Elann washed her hair in coconut milk and placed some henna she had purchased upon her hair. She had just taken a sponge bath in the comfort of her own home. As she did she imagined a time when she was younger, laying on the sands of the oasis, held by her family for many years. It not only had clean water, but had an inlet stream and an outlet, meaning it would not likely ever become bitter to them. While the land about them was arid and dry, this land nearby the oasis was fertile almost all year round. She would often come here to sit underneath the olive and date trees and sing worship to Yahal. Her fathers tents lay in the distance with their red striping mixed with black to indicate their clan. For miles around she could see that no-one was near her as the desert was flat near here. In many places there were sand dunes, but the ground near here flooded with rains from up in the mountains and made the earth cracked, dry, and pressed down. As she thought back, she recalled that one day she say there with henna in her hair. As was custom she let the henna stay in her hair for only a few moments to condition it, otherwise it would stain and turn her hair a dark red color.
She had lay down upon her back and let the subtle current of the water take her hair and carry it downstream and cleans it. As she lie there staring up to the large puffy clouds that had rolled in from the distant mountains she pondered at them. With all their magics and wisdom, they could not conjure such magnificent clouds as this. And yet while perhaps one day one could, she thought how amazing the powers of the Gods were. Most of all Yahal, who she had loved since a child of nine. She may have not met the righteousness of the priests in the temple, nor met the perfection that Yahal demanded, but she leaned on him. It seemed that according to his Penita scrolls that she could do many righteous things and gain some favor in his eyes, but perhaps it was just her understanding or perhaps she had not learned this from his scrolls yet, but it just seemed like he wanted a relationship more than sacrifice.
Did she sacrifice to him? Absolutely. It was not only the physical acts of sacrifice that they performed as Yahal asked of them to do, but it was her own personal sacrifices she laid out before him. She daily sacrificed her heart to him, rather than desiring her own will, instead she desired his. When she could perform acts of gossip or hate, she instead found love had taken its place. She sacrificed her time to him such as now when looking up at the clouds that danced above her, and she gave her own heart as the largest sacrifice of all she could give. There was no self-righteous acts she could do that could trump over that gift. As she lay there, reaching up above her head to shake free the clinging strands of packed henna, she sang a sweet song to Yahal. She was covered by a towel stripped like their tents of two toned color and wrapped up in it as she had just taken a bath.
In her native tongue she sang
"Come to me my love,
dance with me upon the hills that bear sweet nectar.
Let the verdant blossoms be our roof."
She took in a breath and continued,
"Speak to my heart and carry it away with you,
I drip in chamomile and rose water, oil of coconut,
earthened henna, and the very waters you give."
She closed her eyes and placed her hands upon her chest that had become lightly caked with the mud from the edge as she lay there.
"You have caught me in a trap,
a snare has hooked my foot.
I leaped and danced from in the freedom of my heart,
but I am yours now. Your eyes are like the sun
and your waist is strong. What other do I need?"
While such words might not have made any sense in the common tongue, they were a very romantic type of language. They were basically saying she was his and because he was unmovable, where else would she want to go? Her song continued on till her wet body had become dry in the heat of the desert.
"You have been missed, longed for my love,
let this bed of clay be ours,
let these feet be washed in myrrh and hyssop.
When you come to the door, will I not answer?
Will I not come running to you?"
Feeling that her hair had finished being cleaned she sat slowly up, wringing it out as she rose. Her hands dipped into the waters at her side as she sought to wipe the mud from her soft skin. She dried her arms on the towel and then disrobed to put on her clothes.
"How could I stand here with you?
I would fall down as dead in your presence,
Something stirs inside me,
It is a fountain, and it springs forth
Full of life and joy.
It is what you have given me.
I will dance the dance of the bride in waiting"
As she slid her ankle length tunic over her head she could hear the reeds rustling in the wind. Cattails knocked together and the coconut trees bent to and fro. Her garment fluttered down her skin to it's proper length and without giving it much thought she picked up her towel from the muddy ground and beat it upon the tree. As its amber hued chunks caked off and flew in random directions she caught view of the likeness of man in her peripheral vision. She dropped her towel and spun around holding her body with arms wrapped about herself. How long had he been there? What had he seen of her?
As her eyes focused on the man it was as if her heart exploded in her chest and she clutched it tightly. Her eyes saw far too much, as the glory of this one was no mere man. In his eyes, the wisdom of all Mizahar seemed to flow. The universe and time seemed to flow about him as if he was beyond any of that and before she fell prostrate on her face, she merely could recall a hue of pure light and life surrounding him before flashes of silvery light filled her eyes and seemed to strike her dead as she stood. As her face hit the ground and body crumpled, it was now lying in soft grass and the warmth of light hit upon her freshly clothed body warming her. The mighty Yahal had seen her all these years, even as a youth and had come as she sang her song of love to him. Not a sound could be heard of him approaching as he seemed to just appear above her crumpled body and breathed on her.
Warmth filled her all the more and she suddenly felt the life that had left her return. Never before had she experienced such life in her. She finally understood what it must have been like for the Eth that had fallen from grace, to be touched by the Gods and then having lost such connection. Elann may have been alive now but she was far from life. The still, quiet voice of Yahal spoke to her. It was like thundering and lightning, yet at the same time still like a trickle of water down a brook. It weaved and filled not only her ears, but seemed to protrude from her heart with the power of an earthquake.
"Rise"
Elann felt the life that was missing fill her joints and muscles once more and with eyes closed she seemed to float up to a standing position as if she had no control over herself. Even with her eyes closed it was as though she could see him, not able to hide from his presence. He seemed to be full of gracefulness and yet strength. The finest blade she guessed could never pierce his skin in a million years and no vile thing could pervert him.
"Open your eyes"
When she was commanded to open her eyes she let out a gasp as her eyes opened without even the faintest hint of her own control. Though she would have opened them, and technically did, it was so sudden that the shock hit her body. His glory was too much for her and even just down to the details of his bracers and hair were overwhelming. As her eyes took him in they almost burned as they remembered dream after dream of him that she had had from a young age. She could recall every instance he was there. She didn't understand what he had meant by "open your eyes" but now having them opened she could see all such things. It meant clearly more than just having your eyes opened. It meant, see all the things I have done for you.
Her eyes adjusted after what seemed millennia and she knew she was at feet of her love. She could see his glorious wings and their hues of green, like the oasis she dipped in, and she could see the various stones and jewels he bore. His tunic belted with gold, unlike any gold she had ever seen, so pure it was clear. The skies that she had seen before her now moved by with the speed of days passing. The sun would rise and fade, bringing stars out to light the night with the moon. As she looked to the stars she felt she almost knew them and saw their birth. Then as quickly as the moon rose and the sun faded, so it did again. Soon all stars and various celestial bodies faded away into nothingness and it was just her and him there. The grass of the oasis touched her feet and as Yahal looked at her she could only do one thing. Cry.
Her heart was so filled with love right now that she couldn't express her words, she couldn't speak them, and all that came out was sobbing full bodied tears of love. It was validation to her whole life that she had given to him. Yahal had asked people in the past whether they worship him or love him, but her's was answer to all that. She had purified herself daily for him, sung daily to him, and waited patiently for him and here he was. She strangely was sustained by him, where she would die in awe and love for him, she was kept alive, and yet full of life. Through the sobs she cried sweet attentions to him, only seeing fit to give him loving names such as: Peacemaker, Her heart, Sustainer and many others. She heaved through the sobs, worshiping him with unintelligible words and speaking more with her heart than anything else.
"Oh how I longed for you." she finally managed to cry out. "No-one compares...no-one compares...", was all she could say. In her heart she could only repeat that she loved him over and over as the love for him exponentially grew with every passing moment. She was bubbling over, and while having envisioned her ever meeting with Yahal, she always pictured she would dance or sing before him, all that fled away as she could only just eternally love him and worship him here. Being content in what he saw, Yahal lovingly brushed the hair from her face and the tears from her cheeks. His fingers felt like the fire of the sun and yet cool to the touch. It was surely a paradox, and beyond anything she could have imagined.
With a kiss on her forehead he said, "I give you my heart as you give me yours my beautiful Eklanna. I have known you from before you were born, still in the womb of your mother. Even then I loved you. I have always set good things before you and you have taken them, doubled them, and made them worth even more. I find favor in you my child. Continue in me, for I am with you and love you more than you can know."
A rush of water so loud could be heard at the sound of his voice, that to Elann, it sounded as though the whole of the ocean had lifted from it's resting place and had fallen back down. With a voice that now seemed to resemble thunder, he posed a question to her, "Will you bear the mark of my beloved?"
Through the sniffling and sobbing she nodded yes and even somewhat vocalized it, yet in her heart she cried out for anything of his he would bear to give her. She knew she was not worthy of his affection or love, but here he was.
There was a comforting feeling of ease in her body and she fell into a deep slumber as he floated about and placed his mark upon her. A divine fire seared his mark into her flesh, yet not like a brand. It was ethereal, of something from beyond. It was no tattoo nor did it appear like it, but as the mark etched out upon her back in the shape of beautiful angelic wings, it could seem like it was being burned into her very core.
As Elann dreamed it was as if everything had transpired went into reverse. The movement of Yahal, his kiss upon her as she sat there, which felt as if life was in his very lips, the breeze of his wings flying away from her, and the sun and moon reversing their forward momentum and returning to what seemed like the very time she had turned to see him. She rolled to her back and looked back up to the clouds as they flew in reverse over her head. Slowly as they sped by her eyes began to close, fading to black. She could not fight it, she could not resist. With the last shred of light through her eyes she realized she needed to wake from this dream, then they closed.
Upon waking, her eyes fluttered open and with a gasp she sat up. She found that her heart hurt, aching as if she truly did die as she lay there. The experience of dried tears still was felt upon her eyes and she reached up to rub them. There she lie, with her back in the mud and sand, ruining her clean tunic but not giving a care in the world. She stared into the clouds, longing for the day when she could be near Yahal once more. As she stared, the clouds turned to stone, the sand to wood overlaid over more stone, and the crackle of her hearth popped in the distance. She lay on the ground of her room in Syliras, reminiscing of that wonderful day.
She had lay down upon her back and let the subtle current of the water take her hair and carry it downstream and cleans it. As she lie there staring up to the large puffy clouds that had rolled in from the distant mountains she pondered at them. With all their magics and wisdom, they could not conjure such magnificent clouds as this. And yet while perhaps one day one could, she thought how amazing the powers of the Gods were. Most of all Yahal, who she had loved since a child of nine. She may have not met the righteousness of the priests in the temple, nor met the perfection that Yahal demanded, but she leaned on him. It seemed that according to his Penita scrolls that she could do many righteous things and gain some favor in his eyes, but perhaps it was just her understanding or perhaps she had not learned this from his scrolls yet, but it just seemed like he wanted a relationship more than sacrifice.
Did she sacrifice to him? Absolutely. It was not only the physical acts of sacrifice that they performed as Yahal asked of them to do, but it was her own personal sacrifices she laid out before him. She daily sacrificed her heart to him, rather than desiring her own will, instead she desired his. When she could perform acts of gossip or hate, she instead found love had taken its place. She sacrificed her time to him such as now when looking up at the clouds that danced above her, and she gave her own heart as the largest sacrifice of all she could give. There was no self-righteous acts she could do that could trump over that gift. As she lay there, reaching up above her head to shake free the clinging strands of packed henna, she sang a sweet song to Yahal. She was covered by a towel stripped like their tents of two toned color and wrapped up in it as she had just taken a bath.
In her native tongue she sang
"Come to me my love,
dance with me upon the hills that bear sweet nectar.
Let the verdant blossoms be our roof."
She took in a breath and continued,
"Speak to my heart and carry it away with you,
I drip in chamomile and rose water, oil of coconut,
earthened henna, and the very waters you give."
She closed her eyes and placed her hands upon her chest that had become lightly caked with the mud from the edge as she lay there.
"You have caught me in a trap,
a snare has hooked my foot.
I leaped and danced from in the freedom of my heart,
but I am yours now. Your eyes are like the sun
and your waist is strong. What other do I need?"
While such words might not have made any sense in the common tongue, they were a very romantic type of language. They were basically saying she was his and because he was unmovable, where else would she want to go? Her song continued on till her wet body had become dry in the heat of the desert.
"You have been missed, longed for my love,
let this bed of clay be ours,
let these feet be washed in myrrh and hyssop.
When you come to the door, will I not answer?
Will I not come running to you?"
Feeling that her hair had finished being cleaned she sat slowly up, wringing it out as she rose. Her hands dipped into the waters at her side as she sought to wipe the mud from her soft skin. She dried her arms on the towel and then disrobed to put on her clothes.
"How could I stand here with you?
I would fall down as dead in your presence,
Something stirs inside me,
It is a fountain, and it springs forth
Full of life and joy.
It is what you have given me.
I will dance the dance of the bride in waiting"
As she slid her ankle length tunic over her head she could hear the reeds rustling in the wind. Cattails knocked together and the coconut trees bent to and fro. Her garment fluttered down her skin to it's proper length and without giving it much thought she picked up her towel from the muddy ground and beat it upon the tree. As its amber hued chunks caked off and flew in random directions she caught view of the likeness of man in her peripheral vision. She dropped her towel and spun around holding her body with arms wrapped about herself. How long had he been there? What had he seen of her?
As her eyes focused on the man it was as if her heart exploded in her chest and she clutched it tightly. Her eyes saw far too much, as the glory of this one was no mere man. In his eyes, the wisdom of all Mizahar seemed to flow. The universe and time seemed to flow about him as if he was beyond any of that and before she fell prostrate on her face, she merely could recall a hue of pure light and life surrounding him before flashes of silvery light filled her eyes and seemed to strike her dead as she stood. As her face hit the ground and body crumpled, it was now lying in soft grass and the warmth of light hit upon her freshly clothed body warming her. The mighty Yahal had seen her all these years, even as a youth and had come as she sang her song of love to him. Not a sound could be heard of him approaching as he seemed to just appear above her crumpled body and breathed on her.
Warmth filled her all the more and she suddenly felt the life that had left her return. Never before had she experienced such life in her. She finally understood what it must have been like for the Eth that had fallen from grace, to be touched by the Gods and then having lost such connection. Elann may have been alive now but she was far from life. The still, quiet voice of Yahal spoke to her. It was like thundering and lightning, yet at the same time still like a trickle of water down a brook. It weaved and filled not only her ears, but seemed to protrude from her heart with the power of an earthquake.
"Rise"
Elann felt the life that was missing fill her joints and muscles once more and with eyes closed she seemed to float up to a standing position as if she had no control over herself. Even with her eyes closed it was as though she could see him, not able to hide from his presence. He seemed to be full of gracefulness and yet strength. The finest blade she guessed could never pierce his skin in a million years and no vile thing could pervert him.
"Open your eyes"
When she was commanded to open her eyes she let out a gasp as her eyes opened without even the faintest hint of her own control. Though she would have opened them, and technically did, it was so sudden that the shock hit her body. His glory was too much for her and even just down to the details of his bracers and hair were overwhelming. As her eyes took him in they almost burned as they remembered dream after dream of him that she had had from a young age. She could recall every instance he was there. She didn't understand what he had meant by "open your eyes" but now having them opened she could see all such things. It meant clearly more than just having your eyes opened. It meant, see all the things I have done for you.
Her eyes adjusted after what seemed millennia and she knew she was at feet of her love. She could see his glorious wings and their hues of green, like the oasis she dipped in, and she could see the various stones and jewels he bore. His tunic belted with gold, unlike any gold she had ever seen, so pure it was clear. The skies that she had seen before her now moved by with the speed of days passing. The sun would rise and fade, bringing stars out to light the night with the moon. As she looked to the stars she felt she almost knew them and saw their birth. Then as quickly as the moon rose and the sun faded, so it did again. Soon all stars and various celestial bodies faded away into nothingness and it was just her and him there. The grass of the oasis touched her feet and as Yahal looked at her she could only do one thing. Cry.
Her heart was so filled with love right now that she couldn't express her words, she couldn't speak them, and all that came out was sobbing full bodied tears of love. It was validation to her whole life that she had given to him. Yahal had asked people in the past whether they worship him or love him, but her's was answer to all that. She had purified herself daily for him, sung daily to him, and waited patiently for him and here he was. She strangely was sustained by him, where she would die in awe and love for him, she was kept alive, and yet full of life. Through the sobs she cried sweet attentions to him, only seeing fit to give him loving names such as: Peacemaker, Her heart, Sustainer and many others. She heaved through the sobs, worshiping him with unintelligible words and speaking more with her heart than anything else.
"Oh how I longed for you." she finally managed to cry out. "No-one compares...no-one compares...", was all she could say. In her heart she could only repeat that she loved him over and over as the love for him exponentially grew with every passing moment. She was bubbling over, and while having envisioned her ever meeting with Yahal, she always pictured she would dance or sing before him, all that fled away as she could only just eternally love him and worship him here. Being content in what he saw, Yahal lovingly brushed the hair from her face and the tears from her cheeks. His fingers felt like the fire of the sun and yet cool to the touch. It was surely a paradox, and beyond anything she could have imagined.
With a kiss on her forehead he said, "I give you my heart as you give me yours my beautiful Eklanna. I have known you from before you were born, still in the womb of your mother. Even then I loved you. I have always set good things before you and you have taken them, doubled them, and made them worth even more. I find favor in you my child. Continue in me, for I am with you and love you more than you can know."
A rush of water so loud could be heard at the sound of his voice, that to Elann, it sounded as though the whole of the ocean had lifted from it's resting place and had fallen back down. With a voice that now seemed to resemble thunder, he posed a question to her, "Will you bear the mark of my beloved?"
Through the sniffling and sobbing she nodded yes and even somewhat vocalized it, yet in her heart she cried out for anything of his he would bear to give her. She knew she was not worthy of his affection or love, but here he was.
There was a comforting feeling of ease in her body and she fell into a deep slumber as he floated about and placed his mark upon her. A divine fire seared his mark into her flesh, yet not like a brand. It was ethereal, of something from beyond. It was no tattoo nor did it appear like it, but as the mark etched out upon her back in the shape of beautiful angelic wings, it could seem like it was being burned into her very core.
As Elann dreamed it was as if everything had transpired went into reverse. The movement of Yahal, his kiss upon her as she sat there, which felt as if life was in his very lips, the breeze of his wings flying away from her, and the sun and moon reversing their forward momentum and returning to what seemed like the very time she had turned to see him. She rolled to her back and looked back up to the clouds as they flew in reverse over her head. Slowly as they sped by her eyes began to close, fading to black. She could not fight it, she could not resist. With the last shred of light through her eyes she realized she needed to wake from this dream, then they closed.
Upon waking, her eyes fluttered open and with a gasp she sat up. She found that her heart hurt, aching as if she truly did die as she lay there. The experience of dried tears still was felt upon her eyes and she reached up to rub them. There she lie, with her back in the mud and sand, ruining her clean tunic but not giving a care in the world. She stared into the clouds, longing for the day when she could be near Yahal once more. As she stared, the clouds turned to stone, the sand to wood overlaid over more stone, and the crackle of her hearth popped in the distance. She lay on the ground of her room in Syliras, reminiscing of that wonderful day.
