The big dragon looked around the place, at the food he couldn’t enjoy, at the pretty people he couldn’t be with, at least not how he wanted to. Because he was dead, true, it had been a merciful death in some respects, but dead was dead and he was sent to Inferos to be damned, sent to the fourth circle to forever dump treasure into lava for his greedy, dragon hoarding ways. Deep down he felt like that was completely unfair, since dragons were normally naturally hoarders in the first place, to be punished like that for it in death seemed like a no-win situation. If nothing else he should have been sent to the second circle, for Lust, for, well, obvious reasons.

But right now Rage was more Hacesh’s style, as Serafina had allowed him a chance to come back to the world of the living, if only temporarily, to let lose, as it were. Ever since Xyaban had joined up with Serafina and had managed to get to see Hacesh, who, now dead, was free from the smaller dragon’s brainwashing, Hacesh had been in a rage ever since. But Serafina had seen it fit to allow Hacesh a chance to work out some of that aggression, while he wasn’t allowed to kill Xy as much as he wanted to, she had offered him a rather unique opportunity.

Giant turkeys.

Hacesh was well over three thousand years old, and not once in that long life had ever thought he’d seen this day. The grey scaled dragon, still in his seven-foot-tall two-legged form, looked over at the forty-foot turkeys close by, there were three of them. ”Right then.” He opened his wings and took off from where he had been looking out over the situation, whether with Serafina or not.

Hacesh went out of sight in the clouds and it was within the clouds that he shifted forms.

A few moments later as one of the turkeys was stomping around, a shadow appeared above it. Before the walking meal was able to move Hacesh, now in his forty foot form, dropped from the sky and onto the bird. It gobbled as its legs buckled from the sudden weight of a freaking dragon landing on it, while Hacesh roared. Taking advantage of that surprise Hacesh opened his maw wide and a cone of fire engulfed the turkey’s face, making it gobble louder in pain.

Feathers burning Hacesh grabbed the bird’s neck with his maw and bit down and then shook until there was a loud snap. Releasing the bird from his mouth Hacesh grabbed it with his front legs and tossed it aside as he roared in challenge to the two remaining turkeys who were the same size as he was!

When Xyaban had come to the Hall of Indulgence to make Serafina’s acquaintance, the two had gotten along rather well. A part of their meeting had consisted of Xyaban asking to see her lover, who had died, again - by traveling to one of the circles of Inferos where he had been sent after his death. The meeting had been a bit different than Serafina had expected, and in the end she had ended up feeling mildly sorry for Hacesh, the dragon who had been Xyaban’s lover in question. Long story short, Serafina hadn’t felt bad enough to release Hacesh from Inferos entirely, but she did grant him a bit of an escape, if only for a short while.

It just so happened that the time in which she had allowed his exodus, a very strange thing was taking place in Horae. Turkeys had somehow become enlarged in size, by an enormous amount. It apparently had taken place due to a mishap with some magic, and now there were forty-foot-tall turkeys to deal with.

Serafina had gone along with Hacesh, standing not far behind him when he took off into the clouds. She watched for a bit as he disappeared, and she had to admit she was a bit impressed with his sheer size when he appeared again. As he neared the turkeys, she opened a gate and transported herself, appeared much closer than she had been when first arrived.

As Hacesh dispatched one of the opponents, Serafina gave a wave of her hand, and within moments a swirling black mass had appeared beneath one of the remaining fowl fiends. Tendrils from Inferos itself began to wrap around the turkey’s legs. Before long, it had toppled to the ground, the tendrils holding it in place, keeping it in a position to easily be dispatched should Hacesh choose to take advantage of it.

"VROOOMMMM~ INCOMINGGGG!!!" Up above there was a moving speck in the skies. Was it a bird? Was it an angel? No! It was none other than the great and magnificent Myouga! With arms spread out like wings and her posture like a kite, the midget mage soared above the chaos with her magical winged armor. From what she had noticed, lots of people were having a hard time getting at the turkeys because they had a lot of feathers. If those feathers were gone, taking them down would be so much easier. Naturally there was only one logical solution…explosion. In the blink of an eye one of the birds erupted into a blast of smoke and singed feathers as a spell blew away their protective plumage. The blast wasn't quite big enough to seriously hurt the thing, but it did have a nice bald patch on its front. This was no good, did that mean the power of her beloved spell was too meager to bring them to their knees? Impossible! If at first you don't succeed–try until it does!

A rain of fireballs began pelting an unhindered tom setting its tail feathers ablaze. This made the bird go into a panic and it started to flail about stomping around in an erratic fashion. Her aim was pretty off today thanks to that half gallon of spiced hard cider she downed while the servers weren't looking. She couldn't help herself. It was so good! Anyway~ that was her excuse for not landing her spells on the turkey's breast instead of the rump. Her spells were more like stray embers off a fire pit, and clearly there must be a way to make the flames spread faster. What good was a giant turkey if it wasn't extra crispy? And you couldn't have crispy if it cooked way too slow! And then it hit her…a revelation. Yes, that was it. This was the answer. There was another spell she had up her sleeve, and now she knew what she had to do.

"GO GO GO GREASED LIGHTNING–LIGHT UP THAT BIG OL' TOM! NA NA NA NA NA~" A slippery flammable substance materialized in patches on the ground, causing more birds to slip and collide with each other. Snapping her fingers to the song, Myouga kept casting the spell over and over until the birds were well oiled and ready to fry. And once more with feeling, she gathered all the gumption within her little bones and shouted: "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" A single fireball sailed into the mix, sparking the grease and causing the fallen mob of turkeys to light up like dry tinder on an Ignius afternoon. Watching the self-contained firestorm, the small oni put her hands on her hips in satisfaction as she breathed in the delicious smell of poultry–extra crispy. "Ahhh…..the sweet, savory smell of success. How long are these supposed to cook again? Hmm…oh well! I'll know it when I see it!" 

How could it be? 

How could it be?! 

Raith had flown into a rage, that had sent even his most loyal Celestial servants, scattering back to the stars for fear of his retribution. The God of Wrath was in tune with every source of anger, a new source, one brighter and more concentrated than most, had immediately caught his attention… unfortunately, once the Blind God had realized who the source of this rage was, his own had flared uncontrollably. Of course he recognised Hacesh’s aura, he had killed the Dragon out of mercy, had tasted his anger first hand during their fight - in a way, the awakening of his own Draconic self, had been catalysed the moment Raith had drained the great beast of his life force, stirring Raith’s own inner Dragon, which had been brought forth fully when Hacesh’s mentally unstable mate had tortured himself and Alairia.
So how was it that the Dragon was alive now? How could he possibly have returned? Was this another of Xyaban’s tricks? Another annoyance like the turkeys in his Temple? It would not have surprised him, but whatever the reason, he was going to find out the reason.

As the God of Wrath and the Heavens opened a door, directly to the offending Isle, he sent Silence through, using the Drake’s eyes to scan the horizon and locate his prey. At first Raith noticed the turkeys, naturally, there was no surprise there, and then there was Hacesh, dispatching the giant fowl with ease and relish. He wondered whether that rage was aimed at himself, or the Dragoness that had twisted this magnificent creature’s mind to the point that he was a mere shadow of himself. Silence shifted his gaze to the two others, one was utterly inconsequential, as far as Raith was concerned, but the other? 
His lip curled away from his elongated canines, at the sight of Serafina. Of course. Who else had the power to truly bring his victim back, other than the Goddess of Death herself? Snarling, it was she he approached first, though he ordered Silence to keep an eye on Hacesh in the meantime, he could reach Serafina without aid at least, but he had no intention of letting the Dragon ambush him.

”Explain yourself Serafina, exactly why does that Dragon draw breath in this world once more? I saved him from the insanity of his existence, I was merciful, I took his life so that he no longer had to live with the shame of what that revolting scum, Xyaban, had reduced him to,” he snarled, blind gaze fixed upon the Goddess. ”This world has a irritating habit or resurrecting those slain by my hand…” 

When the black tendrils from Serafina wrapped themselves around the one turkey Hacesh walked over and simply stomped the giant bird’s head until it was dead. That seemed to have upset the last giant turkey that was close by as it gobbled loudly and charged the dragon. Hacesh snarled as the bird ran towards him, they were as large as he was, yes, but they were still only turkeys and he was still a dragon.

Hacesh’s tail lashed out and he caught the bird in the side and sent it rolling in a cloud of feathers. Before it could get up Hacesh was standing with his back legs on the bird’s wings and looked down as he opened his maw. A storm of fire erupted from his maw again, and his rage showed as he kept the fire burning until, when finally he stopped, there was but ash left of the bird’s head and neck.

Spotting a pack of smaller, but still larger than normal, turkeys that someone else had lit on fire, Hacesh breathed even more in that direction to help out. As he did he spotted where Serafina was, and who was standing with. Eyes locking on Raith Hacesh growled deep enough to echo from his throat as he strode forward, stepping on turkeys, breathing a bit more fire into a pack of them.

It didn’t take the big dragon long before he was standing over the Blind God and The Infernal Queen, craning his head down so his scout was only a few feet from Raith. ”You.” Hacesh rumbled eyeing Raith for a moment. ”Yes, it is you, the one that killed me and tore apart that filthy doll.” Hacesh started. ”I have to thank you for saving from me that worm of a dragon. I would have preferred if you could have knocked me out and got me away from her long enough to help me work through her brain washing.” He growled near the end, that would have been a nicer mercy. ”But, what’s done is done.”

A noise caught his attention and he looked behind him to see a gaggle of turkeys of varying sizes, but nothing close to him, coming towards them. Hacesh roared and once more started new fires as he opened his mouth. That done he turned his head back to Raith, his exhaled breath piping hot now. ”I don’t know if she told you,” He tilted his head towards Serafina. ”but Xyaban has allied herself with the Infernal Queen here. Just in case you weren’t aware.” He looked to Serafina. ”But, thank you for this opportunity, Goddess, it is much appreciated.

Very few times in her life had Serafina been rendered speechless. The most memorable of these times, if she recalled correctly, had been when Nemesis had chosen to turn Celeste into a vaewolf. She had never expected him to choose that out of the two options she had presented him with when she had given him the ultimatum to either kill the moon elf or turn her. She had been so shocked and upset by the decision that she did not speak for days.

Presently, Serafina was feeling a different kind of shock that rendered her temporarily speechless. Between the flying-armored fire thrower and the accusations thrown at her by a fellow god, and one she had yet to meet albeit rather briefly - she was taken quite by surprise. So, Raith had been the one to kill the dragon that Xyaban had wished to see in Cupiditas… Xyaban… The poisonous dragon’s name echoed in her head. She was beginning to seem like more of a hindrance and trouble than it had originally seemed.

After a moment, Serafina held her hands up at Raith, in a manner to let him know that she meant no ill will. ”I mean no disrespect to you in offering Hacesh a brief visit back to the mortal plane,” she began. ”There are several reasons why this should not be held against me, but I’ll offer just a few. First, I did not know you were the one to end him - had I known that, I would not have brought him back here out of respect for you.” She paused, awaiting a reaction from Raith. When she continued speaking, she lowered her hands to her sides - slowly, so as not to spark any suspicion that she could be reaching for a weapon (which she was not) - at which time she realized how incredibly pointless this was as the god she was speaking to could not see. However, she was sure he had some method of surveying his surroundings - she was just unsure what that method was.

”Xyaban came to me at the Hall of Indulgence, offering me a gift in return for seeing a lost loved one in one of the Circles. I obliged, having no knowledge of who she was or the horrible things she had done to Hacesh, among others,” she said, indicating that she understood from the ire in his voice that Raith had come across some issues of his own with Xyaban. ”After I transported her to Cupiditas, where Hacesh now resides, I witnessed what happened between those two. You see, death released Hacesh from the hold that Xyaban held over him,” she began to say, just as the dragon appeared and spoke his own piece. She nodded in agreement with him.

”You see, Raith, I offered Hacesh a respite back into this world as an apology for bringing Xyaban to him,” she said, and it was clear that she - the most selfish and indulgent of the gods - felt bad about what had happened. She turned to look at Hacesh once more. ”She may think she has aligned herself with me, but the more I learn about her, the less I… like her,” she said, her eyes flashing red to indicate the anger that momentarily surged through her.

”Hacesh will be returning to Inferos once he is done having his fun with the giant… turkeys,” she said, pausing at the last word as though she were having trouble speaking of the ludicrousness taking place on Horae. ”And I hope you understand, Raith, that I meant no disrespect in my actions.” She was being diplomatic, of course. She had learned from Nemesis long ago in the dealings in Kurayo before his ascension, long before any of this, that diplomacy got you very far, whether you wanted to enact it or not. She knew that having Raith on her bad side would do her nothing but bad, and she was bound and determined not to have that happen.

Raith 'watched' as Hacesh moved to join himself and Serafina, the God of Wrath and Heavens standing his ground, despite the Dragon's much larger stature. He could feel Hacesh's hot breath against his face, but he did not flinch, he had beaten the Dragon once before, he would beat him again if it was required. The words that came were not ones he had expected, and he tilted his head to one side slightly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Had I known what she had done to you, I would have done just that, sadly I had not encountered Xyaban until after I killed you, let me just say that she and I have old scores to be settled, once I find her at least. I apologise, but a creature as majestic as yourself should never have been left in that state, I believe death was the only release I could have granted you," Raith said with a small bow of his head, his words genuine. 

Again Hacesh's words caught him off guard, and he turned his attention back to the Goddess beside him. So. Xyaban had sought to find herself strong allies, she would need them now that he had ascended, for he would tear her limb from limb if she ever came close to him again. The God nodded, accepting Serafina's reasoning for bringing Hacesh back, he would allow that reprieve at least - Hacesh had clearly suffered enough at Xyaban's hands, Raith could not fault the Dragon for needing some sort of a release of his own, not since he could not avenge his suffering himself. 
"A wise deduction on your part Serafina, she is a spiteful and twisted beast who is clearly insane. I did what I did to save Hacesh from himself, at the time my own Draconic form was denied to me… though it seems that taking your life awakened it Hacesh, in that I have to thank you at least," he snorted, offering a small smile to the Dragon. "I understand the situation now, and your actions are commendable Serafina, I would have offered him similar if it was within my power, though I do suggest that you cut ties with Xyaban… no, not cut ties… that would be a foolish thing, keep your ties to her, but I expect information from you in regards to her visits and what she speaks to you about. She and I have some unfinished business, and a debt to be repaid for what she did to my lover." The malice in Raith's voice said it all - he would not rest until he had truly broken Xyaban… if they thought she was mad now…

Hacesh nodded slowly to conversation that was happening. As Raith spoke of this debt that needed repaying with Xyaban that got the big dragon thinking. ”She’s crazy but not to be underestimated, her insanity gives her a unique advantage since it’s hard to predict what she’ll do, when even she doesn’t know what she’ll do.” He explained. ”I don’t know what she’s done to you, Raith, however, always keep in mind the way she sees what’s been done to her. You killed her lover and infant, at least in her mind, in cold blood.” He let that hang in the air just long enough before it became too uncomfortable or awkward. ”In her mind she’s justified in taking revenge on you for killing me.”

He thought a moment as he let out another blast of fire at a group of turkeys that were nibbling his tail but unable to get through his scales. ”If you want to control her until you decide what to do in the end,” He looked to Serafina. ”I suggest using that brothel of yours. I’m willing to bet she’s already offered to work in it for you, I would let her, the way she is about sex she can be manipulated in this case. Give her rules to follow and she’ll follow them, for all her faults, she’s at least good at sex.” He snorted and looked to Raith. ”Otherwise, if you truly want to get back at her, find her hoard cave and clean it out. Speaking as a dragon myself, I’m willing to bet that she has probably combined my hoard and hers, and it galls me just thinking about it. My hoard it vastly larger than hers, as such my own cave was larger. I can’t say for sure where her cave is, she always used gates to get me to travel, but I believe her cave is somewhere in Mo’mey. As for mine, it was in the Highlands, behind a huge stone that I would roll in front of entrance when I left, but it’s only large enough for my normal two legged form to walk into.” He gave them a better description of the location itself. ”Do with that information what you will.” He ended and then looked back to Serfina again. ”I believe the time is near for me to head back?” His voice sounded sad, as it would for anyone facing what he knew he was going back to. Yet he would face it until the end of it, as long as she was away from Xyaban.