abraxaslogs | March open

Entry tags:

March open

Who: Zagreus and you!
When: After the Eplum event
Where: Horizon (& Zagreus's Domain specifically)
What: Zagreus finally visits Horizon
Warnings: NA

Immediately upon his arrival to Horizon, Zagreus's appearance had altered to align much more closely to how he appeared at home: red and black exomis adorned with three canine skulls on one shoulder, a belt made of more skulls, arms adorned with golden bands. And around his head a crown of fiery, ever-burning laurels. The only difference was the now the symbol of the Chariot had been etched into the metal greaves he wore above his fiery feet.

Driven by the compulsion to create, he had also swiftly begun construction of his Domain: a space for which the most immediately notable feature was the river of blood surrounding it. Perhaps you will dare to attempt to cross it.

[[ooc: Starters will be in the comments below! And if you would like a custom prompt, feel free to poke me at

blueflowers!]]

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"I suppose it is. I have noticed that the mortals all seem to live in smaller households where they need to cook for themselves. But this is what I grew up with, so...I never realised it wasn't usual."

Also, he's a Prince. A Prince of the Underworld, no less. That tends to distort one's view of what's 'normal'.

"And in that case...how about you ask whatever questions you desire, and if I feel like I'm not comfortable answering, I'll let you know?"

"Not all mortals, there are those who are well off and have a house staff." Back when Claire was a Lady to Jamie's Lord, she might've had that, a cook and housekeepers. In France, she did for a time, but she'd never gotten used to it, even if it was nice to have a three-course meal prepared for suppertime. "I don't know for sure because I've never thought to ask, but I imagine the royals in Thorne have some sort of staff in the castle outside of guards."

Encouraged by Zagreus, her first question pops out of her unbidden. "What are you the god of? and who are your parents?"

Two questions, then, but they seem like the obvious two to get things started. She walks the hall slowly, taking in the architecture as it's been recreated.

"Right, I suppose royals having households of similar size would make sense..." Particularly since Zagreus's own family was royal as well. The comparison was apt.

"And I'm the God of Blood. Blood and Life. I'm the son of Hades and Persephone."

A fact that might help explain the number of skulls present, both in the domain and in Zagreus’s outfit.

"Well that makes complete sense," Claire replies, truly meaning it. Hades and Persephone, who else?

"Which settlement do you live in? I ask because Solvunn is...interesting when it comes to their religion. And they treat us Summond as if we're gifts from the gods themselves. It can be a bit...much. As an actual deity, I can't imagine how you'd wrap your mind around it all."

"I live in Solvunn too! Perhaps we've seen each other about already." Although Zagreus himself was rather distinctive. Likely Claire would remember it if she'd seen him. Unless perhaps she never bothered to look at his feet.

"And...is that not what we are? Didn't the gods themselves summon us here?" Zagreus says. "I can't imagine that we would be here if they did not wish us to be."

Claire’s eyes brighten to meet a fellow Solvunnite. “You’ll have to visit. I live in the primary settlement to the north, near the edge of the woods.” She loves guests, and entertains often.

“You can meet my bees,” she adds before moving on.

“I suppose that depends on if you actually believe that those gods exist. Admittedly, until somewhat recently, I leaned more firmly toward them not.”

"I will! I'd love to see your home, and your bees. Thank you," Zagreus says warmly. He'll need to source an appropriate gift for her, however. After the lovely gift she's given him, he certainly couldn't show up empty handed.

"And...wait. You didn't think the gods existed?" he says, blinking. Because as a god himself...the possibility that they might not is certainly not one that's ever occurred to him.

"I was raised to question...well, everything, really. Not to outright dismiss, I never do that. I suppose I needed live here a while to begin to believe. Rather than jump in and commit from the start."

Claire takes a moment to gather her thoughts, looking at the various decor. She would never expect a gift in return, especially for food that can't really satiate. Turning back to Zagreus, she decides to be honest about her version of the world.

"When and where I'm from, religion is often wielded as a weapon by humans to subjugate others. We don't have interference from the gods. They're very quiet, in my world."

"Everything? That sounds...rather exhausting, to be honest," Zagreus says. "Surely there must still be people you trust, people who you would believe will give you the truth?"

Otherwise, how would one know where to start? One person surely couldn't personally verify absolutely everything.

"And...I'm sorry to hear that. I confess I don't really know much about mortal beliefs and worship during their lifetimes. Most of the people I've spoken to were already dead. But...well. People are capable of doing great harm to one another. I suppose it's not surprising that belief could be another weapon."

"Do you take everything that's told to you at face value?" She smiles gently, but she does see his point, too.

"I took that advice a little less literally as I grew and understood more about the world on my own. I was raised by a man who dug up ancient artifacts that had long been buried by time, and so all he was ever left with, were questions. Why was something used the way it was? What was it used for, and by whom?" Claire gives a shrug as if that explains it perfectly.

"If you're ever curious about Earth, I'm happy to help fill in any gaps, answer any questions. You aren't wrong, though. People are capable of making anything into a weapon. Words, symbols, simple actions. The people of Abraxas are no different."

"No, not everything. But...that depends who's telling me. I don't expect people that I trust to lie."

Which did make it painful, when it turns out they did. He hadn't forgotten how the fact that Nyx had lied to him hurt. But...he understood the reasons why. He trusted that she never would lie to him without a very, very good reason.

"And I must admit I don't believe mortals are really all that different from gods. We have different experiences, and different roles, yes...but we're all people, in the end. I suppose that's why I end up so surprised, when something is more different than I expected."

She understands the betrayal of being lied to, and she would agree that it makes it all the more painful when that betrayal comes from someone you thought you could trust. Someone you cared for.

"There's a very old saying, that if cattle and horses had hands, or were able to draw and make the works which men do, horses would draw the forms of gods like horses, and cattle like cattle, and they would make the gods' bodies the same shape as their own." Her curiosity takes another path, and she branches out.

"Has anything in particular stood out as surprisingly different?"

"It's odd to think of mortals being the ones to create gods. Of course mortals look like gods, because gods created them. But I suppose...we all came from Chaos, in the end.. If we're made in anyone's image, it's theirs. Though it's not exactly a direct representation."

After all, Master Chaos's appearance was rather unique.

He thinks on her question then, pondering what's been the most different. "Aside from mortals thinking the gods aren't real...I think the most surprising sing is how much the sun dictates the lives of mortals. So much of what you do is determined according to its place in the sky! And then when it goes down, almost all of you go to sleep. You spend rather a lot of time doing that, actually."

Claire can't help but laugh, not at him, but at how absurd it does sound when he says it out loud.

"I suppose for a deity that doesn't need sleep, it must be bizarre. We mostly sleep at night because seeing outside at night is limited. It's dark, and before the advent of easily creating fire or portable light, once the sun went down, there was nothing left to do but sleep and...well. Whatever activities you can do that don't need much light."

She'll let him come up with those activities on his own. With a smile still gracing her lips, Claire gives a one-shouldered shrug.

"Humans need sleep to keep from deteriorating to the point of mental insanity, then death." To put it simply and bluntly. "It doesn't matter when that sleep happens, but I think it makes sense to do it when the least amount of work can be done in a day."

"Well, I do sleep. Just...not very often," he admits. "Not as much as mortals, anyway."

From his perspective, mortals seemed to be sleeping all the time.

And at her insinuation of 'activities you can do that don't need much light' - he laughs, softly. "Oh, that's why the couple in my host family are always getting frisky in the evening! I had wondered why they had such a schedule. Is mortal eyesight really so poor in the dark?"

Claire's laughter joins his, and it's as amused as it is reminiscent. There were a handful of times (not enough. Never enough.) when she had quiet downtime with Jamie, when they were able to fall into a routine as husband and wife. Her smile lingers even when her laughter fades to answer his question.

"In general, yes. Some might be lucky enough to have enhanced vision for some reason or another. It generally tends to get worse as we age; I have a difficult time reading without glasses now." She pulls them out of her pocket to show him the simple black frames. "These help."

"That's a rather interesting looking device," Zagreus says, leaning over to peer at it closely. "How does it work? Is it a spell, or some kind of mechanical construction, like the inventions of Daedalus?"

A man Zagreus had never met - but he'd come across his hammers in the Underworld many a time. But hopefully these 'glasses' came with far fewer risks than Daedalus's wings did.

Claire smiles at the name Daedalus, glad she knows that reference.

"I don't doubt they could've been an invention of his, he seems smart enough from his stories. But no, doctors of the eye who know all about how we see and how our eyes work, invented a sort of lens that can help pick up where the eyes begin to fail."

She enjoys explaining these things and then slips the glasses on. "They don't do much for me now, but if I had to read something, I wouldn't struggle at all. Although, now you've suggested magic, I don't doubt I could somehow magically correct my vision." She hadn't thought of it before, actually.

"It would be a shame to not be able to read!" Zagreus notes. Looking at him, you wouldn't think Zagreus was an avid reader. But then, Claire hadn't seen his room - and the piles and piles of books strewn about all over it.

What can he say? He likes his histories.

"I don't know much about magic myself, but I'm sure there's someone around who could assist. Wanda seems quite adept!"

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