His expression dour, Malleus trudged up the mountain with Archon. Though they had their differences both could agree on one thing: they needed to talk. It was for that reason they had agreed to meet somewhere neutral. Each brought with them a single witness to testify to the proceedings. Both witnesses were wolves of significant standing in their respective packs. This would ensure that if an agreement was made and taken back to their people, the groups would have little reason to doubt its authenticity. This was less of an issue in Malleus' case as he, unlike Archon, was the ultimate authority in his pack. It was for that reason that he found the second reason they were there more important. They needed witnesses in case things didn't go quite so smoothly. Malleus paused at the summit and turned to face his brother. For now their witnesses were far below them on the mount. Whether or not they would be brought forth to hear an agreement was still up in the air. But, agreement or not, Malleus had no intention of walking away today with tying up the many loose ends his brother's time in Boreas had created. "Alright, brother," he said with a sigh. "Where do we start?"

Unbeknownst to him, Pyrrhic was making a similar expression to the one his father wore. He wanted to be up there with him. The Abraxas youth had never met his uncle Archon before. All he'd knew about him was what his father had told him. And his father had not told him flattering things. On his left was Benkos and on his right was his father's macaque, Pascal. The former was calm as ever and sat with his arms propped up on his knees. The latter was as nervous as the former was calm and constantly rung his hands. His eyes never leaving the figures on the summit, Pyrrhic whispered over his shoulder, "Be still, Pascal." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

At the base of the mountain, Archon slid Obi the pendant he had been working on, "If I don't come down, you give this to her. Stay by their sides." His voice was lowered for only Obi. He wanted to give the pendant to Belle when their kids turned a season old. If everything went well, he'd still be able to. To Belle he gave her a warm embrace. "This won't take long," he murmured to her. "When we get back, we should down a deer and let the kids finish it off. Then we can all feast together." With one last look, he turned to ascend the mountain. Archon walked beside his brother, their expressions mirroring one another. Archon was surprised the high king would dare sully his paws by crossing outside of his godly pack, but he guessed the idea of Archon actually doing things bothered him enough to make the special exception. He had no intention of letting Malleus simply walk all over him. He may be Risen's leader, but that did not make him a good one. He was not Archon's leader and if the Abraxas were left to him, they would die out alone in Auster. Malleus turned to Archon and asked them where they should start. Archon was sure his brother had already carefully structured how he wanted to have this conversation go, so Archon gave him a small nod, "Wherever suits you, brother." "Talk" "You" Think

She didn’t like this. Her instinct screamed that this was not right, and she should not allow Archon to be released from their embrace. She leaned heavily into him as he promised his swift return. There was no reason for her to doubt him, but her heart hammered heavily in her chest. The both of them had left their children, a heavy reason for her anxiety. ”Of course,” She whispered back at his suggestion before he pulled away from her and took to his brother’s side. Mismatched ears fell to her skull as she watched the pair ascend the mountain.

She was left with the boy, Pyrrhic. She’d sparred with him once before building Ashen. He was an impressive young wolf, though she wouldn’t spare him a glance as lilac gaze locked on Archon’s form. She tried to steady her breath and wait patiently, but nervously was unable to help leaning into Obi’s comforting form.

Alright, fine. Malleus would go first. The Risen Emperor pursed his lips and glanced down the mount at his son. From this distance fine detail was lost but he could tell he had the young Heir’s undivided attention. Had he been with him he would have chided him for not paying closer attention to his heretical uncle’s ally.

No more than a beat later Archon had his undivided attention. “I think it’s time you came to Risen, Archon. Reconnected with our family and our values.” There, that summed up his purpose today nicely without finger pointing or  touching on his brother’s heresy.

Malleus didn’t consider his brother a lost cause. He thought Archon misguided and in his present condition a danger to the Abraxas values, but he didn’t think he was beyond saving. Though they had grown apart and life had warped his brother’s convictions, Malleus was certain Archon could be brought back into the fold.

When Malleus cast a glance down the mountainside, Archon mirrored him. He could see, only barely, the merged form of Obi and Deathbelle. No doubt that Obi clung to Belle as she leaned into his form. At this moment they needed each other. While his brother may have been judging the young heir, Archon's mind was full of loving and longing thoughts.

Finally, Malleus turned to him, simply offering for him to rejoin the pack and to grow accustomed yet again to 'their ways.' No, Archon knew their ways. The ways of the Abraxas as Amon had taught them. They were gods and warmongers. Archon couldn't do it alone, but he knew the pack of Risen as a whole hadn't been either. Maybe Archon wasn't doing exactly as his father taught, letting his mates help raise his children, letting Obi help with the religious affairs, and whatever else, but Malleus didn't seem to be doing much different. All that power and it sat, stagnant on Auster.

Archon shook his head slowly, "No, brother, I have found my place, but it is not in Risen," he said solemnly. "Perhaps it is time for you to also venture out some, Malleus. You could visit Ashen for a time, or perhaps stretch your paws across Abaven."

Malleus frowned at Archon’s response. It was clear he didn’t see the error of his ways. That was alright, Malleus expected resistance. Archon has been on his own for too long and power had likely made him resistant to command. But Malleus was Risen Emperor; his word for the Abraxas in these lands was law. He would not take no for an answer.

Firmly he countered, “It is not I who has strayed, Archon. Your decisions as of late have put us in a precarious position. I think it best you come to us for a time and reacquaint with our ways.” The debacle with the mortal pet Hannibal had made their name synonymous with hilarity. Malleus didn’t want a repeat that would further solidify that opinion.

Archon did not miss the accusation in his brother's voice, nor the plainly spelled out 'you made things not go my way and I'm angry." Archon resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead let out another heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, brother, if my presence has so heavily swayed the opinions of Boreas. Perhaps it is because my presence is the only Abraxas presence in Boreas?" he said. It was no lofty accusation. If maybe someone had sent true command to Abaven like they promised, they could be well feared by now. "Tell me, Malleus, do the Auster wolves fare a better opinion of our family? Or do they even know you are there?"

Archon was deflecting and Malleus wondered if it was because somewhere in his heart of hearts he knew his brother was right and that he, Archon, had strayed from the teachings of their forefathers. It seemed a fair assumption to make.

“You are not a fool, Archon, so don’t play one,” Malleus chastised coolly. “You know as well as I that the bulk of the mortals reside in Boreas. And,” he said with barely contained annoyance, “You would know our plans for the future if you bothered to keep with tradition. Instead you gamboled about Boreas ripping up the seedlings of fear we had planted with your nonsense about a shrine.”

“In a season’s time our youth will be ready to go out and lay claim to their birthright and if not for you and the reputation you sullied they would be going out to harvest instead of to sow. Because of you we will have to start again so I must insist that you return home before you can do further harm to the foundation our father laid.”

Archon felt no guilt. No residue of of should have or shouldn't have in his mind. Maybe it was just out of spite, or maybe it was just to justify his own actions. A twinge of smile threatened to sneak on Archon's face, but he quelled it. A shallow, but hot anger laced over his skin.

"I'm sorry, but our father taught us more about warring than just hoping that the mortals will take note. They, too, are training. The initial impact of the Abraxas was good, but your follow through lacking. Yes, the next generation of Abraxas are nearly ready, but all those who initially went and spoke of God before you reigned them in after our father left gave the mortals just enough reason to ready their own brood as well- and they out number you."

Archon narrowed his own eyes, before casting a glance around the base of the mountain. There were many packs below, and Archon doubted any of them truly feared the Abraxas.

"You think the mortals there have taken your 'seedlings' to heart? I've met many Abraxas at festivals and events and all have been lovely and cordial and sweet," he said with a light smile. They had all been so well behaved. Perfect little puppy pets. "The only seeds the Abraxas have been spreading is through their mortal shells into willing wombs. Is that what father taught us? To squander our own lives, hiding behind a pack until out children are old enough to do God's bidding? Is that the foundation he laid for us?"

Archon tsked. Their father had left far too soon. There had still been so much to be done. So much that Malleus had ignored in order to play big leader of a big pack on his own land where the mortals wouldn't bother him.

"You would have to start again regardless, Malleus, because the mortals would have all but forgotten you in the time you've been hiding on your own little island. They've been making alliances, bonding, and any mention of the Abraxas left is from our first endeavor with our Father." he rumbled. "But sure, I guess the youth can be the ones to fix that."

"You know nothing of which you speak," he said regretfully. "If you did you would not speak so firmly or so arrogantly of matters you can't possibly know anything about. How could you, hm, when you weren't there. You didn't go to meetings, you did not speak to our father before he left - I doubt you have heard from him since even though I have - and you were not around for the revelations."

He shook his head in exasperation. "The list of things you do not know is as long as this mountain is tall and it would be better for your dignity if you stopped speaking of them so confidently." Had they not been so limited on time Malleus would have attempted to school his brother on those matters, but as there weren't enough hours left in the day so he was forced to settle for a summary. "If you had been around for any of it you would know this is a God ordained time of growth. A time for us to "sow seeds" as you so eloquently called it. With your frivolous pursuits it is you who is not doing the will of Abraxas."

"Yes, how can you know of things you weren't there for? Things you weren't there to see the behind the scenes of," Archon questioned. "Because I may speculate of your pack as you may speculate about my life or my whims of God. You, too, speak of things you do not fully know."

Archon seemed to have hit a nerve with the whole 'you don't know so stop talking' spill.

"Or have you become so high and mighty that you know exactly what the mortals think, although you have never spent time with more than one or two of them? Or that your few choice appearance at a selection of my public endeavors suddenly gave you knowledge of all that I do."

He gave a shrug and shook his head as if in pity at the poor, poor, godly king. "Really, you speak the same as you do and yet you wish to call arrogant and frivolous. I don't think you know half of what you speak, I just pray that lack of attentiveness is not the downfall for the faction of the family that follows you."

Malleus shook his head sadly as Archon spoke. He was simply too blinded by his own sense of self worth to see it. Time might change his mind and time he would have; Malleus was taking him back to Risen. He'd wanted him to go willingly, but seeing as he would not, well, he would have to go home a prisoner. Though this saddened Malleus he was at peace with it; someday his brother would see reason. He was sure of it. Otherwise... No, he would not think of it.

"I will not quibble over minutia. I have seen more of your workings than you have of mine." And what he had seen he was not pleased with. Neither, he was sure, would any of their ancestors have been. The fixation on a meaningless landmark, the mortal made champion made loser twice over, the loss of Abaven. "It is not a faction of the family over which I rule. All of those who call Boreas and Auster home are mine - I was chosen by our father and filled with the fire of the Fallen God when I ascended. To be at odds with me is to be at odds with Him. Or have you forgotten that as well in your time away from your people?"

"No matter, I've heard enough of your blasphemy. It's time for you to come back to the Abraxas, Archon. To Risen where we will rid you of your heresy and reintroduce you to tradition." With that Malleus lunged for his brother. He sought to use his left foreleg to sweep Archon's front legs while simultaneously seeking to grab him by the left side of his neck. The bite was meant to add the trip and force Archon to the ground.

"I have not forgotten, Malleus, I simply think that perhaps you are unworthy," Archon spat. If it was not a faction, then what about the loose Abraxas? Did those listen to him? No. And surely Archon was among them. The free Abraxas. His father had kept tabs on them, but wouldn't have corralled them into a singular pack. They had two at one point, with claim over Abaven, but Archon had left Abaven. He had never received the support from the empire. Perhaps Ashiel felt the same when his pack crumbled. Perhaps those failures coming in the time of Malleus' ascent to the throne was a voice of his displeasure with the current leadership. Then Malleus comes not when Archon was making these supposed mistakes, but seasons later, fitting of the half-connected, lazy king.

Malleus said he would come back, but no, Archon would not return to that land to be brainwashed into believing in some grand raid that their children could host on their own. True growth would have been to take a pack and breed the strongest members of those. Malleus could talk about their period of growth all he wanted, but it was just his excuse to not go out and risk his neck. No, Archon would have no part of that. He could raise the Abraxas back on his own if he had to. Perhaps even his child heir could do better than him.

Malleus lunged. Maybe he expected Archon to submit, but such would not be the case. The mountain was not a good place to fight. His brother was foolish indeed, but Archon would make him see that. Archon reared, Malleus's swipe flipping past Archon's paws, although his bite still got the left side of Archon's neck. Archon attempted to get a bite over the back left of Malleus's neck hoping to use the leverage and the angle of the mountain to trip his brother up and force him down the mountain some.

It's an.. earthquake?

As the two behemoths tangle on the edge of the volcano, the ground begins to shake and crumble around them. Flashes of flames and smoke blast around them, clouding the scene around them. Down below the edge of the volcano, lava boils, the popping bubbles sending tendrils of molten rock shooting just over the edge. It's an earthquake? Surely this is just an earthquake and it will pass... right?

God, it seemed, had something to say about the matter. The ground around them rolled and buckled sending clouds of vicious gases billowing heavenwards. The reek of sulfur seemed to get lodged in Malleus' throat. Quite quickly he became winded; no amount of air seemed able to quench his need. There was no stopping, however. Malleus was convinced of the righteousness of his actions. For the betterment of not only the Empire but Archon of all wolves, he needed to succeed.

As Archon rose up on his hind legs so too did Malleus. With each biting into the scruff of the other it was to be a wrestling match. Though he was a tad smaller, of the two of them, Malleus was the fighter. He was confident his interest in the field combined with the righteousness of his cause would see him to victory.

Malleus sought to wrap his paws around the top of Archon's neck while maintaining his bite. The root of the neck was the strongest and thus the most difficult to influence, but the top? There the right touch could bend it to the will of an outside force. The titan thought that by gripping the top of the neck and twisting suddenly and with all the force he could muster, he could bring Archon down.

PP Approved by Laz

The two of them reared to meet each other in combat. Archon was the bigger, but Malleus was by far more experienced. The emperor wrapped his paws around Archon's neck while keeping his bite. Archon aimed to mirror him, wrapping his paws around his brother. The two fought and shoved, experience vs brute force. They worked their way up the mountain, both titans refusing to fall. The mountain around them shook and quivered, but the two continued warring. Neither could afford to lose.

The ground below them shifted, but this was not general shaking. The two ventured too close to the edge and the very land they stood on moved, crumbling in towards the boiling lava below. There was barely time to think, barely time to realize what was happening. The scorching heat was all-encompassing as the brothers fell into the mountain together. In a flash as intense as if it was sent by God himself, everything ended. It was chaos, then blissful peace.

As they struggled the ground under foot became painfully hot. Malleus’ paws stung fiercely and threatened to blister later in protest of such cruel treatment, but there was little he could do besides ignore them and promise treatment later.

Their struggle carried them upwards as Malleus sought higher ground that would give him leverage over his bigger opponent. He didn’t pull or attempt to drag Archon, rather as each step up presented itself he took it in the hopes of being able to twist his brother down into submission. Malleus knew Archon wouldn’t go quietly. He expected to have to rely on the aid of his son and their companions to take Archon home.

It wasn’t to be. There was a groaning below them that Malleus could feel in his chest followed by a sudden explosion of heat and a feeling of weightlessness as the stone crumbled away. His legs were scorched by the fiery blast. The billowing gases and the heat around him caused the air to shimmer. Through the haze Malleus caught a fleeting glimpse of Pyrrhic as he went down. There was no time to regret or to wonder where life would take his children or to mourn the grandchildren he would never see. Even if there had been, Malleus’ heart was firm. Though there was no time to react as the earth fell away, there was a moment when he knew he was going to die - and he accepted it. Everyone had a purpose and if the Fallen God saw fit to use him here to end a heretic how could he be anything other than willing?

Together they fell into the terrible heat and together they were consumed.

-exit Malleus via death-

The earth shook and the air filled with heat and the smell of sulfur and gas. Deathbelle's lilac gaze couldn't be torn from Archon's hulking frame as his own brother attacked and the two of them engaged in battle. Belle's heart stopped and she forgot her own paws threatening to be swept from beneath her. In less time than it took to blink the Empress watched as the man who had promised her forever was pulled violently into the void. She didn't hear herself scream nor think about her burning paws as she raced up the side of the volcano.

"Archon, no!" Her breath was horse from the smoke in the air. She didn't know how far she might have gotten, but she felt a tug on her tail and the tight almost painful grasp of her leg. He was gone. She couldn't do anything to help him. Again Belle had to leave the one she loved the most. Sirius had returned to her after she had been convinced of his death, but Archon would make to grand return. He was a part of the molten earth. Tears filled her eyes as Belle allowed Obi to lead her away to safety.

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

As the remaining members flee the scene and the two brothers fall into the volcano, the lava continues to rise and the mountain continues to rumble. Instead of slowing down, the tremors get worse. Rocks tumble down the volcano and smoke starts to rise towards the sky. Needless to say, it is no longer safe to be near Mount Volkan.