She was working on some of the shrubs out in her garden with a pair of shears. Angela had always liked to take care of her plants herself even if she had the power to do it instantly. It was relaxing for her and every once in a while when life seemed utterly too complicated this was what she would do. In her opinion, it looked much better than when her magic did it for her. Maybe it was the satisfaction of doing it by her own hand… or maybe her magic just didn’t understand the image she was going for… which in all honesty was doubtful. Magic was an extension of one’s self and if she knew what she wanted then the magic knew as well.

At first, she felt a shift in power, her head bolted up out of the position she had it in. Dropping the shears she realized a god had fallen. It was one of the newer ones and if she could put her finger on it… It was Ivacus. She felt saddened but then came the second shift. It was darkness receding into the spheres and desire coming forth… Dalanesca was changing. From there she felt Xunatar lose deceit and gain what Dalanesca had lost.

Then came the earthquake… The floor cracking. “ADRAEJEN GET EVERYONE OUT!” Her voice shrieked as it was carried across all corners of her vast realm. It was followed by intense painful cries as she felt her most beloved and oldest sphere be ripped from her body. Her soul mangled around it as the Voice ripped the green energy from her. Her cries filled more than just the realm as it managed to escape as howling through the arches. “GET OUT,” her voice commanded at Drae as he was the last one left now.

Her voice was so powerful that it threw the god out of her realm and into his own. The doors in Tar connecting to the gardens collapsed and vomited earthly matter. The archways that led to her imploded as earthly mattered spewed from them and the arches fell. Everything was oddly silent but yet her energy remained. No one could reach Angela and for the longest time, no one heard anything from her. Searches were held for a week where the archways had been all around Revaliir. Even in the most obscure places they looked.

The goddess was nowhere to be found in these places. The Voice was silent on the matter but yet Angela’s throne in the Conclave shifted to vibrant colors of life lights.

On the Twilight Beach of the new realm, she and her spheres crafted laid the Goddess asleep. Her naked form almost renewed on the sea glass and the twilight sea foam that washed up on her form. She couldn’t remember the last time she had such a good rest… The last time the world was so quiet… The earth was barely whispering anymore… She could shut it off now.

So she slept… Around Adraejen’s finger appeared the first Heartstring. He would be the first to greet his wife in her new glory. Not that she knew it at the moment…

It all happened quickly. He felt the fall, the shifts and the magic swell that told him something big was coming. He was on high alert and on the move even before he heard Angela's scream echo through the realm and his head. Almost immediately the swell broke and the realm began collapsing around him. Immediately, Iris was at his side, and their joint magics began to stabilize the immediate area.

"What going on?" Iris asked breathlessly.  
"No time to talk. Immediately evacuate every one in the vicinity. Take them to Tar Eisalae. Gate or door, whatever is fastest. I'll do my best to hold off the collapse until everyone is out. Get Nathaniel and the others to help. The temple and everyone in it, that is the epicenter, that is your focus. I'll take the outer fields. Once you get everyone out of the temple and gardens, separate Tar Eisalae from the Gardens, otherwise the collapse may have profound effects on the realm. Now go!"  

Iris hurried off to do what she was told, while Drae took pause and touched his throat.  
"ATTENTION ALL," he said, his voice magnifying across the realm, though he remained calm. "THE SUNDERING GARDENS ARE NO LONGER SAFE! IF YOU ARE WITHIN THE TEMPLE OR GARDENS PLEASE WITH ALL HASTE GO TO TAR EISALAE THROUGH THE VARIOUS MEETING POINTS ON THE GROUNDS. IF YOU ARE IN THE FIELDS, GATES ARE BEING PROVIDED TO ESCAPE BACK TO ADELUNA. THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE. DROP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND LEAVE NOW."

Bright blue gates opened up across the realm to provide exit for all those in the outer fields, and they feeling the disruption flocked as he had directed towards them. Iris was busy directing the clergy and the individuals in the temple to the nearest point where the Sundering Gardens and Tar Eisalae met. Meanwhile she ran into Nathaniel as she was rushing to the throne room where the clergy had been entertaining the twins.

"You heard then?" she said as she scooped up one of the twins and handed the other to Nathaniel. "Right. I'm going to need your help. We have to sever the realms. We'll do it from Tar Eisalae." It was hard to hurry, with the ground trembling and heaving like the waters of the sea themselves. It took them a while to actually reach the nursery, the closest place with a link to Tar Eisalae. Crossing the threshold was a relief, and Iris quickly cut the connection from that doorway. "Quick, to the other meeting points!"   

Drae held the gates open as long as he could until he could feel no longer the touches of mortals in the realm. Satisfied that no one was left, he let his grip slip and the collapse immediately fell full force around him. All who was left was Angela, and he had a feeling she had to stay. He blinked back to Tar Eisalae where he collapse upon a sofa. Angela's realm, he felt collapse completely and he heaved a heavy sigh. Iris ran up to him with Poppy on her hip. "Lord Drae. We separated the realms," she said. Poppy immediately shrieked and reached for her father, who took her tiredly.     "Very good, Iris," he said as he cuddled Poppy. "Now we wait…" he sighed.    


************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Unlike the other deities who had taken up new mantles, Angela's did not come quickly. Xunatar had slipped on the mantle of Darkness in a morning, and as far as he could tell, Dalanesca's uptaking of desire sure did not seem to have been a major change. But Angela had been the Earth for more than a millennia. It was definitely not something that she was going to be able to let go easily.  
He was playing with Poppy and Lark when he noticed something odd. Attached to his ring finger, on top of his wedding band, was a gold and red intricately tied knot, and it seemed to be throbbing. He motioned for one of Angela's clergy members to come over and take care of the infants, he had been putting them up in Tar Eisalae, and stood up and followed the pulsing sensation to the mirror he had hung in his chamber to connect him to Angela's. It was the one door that had remained intact through everything. The pulse became a tugging and Drae stepped through the mirror. Instead of appearing in the familiar temple, he had the privilege of seeing something he had not seen in some time. The familial feeling that was there as the Soul Stream rushed around him in a swirl of soul lights reassured him that despite the long week of uncertainty, everything was going to be well. He could feel Angela here as the souls rushed past him as he was guided by the string tied about his finger. 

There was a rush of fresh air, and mixed with a crash of waves and foam, it was clear the air lacked something that might have come with a traditional ocean. His boots crunched on the sea glass beach and he paused to take in the very new surroundings. He scooped up a handful of the glass and rolled the waved buffered pebbles through his fingers. He watched as the starry night ocean tossed a twilight foam up on the beach and watched with amusement as several different small animals ran out of the surf. He even plucked a palm sized egg from the water. 

"Positively amazing," he whispered as he stood and slipped the egg into his pocket before he dropped the handful of sea glass and continued to follow the tugging on his finger. Up the beach a ways he noticed a figure lying upon the sea glass beach. The long cascade of flaming hair left no question in his mind. It was Angela. 

He didn't run. He fought the urge to. There was no cause for alarm, really. But still, the desire was there. Upon reaching her, he fell beside her on the beach and gently picked her up, and cradled her into his arms. She looked pale, but appeared to be sleeping if anything. She would wake up once the energy returned to her. 

"Really, Love. Why must you be so dramatic?" he asked her softly, almost chiding her, but with a smile on his face. 

There was a groan from her lips as Drae moved her body. Her eyes flickered softly as she peered at him. Her eyes slit and closed as if the sunlight hurt her eyes. “I didn’t try to be that time.” Her hand weakly rose to push back her wild hair as she held her head. “It hurts…” Her head found its way to snuggling into his chest and allowed her arm to drop. “I can’t even remember what happened…” Her voice was so gentle and quiet as she tried to figure out what had occurred a week prior.

“I remember Earth being ripped from me… I tried not to let it go but it got taken anyways.” Her muscles hurt as she let a soft hiss out the moment she attempted to move any more than she already had. She was sore. It was almost like she had been rebuilt to deal with it. “Where are we Adraejen?” Finally, she was able to open her eyes all the way as she looked around at the beach.

Her heart was low for a moment. “The Gardens are gone aren’t they?” Her head quickly whipped up and it was enough to make her almost pass out in his arms from the sudden movement. “Is everyone alright? I tried to make sure I told you but I can’t remember…”

Holding her head again she looked around. “I know this place… Why?” Her eyes closed and the new powers and old that flowed through her spoke in a way only she could understand. “Elysia?” Her lips murmured the name. Her eyes opened and she pointed towards the path going up into the jungle. “That way… Follow the sea glass and torches.”

"I'll bet its a splitter. Losing something that had been such a part of you for so long, it's bound to hurt," he sighed. "Just be slow, take it easy," he insisted as she struggled to push her own hair out of her face. He gently brushed the hair away for her.  He carefully hoisted her up into his arms and held her up so she could see where they were.

"The Voice was particularly adamant about the new mantle then," Drae said as he nuzzled her. "But I think this is supposed to be your new realm. And if I don't say so myself, what you come up with when you are out cold is intoxicating, Love. But yes, the Gardens are effectively no more," he said. "We got everyone out alright. I was able to stabilize the realm long enough to do that at the very least, but I was out of it for the better part of a day afterwards," he reassured her.

He was quiet for a moment as she sorted things out in her mind and then pointed in the direction they should go. He nodded and dutifully began trekking up the red and pink glass path through the jungle that despite it being glaciem in much of the world, was a humid summer heat.  

 "Elysia. Sounds like a name for paradise," he mused as they walked through the jungle. "I see you haven't lost your touch with Life though, that's reassuring," he smiled. "Tell me when you feel like you want to try walking," he added. 

The jungle opened up to a large circle mosaic of alstroemerias and Drae stopped. "Look at this…"

“Look at the man who is telling the doctor what to do,” she chuckled a bit albeit lightly to save her head from more pain. He adjusted her so she could see what her magic had done. Her green eyes took everything in. It seemed like something she would do… Her magic always knew even when she didn’t. “He must have been… To make me go through such trouble.”

She nuzzled him back softly and took a deep look at the sky while thinking. “Fancy,” she chuckled at him as she watched the waves now. “I was never a fan of being in the ocean but I do like the beach…” Her words were full of musing as they walked the path now.

Angela was never one for the cold so the hot climate made her happy. Again her magic knew even when she passed out what to do and what not to do. Her head tilted up at him and she nodded. “Perhaps after I’ve gotten clothed at the temple… Wherever it is.” She shook her head a bit more and thought about it. “No, it appears I lost Earth but kept Life… Love is my new domain.” She wouldn’t hide it from him but she was scared just a bit of something so new.

Peeking at the flowers she smiled at them and then her ears caught something. “Horses are coming?” She blinked in confusion as the carriage of stained glass came into view pulled by two white nightmares with golden flames for manes. “This… is definitely my realm.” Only she could think of something like this. The door swung open and Adraejen helped her get in.

The ride seemed relatively short thanks to the speed of the carriage but her eyes feasted on the palace at last. The pink water filled fountain was what greeted her first. The horses came to a stop and she opened the door though she was hesitant to walk with her legs still feeling like jelly. “Home… sweet home… Our bedroom from what the realm tells me is on the third floor.”

Drae stepped down from the stained glass carriage took Angela's arm to support her as they walked up to the magnificent white and gold building that had replaced the Tree shrine she had lived in for so long. It was a different place to be sure, but he had a feeling that there were aspect of the place that would prove the same as the former temple. Still, he let out a low whistle at the sight of the place. 

"Very opulent. But I guess that kind of thing comes with Love, doesn't it?" he mused as they walked up the white stone steps and entered the temple itself. Inside was very bright, very light, and colorful as mosaic rainbows fell across the walls and floors from the the stained glass that covered every window. It was rather enchanting watching as the colors shifted across them as they walked. Drae pushed open the double doors depicting roses in bloom and they entered what was very clearly supposed to be Angela's throne room. Everything was awash with soft color and light, glinting off the gold and marble mosaic floor. It was open, and welcoming, but had a tendency to echo a bit too much Drae thought. He saw the throne and looked at Angela. "The Phoenix is a nice touch. I rather like that," he chuckled. "What do you think of it all?"

“Aye, but you know I’ve always been fond of building styles like this. My mansion in Arri is this way as well but on a much smaller scale,” she flashed a smile up at her husband as she spoke. As they entered the stained glass throne room she took time to admire everything her heart had given birth to. Once to the throne she moved her hand over it and felt the very life force of the feathers in the chair.

“Let’s go upstairs…” She could feel the temple now and she knew exactly where their bedroom was. “In the time that I’ve been gone has Rohan and the children worried?” She remembered the last time that Rohan had missed her though it was for such a longer period of time than this time before. “Have Poppy and Lark been good children?”

She took him up a grand staircase near the entrance of the building before finally finding a mahogany set of double doors. Pushing them open they would find a gold and dark crimson colored room. A large fireplace with a couch in front of it, a giant four poster bed with the same themed colored curtains around it draping for privacy. Candles flickered in a romantic light and overall the room felt cozy and complete with both of them in there. Tall armoires held clothing and dressers as well made of the same dark wood.

She plopped herself on the bed and took a look at everything around her. “Everything is so different… I held earth for so long… it feels lonely now. I can’t hear them unless I want to hear them and I’m sure it would tire me out to hear them all the time.” She tilted her head and chuckle. “It is the little things I miss but I can feel so much life now and love…” She put her hand on his chest and played with his shirt. “I feel whole somehow much more than I used to maybe because love is such a fulfilling thing to have…”

"You make an excellent point. Our Arri home is definitely very similar," Drae smiled. "Silly of me to forget," he laughed as he put her down at last so that she could examine her throne. It seemed the motion of touching something that was tied to her new domain seemed to give back her 'sea legs'. Earth had been her for so long, but now he wondered if maybe Love wasn't truly something she had been meant to be for a long time. It would take her a while to get used to the change, he was sure, but he had a suspicion she would jump right into it before long. He took her arm as she insisted they go upstairs to their room, and he happily obliged her. 

"They were concerned, yes, but not like before," he replied, referring back to the debacle between Angela and Dalanesca nearly a decade previous. "Unlike the last time, they new it was just a matter of time before you were going to come back to us. Poppy and Lark missed you quite a lot, but they always miss you when you are away from them. But, as you expect, Rohan took it the roughest. He was stalking across Tar Eisalae and Arri like…. well, as an overgrown bat, just out of his angst," he explained. "Fortunately, this time he was old enough to understand what was going on. And he had Hazel to keep him calm. I do like that girl, no matter the people of Arri think of her," he stated as they made their way up the grand central staircase. 

The room was comfortable, and definitely something he could enjoy. The crimson and gold definitely suited Angela, and that was good enough for him. He sat down beside her on the bed and gently began rubbing her back to soothe her. "It won't feel lonely for long, Love," he reassured her. "You might not be as connected to earth, but now your focus on life will become stronger, I think. Especially since love will augment it so well," he promised her. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You have so much to offer as Love, I think. You have given your heart to so many in the past, that I think it is only appropriate."

He looked around the room. "This is nice. It will be nicer when your clergy are here, and no longer clogging up my Library, waiting to know what changes have taken place," he chuckled. "I will not be sad to have them out, just as much as I think they will be eager to be back here with you."

“Isn’t Rohan always angsty if he isn’t with Hazel?” She chuckled up to her husband. “I missed them all too… A week away from them is like an eternity. I can’t wait to see all of my babies big and small.” There was a mother like charm to her words as she spoke. Her arm tightened around his as they walked.

Her new room was enjoyable and it complimented her greatly. Leaning into her husband she let out an audible moan from how good the massage felt. Her muscle were still very much tense. “Aye, and with the children, it already isn’t very quiet. They fight like cats and dogs.” She chuckled as she kissed him back. “Maybe love is a step in the right direction for me.”

Angela snorted a bit and blushed as she laughed at Drae. “You are too simple. Don’t be worried about your wife just the clutter in your temple. That sounds like you.” She nuzzled his neck softly and smirked up at him. “What should we do now? Christen the place? I mean no one is here?” That was just like the Goddess of Love to get down to the meat of her domain… so to speak.

"Please, Rohan isn't Colden. He can handle being away from Hazel, but he worries about her is the thing. Not angst though," Drae commented. He began rubbing her shoulders and back a little harder to offer a deeper tissue massage. "Psh, the simplicity is a façade. I am as complicated as all get out," he laughed. "And you know it. But I will relish not having blankets and pillows on the main floor. Serci has been good at keeping everything orderly, but the library was not meant to be a long term shelter," he mused. "Mostly it will be the lack of the incessant "Where is Lady Angela, is she alright?" questions. I'm the God of Magic and Knowledge, sure but I am not all seeing!"

Drae looked thoughtful. "Christening sounds like a good idea. I mean, I HAVE had to deal with your clergy for a week. I think I've earned it," he mused as he leaned in and began sucking on her neck.