A Time To Heal. (Closed)

[Legion]

you don't have a soul. you are a soul. you have a body. - C.S. Lewis - Timestamp: 33 Fall 511 AV Location: Opal Clinic Grounds Since the arrival of Cian Noc to Denval in dogs of summer seven years back, Denval had been host to a feast day for the goddess Rak'keli. It was held on the thirty-third day of fall due to the priest's insistence though, when anyone asked, he never seemed capable of offering a logical explanation for the date. It invariably turned into a rambling, fantastical story filled with recursions and silly metaphors. This year, when a new arrival had inquired of the priest, Cian had but looked at the man and stated, "Because that's when it is." So it was. In the past the day had begun with a gathering at the Passenger Quay, but word had been spread through rumor that this year the feast would open on the steps of the Chapterhouse of the Order of Radiance. As the rising sun exploded rainbows from the skyglass tower, Cian could be found seated on the top step. The familiar physician was far better dressed than usual, clad in smoke black trousers and jacket with a shell white tunic beneath some kind soul had embroidered with thread of silver. The tangles had been combed out of his hair and all of it braided back in traditional sailor's knots, leaving a face made a bit drawn by the trials of the pasts weeks stark with Rak'keli's opalescent kiss. Lining the steps were Watchmen, spit-shined and perfect, to the last bearing a torch that had flared in the hour of the wolf to combat the darkness. There were more guards on duty -- patrolling the streets, following in the footsteps of important figures such as Captain Astrid and Priestess Emereki -- than there had been in feast days of the past. The men and women of the watch were sharp eyed and alert, smiling but on guard as they watched over the citizens of their city arriving alone or in groups in the chill morning air. A seagull flapped and stuttered down in a flare of swirling lights to leave a naked boy squatting on the steps beside Cian whose chuckle could be heard beneath the murmuring of the gathering crowd. The priest leaned over to lift the heavy cloak he had been wearing in his night long vigil and drop it over the shoulders of the ginger haired child. "Jolan, Jolan," the boy mumbled happily and hopped up in a swirl of his borrowed cloak to go harass the guards. Young and old shouldered against each other in the ballast stone street, paved with the goods of Zeltivan merchant ships, and their breaths created wisps of steam in the slowly warming air. Bunches of wild flowers were clutched in countless hands, so very many the whole of the world seemed to have been stripped of autumn blooms for this day. Conversation was subdued, but the mood of the crowd was hopeful, anticipatory. Strange happenings were haunting this end of the world, leaving fear and worry crouching in the corners of everyone's eyes. Sunrise caused the skyglass tower to glow beneath a sky so blue it could break the soul when the resident priest of Rak'keli finally rose to his feet on the Chapterhouse steps. He was lifting a torch of his own, the staff an artisan's work of cypress depicting winged snakes. The wood looked alive in his hands and a little girl at the front of the crowd tugged at her mother's skirts to hiss, "Look, Mama, its flappin' wings!" Silence settled as all watched Cian accept a light for his torch from the flame of the nearest Watchman. The butt of the staff clunked against the top step as he turned back to the people of his adopted city. He leaned against it, yet another mark of his goddess shimmering on the back of his hand. A smile touched his mouth like a blade as he looked over the crowd, virtually every face known. Unforgotten feast days had Cian opening on the dock of the Passenger Quay with a long, entertaining and typically eccentric homily on the good of precious Rak'keli and Her holy philosophy before the procession began through the streets, flowers being left upon door steps with prayers for all the ill in the house, in the city, in the world. This year's was different. "Denval! Welcome and well come!" Cian called. His voice carried over the street, steady and assured as when used to address a patient in his clinic. Silence subsumed the street. "Today is meant for honoring the glory of Rak'keli, the Dark Sister who is the Goddess of Healing. A year ago and the years before that, we began our praise for Her at the quay to symbolize our welcome of Rak'keli and Her teachings into our hearts. This year we begin where Rak'keli's blessings are needed the most." Cian spread a hand inside of his chest, above his heart as the lines of his face settled into weary, stalwart lines. "At the feet of Hope," he said this more quietly, it unnecessary for him to shout to be heard. His words had a habit of carrying. Even the deafest grandfather in the back would be capable of hearing him clearly today. "Long and long, we have watched at the shadows, resurrecting civilization from the boneyard of war and cataclysm. Denval has held its ground against extinction, destruction and the maddening degradation of morals enforced solitude can cause a society to catch sick with. Denval is strong. It is known. Denval can survive. It is known. "And Denval will heal from these disturbing times. It is known!" The last Cian was forced to shout for, beginning with the Watch guards lining the steps and spreading like sweet contagion into the crowd, a buoyant cheer. The sound left Rak'keli's mysterious priest grinning as he pulled a worn flask from within his jacket. The torchlight battled with that of the full morning sun to shine off the beaten silver as he held it up. Having been prepared for this tradition, children sprung through the crowd with tiny cups of degtine to share with those who had not brought their own. Glass and wood, tin and copper clattered and chimed as glass after glass was lifted. "To Rak'keli and to Denval!" Cian toasted. The Denvali roared back their echo. "To the believers in both!" He continued. "To absent friends, to fallen friends. To us, my friends, to us!" Rak'keli's priest drank and with him did all of Denval. A fiddler from the Stranger's Welcome took up a tune, merry and sweet, as amid laughter and conversation Cian descended the steps to fall in with the rest and lead the way from door step to door step, his own flower left on the steps of the Chapterhouse. It would take a few hours for the procession to make its way through the city, littering the buildings with petaled orisons before finally making its way up the sea cliff to the grounds of the Opal Clinic where the earthly feast awaited them. Tables were strewn through the orchards guarding the clinic's herb and vegetable gardens, heavily laden with the bounty of Theo's Farm and Rak'keli's godly friend Laviku's ocean providence. Pitchers of spring water and wine mixed with fruit juice cooled in the shade alongside kegs of degtine. Sprawled over the grass were blankets and playful contests, everything from foot races to bobbing for fall apples. The best of the offerings resided on a hand sewn cloth spread over a bench before the sea cliff. It was there that Cian shoved his winged snake staff into the earth, torch still glowing, and dropped to his knees for a private, personal prayer of his own. The feasting would last the whole of the day and well into the night. By the time the sun was sinking, more than a few musicians were working together and a dance floor was begun by the simple expedient of Cian pulling Captain Astrid into the grass bare foot to spin her around. It was, for these stolen hours, no longer a time to struggle, but a time to heal.

[Sitkanis]

Sitkanis might not have attended the feast if he had not expected Astrid to be there. While he respected the healers and all they did, Adalia was a healer and with her departure all aspirations of learning medicine had left him. He could not say he was heading off to the feast for fun but at least it was getting out of the cabin. The Ethaefal worried about the state of his form as he headed to the feast. There was not a doubt in his mind that Leth would claim him after a while at the celebration so he had packed his bags in preparation for his impending drop in height. When the Ethaefal arrived there was no one at the feast of dire importance to him. The only people he would have looked out for would have been Lysander, Astrid, and possibly Veldrys. The Symenestra was one of the few who he did not mind spending time with. When two of his prospects fell through, his attention fell to Astrid who was off with Cian. The feast had been set up beautifully. Even Sitkanis could appreciate that. He debated eating, knowing that soon Leth would take over the sky and wash away his need to eat. For now he would mingle, or try his hardest to. Walking up to Cian and Astrid the Ethaefal smiled lightly. His expression was void of jealousy for another man dancing with the woman that had caught his eye. This fact surprised even him. Perhaps he was sinking into the Denvali mindset of not claiming lovers like the Drykas in him craved to do. "Hello Astrid, Cian. The celebration is really nice." He was not sure how to put it. He had little interest in the celebration. His sights were on the fiery woman before him. He looked to Astrid before turning his attention to Cian. "Do you mind if I steal the Captain for a dance?"

[Seodai]

Seodai had seldom attended the festival of Rak'keli. Or, rather, he had attended it - but less as a jubilant participant and more as a shadow who constantly brought out more of Bala's blessed bounty to feed the mass of humanity who had turned out to celebrate. This, then, would be the first year he was present otherwise. So much had changed for him since the end of summer. Previously painfully introverted and essentially friendless, Seo found himself in a much different place now. There was an Isur he was friendly with, a Vantha with whom he spent much of his free time, and who he would certainly call friend. And then there was Lysander, for whom there were no words to classify the strange feelings that sprang to life in his breast in such company. It was all rather busy, mentally and emotionally as much as physically. Uncle Theo seemed quietly pleased, though, glad that his nephew was no longer in self-imposed exile. Even when Seo stayed out far too late, grumbled about waking in the morning, and went through his daily routines yawning and rubbing at sleepy eyes. The truth was, Seodai would never really neglect the farm. Bala was his first love, along with the farm that brought him a peace and happiness that nothing else could. Dressed in his best for the festival, Seodai had come with his friend and playmate Syllke at his side. The latter approached the festivity with all of the wide-eyed fascination, wonder, and energy that he fixed every day with - leaving Seo to laugh at his antics as they were swept along with the flow of humanity. Seodai explained what they were doing as they went along and, when they finally reached the feast, he felt no small measure of pride to see such a generous display spread out before the population. This was his daily toil, his effort and work, benefiting the whole of Denval. "Hungry?" he quipped to Syllke, his eyes drifting pointedly over the crowd. He had been on edge for much of the day, bright eyes constantly sifting through the crowd, looking for a particular face. He had, somehow, never managed to catch up with Lysander while Syna was in the sky, but he held out hope. Perhaps at such a festival he might. As the sun began to wane, however, and people were more focused on laughter, music, and food - spurred on by Cian Noc himself dancing in the grass with the Captain, Seodai was more alert, more hopeful. Lysander was beautiful in the grip of Leth and his beautiful night, Seodai knew that much. Perhaps, then, he would appear with the departure of Syna and the advent of shadows. Seodai glanced over his shoulder to Syllke, who he had almost lost in the press of bodies. He fixed him with a crooked smile, the sort he didn't realize affected Syllke most, and then reached out to grasp his friends hand - pulling him through the cluster of people blocking the path to the food. "You've got to try everything," he tacked on, almost merrily. Syllke had been very good for Seo, indeed.

[Talen Stirling]

If Cian's face was drawn with the trials of the past weeks, Talen's eyes mirrored that fatigue with their tired concentration on watching the moving crowds and one of the roads into town. Ever since the two murders and his sudden abduction to that place he had felt exhausted and worried. Normally, he would have raised the loudest cheer and emptied the largest cup of degtine, but instead he hid behind his scarf and watched for anything out of the ordinary. He did feel envigorated by the healer's words and the unity of the town as they made their way to the orchard outside the clinic. But the doubts he had about the well-being of Denval, as well as his own capabilities would not go away so easily. He was wearing shield and sword, but his leather armour was not there to cover his arms where faint scars from his meeting with deceased Mihai were still drawn clearly against his skin. He found a seat in the shadow of an apple tree with a ripe and red apple in hand, much like the ones on the tree next to his own house. A seat from which he could overlook the dancing, the merriment and most of the feast. For some, the struggle seemed to have no end.

[Tabarnac]

Master Theo was rather more grim than usual, though he smiled when smiled to and answered questions about the farm and other things for which his advice was petitioned with a friendliness that was not feigned. Ever since something twisted up the channel to Bala within him, he had felt cut off from the one constant in his life. Little Seo was growing up, and would, like as not, leave Denval at some point to see a bit of the world, sow a bit of the wild oats, and the like. It would be good for him, and perhaps he would return as worldly as Jerzy the blacksmith, who spoke the tongue of the dwarfs of Sultros. He stood at a booth they had set up for Master Jarret, who was doing his best to be a nostrum fair unto himself, selling his usual remedies as well as some of the more amusing ones: "love potions" that guaranteed a night of non-stop love-making; cures for broken hearts; salves for ugly faces; and other panaceas. "The one will get you over the past and the other will help you to build the future," he groused at the burly farmer, who politely evaded the old busybody's plans for him, pulling a thread from the gaudy silken streamers hanging from the old man's booth. Justus and Siwa of the Temple of Nikali worked their way through the crowd, both wan, though the priest managed to smile. His own methods of healing stood somewhat outside the dominion of Rak'keli, but after years of public friendship with Cian Noc, the people were starting to understand that a body's health had as much to do with the mind and spirit as the mechanics of their internal systems and structures. The wide-eyed, raven-haired beauty clung close to him. The others were not in attendance, undergoing their own trials, unable to shut off their connections to Nikali for more than a little while, and suffering for it. Denval was cursed, and yet they celebrated all the harder for it. This was their way. When Sitkanis interrupted the brief dance and briefer conversation, the Captain smiled, her hand cupping her belly as if she were out of breath. Her look to Noc was brief and to the point: more on that later. Emereki stood apart, the priestess of Priskil slender and spare, beautiful in her serenity. Neither she nor Astrid could afford to glow as they often used to, though the effort required not to channel Priskil required more discipline from Astrid. "Just a moment," she said, squeezing Sitka's hand and smiling in a way that gave away little to anyone else, but might very well make him blush. "My people," she called, her voice trained and clarion, "I do not wish to interrupt the festivities, but we have had a trying time of it since Summer and I want to add my fuel to the fires of our celebration." Still holding the Drykas-clad Ethaefal's hand, she indicated him with a smiling nod of her head. "You should congratulate our friend who traveled all the way from the Ukalas to be with us. He's given us an heir." There was a moment of stunned silence. Few had known, but now that it was a good three months since conception, it seemed safe enough to announce. She winked at Cian, who had known right away, damned healer, and then nodded to Sitkanis. "You promised me a dance?"

[Veldrys]

Veldrys had never attended the festival before. He had only arrived in Denval in winter, and he had been looking forward to it ever since he had found out about it. The normally calm Symenestra was a little excited. While Viratas who had marked him would always be the one for him, he respected Rak’keli as well. She was the goddess of healing, and he hoped that she approved of what she did, that she didn’t mind that he had dedicated himself to the blood god. He would likely never bear her mark like Cian, there were some things he’d never be able to do, but he hoped that he could help the people of Denval a little every once in a while. He had decided to let his admittedly somewhat boring robes be today and was garbed in red silk today, befitting of somebody that served the blood god. As Cian held his speech, he stood in the center of the crowd, as if he were a part of it, as if he truly belonged here. He had come to consider these people here his people, and he hoped that what Cian said would come true, that Denval would indeed heal, that the things that Viratas had said that night in the chapel would never come true. Denval had to survive. He accepted a cup of degtine from one of the children and made a toast, and then, after Cian was ended, he began to inspect the booths that had been set up. He hadn’t had the opportunity to really talk to Master Jarret, the only other healer besides Cian that he knew, a lot yet and was especially interested in the potions he had for sale. „Salves for ugly faces, Master Jarret?“ the Symenestra asked, somewhat amused as he inspected the salve in question. „Tell me, how do these work?“He wanted to say more, but then Astrid made her announcement and he abruptly turned around to face her. He noticed that Sitkanis who he had been looking for when he had arrived at the festival was next to her, holding her hand. Did that mean what he thought it meant? Was the Captain expecting the Ethaefael’s child? He had never thought such a thing was possible, that people who never aged could father children. Would the child retain some of Sitkanis‘ agelessness?

[Syllke Skyglow]

It had been a long day, but Syllke had loved every minute of it. With Seo by his side - even despite their little . . . contretemps . . . of a few days ago – things were bound to be enjoyable. He was all eyes and ears and movement and darting energy, which proved a little tiresome when the crowd pressed in tight from time to time. As often as not, he was grabbing Seodai by the hand or arm or any handy body part to drag him to a spot where they could keep moving. By now, many and many of the faces they passed or bumped up against or wiggled past were familiar to the sociable Vantha – more than a few had been subjects of his sketches and paintings and sculptures and carvings. So it was a near constant chorus of hellos and how are yous and good to see yous as the two young men traversed the small city at what was to Syllke, and achingly slow pace. But he was here and there and everywhere and soaking it all in, so he made do well enough. When the reached the clinic and the wondrous feast spread about beneath the trees, the observant Vantha by no means missed the way his friend’s eyes darted about, searching. But he only smiled the more. Well, that was life, and as long as he could still count Seo a friend – one of the best he had ever had – he could live with things being this way, he guessed. He nodded vigorously when Seo posed his question. Indeed for such a skinny boy, Syllke could pack away food – it was a traditional Vantha defense against the sub-zero temperatures of the far north. Then Seodai was reaching for his hand, that smile creasing his face like a golden ray of sun under dove grey clouds, and Syllke tried to ignore that feeling in his chest and concentrate on all the fantastic smells assailing his nose. As Seo tugged at the more than willing artist, Syllke’s eyes fell on another familiar face. He yanked back on Seo’s hand, causing him to come to a sudden halt. “Galio!” Syllke called out, to get the young Kelvic’s attention. Besides his friend stood a dark haired girl who, seeing as she was almost shoulder to shoulder with Galio, Syllke guessed might be one of his long awaited sisters. “Galio! Over here!” Syllke beckoned with his free hand, happy to at last get a chance to introduce the boy to Seodai.

[Galio Keln]

So far Galio had been slightly depressed as he walked along with his sister Lucy through the feast. When he heard that there was a feast to be held Galio had at first wanted to come in what he considered his better form and his preferred shape as a mighty grizzly. Lucy, being the older than him wouldn’t hear of it. So he had followed her around, fully dressed, and walking on human feet throughout the day so far. Despite this limitation he had been able to enjoy himself amongst the merry goers and festivities. Since coming back to Denval he had kept to himself and only become close friends with a small group of people, in general he had truly been letting Lucy lead the way and perform most of the talking and chatting. So as his name rang out across the orchard he turned towards the noise and to his enjoyment he spotted one of those close friends, Syllke Skyglow. He waved back already grinning with excitement. Lowering his arm he also noticed that another boy stood next to Syllke, it was not anyone he had seen before so he could only assume that he was one of Syllke’s friends. Syllke might have someone new with him, but Galio did as well. “Come on Lucy! There’s someone I want you to meet!” Without waiting for reply from his sister he pulled on her hand, leading her towards Syllke and the other boy.

[Seodai]

Seodai felt the mildest ripple of apprehension. While he may seem free-spirited and easygoing in the presence of the Vantha, it wasn't true universally. He still felt awkward and uncertain around people, especially new ones. Syllke had only wormed his way beyond those hesitancies over time and with that infectious spirit of his. Syllke was very much an exception to the rule, and so Seodai wasn't exactly thrilled to pause for this sort of socialization. He was, however, innately kind and so he managed a smile. For the sake of his friend. "Hello, Galio," Seodai said politely, once the pair arrived. His voice was accented differently than Syllke's, and the name almost sounded like another one altogether on his tongue. But still, he had a smile for the new acquaintance, and one for the sister. Only Syllke would recognize the tenseness in his frame, his face. As the pair of friends began to speak, Seodai glanced away, towards the place where the Captain (apparently an expecting mother) and the ethaefal were dancing. Sitkanis, in his beautiful form, made Seodai ache all the more for the face who was absent. Another longing sweep of the crowd with his gaze, and Seodai was back to present, glancing at Syllke.

[Lucy]

Lucy was happy to be here again, in Denval. She liked the speech about Denval healing and she recognized few peoples around, just it was hard to talk to anybody. Her old friends were still kids, and she felt awkward talking to their parents or someone like that. There were few new peoples too. She enjoyed the festival, anyway. After the speech Galio suddenly pulled her hand. He was trying to reach someone and meet her with him or her. There were plenty of peoples, but after a while she was sure who is the person she's about to meet. A boy, about her age (human age), with black hair, he had runner musculature and was not too tall, but not short. He was with a little older boy with pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes, but Lucy was pretty sure that Galio was aiming for a younger boy. She smiled to those two while trying not to fall with Galio pulling her hand like that. She felt a bit silly like that. They finally made their way to those two. She waited for Galio to introduce her.