“Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are,” were the words that Alice and Madeira heard whispered in their ear by an unknown source. As the words were spoken, the soothing scent of flowers filled their nose. The melodic songs of birds filled their ears. The sweet taste of wild berries tanged their tongue. The soothing tickle of dandelion seeds brushed their skin. Finally, their vision was filled with a myriad of brilliant greens, blues and reds that undulated slowly, blending together and forming new hues of striking colors. These colors soon begin to transform from amorphous pools to defined shapes. It was as if a someone had dumped different colored paint on a canvas only to then paint a picture from the chaos. As Alice and Madeira found themselves floating in the middle of the “painting”, grass begin to form at their feet. Towering trees took shape around them. Flowers happily erupted outward into sight. Before their very eyes, an entire landscape came into being; created from what had been but a great splatter of color.
Within a matter of moments, Alice and Madeira found themselves standing on a small hill surrounded by grass that gave way to a seemingly endless forest. On top of the hill, looming over them, was a tree. It was quite unlike any other tree they'd ever seen. The first sense was that the tree was incomprehensibly ancient. There were a handful of exposed roots covered in impossibly thick bark. These roots led to a series of six trunks that twisted around each other to form a single, massive whole. Although not incredible in height, the main body of the tree formed by the numerous trunks was easily twenty feet in diameter. It rose at least fifty feet in height with countless branches. Leaves, the colors of which could not be described by mortal terms, were interrupted in many places by strange clumps of thumb-sized constructs that resembled miniature bundles of bananas. What stood out most however was the color of everything. The sky was a blue that the two had never knew existed. The same was true for the grass, trees and flowers and even the birds and other small animals that came into being from otherwise moving swirls of color.
When the onslaught of their surroundings began to slowly normalize within their senses, Alice and Madeira then realized that any of the wounds, scratches, cuts, bruises or worse, were gone; it was as if they never happened. The accumulated filth and grime of the past seven days…vanished. In fact, it felt as though they had bathed in the most luxurious bath ever to have existed. Their skin smelled of the best thing they’d ever experienced.
After a few moments of getting their bearings while trying to reconcile what she had experienced for the past several days with where they were now, the two each felt a hand lay upon her shoulder. Turning to look they would see nothing. Turning back, they saw a woman sitting on one of the great tree’s exposed roots. The woman was as naked as they were. Her skin was an especially pale green color while here hair was the deepest of green with the texture of moss. Her eyes were colored the deepest of brown. From her hair, it looked as though flowers grew from the moss itself. Her skin was flawless, her lips a ruby red. Her finger and toenails were an autumn orange.
Her head was lowered but upon being noticed, she raised it. In a voice that sounded like the best mother’s voice, carried on the wind, complete with the chill of long lost, cherished familiarity, she spoke.
“Saying that this is all rather odd…is not quite describing what you have just been through. For that, I offer my apology. Mortal words, no matter the language, do not fully encompass the experience.” The woman hopped down from her perch upon the exposed root and walked a few feet to stand before Alice and Madeira. As the woman took her steps, flowers grew where her feet touched the ground.
“Again, forgive me for any lack of civilized manners. I may not be as formal as you are used to. You may know me as Caiyha, the Goddess of Nature. To answer your next unspoken question, you have undergone what you could consider a challenge of sorts or a test. It was a test to see if ones such as yourself was capable of surviving in a place devoid of nearly all the trappings of civilization. Obviously, you indeed survived, despite the challenges.” Caiyha spoke while casually walking around the area beneath the tree.
She stopped at one point to pick up something which was concealed in her closed hand. Turning back to the two, she smiled.
“I know you have many other questions. What is the purpose of this test? Why me? What happens next? Likely many others. First, the purpose of this test is simple, at least to me. Since the beginning, I have sought out those who show respect and reverence for all that I’ve created. Those who seek to protect it and nourish it, I show them my grace. Recently however, I began to wonder. What about those who don’t think about my creations or who don’t feel truly a part of it all. What about those who, with a little push, may discover on their own, that they are connected to me. This is why I chose you. There is something about you that peaked my interest. It isn’t something I can describe other than to say you have a quality about you. It was that quality I decided to test. Can this mortal, left with only a physical body, natural skills and talents and the least number of civilized connections, survive my creation? Obviously, you passed that test so what comes next. We will get to that in a moment. First however, I wish to offer you a moment or two to ask of me what you will, within reason.” Caiyha plucked a flower from her hair, brought it to her nose and took in its scent before raising it into the air. The flower then erupted in seed before the petals dried and fell to the ground; quickly consumed by insects and thus contributing to the greater cycle.
Within a matter of moments, Alice and Madeira found themselves standing on a small hill surrounded by grass that gave way to a seemingly endless forest. On top of the hill, looming over them, was a tree. It was quite unlike any other tree they'd ever seen. The first sense was that the tree was incomprehensibly ancient. There were a handful of exposed roots covered in impossibly thick bark. These roots led to a series of six trunks that twisted around each other to form a single, massive whole. Although not incredible in height, the main body of the tree formed by the numerous trunks was easily twenty feet in diameter. It rose at least fifty feet in height with countless branches. Leaves, the colors of which could not be described by mortal terms, were interrupted in many places by strange clumps of thumb-sized constructs that resembled miniature bundles of bananas. What stood out most however was the color of everything. The sky was a blue that the two had never knew existed. The same was true for the grass, trees and flowers and even the birds and other small animals that came into being from otherwise moving swirls of color.
When the onslaught of their surroundings began to slowly normalize within their senses, Alice and Madeira then realized that any of the wounds, scratches, cuts, bruises or worse, were gone; it was as if they never happened. The accumulated filth and grime of the past seven days…vanished. In fact, it felt as though they had bathed in the most luxurious bath ever to have existed. Their skin smelled of the best thing they’d ever experienced.
After a few moments of getting their bearings while trying to reconcile what she had experienced for the past several days with where they were now, the two each felt a hand lay upon her shoulder. Turning to look they would see nothing. Turning back, they saw a woman sitting on one of the great tree’s exposed roots. The woman was as naked as they were. Her skin was an especially pale green color while here hair was the deepest of green with the texture of moss. Her eyes were colored the deepest of brown. From her hair, it looked as though flowers grew from the moss itself. Her skin was flawless, her lips a ruby red. Her finger and toenails were an autumn orange.
Her head was lowered but upon being noticed, she raised it. In a voice that sounded like the best mother’s voice, carried on the wind, complete with the chill of long lost, cherished familiarity, she spoke.
“Saying that this is all rather odd…is not quite describing what you have just been through. For that, I offer my apology. Mortal words, no matter the language, do not fully encompass the experience.” The woman hopped down from her perch upon the exposed root and walked a few feet to stand before Alice and Madeira. As the woman took her steps, flowers grew where her feet touched the ground.
“Again, forgive me for any lack of civilized manners. I may not be as formal as you are used to. You may know me as Caiyha, the Goddess of Nature. To answer your next unspoken question, you have undergone what you could consider a challenge of sorts or a test. It was a test to see if ones such as yourself was capable of surviving in a place devoid of nearly all the trappings of civilization. Obviously, you indeed survived, despite the challenges.” Caiyha spoke while casually walking around the area beneath the tree.
She stopped at one point to pick up something which was concealed in her closed hand. Turning back to the two, she smiled.
“I know you have many other questions. What is the purpose of this test? Why me? What happens next? Likely many others. First, the purpose of this test is simple, at least to me. Since the beginning, I have sought out those who show respect and reverence for all that I’ve created. Those who seek to protect it and nourish it, I show them my grace. Recently however, I began to wonder. What about those who don’t think about my creations or who don’t feel truly a part of it all. What about those who, with a little push, may discover on their own, that they are connected to me. This is why I chose you. There is something about you that peaked my interest. It isn’t something I can describe other than to say you have a quality about you. It was that quality I decided to test. Can this mortal, left with only a physical body, natural skills and talents and the least number of civilized connections, survive my creation? Obviously, you passed that test so what comes next. We will get to that in a moment. First however, I wish to offer you a moment or two to ask of me what you will, within reason.” Caiyha plucked a flower from her hair, brought it to her nose and took in its scent before raising it into the air. The flower then erupted in seed before the petals dried and fell to the ground; quickly consumed by insects and thus contributing to the greater cycle.
