Tsarvix Bright, shining light drew Tsarvix to the shore, his verdant eyes widened in absolute awe. The light of the sun reflected off the obsidian beach with a brilliance he had never seen before. "Is this another act of Abraxas?" The devout male still had so many questions, and Malleus was obviously not too keen on enlightening the mortal. He'd of asked Pyrrhic, but his God was off with Aureus elsewhere enjoying their trip to Boreas. In the distance he could faintly see the Shrine. Tsarvix had heard stories of the place, and how some Abraxas wolves thought it to be divine land. He'd wished he could see it for himself, but he didn't dare cross into the territory. Carefully, he lay himself down amongst the hardened sand and let the warmth envelop him, both from the sun high above and the captured heat in the earth below. It was so peaceful here, and Tsarvix wondered why the Risen Empire had chosen their lands to be so far from the wonderous marvels that surrounded him. This was a place he didn't mind staying as he waited for Pyrrhic to call him back to the group, and he nestled his head against his paws with his eyes half-lidded against the sheen of light reflecting onto his face. "Speech." "You" "Think"

Archon came to these gleaming shores to give his mind time to think. Where was God leading him? What did he want? Archon wasn't sure. What was the point of the whole shrine endeavor? Archon wasn't ready to give up yet. There was no real lesson God had pointed out to him yet. What could be the lesson? That the mortals are slippery and unreliable? He was aware of that. That his brother would rather sit idly by as mortals swarmed the main land so long as they were safe and sound on their little island?

Thinking about his family as he was, he didn't expect to catch their scent around here. By nature he followed it. While he and his brother may have had their differences, that did not mean all their family followed suit. They were not to be ignored. Not that Archon recognized the other wolf that carried his brother's scent.

"You are from Risen, are you not?" Archon greeted, standing a distance away still.

Tsarvix Tsarvix was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the stranger approach, and when he was to speak the chocolate male leapt up from where he lay to whirl on him, fur bristling. "You are from Risen, are you not?" The wolf towered over Tsarvix like none he'd ever seen. This beast was larger even then Malleus and Pyrrhic. It crossed his mind that if this male wanted him dead- or held a grudge against Risen -he could likely put Tsarvix down right where he stood. The smaller male lifted his head and swallowed, feigning bravery in the face of the titan before him. He would not have it said that he was a coward, but he would not deny his allegiance to Risen where his God might see. "I am." He responded coolly, staring hard into the giant's turquoise eyes. "I want no trouble, I'm here only to learn. I was under the impression that this was free land." Of course, it shouldn't be free land; It should belong to Pyrrhic and the empire, but he let that remain unsaid. "Speech." "You" "Think"

Archon hoped- silently prayed- that this man was no Abraxas given his stature and demeanor. "A mortal in Risen's Empire?" Archon mused aloud. "And a free mortal- not captive."

Archon looked the man over. What did his brother see in him that made him worthy of being in the empire? Perhaps Malleus really was going soft. Or maybe this man had more power than Archon was initially giving him credit for. It was a shame that Archon couldn't say for sure given the current empire's standing.

"Is it free land? Free from who? God?" Archon scoffed a little. No, God was everywhere. "There are many more Abraxas than just those in the pack. We wander far and wide. No land is free from His presence."

Tsarvix "Yes, a mortal." Tsarvix responded with a curt growl. Pyrrhic referred to him as such- as did other members of the Abraxas family -but from their mouths it had never sounded so insulting. "How is a God to conquer without followers?" Pyrrhic had mentioned that the eventual plan for the Empire was to spread the lineage throughout the lands, and so he accepted the giant's presence here in Boreas as just another seed from the Risen rulers. This wolf however bore little resemblance to the other Abraxas he had met and he was older the Pyrrhic's generation, that much Tsarvix could be sure. "Do you not have faith in those who He has chosen to interpret His will?" Tsarvix quipped, recalling how Malleus had previously thrown the same words at him when he had joined. "If I were you, I'd not be questioning why our Emperor lets mortals walk upon His ground." "Speech." "You" "Think"

The little man asked questions about how a God is to conquer without followers, "Funny, I'd ask the same thing, because your presence is wholly new to Risen. When I was told to be wary of mortals by our Aunt and by our Father and decided to embed myself within them to learn of them and their ways." Archon smiled- or maybe sneered at the attitude change. "I've had more relations to mortals- that is why your presence is a surprise. Not that it is unwelcome, just unexpected from my brother."

The mortal snapped back with something about questioning the interpretation of His will and not questioning the Emperor. "Your emperor, perhaps, but he is my brother. And when his word runs jagged to what we were brought up to do back in the homeland, runs astray from what our father told us and what he told me when I arrived at this land. Many interpret his word with visions and actions- there is always room to question as long as we do not lose faith in Him and His original teachings."

Archon shook his head, accepting this man's answers and even retaliation. It was a good trait as long as he knew when to rescind his hand. "You defend him readily and with spirit- for that I can see why you were chosen." For a mortal to throw himself so fully into Risen's command, he must have gone through a lot before someone scooped him up and became his savior. "Archon Abraxas, brother to Malleus and leader of The Fallen Band."

"Did you meet any of our elders yet? Or is this all still very fresh to you?" Archon asked with earnest curiosity. It would make more sense if this man was religious beforehand.

Tsarvix This wolf was Malleus' brother? Tsarvix held back a heavy sigh. He'd hoped he'd found some sort of distant relative- one he could speak freely to and have no risk of his words reaching back up Risen's hierarchy. Archon seemed mostly unphased by Tsarvix's spat retort, and as he listened to the titan's response his ears perked forward with curiosity. One paw lifted to bring the male closer, and his head tilted slightly. "There is always room to question as long as we do not lose faith in Him and His original teachings." That.. was not what Malleus had told him. He couldn't outright call the emperor a liar, however, as he had distinguished that mortals like Tsarvix were not allowed to interpret their faith. Possibly this other Abraxas meant to say that too, but it didn't come across to Tsarvix that way.   "So, you interpret His word differently, then?" He queried carefully. "I assumed that to question the faith in any way would be to draw His wrath." So far this wolf had been very open and willing to speak, and so Tsarvix hoped that with enough subtlety that he could find the answers he sought. "Speech." "You" "Think"

The mortal seemed to think for a while before speaking. He asked if Archon interpreted His word differently from Malleus and spoke of how he feared the questioning the faith would draw his wrath.

"Questioning your faith may, but not his words? When we're pups, we learn by questioning the world and the pack leaders or adults usually help to guide the younger generation up. The same could be said about mortals and those of His Blood." Archon explained. "In the homelands, if a being, even an Abraxas is weak enough, we cull them. For Malleus to let you in his pack must mean that he sees worth in you. We do not actively seek followers because we are leaders in His will."

Archon settled a bit. This might be kind of a longer talk than he had initially thought.

"Tell me... What is your name and what all do you know thus far about God?"

Tsarvix Archon kept mentioning his brother, and Tsarvix didn't like the way the Abraxas' words made it sound like he was in the emperor's service. He was, technically under the command of Malleus- as all wolves in the Empire were -but his allegiance lay far from the greyscale beast and stuck firmly against his son, Pyrrhic. "And say I did not give my loyalty to one of His blood, for example, to you. Would that be to sin?" His words were as far from aggressive or threatening as he could make them. He meant his question to be purely innocent, a mortal wanting clarification on his faith. "My name is Tsarvix. In truth, I don't know much. It was Pyrrhic who found me when I first came into these lands." His voice grew firm and filled with reverence as he spoke Pyrrhic's name. "He told me of his forefather Abraxas, who was a God and the rightful king of the heavens. Lesser gods grew displeased with his might, and cast him down to walk the earth. One day, Pyrrhic will lead those who follow him to conquer the world and take back the throne for Abraxas." It was a very cliff-notes version of what he'd been told, and truthfully Tsarvix wasn't sure how much of it was directly told to him, and how much he'd simply decided must be true. He wanted to say more, but found it difficult to get out. With a tentative and sideways glance towards Archon, he continued. "You say it is for His blood to council mortals, though when I asked questions of Malleus, he did not seem pleased." "Speech." "You" "Think"

He asked many questions and Archon went about answering.

First, about loyalty. "You, as a mortal, should be swearing your allegiance to God, not to one of his descendants specifically. You are a pack mortal, so they can put you in any position they please as the divine rulers of their pack. In that instance, they may decide you need to listen to each and every one of them subserviently."

Archon nodded at his name and offered his own in return. He then gave an abridged version of God's story. Archon's head bobbed at all the correct portions. It seemed he had at least been given the pup-hood rundown.

When Tsarvix mentioned that Malleus was displeased, Archon hummed along. "Perhaps he is misguided, or perhaps he does not see you as an actual mortal of the pack and more of a..." How to put this gently? "We, as God's descendants are, by default, superior to mortals. I've spent a good portion of my adult life studying them and collecting mortal followers. We even breed with mortals, so it is not to say that there is no merit in being a mortal per se... But maybe he is seeing you... or treating you as a lesser mortal. As someone to be a submissive servant rather than a wholly independent, sentient mortal worshipper of God."

Archon though out loud as he considered the options. "That is all simply speculation, however. I can not be in my brother's mind any more than he can be in mine."

Archon offered a small shrug, "Perhaps he just thought you lacked respect."

Tsarvix Tsarvix hummed thoughtfully as Archon spoke, nodding at the appropriate times and trying his best to play the role of questioning moral with no further motives. Inwardly, he was disappointed. He'd hoped to pull from this brother of Malleus some way in which he could validate his own thoughts on his Faith. Unfortunately, this male seemed to be even more devout then Malleus if that were possible. It didn't seem likely that he would get any information from Archon that was free to interpret. "I see." He responded vaguely, bothering the sand below him with a claw as he thought. "That's very good information, thank you for sharing it with me. I still have much to learn." It hurt Tsarvix to hear that he might be lacking in respect, and his stomach churned uncomfortably. If that was truly was how Malleus might feel, he'd need to change his ways. He did *respect* the Emperor and the other Abraxas members, he just didn't feel the need to give his wholehearted to-the-death allegiance. That part of him was reserved for Pyrrhic alone, and while Tsarvix did not feel guilty for swearing himself to the heir he did not wish to appear disrespectful to any of Pyrrhic's family. "Pyrrhic has done my lessons up until this point, but he's very busy in Risen." He said suddenly, looking to the large male with hopeful eyes. "If you wouldn't mind, was there anything he missed in the story? Is there more to learn of Abraxas?" In truth, Tsarvix still had *many* questions, ones that didn't skirt the line of his altered beliefs. "For example... the God's name is supposedly Abraxas, but Pyrrhic and Malleus - and you? - seem to hold it as a family name. How can you differentiate between naming our God Abraxas and his Abraxas bloodlines?" His head swarmed with more to ask, but he opted to ask one at a time to not seem overeager. "Speech." "You" "Think"