Code of the Knight

[Demeter]

Dare sighed as he stood guard over the punch bowl. Punishment, he’d been told, for luring his younger brother into danger. Dare slid a glare over to Damien and scowled. Hell, he’d hardly had to lure the 20 year old into any sort of danger. Damien had been all over the idea of treasure hunting in the Northern Cascades. So what if he, his knight friends, and Damien had managed to blow up half a mountain and break Damien’s leg in three places. And, of course, there was the tiny matter of having used Avalon Magic to blow the mountain up, which had affected the breaks in Damien’s leg and that meant the leg had to heal naturally.

That wasn’t any reason to place him under house arrest and make him man the refreshment table on this celebration party for Cousin Honor, was it?

It wasn’t like he meant the blow up a mountain and break his brother’s leg.

Dare continued to scowl at Damien. His little brother was sprawled on a chaise lounge, that Mother had made him haul out of the library and into the garden, and surrounded by the pretty ladies from Honor’s graduating class. A glance to his left showed him his fathers, Voski and Darius, eyeing him. Meekly, Dare returned to ladling punch into glasses. The Dads were not pleased with him for breaking Damien’s leg.

Across the garden, talking with several other ladies, was his mother with little Mic strapped to her chest. The baby was a new addition and, even though no one had turned up the little Black Brood’s parents, Dare doubted that Genesis was going to let this one be fostered out. Annie and Leo had been left at the dragon compound; Mic had been dumped, just hours old, outside of Mother’s clinic a few days ago. His mother had raged at finding the infant on the clinic’s doorstep, ordered Alice to clean him up and gone on the warpath. Honestly though, Dare had no sympathy for the parents of Mic if Genesis ever caught them.

Distracted by the thoughts of people who abandoned their children, Dare jumped, tossing the contents of one punch glass over his shoulder when a hoard of giggling girls started squealing and jumping at each other. Honor and her friends, he thought as he patted his chest. Despite a rocky start, Honor had grown up as the princess of her family. She may have been the same age as him but she’d only just graduated college with her bachelor’s degree. Unlike him, she’d taken a couple years off between high school and university.

Papa Darius was throwing this party as a celebration of her accomplishment. Not that he got to enjoy anything since he’d been put in charge of serving beverages and making sure no one spiked the kid’s punch bowl. He looked around again, bored out of his mind, and saw his niece, Saiyuri, and the guest of honor’s very proud Momma, Tranquility, hauling someone into the party. Good, someone else who didn’t want to be here as much as him.

***
Josif had already given his neice’s daughter a special graduation present; Tranquility and Solaris had rolled their eyes at the Lamborghini and now he was free to mingle with the guests. Made up of mostly Kokinos Clan members and the parents of Honor’s fellow graduates, he was able to catch up with his family members. He was comfortable, leaning against Helios and chatting with young Wrath, when his godly lover nudged his side. He gave the God a questioning look.

“The woman Tranquility is manhandling; she bears the mark of your clan but I’ve never seen her before and she's not Known to me.” Helios had this belief that all of the Kokinos clan belonged to him.

Both Josif and Wrath turned to watch as Tranquility and Saiyuri actually picked a woman up and hauled her into the garden. While Wrath blinked owlishly at the woman, Josif tilted his head. “Doesn’t look like she wants to be here, does it.”

He swallowed a yelp when Wrath shoved his wine glass at him and made his excuses before scampering off. He watched as the man hustled over to Mercy, made wild gesturing motions at the young woman, who was now being sat on by Tranquility, before hauling his sister over to Faith.

***
Faith wasn’t as successful at swallowing her yelp when Wrath and Mercy plowed into her and carried her into the shadows. “What the hell is wrong with you two?”

“Helios says the woman that Tranquility is tying to that chair bears the mark of the Kokinos clan.”

Faith looked around the garden; she was pretty damned sure that every Kokinos was present at the moment. “So? Half the people here bear the Kokinos mark.”

“But she looks like Mom and you!”

“She does?” curious, peered around her brother to look at the woman. Her mind made the leap to what Wrath was getting at. “I mean, is it really surprising that we could have more siblings? Mom was pretty much a slut; she had the three of us and we don’t have the same father. Is it really that surprising that she could have had more children after falling from grace? It’s not like the fall would have affected her reproductive organs; it just broke her wings and allowed her the freedom to run amuck without fearing the consequences. Frankly, it’s surprising that more siblings haven’t somehow shown up.”

With her siblings stunned into silence, Faith slipped past them. She greeted Saiyuri, hugged Tranquility and turned to look at the struggling, tied up woman. “Why is she tied up? Nevermind, not important. Who is she and why does Uncle Josif say she has the Kokinos mark? Wrath says she looks like me and my much disowned mother.”

Faith tilted her head and looked at the three women blinking at her. “Well?”

[Maira]

Today was Honor's graduation party and Tranquility and Saiyuri had taken it upon themselves to drag one of the other women also in service to Nemesis to the party. She worked too hard, had no known family, and needed to lighten up. Saiyuri had been called to Nemesis when Rumor was only a couple years old and had grown quite fond of her over the years. When she later became Rumor's mentor while the younger woman learned her duties as a Vengeance Custos, their relationship developed into a strong friendship. Rumor hadn't known Tranquility nearly as long as she'd known Saiyuri, and technically the woman was even older than she or Saiyuri, but Tranquility had a much more youthful personality than Saiyuri which suited Rumor quite well. The two women quickly clicked, and could frequently be found in each other's company.

Now, for the first time in all the years that Saiyuri had been trying to drag Rumor along to an event, Rumor didn't actually have something else to do. Nemesis had personally made sure of it, and had encouraged Tranquility and Saiyuri to take Rumor along. She wanted her adopted daughter to expand her social circles beyond fellow dedicants and she had heard that Helios would be in attendance, along with others of the family clan that she knew Rumor belonged to thanks to a long-ago covered family crest.

Quite against her wishes, Rumor found herself being bodily hauled into the garden from the main house by Saiyuri and Tranquility and eventually sat on and tied to a chair. "This really isn't necessary, guys," she muttered sulkily as Saiyuri tightened the knots.

With a giggle, Tranquility answered Rumor, "Actually it is! Honor wants you here so you're gonna be here."

Dusting off her hands as she stood up from tying the last knot, Saiyuri added, "If you had just walked out here on your own instead of trying to drop off a present and run, we wouldn't have to restrain you. Nemesis told us you needed to be here, Honor wants you here, and you work too damn hard. If we have to force you to have fun then so be it." The smile that Saiyuri shot Rumor was very feline, but it was Rumor that did the hissing.

Leave it to her adopted mother to sick her two favorite cronies on her to make her be social. Hadn't Nemesis figured out that Rumor liked her solitude yet? She wasn't a kid anymore and shouldn't be able to be forced into these situations, but the goddess apparently didn't give a damn about what was proper parental interference.

Shortly after Saiyuri finished tying her to the chair, with Tranquility still on her lap, another woman came to greet her captors. This one was younger than Saiyuri by the looks of things, but older than herself. Beyond that, she had no idea who the woman was. When the unknown woman started talking, she was firing questions at Saiyuri and Tranquility so quickly that Rumor nearly got lost.

Once Faith stopped her barrage of questions, Saiyuri turned to look at Rumor. It took only an instant to see the resemblance now that it had been pointed out to her and she couldn't help but laugh before answering, "I've known Rumor since she was a toddler and so I've watched her grow. The familiar feeling I always got while looking at her I just assumed was because of that." Shaking her head, she bent to untie poor Rumor. As she did so, she told Tranquility, "Well, I think we know the real reason why Nemesis wanted her here."

Tranquility was struck silent as she stared between Faith and Rumor. Faith was her younger cousin on her mother's side. And if Rumor was Faith's sister, that meant she too was a cousin. "Why the hell didn't Nemesis tell me?!" she finally demanded of nobody in particular.

Saiyuri laughed again and answered, "Probably because she knew you'd spaz, just like this."

Almost as if to prove Saiyuri's point, Tranquility finally hopped off Rumor's lap and demanded to see her mark. When Rumor just stared at her blankly, Tranquility gawked at her momentarily, then turned to Faith and ordered the younger girl, "Show her."

When Faith obliged her spazzy older cousin and showed Rumor the inside of her ankle, Rumor just shrugged and finally answered, "I have no such mark on me. I have a tattoo that I've had since Nemesis took me in and claimed me as hers, you've seen it dozens of time though Tranquility, and you too Saiyuri. Its the one right between where my wings are. To prove her point, Rumor stood and turned so Faith, Saiyuri and Tranquility could all see the area of skin exposed by her halter dress. Looking over her shoulder at them, she said simply, "See, same old tattoo."

Only, what Rumor and the other women couldn't see was that inside the hand-sized tattoo was a smaller palm-sized symbol, one that was glowing slightly in response the the proximity to Faith and other members of the family bearing the same mark. The glow was something that would only been seen by other deities and their main voice on Earth.

[Demeter]

Dare kept an eye on the ongoing drama between Faith, Saiyuri, Tranquility and the unknown woman. Saiyuri may have been family and the other two were connected by the thin threads of marriage and clan bonds but he’d taken an oath of Chivalry and he would honor the oath even against family and friends. However, the woman, who Faith was waving her ankle at, only seemed mildly confused then distressed so he’d leave it alone for now.

Saving the woman from distress would have been more entertaining than waving sticky fingered college kids away from the punch bowl.

***

Faith stared at the tattoo and then poked it. “But Helios said you are part Kokinos. Are you really gonna say that a God lied?”

She didn’t wait for a response and scampered across the garden, grabbed both Helios and Uncle Josif and then hauled them back. It didn’t register to her that she’d just manhandled an ancient God. “Go on, tell her what you told Wrath. She’s a Kokinos.”

Helios looked at Josif’s niece, one of the few of the clan that served a master that wasn’t him, and rolled his eyes. “I would never mistake one of my own clan. She belongs to Kokinos,” Helios said and reached over. He tapped the tattoo and watched as the ink rolled back to show the mark of his loyal clan. “And there’s the proof. Anyone have a couple of mirrors so that this young woman can see it?”

[Maira]

Rumor had about had enough, and was getting ready to just walk away from Saiyuri, Tranquility and this other woman. Then the other woman poked at her tattoo and then accused her of saying a god lied. "No but-" she started to object to the woman's accusation, only she had already ran off. Throwing her hands up in the air, Rumor turned to leave but Saiyuri grabbed her gently and told her, "Wait and see what Helios has to say. Aren't you curious to know what's going on?"

Sighing in frustration, Rumor waited like Saiyuri told her to. It seemed old habits of listening to one's mentor died hard. She half glared at the older woman, but wiped it off her face at the approach of the other woman and two men that was dragging behind her. Even if she didn't know him personally, Rumor was well acquainted enough with the Greek pantheon to recognize one of it's members. She would have bowed if the situation had been more formal and not just a glorified family picnic where she was basically turning into a sideshow attraction.

When Helios reached over and tapped where she knew her tattoo was, she felt warmth diffuse into her skin from the point where he touched her. When the warmth reached the outer edges of her tattoo it hesitated for a moment before constricting back toward where he had touched her. Only it didn't quite make it. She could feel the warmth settle into an unfamiliar pattern and a cold feeling of panic settled on her. If she had wanted to know who her family was, she would have asked Nemesis years ago. She was certain the goddess knew who they were but she herself had never cared to know. They had abandoned her, what purpose would it serve to know them?

The gasps from Saiyuri, Tranquility and the other people now staring at her back didn't help Rumor's feeling of panic and dread. Quickly, she turned back to face the people looking at her. "I don't know who you all think I am, but I'm not. I was raised by Nemesis, and she is the only family I need." Turning to Saiyuri and Tranquility, trying to hide the panic and pain in her eyes, she croaked out hoarsely, "Thanks for the invite, I'm going home now." Then she bolted from the garden.

[Demeter]

Dare watched as the woman ran out of the garden and that was his signal to go. He’d heard her last words before fleeing; he considered her state of mind was distracted. A nod from his fathers told him that they knew what he was up to. The woman was quick but Dare had the advantage of having grown up in these gardens and he managed to catch up just as she reached the rocky cliff. He shouted to catch her attention and leapt forward to grab her and yank her back before she could fall onto the rocks.

Together they fell back on the lawn. “Hell, Lady, hasn’t anyone ever told you to watch where you’re going? Gods above, you are bleeding,” he said while checking her over, “you must have clipped a rock or two.”

He dabbed at the cuts with the handkerchief he kept on hand. “What the hell were you thinking, running off like that?”

***

Faith blinked as the woman ran off. “Hell. Uncle Josif, could she be your sibling?”

The man shook his head. “She looks nothing like my parents, older brother or sister-in-law. She looks like you, Faith, and your grandmother. She’s has to be Rage’s child.”

Faith propped her hands on her hips. “So, how do we tell someone that her slut of a mother abandoned her after being disowned and falling from grace. That you guys didn’t even know about Wrath, Mercy and myself and we were born before all of that drama. How the hell are we supposed to know about children born after an Alati falls,” she whipped around and prodded Helios. “Why can’t you guys freeze reproductive organs after you break wings to keep the bad ones from reproducing?”

Helios took a step back. “It’s something to consider. I’ll bring it up next time all us Gods decide to hang out and chat.”

Faith grumbled and went off in the direction Rumor had run, dragging Saiyuri and Tranquility with her. “No, really, how do we tell her that the Kokinos clan didn’t just abandon her? That we, or rather Josif, wouldn’t have known about her because our mother didn’t exactly send out announcements to her former family.”

[Maira]

Rumor thought she knew where she was going, but about the time burst out of the hedges she realized she actually had no clue where she was and that there was a cliff directly in front of her. She tried to stop but her momentum was too great and she would have fallen if she hadn't been yanked backwards just before she ran out of ground.

She fell in a heap with whoever it was that had grabbed her, and when she was finally able to separate herself enough to see who it was she eyed him curiously. She recognized Dare, he was technically one of Saiyuri's uncles even though he was younger than her. When he started talking to her, Rumor just stared at him in silence and let him pat at her injuries with a handkerchief. What sort of man, especially a young one, actually carried around a handkerchief?

After the shock wore off, Dare's questions finally came through the fog and she answered him, "I wasn't thinking. That's the point. I just knew I needed to get away from everybody because they all think I'm somebody that I'm not. Or at least I wasn't raised to be who they think I am. Just because my blood tells otherwise doesn't mean a damn thing." She was embarrassed to realize that there were tears threatening to fall. She tried blinking them away and had almost succeeded when Saiyuri and Faith both popped out of the hedges clearly looking for her. She wasn't surprised that Tranquility wasn't with them, it was her daughter's party after all so she needed to stay and be a good hostess and mom.

The tears quickly turned into a glare when Saiyuri opened her mouth to say something and Rumor grumped at her, "I don't wanna hear it, okay? I like being Nemesis' daughter. She's all the family I've ever needed and she's all the family I want." Before Faith could say anything, Rumor looked at the other woman and shook her head 'no'. Then she turned to look at Dare and thanked him for his help, before she got up and walked back into the hedges. At least if she got lost again, she wouldn't risk falling off a cliff if she were only walking.

*****

Saiyuri listened to Rumor, and then watched as she disappeared again. Once she was sure the younger woman was out of hearing range, she looked at Dare and asked, "What happened? Why was she bleeding and why were you two tangled together like that? Did she try to hurt you because you followed her?" Saiyuri knew that Dare wouldn't have instigated any aggression toward Rumor as it was against the code he chose to follow. So the blood that had been on Rumor was a bit worrisome.

[Demeter]

Solaris tapped her nails against the tile mosaic table in front of her. The table, a pretty piece of artwork, belonged to the small bistro where she'd arranged to meet up with Rumor. She expected the young woman to be along shortly; Helios had told her that Nemesis had told her foster-daughter to attend this meeting or else she's have to endure some sort of punishment.

At first, Solaris had wondered why she'd been picked for this assignment but now she understood. Josif, as head of the clan, was busy running the clan. Spiro, the head of what they assumed was Rumor's particular bloodline, was actually busy hunting for Rage to ask if she had any children other then three they knew about. Wrath hadn't handled his last surprise sibling well, Mercy was to busy helping Spiro and Faith...

Faith was a whirlwind personality that exhausted even the initiated. Solaris assumed that was because the young woman had spent her late teens with the dynamic Deluge and Delorme clans.

But there was even more; Solaris hadn't been a Kokinos for a long period of time. Her expulsion from the clan by her father's hand had been so complete that Helios had only recently managed to undue it. True, half of the delay had been that she'd been in hiding and another quarter of that had been her absolute uninterest in rejoining the clan.

Helios had instructed her to tell this young woman the whole truth about her birth clan. Helios would not pressure the woman to join the clan but he believed she needed to know the truth of her blood. All of the nasty bits included.

When Rumor finally showed and flopped, rather inelegantly, into the opposite seat, Solaris started speaking before the young woman had a chance to. "By now I imagine you've done your research. I get it; who would want to be part of the Kokinos clan. We are a really fucked up clan and have an exceedingly shameful history. We won't pressure you to join and I've been authorized to give you the dirty past of this clan so that you have the whole picture."

Judging by the rapid blinking of her guest, Solaris assumed she'd shocked the woman. "I'm Solaris Magda, sister to Josif. No doubt you know that there is an alliance between the two clans but its fairly recent. Let me start by giving you the non-sugarcoated version of Kokinos history.

"My father, Angelos, likes pretty rocks. My mother's name is Diamanto and I'm sure you can figure out the attraction. She also behaves like her namesake. A thousand or so years ago, Father decided it would be a good idea to bankrupt the clan to purchase the illegality obtained regalia of the Magda clan. Don't know why; I've seen and worn the ruby encrust thing. It's hideous and heavy.

"The Magda clan was understandably not happy about this and decided to raid the Kokinos compound to get it back. One of the men thought it was a good idea to kidnap The Jewel of Helios; also known as me. Thanos, the leader of the Magda clan wasn't pleased by this. For two years, he kept trying to ransom me back to my family. Actually, by the end of those two years, he was just asking why the hell would they not want me back.

"Eventually, he just sent me back. Actually, he sent me and a little something extra back. He got me pregnant; it was consensual but for a man of my father's morals, he was remarkably prudish about me being illegitimately knocked up by a man not of his choosing. He kicked me out so throughly that its taken a god this long to undue what he's done. Me and my children were only recently recognized as members of the clan.

"What happened between me being disowned and what happened next isn't important because it's more Magda history then Kokinos. The only important bits of Kokinos history are that my sister went missing and Helios claimed Josif as his mate. Those two can be disgustingly cute. Now, this happened not long after Josif was claimed and I heard it second hand from Spiro. That would be the one we think is your grandfather.

"My father, Angelos, and my brother, Evangelos, turned out to be the one's behind my sister's vanishing. My sister-in-law, the self-righteous bitch that I would give anything to maim, not only had a habit of sleeping with anything but being unable to carry a child to term. Any other woman, I would feel sympathy for but not her. Truthfully, I'm glad that nothing can grow in that woman and I would remove any child from her presence.

"Anyways, my father and brother devised a plan to keep Kokinos blood pure. They kidnapped my sister, their own blood, charmed her to keep her hidden from Helios and all others, and my father proceeded to let my brother rape her until she was with child. That is where my nephew Tase came from. This occurred not long after me being disowned.

"Fast forward to about five hundred years, to when I was happily wedded, bedded and pregnant with my second child, who was fathered by the mate of my husband. More Magda history that. We of the Magda Clan were having a good night, a celebration of a recent victory and the promotion of several warriors in the ranks, when my bloodied brother comes barging in, hauling my sobbing sister. He asked me to care for her as he had to return to the main house to stand as witness to Josif taking over leadership of the clan while Helios tore the wings from a while quarter of the clan. Nomika, my sister, was nonsensical and it took a few days before I knew what was going on. I was understandably confused.

"Josif came to tell me himself. The charms that kept Nomika hidden from hidden had worn away during an assault on her body. The moment they were gone, Helios heard her screams and went to her side and found my father, 'Mika's father, raping her. Josif had never before seen the God so enraged. Father had no trial; Helios wretched his wings off with no hesitation before combing through the rest of the clan. He discovered the truth about Tase and my brother had his wings removed. My sister in law and mother both knew and had encouraged my brother and father's rapes of my sister and the fact that they used her, sold her body to other men to use as they pleased. They also had their wings removed. Any who were aware of my sister's torture fell that night, even those not bound to Helios. Turns out that Helios wasn't quite quick enough, my Niece Korina is also my sister. If there are any other children, Nomika won't tell is and Helios has to much respect and kindness to search her mind.

"Josif believes, and I agree, that bad blood cannot be removed; that once evilness infects members of a bloodline, it lingers and waits until someone weak enough comes along who cannot resist. The events that happened next happened while I was in extreme isolation due to Magda Clan Drama. My youngest brother, Spiro, took a mate and they had a daughter, Verity. She grew up and took a mate and had three children. Juste, Truth, and Lux. When Lux grew up, she legally changed her name to Rage.

"I've never met this niece of mine but Josif says he'd look at her and see our father and brother. She sought out trouble. She ran away from home when she was fifteen, literally going through the trouble of notifying her parents that she'd changed her name once she turned eighteen. From what Wrath has told us, he was born when she was sixteen, Mercy not long after that and then finally Faith. Wrath left when he could, as did Mercy. Little Faith was left alone with a woman who drank, did drugs like there was a going out of business sale, stole, and beat on her children. Wrath and Mercy have since made amends that they both left a child alone with this woman.

"Faith is the one that waved her ankle at you the other day. She has no memories of her childhood, and no one will force her to relive them but what happened is recorded in the Reaper Files. She murdered a man in front of Faith. Cohorts of the dead man and of Rage all agree that Rage had agreed to sell her daughter to the man but at the time of transaction, there must of have been an altercation. While everyone was gentle with the child, they ripped the memories from Rage. She took the money, killed the man and was going to continue using such a scam to get money to fuel her habit. Rage was godless but her wings were ripped away.

"Everyone assumed that was the end of that until you came along. You bear a striking resemblance to Faith who looks very much like Rage would have before the drugs took their toll. That is why Spiro is not only trying to find his granddaughter but our parents and brother as well. This is why my firstborn, who is the best of all of us at coaxing sexual assault victims into speaking, is gently trying to get information out of my sister as to if there are any other children."

"You pretty much said you didn't want to be part of a clan that didn't want you. The mark on your back says you are part Kokinos. The truth isn't that you weren't wanted but that we didn't know about you. We won't force you to join our clan; we've come a long way since the dark ages and understand that family isn't always about blood relations but about what you make if it. Instead, we're encouraging you to be aware of us. After all, you never know when you'll need a kidney or bail money."

Solaris looked at the woman sitting quietly on the opposite side of the table. She looked a little stunned but Solaris supposed that anyone would look stunned after having all that dumped on them. "The choice is yours, Rumor, and now you have the information to help you make that choice. If we find Rage or any of the others we suspect could been your birth parents, we'll contact you. If that happens, it will be your choice if you want to know what we learn."

***

Dare sat across the Bistro from Lady Solaris and watched as the Lady talked with Rumor. As he was currently free, he'd offered to be the Lady's escort for the day. If anyone knew about the difference between blood relations and family, it was him.

His parents, the people who'd helped turn him into the man he was today, were Geneis, Voski and Darius. The people who'd birthed him were two different hided Brooded who hadn't thought about the repercussions of their mating. They'd gotten lucky with his birth siblings and assumed that their luck would hold.

He had very specific ideas about the sort of Brood who created those with black hides like his. He knew that there was cases like Papa Voski where the copulation wasn't willing but those who broke the rules bothered him.

Dare personally believed in the idea of being allowed to love as one saw fit, irregardless of race, gender, species or hide color. But the majority of the Brood still clung to their entirely hide blind rules and he believed it to be irresponsible to purposefully engage in non-maliciois, consensual acts that could result in a child that would be shunned and reviled because of his or her hide color.

If there wasn't still a warrant out on his hide by the member's of Papa Voski's former holding, he be one of the most vocal protestors. That being said, he had no interest in meeting his egg-and-sperm donors but there was an interest in meeting the siblings who'd done their best to preserve his life.

Dare kept his thoughts to himself and, when Solaris signaled him, crossed to the Lady's table. He bowed his head, well aware that a full bow would look out of place here, when Solaris formally introduced him and enquired after Rumor's health after her near flight off the cliff.

Solaris giggled as Rumor gaped. "I suppose I should be more precise with my introduction. After all, Dare worked hard to achieve his title. Rumor, this is Sir Darek deLorme, Knight of Avalon. He follows the code of Chivalry and is, in general, a true gentleman."

"Lady Solaris, please, I am always a gentleman."

"I very much doubt that you were behaving like a gentleman when you blew up that Mountain in Canada and got your brother's leg broken."

"I'll admit to the mountain but my brother wouldn't have a broken leg if he'd moved a little faster. Now, how can I serve you?"

"Satoshi is about to walk through that door and join me in planning a surprise for Thanos. You can serve me by escorting Rumor home."

"Of course, My Lady," Dare said before maneuvering Rumor, who still seemed a little out of it, out the door. "Now, you look like you could use a drink," he said to her as he steered her down the sidewalk. "Want one? I know a place."

[Maira]

She had sat in stunned silence for all of Solaris's tale about the Kokinos family. It honestly sounded like some twisted made up bad movie plot. But considering her line of work, she had a knack for being able to tell if people were speaking the truth or lies, and what Solaris told her was all truth. At least as Solaris knew it. And that meant more to her than Rumor wanted to let on. Because yes, bail money or a kidney might some day be necessary. Especially the bail money, considering she was raised by Nemesis...

When Solaris signalled to somebody, Rumor looked in that direction and she was a bit surprised to see the guy that had saved her from taking a header off the cliff at the graduation party. She smiled through the introductions and let herself be maneuvered out of the cafe by Dare. She needed time and space to think, and lingering too long with Solaris was not going to give her either. Plus it sounded like the other woman had plans.

They had barely left the cafe when he turned to her, asking if she needed a drink. She scoffed and answered, "I've always been told I'm easy to read when I'm not working. Lead the way Sir Knight." Rumor then let Dare lead her to whatever dive bar he probably frequented when in town. She just hoped that whichever one it was had good food, because she hadn't eaten since the day prior before she left on a job and if she didn't put something in her stomach before the alcohol, he was gonna have to do more than escort her home. Nemesis had always been amused by Rumor's total inability to hold her liquor beyond 2-3 drinks.

[Demeter]

Rumor stood on the dock overlooking the lake, tapping her foot against the wooden planks and well away from the others gathered there. Nemesis had ordered her to Avalon, to take part in some training with the Knights. The Knights of Avalon were renowned for their warrior skills as well as their oaths. She glanced up at the hilt of the sword looming over her shoulder. Nemesis had thrust it at her just before she’d been plonked down on the property. Someone had stepped out of the house, told her that someone from the Isle would be over shortly and she should just hang out on the dock for them.

When the murmurs picked up, she looked out and noticed a boat sliding through the mists. The only passenger, a man, stood at the center, legs braced and arms crossed. He was an imposing figure, dressed in black with a sword hanging from his hips.

***************

Dare stood on the flat bottomed boat, legs braced against the rocking motion as the boat propelled itself across the lake. The island was no longer hidden but not just anyone could gain access. They had to be escorted by a priestess or any of the knights who resided there. As they’d put out an open call for anyone who wanted to partake in a boot-camp style knight training session; they’d had plenty of guests and everyone was on retrieval rotation. It was his turn to fetch the latest arrivals.

He took the time to survey the crowd on the dock; most were gangly young men with a few women mixed in. He grinned, spotting a familiar face standing towards the back of the group. It had been a few months since he’d saved her from flying off a cliff and taken her for a drink. He wondered what she was doing here. As the boat slid itself to a stop, his sharp eyes picked out that the sword that Rumor carried. Unlike the others, this blade was old and already well-used.

He set that fact aside and addressed the crowd. “Welcome to Avalon. Get on the boat, fill it from the front to the back, sit down and don’t move. If you can’t follow those simple instructions, get your ass off my dock and back to your Mommy’s basement. Ladies, we knights are known for our Chivalry but you’re here for training and there are some who would chew our asses for treating you like women so don’t expect that. Unless something special happens, you’re not ladies from the moment you step a toe on this boat.”

He stood towards the back, watching as each person quickly climbed down and sat quietly. When Rumor finally sat down, he gave her a quick grin but didn’t speak. He wasn’t about to be accused of favoritism to a new recruit before the training camp even began.

*******************

In the main dining hall of the recruit’s dorms, Galahad lounged at the high table. Kyros was currently out at Camelot, overseeing something or other, and had left him in charge while the trainees arrived. Kyros, The High King, would return in time for the training to start and would suitability terrify them. His job was just to keep them in line until then. At least most of them were too awed about being on the famous Isle of Avalon to cause too much trouble. This was the first opening training call they’d issued since Kyros had returned to Isle; the few other new knights had been trained by invitation only.

He may have spent the dinner hour in peace and being mildly amused by the awed new arrivals. Avalon had been his home for so long that he’d long since stopped being impressed. All of that might have happened but it didn’t. In between his empty soup bowl being removed and his main dish being delivered, he felt it like a gong between banged on. The feeling vibrated through his bones and that could only mean one thing. His head came up like a hound scenting prey and he looked around the hall. Nothing there was different but everything had changed in a second.

His sword had just been returned to the island. Claimomh Solais was back to him and he would find who dared to
touch the blade.

He jumped from the high table and dashed out of the dining hall. Running down the paths, he called out to
Nuada, asking for the location. He redirected his path when he was told to go to the docks.

***********

Dare handed each trainee off to a priestess, watching as their information was taken and then sent off into different holding areas. He glanced up when Galahad crashed into the group and starting pushing people aside while calling out for Claimomh Solais. Dare’s training had been complete; he knew the names of the swords for the high knights of Avalon. One of the trainees had the Sword of Victory.

Rumor’s blade was far older than the others. He looked to her, looked at the blade over her back and could only groan as the blade glowed white. Something special had happened. He whistled, grabbing Galahad’s attention and pointed towards Rumor. “Stop thrashing the new ones, Sir Galahad, as your blade is with that one.”

Galahad swirled around and spotted the familiar hilt. Grinning, he loped over to the young woman, hugged her and then pulled his blade from the sheath over her back. While he cradled the blade, Dare sidled over to her. “So, you handle that blade with your bare hands?”

When she nodded, a little dazed, he whistled. “Well, Rumor, you just became a lady and I expect the rest of the gathered Ladies will be taking over your training from this point on. Judging by the way Galahad is cooing over it, that blade is Claimomh Solais, the Sword of Nuada, and I’m going to assume you know what handling that blade with your bare hands means.”

[Maira]

She had tried to get away. She hadn't told any of the Delorme clan, nor the Kokinos clan. She should have been able to slip away from Cedar Valley unnoticed. Unfortunately, upon returning to Olympus to gather a few more things she was summoned to Nemesis's private quarters. Apparently her foster mother wanted to speak with her. As she hadn't spoken to the goddess since the whole discovering she was part of the Kokinos clan debacle, Nemesis had likely had her quarters spelled to signal her return. She hurried to finish packing her bags, then went to see her mother.

Nemesis had greeted her warmly, easing out of her chair by her fireplace, Nemesis embraced her and placed her customary kiss on Rumor's forehead. Rumor couldn't help but smile at the goddess and apologize for being distant the past month or so. Nemesis brushed it off, "No matter, Rumor. Despite my role in life, I am actually rather bad at holding grudges. And considering I feel you are totally justified in your feelings, there was no chance I wasn't expecting there to be some silence between us for a while." When Rumor just gawked, a musical laugh bubbled from Nemesis.

It took Rumor only a moment to get her surprise under control before asking why she had been summoned if not to be scolded. Nemesis stopped laughing, and her smile sobered. She was proud of her foster daughter's ability to hone in on the real reason for being summoned to her, she had always been able to do so and Nemesis had wondered if that was part of why Rumor had wound up with her as an infant. There was also part of her, especially now, that wondered if the trait was something that would serve her in her future. Nodding at her daughter, business-like now, Nemesis turned to her window seat and gathered up a bundle wrapped in silk. She motioned for Rumor to join her with a small jerk of her head and when the girl was with her, she deposited the bundle in her hands. When Rumor looked at her confused, Nemesis cleared her throat and told her, "This found its way to me recently, and shortly after I was informed of open training on Avalon by the current Knights. I want you to attend and I thought this would be a suitable weapon as it is similar to the traditional ones that the Knights carry."

Rumor eyed her mother curiously, trying to read the truth in her voice and search for any fallacies in her body language. Finding none, Rumor nodded her understanding at her mother's wishes. Right now, as she was trying to get some time away from Cedar Valley anyway, she was happy to go anywhere that her Goddess would send her. She tugged on the silken cord and let the silk scarves fall away from the sword and scabbard, setting both on the window seat, before holding the scabbard and its contents up to the light to get a better look. Nemesis was correct, it certainly looked traditional if not downright old. But, as worn as it was, it still bore a strong sense of dignity and that made Rumor smile. Some people favored brand knew perfect weapons, but Rumor had always had a fondness for the older ones. Seeing the marks upon them and wondering where they had been and who had handled them had always been a favorite pastime for her.

With a smile, Rumor pulled the blade from the scabbard and her smile only grew. "This is breath-taking..." she whispered under her breath before handing the scabbard to Nemesis and guiding her body through a few forms with the blade. It practically sang to her as it sliced through the air and Rumor felt a lightness in her heart that hadn't been there for as long as she could remember. Even as a child she had been incredibly serious and sheer unbridled joy had been hard for her to come by. Before she could get carried away and lose herself in practice, she stood and kissed the blade's hilt before pacing across the room back to Nemesis to gather up the scabbard from her.

"Thank you," Rumor said softly, not looking at Nemesis as she settled the scabbard's belt over her right shoulder and across her chest. She wiped the moisture from her eyes quickly, then turned back to Nemesis and embraced her tightly, "For once, something in my life feels right. Thank you so much."

Nemesis nodded, smiling broadly at her daughter, but didn't say anything besides, "I wish you well on your travels and your training." At Rumor's bright smile, Nemesis heard a cackle in her mind and couldn't help smirking ever so slightly once Rumor had gathered up her bags and was walking away. As the door shut behind Rumor, Nemesis whispered softly, "You're rotten Eris, but thank you for helping her even though she won't be grateful at first." Another soft cackle sounded in her mind as Nemesis walked back to her chair by the fire and she picked up the book she had been reading when Rumor and arrived.

*****

As she had taken a gateway to the property at the entrance to Avalon, her travels had been quick and her bright mood was still swirling within her. At least, until she was directed to the dock and she was greeted by the sight of so many other warriors. Maybe were obviously still rank trainees, probably children of Alati elite. A grumpy sigh escaped her unbidden and her normal serious demeanor returned as she joined the people on the dock awaiting their boat.

*****

The boat ride hadn't been long, and while she was slightly surprised to see Dare aboard, she wasn't offended when he didn't speak to her. She understood perfectly well why he would keep his silence. Perceived thoughts of favoritism among trainees often led to tension and scuffles and that was the last thing she wanted.

As she was at the back of the boat, she waited as Dare gave instructions to the new trainees as the boat docked. They all waited for him to disembark before following him off from front to back where Rumor was. As the others left the flat bottomed boat, Rumor was very glad that she wasn't one to get sea-sick as it rocked quite a lot. When it was finally her turn, Rumor climbed the few rungs of the ladder and took the hand of the knight at the top to hoist her the rest of the way up.

She had barely cleared the ladder when suddenly a man much taller than her was barrelling through the other new trainees straight toward her. She didn't dare take her eyes off him, just in case this was a test already, but instead of him drawing a weapon or swinging a punch at her, the man hugged her tightly before taking the sword Nemesis had given her from the its scabbard and cradled it like a baby.

For the second time that day she was left gawking. Only Dare's voice asking her softly from beside her about if she handled the blade with her bare hands got her to turn away from the odd sight of a full grown Alati man cooing at a sword. She turned to look at Dare and nodded affirmatively, only for him to whistle and declare she had just become a Lady. He kept speaking about the man, the Knight Galahad apparently, and about the sword.

The more Dare spoke, the more Rumor glared at him. He needed to shut up. If he didn't shut up, she was going to shut him up herself. When he wouldn't stop, she growled out at him, "I'm no fucking Lady Dare, I came here to train like everybody else. That sword was given to me as a gift to train with, nothing more. I will have no part of a blasted Triad until I have accomplished what I've come here to do."

Dare was now gawking at her, and if she'd still been in the wonderful mood the sword had stirred in her just a short while earlier she might have laughed. Instead, she told him a bit more calmly, "I can't very well train in a dress, and I did -not- come here to learn to wield a blasted needle and thread."

Still hearing Galahad cooing to the sword, Rumor turned her gaze from Dare and glared at the knight mildly before demanding, "Can I please have that back now, Sir Knight, it was gifted to me to train with and I would like to do so."

[Demeter]

Dare had to chuckle as Galahad hissed, just a little, and inched away from Rumor. "You'll have to forgive Sir Galahad. He's been separated from the sword of Victory, which is the twin of Excalibur, for far too long. Give him just a little longer with blade. After all, its yours as much as his.

"As for the skirts, needles and threads, pretty sure the rest of the ladies of the round table would thrash you for that comment. The title of Lady is respectful and traces back to a time when, traditionally, women weren't warriors. All if the Round Table Ladies are warrior queens and as fierce as the men."

Dare steered Rumor away from the docks, whistling for another of the knights to haul Galahad along. "If you can hold that sword and use it, then you are one of those warrior queens."

Dare knew all about God Triads; parents were one. Luca, his brother's husband's son, was part of one. Both his older brothers. And his nephew. In other words, he had an extensive education in God Swords. And the Knights had looked at him, knowing that he was Brood and that his father, another Brood, was part of a Triad. But he'd been rejected by the known swords of Avalon.

"You'll have a different sort if training now that this is known. You'll kick major ass, learn how to be the main lady of Galahad's lands, which means you'll be the one in charge. Decide if you want to bang Galahad; he's normally not this...stupid," Dare turned to look at the man being dragged down the path.

"I know a lot in your life has been decided for you lately. Family you're not sure you want. Now this but really, those who have grace under pressure make for the best leaders. And you kinda can't turn this one down. You held the sword. You're probably Vanora reincarnated."

[Maira]

When Galahad hissed at her, Rumor's glare intensified. If the knight hadn't backed away from her, she might have tried to reach out for her blade. She bared her teeth at him in a silent hiss of her own before her attention was stolen by Dare gabbing away at her again. The few times she had met him prior to this he had seemed pleasant enough, if a bit proper for her tastes, but at the moment she wanted to strangle him or stuff a dirty sock in his mouth as a gag. Anything to shut him up. This was supposed to be her escape from the insanity that her life had become, but it had only become worse. She couldn't help but wonder if Nemesis knew what her future held when she'd given her the blade, but decided to ponder it later. Right now she had to focus on not smacking Dare...

*****

As soon as the message arrived at Camelot, Kyros whooped and cheered and basically spazzed more than the restoration staff had ever seen him do. He immediately yelled through their mate-bond to Aria and Luca, **Another of the swords has come home to Avalon today! It was with one of the trainees! We need to get home to meet the girl who brought it, apparently Dare knows her.** As he'd been telling his mates what he'd just been told, Kyros had been running to their quarters to gather up Excalibur and change into something more presentable than his dusty work clothes.

*****

After Kyros's mental outburst, Aria had reacted much the same way he had in giving a loud whoop before running toward their quarters as well. She found Kyros, down to his boxers and grinning like a fool. As she passed on her way to her closet she swatted his ass playfully. It didn't take her long to get changed into form fitting, but tasteful supple leather leggings and a corseted silk tunic. Despite her rather diminutive height, Aria favored her think soled leather wrap boots and she grabbed those from the closet before padding out to the bedroom proper, plopping on the edge of the bed to do them up.

She watched Kyros finish dressing in a nice black button down shirt, tie, and slacks and she couldn't help but smile. He always looked so good in more formal attire. About the moment she was admiring Kyros's ass in the slacks, Luca burst into their quarters, also smiling from ear to ear, and she jumped before giggling at his knowing smile when he caught where she'd been staring.

*****

In reasonably short time, the Avalon Triad had returned to their island home dressed, pressed and ready to meet the newest member of their court. The new trainees were all still being settled into the dorms, with the exception of the new Lady. She had been given proper quarters in the castle. And it was in the smallest meeting hall of the castle, the one given over to the smaller version of Camelot's round table, that the current court members awaited the new Lady's arrival.

The six of the seven swords of those present sat on the table, points toward the center, but their bearers and guardians gathered around the edges of the room talking in excited hushed voices. It had been years since Kyros had been found and the Excalibur triad had been found. This was the first new return since then, so it was a very exciting and important moment for all of them. It gave them hope that soon others would start to return and proved the validity of the idea to open the island for training in hopes of luring their missing court members home.

*****

Annoyed that she wasn't being housed with the rest of the trainees, Rumor had fumed slightly when left to get settled in. The rooms somehow managed to seem plush, even with their bare minimum furnishings. She had been told that all of the court member's rooms sat in wait for the day they returned but were left mostly empty so that they could furnish them how they liked. Shortly after being left in her quarters, a silver haired, smiling, and plump woman slipped in her door after two soft knocks. She was armed with a tailor's measuring tape and asked Rumor to stand for her measurements. After getting her upper body's measurements, the woman asked if she'd prefer skirts or trousers and for the first time since arriving Rumor smiled. "Plants please, skirts trip me up." The woman nodded in understanding and finished up her work. Only, as she was leaving, she turned and asked for Rumor's boots that she was currently wearing so she could have a something to compare for proper sizing.

Measured and shoe-less, Rumor paced her rooms. The sitting area by the fireplace looked cozy enough. Her bed was stupidly oversized, but looked luxuriously comfortable. Her dressing room was located between her room and a solarium that had doors leading to the garden and what she assumed was another room for another court member. The garden was small, private, and lovely. It seemed to only have 4 doors opening onto it and as all the windows she could see looked to be furnished with the same plain curtains as her room, she was hopeful that the rooms were unoccupied. The garden, whether she had to share it or not, would be a lovely place to practice her sword forms and other skills.

She was sitting on a stone bench in the garden, her toes being tickled by the grass, when the woman from before returned. "My Lady, I've brought you some clothes that should fit until we are able to have some custom made," the woman told Rumor respectfully.

With a sigh, Rumor left the tranquility of the garden and returned to her rooms. Laid out on the bed were several articles of clothing and at the foot of the bed were various options for footwear. Her old boots she had seen on her way through her dressing room. Once she was beside the bed, looking over the clothes, the woman instructed her, "While all of these are yours to keep, a more formal outfit would be appropriate for tonight. You are to meet the current members of court once the King's Triad returns from Camelot." Rumor's eyes widened slightly, having only heard whispers about Camelot being resurrected. Even for a child being raised on Mount Olympus, the tales of Arthur and Camelot had been some of her favorites as a little girl. She had always been one of the knights when she played out the stories later in her playroom. Now she was a damn Lady. Though, if what Dare said was true and the Ladies were more like warrior queens, she might not mind so much.

*****

After dressing quickly with the help of Niah, the older woman who she learned was to be her personal attendant, Rumor didn't have long to wait before she was summoned to the meeting that Niah had told her about. Despite having spent her life surrounded by gods and Alati elite, Rumor found herself uncharacteristically nervous as she was led through the halls of Avalon's castle. When they neared a set of carved wooden doors, the guard with her told her to wait while he announced her. She couldn't help but gulp with nerves when she heard the rustling and chatter on the other side of the doors. After only a moment, the guard returned and gestured for her to enter. Luckily, her time with the Gods had taught her courtly manners and she wasn't as out of place as she might have otherwise been.

As she was not wearing a skirt, Rumor gave a small bow instead of a curtsy to those gathered around the table directly opposite the double wooden doors she had entered through. Rumor stayed in her bow until a man's voice told her kindly to stand. "Rise, Lady, and meet those who have known you before and who are truly excited to know you once again." Doing as instructed, Rumor straightened and for the first time got a good look at those who were to be her contemporaries from now on. The gathering was smaller than she expected, and seeing only six blades on the round table she understood why. Not all of Arthur's court had returned yet.

She may have been well-trained in courtly manners, but for the first time in her life she had no idea what was expected of her in such a formal gathering. So, quietly, she waited for somebody else to tell her what to do.

*****

Galahad had barely set Victory down since its return to him, but he knew that once the court was gathered he would have to let the girl, Rumor, take it back from him if only for a moment. He didn't remember much of their first meeting as he'd been too absorbed in what the sword had been telling him, but what he did remember he wasn't sure he liked. She had seemed hostile and he wasn't prepared to have to fight for his Triad. Bors had always been full of dry, slightly stinging, humor, and his wife Vanora had been loving of all and tender hearted. How a hostile girl could be either of them reborn he didn't know.

He was still pondering this in the Small Hall, surrounded by what there currently was of the Court, when the guard entered and announced Lady Rumor's arrival. Everybody present hurried to take their places around the table corresponding with their triad's sword. Only Victory was missing from the table. It was slung over Galahad's shoulder as it had been over the girl's, waiting to be placed by the one who had returned it to Avalon.

When she entered and bowed, Galahad waited until Kyros instructed her to stand and then waited again until he was signalled. Stepping forward from Victory's place on the table, Galahad approached the girl and bowed to her in return before addressing her. "My Lady, welcome home. Your return has been long awaited, and for you to bring Victory home as well was a doubly pleasant surprise today." With that, he unsheathed the long blade from its scabbard on his back and knelt on one knee, lowered his gaze to the floor, and presented the blade to Rumor. "As you were the one to return our blade home, I would be honored if you would place her upon the table where she has long been absent."

Rumor watched and listened to Galahad apprehensively. His words and actions were nothing but kind and proper as befitted a true Knight and she found it easy to follow along with what was obviously a ceremony of sorts. When he knelt and presented her with the blade, she couldn't help but smile brightly. Upon touching the blade, bare handed, the sword did sing to her and happiness once again swirled through her. She brought the blade to her chest, kissing the hilt like she had done in Nemesis's quarters, and then held out her left hand to Galahad, who had returned to standing, while holding their sword in her right. "If you will show me where she belongs, I will happily return our sword to her place among the others."

It was Galahad's turn to look at Rumor apprehensively, but he didn't falter at her request. He took her hand gently in his own and led her the longest way around the table so that each knight or guardian could touch her shoulder as they walked past. When they reached the proper place, he was pleasantly surprised to see her stop on her own, likely at the instruction of the sword. She looked to him for confirmation and after he nodded once, she added Claimomh Solais to the table with the other god tools.

After that, Galahad and Rumor shared a look as they each tried to figure out what to do next. In their staring at each other, they forgot they were still holding hands until an amused male voice teased Galahad, "Don't you think you should get to know the Lady again before you give her those big puppy dog eyes Galahad?" Both looked toward the source of the voice and Galahad saw their king wearing a bit of a smirk. The Knight's glare toward his King was entirely half hearted, but it made the Queen smile enough that she hid it behind her hand.

Rumor blushes slightly at the King's words and Queen's smile and dropped Galahad's hand. She hadn't expected to get lost in the Knight's eyes like that, but something inside of her had answered something inside of him and she just couldn't look away. She didn't not want to get involved with him before her training was finished, but as she knew often happened with Triads of God Tools, she realized she probably wasn't going to be able to resist him for long now that they knew about each other.

[Demeter]

Áine, otherwise known as Niniane, laughed so hard at the newest Lady that she rolled off her boulder and landed alongside Rumor in the muck. She'd made some sort of comment about how she was no lady and wasn't about to do any woman's work. Aria, their diminutive High Queen, had proceeded to wallop the young woman until she fell, face first, into the mud before congratulating herself on her tidy bit of "woman's work."

Áine sat up and used a muddy hand to pat Rumor's shoulder. "The title of Lady is a throwback to medieval days. And yes, back then we often had be pretend to be ladylike in our pursuits because we had mortals wandering around the court. Ladies acting as knights was a big no-no back then. So, we all cultivated some ladylike habits to convince the mortals and pass the time. Besides, someone had to stay behind to guard the castle and keep Camelot running."

Using the War Scythe Harvest Reaper, Áine pulled herself up out of the mud and pulled Rumor up. "Those of us who have survived are very much creatures of the past, tradition and habit. We need someone like you to help us get along in the modern world, Lady Rumor, as we've pretty much exhausted the High King and Lord Luca with our questions."

***
Galahad knew he was pissing off the younger trainees. Most were cocky bastards and that, he thought, was exactly why he'd been assigned this group of people. Across the sparring field, the younger knight, Darek, was doing the same with those of an older age group. It made sense as they were testing the tolerances of the trainees. Those easily angered would not be ideal knights.

He sent another down into the mud. Most assumed they could take the old man and they'd all been introduced to the ground. Since they weren't truly challenging him, Galahad let his mind wander to thoughts of Rumor. The guardian of his blade; supposedly Vanora reborn. True, she was hostile and so far from the woman he'd loved but speaking with Sir Darek had cleared some of that up. He imagine anyone who'd grown up like the Lady Rumor and had had so much recently dumped on her regarding her bloodline could be expected to be hostile.

He wanted to know more about her.

***
Sorcha hurtled down the path in search of Teagan. The toddler had wandered away from the young priestess who'd neglected her assigned chore of childcare. There weren't many children on the island; she had brought Tegan and Finbar with her.

She heard her half-sister's familar babble and sped in that direction. She didn't think that her parents or the others could get on the island but others could. She burst around the corner, shoved the woman standing before Tegan and snatched the toddler away. "Stay away from her!"

[Maira]

She was still annoyed at having been separated from the rest of the new trainees, but she had to admit she enjoyed her current sparring partner. Getting knocked into the mud by the High Queen surprisingly made Rumor's day. It was nice to discover that "Lady" was just going to be a title of respect and not necessarily her role in life.

Once she had finished taking her beating for the day, a smile plastered on her still muddy face, Rumor headed back toward the Court's wing of the castle to utilize their roman style bath. It seemed quite a luxury for such an otherwise ancient society, but she was thrilled at its existence. Steamy hot water and a massage sounded ideal right about then.

Only, she didn't make it back quickly enough. Before she knew it, there was a small body hurtling toward her and a big one right behind her that shoved her away while yelling at her. Rumor nearly hissed at the woman before her, until she realized that the girl child the woman had swooped up could have been her own, if younger, reflection. Right down to the faint birthmark on her chin and crimson hair.

On her way to the ground, the woman holding the child may have heard Rumor mutter, "Fuck me..."

*****

Rumor came to, eventually, tucked into her oversized bed in her still bare room. With a groan and a grumble she forced herself to sit up and stay that way while the room spun around her.

From the direction of the fireplace, Rumor heard Niah's voice, "You hit your head on the cobbles when you fainted. I wouldn't move to quickly if I were you."

Unwilling to let the news of a likely head injury (not her first) stop her, Rumor flung back the blankets and swung her legs off the bed. She waited until the room stopped spinning again and asked, "Who the hell were those girls and why are they here?" The silver-haired woman looked confused, and maybe flustered by Rumor's language, so Rumor took a breath and repeated herself more calmly. "The woman, I think a priestess of some kind? And the little girl that looks like me but, well, little... Who are they and why are they here?"

Niah smiled and nodded before answering warmly, "Indeed, Sorcha is a priestess and that was her younger half sister half sister Teagan. They also have a little brother named Finbar. They are here claiming sanctuary from their parents."

The edges of Rumor's vision started to go black again but she managed a few measured breaths before asking what she really -didn't- want to know. "Is their father named Ash by chance? And the little girl's mother named Rage?"

Niah thought for a moment before answering, "I don't know their mother's name, but their father is indeed named Ash. How did you know?"

Rumor's world went dark once more. Luckily, still being seated on the bed she didn't have far to fall this time and no cobbles to smack her head on.

[Demeter]

Galahad sat in the small council room and stared across to the young woman squirming in her chair. Only a few others sat with him. His queen and kings, Sir Darek, and Lady Belladonna, the knight's healer sister. They were waiting on the arrival of Helios's representative in this matter. Besides looks, Sorcha bore a clan mark that matched Rumor's.

While they waited, Galahad recalled what he knew of young Sorcha. They'd just held a celebration of her eighteenth birthday; almost a year and a half to the day of her arrival on the island. She'd arrived, aged sixteen and a half years, with her siblings and a full term pregnancy.

She'd been in labor, he remembered, when she'd knocked on Merlin's doorstep. His eyes narrowed now; as they had when he'd first been informed of her, she'd have been fifteen when impregnated. The child had been stillborn and Sorcha hadn't told them about the father.

And now the curious matter of Sorcha and little Teagan having the look of his Lady Ransom, who'd been sired by some of the less desirable elements of the infamous Kokinos clan. Like it or not, both women were going to have to face their pasts.

All the men rose when a minor knight announced the arrival of Lady Solaris and her companions.

***

Sorcha barely managed to swallow a yelp when one of the knights escorted the Lady Solaris into the room. She looked like Grandmother but with kinder eyes. Still, Sorcha sunk down in her chair to try and make herself invisible.

She only half listened as the lady introduced two of the three men with her as her mates. The third, with hair same shade as Teagan's, was her son. "I was sent because Josif is busy running the clan, 'Mika goes into hysterics when this subject is mentioned, Silas isn't on speaking terms with anyone, Spiro, with Mercy, are trying to find our outlaw relations, Faith is overwhelming, and Wrath really doesn't respond well to surprise family members."

She then proceeded to kick all the men but her son from the room. "Ransom stays; Ransom is a professional."

The lady then sat across from her and asked, point blank, who her parents were.

"Ash Meyer and Rage Barcley."

And then she asked who had sired Teagan.

"Rage Barcley and Angelos Kokinos. And Finbar's father is also Angelos. His mother is my twin, Whisper. I was Wish before I came here."

"And the child you carried, who was the sire?"

"Also Angelos," Sorcha said, voice barely audible. "Unlike Whisper, I didn't want him to...to..."

"It's all right child. I know what my father is like. Can you tell us where he is and who is with him?"

"When I left, they were South London, at a place called Lilythorn court. Angelos, Eveangelos, Diamanto, Iro, Rage, Ash. And others, so many others. They take girls and boys off the street and sell them. I saw a book of names once. I saw others; special like I was...family was for family only. Only those sired by Kokinos men and born by Kokinos women were considered pure and special and worthy of bearing more Kokinos children. Angelos praises the day Rage found and came to him."

Sorcha barely noticed when Aria rose and left the room. "Rage and Whisper, they freely offered themselves to Angelos. Angelos tolerated my Father. I'm sure the sons Diamanto had after they...found each other are my brothers. Evangelos likes the boys; the younger the better. Iro's perversions are...," Sorcha shook her head.

***
Galahad looked up when Aria exited the chamber. "Lilythorn court in South London. It doesn't sound like this is going to be easy or pleasant. Human trafficking. Eiru says Helios is steaming mad and their lives are forfeit when they are captured," she said before asking that Rumor be brought to the chamber.

Galahad went to fetch Rumor himself. He looked at his Lady before glancing at the sword resting on its stand. "How do you feel about exactly a little vengeance? From the sounds of it, you were lucky to have been abandoned. Your sister has had a hard life."

As he led her towards the council room, Galahad filled Rumor in on Sorcha's circumstances of how she came to be on the island. Once the reached the room, he escorted her to a chair and stood behind it. In his absence, the current members of the round table had been summoned. The head of the respectable portion of the sat at the table, eyes hard as he ordered the capture and execution of his own father. Sorcha, curled in the lap or Ransom, sat off the side and watched with miserable eyes as the others talked of raiding Lilythorn court.

[Maira]

The things that Galahd told her, made Rumor's blood boil. She may not have wanted siblings from the family that abandoned her but that didn't mean she wanted anybody to suffer like Sorcha had. It had taken a stern look from her knight to get her to leave the sword behind in her room but he already seemed to know her well enough to realize that she'd just wind up using it as a fidget for her anger.

Once she was seated at the table surrounded by the other members of the court, Rumor couldn't keep her eyes off of Sorcha. At least being raised by Nemesis, Rumor had been cared for. Poor Sorcha had been raised by family and hadn't been so lucky. The dark hatred inside of her that had been directed at her entire birth family shifted as she watched Ransom stroke Sorcha's hair. Sorcha and the other innocents didn't deserve her anger, but now she knew the names and identities of those who did.

*****

After that initial council, Rumor waited until the other Court members had left before approaching Sorcha. Having spoken with Solaris herself, and in turn learning about Ransom's particular qualifications to be comforting Sorcha, Rumor questioned her own use in aiding the younger woman but proceeded. Cautiously she knelt in front of Sorcha, reaching a hand out to lay it on her shoulder. In a soft voice, barely above a whisper, Rumor reassured her sister, "I can't fix what they did, but I -will- keep them from doing it again. I promise!". She gently kissed the younger woman on the top of her head before standing whirling on her heel, and storming out of the room to go claim the sword from the rack in her room. Galahad may have been the focus of their triad, but this was personal. If he thought he'd be in possession of the sword for this he had another thing coming.

[Demeter]

Valor's life had taken a complete one-eighty. He'd been quite content, running the clan and the little business empire his grandfather had created while waiting for the birth of his first child when that bloody Harpy Eagle had soared in through his open office window. He glanced at the bird in question where it perched on Lord Kokinos' chair and quietly seethed. Now his life had complications. Like psychopathic parents and unwanted siblings. And all of them except the parents, as far has he could tell, were die-hard Vinctum-type Alati. Not that he had any issues with that but he hoped they didn't try to convert him.

Valor eyed the man leaning against the front of Lord Kokinos' chair. Not a man, he mentally corrected himself as he took in the subtle glow, but a God. The damned head of his mother's family had taken a bedamned God as his spouse. It was curious, though, that the God had chosen to sit on the ground at his spouse's feet rather then rightfully claiming his place as the highest ranked individual in the room. The cousin who'd greeted them, a young Lady by the name of Honor, said the God Helios had long since washed his hands of the oldest of the bunch, had never claimed the youngest and was there as support to Lord Kokinos. Also, Helios' presence at Lord Kokinos' feet, leaning against his legs, kept the Lord in his chair. Given that the Lord was glaring at the cluster of people in the middle of Camelot's throne room and digging his claw tipped fingers into the arms of his chair, Valor was sure this was a prudent move.

His gaze drifted left to where the bulk of the respectable portion of the Kokinos clan stood. They had arranged themselves into a semi-circle around the chair. The Lady Honor had explained who each was. Flanked by two men, Lady Solaris, the youngest daughter, stood next to the chair. The men, Lords Thanos of Magda and Satoshi of Oshiro, were her spouses. Except for the eldest, their children and children-in-law surrounded them.

The eldest, Sir Ransom, was helping with the recovery efforts of the Lilythorn Court victims. Elaina, his wife, not content to stay in bed, had already met the man and offered shelter to any of the recovered souls who needed it. Last he knew, he was sheltering several individuals who were fairly well; merely giving them a place to stay while they got their feet under themselves. Though she had somehow talked the powers-that-be into letting them house the half-wild Brood halfling that had been found in Lilythorn Court's cellars. The why and how, he really didn't want to know.

Valor had watched as Lady Solaris, the Harbinger of Helios, had stalked forward on her arrival in the throne room. She'd gone nose to nose with the chained Angelos Kokinos and hissed words at him before kneeing him in the balls. Her spouses had then punched the man before falling in line by Lord Kokinos.

Next in line was Lady Nomika. Where Lady Solaris' spouses had stood behind her, their younger brother Silas and the lady's eldest children stood in front of Nomika. Honor explained it in quick, hushed tones to him; the lady's elder two children were also the children of her father Angelos and brother Evangelos. Valor had watched as the Knights of Camelot had formed a living shield to escort her to her lord brother when she'd entered. Purportedly, the lady had been held captive by her family for several centuries. He believed the lady showed a great deal of courage to be in the same room as her rapist parent and sibling.

Next, standing in a cluster, was the branch of the family he was most interested in. Spiro, the youngest of Lord Kokinos' siblings, was his great-grandfather. There were also grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces. Also, the oldest of his siblings. Ignoring all else, he studied this group of siblings. They shared the same mother but all four them had different fathers. Only three years separated him from Wrath, the eldest and their mother's only other son. He wasn't sure how he felt about the presence of Wrath's wife in the throne room. The honorable Lady Cissa was very pregnant, more so then his own Elaina who was supposed to be bundled into bed to rest. True, there was a healer hovering next to the lady and she slouched back against her spouse, letting him support her weight, but this was no place for an extremely gravid woman.

"Cousin Wrath has adverse reactions when dealing with anything related to Rage. Cissa, more or less, has him pinned in place and his concern for her keeps him focused on her and not them. You can't see it from here but his three children also have a hold on him."

Valor cast a quick glance at Lady Honor before looking towards his brother. His children, natural and adopted, peered over his shoulders. Beyond them stood a bear shifter and a feline-Mutari shifter. The partners of the natural born twins. "The adopted one, he has no spouse?"

By his side, Honor smiled. Having no great connection to the villains, she'd been assigned the task of introductions and guiding Valor through his newly discovered bloodkin. "Kai does have a husband; Ransom Magda is better suited to directing the efforts to make the victims as comfortable as possible."

"What are Sir Ransom's qualifications?"

Honor raised an eyebrow. "I guess Vinctum drama is unimportant outside of Vinctum circles. The Magda clan is also infamous. For approximately 500 years, it was ruled by one Lorcaine Magda after he thought he'd killed his father and the current lord, Thanos. Ransom was half-bother to Lorcaine and held captive for those five centuries as Lorcaine's sexual slave. Out of all of us, Ransom is most suited to understanding their needs and thoughts."

Valor nodded and let his eyes drift to his oldest younger sister. Mercy stood quietly alone in the midst of her family. Next to her stood the youngest child born during Rage's Ash-free interlude. Faith stood with husband and son. She, he'd been informed, had no memory of the mother they shared. Unlike her older siblings, she stared at the villains with curiosity.

Like before, Honor had quietly explained the situation. Faith just been a child when her brother and sister left as soon as they could. He shouldn't be angry with them, she'd told them, as they already beat themselves up over that. It was during that time that Ash had hooked back up with Rage and made casual suggestions regarding how pretty Faith was. Faith escaped fate when her mother murdered the man who was going to purchase the child. Rage had still been nominally connected to a deity at the time and the murder had attracted the god's attention. Faith had witnessed the brutal murder and had blocked out the trauma and memory of it. She'd been put into the foster care system and later adopted by Dion DeLorme. Years later, purely by accident, Wrath had stumbled across his estranged baby sister. And years after that, after the rescue and rehabilitation of Ransom, they finally connect the three siblings to the Kokinos clan. They bore similar marks, the four of them technically illegitimate. At the time of his birth, Ransom hadn't been acknowledged by his father and brought into the clan; Solaris' single wish for her son had been to leave his mark alone so that all would learn of what her father had done. The three siblings all bore the official mark of the Kokinos clan.

Skipping over them to the next group of siblings; Valor faltered as he had done when first introduced. These were his full siblings. Unlike the older three, one had her own seat. Lady Rumor was rumored to be one of the missing Avalon Guardians, a queen in her own right. He wasn't sure about all that but the lady, save for the hair, was the spitting image of him. Perched on the arm of the chair was the young woman who'd started this ruckus. Sorcha hadn't wandered far from Rumor over the past few days. Reportedly there were two others who'd been brought to Avalon by Sorcha, a pair of toddlers, one being their half sister, the other a nephew.

The twin of her face stood with the other condemned souls, sneering at everyone. When the one twin had seen her sister, she shouted and caused distress by insulting Sorcha.

Sorcha had also received an honor guard to escort her to Rumor. Honor had told him how the young woman had been discovered on the banks of Avalon's opposite shore. He kind of wished that Lord Kokinos would set that blasted Harpy Eagle on the captives. It would be a start.

The man leaning against the other arm of Lady Rumor's seat was supposedly the legendary Knight Galahad. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of having living legends around him, or the whole divine triad of beings bound to a god born sentient item; less sure of having a sister, however surprising her existence was, connected to that.

He'd said as much to Elaina on the trip over and she'd twisted his ear hard. He was to be polite and deferential to any connected to those sentient items. Elaina, who once had been part of a vinctum clan said those chosen had great power, and stress, thrust at them and were, in essence, an extension of their deity. Mortal and slightly more approachable then most deities.

There were others, he knew, including a half-brother tiger shifter he shared a father with. That man, Ashwin, stood with his mother and her people.

~~~

Galahad did his best to support Rumor without being overly friendly. After all, they'd barely known each other for more then a few weeks. This affair wasn't an Avalon matter; Kyros had offered up Camelot as a neutral place to hold this farce of a trial. It could hardly be called an Vinctum matter for the accused were Godless but none of the Godless Clans had stepped forward to defend them. The one clan that might have stepped up, purely to spite Avalon, was still in shambles after a sound defeat years ago and did not have the resources. These individuals were labeled persona non grata throughout the world and judgement had been left up to a council made up of representatives from unrelated clans.

The representatives wandering Camelot from the four Godless clans made him uneasy but they were under a white flag truce for the duration of the trial.

While they waited for the last of the able victims and witnesses to enter, Galahad covertly watched Rumor. The stress and shock she'd been under from the moment she'd been knocked over by Sorcha was immense.

Still she'd held up admirably to finding even more relations and had even been restrained during the raid on Lilythorn Court. She'd only roughed up them up a bit. From his spot, Galahad could see the bruises she'd inflicted on Rage. He'd been behind her when she'd caught her first sight of the woman who had birthed her. She'd been taking payment and handing a child over to a decidedly oily-looking man. Rumor had flung Claimomh Solais at him before slamming her fists into Rage.

He let his gaze drift. Rumor had a hand on Sorcha's shoulder and was speaking quietly to the girl. Sorcha's twin had spooked the girl. Most of the modern world had the idea of God Triads wrong. Just because one was supposed to be the compassionate one didn't mean that person was supposed to be soft. He'd like to see someone call Lady Genesis soft; the healer woman had inflicted, with her deity's permission, a great deal of pain on their villains. Whatever mental anguish the healer had directed at the seven had them howling in pain for hours.

Back in the glory days of Camelot and Avalon, being soft would have meant the death of their warrior queens. Vanora had had compassion and had been warm and caring. He'd relished coming home from the battlefield to gleefully relinquish himself into her dominion. But she'd been just as fierce, if not fiercer, as himself and Bors. The women had often been left to protect the home fires. He felt they often were mentally and emotionally stronger then the men as, in addition to everything else, they had to put up with their mates and the decidedly stupid shit they would do. He saw Vanora in Rumor when she protected and rescued the victims of Lilythorn Court. She'd taken them under her wings and become their champion.

Vanora had often done the same with orphaned children; to this day there was still a orphanage under her name on his family property. He wondered how soon he could turn the running of that over to her. He held no doubts that his descendants would protest.

He let his gaze drift around the hall over the clumps of Kokinos relations to the man leaning into a corner. Gone was the boy-knight Bricius and present was the mighty Lord Darius. Galahad thought of his former squire's titles. Lord of Clan DeLorme, Vinctum King of France, Overlord of Europe, Bearer of Shattersoul. The student had indeed surpassed his teacher.

He was there as an advisor to Kyros and Lord Josif; he was better versed in modern raids then the court and had contacts in the modern protection systems. Also as Companion to a heavily taxed healer and a Brood who was trying to reach the half-wild halfling. Dare, on the discovery of that poor creature, had called in his Brood Father Voski. The two were still at Lilythorn, coaxing out the near-feral male Brood. If they could get him out of the cellars, the Brood Halfling would go with Valor to the remote Scottish Highlands estate he held.

There was also the unsettling fact that as the representative of Hades, Darius was capable of destroying souls. Everyone knew the verdict and sentence. As the vengeance Alati finished off the Seven accused, Darius would end their souls.

There were others, he knew, who were following the trial to the trafficking ring's higher ups and other branches. They would be judged accordingly once found. A Demi-Goddess of Ancient Blood and her companions, one being a Great-Grandchild of Darius, were on the warpath. There had been something among the documents found in Angelos' office that had made the fiery redhead scream. Not in fear but in anger and her mates had been quick to shut down the blaze she'd started before starting the hunt.

As the heavy hall doors closed after the impartial jury and the one who'd been asked to act as a judge, Galahad straightened. When the Representative from Haven called the trial to order, he placed a hand on Rumor's shoulder and squeezed.

***
He twitched and itched to jump out of the crowd to scream about what had been done to him and the others. They were all guilty as sin; the seven chained together and the ones being hunted down for their roles. Ashwin twitched once, made his excuses to his mother and slunk over to where Kivan stood.

After the trial, he'd go with Kivan and his partner James to where they lived. It had been decided for him but he hadn't fought the idea. He stood next to the bear shifter and calmed, slightly, when his heavy hand settled at the base of his neck.

There were too many people in the hall, creating too much noise and whirling around in flashes of color. The voices were too loud and they all spoke of things he'd rather not hear about; knowing about his own torment was enough.

He couldn't even stomach being near his mother's relations. They'd descended the other day, to reclaim Kalyani and her children. What seemed like a whole clan of Tiger Shifters had fallen on them at once in a swirl of loud, laughing color; he'd been half afraid they'd burst into a joyful song and dance routine.

And though crowds were bad, he'd been handling it until those clan members had turned their attention from Kalyani and the little ones to her oldest child. They'd swarmed him and he'd panicked.

Kalyani had been sacrosanct to Ash; those who thought to use her usually ended up with the sharp point of his sword in their belly. The littles hadn't yet been sold and still held their innocence. But he, Kalyani's eldest child, was special to no one and was often tossed to multiple paying customers as once.

Despite years of abuse, he fought every time but usually been outnumbered and trapped in a room. The men and women who'd favored him had always enjoyed it when he fought. There, surrounded by maternal, well-meaning family members and in a open hall, he'd had a chance at escape. He'd shoved through the crowd, knocking down who he know knew to be his great-great-grandmother, and ran scared trough the castle. He'd made it out of the castle only to have his legs knocked out from under him by another feline shifter. He'd gained his feet only to be bowled over by a bear. The bear then sat on him.

He'd blacked out and when he came down, he'd been in a quiet corner of the castle being held by a rather grumpy looking bear. The bear was Kivan. The feline was James. It had been decided that, due to their combined strength, James and Kivan would look after him while he adjusted to living in the outside world. Kivan had the physical strength to subdue him when he freaked. James had the empathic ability to read him before it happened.

Now, as he listened to the judge outlining the charges, he leaned back into Kivan's hand to keep himself grounded. He could privately admit to himself that his new guardians were handsome men. He was also getting an education on just what a healthy relationship between consenting adults looked like.

James broke away from his father as Cissa (who kept insisting that she wasn't having contractions and it was 'just a backache') had a handle on Wrath. He stepped up along side Ashwin and squeezed an arm around his shoulder. "You're okay," he whispered.

Surrounded by these two, Ashwin relaxed. They stood a little apart from the crowd and Ashwin was able to listen as objectively as possible.

***
After judgement had been rendered, Christos watched as his twin filed out of the hall. Rafail was a tough man but he held an aversion to violence and bloodshed. Not surprising, Christos thought, considering Rafail's past. Dubbed an evolutionary throwback by Grandfather due to his strawberry blond hair and the light dusting of freckles on his face, Rafail wasn't considered a true Kokinos son. Given that he was only a shade or three off from what Grandfather had considered a pure blood, unlike their triplet sister who had been confined because she was a true throwback to Great-Grandmother's father, Rafail had been an offering to paying customers.

Long before Lilythorn court had been raided by the Avalon knights, Rafail had stopped being an offering to customers. He knew his brother still bore the scars of that knight; how he'd survived and managed to kill the ones who had inflicted those wounds was still a mystery. After that night, Rafail had mentally checked out and he wasn't sure if his brother was all together there just yet.

As his fellow survivors streamed past, they each bobbed a head at him and patted his arm. He'd been a key witness; a silent watcher who had done what he could under the watchful eye of Grandfather. He'd gotten some out; like his sister decades ago and his own children. More often then not, he'd offer himself in order to spare the others and give them a night of peace but his efforts were a drop in a ten gallon bucket.

When Ashwin, followed by his new guardians, halted next to him and fidgeted, Christos merely reached out and squeezed a shoulder before sending him on. He knew that Ashwin had suffered more then most because he still fought everytime. He hoped a better future awaited the man.

He let the crowds go by, hearing snippets of conversation as they went. He was amused when his cousin of some sort simply picked up his pregnant wife and hauled her from the room ('Even I know that was a contraction, Cissa. How long?').

When the last person exited the room, leaving only those who either wished to witness the execution or were participating in it, Christos moved forward. He would witness this, he thought. When he grew closer to the huddled mass at the center of the room, he heard his mother's grating voice. She was pleased that he was coming to stand with them.

Christos didn't bother to look as he strode past, and didn't care to listen the outrage Diamanto shrieked, and made his bows to his brother-uncle Lord Josif. He managed to swallow a yelp when he was dragged down to sit next to the God Helios. Though he'd been quietly bound to Brigid all these years, remaining among his parents' lives as a witness to their deeds, the warmth generated by the sun god relaxed him. His struggle was over now.

***
As the sole possessor of a Greek blade that could destroy souls, Darius had been called on to end the cycle for these seven; Godless they may have been but they were of Greek origins. The Blade of Tartarus was dormant below the towers of Haven and the Blades of Iapetos and Perses were still lost. Shattersoul was the blade available. When the doors closed behind the last person, he turned to the chairs. "My lords and ladies, and your Devine grace, if you could please seal the room. I wouldn't want anything escaping to infect that new life being brought into the world."

The knights and ladies of Camelot were connected to the land the castle sat on and so they able to reached down and take their base elemental powers to seal off the space. Soon the walls sparked with showers of red, white, silver, blue, brown. Helios wave of magic coated the space in shades of gold.

After the room was sealed, those elected to be executioners stepped forward. Rumor, taking the sword that Galahad handed to her, rose from her seat and stepped forward. He hadn't known the woman long but she walked with purpose and pointed the weapon at her birth mother. The blade glowed.

Kalyani, the tigeress held captive by Ash, rose from her seat, took a blade from her brother, and stalked forward to stand in front of Ash. She'd argued for the right to end his life. She'd claimed it was her right for murdering her mate, using her body, and selling her children. No one had disputed the claim. Darius sneered as he heard the man pleading with the woman for mercy.

His daughter Dion and her daughter Saiyuri stepped up next. Dion had claimed the life of Sorcha's twin while Saiyuri had the woman Iro. Sweet Tranquility came forward, going directly in front of her grandmother and smiled. Finn, invited to the proceedings because of his work in welfare approached with a snarl on his face and his hounds swarming around his legs. He'd execute Evangelos for the crimes he'd committed and, if the rumors were true, the treatment of his adopted sister Chastity.

Last, rising from his chair and taking a sword from his youngest brother, Lord Josif stood and descended the short steps of the dias. He had volunteered to be the one to end Angelos. He stepped in front of his father, swung the sword around and said "you really should have killed me a birth."
***

Josif could only suppose that he'd been lucky to get out of the house when he had to serve Helios as a nobody. He knew he was lucky that his Lord had taken a special interest in him. That a being like Helios had taken such a fancy to a weak, sickly, and scholarly nobody like him enough to pursue him for more then a year. Eighteen months after his Lord had come looking for a scholar who could translate Sanskrit directly into Greek, he'd finally been convinced that his Lord's affection and desire was true. Three nights after that he'd become the leader of the tattered remnants of his clan. He wished he'd had the guts to do then what he was about to do now.

He raised the blade, forged by the first of their tribe, and was about to bring it down upon his sire when the one named Whisper started screaming for a stay of execution. His blade thunked against the stone floor as he listened to her babble. She claimed to be with child and what kind of God loving Alati would they be if they killed her before she'd birthed the infant.

Raising a brow, for Whisper must have lacked intelligence as she knew that some of the best healers had been crawling all over Camelot, and turned to look at Darius.

Darius flicked a hand at his daughter. "Take her to your stepmother. Genesis will do an examination and arrange for a transplant and surrogate if needed."

Josif felt his mate lift a the barrier at the doors and they all silently watched as Dion shoved Whisper through the door. Once the door was shut and the barrier back in place, Josif hefted the sword, looked his father in the eye, and let the heavy blade fall.

***
Ellie sat on the sofa, infant at her breast, and watched as Colby cleaned splattered blood from Finn's face. She might have done it but the baby was hungry. Both Colby and Finn had argued against her coming to Avalon. They'd used the fact that she'd only had Jessie a month before. She argued back that while Colby was their financial source and Finn the caseworker-proctector, she was the caregiver of their home. Their invitation had been for the purpose of taking in several of the children found at Lilythorn Court. She'd won the argument and got to see Camelot.

The healers had taken one look at her with her month old infant and asked in she was breastfeeding and if she was producing enough milk. She'd answered yes to both questions and promptly had this little one shoved on her. Kouki's mother had passed after giving birth only a few days before the raid. Somehow, the little one had survived until Ellie showed up.

She switched the little boy to the other side, still concerned at how quiet he was but pleased with his appetite, and called out for whoever was knocking at the door to enter. She blinked when Rue slipped in.

The Direwolf shifter waved at her before going towards the men. "They're here. One of the knights are taking them to a suite to freshen up and then they'll come here."

Reason number two for their extended presence at Camelot, Ellie thought. They might finally have answers to Finn's foster sister's past. During the pre-trial interview with Christos, a blooded member of the clan, he'd mentioned the imprisonment of his sister as an example of his family's cruelty. A series of events that was remarkably similar to how Chas had come to the MacKenna family. When asked if he and his brother bore clan marks, Christos had nodded and showed them the blurred double image of the celtic-greek tribal sun symbol the Kokinos clan used.

Rue and Finn had looked at each other and nodded; Chas had that same mark. Finn had summarily summoned his sister, if she wanted answers to why. If Chas was a Kokinos, she'd been imprisoned by her grandfather because she was a throwback to earlier, red headed generations of the clan. She would have been freed by Christos after he learned if the plans they'd had for her.

Ellie did up her shirt and burped the baby before taking him to the next suite over. Her eldest Emily was now a grown woman and a primary school teacher. She was best suited to riding herd on their newest bunch of young children. She smirked when her daughter and the squire assigned to their family scrambled apart. "Don't mind me; just putting Kouki down with Jessie. Your aunt is here," she paused, looking between the two young persons. "Don't let your dad or Colby see that. They are both in overprotective mode."

She winked at her daughter before exiting the suite. And ended up nearly running her sister in law down. She blinked, peering around Chas at the group of people around her. Rhea was naturally snugged up against her wife's side while Chas' daughter was on the opposite side. Rhea's oldest two children, the boys she'd once babysat for, hovered behind their moms. Cameo and Grea, the fathers of the children, stalked around the behind the children and women, looking snarly and vaguely pissed off.

They were still just about the coolest people Ellie knew and she lived with, and occasionally had sexy times with, a demi-god.

"Brought the whole brood, did you? Where's the third one?" She asked after Keena, Rhea's only daughter.

"Off exploring the castle," Lucia said and gave her mother a squeeze. "Did you really think we'd let her do this alone?"

"Of course not, I just wasn't expecting all of you. Come on, let's go see Finn and then we can see if Chas is a Kokinos."
***

Galahad found Rumor sitting on the edge of a tower. He sat on the next crenellation and peered out over the land. "I like Avalon better. Less people, more trees."

He didn't expect a reply and wasn't bothered when nothing was said. He simply handed the woman a bottle of water and then nodded down to the gate. "Look, Dare got him to shift back and got him out."

Both people watched as Dare and his fathered hurried through the courtyard, shooing people away. Slowly walking behind them, held up by the slight form of a female golden brood halfling, was the miserable wreck they'd found in the cellars. Behind them paced another brood, this one far more powerful.

"Lilythorn is empty now, of people and evidence. Wanna go burn it down?"

[Maira]

Saiyuri watched as first her mother escorted Whisper from the hall, then as Josif's blade fell. She wasted no time in letting her own blade follow. As soon as Iro's head was rolling across the floor, Saiyuri made her way toward the same door her mother had used. She wanted away from the doomed souls, didn't want them clinging to her, because if Whisper was being truthful, Saiyuri had something else in mind. Her Grandfather had mentioned a transplant and surrogate for the hypothetical innocent that Whisper might be carrying, and she fully intended on making sure that baby had a chance. Theiry would forgive her eventually.

*****

Knowing what Chastity had gone through at the hands of her birth family, very likely the members of the Kokinos clan currently in chains and loosing their heads and souls, a dark and satisfying thrill surged through him when he gave the silent cue to his hounds. The pack was led by a wiry, smallish, bitch and while she may have been smaller than the others, her bond to him was strongest. She knew of Chastity and her story. She understood the rage seething through Finn, even while it was invisible to all others in the room. She was the one whose fangs first ripped through the flesh of their intended target: Evangelos. He felt the moment that Evangelos died under the weight and teeth of his hounds and he turned his gaze from the bloody writhing mess in front of him, to Shattersoul's bearer Lord Darius. He nodded once to let the Lord know that it was his turn.

*****

As her chained and condemned family members began to fall, Rumor watched the haughty expression on Rage's face begin to slip. As Lord Darius began to forever end the souls of those falling around her, Rage began to tremble. When all the others were dispatched both in body and soul, Rumor stood still. Staring at Rage. This woman was not the worst offender, but she was the one that her Goddess had a personal grudge against. Not wanting to tamper with the seal in the chamber, Nemesis had whispered through it to Rumor and asked her to hold her blade until all the others were finished.

When Lord Darius turned to her, clearly intent on asking what she was waiting for she cut him off. "The others are shattered?" His curt nod was all the answer she needed before turning away from him, to the God Helios.

"Divine Helios, my true Mother requests that you temporarily lower your part of the seal on the chamber so that she can be present for this last bit of justice." Nemesis must have spoken to Helios then, for his gaze went distant momentarily, then returned with a blink. He nodded and the golden shimmer faded directly behind Rage. The fallen didn't see when Nemesis stepped through the momentarily thinned barrier as she was too focused on her daughter's feral smile.

While Helios had a soft but bright glow around him, Nemesis's glow was oddly dark and harsh. She was nearly as golden in appearance as her fellow deity, but her eyes. They were black. The planes of her face were made to look sharp when her power glowed strongly around her. Walking silently up behind Rage, Nemesis laughed coldly when the Fallen jumped at her touch upon the back of her head as she walked around to face her. Rumor's feral smile somehow managed to grow, her posture becoming both more relaxed and more poised to strike, as Nemesis drew nearer to her. At her goddess mother's embrace, Rumor's eyes also slipped to black and her crimson dragon-like wings sprang from her back.

Rage was now cowering, pulling at the end of her chains, trying in vain to distance herself from the goddess and her daughter. Maybe if she'd known that she would end this way, a plaything for a goddess and her own offspring, she wouldn't have done what she did. Maybe.

"Your time is over, Rage," Nemesis chimed, her voice oddly sweet and gentle in total contrast to her appearance. Then, after a nod of affirmation to answer Rumor's whispered request, the goddess continued. "Our daughter has asked for a boon, and I am want to give it to her. Do you wish to know what it is?"

*****

Rage's eyes flickered between goddess and the daughter she had left for dead as a newborn, wearing nothing more than a blanket. Whatever that hateful child could be asking the goddess for would not benefit her at all. She shook her head no, repeatedly, her hair flashing in front of her eyes with the strength of the shaking. When the goddess laughed her light, musical, laugh, Rage knew her end was going to be more than a simple blade to her neck.

Nemesis and Rumor both approached Rage and the tears began pouring down her cheeks unbidden. Where they had come from, she didn't care. She barely even noticed they were making wet trails down her cheeks. All she could focus on was the twin black stares coming from the goddess and the daughter she had abandoned. Only when Rumor's hands cradled either side of her face, as she knelt in front of her, did Rage realize that the younger woman was bladeless. She had give her weapon back to her knight. Rumor must have seen the realization dawn in Rage's eyes, because she quickly tangled her fingers in her birth mother's hair and held her head in a way that she couldn't squirm and try to escape.

Being forced to look into her daughter's eyes, Rage thought she caught a dark glow coming from Rumor, but she was quickly overwhelmed by visions of something else. Rumor kissed each of Rage's eyelids closed, the hands of her adopted mother resting on her shoulders, and let flow the boon she had asked for. Visions, from the view of all of Rage's victims, of the evil that Rage herself had perpetrated or enabled. The abuse visited on Wrath and Mercy by past lovers of Rage's, was lived out by by the Fallen in mere moments, followed quickly and unrelentingly by all the others. Rage screamed and writhed on the ground, lost to the experiences she had inflicted upon an unknown number victims. Mostly children. Many her own biological children. The visions repeated over and over, her screaming seeming never to end. Until suddenly, it did. The constant and growing surge of adrenaline as she experienced each crime over and over had eventually caused Rage's heart to beat so hard and fast that it exploded inside of her chest.

"Goodbye, Rage, thank you for the gift of my freedom. Thank you for deeming me not worthy of your family. My true Mother will never abandon me or any of your other children," Rumor snarled into the dead Fallen's ear before standing, kicking the twisted and cooling body, and turned into the waiting embrace of her goddess.

*****

After Lord Darius had finally shattered the soul of her ill-begotten birth mother, Rumor had fled the chamber. She had rushed past Galahad in the hallway and she knew that somebody stopped him because she faintly heard him snarling at them to let him go. When the knight finally found her at the top of the tower furthest from the trial chamber, Rumor had luckily stopped crying. He'd taken a seat on the crenellation next to the one she was sitting on and they sat in silence for a while.

At his reasoning for liking Avalon better, Rumor couldn't help but laugh. "Trees are way better than people," she agreed, mirth adding a lightness to her voice she hadn't expected. Then, as Galahad pointed out Dare and Voski and a strange parade of Brood and halfling Brood, Rumor's thoughts went dark again. Rage had, in some way, been partially responsible for the torture that poor boy had been put through. He was feral and Rage was partly to blame. She hoped the Fallen had relived whatever had been done to him, because even from this height, Rumor could see the haunted look in Dare's eyes. Whatever it had been, it had been horrendous.

She was so lost in the dark thoughts, that at Galahad's next words, it took Rumor a moment to realize he was even speaking to her. It took a moment longer before she realized just what he had said. Once the words clicked, the feral smile from the trial chamber spread on her face once more and her wings (still present from earlier) snapped open to their fullest. "When do we leave?"