Something in the Air

by **Naiya** on January 1st, 2017, 11:43 pm

Naiya wove the ribbon through her hair, the wrap for her marriage the delicate red color of a kiss, this one she braided through the thin segment of hair at the top before letting the ribbon dangle while the finished the braid. She wrapped the length of satin around the braid pulling it tightly around it's spiral. She threaded the end of the ribbon through a glossy wooden bead which hung from the end, an addition that honored her sister as well. Her fingers wove as Shai lay on his back his eyes intent on the dance of her fingers and hair. She lifted a second ribbon, this one for her missing husband.

The black ribbon was for her loss, for the sadness that lingered in their hearts at Shahar's absence, it was the shadow of his place, the mark of his absence. She blew out a heavy breath, letting the air puff her cheeks and vibrate her lips. Shai rewarded her with a smile and a gurgle of surprised happiness. She smiled in response, her little bundle of unending joy.

She dangled the ribbon before her bosu, letting him reach after the tie before adding it to her hair, a dancing brown feather looped into the knot that held it secure. Her final wrap was one for little Shai, blue for her boy.

She smiled at the little one who lay at her feet, bored of watching Naiya play with her hair he was intent now on grabbing Kabek's tail. The feline lay beside them, a close companion to Naiya now as he seemed to take well to the little one. The feline's tail danced just out of Shai's reach, always near to the wuepo. She couldn't complain that her boy had a fierce guardian.

Her hair danced with braids and wraps, the small tasks in her life taking the overwhelming majority of her time, they were things she could do with Shai, and that made them a priority. She cooed softly as she scooped Shai into her arms, ready to face the winter, not that the weather had changed much in the few days. In fact, it seemed to be hotter if the sweat on her brow was anything to go by. She was not looking forward to a hard freeze, but the cool breath of winter was something she looked forward to.

Wuepo cuddled to her chest, she stood, shaking her head at the warmth. It was no matter, there were still things to be done and she could let them sit no longer. She gestured to Kabek, informing him of her intent to leave, and the cat stretched, big and languid. He would follow soon. She ducked out into the light of Syna, casting about for her family. It seemed they had departed, and a quick glance about told her that hers was not the only family missing.

She glanced at the animals, looking for their general health, checking for urgent needs. When they appeared well enough, she took into the city, Wildfire mosying beside her.

Here she found her people, a crowd formed around the gates. She had missed the initial appearance, but she was not blind to the tension that shaped her people. She caught a few words from Jonas where he stood proud as a stallion overlooking his herd.

“Why should we believe this God is any different from the Gods and Goddesses we already believe in?” A woman beside her shouted her question, and a frown fell across Naiya's features.

A familiar voice rose in the silence, and Naiya's eyes found her wife, mounted in the crowd, speaking her part in common. Her companions earned her some space in the crowd, but not enough to push to her wife. Instead, she stood, listening.

"Dual-god", she heard, an angry murmur, "Jonas Pridesun", another voice said, bringing back the words of the woman in her shop the other day. So he had returned, and he was stirring up some sort of trouble.

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Naiya space Pavi | Common | Tukant
other space Pavi | Common | Tukant

by **Prophet** on January 11th, 2017, 1:53 am

Jonas stopped every time there was a question shouted his way. Although he was a middle-aged man, the ankal bore a great deal of strength and prowess when he moved. Axel and Roddy moved with Jonas like animal companions; a bull and a grassbear. When their leader stopped, each pivoted off to a side which created an opening in the crowd so Jonas could be seen and easily heard.

The first question was a simple one. Jonas had fielded it hundreds of times and responded in a variety of ways but always with the same point. He signed the question why then again and a third time before stretching his arms out in a great shrug. His sharp baritone kicked over in the wind to reach many ears. “You ask me why. ‘Why, Jonas, why?’” The man smiled a shyke-eating grin. “Gods are gods, right?” He used his hands to emphasis some of the words but also to point and touch members of the crowd. “The grass, the sky, the sun, the moon, the waves, the hate and love that we feel is all real!” Jonas was fearless and should one venture close enough to see his eyes, the steadfast devotion would be revealed. “No one would deny that truth. You can touch the grass and feel the sun’s rays.” His hands made a broad gesture for question. “So why is it so hard to believe that one being made all of this?”

Jonas bent near a young boy’s face and turned so they look out over the steppe together. “Tell me lad, does the world look like it was just tossed together in a mess? Or does it look like the intentional work of an artist?” He released the boy much to the relief of the woman, undoubtedly his mother, standing near. “One God; one vision. To think that a bunch of beings who war and deceive could create something so beautiful and functional as our world is just ignorance.” The elder Pridesun moved along the crowds more and let his eye linger on the woman who called a question to him then the gaze passed over a man with scars and a big hat but only for a moment. Once the interruption had passed, Jonas continued his speech all the while the young priest and his older companion watched with patient, seething hatred.

“Now I’m not saying what we were taught is completely wrong.” Jonas signed old gods then raised his hands with his alms facing out. “These beings exist. We know they do but they are not gods. They are just magic.” Jonas made more signs with his hands which were echoed by members of his pavilion so all could see. The Web. Reimancy. Spiritism. He found his way to a wagon and climbed up into the back while Axel and Roddy continue to remain vigilant.

“Ghosts exist. They’re different from us but they’re not gods. Kelvics exist and the One God has told me that they were made by man!” Gasps shot around the crowd. Most Drykas were not scholarly so this sort of news took many by surprise. “Not all of these greater beings are evil or bad just like not all people are cultakhs. I used to think that Zulrav was the protector of our people.” Hisses and a few shouts clashed with the sound of bow strings being twanged tight or spears being jostled. Jonas held up his hands to his people and calmed the sudden spike in intensity.

“A god should be able to be everywhere in a single instant but Zulrav cannot. The Dual God can; the One God is. I still love Zulrav but I know now that he is just a piece in the righteous and everlasting plan of the almighty One God.” The crowd seemed to quiet. Most had heard enough but some had found an innate stirring within them to hear more. “In that way, Zulrav and I and you and you,” Jonas started pointing at people, “And you and you…we are the same.” The man climbed down and continued to walk around and talk with the Drykas. He spoke often with his own people but encouraged them to mingle with his kinsmen. Axel and Roddy shadowed their boss but for now it seemed as though things had calmed down.

Alladon and Joseph stood silent. Alladon’s eyes flashed with djed but a firm hand from his fellow priest stirred him from the urge. The follower of Tavasi took a different route and began to filter amongst the Drykas discussing the wonders of the god whom he served as well as the other gods in the traditional pantheon. Joseph took this as a cue to mix it up and instantly made his way for a trio of women that rested in the shadow of a tent near the center of town.

The charming man instantly had them giggling and blushing while he regaled them with tales of his travels and he somehow produced a flagon of wine. There was a call for music from the rowdy priest and before long, drums and shakers were echoing against the heat. Stringed instruments and flutes joined in the impromptu symphony and Joseph was already teaching his three new friends a dance he had learned in Zeltiva from some pirates. The Pridesun ankal simply smiled at all of this and went back to tending to those who chose to confront him or ask questions. For the most part, people avoided the returned Drykas and focused on the lively stranger.

by **Meadow** on January 27th, 2017, 5:50 am

Another wave of muttering erupted through the crowd surrounding the priests and the pavilion ankal. He had began to talk in circles not making sense to those that asked why. It was as if he had been trying to throw them off. Several of the men in the large group became infuriated with the topic of conversation. Korissa looked at Alladon and Joseph unsure of what the three would do now. Several cries sounded out of the gathering stunning the woman. She had never expected men to be so be so hostile about the new “god” Jonas spoke of, but it helped to know that so many were on the side of the true gods and goddesses. The young woman began to walk among the people answering any questions about her deity knowing there was massive confusion among the crowd.

The sudden music made the blonde turn and look at Joseph stunned at first. Shaking her head the woman smiled and walked over to him with Alladon. It was time they stopped looking like the enemy, and began to work on relationships. And one of them clearly had a plan of course this had not been the first said priest had started a surprise party. The man had always been good at getting people laughing and cheering, but he was also known to hit on women. There was no telling how the male drykas would take his advances on their women. Looking over to the elder of the group, she decided to let the flirt go have fun and only step in if needed. Should the man and woman be able to make headway with them then it would be amazing. The Horselords of the Plains were legendary outside of the city.

“Excuse me miss,” A soft voice called from behind her.

“Yes?” Korissa asked gently with a smile kneeling down to the small child.

“What's it like to be a priest?” The young girl asked gently.

With a soft laugh the blonde corrected her, “I am priestess dear. My companions are priests, but to answer your question. I couldn't imagine wanting to be anything else. To serve someone so much greater then you with your whole heart is a very rewarding thing. Of course it is not always comfortable.”

The young child's mother hurried through the crowd taking the girl by her hand. Before scolding her for running away into the crowd. Raising a soft hand to get the woman's attention, the young woman told the mother that her little one had been no bother at all. But had in fact been a delightful little inquirer. A bright smile graced the female drykas' face as she began going on about the child. The reaction was just what Korissa had hoped for. Many mothers and fathers loved to brag on the kids that they raised always seeing them as the best no matter what.

by **Khida** on January 29th, 2017, 5:45 am

Khida watched as the man took in her words, took in the crowd's questions, stretched his arms and grinned a grin fit to chomp down a pavilion whole. He gave more speech in Pavi, all smoothly cadenced words and broadly enunciated sign; more speech patently cast at the crowd, eloquence which soared right past her ears, only a few familiar words and signs snagged from the rush. Words were not the Kelvic's best battlefield to begin with, doubly so in a language whose base tenets she barely grasped; thrice for the man's apparent refusal to directly respond, to address her with a statement she might weigh and measure and perhaps countermand.

It was really rather disheartening.

Khida sat back in her yvas as the man's spiel continued, Sephra fidgeting slightly at her rider's shifted posture. She patted the horse idly while struggling to glean the essence of the man's speech -- something about their surroundings, more about gods. The word Kelvic stuck out to her like a stepping-stone in a brook, but led nowhere she could reach. He touched people, pointed at them, said more things --

-- and at the last, finally removed himself from the wagon that served as his podium.

Within a few ticks, the crowds began to break up, some circling into clumps of chatter and others milling about towards arbitrary other parts of the agora. Their motion meant Khida too could move... somewhat. Most of those behind her seemed to have settled into conversational cliques, while those before her were more apt to move, drawn by the strangers. Clicking her tongue and pressing her legs in slightly, Khida encouraged Sephra to start moving as well -- forward, that being the only reasonable option available, and very slowly, so as not to step on any distractedly unwary persons.

Music rang out from one side of the agora -- percussion, at first, accompanied by laughter and cheery voices. The burgeoning revelry held no interest for Khida, nor the mob of people associated with the older Drykas. She had nothing further to say to him, and no want to listen. Mostly, really, she was ready to go home. To be with her people and free from nebulous abstract concerns like what did and didn't make a god, or their proper behavior.

Unfortunately, Sephra's forward progress broke against two overlapping obstacles: a knot that had formed around the younger priest and another centered upon the woman who seemed associated with them. Khida could have asked Sephra to back up and go around, but -- ugh.

She was just weary of all this.

Looking at anything but the people, Khida saw she'd come near to the Conclave tent -- and its new adornment in the form of a scroll. On an impulse, she swung down from her yvas, patting Sephra's shoulder companionably and signing for the horse to stay, wait. Her own slim form slipped through the crowd much more easily, bringing the Kelvic to the post and the notice it bore. She was not the only one there to study it; one man gave her a sidelong look, his manner that of one sizing up competition. Khida mostly ignored him, expecting that whatever he was after -- perhaps the bounties -- she wasn't.

The brunt of the notice seemed to contain the very words the priest had spoken; Khida skipped that, her gaze bouncing down to the parts that were new information, steadying as she deciphered the content. An image of an elaborate snowflake; a description of petite people with changing eyes and color-struck hair. None of it sounded like anyone Khida had ever met; none she shaped one-handed, gesture reflecting thought.

She remained somewhat distracted as she worked her way back to rejoin her horse -- until a sidewise glance met piercing green eyes cast contrarily. Khida paused, blinking at the speaker-priest, and found a question rising that she would not have asked if not confronted with the man's presence a mere stone's throw away.

"Who --" Ah, but she hadn't meant to use that language. He hadn't. "Who is your god?" the Kelvic asked of the green-eyed priest, fluent Common lightly influenced by her seasons amongst the Drykas. Query attended the verbal question, ingrained habit expressed unthinkingly.

Khida space Common | Pavi
other space Common | Pavi

by **Taurina** on February 1st, 2017, 7:59 am

The more they talked, the more Taurina questioned why she stuck around. She was not obligated to and she was close enough the outskirts of the crowd that it would be easy to slide in between people and just leave the scene all together. Yet, something kept her cemented in place as she listened to the man filled with blasphemy against the gods continue from the makeshift podium. It was like the world outside of this one event had ceased to exist and the Eth had become frozen in place because of it. She could only stand and listen as fire boiled deep within her being.

Muscles tensed, one hand clenched into a fist, the other tightly wrapped around her journal, and eyes set ablaze; Taurina listened as this man, Jonas, created and answered a question he wished to answer. It was the one he had an answer for. Some had offered up more complicated questions, but those were left unanswered. Taurina herself just wanted to know where the proof was. Jonas spoke that he himself had seen this “One God”, but if it was truly in all places at once, than why did not everyone see it?

Taurina had the proof to back up Leth’s existence as a god. She had been in his realm, dwelled with him and the others drawn up from the life cycle. Sure, he was not all powerful, but that was why there were multiple god and goddesses. Each had their place, their realm to control. If Leth was not real or just a simple spirit, her Ethaefal form would not be. The power she gains from her time spent in moonlight would not exist. This man was wrong and to Taurina, it was as simple as that.

Though things within the Ethaefal were boiling, the people around her has begun to diffuse and the man stepped off his makeshift podium. The priests from before -who Taurina had almost forgotten about with her newfound dislike of the Pridesun man- moved out into the crowd as well. It was like each of the two separate parties were mingling with the Drykas people now. Each seemingly trying to pull those of Endrykas over to their side. Taurina just remained frozen for a little while longer, curiously watching it all as it played out before her.

It was when the music began that the Eth became unstuck and felt the freedom to do more than just stand and wait. She felt the urge to go and confront the one who spoke ill of the gods, but she decided against it for he had those large men and she was small. So small, weak compared to others, and while internally stubborn, not so much one for confrontation. She had learned her lesson last season with the thief and the fight she had so easily been defeated in. It was not a lesson she was eager to relearn.

Instead, Taurina decided to look into these priests and focus on the news they had brought. Winter was not coming, Morwen had not moved from her home and so now those who worshipped her were to be hunted. Taurina had no interest in hunting people simply because of who they believed in, but she was curious about them. What told them apart from the rest of the population? The Ethaefal had seen the priest move the scroll over earlier and put it on display for all to see. She wished to get over there, take a look for herself and satisfy her curiosity. It was getting over there that was the problem. So many people stood between her and the conclave.

The small framed Drykas began to slip past people, weaving her way towards her destination. It was not hard for she was small and since she lacked her horse it was easier to move between people, but it was time consuming. A larger crowd had begun to surround the one priest who looked to be having a grand old time teaching some ladies to dance. Others spoke with Jonas, probably trying to get answers to more questions he was likely avoiding, and others of the Drykas simple accumulated in groups to speak amongst themselves. Taurina did not see the other priest or priestess, but they were likely around somewhere. That was one thing about being small and relatively short, large crowds tended to block the view unless something was bigger and higher up than the majority of the people.

Taurina gripped her journal tightly in her hand, desperate not to loose it. The book held all of her progress and therefore everything she has been working towards. Though recent pages had been filled with the things of her nightmares, she still wished to keep hold of it. So her hand remained tight around the cover of it as she wove her way through the people. At some point on her way to the conclave, she spotted the priestess. The blonde seemed friendly, speaking with a child and then the child’s mother. A brief smile rose and then faded on the Eth’s lips before she moved along. How was someone sweet and tender hearted enough to entertain children here on a mission of murder? An entire race meant children too. Were people really so cruel? Did they truly believe that such actions would draw Morwen out?

Taurina was still pondering this when she reached the conclave and furthermore, the scroll that had been posted for all to see. She did not focus much on the others around her for she simply did not care. Her interest in the information was purely to satisfy her curiosity. The dull brown eyes of her earthbound form moved over the words written out in common. She passed over what had been spoken before, finding it to be of no interest. It was when she reached the part about what the children of Morwen looked like that she took a moment of pause and focused in on the words.

The followers of the winter goddess as spelled out on the scroll, had darkened skin and eyes that changed color depending on their moods. Their hair was said to have streaks of shimmering colors and the mark of their goddess appeared as a complex snowflake. Taurina took in the information with a gentle sigh before she stepped away and allowed another her place. The new information turned in her head as she looked for someone in her memory who looked like this. There was no one and that brought some relief. At least there was no one she would miss if they were killed because of this new order.

Still, Taurina found the whole ordeal rather sad. A people killed for their beliefs, a man who spread lies about the gods. What was the world coming to?

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

by **Prophet** on February 6th, 2017, 2:15 am

There was a collective shoulder shrug and the once tense atmosphere seemed to normalize into a typical afternoon. The Drykas went back to their lives because the hard life of roaming the grasslands demanded constant attention. Joseph had enticed almost a dozen young Drykas into a bit of music and dancing though his incessant need for parties had him chasing down more people to participate. Alladon just watched from the sidelines; more than content to remain out of the spotlight. While he was an immensely competitive man, the priest had no stomach for that kind of revelry. Green orbs soaked in the sight of a dark-haired woman moving towards him. He inclined his head and smirked a bit as she exchanged sign language with her horse.

Alladon bowed his head in greeting when she came to stand before him. The woman said something at first but then switched from the language of the Drykas to Common. Her accent was pleasing, though and it brought a light to the priest’s gaze. The woman inquired about his god. Alladon loved to talk about a handful of subjects but none so much as the god of spring. Alladon had a soft spoken way to his words but there always a great amount of emotion that was projected as well. “I serve Tavasi, the god of spring, fertility, new beginnings and competition.” Alladon extended his hand towards her. “I am Alladon, a humble servant. Do you come to mock the gods as well?” The green eyes quickly locked on to Jonas then floated back to the woman. “I find it hard to believe that a people notably identified as the chosen of a god to doubt so much.”

Alladon slipped his hands into the folds of his robe which was the color of good soil. He idly ran his fingers along the rope dart’s knot. It was something he found comforting during the long journey to find the ever-moving city of horsemen and hunters. The man continued with his musings. “You have a strong people. I can respect strength.” He relaxed a bit then made a bit of a challenge. “The question remains ‘are they smart?’” A raucous cry erupted from the merrymakers. Alladon looked over to see Joseph hoisting a scantily clad woman up and spinning her around. He shook his head and returned his gaze to the inquisitive woman. “I’ve heard your people have an interesting custom regarding tea and guests.” He gave a genuine smile but really wanted to rest somewhere quiet. If she refused, he would simply wander back to their wagon and go to sleep.

THIS CHAPTER IS NOW CLOSED

by **Rufio** on March 15th, 2017, 7:32 pm

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Closed Something in the Air