The Temple of Six stood proudly on the most northern point of Palaestra. It was the only holy location in the city and was regularly used not just by the Raptors who had built it, but by other races too, all of whom had little alcoves set aside for them to worship their own gods. In the centre of the temple were statues of the six gods, each one about five meters tall, made out of marble and painted in bright spirals of patterns. At the feet of the statues were piles of tributes, gifts and offerings to each god.
At this time of day, around 10am, the temple was always quiet. Most beings had work or school or were otherwise busy with their lives. Which meant it was the perfect time for the Raptor Herself to schedule a meeting.
“I always thought Ksithanai hated Skyavok and that was why one represented your god of death!” Elksia joked as she placed a small trinket at the base of the Death God’s statue. “But having met him, well, it’s not exactly coincidence any more, is it?”
“Arkay is not the god of death,” Phovos sighed as she led the Dessaron to one side. “Arkay is our God of Renewal, he embraces damage and death and takes them apart so Kayar, the God of Birth, can make new things. But discussion of religion is not why I brought you here.”
“I assumed as mu- hey!” Elksia hissed at Retvik who was prodding her in the shoulder to get her to shut up.
“Shush, Elksia. Let Phovos talk.”
Phovos nodded a thank you to Retvik. She was the Leader of Palaestra, a Ksithan Raptor with close ties to both the Reth-Vrekan Union and a large number of independent Temthan colonies. Her connections and friendliness had ensured that the city of Palaestra had grown from a backwater village to one of the most wonderful cities in the sector, open to all peaceful races. But Tenuk, Retvik and Elksia all knew her best as a warlord, one of the scariest, nigh unstoppable fighters the universe had ever seen.
“I am glad to see that you are all back together again, with a new member as well.”
“It is an honour!” Psiksi bowed. Phovos stood the young Skyavok up straight and instead shook his hand.
“It is. You are a fine addition to their team, Psiksi. Because of your return, there have been a large number of rumours that the four of you may be participating in the Arena…”
Psiksi’s eyes lit up. “Oooh. I like those rumours.”
“I do not like them…” Retvik grunted. “We are not at peak performance, we are out of practice and we have not trained much with our newest member…”
“You’re worried about our unbroken win streak, aren’t you?” Elksia grinned.
“Well yes. Call me sad, but I do not want to stain our flawless number of wins.”
Phovos nodded her head understandably. “That is fair. That is why I wanted to ask you all. To see if I should pursue these rumours or not.”
Tenuk shrugged, then put an arm around Retvik. “Hey, it doesn’t have to be right now! Maybe in a couple of months, when we’re back to full health, we could consider it properly! And maybe in the mean time, we could do a couple of big monster matches, as exhibition fights?”
The Raptor pulled out a notepad from her sash and started writing things down. “I can arrange that for you. But I do need you for a couple of other things. Some promotional materials would be helpful, perhaps a short photo shoot and interview. We have a fertility festival in honour of Kayar this weekend so that can be organized next week. The other thing…”
Phovos paused. A communicator vibrated. She picked it up and checked it, reading a message.
“The other thing, I need to gather more information on. Do any of you have an issue with Temthans?”
The Dessaron glanced at each other.
“No, why?” Retvik asked.
“Good. I shall inform you when I have all the data I require.” Phovos bowed. “Now, if you excuse me, I have some prayers and offerings I must do…”
The Dessaron all bowed back, then left Phovos to her own devices.
“That was… odd…” Retvik whispered as the four Dessaron exited the temple.
“Yeah… but interesting though!” Tenuk beamed. “Seems like good news is on its way!”