The last broken piece of Las Noches' walls had been placed back into its original position. Fera was now residing in the almost finished Central Palace. The palace in which Aion had resided before. He felt somewhat sad. Las Noches was empty without an emperor. He could have been the one to claim this throne, but that had never felt right. He wasn't fit to lead. He knew that. Yet, Fera was the only Espada to have resided in the castle after the Shinigamis attacks and the final destruction. Las Noches had suffered several holes on the western wall and generally the whole western wing had been suspect to blight.

While the eastern wall was largely still intact all of the Espada's palaces had also been destroyed and Las Noches was bare, the inside wide open to the sands of Hueco Mundo. For several months no Arrancar or Hollow dared to return until some  had decided to make a comback and resided in the outskirts of the eastern area. Two Espada had even returned a bit prior to the others, quite quickly after the end of the war, to reclaim the destructed castles. But Fera didn't bother with them. They seemed fallen to him. He had picked up the crumbled pieces one by one and connected them back together with his own Reiatsu. The stone out of which this castle was made had been created by Jericho himself. Fera remembered the explanation, that it was different from the material the Shinigami used to make their buildings and defensive walls sturdy. The Sekkiseki.

The stone of Las Noches resembled a white limestone. It was a stone that Jericho, the previous Segunda Espada, had forged. As the former gatekeeper of Las Noches, he had made it so the stone was able to accept Reiatsu from him to heal itself and reconnect should its pieces crumble. He had called it "Piedra del Alma" (Spirit Stone) or short, Piedra. And even though it only ever accepted the Reiatsu of one single being to completely heal, it accepted the Reiatsu of many to strengthen itself. The more Reiatsu was poured into the stone, the stronger and denser it would get. And after the death of the previous gatekeeper, the dominance over the stone was given to Fera. The successor of the Segunda Espada 400 years ago.

Over months he had mended the castle back together to its former glory. It had taken a solid 6 months until every last piece had been picked up and all of the walls were recreated. And now, it was ready for a new king. Fera often wondered who the next king would be. Perhaps the current Primera? He didn't think so. His pride had been trampled upon and there was little to no respect for him after his performance in the war. He would surely do things to regain his former fame, but as of now, even Fera's respect was gone. He had been able to see how he and another Espada had come back, a naturally lower ranking one, but he was the one who had needed the care from her. Fera thought it was disloyal to the nature of the Espada. But what did he know. He was just there to rebuild Las Noches. And so he had picked up the pieces around them and placed them back together.

There weren't many candidates for the throne. They either lacked power to dominate over the rest or didn't qualify for the position of a leader. With the Primera's lost respect, the Tercera's vanishing, the Cuarta's lack in dominance and the Quinta's lack of care, Fera had little hope for those among his own ranks. Those below didn't even have to bother trying. They would likely just eat dirt. Especially because Fera had made it his task to test the power of the one willing to claim the throne. Perhaps he wasn't the strongest, but he was strong enough to defend this castle, to rebuild it and to protect what Aion had left for the rest. He wasn't one to be taken lightly and there were only very little beings that were able to defeat him. Should someone he recognized come, they were free to take it.

Ultimately, the castle's story needed someone to write a new chapter over it. It now didn't bare Jericho's Reiatsu anymore. It had vanished. In its stead, Fera had placed his own. This castle now had a part of him in its walls. And he was sure that it had regained, perhaps even surpassed its former strength. The final step was to put the throne back up. It had been split horizontally. The upper part of the backrest cut off and thrown into a corner. Firmly, he placed it on the top of the throne and infused it with his Reiatsu, watching the crack vanish. This was the final piece, the last piece. Las Noches was back, the Espada would begin anew. Would the new era bring back the Espada stronger, hardened by the war? Or perhaps weakened, demoralized and crushed? Fera had hope. For himself and the others to find a new leader to bring back the spirit of the Espada.

(OOC: This thread is supposed to precede ALL others within the Las Noches forum and succeed ALL threads taking place in the Memories from the Past forum. Please be aware that history-wise, only my character, Gabriel Zeil's character, Ayane May Hoshi's character and Elizabeth's character are in the confines of the castle. All other Espada have been outside over the 6 months. Everybody else is free to describe his 'returning' to the castle in this thread. If I missed anything out [though I checked histories] please feel free to tell me ^^

PS: I would also like Roddo to give a characterization of Aion, so we have a guiding point on which we can align everybody's former relationship to him.

PPS: I would also like Roddo to post next. In case someone REALLY feels the need to write his story of the past six months before the Hollow King arrives, please ask >.< I would also urge all the Espada to create a post here :3 I hope everyone finds a way into the thread!)