[center][b]Astarte, Goddess of Magic and Soul Manipulation. L6 - 30 MP - 9 FP[/b][/center] The world cared not for what had happened here. Blades of grass swayed gently in the wind every few moments. The moon shed her light down on the plains which were painted over with recent craters and canyons. Yet, while the battle had taken place the same day, nature was already on its way to reclaiming what had been lost. A Great Tree stood proudly over the horizon with its canopy meeting with the gods above the clouds, far beyond what a mortal could see. Thick roots dug into the ground and took over the deep canyons, creating natural bridges which animals used as homes and for convenience when traversing the terrain. Grass on the plains had begun spreading into the craters, reclaiming what was once devoured and burned. All life was drawn to the Great Tree. Squirrels climbed up to its lower branches, birds flew up to the distant canopy and snakes and horses slept under its shadow. At the foot of the Tree was a small stick half-buried into the ground, jutting up as some kind of forgotten marker. A brown mouse was sitting on top of it, cleaning itself. The mouse froze, its little eyes doing their best to scan the area. The woman came out of nowhere. One moment she just appeared there, wearing white and with lavender hair. The mouse squeaked and in a blink of an eye, disappeared into the grass. The woman was Astarte, Goddess of Magic and Soul Manipulation. She looked down at the stick and after a moment of contemplation knelt down on the ground in front of it. She sighed and felt her lip quiver. The stick was emanating a familiar kind of essence, but in a different way than she remembered. This was no longer the essence that seeped into all her senses, the essence that walked beside her all the time. "It is a memorial..." She muttered. A minute of silence. She kissed the stick and stood up, looking at the Tree. She didn't see just a Tree, though, she saw it for what it was. An immensely powerful being that was helping nature move on from what had happened, and was doing so with its great amount of willpower. So much that it was bending reality to its whim. She went up to the trunk, which was at least as thick as two human huts, and laid her hand on it. At that moment, Astarte felt connected to it and connected to the world. A wave of warmth washed over her chest, tears welled up in her eyes and suddenly she started sobbing. She felt loved. Every last part of her essence felt the Tree's embrace, whisking her into a world full of just... Being. She didn't understand it, but she didn't have to. Eventually, Astarte began flying up, never taking her hand off the Tree, until she reached the top, going through several canopies and making sure she didn't interfere with the life that had made the Tree its home, because now more than ever, she felt them as if they were herself. From the top, she could see a sea of clouds, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was a cloudy night, but even then there were spots where she could see down onto the plains she had been on just a few moments ago. She could see over to the nearby forest, where humans had taken residence just a few decades ago, and she could see the thick impenetrable canopies of the Deepwoods. From here, it all looked so different... So beautiful. She let go of the Tree and felt the connection vanish. Still, what she had felt was still within her. The love, the life... [i]Finally[/i], she thought, [i]I am.[/i] She turned towards the Tree and smiled warmly, "I love you." She muttered. Another breeze went through the leaves, making the only sound beside her voice. She then flew down and saw nests of birds, parents sleeping soundly around their hatchlings. Astarte got close to them and kissed each of them, waking them up and getting her face pecked gently by the family. "I love you too." She chuckled. Then she flew further down and saw more life. "I love you," she said to moths and caterpillars. "I love you," She said to squirrels and mice. "I love all of you!" She yelled as she reached the bottom, grinning like a child. Then a bird dropped a present on her head and she rolled her eyes. With a flick of her wrist, it was as if it had never happened. "I know you love me too but I'll shut up now so you can sleep." "Now," She turned toward the stick she saw first, "I will never forget you, you know. And as far as I know, you're still alive, Brownie." She carefully bent down and picked up the stick, cleaning the dirt off it with her hands and kissing it again. "I think the Tree had something to do with your essence now coating this stick, but hey," She shrugged, "If you're a stick now, then we'll roll with it. Let's get you somewhere safe... Or at least safer than here-" In a flash, she was up above the canopy, where she carefully let the stick levitating, protected by a small bubble made of her essence. "That should do it. Now, if you can hear me, say something!" She said, grabbing the bubble in her hands. "Come on Brown, I didn't get to see you turn into a stick you know, and you were ignoring me back then so you owe me an explanation." No answer. "Huh," Astarte forced a smile and preemptively wiped her eyes, then hugged the bubble. "I miss you Brown, please come back. You have been so absent lately..." She spent all night like that, hugging the bubble containing the stick with an ounce of Brown's essence, in hopes that her avatar would somehow come back to comfort and scold her. [hider=Summary] The battlefield where Brown, the Beast and the three heroes fought is in the process of healing, a process accelerated by the Great Tree's presence. When Astarte arrives, she takes note of a stick that has traces of Brown's essence, then she touched the Tree and feels connected to Galbar in such a way that she can't help but tell all critters in the area that she loves them, ending up with bird poop on her head. Finally, Astarte takes the Memorial Stick and leaves it levitating on top of the Great Tree, above the clouds, protected in a bubble of her essence. She then spends all night hugging the bubble and talking to the stick.[/hider] [hider=Might Summary] Used 1 FP to make a bubble around the Memorial Stick to protect it from harm and time-related deterioration. Remaining= 30MP and 8 FP[/hider]