A Sight To See (Phira)

[Madeira Dusk]

5th of Winter, 516
8th Bell



Madeira first noticed something was wrong when she opened the latch to her wooden chest and pulled out her underwear. Her mind was gummed up with sleep, and her eyes were squinting against the harsh light pouring in through the single small window. So it took her a long moment, standing naked in the middle of her tiny house, to truly appreciate what had happened. Her panties had changed from a delicate silk nothing, to some sort of sturdy linen, with a drawstring high on the waist. She blinked at it a few times, then threw it on the bed. She reached into the chest again, feeling around for something familiar. Her fingertips grazed something with the unmistakable, luxurious softness of fur. The Spiritualist snapped her hand back, suddenly wide awake.
 
She didn't own any animals.
 
There was a single rule in this strange city that didn't even follow the rules of physics: illusions stayed outside. Except for a couple times, most notably where she accidentally left her window open and had to chase a school of iridescent fish out with a book, Ionu hardly ever encroached into the interior of peoples dwellings. Could the god of illusion have broken his only rule just to prank her by putting a dead (or worse, alive) animal in her chest?
 
Well, there was only one way to check.
 
Aware of the potential of teeth and claws, Madeira opted to tip the chest over, rather than sticking her hand back inside like a loon. Out tumbled most of her worldly possessions; her bone comb, a pot of skin cream, a jar of decaying soulmist, a clutch of bright jade beads... And a bundle of clothes. But not her clothes. She picked up the thing she thought was an animal, and the garment unfolded to reveal a luxurious fur cloak that brushed the floor. It was the same grey as her own cloak, but this was a fur of a beast she didn't recognize, and clasped all down the front with interact silver clasps of the type she could never afford. Strange. She looked through the rest of the clothing spilled on the floor. A pair of reindeer leggings, thigh high boots trimmed with fur and soled in textured rubber, and a white shirt made of triple thick linen. Also a pair of mittens and a scarf, both made of kitten-soft wool. Everything but the scarf and mitts looked vaguely like what she used to own in colour and style. But all made of vastly different materials.
 
Huh.
 
Seized by a sudden suspicion, Madeira marched over to the one lone window. The light coming through was almost painfully bright. She shielded her eyes with her hand and threw the latch open.
 
A sudden, biting wind blew a gust of snow into her cottage. Her naked skin immediately erupted into gooseflesh. Syna's light was reflecting off of a layer of snow that covered everything in a sparkling blanket. Worse still, that blanket looked very far away. She craned her head out of her window and looked down. There was another head sticking out of a window below hers. She watched the sunlight reflect in rainbows off his bald plate. She was now part of a second story house, apparently. 
 
"Allo!" she called. The man flinched and tipped his head back to look at the sleepy-eyed, straw-haired girl sticking uncovered head and naked shoulders out the open window above him.
 
"Do you know where we are, sir?" She didn't sound alarmed, only curious. Like she was asking him if he thought it would rain later. He gapped at her, his eyes as big and round as boiled eggs.
 
"It's Avanthal. We've been spirited away to Avanthal!" His voice had gone squeaky with panic.
 
He must be a visitor to Alvadas, poor man. She smiled reassuringly at him, though her stomach had just turned to stone upon hearing “Avanthal” spoken aloud. Just then a wet clump of snow hit the back of her head as the window of the third story opened.
 
“Don't be daft. I can see Ionu's Temple from here." A broad shouldered woman with mousy hair had a hand over her eyes and was peering into the distance. "Blimy. Theres a toy castle made of ice down the street... And it looks like it's full of bears."
 
Madeira brushed the wetness from her hair and squinted into the distance as well.
 
"I don’t think thats a toy castle", she ventured. "I think those might be very big bears."
 
There was a muffled whimper and Bald Plate disappeared from view with a clatter of shutters.

“Do you think that castle is… Morwen’s temple?” Madeira asked the woman above her. Even saying the word felt taboo. Dirty. Her voice reactively dropped to something just above a whisper.

“If it ’tis you stay the ‘ell away from it, girl.” The woman reproached uncomfortably.

The two stared into the distant castle for a tick longer. Then the woman above shut her window abruptly without another word. Madeira followed her example, and closed off her tiny house from the cursed land.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

There was another leaflet stuck to her door with paste she noticed as she left her house, all bundled in her strange new clothing. She dared not remove it, but she couldn't bring herself to look at it, either. Instead she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and scuttled out her door as if she wasn't aware of it.
 
She was in Avanthal today. It seemed an ironic choice.
 
Her family was one of the first to publicly pledge their support to Ionu and the champion visitors. To her knowledge they hadn't actually murdered any Vantha, and she couldn't imagine the upper echelons planned too. But her cousins Everard and Godric had begun carrying their souldarts casually in public. The chances of them stumbling upon a poor Vantha in broad daylight was infinitesimal. But given half a chance...
 
She wondered if she would stop them. Her immediate answer was no, she would not. But neither would she participate. Was it loyalty that stayed her hand, or meekness? It was the easy way out, surely. If she ever planned to rise in the family hierarchy she couldn't openly oppose them or her god. And looking away as an innocent was murdered was easier than lifting a hand to protect them.
 
I am looking out for my own, she reasoned with herself. Duty, family, faith. If Morwen loved them she would protect them from the likes of us. Ionu wouldn't abandon it's followers like that, would they?
 
Head down against the bitting wind, Madeira moved faster into the wind as if to run away from that corrosive thought. Despite her neighbours warnings, she was going to check out that sparkling castle full of bears. If it was really Morwen’s temple, she had to see it for herself.

[Phira]

05 Winter 516

There was nothing worse than waking up with a very, very, very cold breeze. It was freezing! And her feet were so cold her toes felt like they were icicles. How was she supposed to get out of bed when it was this cold? She at least sat up, with a tiered growl, and opened her eyes to see where this wind was coming from. She looked around her room for the culprit and caught sight of the open window. It must have blown open. She groaned and growled as she got up, wrapping her blanket around her and pulling it with her, she went over to the window and shut it with a lot of profanity under her breath.

She looked out of the window to see if Morwen decided to do her job and sure enough there was snow everywhere! It even blinded her a bit. Syna reflecting off of white snow was pretty, but very hard to look at. As her eyes adjusted to the blanketed landscape she saw a large ice building in the distance. What could that be? There is only one way to find out. She thought excitingly to herself.

She closed the window and went to get dressed. She let her blanket drop to the floor and went over to splash her face with some water and wiped herself off, and brushed her hair before she turned to her clothes to get dressed. She always folded her clothes and put them on her chest at the end of the bed, but the clothes that were folded weren't hers. Her dress was just a normal purple long sleeved dress, that she wore over a white linen shirt, and a white slip when it was cold. Her shoes were just normal, worn, black boots with black laces. It was just the clothes on her chest were different from her regular clothes. The still purple dress was so thick and trimmed with white fur on the sleeves and the collar. The boots beside her chest were black, but were trimmed and lined with black fur with black laces had flecks of silver in them. These were her clothes but weren't at the same time.

She couldn't just stand in the middle of her room nude, and she wanted to go out and see what was happening in the world of Alvadas today, so she threw her white linen shirt and slip on, and the dress. The fur was so soft, and it was so thick, and all of it was so warm. She slid on her boots and groaned in delight. They were so soft too, and warm, and comfortable. She loved them. If these were just an illusion it was a darn good one. Her favorite one so far.

She went over and stopped in her tracks when she saw her cloak. It was also the same yet different. Her black cloak was trimmed with white fur like her boots and clothes. She grabbed her new-old cloak, threw it on and headed out into the common area. She found it was a great place to pick up tidbits of information. It was just all anyone down there could talk about was the Morwen and the Vantha. She didn't understand how killing or hurting the Vantha made anything better. It wasn't as if they could control Morwen any more than the people here could control Ionu. Not that she would say any of this out loud, but she felt sorry for them. So far no one knew why Morwen wasn't bringing winter, but it was obviously something serious...then again she didn't know anything about being a god; she could just as well be throwing a temper tantrum.

She walked over to the front desk where Micah was writing in a book of some sort. She waited until the girl looked up with a smile, ”How can I help you Phira?”

”Do you have any idea what is going on?

The girl nodded her head and her brother Korin came over, ”We migrated into Alvadas-Taldera. There is snow every where, and not too far from here is Mowen's Ice Castle. A lot of people are scouting the land for Vantha.” he explained.

She kept a straight face, ”Thank you. I'll see you later tonight.” she said, letting them talk among themselves. This was not the place to be today. She didn't want to be faced with the choice of letting a Vantha go or turning them in. Because she knew she would let them go. This whole ordeal proved that she wasn't at all as strong minded as she thought. She spent her time in Sunberth thinking she could live there and be in a gang, and do things like hunt for people and kill them if necessary. But these Vantha didn't do anything wrong, and maybe that was the problem. She didn't want to hurt anyone that didn't do anything wrong. That was just senseless murder, and she had never believed in senseless murder.

She walked out into the winter wonderland and she had to admit it was pretty. She hated winter. She hated snow. She hated the cold. She hated the fact that the clouds covered the skies most of the time, hiding Syna and her warmth behind their thick, cotton like, puffs. And the sky was always grey and so drab all the time. However, not even she could deny that when Syna was out from behind the clouds it created a pretty, glittering landscape. She could see the appeal of snow and ice, but it was still cold which she hated the most of all the things about winter.

She bit her lip, as much as she hated winter she didn't hate Morwen, yet or the Vantha. She closed her eyes and let those thoughts go. It was getting ridiculous how often those thoughts came. But she wasn't going to sit around all day thinking about such a depressing topic, she was going have fun today exploring in spite of everything that is going on. So she began walking towards...where ever and was turning a corner when someone ran into her causing her to slip on the icy sidewalk.

[Madeira Dusk]

Alvadas had never been known for taking its many strange and wonderful illusions in stride. The strange city's strange people tended to embrace their circumstance and dive into the bizarre feet first. As Madeira walked the streets in search of the Palace she saw children, many of whom had never seen snow before, running between the legs of a frightfully tall, spindly beast with a gloriously colourful spotted hide while it nibbled on the windowboxes of third story windows. A couple of bulkily dressed adults were making a game of trying to catch a snow white hare easily three times the size of any southern bunny Madeira had ever seen. Someone else had parked themselves down a narrow alley and was taunting a short, shaggy cow creature as it was fruitlessly trying to fit it's six foot horns through the gap.
 
Everyone braved the knee high snow and bitting wind, armed in their new wardrobes, just to play with the illusions their beloved Ionu gave them. The sight heartened the Spiritualist. They loved Ionu, and Ionu loved them. He wouldn't abandon them the way Mowen had. It simply wasn't possible.
 
The warm, fuzzy feelings towards her fellow man suddenly took a sour turn as something cold and wet struck her cheek and dribbled into her scarf. It was errant snowball from a platoon of children and no few adults divided into two armies, who hid behind snowmen and in doorways pelting each other with the bitting snow.
 
Madeira would not take this offence lying down. She scooped a handful of snow off the ground and with careful aim, snipped it at the nearest child. The two teams, realizing they'd been flanked, suddenly dissolved into shouts of 'to arms!' and incoherent war cries. Snowballs started firing indiscriminately into the street, and Innocent passerby's were suddenly baptized in the icy wetness of battle. Soon the whole street was a riot of loose factions and lone hunters armed with snowballs and mayhem.
 
Dodging fistfuls of wet snow and dishing out justice herself, Madeira sprinted out of multiple lines of fire, her cheeks afire with cold and exertion. Until her mad dash came to an abrupt head against a stranger in a purple dress.
 
Both women smashed heads and collapsed into the snow. Madeira blinked at the cloudy sky for several chimes while she waited for the kaleidoscope of starbursts to fade from her vision. Finally she propped herself up by her elbow to see who she had just collided with. It was another woman, with the same golden skin and dark hair of someone else she knew. Madeira almost called out to her friend Ssanya before realizing this woman was almost a foot too tall to be the Dani Maledictor.
 
She got shakily to her feet, listening to the sounds of snowball warfare still waging around the corner. She offered the dark haired beauty a mittened hand to help her up.
 
"I apologize. I must not have been looking where I was going." she smiled sheepishly.

[Phira]

05 Winter 516

Children and adults were laughing alike, all having a grand time in the snow. She just couldn't get passed the cold. She was miserable, but curious still as to how anyone could find any mirth in this cold hell. She had witnessed children throwing snow at each other, had seen a couple of girls falling in the snow and waving their arms and legs in a fanning motion for some reason, one family was creating something in the snow that had wooden arms and a scarf, groups of adults were standing around each other laughing some even joining in the snow throwing.

Who would prefer this kind of weather to sunny warmth? She didn't think she would ever know the answer to such a question, but is still racked her brain with every step she took. As warm as her new/old boots were when the snow got inside them it was cold and made the fur wet, which didn't turn the tide of her opinion on winter in it's favor. Her new/old clothes were a plus, but she suspected that any kind of new clothing she would love.

It was when she fell back in the snow that she felt the true wrath of the cold snow. She hated it and wouldn't miss it when it was gone. She looked up at the culprit who knocked her over and found an apologetic blond with big eyes extending a helping hand. She accepted her help and hopped up quickly shaking and brushing away any loose snow on her person. "Don't worry about it. I was wondering what it felt like to be encased in ice. Can't say I care for it too much." she said with a joking laugh. It wasn't the woman's fault, obviously this white powder brought a frenzy out in some people. She just hoped she didn't catch it.

She smiled at the woman, "Are you alright?" She asked with a tone of concern. She looked at the blonde more carefully now that her sight wasn't blurred by shock of the cold. She was pretty, with light blond hair, pale skin, and big blue eyes, though nothing about them made her stand out from the crowd in an obvious way. Her clothes did look rather expensive...well more expensive than her own clothes, which didn't really tell her much of anything only that the woman saved enough money to buy a nice coat, that Ionu illusioned to be suitable for his illuionary winter city.

"I shouldn't be worried about what you were running from should I?" She looked around the corner only to see more children throwing snow at each other and any one passing by. She shook her head with defeat, she just didn't understand it, and she was giving up trying to. She turned her attention to the woman in front of her, "I'm Phira by the way. she introduced herself with a smile.

[Madeira Dusk]

"I'm alright" the Spiritualist waved away the concern with the flick of her mitten. As she brushed snow out of her hair she caught sight of the strangers eyes. Cat eyes, both blue and brown, ringed with the kind of lush lashes that other women would pay good money to have. Behind Madeira the clamorous snowball fight was still waging. She peeked spuriously over her own shoulder. "Worried? No." she said briefly before taking the dark-haired woman's arm and turning them both down a side alley. "But we'd best go around, just the same."
 
Down the alley the gusty winter wind turned as mild as a summer breeze, and the thick drops of snow that rode sideways on that wind became a modest trickle. The only sound became the crunch beneath their boots as snowball fight and strange creatures got further and further behind them.
 
"Phiraaah. Phiiiira." Madeira rolled the name around her tongue like she was trying to figure out how it tasted. "Pretty name. Kelvic name?" she probed none too subtly. Elongated pupils and multi-hued eyes were nothing new in the city of illusions. Neither was suddenly waking up with fur or an extra finger. These things were taken in stride. But the stranger carried her peculiarity like she was born with it.
 
"My name's Madeira. A Human name, an Avalad name" she waved her mitten before her again, as if to sweep away the boring normality of it. "I'm taking the day to explore the city. I hear everything between the walls has changed into a map of all of Miza. Exciting, no?”

Madeira slowed her walking pace as they neared the end of the alley. Something was glittering at the far end, throwing rainbows across the brick and wood of the buildings to either side. An illusion? An ice sculpture? Or did the two of them stumble onto the castle Madeira saw from her second story window?

[Phira]

05 Winter 516

She gave a quick nod and followed the girl down the alley way. Silence enveloped them, the only things that could be heard was the wind and their footsteps. And of course the laughing and screaming of the children and adults as they played in the snow could be heard echoing from every direction, but at the present moment they were alone in the alley. The silence between them ended when the girl began saying her name over and over again, each time differently, as if to taste it.

The comment about it being a 'kelvic name' resonated with her. Was it a kelvic name? She never thought it sounded like one, then again she didn't know that kelvic's even had specific names. Her brows furrowed in thought for a couple of moments before she shrugged, "Thank you. I have no idea if it's a kelvic name, but yes I am a kelvic. I didn't even know if there were specific names for each race. I always thought names were just names. But now I wonder if it is a kelvic name." she said with a curious tone to her voice. Questions upon questions began filling her head about things she had never questioned before. She really needed to learn how to write so she could start writing her thoughts down.

Her name was said in a way that the girl seemed bored with it, like it was just any old name. And once again a race was attached to it and then a city. More questions popped up, but she pushed them down so she could socialize with the person next to her properly. "So you are native to Alvadas? But you are, forgive me for saying, so normal. And I mean that in a good way." The girl looked normal and acted normal, which was comforting in a way. She had secluded herself to the Wolf's Cave since she found it, because she was very overwhelmed with the city, and because she didn't want to lose it. It was nice to see that she could find normality here.

To all of Mizahar? Really? "Is that what is happening? That is exciting. So this is the north where Mor-- She quieted herself before she said her name. She gave a nervous laugh and quickly changed the subject, "Taking the day to explore the city and see the world at the same time sounds like fun. I have seen at least a few cities I think on my first day here, but I didn't know they were cities I just thought they were random illusions. Today I thought Ionu had made Alvadas into Taldera to get people excited about...well... she stopped herself again. She inhaled deeply and looked back at the blonde, "Maybe I can join you and you can show me all the city, while we explore the world? She asked this coming to the end of the alley and looked up to see a huge ice castle. It was beautiful, but she still wouldn't want to live here or be in the cold for any longer than she had to.

The area around the castle was oddly empty, and it was probably because people were avoiding this place like the plague. Though she could see people out of the corner of her eye watching this place very carefully and watched anyone that came near it. She just kept her eye on the castle as if she didn't see them at all. She looked over at Madeira and wondered if she would approach it further. If the girl she just met was brave enough to, she would go with her, because Madeira seemed like a nice enough girl, and she would love a new friend in a city where she had none.

[Madeira Dusk]

Madeira smiled at the ground when Phira went off on a tangent about races and their possibly unique names. She sounded like a little child to wonder at small things. Truly, Madeira had never met a Sevfra that didn't have a name loaded with airy vowel sounds, or a Dhani that could pronounce its name in full without wasting an entire afternoon. Kelvics were more varied with their names, but they all seemed to be two syllables or less and easily pronounced. She wasn't about to tell Phira that, though. Her curiosity was sweet, and a thoughtful answer might douse her wonder.
 
But she could not help but laugh when the Kelvic turned her wonder on her, and expressed interest that an Avalad could be so 'normal'.
 
"What, do you expect us to all be wearing feathers and barking like a loon? From my point of view, all you visitors are truly mad." She poked Phira’s forehead, "Heads in the clouds, never watching where they're going, always falling into pits or being bitten by carnivorous cobblestones. They have panic attacks and existential crisis’s the streets and then call us crazy. It's... well, crazy."
 
After that the conversation ground to a uncomfortable halt, as her Kelvic companion expressed excitement at the prospect of a Miza-Alvadas, and touched on several taboo subjects as she did so. They avoided eye contact for several ticks, before Phira caught her eye and expressed interest in seeing the city with her.
 
"I would, ah, be delighted if you'd join me" Madeira said congenially, already distracted by the palace that loomed at the end of their alley. Company on her trip around all of Miza would be excellent. And having someone to watch your back in the ever changing city would be even better. Besides, Madeira didn't know many Kelvics. It would be interesting to get acquainted.
 
The air resumed its bitter freeze as they exited the alley. The space around the palace seemed impossibly empty and prenaturally quiet. Eyes peeked from other buildings and windows. And she knew in an instant that every eye was watching for Vantha. But would they really be so foolish as to seek shelter in the illusion of a god that hated them?
 
And would she be voiding her claim of indifference if she stole closer for a look to see?
 
Madeira removed her hood and swept her thin blonde hair over her shoulder, hoping her armour of being waifish, blonde and pale would be enough to keep these hidden eyes from thinking her a cursed child of a dishonoured god. She started the trek across no-mans-land with her hands out of her pockets, head high and lank hair snapping in the wind. She heard boots crunching behind her and was surprised to notice that the Kelvic was sharing in this potentially bad decision.
 
The walk of less than a hundred meters seemed to get longer with every step. Especially when she knew there might well be empty pockets and sharpened knifes salivating over their progress over this cursed land. But just as she was sure they were halfway there, a snowbank in front of them moved.
 
Madeira stopped immediately, and threw her hand out to make sure Phira stopped as well.
 
Heart in her mouth and sweating beneath her furs, Madeira's bravery and Craven dignity were about to be trampled beneath her self-preservation when the snowbank gave a great growl and got ponderously to its four huge, clawed feet.
 
The Spiritualist made a sound somewhere between an gasp of terror and a groan of epiphany. Looking out her window, she remembered that this castle seemed to be no bigger than a toy.
 
I don’t think it's a toy she remembered saying. I think those might just be very big bears.

[Phira]

05 Winter 516

She thought about it. She didn't know what she was expecting a native alvad to look like. But she didn't think it would be normal, not with all the possibilities in the city. "Barking like a loon, no. But wearing feathers yes. I guess I saw the city and expected the people here to be just as...creative. Madeira was a normal looking pretty girl, but she wouldn't be surprised to see a tail spouting from her bottom or her skin start to take on the night sky.

Her eyes crossed as she watched the finger connect to her forehead. That was unexpected for sure. But the blondes outlook on crazy made a sheepish smile grow on her, ""You do know that carnivorous cobblestones only exist here. Right? At least in all the places I've been this is the only place with carnivorous cobblestones. And I've been to at least three cities around Mizahar.

She said wondering if here were more cities with stones that would eat you. On that front she couldn't blame anyone from having panic attacks in the middle of the streets. But she doubted things like that existed outside of the city, but she couldn't completely doubt it because she was here in Alvadas. She laughed and before her friend could respond to that she rubbed her forehead, "I guess it's not the people that are crazy necessarily, but the city itself that is." she explained her thoughts as best she could.

The uncomfortable and awkward silence was her fault and she felt guilty for that. But how could you avoid talking about Morwen and the Vantha while walking in the streets of Taldera-Alvadas? One of them was going to bring it up surely, either out of sympathy (which was unlikely while out in the open streets), or to compare hunting techniques.

Thankfully Madeira wasn't too off put by her slip of the tongue and accepted her as a sight seeing companion for the day. "Thanks. We are going to have fun I can tell already." She said to an already distracted new friend. She couldn't blame her for being fascinated by what was at the end of the ally.

The castle they found was impressive, but what was more impressive was remarkable was Madeira's courage to move closer to the castle. She followed behind and hopefully the people watching just thought them two misguided girls looking for adventure in the wrong place. But the way Madeira carried herself, with her shoulders back and her head up, made it come off like she was a proud person. It was a pride that she felt was different than her own. Her own pride came off as vanity, but Madeira's pride came off like it wasn't necessarily her own, but she would carry it any way.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Madeira put her hand up to halt her. Her eyes widened when the ground n front of them began to move, and the only reason she stuck around was because she didn't want to leave her new friend behind to take on this shifting snow creature. As she began to clearly make out the lines of the white thing she began growling when she realized that she was face to face with a big, furry, long clawed, white bear. She looked around for two ticks before returning her attention to the bear in front of her. The closest place to take refuge was the castle.

The bear began roaring in a way she was all too familiar with: it was a warning to leave. Apparently even the illusions didn't want them exploring Morwen's castle. It as obvious by Madeira's gasps that the blonde was as ready to deal with this thing as she was, meaning the only thing they could do was run. The bear let out another roar and began towards them on all fours swiftly. The bear was quick on the snow, and before it could collide with them she jumped out of the way pushing Madeira down as well. Not really taking the time to think about anything but getting the heck out of there she hopped up and grabbed her friends pale hand, "Hurry to the castle quick!" she yelled.

[Madeira Dusk]

Madeira was too dazed to move out of the way of the charging bear. Luckily, Phira still had her wits about her, and tackled her into the snow just in time for the illusion's eight-inch claws to sail over the spot her torso was just moments before. Then suddenly Phira was up and pulling her to her feet by her mittened hand. Together they raced to the castle.
 
But Madeira felt herself falling behind almost immediately. The Kelvic was faster and stronger than she was. At this rate, the bear was surely going to catch them. Was that it's hot breath on her ear, or was it just her own breath roaring out of her lungs? Was that the crash of its great paws through the snow, or their own boots cutting a furious path?
 
Would Ionu really kill her for her curiosity, or was this just a game?
 
The Spiritualist didn't realize how close the castle had gotten until she slammed into it. She was still midstep, ready to pound, push and claw her way through the icy doors. But to her utter bewilderment the door offered no resistance, and the two of them fell headfirst into Morwen’s castle.
 
Without a pause to look around, Madeira was on her feet and slamming the door behind them. There was a bang, and a thick wedge of what looked like ice or crystal fell into a slot across the wide door, barring it.
 
And suddenly the room was deathly quiet, but for the pair's ragged breathing. Madeira turned to face the room slowly, fearing what she would see.
 
Lined up at the far end of the palace, twenty or thirty Vantha were pressed together. Every eye was on them, flashing a kaleidoscope of almost violent colour. Pinks and reds, yellows and purples. They're terrified, Madeira realized. And the thought twisted like a knife in her belly. They think we're here to kill them.
 
She raised her empty hands in a pacifying gesture. Her hands shivered, but not from the cold.
 
"No, we're not going to... We're not..." Her heart was in her throat, choking off her words. How many of these poor souls would she see in the spring, returning as vengeful ghosts? She didn't entertain the notion that they would survive the slaughter. Not when the gods wanted them dead. They were doomed to die, and there was nothing Madeira would do about it.
 
Suddenly, her quaking voice turned to stone.
 
"Sit, Phira. We're going to pray."
 
And for a moment the mild Madeira sounded like a Craven. She turned her back to the terrified Vantha and sat hard on the cold floor, closing her eyes without seeing if the Kelvic would join her. Her chest expanded as she took a deep, cleansing breath. Who should she pray too? What was she even praying for? Her first thought was of Alvadas's patron deity. Both to ask for forgiveness for not taking up cause against the Vantha, and to protect herself and Phira from the illusions outside. But even as she tried forming the words, another prayer came to mind.
 
Madeira swallowed hard, and spoke her prayer in a hushed voice.
 
"Dira, beloved goddess, warden of death. We pray you see these poor souls safely to your embrace. Let their going be gentle, and give them peace in the next life that they can no longer find here. For those who will not follow their natural path, I will send them to you as is my duty as a Spiritualist. I will honour you in their passing, and see them safely to the other side. In your service, amen."

[Phira]

05 Winter 516

The fell through the doors of the castle and both didn’t take a moment to close the door. The ice crystals on the floor confused her, that illusion was so real. Too real. It smelled, looked, sounded, and acted like a bear. She looked over to her friend to see if she was ok, knowing that she had fallen behind a little. She was about to ask when she looked over to see people already inside the castle.

They were all huddled together, looking at the pair of them with the looks of cornered animals. Fearful and angry. The colors of their eyes had the range of all the colors in the rainbow, and that was what gave them away. Her heart felt like it was being shredded with razors. She could only imagine what they were thinking or how they were feeling. She wanted to cry but knew that would only scare them more.

Madeira was the first to act putting her hands up in the air, and she followed suit. She didn’t want them to think she was going to hurt them in any way. But that didn’t seem to ease their minds in the least little bit. Her friend began stuttering her words, and she jumped in to finish them, ”We’re not going to hurt you.” She cast her eyes down, not being able to look at their faces any more.

The image of them of all of them huddled together and shivering was burned into her mind, and it would haunt her forever. How many of them would be dead by the end of the season? How many would be killed over Morwen’s wrong doings? Her head snapped up when an order to sit down and pray hit her ear.

She simply nodded and sat down next to a rather young Vantha boy who couldn’t be more than 18. He stared at her with cherry red eyes, and a frown, ”Praying isn’t going to do a damn thing.” he hissed in a hushed, angered voice.

Her ear picked up Madeira’s prayer to Dira and looked at the boy, ”Maybe, maybe not. I like to think they help in the long run. Like to Lady Dira, who will guide you to the next stage of the cycle. she said loud enough for those around her to hear.

The kid shook his head with tears in his eyes, ”Dira? We don’t want to die! We don’t want to pray to her!” he yelled with such sorrow and fear in his voice.

She looked around at all the somber faces. She let her friend finish her prayer before she stood up to face them, ”I know you all are scared, but don’t be. I don’t know what the future holds for each of you, but I do know that if the worst does happen to not be scared of it or think of it as a bad thing. I know these aren’t comforting words to a lot of you, but I say them in order to let you know that it’s ok to die. Fight as hard and as fierce as you can for life, but don’t look away when Dira comes for you. Only peace awaits you on the other side, unless you want otherwise.” her words may have sounded harsh but were not said with a harsh tone. Her voice was soft and almost apologetic, but she meant what she said. She was always told by her aunt, a follower of Dira, that people don’t fear death, they fear dying. And she didn’t want these people to go through either if it wasn’t their time, but she knew that for a lot of them that they would be seeing Dira soon. And she didn’t want them to fear her or run away from her when the Goddess of Death did come for them.

The boy just sat in silence, looking down in anger, and hate. The people around him didn’t seem to care what she said, and all the others seemed to ignore her all together.

She looked to her friend and extended a hand to help her up to pull her over to the side. In a hushed voice she looked at Madeira with sad eyes, ”I don’t know what else we can do for them. Maybe later we can somehow sneak back here and bring them food and water. But I think we should go.”

She said trying her hardest not to sound like she wanted to abandon them. Because she didn’t, but really she really got the feeling that their presence here wasn’t welcome. She looked back towards the door they came through and at the crystals spread across the floor from the bear. They couldn’t go out the same way they came, if a bear respond in the same place they would be stuck in the same situation. She looked at the blonde in front of her to see if she was ready to leave.