"It's a kind thing, and will forgive you always."

<-- Me go home after busy hunty. Tridemon commented he thought he should take a look at Gurashi's brain to check up on things. Lotta big sad stuff happening and all that lately.

Tridemon pats you in a friendly manner.

Speaking quietly, you say, "...that was disorienting."

You begin to follow Tridemon.

You think to yourself: / *leaning forward* Finally. O-K - what's with that -sound-? I can't see anything amiss up here /.

<-- walkies
You follow Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters west to A round chamber.
A round chamber.
This location is flooded with shallow, crystal clear water. Leading from the living room to the east, the archway opens up into a round chamber that reaches up nearly thirty feet into the air. The floor is again made of the same golden, crystal-flecked and violet-whorled bamboo with its protective coating, but in this room there are also a series of depressions in the floor. The first is in the center of the room, and covered with a layer of bright orange padding with red poppies randomly distributed along the fabric. Directly next to that first depression is one that is significantly larger, with more padding, deep black and durable. A few more depressions with their own padding are interspersed throughout the space, though they have the same pattern to them- just pure white. In addition to being a different shape to the rest of the rooms of the house, the walls of this chamber are completely different from all the other rooms, as well- rather than wood leading up to decorative paper, or simply wood leading all the way up to the ceiling, the walls are covered in what look to be thousands and thousands of pieces of bright green jade, melded together and forming a tight weave resembling a wall of vines in an unbroken pattern, save for the archway that leads back to the living room. The jade vines themselves are not unadorned, either, with silvery script and symbols embedded directly into the material. Meditative mantras, defensive glyphs, symbols of concealment and reinforcement can all be found upon the lengths of interwoven jade vines. The ceiling in turn is also different from the rest of the house's theme. Instead of the blue stone tiles, the ceiling has taken on the luminous pigments of the sky of the Great Starry Sea, complete with deep, subtle, tidally slow pulses of aquamantic power washing down from above. Completely motionless, a slender leothin intently surveys its surroundings. Tridemon has an arm wrapped around Bizirik, the leothin, stroking her head consolingly. He wields a dazzling white staff crowned by a platinum pearl in his left hand.
You see a single exit leading east.

Tridemon settles down on one of the cushions not in the center of the room.

You have emoted: Gurashi follows slowly after Tridemon, gaze drifting around the room. He pauses at the door to remove his boots, setting them aside. Without being instructed, he settles down in the center cushion, sinking to sit on his knees, hands settling in his lap.

Bizirik, the leothin flops down onto the ground.

The depths of the dark of night herald a new beginning, and a new chance to make the world a little better.
It is now the 2nd of Roarkian, 560 years after the Coming of Estarra.
There are 12 days until the New Moon

Ocean waves echoing softly behind his voice, Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters says, "Now. Let's take a look at your mindscape, shall we?"

Quietly, you say to Tridemon, "O-K."

You think to yourself: / Yes - let's /.

You have emoted: Gurashi stares at Tridemon for a few bereft moments before shutting his eyes and bowing his head.

You think to yourself: ** ... a flicker of color that fades quickly, replaced with black. A few more attempts, each one a little clearer, but definitely a struggle. out of practice? or merely taking extra effort - unclear **.

Tridemon closes his eyes as well, watching you now through the eyes of psionic energy, regarding you calmly. "Remember the circle. This room is built to help you. Let it."

Softly, eyes shut, you say, "Know..."

You think to yourself: ** eventually, familiar shades of seafoam green and emerald. however, the vines you immediately notice are ... gnarlier. Twisted like a bean stalk's might, some even having wicked looking thorns growing from them in uneven patterns. some vines have even dug into the ground, causing what was once a smooth, reflective ebon surface to be covered in a myriad of rough cracks **.

You think to yourself: / *you can feel her, standing nearby, hands on her hips* O-K, so it is not -entirely- the same as last time /.

Tridemon moves his perspective into the circle, manifesting himself fully into the mindscape near one of the walls of vines. The cloud-like billow of the Mantle of Starlight wraps a little more closely around his body as he reaches out to touch the wall with his right hand, a bare hint of blue-violet light peeking out from his sleeve as his fingertips touch next to one of the thorns.

The sounds of unseen animals stirring for the coming day are audible behind the gentle whistling of the wind elsewhere in the manse.

You think to yourself: / *you feel her move to join you* Be careful - the last one got -mad- at me, if that makes sense? It-- /.

You think to yourself: ** as you lay your hand on the vine, it recoils reflexively, as if burned, or expecting to be.... a wash of mauve settles in over the mindscape, and the entire wall twists away from you, bending to make room and give you space **.

You think to yourself: / ..... /.

Tridemon watches the wall in silence for a small while, not lowering his hand. "... distrust."

You think to yourself: / *she lets out a little sound, and you can feel a wash of guilt radiate from her* ... why /.

You think to yourself: / Why is it moving away? /.

You think to yourself: ** the wall continues to evade touch, twisting, settling once it is at a safe distance ... you can see semblance of sand on the ground now, the wall expanding onto the beach **.

Tridemon lowers his hand finally to look at Khep for a moment. "I think... fear." He says, before turning his attention back to the wall of vines, and coming to a decision, letting a glowing chain of blue-violet crystal fall into his hand, dangling from his fingertips, bringing with it the shadows of memories- familial love and childhood. "Come back here, please." He addresses the vine, firmly.

You have emoted: Gurashi shrinks a little where he sits, tucking his chin to his chest, expression strained.

You think to yourself: / ... *a curious chitter* ? /.

You think to yourself: ** the vines remain stagnant, no longer retreating, but coming no closer. settled. safe **.

You think to yourself: ** another faint cracking sound, like a plate breaking **.

You think to yourself: / *her antennae bob* What's that? /.

Tridemon suddenly loses focus in his eyes and shudders, then looks curiously refreshed.
With a sprightly skip in her step, a simple house maid curtseys before departing to the east.
Tridemon makes a face, and holds up the chain, not giving an answer immediately. He regards the chain for a moment, before reaching to the link at the very end, and snapping it off, the rest of the chain returning to under his sleeve. "Memory, unyielding." He says simply, taking both hands and cupping them over the glowing blue-violet crystal. When he opens them, a blossom of crystal rests in his palm, which he sets in the place where the vine used to be rooted. It's not a specific memory- or if it is, it's very old. A memory of what it feels like to know that you are safe, and loved, without reservation.

The Mantle of Starlight shimmers and twinkles as the starlit darkness that it is formed of continues its eternal motion.

You think to yourself: ** ... confusion ... **.

You think to yourself: ** the vine remains uprooted, settled at its distance. but you can feel Gurashi watching, curious **.

You think to yourself: ** a single thornless tendril curls curiously, creeping ever closer **.

In the mindscape, Tridemon tilts his head slightly. "Go on, take it. It's a gift. And the giving does not lessen me." He assures you and the vine equally, stepping back from where he set the crystalline flower.

You think to yourself: ** the tendril settles before it gets too close, lashing side to side like a cat's tail might. Slowly, the wall of vines begins to undulate, and after a few moments out steps Gurashi, into his own mindscape, looking no less tired than he does in the waking world. He tilts his head at Tridemon, then looks down at the flower, crouching before it and scooping it up gingerly with both hands **.

You think to yourself: ** somewhere - another crackle **.

You think to yourself: / *despite this touching moment, her energy seems .... odd. uncomfortable* /.

The memory, the impression is not a strong one, but it is very pure, and certain. Safety. The knowledge of unconditional love. There is no room in it for such petty things as doubt and fear. A gift which has been taken up. Tridemon nods a bit at you, before looking over at the vine again with a slight frown.

You think to yourself: ** the flower is taken and held gingerly as he rises back to stand, expression unreadable. He looks up at you, then back down to the flower again, letting out a little noise. Behind him, the vine continues to lash uncertainly, a single curved thorn sprouting near its base **.

You think to yourself: ** despite the gift ... a lingering azure hue **.

Tridemon turns to look at the vine. "Why are you doing that? ... Why are you acting on your own, now?" He addresses the vine, his voice soft, and not unkind.

The call of a cicada welcomes the setting of the sun and the coming night.

You have emoted: You see Gurashi look over his shoulder at the vine... then slowly look back at Tridemon. "I didn't ask them to grow thorns."

You think to yourself: / *her discomfort grows - uncertainty. the hive noise starts to sound louder than she* /.

Tridemon shakes his head slightly. "They shouldn't be acting independently, not to this degree. And not against me. Unless you've gotten deathly afraid of me sometime in the last month?" He asks before regarding the wall of vines and thorns again.

You have emoted: Gurashi's shoulders sag. "...no."

You have emoted: Gurashi shifts a little in his spot, concentrating.

You think to yourself: ** suddenly, the vines lurch forward, and the wall creeps back into a familiar, circular shape, the lone tendril retreating to join back with the others as Gurashi wills it **.

You think to yourself: ...

Tridemon nods a bit as he looks at you, then over at Khep again. "... Gurashi, you are under a lot of stress. Sadness. Anger that could not be expressed. The bleakness of despair. ... Where, exactly, have you been compartmentalizing those feelings?"

You think to yourself: ** even as he clutches the crystalline gift to his chest, there is a strange permeating aura of uncertainty that clings to him like a halo, a wash of amber and mauve **.

You think to yourself: .... compartmentalizing?

You think to yourself: ** a brief recollection of a cabinet, trying to assemble it, discussing this before? oh but the cabinet broke - poor cabinet **.

Tridemon turns to look at you fully, a sad little smile on his face. "You haven't been letting them go. You haven't really been expressing them. Have you just been letting them permeate the vines?"

You have emoted: Like a child that's been caught red handed, Gurashi shrinks a little where he stands in the mindscape, as well as where he sits on the cushion. He looks down at the flower, then back up at Tridemon helplessly. ".... am sorry - I didn't mean to."

You think to yourself: / *another wash of guilt - somehow, you can sense that this all feels very strangely familiar to her* /.

Tridemon shakes his head slightly. "I don't expect you to be good at letting things go. I'm not. But if you push your feelings into the vines, they won't do what you need them to. They will act according to what you've put into them. They need to stand firm, against the outside." He keeps his voice gentle and nonjudgmental, before turning his attention to Khep. "... and you have something to say but aren't sure it's a good idea to actually say it."

You think to yourself: / *sounding tortured* I cannot /.

You have emoted: Gurashi wrings his hands together, holding the crystalline flower closer to his heart, as if hoping it might do some good via proximity. He bows his head guiltily, and as if on cue the vines all seem to sigh together, thinner, older ones wilting while gnarlier ones take their place.

You think to yourself: ** a strange pin prickling sensation **.

(The Shadow Kindred): Evette (from the Astral Plane) says, "We should induct that one here."

Tridemon lets out a small sigh, watching the vines again. "Cannot, will not, and should not are three very different things, you know. Another reason to curse that interruption." He says, before looking at you again. "Focus on the flower. It's a kind thing, and will forgive you always. You can let it take on your guilt, your sadness, and frustration. It won't mind. It won't change for it. It is memory, unyielding."

confused tride
You blink a few times and stare at Tridemon in confusion.

You have emoted: Gurashi's gaze drifts again to the flower he holds, turning it and studying it tentatively. He gently touches at some of the outer leaves, studying the thing close. "...how do I do it."

You think to yourself: / ... *silence, considering your words* What do you call all three /.

Tridemon gives a snort, looking over at Khep. "Duty." He says in a single word, before turning back to you. "Hold the flower close, and imagine your anger as... a cloud of lights, or a particularly sticky, hot liquid. Let it sink into the blossom. It is not a strong thing, but it is pure, and it is certain. It will not make you stop feeling what you feel. But it will help you bear it, until you are ready to let it go."

You think to yourself: ** another wash of pin-pricks - a repressed feeling, so exhausted, so hurt and so deep it threatens to suffocate should it surface **.

You think to yourself: ** fingers tentatively curl around the flower, holding it close... a cloud? the vines pulse uneasily, and another light cracking sound fills the air. tired. am supposed to let these feelings go. but xenthos said will hurt for a long time - how long is a long time **.

You think to yourself: **a continued wash of rambling thoughts, too incoherent to stay together, let alone stay on task*.

You think to yourself: / ... /.

Tridemon watches you for a moment, and shakes his head again. "Something is intervening, and I suspect you are too tired to properly do this with such a handicap." He says, before glancing over at the wall of vines again, regarding the border of the circle... and clapping his hands, summoning up a torrent of water within the mindscape, a pillar that he shapes into a delicate-looking bubble of crystalline water, a dome that rests with its barrier just inside of the edges of the vine-wall's circle. "Rest. This barrier will not last forever. But it should last for long enough."

You think to yourself: ** the crackling noise gets a little fainter with this, washed out by the crashing of the waves and bubbling of the water **.

You have emoted: Gurashi slumps forward as the wall of water rises, letting out a breath he'd been holding without realizing. "Sorry," He eeks out, catching his breath and touching his temples with both hands.

You think to yourself: / *her antennae bob, and she looks around, as if examining for something in particular, but is interrupted instead by the wall of water which keeps her gaze restricted* Ah /.

Tridemon opens his eyes, looking at you again. "Rest now. Know that anything that comes for you here will contend with my displeasure, whatever slight deterrent that may be."

You think to yourself: / *a grateful chirr... albeit uneasy* /.

You have emoted: Gurashi opens his eyes, though it seems to take him some deal of effort to get his gaze to focus, blinking and blinking and shaking his head to adjust.

Speaking quietly, you say, "... O-K."

Bizirik's head begins to droop. It opens its great maw and curls back its lips to allow its forked tongue to unfurl as it yawns before snapping its mouth shut.

Speaking quietly, you ask Tridemon, "... y... ou are sure?"

You think to yourself: ** another series of pinpricks - your eyes ache **.

Ocean waves echoing softly behind his voice, Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters says, "Even if the Lady of Roses shows up, I will tell Her politely yet firmly to go away until you're rested."

You stare at Tridemon, eyes wide.

Wide-eyed, you say to Tridemon, "No you will not."

Tridemon pats you in a friendly manner.

Ocean waves echoing softly behind his voice, Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters says, "It wouldn't be my first time addressing an irritable Goddess in such a manner."

You stare at Tridemon, eyes wide.

You think to yourself: ** a subtle wash of magenta and gold, quickly swallowed back up **.

You nod your head emphatically.

Ocean waves echoing softly behind his voice, Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters says, "It went about as well as you'd expect with the Enchantress that time, too."

You stare at Tridemon, eyes wide.

Looking unfocused, you say to Tridemon, "That ... sounds like a good story..."

Speaking quietly, you say, "Or a bad one."

Ocean waves echoing softly behind his voice, Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters says, "It's a short one. I'll tell you when you wake."

You have emoted: Gurashi shuts his eyes, exhaling audibly. "O-K."

You think to yourself: ** ... **.

You think to yourself: / *gentle chittering* Tiso. Sleep /.

Speaking quietly, you say, "O-K ...."

Softer still, you say, "Goodnight Tridemon... will try again next month. With whatever were trying... my brain is broken? Again? Or something."

You stare blankly into space.

Aquamantic symbols suddenly project themselves upon the very air in dark blue light, fading after a brief moment.

You flop down onto the ground.

You grow still and begin to pray silently for preservation of your soul while you are out of the land.