Persistence

The Garden of Stars.
This location is flooded with shallow, crystal clear water. Great, arching trellises have been
erected above this garden, which has been sunken into the ground slightly, requiring stairs to
access. The only portion of the garden upon which one can walk is a slim pathway of dark, smoothed
marble. Wisped with rich greys and pale white striations, the marble reaches straight from the
stairs outwards, splitting before a statue and looping about behind it to meet once more, completing
the circle. Between the path and the statue, and between the path and the walls, dark, chill water
flows and ripples, the nigh permanent night given by the trellises and their thick plant-life
pierced only by the globes that dangle about the garden. Each glass globe shimmers with a celestial
light, casting an infinite number of streaks of light across the watery garden, causing the waters
to glisten in mimicry of the Pool of Stars. Resting atop a stone in the midst of the water, the
Seasinger is poised to strum an angelic harp.

Aeldra flits in, exhaling as she does, coming to stop next to you and lookup up at the towering
kephera. "Hello." she says breathlessly as she wipes her axe and stuffs it away.

 Turning from regarding the trellises, antennae flicking in Aeldra's direction,
Avaris lets out a quiet, "Ah," before he lowers his head in a polite bow. "Good evening, Aeldra.
Fresh from the fight, I take it?"

Aeldra nods slightly at you, "Yes. The Magnagorans were very intent on claiming that domotheus. You
know, death and all that." she shakes her head slightly, "never seen anyone so obsessed with
avoiding it then the Magnagorans. How are you, my dear friend?"

 Avaris dips his chin in a slight nod as Aeldra speaks. "In their own, perverted
way, yes. The Lady seeks to avoid it, I think, most passionately indeed - But in others." He does
not answer the question immediately, instead turning his head aside to study the surroundings
pensively for a time, before he lifts a single, pauldroned shouldered in a small shrug. "To be
honest with you, Aeldra, I am not terribly well. I will recover, though. I have merely...Stumbled.
What of yourself?"

Aeldra frowns at your words, lifting up from the ground to fly up to your shoulder and perching
gently upon it, making sure not to hurt herself at the protusions. "Do you wish to talk about it,
Avaris? Maybe I can help.". She pauses a moment taking in her surroundings, before adding "As for
death, there's difference between a healers toil and what those abominations do."

 Steady as a fortress beneath Aeldra, Avaris is equally as silent as one, for so
long that it seems that he may decline to answer entirely. With a slow, hissing exhalation, he
lowers his head, antennae curving forward and down in a steep frown. "I do not, but...Perhaps I
should." Wordlessly, he lifts his hands up to within Aeldra's field of view, turning his palms up to
bare the seething, bloody marks of penitence that stain the golden chitin.

Aeldra's eyes widen slightly as she sees the marks on your hands, a frown upon her features "Avaris"
she says, worry clearly upon her face "I really think you should. This isn't good, not at all. You
should have those looked at, dear." she stretches up, sitting fully upright on your shoulder as she
further speaks "If something does trouble you this much, my dear friend, you need to speak on it.
Holding this in is not going to do you any good." she rests her right hand gently against your neck,
her eyes now focusing on your head, eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened?" she asks, her gentle
voice heavy with worry.

 A brief, abraded laugh coughs fort from Avaris's throat, his vast chest shifting
with the abruptness of it. Curling his fingers inwards, he moves his head from side to side in
small, slow motions of negation. "Ah. You do not know what they are, I think, my friend. Even the
Lady could but numb the pain for a time." There is a fitful, ghostly ripple of luminescent motes
within the saturated spheres of his eyes, a faint attempt at his version of a smile. "I asked a
question, and it was answered." He lowers his hands, sliding them beneath the obscuring cloak of his
wings. "They are the mark of the Even Bladed's displeasure, Aeldra. There is not having them looked
at. I simply must endure them."

Aeldra nods softly as she realizes what you has stated, a frown upon her face. "Did that question
bring Her wrath upon you, dear? And if so, would you still tell me what your question was?"

You think to yourself: The heart-shuddering terror of remembered death, of an enraged Goddess,
knuckles white as bone, blades freshly wet with his blood. "You will not even be recognisable to
your Lady. Body and soul."

 The deep, intense red of Avaris's four antennae pales as if draining of colour,
leaving them a bleached, washed-out pink as he trembles, his immense frame shaking as if struck
suddenly by a ferocious cold. When he replies, his voice is faint, a distant quality to it as he
says, "No. I will not." The shivering subsides, by degrees, until he is subjected to only the
occasional, mild tremor. "Ah. Yes. It did. She was...Wroth."

As you starts shaking Aeldra reaches instinctively out and hugs your neck as best as she can. "She's
one certainly capable of that, yes. All of the elders are, though we may at times forget." her
emerald eyes shimmer with sympathy for the kephera as she says "And yet, the fact taht you are here
to speak with me, not cursed nor afflicted with maladies, speaks that Her wrath upon you was not so
great that she would've punished you such." she shakes her head "As it is, what can I do for you my
dear friend?" she whispers.

 "I can scarce believe that She could have been more furious with me, but I imagine
that is indicative of the depths of both my lack of understanding of the Elders, and of their
capacity for emotion." Avaris replies quietly, colour seeping gradually back into his antennae, like
ink blotting parchment. "You are doing much merely by being kind, Aeldra. I thank you for that. You
are a good person, and a true friend."

The hint of a smile returning to her lips Aeldra replies "We are all, often, at lack of
understanding as to how the Elders feel. We do tend all to forget that we are shards of what They
are, so many of the things we feel, do and make, apply to them on a much grander scale. Plus, they
have had thousands of years of experience, I would think that They feel some pattern repeat too
often and sometimes react on things that, while right now pertaining to us, have been caused by
things that happened way before we were even born." she sighs then, adding to your statement on
kindness "the least I can do, that's what we have friends for."

 The sharp, gleaming point of Avaris's chin drifts into the spray of thick, white
strands that make up his mane as he nods. "That seems likely. They are...Sensitive, in ways.
Touching upon the wrong topic, speaking the wrong word, or acting in a certain way can evoke
millenia of emotion that erupts all at once. There is a volatility to Them all, even the Lady
Empyreal, in Her way."

Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you ask, "But enough of that. Are you feeling more secure in
remaining here, or are you still torn?"

Aeldra nods in assent to your words "Yes, even our Lady has topics that summon forth the memories of
ancient days and ancient betrayals that linger upon Her like it does on others." upon your second
question, she folds her hands on her lap upon your shoulder, stating "I shall remain here, yes. I
will not see Celest fall to the darkness that is willing to consume it so easily and if I can remind
its citizens just a tiny bit of what the Light of Celest used to mean, then it is worth it." A long,
sad sigh escapes her before she can react "Though I will always be a child of both nations, Avaris.
The forest will always call for me and when times are dark the chance that my eyes would wander back
to its endless trees is there. But longing for something that is in the past, does not mean to give
in to the same thing."

 Avaris lifts his upper right hand to clench it into a fist, the motion decisive,
approval warming the chords of his layered voice. "Ah! That is most excellent to hear! I had hoped
that you would see true, given time. What prompted this clarity of purpose?"

Aeldra taps her nose thoughtfully, "Two things really. One was a conversation that I had with Lorina
and Nelras. At the time I was still torn where I would go, but they sparked something in me." she
shakes her head slightly, "later that night I could not sleep and found myself wandering to the
Cults altar. I love that spot beneath the Magnolia Tree. It gives me peace to be there." she smiles
slightly, "I was going through the letters I had received and discovered something very surprising.
One of the few persons in the city that I believed most oblivious to the issues we were facing
stated the same problems that I saw. It was then that I fully realized that giving up upon the city
and upon the people was a decision that I would not justify." A sudden tear rolls down her left eye,
but she's quick to catch it and wipe it away "I can not believe that my heart would falter so
easily, Avaris. I've put a lot of doubt and shame upon myself, I've showed a lot of lack where I
should've showed strength." her voice shakes suddenly as she speaks those words and her gaze turns
distant and skywards "I hope that I'll one day be able to forgive myself for my lacking of so many
things."

 Avaris lifts a hand to tentatively pat the flat of his two forefingers upon
Aeldra's shoulder, taking great care not to bring the clawed points near Aeldra's flesh. "Ah. I am
sorry, Aeldra. I did not mean to upset you." Withdrawing his attempt at comfort, he lapses into an
awkward silence for a time, then ventures, "I think we all falter in our path, at one point or
another. So long as we do not stumble in our faith in the Lady, all will be well. She is used to the
failings of lesser beings, I am sure."

Aeldra smile again at your words and touch, "I... know. And yet, am Her Avatar, Avaris. I should be
" she trails off, thoughtfully "more secure in my ways."

 Avaris's silence, this time, is a contemplative one, in which he lifts his head to
gaze at the facsimiles of stars that populate the garden, their light reflects in the seven blue
orbs that are studded into the visor of his face. With the measured, careful intonation of one
choosing his words deliberately, he says, "You should. I will not disagree to save your feelings,
for you deserve better. You are Her hand, and Her voice. She should know that She can rely on you
utterly, eternally, without doubt." Breathing out a slow breath, he continues, not ungently "But you
will be better, going forward. She deserves no less, and you are fully capable of it. I have faith,
Aeldra."

Aeldra nods softly at you "nor would I expect you to soften your words, my friend. Yes, I've messed
this one up and I suspect Her silence on the matter so far is reflection upon Her own feelings on
the matter." she shakes her head, "But yes, I will strife to do better, if She'll let me."

 Avaris nods in an easy manner, unperturbed. "She has not cast you out, or stripped
you of your Cult, or your status as Her Avatar. That is answer in itself."

Aeldra nods quietly, contemplative in her answer "I suppose. Though I can not be certain till She
has spoken with me. We will see my dear friend."

Lady Aeldra Ladyn, of Cerulean Waters says to you, "But I'll not lose heart. She'll do what She
chooses is best for Her and Hers. And I'll continue to follow my path as I have."

 The curved edges of Avaris's bladed crests glint in the simulated stellar light as
he shakes his head firmly, his voice certain. "No. You would know. Her displeasure is not a thing
You can hide from, or be unaware of. If She was truly angry with you, you would be certain beyond
any doubt." The ensuing nod is more at ease, the sanguine hues of his antennae fully restored as he
agrees, "She will."

Aeldra nods softly at you, "I think I will seek Her out soon to speak with Her. I hope that She may
be able to help me help the city and help me figure out how a situation as the last one can be
avoided in the future. She's so wise, I hope She'll let me draw upon that Wisdom."

 The layered ridges of Avaris's lift as he angles his head in a thoughtful manner.
"Perhaps. I am beginning to learn that the Lady prefers to see us grow and help ourselves, with
little direct involvement beyond encouragement. She will, assuredly, provide Wisdom. She is not a
miser when it comes to that, certainly."


Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you ask, "How is Cheliyi settling in, with the Order?"

Aeldra nods quietly at you. "So far as I can tell she's totally overjoyed. But then, Tavi will do
that for you as will Her attention. She's welcomed Cheliyi into the order proper and I feel Cheliyi
is finally realizing she's now home."

 Avaris's chin lifts back slightly as he lets out a quiet sound of comprehension.
"You know, I have never spoken with Tavi. She seems very much beloved by all. She must be a very
sweet being." The layered sets of his wings shift minutely, resettling into a more comfortable
configuration. "She has progressed swiftly. She has a good heart, and is a gentle soul. She will do
very well, I think. I anticipate her earning much of the Lady's favour, in time."

Aeldra rises an eyebrow slightly at your mention of never having met Tavi. "You need to rectify that
Avaris. Tavi is an absolute delight and you need to meet her. She's very much a very innocent little
thing, and a joy to all."

Lady Aeldra Ladyn, of Cerulean Waters says to you, "I think I should go home for a little bit and
reflect upon what was being said. Thank you for being my friend, Avaris. And know may you know that
my door is always open to you."

Aeldra flutters up from your shoulder hovering in front of you for a moment.

 Avaris lifts a hand to pass it through the air in a slow arc, shaking his head. "It
is alright. I do not do well with those of gentler dispositions. I think it is for the best that I
do not meet her. I do, however, believe that she should be instructed in self defense, moreso now,
that she is permitted outside the Lady's realm." Turning his head towards Aeldra, the blue spheres
of his inhuman eyes glitter with faint light. "I was just about to return to my meditations, so that
works well."

Aeldra rests her hands upon you, solemnly speaking, "May the purest waters cleanse your soul and may
the Light fortify it against the darkness." Hearing the sound of water, a wave of emotion rushes
through the touch of Aeldra's hands, filling you with strength and hope.

Voice resonating with choral harmonics, you say, "Ah. Thank you for...That. I hope that your
reflection proves fruitful, Aeldra."

Lady Aeldra Ladyn, of Cerulean Waters says, "Am certain it will, dear."

Aeldra waves goodbye.