Prayer for Serenity

You trace the path laid out by the wildflowers, vibrant colour suffusing the air and obstructing
your vision in an array of rainbow hues before the vision passes and you find yourself somewhere
else.

The Fulcrux of Maylea.
Branches twine overhead, the ambient light filtering through the thick, vibrant green canopy to
dapple this copse of young beeches in flecks of brilliant gold. In the shade cast by the leaves,
bluebells have grown across the ground so thickly that the sky might be dwelling underneath the
trees. Each delicate blossom shimmers faintly with a hidden power, beautiful and ethereal in nature.
Where the beeches stand aside to form a grove of vibrant blue, the flowers soften each footstep to a
whisper of sound, and even the trees seem to bow quietly towards the shrine placed at its centre,
which is adorned by a single, golden peach. Outside of the grove, the bluebells fall away gracefully
from a colourful path of vibrant, low-lying wildflowers that passes seamlessly into the aether.
Light arcs across the surface of a standing stone at the centre of the grove, bending in shifting
patterns of colour.
You see a single exit leading through a path of wildflowers.

Stepping off the path into the Fulcrux proper, Avaris comes to an abrupt halt with
one huge, taloned foot poised awkwardly in the air as he stares down at the flowers underfoot.
Tracking his gaze up towards the shrine, he breathes a faint, resigned sigh, and gingerly proceeds,
striving to avoid placing his chitinous feet atop as many flowers as possible.

Hewn directly from the face of the mountains, this standing stone is a plain shaft of granite carved
into the shape of an obelisk. Scrolling script winds around the stone in elegant spirals, each
letter softly glowing although the words are indecipherable. The light gathers strangely around the
unknown lines of verse as though drawn to the words, playing across the bare rock in arcs that bend
and split into prismatic colours. A single golden peach sits at the base of the stone, shimmering
with light.

Studying the shrine intently for a time, Avaris's attention lingers upon the peach,
absently lifting a hand to glance between the aureate, gleaming surface of his burnished plating, to
the golden fruit, his manner curious. At length, he bends at the waist in a formal bow, antennae
twitching ceaselessly.

Kneeling humbly, you press your palms together before you and close your eyes momentarily as you
pray devoutly to Maylea, Bloom of Serenity, "[A courteous, somewhat resigned presence makes itself
known in a polite, faintly awkward manner.] Greetings, Bloom of Serenity. I do not think that You
will know me. I am Avaris, of New Celest, blessed by Purity in the Lady Empyreal's Order. I realise
that Your home and mine are placed in opposition to one another, presently, but frankly, that does
not matter to me, given the scale of the problem at hand. You are likely aware of the release of
Lady Li-varili from Her imprisonment within the Morokeche Seat, so I will not waste Your time with a
summation. I would, however, urge You to be wary of Her - She is dangerous, Lady, and terribly
ambitious. She has set Her sights on everything, and I do not think there is much that She will not
do to attain it. Treat Her honeyed words as if they are poisoned, for that is invariably what they
will be, if She comes to You. [A subtle shift, wherein there is a stirring of anger, directed
elsewhere.] I apologise if this is asking too much of You, but I have read that You have something
of a history of enmity with the Silent Lord. His creatures have infected the Light and its people,
and I would drive them out - But I am only one, set against many, and I would arm myself with as
much knowledge as I am able. Would You have any advice to grant me on how to deal with Him, and His?
[The presence does not recede, rather lapses into an awkward, indecisive silence, rife with the
sense of inner debate - The wrestling of curiosity, caution, and a soul-deep determination Finally,
resolve.] This is not a matter of urgency, as the others that I spoke of, but to me, just as
important. I have seen You, in the Empyreal's memories. I think that You and She were friends, once,
but I sense that something happened to create a rift between the two of You. I understand that this
is likely a personal matter, and You have no reason to indulge me, but...Would You tell me of how
You knew one another, and perhaps how You feel towards Her presently?".

Rising from his bow in a peculiar mixture of elegance and discomfort, Avaris turns
and, once more, picks his way delicately through the field of flowers, wings spread wide to provide
extra balance.

((Leaves))

You think to yourself: A sense of relief, swiftly replaced by a whispering sense of guilt. "I hope
this will not get me into too much trouble."