A Tale, Told

You ponder for a moment and say "Hrm..."

A clump of seaweed in the form of a dolphin glides in from the southwest.

look
The Pool of Stars.
This location is flooded with shallow, crystal clear water. Meeting in the radiant heart of New Celest,
the broad city streets come together in a large, open plaza of marbled stone. Rising in the centre of
the plaza is a structure of noble and luminescent pillars which suspend a round, ring-shaped platform
twenty feet above the light-studded surface of the pool below. The atmosphere within the structure and
around the pool bristles with a warm, electrical energy, giving a slightly disorienting sense of
dizziness and euphoria. A gradually ascending stairway winds its way about the inside of the pillars,
leading towards the upper level of the structure and offering a bird's eye view of the pool. There are
2 marble benches with emerald insets here. An enormously wide circular pool, as dark as the night sky,
glitters softly between the columns. His form suffused with soft light, the Keeper of the Pool of Stars
stands here attentively. A statue of Zenobia the Queen of Queens stands here, memorializing her noble
spirit. There are 5 archons of Eternal Light here. An imposing sword of radiant white metal has been
driven deep into the ground in a silent statement of intent. A mosaic tiled chest stands here, ready to
share donations given. A golden retriever is here, panting quietly to himself. There are 5 cavaliers of
the Light here. There are 6 Kusalas of the Tahtetso here. In the shape of an open palm, a metallic
sigil lies here. Glowing gently with a soft blue light, a delicate dreamcatcher has been permanently
hung here. A dead rat has been left here. Nalurei stands here, her seaweed form in the shape of a
dolphin.
You see exits leading north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest, and up
(open door).
blink
You blink.

You say to Nalurei, "Oh, hello there."

Nalurei flashes a dolphin grin at you. "Hello!"

You say to Nalurei, "Would you like a tart? It is apparently of my face because Gurashi thought it was
a shame I did not have any statues of myself."


As the sun passes below the horizon's edge, Mother Night unveils her terrible, shadowy beauty,
spreading darkness across the land.

The distant, soft chiming of a bell echoes across the city, its beatific ring washing down the streets
in a warm, welcoming voice.

Nalurei opens her mouth, then shuts it again. "Oh, well, -now- I want one."

give tart to nalurei
You give a lucidian-inspired sparkleberry tart to Nalurei.

The pulsing beam from New Celest's lighthouse surges brilliantly, a shining beacon of hope that cuts
through the night sky across the entirety of the Basin of Life.

Nalurei holds the tart carefully in her fins, glancing between it and you with a pensive expression on
her dolphin features.

You say, "Tarts are somewhat less... ENDURING than sculpture, but generally a great deal tastier."

You say, "... I will neither admit to nor deny licking statues when feeling especially tired."

Thoughtfully, Nalurei says, "Gurashi does have a talent for sculpting with food. I could wish..." She
trails off, and smiles "That depends on the sculpture! Food has its purposes, and if shape and function
harmonise, it is still beautiful." She eyes you curiously "is that a lucidian thing?"

Across the heavens, the stars and moon challenge night's dark reign, revealing familiar constellations
that tell the tales of myth and legend.

Distant cat calls echo through the city as toms make their rounds through the streets.

You say, "I don't... think so? ... I was just very sick that day."

You cough softly.

Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars tilts his head back and looks up at the sky.

Nalurei takes a nibble from the tart, canting her head to one side. "How is your arm?"

look me
He is a crystalline lucidian tidebourne demigod and his body is a strange combination of colours. Most
of him is a deep violet colour, while his left arm is a combination of oceanic shades of deep blues and
greens, shifting in a rhythmic, tidally slow dance. In addition, it appears that his fingers of his
left hand, including his thumb, have an extra joint, tapering off to sharp- but not narrow- points. He
doesn't have hair so much as sculpted spikes of crystal, flaring back along his skull almost like
plumage. He also presents an odd form of heterochromia in his eyes, with his right eye simply being a
somewhat darker violet as much of his crystalline flesh, while his left eye is broken up into three
jagged sections, each approximately a third of the visible surface of his eye, showing amber, emerald
and opal segments, with pupils occupying both the emerald and amber. A shifting pearlescence graces his
skin as he walks with the truefavour of Carakhan, Sculptor of Waves.

The beacons atop the city towers briefly throb with a pure white light, casting their lambency upon the
dark streets beneath.

The gentle lapping of the Inner Sea colliding with the city walls washes over the streets, accompanied
by a whip of salty air.

You have emoted: Tridemon blinks for a moment, before shifting his gaze over to his left arm, his left
eye rotating slightly to bring the pupil set in emerald into focus. He only hesitates a moment before
rolling up the sleeve, revealing the oceanic hues of dark blues and greens that now permeate his arm...
and the prayer beads that ended up partially embedded in the crystalline flesh there. "It feels much
better... although the beads feel a touch odd during certain movements."

Midnight shadows coalesce around a new day, and Mother Night embraces the land in utter darkness.
It is now the 9th of Vestian, 553 years after the Coming of Estarra.

Aural Tildarmin yells, "Don't forget to breed turtles in the Inner Sea! Their population is imperative
to Celest!"

Nalurei dips her head down to look at the beads. "I am glad that it does not pain you." She says,
thoughtful.

Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars lays his hands on the Pool of Stars and is enveloped in a cosmic
dance of swirling lights. He nods to himself after a moment and draws his hands back, the pinpoints of
light fading away.
A gentle melody begins to sound throughout the area, like raindrops upon the ground.

Curiously, Nalurei says, "Someday, I would be interested to hear the tale of what first caused it. If
you were willing to tell it."

You have emoted: Tridemon gives a small shrug, not bothering to roll down his sleeve just yet, before
glancing over at his arm again with a slight frown. "Well... what I remember isn't necessarily what
actually happened, mind. The Portal of Fate is can be weird like that. But if you would like to hear, I
can just tell you. It's no great secret."

The lonely call of an albatross carries from the Inner Sea.

The horizon glows with burnished shades of orange and red, heralding the imminent arrival of Father Sun
upon the rim of the world.

Nalurei nods her head. "So I have heard. I would like to hear."

You have emoted: Tridemon stares off into the distance for a few moments, his left eye rotating again
to bring the pupil in amber into focus. "Once, a long time ago since mortals count centuries as being
long, I was a child in the village of Talthos." He begins, streaks of nostalgic rose tinting his body
briefly, though oddly none of it touches his left arm. "Much of daily life was quite hazy- it might be
the passage of time, interference from the Portal of Fate, or the simple fact that I was around the age
of twelve. Most of what I remember was gemstones, endless gemstones and spires and twists of crystal,
being brought in to be processed and changed..."

A charge of energy flows through your soul.

Glorious rays of morning light burst forth from Father Sun's crown as it peeks over the world's edge,
announcing a bright and shining new dawn.

Nalurei listens quietly, glancing up and around herself as if searching for the gemstones and crystal,
her gaze instead resting upon the glittering Pool of Stars for a long moment.

You have emoted: Tridemon looks up to the sky, turning a hazy gray for a few moments before returning
to his usual purple coloration. "Children get into mischief, and do things that they are told not to.
In this case... I remember having a little sister. I do not remember her name, or her face, and as far
as I have been able to ascertain, never actually existed at all. But it was her very favorite toy, a
special twist of crystal that was opal and amber and emerald all together that she was playing with,
near the resonators."

Nalurei absently takes another bite out of the tart, consuming the kiwi eye as she listens.

You say, "She wasn't supposed to be playing there, really. She shouldn't have let it fall in, and I
shouldn't have reached in to fetch it for her when she did. I don't blame her for it- never, not even
in the memories I have of her immediately afterward. But actions carry with them consequences, and
getting my arm caught in the resonators as they were activating was one such consequence."

Nalurei winces, letting out a sympathetic hiss at the thought of the accident.

You have emoted: Tridemon closes his eyes in remembrance, a grimace briefly passing over his face.
"That kind of pain... having my very flesh rearranged and changed into something other, the sheer
WRONGNESS of it... I don't really have the words for it." He opens his eyes after a moment. "The first
few days were the worst, of course. But forever after, there was an echo in it. Of the change, of the
wrongness, of the otherness... and it was pain." He continues, keeping his voice even, although his
left hand has begun to clench around his staff, only stopping when he notices a light creaking noise.

The sun reaches the zenith of the firmament, pausing in his quest to allow the land to bask in his
shining golden rays.

A tendril of kelp unweaves from Nalurei's flipper, reaching across to rest gently upon your left
forearm. Damp with seawater, it rests there, not quite touching the prayer beads.

You say, "From then on... it's still hazy what happened. But the one constant was that it hurt. Until
the day that I stepped through the Portal. I wanted it to be done with. I remember. As I stepped
through, I wanted the pain to cease. And to ease the pain of others. And when I woke up... Here I was.
In Celest. On the path to Aquamancy."

A quiet kitten's mew sounds out nearby.

A deeply harmonic mantra fills the air as monks chant reverentially close-by.

You have emoted: Tridemon continues to think for a while. "Just being around the proper energies made
things better, you know. But the true breakthrough was when I could channel it for myself. It was...
pure relief. The pain was still there. Muted. Much, much muted. And it was the Pure Waters that had
done it for me."

Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars tilts his head back and looks up at the sky.

The Mantle of Starlight flows gently against your form, twinkling stars shifting across its surface as
the starry infinity continues its eternal motion.

You say to Nalurei, "After that... centuries. Pains and pleasures and passions, with a single thread.
The Pure Waters were to be kept pure. Defended and cleansed, again and again, from those who would
exploit them, Taint them, abuse them."

Continuing the hunt for his dark mate, Father Sun presses forward in his journey, lowering himself in
the sky yet still casting even, full light upon the land.

You have emoted: Tridemon shakes his head. "You know, I am... very bad at asking for help. But it
wasn't until I actually got help from others that the pain was finally done. Gone. Hopefully forever,
now."

Small rivulets of crystal clear water trace patterns in the ground, pulsing with a powerful Aquamantic
energy.

Nalurei leans closer to you as she listens. "I am glad that community offered what you had trouble
asking for." She says quietly. "I hope that should the pain ever return, you will have learned to ask."
The strand of kelp reaches up to trace along the beads. "Though I do not see why the pain should
return."

A cavalier of the Light says, "Stay strong in the Light, Gabe."

Gabe beams broadly at you.

Gabe covers her ears and closes her eyes. As she reopens her eyes, a look of wonder is struck onto her
face.

Gabe bows respectfully to Nalurei.

Nalurei offers a dolphin bow to Gabe.

Gabe smiles softly.

Gabe Ladyn asks, "Oh?"

You have emoted: Tridemon nods at Nalurei, looking over the beads again. "I seriously doubt that the
pain will ever return, yes... unless something truly terrible happens, which is not entirely outside
the realms of possibility, though it seems to be less than likely." He says before waving hello to
Gabe.

A cavalier of the Light says, "Let me know if you need my assistance, Gabe."

Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars looks up for a moment and glances around, his piercing eyes
scanning the plaza.

A group of iridescent bubbles silently floats past on a sea breeze.

Nalurei blinks, glancing after the departing Gabe with some curiosity, before turning her attention
back to Tridemon. "Thank you for telling me the tale."

As the sun passes below the horizon's edge, Mother Night unveils her terrible, shadowy beauty,
spreading darkness across the land.

You have emoted: Tridemon shrugs a bit. "Never really told the whole thing to anyone before now. I
mean, there are those who are aware that my arm was in pain for a very long time, but not the reasons
why... I think."

Nalurei says, "Then I am honoured." She smiles. "You are good at telling tales, and painting pictures
with your words as beautifully as with your brush."

With a self conscious laugh, Nalurei says, "I cannot say that I have had much success with painting as
a medium, inspired as I have been by your gifts."

Across the heavens, the stars and moon challenge night's dark reign, revealing familiar constellations
that tell the tales of myth and legend.

The pulsing beam from New Celest's lighthouse surges brilliantly, a shining beacon of hope that cuts
through the night sky across the entirety of the Basin of Life.

Motes of celestial cosmic energy flicker gently above the darkened city, flaring upwards from the
spires of the Deep Blue Cathedral.

You say, "Well, I've had a bit more experience with handling brushes and such, getting the tints where
they're supposed to go on the canvas. And with actually mixing the tints themselves, I suppose. It's a
bit odd that there's only one tint that uses anything from the ocean, and it's brown."

Soft mewlings betray a kitten crying for its mother somewhere nearby.

You ponder the situation.

Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars tilts his head back and looks up at the sky.

You say to Nalurei, "My advice, if it can be called that, is to start from the beginning. Learn to mix
your tints and paints, and keep to it until you can make the exact colors you want. Having the right
colors is a big part of a proper depiction."

Nalurei tilts her head, considering. "I have never really thought of where the tints came from, or how
they were made. I will start there, then." She nods her head decisively, turning as if intending to
begins this very moment. "Thank you."