Death calls...

[ZenMasterWalrus]

Lerisiel crossed his arms. "So you're carrying around the soul of an ancient god? What the hell are you doing out here running errands for a bunch of mortals? Are you unable to control it's power, or do you just have no imagination?"

[RentCavalier]

"Maybe..."

Armand's shadowy smile grew a little larger.

"Maybe he wishes to hold on to his humanity. Guilt, conciense, a sense of morality, something has caused him to try to rejoin his human brethren, help them. He doesn't want to face the terror it will be to become fully demon."

He took a sip from a canteen.

"Or, maybe he has nowehere else to go."

[Verbrannte Erde]

"You're an odd one mister, having not a home any more would just be why I can't return to family if they are even still alive. As for becoming full demon yes the thought of loosing myself does send chill down my spine but helping to restore the power and memory to a potential anti-god weapon holds interest to me." He felt rather strange calling himself a weapon but that is what he felt he really was any more. "I can control what we've regained so far but if he gains all his power back who knows what may happen. Now as for why I'm with the humans and not the gods and such most of the gods are just a bunch of spoiled brats with a magnifying glass and helping the ants bite back just seems like a good idea at the moment." He grinned and looked at the others. "Well come on people let's have another story or are we goina poke at mine till sun rise?"

[Ruin]

Guilt. Conscience. Sense of morality.

What were those like, again? Three words, not even directed at him, yet they'd taken him away from his observation of the little game and sent him inward. If only for a moment.

He held the cane between both hands, rolling it with slender fingers. He let handle of it brush against the corner of his lips before they parted. "Right, seems only fair to move on. How about you, my inquisitive friend? Quid pro quo, after all. Besides, i never get tired of hearing that story."

[ZenMasterWalrus]

What a fool. It was a pity he hadn't bet his soul, Lerisiel could use power like that.

"Hmph, it's a waste, all that potential power going unused." Lerisiel lit up another cigarette, then glared at Tanafiel for a moment.

"Fine, so much for the game. I'm still in debt to you, so you get lucky this time. If storytime is what you want, so be it."

He took a long drag on the foul cigarette, his "eyes" dimming as he thought of the best way to begin his story. It was something he hadn't dwelt on in years.

"I'm young, you know, for an angel. I spent a few hundred years training in heaven. I was to be a virtue, a healer. The most worthless position of all within Heaven's army. Hmph."

"There came a time when I was nearly done my training... this was, oh, a century ago or so. A plague broke out in a mortal city. For whatever reason, I was chosen to descend to Earth to solve the problem."

"Even the healing magic of the Virtues wasn't enough to cure the plague, but I did learn that the sickness was unnatural, supernatural in origin, caused by a necromancer's experiments."

"I sought the necromancer out, but refrained from fighting him. I foolishly believed I could solve the problem without resorting to violence. To my surprise and joy, the necromancer proposed a non-violent solution. He would bet the cure against my heavenly power. The game: Poker."

"I lost of course. I couldn't control my face, and I didn't know what I was doing. But I didn't care. The game... the game was the most wonderful thing I had ever experienced. I couldn't believe that God had forbidden this great joy to the angels, condemning it as a sin. The sheer excitement of gambling, it was the most wonderful thing I had ever felt! Though I had none of my own power yet, I needed to keep playing."

"So I bet the souls of the sick. After all, they were doomed to die if I failed. What were one or two souls lost to the fiend if they saved the rest? Besides, I wanted to experience that game again. I bet, and bet, and lost, and lost, until there were no souls left."

"The necromancer laughed at me, and declared the game over. Glutted on souls, more powerful than he had ever been, he never expected me, a Virtue of Heaven, to lance him through the heart. It was mostly sheer luck that I was able to defeat him."

"With my power almost gone, I made a decision. I devoured his soul, and those of the plagued mortals in order to refresh myself. Needless to say, I was cast out of Heaven. Condemned to wander the Earth for all eternity. They couldn't understand why I would forsake God for what they saw as a simple game. Those fools are still content to obey blindly, leaving nothing to chance. Frankly, I'm glad to be rid of them."

Lerisiel laughed. A dry, horrible sound. His eyes glowed brighter than ever, a grin spreading accross his normally blank face, and his wasted body shook.

"I soon discovered other games of chance, all of which give me great joy. I discovered new sins, things that had been forbidden for me. For the first time I lived life to the fullest. Can you blame me? Centuries of strict order and mindless training, finally I there was some uncertaincy, some mystery in my life. I think that is the greatest thing any being can recieve."

The fallen angel flicked away the last glowing remnant of his cigarette.

"Forgive me, I tend to get caught up in the past sometimes. Did you enjoy the story as much as last time Tanafiel? I've always wondered why you find it so enjoyable."

"So, shall we continue this game? Or does anyone else feel the need to share a story?"


((OOC: Holy crap this came out long.))