presentation then?” she said before she made her wing appear behind her back, white and pure, just like herself. “Elaine, daughter of the Archangel Michael Demiurgos, which makes me an Archangel among other things, granddaughter of Yahweh and… of course I’m also the niece of Lucifer Morningstar” she added a little old fashioned courtesy too. “Do any of those name have any meaning at all for you?” she asked with a clear hint of curiosity. After all, what were the chances that their culture knew of any of those names? And what if for them it was heresy? She also knew that if they did not ring any bell it would probably be for the better.
Hippolyta:
"Christianity was always more about concepts and metaphors, wasn't it?" she spoke, carefully navigating the rocky outcropping as she climbed her way over the beach head wall, offering a hand to the younger girl out of politeness, not that she thought she needed it. Even through the rough terrain, never once did her right hand uncross from her waist, holding the delicate fall of cloth which draped over that arm. With every movement the Queen made she was graceful, though perhaps to an Angel she would not seem as captivating as she would to a mortal. "We are a far more literal religion; there is a direct staircase to Hades located somewhere on Themyscira, and if you go up the proper peak of Olympus, you will find a doorway to the home of the Gods."
They walked for a while, Elaine speaking, the two guards remaining silent, as Hippolyta listened. "Of course they mean something," she said with a soft smile. "It would be a fool who hadn't heard of the Christian God's avenging sword, or his fallen favourite. Something you may have already noticed among pagans, I suppose you would call us, but we are open to other's religions. My daughter has fought alongside the avatar of Shiva on occassion," the Queen smiled broadly. "Pleasant fellow; unic, unfortunately," she murmured, still desirous of grandchildren as ever.
She offered a smile, listening intently as the child explained her linage. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Elaine of Heaven," she gestured, uncrossing that right arm from across her midsection finally, in a grand, waving gesture, beckoning Elaine to take in the grand city which lay before them, far enough out that they would be able to see many of the grand structures, including the ampetheatre and the colleseum. "We welcome you," she said. "But I must ask, what has brought you to our humble home from "on high," as the Christians like to say?"
Elaine:
“Oh yes! Lots of metaphors, they love those, it goes in the family.” she smiled, amused, thinking of Lucifer and Yahweh’s love for metaphors, her father also used them too and even herself ever since she became a Goddess. She seemed to be enjoying their conversation. She also took the offered hand, she didn't need it, it was true, but she was a very well educated young lady after all. Elaine did notice the inherent gracefulness of the Queen because, after all, she had been raised in London, more or less normally like any other girl, and not in heaven or hell.
“I see. Literal is good, it makes things simple to some degree” she commented. Then she kept listening to the queen replies and she understood that the myth had replaced the truth at some point, hiding the real story.
“More or less? I wouldn’t call my dad the avenging sword, not at all, and I wouldn’t call Lucifer Yahweh’s favorite either, but there is always some truth to the myth and the stories, right?” she said with a smile. Elaine didn’t know of the queen’s daughter, nor of Shiva, other than ringing a bell from history of religions and such from school and fortunately, Elaine’s eyes were observing the beauty of the grand city at the moment.
“Oh no! Call me just Elaine please, even if my biological father is Michael, I’m sure that some of the host up there would dislike even the sole idea of me considering to visit the Silver City… plus Lucifer isn’t very popular nowadays up there either” she said with a giggle, but she had referred to that location not as a concept but seemingly as a real place in heaven.
Then she tilted her head to a side, smiling “Thank you for the welcome, it surely looks much more amazing from this angle than from above” she said this time with a nod. “Curiosity and… boredom too I suppose, it also has been some time since I was in a corporeal form, you kind of forget that you can actually get tired and things feel more intense” she said with a frown before she made her wings vanish, she wasn’t going to fly off after all.
Hippolyta:
The Queen led Elaine into the city and nodded, a patient expression, mixed with understanding, on her face. "All things that come, shall pass," she said, as confident as she was cryptic. "I remember a time when the sun and moon were worshipped for their warmth and beauty, the way the the Patriarch's world now worships war and money," she said with a bit of a snide smirk, making a half joke. "I am sure there will come a day when you will be as welcome there as you wish to be, in the meantime, you are very welcome here."
Hippolyta lead Elaine through the city, explaining the apothacary, the library, the various smiths, bakers and other professionals who kept the island functioning. "We all have our strengths, and our weaknesses," she said, clearly proud of the system they had perfected in the three millenia they had been around. "No one is good at everything, but everyone is good at something, and we play to those strengths and use them to bolster the weaknesses." Indeed, it seemed idealic, especially if one considered a major patron, whose statue stood along side his venerable sisters, Aphrodite and Athena, was Ares, the God of War. His would be the only male image Elaine would see on the island.
"There is no competition here, at least not for resources," she chuckled slyly as they came across the colleseum, where many varieties of games were held.
Elaine:
“I remember a time when the strangest thing in my life was seeing and talking to ghosts, my grandmas the witches included, things seemed easy back then” she giggled softly, clearly there had been a change of perspective at some point in her recent past. “It’s true what you say about money, my friend Mona died because of money and there wasn’t even a reason to kill her at all, her murderer thought that she could identify him as a drug dealer but she didn’t even remember him at all, he was her school director” she commented “She is a Goddess now so, don’t worry, that was a happy ending” she grinned a bit.
“As for being welcome up there, I guess, I mean, I could visit, provided I was with either Michael or Lucifer, they might still call me an abomination but that’s ok” she said, by -they- she was referring to some of the angels of the host, but she was perhaps assuming that the Queen would understand a lot of that implicit language that she used, although knowing the young girl, she would be more than happy to clarify. Elaine just seemed to feel comfortable around her.
She listened to the Queen, finding all the information about the habitants of the island rather interesting, and it showed in her expression, full of interest. “In a way it’s not all that different from how my school was, each student was good or better than others in one subject or another” she said before getting quiet and listening again. Elaine did pay attention to the different statues, an eyebrow raised at the obvious different one but she did not ask about it now.
Then they came upon the coliseum and she smiled “That’s something that I wanted to ask about, you seemed to be sparring against one another when I watched you from up above, what’s it about?” she asked curiously.
Hippolyta:
The Queen smiled, a benevolent expression of patience and gentle maternal function, listening as Elaine spoke on of those who may not welcome her to "Heaven," understanding that perhaps Christianity's figures were as rigid and stiff as their dogma. She paused, in the ring Cassandra, a product of a Godly affair with a mortal herself, much like Elaine, was sparring with Artemis. The young blonde demiGod was putting up an admirable defence but Artemis was Themyscira's second best warrior, or best in her own eyes. They were training with staves, hard wood poles six feet long. "While we are a peaceful people, we understand that we need to be willing and able to defend not only ourselves and our values, but also those who cannot defend their selves," she said, watching as Artemis threw Cassandra down onto her back with a thud that shook the dirt, sending a plume of dust into the air.
Elaine:
Elaine watched the other two fight while she listened to the Queen. It was only then that she remembered something that she had learned and she started to cite it from her own memory.
“My eldest brother sees the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house. My elder brother cures sickness when it is still extremely minute, so his name does not get out of the neighborhood. As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time my name gets out and is heard among the lords.” She said while looking at the Queen and then she spoke again.
“It is from The Art of War, from Sun Tzu, I read it once while I was still going to school. What do you think of it?” she asked to the Queen. Elaine clearly was trying to figure out which brother represented their culture best and at the same time which brother might represent the Queen and others personally too. Elaine’s eyes got lost within the dust that was in the air for an appreciable moment and then she asked quickly “Is it polite to intervene from here?” she seemed to have something in mind with the dust.
Hippolyta:
"Sun Tzu was a wise man," she smiled, somewhat slyly. Her knowledge of the Ancient one, or at least one who for Elaine would be ancient, came from what she had learned from Ares, who had intimate knowledge of the great Chinese warrior. "We prefer to make peace over war, but do not shy from a fight presented to us without alternative," Hippolyta said. "But our war is not man's war. We may subscribe to total war doctrines, as you may refer to them, but not total defeat." The Queen paused as Artemis seemed to demonstrate just that. The redhaired Amazon artfully and skillfully spin the staff, stamping it down into the dirt with one hand, reaching down to extend Cassie a hand up with a smile. "Much improvement," Artemis said. "But you still lack the commitment to your strikes," she finished as the Amazons clasped hands and the smaller one was pulled to her feet. "I do not think you need to intervene; there is no risk of injury."
Elaine:
“I suppose that he was, although you sound as if you actually knew him in person. I think that I personally prefer the eldest brother even if his name doesn’t get out of the house” she smiled back at the Queen before her gaze returned to the arena, but of course Elaine, like a good young lady, kept listening to the Queen with all of her attention, or most of it. Elaine seemed to like what she heard and at the same time she liked what she was watching in the arena with Artemis and Cass. At the final statement from the Queen, Elaine looked back at her and shook her head “No, you didn’t understand me, I did not intent to intervene myself to stop them or to join them down there, but when the dust flew up at some point while they were sparring I got an idea. To give them a challenge in the form of a dust cloud. I was wondering if they can also spar when they cannot see, or if they should, after all if both combatants are unable to fight, do they really have to?” she asked with a hint of curiosity.
Hippolyta:
"He was a friend of a friend, shall we say," the Queen said simply, slyly, thinking back fondly on her dear "friend". "What an interesting thought," Hippolyta mused, pursing her lips as she considered it for a moment. "I would have to argue that if neither opponent is capable of fighting, then there would be no ability to fight and thus no confrentation. But, we must alwasy be careful not to mistake a lack of physical confrentation with a lack of conflict," the Queen cautioned and then smiled and waived for the two Amazons to come over. "Artemis, you are as fast as ever," Hippolyta said. "Still not fast enough to defeat nepotism," the redhead shot back, clearly a little bitter about something. In time, Elaine might learn that it came down to Diana and Artemis for the mantle of Wonder Woman, and Diana managed to win by a hair's breadth and little more. Had the wind blown in a slightly different direction, it could be said that Artemis would have been the victor. The Queen introduced the two women, "And this is Cassandra, I do believe you'll find you have a fair bit in common," the dark haired woman smiled, a knowing gesture that had been placed on her features dozens of times before. Cassandra smiled and extended a hand. "It's nice to meet you; there aren't a whole lot of people my age around here," she laughed. "Exactly my thinking, Cassie, and like you it seems Elaine is at home in Man's World. Perhaps you would be so kind as to show her your favourite places on the island? I think perhaps your perspective may be closer to what Elaine will enjoy than mine." "But, Hippolyta, Cassandra's training..." Artemis attempted to interrupt. "Can wait. Time is nothing for the children of Gods," Hippolyta put a hand on Artemis' shoulder. "Besides, Diana sent word that she might need some assistance with something right up your alley. She wishes to teach women in Nigera to defend themselves." Lyta knew this would trigger two sentiments in Artemis, self defense and the defense of Africa, which had been home to the Bana Migdal Amazons prior to the reunion with the Themyscirians. The two elder Amazons left Cassie and Elaine alone to their business.
Coming next, Part 2 - Children of Gods and Women
