Garrison Fawkes’ POV

As soon I could stand upright without wanting to vomit, I would. The Madame had a gentle hand rubbing down my back. 

“Sorry, I should have warned you,” they said apologetically. “You’ll get used to it.”

I was too busy huffing and puffing to answer them. 

~

They had brought us right outside a humongous golden door. The floors and ceilings were made of white marble and it was clear that whoever owned this was exceedingly rich. 

“I didn’t want to go inside the hall right away,” they explained. “I thought you might need some time to, well…process.”

The Madame had incredible foresight, because as soon the heavy doors swung open, my breath caught in my chest. Inside, the meeting hall could somehow be considered even more ostentatious than the outside. I was quite speechless with awe. 

Just like the corridor outside, from the ceiling to the floor, everything was made of the whitest marble. But in here, they were also encrusted with jewels and gemstones and anything metal was bright and gold. Everything gleamed and twinkled.

“It’s a bit much, isn’t it?” the Madame asked sympathetically. “To be fair, Mammon owns the place.” I blinked owlishly at them. “He’s Greed.”

I stared wide-eyed. “Yes, I can see that.”

The Madame winced. “He goes by Michael now.”

“Right.” 

Clearly, I was still stunned by all the shiny things, so they took my arm and led me to a circular table. It was also made of marble with intricate gold inlays and seven matching chairs surrounded it. They took their seat and I stood behind like a sentinel. 

We were not the first to the table. There were a few other chairs occupied and their occupants regarded me curiously but did not yet comment. I tried to guess who was who.

The one with glimmering scales that reminded me of the dragons I saw in bestiaries seemed most likely to be Mammon or Michael. His eyes darted jealously around the room at anyone who appeared to be touching his things or going too close to the walls. I empathised. If I owned such a place, I’d be paranoid of anyone who entered too. At once, I was thankful for not having that many material possessions that other people would consider valuable. 

Mammon, as I’d dubbed him in my head, was watching the Puckwudgie in particular. Not as elusive as Dragons, I had come across a couple of Puckwudgies before. My impression had not been favourable and I found them to be jealous little creatures. If that was their true nature, I understood why Mammon was glaring so intently. He was probably wary of theft or vicious pranks. I wondered what the Puckwudgie’s name was.

Of the remaining two at the table, one was built like a bull and his head looked like one too. He was clearly a minotaur. And his glossy, dark skin was wrapped in a white toga. I’d bet anything that this was Wrath. 

The fifth occupant sat between two empty chairs. I had not met a creature such as this before, but I could definitely guess. She had the gaunt, skeletal features of a Wendigo. Her ribs showed and her maw worked constantly for food. She was a very miserable looking creature like the rest of kin. A fitting representative, I thought, for Greed. 

Out of everyone I had seen so far, only the Madame hadn’t shown their true self. Not that I could really tell through the veil and lacey garb. Though it did make sense that Lust would look lovely. They felt lovely, at least. I cleared that line of thought before it could go too far and embarrass myself.

The Madame smiled worriedly at me and I nodded back reassuringly.

It wasn’t long before a Sphinx padded lazily into the great hall with nary a second look at the bejewelled walls. She yawned and curled up in the chair, impatiently waiting for the last member to arrive. 

They did so with a fair amount of fanfare in comparison to the Madame and I or the Sphinx. Pride was an Elf, with alabaster skin, golden hair and icy eyes. He wore a perpetual expression of contempt with the slightly upturned nose on his face. Uncharitably, I thought my friend looked better even though I’d barely seen their face. 

And with all council members here, the Madame whispered a hurried introduction of the rest.

“That’s Michael, he has graciously allowed us to use his home as a meeting place,” they said, gesturing to the Dragon in human form. Michael nodded in acknowledgement. 

The rest of them looked over curiously. The Minotaur between Michael and the Madame huffed and threw back his head, which transformed into the features of a woman. I tried not to stare too openly.

“I am Azrael,” she said, raising a thin dark eyebrow at my staring. I gave her a short nod. 

“This is Fawkes,” said the Madame. “He’s with me.”

The Puckwudgie on our left shifted into a short man with mischievous eyes. “Hallo! You are quite good-looking, aren’t you,” he said. “It’s no wonder Uriel keeps you around.”

“Uriel?” I asked surprisedly. 

“Yes, that’s who you’re with. Did you not know that? Have I ruined your games? Is it a sex thing?” He laughed rudely. 

“Enough, Ramiel,” commanded the Elf in irritation. “Your jealousy is showing.” 

The Puckwudgie, Ramiel, made a face. “And your pride is showing, Raphael.”

Personally, I couldn’t see how Raphael’s pride was showing, but I didn’t know them very well. Raphale tsked and turned his nose away from Ramiel. 

I looked towards the Sphinx who didn’t transform into a more humanoid form or introduce herself. 

“Oh, allow me,” said the Wendigo, who was now a fluffy, old lady. It was far more jarring to see that transformation than the Minotaur’s. “That’s Gabrielle and I’m Cassiel. It is so very nice to meet you, Fawkes. Ramiel was right. You are a handsome, young man.” She smiled kindly, a completely different image from the starving creature I’d seen previously. 

I ducked my head in sheepish embarrassment. 

“You mustn’t mind our looks,” said Cassiel earnestly. “We are simply using the form that is easiest to talk in. This is a meeting, after all.”

“Now that introductions have been made, shall we start the actual meeting?” asked the Elf dryly. I decided that I understood the Pride thing now.