The Gathering

"I am back!" Seraph cried, skipping back into his room.

The atmosphere he walked into was, to put it bluntly, awkward. An air of heavy silence hung over Esper and Victor, both of them wearing discontented frowns.

Victor had his clothing bag in his lap, absentmindedly touching the stuffed cat he had packed. Noticing Seraph, he twitched, still unsure how to address his friend.

"Are you ready to, er, as the human kids say, 'get the party started?'" Seraph smiled innocently, and Victor felt the mood become less severe. Victor had tried indulge his friend in a fair amount of human culture, which mostly just involved watching television, so Seraph's clumsy attempts at being more 'in touch' with humanity always made Victor feel better. Victor never quite understood why it so funny when Seraph tried to mimic him by saying 'dude', but his strange syntax and bizarre pronunciation certainly played a part.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Victor murmured, sliding off the bed and standing by his side. Esper solemnly joined him, transforming into a small garden snake and wrapping around Victor's shoulders. He burrowed into the collar of his hoodie, almost like he was trying to hide.

Taking Victor by the hand, Seraph spread his other palm, and a display of light formed in the air. It was a holographic construct, showing an aerial view of the Celestial Palace.

"We shall start here," Seraph proclaimed, pointing at a tent-like building in the center courtyard, "That is the Battle Area. There spirits from all around display their magic and spar before our Mothers." He shifted his finger to a set of stands. "Next we shall 'hit' the bazaar. I will get us free food and drinks. Then perhaps we can meet some of the older spirits and talk!"

Victor was most interested in the prospect of free food. But, nonetheless, he nodded excitedly, allowing Seraph to see his enthusiasm.

"Then I suppose we should head out!"

----

It had never dawned on Victor exactly how utterly amazing The Gathering of the Spirits would be.

The sheer volume of it all was staggering. On the ground, the central courtyard was absolutely massive, much bigger than it any open expanse Victor had ever been in. All the land stretching out before him made Victor feel very, very small and slightly nauseas.

The tents and stands that were assembled had an almost medieval theme, but with more whites and golds. Everything was adorned in a soft, heavenly, and feminine flare, and Victor felt somewhat ashamed to be wearing all black.

Hundreds of thousands of women in all shapes and sizes traveled on the grassy land, going about their business in a quiet and calming fashion. Several androgynous children even ran past Victor's feet, laughing and playing some sort of game. It was pleasing, but also overwhelming.

"Cool, right?" Seraph breathed from beside him, pink eyes sparkling.

"I know you can't see this, Esper, but this is amazing," Victor whispered in Esper's mind, but he could feel nothing but unease coming from the nature spirit. What was his deal? Was he afraid of all the people?

Seraph squeezed Victor's hand. "Come, let us go to the Arena."

Seraph broke out into a joyous gallop, dragging Victor through the bustling crowd. Victor frantically hugged the spirit's arm, doing all he could not to be left in the dust. Around his neck, Esper tightened his grip.

The Battle Arena was much more impressive than Seraph's hologram had presented it as. It, indeed, was a giant tent, but there was so much more to it. Within the tent, a clear, circular shield had been erected. A cheering throng of spirits surrounded the shield, where two spirits battled in a passionate brawl. Magic sparkled and the spells were cast as the crowd roared in delight.

"Amazing," Seraph said, "We did not miss the sparring! It seems Myrkr and Atlantis have sent their champions to battle. This should be interesting."

Seraph brought Victor closer to the arena, pointing to one of the spirits. She was a tall, slender woman with short, purple hair and dark, grayish blue skin. She wore a black cloak with a slit exposing her left leg, and thin golden bracelets hung from her arms.

"I think that is Lunes," Seraph whispered excitedly, "I have spoken to her a few times in the past. She is a Darkness Spirit."

Referencing the other spirit, Seraph continued, "I believe the other is named Marina. She is a water spirit."

Marina was fair skinned and had traces of green scales on her neck on chest. She was scantily dressed, wearing only a bikini top and a sheer, wavy skirt. Wet, red hair reached down her back as streams of floating water surged around her clenched fists.

Lunes and Marina clashed with a vicious collision of plasma-like trendils of blackness and swirling tentacles of water. The fight was brutal, the spirits slamming each other against the shield and dragging them across the ground. Drawing blood seemed to be of no concern in the sparring, as both of the contestants suffering lacerations and bleeding noses and lips.

The fight was ended when Marina wrapped her water around Lunes' head, the darkness spirit unable to escape. A massive griffin landed in the arena, calling the end of the match. Marina was declared the winner, and she strutted out of an opening on the shield, her fellow water spirits crowding around her and screaming her name.

To Victor's surprise, Seraph joined the cheering, and even Victor smiled at the victory. Despite how awkward he felt, he was starting to have fun.

"It will be some time before another battle begins. I think we should go to the main tent. That is where all the powerful spirits hang out at! We can have lots of good conversations with them!"

Victor shrugged, "I'll go wherever you want, Ser."

Author's Note- oooh, spirit battles!

Question: what character is like you the most? For me, I'm a lot like Umbra and Esper!

Also, pokereader28 has a theory book! Please go look at it!! :)

MimiSnickersDoodles drew an awesome Umbra!!!!