Adonis's Story

xxxxxAfter a series of glances all over the chamber, Valerys decided to just keep his gaze fixed at the grand doors, calmly awaited for the moments to come. Judging from the bickering of the attendants and the frowns that were starting to become visible on the King's face, it went without saying that heads would probably roll if another minute passed by and the doors remained intact. As much as Valerys found it distasteful for the time being meaninglessly wasted, however, there was no sign of displeasure presented on his face. Either he was a good actor or his patience was just simply remarkable.

Behind the four of them, Valerys could feel that his uncle was also in quite the anticipation as well. After all, it was Vaharys who was standing on this exact same place 20 years ago. Although he didn't care much for praises, Valerys quietly prayed that from then on, he would at least live to the name of his well-respected uncle.

Before Valerys, the Guardian on behalf of the family was Mylenna from the Celnaryen line - another one of his cousins. Her condition was... quite interesting, to say the least. Yet, Valerys had heard on the grapevines that using that very specialty, she had managed to "tame" her Divine - who was quite a handful. She told him she had intended to attend the ceremony today, but the Celnaryens seemed to have some business for her to handle, so Vaharys was the only family that was watching him.

In the meantime, he quietly recalled to the things that he had read about the Divines. The long tradition of being Guardians had brought the clan with much knowledge about them, except the one that was assigned to him.

The Second of the Divines, who went by the pseudonym Aui, or Adonis, as Valerys could then rightfully refer as. The Deceiver. The Accursed Harbinger. The Forsaken Viper. His clan had bestowed many titles upon this Divine and none of them showed the slightest bit of respect. To say that the whole family abhorred him was a bit of an understatement. But of course, how couldn't they? Every leader of the three branches had never seized to relentlessly remind their members about the poisonous words spoken from the mouth of this being to their ancestor centuries ago. And they had even gone all the way to make sure that the representative Guardians of their clan would never have to watch over Adonis.

Until Valerys, due to some miraculous twist by the hands of Fate.

By the time the outcome was settled, it was already too late for Talar to intervene. With the influence of the Astraryens, switching the results shouldn't be a problem. But the hassles and the risk of tarnishing their name were simply not worth it. Hence, they now had no other choice, but to place their only prominent heir to the line of this generation at the mercy of the most deplorable of beings.

For Valerys, though, this was indeed a challenge to overcome. Was he scared? Of course he was. But knowing him, the excitement stemmed from the unveiling of mysteries was bigger. To be able to find out the truths that no-one from family had ever gotten to before? Valerys couldn't possibly come up with any privileges better than that.

"Attention! Announcing the arrival of the Divines!"

And finally, it was time. As deafening sound of trumpets and drums filled every corner of the hall, the doors were sprung open at last. Emerging from behind were the four most "prized treasures" of Eden, gracefully approaching them in tandem. Valerys couldn't help but gulp a bit. This wasn't the first time he got to see a Divine in real life, but to observe them in their entirety in such a close proximity, it was more than he had ever imagined.

They truly befit the title given to them.

The leader of the four - Divine Oeui - stepped forward to make a speech with fluency, as if she had gone through over it countless of times. Valerys' main focus was not on her speech, though, but on the youthful man with long, green flowing hair so smooth that the finest silk seemed pale in comparison and a seemingly innocent smile that can charm the most stoic of hearts. There was this strange charisma emanating from Adonis that Valerys couldn't explain, as if it was telling him to abandon everything he had ever treasured to fall into the sweet embrace of the Divine, and to indulge in nothing but his honey-glazed words.

This man... is terrifyingly dangerous. Valerys cautiously reminded himself. He had to make sure to never stray from his path and focus on the only one goal that mattered, or else it would be very likely that he would be enraptured in the trap laid out by Adonis. That much he can tell from locking gaze with the Divine alone.

As soon as Oeui finished her speech, the expression on Valerys' face turned from that of sternness into a relaxed one, with a gentle smile finding its' way on his lips. "My utmost pleasure to meet you, my exalted Divine. I presume you have already known, but allow me to introduce myself once more. I go by the name Valerys of the Astraryens, and may the coming decade of our partnership be fruitful."

Having been taught about etiquette and manners all his life, making a grandiose introduction was not much of a problem for him, but he knows for sure that humans' niceties are not entirely applicable to that of the Beasts, and the Divines were not any different. And it was by then that an excerpt from the journal passed down to him from the previous Guardians popped up in his mind.

"And, to start out our relationship. May I ask you, why is the letter E important?"

A greeting by a riddle was simply the most anti-climatic thing one could possibly come up. Valerys was well-aware of this, but he hoped that this would at least get both of them off to a good start, and a small test on the wits of arguably the most ancient being in the entire world. He slightly tilted his head in anticipation of the response, with his smile unfazed.