[center][h2][b]A Place to Call Home[/b][/h2][/center] [hr] They sat and shared comfortable silence. Each was glad for the others company, but neither felt the need to speak as the glowing bubble once again ferried them across the vast expanse of space. Liana in particular was glad for the moments peace. It wasn’t just that she had yet to grasp small talk, or really talk in general, but more so that she appreciated having the time to ruminate on all that had happened since her rebirth into this world. Especially after the meeting in Aelius’s palace. Liana hadn’t participated much, but she’d listened. It had not been the most comprehensible talk, at least not to a being that lacked an inherent knowledge of this universe’s gods, but she’d learned enough to worry. Enough to understand, too. It was little wonder Asceal, Liana’s first friend and the one she now knew she owed her life to, had been so melancholy at their first meeting. Billions of souls aflame, and having to save only one. Liana couldn’t honestly imagine what a billion of anything looked like, let alone souls, but she knew she was unbelievably lucky to have been the one her friend picked. Perhaps it had been chance, but Liana was grateful nonetheless. Of course, that wasn’t all she’d learned. While Asceal and Aelius, even Azura, all seemed to be kind gods it was clear that their siblings weren’t all so even tempered. Azura had described terrible calamities wrought by callous divines, and it hadn't taken long for Liana to realize that the events which led to her birth were one such disaster. After the gods had agreed to part ways Liana had asked Asceal about it. The Goddess of Light couldn’t say who’d done it or why, though it was clear she had unvoiced suspicions, but it seemed that Asceal’s home had been destroyed mere moments before Liana’s inception. A home they were returning to now. Liana didn’t know what to make of that, after all she stood by her original observation: Asceal’s sphere was rather empty. Asceal had promised her it wouldn’t remain that way, and Liana understood that her friend was a god, but after having seen the state of the Lustrous Garden in the moments after its destruction she doubted even a god could repair the damage. Still, Asceal had done enough to earn her trust. The shimmering field of debris that remained of Asceal’s home grew in Liana’s vision for the rest of the journey, and before long they’d arrived. Liana spared Asceal a glance as the Goddess’s sigh broke the silence of the journey. With a smile as hopeful as it was forlorn the Goddess met Liana’s eyes and spoke, “Well then, I suppose it’s time we fix this place up.” Liana replied skeptically, “Um, you think so?” “I do,” Asceal chuckled, her form shining a bit brighter, “It’s not so difficult a task, when you get down to it.” Without further preamble Asceal held out a glowing hand and soon chunks of crystal the size of mountains began to gather at a distant point before the Goddess. As Liana watched more and more of the debris field collapsed into an immense ball of luminous crystalline shards that grew with every passing second. The vine woman gawked, and Asceal couldn’t help but smile wider still, “Don’t be so surprised Liana! I did say I was a Goddess didn’t I?” Well, Liana thought, seeing [i]was[/i] believing. Before her shining blue eyes a world was growing, and her friend was making it happen as if it was as easy as raising a hand. At some point the enormous collection of shards had begun to liquefy and transition from a jagged sphere into a smooth reddish orb. Detritus swirled around the nascent sphere like a vortex until only the most distant fragments of crystal formed a tail that stretched so far into the distance that Liana could see its edges scattering the light of Heliopolis. Without thinking she whispered, “Pretty.” Asceal stopped at Liana’s comment and took in the sight before replying, “You’re right, it is isn’t it? Prettier than it used to be. I think that’s enough.” With that comment the vortex stopped and the glassy world rapidly cooled, a trillion trillion tiny cracks forming on its surface. The new sphere twisted the light of its shining tail and countless iridescent rays erupted from the microscopic fractures that crisscrossed its surface. “Is that your new home?” Liana asked, awestruck. Asceal made her way over to Liana and laid a warm hand on her shoulder, “It’s yours too Liana. In fact,” The goddess paused and the bubble began to accelerate towards the surface of the planetoid, “I think it’s time you added your own touch.” As the bubble evaporated and deposited them on what seemed like an enormous plain of rainbow crystal Liana stumbled, she really wished Asceal would warn her when that happened, and ended up on her hands and knees. She got back on her feet and waved off Asceal’s look of concern before asking, “How would I do that? I’m not a god. Right?” “No,” Asceal suppressed a laugh as Liana’s face expressed her disappointment, “But you don’t have to be a god to help. This is your home too, and I think I know how I can make sure it feels like it.” With that Asceal knelt and held a hand against the smooth surface of the small world she’d created. Liana felt the crystal rumble as tiny cracks grew into fissures all around them. Before she could voice her concern water began to erupt from the gaps in the crystal, and soon the pair were up to their knees in it. Liana’s heart jumped, she hadn’t realized something was missing until she saw it. There hadn’t been any water on Heliopolis, but now that she saw it she knew it was something that she’d been longing for ever since she’d opened her eyes in this new universe. A gleeful expression took hold of her and she wrapped Asceal up in her arms and effused, “Thank you!” The Goddess hugged her friend back before hinting, “That’s not all, Liana.” At the prompting Liana looked around, bemused, before she spotted it. From one of the cracks a porcelain vine was slowly emerging, its growth accelerating with every passing moment. In the span of a moment a million other vines had snaked their way out of the cracks and crevices and without instruction they began to wrap around each other until they formed spiraling trunks. Liana soon found herself in a forest of indescribable scale. Great masses of vines wound into trunks that sprouted branches which wound into trunks and so on until there was an interwoven canopy of shimmering white vines that covered the entire sphere. Liana was dumbstruck, but Asceal took her hand and guided her to one of the great trunks. When Asceal pressed Liana’s hand against the vines it was like a lightning bolt had struck her mind. She felt the entire forest of vines, no, she [i]was[/i] the entire forest of vines. She could sense every one like it as an appendage, and she soon saw that Asceal was building a vast network of pathways, platforms, and staircases among the great web of foliage. Liana didn’t hesitate to help her, willing the vines to grasp the walkways and hold them straight so that they could stretch all across the small world. It was an experience she nearly lost herself in, but when it was done Asceal called her back with a word, “So?” Liana shook her head and pulled her hand away from the trunk of vines. It took a moment for her to feel grounded again, but when she did she managed a reply, “It... It’s incredible.” Asceal smiled and gestured towards a staircase that had formed behind them. The pair ascended countless steps before they reached a great palace of crystal held up by the vines that covered Asceal’s sphere, the Goddess’s Lustrous Garden. Asceal’s sphere, and Liana’s home. The vine woman only noticed it halfway into her walk, but the brownish green vines that made up her body had been bleached white by whatever magic had bound her to the great forest around her. She seemed to blend into it now. Liana didn’t mind, in fact, she finally felt like she belonged in this new world. [hr] [hider=Summary & Might Costs] Asceal and Liana rebuild the Lustrous Garden. [b]Might Costs:[/b] [i]Asceal: -8 FP Reconstruction of the Lustrous Garden -1 MP Creation of the Shimmering Vines -1 MP Liana’s Connection to the Vines {16 FP & 3 MP Remaining} [4/5 Towards Remedy Portfolio][/i] [/hider]