Serenity by the Forest Pools

Forest pools.
A rocky soil beneath the gathered silver birches allows deep puddles and pools of water to form beneath the trees. The water is not stagnant, flowing as it does slowly down in rivulets from northeast to southwest. Dragonflies dart across the pools, their bright bodies shining in the patchy light, whilst moorhens and wood pigeons bathe in the cool water. A mature hornbeam tree stands proudly here. Reaching up as high as the eye can see looms the awesome presence of a living totem. Effortlessly graceful, a brown-hued strix manifests here upon wings resplendent with pulsing silver motes, its wise gaze unblinking.
You see exits leading northeast, southwest, and northwest.

Amidst the trickling of the water, a soft breeze rises, bringing with it the fragrance of wild blossoms.

Elexia's nose wrinkles and sniffs as the fragrance reaches her nose. She closes her eyes to breath the scent in deeply, holding the breath in her chest for a time before releasing it slowly, unhurriedly. Her pointed ears twitch to catch the sound of the whistling wind.

Elexia's eyes open, and she casts a glance abut her for the source of the smell carried by the breeze.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "My little one. You find peace by these pools?"

Comprehension flashes across Elexia's face as her jaw briefly drops. She closes it quickly as she smiles, dipping her head in affirmation. "I've oft enjoyed the trickle of the water. There's something so very soothing about it," she chimes.

Gesturing towards the Moon River to the south, you say, "The Serenwilde is full of wonderful spots to think, to write, to rest, but I always find myself drawn to the water time and time again."

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity emerges from the surroundings, as if every part of Her body had matched the exact colour of the land, the trees, the waters, the skies. As if She were stepping out of a painting. She draws Her sari about herself and smiles at you. With a brush of Her fingers, the soggy earth rises to form into a mud and moss mound, upon which She sits, Her golden eyes turning again to fix upon you.

Midnight shadows coalesce around a new day, and Mother Night embraces the land in utter darkness.

Forest pools.
A rocky soil beneath the gathered silver birches allows deep puddles and pools of water to form beneath the trees. The water is not stagnant, flowing as it does slowly down in rivulets from northeast to southwest. Dragonflies dart across the pools, their bright bodies shining in the patchy light, whilst moorhens and wood pigeons bathe in the cool water. A mature hornbeam tree stands proudly here. Reaching up as high as the eye can see looms the awesome presence of a living totem. Effortlessly graceful, a brown-hued strix manifests here upon wings resplendent with pulsing silver motes, its wise gaze unblinking. Maylea, Bloom of Serenity stands here, prismatic light swirling around Her.
You see exits leading northeast, southwest, and northwest.

l maylea

She is a radiant immortal and glows with effulgent life, a powerful sense of vibrancy emanating from Her presence. There is something thoughtful and introspective about Her expression and Her brilliant golden eyes, as though She gazes farther into the soul, brushing aside the impermanent layers of existence to seek the truth within. Streaks of deep blue wind through Her chestnut hair as it falls straight down Her back to the hips, several shorter locks dangling forward to frame Her heart-shaped face. A thin line crosses the skin of Her left forearm, the only remnant of the scar from a savage bite. An aura of power plays about Her slender frame and sets Her tawny skin aglow in faint, prismatic hues.
She is wearing:
a woven sari edged in prismatic embroidery
a trailing rainbow sash
an armband of twining vines
a sky-hued bluebell
a translucent crystal bindi
an anklet hung with crystal chimes.

As Maylea reveals Herself, Elexia rises from her seat, setting aside a notepad emblazoned with musical staves, and clasps her hands together. She bows respectfully to Maylea, her face a bright smile. She hesitates for a moment, glancing down to her seat, then back at Maylea. She fidgets once, then elects to sit back down after all. She takes a moment to fastidiously straighten a fiery daffodil sari.

You think to yourself: I - I think She would prefer I sit, yes, I think that's right... I should feel comfortable enough to.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says to you, "I just wished to visit with you." Her golden eyes seem to gaze into your soul. "You had given Me much to consider."

Elexia's eyes are wide and without guard as she looks into Maylea's own golden. She is clearly pleased by the visit, her fanning butterfly wings betraying her excitement even as the rest of her manages to remain relatively still. "I am always happy to see You, or hear You, Dear Lady," she chimes as she dips her head. "I pray you are well? Might I ask what you are meditating on?" She cants her head, violet eyes curious.

Maylea breaks into a smile. As She sits, the mound beneath her begins to slowly bloom in an array of colours. "Balian, you have seen and you have spoken of. He comes from the city of fire, of chaos, of freedom. Do you think he might walk the Way?" Her eyes remain upon you, like golden gems in the dark of night.

You think to yourself: Oh! Balian, of course...

Elexia's eyes are drawn to the blooming flowers spreading across the mound. Once more, she opens her mouth at the marvelous sight, but she manages to catch herself quickly this time and close it once more. She shifts slightly in her seat to straighten her posture before she chimes, "I believe he has the potential to." She nods her head, punctuating this affirmation. "We spoke for some time, and I told him of You, of Your special manner of painting us. Of what I know of the Truths, and of Colours. We also spoke much of him." She folds her hands in her lap. "I feel a sense of Communion with what he has felt. He knows some of himself, but knows there is yet more. And more than that, he feels..." She pauses for a moment. "A lack of Communion. Of true bonds, of belonging. And he thought, while speaking of You, that he began to feel a stirring within him. Something new, something more."

You say, "As if he might find a place where he can feel accepted, but more than that... Whole. Wholly himself."

Continuing to examine you, Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says to you, "He approaches then. That is something. Do you find communion with him, My dear?"

Swiveling her head slowly, a brown-hued strix with wings resplendent with pulsing silver motes fixes you with her enigmatic, unblinking gaze. <-- Love it when ambient beast emotes match up!

Bowing her head as she speaks, you say, "I do. I know not if his desire for Truth will be stifled by the flames of his surroundings. And, I know the Seekers of Illumination bear many secretive ideals, the likes of which I am not privy to and cannot judge the Perspective of in full understanding. Even so, I feel a Communion with his plight, and believe He can reach towards the Way."

You think to yourself: If one seeks the Truth, even in small steps, even in a place hostile to it, I think they should be nurtured. Otherwise, how will the world heal? By the planting, and nurturing of a seed... It is a hopeful thing.

You think to yourself: A flower, struggling for life and Brother Sun's rays as it desperately squirms through cracks in cold city streets.

Maylea nods at you. As She does, you feel Her eyes drawing away towards the waters. "I hear you, My little one, and I will see him for his spark. If he asks, you may tell him that I will approach him, or one of Mine." A breeze ruffles through her chestnut hair, causing the blue strands within to ripple.

Sunlight billows across the realm, revealing the full glory of the majestic sun's luminous presence as he climbs higher into the sky.

Elexia's smile grows bright at this news, and she dips her head - yet again - in gratitude. "Thank you, Dear Lady," she says as her beaming face wanes to a gentle smile. Her eyes watch Maylea's hair for a moment, following the blue streak, before then aligning with Maylea's own gaze towards the trickling waters. "I pray that he will find the Truth he seeks."

Turning Her gaze back to you, Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "Tell Me of Nocht?" Her voice is soft, without timbre. "You say He was here?"

Elexia's eyes follow the ripples in the water, but then she closes them. The breeze gently moves through her sable hair, and she reaches up a hand to tuck it back behind one of her pointed ears. "He was, while I was writing my poetry," she says as her eyes snap open. For a moment, her posture becomes uncomfortable and guarded, and she shifts about in her seat. But, a glance at Maylea is enough to soothe this apparent anxiety, and soon she answers, "I was in a spot my dear sister Lief used to favour, by some ancestral ruins in the Southern Serenwilde. I felt a breeze, and heard a gentle sigh..." She glances up the morning sky. "I thought it was the spirits of that place, and so I played them a song. And indeed, they were there, but so was He."

A hint of worry flashing across her face, you say, "While I played, he appeared beside me suddenly, and grabbed my hand. He guided it to play a terrible, shrieking chord, and the shadows about me seemed to quicken and stride forward. But..."

The anxiety leaves Elexia's face, replaced by a thoughtful frown.

You say, "He thanked me for the song, granted me favour, and then departed without anything more. While he startled me, surprised me... It was even more surprising to hear his gratitude. He hasn't spoken to me in a manner sounding so... honest and genuine, without bite, before."

Maylea reaches forward, Her fingertips touching your hand. You see a swirl of light where they connect with you. You feel a sense of sweet relief.

You think to yourself: I do wonder... why? Why do all of this? If He was truly grateful, then why the chord? I still don't quite understand it. Perhaps it is just something above a shard to know?

Elexia's breathing steadies, and her posture slouches ever-so-slightly as the relief floods her. Even her wings, fanning away as they are, grow still at the touch.

Maylea appears distracted, Her golden eyes filling with soft concern. "He broke your song, and yet He thanked you for it?" Her voice now rises with an edge of steel. You can almost see the blue-dark-silver of its hue, spat out like a dagger.

intensity in Maylea's voice appears to surprise Elexia for a brief moment. She does not appear afraid - or anxious - merely surprised. A meek smile comes to her face as she nods her head in reply. "He didn't harm me, but..." Her brow furrows as the smile fades in her thoughtfulness. "Do you know why he would do such a thing?" she asks, looking up at Maylea.

You think to yourself: I've never heard the Lady speak with such intensity before - Although of course I've read of Her in battle in Her book!

You think to yourself: I... I'm honoured that it is on my behalf.

The mound of moss and mud upon with Maylea sits is now entirely covered in green, speckled with tiny blossoms of many colours. She exhales, closing Her fingers about your hand, "My little one." She pauses, considering what to say next. "Be wary of Him, for He is not entirely Whom He was once upon a time. He carries - He carried..." She shakes Her head again, You feel Her fury in the grip upon your fingers. But you do not know Her mind.

Elexia watches Maylea with concern of her own as she frowns. "I... I will always be wary of Him," she replies with a bow of her head. Something else appears to be on her lips - a question - but she elects to keep it to herself for the time being. She hesitantly, slowly reaches out her other hand to lightly, gently touch Maylea's grip on her own. "My Lady..." she says quietly with worried eyes.

You think to yourself: Does She... Does She mean the Eye?

You think to yourself: I've only heard a little bit of it. That the Lord Charune used it to create the bridges of branches across the roads, reconnecting the Wood... And I remember when the Silent One stole it, She said... What did She say? ...I worry for Her.

Maylea draws back from you, as if suddenly realising the force of Her grip upon you. She shakes Her head, and it is as if a wash of colour has spilled into the world, where darkness had loomed a moment before. She laughs, Her voice light. "Little one, I worry for you. But do not worry for Me."

As Maylea withdraws and the darkness fades, relief washes over Elexia's visage and she manages to turn her worried frown into an anxious smile. "I... I am honoured that You would worry, Dear Lady," she says as her gaze falls bashfully to her feet. "...I trust You if you say I should not worry. And for me..." The faeling pauses for a moment as her eyes raise. She manages to clear some of the concern from her face long enough to say, "I am strong. I am... I will be wary."

You think to yourself: If She says I should not worry for Her... I shouldn't. I shouldn't! She's an Elder, the Lady of Serenity, Someone who journeyed through so many trials in a stretch of time I can't even comprehend.

Maylea carefully smooths the sari upon Her form. As She does, motes of light fall from the fabric. "You share kinship with this land, My blossom. I see the colours in you and around you..." Her golden eyes glimmer. "There are those who share kinship with no land of this First World. They are without colour. They are void."

You think to yourself: ...And yet... There's something nagging in my heart. She seemed so concerned, so suddenly... Is it not a Communion to worry when your beloved ones worry? But then, again, She's an Elder... I... I'll need to think on this for a time. But I do wish for Her to be safe.

At the edges of your memory, you sense the rising of ancestral spirits, you see yourself praying to Serenity, calling upon their images in your thoughts.

Elexia mouths the word 'void' silently, as if testing it upon her lips. Her brow knits together in contemplation as she asks. "The Void... Dear Lady, are these you speak of... the Soulless?" Her feet shuffle and rub against each other, as if she is wary to ask the concern. "Perhaps some... Some not bound? Or something else?" Something seems to take the faeling's attention for a moment, for she glances away - towards the south. Her gaze lingers for a moment, before she returns it to Maylea.

You think to yourself: ...I feel them, see them in my mind... Ever-present, even before I became a singer of spirits, before I touched my first lute or violin.

You think to yourself: Always there... When I first journeyed into battle, but also when I first strode into the Glomdoring in an attempt to sow the seeds of Glinshari and Ellindel. When I first stepped foot into Magnagora, terrified... And when the Silent came to me in the Wood, just a few Moons ago.

In spite of the gravity of the topic, Elexia's posture is soothed and she stills her fidgeting.

With a sigh, as if you had not asked your question, Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "Tell Me of your ancestors, My dear, those who dwell with you, those who walk with you in kinship."

As the question lays unanswered, Elexia makes no effort to chase it. She glances at her hands for a moment, the finger of one tracing the vines tattooed upon the back of the other while she gathers her thoughts. "The ancestors, the host, are a great many, and yet... I have bond with so many of them beyond speech." A gentle smile comes to her lips as her eyes raise. "Countless generations of Shelterfolk, restored by the Voice of Trialante. Forsaking reincarnation, forsaking all, that they might stay and guard us. Keep us, advise us." She holsd a hand over her heart. "I have sang for the spirits since I was very young. Whilst I have learned other ways of life, other paths, I am singer of spirits at my heart, and always will be. They seek to teach us, to align us with the ways which are right. And though they do not all agree - indeed, many are at odds - They all desire our well-being. And when I call, when I sing... They never fail to come to my aid."

Her eyes sparkling, you say, "Some, I know more of than others. I see flashes of life... Visions of who they were. What they did. Some, fallen in battle, others... peacefully. Some artists, druids, lovers of Fae... Others of unparalleled martial prowess, or masters of the hunt. I come to know each, and their stories, though oft I am bereft of their names, I feel I still know them as I do family."

Maylea breaks into a smile. "I would love to hear your poetry, your song, sometime, regarding those ancestors... whose names you do not know, but perhaps you will name." She stands, drawing Her sari close to Herself. The mound beneath her collapses, though the flowers remain.

Elexia stands as well, her hands folding in front of her as she nods her head eagerly. "I hope to bring what I have to the stage soon, Dear Lady," she says with a bow of her head. "I'm nearing halfway done with the piece, or at least what I believe to be halfway, but perhaps how much I want to say will surprise me!" She raises her head, eyes sparkling with amusement. "When my thoughts have met ink and parchment in full, I will pray to You to share my Expression."

Maylea takes a single step, and Her form fades in ripples of light and colour, as if She has stepped through a veil. When She is entirely gone, the sound of the trickling waters remain, and at your feet, a scatter of coloured blooms, some crushed, bearing seeds.

The touch brings a radiant smile to Elexia's face as she faeling looks at her goddess with adoration. As the Lady Maylea fades, the faeling's gaze still lingers for a time before she glances down at the flowers by her feet. A pondering look crosses her mien as she squats to look at them more closely. She extends a hand to brush her fingers against one of the ones that had been crushed.

The petals appear bruised, their colours fading to black, to the edged dark of blackened steel. But the seeds beside them nestle into the soil.

You think to yourself: Poor thing... Some of the blossoms will live, but others fall. And yet, even in those who fall, look - these seeds... In the death of some, new life is still brought to flourishing.

Elexia gently brings both hands to scoop up some of the forest's loam to cover the seeds even as they burrow deeper of their own accord.

You think to yourself: ...There is surely significance here, in this vision. From those who had died, new life will be brought up. It reminds me, in some ways, of my ancestors. The fallen ones who have guided me, kept me this far. Would I be here without them? Or would I have been lost in the wind as these seeds, scattered on the rocks?

You think to yourself: But this steely black... It calls to mind something else. Her voice. It was as if I could see Her voice then.

You think to yourself: ...I shouldn't have pressed further, surely, but ah - my curiousity, my tongue got the better of me. I should just heed Her words of warning.

Elexia nods to herself in apparent affirmation of something as she rises once more.

Elexia gingerly steps out from the circle of petals, carefully not to tread where the seeds burrowed.

Elexia retrieves her notebook, then settles down by one of the pools of water.

Elexia reaches into her satchel, retrieving a blanket and wrapping it about herself to stave off the cold.

You feel a slight tug within your chest and the air around you sparkles with motes of bright light.
Among the sparkling motes of light, a translucent figure appears in the air and then quickly solidifies as Millien comes into view.

Elexia smiles gently at Millien, exchanging an embrace with her sister as she chimes, "Hello hello, dear one!" The faeling sits near to one of the trickling pools of water here, wrapping up in a blanket to stave off the falling snow. "I pray you are well? Happy New Year!"

In a noticeable Southlands accent, Millien Myeras says, "I'm doin' alright."

In a noticeable Southlands accent, Millien Myeras says, "So, Cora's a Trill now."

"Heh heh heh" Millien chuckles.

In a noticeable Southlands accent, Millien Myeras says, "She saw me an' said I was cool again."

l bluebells
Almost imperceptibly, a scatter of bluebells blossom from the ground, pushing away the dying petals, pushing through the scatter of snow. Out of season, their colours are reminiscent of drops of water.

It takes a moment for Elexia to realize the bluebells pushing through the petals of the fallen. As soon as she sees them rising, growing, her breath catches and she watches transfixed. Falling silent, she rises from her feet and leaves a violet woollen blanket behind, stepping lightly and quietly upon the ground until she is near them. She lowers herself to her knees, reaching out a hand to lightly brush the vibrant bluebells. She breathes deeply of their fragrance, and her earlier contemplation is replaced with peace.

You think to yourself: A withering, a wilting... But followed by a more bright blossom than before.

In a noticeable Southlands accent, Millien Myeras says, "..Y'alright?"

You think to yourself: ...That I might be like these flowers. That all might be like them.

Elexia smiles gently as she looks over her shoulder to Millien. "I am," she says with serene sincerity. "I truly, truly am."

Forest pools.
A rocky soil beneath the gathered silver birches allows deep puddles and pools of water to form beneath the trees. The water is not stagnant, flowing as it does slowly down in rivulets from northeast to southwest. Dragonflies dart across the pools, their bright bodies shining in the patchy light, whilst moorhens and wood pigeons bathe in the cool water. A mature hornbeam tree stands proudly here. Reaching up as high as the eye can see looms the awesome presence of a living totem. Effortlessly graceful, a brown-hued strix manifests here upon wings resplendent with pulsing silver motes, its wise gaze unblinking. A scatter of bluebells grow up from the ground here, their curling petals vivid with colour. Millien Myeras is here.
You see exits leading northeast, southwest, and northwest.