A Call to Arms

EnDSchultz · #16

From the center of the gathering, an eerie presence stirred. It started as a faint point of dimness, which seemed to filter away the light around it. The darkness escalated in intensity, seeming to suck much of the light from the room, until at its center, a maw of pure blackness emerged. It grew, larger and larger, until the void began to take on a shape. It was the silhouette of a large humanoid creature, over seven feet tall, bulky, with a broad head and even broader shoulders. So pitch black was the apparition that no further depth or detail could be discerned. Tendrils of smoky shadow swirled up from the floor around the mysterious form. It spoke:

"I... was the first." The inflection was of a hoarse whisper, yet the voice possessed such projection as to fill the whole space and seemingly originate from every direction. "I was the founder, and first Headmaster of the Evil Council... though I was not... as you see me now. That form has long since passed... along with the era of greatness to which it contributed... and bore witness. I appear to you now, strangers, at great cost, so that you may understand the grand legacy of this association... and to perhaps instill in you the inspiration to see it... reborn." The last word was long and protracted. It carried a weight unlike the labored and uneven sentences that came before, and was accompanied by a deep rumble that almost shook the room. A pause as the quake settled, then the apparition continued:

"The Evil Council... was once a force like no other. Its members were legion... and its influence unrivaled. Indeed, even many of the... unaffiliated would heed the words of a Councillor... for good or ill. Its members worked their way into the highest levels of government, bending policy to better suit the Council's many... machinations. Countless times... The Evil Council held the fate of entire worlds in its clutches. THIS..." Again, the word was protracted, and with even more intensity than the last one, producing a definite vibration in the floorboards.

"...is the legacy you will inherit... should you so choose. The Evil Council became a great power through many things. Strength... intelligence... guile... wit... perseverance... but above all... unity...
Unity of purpose... Unity of action... Unity of will.

If you are to see the Council reborn... you must follow in these footsteps. The Articles you have found... they are from a different era, when we were many. Modify them as new needs require... but do not abandon them. They represent the unity which gave us the strength to prevail over the forces of good which sought to thwart us... and will inevitably seek to thwart your efforts as well."

The darkness sapping the light from the room began to weaken. "I will not return here again... this brief conduit has already cost too much. Know that you are the heirs to an organization the likes of which had never been seen before... but... perhaps... may yet be seen again. Go now... with my blessing. Sew chaos without... build unity within... so that evil may rise from the ashes and rule over this world... and none will be able to oppose the might of The Evil Council! Good luck..."

Light continued to flood back into the meeting room. The tendrils of shadow began to swirl around the figure in a tightening cyclonic flow. "... Councillors."

And as they met in the middle, evaporated into nothingness. The figure was gone.

#17

This was a greater boon that Fluffy could have ever have hoped for. The Apparition of the Founder appearing to grant them his blessing....hopefully that would be enough to sway some of the nay-sayers that had started.

Again, he starts in his high squeaky voice:

"As the Apparition said, we do not need to follow these, merely use them as a guide to make rules that will work for us. For example, our numbers are too few to even host the leaders it speaks of. Maybe we can make due with only the headmaster and S-i-C. As for the rules, lets not pretend we are anything but what we are: villians. Are you telling me that without that rule, you would never consider backstabbing me if it benefited you? I can tell you that if I thought it would benefit me, I'd backstab, murder, pillage, and whatever else it took. These rules are here to provide unity we could never have otherwise."

It was at this time that a voice in the back...the stranger first here, spoke up.

"One problem. Those are not the real Articles."

Vegoia · #18

Poppy begrudgingly acknowledged the hamster's words following that of the apparition. She heard of the Evil Council from a few sources whilst in this Pax, even seen a few of their goody-goody variants back in Whitestar Ojod years back as she lived there. The Poptop whole-heartedly agreed with Fluffy's final remarks on the issue of the AoC's binding rule for the group's members, essentially what stopped her from snacking on the rodent with some fava beans and a nice chianti...

"One problem. Those are not the real Articles."

Surprised at stranger in the back's notion, she nearly felt her voice breaking-forth from the little form to question this unverified statement, only to be beaten by the punch by the human in the room. "... How do you happen to know of such things? Assuming it is true, of course," Gaius interjected.

sadisticnerd · #19

"Hmm...that was...interesting to say the least.I've learned many things about the evil council just now." She said, giving a small wink to the stranger who just spoke."Hmm?These are not the real rules?If you say so, then you should know how the real ones look like, otherwise you would never see the difference between the fake and the real." Arisu added with a small grin on her face, grinning slightly as she stared at the stranger, with hopeful expectations...after all, she wanted to confirm if the stranger was the person she thought he was.

Yara would just stay silent in her seat, for the first time in her whole life, deciding to just listen to the 'grown-ups' talking.After all, she did not see anything she could reply to, at least for now.As she heard the hamster's words, she would just quietly nod to him in agreement.

Mage of Mist · #20

Huntblade just sat there staring, unsure on how to make of these turns of events... Apparently she was the only one who seemed shocked over the whole darkness being thing, since... Everyone seemed to shrug it off, or at least acted to in order to seem strong. She was glad she had her mask on to hide the stupid look on her face.
"Okay, sssoundsss good. No want any unwanted ssstabbingsss~" Huntblade spoke with a giggle as she nodded along to the demented hamster, though felt that the rodent would be more of an annoyance than a threat if he did try and backstab her. Whilst she was still trying to figure out what just happened... She then heard the robed figure speak.

"Not... The real Articlesss?"
She asked, looking to him, unsure how he even knew what the real Articles looked like... Unless he seen them before. This meeting turned from looking very boring to... Being mighty interesting, and a bit confusing too.

#21

"Facinating..." The magician rubbed her chin as things unfolded, then turned to the new figure. "And who would you be to know that?" She smiled, quite interested in all of this.

#22

"I know because I wrote the Original AoC."

The stranger lets that hang in the air for a moment, then with a flourish stands up and takes off his hood, revealing DP - though not as anyone in Pax had ever seen him. This was DP as he appeared when he was Headmaster of the EC, his trademark green, white, and gold traded in for blacks and reds, his skin pale, his eyes glowing red instead of white.

"I, The Dark Psycho, Second Headmaster of the Evil Council and Standing Council Elder, wish to be recognized by this assembly. Does anyone dispute my standing?"

Edited: Grammer and Spelling

#23

The magician raised her eyebrow at the new figure and the reveal. "Hmm...Council Elder? Interesting...Very interesting..." She clapped her hands together with a smile and tilted her head one way, hands the other. "Well, as long as this isn't going to be a case of..." She cleared her throat. "...One trying to take power of a young group before they've even gotten started, I have no complaints." She leaned back and set her feet on the table. "If it is, then I question why one bothered to even pretend that they weren't planing something of the sort all along." She took a long drag on her pipe.

#24

Smirking a little from under her cloak after the voice was heard, she waited and watched as the questions were asked and the god revealed himself. Now standing up, she nodded at his words, then at the others.

"I, of the last of the Elites of the previous Evil Council can confirm everything DP has said. I joined just before he left however, knowing the Councils history was deemed important then, and so I know it. That AoC you have there is one that has been tampered with. It's a document I once used to live by... and I have never made my membership a secret. All in The Encampment and those who would have spoken to those within the settlement would know this" dropping her cloak, Swix revealed herself to those who would not have already known. Instead of her usual black and white, Swix was wearing a black dress with red trim, a red collar and red tear patterns that would usually have been white. She was also holding a red bag, something that she had once often carried whilst in the EC. In the spirit of the colour scheme, she'd also swapped her usual boots for ones with red soles and red slash patterns across each side.

"Some of you here know me, some of you do not. I am the Lady Swix Dragonfury... and I would urge you all to recognise DPs standing here" after that she smiled in a rather twisted way "You didn't think you could put up posters about this and not attract the old guards attention I'm sure"

Meanwhile, the Incubus tilted his head at the naysaying, the apparition, and then his eyes nearly popped out of his head at seeing the god "This place just gets better and better" he muttered, before staring at Swix as though he'd never seen her before, not quite knowing what to say here.

Mage of Mist · #25

"Wrote the Original AoC?.." Huntblade asked... Unnerved by the following silence.
Her eyes widened at what she saw... 'Isss that...' She pondered in shock.

"I, The Dark Psycho, Second Headmaster of the Evil Council and Standing Council Elder, wish to be recognized by this assembly. Does anyone dispute my standing?"

The Floran stared at the god, feeling... Very uncomfortable by what happened. 'Uh... Pleassse don't recognize me... Pleassse don't recognize me...' She thought nervously, staring at the god... Though then looked to Swix. "..." Huntblade just... Stared, looking to DP, then to Swix, then to Fenrir, then to the baffled Andrew, and then turned to look at a wall, trying not to pay attention.

"Uh, recognize... Ssstanding." She said awkwardly, feeling very confused right now... If they found out she wanted to join the EC for fun... Oh she would probably be in so much trouble, at least that was what she feared, after all... She is a Knight.

Murphy · #26

Three knocks wrapped on the door before it fell inward off of it's hinges. A figure in a worn traveling cloak stepped in over the door.

"Sorry to be so terribly late, I was enjoying a nice evening ride when this flier smacked me in the face. Which is odd, because I don't recall being here when I woke up this morning. That's a hamster. Now THAT I like."

His voice carried with a lilting music that reverberated like three symphonies, each playing a completely different score.

"I certainly hope I'm not too late for the Evil Council meeting. It's been far too long since I've been able to enjoy myself properly. It gets rather dull not being able to express myself beyond the odd midsummer snowstorm. My Master has been very sullen and when he gets sullen" he shrugs "My powers grow weak."

He takes an available seat and looks around the room.

"By the way, my name's Murphy. Least that's what I call myself. How about filling a fellow in?"

sadisticnerd · #27

Arisu smiled, as she heard the declaration "Alright, then.So, I am assuming that you, dark psycho, is the one in the highest position out of all members in the evil council?...isn't it ironic, that the leader of the 'good guys', the knights of insanity, is also playing for the 'evil team'?...and let's not even talk about how the little hamster already committed an infraction, by attacking the council elder's 'realm'. "
She said still wearing her hood...only to hide her relatively wide grin that she currently had in her head.

Yara would twitch a little as she heard DP's name, although in her mind, she already made an excuse.
They're just people with the same name.
They're just people with the same name.
They're just people with the same name
she thought, repeating the words over and over to herself, in her mind, trying her best to not freak out about two of the knights being in the evil council.

Vegoia · #28

Both listening on to the actions that unfolded before them, the human seemed content with their responses and remained seated in a grin. However, the little one believed it be respectable to speak openly as the two associated with the Evil Council just had.

"I recognize as well, Dark Psycho"

The 'Poptop' looked up from her chair, the small being needing to edge closer to get a proper look of the former Headmaster of the Evil Council. She knew the magical essence in the air appeared familiar to her, just not expecting it to belong to the God she met back on Mirror Kata. "Your name does the old group justice. Perhaps it would be for the best I unveil myself as well, given how lax we all are being here."

A faint glow enshrouded the plant-being as she remained seated, simply scooting back the chair as her legs stretched down to the floor in the midst of the transformation. 'Poppy' gave off none of the crimson sparks her body reformed to one she felt more comfortable in. Merely, it took longer in the reaction for the tall woman's figure to stabilize without the aid of the red stone.

"Kalina is my name, fellow villains," the Ala gave off a twisted smile, recognizing the scent and description of the Council Elite that cast off her disguise shortly after the God.

#29

DP stares down Arisu. This incarnation is not the God who makes it rain pineapples. This is the Incarnation that stares her down with a look that promises the fury and insanity of a thousand wars.

"I do lead the Knights, but their mandate is clear. They exist solely to stop the Collector. Anything they do beyond that is on them. And I promised you that I had done my share to earn my title of "Dark" Psycho. Now does anyone dispute my standing?"

It was at this time the mess that was Murphy fell into the room.

"If you will take your seat, we were just discussing the fact that the Articles this rodent had found were the tampered version. If there will be no more interruptions?"

DP paused, looking around, daring someone to interrupt.

Mage of Mist · #30

"Uh, Hi. Name isss Huntblade..." The awkward Floran mumbled quickly to the figure who walked in. She then looked to Arisu, then Yara, then to Poppy/Kalina...
Huntblade did not plan on disclosing her identity, especially right now... She then sheepishly sunk into her seat, looking to DP nervously, not wanting to say anything to interrupt. 'WHY did Floran come here again?' The Floran thought to herself.