Maylea steps quietly into view, the air bending with a swirl of prismatic colours.

Her golden eyes examining the lodge, Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "You certainly enjoy being here, little one."

Decorated hunting lodge.
Superimposed over this location, an ethereal forest reaches up to the sky. Comprising a single large chamber, this hunting lodge is tall and grand and constructed with much love and attention. A number of tree trunks, bark and all, have been stacked up in a criss-cross pattern to form the walls of the lodge, the cracks caulked with dense, earth-hued clay. Carved into the trunks are images of the fauna of the forest: Squirrels dancing beside acorns, bucks and does in mid-leap as they frolic, frogs resting upon leaves and vines carved in winding trelisses along the wall, silvery salmon swimming along currents, fireflies blinking in the form of glittering gems. Two square windows have been sawn into the walls, facing one another and open to the air outside. Their frame has been painted a lovely emerald, inscribed with images of Moon in all her phases. Around the chamber, various racks and shelves have been placed for working of catches and storage of tools and ritual items. Overhead, several trophies of the hunt have been mounted; some have left offerings and mementos of honour to those same prey who gave the hunters a good chase.
You see a single exit leading south.

You have emoted: Faythe blinks, startled from her thoughts as she stares at a firefly carving on the wall. She turns, to look up at Maylea.

You have emoted: Faythe smiles slowly at Maylea. "I consider it my home," she admits.

You say, "As much as I may have one."

You have emoted: Faythe's fingers trail along the carving before dropping away.

Maylea's golden eyes rise to the walls, the carven trunks. "I see dedication here, and skill, and art." She lifts a hand to trail along the wooden surfaces, leaving swirls of colour behind that fade slowly. "And I see betrayal, absence."

Naevari tells you, "I was wondering, Faythe... Would you be free to discuss the Allied Tribes? If it's not a good time, I understand."

You tell Naevari, "Oh, Naevari. I would love to speak with you - ah, perhaps in a day?"

Naevari tells you, "Yes. Of course. Take your time."

You have emoted: Faythe nods, quietly watching Maylea examine the Lodge. "You may remember her... a woman named Nirena Leafsmith built this place." She pushes a stray hair away from her face. "She  built it as a memorial to the Serenguard. She wanted to be one, once, but the guilds fell." She  turns to look at the carvings again. "She learned the skill of extracting poisons from a family member - her uncle? I do not quite recall, but she served to help the Serenwilde with milking the poison from the rattlesnakes you see in the Forest, from time to time."

You say, "She said she wanted to honor the Tribes."

You have emoted: Faythe rests her hand against the wall again, calloused fingers grazing over the surface. "That was before her participation in... " She takes a breath. "Before she was overcome and left. She vanished... I found out she has been dwelling in the Magnagoran prisons for years."

Maylea turns Her gaze to you. "You believe she was overcome?" Her voice is soft, curious.

You say, "She was accused of being a follower of Ghani n'Rotri. I was not fully present during those times, but I remember that many were overcome by madness - some truly supported Ghani, some did not."

You sigh, "I wanted to give Nirena a benefit of the doubt. A fair trial. I wrote a letter to Magnagora's Warlady, asking that she at least be given a trial. To be locked away in a dungeon, for over fifty years?"

You have emoted: Faythe shakes her head slowly. "No one really remembers her."

You have emoted: Faythe turns and looks at Maylea.

You say, "I remember her."

Maylea smiles gently. She cups Her hands, and a small glow issues from them, soft blue like the shade of forget-me-nots. "It is good to be remembered." The Goddess steps closer. "She leaves a mark on you."

You have emoted: Faythe hesitates, and then smiles at Maylea as She approaches. "She does," she admits freely. "In part because I identified with her so much. In part, because I wonder, if she  truly betrayed us. In part, because... because at first it just seemed that she vanished and moved to Magnagora." Her expression flickers, emotion rising in her olive-green eyes. "Echoes of an echo from my past. You said the last time we spoke here, that I had been hurt. You were correct. Part of that, was a betrayal, to Magnagora."

The body of Lord Zitto Shevat, a Servant Renewed appears in a flash and his soul descends to fill it, causing the previously expressionless face to fill with emotion.

Lord Zitto Shevat, a Servant Renewed says, "Pardon me, showing myself out."

As Zitto departs to the south, the sense of warm serenity fades, leaving you colder in comparison.

Maylea's eyes grow dark. She turns to gaze south for a moment before returning Her gaze to you. "By this Nirena?"

You think to yourself: *an image a man, the visage blurred and distorted from time rises unbidden, flickering with dark hues and tinged with sadness*.

You have emoted: Faythe pauses, and takes a breath. She opens her mouth to respond, and then hesitates again. Finally, she replies, "Someone else..."

Maylea reaches out to tenderly cup your cheek in Her hand.

Maylea murmurs softly. "The colours of pain rise in you, like the flickering of night." Her palm is cool against your cheek, sending shivers through your form.

You have emoted: Faythe hesitates again, her gaze flickering, olive-green eyes darkening to a muddy green. She closes her eyes as Maylea cups her cheek. "It was so long ago... I had been afraid to love anyone. And he knew my fears, all of them. And he somehow got me to love him. I do believe he loved me as well." Her voice is hoarse, and soft. "From what I can remember, he was upset, and stagnant in his growth at home. He was restless, wanted to leave. We were at war with Magnagora, and he left to join them."

You say, "He did not even think to... speak to me, of his thoughts. And he was genuinely shocked when I refused to continue to be with him, as I was in the Serenwilde, and he was in Magnagora, who it seemed had also betrayed us and was betraying the Basin during that time of Ascension."

You whisper, "I can't remember his face so well, anymore... but I remember, his warmth. His smile. The way he called me Fay. No one else ever called me that."

You have emoted: Faythe opens her eyes slowly to look at Maylea, tears shimmering, but not falling.

You whisper, "I fell to slumber for a long time and came back... and he was gone. Completely gone."

You say, "And I was alone again."

Maylea withdraws Her hand, Her golden eyes examining you. She walks about you, sari shifting and rustling. "Would you rather his thread still stretched across time, and you saw him still enwreathed in that which is odious to you?" Her voice bears a gentle sadness.

You have emoted: Faythe directs her gaze to the ceiling, which swims in her vision through her tears. "I would... want him to be happy," she replies softly. "For the love I bore him once, and he bore me." She blinks rapidly, as though willing the tears away. "It is not that I... hate, him... or Magnagora... they are what they are... I just..." She takes a breath. "It was the betrayal."

Maylea leans in to kiss you on the forehead. At the contact, you sense deep regret, not yours. And anger, tinged with that familiar sense, the dark colours of betrayal. The walls of the lodge appear to be steeped in colours, laced with that same darkness in filamentous strands. When the Goddess draws back, you are yourself again, and your vision is clear.

You have emoted: Faythe's breathing slows, turning her gaze to Maylea as her vision returns. Her hand is clenched, resting over her heart over a radiant armoured jacket of springtime.

You whisper, "And yet now... even with the tinges of betrayal, his love that shrouds my heart... I am more than I knew I was."

You have emoted: Faythe attempts to smile at Maylea.

Maylea lays a hand upon the carvings of does and bucks in mid-leap. "It is a good home, My dear." She whispers softly, "Your lives are shorter, and even in that briefness, you burst with colour."  Her golden voice drops to a mere hint of sound. "He is gone. You are more than you knew you were."

You have emoted: Faythe looks down at her feet for a moment, swallowing as she closes her eyes and wipes the heel of her palm across her eyes. When she lifts her gaze again, her eyes are clear and  steady. "He is gone... and I have gone down a new path. It is twisting and wending, and I cannot always see ahead of me, but it is exhilarating. I am returning, to who I was meant to be."

You say, "I can see so much... so much color."

You think to yourself: *the faintest memory of spinning in a field swept with bluebell flowers, before a giant standing stone. Every color, colors with and with no name, sparkle and shine with the motion before everything returns as it was*.

You have emoted: Her gaze flaring brightly, Faythe smiles to herself.

Maylea breaks into a smile at you. "Yes you do, little one."

Turning, the Goddess draws aside a fold in reality, shimmering with every colour that has a name and that is nameless. She steps through and is gone, leaving only reflections of the prismatic light for a brief moment upon the lodge's walls and against your skin.

You have emoted: Faythe sighs, her fingers lifting to brush against the sparkles of light as they fade.

You smile softly.