Closed Out to Sea Without a Paddle [Uleru]

[Magpie]

Timestamp: 10th of Summer, 513AV Location: Laviku’s Tower Belea poked the flame atop Laviku’s tower absently, teal eyes unseeing as she was lost in her thoughts. The day would be a long, dull one, by Laviku’s grace, filled with the mundanities of upkeeping the great tower. The tide was in, and as she rounded the top of the tower, she looked back at the bustling shore. Dull people all, oblivious of the sheer precipice they stood upon her god’s domain. If only they knew…why, the tower would certainly get more visitors than it did. She moved back inside, and continued down the stairs. The basins along the outer wall each gained a brief look, to make sure the life inside was thriving. This one held a small reef of coral, another held a few schools of small fish that darted away at her passing. She paused at another that held an injured eel that swam in figure 8’s slowly, endlessly. He’d had an infection on his side, and was nearly ready to be released back to the ocean. An acolyte, a young Charoda named Ilyel, wrapped in glittering robes of deep blue cotton and seaweed, skittered up to her. Her sea green face was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. The nervousness was expected – most were, in the face of the High Priestess. “High Priestess Belea…” “Yes?” “There’s an…There’s an Otani here. It-she, um, just arrived.” The hairless shadows of Belea’s eyebrows rose slightly. An Otani visiting, now that didn’t happen everyday. Nodding once, she followed Ilyel further down the stairs to meet the creature.

[Uleru]

When Uleru finally made the decision to visit Laviku's tower, she didn't do so lightly. Her transgression late in the spring still weighs heavy on her mind, leaving her feeling unfit to enter something so sacrosanct. But if she doesn't, how will she show her distress for having failed? This isn't something that can be mended with a quick prayer.

And when she did work up the courage, there is still the matter of sacrifice she must adhere to. What should she bring? The chest of Mizas is by far the most valuable. But it would hardly be a sacrifice since its also the thing she is least attached to. She's had the compass the longest, its practically a relic now, but that doesn't seem right either. In the end she finally settled on a lock of red hair gone blonde with the damage of salty air. A gift from a friend she met years ago, and the one thing that means more to her than all the junk she has acquired. Yes, that'll do nicely.

The swim to the imposing stone tower takes much less time than she anticipated. The figure seems to loom from the water like an Alvina raising its ugly head. Its not a splendid structure from the outside, and the Otani cant help but feel an opportunity has been missed to proudly display the beauty the sea can represent.

She enters the temple by way of the low openings in the rock base, making her way through the narrow chasm before it opens up to the structure itself. And its here that she sees the true beauty of the tower. Millions of rare creatures swim in the calm waters, protected by the stone, and a fortune in glass and tile adorns the walls in beautiful patterns. The Otani swims leisurely up to the surface of the internal water, admiring the beauty on the inside of this stone monster. Fitting, the moulding hums approvingly, breaking the surface with a hollow splash.

But her wide-eyed appreciation comes to a halt when she realizes that she isn't the only one in the room. There is a young Charoda girl a few steps above the water platform, frozen and eyes wide with something that looks curiously like excitement. She has a cleaning rag still clutched in her hand from when she had been busily swiping at a spot of dirt on the wall as if the stain has done her personal injury. The two stare at each other for a chime.

"...Hi", the young Charoda starts rather ineloquently.

"Hello", Uleru smiles, folding her arms over the lower platform. There is a somewhat strained silence as the young acolyte tries to find rhyme and reason for this unexpected visitor. The Otani, for her part, just seems to be enjoying the awkwardness she is causing, and continues to stare mildly.

"Um, are you here for-?"

"Laviku? Yes."

"No, I mean-"

"Just Laviku."

"For... tribute?"

"Indeed."

"Should I get-?"

"If you must."

Another weird silence passes between the two, before the Charoda turns on her heel and a patter of webbed feet could be heard ascending the spiral staircase as she searches for the Priestess. The sounds slows every few steps as the acolyte glances back down as if to make sure that, indeed, the creature is still there.

Uleru waits with uncharacteristic patience for the young Charoda to return. Hopefully with the Priestess in tow. She idly twirls the lock of hair between her fingers in the same way a woman would with her own hair. She's never met the Priestess. She hasn't actually been summoned by any third-marked follower in many, many decades. Maybe she should offer her service while she is here...

The rustle of fabrics and the eco of footsteps herald the arrival of the two women.

"Priestess", the moulding coos pleasantly, pulling herself aground and rising to her feet on the low platform.

[Magpie]

While Ilyel scampered down the stairs to the base of the tower, Belea followed with swift decorum. As they neared the water entrance, Belea wanted to ask the young Charoda if the Otani had said anything about its…her meaning for coming. Belea hadn’t sent out a summons, and there was no real need anyway. The waters of Riverfall were calm, for the time being. The last pool they passed before they got to the base contained a school of minnows that came and went with the tide. As if in response to her thought, they darted back and forth across their pool irritably, and as much as Belea wanted to stop and look into the source of their distress, she had no such time. There was a guest waiting, even if it was an Otani, and great Laviku would frown upon rudeness towards one of his moldlings. She would investigate when her business was concluded. At last they stepped onto the cool, wet stone floor of the water dock, and Belea laid her eyes on the Otani who’d decided to liven her day. She was in a human form, or rather, some variation of Konti. There was a moment of awkwardness as Ilyel made a short motion of presentation of the soaking wet Otani. “Priestess, the…Otani.” “Thank you, Ileyl. That will be all.” Clasping her hands in front of her, she dismissed Ilyel with a brief nod. “Welcome, Otani. Laviku’s blessing’s upon you.” She bent slightly with a polite nod, endeavoring for civility. The Otani may be a frivolous sort, but they were one of Laviku’s creatures, and worshiped him in their own way. She approved of the Otani’s Konti-esque form, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, and she did justice to the sea god’s mate’s chosen race. “Welcome to the tower. I am Belea Tana’ti, High Priestess of Laviku in Riverfall. What are you called, sea-child?”

[Uleru]

"Laviku's blessing is indeed upon me, thank you", the Otani denotes cheerily. Its seems a might bit awkward to bless a being in such a second-handed way, or to remind the being that it is blessed, when it already has the blessing of the source. Uleru would consider this an amusing slip-up, though she doubts it would be a slip-up at all for a warm blooded person. But the Priestess comes across as a woman who does not tolerate anything out of order. There is something very stern about her. Though Uleru cant quite put a finger on exactly why that it. Maybe its the way she holds herself as if her spine is strung like Syna's marionette, or the pressed cleanliness of her beautiful robes, or how her chin is so rigidly perfect it could poke someones eyes out if mishandled. Its quite perplexing, really.

She goes on to mirror the Priestess's polite nod. More out of interest in the custom than any medium of civility, but the respect is there. Anyone this close to her god deserves her respect without question. And should this woman give her a command, she would obey as if Laviku himself had demanded it. But its quite regrettable that her respect and admiration is not shown very visibly. She does not bow, offer a sign of friendship, or even have the tact to look outwardly humbled. Whats more (since she is out of the water and can no longer change shape) her hands have absently wandered to her face to try and mimic Belea's flat nose by manually crushing her own. To an outsider the Otani might as well have blown a raspberry at this devote advocate of her god.

"I'm called Uleru, Priestess", the Otani answers distractedly, giving up on her gelatine nose and moving on to pulling her ears to mirror Belea's peaked ones. "You might recognize it. I named myself in the style of your people, after all", she begins rather aimlessly, before marshalling herself back into her goal. "Oh, yes, I wish to pray, and give sacrifice, to the Sea Father. Do you have a chamber for meditation or prayer? Take me there, please, Priestess. This is important to me."

She holds out the lock of red hair as if proving her intention to give sacrifice. And, just for a moment, something hard passes over the mouldings liquid features as she reminds herself that she is here for a reason. The lock of hair is suddenly very heavy in her hands.

[Magpie]

OOCSo late, sorry sorry sorry! There was a momentary satisfaction as the Otani returned a respectful nod. She didn't have much sign of humility, but that may have been asking too much. Perhaps Laviku had smiled upon the day and sent Belea an oddly well-mannered... A shadow of irritation passed over Belea's face as Uleru played ridiculously with her face. She knew the Otani liked to alter their appearance, but to do so in company? Exalted company no less? Her jaw twitched as she strove for the serenity of the deep sea. Did she not just find the Otani's imitation flattering? "Yes...Uleru, a fine name." Belea blinked in surprise at the mention of a sacrifice. She'd thought the creatures to frivolous to be mindful of Laviku's due formalities. "A sacrifice? Yes, we have several basins for the making of sacrifices." In the span of a heartbeat, an idea formed. "In fact, I shall escort you to one in particular. Afterwards, you may assist me in a small task." Turning to move back up the stairs, she didn't bother to ask Uleru to follow. If she wanted to make the sacrifice, Uleru needed to. The lock of hair was a bit odd, but in the years serving as the High Priestess of the tower, she'd learned not to question the importance of a sacrifice. To each their own. The hair was clearly not the Otani's own, begging the obvious question of where she got it. She prayed to Laviku and whatever gods the Inarta worshiped that it wasn't stolen from some unsuspecting redhead somewhere in the city. "Your sacrifice. It is important to you? A sacrifice to the King of Seas is no frivolous thing." It was not a harsh assessment, but suspicious, as though from a teacher to a suspect pupil.

[Uleru]

The Priestess turns on her heel and starts back up the stairs, proclaiming that there were several basins with which to make her sacrifice, and also bidding Uleru's help with a 'small task'. The Otani starts after the rapidly retreating Charoda with a respectable "Yes, Priestess." Followed swiftly by: "what task will you have me do?"

As they climb the Priestess even inquires about her sacrifice. But its sounds almost wary, like she assumes the Otani doesn't understand the nature of a sacrifice. Uleru is almost affronted by this. She thought long and hard about what she was to give up, and she has prayed over and over in preparation for this visit. No matter her outward behaviour to the esteemed priestesses that guard this tower, she sure as hell doesn't take this lightly. She blows out her cheeks, but lets it go. This third-marked follower is even closer to Laviku than she is, theres no reason to be defensive about a harmless question.

"This is from my friend", she says by way of explanation. Holding the hair up, she notices how old and bleached it has become over the years. "Its important to me because she was important to me. She's gone now, inland somewhere I think. I doubt I'll see her again." she says in with matter-of-fact words, but something in her tone says that this hits closer to home than she is letting on. "I did... I did wrong by her. I tried to keep her love of the sea, I really did, I tried everything. But she was seduced away by something evil."

She doesn't continue and the next few chimes are taken in silence but for their footfalls echoing hollowly into the cavernous space. Uleru has a lot more to say about why she is here, and truthfully, she wants to tell someone before she speaks to her father. To explain why she did what she did, and to implore her sincerity to someone who cant read her mind.

And really, who better than the high Priestess of Laviku's tower? The Otani pulls in a deep breath through her gills, embracing the salty tang of the air in the tower, and stares holes through the steps in front of her as she walks.

"I stepped outside of Laviku's will", she admits suddenly, with a whisper and her eyes wide with guilt, "I tried to kill this man, this savage for my god. But Laviku did not want him dead, I did. I was being selfish and greedy and I wanted him out of the sea and away from my friend." She doesn't admit that it is the same friend that was seduced away by 'something evil', but the way she has gone back to twisting the lock suggests it is.

"And then he did something horrible because of me. Only to antagonize me, because I had followed him. And I failed. Oh Priestess, I failed in the only way that ever mattered." the Otani is still whispering, but her whispers have become rushed and almost frantic. She is torturing herself for having done wrong, that much is clear.

[Magpie]

"There is something agitating the fish." True to her word, they passed a basin of fish darting about faster than normal. “We will be investigating the source.” There was a small twinge of guilt as Belea acknowledged the Otani did indeed understand the importance of its sacrifice. It was assuaged quickly, however; the Otani nature did not typically foster hope of their seriousness. “Evil lurks everywhere, ready to lure the unsuspecting into a riptide of sin.” Her words were almost kind, consoling. “Those weak of heart and strong of head may sometimes not be swayed by even the closest of friends. If it is in his plan, Laviku will return her to you.” The Otani’s confession slowed Belea’s steps, though she did not stop moving. It seemed a great weight on the poor creature’s chest, and rightfully so. She assumed this man had something to do with the evil that drew her friend from the grace of the sea, but the priestess waited until the confession drew to a painful, whispered close. They passed doors to rooms where acolytes prayed, and other sacrifices could to be made. They were near the middle of the tower now. Belea’s impression of the Otani was rapidly shifting, more so than the sea-creature’s own form. An impulsive act, while true to form, had drawn in pain and anguish as surely as water to a sponge. “Greed and selfish acts are in the nature of mortals, even those as long-lived as the Otani. The Sea King is great in his forgiveness, and he will know your sorrow.” She sucked in a breath slowly, choosing her words carefully. “However… All creatures of the sea are the hands and eyes of Laviku. If this man lives, it is by Laviku’s will. If you live, it is by his will.” Taking a step of finality, Belea paused at a door and laid her hand upon the handle. They were at the top of the tower now. She looked at the Otani in its odd, anguished eyes. Such a burden for such an innocent creature. “This…savage? He will receive his comeuppance. Trust in Laviku to bring justice to those who deserve it. In the meantime,” she opened the door ahead of them and moved inside. “Show your humility, and ask his forgiveness for your transgressions.” The room they entered was the width of the tower itself, wide but with a low ceiling. The walls were decorated with an intricate mural of the ocean, made up of paint, stone, and shells. In the center of the room appeared to be a circular stone well, seven feet in diameter and rising four feet off the floor. As they approached, Uleru would see it was filled with calm, pure seawater, and the base of the well was far, far below the room’s floor and could not be seen. Wordless, Belea waved her hand over the basin and stepped back, allowing Uleru to move to the basin on her own.

[Uleru]

The Otani hangs her head at the Charoda's words, soaking in the wisdom delivered from the mouth of Laviku's priestess. The woman is so young for such wisdom. She couldn't be very far into her forth decade, maybe fifth. Yet Uleru, a creature who has lived hundreds of years, finds herself humbled by what she is being reminded of. What she is being taught by these words.

She is reminded that the Otani are slave to the same sin as the races of Miza, reminded that Laviku's will is in everything that has happened, and she learns hope. Because maybe, just maybe, that red-headed Sevfra girl will survive untainted by the Myrian after all, and find her way back to Laviku's arms again.

But part of her rebels against the thought that he is in control. She didn't know that she had it in her to step outside of his will like she did and act completely on her own. And if he had sent her just a thread of thought, even if it was to step away, she wouldn't of had to find out she could. She would have obeyed without question. Yet he never did anything. He didn't will her forward or away, he left her stranded, crouched on the prow of the Cuttlefish, watching the Myrian turning the crew with blasphemous thoughts, and stepping closer and closer to an act of malice that should not have happened.

Why weren't you there when I needed you?

This dangerous thought is shut down before it could even be fully formed. Her place is not to question him. That was wrong.

They climb higher and higher, past the whispers of acolytes at prayer and the hum of life as everyone goes about their business caring for Laviku's monument. Despite the small tanks of water that litter the walls and the low basins that sit in many of the rooms, Uleru would be anxious to be this far from the ocean. But its different here, she feels safe and at home. Its as if this whole tower is just an extension of the sea.

They reach the wide, low room and Belea steps aside to let her in, lending the visiting Otani words of guidance. Uleru gives no sign she has heard, but instead steps into the room with her eyes wide with wonder. She has never been inside a building before, and hasn't seen much art besides what the Sevfra leave laying on their ships and what the ocean makes itself. So she is appropriately stunned by what she sees.

Paint and tiles and shells splashed across the walls in fluid patterns that speak of the sea. And she cant help but run her hand over the closest design, leaving a long trail of sparkling moisture off her skin. She flits to the next design, and the next one, a simple kind of wonder bubbling underneath the sour stain of her grief.

When at last she bends to inspect the basin, running her hands over the rim, she looks into the depths of the well and something makes her stop. Why does it feel that the water is looking back at her?

There is a tiny shell that rattles loosely in the plaster hold along the rim of the well. The Otani coaxes it the rest of the way out with her fingertips, then slips the shell under the knot that sits in the middle of the lock of hair. Then she leans over the still water, looking deep into the blue. She imagines she is looking into the face of her god, letting her mind settle into the deep calm she uses to pray.

"Laviku, my father, take this sacrifice. It is a part of me, and of my past. Now I give it so that it may be a part of you."

She drops the weighted lock into the basin, sending ripples across the surface to distort the image of this one piece of her old life floating away. She watches it for a chime, then lowers her head to pray. She closes her eyes and her forhead just touches the water. She can feel the coolness of it across her whole body, and takes comfort in it.

"Father, my faith was weak and my heart was even weaker", she says with a whisper, her eyes shut into very human lines of distress. "I challenged the savage thinking I could change things on my own. Acting through my greed and sore, selfish pride instead of you. I forgot what it meant to be loyal only to you. And in my arrogance the savage lived, your Sevfra child was seduced away and your prized beast died. I trespassed on your will and now I rightly suffer for it.

And I'm... And i'm so sorry"

Then, for only the second time in her life, Uleru starts to cry.

The pain starts in her belly and hollows out her chest. She pulls away from the basin and sits heavily on the floor just as the gut wrenching sob breaks from her throat and echoes in the cavernous space. Its been so long that she is not sure what is happening to her, and can do nothing but press the heels of her hands into her eyes and wait for it to stop.

Secret :

Sorry about the wait. I was really stuck with this one for some reason.

[Magpie]

The Otani was clearly humbled to be inside the room of prayer Belea had chosen. Belea was pleased to see such reverence, and the creature appeared to have taken her words on Laviku's will to heart. From her short distance, she frowned slightly when she saw the Otani dislodge a small piece from the basin, but told herself to let it go. It was a solemn moment and there was no need to interrupt it over innocent vandalism. As the Otani prayed, Belea shut the private whispers from her ears, instead turning to admire the murals. They were indeed beautiful, and had been there for decades, if not centuries. Well before her tenure as the High Priestess, in any case. The mural gave her a kind of resonance - a connection with the sea though she was far above it. She knew it was only a mental connection, even emotional, but she felt better able to maintain a connection to the various creatures in the tower while in the room. Casting open her mind, she touched on each level of the tower, feeling the fish meandering through the basins here and there. Minnows, eels, crabs, all going about their business with a sense of urgency. They had no coherent minds to communicate, so she could not see exactly why. It was mildly irritating to be on the outside of what was clearly important news. Her mental touch went lower and lower in the tower, finally hitting the base of the tower and the abundance of sea creatures below- Her back straightened immediately, and she endeavored to suppress her shock. A Kalvikasi was below the tower at that very moment, circling anxiously in the massive underwater chamber connected to the basin right in front of her. Belea's eyes narrowed on the Otani, wondering if her sudden appearance had anything to do with it. At that very moment, as though conscious of her suspicions, the Otani fell to the floor and began to cry inconsolably. There was a heartbeat of confusion as Belea attempted to shift the currents of her mind from intrigue to comfort. She was not a...comforting person by nature, but sacrifices could always be emotional affairs. "Laviku has heard you. No need for tears." She briefly touched Uleru on the shoulder, not lingering upon the slippery skin. "Come now, Otani." She'd found that some were able to push through their emotions with a strong hand leading them, and hoped this would be the same. "The Sea King forgives the contrite." Standing, she glanced at the basin where the lock of hair had long since vanished. It would be the quickest way down. "He expects a service of you, of us. Follow me." Pulling off her seaweed-woven robes, she exposed her simple tunic and the extensive Oceanus marks across her left upper arm and back. "There is a Kalvikasi below that requires assistance." With no further explanation, she sat on the edge of the basin, leaned in, and vanished beneath the surface of the water.

[Uleru]

The priestess's clumsy attempt at consolation falls flat of actually consoling Uleru, but the Otani tries to control herself anyway. She suddenly doesn't want to be in the tower anymore, with its stone rooms and painted murals. She wants to be back in the sea, where she will swim to the deepest pit she can find and wash herself of this whole ordeal. Then come back to the surface fresh and new, scrapping Edreina, Razkar and her incompetence off of herself like an old skin.
 
She is hardly listening to Bela anymore, as her mind occupies this emotional calm found in an imaginary pit on the ocean floor. The Charoda's words become akin to an ear trumpet pointed in the wrong direction, soft but distinct. She feels much lighter now, maybe Laviku has truly forgiven her after all. She gropes for that thin thread of connection between herself and the god, but feels nothing from the contact. Not that she really expected too, but it is a comfort to just be consciously aware of it.
 
She is still running a mental hand over the connection when suddenly the Priestess's words come flooding back, like someone off to the side has given that ear trumpet a solid kick in her direction.    
 
"- expects a service of you, of us. Follow me. There is a Kalvikasi below that requires assistance."
 
Uleru hiccups in surprise at the mention of one of the sea gods children. Oh, there are many races, creatures and marked who calls themselves that, of course, including the Otani. But the Kalvikasi? Those monstrous leviathans from the deep are the real deal. What could it possibly want? It's hard to imagine a creature that powerful needing help from a fragile Charoda and a common monster.
 
Well, it could just be a message. That is one of the Kalvikasi's functions, isn't it? But if it was something so banal Uleru could have easily delivered it herself... Her stomach drops at the thought of the kind of message that has to be trusted to such a powerful creature. There must be a mathematic ratio somewhere comparing the importance of the messenger and the likelihood of it's message being dire.

Yet, if its not a message...
 
Belea climbs out of her glittering robes and swings her legs over the lip of the basin. Uleru has no choice but to obey and follow. Yet she would have followed anyway unless the priestess had bold-facedly ordered her away. As she wonders about the visitor, shunting her own problems to the side in the face of this service to Laviku, Uleru realizes with a start that, when they do go down to speak to the creature, she will be the lowest ranking of Laviku's servants there.

As the Priestess drops into the seawater Uleru climbs onto the well, watching the Charoda woman sink deeper into the blue. She doesn't wonder how the Priestess knows where the monster is, or that it need assistance. This has all been filed away to the part of her mind where everything can be explained with the words "because He wills it." Never the less she peers into the basin and wonders at the kind of abilities the Priestess has been given. Then without a second glance at the spectacular room she is leaving behind, Uleru slips under the water and follows.