Tsarvix Soon it would be time for Tsarvix's first lesson on Abraxas culture, and the chocolate male could not be more looking forward to it. Meeting Pyrrhic and being accepted into the Risen Empire had brought new meaning into the male's life. If he had ever doubted his purpose or his God, that uncertainty had vanished abruptly in Pyrrhic's presence. His only goal in life was to be worthy of the yearling's respect- as worthy as a mere mortal could ever be to an Abraxas -and this lesson was his first opportunity to show his God how determined Tsarvix really was. The male moved with purpose, long legs moving briskly through the God's Garden as he searched for an appropriate place to do their lessons. In his mouth, he carried something large that was partially concealed by his gums and teeth. He couldn't identify the many herbs and flowers that were overgrown on the land here, but he had been told that many of them were rare and he should be careful not to damage them. It made perfect sense, in fact. Of course the rarest of herbs were found amongst Risen's territory; the wolves who lived here were destined for greater things and it was only natural that the Gods had made only the best herbs grow for them. To Tsarvix, it was only further evidence of the goodness and mercy of Pyrrhic. He found a small clearing along the edge of the Garden, it's vibrant grasses and flowers were flattened and had seen the imprint of many a wolf's paws. Tsarvix wasn't sure what this area could have been used for, but if there was anywhere that the mortal had not been allowed to go he was sure Pyrrhic would have mentioned it. Even if this was some sort of holy land, it seemed to Tsarvix that Pyrrhic did not see ignorance as a sin, and he was sure the cream wolf would not punish him for it. This spot would work perfectly, Tsarvix decided. He approached the middle of the small clearing and gently placed down the object that he had been carrying- a femur. The male had previously killed a jaguar with the help of two funny, small wolves. At first he felt he'd made a mistake by saving them from the cat, but coming back with his trophy he realized that meeting the jaguar must have been Pyrrhic's will, too. Perhaps somewhere in his lessons, the femur could be of use to them. Regardless of it's usefulness however, Tsarvix was pleased to present Pyrrhic with the small trophy. He nudged the bone with his nose, brushing off a small speck of dirt from it's length. Pleased, the chocolate male sat and awaited his deity, tail wagging gently against the grass. Of course, Tsarvix had come a good hour early. He couldn't possibly risk keeping Pyrrhic waiting for even a moment. "Speech." "You" "Think"

Unaware that Tsarvix had gone to the meeting place well ahead of the agreed upon time, Pyrrhic took his time in arriving. His goal was to get there early so he had time to set up and prepare for the lessons ahead. He’d thought long and hard about what a good introduction to Abraxas culture might be and eventually he’d settled on a hands on lesson. It was his experience that visual aids and hard work made lessons more memorable, and being as determined as he was to see Tsarvix become as capable as he was devoted, Pyrrhic had decided to cut no corners in his training. At his side was Benkos and with the pair but very much excluded from their attention was one of Benkos’ newest wives. A very recent acquisition, she was the lowest ranking individual in his harem and her dull coloration and low carriage spoke volumes about her treatment at the hands of her superiors. In a bid to raise her standing and make herself more worthy of Benkos’ attention and the natural protection that came with it, she had volunteered for the very menial task of carrying the supplies for the lesson. Normally the place beside Benkos was highly sought after for no other reason than that doting on him raised one’s chances of receiving his attention, but none but the most desperate wanted the task of hauling the heavy sticks that the omega now carried. She labored behind the males quietly; a silent, determined worker with her sights set firmly on where her efforts might take her. Upon reaching the meeting place Pyrrhic was surprised to see Tsarvix already there and seemingly waiting for him. This pleased him. He’d found an exceptional mortal, hadn’t he? So new to their ranks and yet so devoted. It was clear to Pyrrhic that the Fallen God had directed Tsarvix to him for a reason. He was hopefully the first of many devotees. "Tsarvix," he said warmly. "You're early." There was a clatter as Benkos' young wife dropped one of the sticks. She rushed to pick it up, but Pyrrhic stopped her. "This is the place, you can set them all down." She did as instructed and them moved to sit behind Benkos. Pyrrhic's attention returned to Tsarvix. "I thought we could multitask. We'll have two lessons at once if you are agreeable." He moved to sit in front of Tsarvix and in doing so noted the bone on the ground in front of him. "What have you got there?" "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix Tsarvix rose quickly as Pyrrhic's scent carried to him, tail flagging upwards on alert. He stepped forward as the yearling approached, trailed by the companion Tsarvix had seen in the maze along with one other of it's species. The chocolate male eyed them with confusion, gaze falling upon the bundle of sticks the smaller one carried. He knew better than to question Pyrrhic, though. It did make sense that the God would command creatures other then only wolves. His excellence surely spread throughout the whole world, and every individual who lived upon it. It occurred to him that maybe prey animals were among Pyrrhic's subjects, and he reminded himself to ask sometime if it was okay to hunt them for food. Otherwise, how could you tell which of the deer were considered sinners and allowed to be killed? Pyrrhic greeted him warmly, and Tsarvix was overjoyed that he'd earned such a response from the God. He bowed deeply in respect. "Lord Heir." He'd overheard another mortal of the pack address Pyrrhic with the title, and figured it polite to use it if that was what the God had requested of the others of Tsarvix's standing. As Pyrrhic sat, the devout male did so as well. Two lessons? Tsarvix was once again very humbled that Pyrrhic would devote so much of his time to him. "I'd be thrilled." He answered honestly, gaze lifting to observe the large male's face with curiosity and excitement. For the hundredth time, Tsarvix gave silent thanks to being brought to his God. Pyrrhic was everything he could ask for, and he'd never felt so sure of his place in the world before the two had met. The femur before them was pointed out, and Tsarvix's tail wagged gently. "It was a jaguar." He told Pyrrhic proudly. "I killed it, and brought you a bone from it's leg." Sure, he'd had help killing the jaguar, but it seemed safe enough to let that go unsaid. How much assistance did the miniscule wolves actually give in the fight? It was their fault the damn thing was angered in the first place. "I'm told people use them for crafting, I wasn't sure if it could be useful to you but I brought it home anyways." "Speech." "You" "Think"

Tsarvix's reverent response to seeing him was just the kind of ego stroke the young godling needed. The feeling that came with being able to see Tsarvix's devotion as clearly as he saw the ground in front of him was intoxicating. He felt important. Powerful. He wanted more reactions like that. Pyrrhic's eyes lit up as Tsarvix announced that the bone was for him and from a jaguar no less. "Well done; defeating a jaguar is no small feat." He pulled the bone closer and examined it before emphatically nodding his approval. "Thank you, Tsarvix, I will put it to good use. I know just the project for it." At the tournament he'd seen many wolves sporting battle accessories. The most obvious use for it would be a knife, but a knife wouldn't do him any good in a fight since it would take away his ability to use his jaws. He was going to have to come up with something he could wear. The young godling glanced over his shoulder at the female mandrill. He jerked his head to the side and summoned her forward. "Bring me two." She did as instructed and then faded back into the shadows. The sticks were approximately three feet long and about as thick as two of Pyrrhic's toes. They were the straightest sticks the mandrills could find and though the wood was knotted in some places, they had been stripped of their offshoots and streamlined as well as they could be without cutting or sanding. Pyrrhic grabbed the one that had be placed before him and laid down with it. He laid it across his left foreleg and then held it in place with his right one before looking up at Tsarvix. "We're going to be making spears while we talk." Why they were making them would be revealed at the end. "The first step is peel about this much bark," He used his paws to show Tsarvix about 5 inches. "Off the end we'll be working on. I use my teeth like this," He demonstrated using his incisors to peel short strips off the stick. There were better ways to do it and if he didn't have a point to make Pyrrhic would have had Benkos' companion do all the labor intensive parts. Now, where to start with their lesson? After spitting out a strip of bark Pyrrhic lifted his gaze to Tsarvix again. "I've been thinking about where to start in our lessons and I decided the best place is probably at the beginning, with the fall of Abraxas. As I mentioned when we met, Abraxas is my forefather and the founder of my bloodline. He is the rightful king of the heavens." Pyrrhic spoke with conviction. He knew this story by heart. As a small child it had made him angry and even now as he told it sparks of righteous fury fluttered in his chest. "Being the most powerful, wisest of them all, he ruled over a pantheon of lesser gods and over our world. He ruled for millennia and all was right with heaven and earth. Everything was good. But there were little gods who weren't happy with their place in the heavens. They became jealous and plotted against Abraxas." Pyrrhic coolly flicked a coil of bark off his paw. Perhaps the story shouldn't have bothered him anymore, but it did. His birthright had been stolen from him. There was no getting around that. "There was a war and the jealous gods threw Abraxas down into our world. They're the reason this world is terrible because gods do what they are. If a god is jealous he gives jealousy and if he is peaceful he gives peace. Because they were jealous and hateful when they took control of the heavens they introduced strife, pain and death here in our world." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix Tsarvix nodded his head almost excitedly as Pyrrhic praised him for his kill, his tail still swooping happily in the dirt. It wasn't often that the male was able to let go of his serious side and let himself feel, though it was quite easy to be happy around his deity. It was if nothing could ever go wrong again, as long as he had Pyrrhic nearby. "Thank you." He murmured in sincerity, and he grew happier still as the yearling before him spoke of finding a use for it. Tsarvix was not sure what kind of things a God could use a bone for, but he knew whatever it was would be magnificent. Pyrrhic called to his companion, and Tsarvix grew still as a stick was brought to the young God. In the female's hands was a second, and the chocolate male retrieved it gingerly before laying down himself and mimicking Pyrrhic's stance with one side of it overtop his left foreleg while his right paw came down to hold the other end steady. He peered closely at the other male's practiced movements, watching as he stripped the bark from it's tip with careful precision. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, Tsarvix bowed his head to do the same. Deep brown ears flicked forward as Pyrrhic explained his idea- spears. He hadn't the faintest idea of how they'd manage to wield them or what their use could be, but he was sure that the divine wolf would fill him in when they got that far. After a brief silence, Pyrrhic began to speak once more- this time of Abraxas history. Tsarvix found it difficult to multitask in this way, but he did his best to at least match the speed of which the younger male carved while still listening intently on the history. It was a fascinating retelling, and the conviction with which Pyrrhic spoke made it truly enthralling. Somewhere in the story, Tsarvix had abandoned his efforts on working the stick to watch the prince with reverence. His fur bristled as Pyrrhic spoke of Abraxas being cast down from the heavens. As the godling finished, the chocolate male rose to his paws briskly, a snarl daring to tear free from parted jaws. He kicked the stick aside, watching it roll not a meter away, and then turned to face his God. "Then why?" He spat, tail flagging behind him angrily. "Why do you not simply take it back? You're immortal, aren't you?" It was not an accusation, but more of a plead for action. "We should just go now, conquer these lands and reclaim your throne! I swear to it, I will stand behind you against anyone who dare cross you again." The male's chest puffed inwards and outwards alongside his quickened breaths, piercing emerald gaze focused intently upon Pyrrhic's own. "Until my last breath." It crossed Tsarvix's mind then that maybe he'd gone too far- he'd questioned his God and perhaps that was a sin in itself. His conviction wavered and a mix of fear and shame was thrust forward upon him, tainting his fierce expression. His ears flicked forward and then back to lay upon his skull, and his gaze fell off Pyrrhic's face to rest upon the stick in his God's paws. As he waited the divine beast's retaliation, Tsarvix all but deflated. "Speech." "You" "Think"

Though he was surprised by Tsarvix's sudden outburst when the mortal leaped up angrily Pyrrhic managed to keep his composure. He blinked once slowly and then glanced at the spear Tsarvix had kicked away before resting the whole of his attention on the man. The young godling remained unmoved, his paws still draped over over the work-in-progress spear. After Tsarvix's declaration Pyrrhic studied him in silence. He wasn't quiet for long, just enough to give Tsarvix a chance to realize what he was doing and to begin to calm himself. Finally, gently, he said, "I'm not immortal. Not yet. And it's not that simple." He adjusted his grip on his spear and then motioned for Tsarvix to retrieve the one he'd kicked. "I wish it was that simple. The world is a big place; it was full before Abraxas fell and it's even more full now. Every Abraxas is a descendant of the Fallen God, but we're all nearly mortal now. We're born, we live, we breed and we die just like everyone else. This means there are less of us than there are heathens. There simply aren't enough of us in Auster and Boreas to conquer all the packs - yet. We need more wolves like you and we need more Abraxas otherwise we will spread ourselves thin and even though we might have everything, our grasp on it will be weak." Pyrrhic shrugged, then said matter-of-factly, "And that's not acceptable." He searched Tsarvix's gaze again. "We'll do it, Tsarvix, you and I and all the wolves like us, but it's not time." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix It took Tsarvix very little time to let his anger go and instead begin to swim in shame. His God lay before him, unmoving, calm azure gaze firmly boring into his own. He wasn't sure what to do, he'd embarrassed himself in front of the young Abraxas and standing there as his tantrum faded, he briefly considered if there was anywhere nearby to run off to and hide. The male felt like a pup again, standing to await punishment underneath his father's disappointed stare. Just before Tsarvix was about to plead forgiveness, the Godling spoke. He wasn't immortal, then. Those words were enough to shrivel the devout wolf's plan, and his ears flattened tighter against his skull. Pyrrhic made motion for his follower to return to the craft, and Tsarvix laid back down obediently to place the stick back between his paws as he had been shown. He didn't maintain eye contact while his deity explained, and instead his gaze stayed downcast upon the stick's stripped bark. "We'll do it, Tsarvix, you and I and all the wolves like us, but it's not time." He still didn't quite understand why they were waiting, though from what Pyrrhic said, the cause relied on the Abraxas wolves breeding and spreading their bloodline? Tsarvix couldn't help but feel disappointed, if they needed the godlier wolves to spread amongst the globe, how could Pyrrhic earn the throne in this lifetime? Silence sat between the pair for a few quiet moments while Tsarvix absorbed the yearling's words, and then the male spoke for the first time since his outburst- his words exceedingly quiet and calm. "What do we do with the spears when the bark has been stripped?" It was a pitiful attempt at redirection, but he only hoped that Pyrrhic was merciful enough to let him recover his dignity. "Speech." "You" "Think"

Tsarvix seemed disheartened by Pyrrhic's words. That hadn't been his intent. He'd meant for them only to be calming. When he looked to the future Pyrrhic was hopeful. He believed with all of his heart that the seeds his people had been planting would soon burst forth and bear fruit. They would take Boreas and Auster as they had their homeland and soon, when everything was returned to Abraxas, they would take their place among the stars. It was only a matter of time. The disheartened Tsarvix soon prompted him to continue his lesson and Pyrrhic complied. "After all the bark is gone we split the end of the stick in half with our teeth. It takes a bit of work, but it's doable. Stop about halfway down the bare area." He demonstrated by clamping his jaws shut on the end of the stick and then rocking his bottom jaw back and forth to slowly work his teeth into the wood. Once he was done he decided to take another crack at the Abraxas lesson. "Don't look so defeated, Tsarvix," he said quietly. "The future is promising. Someday soon you and I will be immortal. We will look back at this time of preparing and it will seem so small and faraway." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix Tsarvix was glad that the Abraxas accepted his subject change, and he greedily latched onto the subject of crafting. "Split it in half?" He questioned, frowning at the stick in confusion. "What does that accomplish?" Pictures of the stick with it's end mangled in different ways bubbled up in his mind, and none of the potential designs seemed to be combat-worthy. He gave Pyrrhic a questioning look, then ran his paw along the smoothed tip of his spear. So far, the yearling proved an excellent teacher. Tsarvix was sure he'd be enlightened by whatever direction this stick-splitting took. Pyrrhic demonstrated, and he decided to watch to see the finished step before attempting it himself. Pyrrhic did not allow him to forget his outburst for long, however. Tsarvix's ears pinned once more to his skull as he spoke once more. "Don't look so defeated, Tsarvix." A very small part of him wanted to glare up at the godling in response, but he wasn't quite rebellious enough to consider it seriously. Instead he grunted softly in acknowledgement, unwilling to let go of his shame. "The future is promising. Someday soon you and I will be immortal. We will look back at this time of preparing and it will seem so small and faraway." At his words, Tsarvix's ears perked sharply and his head shot up from Pyrrhic's stick to his face. "You and I?" His world was rocked, and he couldn't help his tail from wagging through the dirt behind him. For a moment he struggled with words and only looked on at his God with elation. "Really?" He'd meant his words to be more collected and articulate, but they stumbled out of him with little thought or regard. "How? I don't understand. You can turn a moral into an immortal?" The excitement flooded through him. This was amazing! Surely Pyrrhic would only grant such favors to the truly devout and worthy, however. This much Tsarvix was convinced. So he tore his brightened eyes from the man's face to redirect his energy into gnawing the stick exactly like his deity had shown him, sawing at it with his jaws the way Pyrrhic had. "Speech." "You" "Think"

Tsarvix questioned him and Pyrrhic glanced down at the his own work-in-progress spear. After a beat he glanced up with a mischievous expression and quirked a brow at Tsarvix. "With a little faith you'll find out soon enough." Surely he didn't think Pyrrhic would make him do something needlessly. Though he'd intended for his words to be heartening Pyrrhic hadn't expected Tsarvix to react the way he did. On the one hand he was pleased to be the one to break the good news to him. On the other he was a bit sad to learn that Tsarvix had grown up living for the Fallen God and somehow not knowing that there wasn't a reward at the end for him. Pyrrhic gave his follower a lopsided grin as he watched him work with renewed interest on their project. He nodded his confirmation, then said, "Immortality and a place in heaven is the reward for the mortals who faithfully serve Abraxas." "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"

Tsarvix Tsarvix couldn't contain his elation, still grinning madly as he looked back towards his stick and the yearling. He had never even dreamed of being granted such a reward for his service! He wanted even more desperately then before for Pyrrhic's plan to be set in motion. The Godling had asked for his patience, however, and Tsarvix was more then happy to obey. He kept his eyes riveted on Pyrrhic as his worked his stick once more, and when Tsarvix thought he had the right idea he bent down to copy the technique. After a few moments, he lifted his head to survey his work and tilted it questioningly. "Like this?" He asked his God, brow quirking in confusion. It sure didn't look much like a weapon, but Pyrrhic had promised that he'd see the intent shortly. "So we've shaved the stick and split the end. What now?" The way the end was split in half, it was almost.. pointy? Was the idea to just jab it into the opponent? Tsarvix doubted it; there was no way that the teeth-mangled end was pointed fine enough to puncture anything. He'd assumed it if encountered flesh that it'd simply bend against it. "Speech." "You" "Think"

Pyrrhic leaned over to look at Tsarvix's handiwork. He nodded his approval and then went on to answer his companion's second question. "Next we take this small stick," he said, motioning for Benkos' wife to bring forward the pieces in question. The sticks were about as big around and long as a human pinky. "And we work it sideways into the split stopping just shy of the base of the split so it doesn't make it deeper." He demonstrated, and then held up the stick for Tsarvix to see. "If you'll give the spear to her she'll tie the stick in place," he said, motioning to Benkos' wife. Pyrrhic handed his off to Benkos. When Benkos handed the spear back the stick had been firmly tied to the spear and the cord had been woven in on itself so that the loose ends were tucked inside. Tsarvix's would be the same. "Next we're going to sharpen the tines." He did as he'd done with the shaving, only this time chipping away at only the ends of the tines so that they became sharp. "And then they're done." Pyrrhic leaned back and eyed the spear contemplatively. "Though they are useful and fearsome, they aren't very formidable by themselves, are they?" He looked up at Tsarvix and then went on to say, "But if you fill a pit full of them they'll kill anything that falls on them. A whole line of them can be stuck into the ground with the points facing out, and any animal will think twice about approaching." "You are like this spear." Hopefully Tsarvix was following all of this. Pyrrhic poked at the pointy tines and noted their sharpness. "Risen will sharpen you, make you a weapon for the cause, but you can't take on the world by yourself. One soldier makes a poor army." He studied Tsarvix, his gaze intense as he tried to will him to listen and understand. The mortal had a way of asking difficult questions and then jumping to simple conclusions instead of allowing Pyrrhic to put together a layered answer. "Do you understand now why there is still work to be done before we conquer Boreas?" "Pyrrhic" "Benkos"