The Statue of No Worth

[Granite]

"But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen

carefully.”...“This is Omnilium... But you will need more than this."..."For as

long as you interest me, you will be reborn."..."That’s all you need to know

right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and

waiting.”

The stone creature went over these key parts of Omni's speech in his head. These were the closest things to commands it could pick out from what Omni had told it. But those commands were not satisfying, and within it's body it felt a hole of uncertainty grew. It felt lost and without reason. It was scared. It sank to the white ground: collecting a resource and being... entertaining, that was not much to cling to.

The Gargoyle opened it's eyes to see a shallow pool with a spurts of water shooting up from the center every few seconds. It took a look within and the reflection caught its eyes, with its bright grayish, marble face staring back at it from the water. For a moment his mind was distracted from its emptiness and grasped at the name of the creature it reflected. It's name was Granite, at least, that's what most had called it. Granite shook its head to bring its thoughts back to its unsatisfying tasks.

Granite stood up and took a brisk look around. It saw landmarks out in the distance, too far out to make out unfortunately. So, It decided to weigh its options for a bit and to adjust to his new surroundings.

[Granite]

Granite huffed. There was simply no close landmark in any direction. Nothing but the fountain... Which seems to have changed into a small fountain with water running out the grinning maw of a grotesque stone monster. It grew swiftly jealous of the thing. Fulfilling it's purpose without any need for second thought. Granite vaulted into the fountain and swung at the figure. In the blink of an eye, the fountain sputters into water and falls back into the pool.

The gargoyle drooped it's head in thought. It never remembered feeling something like that before, yet, it felt familiar. Or rather, it didn't feel otherwise. Granite shook its head. All this introspection was making its head spin. It stepped out of the water and shook itself dry. It looked out upon the arches far in the distance, sat down, and simply stared at them without a single thought.

[Ari]

Cat gently slipped into sight of the large, stone like creature. Maybe he knew who she was. He might not but she had to try. The slight, pink haired girl approached slowly, trying to reign in her fear. If Cat let it flow freely, her fear would make her stuck in that odd blue sphere of energy agian. Tjat would be rather counter-productive, and she wanted tobstay connected to the dataverse incase Jak answered her.

"H-hello there. My name is..... Cat. I think it is anyways... It's nice to meet you. Have you recently arrived or are you waiting to meet someone here?"

Blue light flickered in spots around her. Keep it together... The giant door loomed over her head as she awaited a response.

[Granite]

The statue looked up at her from it's broken concentration. The girl's words had a heavy accent that couldn't quite be identified, and it was certainly an accent it had never heard. It was almost like she was speaking a completely different language from Russian. But, somehow, it was still perfectly understandable. The statue found it mystifying, but decided to not look a gift mule in the eyes.

Granite closed his eyes and smiled, briskly thinking of what to say in response, and also if he got that, whatever you call it, right. It then opens it's eyes and lumbers into a standing position. As it looms over Cat it opens its mouth to speak. "I am happy to make your acquaintance as well Cat." Gruffed the statue. Through it's deep, thickly accented, and slightly raspy voice one could still make out a hint of confusion. "Yes, I have only just arrived. Do you know how to get back to Ust'-Ilimsk? Or do you perhaps know which direction the Tzar's castle?"

[Ari]

Cat shrunk back as the stone creature rose up, looming far above her. Small patches of blue flickered in the space around them. Control it Cat. Control it. Calm down, relax, there's nothing to be afraid of. You can't die.

"i-I'm sorry, but... there's no way out. We're all stuck here. Y-you're what's considered a prime, which means you can't be killed... or rather, you come back to life if you die.You can control this energy substance called Omnilium... ah, here. This might explain better than I can."

Cat held out the book she had supposedly recieved from Nealaphh. The Monotruth It had helped her figure out what was going on. Perhaps this stone creature could learn from it too.

[Granite]

Granite hung his head in psudo-sadness. That means that the tzar would go without a personal guard. And hearing that he could no longer die disheartened him, as he had looked forward to having some kind of end to his immortal life. Well, so much for experiencing the sweet release of death. The gargoyle seemed to perk up as Cat handed him the book. It took the book into its massive hands and took a second to look through it. Granite smiles his toothy maw and goes to put the book in a pocket. Unfortunately, It's not wearing anything with a pocket. Scratch that, it's not wearing anything at all! Granite simply shrugs and decides to hold onto it for the moment.

"Thank you Cat, I promise to read it in detail later... Oh, that reminds me, you didn't ask for my name. You may call me Granite." Granite said as he got eye level with the girl. It looked into her eyes and said, "You may also refer to me as a he if you wish. Most people find it easier when they refer to me as a male."

[Ari]

Cat watched as the creature became rather disappointed. At least it was taking this better than she had. At least it wasn't too upset, it still read through Nealaphh's book a little bit. She was a bit concerned about what would happen if it got caught in the two verses where Nealaphh was a wanted criminal, but she wasn't sure where the creature was headed anyways.

"O-okay... Granite. Well, you're pretty much free to do whatever you want here. Within reason of course. Not every one is immortal so please don't go around slaughtering them. Umm... I guess that's most of it."

Cat glanced up at the giant door agian, this time finding a compass rose in the center instead of a lock. How useful.

"Over that way" She pointed west. "Is the gate to Coruscant. To the east on the other side is the gate to Camelot... I think they're still quarrelling with eachother. Umm..." She pointed North. "Up that way is the gate to the ashen steppes.. and to the south is the Frozen Fields. I'm headed..." Cat paused to check the door agian. "I'm headed northwest."

[JasonRen]

As Jason approached the familiar center structure of the Nexus, he immediately took notice of the two primes conversing. Quickly pulling his backward off his head the warrior called out to them, slowing his walking pace in case they were hostile.

" Hello, fellow travelers! " Jason flailed his right arm up in the air to grasp their attention, seeing as he was still a ways off. His voice however boomed as if he were standing in front of them, a trait many Zepharians carried. Jason continued his slow advance towards the primes.

[Granite]

Granite shifted his weight from one foot to the other, once again unsure about what to do next. Eventually he situated himself on saying, "Do you wish for me to accompan-"

Granite was cut off by an unknown voice. He turned, ready to defend the girl beside him. Granite put his fists down as he saw the Zepharian walking towards them in a nonthreatening way. "Oh, you must be another prime." He said as he marveled upon the creature. Never before had he seen a Zepharian, in fact, at first he thought the man before them was human... at first. Eventually, Granite raised his hand as a motion to stop Jason from coming any closer.

[Phalanx]

Phalanx moved towards the small gathering of creatures, one was undoubtedly human, the other it was not sure of. The third towered above the other two, a creature of seemingly animate stone. The revenant walked toward them with determination, it was familiar with humans and their ways.

Phalanx, being merely a suit of armor, was unable to communicate through conventional means. Instead, it brought its right fist to its chestpiece as a ways of greeting. Setting its massive shield down to its side with a crash. It kept a fair distance of a few feet, humans in particular could panic at the sight of an empty suit of armor. It stood eerily still, almost as if that last movement had completely drained whatever energy was controlling the decidedly peculiar being. Though from the shadows beneath its helmet, those present could still feel themselves being observed, as if someone was occupying the platemail suit. Perhaps the same soul who had once worn it.

[JasonRen]

As he neared the primes Jason took note that the larger of the two seemed to me made of...stone? This didn't exactly surprise the Guardian, seeing as he had encountered many bizarre creatures in his travels back in Zatannia. The second prime appeared to be a normal teenage girl, presumably human. Jason's gaze drifted to her hair. ' Pink. Interesting. ' he mused before a loud thump from the stone creature interrupted his thoughts.

Immediately the Zepharian dropped into Omega stance, ready to defend himself from a possible attack from the other prime. " Oh, you must be another prime. " Jason heard the stone beast say before raising his hand to cease the Guardian's steady advance. Jason halted, still in Omega stance, and shifted uncomfortably a moment before responding. " Um..Yeah, I am. I'm guessing you ar- "

The Zepharian cut himself off, and quickly turned to his side. He had seen someone or something approaching in his peripheral vision. " Oh what in the nine hells is that? " What Jason was seeing right now was an unmanned suit of armor walking uprightly towards the trio. Now this was surprising to the Zepharian. The only unmanned armor he had ever seen before were enchanted summons set to automatic attack, in the Underwaters back in Zatannia. Never before had he witnessed live walking armor, and this severely bothered him. It appeared to only be carrying an enormous shield on its person, which it proceeded to drop to the ground earning a loud crash. Jason simply remained crouched in Omega stance, confusion written all over his facial expression.

[Ari]

Cat hid partially behind Granite as a new prime approached, this one armed. She let Granite do the talking, staying silent as usual while she fought off panic. As Cat hid, the large stone creature turned to protect her, standing between her and the strange looking man, when a second prime arrived, a suit of armour that stopped some distance away.
Where do all these people come from?
Cat's panic levels rose beyond what she could control and a blue sphere circled around her and Granite faster than she could drop to her knees and start hyperventilating. Today, was not a very good day.

[Granite]

Granite getting ready to nod his head at the question when a loud clang came from the left of him. He looked upon the suit of armor and could immediately tell it had no wearer. And, by the sound of Zepharian, he could tell that too. Granite opened its mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a blue wall appearing between him and the other two primes in front of him. A quick touch by the hand showed it was solid. After a quick glance behind he could see Cat cowering in fear.

The gargoyle took a second to think of how to best calm her, but came up with little. Eventually deciding to pat her lightly on the back and saying, "Do not worry miss Cat, I'll make sure everything will be just fine." And with that he turns back to the Armor. "I welcome your presence." He states. Then he turns to the Zepharian and asks, "May you please calm down, no one has the intent to harm you."

[Phalanx]

The revenant's helmet moved to face the gargoyle, it returned its greeting with a nod of acknowledgment. The blue energy was worrisome, it appeared to be under the control of one of those stood before the armor, likely the one that stood in a peculiar stance. Martial arts? None Phalanx had seen in its years. Then again, fists don't work well against steel and iron. So most of his opponents relied on different ways of attack. Phalanx chose not to react to the hostile behaviour. Instead calmly scanning its surroundings by moving its helmet side to side. A rather comical sight, were it not for the massive shield the revenant carried by its side.

The girl seemed distressed by its presence, and rightfully so. Phalanx wasn't exactly the most comforting sight for those who weren't in immediate danger. And even by those he protected he was sometimes seen as a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire. The revenant was bound to a thankless job, but it did not care, hardly even realised. The grave had taken away most of his emotions and replaced them with a hollow carapace of leather and steel, a visual representation of the warrior's iron tenacity in life. Phalanx merely stood fast and looked on.

[JasonRen]

Jason threw a look of utter confusion in Granite's direction, but eased out of Omega stance nonetheless. Perhaps unmanned armor wasn't something foreign to the gargoyle. In any case the Zepharian decided to keep on his toes regardless, that unmanned armor looked capable of kicking some serious ass even though he lacked a weapon. Once he settled down he took notice of the blue orb encompassing the stone creature and the human teenager. More magic? Who was it emitting from? Jason would find out later.

He let out a heavy sigh before continuing to advance toward the stone creature, and the pink haired human. Jason's right hand came out in front of him, to greet the other prime, as he stopped an arms length before Granite. " My name is Jason. Jason Ren. I come from a land called Zatannia, and like you I have been brought here by the being known as Omni. Pleased to make your recognition. " He smiled slightly, but it was pretentious. He was still on edge about all these people, these ' Primes '.

[Ari]

Cat struggled to pin down her terrors and suppress the fear, failing with every tactic she tried.

I'll make sure everything will be just fine.

Somehow, Granite's response to her distress both calmed her, and made it worse. The shivering girl curled up at his feet hugging a small black doll with three green eyes, completely unaware of the conversations going on.
It'll be okay... no one is here for me, they're just intruiged by Granite.. Th-they aren't here to hurt me... I'm safe... I'm not going to be hurt..."
Cat curled up tighter around the doll, and her shield began to flicker. As Jason attempted to approach the two primes in the sphere, he would find his path halted, as if running into a brick wall. The shield flickered agian and went out like a flame in a matter of scends, allowing Jason to attempt his approach agian while Cat remained curled up on the ground sobbing.

[Granite]

Granite tapped on the protective sphere as Jason came up to offer his hand. As the shield faded the gargoyle took the hand of the Zepharian and shook. "I was given the name Granite. I am from Russia." The statue took a second to think of something that would have been a bit more general. "On... Earth. I think the villagers called it. I am what's called a Gargoyle."

Letting go of Jason's hand, Granite gazed hard upon the suit of armor. "Our friend here... He seems to be... Somewhat like me." He then redirects his conversation directly at Phalanx. "There's no one in that armor of yours, I can tell. Were you made with a soul? Or with runes and the like without a soul, like I was?" Granite said. After receiving an answer from Phalanx, Granite states. "Hmm... So you really can't talk... And I figured you were made with a soul..."

Granite then turned back to Jason. "I'm just glad you didn't decide to attack miss Cat..." As he turned to show her to the two, he noticed her shivering in the fetal position, tightly clasping a doll. Granite calmly bent down on a knee and gently put his hand on her back. "Miss Cat," The statue spoke, trying to even out the normal gruf of its voice. "are you okay? Everything has been settled out, and these two are not going to hurt you." As Cat continued to shiver, Granite offered, "Do... you need a hug?"

[JasonRen]

Jason firmly shook the gargoyle's large stone hand, a small smile creeping onto his face. He had never been to Earth before, even though Zatannia was Earth's mirror universe. No one was ever to cross over to Earth unless some type of special order was given. Curiosity welled up inside the dark skinned man, a million and one questions that he dare not ask forming in his mind. Jason had beeb taught that a typical human being was severely inadequate to Zepharians in every existing way possible, but Granite here was from Earth! Just by looking at him one could assume he stood a grand chance in combat against an Imperial Regiment soldier. Perhaps a Royal Guard.

The Guardian listened silently as the gargoyle regarded the peculiar armor, a brow arching at the prime's statement. " Our friend here... He seems to be... Somewhat like me. " Jason broke his gaze from the pair, attempting to get a solid look at the teenager; Tilting his upper body to the side to look around the large stone creature. His attention returned to the gargoyle as he said. " Hmm... So you really can't talk... And I figured you were made with a soul..."

" If he cant talk how do we figure out his name? Perhaps we should give him a pet name? " Jason snickered, his gaze drifting back to the silent unmanned armor. Granite then proceeded to engage him in conversation again, capturing his attention. " I'm just glad you didn't decide to attack miss Cat.. ". The young Guardian's facial muscles eased as he released a heavy sigh. " I had no intention of harming little miss pink hair, I assure you. " A stupid grin was plastered on the dark skinned mans' face. These folks seemed decent. His master always taught him that there was safety in numbers, therefore if he were going to travel with this lot he was going to give them all pet names.

[Phalanx]

When the towering gargoyle adressed it, Phalanx merely raised its helmet slightly to indicate it was paying attention. It nodded, soul bound to the armor it had once occupied in battle. To protect those that cannot protect themselves, for better or for worse. Phalanx pointed at the sobbing girl and tilted its helmet to the side, a questioning gesture. Was she alright? There appeared to be no bleeding or fractures. Though the tears indicated negative emotions. His now limited understanding of what was once his kind ended there.

Phalanx rattled violently at the mention of a pet name, shaking its helmet side to side. The idea was met with disapproval. It turned its shield around and used a spike on its glove to scratch something into the face. P-H-A-L-A-N-X. The name he had been assigned upon his resurrection into this form. Tapping below the letters to attract attention to it, he looked at the young man with what might have been a rather annoyed look once. But with the lack of facial features - and face, for that matter. - it could've been merely staring into the sprawling void that was the Nexus, with that eerily still stance. As if it really was a statue.

[Phalanx]

Suddenly, Phalanx jerked its helmet to the side. Something had caught its attention. Something that was more urgent than trying to understand his current situation along with a rag-tag band of creatures. It tapped on its chestplate twice and did a sort of salute towards Granite, a token of appreciation? A farewell gesture? The construct had somehow recognised the revenant to be similar, if not the same. But before anyone could ask the suit of armor to clarify its intentions, it hauled its shield onto its back and dashed off. Surprisingly quick, carrying a metal plate that must weigh a lot more than the suit itself.

And so, the revenant left the group the same way it had joined them. In its mysterious silence, not looking back. No one could be quite sure what its motivations were to suddenly take off like that. Possibly they were unknown to even the creature itself. Perhaps their paths may cross again, someday.