Lugh POV
"Another small meeting, is it?" I gently smiled as I walked through the door.
"We thought it was appropriate." Michael The Archangel replied with a kind smile himself.
"Well, I can't fault you for your decision. Thing are…..awkward right now everywhere. Trying to publicly meet would likely draw too many eyes of those that don't want such a meeting to happen."
"I hope you don't mind the location. I wished somewhere neutral since it was not just us this time." Michael gestured towards an empty seat across from him.
"Not at all, and I completely understand." It's never wrong to be cautious about accidently angering someone from another culture.
Many things could be said about the Heaven faction of the Abrahamic Religion, but rarely were they impolite or rude.
"Lady Gabriel, you are as brilliant as the last time we met." I greeted his second. "Your Father would be proud to know how bright you still shine after so many years."
The second Archangel smiled so brightly that even her aura seemed to be eclipsed. How Yahweh was able to create such a gentle and kind being is still a mystery to me. Which is even stranger when you consider that she was one of the fiercest warriors I'd ever laid my eyes on.
It has been many years since she had donned her armor for a true war, but behind those kind eyes of hers was a metal that could not be bent or shattered.
A contradictory existence, yet it just made her all the more exuberant in my eyes. A Warrior of such prowess that she choose to be gentle and loving towards anyone.
"Thank you, Lord Lugh." Gabriel said with complete genuineness.
"Would you like to call in your second, Lugh?" Michael asked.
"Who are you to address him so familiarly, Angel." Shadows around the room warped and condensed into the form of a crow with red eyes.
"Badb, it's alright. This isn't a formal meeting." I carefully eased the Goddess.
"Hmph." The Crow scoffed, silently standing upon the back of the other empty chair.
I couldn't blame her attitude. Most of my kin did not like the Abrahamic Factions for their part in causing our culture and history to become so obscure to the common masses. While I didn't hold the ones infront of me responsible for their follower's actions, it was still a…..sore subject.
No Pantheon in the world could claim that their followers have not done something they were embarrassed or ashamed of in their name.
It's not like we were the Egyptians who purposely challenged them.
The younger ones these days only saw that Heaven swept through and thoroughly embarrassed the Egyptian Gods, but the Egyptian's were certainly not without fault in that conflict.
"Goddess of War, it's an honor." Michael didn't react negatively in the slightest, and even lowered his head in greeting.
Badb, who was pretty much looking for a fight, basically went silent at his behavior. I could imagine her looking rather flustered right now, unable to force anything at his attitude.
I ignored her indignation for now and proceeded with the purpose of the meeting. "Shall we discuss the most obvious reason for gathering"
Michael, while still showing that same bright smile about him, still fell melancholic as I said the words. "Twelve Portals we've discovered and subsequently closed."
"Yes."
"And unfortunately, we discovered some of them rather late." Michael turned to his companion as Gabriel raised her head.
"We've lost twenty three Churches since they discovered that we were actively hunting them down." And it just felt wrong for her to show such sadness. What a pure creature she was. "In each occasion, we were able to push them back; however, the losses haven't been low."
"We've also suffered some losses. We don't have the same amount of follower to bring about. The few dozen Druids and knights that died in the conflicts are…..heavy. It's going to take a few years before the younger generation can step up." It was unfortunate, but we had to rely on our followers in matters like these.
"It's an unfortunate situation all around." Michael acknowledged. "We recently received the fourth batch of weapon that Lord Odin promised. So far, they have been wonderful in our fight. We separated the promised portion of them and will hand them over afterwards."
"Good, we've been dusting off some of the old iron weapons ourselves, but we welcome more all the same." I nodded in thanks.
"Have you made progress on what you spoke about in our last meeting?" Michael asked.
I couldn't help but sigh and shook my head. "Manannán mac Lir." I spoke the name of the Sea God who had all but retired from his official positions. "He's still bound by the agreements, even if his Wife passed many years ago. He couldn't give any worthwhile information about either Faerie Court."
His Wife, Fand, A Fairy Queen. Thus, he had taken up the position of a Fairy King many years ago.
Despite what many think, there are more than two Fairy Queens in existence. However, both Summer and Winter rule the Fae lands. The vast majority of any other Kings and Queens answered to them.
Very few were outside their influence.
"That is unfortunate." Michael frowned.
"Yes, however, we may not see any significant presence from them for the time being. As you probably are aware, their attention has been focused elsewhere."
Michael winced slightly. "I can't imagine the Winter Queen is…..pleased."
I snorted almost uncontrollably. "I've met her before, and I can tell you, she's pissed. Some 'mortal' cut off her hand when she overextended into Japan. I have no doubt she's putting out many fires due to her subjects taking advantage to try and usurp power. It's most likely the reason there hasn't been any retaliation."
Arrogant witch.
She allowed a portion of her body to separate form her domain where she's at her strongest. Was it because she didn't sense any Gods nearby at the time that she thought she could get away with it?
I'm glad that kid humbled her like that.
"Do you think she will attack again?"
"Unlikely." I waved it off. "The Shinto Gods are not pleased as you could imagine. Especially with what happened to Susanoo, they can't let themselves look like pushovers again. Arawn has been talking to Izanami, she has been active in an effort to dissuade them from acting up again. Through Arawn we have an idea of the situation."
"I see." Michael looked thoughtful. "If your factions has been talking, does that mean you're considering lending aid?"
"We've too many problems of our own right now." Badb interjected. "We can't worry about some random mortals in another part of the world." The War Goddess scoffed.
"Though I would have worded it differently, she isn't wrong. Even the effort we're contributing to this joint effort is…..controversial among my people." I glanced at Badb.
"I never hid it, it think this is a stupid idea and we're wasting time and resources." The Crow huffed in annoyance.
"I appreciate the honesty." Michael smiled lightly, and I was sure he was doing it on purpose now, because Badb just continued to meander and lose any attempt at gaining momentum for her own desires.
"The Fomorians have been acting up and we've come to blows." There was no point in hiding it, it was almost common knowledge at this point. "Badb is part of the faction that believes we should stop associating and focus on our own problems, specifically our old foe."
I brought her along so they would have a voice and not cause more problems further along due to my meeting the Angels. While they have been…..aggressive, they haven't been overtly hostile to my rule thus far.
"Forgive me, but are you not also part Fomorian?" Gabriel tilt her head.
"Indeed, as many of my kin could claim the same. However, we are the Tuatha De Danann first and foremost. Just how Zeus is a God and not a Titan even if his parents are such." I didn't mind elaborating as our part of the world was much less…..popular than other cultures. A side effect of what happened in the past.
"Oh." Gabriel's eyes brightened in understanding.
I had to resist the urge to pat her on the head like my grandchildren.
"It's not the first time they have acted up, however, it's never crossed a certain point. Right now, they're straddling the lines between what can be overlooked, and it's fairly obvious they're doing it on purpose. But that's not the most concerning thing. I'm sure you've heard the rumors coming from other places, yes?"
"Are you speaking about similar situations in other Pantheons?"
"I am." I nodded. "And it's all happening at the same time. I fear there are those amongst both our side, the Fomorians, and other Pantheons that are….colluding." I glanced at Badb who stiffened, but didn't interrupt.
While we often had different outlooks and opinions, I trusted her explicitly.
"The God that appeared in the most recent…..event." Michael said quietly.
"That was my thought as well. It's rare for Gods to interfere in other Patheon's matters, and the timing is much too coincidental."
With how many feuds that had developed since the Great War, it was almost an unspoken agreement to not interfere with other Pantheons.
"That makes things more complicated."
"Like they weren't already complicated with how many parties are involved." I let out a chuckle.
Michael smiled lightly, seemingly amused in an exhausted sort of way. "Speaking of that event."
"Don't worry, I got it here." I took out the Item Michael requested, setting it on the table. A richly decorated Oak Harp. "Uaithne, the Harp of Dagda."
"It's beautiful." Gabriel exclaimed. "May I?"
"Go ahead." I chuckled again. "Be warned, only Dagda has ever been able to produce any semblance of music with it."
We watched Gabriel gently reach for it, taking it in her hands. It wasn't very large, enough that she could carry it without any problems. She ran her fingers across the strings and instead of a soft and revibrating chime, the note came out grated, making everyone jerks in response.
"Oh." Gabriel blinked, a hint of embarrassment on her face. "I guess I can't play it either. It reminded me so much of my Trumpet, I couldn't resist." She pouted.
Hmm, I had heard of her Trumpet. It was supposedly able to rally her allies in battle and infuse them with a sort of 'second wind'. It was destroyed, I believed, by one of the original Satans.
"I only heard a few vague things about this." Michael admired it with a keen eye. "Supposedly, it's able to summon the 'seasons'."
"That's what the stories say." I smiled. "But that's a bit of a....miss contextual explanation. It was originally a regular harp – for that which was made by a God could be called regular. Summoning the Seasons was more metaphorical than literal in this case. Specifically, it summoned Winter and Summer."
"The God Dagda, former lover to the Winter Queen, and even had the good will of the Summer Queen to the point where they both blessed his Harp. It's less that it summons the seasons, but more that it summons their domains over each season." Michael let out a breath.
"Without Dagda, its abilities are….sealed, for lack of a better word. However, it still contains that connection." I ran my finger over the wooden engravings. "You know the price I asked before."
"Yes, you requested the weapons we had stored away from your Pantheon. They're all here, as well as the information you requested." Michael gestured to a large crate.
I didn't need to check, I knew he was trustworthy.
"We shouldn't have to trade one of our treasures to get back things that belong to us." Badb hissed.
"When we lost them due to our own failures, I disagree." I glared towards the War Goddess.
How we lost them? Well, my Grandfather was not the most kind of men. He would commit many heinous deeds to spite others.
And I wasn't speaking of Balor.
"And the information?" I asked.
"Yes, the Forbidden Balor View Sacred Gear." Michael produced a piece of Parchment and slid it over to me.
I picked it up, scanning over its contents and frowning. "Should I consider myself unlucky then?" I let out a sigh.
Michael gave a wry smile. "I apologize, I had not know until I investigated."
"It's not your fault." I waived it off. "How were either of us supposed to know that it appeared in a Dhampir that was reincarnated by Lucifer's little sister." I let out a sigh, burning the parchment away. "It's not like I unwillingly handed over Grandfather's Evil Eye to you all back then either."
The Powers of the Sacred Gear came from Yahweh processing Grandfather's Eye. I had willingly traded it with them at the time because we were in a much more precarious situation. We received much needed resources that played a significant role in our people winning over the Fomorians.
"I'll try to broach the subject at the Peace Meeting then, even if it's unlikely to go anywhere." I resigned myself to not get my hands on that thing again. It would go a long way if we tried to sue for peace once more with the Formorians. And if not, well, I had other plans for it.
"So you are decided in joining us?"
"Yes, I believe it to be in our own best interest with the potential of outsiders to interfere in our own disputes." I glanced at Badb who was silent this time.
She didn't like cooperating with other Factions, however I think she realized the situation we were now in.
"Not to mention, there are things we wish to confirm as well." The atmosphere turned dark. "Badb." I spoke her name with a hint of my own Divinity added.
The pressure in the room alleviated with a annoyed noise from the Crow.
"You speak of Scáthach." Michael asked.
"Yes. Let's just say there are plenty who are….wary of her supposed return." Which was a very polite way of saying it.
How many lesser Gods had fallen by her hands? How many Demi-Gods, Champions, or favored by our Pantheon had been turned to corpses at the end of her infamous spear?
She relished in the Great War, and many different Factions suffered before she finally fell.
Many had mixed feelings about her even among my own kin. Not many humans could achieve what she had, which made her even the more controversial figure.
The Morrigan being the most outspoken in disfavor.
"But you have your own concerns as well." I mentally gave one last goodbye to Great-grandfather's harp.
"Yes, hopefully, this will be enough to request the Spear back…..among other things." Michael didn't sound too sure of himself.
"You've known he's had the spear for awhile now. Why the sudden need to get it back?" I admittedly didn't know the exact details of what happened, as most didn't concern me.
"He was able to use it."
"Oh?" I blinked at that. "Is he not a Half-Devil?"
"He is."
"Hmm, that's strange." I rubbed my chin.
"We have some reason to believe that he is able to remove his weakness to Holy Power. Which is how he was able to use the Spear." Michael explained.
"Ah. You're worried that it's a repeatable method, and if he can remove that weakness, it can become a significant weapon for Devils as a whole."
It was a Spear worthy of being a God's weapon. It didn't lose out to my own Spear in the slightest.
Give something like that to those freakish Super Devils, then their power would just increase further. Thankfully, they are still susceptible to Holy Power just as any other Devil is. Or so I thought, that might change from what Michaels' implied.
This meeting was looking more and more interesting. A definite headache, but interesting nonetheless.
"It is one of our main concern, yes." Michael fully acknowledged. "Can we count on you?"
"I would happily attend at your side." I would support them in this case. Our alliance had lasted many years, and I saw no reason why to not help them now. The benefits far outweighed any perceived negative. Not to mention, we have our own interests in it.
Michael smiled brightly again. "I have the full reports as to what happened, if you wish to read over them. I think you'll find some things rather interesting."
I raised an eyebrow as I took the new parchment from him.
It only took me a moment to fully read it.
"Very Interesting." It seems this was going to be a more popular event than I had first thought.
[***]
Whew, I'm back, mostly. This chapter should have been out a few days ago, but work really kicked me in the balls. Originally, this wasn't going to be an interlude, but it got too long, so i just cut it off at this point and made it so. Normal schedule will resume this Tuesday EST.
Anyways, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and if you want to support me or read 7 chapters ahead, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m. / astoryforone