[The Temple of All Gods] Storms and Clear Skies

[Gromhir]

Gromhir was entirely without the peace that Glav had offered. He felt it flood Kamalia and while he was happy that she could find this peace even for a brief moment, there was something that burned with rage inside him. Why was he not able to offer this peace to his bondmate when this human could? Was there something wrong with him? Could he no longer make a strong bond with someone? The thoughts chased around his mind and he barely noticed he’d actually left one building and moved into another.

Gromhir took in the new surroundings slowly. The hearth, the wingback chairs, the warm liquid in the cups on the table but none of that interested him. It was in fact, one of the tapestries that stole his interest and blew all of his questions away. Nature was abundant in the woven image and there was a woman communing with the natural world around her. The Kelvic managed a smile as his worries ebbed away. Nature had seen fit to guide him here, to have him guide Kamalia here. Even as she took her place in her chair, Gromhir remained staring into the tapestry.

He was here for a reason. He knew that much now. It was not just to help Kamalia find a brief respite from the turmoil that wracked her mind and soul. They were here to learn and Glav’s words before confirmed that. He turned to look Kamalia as she sipped the tea and joined his companions. Gromhir took Kamalia’s hand in his own. He watched and listened as she spoke before speaking himself.

“I believe Nature guided us here for more than just peace,” Gromhir looked past Glav into the fire as he spoke then gestured to the tapestry filled with Nature. “Nature’s guide has shown me the way before and I will not doubt her now.” Finally, the cerulean eyes settled on the man of peace. A fierce determination reverberating through them. “You spoke of our bond before. You said it could be stronger?”

[Gossamer]

Glav looked curiously at Kamalia. A non-descript eyebrow rose and he then glanced at her bondmate who was filled to the core with restless energy and a whole measure of anger that the Alvina could read like an angry aura. He would tread carefully with Gromhir, quite carefully, for he wasn't sure the Ivaski was quite ready to hear what Glav had to truthfully say.

He addressed Kamalia first. "Your mother Alvais is a wise incredibly knowledgeable woman. Before she was granted immortality by Laviku I once heard her sing and that song still haunts me. It is said that her sphere allows her to pull from the Chavi of the world all knowledge of all music that has ever existed and so because of her Divination she can even make Raus weep." Glav said softly. Then he reached out, from his seat, and touched her forehead briefly.

"It is ironic your mother gave you a powerful defender with the ability to teach you what you need to find your inner peace. And yet he has not done so, not because hes selfish or would deny you, but because your bond is incomplete and he cannot fully recognize your needs." Glav said, glancing at Gromhir. "Avalis has long taught her daughters to listen to the silence within them, to dwell internally and infuse their forms with stillness. Within this stillness comes great power, incredible insight, and emotional and physical strength that has no equal. The art is called Meditation and your kelvic bondmate knows enough of it to teach you how to begin." Glav said gently. "And it is something you'll desperately need because blood and death weigh heavily on your soul, Kamalia. And when guilt moves in, other poisons can easily be introduced. Anger is a sort of poison, but so too is guilt, and all of those things can lead to doubt and pain and even darker things like addiction or obsession." He added, his eyes sincere and focused.

"I once worried when Marcus Kelvic toyed with life and death. Gromhir, your kind were never human, never even animals for that matter. You came from a place so far from here that I cannot even begin to judge the distance. Marcus bound you into a form you could survive within for your people were master mimics and lost their home to the cruelest of circumstances. Without a chance meeting by his twin sister, all of your kind would have perished. Instead, he offered you a transformation and a duty that the whole of your race has taken up and agreed too. Your very soul is bound by a bargain that happened more than five hundred years ago. Kamalia cannot see you as human, nor even as an Ivaski, since you are neither truly. You are something far different and I think it often wars with your soul and infuses you with unhappiness." He said softly, almost as an apology or an explanation of sorts. "You only look like both - depending on your mood - though to someone who knew humans or knew true Ivaski - they would not be fooled." He said softly.

"Now, Gromhir... your duty is to be what she needs. I know that is hard for you to understand perhaps, but it is the task of all your kind. And do understand what she needs you have to drop your defenses and she has to drop hers and you both have to fully accept the other for what they are and what they have done or can do. Once you do that, your bond will open wide up, and your psyche will truly flower to the point there is understanding. Let me show you." Glav said thoughtfully. He reached forward, uninvited, and touched both of them at the same time. The bond between them, that had been akin to a silvery ethereal cord, blazed to life and for a split instant of clarity they both felt as if they were walking around in each others minds. Kamalia felt all of Gromhir's rage, his resentment of not being able to provide what she needed (though Kam could clearly see he couldn't because he didnt KNOW what she needed), his doubts about something being wrong with him, and most importantly his feelings towards her.

Gromhir, for that split instant, felt all of Kamalia's emotions wash into him. Some of them were rife with such powerful torn emotions that they almost staggered him. Guilt, pain, addiction to res, uncertainty, self-doubt, self-judgment, all of it washed through him in a tsunami of unexpected and perhaps a bit unwelcome grief. All of that was buried beneath the peace Glav had infused in kamalia - a peace that was giving her a chance for a few moments to actually breath and find her inner footing.

They both recognized in that instant before Glav removed his hand, that there was a lot they kept from each other... a lot they refused to talk about... a lot they refused to acknowledge within themselves. None of it was hopeless or overwhelming alone. All of it could be controlled and even reversed, but together the combination of both was staggering.