To think it had only been a couple of seasons since he had gotten lost in here. He'd been a small child then, foolhardy and naive, but now Pyrrhic felt he could see the Woods for what they were. They were a test to weed the foolish from the capable. Guile was the key to success and today Pyrrhic was going to see how he fared against the wiles of the Woods. At his side was Benkos who had sworn to be a passive companion on today's venture. They would be relying solely on Pyrrhic's decisions to get through the maze. As they walked Benkos decided to quiz Pyrrhic on Abraxas lore. Pyrrhic, who was taking his role as Heir very seriously, was happy to share his knowledge. "...that's it, in a nutshell. This world and all the wolves in it belong to the Fallen God and His People. Someday it will be my job to ensure we get what is ours." Pyrrhic paused to gather his thoughts, then continued, "My dad believes he is here to grow the Empire from within and I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I don't think I was made for that. I don't feel like that is my purpose. I think...I'm meant to grow the Empire from the outside in." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix These woods were a maze. A persistent, unforgiving maze.  Did it ever end? The trees that towered around him may have well been barbed wire, forcing him forwards without an end in sight. The path which he walked was overgrown and seemed to be devoid of any tracks or trails. Does this mean I'm going the wrong way? He asked himself, pausing to squint up to spy the sun through the canopy. Tsarvix didn't want to be stuck here past daylight. Oh will it ever end? Frustrated, he threw haunches to the ground to sit with a slightly hunched appearance, his fur plastered across forehead and neck in various matts and wisps. The expression that spread across darkened maw was less then pleased- rather tortured in fact. His nose wrinkled up, overall looking rather ready to sneeze. Quietly he remained for the moment, observing the thicket. He could hear the soft rustling of leaves as the wind weaved past, and the shrill chittering of woodland creatures above him. Tsar may have found it beautiful if he was the type of wolf to appreciate nature. For now though he only cursed this dreadful maze that masqueraded as a forest. Why would you lead me here? He'd been questioning his God a lot, lately. Am I just a toy for you? Is it entertaining to watch me struggle through these woods, hungry and alone? The male lowered his head and flattened his ears against his head. First he had been deserted by his brother, and now by his God. Before long a new sound reached him, and he identified it with a questioning tilt of the head. Voices? Tsarvix perked his ears forward and allowed himself to trod hopefully in their direction. He could only hope they were friendly, this walk had drained his energy far too much to have to defend himself from attack- or worse, administer punishment. He pushed through the brush, feeling the branches scratch across his torso, wincing as small knives of wood caught under and tore at his matted fur. "Fallen God" …. "get what is ours" … "grow the Empire" … "my purpose' The strangers words reached him in pieces, blurred by the sound of leaves whipping across his face and ears. Tsar hurried onwards until he broke through the brush and onto the path upon which the stranger trod. "Thank you God!" Tsarvix's words were breathless. "Please, Sir, I'm lost." The male shook his head roughly as he approached to clear the broken shrubbery that had stuck to his face around his eyes. He stopped just behind the pair, not ten feet away, and took on a respectable pose with his head held high. If his God had truly brought him here, then there was a reason for it. Tsar only hoped it had nothing to do with the unnerving creature at the wolf's side. "Do you know the way out of this maze?" "Speech"

A voice behind them prevented Benkos from asking a follow up question. Almost as one the pair stopped and turned to face the speaker. Benkos growled in displeasure at being caught unaware, but said nothing and simply eyed the distance between themselves and Tsarvix.

Pyrrhic took in the newcomer with a veiled expression of confusion. The phrase was new to him and given his experience with only the Fallen God and the deification of his descendants, Pyrrhic thought the male was thanking him. For why he had no idea, but he hid the bulk of his confusion well.

He fixed the stranger with an unwavering and humorless gaze. His expression made it impossible to mistake his query for a jest. Pyrrhic was serious as he asked, ”Why do you thank me? I haven’t done anything yet.”

”I know the way out.” Instead of giving the stranger directions, Pyrrhic glanced around appreciatively then spoke again before the male had a chance to reply to his question or his statements. ”Many who enter these Woods find themselves in your position. It’s a test, you see, to weed the worthy from the unworthy.” Never mind that as a child he had gotten lost in here. ”So tell me, why are you worthy of my intervention? Shouldn’t nature and the spirits of the Woods do what they were created to do?”

Tsarvix forced himself to remain relaxed as the pair turned to face him. He didn't want to give this stranger any reason to believe that he was unfriendly and abandon him in these woods. He met the wolf's striking blue gaze as he heard the reply.

"You.. I.." He stammered uselessly, ears pinning tightly back against his skull. He was taken back by the response, and squinted in confusion at Pyrrhic. "I don't.. know what you mean." The male's heart hammered in his chest and he felt a flutter of something in it's depths.

"Are you.. have you been the one testing me?" He questioned softly, taking a single step forward towards the pair. His gaze fluttered downwards to rest upon the monkey's colorful face, and then back up to the large male. "I walk the path of God." Tsarvix recited as he had so many times before. "I've been sent here to cleanse the world of sin and punish those who make a mockery of Him."

Suddenly a rush of anger bubbled up from within the male too fast to stifle, but there was another emotion there too- pain. "I am worthy!" He declared, lip upturning in a snarl. "I've done everything for you! I killed my mother to punish her sins. My brother-" Pained voice trailed off and Tsarvix lowered his head in defeat. ""I am worthy, haven't I shown you that all my life? Haven't you been watching?" He wasn't sure when- but while the beginning of his rant had been yelled upwards in prayer, the conclusion was directed only towards Pyrrhic.

"Speech"

Pyrrhic watched with a passive expression as the mortal flipped through a range of emotions. He wasn't surprised by this; though this was only his second encounter with a mortal, but he'd heard they could sometimes be overwhelmed by simply being in the presence of a godling. After Pyrrhic had a chance to process Tsarvix's words his expression grew keener. While many of the details the stranger threw at him were a mystery to Pyrrhic, the bits about punishing those made a mockery of "Him" and being worthy were themes commonly bandied about the Abraxas' history. Those bits he understood. This mortal male was one of theirs. Pyrrhic eyed Tsarvix contemplatively for several seconds. Finally he said, "You are worthy." He wasn't sure why this male was alone, but it was clear to him that he shouldn't be any longer. The conviction in the stranger's voice was proof enough of his devotion. The Empire could use someone with that kind of conviction and he did no good to the Fallen God on his own. Pyrrhic could use someone. He needed good soldiers under him and this stranger was promising. So he decided to take a chance. "Come, follow me - I'll take you home." Pyrrhic was confident he knew the way. Luckily, if the male came with him like he expected, the distance was great - there would be plenty of time to tease out more information from the mortal. "We have much to discuss." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix Tsarvix couldn't hide his relief as the larger male spoke, and his anger dissipated in a near instant. His ears perked forward hopefully, and he stepped towards the pair. "Thank you." His words were filled with sincerity, and he felt suddenly very unburdened. Tsarvix had not realized how lonely he had been; it had been so long since he'd had a home. He trotted closer, stopping just short of Pyrrhic and awaiting his lead. "What should I call you?" He asked with an inquiring tilt of his head. "My father never told me your name.. or title... or whatever."A bit of embarrassment tinged his words. Here he was, babbling with a God, wondering what to call him. He hoped he hadn't offended the other with the stupid question, but "God" seemed... well, he wasn't sure really. It didn't seem like a name, but, did celestial beings have names? Tsarvix had so many questions. "I fear I really don't know much of anything." He admitted ashamedly.   "I wasn't … taught. My father, he told me I had to obey You and follow Your word, but I don't think he really knew what that was either. I'm supposed to punish sinners, but I don't know what sins deserve punishment." He grimaced, remembering his mother. Her sin had to have been worthy of God's wrath, otherwise he wouldn't have been made to kill her, right? "Speech."

Tsarvix's situation was becoming more clear the longer he spoke. It seemed to Pyrrhic that the mortal's forefathers had been properly indoctrinated at one point by the Abraxas and then over time, after Pyrrhic's people had moved on, the story had been watered down and altered in their absence. That struck him as the most plausible explanation. Pyrrhic began to walk in Risen's direction, his gaze roving over the trees and occasionally flicking over to Tsarvix as he spoke. He was a bit saddened by how little the mortal knew, but quite pleased with the chance to finally try his hand at assimilation. Pyrrhic's ancestors had been claiming and reshaping mortals since Abraxas' fall from heaven and he was proud to follow in their footsteps. "You have a lot to learn," he said with a ghost of a smile. "My name is Pyrrhic, Heir to the Abraxas Empire. My forefather is Abraxas, The Fallen God, and it's He who has been watching and testing you." "And it's He," Pyrrhic said with a significant glance in Tsarvix's direction, "That led you to me. So you could be where you belong." With the lessons that had been recited to him since birth forever ringing in his ears, Pyrrhic paraphrased the Abraxas mission, doing his best to sum it up their righteous judgements. "We destroy those who stand between us and our throne in heaven. We punish those who might yet be saved." Thoughtfully, he added, "Destroying is a punishment in and of itself, I suppose." "We have a long walk ahead of us; ask any questions you like." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix The chocolate male followed along dutifully as his God began to lead the way, being sure to keep his snout in line with Pyrrhic's shoulder as to defer to his dominance. "Home." The thought was thrilling. He hadn't had a true home since he was a pup. "My name is Pyrrhic, Heir to the Abraxas Empire" Pyrrhic. It was an odd name for a deity. It sounded so mortal. Was it because, as Pyrrhic himself put it, his father was the true God? No. He couldn't afford to doubt any longer. It was Pyrrhic who had found rescued him from the woods, not this Fallen God Abraxas. If this was another test, Tsarvix was determined not to fail it. He tilted his head to observe the large male as they walked, listening carefully and willing himself to absorb every word. "We have a long walk ahead of us; ask any questions you like." "To question one's God is to sin." Tsarvix said after a brief deliberative pause. "The only questions I have for you are the ones with answers that will help me to better serve you. Your cause is my cause. I promise I will do whatever I can to help you take your throne." He allowed silence to wash over them once more as he contemplated. Tsarvix did have questions. Many, many questions; enough questions to ask in rapid-fire sequence and still have more questions by the time they got to wherever they were going, but he didn't want to seem a fool to Pyrrhic. He wanted to be careful of what he'd ask, and hopefully be gifted the opportunity to ask more when he wasn't so star-struck. "Where are we going?" The male couldn't help but ask. It seemed a safe enough question, surely even the worthiest of wolves were allowed to know their destinations. "Are there others there? Allies to the cause?" His maw opened and then shut again, and he swallowed. "What will be my place there? I'm afraid... I don't have much to offer you aside from my loyalty. I'd like to learn anything to help me serve better, but I'm afraid I may be useless to you." Tsarvix was afraid to meet Pyrrhic's gaze, for fear that he'd see disappointment there. "I am not a healer, nor a hunter. I'm not a navigator... obviously. I think I could learn to fight, but I'm not battle-hardened by any means." "Speech"  "You" "Think"

Tsarvix's answer pleased Pyrrhic greatly. The mortal was shaping up to be a fantastic catch and Pyrrhic was eager to get him back to the Empire and show him off to his father. No doubt Malleus would be equally pleased. They lapsed into silence briefly and then to Pyrrhic's amusement Tsarvix seemed to rethink his position on asking questions. It was alright with Pyrrhic, really. While he expected unquestioning loyalty he didn't think it was reasonable to smother curiosity indiscriminately. While the world was his to do with as he pleased, he owed it to those who converted to treat them fairly. They too would receive a place in heaven. "The Risen Empire. It's a place for my kind and yours to prepare for the wars ahead." The rest of what Tsarvix had to say gave Pyrrhic pause. He slowed to a halt and then turned to face the mortal because he tell he was trying to be honest and that the confession had been difficult for him. Pyrrhic's expression was grave but sincere. "You aren't useless," he said firmly. "Officially you will start out as a commoner but where you go from there rank-wise is up to your natural talents. But I will say this: you will learn to fight and you will learn to do so fearlessly." He had a test for Tsarvix, but truthfully he was hesitant to voice it lest he push too hard and accidentally force him away. It took Pyrrhic a moment to work up the courage to say it, but when he did he managed to keep his voice firm. "Unofficially you will be whatever I need you to be." He wanted to plant a seed for later. Someday he just might have to ask for the one thing that Tsarvix would be hesitant to give. Pyrrhic had no idea what that might be, but he wanted it as a option should he need it someday. "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix "The Risen Empire" Tsarvix affirmed, respect and awe flooding into him. His new home. Pyrrhic spoke of the wars ahead, and the chocolate male could only wonder what kind of battles awaited them. It must take special kind of wolves to oppose divinity, and Tsarvix vowed to himself to fight against them tirelessly- if that was what Pyrrhic would command. Were their opponents led by another God? He couldn't imagine mere mortals standing up against Pyrrhic. The cream colored wolf towered over Tsarvix in height, and he could see hardened musculature beneath his coat as well. He mused for a moment, imagining his God facing up against a dozen mortal wolves- smiting them with ease -and Tsarvix nodded to himself, convinced that was exactly what would happen. Their foe must be mighty indeed. Pyrrhic stopped them then, and turned to face Tsarvix. The dusky male met his striking blue gaze as he spoke, feeling the sincerity there and deeply moved that this God would address him so intimately. He understood that he'd be a low-ranking wolf to begin with- hell, if The Fallen Empire was- as the larger male said -a home for not only those like Tsarvix, but also Gods like Pyrrhic, it was only natural that those in high rankings would also have divine blood. From his train of thought bubbled forth another question, though he squashed it before it could hit the air. He wanted to know how many of them there were. So far, Pyrrhic had told him about himself and his Father. How many Gods were among his bloodline? He figured the answers would come when the reached the Empire's territory, Pyrrhic was striking enough in unique banded markings that Tsarvix was convinced he'd recognize his kin if he were to see any. Truthfully, the devout wolf did not want to believe that other divine beings existed; he struggled enough with the knowledge that it was not Pyrrhic but his Father who held the title of The Fallen God. As far as Tsarvix was concerned, Pyrrhic deserved that title. He wondered absently if there was only one throne in Heaven, and if so, the chocolate male was determined to be sure it was Pyrrhic and not his Father who was to sit there. Tsarvix's train of thought ended abruptly as he realized Pyrrhic had finished talking and was now quiet. Realistically, it wasn't for longer then a moment, but it felt to Tsarvix that he'd been lost in thought for much longer. "Can he read minds?" Panic washed over him for a moment, but he veiled it as was natural for him. His deity was still watching him with a look in his eyes that Tsarvix could not identify. Had Pyrrhic been listening while he considered betraying his father- The Fallen God? Did he disapprove? Tsarvix glanced down, about to apologize and ready to grovel at his God's feet when Pyrrhic spoke again. "Unofficially you will be whatever I need you to be." Tsarvix met Pyrrhic's gaze once more, searching their depths for any sort of anger or distrust and found nothing. He couldn't help but tilt his head at the other, ears flicking forward curiously. Maybe he had heard him. Tsarvix didn't know if Gods could read minds, or maybe they could only pull traces of thought. Either way, the chocolate male was convinced that yes, maybe his God did have nefarious plans for him. Wide maw opened as if to speak, and then shut again. He found himself speechless once more before Pyrrhic and simply nodded solemnly, hoping the motion conveyed his understanding. "Speech" "You" "Think"