[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/ZIEBEyW.png[/img]
[sub]God of Death, Prince of Astral Fires[/sub]

&
[h1][color=darkorange]𝔖   𝔢   𝔦   𝔥   𝔡   𝔥   𝔞   𝔯   𝔞[/color][/h1]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/aco4DOR.png[/img]

[hider=Seihdhara of the Red Hair | The Crimson Goddess | The Sanguine Protector]
Goddess of [i]Martial Combat[/i]
5 Might and 23 Freepoints[/hider][centre][h1]The CyKhollab that was [b]very nearly[/b] the LAST CyKhollab[/h1]
[sub]Be Grateful Peasants[/sub][/centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/o5T6T0Q.png[/img][/centre]
[indent][sub]Time: The Day the Gods Came[/sub][/indent]
This soul was different.

In the mess of screaming, wailing, gibbering souls, in the cacophony of self-righteous announcers, tyrannical dictators, energetic orators; this soul - it was different. It was not so much that it was less or more rambunctious than the others - indeed, it did not shout the less or lash out with inferior fury as an ethereal soul now latched onto an arm or an impish spryte seated itself atop its head or yet another took grip of its naked leg and hugged it for dear life. And no, it was not the mere fact that, unlike others, this soul did not leave a flaking trail of soul-stuff in its wake - though that was indeed rather notable if not entirely unique. No, the most immediately noticeable difference was as a bristling flame, white and orange and red all at once. And yet it was not simple as a bristling fire, this soul [i]actually[/i] aflame. And so as she swatted the impertinent souls that thought to latch onto her, all that she touched swiftly burned away in pain and glee. Indeed, seeing in her a far swifter salvation than the lengthy way to the Pyres above, they all gravitated about her, tearing and pulling and lurching and biting to touch her - hotly they came, fired their gleeful cries and passed; hotly charged and broke at last! And ultimately - ultimately they disappeared. But between the tug of the Vortex and the pulling and tearing and resolute charging of her fellow souls, Seihdhara could hardly think up or muster an escape. And so even as she fought with all her fury (which was, admittedly, far inferior to what she remembered herself capable of) she ascended ever higher and ever closer to the Pyre. And even as she looked to the fires above, and even as she burned endlessly she could not help but wonder - could... could that which was already aflame be set aflame? Perhaps it was the one cohesive thought she mustered in between the frantic [i]get off me[/i]s and [i]not there you don't you cheeky bugger[/i]s, though she knew not from where the thought came or from where the sense of deep and growing unease emanated.

So it was that Seidhara was raised up, up and above Galbar and all of those lower celestial planes that hovered just above it likes halos. Her spirit passed the boughs of the World Tree - and she looked upon the enormous thing and was filled with awe. And she determined that she would visit this place in time and make herself a great tree also so that she could show it to that Twigirl. Yes, she liked trees. A lot. And as the World Tree disappeared from sight, the breathtaking remnants of Asceal's shattered comet emerged, and beyond it the cold emptiness of space. And Seihdhara looked at the shards all over the place and the destruction, and she knew that it had been from here that the crystals that struck her came. It seemed to her somewhat callous of Buzzkill Sealy to create an explosion like that just so there could be some light and fireworks. But also surprising! Maybe she was not so uptight after all! And even as she thought this, the invisible force that pulled at her refused to yield. She was dragged ever closer to the distant stars, and she felt the grim aura of the Sky of Pyres growing in her mind and heart as it pulled her closer at an ever increasing speed. Here, after being swept away by the currents for so long, the gaps between her soul and those of the maddened others began to grow. Soon the space was such that she batted off the last of them and there were no more within close enough reach to scramble onto or claw at her, though a few dozen were still travelling close enough for her to vividly see.

Another difference between her own fiery spirit and those of these other souls soon became clear: the crumbling spirits were experiencing far greater forces. Horrific ripping resulted here or there when they tried too hard to fight the Vortex. All of them were dragged directly towards some of the nearest stars. But as for Seihdhara, the tug was not so overpowering that she was utterly unable to steer. It was like she was caught in a river that was dragging her towards her inevitable end where downstream there was a fateful waterfall. Struggling against the mighty current to go back upstream was ultimately futile, but she could still swim left or right and choose just where she fell. There were many stars nearby with different hues and intensities, and then there were of course great black voids between the lights, where nothing drifted save for strange clouds. 

Seihdhara did not like the look of those great black voids in the slightest, and so steered herself gently towards the closest of the lights. As she approached she saw that they appeared to be - as she already knew on a level - great fires into which the souls were being swept in by updrafts. Huge billowing plumes of dark vapor emerged from the flames and surrounded the pyres as smoky coronas, and something flaky to the touch yet nearly imperceptible was wafting everywhere here--[i]ashes[/i]. There did not seem to be much choice involved for these spirits being incinerated. At first, Seihdhara did not know whose work this was, for the essence that she felt and the hand that was at work in all of this was not one she had crossed before. But as she cast her memory back to her entrance into this world, she vaguely recalled the gods she had not met but of whom the Ugly Old Ogre had impregnated her mind with knowledge. What was his name? K-Ky-Kha-Kho…

She frowned deeply and began to exhibit a greater degree of resistance to the flow, swimming slowly but surely to whatever shore this torrential flow had. Aye, she did not like the look of those black voids in the slightest, but she utterly despised being unable to make her own way, being pulled along whether she liked it or not towards whatever lay at the end of this all. And so she pushed away from the pull and and made for the darkness. And yes, there was something not quite comforting about that darkness, but at least it was her choice to head there. No pull, no matter how overpowering, would be forcing her anywhere. She was the absolute master of herself wherever she went and however she was and in whatever state she found herself. Eventually she found that she was coated in darkness and free, her burning soul freer now than it had been since being torn away from her body. Here and there she heard a whisper, but Seihdhara was not afraid. Still, she was no fool and, throwing her hand outwards, a great gleaming soul-blade appeared.

Safe for now upon the dark and empty ‘shore’, she watched on as more and more of the maddened and broken souls were dragged forth and condemned to the flames. Upon closer examination, those flames within the massive pyres were not at all like any mundane fire she’d ever seen before, nor even like her hair! Like the dead souls themselves, these flames did not breathe. And Seihdhara did not understand it. She did not understand what had caused these souls to become like this and what had caused this fire to… well, it was [i]dead[/i]. A dead fire. The very thought of it was horrifying, but seeing it with the eyes of the soul as she did now sent a slithering coldness through her, and it was like no cold she had ever felt. A small eddy of smoke wafted toward her, but where she had naturally expected to feel some warmth she instead felt [i]nothing[/i]. The light of her radiant soul dimmed just a bit as the smoke passed through her. And she knew in that instant that the fire - that fire there - promised a truer death than simply being flung from her body. To step into that would be the true end of Seihdhara - but for now, why! She yet lived!

And though everything screamed at her to leave this place at once, her curiosity and horror had been piqued. She wanted to know what had caused these souls to become like this. She wanted to know why they were being flung into the dead flames. Even this smoke - what was it? Her soul-blade in hand (though she did not know whether it could protect her against what this place had), she ventured forth and looked. And her eyes were quick to find the greatest flame. It drew her like nothing else, but she resisted and thought that to go anywhere near it would surely be lethal. But then she smirked, and without a second thought she flung herself forth and headed right for the great dead eye.

Traversing that void between the stars took time. As she drifted closer and closer to the greatest and brightest of all the star-pyres, she had time to contemplate her choice. Great nebulous clouds of smoke and ash stood in her path, but in this ethereal form she passed through them unimpeded. Finally, as she came nearly upon the star, she witnessed a colossal head of fire. The visage was a twisting bestial thing, filled with all the furies innate to the flame. The great head of flame did not seem to see her, busy as it was staring deep into the howling depths of that gigantic star, but on seeing it Seihdhara knew him immediately.

[i][colour=darkorange]Oh! I know you now,[/colour][/i] she muttered to herself, [i][colour=darkorange]you’re that... that Cat-head![/colour][/i] Seihdhara declared once her slight surprise at seeing the fiery feline head had subsided. [i][colour=darkorange]So you’re the one who did all this?[/colour][/i] And as she spoke she surged towards him until the far larger god was right before her. [i][colour=darkorange]Why are they all so broken?[/colour][/i] She asked candidly, [i][colour=darkorange]and this place and all of it - it all seems horrible! The fires, the souls, the smoke - something is very wrong. Why?[/colour][/i] She looked at the great head for some time, her question lingering between them. But there was no response and Seihdhara had the distinct feeling that the other god had not quite registered her presence, his eyes fixed on the great star-pyre before them. He seemed to be muttering something to himself, but Seihdhara could not quite make it out and, being a soul, she could neither nudge nor pull at her sibling to get his attention. Indeed, despite her flamboyant colour and fiery nature, it seemed like he only registered her distantly as yet another soul waiting to burn. Shaking the soul-blade in her hand into dust away, she surveyed the countless souls being sweeped willing and unwilling into the dread dead flame. She watched them, silently, for longer than she cared to count. Shedding themselves and weeping, crying out for an end - and yet... no, she could not say they were [i]alive[/i], the shadows of life perhaps - and yet…

There came to her then the image of her body, shattered and broken. Falling like a battered ragdoll away, all fire, all dignity, all strength… gone like ash blowing off in the aftermath of the firestorm. She trembled at the memory of that terrible unliving - [i]joyless[/i] - husk. And the husk was gone but she - why, she yet lived! It throbbed within her, ceaselessly, stubbornly, with a fury and rage, with an eternal fervour and vigour, with an excitement that whispered - that urgently pitched - for her to go, [i]just go! Now![/i] And she trembled once more, but not out of cold or horror, but so great was the fire that wished to be loosed. [i]She needed to do something - this [b]life[/b][/i]. Clenching and unclenching her ethereal fists wildly, Seihdhara looked back at the near-but-oh-so-distant Cat-head and knew that there was nothing in that vacant head for her. Not now anyhow, for this god was elsewhere, preoccupied utterly in a world entirely different where she could neither reach him nor he hear her. And so she reached out - carefully, [i]oh[/i] so carefully - and fished a soul from the impossible surge. It cried out and burned under her fiery touch, and she realised that it was not crying out in pain - not entirely at least. But he burned slowly - slower far than he would have burned in the pyre - and so she had the chance to inspect him, look into him, observe his innards more closely.

Yes. Life. This was the stuff it was made of. Without this the husk was nothing - all the strength, all the great martial feats. They all started here at the wellspring of each individual life. Were they separate then?- the husk and the soul, that was. Or was there more? She looked more closely at the soul in her grasp, but only twisted her nose at the strange way in which even as he burned bits and pieces were peeling away. And she knew then that burning was in fact a mercy, for this soul was ill and dying slowly - oh so slowly! [i]But why?[/i] And no amount of staring into him, or the one after him, or the one after her, would grant Seihdhara an answer. [i][colour=darkorange]Tell me![/colour][/i] She finally demanded in exasperation, grabbing yet another soul. She screeched and clawed at the goddess’ face as the flame-souled mistress of battle questioned and demanded again and again.
[b]TELL YOU WHAATT?![/b] The burning soul at last screeched, gasping beneath the effort of summoning coherent thoughts and sculpting them into words that left her ethereal, ever-shifting, throat.
[i][colour=darkorange]Why? Why are you fading away? Why are you… dying.[/colour][/i] The soul looked at her wide-eyed, unable to understand or comprehend the question.
[b]Am...am I… alive?[/b] Seihdhara scoffed at the question.
[i][colour=darkorange]Don’t you know? You [b]are[/b] life![/colour][/i] The soul seemed only perplexed by this.
[b]But...how can that… be…[/b] it managed as it slipped away from Seihdhara’s grasp and disappeared into the illusory torrents. Indeed, how could it be? How could it be when they were all so [i]devoid[/i] of life. And for all their emptiness they all still held onto different forms, onto… Seihdhara’s eyes lit up and she smiled faintly.

Memories.

She looked up at the smoke, and she knew it for what it was now. Knew why it had left her cold. The remnants of life, black and formless. There were no memories there, nothing at all. She rose up to it then, her eyes distant and withdrawn. And for a moment there the smoke of the greatest of the sky-pyres seemed to her a great obsidian bear, the light of the fire reflected beneath it as red flowing water. 

[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/7DHS32V.png?2[/img]
[i]A Visage Dark, A Memory Stirs[/i][/centre]

And she who was and had always been Seihdhara suddenly knew the Bear Over Red Water. And all distance and pensiveness left her and her soul-eyes were filled with wonder and glee, and if souls could cry then Seihdhara shed tears. And the flames about her grew ponderously large and took on a heat that defied the wintry death of the flames of the sky-pyre. She extended a single ethereal flaming hand, she smiled. And her brother saw her then.
[i][colour=darkorange]It is given you, all of you, by the Bear Over Red Water.[/colour][/i] And it was a momentary thing only, but for that moment a nebulous flame-red hue seemed to wash across the velvet fabric of heaven, awash as it was with pearly stars. Seihdhara looked below, and Cat-head looked above, and there was a silencing of souls then. The goddess with soul aflame grinned. [i][colour=darkorange]You had a good idea Cat-head. But this isn’t the solution. The question is [b]why[/b] do they peel. You do your thing - but me, I’ll find out![/colour][/i] And so saying, the goddess turned and surged off with the billowing smoke into the endlessness of the void and- ah. That was a funny looking seal there! Only, rather than drawing closer to it, Seihdhara found that she was very suddenly being drawn back. Furrowing her brows and blinking in confusion, she looked behind her to find that the gaping maw of the dread pyre was yawning after her and growing larger by the second. 

That… was not good.

As she had done before, she made for the shore - if one could call it thus - and escaped the relentless tug, leaping back into the dark clouds. Once there, she dashed off again with greater determination and fury. Her speed was greater than the star could hope to pull helpless souls into its cavernous maw. And yet, just as the strange red seal came into sight once more and freedom was within grasp, she found herself drawn back yet again. Frustrated, she fought free of the flow yet another time and gave an irritated [i][colour=darkorange]flaming fucktwit[/colour][/i]. It was quite apparent that this place drew souls in whether they wanted it or not, and no exertions on her part would allow her to fly free…

Unless…

Her head turned abruptly until she found the form of not-so-talkative Cat-head again. Surely he would know how she could free herself of the insistent pull of this place. Without further thought, she rushed down towards him and shouted his name so loud that every soul round every star could hear it. But in truth that was merely her being her excitable self, for it was to the mind of the lord of death that she spoke and not to his ears. [i][colour=darkorange]Your help, death god! I need it. Wake up.[/colour][/i]


[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/XRcyBUw.png[/img][/centre]

He knew now that all judgement founds its roots in ignorance and assumption. In the depths of the inferno before him were the ghostly vestiges of liars, traitors, thieves. [i]Murderers.[/i] All of the ‘evil’ and ‘degenerate’ scum that other gods might have been wont to judge harshly, but not Katharsos.

How could he judge them when their every thought and moment were laid bare before his eyes, unravelling one by one as the memories were committed to flame and smoke? To look into the depths of the flame was to empathize with the dead in a way that he would never be able to empathize with any who yet lived. These souls needed no punishment, and Katharsos needed no explanation or apology from them; everyone was just a product of happenstance, a leaf caught adrift on the currents of a stream. Life was their blissful, or tragic, or wild, or calm journey down that river.

And death was equality.

[sub][i][color=gray]death god[/color][/i][/sub]

A faint echo roused the lord of death and made him break his gaze away from the depths of the flame. He turned from the great pyre, only to see another flame. He might have squinted closer to see if it were merely one of his other distant pyres (for at this time there were [i]many[/i] ablaze, and he could not hope to watch over them all at once) but the hue of her flame made such a determination easy. This was no pyre, for the flames in this little spark still had a flickering heartbeat, a  life and a warmth to them. It was a faint heartbeat, though.

There was a gentle force that brought Seihdhara away from the darkened distance of the proverbial shore. In an instant she came to be right before the colossal head of fire, and perhaps to her surprise, the tiger-faced god radiated some small amount of warmth. Enough for her to feel, at least. She closed her eyes and basked in it, and it seemed to strengthen her.

He looked at Seihdhara’s soul and contemplated her in silence for a few moments, the hue of his flames gently shifting from a dull orange to a soft gold. The tiger’s face unceremoniously sloughed away and reformed, and now she was looking at the visage of something more like a monkey.

[color=goldenrod]”Death god,”[/color] he finally echoed. [color=goldenrod]”Is that all that you see?”[/color] The goddess, he eyes open once more, grinned and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

[i][colour=darkorange]Not really no. I just didn’t want to go in and call you Cat-head. You seem like the serious sort, and last time I joked about with the serious sort I got… well, it didn’t go too well. And something tells me that, right now, I’m in no position to be angering anybody![/colour][/i]

Her strange mannerisms earned little more than a puzzled look, but it didn’t remain upon the simian face for long. [color=goldenrod]”Sometimes I see blurs, hear echos, and think that once I was another thing. But now you are right, and this is all that I am. And you are dead, and that is all that you are.”[/color] Seihdhara considered the other god with raised eyebrows.

[colour=darkorange][i]Ah, so you also can’t remember things from before the Door. Rhu-rhu is the same as you. I wonder how many of the others are like that too. It’s a shame, don’t you think? Not being able to remember anything. D’you reckon the Old Ogre did it on purpose? Rid you of your memories that is. Whatever his reason, he didn’t take mine away - or maybe he couldn’t! I’m pretty stubborn that way you know?[/i][/colour] She grinned and hovered closer to the other god, placing an ethereal hand on his now-apelike nose. Her grin disappeared slowly and a wistfulness caught in her eyes. [colour=darkorange][i]You seem sad to me. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think that you are [b]just[/b] a death god. Why should you be defined by the role you play? It is important, don’t get me wrong. I can see that. But you’re not [b]just[/b] a death god. And no, I’m not dead. That’s not all that I am. I am alive![/i][/colour] And she dashed away from him and spun around in a great fiery whirl, laughter rippling off her. But she [i]was[/i] dead, Katharsos knew, and her joy was lessened by the leash that stifled her flight and tethered her close to the other god.

And as in for her words, she may as well have been skipping stones off the surface of a pond.

[color=goldenrod]”These names that you mention are…”[/color] His face changed into that of a lion, now. [color=goldenrod]”...alien to me. But when you enter the Pyre, your thoughts will manifest to my eyes and I shall be elucidated. In that final moment, I will understand you. But before then, it seems unlikely.”[/color]
[colour=darkorange][i]‘You don’t know them because you’ve locked yourself up here all on your lonesome silly! If you went and talked to everyone else then you’d know everyone wouldn’t you. And wait,’[/i][/colour]  Seihdhara looked at the great sky-pyre behind her and then back at Katharsos, [colour=darkorange][i]‘you want [b]me[/b] to go in [b]there[/b]? Why!?’[/i][/colour] She asked, perplexed at the suggestion.

For the first time, he proclaimed his dogma aloud. [color=goldenrod]”Equality in death! It is not a matter of what I want, or of whether your life was fulfilling, or whether you were a god or a tiny vermin. All must be subjected to the cleansing fires here, so their souls may be recycled that life may spring forth anew. You are dead, and the dead must make way for the living--this is only natural. This is the only way.”[/color] Seihdhara looked back at the stream of suffering souls and back to Katharsos. It did not seem to her, when she had observed the souls, that this was the case at all. She had rather thought that there was something wrong with them, that they were suffering, that they were dying slowly. The great pyres to her seemed a mercy, a swift burning away that was preferable to this endless, painful shedding. She turned back to Katharsos.
[colour=darkorange][i]So… so there is no [b]actual[/b] reason for burning them? I thought you burn them because they are suffering, because of that shedding and peeling. They seem to be in a great amount of pain. But you only burn them because… because…[/i][/colour] she frowned, [colour=darkorange][i]if that’s not why you burn them, then [b]why[/b] do you burn them?[/i][/colour]

[color=goldenrod]”I acknowledge [i]their[/i] pain, and for that reason hurl them into the flames without hesitation. Though they long to find an ending, it is in their nature to survive, so they inevitably struggle and rage; for these souls, I must give swift relief. It is my duty and my imperative.”[/color] Katharsos had a way of speaking slowly so that every word had time to sink in and crush one under its implications before even the beginnings of the next word left the god’s mind. He was in no hurry as he explained further, [color=goldenrod]“Things fall apart, and souls do not last forever. Those that are not yet so decayed, like you, I feel no need to rush. Eventually all dead things must find their way into the pyres so that they can make way for new life, but you may  have time to contemplate the meaning of this lifetime and reflect until you are prepared to accept and  face your destiny. Time within reason, of course.”[/color] Cocking her head, Seihdhara placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. Something was not quite right in this all. There was a piece that did not quite click. She scratched her head and tried to figure out exactly what it was. 

Pain. 
Rage. 
Struggle. 
Survival… 

Her eyes brightened and she looked up at the smoke leaving the pyre. Now that stuff, that was dead. There could be no doubt. But those… she looked down at the screaming throng being forced into the great star-pyre. Those were not dead. [colour=darkorange][i]You are contradicting yourself Cat-head![/i][/colour] She declared excitedly, [colour=darkorange][i]you say that I am dead, that they are dead. But dead things can’t feel! They don’t have a need to “survive”. Just because their bodies have collapsed, it doesn’t make them dead. I’ve looked into those souls down there and I have every belief that they are life itself! I need to look more, I know, but without them there can be no life. So how can they be dead? They feel, they want to survive, they rage - these are all clear signs of life. It is that smoke there, unfeeling and cold and… it’s that that’s dead. No, souls aren’t dead Cat-head. They only come here to die.[/i][/colour]

[color=goldenrod]“No, what they have here is but a pale mockery of life, a lingering vestige. Once the death of body comes, the death of soul should not be protracted for long, lest they decay and become like the most wretched of these specimens before you.”[/color] He looked closer into Seihdhara’s fiery soul. The same gentle force that he’d used to bring her into his vicinity now lifted her chin and made her meet his gaze. [color=goldenrod]“This denial that you are experiencing is a most frequent thing, and perhaps a natural one, from what I have already witnessed in these others. Those that find acceptance and face reality are more content in the end.”[/color] Seihdhara considered Katharsos’ words carefully before shrugging.

[colour=darkorange][i]I have to think on it more, and I have to see more. And I can’t see more while I’m here. I’m glad I came up here and saw all these souls, I think it was important that I did. I left some of my soul behind when I came through the Door you see, and I need to get it back. This - all this, you know? - might be important. But I can’t stay here.[/i][/colour] She approached him, a slightly vulnerable look in her eyes, [colour=darkorange][i]Cat-head,[/i][/colour] she whispered (though there was no need truly), [colour=darkorange][i]you need to let me go. I need to get back to my body and to my only living strand of hair. It’s important.[/i][/colour]

The radiant gold of his face lost its color, and then Seihdhara saw that every fire could be black. It was a mournful, sympathetic look, but the warmth that he had been exuding had now gone cold. Just like the ashes. [color=goldenrod]“You have not understood what I told you, and nor have you come to grasp with your situation. You are dead--I do not know how that came to be so quickly, but I shall mourn. But now that you are dead, there is no leaving this place. There is no more acting, no more doing anything anywhere else, no second chances. The only things left for you are rumination, and then taking the final step. Equality in death. And then rest. And then nothingness.”[/color] Seihdhara bit her ethereal lip and looked at the pyre behind them, and at the smokey soul remains above. 

No. She would not go in there. She was Seihdhara. She had not been born to die and forget. She was alive. And when she died, she would rise again complete and whole. Seihdhara did not die. It was not her way. She wracked her mind, trying to find something that could persuade her committed brother to let her go. She could fight him, but it seemed to her that he cared little for resistance and showcasing a living spirit - it was merely [i]denial[/i] and to be expected as far as he was concerned. Maybe she could try to knock him out if it really came to it, but she did not fancy her chances in her current state. Thinking back to what the Old Ogre had placed in her mind about Cat-head, she saw that he had been swift to leave once summoned into the world. Very eager to carry out his given purpose. Looking at the death god, she did not see any harm in trying that with him.

[colour=darkorange][i]Uh. You know, I like your whole Equality in Death thing. It seems sensible. But don’t you think we gods were brought into this world for a reason? Don’t you think that we are especially important? Don’t you think you’d be messing with the Old Ogre’s plans if you burned me before...[/i][/colour] she frowned and tried to think back. What was it that Ugly Old Ogre had wanted her to do? [colour=darkorange][i]Oh! Before I make my Sphere. My Sphere is very important, and if I die before making it then that Old Ogre won’t be happy. Na-Aah. So I really think you should reconsider burning me - at the very least until I’ve made my Sphere.[/i][/colour]

[color=goldenrod]“A purpose?”[/color] He fell silent for a long, long time in serious contemplation.

[color=goldenrod]”In truth, I have been grappling with such questions as well. Perhaps this is indeed a part of the One-Eyed One’s design. But maybe your purpose is nowhere near so grand as you purport; it might be that your lot [i]was[/i] to die, that I could look into your pyre and see you, and [i]know[/i] you. Or perhaps there is no purpose at all to what we do or are. How can you or I say? If He deigned that you were to live, would He really have allowed you to die so soon? Would He not deliver you away from this place now if there was some urgent cause, in His eye,  to undo the death of your body?”[/color] Seihdhara shrugged at Katharsos’ questions.

[colour=darkorange][i]I can’t say that these are questions that have been bothering me. I am the self-creator of my purpose, and I have already decreed that I am not born to die. But if you are worried about these things, I think it would be good to ask the Ogre before doing away with me, don’t you think? Or if you have no time to go ask him, I can go. But I won’t promise you that I’ll be coming back![/i][/colour] She smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head again, unrepentant in her honesty.

[color=goldenrod]”If you indeed have a purpose, and if it would offend Him that you fail to fulfill whatever role this is, then we speak of destiny. One does not write their own destiny, or simply decree that he is beyond death.”[/color]

He looked away from her, toward a great patch of nothingness in the dark void between stars. Melantha’s darkened Sphere obscured the way, but it was easy enough for the two of them to feel that this was the precise direction in which a small rocky planetoid drifted, inside of which was the Architect’s palace, inside of which was Him on His throne, and His unbroken eye. The gaze of that eye had never left them, and even now Katharsos felt its stare…

[color=goldenrod]”He sees us now. He saw you then, whenever you died. That He did nothing and does nothing seems telling. I think that you are incorrect in your convictions, Seihdhara.”[/color] Seihdhara looked in the direction Katharsos had looked for a few moments, then she turned back to her brother and, shrugging, grinned again.
[colour=darkorange][i]You might be right, Cat-head! But maybe he sees no reason to intervene because he knows I’m fully capable of dealing with this on my own! You are the master of death, and I am that wards you off. So maybe it is time for me to do what I do! What do you think?[/i][/colour] And the memory of a sword seemed to manifest itself at her fingertips, and she flared with a fire that was not just of the soul. Because this soul [i]was different[/i]. 

If she had expected a reaction, then she wasn’t met with the reaction she hoped for. In fact, she was hardly met with any reaction at all. Katharsos still stared into the distance, looking toward where the Barrier was hidden behind darkness. He had heard her, though she might not have even realized. He simply had nothing left to say save for the silent statement that he remained unswayed. Seihdhara moved a short distance from him, now distinctly aware of the ethereal grip he had on her. But even in his grip she grew, her fiery soul swelling and gushing until it matched the other god’s in size. And the ethereal blade she had waved away returned and glistened. [colour=darkorange][i]If you would kill me, Cat-head, then I will fight. Will you not let me go?[/i][/colour]

Before him was the ultimate defiance, a direct challenge, the very pinnacle of the ‘denial’ he had spoken of. Yet when he finally turned to face her again, there was nothing but an infuriated look that suggested he’d [i]expected[/i] this. [color=goldenrod]”You cannot escape,”[/color] he told her flatly. [color=goldenrod]”I do not care for violence; it is not becoming of us, and entirely futile as well. Calm yourself.”[/color]

His eyes darted to her ethereal blade, and by the sheer force of his will did the ghostly facade of a weapon begin to fade and dissipate. She smirked at his words and actions, tightening her grip on the ethereal sword and forcing it to remain. [colour=darkorange][i]Violence, Cat-head? You pulled me here forcefully and are keeping me against my will - is that not violence? Violence and force are keeping me here, and violence and force will get me out - unless you see reason and release me. There is no reason at all to keep me here. I refuse death. I am not peeling and shedding like the others. I still have much to do. The others,[/i][/colour] and she gestured to the millions of souls shedding themselves in pain, [colour=darkorange][i][b]need[/b] to burn, but what need have I for it? Have you thought about that? Why can’t you send me through complete? As I am. If you have no answers, if there are no good reasons, then we must fight until I am free.[/i][/colour]

Finally, with that accusation, she managed to provoke a reaction and some semblance of emotion. His face molded once more, now into something like a dog. The black flames turned to bright red. [color=goldenrod]”[i]I[/i] brought you here? [i]I[/i] am keeping you here through [i]violence?[/i]”[/color] Some mixture of confusion, anger, and (perhaps promisingly, for her) even guilt manifested upon his as he tried to grapple with and process that perspective. 

[color=goldenrod]”I do not bring anybody here. The Vortex of Souls brings all of the dead here, and you are clearly dead. So call it misfortune, or happenstance, or [i]destiny[/i] that killed you and brought you here, but not I! And I would think that I am anything but violent, for offering you the mercy and grace and time that I have. I would like it if all lived fulfilling and good lives before they came before me. I would like it if all felt prepared for what is to come, and stepped into the Pyre of their own free will. I have not flung you into the flames against your will, although I certainly could have, and for that valuable consideration and all others, I am not violent!”[/color] Seihdhara only scoffed at Katharsos’ empty excuses and justifications.

[colour=darkorange][i]You say that, Cat-head, but let us not lie to ourselves. You are the one who created the Vortex - no soul was given a choice in that matter, I know I wasn’t! Already that is violence and force whether you realise it or not. It may not be physical, but you are taking away freedom - and freedom is only taken by force whether physical or not. Don’t try to wriggle your way out of responsibility on that front! As for not flinging me into the flames and giving me time - what difference does it make? You have decided, whether I want it or not, that I will burn. Whether that happens now or in billions of aeons, the decision is made. That is force and violence even if you have coated it in kindness and mercy.[/i][/colour]

[color=goldenrod]”This cycle, these pyres, my doctrine--all are for the greater good, and I can envision no better system. But the system would fail if none were to enforce it, so perhaps you are right in that I do use force. But I do not enjoy being heavy-handed; I fling these broken souls into the flames only as an act of mercy, and even still I feel regret. And I have not been nearly brutal enough to be called ‘violent’ in my dealings with you! There is no choice to be had in that all must find their way to the pyres. If it were not I, another would have to bear this burden and play this role. If the souls were not committed to flame, then perhaps they would be committed to ice, but in the end it would make no difference. Channeling your rage and denial and using it to wound me undeservedly is a great cruelty, and a most unjust one at that!”[/color] Seihdhara raised her head and huffed.

[colour=darkorange][i]If you can’t handle the truth don’t blame me for it. If you are hurt by what I say then you are merely hurt by the truth - without all that flowery decoration and philosophical prettying-up. Why is there no choice to be had? Why must all find their way to the pyres? A healthy soul such as mine is not the same as those ones there that are shedding themselves. Surely justice demands that you treat me differently - equality here is injustice. How can you treat those half-souls, diseased and broken, like my full soul, vigorous and full of health? That is the very heart of injustice, don’t you think? What will you do in the future if other souls that are unbroken and not suffering come to you? Will you throw them in just the same? Would it not be better to create another route for them? One that does not involve all this burning and…[/i][/colour] she looked up with dread at the smoking remains of the souls [colour=darkorange][i]and all this [b]forgetting[/b].[/i][/colour] She looked back at him, [colour=darkorange][i]if you are unwilling to consider the plight of those souls that come to you before their time, then you know no mercy or justice. Why then should I show you mercy in word or action? Your system, I can see that it is necessary. But it is far too rigid. Equality in Death - it seemed sensible to me at first, but now that I think on it there is no sense to it. There should be [b]justice[/b] in death. So give me justice, or give me battle![/i][/colour]

[color=goldenrod]”You are not treated the same, child! Where you see my wind hurl them into the fires, you are given the fair and valuable consideration of time. Of the [i]right[/i] to even speak this conversation, to even be greeted by me! How is it just to send a soul that’s only half-ruined back to the Spheres below, when a detached spirit would only create mayhem? Why should I permit the selfish dead that refuse to pass on the right to [i]inflict themselves[/i] upon those that yet live, when instead they can be ended as they are? When one dies, his soul is recycled and takes new form and another being lives. There is no battle here, Seihdhara, but there is justice.”[/color] Seihdhara frowned in confusion. She did not understand everything he was saying. Inflict themselves? Selfish? Half-ruined and detached spirits?

[colour=darkorange][i]Look Cat-head, I don’t know what you’re saying but if you expect me to be grateful because you [b]allowed me, in your endless magnanimity[/b], to speak, then think again. If I am to bow down at your feet in utter humility and subservience because you have [b]given me time to contemplate[/b], then you have another thing coming. I am a prisoner here, brought unwilling. And you intended to annihilate me, destroy all that I am, and look into my most private thoughts and memories. This is not merely violence, this is an all out invasion, a metaphysical assault and violence of enormous proportions. I will not be grateful. I will call you out. And you will rethink this. And you will let me be free - at the very least put me back where your Vortex kidnapped me from. Or if you [b]have[/b] to burn me, then don’t burn my memories. Reform me whole. And [b]don’t look into me[/b].[/i][/colour]

His fires shook gently side to side as if the fluttering flames were blown by some wind, but there was no wind here in the cold of space. [color=goldenrod]”I thought that my purpose might be misunderstood,”[/color] he wistfully said, [color=goldenrod]”but I had hoped it might not be so. It is disappointing to see you so unable to grasp my perspective or look beyond yourself, but I still hold hope that perhaps the others are more mature. Very well, I can see that you will not be swayed, yet neither do your words or threats change my mind. So here you shall remain, until the end of your days. You may still choose when that is.”[/color]

With that final condemnation, Katharsos turned away from Seihdhara and left her. She watched after him dolefully until the distant light of his fiery body disappeared around to the other side of the great pyre before her. The lamentations of the steady stream of souls being swept into the pyre made a fitting ambience for her plight. She puffed in frustration and threw the soul-blade away in anger, her great body fizzling and shrinking like a great balloon swiftly releasing air. That did not go well [i]at all[/i]. She had let her anger get to her and, instead of convincing her brother with kind words she had forced him off with harsh ones. Even now, moments (or it seemed like moments) after the heated fight she could see with exactness where she had gone wrong and where she might have been able to speak better. Slapping herself for the nitwit that she was, she made to go after him. But almost immediately she stopped herself. No, she had hurt him. She had sensed that. Perhaps more deeply than she could have imagined. She would have to give him some time to think, to calm down. Perhaps time would make him take more kindly to her advanced when she approached him at last. Biting her lips and sighing, she stared miserably at the endless stream of souls being swept into the star.

She was not sure how long it had been when she finally started, and got up from what must have been a slumber. She had lost count at what must have been the four thousandth soul to be flung into the pyre. She looked about and began searching for Cat-head. Slowly at first, for she was worried about getting caught in the torrent this close to the huge star, but once she had gotten her bearings she sped up. She found him eventually, brooding as he had been before he heard her the first time. She bit her lips and looked at him shyly, before approaching close enough to touch him. She extended a hand and touched his fiery head. 
[colour=darkorange][i]C- Cat-head,[/i][/colour] she murmured, [colour=darkorange][i]I just wanted to say that-[/i][/colour] and here she smiled awkwardly and her eyes were as full of repentance as she could sincerely show, [colour=darkorange][i]I was stupid I was harsh I got angry I shouldn’t have I know it was so dumb. Please, don’t take what I said to heart. I might have gotten a bit too harsh in my accusations - I only wanted you to free me see? And, well. I saw that you were kind - it’s so clear that you are! I just thought that if I made you feel guilty enough then you would let me go. I know, I was bad, I shouldn’t have. Look - I understand why you bring them up here, I can see that you would prefer for them all to have lived complete and fulfilling lives, to willingly leap into the flame and be annihilated. It is a beautiful ideal. I still don’t entirely understand why they are shedding - and I still intend to find out! But the reason I want to know is because I too don’t wish for them to suffer, I too wish for them to live complete and fulfilled lives. And yes, I know they are dead the moment they leave their bodies as far as you are concerned, but I want them not to suffer even in the brief time between departing their bodies and being truly annihilated. Call me sentimental or emotional, or whatever else you will, but it is what it is I guess. So- uh. I just wanted to say that. So you know and don’t think too harshly of me - or of yourself at that. And yeah - sorry about my outbursts.[/i][/colour] She looked at him apologetically and gripped his flames tighter, as if her closeness to him and her words would soften his heart to her and have him forgive her. And somehow, her words found her way into his heart and she convinced him.

[color=goldenrod]”Go,”[/color] he told her. It had been almost a whisper, a tiny crack in the smooth surface of silence, but now he was silent once more. Had he even spoken at all, or was it only her hopeful imagination..? But erelong, there was a gentle tugging upon her. It brought her toward the pyre, and it tightened, but it didn’t let go. Swiftly realising what was happening, she held onto her brother and resisted the tug.
[colour=darkorange][i]N- no. Talk to me first.[/i][/colour] There was a desperation in her voice and her eyes told only too well of a deep fright. It was not the horror he had seen in her eyes at the prospect of being burned, but something rather more immediate. [colour=darkorange][i]I...[/i][/colour] and there was suddenly a wide-eyed naivety about her, [colour=darkorange][i]I don’t want to have lost you.[/i][/colour]
[color=goldenrod]”They’ll always think what you said. That I’m a tyrant,”[/color] he accidentally mused aloud. He shook his head slightly, and the force spiriting her away grew stronger. She frowned and shook her head also, still clutching onto him against the pull and tears suddenly forming in her ethereal eyes and dripping onto him.
[colour=darkorange][i]No. They won’t. I will tell them otherwise. They will know of your mercy, as I have come to know. And [b]you[/b] know it too.[/i][/colour]
And then the force grew too strong and it carried her up, over the brazing inferno, into the great plume of ash that the flames belched upward, and in that updraft she was caught and swept away. The ashes carried her back down to Galbar, the great billowing cloud of them unnaturally retaining its cohesion so as to bear her against the current of the Vortex of Souls. She passed by many a spirit and broken soul on its fateful journey to the stars. Some didn’t react, for she was not the only soul about even if she was the only fiery one, but just as many took notice, and they laughed or made faces or jeered or screamed. Still, the cold ashes bore her away from them and back down to Galbar. The cold, dead ashes. They were raining down everywhere here on Galbar; she just hadn’t known to look for them before. She looked up and all about here, awed into silence by the… all-encompassing nature of these things. She sank closer to the ground, following now this piece and now that piece, peering within this piece and tearing apart that as if to see in it. And closer to the sea she saw a tiny creature, far too tiny for mere sight. It was tearing itself apart, slowly, and bits of soul were crowding about it with urgency. And then, with a suddenness, the creature was now two identical creatures and a single piece of soul disappeared inside it. And Seihdhara could suddenly see the new, whole soul that lay within the tiny plankton of her sister’s creation. And so the cycle was complete.

With the ghost of a smile dancing on her ethereal face, she looked up above to where she knew her brother sat in thought and contemplation, considering the memories of unknown thousands. What knowledge he must have, what wisdom! She shrank inwardly in embarrassment at the thought of having spoken so outlandishly before him in his own realm. It was only a sign of his mercy and wisdom that he did not lash out at her then and punish her as the Old Ogre had done before. She could learn much from one like Cat-head. And it seemed the first lesson she should take to heart was quite clearly not to anger those with power over her!

She considered this deeply for a few moments. There was an altogether serious expression on her face.

[colour=darkorange][i]Oh fuck it. Who am I kidding.[/i][/colour] And she scratched her head sheepishly. But no! She had to learn to pick her battles carefully! And she had to know [i]how[/i] to fight her battles! That lesson she could - and would! - learn. And so thinking, she extended her senses until she felt where that distant part of her - that hair - was. And she dashed away, ready now for her second - and final - coming.

[indent][hider=Summary]
Seihdhara gets swept up into the Sky of Pyres.
She tries to speak with Katharsos, but does not succeed.
She observes souls.
She gives souls the capacity for soul-names and gets her own.
She attempts to leave the Sky of Pyries, but fails.
She speaks with Katharsos about this, attempting to persuade him to let her go.
She gets angry and offends him badly, causing him to refuse to help her.
Feeling bad, she leaves him along for crawling back before him and apologising.
He seems sadder yet, and she tries to comfort him but he has already dismissed her from the Sky of Pyres.
She’s back on Galbar in her soul form and observes some sexy plankton soulling it up.
She goes to find her body and living hair strand.

--MIGHT & FP EXPENDITURE (Seihdhara):
----Seihdhara imbues all the soul ash leaving each of the star-pyres in the Sky of Pyres with the [i]capacity[/i] to possess soul-names. Souls DO NOT immediately have a soul name and need never have them. They are totally and entirely optional. A soul-name can only be discovered by carrying out a simple ritual to be detailed in the relevant wiki article. Unless this ritual is carried out by the person in question (or on their behalf by someone else) then the person will be without a soul-name. Discovering [i]and embracing[/i] one’s soul-name grants a person greater martial capability (free portfolio action) along with a soul-related unique capability. Embracing one’s soul-name merely relates to acknowledging it and accepting it. If one discovers it but does not acknowledge/want it, then its effects are not forced upon them. They are entirely and completely optional. It’s a free world. I just want a soul port and this seemed cool. Leave me alone. (-3 Might Points)

2 MP & 23 FP Remaining[/hider][/indent]