Completing the Statue

The years have been passing.

Even though Adjudicator relocated a good number of undead towards caverns in order to secure the area, it was no longer necessary to keep them around here- the Statue itself, made of stone and steel, as well as the surrounding Obelisks, they were all finished by now, leaving a hollow section for the Soulsteel, Spiritshards and the Spire Shard to be channelled.

As well as the space for The Morninglord's Dream.

But now, they were supposed to not only decide how exactly they're going to do this, but to actually provide an instalment for the vital components for the structure within; this, no doubt, required a hand of a skilled Necromancer, especially after all that Arthur witnessed on the island.

They had to make sure they do not rush the work, least they wish to jinx it.

"Yes, Cho, I'm ready."

"I've had several drafts for the construction within. You might want to view themand say what you think. Here."

The moment he hands over the construction draft to her, the next can be noted--

- - -

It's a centrifuge based around the Azrael's relic, with instalments of Spiritshards locked within Soulsteel fragments - all of them rotate in triangular fashion around the Gem, and Spire Shard fuels the process from above.

On top of that, all of the Obelisks are already connected to the central mechanism, each Obelisk containing a set of runes that further empower it. To run the process, it appears that sacrifice of mana is required, much like it was channelled by the Oscuri spirit on the Island.

- - -

Giving Cho time to review the draft, he addresses.

"What do you think of this construction?"
(Arthur Rowan)

Passion and ambition has driven her to this state. A moment, where she had begun to not just loathe reality. But loathe the lives of all others that are not within the cause. Needlessly to say, as strange as Valmasia is...It is a place where the lot of them can call home. It is a place that brings about more than just feelings of brilliance and wealth....It creates the essence of everlasting life within the presence of angels and Azrael. In the end, the woman merely waves a single hand- her darkened smile widening ever so slightly.

 "These plans are fine." She says while shifting in place. "While I might have had other plans for such a thing, I believe that your own idea is better." She states, nodding briefly. "As long as the centrifuge is the heart of the statue, then I think that these plans will go just as needed. However...It's a necessity that all of our people work together in order to bring something so...Brilliant to life." She adds.

 "This also includes exactly what you've said. The sacrifice of mana, time, blood.." She trails off, her animalistic gaze lowering briefly to the paper yet again. "In the end though, I believe that this will give you the exact thing that you've wanted. Do you wish to begin writing the runes for this project now?-...I imagine that the Obelisks are almost complete and it'd be best to give them the directive and, at the very least, run a few tests to see if they're capable of being a conduit."
(Cho Grauhimmel)

That's exactly what Arthur has been planning.

To make the centrifuge the heart of Statue, and utilize all of those materials they were in possession of in order to proceed with the better run of mana from the Obelisks and into the heart of the Statue, as well as to connect the Spire Shard to it all; but even though the power of Shard's Divinity was undeniable, there's something that he foreseen would have problems - the energy consumption.

That's why the Obelisks are in the place, to begin with.

"Correct. The centrifuge is intended to be the heart of the Statue. Also, I believe you have the Spiritshards and Soulsteel, still - the purpose is to install them in designated location within Statue as per the draft, which is something we'll need to do soon enough."

"Other than that, the Obelisks are ready, and I've studied runescribing to perform the proper runes. Perhaps, Nyphadora could assist us too?"

"We should do that now, if possible."

With that, he turns towards the Fae resting on her seat.
(Arthur Rowan)

"We'll need something to reinforce the area then." She states with a single nod. "I'll prepare additional defenses of the statue should something occur..." A brief pause is given. "And...We'll also need a contingency plan should something not go our own way within the near future. Considering we're going to war with the vampires....We should be prepared to move our greatest works at a moments notice." A brief pause is offered, followed by a nod. "I'm still in possession of all that you've given me. Although, I've been meaning to rehaul most of Valmasia's area....Only because the way it seems is bothering me." She sighs once, the hand gently tapping her cheek beginning to pause.

 "In any case, Nyphadora seems to be quite busy. It'd be best if we do those things with one another and then have Nyphadora look over them to see if they're all right." she adds. "I am a runewriter- but I'm nowhere near as brilliant as my fae companion." she adds, her smile widening slightly.

 "Whenever you are ready though, Arthur, I'm prepared. However, I've another question. Is there any area in particular that you wish to place the statue?" Mayhaps, in the very heart of the city.
(Cho Grauhimmel)

That is something that Arthur has foreseen as well.

All this time, what was intended as a platform for the Star Project, instead served as a platform for Statue's project; the Statue of Azrael, on its own, is located on a platform that can become mobile- though unfortunately, the Obelisks cannot be moved, and should they ever be destroyed, they'll need to be re-built elsewhere.

"Yes. I've foreseen such dire circumstances as well." - he points towards the platform underneath the Statue, before he exclaims once more, - "Do you see that platform beneath? It can become mobile, should such need arise. The Obelisks cannot be moved, unfortunately, but the Statue can be saved in scenario of siege."

"The Statue itself is at the heart of city, however. Least you were going to object to the location. And--"

"Let's proceed now. The time cannot be wasted in the circumstances that we have, so we should go ahead with the runes now. After we're done with them and we've tested the Obelisks, we can get the centrifuge done another time."
(Arthur Rowan)

"Ride or Die, Arthur."

 It's a saying that brought back so many different scenarios within her mind. The time when she had been led into an assault with Nakano. The times when Dylerun and the others antagonized her people at the borders of her 'nation'. And more importantly, the inevitable wars that landed upon their doorstep. At the end of the day, these feelings, these sayings, were things that they still lived by to this very day. They just never said it. "The destruction of Valmasia will never be a thing-...I can guarantee that." As humble as she can be, she is also a realist. "Just as the vampires savagely killed their leader, they will most certainly be their own undoing..." A pause is made.

 "They can consider this upcoming raid...The quickening of their downfall." Her smile widens slightly, nodding at the mentioning of the platform. "Should it not be enough-...I'll have my husband and Nyphadora prepare to rift the statue to a safe place." It shouldn't be too difficult to do, right? "Until then, I believe that this'll be a good place within the city." It is not the 'heart' that she had imagined...

 But this little park is beautiful.

 "In any case, when it comes to enchanting and give directives...I always start off with the thing that matters the most." She withdraws a single knife from the satchel and bring it to her palm. "Every runewriter has their ways but...Writing within blood makes creating my own directive easier." A pause.

 "Although, I feel the need that I don't have to teach you these things-...Unless, you'd prefer to get advice, but to digress." She'd begin. "I believe each obelisk will have a single, separate runes entirely- when we're done with each of them, we'll create one upon the back of the statue to bring intheir energies and make the connection." A nod.

 "I can list the runes that'd be necessary, if need be."
(Cho Grauhimmel)

The runes of power were going to be the most obvious ones, of course.

But that's just the beginning. Obviously, there would be runes that require them to establish the connection not only between the Obelisks, but the connection towards the heart of the Statue. While Arthur had seen much and worked plenty on everything he's researched so far, it's undeniable that Cho had a lot more experience in that.

"Good to hear that bloodletting is effective way to empower the runes. I just happen to be quite the renowned blood mage for that."

And though Cho would need a knife to open the wound in her hand, Arthur can go without that; to twist and bend the flesh, to tear it apart with magic alone, that's what he was capable of. Should such need arise, he was ready to spill the lifeforce that flowed within his veins in order to establish a better connection.

"What runes we will require, then?"

"I realize that we'll have to cover each and every Obelisk with the runes, but I'd imagine we will need directives that represent power, the fuel and channel, and connection, wouldn't we?"

"Unless, there's more?"
(Arthur Rowan)

"Bloodletting has and will always been a form of empowerment." She says, her gaze beginning to drift elsewhere. "In ways, you'll find that I've stolen and combined the works of many different beings. Valmasian, Jianghese, and even Gehennans...It is what got me terribly close to perfecting necromancy as a whole." She says, her smile beginning to widen briefly. "There's something to learn from each of them-...Even if the others are our enemies." There's still something to gain. There is still something to bastardize. In the end though, the woman merely waves a hand.

 "You're overcomplicating something that should be rather simple. There's no need to cover the obelisks in runes when only one or two should do the trick. The reason for this is that you'll already have six of them." She adds, "And even then, that might not be necessary...However." She says. "If you press for the issue, then I'll oblige..But I imagine that it'll make things a little more complicated for something so simple. Nevertheless.." She pauses briefly.

 "I'll go along with a list of the ones we should be using. If you do not approve, you're free to change and edit all that you desire, Adjudicator." She adds before taking a single step back, beginning to name each of the runes she had planned on placing on the separate Obelisks.

--------------------

1. Ingwaz - Represents God - Purpose is 'The Beginning'/Potential.
2. Mannaz - Represents Man - Purpose is 'The Support'.
3. Eihwaz - Represents Yew - Purpose is 'The Strength and Stability'.
4. Ansuz - Represents Breath - Purpose is 'Vitality'.
5. Gebo - Represents Gift - Purpose is 'Exchange'
6. Dagaz - Represents Dawn - Purpose is 'The Breakthrough'
7(For the angel) Raidho/Nauthiz - The Journey and 'necessity' for each.
--------------------

 Simple, right? In the end, the paper is passed along to the Rowan to oversee.

 "Do these suit your desires, Adjudicator?"
(Cho Grauhimmel)

It was hard for him to view things that way.

Many, many things in his life were viewed as something he would rather destroy than acknowledge and study. He had no luxury of a loving family, no strong society to back him up in his endeavours, no nation to which he belonged- all that tied him to this place was his own ambition, his own desire and the heritage of his blood. Other than that? He could've ended up like the countless other Valmasians, thrown away and scattered across Agartha.

But he was more than that, and he wanted to believe that so badly.

Even now, the aging man had no wish to stall away the process of what they were working upon. Perhaps most of the work wasn't exactly done by him- after all, it's Cho that discovered the process of perfecting Necromancy, even at the cost of Spire Shard for each undead, and she was the one to discover the creation of homunculus at efficient rates.

Yet, the Gem, the Shard, the other smaller things? At least, that was his.

"I do not see any reason to deny those their existence. I say we should proceed."

While Arthur was not perfect at runescribing either, these were familiar to him, and he could even pull them off on his own. A single glance thrown towards Cho, before he exclaims.

"Let's begin covering Obelisks in these runes, then?"
(Arthur Rowan)

They are a group of realists- Something that's rather difficult to come by within Agartha. And within their struggle, she's found that they've become isolationists and conservative. Not that there's anything wrong with keeping to themselves but...The difference between the Valmasians now- and those back then are terribly, terribly different. No matter how much she would attempt to see it- she cannot see a 'Nanatl' within a place such as this. And she cannot see others either. In the end, the only piece of her past that roots her to this realm is the man that she has fallen in love with and so....obsessively> desperately clings to.

 In the end, this twisted, suffocating darkness could always be felt though. Within her own desires, within toying with the spireshards. Somewhere, within the work of dealing with the dead- of reanimating and betraying and tricking and lying -she lost herself. And her mind. And what once made her...Her. It made her lost. And the sense of aimless wandering could almost be seen within her dark, nearly vacant gaze. But still...when one demands her to work. She does so.

 Out of desire for progression.
 Out of desire to see...More.

 "Very well then."

 She doesn't flinch when the knife digs into her flesh. Instead, she would begin writing. "I'll take the evens, you can have the odds." An offer is extended before she begins muttering her own prayers and incantations...For a piece of mind. Or simply...Peace of mind.

 Blood is dipped into and marked, brilliant mana flows into existence....And with the first one completed, one could see how the rune breathes life into the obelisk. It glows...The presence and offering of mana taking force from the surroundings and preparing it as the 'battery'.
(Cho Grauhimmel)

To each their own obsessions.

No matter how much others were keen on spitting on his accomplishments, no matter how much other forces in the world were eager to stop Arthur from performing what he does, he would always carry on, even if slower than usual- there's still the desire and want to prove everyone just how far a Man can go in order to transcend the Divinity that other gods sought to do.

To do what gods could not.

"Noted. I'll begin my work on the rest of the Obelisks."

The ones that were not covered by Cho were instead worked on by Arthur; with a steady ripple and tear that coursed through his flesh, torn asunder with bloodmancy, Arthur began inscribing the runes onto Obelisks like he was always meant to- each and every of them covered in Arthur's essence, in the blood he was so willing to shed in order to put them one way closer to what they all strived for.

And not even a single wince or sound was spared to that symphony of pain. Naught but silent endurance.

"We should connect the Obelisks towards the heart of the Statue once we're done inscribing commands upon them."

"The next stage would be constructing centrifuge and empowering it, but that can be done another time. We have tests to run with Obelisks right now."
(Arthur Rowan)

It is exhausting, isn't it?

 To waste one's self away for a cause until you're running on fumes. To go again and again and again while knowing that the limit had already been passed. She imagines that this is the way the Arcane Magi have become chaotic. She imagines that this is what they go through day in and day out despite not being able to really understand it. In the end though, she moves slowly- the steady blood flow pressed against each rune...moving from her first, to her last in succession...

 "That's something that we both should do." she states while raising up fully- her gaze drifting towards the statue. "I imagine that we both will write the runes on her back or 'forehead' and once done, we'll be able to test how things go." Simple, right?

 "I'll let you do the honors of 'Raidho. I'll do Nauthiz. Once down, we should be able to see how the connection flourishes."
(Cho Grauhimmel)

But it's worth it.

Arthur has long discovered that the worth of the man is determined by what they can do and what they've done already- while his mind, his body and even his magic was all focused on the entirety of the task of acquiring necessary materials to complete this project, lately, he was keen to split his attention towards warring Vampires as well.

Obviously, their presence could not be ignored. Yet still...

The project must come to life, and if they would keep it abandoned like that, it would never flourish, would it? A simple nod is given to Cho the moment she mentions that he should perform on 'Raidho', and once the final rune of the Obelisk is done, he trots towards the Statue.

If only to press his bloodied palm against the back of it's head, beginning to inscribe the runes of 'Raidho' as recipient of the power that would come from Obelisks.

Steadily, does he draw the rune, though he imagines that he would also need to assist Cho with the 'Nauthiz' rune. Perhaps, it would be best if each and every rune had them, wouldn't it?

"Should be ready by now."

"How do you propose we should reliably test it? To channel the mana and see if it goes towards Statue?"
(Arthur Rowan)

All of the struggling.
 All of the blood.

 In the end, the path that it leads to is always worth it. In the end, what comes of all of the toil is blessings and more. But still, these feelings within her heart. These moments that she has makes her feel as if everything is somewhat...Fleeting. In the end though, her silence continues with nothing more than a mere nod. "It's just as you've said. We'll give a little bit of mana to kickstart the obelisks and then, it should be rather simple."

 For now though, the woman merely begins her work on 'Nauthiz'. The tips of her fingers grazing the marble and stone-....The incantation that spills from her lips ending with nothing more than a tired sigh before finishing.

 "Since we're done...You can do the honors. After all, this is your project, Sir Rowan."
(Cho Grauhimmel)

The closing process of this ritual was coming.

Now that the inscriptions of the runes were done, they needed to organize the centrifuge itself according to the draft. Then again, they could always do that later on while the Obelisks begin pumping their energy from the runes and into Statue, couldn't they?

"Thank you, Cho. It's appreciated."

He realized that much of it wasn't his work at all, but still... the contribution he gave in order to make this project alive could not be denied, could it? After all that he sacrificed to make it work, his part in it all was worth something.

And that worth was about to become much bigger.

Channelling the mana as per the draft in his schemes, the Obelisks hummed and vibrated, their energy slowly seeping towards the heart of the Statue- while centrifuge was not ready and functional by now, it could still be noted that the immediate energy that comes with it cannot be denied; it glows, the excess of mana with nowhere to go but surroundings, and that only gave Arthur a confirmation to one thing.

Now it works properly, as they always dreamed it would.

"Excellent."

"We'll construct the centrifuge next time. We'll need to establish the mechanism as in the draft that I offered to you, Cho, and we'll need to connect the Morninglord's Dream to it."

"After the Gem is in... we'll have our first test, soon enough."
(Arthur Rowan)

"There's no need to thank me. It's my...Duty to assist the generation that has replaced me. You and all those before you must surpass me in one way or another...Otehrwise, it'd prove that I'm no good as the ones that are before me." She smiles slightly. "I believe in succession. And I believe in the power of you and the others...I know that times are rough, but these are the things that we'll not just outlive, but also, grow from." A pause is given as she watches him channel the mana...The brilliant energy drifting towards the heart.

 "...If there is anything else that you need, Arthur, feel free to call me. Until then, I've got some plans with Dylerun I must sort. And-...I'll be strong arming him into creating the centrifuge for the Stature." Her smile widens.

 "Until then, be safe."
(Cho Grauhimmel)