"Twelve," Joshua muses. "I wonder whether they all might have some resonance with an Eikon or some other aspect of aether. Would that we could visit each other's worlds and see these marvels for ourselves. These Aspects and Classes, do they choose who bears them, as through fate or perhaps inheritance?"
He listens closely to all she says about Barnabas. "Steering clear was the right decision. He is dangerous, and not only for the overwhelming power of his Eikon. It surprises me not that Sleipnir would do such a thing. If anyone were capable of conquering a place with no ruler to overthrow, no throne to claim, no armies to defeat, it would be Barnabas Tharmr, King of Waloed."
She derails him from that train of thought for a moment, as he gives her a curious look. "And what do your myths say of the Phoenix and Ifrit? Elidibus indicated that on his star, the Eikons are Primal beings with legends of their own that may be summoned; but on mine, they have no legends and indeed no existence outside the Dominants who host them."
...but right, they were talking about Odin.
"Barnabas certainly possesses much knowledge, but I would ascribe it to his lifespan and the deity he serves rather than a particular thirst for the knowledge itself. He is a practical and merciless man, and although he is not cruel without reason, he is devoid of personal desires, empty of most emotion, and a slave to his faith in as literal a fashion as you can conceive. He conquered a continent and destroyed an ancient kingdom when he was barely a man, with a small but unquestionably loyal and impeccably skilled force by his side. He did so by the merits of his masterful swordsmanship alone, eschewing the power of his Eikon entirely and yet still victorious. He chose to sacrifice his free will on the altar of his god, Ultima, to become akashic. In so doing, he sacrificed his mortality, as well. He ruled Waloed with an iron fist and Odin's darkness for several decades, scheming in the shadows alongside Ultima and manipulating events across the Twins with shows of effortless force and the power of Zantetsuken, Odin's sword that can cut the very fabric of reality itself."
no subject
He listens closely to all she says about Barnabas. "Steering clear was the right decision. He is dangerous, and not only for the overwhelming power of his Eikon. It surprises me not that Sleipnir would do such a thing. If anyone were capable of conquering a place with no ruler to overthrow, no throne to claim, no armies to defeat, it would be Barnabas Tharmr, King of Waloed."
She derails him from that train of thought for a moment, as he gives her a curious look. "And what do your myths say of the Phoenix and Ifrit? Elidibus indicated that on his star, the Eikons are Primal beings with legends of their own that may be summoned; but on mine, they have no legends and indeed no existence outside the Dominants who host them."
...but right, they were talking about Odin.
"Barnabas certainly possesses much knowledge, but I would ascribe it to his lifespan and the deity he serves rather than a particular thirst for the knowledge itself. He is a practical and merciless man, and although he is not cruel without reason, he is devoid of personal desires, empty of most emotion, and a slave to his faith in as literal a fashion as you can conceive. He conquered a continent and destroyed an ancient kingdom when he was barely a man, with a small but unquestionably loyal and impeccably skilled force by his side. He did so by the merits of his masterful swordsmanship alone, eschewing the power of his Eikon entirely and yet still victorious. He chose to sacrifice his free will on the altar of his god, Ultima, to become akashic. In so doing, he sacrificed his mortality, as well. He ruled Waloed with an iron fist and Odin's darkness for several decades, scheming in the shadows alongside Ultima and manipulating events across the Twins with shows of effortless force and the power of Zantetsuken, Odin's sword that can cut the very fabric of reality itself."