Gnosis: Phylonura
Voice of the Mountains 
Nij has always had an affinity for nature. Upon learning about Caiyha, she had devoted her life to nature and learning about the world. She observed the Kelvics and the animals her siblings kept as pets, but she still didn't feel it was enough. She wanted to serve the goddess. Yet she didn't know how.
Then, she stumbled upon this passage:
Phylonura is the Gnosis power of Caiyha - Goddess of Flora, Fauna, and Wilderness. Caiyha’s followers are among the minority on Mizahar who can in fact survive without civilization deep in the heart of the wilderness. Caiyha’s followers know the language of Nura, granted to them by their first mark and are thus able to speak to the plants and animals of the world in a universal language all creatures inherently know.
Nij knew what she must do, but she didn't understand how to accomplish this. She only saw one option of learning how to achieve this goal, and that was what she did. Meditation and Prayer.
For hours a day, Nij would sit high in the branches of a large tree outside the entrance of the city, praying and asking Caiyha how she might achieve her goal of becoming a Phylonurist. But, Caiyha had yet to answer. She started staying out for days on end, barely eating or sleeping. Still no answer. Then, after days of meditation, a single butterfly landed on her hand. From that butterfly came a single clear thought, echoing through her head. "Prove yourself to me."
She knew it must be a message from Caiyha! Yet, it was still so vague, so confusing. What must she do to prove herself? Nij climbed down the tree, and started walking back to her home. She was still young, young enough to be considered a child by some and an adult by others, but not old enough to leave the house, in her opinon.
The tumbling city of Alvadas made it no easy task to find her way home. It seemed that every time she could see the front of her house, it would disappear. She had no trouble 'finding' the any other shop, park, or building that was offered in the city. Eventually she gave up and decided to walk into the newly-appeared Bizarre. It always awed the young girl, with so many things to look at and buy. There was nothing different about it today than any other, but the cries of animals ringed loudly in her ears, louder than any of the other, many, sounds.
It was nothing new, just birds squawking from their cages and cats mewing and dogs. There was even a lion, tethered to a heavy stone block, but even she could see the average street tom shimmering through the shreds of poorly-made illusion. There was even the braying of mules and the baas of sheep and goat. The hiss of snakes and the croaks of frogs, could be heard, among the other wares that were being sold. Everything from picture frames to 'solid' gold and silver charms, symbols and idols. She knew these were most likely just wooden and painted. Her own, luckily, was solid gold. She could feel it in the weight and the softness of the gold itself.
What bothered her the most were the supposedly wild animals, straining against heavy cages and harnesses. There was a raccoon clawing at the excited children crowded around its cage, and a large wolf, straining against a leather harness, but too weak from injury to escape or do much harm. It hurt her eyes, her mind, her heart. It was all too much. She met the gaze of the raccoon, and dropped her eyes. She couldn't do much for it.
She glanced up, at an animal she recognized as a Dwarf Blue Sheep. They were rare, and limited to a small part of the Unforgiving, right near Alvadas. They were commonly hunted and sold for meat, but this one was alive and in good condition. It had a collar around its neck, but didn't seem to try and escape. She knew that is was begging for home, for the mountains. It was a wild animal, and capturing it was wrong against every sense of nature.
"How much is this?" She asked, setting her hand on the back of the animal.
"What're ya gonna do with it?" the handler replied, nonchalantly looking up from behind his stall, where he was sitting.
"Return it to the wild. How long have you had it?"
"On'y for a few days. I caught it 'nd I di'nt know what to do with it, 'cause I don't wanna eat it. I was maybe gonna sell it as a pet. If you return it to tha wild, it's gonna be a total waste 'a money. But no one wants 'ta buy it at my price. 'Too small' they say. It cost 4 gold-rimmed mizas."
Nij felt the mizas pressing against her skin through her pocket. She picked up four of the large ones, and held them in her hand. They were heavy and warm from being in her pocket.
"Three, and it's a deal."
"Three, and five silver."
"Deal." She put back a single gold miza, and pulled out five silver, handing them to the man. He handed her the leash and waved her away with a tip of his hat.
She took the leash and walked as fast as she could away from the stalls of the Bizarre, and through the exit. The animal strained against the leash, trying to run from her. She wasn't very strong, being only twelve, but she held fast and tried to coax the animal to the Gaping Maw. It complied for a few blocks before headbutting her into the middle of a street filled with leaves, trees and the occasional squirrel. She hit a tree, but still held onto the leash. Finally, finally, they made it out of the Gaping Maw, where Nij could see the mountains, their tops shrouded in mist. The beast bit her while she was trying to undo the collar, so she shoved her hand in her mouth at an attempt to soothe pain and stop the flow of blood. Even so, she eventually managed to pull the collar and leash off, and the animal instantly started running towards the mountains.
"Wild as he should be." she whispered before turning back towards the Gaping Maw.
She heard footsteps. Slowly, she looked up, into the face of someone she knew must be Caiyha. She uttered her name with simple astonishment. This goddess was like the allure and beauty of all nature combined. She spoke, a simple phrase, but something Nij would remember her whole life.
"You have proven yourself, Nijin Plover." She planted a kiss on her head, and disappeared into a rabble of multicoloured butterflies. A single Phylonura gnosis appeared on her left leg, and Nij walked home, more aware of the loveliness in nature than ever. |
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by Nij on June 10th, 2012, 5:10 pm 
