Heavenly Castle of Angelicae

Job Info


Odhran stood at the edge of the cliff, looking over the sea. The wind blew against his loose clothing, giving him the appearance not unlike one would see from a would-be-hero in an attempt to crush evil foes. Of course, Odhran was no hero, and this job was to prove such a thing. In fact, this job would show that he was to be a villain like few others. He had gotten a job that would require him to kill members of the Council. That alone was worth accepting the job, but the addition of being able to destroy an entire castle was appealing to the Celestial Spirit Wizard. He had been prepared to undertake the job all by his lonesome when Arnaluuk had mentioned the teammate he had worked on a number of jobs with, Silvia. There was an issue with it, in that Odhran had since moved on to the Sin-based guild of Elysium while Silvia was yet a member of Errings Rising, but Arnaluuk had apparently already thought ahead. She did not quite explain her means of doing so, but Arnaluuk had found a way to communicate with Silvia without talking in-person. It saved Odhran having to slog through Errings Rising at the risk of being offed by Grim, as well as overall kept him safer from the strangeness that was Errings Rising. He smiled to himself, doing his best to look as dramatic as possible, dipping his head down as he smiled, softly chuckling to himself.

"Fair allies of my glorious self, today we come to the greatest task that I, nay, we have encountered at present! For too long, we have been merely burdened with the yoke of killing those who are unimportant and weak. A mere Knight Commander? The people are not aware of each and every commander that the Rune Knights have in their ranks! No, the people of Fiore must know to fear and tremble at the great and wonderful might of Odhan Aegisbane! Today, we do not simply kill a mere nobody. We do not simply slaughter those who are too weak to resist. No, today we search for greater! Today, we come and we change the world! We are here to eliminate all who would dare to not bow at the feet of Odhran Aegisbane in respect and adoration! Today, I, alongside my trusted allies, of course, shoot for the stars. I am not simply content with killing one important person. Today, we kill three of those fools who dare to place themselves on the Magic Council of Fiore! We shall undermine their entire system, we shall destroy their hope, their security, and one of their fortresses! Now, let us march upon the castle in wonder and glory!"

Odhran turned towards his lined-up allies after his monologue, to see mixed results. Lupa was wagging her tail and panting, a bright smile on her face. Scorpio gave a slow round of applause. Arnaluuk had a look of sheer disappointment on her face as she spoke with Silvia. Odhran nonetheless saw this as a successful speech. He smugly grinned at his own success before waving Scorpio away back into the Celestial Spirit Realm.

"If you were going to call him right back before we even set out for the castle, then why did you even summon him, dunce?"

Odhran laughed. "Because, dearest Arnaluuk, I require a greater audience for my rousing words of motivation! It would be far from ideal to simply let only a select few of my fair allies benefit from hearing my magnificent words of wisdom and valor! Besides, Scorpio will certainly participate in the battle themselves, so it would be wise to allow them to hear of my magnificent plan for the future!"

Arnaluuk slowly blinked. "But what about-"

Odhran quickly shushed the Frozen Sea Spirit. "Patience, Arnaluuk. It would be much less interesting if I revealed each and every key that I hold in such a short time! After all, it builds suspense! Action! The tension that there is something...more. Something greater. Something so beautiful and powerful to the eyes that it even leaves allies in shock!" He turned to Silvia. "Ah, speaking of allies, dearest Silvia! Welcome! I am glad that you have arrived for such a task. I truly do recognize your skills in combat, and I would be remiss to not invite you to such a glorious task. After all, having multiple foes that would kill the Council is much more credible than if I were to just do it alone. Of course, I am a benevolent God and a benevolent ally. I will never discredit the actions of my allies, and I have placed you within the honored rank of my elite allies! You have a great power to yourself, and such power should not be wasted on mere nothingness. Now, Arnaluuk has said that you are yet uncomfortable with flying, so she has requested to join you once more on your flight atop Lupa. I, of course, am certainly benevolent, and I would grant such a wish of one of my allies, especially if it is for the sake of another ally! Now, we must delay no further, come now! Seat yourself atop Lupa and we shall take flight towards the death of the Council!"

Odhran sprouted his wings early before leaping off of the bluff to begin his flight. They were bound for a small island that led to the castle itself, which was perched in the clouds. The island had an easy transport to the castle, as well as could serve as an effective way to rest up magic power before undertaking such a magnificently difficult task.

Lupa walked over to Arnaluuk and Silvia, still wagging her tail. Before she set herself up to be mounted, she rolled over onto her back. Arnaluuk sighed, obliging in petting the wolf's belly for a few moments before Lupa rolled over once more in preparation to take flight.

"Thought you would like a mission like this," Arnaluuk coyly said before taking her seat on Lupa.

---

WC: 1012

Silvia had once again taken a job beside Odhran and his rag tag team of misfits, excluding Arnaluuk, who was perfect in every way. Even now as Arnaluuk looked distastefully at Odhran, she shimmered like a star in the night sky. There was something about her that drew Arnaluuk in. As she was staring, she heard a voice come from behind her, "Ooh, Silvia's in lo-ove." The voice seemed child like, but also familiar. She turned around and saw who it was. It seemed to be Selena, but it wasn't like how she was before. She seemed to be a lot more ethereal this time around. She was laying down as though she was watching a tv show, and her face seemed to be very suggestive of something.

As she walked away from the group and nearer to Selena, she knelt down towards the demon girl and said to her with a blush, "Stop that, I am not in love. I'm only sixteen, and besides how are you even here right now. I thought you used up most of your strength forming yourself last time." With that, the girl had begun laughing crazily as Silvia looked around hoping that her group wasn't lookin at her. However, they didn't seem to notice Selena at all. Once the demon girl had stopped her laughing, she said to Silvia, "Well you see, I've found a way to sort of implant myself into your magic. Now, you'll see me, but no one else will. Sort of like the crazy girl that people had always thought you were." With that, she mischievously smiled at Silvia, and Silvia returned the look with a pout. "I'm happy that I can talk to you now, but you can't tease me with my friends here, okay?" With that, Selena said to Silvia, "Of course, I totally won't get in between you and Arnaluuuuuuuk." Before Silvia could say anything back to her, Selena poofed out of existence, leaving Silvia to her lonesome with Selena's doll in her arms.

That left Silvia going back to...Odhran ick. Its not that Selena didn't find Odhran to be a worthy adversary, its just that she didn't find him to be a likable one. Having to listen to the speeches that droned on and on made Silvia want to jump off the cliff that Odhran was facing, or maybe even push him off that cliff. Though, he would just fly. He probably would assume that it was a playful joke that Silvia was playing, but she didn't want to take the risk. After all, there was no way she was going to fight Arnaluuk. So, she just listened to him talking.

After a few moments in, Arnaluuk had begun talking to Silvia, complaining about the man before them, and making jabs towards his personality. Like usual, she was being her charming self, and Silvia was there, speechless. She didn't know what to do or say, so she just stared at Arnaluuk and nodded like a crazy person. Though, she doubted that Arnaluuk perceived her as such. After all, she always saw the good in Silvia like no one else has before. Its what made Silvia fall for Arnaluuk every time she talked to her. In some way or the other, she would always find a way to make Silvia feel special.

All of a sudden, she saw Selena pop in once more, and blow out a kiss towards Silvia. She then turned that blowing of a kiss into a pretend make out, saying aloud, "Oh Arnaluuk, you're so pretty and special, and I want to be with you till the end of time." With that, Silvia's face froze as she stared at the scene in front of her. She wanted to tell the girl to stop, but she couldn't risk Arnaluuk thinking Silvia was crazier than she was. Instead, she looked back towards Odhran as he started to speak about Silvia.

He said semi-nice things to her, which was cool or whatever, but what she focused on was the amount of communication that Arnaluuk and Silvia had been able to send to each other. Silvia had used a wind thread to send off letters to Arnaluuk, while Arnaluuk sent snowflakes that were as hard as ice, carrying hidden messages on them. Over time, the two of them got closer, and Silvia had realized that she might actually like Arnaluuk. Silvia knew that Selena knew this, but she didn't want to give the demon the satisfaction of actually getting a confession out of her. So, she had just decided to play the age card.

After focusing on the communication between the two, Odhran had prepared Silvia to fly on the back of Lupa with Arnaluuk. This was probably one of the first good plans that Odhran has had in forever, and she was glad. Sure, she had gotten more comfortable with flying on Lupa, but that didn't mean she couldn't get the company of someone else with her as she rode. So, she got onto the back of the summon, and waited for Arnaluuk to get on with her. Once she did, she said to her, "Thank you. I'm pretty happy with being able to kill. After all, its the only way I'll be able to please Selena." With that, she looked down at the doll, and back up at Arnaluuk, realizing that she hasn't told Arnaluuk about why she kills. She didn't even know if she was supposed to tell anyone aside from herself. So, in that moment, she wasn't completely sure about what to do. She hoped that Arnaluuk wouldn't pry about it, but she couldn't know for sure.

wc: 945

Arnaluuk gave a quizzical look at Silvia. "Selena?" She looked at the doll that Silvia had in her hands. "The doll?" Arnaluuk closed her eyes and did her best to smile at the doll. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Selena." Arnaluuk was numb to oddities, so even though some would certainly consider someone killing for the sake of a doll to be a strange, this was no issue to the Frozen Sea Spirit. Odhran had all his antics, Lupa had her boundless energy, Scorpio had their lackadasicality, and the new guy had his...own quirk. Arnaluuk had certainly hoped that Silvia would not have one of those oddities, but compared to the others, it was nothing. Plus she was normal enough, and it was only reasonable to have an oddity. The normalcy of Silvia aside was a refreshing thought for Arnaluuk.

After Silvia mounted, Lupa dashed off the cliff, using her flame paws to burst off and begin to take flight. After only a few moments of flight, the airborne quartet had begun to be effected by the wild winds and ferocious waves. The Cloud Sea was vicious, more than Odhran had been expecting. He felt himself having to power through the winds in order to keep himself afloat, focused on staying aloft above moving forwards. The island was not far from the cliff they set out from, but it felt so much further with the wild whipping winds. Arnaluuk paid little mind, continuing to converse with Silvia for a while until she finally became irritated by having to grip onto Lupa tightly.

"Did the dunce not realize that he has me?" Arnaluuk was irritated by the stubbornness and pride of Odhran. "Lupa, tell Odhran to summon the new guy. Silvia, excuse me for a moment."

Arnaluuk sighed and tumbled off the back of Lupa, summoning forth her trident. She aligned herself into a dive, plummeting to the sea. She smashed against the water. It had been a long time since Arnaluuk had been in the sea in such a capacity. She was too used to focusing on the ice side of her heritage that she had been maligned with the sea. Her father was a Sea God, and yet it seemed as if Arnaluuk never did anything with the sea. Now was her chance to prove that she was still good in the water. An aura of light blue light extended from the tip of her trident as she focused all her energy into her magic. Slowly, the sea began to chill and freeze. Five feet deep, the entire sea morphed into a block of ice, emanating from the tip of her trident. It was not enough to freeze the entire length needed to reach the island, but it was enough to permit Odhran, Lupa, and Silvia to land on some of the ice. Rather than bother with swimming to an opening in the ice, Arnaluuk merely resigned herself to returning herself to the Celestial Spirit Realm and waiting for Odhran to summon her again.

Atop the ice, Odhran was certainly glad that the sea had frozen over. He felt the Spirit of Arnaluuk fade from the current realm. She must have closed the gate herself. It filled Odhran with a sense of pride knowing that his Spirits could perform such a feat. Scorpio was the only one capable of summoning himself forth from the Celestial Spirit Realm of his own power, but the remaining Spirits could call themselves back if the situation demanded such a thing. "And now you see the power of Arnaluuk, dearest Silvia. She bears powers over ice and sea, and she is my most trusted ally. Of course, while I do not often enjoy being ordered around, I may give exception to Arnaluuk. Though she would often deny it, she acts like a mother to me. She certainly does not give her affection off in the most pleasant of ways, and i have plenty of bumps and bruises to tell that, but she recognizes my worthiness. Now, that said, she had personally requested that you join me for this task, and thus it would only be right to summon her forth again."  Odhran took out Arnaluuk's Key and swiped it down casually, bringing the Frozen Sea Spirit back into the mortal realm. "Now, Arnaluuk certainly used a lot of her energy to freeze this much of the sea, so I shall give her respite for the next task at hand. I had hoped to save the suspense and awe of my most recent gift from the King of the Celestial Spirit Realm himself, but I suppose needs must and I must summon him forth now." He raised a new key in his hand, swiping it down as he announced, "Key of the Winter Reaper! Noel!"

As the gates opened to the Celestial Spirit Realm opened, the air seemed to chill and freeze even more that it already had done as a blizzard swept over the ice. After a moment, a skeletal arm burst forth from the blizzard. Slowly, the ten-foot-tall reaper stepped forwards, finally revealing his red robes as he stared around the frozen field.

"Behold, dearest Silvia, Noel, the Anti-Saint! Arnaluuk has set out in a wonderful start to my work, but I shall leave it to you, Noel, to finish our royal red carpet towards the castle of the Council!"

"The Council?" Noel mused, his voice deep and rumbling. He let out a weak laugh. "I suppose they must be punished for their misdeeds. Very well. Though I am not to punish them quite yet, I suppose I must do what is needed towards that work."

Noel laughed once more, opening his patchwork leather sack. A hail of snow and ice poured forth towards the unfrozen sea, fully freezing the water until a path was fully open to march through.

"Wonderful work, Noel. Now, I must rest my power. Lupa, Noel." Lupa and Noel both returned to the Celestial Spirit Realm. "Arnaluuk, are you able to use your own magic power to remain in the mortal realm?"

Arnaluuk thought in contemplation for a moment. "I believe so. Before getting into combat I will need to rest for a bit, but I'll be able to remain outside of combat with my own power for a while."

Odhran nodded as he began to walk forwards towards the island, transforming the bottom of his feet into spikes to catch into the ice more carefully so as to not slip. He was prepared to kill the Council, and nothing would get in his way.

---

WC: 1100
TWC: 2112

Silvia had begun to feel herself melt along with the snow beneath her as she heard the calming tone in Arnaluuk's voice. The fact that she had accepted her, even with her quirk, was something that was amazing to her. No one had ever done something like that before. When the kids at her school knew that she talked to her doll, the bullying had gotten worse. It was so bad, that she started to wear clothes that covered more of her body to hide the bruises she got from the bullies at school. Of course, the bigger clothes were also to hide herself away from everyone else, but the clothes she wore were a reminder to those dark times. She's glad that Selena was able to lead her to a place where she felt loved and accepted in a way she had never felt before.

So, as she watched the ghastly form of Selena's hand phase through Arnaluuk's, she laughed a little, saying to the ice woman, "Selena says hi back." With that, she smiled back at Arnaluuk and went onto the back of Lupa. She was fearful for that moment, but the fact that Arnaluuk had done something so kind before that made everything feel a lot better for her. With a deep breath, she got prepped onto the panting wolf creature and held on for her life as the wolf quickly moved forth.

Looking down from the sky, Silvia had finally begun to get a hang of everything. She started to feel a lot more comfortable in flying, which was emphasized by her rubbing Lupa for the good job he was doing. However, things had begun to go awry as Arnaluuk had jumped down from the flying wolf and down towards the oceans. Wondering what was happening, Silvia peeked her head over, only to bring it back from fear of falling off. Lupa was becoming unbalanced a tiny bit from the weight that was left from his body. So, he shook before finally stabilizing. This stabilization was soon overtaken by Lupa heading straight towards the sea. Before Silvia knew what was happening, she was on the...ground? No, that couldn't be right. The only thing that should've been below them was water.

As she stepped off of Lupa, she looked down to see that the waters were frozen. It had finally hit her, Arnaluuk jumped off to allow Odhran to walk. She looked down at the ground with a smile, thinking about how selfless her act was. Although Arnaluuk despised Odhran, she was still able to set aside her differences to allow him easier passage. It was clear that he was struggling before, but he couldn't possibly fail at walking on ice...unless someone were to push him off. Sadly, that would be a disgrace to Arnaluuk, who used up her power to help him. So, she just watched as the man before her started spouting off again about some random things.

What he said first was the thing that Silvia had actually agreed with. All the other stuff though, were things that she could care less about. After a few nonimportant things happened, Arnaluuk was finally back. Silvia smiled at the sight as she walked over to Arnaluuk, saying to her, "Wow, your powers truly are impressive. It must've taken up a lot of energy to do that. Even now, as your standing here, you're using energy. I can't believe you have so much stamina, but I guess that comes with being a celestial spirit. Though, you're probably one of the strongest ones I've seen." While saying that compliment, her cheeks had begun to get red. She couldn't believe that she had spouted all of that out. Usually, she could barely form a full sentence. Now, the only thing she could do was talk.

Looking off into the distance, she saw as Selena looked at Silvia with heart eyes. As in, they were literal hearts. It seemed as though Selena didn't only have the ability to be projected into the world, but she also had the ability to alter her look. This didn't really help, because of the fact that she was using this to her advantage. Selena was extremely childish for a demon, which was odd. What was even odder though, was seeing her completely act out a romantic scene between Silvia and Arnaluuk with her, and her alone. Trying to distract herself on that sight, she looked back to Arnaluuk, only to say to her, "I'm sorry, what did you say again? I got a little distracted by uhm...something in the water." It was a lame lie, but she just hoped that it wouldn't have to turn into a bigger one.

wc: 786

Arnaluuk did her best to give a genuine smile at her sane counterpart's compliment towards the sea witch. The many years spent with a dunce like Odhran had left her merely smiling at watching his antics fail before realizing it was her duty to fix his messes. Yet this girl seemed to have this strange ability to break through that icy shell of Arnaluuk's. Perhaps it was merely due to the whims of the oddities of Odhran and his other Spirits, but it was refreshing for Arnaluuk to have a comrade she genuinely enjoyed fully. "Ah, don't worry. I should be able to help you out once we get into combat. There's three council members, right? Three members of the council, split between seven of us if we assume the dunce summons all the Spirits the King allows him to at once. I should be able to easily convince him to let me fight alongside you, regardless of what else he has. The dunce listens to me. I think he might be afraid of me a bit." She gave a small laugh. It truly was not much, just a light chuckle escaping past a flattened hand. A small puff of white air burst forth from Arnaluuk's face as she...smiled? Was this what it was like to talk with someone normal? Instead of having to deal with Odhran's antics, or Lupa's overeagerness or Scorpio's lechery, or any of the other misdeeds her allies could get up to, she was near someone who was comparatively normal. It was a comforting feeling for the Spirit of the Frozen Sea. Masking her exhaustion, Arnaluuk continued her conversation with Silvia as the group advanced further on towards the castle of Angelicae.

Lupa trotted over towards Odhran, her tail wagging furiously in the wind. She panted, each little drop of drool having been imbued with fire and smoldering small holes into the sheet of ice that had been created. A small whine escaped her mouth as she placed her head against Odhran's arm. Odhran could not help but smile. "Of course, Lupa! You are the greatest girl that a god such as myself could ever ask for! They say that dog is man's best friend, and thus it only makes sense for wolf to be God's best friend, no? Lupa, you truly are the fluffiest and greatest dog that I have ever laid my eyes upon! You have of course done well in assisting our ally Silvia towards the castle alongside us! Now, do you want a bone?" Lupa barked, tapping her feet on the sheet of ice. Odhran used the powers of his Ark of Embodiment to summon forth a bone for Lupa to gnaw on. "Now, make that bone last for some time. We will not get any more until we reach the castle itself. You're free to have your pickings of the bones of the dead there, you wittle girl." Odhran scratched the back of the pterolykos's head, bidding his allies come forth further towards the castle itself.

As Arnaluuk kept her conversation with the girl with the evil doll and Lupa recieved the best wishes from the Keybearer, Noel could not help but feel slightly curious. Slowly walking over to the chatting Silvia and Arnaluuk, Noel peered his head in from above them, resting a hand on the shoulder of the Spirit. "Most impressive power, Arnaluuk. It did not think you had it in you to perform such a feat. And the quick-thinking?" Noel gave his laugh. It was not a laugh in essence, but rather a passing of the wind through the exposed skull of the Anti-Saint as his hollow voice continued. "Some would think that you're worried about the Keybearer. Or perhaps...you're worried about another?" Noel laughed slightly once more, laying a single bony finger on the doll the girl carried around with her. "You seem far too old to be carrying a stuffed animal, girl. Such childish toys are meant for those that are young and...so full of life. Life to be snuffed out in the throes of a blizzard, perhaps?" The Anti-Saint laughed again. "Though your toy here certainly bears an...intriguing air. Perhaps if I could-"

As Noel wrapped a second finger around the doll's neck, Arnaluuk halted him. "Silvia is quite capable of handling herself, Noel. Selena I'm sure would be fine without you investigating her stuffing. Plus, you know how Odhran is about harming allies. Think of Selena as Silvia's ally, and Silvia is our definitive ally. Even if I don't get mad, Odhran will, and you've heard the stories of what Odhran has done to punish insubordinate Spirits."

If Noel had eyebrows, they would be raised at this point. "I don't trust that you are not merely fabricating a story, commander. Perhaps if I would chall-"

"Look here, Noel," Scorpio's voice rang out, still remaining in the Celestial Spirit Realm. "Believe or don't believe Arnaluuk, that's your call. But trust me. You don't want to go through Odhran's Gauntlet of Punishment." Scorpio's voice turned to one of horror, as if running through a repressed memory. "I still have never figured out how to properly impersonate a half-man, half-ibex centaur with marital issues..."

Scorpio's presence was gone as soon as it arrived, leaving Arnaluuk and Noel speechless. Noel, at the very least, seemed to take the hint, though as he slowly marched towards his Keybearer, his vacant eyes never left the doll.

The group had been making their way for a few minutes at this point when Odhran suddenly came to a stop, each member of the party stopping along the way. "You know, dearest Silvia, I suppose it would be best to introduce you to all of my companions as of the present. You have met Scorpio and Lupa and Noel, and you are well-acquainted with Arnaluuk, as I see. However, there are two more you must meet. Come forth! Key of the Sugardoll! Key of the Knight! Sweetie! Sir Pudley Tafferton!"

Pulling the two keys out of his scarf, he quickly slashed them down to summon forth the final comrades for this mission.

"Nice jacket, princess." Sweetie said, leaning against Noel's skeletal leg.

"Whaaat? You are a princess?! Well! Allow me to offer my services!" Sir Pudley ran up to Silvia, quickly dropping to a knee, placing a closed fist over where a human would have a heart. "I am Sir Pudley Tafferton, Captain of the Third Royal Guard of Candyland! It is my life's mission to protect those that are royalty, and if you are a princess, and Odhran is a god, well...it appears as though I have been put into a capable situation! Please, allow me to offer my services to you, Lady..." Sir Pudley paused, looking around. It was always difficult to tell where his vision was, considering he did not seem to have visible eyes. "Ah, Arnaluuk, you seem to be an ally of the Princess's! What is her name?"

Arnaluuk sighed. Sir Pudley was almost as off-the-wall as Odhran, and it ground her nerves into the dust. "Silvia," she reluctantly said, giving a look to her companion as if to say "sorry."

Sir Pudley gave a loud "A-Ha!" in satisfaction. "Lady Silvia! Allow me to offer you my services as a royal knight! By the power invested in me by Queen Lolly of Candyland, Fourth of Her Name, Mistress of the SweetHome, and Lady of the Licorice Lagoon, I shall pledge my services to protect you so long as I draw breath!"

A silence hung over the air, only broken by the sniffles of Odhran's pride at the undying devotion Sir Pudley was willing to give. Sweetie was the first to break the status quo by walking over to the knight and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Heya, don't worry about Pud here, princess. Er...Silvia. Yeah, that was it. Just make sure you're not a bore and we'll be suuper cool! I know I said it earlier, but I was serious when I said nice jacket. Normally I would, like, totally ask if I could try it on, but...I'm a bit too sticky usually. I hope we get to be great friends, Silvia~" Sweetie offered a hand, only to be interrupted by a small yipping sound. "Oooh! I know! Ain't she just the cutest~" Sweetie squatted down to the ground to retrieve a small dog, one that could easily fit into a bag. "This is Gumdrop! Ain't Gumdrop the sweetest~ Right, let's be BFFs, Silvia!" Sweetie tilted her head in a smile, Gumdrop barking along perfectly with the flash of the smile. Lupa slightly growled at the sight of another dog, but Odhran held her back. Now the whole menagerie had been introduced to Silvia, and Arnaluuk waited with horror at her reaction.

---

WC: 1465
TWC: 3577