Post by Zola Rhomdaen on Feb 6, 2022 5:46:17 GMT
(Continued from Witch Hunt.)
The large oak tree that bears Carnán’s house upon its branches is not hard to find in the coniferous Feythorn Forest. Zola arrives just before sunset (an hour later than she intended to), riding atop a hart with lustrous white fur and sixteen-point antlers, without saddle nor bit. Carnán is washing Ulfr outside, and not too far from him is the woman she came to speak with.
A half-elf woman with shaggy brown hair is kneeling on the ground, planting what appears to be saplings in a patch of earth. Still wearing the same simple clothes as when she was a member of the Order of Our Flayed Saviour. She looks up curiously at Zola when Carnán greets her, and smiles graciously when given a basket of mushrooms from the Witching Court.
The three of them climb up into the treehouse for a late spot of tea, and that is when Zola begins her questioning.
“So, Vellus, could you tell me about the first time you learned about the order?”
“Um, I was in the Order of the Bound Chain, our old monastery, since I was ten but when the Saviour awoke amongst us, I joined the holy procession to the new land and the new monastery enclave.”
“Was the Saviour also part of your old monastery?”
“Yes, in his mortal form he was a higher ranking cleric before his enlightenment.”
“Oh… What was his name back then? What was he like?”
“Foltaire. He was a nice man, very quiet, very pious.”
Zola nods. “So what exactly happened when he ‘awoke’?”
“He…he began receiving visions and the Father Superior, that was Father Markus, began receiving them too. He saw what his duty was to save the world, he knew what had to be done. We all started receiving them, although not as intense or frequent as the Saviour’s.”
The drow shares a brief look of concern with Carnán before turning back to Vellus and asking, “What were the visions like, if you don't mind sharing, Vellus? Do they still happen now?”
“We saw Ilmater. He bore a whip in one hand and a spiked chain in the other, and we saw the Saviour bare and without skin. It’s hard to describe, it just felt…purposeful.”
“And everyone in your monastery saw these visions?”
“Almost, there were a few who refused to say they saw them but we know they must have. I think they were scared.”
“Right. And so almost everyone there followed the Saviour into his new order? Was there anyone in the clergy of Ilmater who objected, within or without your old order?”
“A few within, more without. That’s why we’re here, to escape the cries of heresy and threats of ‘justice’. We know what we do has been ordained, we do not need to hear the objections of fat old priests growing fatter off the donations of the poor, desperate for an out-of-touch clergy to pray in their names. We do what we know will save lives. Half the priests probably don’t even hear Ilmater anymore, they just lie and say whatever platitudes work for them.”
“But what exactly persuaded you to join the new order, aside from the visions? It must have been frightening, to turn against the orthodoxy.”
“That was it. I saw the light and wished to follow it. You serve a god, yes? You surely have felt the same urges?”
“Yes, though perhaps not in the same way as you,” Zola answers hesitantly. “I’ve never really had visions, for one.”
“Ah, I see, but you have felt the pull of the divine, yes?”
“Yes. The light of Eilistraee. You’ve probably never heard of her, she’s only relevant to the drow.”
“I have, in fact, but mainly through a penchant for reading and only really having access to religious texts. Obscure religious texts at that.”
“Oh!” Zola is surprised. That is admittedly quite impressive. “Well… That’s great. But anyway, I’m getting distracted. I was about to ask… So the Saviour said there are only a few who are strong enough to walk this path. Did he choose you personally?”
“Not the Saviour, Ilmater. He has seen us, he has told us our path.” Vellus looks down. “Well, I mean, that was until I saw my path had changed.”
She perks up at that. “How did you know that your path has changed? If there are only a few who are strong enough to take this path, it must be a great responsibility.”
“I just felt like my calling was no longer to serve in that manner. I still serve Ilmater but now my goal in life is to grow, to nurture. I’ve always wanted to nurture life but never could really, my garden was all I had.”
Vellus still hasn’t looked up. Zola can’t guess what she is thinking, but whatever it is, it seems to loom over her like a dark cloud.
“Are you alright, Vellus?” Zola asks in a gentle voice.
The half-elf suddenly glances up, as if she had just snapped out of something. “Oh? Oh yes, fine, just musing.”
“About what?”
“Oh nothing, joining the church when I did, then finding purpose in Ilmater, and then my plants, and… Funny, really.”
“What’s funny about it? I think it’s wonderful what you have done and are doing now with the plants.”
“I’ve just always wanted to take care of living things is all, and I guess I’ve found my plants that love me and I want to take care of them, so I do. Before that, it was saving people through my calling as a member of the order, because what else can I do?”
“So before this, you were in the order because you feel that you couldn’t have been doing anything else?”
“Well yes, that was what I felt I needed to do,” says Vellus. Zola can’t help but feel a pang of sadness for her. “Livsgi, ‘Lifegiver’. A very pretty name, and I am thankful Carnán here has blessed me with it, but it is a touch…ironic.”
“Do you… Do you feel guilty for leaving the order?”
She smiles. “No, not anymore. I did my duty, and now my duty has changed.”
A small smile spreads across Zola’s face. Now the path ahead is clear, lit with gleaming moonlight. “Thank you, Vellus. I know what I need to do now.”
Some time after the orange sun has disappeared behind the wooded horizon, Carnán escorts Zola out of the treehouse and walks with her to where Cor’Vandor is grazing. As they stroll down the forest path together, he leaves her with a warning.
“Young one, please tread carefully. You are heading down a path that leads to meddling in the affairs of a god, they can be unpredictable and swift in their actions. I fear that this might not lead to the conclusion that you seek. The blessings of the Oakfather be upon you, child. I hope they help guide you through this undertaking.”
“Thank you, Carnán. I cannot just stand by as these people suffer. They are…lost, I think. But I know the risks. I appreciate your blessings. Go in Eilistraee’s light, Guardian of the Autumn Grove.”
Co-written with willemf and Charlie.
The large oak tree that bears Carnán’s house upon its branches is not hard to find in the coniferous Feythorn Forest. Zola arrives just before sunset (an hour later than she intended to), riding atop a hart with lustrous white fur and sixteen-point antlers, without saddle nor bit. Carnán is washing Ulfr outside, and not too far from him is the woman she came to speak with.
A half-elf woman with shaggy brown hair is kneeling on the ground, planting what appears to be saplings in a patch of earth. Still wearing the same simple clothes as when she was a member of the Order of Our Flayed Saviour. She looks up curiously at Zola when Carnán greets her, and smiles graciously when given a basket of mushrooms from the Witching Court.
The three of them climb up into the treehouse for a late spot of tea, and that is when Zola begins her questioning.
“So, Vellus, could you tell me about the first time you learned about the order?”
“Um, I was in the Order of the Bound Chain, our old monastery, since I was ten but when the Saviour awoke amongst us, I joined the holy procession to the new land and the new monastery enclave.”
“Was the Saviour also part of your old monastery?”
“Yes, in his mortal form he was a higher ranking cleric before his enlightenment.”
“Oh… What was his name back then? What was he like?”
“Foltaire. He was a nice man, very quiet, very pious.”
Zola nods. “So what exactly happened when he ‘awoke’?”
“He…he began receiving visions and the Father Superior, that was Father Markus, began receiving them too. He saw what his duty was to save the world, he knew what had to be done. We all started receiving them, although not as intense or frequent as the Saviour’s.”
The drow shares a brief look of concern with Carnán before turning back to Vellus and asking, “What were the visions like, if you don't mind sharing, Vellus? Do they still happen now?”
“We saw Ilmater. He bore a whip in one hand and a spiked chain in the other, and we saw the Saviour bare and without skin. It’s hard to describe, it just felt…purposeful.”
“And everyone in your monastery saw these visions?”
“Almost, there were a few who refused to say they saw them but we know they must have. I think they were scared.”
“Right. And so almost everyone there followed the Saviour into his new order? Was there anyone in the clergy of Ilmater who objected, within or without your old order?”
“A few within, more without. That’s why we’re here, to escape the cries of heresy and threats of ‘justice’. We know what we do has been ordained, we do not need to hear the objections of fat old priests growing fatter off the donations of the poor, desperate for an out-of-touch clergy to pray in their names. We do what we know will save lives. Half the priests probably don’t even hear Ilmater anymore, they just lie and say whatever platitudes work for them.”
“But what exactly persuaded you to join the new order, aside from the visions? It must have been frightening, to turn against the orthodoxy.”
“That was it. I saw the light and wished to follow it. You serve a god, yes? You surely have felt the same urges?”
“Yes, though perhaps not in the same way as you,” Zola answers hesitantly. “I’ve never really had visions, for one.”
“Ah, I see, but you have felt the pull of the divine, yes?”
“Yes. The light of Eilistraee. You’ve probably never heard of her, she’s only relevant to the drow.”
“I have, in fact, but mainly through a penchant for reading and only really having access to religious texts. Obscure religious texts at that.”
“Oh!” Zola is surprised. That is admittedly quite impressive. “Well… That’s great. But anyway, I’m getting distracted. I was about to ask… So the Saviour said there are only a few who are strong enough to walk this path. Did he choose you personally?”
“Not the Saviour, Ilmater. He has seen us, he has told us our path.” Vellus looks down. “Well, I mean, that was until I saw my path had changed.”
She perks up at that. “How did you know that your path has changed? If there are only a few who are strong enough to take this path, it must be a great responsibility.”
“I just felt like my calling was no longer to serve in that manner. I still serve Ilmater but now my goal in life is to grow, to nurture. I’ve always wanted to nurture life but never could really, my garden was all I had.”
Vellus still hasn’t looked up. Zola can’t guess what she is thinking, but whatever it is, it seems to loom over her like a dark cloud.
“Are you alright, Vellus?” Zola asks in a gentle voice.
The half-elf suddenly glances up, as if she had just snapped out of something. “Oh? Oh yes, fine, just musing.”
“About what?”
“Oh nothing, joining the church when I did, then finding purpose in Ilmater, and then my plants, and… Funny, really.”
“What’s funny about it? I think it’s wonderful what you have done and are doing now with the plants.”
“I’ve just always wanted to take care of living things is all, and I guess I’ve found my plants that love me and I want to take care of them, so I do. Before that, it was saving people through my calling as a member of the order, because what else can I do?”
“So before this, you were in the order because you feel that you couldn’t have been doing anything else?”
“Well yes, that was what I felt I needed to do,” says Vellus. Zola can’t help but feel a pang of sadness for her. “Livsgi, ‘Lifegiver’. A very pretty name, and I am thankful Carnán here has blessed me with it, but it is a touch…ironic.”
“Do you… Do you feel guilty for leaving the order?”
She smiles. “No, not anymore. I did my duty, and now my duty has changed.”
A small smile spreads across Zola’s face. Now the path ahead is clear, lit with gleaming moonlight. “Thank you, Vellus. I know what I need to do now.”
Some time after the orange sun has disappeared behind the wooded horizon, Carnán escorts Zola out of the treehouse and walks with her to where Cor’Vandor is grazing. As they stroll down the forest path together, he leaves her with a warning.
“Young one, please tread carefully. You are heading down a path that leads to meddling in the affairs of a god, they can be unpredictable and swift in their actions. I fear that this might not lead to the conclusion that you seek. The blessings of the Oakfather be upon you, child. I hope they help guide you through this undertaking.”
“Thank you, Carnán. I cannot just stand by as these people suffer. They are…lost, I think. But I know the risks. I appreciate your blessings. Go in Eilistraee’s light, Guardian of the Autumn Grove.”
Co-written with willemf and Charlie.