Truth and Lies (Solo)

Talya contemplates the truth and the lies which lie within her faith.

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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]

Truth and Lies (Solo)

Postby Talya on July 28th, 2015, 2:44 am

"People like to say that conflict is between good and evil. The real conflict is between truth and lies." - Miguel Angel Ruiz


Timestamp: Summer 73, 515 AV

The landscape was vast; stretching from one end of the horizon to the other. It was uniform; always the same series of gently rolling hills comprised of parched light brown soil. Atop which sprouted slender blades of grass. Their bodies torn, several strewn asunder, as but their bases remained a healthy green, while the rest was lent to beige coupling with shades of grey. Their points were shredded; jagged. They looked as though they could cut through the tumultuous sky, if only they came up further than one's ankle. They were dry, dying. But there was a false hope for them it seemed, as a storm was brewing, just as it always was. The sky dark as night; but softer in that it was slate in color, overlaid with a tightly woven working of sooty looking clouds; fluffy as a lamb's wool. The sun was no where to be seen, nor were the moon and its many accompanying stars, which made it impossible to know for sure what the hour was, although it seemed to had drawn itself late.

A steady breeze blew in from the east. Strumming the grass, and lifting the dead from the masses, tossing them into the air as it ripped the petals off the few ages dandelions that had nestled within densely vegetated thickets. The flurries circled the air, betraying its otherwise intricate, and hidden patterns, so that they began to seem like the first snow. Their bodies falling after the wind died, leaving them scattered; a soft blanket of frost, which rose again with the rebirth of the breeze, only to perish with them as soon as it stilled, over and over again in an endless cycle.

The combatants never seemed to notice. Or if they had, they didn't care as they approached. A woman dressed in white robes approaching from the east. The milky cotton fluttering in the wind, while her flaxen hair whipped wildly around her. The strands curling around her ears, flying into her eyes, over the length of her hair, splaying across her face before sticking, oftentimes, to her lightly parted lips. Her pale blue eyes settling on her opponent, who approached to the west. Contrastingly, this woman was dressed all in black. It was a pure black, like obsidian, or a raven's feathers. A black which was impenetrable, and seemed to have a depth to it that could not be explained, as nothing could be viewed within. Her robes flowed easily in the wind, billowing around her, as though they were a natural extension of herself. A black ribbon had been tied to the front of her head, and tucked underneath her hair. Its long fronds cascading down the length of her neck, and keeping the strands away from her face. Her black eyes, flecked with beads of red, settled upon her opponent, just as a smirk crossed her thin, pink-tinted-brown lips.

Each of their eyes glimmered as they approached the center of the battlefield, where a river of blood ran freely. Meandering through the valley. Flowing over rocks, and forcing whatever grass it met to bend as it made its way through. Unhindered, as the woman in black stopped on the western bank, and the woman in white to the east. They smiled at one another. They sized each other up there, each waiting for the other to make a move they themselves didn't want to make. As they were each the final piece, the final player, as their armies had each been spent earlier in the war, leaving them now, to stand alone.

The woman in black cracked her knuckles. The woman in white rolled her neck around; loosening the muscles, before returning her gaze to the lady in black. It was the dangerous game they played. A game, they felt, that was about to begin again. Thus, they both smirked and darted forward. Running through the river of blood; the lady of light becoming drenched; the purity of her attire marred, while that of the darker lady merely met with a few stains upon her exposed skin- her hands and her face. In the center they met again, and with feet and fists they met in combat...

Talya sighed. It had always felt like that to her- a war. A battle between light and dark, good and evil, right and wrong. Truth and lies. But what was truth now? And what was but a lie? Was there even such a thing, when all but depended on one's perception? She shook her head, she wasn't even sure. She didn't know what to believe, and this, as it always had, bothered her. But it was getting worse, far worse, for now she was older, and she felt she should know better. Now she was older, and she felt as though she should know what to think, and how to act in every situation she was met with. But she didn't.

Talya didn't have a clue.

Nor was she any closer to her answers.
Last edited by Talya on August 21st, 2015, 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Talya
Darkness Becoming
 
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Truth and Lies (Solo)

Postby Talya on July 28th, 2015, 2:45 am

Talya had left her home. She had left Ravok behind and traipsed through the Wildlands for over a season in over to come here, to Zeltiva for not only a new beginning, but some answers. And yet, it had been the better portion of yet another season, and she did not feel as though she were any closer to any of them. Nor did she sense any sort of shift within herself, which would make the coming of the end of her quest draw any more near. The conclusions she drew when she asked herself the sort of things that she had before she left any different than before. Again, she sighed heavily as she ran her hand through her hair, and began to pick out several knots. What was she to do now? She felt as though she had reached a standstill, a dead end, a tie. She felt like each of the combatants couldn't gain a foothold against the other; any sort of edge, and sort of lead, and she desperately needed one of them to. For the sake of her sanity; for the sake of understanding herself, and how her mind worked, and the sake of her soul. She needed the questions to come to an end, and for her to reach a conclusion so that she could get on with her life, and live according to whatever truth she discovered.

The problem was, at least as far as she was concerned, that in Zeltiva, there was nothing known of Rhysol. Except bias, just as there was little known of the other gods beside him back in Ravok; for he was in favor, and the people biased toward him. She needed an unbiased opinion. She needed facts; strict ones from someone who had no cares in the matter. But where could you find such a thing? Such a person to share them with you? When everyone in the world seemed to have their biases, and their ways? She sighed. She felt as though she had learned nothing in all of this time. She felt as though she had been wasting time, finding more questions but not a single answer and this, deeply confused and frustrated her. It didn't feel as though it should be that way. But it was, and unless something changed, it would continue to be.

Talya, naturally, wanted to change this, and so she would, she felt, by searching her mind. Picking apart each piece of knowledge she possessed, dissecting it until nothing remained hidden. She would weigh the facts; search her mind; her heart, and draw her own conclusions, and then be done with it once and for all. It was the only way she felt. No, it was the only way she knew. She had to do this, or her search would never end; she would always be looking for something that could not be found. So, to clear her head, as much as to begin, she took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, and began to sort through all of the facts starting with what her concept of good was, and what her concept of evil was.
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Talya
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Truth and Lies (Solo)

Postby Talya on July 28th, 2015, 2:46 am

Talya decided that she would start by defining the word "good," and discerning what it meant to her. She thought that goodness was desirable. That it was something everybody wanted to see in themselves, as well as the people around them, (in just about every scenario known to her). That it was a characteristic that defined a virtuous person- someone what was morally right, while "evil," was the opposite of all of that. It encompassed the immoral and the malevolent, the sort of person the majority of the world wouldn't want to find themselves around. Its subsets, if you could call it that, or even aspects within evil, included chaos, and betrayal. Betrayal she defined as turning on someone who trusted you with their lives- spiritually, mentally, or physically, if not some combination of the three. Chaos simply mean disorder at its worst. Good wasn't unlike evil in this aspect- in that it had subsets, or deeper qualities within itself. Kindness was one of those aspects, which simply meant that you performed good deeds, and acted benevolently toward others, Talya felt. Goodness also encompassed hope, or hopefulness, which was when a person desired with all of their might, for a specific outcome to occur. Now that outcome, she felt, could fall either into the good or bad category. For example, a little boy may wish that his parents get him a pet duck for his birthday, or a husband may hope their mother in law would drop dead, because she was simply, pretty darned annoying. Thus, Talya felt that hope could be tainted, although she thought, it was meant to be used in a more upstanding sense, like when a daughter hoped that their ailing mother would return to health and continue to see their grandchildren grow into adulthood.

With this in mind, Talya decided she would judge the two "rival gods" known as Rhysol, and Priskil. Since she knew far less of Priskil, having never been brought up into her faith, she decided that she would review the goddess first, as she assumed that it would take far less time for her to review Priskil than it would Rhysol, and then draw her conclusions. First, she knew, Priskil was said to reside over the realm of light and of hope. She was worshipped, she felt, predominately in Syliras, although there were no shortage of places that held her at least, lightly within their esteem. Her realm confused Talya however, as she wasn't sure what was meant by her light. For, Syna she knew was goddess of the sun, and thus, she felt, that she were the only celestial being that presided over light, after all, she created it. How could she not be? Syna's light rising each day after Leth's reflection sank. Warming the world so that people wouldn't freeze to death. Illuminating it, so that people would have something more to move in than the dark- and they wouldn't be blind to dangers. Bringing one of the things that plants seemed to need in order to create their own food and survive, so that man could grow crops, and eat them for their own sustenance, and thus live better and more healthily, she felt, than they would if they could only eat meat and its by-products. If anything, Talya felt, Syna should be labeled the goddess of light, as it seemed a natural carry over of the realm she had been assigned, and she felt, earned. Priskil shouldn't have been assigned to light at all. Unless, perhaps, it wasn't a visible sort of light that was meant by the distinction. Perhaps it was a sort of levity. Perhaps it was meant to be that small shred of you that maintained any sense of hope, when everything that was left seemed lost. Maybe it was meant to signify a brightness of spirit, and ease of life. Or maybe it had something to do with the marks she gave her people. (Although she wasn't sure just what that was). Talya sighed. She wasn't sure about any of it really, so she vowed to keep that all in mind and move on.

Now onto hope itself- another portion of Priskil's realm, which seemed to dominate the others in the way she felt that light itself did. As Talya had decided before, she thought that it was meant to be a good thing. That it was meant to be reserved for all of those individuals who had nothing good left to hold on to, and needed something simply to keep themselves sane- from drowning themselves in a bottle, or resigning themselves to various drugs, if not killing themselves outright. And yet, it was a simple idea, a simple word, adopted by the denizens. For hope, in some ways, was like a wish. Perhaps upon a star, and perhaps, spoken silently within the mind whenever you thought of something that you actually wanted- weather it be steak for dinner, or a brand new pony. It was a desire you could attach to anything. Mundane. Neutral. Good or evil. For you could hope someone became ill, or died, just as you could hope that they got better. But did this mean that hope in and of itself became evil because the chance for that misuse, for that taint, was ever present? Or did it retain what was meant to be good, despite the taint, until a time in which the taint completely overcame it, and nothing good was left to it? Or, thirdly, did the presence of an evil aspect balance things out, and in fact, make hope a neutral entity, as opposed to something entirely good, or something entirely evil, or even just a little dirty and in need of a good wash?

Talya sighed. She wasn't quite sure. On the one hand, she wanted to assign hope a good label. But on the other, she saw taint. Impurity, and simply couldn't stick it in that realm, in all good faith, no matter how much she may have wanted to do so. It was thus, that she stuck it in a more neutral category, which was prone to slip into either realm, when the prevalance of what she deemed to be either proper use or misuse rose. Thus turning it to one side or the other, until the opposition rose again, to return things to a balanced state of equilibrium. Did this mean then, that Priskil, who encompassed this notion as one of her realms, was prone to swinging back and forth as well? From one side of the coin to the other? Or was she simply to always be labeled good by the majority of society, until a time in which she made a move that proved that she had openly swung to the other side, and landed safely within it? To this, Talya wasn't sure either, although she knew, that most of Mizahar and its denizens, (with the exception of most in Ravok), saw her as good and pure, despite what Talya was beginning to sense, and it was thus that she finally decided Priskil to be benevolent at least in name. Which didn't much matter matter in the end, she felt, for actions always spoke louder than words, and it was actions, she felt, that would determine whether or not the goddess was truly good or evil within her mind.

So Talya breathed deep, and thought about it. What had Priskil done to prove that she was of pure heart, as opposed to a goddess of chaos and malevolence?

And therein lay her problem. Talya didn't know much of anything about Priskil at all, and neither did the few people she had met throughout her lifetime who knew about the goddess at all. Thus, the question remained unanswerable. A question within a question, within yet another series of questions. What in the world made the goddess Priskil so darned good?

Was it a conspiracy? Something you had to be able to see for yourself?

Talya doubt it.

Maybe, it was little more than name. Maybe, she wasn't good at all. But neutral in all things. She wasn't sure, she hadn't met the woman. So she had no primary proofs any more than secondary ones. She sighed. Her shoulders rose and fell. She couldn't be sure of anything with this one, and thus, decided that she would revert to her knowledge of Rhysol before she gave herself a headache thinking about Priskil, and then, make her judgments largely, of what she knew of him, before weighing her thoughts evenly when she found out more of the goddess.

OOCDue to the nature of this thread being largely opinion, it may not fit perfectly with the lore. Such is the shortcoming of an Ethaefal. Please keep this in mind when grading, thank you.
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Talya
Darkness Becoming
 
Posts: 317
Words: 433400
Joined roleplay: March 5th, 2015, 5:10 am
Location: Wildlands/Zeltiva
Race: Ethaefal
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Truth and Lies (Solo)

Postby Talya on July 29th, 2015, 9:48 pm

Talya knew far more of Rhysol than she likely ever would of Priskil. Most of this had to do where she fell, and where she subsequently "grew up," and lived for several years. She knew that he bore the label of the evil god. One of chaos, betrayal, and lies. Each of these, had a negative connotation she knew. Chaos in and of itself was disorder- which could take one of many forms, it could be the riot before a war as much as it could describe the nature of it as a whole. It could describe the nature of a clinic, where people were ailing, crying out in pain or in anguish, as one disease or another claimed them, or they bled out. It could also simply be a sense of urgency, as there was so much to be done, and not nearly enough time to do it in. It could describe the nature and essence of a tumultuous household- it could be all number of things. Most, if not all of them, far from good. Betrayal, she felt, could never be good, as it meant turning on someone who, (most often), mattered to you in some way, shape or form. Just as she had done to Reik back in Ravok. It involved breaking their trust; putting on a mask as you shifted from love to a lie. And that was another thing about Rhysol, he represented lies too. Untruth; fallacy. Falsity. Lies couldn't necessarily, by their nature, always be bad. Although she felt, they most often were. For example, a husband could tell his wife that she didn't look fat in that particular outfit that was unflattering, in order to protect her feelings. But then others would see truth, and she may potentially, face their critical eye and ridicule. Lies could also be used to conceal times in which a man or a woman committed adultery within their marriage, or some other crime, such as the murder of another human being. It could also be employed by children who wanted to get out of something- like telling their grandmother they were going to be busy at work or helping their parents, when really they were only going out to play so that they could avoid a visit to her house, and that horrid old lady smell they often complained of. So perhaps, it would be best to conclude that lies in and of themselves were not evil, but they could be employed to help carry out and perform evil.

With all of that in mind, Talya decided to move on to the acts of the dark father, so that she would be able to better judge his character. Much like Priskil, Talya had yet to meet him. But that didn't mean she did not feel as though she did not know him intimately in a matter that she didn't yet know Priskil, as he could be sensed in every wooden beam, every stone, every cobble, every spire; every inch of Ravok. His hand, and his presence, one could argue, were widely known. For example, the denizens of Ravok often expressed that they experienced far more mild weather than the rest of Syliras, as well as the majority of Mizahar as a whole because Rhysol had a part in it. They claimed he protected them largely from rain or snow, or inclement weather, just as he protected them from chaos. For, as long as anyone could remember, (other than some minor riots which were quickly quelled), no war came to Ravok, nor strife. Everyone seemed content to keep to themselves, and perform their tasks, and everything seemed to get along, despite the favoritism that was shown to the human race, and the subjugation of some of the other, more exotic races. For in his world, the world of Ravok, everything had its place and its natural order, and everyone knowing this, (although they may not always appreciate it), understood as much, and so chaos was often if not always staved off, and people could live in a blanket which appeared to most if not all harmonious. (Although the city had a darker hidden edge to those that didn't follow its rules, that was often not spoken about, Tal knew. Although she remained a bit fuzzy on the particulars and the intricate details).

And yet, despite the peaceful picture Ravokians, (or the majority of them), held for the dark father, the rest of the world saw him as evil. Dark and twisted; the source of strife, chaos and unhappiness. Not only because he played a hand in the Valterrain, which had shaped the world all those years ago, but because he supposedly caused problems between the other gods and himself, and toyed with the lives of humans. Now, as far as Talya was concerned, this was all heresay, intrigue, and rumor, as no one she knew had seen or experienced any of this for themselves. Nor had anyone she knew, known anyone who had experienced any of this. Not to mention that the Valterrain had occurred hundreds upon hundreds of years ago- before most anyone had been born. So who could have seen it? Who could have written it down? And would the gods, (who still often kept themselves hidden and away from man it seemed, at least during the present day), have even bothered to show their faces? Would the past have been any different? Or was it all guess work and interpretation based off whatever man assigned to the gods? For surely, they wouldn't have wanted to pick more negative realms for themselves, and reverted to drawing straws?

No, Talya shook her head, it simply didn't make any sense, and it simply didn't seem fair to judge unless you saw the supposed actions for yourself. Felt and experienced them, and thus, drew conclusions. Perhaps then, it would be safe to say that the same should have been said of Priskil, for she too, had yet to experience the goddess. Which meant that although she felt she had a fair amount of information trapped in her mind, she really had nothing as it was all from secondary sources- the whispers of priests and man. Which meant that there was nothing but a hole where everything should have been, and Talya couldn't decide once and for all any more today than she could have yesterday, as she didn't have all the information she needed. Which meant she couldn't be a fair judge or jury, and would have to gather more, wait until the gods visited her perhaps, if they ever chose to, and then make some sort of determination for herself. Or simply, keep on wondering, and somehow manage to be satisfied with that, or alternatively, judge unfairly, which hardly seemed fair.

Talya sighed unhappily.

She hated the world sometimes.
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Talya
Darkness Becoming
 
Posts: 317
Words: 433400
Joined roleplay: March 5th, 2015, 5:10 am
Location: Wildlands/Zeltiva
Race: Ethaefal
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