Quest [Sunset Falls] Turning Inward

[Paragon]

Turning Inward Timestamp: 84th of Winter, 512 AV The Falls were truly a sight to behold. Under Syna's rays they glistened like gold, gushing from the mountain and plunging desperately, and yet gracefully, all at the same time. In the pool beneath, strange creatures bobbed about. Jewel-like, they sparkled. Small fish, and some not quite like fish. Something like a jellyfish, found in the Outer Oceans and the Suvan, but even smaller, and so very many colours. At night time, illuminated by the moonlight, their myriad of tones took on a new magnificence. They moved, often in pairs, dancing and then breaking away again. Sometimes they splashed the surface of the plunge pool, causing a ripple. It was there, beside the plunge pool, that the old woman stood. Shrouded in a dark grey cloak, she kept to the shadows cast by the crags of the Cobalt stone. And there she looked out for the man, who was soon to arrive.

[Crypt]

"I see now why they call this beautiful..." Crypt had arrived at the Sunset Falls just before sunset. Enraptured by the wondrous sight, he could only stare and gape in amazement, all worries forgotten, as Syna sank down to rest, and Leth began his rule over the night sky. Eventually, as the stars of Zintila came out to dance their eternal dance, Crypt sat down a foot away from the waters of the small pool that formed the base of the gargantuan waterfall. "And nothing gold can stay. Golden fluid turns to night-time serenity." Watching the small creatures move about the plunge pool, darting about like hummingbirds from a flower to the other, Crypt was reminded of two seperate instances where had seen them before. And when was it did I visit the Emerald Pond of Alvadas, where I gazed into its depths and saw similar figures? When was it when I visited Vanti Island and delighted in the dance of the strange, translucent creatures K'mavia called Adari? I know not - time is strange to me now. The Drykas chuckled for a moment, before he shifted his face to an expression of calm and peace, banishing all joy or sorrow from his visage. "Sometimes it has been a season; others but a chime. When was it that I wrote those letters? A day, a bell, a year ago? They are burnt now. I cannot commit suicide, for I am afraid of the pain." A cacophony of emotions abruptly broke out on Crypt's face, where his countenance displayed a variety of feelings - wrath, sorrow, happiness, distorting his face such that all who saw him would feel pity for him, yet be terrified by the battle they could clearly see going on inside him. "Death! You come and go, at times I never know," Crypt began to utter the words pent-up within him for many seasons, his voice projecting over the waters, "You have taken Maras and my father from me, as you have the countless animals I have killed, in self-defence or for their meat, from their kin. And why? Everyone will die - that is the natural order of things. I cannot, and will not try to defy it. Life is life, and death is death. There will be no in-betweens, for that would be an abomination. But why, when I am not ready for their deaths? Answer me, Death!" Crypt bellowed, 'Answer me, if you will. Answer me!" The bizarre, iridescent creatures darted away from the lone figure standing at the shores of the plunge pool.

[Paragon]

She listened to him intently, before emerging from the crag in the rocks, walking softly to the water's edge, until she stood almost beside Crypt. She looked out into the pool, and as the man turned to her questioningly, she motioned back at the water. Guiding him to watch. The creatures, like gelatinous gemstones, hobbled about near the surface of the water. Both Crypt and the shrouded old woman watched for a moment, before suddenly a screech pierced the air. A hawk like bird swept down from a low Cobalt peak, and talons grabbed one of the plunge pool creatures, ripping it from the water and carrying it back up. Its body was pierced, and Crypt saw it flop lifelessly as the bird carried it back up. "No one is ready for death," the old woman said, timed to perfection, "and yet, nor is anyone ready to be birthed into this world."

[Crypt]

Crypt gave a start as the shrouded figure seemingly appeared out of nowhere; he began to enquire her identity, but fell silent as he watched the death of one of the medusae-like creatures. Crypt shuddered as he watch the talons of the bird pierce through the body of the pool denizen effortlessly, imagining something similar happening to himself. Both Crypt and the elderly lady remained silent for a few seconds after her well-timed comment. And then Crypt began to speak, his mind having worked through the thoughts her few words had created. "One may be ready for death if he has achieved all he has wanted for, all he has longed for - if he is satisfied with his life and all that has occurred within it..." Crypt mused as he watched the pool inhabitants return to their dance, "And yet you may have a point there. Who can truly say if one is ready for death? I may say that I am ready for death, but that is merely my own belief, my own opinion - I wouldn't know if that would be true or false. Would the Gods know? Can they even die? Is there someone out there that knows the truth?" He fell silent, and it was a chime or two before he spoke again. "We are never ready for this cruel, harsh life Mizahar gives us..." Crypt sighed deeply, his state of melancholia made only more obvious by the dismal tones that had crept into his voice, "What would be the point of living then? Death comes to us all in the end, and where do we go after that? We live again? We die again? An endless cycle. There must be a reason, a purpose for us. Or is there? I am young and ignorant. There is much I know, but even more that I know not. Are we but a cosmic accident, or is there more to us?"

[Paragon]

"Deity and death are two foreign concepts. Gods can be annihilated, but there is no cycle. Death is not the end for mortals." The old woman shuffled closer to the water's edge, and crouched, a hand that belied her elderly face - smooth and marble - gripping a small stone. Standing back up straight, she threw it into the plunge pool. Where it landed, a torrent of ripples spread across the surface, and the creatures zipped down into the waters depths away from their unseen attacker. "What do you think life would be like if there was no end? Even Nuits will die eventually, through injury or deceit. And even ghosts return to the cycle someday. If there is no end, would we ever appreciate the joys of life?" It seemed the old woman was not telling him anything, merely posing questions. "It seems you are quite the philosopher. What do you think, truly? How has death touched your own life?"

[Crypt]

"No being then, is immortal." Crypt reached for the waterskin hanging by his side. The water within had cooled considerably since he had departed from Syliras, and now it refreshed and soothed his parched throat as he took a few sips of the icy fluid. "No end to life? Immortality! What could I do with such time on my hands? Amass knowledge and wealth, such that none can compare to me. With that I could have as an immortal, I could give rise to a new age - an age of culture, of... of... peace! Aye, no more conflict. No more sorrows; no more unhappiness. By enduring until the end of time I could accomplish such goals! I could eradicate all diseases and sicknesses, perhaps even old age..." Crypt broke off abruptly, a particular thought having come to the front of his mind. As he ran through the train of thought, his eyes widened; he lost the bright expression on his face, and he shuddered. "Immortal I may be, but old age and sickness and injuries I would suffer. I will grow old and decrepit beyond all beings - I will be so weak that even a gentle breeze could break my bones; and I will suffer all manner of diseases over and over again. Whatever wounds that afflict me would not kill me. Anyone could repeatedly stab me with a dagger and I would still not die. I cannot die. I will suffer all manner of agonies and still endure. Immortality... will be the curse of curses. To endure in such a way... to watch others go to their rest while you swear and blaspheme at the gods for having granted you such a torment... And in the end. Alone..." Crypt's face turned ashen with shame for having conjured up such pleasing visions. "I would not run away from any inhuman torment that would grant me a reprieve from that kind of... life is too good a word to be used. I see now that immortality would not be a blessing," the Drykas paused as he stared at the shrouded old lady beside him, wondering who she was, "We enjoy life because it has an end. Life is short. And yet... Death brings an end to the joys of life. And since we will all die in the end, we may as well enjoy the rest of our life as heartily and genuinely as possible." Again the old dame posed a question. And again Crypt paused to contemplate her query. "Death has touched my life much more than once," Crypt resumed watching the translucent creatures dart around in the water, "My first experience was with my father. In the night we were set upon by unknown beasts, and he was killed as he tried to save me from them. After that, I traveled away from home. I killed quite a few bandits in defence. I killed some in order to regain what they had stolen. I recently helped a few squires against bandits in this part of the Woods, and for that Maras is dead. My only companion throughout these lonely nights that I spent, far away from home... My brother, the only one that chose to support me though all my trials and tribulations... The Strider that chose me. His body is now making its way towards the Sea of Grass, courtesy of a fellow Drykas. But where did my father and Maras go after their deaths?" He turned his tear-streaked visage towards the old woman. "Do you know?"

[Paragon]

The old woman listened to every word. Every single, mortal word. She did not judge, and yet humans often had strange views about the world. Either they skimmed so much over the surface they barely dug beneath, or they analysed every moment until it drove them mad. "Of course," she said quietely, "but it is something best shown." A hand came out of the ashen robes, held out for Crypt to take. "If it is a question you truly wish answered, take hold of my hand." The crystalline creatures began to move closer to the surface of the pool once again, as if the outreached hand was an invite for their return. The bird was long gone. "And I will show you."

[Crypt]

“Something best shown...” Crypt contemplated her words before reaching his left hand out, grasping her outstretched hand, feeling its rough surface as he spoke again. “Show me then, old woman; let me with mine own two eyes their fates after death.”

[Paragon]

The old woman took his hand. And the flesh was cold. Almost as cold as ice. But she held tightly, and despite the frigidness, there was a youth to her skin also, in stark contrast to the weathered face hiding beneath her cloak. She strode forward, leading him round the plunge pool and behind a column of rock. There, the ground began to slope and curve round. Crypt would follow behind, but it would be a moment before he realised where this walkway was taking them. It curled round so sharply that it came back in the direction they had walked from, but this time they would be behind the falls. A gentle spray from the falling water dashed across the rock. And the old woman made Crypt stand right in the centre, eyes aimed at the gushing water, and the distorted image behind. "Look into the water closely. Think on why you want the answer to your question. Think on your truth. And think on the truth." Softly, she let go of his hand, and took a step back to wait patiently.

[Crypt]

OOC NoteMan, that's really confusing - distorted image of what? Confusion ruled supreme in Crypt's mind as the mysterious lady led him to the back of the falls, and asked him to observe the water as a means of getting the answer to his question. Frowning slightly, the enigma partially banishing his morbid thoughts, the Drykas stared at the churning waters, unsure of what he was suppose to see. At least the first part was comparatively easy to answer. "Why do I want to know where they have gone?" Crypt muttered, his eyes unfocusing slightly as he contemplated his query, "I... I want to know what happens after death. I want to know what will happen to me when I die. What comes after dying, whether I die on a bed or on the battlefield." And what do I say next? What truth does she speak of? "I know not what truth of mine you speak about, unless it is the one where we should not avoid Death - when it comes, let it proceed, and not attempt to escape from it. And the truth? I see the images in the water disrupted by the continuous falling water, never able to be recognised as anything - I can see, but I understand nothing. Do you mean that I cannot learn what happens after death?"