I S R A
“It is good to have an end to journey toward;
but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”To lose it would be like dying, worse than dying.
Isra remembered little of the journey to the Veins of the Gods. Ever since she and Mirage parted, the grief that she had first felt upon crossing the threshold came flooding back, so vast and unexpected and complicated that she was numb with it. She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and kept walking. When it grew dark and hard to see, her pace slowed to a crawl but it did not stop her.
She could not stop – would not stop.
Her senses were as dull as though she had grown dead to the world around her. In the small hours of the night, she somehow managed to navigate the rocky bridge that connected the island to the mainland. Not without a fair amount of tripping – over small pebbles, over her own feet – and veering away from the edge with foreign curses huffed under her breath.
Before her, the dark silhouette of the volcano loomed up like a great beast to blot out the stars. Isra felt like something was watching her, tracking her progress but she could not begin to guess at its intentions. She followed the waterfall steps that clung precariously to the barren cliff face, careful not to look down at the majestic blue lava below. It gurgled and crooned to her and she wondered if the glowing substance had claimed any lives. If a Horse, Pegasus or Unicorn had ever been entranced into forgetting their footing.
By the time sweet, little Isra edged her way inch-by-inch to the top, dawn was breaking.
The vast panoramic view of Helovia was breath-taking. A fiery sunrise conjured a mirage of molten gold from the melting glaciers and snowfields in the distant peaks. The heat of the day would soon conceal them behind a sultry haze. Isra stared down into the valleys still full of purple twilight and wondered where her only friends here might be – the black mare and her golden dragon. It occurred to her, as she turned around to view the shrines that she had only asked if there was a sacred place where she might visit and pray but neglected to enquire if an offering or a ritual was desired by the Gods.
During her rites of passage back home, Isra had to fast and eat a special concoction of herbs before the wise women had let her into the secluded valley where the Great Mother had judged Isra and claimed her as Her own. The deity appeared to her as a great bear, thrice the size of any normal bear, and touched her upon the head. A vision had swum before her eyes, the journey she must take to the lands of Helovia and the stops she must make along the way. However, upon crossing the threshold, her diadh-anam, the divine-spark that gives them life and guides them on their intended path, was stripped from her. It is a part of their soul that connects them to Her.
Isra hoped the Gods here could help her or at least give her answers.
In the unkemptness of hair there are twigs and leaves that have collected – hiding in its curls and tangles. It is beautiful, in the sense that she had been borne into it and knew no cleaner, holier ways. She managed to work free, three particularly fragrant pieces that hung at the ends of her inky mane. With a bow of her head and neck, she placed one on each of the shrines. Hoping that these gods of sun, moon and earth would not think she was stingy. She had learned in her travels that it was always wise to offer respect to foreign gods and Isra might be in Helovia a long time.
“Gods of Helovia, will you hear the troubles of a newcomer?”
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((So I put Moon Goddess in the title but should you think it would be more fun for one of the others gods to come and "claim" her as their follower while here. That's cool too. She's going to inquire about her lost Diadh-anam and see if it can be restored (maybe replaced with a spark of one of them?) I don't know how it would work questing-wise because it's not exactly an ability >_> Any questions just Pm. She might also mention her lost magic too.))
| Helovian Ancient |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 22.0hh :: Ageless |
| Admin |
Earth God & Moon Goddess
Two of the twigs placed on the shrines begin to glow. One with a purple, lavender hue, and the other with a vibrant green. Soon they begin to levitate above the statues, and then disintergrate into a mist of their illuminated color. From the mist of purple begins to unfurl a slender, womanly figure. Soft wings of lavender and a sharp black horn emerge, along with liquid silver eyes that peer out at Isra curiously. From the green mists stomps four solid black hooves, draped in thick, black fetlocks. Two ram horns curl around a gentle face, with features that looked to be carved with blunt tools and polished over the years to a smooth surface. Lively green eyes peer from behind wrinkled lids, belying the age to the observer.
Together the pair of deities step forth, noting with a silent sort of sadness that their brother would not be joining them on this visit. The Sun God, still very angered with the unseating of his beloved Order, would not hear audience with those who would call upon his siblings. A jealous sort of anger that sparked worry into the hearts of the other two Gods present now.
The God of the Moon speaks first, her voice a smooth whisper, much like wind. "Welcome, newcomer." A hearty smile appears on the face of the Earth God, who speaks with a fatherly warmth. "What can we help you with, my child?"
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I S R A
“It is good to have an end to journey toward;
but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”The dark burnished mare took a few moments to gather and organize her thoughts before continuing with her prayer. Even though she was certain that they lead full and hectic lives, time would have little meaning in the clockless world of the Immortals. They’d forgive her; she was only an imperfect earth-bound creature after all.
A gentle breeze slid over the plateau in rough curls, wind-fingers tousling the oil-black tresses along the slope of her neck, prompting her to look up. A vague sensation of awe enveloped Isra; a shadow of what she would have felt had she been whole. The emptiness within her chest pressed on her mind, quickly deflating every moment of buoyancy. Her eyes – the color of jade glass filled with coffee beans and held up to the sun – follow the aromatic twigs as they rose radiant and tumbled slowly in the air.
A foreign exclamation of surprise leaves her rose-petal soft lips, seeming to cause the twigs to dissolve into mist. Her eyes become owlish for an instant but she relaxed when she saw figures start to emerge from the peculiarly colored fog. Thankful she didn’t break or disrupt anything by her outburst.
In Isra’s experience, it is a rare occurrence for Gods to answer in the flesh. It was something only the Great Mother had ever done. All the other shrines and holy places Isra had paid homage to during her travels; she would pray but nothing as astonishing as this would happen. She would keep faith and perhaps days, weeks, or even months later the answers would come in a variety of other ways. The choice of the two Gods to appear and speak to her now was no less humbling then her first contact with a divine.
The first to become wholly corporal was a female whose color reminded Isra of the purple twilight still hiding down in the valleys. With a mane and tail glistening like silver-spun cobwebs and luminous metallic eyes, it is not such a farfetched guess to assume that this was the Goddess of the Moon. The later was thicker, solid like a large oak tree, and pigmented with the same earthy tones. She picked him to be the God of the Earth. Her gaze slides to the lonely twig that still remained upon the third altar. She is not angry or disappointed by the Sun’s absence, only counts herself lucky for the arrival of two. A newcomer to Helovia, she did not know of His anger though she may begin to guess when this hot streak of weather did not end in a day or two.
The Great Mother usually chose to appear as a different animal to her followers. Isra thought it fitting that these Gods had a feature of each of the species she had seen on her journey through Helovia to the Veins. “Thank you”, she said in answer to the Goddess’ welcome. When the Worldly God asked her for her purpose here, her gaze dropped to her hooves. “I’m afraid I’m a shallow seeker” she started. Indeed, Isra was not here to request healing for the ailing or food for the hungry but something selfish.
“Upon entering the Threshold I lost an important part of me. My Diadh-anam, my spirit-spark. It guides us on our intended path and connects us to our Great Mother. It’s been there since birth, I don’t know how to exist without it,” she tried to convey the importance of this piece of her soul that was missing. “My magic too has been stripped. Had they been asked for, I’d have given them freely and gladly but my diadh-anam…” she tried giving the Gods some perspective. Then she was only left with: “Why? ... I’ve only done what has been asked of me. Perhaps it is only blocked by the magic of Helovia?”
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((I was pondering on it recently and came to the conclusion that it might be considered an ability? Kind of like cineviam's ashes. On the old rpg I played her mother on, it was given to everyone of the Great Mother's race. We just used a little pulse here if we wanted our character to join a certain group or kind of the Goddess' blessing of a union (breeding) of a certain pair. Though if you were active enough sometimes a PM would come from her and you'd use it as a guide to complete a task during a site plot. Or your thread would be interrupted with it flaring or dwindling and you'd have to guess at how to react. She never actually needed to visit or talk. I just don't know how you would classify it here since it's part of her soul... Her concealment magic (also given as protection to all the Great Mother's children) would have been easy - dark, and Isra's second gifted one - earth... Anyway it's just me replying to my own ooc message XD ))
| Helovian Ancient |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 22.0hh :: Ageless |
| Admin |
Earth God & Moon Goddess
The pair of deities listen carefully to the words of the mare, who seems awfully distraught by whatever she is missing. However, they Gods of Helovia have no idea of spirit sparks, and this are not entirely sure how to help. The lady of the night looks to her brother with a cool expression, her silver eyes mirroring his own concerned features. The gentle father of Earth uncertain as to what to do, but ever so pained by his lack of ability. The two stand puzzled for a moment, the Moon Goddess finally turning her face to look toward Isra.
"We have no ability to recover the spirit spark you seek," she says, her voice cool like a night breeze, yet still gentle. The news must be hard to hear. "It is a tradition of a foreign power, which holds no domain here."
The large bay extends a feather wing to brush the shoulder of Isra gently, as if to console her. "Our powers might interfere with that of your own deity, young one." His crinkled eyes look to her with sadness. "Perhaps, she is giving this as a trial to you. You should try to find the way you are intended to go on your own." He offers another soft smile, which holds the warmth of a father.
"We could offer you aid with your missing abilities, Isra," the Goddess says, her voice added after a brief pause in discussion.
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[ I'm uncertain of how to treat her soul spark - since it was a big part of your old site, I'm sure you understand a lot better than me. Because we have nothing similar on site now, and it clearly comes from a different deity, I'd say they can't help her in her current situation. Maybe she can find it later on in the site after accomplishing something big? I'll leave that up to you. ]
[Can we put this old hold for a week or so? I have two big tests coming up this weekend at University and I would also like some time to figure out what to do with her.
My first post with Isra I had posted that she had the diadh-anam and only lost her powers. Since I was unsure, I mentioned it in the C-box and I think it was Tamme (first time in Helovia, I was unsure who was what) who said that she could visit the Veins of Gods if she wanted it. So I went back and revised my post saying it was stripped along with her powers. Unfortunately I didn’t get into all the details with an admin and I think I’ve gone too far unsure how this was all going to turn out – my bad.
I was excited to rp Isra here, since the old game closed down years ago when she was only a yearling and lately I was looking for a game with gods and magic to join her at. I’m sure I could still play her on Helovia… Maybe she looks for love, or joins a group to help, has a foal, looking for something to fill that emptiness she feels. However, that’s not what I had in mind when I joined her. I wanted a slightly bigger version of the little filly I didn’t get much of a chance to develop and rp.
I understand, I’d just like to figure out whether I’d be comfortable playing her as she is, incase she never gets that possibility to accomplish something big and be whole again… or if I should quit her.]
| Helovian Ancient |
| Stallion :: Equine :: 22.0hh :: Ageless |
| Admin |
[ Oh, do derp. I meant to reply to this when I read it.
I have nothing against you as the RPer having a spirit spark. However, the way I see it, we have no spirit spark system on site, therefore, it should not be controlled by the administrators, even in the form of our site gods.
How it sounds to me is that her former Goddess already had a quest in mind for Isra to complete - her chosen path. Like the Earth God said, you can play it out like a quest, and eventually have it return to her after she's completed something you (or the Great Mother) want her to accomplish. As far as the Gods here being able to find her missing spirit spark, it's not something they are familiar with, as we do not use it on this site, so I do not believe they would have the power to restore it.
You mentioned Cineviam's ashes, and those too are not controlled by the admin's quests, but by the player's personal desires for the character. Like I suggested, you the player can have her undergo a quest that you feel big enough to regain her spirit spark - I just don't feel comfortable introducing a foreign system through the Veins. ]
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