Words Upon Your Skin - 2024.09.24 - Dee'arna
Sept 29, 2024 18:08:29 GMT
Riah, Andy D, and 4 more like this
Post by ruthcd on Sept 29, 2024 18:08:29 GMT
Notes from Dee’arna’s diary, a few days after the events of Words Upon Your Skin
I recently went to help Yinmaris in the feywild, to solve a riddle to help wake his patron Queen from an enchanted slumber. He tempted me in with the promise of uncovering family secrets, prying into relatives he clearly has little love for - and of course the opportunity to spend some time adventuring together. We have spent much pleasant time in each other’s company lately, so I went in with curiosity and optimism - to bring my insights to aid in his personal quest.
He clearly has a lot of friends and connections in Daring Heights so it was interesting to encounter him hanging out with Sterling and Mittens, when the two of us had also just been on a fascinating archaeological expedition to Gadenthor.
And of course, interesting to observe those two quietly. Mittens, as the previous holder of the rat curse that Kem has. And Sterling, the current holder of the wolf one. I had a chance to spot the wolf mark on his hand - it is eating the world. Concerning. But he did not seem directly consumed by wrath… yet.
I did not introduce myself as the new bearer of the One and Many, even when it came up in conversation. I am pleased that Yinmaris was discreet on this matter. And I will reintroduce myself to Sterling properly, when the time is right.
I didn’t know quite what to expect from my second visit to the Feywild proper, and not a short hop over to the Feythorn Market. But the first part of it was truly glorious. To be in Summer and feel the beautiful warmth on my scales! I felt my senses sharpened and everything around seemed more in focus.
We were planning to enter this shining city of Perihellion to find Yinmaris’ family and ask them questions. But the guards told us that his family home had been moved to outside the city by Queen Titania. And I quote “she can do that”.
Yes, a family estate, picked up and moved to another part of the court. But at this family home we never even crossed the threshold. An old friend of Yinmaris made it clear that he was not welcome - something about having traded away a family secret. She met up with us again elsewhere, and Yinmaris gave her the lines of the riddle we were following.
Seek the dancing patterns frolicking in the wind; With beauty illuminating more than three, trace their words upon your skin.
She knew what these meant it seemed, and summoned another fey to the glade who could provide answers. There was some conferring, with much spoken of that I did not follow. But crucially - the four of us would enter a place and be ‘tested’. We did this by lying down in the moss and entering into this vision space.
The first part - a strange field of wheat, slow dancers, putting on the masks. I felt… aware of what we were doing. And then - from that point on it was all so fucking real.
It was just me, alone. I do not know where the others went, what things they did and saw. But we all now understand the essence of it. We saw our dreams. No, we literally experienced them - the things we want more than anything. And then, we literally poured away everything we had to achieve them. I truly gave it all up! My magic, my languages. Lasseega was blessing me, she responded to the sacrifice, sent me the help I needed. I had it! I did it!
And then I was back in Summer. Still bereft of all that I had sacrificed, but nothing gained. Just the words of all I had experienced in gold ink on my skin. And feeling hollow.
The anguish of having believed for a moment that we could have it all, and then find it taken away…
That fey extracted the words for the remedy for Queen Merla, pooling my beautiful gold ink away for some future use.
I do not know what Sterling experienced. But when he gave his words up and stormed away… that was when I saw the wolf’s wrath on him at last. He shouted at Yinmaris to never ask anything like that of him ever again.
I told Yinmaris - I hope he is here for me too, when such a time comes - and he swore to it. I will hold that promise, but I do not feel rage towards him. After all, did we not just all agree in some way, that we will be relentless in pursuit of our goals? He did what he needed to, and I had come too far to see him denied the results.
The magic and the knowledge I had sacrificed all came back after a sleep. But not the maps I saw… not the whispers of my god, not the path in the maze.
Was it a vision of the future? Can I remember the location, can I find it again? I’ve tried to write it down, to draw it upon my skin again. I have tried to look at the cartography of this region again… but what trust can I put in the truths of a test? And yet… like the One and Many says… I have to keep looking. I can’t stop. I'll camp out in the library for now - with this and the curses, I just need to focus on absorbing all the knowledge I can find there.
I recently went to help Yinmaris in the feywild, to solve a riddle to help wake his patron Queen from an enchanted slumber. He tempted me in with the promise of uncovering family secrets, prying into relatives he clearly has little love for - and of course the opportunity to spend some time adventuring together. We have spent much pleasant time in each other’s company lately, so I went in with curiosity and optimism - to bring my insights to aid in his personal quest.
He clearly has a lot of friends and connections in Daring Heights so it was interesting to encounter him hanging out with Sterling and Mittens, when the two of us had also just been on a fascinating archaeological expedition to Gadenthor.
And of course, interesting to observe those two quietly. Mittens, as the previous holder of the rat curse that Kem has. And Sterling, the current holder of the wolf one. I had a chance to spot the wolf mark on his hand - it is eating the world. Concerning. But he did not seem directly consumed by wrath… yet.
I did not introduce myself as the new bearer of the One and Many, even when it came up in conversation. I am pleased that Yinmaris was discreet on this matter. And I will reintroduce myself to Sterling properly, when the time is right.
I didn’t know quite what to expect from my second visit to the Feywild proper, and not a short hop over to the Feythorn Market. But the first part of it was truly glorious. To be in Summer and feel the beautiful warmth on my scales! I felt my senses sharpened and everything around seemed more in focus.
We were planning to enter this shining city of Perihellion to find Yinmaris’ family and ask them questions. But the guards told us that his family home had been moved to outside the city by Queen Titania. And I quote “she can do that”.
Yes, a family estate, picked up and moved to another part of the court. But at this family home we never even crossed the threshold. An old friend of Yinmaris made it clear that he was not welcome - something about having traded away a family secret. She met up with us again elsewhere, and Yinmaris gave her the lines of the riddle we were following.
Seek the dancing patterns frolicking in the wind; With beauty illuminating more than three, trace their words upon your skin.
She knew what these meant it seemed, and summoned another fey to the glade who could provide answers. There was some conferring, with much spoken of that I did not follow. But crucially - the four of us would enter a place and be ‘tested’. We did this by lying down in the moss and entering into this vision space.
The first part - a strange field of wheat, slow dancers, putting on the masks. I felt… aware of what we were doing. And then - from that point on it was all so fucking real.
It was just me, alone. I do not know where the others went, what things they did and saw. But we all now understand the essence of it. We saw our dreams. No, we literally experienced them - the things we want more than anything. And then, we literally poured away everything we had to achieve them. I truly gave it all up! My magic, my languages. Lasseega was blessing me, she responded to the sacrifice, sent me the help I needed. I had it! I did it!
And then I was back in Summer. Still bereft of all that I had sacrificed, but nothing gained. Just the words of all I had experienced in gold ink on my skin. And feeling hollow.
The anguish of having believed for a moment that we could have it all, and then find it taken away…
That fey extracted the words for the remedy for Queen Merla, pooling my beautiful gold ink away for some future use.
I do not know what Sterling experienced. But when he gave his words up and stormed away… that was when I saw the wolf’s wrath on him at last. He shouted at Yinmaris to never ask anything like that of him ever again.
I told Yinmaris - I hope he is here for me too, when such a time comes - and he swore to it. I will hold that promise, but I do not feel rage towards him. After all, did we not just all agree in some way, that we will be relentless in pursuit of our goals? He did what he needed to, and I had come too far to see him denied the results.
The magic and the knowledge I had sacrificed all came back after a sleep. But not the maps I saw… not the whispers of my god, not the path in the maze.
Was it a vision of the future? Can I remember the location, can I find it again? I’ve tried to write it down, to draw it upon my skin again. I have tried to look at the cartography of this region again… but what trust can I put in the truths of a test? And yet… like the One and Many says… I have to keep looking. I can’t stop. I'll camp out in the library for now - with this and the curses, I just need to focus on absorbing all the knowledge I can find there.
I hope this Queen is worth it.
___
Thanks to Riah for an amazing game!
