The Underworld (Open)

[Hades]

Characters Appearing: Hades and Open
Location (s): Volcanic part in Obsidian Shades
Previous Thread Name.: None
Plot Summary.: Hades arrives on scene to Median. And he is not at all thrilled about it!

[Hades]

Deep below the atmosphere of the volcanic ruins passed a place where it looked so unwelcoming and inability to live. There was a god who lived there. And his two henchmen that had been there at the same time. He was in his one goth-looking chair, covered in skulls. His hot head was starting to show signs of anger and frustration. "We were so close! So close to beating that nephew of mine and brother! It went into smoke. All because two henchmen didn't do what they were told!" He said that gripping onto the two henchmen caused pain and panic. While they were nymphs, of course they took out most of Hades' rage as there was a large chess board on one of the tables that looked like it was a problem.

"But sir, you're too hot!" pain said as he felt the pain, and his body began to disintegrate into ash almost as he dropped them. His hot head was feeling far hotter than normal before he let his henchmen go as they collapsed on the floor.

"It's not all our fault! Zeus just overpowered us and those Titans. They're not exactly smart, you know." Pain was admitted before he managed to recover from the awful pain that came from him.

"Yeah, the prophecy, blah blah. Next time I listen to the fate sisters, I'm going to have a word with them. If they saw that coming, they should've told me." Hades said it with a sigh. "Now look at me. At the bottom of a pit far away from Greece... Wait a minute." He said it with a grin and a smile on his face. "Far away from Zeus. I have a great idea that we'll be able to carry out plans without worry from Mr. All-Mighty-on-top-of-my-cloud." Hades said with a chuckle on his face as he felt so free yet so trapped at the same time.

"Ah, right on time." He said that a scream could be heard, like a bone-chilling one that went up your spine. A ghost of a pale-looking woman went through the hallway and down the staircase. Pain and panic scurried out of the way in time. As the ghostly woman's soul went down into the underworld, the sign put up another number towards it. She was back in the river Styx. If anyone else showed up, they would have to be either incredibly stupid or incredibly desperate. Hades wasn't sure which one that would be. But he was sure he would have all the time he needed to formulate plans of his own. "Maybe I've been looking at this in the wrong light... Gentlemen, consider this a new beginning."

[Cynder the Dragon]

Trips to the Stygian Volcano had become routine for Cynder over the several months she had been in Median. It had become one of the few central locations she could sense and mine the specialized crystals her kind often could make use of, mostly for mana and energy purposes. The only place she could recharge her reserves, leaving just enough of the crystals and gems behind to naturally grow overtime.

At her new lair, she was slowly working on making another location prime for growing the crystals closer to home. But, certain conditions had to be met first, conditions that took time to perfect. So, she had made do.

Navigating the labyrinth of lava tunnels caverns had become rather easy after visiting them so long, the black dragoness having taken time to map out certain routes when she needed to be in and out. It could be rather mind boggling, easy to get lost when one didn't know the way. She had made subtle scratches in the hardened magma, ones she could follow each times she returned and occasionally having to renew them due to new lava flows opening up from the walls from time to time. Today had started out no different, Cynder following her route and sniffing out the familiar scent of the magic-infused crystals, energy she could sense as she moved along.

But along the way the sound of three voices caught the dragoness by surprise. Rarely, if ever, did Cynder hear or spot intelligent life. Few and far between could withstand the heat of an active volcano, so she was quite intrigued to hear voices so deep down in the volcanic depths causing her for the time being to hold off on finding those crystals. Following the voices further and further, Cynder eventually found herself at the heart of the volcano, the heat here generally being unsafe and inhabitable for more beings by this point. Even in her case the heat for extremely warm but not detrimental, so she was even more curious to know who or what she would find.

There in the heart of the volcano appeared to be a spot fixed to resemble a throne room, a place that vaguely reminded her of Gaul's own throne within the Mountain of Malefor. 'Well, well, more arrivals?' Cynder thought to herself deciding it warranted a closer look as her form seemed to melt into the darkness, moving like an unseen phantom to get in closer where she spotted Hades and his two imp helpers. Definitely not your typical beings of Median or refugees. "Well, well, what do we have here?" Cynder's voice echoed through the volcanic walls, leaving herself unseen in the shadows, "New arrivals to the hell that is Median perhaps?"

[Hades]

It was true to say, that Hades was not afraid of anything. Except maybe Zeus. That was the only exception. Being the god of the underworld, you saw just about everything. The scum of the humans that arrived in the Underworld, Hades heard all their stories and was familiar with the ones there. Like the Trojans, they got on the wrong horse. And then there was the other woman, Meg. She made him so angry for the betrayal that she caused that he didn’t want to see her face again. Even with the deal about that scum of a boyfriend that she had, make it two boyfriends.

As his yellow eyes glanced back at the walls, he knew the skull cavern that plastered the walls, was more menacing than the fiery volcanic ash that was there. He knew his home inside and out as the voice came in. No one would come and scare him off. Pain and panic both stiffened as they heard the voice come seemingly from nowhere. But Hades knew all too well that it was rare. No mortal would’ve gone down to such a place as this. Either that. Or they would’ve been incredibly stupid.

“You’ve got nothing to hide here, my shadowy friend. This is my domain. I know everything that goes on here.” He said it with a toothy grin on his face. He went, and the shadows drifted back and forth between his Greek clothes. He went and sat on his throne. Large skulls sat up on the top, probably belonging to mortals. Former warriors, which Hades gladly collected.

“The name is Hades. I come from the time of Greece, of warriors and Spartans. God of the underworld that my brother Zeus ever bestowed upon me. I was sent down the River Styx and wound up here. We're note exactly new arrivals. Been here about a month or two already.” Hades said, giving his introduction. Even with the toothy grin, he looked like he was bored. But he had an idea for formulating a plan. If this were no mortal creature, then they might work for their benefit. Perhaps his greatest trophy, which he was almost able to snatch up, was Hercules himself. But being that he was a god, He could not kill him anymore. And that infuriated him the most. As Pain and Panic scurried around and hid behind their leader. Yet their curious eyes poked out, wondering who the stranger was. Nobody they had seen before.

“How would you like to set up a deal? No mere mortal would be dumb enough to come down here and face the fiery inferno of this volcano’s wrath. I sense the power in you that is unmatched. I would set something up to benefit both of us.” Hades said. While enticing enough, he knew that they could perhaps get along for the most part. Hades, for the most part, very rarely left his domain unless something needed to be done himself. Otherwise, he had henchmen who did his dirty work. "Well, what do you say?” She could maim and kill anyone who wandered into Obsidian Shades. While he got their souls.

[Cynder the Dragon]

So, the taller of the beings wasn't quite as frightened of a phantom presence as the smaller creatures were. Based on her own experiences, Cynder could wager the little imp creatures were the so called "god"'s henchmen or servants acting like frightened hatchlings while Hades seemed nonchalant. Someone who wasn't cowering down like meek prey was a welcoming change.

'This will be interesting.'

The black dragoness continued to remain merged into the shadows, watching Hades, Pain, and Panic carefully as she listened to the God of the Underworld speak of who he was and how he came here, as well as attempting to entice her in. An amused laugh filled the volcanic cavern, "You, this Zeus, I don't know exactly of the kind of world you speak of, gods mean nothing from where I come from. Neither am I someone else's lackie to be used for your personal gain." Granted, Cynder herself had a master, but she was able to operate as both an extension of his will and a threat all her own. She didn't flinch from a fight, cower behind Malefor like the two imps hid behind Hades. Pretty pathetic really. "But then again, neither do I cower from the unknown like your...underlings." She mocked Panic and Pain sounding quite unimpressed at the display of cowardice.

Deciding it was time to reveal herself, Cynder soundlessly moved along the back of a pillar before her shadowy silhouette emerged from the ground. Her shape was vaguely reptilian, lacking much detail other than the eerie ghostly white of her eyes. The shadowy dragoness manifested in her full size, poised in a hunter's crouch and slowly stalking forward her eyes narrowing into a glare down at Hades and the two imps. She easily towered over the three and if she wanted to Cynder was certain she could easily turn the three into an easy snack if she tried. Fortunately, she was far from being a mindless beast that only hunted morsels for survival. She above such baseline, primal needs, a mighty beast that could think, feel, and formulate her own thoughts. Slowly she extended her head until she was a few feet from Hades, moving down to his eye level, "You want to make a deal, Hades? What benefit would such a deal have for me?" She inquired with mocking curiosity, growling as she spread her wings halfway, the shadows seeming to fall away like fog rolling away from the surface of a water body revealing her true blackish-purple scales and emerald green eyes.

Briefly, her eyes flickered to Pain and Panic, giving a soft snort towards the imps, "Something worthwhile that doesn't tempt me to make one of your little imp creatures a toothpick instead."

[Hades]

“It appears we come from two very different dimensions.” Hades said it didn’t take a human to figure out that one; they were different-looking. While there were monsters in his realm, the closest thing he could think of was Hydra, but he had met an unfortunate end. Regardless, Hades didn’t seem phased by seeing Cynder’s presence; in fact, he was more impressed by it. The large pillars had skulls engraved on them, as his home was truly menacing.

Especially with the cascading lava going down the side. The lava brought forth death and despair, just like him. So the volcano was almost a perfect home here. That, and no mortal would ever dare come here. They would either be incredibly stupid or incredibly dangerous to wander in a place like this. "Well, I hope you have found your stay interesting here. A volcano is not meant for most mortals. Usually, they would be burned alive." Hades said. "But we are similar in that we both can survive things that mortals can't."

"Oh, it’s quite simple, my draconian friend.” Hades said as he put his pointy, bony fingers together to show he was thinking things over. His flaming hair was billowing with the gentle breeze as it went back and forth.

“You see, maybe we can benefit from one another. If you go and maim, kill, or even fire-breathe those humans, I can take their souls. You see, I am the god of the underworld. All of the souls I gather go into the river Styx, where they complete their journey. ferrying the souls into the next world.” Hades said as he pointed over to where the circling ghostly form of miasma was flowing from it. It was something altogether freighting. As the imps that he owned were looking over the edge, they were careful not to fall into them. But she was right; they were cowards. In all forms of the word. While Pain and Panic usually did his bidding, they often failed one way or another. They failed to give baby Hercules the whole potion of the poison, and he was still alive, even though they lied. And that was where he made the mistake of entrusting them. His greatest thread was still alive. But it is far from here.

“Quite simple, really. I’m technically not allowed to leave the volcano all that much unless, for duty, I must take care of myself.” Hades said. While he would love to go out and scare the humans himself, he knew the gods were particular; they kept to themselves. With Zeus on Mount Olympus and the other gods there. He had a full-time job in the underworld. As far as he was concerned, he would’ve loved to go romping around and scaring the humans. But he was supposed to do his job here. He was pretty sure that humans were not accustomed to figures like himself. "Well, whaddya say?" The god of the underworld asked.

“I have also heard things. My minions have heard about a summoning at a gathering very soon. I am wondering if all of us will be invited, for that matter. A summoning of almost all the evil beings that have been stuck on this forsaken planet. I might want to give it a visit.” Hades said. Of course, he heard those shadow creatures talk. A lot of it was nonsense, but he knew something big was gathering. And it was going to be big.

"Don't worry about the imp friends of mine. They only listen to me and me only." Hades assured them. He said as he saw them change into small rats before scurrying away into one part of a hole in the skull of the eye sockets.