Maren

The Gardens of the divine Angels laid lush once again under a liquid turquoise sky: Forevermore the Heaven that hold and protected the power of the Gods. No animals resided here, as it was simply a projection; an unreal image of mere illusion. Its pathways were made out of the journey’s of ones life, choices. The evergreen only formed by the new, yet to be drawn upon thoughts that could fill a thousand thoughtless minds. Its juices, however, hold the faith. It was as silent here as in the pale purple shades of her eyes, but the Medium spoke to her nonetheless. Not with words, but with simply Being. Maren’s illusion walked over the surface of the heavenly liquid; over her own mirrored self that reflected in it – and that of the One and Holy Cherry Oak. Its Reflection as divine-looking as the unreal reality. The illusion of Maren’s head moved upwards to find its outstretched Hands and Fingers; filling the Heavens with its velvet Leaves, carrying the burden of Immortal life. But no squeek, no hymn came from the Almighty Trunk, for it was silence that swell in the Medium, and only that. Maren’s gaze dropped down to the Roots of the Holy Oak, where in the Shadows the Roses bloomed fire-red once again.

What would have happened to You if I had not regained sense?

What would have happened if I had not acknowledged Sol as the Almighty Patron that grants Us life and health above all else?

All the while she had stood silent. As something what was Divine and Holy, like the statues of Angels in Churches of old. Before her there had been many following the Church of the Cherry Oak. Now, in modern days, few were left of this followship, and those who were simply had to embrace the legacy filled with mystery and unknowing. The ways that the Divine Roots or Holy Branches pointed were not always the clearest paths. But sometimes those were the most exciting of all; and with the biggest rewards. Sometimes those paths were veiled with the fogs of unexplored wisdom.

Maren's pale purple gaze peered the mists that lingered above the water surface. She had found herself in the estuary of the river flowing through Helovia, stood in the lands were the Beach opposite of the Dragon's throat transitioned into the lands of the Heart Caves; both touching the edge of the Veins of the Gods. It was the place she wanted to visit now; to face what she had not dared to face, neither this season or the previous one. Because I have been a selfish hypocrite - with blinders on, preventing me to look for any other path than the familiar one. Her true travelers heart was ashamed to be guilty of such thing. For her endless wandering was what had shaped and polished her through her 5 years of living; to now be betrayed by itself... it was treachery. But one to find by herself, so there was nothing else to blame than her own stupidity and flaws. But even after a life of worshiping, she was but mortal, after all.

Nevertheless, her enlightenment did not make her run to the Veins with Godspeed. Even though she wanted to make herself known to the Sun God, something withhold her - Yet again. Her eyes slit through the area, saw the trees standing half in the cloudy water. It was the most swamp she had encountered in Helovia so far. It made her feel at ease, which could be the reason why her hooves had paused here; in this sluggish mud, where - because of the high water table, grasses grew practically on the water. Then slowly she began to wade deeper into the river, for if she was going to do it - talk to the Sun God - she had to do it now.

Suddenly one of her hooves got snagged by something. She stumbled, tripped - fell white head-first into the green water. Splashes making the silence of the early morning crumble, and ripped and tore the smooth surface apart. The cold water swallowed her for a moment, icy mountain-water embracing her whole body - then she got up again, breathing heavily and shocked by the sudden change of her heart beating. With her head lowered and drenched, the tigermare peeked at her surroundings, quickly and uncomfortable. Well that was awkward. She was not only mortal, but stupid as fuck, also. She grunted, frustrated by herself. Then she took a deep breath and sighed, still holding her position in the middle of the river. "Arrgh..." she let out, shaking her head. Then all of a sudden her glare spotted something in the turbid water. She moved closer to it - It was a chain. Her gaze followed the metal line, where after her body followed. Then it disappeared, went up in a dark shadow that she could give a name nor a shape; it was simply a silhouette in the water. Maren's wet wings - still dripping from her plunge - rose eagerly, along with the growing mystery. The tigermare's nose swiftly duck through the water-surface. Letting the cold embrace her face once more willingly, feeling a nasty shiver when her ivory teeth clanged against the metal - but the feeling got overthrown immediately by that of success as she put the chain in her mouth and carried it up above the water, and then tried pulling it to the shore she came from. Wading through, however, she noticed that it was stuck. Maren looked back as she pulled again. For a moment the strained line did not give in. But then, throwing all her horse-weight in it, a small movement made her move - and she saw milky water-clouds coming up, arising from the surface where the shadowed shape had lain stuck - until now. It had moved. Motivated and intrigued by this random find she pulled again. And again. And again. And then it was on the solid mud: A wooden... upside-down freaking boat - or the remnants of it, at least. For the wood seemed old and covered with algae. With a push she wallowed it on it's right side, revealing enough space to hold at least her. Holy God.

Maren took a step back, barely taking in what this find actually meant with widened eyes, wings pointing all the way up to the sky, thrilled. This means I can finally go back home. Home to that hell-hot dessert she had missed so much. For she had. So the tigermare abruptly fell through her knees, splashing water up from the mud; closed her eyes, softly praying genuine words from her heart and to her Gods. Thanking them for their generosity and kindness - and forgiveness for her endless stupidity and that they had to watch that miserable performance of hers. For more than a season she had felt confused, hopeless, misplaces because of one choice she had based on her faith. On belief - not seeing that it was the only good choice to make. She felt the reward warming her chest as she had finally gotten through the darkness of the path she had been led on by the Oak. And now that Maren could see it herself, too, they had gifted her back her most surprising and also most treasured belonging; her home.

So she began sniffing and looking an pushing the green-splashed wood of the old boat, testing it. The wood seemed surprisingly fine. It was what kept the materials together what seemed to be falling apart. But she would fix it. She would fix it all, now, because she was not about to wait any longer to return to her freaking desert island. To her spot in the Sun.

@[Bucephalus], (if you want to get in, please send a pm first! <3)
Boat finding - and fixing; sorry didn't realize how long this had become. ^^"
Setting --> Foggy river swamp

Maren

Her gaze kept still on the boat; silent and crippled, as the happiness and the loving of a smile filled the curves of her lips. The help, mercy - the fulfilling of a wish... It warmed up her insides, fluttered like seeds dancing in the wind through her organs. She had never asked for anything, simply worshiped what was. But perhaps unknowingly in the stillness; the silence of her mind, she had asked, requested - begged. Perhaps in the lands of outcasts and homeless, she had dreamed of ways and methods that would be able to get her back to where she belonged - Even though at that time the realization of truth had not been invited in yet. For behind closed doors the confusion and disbelief had continued on to softly and sweetly attempt to slide a rope around her neck while she lay wrapped in nightmares of vagabonds.

But days of grays and blues had faded into days of vibrant colors with detailed petals of hope that came falling down like the blossoms of trees. Shame and unknowing had faded back into prayers of promise and words of knowledge.

And just like that, she would be able to pretend like those dark days had never even happened. She would tie them together in a package with the rope they had spun for her in darkness and let them float away on the rivers to the faraway, to be never found by her again. Or so she would pray.

With one hoof in the boat and one hoof in the muddy water around it, she had continued in thought while inspecting the foundation of the boat, when suddenly a faint calling reached her eardrums. Maren’s wings wrapped themselves around her ears, making the sounds echoing louder into her brain. She was after all not sure what she was hearing. Laughter? That was strange. Slightly confused she returned her attention back to the boat - her newborn but crippled child. Like dead skin flakes the rust on the metal fell apart from their womb when the mare’s hoof scrapped over it. It made worrisome ripples growing deeper now that she fully shared the agony of the boat which she had already started to - perhaps - over-adore. But despite the simply cruel state it was in, she could not lose it again - could not lose her home again. But she would, if this boat proved to be useless, after all.

She felt her throat growing tight as she swallowed the tasteless air. She felt as if she had already lost her heart to the scrawny metal which was too old and too fought to keep the wooden planks together any longer. There was no helping it. It felt like all her hope was slowly starting to fall apart, once again. And she felt the shadowed bruises of the days past thumping in her ears.

Then, for some reason - somehow from the muddy earth and water, droplets of a glimmering substance started to flow up, wrapped themselves in that liquid state around the foundation of grumpy red rust and wood. Maren watched it, focused but confused. How? Was she doing that? Was she supposed to be able to do that? Maren blinked, but the image remained unchanged. Without realizing it she had kept her breath while keeping her eyes wide open, tangled up in the magic that appeared right before her eyes as she looked at the confusing result. “What…” she murmured with surprise. Did I do that? Gleaming in the hazy light, bright new materials had formed a solidified base, filling holes and breaking the weak links by replacing them with the new.

Then, once again, a voice carried over the water as it mixed in with the mist.

With a sharp gaze illuminated with the remnants of surprise still lingering between her cheeks, her alabaster head found its way up to see what angel God had sent down to her this time: What kind of magic would shockingly appear out of the Light now? It’s to much, You have already given me all I could ever ask for. ...But what was prancing in her way was nothing she could really translate into something like a God’s-sent immediately, and nevertheless still being in that kind of trance, she had to blink a couple of times again to comprehend the images and things and stuff that was happening and appearing and making noise.

In the state she was in (with still one hoof in- and one hoof out of the boat) her gaze got somehow glued and stuck to the small figure that had appeared from the mists after the sounds of its voice had disappeared.

“Watcha’ doin’?” It asked.

But then her brain finally managed to get up to its feet again and found its way to translate it all so that everything at least meant something now. The tigermare’s eyes had for instance finally deciphered the silhouette of a alien-like blob into that of a foal.

She glanced at the boat and then back to him. What am I doing, really? “Uh…” She watched the one-winged colt as he came nearer with a wing stretched out. It distracted her from her original chain of thoughts and her eyebrows rose a little. Although she couldn't directly place it, the young pegasus reminded her of someone she may or may not knew. But then she couldn't remember him, she was sure. Then, shockingly, she watched the little thing trip over a rock and fall on his knees in the mud. He let out a cry of pain, and as if it triggered some kind of instinctive pull, Maren rapidly got that one hoof out of the boat and pulled an attempt to swiftly get to the fallen soldier. She wasn't sure why, as he had already fallen, anyway. “Are you…-”

But apparently he was OK.

In combination with a deep sigh, the mare let out a chuckle and relaxed her shoulders. “You shouldn't fall so carelessly right in front of others. If you want to fall down, you should try doing it someplace where you are alone.” Like I did. Nevertheless, a smile took in the place of the stark lips that had been there before. Maren nodded to the vessel in the mud. “That’s my new boat”, she bragged childishly, but nevertheless with a kind tune to it. “If you tell me who you are and where you mom is, I might even let you sail it.”

@[Zèklè], sorry it took so long ; ^ ; forgive me...