milliways_bar | (no subject)

Ray's going to head down to the cells shortly, but in the meantime, there's someone he hasn't seen in a while. "Hi, Sooty."

Asar-Suti looks up from his book, and smiles.

"Hello, Ray!" he says. "Haven't seen you in a while, but then, I haven't been very visible, I must admit."

Asar-Suti finds he prefers to mope in private, in the garden or the library.

"I've been in and out a lot, too. That probably doesn't help either." He smiles a bit, albeit a little halfheartedly. "Anything interesting going on with your end of things?"

"There is another Dark God, the one fom Garion's world," Asar-Suti nods. "He's quite demented; poor fellow. A tortured deity; I wish I could help him. But I suppose he'd got to thaw out a bit before I can try and offer help. Unless he' got some agenda of revenge or something, and attacks Garion."

"Uh oh." Ray winces. "Garion told me about him once, long ago. He sounded pretty dangerous. Does he know to behave himself in public, or is he one of those cackling demented types? And what's he look like? I'd rather not get turned into a chicken for stepping on his shadow or something."

"he's not cackling; his insanity is deeper, and more quiet. He is rather singular, a figure in robes and hood, and a beautiful mask of living metal that moves as his face would, and one single burning eye looking out of that mask."

Asar-Suti shudders with pity. "Underneath the mask, his face is burning - not just burned, burning still. It is something that Garion's orb did to him, long ago. Something is wrong with one of his hands, too, from the way he moves. He apparently can't take another shape, although he was quite vague about the reason; I suppose it must have been the orb as well. His life must be constant pain, stuck in that body - nothing truly interests him, and he has nothing to lose, and feels painfully demented, even while he talks sanely, if complicatedly - with 'thee' and 'thou'. Good thing I am able to do so. I pity him infinitely, but suppose if I offered help, he would just sneer, like he does at almost anything else, except the orb."

"Ow," Ray says, one hand going to his face. "There's a tradition in my world that gods don't heal from injuries, since only mortals were ever designed to live in a world where stuff could hurt them, but the thought of the fire still going on after all that time... ow, ow, ow. I'd be sociopathic too, if I was subject to that kind of thing for that long."

"But gods can appear in any shape; we wear them as humans wear clothes," Asar-Suti says, using the metaphor from Tolkien. "Something must have got Kal Torak stuck in that injured shape. I wish I could do something to help him - but not yet. Let this place work on him, and then I will find something to help him. We have so many powerful deities and healers here, there must be something we can do for him. Especially if Garion was helping."

He shrugs. "If he tries anything on, he is toast, of course - I promised Barry I would help if it was necessary to fight Kal Torak. But I hope it won't be necessary."

Ray nods. "It's like Egon said when we had to get rid of Gozer- 'it's whatever it wants to be', were his exact words. Good luck with this Kal Torak guy, though. I think I'll probably stay away from him. No offense, but if someone with that level of psychological dysfunction found out about my career choice and track record I think I'd wind up smeared across a couple of different dimensions faster than you could say 'sheep'. Illyria was upset enough when she found out, although admittedly I could've been a lot more tactful."

"Well, who knows, he might end up just as safe as I am; this place does things to people, even Dark Gods. It would be very interesting to have another one around, in fact."

Asar-Suti shrugs. "Who is Illyria, though?"

"Oh, you haven't seen her? She's blue." Ray smiles. "She's about my height, and she's got blue hair and a blue cast to her skin and stuff. Used to be some kind of god-king of the Old Ones- the same order of being as Great Cthulhu, though he was more powerful than her. She's currently stuck in a human body for reasons I don't quite understand. I don't think she has much in the way of godly powers while she's here, but she's a little cranky and could probably do with some respectful company."

"Oh, I will have to meet her!" Asar-Suti exclaims. "A Dark Goddess, and one that is not obviously insane; that will be interesting. So I won't be the only one here any more even if - if poor Kal Torak doesn't work out."

Ray nods. "She really doesn't like me, and I guess I can't blame her- like I said, tactless. But I think you two would probably get along."