Archon called all of his pups from both litters to his side today. He provided Obi with trinkets and such to make the point. In a small bowl, Obi had ground some charred tree into a fine dust. He had collected round, polished balls of dirt for each pup to have and to try to carve their own symbols in. This was to be the first of many sermons and both were eager to keep the pups interested. They set out many soft furs for the pups to rest on before he called the children to his side. Though they would be two litters, they were one family and Archon saw to it that they recognized the godliness in each other.

Tipping his head towards Obi, he waited for the first of his children to appear. It was the beginning of the new age of Abraxas and Archon would see to it that his children were properly educated.

Gloved paws led the young girl towards where her father and Obi were setting up. She wasn’t completely sure what was going on, but it was probably something about the fallen god. She hadn’t met her other siblings yet, but the ones from another woman were mentioned at least briefly by her father. Venom waltzed up to her Father and his companion and made her selection of fur to sit on carefully before turning her gaze to Archon’s features. Her dual colored tail wagged at her side as she flicked her forked tongue towards her father amusedly. ”What are we doing, Father?” She asked politely, her speech well developed for her age.

gimme peace, gimme dharma Calamity wasn't long behind. The way her father talked about "god" was quite funny. She didn't yet believe in destiny, holiness, or whatever. Life was still all so new to her. Nonetheless, she would make an appearance, if only to jeer and ask too many questions. If Archon wanted her to believe, he'd have to prove it. Cala did like Obi, though. His beard was soft (and also quite funny). She trotted up and took her place next to Venom, rolling her eyes as her sister spoke. "Yeah father, what are we doing?" Cal paused and itched her forehead on the ground in front of her. Although she was young yet, her horns were beginning to come in and it hurt fiercely. She was sick of getting yelled at for head-butting other wolves, so she tried to take it out on the scenery. "calamity ordains you unworthy"

Orpheus came as his father called, seeing some of his siblings already on the scene. He understood that they weren’t his direct siblings, but that they were his father’s children none the less which made them siblings either way. Out of the pelts laid out on the ground Orpheus choose to sit on the one he deemed the comfiest, that wasn’t already taken of course. He had heard about his father’s religion, but it hadn’t quite gotten ahold of him yet. It would in time, but he was still young and all the pieces hadn’t fallen into place quite yet.

Pestilence came a little later to the call then she should have but at least she wasn't last to arrive. Bright gaze fell upon her sisters who were already present and offered them each a grin. She strode in between her sisters, settling down beside them to await further instruction. Calamity was rubbing her head against the ground this time, and Pesto shot a pointed stare towards their half-brother who waited as well. He wasn't a Klein, and the princess was not sure exactly where that placed him in the Abraxas hierarchy. Dad didn't think he was better, did he? "Calla-lily," Pesto whispered to her nubbed sister. "You should headbutt him instead." She nodded her head subtly in the boy's direction, happy to entice her sister's odd habits towards the half-sibling and keep her own hands clean. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."

Plague had been napping rather peacefully  at the palace,  he was growing rather fast and it demanded quite alot of calories and rest to keep him at prime condition. Luckily, the pup belonged to quite an active pack and he had not been touched by such afflictions as hunger. It was after his time with the rather large bone he had found, the young god had gone back to the den. After scratching the growing buds of spines that collared his neck, Plague had napped for a while.

It was hearing his father's echo that woke the boy, and he was quick to find his paws. Dashing as fast as he could - with a few stops to scratch at his neck - Plague was disappointed to find he was a bit too late to answer the call. Spotting his sisters and a half-brother were there before him. A determined look crossed his face, and he promised himself to do better next time. Taking a minute to watch what was going on, Plague grinned, but walked passed to sit near his father. "Hello, Father!" He waved his tail and looked up at Archon, "My neck plagues me..." The pup gave a giggle at his own joke, the pun based from his own name. Smiling up at Archon, he then panned his head to watch what unfolded between siblings.

Gadreel was perhaps the last to show, but...he wasn't sure. Asides from his littermates, he didn't know how many other siblings he had running around and he didn't care. So far, the ones from the other litter were mutant freaks! He looked at them with distaste as he approached the group, taking his place closest to his father but not before dragging one of the pelts forward a bit so that he sat at the front of the group. The girl with her gross snake tongue wasn't too far, and he side eyed the other freaks as he heard them mutter their plans about attacking his brother. He wasn't about to get in the middle of it. He didn't care, really. He wouldn't tolerate it if they started something with him though. No way in hell would he want to catch whatever disease they had. Last thing he wanted was to sprout snake tongues and spikes. He turned his attention to his father, the boy sitting at attention as he waited to see what was in store.

Toxicity was very nearly last to arrive. She hadn't meant to, but she had gotten lost in her thoughts yet again. Her father called and she wasn't terribly sure what about. She was excited, however, because she had had so few opportunities thus far to see her other siblings. A lofty smile rose on her face at the thought.

When she approached, she gave everyone an even warmer smile and settled down next to Gadreel who seemed to have just recently arrived as well. "What do you think we'll be doing?" she asked in hushed tones, eyeing Obi and the objects he held. "I think it's going to be exciting!"

Lilybet was slow to answer her father's call, making it to the get together last and falling in toward the back of the little crowd that had gathered. She said nothing, only shot her father an apologetic smile. It was clear on her face that she was upset, but she wouldn't reveal the reason just yet. Earlier in the day she had tried to catch a few grasshoppers for fun, but every time she leaped, she missed. Some of the insects had been lost to her, disappearing into the grass without so much as a trace of where they had gone. It had been a very frustrating ordeal for the small demon, but it was over. She simply stewed over her own ineptitude, and her pride was wounded. The other pups gathered seemed rather excited about what their father had gathered them here for, but as she looked over the others, she tried not to stare. The questions were clear in her gaze as she watched her father and Obi, wondering what would be done next.

Archon waited for each of his children to come, giving each of them a warm smile as they appeared. At the ones who pried about what they would be doing, Archon simply shook his head. Not yet, not until the rest were here. Eventually they had all trailed in and Archon cleared his throat.

"My children," he started, his smile raising just enough to show a little of his teeth. Neither he nor Obi could contain their excitement. "Today we are to be learning about what it means to be an Abraxas. Abraxas, as you know, is the name of the God from which our blood comes from."

He made sure to make eye contact with each and every child, "Each and every one of you here is an Abraxas and you will grow in blessed godhood until you eventually ascend off of the mortal plane to take your rightful place by God."

It was these easy lessons that were taught early on that would allow the pups to grow in confidence and ability. He knew that first and foremost, they had to know their place was special.

"You have all acquired your godhood through my blood. You mothers are not Abraxas, but that does not make them less special. In many ways, one born to another bloodline or a mortal bloodline can still rise to do great things and ascend as we do. We just have one paw forward, so to speak," he said with a wink.

"Even those like Obi, who are non-wolves in their mortal bodies may join the ranks through dedication and several blessed rituals. Likewise, even one with god or demon blood may fall from the ranks if they live a meek and extraordinary life. I have no doubt that your mothers will ascend along with the best of them."

Obi now gathered the polished orbs and sharpened sticks, passing a pair to each child as Archon explained, "One thing that may help you to individualize is to make a sigil. These symbols are to fit within a circle and to represent you. They can be used to strengthen your prayers and to leave you mark physically on the land. You may practice in the dirt." Archon explained the significance of these, but had yet to tell them about his own. He would draw that in the dirt in front of him when the kids were busy.

"When you are happy with your design, please carve it into the orbs Obi has given you. Then bring it to us and Obi will darken it with the charcoal he has collected. The same charcoal will be crushed and sprinkled over the back of your pelt, and the sigil will be bound to you."

Archon took a breath after explaining. It was a lot to take in, he knew.

"Do not worry, just as our pelts grow and change, so can our sigils in due time. We may revisit this topic again when you reach a year of age."

Venom side eyed Calamity at her words, but remained focused on their father. Maybe later she’d poke her sister extra hard to make up for the attitude. Archon made it obvious he wasn’t going to answer her until everyone showed up so she gave a quick glance to her brothers and sisters as they arrived. She didn’t miss that none of her half siblings said a word as they took their places beside her full siblings. That thought would give her much to think about in the coming days.

Their father was prompt at least and as the last of them took a seat he began. Venom found her gaze trained on Archon’s features as the lesson started. She had trouble sitting still so let her tail wag behind her to let out her excess energy. The first part was boring and sounded familiar to everyday wisdom given to the pups. The second part was interesting, and they were going to be creative in their activities.

Venom ‘hmm’d’ softly and looked at the bare dirt at the border of her chosen fur mat. She contemplated for a long moment before making a first draft in the dirt while Obi passed out orbs.

gimme peace, gimme dharma She surreptitiously stuck out her tongue at Venom as her sister side-eyed her. True to his words, Archon didn't begin his sermon until they were all here. Cala glanced around. The pelts had filled with her siblings and half-siblings. There were so many! It was even more obvious when they were all grouped together like this. Sometimes it was easy to forget how many of them there were when they were spread out across the pack and among their different dens. When Cal suggested she should headbutt another one of their siblings, Cal giggled but didn't have the heart to do it. Not in front of Archon. She was young still and had a healthy fear of rules. As he began to speak, she paid half-attention. It was a lot to take in at once. They were gods? Cool, she guessed. But it still felt a little bit like a game of pretend. Playing in the dirt, though, was something she could get behind! Cal butted her head into the ground a few times to try and take the edge off of her pain. Once the ache in her head had dulled, she tried sketching a few designs. They were mostly meaningless squiggles. What set her apart? What would represent her? She drew a few circles with a circle, then smeared it away. After she hit an artistic block, she eyed the scrawling of her other siblings. "calamity ordains you unworthy"

Toxicity's brain churned over the information her father bestowed upon them. She had somehow never doubted Obi's presence as a godly one, but she was glad to hear her father recognize it. She also enjoyed the explanation about their mothers. It was good and made her feel like all the pups could be on equal planes- something she was worried about.

He moved on to talk about sigils: something that was meant to represent them. Something they could use in order to strengthen their bond to God and his glory. It was almost like asking them to create their own portal to the spiritual plane. Toxicity was both excited and terrified. She nervously scribbled some designs in the ground, eager to have hers finished. Everything she made, though, she hated. She glanced over to Gadreel, "So, uh... how's your's coming?"

Pestilence listened to her father as he spoke of God's and markings to symbolize each of the pups. As he spoke, she glanced around the pack of puppies to see what each of them thought of the lecture. Pestilence still wasn't convinced, these siblings were Gods too? Well that sucked. At least Pestilence and her siblings were Prince, Princesses, AND Gods. That made them better in her opinion. And dad loved their mom the most, so that made him love them more too, right? She stared at the dirt infront of her, examining it's smooth untouched surface as she thought hard on what symbol she wanted to represent herself. He said it had to fit in a circle, so she drew a circle with her claw to start out with. When she couldn't think of anything to put inside it, she busied herself with making the circle as perfect and round as she could so it looked at a glance like she was performing her assignment. She repeated the circle upon itself over and over again so that her paws never left the dirt incase dad looked over. "Speech" "Thinking" "You."