To Wish, To Hope, To Stand, And Fly

A quiet hall of sage and lavender.
A long, arched barrel vault of ivory plaster marked with slender, recessed skylights through which pale sunlight seeps stretches overhead, supported by six blue and cream-coloured columns. Abstract, spiral-chased patterns of bluebells unfold across the surfaces of the pillars; the design is echoed in soft arches across the walls. Small pots of pale yellow clay along the perimeter of the hall, filled with blooming sage and lavender. A faintly spicy, resinous scent drifts through the chamber, chased by the murmuring whisper of running water. A genteel peacock of blood red hue stands poised, possessing a branched tail spreading open like a prismatic fractal. Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven is here. She wields an athame dagger in her left hand and a silver-edged kite shield in her right.
You see exits leading southeast, south, and northwest.

You close your eyes and inhale deeply, absorbing the scent of your surroundings.

Laroine turns to face upwards, her eyes sparkling as she looks at the sky in awe. "The light is beautiful here, the flowers illuminated with changing color. This is the perfect place."

A genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side carefully preens his lustrous plumage, drawing the feathers slowly through his beak.

You have emoted: "It smells so clean and inviting in here, too." Lief nods her quiet agreement, drifting through the hall. Her grey eyes turn skyward to admire the snatches of sunlight streaking overhead. "This place suits you."

(Yneli): You say, "Dear Mayflowers, Laroine will be undergoing her Rite of Marythen anon. We will be in the quiet hall of sage and lavender within the Temple, should any like to join us."

You have emoted: In Lief's quiet waiting, a genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side chirps as he strides a slow circle around Laroine, moving with purposeful steps. Eventually, he completes his circuit and settles down nearby, keeping both his golden eyes watchfully upon Laroine.

You have emoted: Lief flashes Savit a quick smile of acknowledgement before focusing her attention upon Laroine. "It will be just the two of us, I think," she says, her smile deepening. "Whenever you are ready, we may begin."

The sweet voice of Kavindra rises through the Temple of Maylea, singing of peace and hope, joy and forgiveness.

"Oh!" Laroine exclaims. Warmth spreading across her features, she smiles happily as she watches a genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side move around her, keeping her hands to her sides. She turns to you and nods her head. "Yes, I am ready."

Laroine quietly turns a fold of her dress to one side. With a smile hinting a glint of uneasiness, she uncovers her eyes as a brittle-looking cloth slip inside the seams of her pocket.

Laroine smiles at you, bouts of her nervousness gone, her attention solely focusing on the sound of your voice.

You have emoted: Lief's own gaze is warm and gentle, her smile glowing with the quiet brightness of a single candle burning strong. "You may announce yourself, dear Laroine, for what you are."

Laroine takes a few steps forward. "I am Yneli, and I have discovered that I am more than I knew I was," she says, her voice clear and mellow.

You have emoted: "I see you as Yneli," Lief says, bowing her antlered head toward Laroine. She rifles through the rainbow of colours carried upon her arm and selects a red ribbon of cloth, tulips embossed upon its length. As she holds the strip of cloth between her hands, she looks up to Laroine and asks, "What beauty have you discovered within yourself, Laroine?"

Laroine places a fingertip on her lips as her eyes slightly narrow in contemplation. She takes a deep breath, scanning the flowers around her. "Beauty within myself", she repeats. Watching the light change from the sky, she answers, "My will, my longing to the flight of discoveries - it reflects a mirror of Beauty found in the Basin. The Beauty that I find, found one day in consciousness, within myself is the reflection I see of Life greater than me within my heart.", her hand holding gathered folds of her clothing, resting on her stomach. "The simple, frail, fleeting, time of my existence is beautiful because of everything beyond me."

Eyes closed, Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven whispers, "This is what I have discovered."

You have emoted: Lief bobs gently in the air as she listens. Though her smile is still evident upon her face and in her eyes, she is otherwise serious, listening to Laroine's answer quietly. At its conclusion, she moves - nodding, she stretches a bright red scarf with an embossed tulip between her hands and wings about Laroine, draping it over her shoulders as she murmurs, "Like the tulip, may you ever find reason to express this beauty with love and with serenity."

You lift a bright red scarf with an embossed tulip and carefully place it upon Laroine.

Laroine carefully touches the scarf placed around her. She smiles, her eyes filled with happiness. "Thank you", she whispers.

You have emoted: Lief draws back, smiling as she searches out Laroine's gaze, attempting to hold it with her own. She slips an orange stretch of fabric from the cloths draped over her forearm and hovers before her, dragonfly wings a perpetual, insistent hum keeping her level with the trill. "What inspires you to action?" she asks Laroine as she draws the bold and fiery colour between her upturned hands.

It is now the 13th of Estar, 545 years after the Coming of Estarra.

Laroine lets a hand glide over one side of the feathers closest to her, playing with the soft ends as her gaze falls at you, her eyes steady and earnest. Placing a hand to her heart, she answers, "The color of the forest, trees, flowers, the sound of fae brought me back.". Her voice slightly faltering for a brief moment, "I was lost." She closes her eyes and breathes in, gathering the scent of the surroundings, her posture relaxing as she does. "The glow of Mother Moon, the sound of the spirits in the 'Wilde filled my heart with so much love it overflows." She smiles, her gaze never leaving, "This endless love within me moves me to act. To wish, to hope, to stand, and fly. It brought me to you. To Her. Our dearest Lady, through you."

You have emoted: The fragrant redolence of sage twined with floral lavender wafts on a stray breeze which flows through the open and airy hallway, filling the locale with peace. Lief is clearly affected by it: she bobs gently to the side, breathing in the aromatic air, then focuses. The tiger lily threads upon a bright orange scarf with an embossed tiger lily shimmer in the ambient light as the faeling demigoddess moves to drape its length about Laroine's shoulders, layering the orange against the red, and she murmurs, "Like the tiger lily, may you find a wealth of inspiration within the First Forest to carry you ever forward."

You lift a bright orange scarf with an embossed tiger lily and carefully place it upon Laroine.

Her gaze longing and hopeful, in a soft voice, Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven whispers, "Thank you. Someday, we will teach the Basin of the clarity of our path. Nature will surround us, surround the Basin as it should, as it once did. All in guidance... a small wish, an embodiment of my love."

You have emoted: Lief's fingertips trail over the fringes of the orange scarf as she draws fully back, her antlered head nodding in agreement. Her eyes bright, she then turns her attention briefly downward to pull free a bright and cheerful yellow scarf from her pile. When she looks up to Laroine again, she beams. "How have you learned to express your innermost self to those around you?"

A genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side shakes his head, causing the crest feathers to swing back and forth.

Laroine pauses, her senses catching the smell of the fragrance in the air. Breathing in the scent, she closes her eyes only to open them once again. Her gaze follows you as she listens to you every word. She nods her head before quietly turning to look at the small pots of sage and lavender, her eyes sparkling as she quietly collects her thoughts. Walking over one pot, she touches the leaves that grows from within. "Through many years, I have learned that nothing is static. That our inner-most self is never the same as it was on each passing second of time. The essence to each soul, each life, knowing that we are colours that always change, brings me to how I express who I truly am within to those I choose. A dance of different facets to a person. A singular person with every bit of the universe and the Basin within them. This mindset taught me how to express my innermost self and to see and open my mind to what I may find on every eyes that I may meet with.", she whispers, her voice earnest and soft.

Caressing the plant with a soft smile on her lips, Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven whispers, "To every beautiful...facet."

You have emoted: Another breeze causes the edges of a bright yellow scarf with an embossed daffodil to flutter as they dangle from Lief's outstretched hands. She listens to Laroine, searching her face as Laroine's answer comes. She is quiet for a time, a meditative expression upon her face, all still about her save the gentle push of the free-flowing air through the temple and the insistent hum of her wings keeping her aloft. Her thoughts resolve into a smile as she circles Laroine, draping the fabric about her, and softly says, "Like the daffodil, may you always find joy in finding and expressing your many different facets and your everchanging Truth."

You lift a bright yellow scarf with an embossed daffodil and carefully place it upon Laroine.

Laroine bows her head in receiving the scarf. Her smile widens, reaching her eyes. Quietly, she arranges the layers of scarf around her while she listens at you.

You have emoted: Lief's wings carry her back, her gaze filled with warmth. She picks out a green length of fabric from her scarves, the colours she carries dwindling while the colours adorning Laroine multiply. "I would hear more about something you had started to say earlier," she says, her voice lilting. The lively verdure of the ribbon she stretches between her upturned hands is bright and saturated. "How will you bring about your vision for the future of Serenwilde?"

A spark of passion lights in Laroine's eyes upon hearing your words. The pair of wings from her back swaying wider and causing a light breeze in the air, she places a hand to her heart once more before looking at you in question. "May I hold you hand for a moment?", she asks, her voice hiding muted and mellow eagerness.

A genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side carefully preens his lustrous plumage, drawing the feathers slowly through his beak.

You have emoted: Curious, Lief slides the scarf she is holding so it rests stretched across her wrists instead. Her hands are bare as they extend open and unresisting to Laroine.

Laroine gently covers your hand with her own, squeezing them briefly while her gaze settles at your eyes. She carefully places your hands where her heart beats before releasing them. In a steady tone, she says, "For our branches to spread for the glory of our wisdom and truth, we first start with the heart. By strengthening the essence that drives our very morality forward, by strengthening the cores of our ancient teachings, we may foster the strength we would need to face the Basin together as one forest. We may start by nourishing the hearts of each one of us by guiding them to them own passions, calling, and identity, so that they may, we may wake and sleep in the certainty of wholeness. The Sacred Leaves. We may have many physical manifestitations that may guide us in doing this. Second, as we have strengthened the heart that connects us all in communion as one forest, we may then organize a collective of purpose that would interact with the Basin outside, bringing the cores that we have strengthened within as one to action. Beyond endless battles, beyond the self and the many paths. This is my dream, this is action that I constantly try to act and plan for ever since I woke to the call of our dearest forest."

In a clear and hopeful tone, Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven says, "The first one stated having, one body of teachings. A collective of wisdom. So that during the journey of each self, we may remember the spirit of the forest as a whole which we are part of. The second, an action to spread branches rooted and planted by the first stated."

A smile brightening her features, Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven says, "I have many planned for the Listeners and for Serenwilde. I once had many thoughts to help Serenwilde, but through discovering the Listeners, I saw that we may all work together. It is a beautiful vision. Eventually, I see preachers, speakers of truth and harmony. I see those who would guide the Basin back to the ways of Nature, away from falsehood and deception rampant in this Basin."

You have emoted: Gently squeezing Laroine's hands, Lief listens to her words, her own gray eyes piercing as she gives Laroine her full and undivided attention. Gradually, when her hands are free again, she slips a bright green scarf with an embossed carnation back into her open hands and nods along with her understanding. "I also earnestly work toward a future like this, I think," she says quietly. "Joining our selves with the world around us, living not above it, not below it, but one with it, a piece of the whole." She bows her antlered head, then returns to the ceremonial phrasing, murmuring with a soft smile, "Like the carnation, may your love for the First Forest and all it encompasses guide your vision toward fruition."

You lift a bright green scarf with an embossed carnation and carefully place it upon Laroine.

Laroine bows her head as she receives a scarf from you. Her eyes bright, a wide smile covers her lips, as both her hands unconsciously fix the layers of clothing on her neck. "Thank you, every day is a day closer to this future.", she whispers. "For the First Forest."

You have emoted: "Winter will fade into spring," Lief agrees as she pulls a short distance away. Fabric rustles softly as she separates the blue scarf from the purple and spreads it along her open hands. She hovers before Laroine, her eyes bright with curiosity, the blooms upon the fabric she carries - embossed forget-me-nots - catching in the light. "As Waykeeper for the Listeners at the Veil," she says, "you listen to the calls of our ancestors. Which member of the Great Host speaks most to you right now, and what lesson have you been learning from them?"

Laroine closes her eyes as she pauses in reflection, the wings from her back swaying idly. In quiet recollection, "Rhoswen Wildbriar. Her compassion and deeply-rooted morality for forgiveness strikes me the most. It is the sound, the vision, the feelings that resonates, haunts my own spirit as I journey into the Veil of many voices. In the face of adversity, there will be many roads to take. But I believe, as one who was born and humbled by my own origins of structured stones, that the wild that exists in every child of Nature exists within the hearts of all regardless of where they were born. The cities are all merely stones and boulders that grew with misguided sentiment of loving the material and synthetic. Those that resides, are all children of Nature at the purest of their being. The change caused by the deception of the Basin aside, Elder Rhoswen teaches us that there is another way to save the souls of many from the corruption brought by civilization.", her voice clear and gentle.

A glassy look on her face, Laroine says, "That...a child unknowingly born of the synthetic part of life may come to grow to discover her truest inner-self in Nature through open eyes, compassion, and understanding." She gently dabs the slight pool of water forming from the corner of her eyes. "A chance for every living to discovery."

You have emoted: Upon hearing Rhoswen's name, Lief smiles suddenly and brightly with recognition. Her wings buoy her upward a bit, and it takes a concerted effort for her to lower to eye level once more, bobbing several feet above the tiled floors. She is almost excited as she drapes a bright blue scarf with an embossed forget-me-not about Laroine's shoulders, layering another stripe of rainbow upon the trill's shoulders. "During my time as a Listener," she confesses quietly to Laroine as she does, "Rhoswen spoke to me powerfully. She still does, though my path is among the Sowers of the Last Seed." She finishes laying the ribbon about Laroine, then says louder, with greater ceremony, "Like the forget-me-not, may you carry her spirit and her lessons in all you do, until she recognises that you have learned all she might teach."

You lift a bright blue scarf with an embossed forget-me-not and carefully place it upon Laroine.

A fleeting look of shock passes through Laroine's face before changing into a smile. "Dearest Elder Rhoswen." Lowering her head to aide you in placing the scarf around her, she whispers, "How colorful. I am happy she is remember by you. That her voice left you even as you have come to discover you own path." She nods her head at you as she wears the scraf.

Her voice earnest and soft, Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven whispers, "Thank you."

You have emoted: One stripe of colour remains in Lief's hands, which she cradles gently in her open palms, its dangling ends swaying with her bobbing motions in the air. "I am happy as well," she murmurs, her grey eyes twinkling. Hefting the last lushly coloured scarf, she searches Laroine's eyes as she asks aloud, "What is one lesson you have learned during your time as Yneli that you will carry with you always?"

Laroine exhales a soft breath. Pressing her palms together, she bows her head and nods at you. "I have learned that all movement steadied by the constant learning balance of Communion and Kinship, fueled by Inquisition and Introspection of Beauty, of Aesthetics, of the colors of the self, brings one closer to the Wisdom of many Perspective that may bring one closer to a perceived and desired realm of Enlightenment. I have learned that by being truthful to the movement that is fueled by your heart, one is closer to the truth of the self."

You have emoted: Lief wings a circle about Laroine once more, carefully layering a bright purple scarf with an embossed violet over the others, a smile upon her lips as she says, "Like the violet, may you continue down the path of Certainty with faith in our Lady - and in your own heart."

You lift a bright purple scarf with an embossed violet and carefully place it upon Laroine.

You have emoted: When Lief draws back again, she admires the play of color dancing across Laroine's shoulders, ribbons of colour which brighten the white jewellery and dress both garbing the trill. She is quiet once more, hands clasped before herself, expectant.

Laroine softly caresses the layers of scarves over her shoulders. Tempted to move in delight, she stops herself short before doing anything too drastic, sending her dress to dance by the sudden halt and the scarves to sway. Light causing the different colors to sparkle by her, she says in a gentle and clear tone. "I am a Mayflower, and I will continue to discover that I am more than I know I am."

You graciously grant Laroine entrance into the Divine Order of Maylea, Bloom of Serenity.

Meeting Laroine's eyes, you rest your hand over your heart in greeting, sensing the link between your kindred spirits as a prismatic array of colour shimmers through your vision.

Laroine meets your gaze as she touches her heart in greeting, prismatic colours glinting briefly in her eyes as you sense the link between your kindred spirits.

A genteel peacock crowned with a crest of bright scarlet drooping to one side carefully preens his lustrous plumage, drawing the feathers slowly through his beak.

It is now the 15th of Estar, 545 years after the Coming of Estarra.

(Order): You say, "Laroine has discovered she is more than she knows, and she has undergone her Rite of Marythen. Welcome, dear Laroine!"

Laroine flashes you a wide smile. "Thank you. Thank you, truly. This is a memory I will keep."

"Well done, My little one," the Goddess's voice echoes among the spicy fragrances, Her tones falling like the soft running of water, like the wind in the trees.

You have emoted: Lief wings an excited circle about Laroine, beaming, the motion kicking up a faint breeze that tickles through Laroine's scarves. "I will as well," she beams. "Welcome to Marythen!"

(Order): Laroine says, "Thank you, dear Lief. My heart is joyful."

Laroine closes her eyes as she feels the air. She smiles, "Thank you Dearest Lady.", a hand placed over her chest.

Laroine beams broadly at you.

You have emoted: Lief likewise touches her hand to her heart, her eyes bright as they watch Laroine, her ears twitching faintly to the sound of her Lady's voice.

You tell Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven, "In your hands, you should now hold a bindi!"

You tell Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven, "Please wear it upon your brow - it represents a bond between you and our Lady. You may always TOUCH your bindi if you ever want to call Her attention to you."

You tell Waykeeper Laroine Dekoven, "At times, She may speak to you through your bindi. If you sense that She has, you can LISTEN to it to hear Her voice in your ear."

A soft chuckle escapes Laroine's lips as her wings suddenly takes her to the sky, a powerful flapping of wide feathers causing short currents of wind. "What a time to live, truly! Beautiful." Descending back to the ground, she faces you once more.

Laroine slips into a translucent crystal bindi.

You have emoted: Lief covers her mouth with her slender, calloused fingers, giggling merrily as she bobs in the air.