Location [Prairie Location] The Pit

[Mirage]

The origins of the pit, as well as its original purpose, are shrouded in mystery. Located along the most northern boarder of the Prairie, the Pit was discovered by Riyanna when she was still a very new Initiate. After investigating she found that the Pit had a strange effect on the djed of whatever was placed inside of it. Foreign, almost alien wild djed twisted and flowed through the pits smooth, almost glassy surface, passing through anything that was within it and causing strange deformations in the djed it touched. It would cause random mutations in organics, though strangely non-living materials were more or less unaffected. These affects were even greater on those who practiced the art of Morphing. Since their djed was already unstable, losing its elasticity, the wild djed quickly took hold to cause many seemingly random and spontaneous transformations to occur. The Pit is used for training by the Prairie Wardens and their initiates. After their first season of training Initiates are brought to the Pit and told to meditate there as long as possible, before the changes become too much and they die. Usually this is a slow transition, Initiates starting first with only a few minutes of meditation per day, but as the seasons pass and they begin to understand the purpose of the pit they find they can stay down longer, the most talented able to withstand several days of non stop meditation. The danger of the pit lies in the essence of morphing itself. The more skill a person gains in morphing, the more and more their djed forgets what they were. In the pit this process happens at an accelerated rate, and sometimes the body simply cannot take it. A person's body may forget how big or heavy it has to be, and become crushed in the tiny space if they grow too large. Their heart may forget that it has to continue beating, or their lungs may disappear to be replaced by gills. Because of this all Initiates are thoroughly trained by the Warden before being placed in the Pit. For anyone below expert level the Pit is thought to be suicide. Lessons from the Pit 1) Do not fight the change, go with it. If you fight a tug-of-war with the pit the strain will become too much, and the djed will crumble and break, leading to death. 2) Guide the flow, do not become lost in it. At times the changes are dangerous and detrimental to the Initiate. The Initiate must learn to guide the changes that occur, not fight then least the strain become too great. If one's back wishes to bend over itself, instead guide the changes to form graceful wings instead that might bend on your behalf. 3) Mastery comes when one realizes that for a morpher, their true identity is whatever they want it to be. The djed may forget, but the mind will always remember what it holds most dear. Even if only subconsciously. The lessons of the pit come from extended practice and meditation upon the nature of the pit itself. An initiate who masters all three lessons will find themselves able to shift from one form to another with more ease and grace than those morphers who have not undergone the intense training. This is because the Initiate realizes that ultimate truth of Morphing. You are who you are, no matter what you look like. They free themselves from the mental shackles that limit what they can do, and they throw themselves happily into the ever changing world. This is where the Prairie Warden's mantra comes from. Let us forever change. OOCEach of these lessons must be learned in character through extensive RP. Five threads apiece are required for each individual lesson lore, but only lessons one and two may be gained in the same season. The third and final lore must be obtained through a modded thread, or with permission from the DS to discover this last truth in a self-modded thread.