Donos watches Zaela's outburst with great amusement and curiosity. He doesn't really understand what she's talking about but her anger towards Thanatos is something to behold. Maybe this never-ending line will not be so boring after all. 

"Ah ha. Another feels the same way towards these divine layabouts," he shouts.

Still not sure what is being asked or why, nonetheless, he steps forward in support.

"Tell her what she wants to know."

The Changeling profusely laughs at the outburst, feeling that the similarities between her and the Satyr are becoming to be more apparent. "I'm glad to find someone who agrees with me on one thing!"

(Hermes is psychopomp in this universe, not Thanatos. Thanatos instead lives beyond the gates alongside his brothers and sisters, his fellow children of Nyx.)

(Let me know if you want to edit your post, otherwise I'll just post his response)

Quote from WoobyDoobyDoo >>

(Let me know if you want to edit your post, otherwise I'll just post his response)

Just edited it, you can respond now. 

"I apologize, Zaela. But my orders are not always... consciously made. I have many duties, and I often do not have the time to think about my actions. Why, at the moment hundreds are dying by my hand, yet these deaths might as well have been caused by someone else. When the order was given, it was not me who gave it. It was the small part at the back of my mind that realized that the person you saw was defying death, and placed a mark on him. I gave no thought to who he actually was. Unfortunately, who he was turned out to be powerful, more powerful than even you. And as for what I am doing here, this is where I live. Mostly."

Thanatos steps back, and regards your group with his calm, stern stare, and rises a few feet off the ground.

"You know, I came to you in order to offer you and any friends you decided to bring along a way past this unbearable line, but now I'm having second thoughts. Perhaps I should just leave you here with my sisters. I'm sure they still have quite a bit of gloating to do. After all, it's not often they get to claim such powerful souls."

Arteusa steps forward and bows deeply to the god. "Please, Thanatos, forgive my companions their harsh words. Charon was particularly...abrasive on our journey, and death is not sitting well with them," she offers, glancing at the others. They had poor opinions of the gods, which Arteusa supposed one might understand, considering their current predicament. She had always known though, that her death would be bloody, and likely with Nike's name on her lips. The gods were fickle creatures, and mortals existed to serve them; to expect more than that from them was foolishness. "We would appreciate any aid you are willing to offer in getting us through this line." 

Being escorted past this insufferable line is very much what Donos thinks is his due as a true hero. He was akin to a Demi-god in in life. 

But from the few stories he knows, gods do not grant boons unless they have something to gain. There is either something they want but cannot achieve on their own without angering another god, or there is another god they want to suffer but dare not do anything untoward themselves.

Whichever reason Thanatos has, in the end, it will get them past this queue.

Trying to sound as humble as he can and racking his memories for those phrases Atlanteans used when they beseeched him for help he steps forward.

“Yes any use of your vast powers to escort us around this mass of depressing rabble,” he feels himself losing the thread of humility he was aiming for,” would be appreciated.”

Kaenis’s face becomes stern and apologetic. While she didn’t mind waiting around for who knows how long, it was certainly unpleasant, and Hades knows when it would be until they would be able to finally rest where they were supposed to belong. Her hatred of the fickle beings of the Gods flares up, and she has difficulty composing herself. How many souls have been squandered down here, created just to serve and be cruelly punished at the whims of the higher deities? Still, she plays none the wiser, and is interested with what the Satyr had to do with Thanatos, despite the rather harsh vitriol that had been dispensed on her part. Following the Centaur’s actions, she bows.

“I sincerely apologize, Thanatos. It’s been a rather long time since I’ve encountered the pleasures of the living realm - and, I’m afraid, your area of responsibility overlaps little with how my life has abruptly ended, hence my rather bitter frustrations. I was wrong to take them out of you. Pray see that you can look beyond those momentary qualms; I would hold any possible aid you could grant us with the highest of regards.”

Persuasion, if needed; 21

Zaela's rage burns on, though many people would have their anger stifled by an apology, this one did not have that effect on Zaela. As she sensed herself allowing her emotions to spiral out of control, she realized that if she were to act on them, no good outcome would come about. Unfortunately for her, emotions rarely listen to reason. Her body tenses up even further, and for just a second her companions can't tell whether or not she will attack the God of Death or refuse to acknowledge him further. 

Feeling herself lose control, Zaela begins yelling, "I WOUL-"

She stops mid-sentence, realizing something, with her face growing red. She reaches under her brown shirt, pulling out a twine cord-necklace connected to a set of pan pipes, which she looks down at. In the blink of an eye, her face goes from rage to disappointment and sadness, looking fondly upon this object, which seems to have a sad form of nostalgia to her. Failing to crush her emotions, she switched from soul-dooming anger to a deep gloomy sadness. The screaming emanating from her staff transforms from the screams of the damned to the weeping of the dead, embodying her current emotional state. She sheds no tears, her face going blank once again, but her eyes glisten as she looks at the ground for a moment as her companions talk to Death. She hangs her head down, waiting until they finish speaking to speak. 

"Very well," She surrenders, "Forgive me and my companions. Companions, please forgive if I've been less than welcoming to your hospitality. Dying brings a lot of pent up emotions to the surface. We'd gladly take whatever shortcut through this line you give us."

Defeated, she sinks her head down, ready to follow Thanatos to wherever her former master lead her. She stuffs the panpipes back into her shirt, hidden from the view of her companions.

She then turns back to Cerberus, "Farewell, good dog. I'll remember you."

Contrary to his companions, Rhaecus doesn't seem all that worried or curt at all. In fact, he's chuckling quietly to himself as the others do their best to earn the god's favor. 'Ah, how the great heroes humble themselves. A mere line can make them turn about in attitude, this... This is an excellent comedy. I was prepared to play the fool but it seems that's not even necessary!' There really doesn't seem to be a situation in which he couldn't bring himself to laugh.

He clears his throat as his fellow Satyr finishes her plea and, once again, bows with grace, though not nearly as low as the first he offered the two gods. They've seen his respect the first time around. In a smooth voice he speaks, "Needless to say, I would love nothing more than to skip ahead and see new sights. Staying still has never my my strong suit, you see, so remaining in line for another eternity is worse than death by torture. Oh please, do not subject me to this torture you august, kind god you... And I suppose it would be great if you could find it in your heart to forgive my companions as well. The trip so far has been taxing on the spirit. Ha! I mean really, in which tale or song has antagonizing a divine ever worked out well for a mortal?" Realizing that may have sounded a bit rude, he clears his throat with a hint of that smile still on his face. "Sorry about that. Just... part of my nature. Forgive me."

"Shall we leave now?" Zaela asks, still looking down.

"Let's. I suppose you'd like me to bring your fellow brights along? With souls this powerful, they're bound to be heading to Tartarus or Elysium, and either way it's better they get their reward for their actions in life faster than the others. For ordinary folks, Asphodel isn't all that different from this line here. Their afterlives have pretty much already begun. Come along, now."

Thanatos leads you out of the line and towards the front. At first, the flying Keres hiss and dive towards you, but they move back when they realize who is guiding you. They dare not cross their more powerful brother. Souls stare at you as you pass, their expressions getting more and more miserable as you progress further down the line, as they have been waiting for much longer.

"Shouldn't be long, now. Perhaps half a dozen stadia."

Donos walks along the line with the others, following behind Thanatos as he talks to Zaela. He can pick out the odd Atlantean as they pass along the line. Their clothes are different from dry land Greeks. It helps that many of them are Tritons as well. He greets each one they pass and shares a brief word of encouragement and a pat on the shoulder. He congratulates them on making it this far. These are his people and while he may not be seeing Atlantis anytime soon he can provide what service he can to them now.

"I remember you," he says to one tall Atlantean. "I thought I rescued thou from those accursed magical sharks. How come you here now?"

He pauses but the Atlantean seems quiet and sullen.

"This setting is challenging. Swim well my friend."

He turns and moves more quickly to keep up with the others.

Zaela is quiet for the rest of the walk, not flinching at the occasional Keres that pass by. As she walks beside Thanatos, she begins asking, "Those are your sisters, right?"

Kaneis seems to be intently peering at the long line of souls that Thanatos is guiding them past. Her trinket is fluctuating through various shades of colors that reflect the expressions on her face as she recognizes certain people in the line - more often than not, a hint of recognition plays on her face, and the crystal embedded on her necklace turns a cloudy shade of deep blue. Sometimes, she sees figures that spark a glistening shade of yellow and red amidst the miasma of colors on the gemstone. Upon seeing one particular soul, recognition dawns her face, and she opens her mouth as if she wanted to say something to this figure, before seemingly halting, looking down, and covering her face with one arm. She abruptly turns away, and you can see an entirely different person - a man of around forty is blankly looking away from the line of people, and into the swirling masses of Keres and ghastly sights that dot the barren Underworld, a tear glistening in its eyes. After waiting some time, it gradually morphs into the figure that you are now acquainted with, but instead of one eye being solid green, it's now a somber hue of deep azure.

(Mobile)

Arteusa follows the rest after a breath of relief, though she too, anxiously scours the line of souls for those she knows. She does not approach them or attempt to speak, but marks what places in line her men hold and prays that they will be judged well and find the peace they never knew in life.

Rhaecus plays a slow beat on his drums as he walks along, bring up the rear. He is chanting a moving, sombre dirge, commonly sung by women on the second day of funeral rites (in most regions). The tone is appropriately one of grief, though practiced listeners will note that it doesn't come from a personal level but more of a general sense of lament. Though the dirge references the gods, Thanatos being one of them, he is clearly not paying homage to him, rather conveying a sense of compassionate solace to these unfortunate souls awaiting their judgement.

Performance roll: 18

"Indeed, we are all children of Nyx, the Night, though we couldn't be more different. I prefer my brother Hypnos' company over theirs."

At the mention of his name, the drowsy-looking Hypnos cracks open an eye and grunts his agreement.

After some time, you reach the end of the line, and are greeted by the three judges of the underworld, each on their respective thrones. Each one wears a robe, a diadem, a long beard, and an expression denoting great wisdom. Piled around their thrones are thousands of scrolls, which occasionally fall into existence from seemingly nowhere, adding to the pile. The leftmost one, who is closest to you, looks up.

"Thanatos, what is the meaning of this? What are you doing?"
"Merely bringing you some souls I believe deserve a swift judgement, friend Aeacus. No need to get angry."
Aeacus sighs, and drops the scroll he was holding into the pile.
"Oh well, it's all the same, isn't it? Minos, Rhad, we've got some bright ones here, I think we ought to all have a say in these."
The other two grumble slightly, but they recognize it as the fairest thing to do.
"Let's start with the satyr, shall we? Er... the jolly one, not the gloomy one. A gloomy satyr? Ma Aïdes." Aeacus conjures a scroll out of the air. "So, Rhaecus, eh?"
"Cause of death is... hydra? Hm. Probably a hero type, then."
The judges mumble to each other for a few more seconds, until they appear to reach an agreement.
"Elysium?"
"Elysium."
"Elysium it is! Next. How about the centaur?"
"Easy choice, recommendation from Nike and Athena."
"Right, Elysium then. The triton."
"Some bad stuff from Poseidon here, I don't know..."
"You're not reading the whole thing. Says here at the end that Poseidon recommends Elysium."
"Oh, does he now? Well, that's easy too. Elysium. Human next. Only one in the bunch, eh?"
"That's odd, there's a lot of redacted stuff in here."
"Not worth looking into. Collective Elysium from the pantheon here."
"Alright. Finally, the gloomy one."
"Another recommendation, by... our very own Thanatos? Really?"
"She's served me well. I saw fit to reward her."
"Very well. Elysium."
"And that's all of them! Well, then, Elysium for all. Thanatos, could you be so kind as to take care of escorting them?"
"It would be my pleasure. Let's go, then."

Thanatos beckons, and begins walking off again.

(That was fun to write and is almost certainly pure pain to read. You're welcome.)

(OOC Great stuff. No pain at all.)

Donos listens to the three judges closely when they mention Poseidon. He knows the old sea god is notoriously ill tempered and can hold a grudge. And Donos had killed the kraken Poseidon had unleashed upon Atlantis. So that could really have gone either way. But in the end either all of Donos' heroic deeds were too much for even Poseidon to overlook, or just as likely he ended up greatly amused by the slightly sordid and mundane final fate the triton suffered.

Either way he was on his way to Elysium.

"Come good Rhaecus," he says as he pats the satyr on the back. "Tell me the tale of your battle with the hydra. I never had the joy of confronting one of their kind. When you cleave one head from their torso, do they truly sprout another?"

As they step in to follow Thanatos to Elysium, he looks to the other three of their party. A serious trio those, he thinks. A lot of fire in their hearts but pain too.