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[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/2b4925ee-b215-4b89-a794-5058a6c53e13.png[/img]
[colour=lightseagreen][h1][b][i]Ashalla[/i][/b][/h1]
[b]Goddess of Oceans and Storms[/b][/colour]
[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/357353496057610242/531937501057777664/sym1A1.png?width=240&height=301[/img]

FP: 01 MP: 00[/center]


The wet soil of Atokhekwoi served as a blotched and dark sky as K’nell walked upside down, his boots stepping on the invisible veil of the sky as if he were walking upright. Any blue that the sky held was long gone, now cloaked in dark clouds that threatened rain. K’nell didn’t seem to mind; he sucked in a few deep breaths, and exhaled the electric soil tinged air, leaving a metallic taste to cover his tongue. 

Truth be told there was too much on his mind to really take in the wonders of life, his hand firmly grasping the dream orb. The task of walking upside down did not in fact ease his thinking, he sighed, and suddenly fell to the ground. With a gentle [i]shmuk[/i] he hit the wet soil, his boots standing firm yet somehow avoided collecting the mud. He pressed onward, a soft hum coming to his lips. 

As he hummed in thought, his eyes returned to the image of a bird, one that had been following him for quite some time. He had seen it when it broke the horizon hours ago, but only now was it in danger of landing on his own shoulder. 

He stopped. The black and white bird was the size of his forearm and held curious eyes that scanned the god many times over. A harsh mimicking hum came from the bird, matching K’nells own. A smile broke across K’nell’s face, “Ah.”

“Ah,” The magpie mimicked, soliciting a bigger smile from K’nell.

“It is a coincidence that you can speak,” K’nell feigned wonder, “Because I have a story, one about the very God of speech.”

“It’s ah!” The bird echoed.

K’nell held out his arm, and the bird landed, it’s tiny feet somehow not even bringing one wrinkle to his jacket. K’nell hummed gently and the bird copied. The two stood like that for hours, until hundreds and hundreds of Magpies flocked the skies. The humming stop and K’nell cleared his throat.

“Ah, very good,” He started, “Now with a proper audience, I shall relay to you a tale of my own eyes and mind.”

K’nell continued to speak, his words exiting his mouth as wisps of glowing white. The wisps held the story of Li’Kalla’s cry for help and the sudden appearance of Vakk’s deadly tentacles, ending it on the story of the subsequent coming of the beast and the splitting soul, and how through these acts Li’Kalla had been broken, only to eventually be saved.

The wispy words flew snugly into the bird’s ears, and before long the flock erupted in a cacophony, their bird tongues twisting as they all retold the story over and over, the moral of the story clear yet unsaid; the God of Speech is not to be trusted.

On and on they talked and on and on they told the story. K’nell nodded at the irony of the situation, his mind twisting with ideas, “A tale for the magpie, for all generations; let it never fade and let the moral stand. With this, I bless your family.”

He lifted his arm, sending the magpie off into a flurry. Without much more, K’nell shoved his hands into his pocket and continued on his way. The roaring flock broke into all directions above him, their voices thunder as they retold the tale of Vakk and Li’Kalla. 

[hr]
The walk was uneventful; the stormy clouds remained, as did K’nell’s many thoughts. His eyes fixed downward, and only after a few taps of his chin did he finally look upwards from the muddy plains. His eyes shot upward at the storm, it’s dark haze hiding the sky. K’nell squinted, noticing a large and familiar soul floating along with the clouds -- no -- was the clouds.

An orb of lightning lit up the area around K’nell like the sun. The orb was joined by a second orb, then the impression of a face formed with the two orbs in the place of eyes. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"K’nell, we meet,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla’s voice boomed like thunder.

The power of the voice called K’nell to blink as the wind pushed past. Taking a moment to readjust himself, he gave a curt nod, “It would seem so.”

There was a pause, only the sound of rain, wind and distant thunder between them. Ashalla was the first to speak. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"I noticed a flock of black-and-white birds telling a rather peculiar story not long ago. Would you have had anything to do with that?"[/b][/colour]

“Yes,” K’nell took his hands from his pockets, “Did they disturb you?”

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"No, although the story raises some questions,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla said, [colour=lightseagreen][b]"Where did the beast come from, and whose is it?"[/b][/colour]

“Li'Kalla,” K'nell answered simply, “In all regards.”

Ashalla rumbled thoughtfully. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"Of the battle between Li’Kalla and Vakk, I assume there was a physical counterpart. What was the outcome?"[/b][/colour]

K'nell had been finger deep in a small silver tin he had produced from his jacket as the question was poised. Quickly snagging a small finger long cigarillo he snapped the tin shut and slid it into his pocket. 

“Ah,” K'nell said as if to hold his place in the conversation, “There was no living sign of Vakk, it appears he had fled.”

A wet huff issued from somewhere within Ashalla. The God placed the cigarillo between his lips and deftly lit it with a phantom flame. His eyes flickered upward and he went to reproduce the tin, “I'm sorry dear, how rude of me. Would you care for a cigarillo?”

The great orbs of lightning which were Ashalla’s eyes flickered imperceptibly as they looked at the miniscule tin and cigarillo. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"No,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla said. She then continued with her questioning. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"If you only witnessed the aftermath of the battle, how do you know these things?"[/b][/colour]

The end of the cigarillo glew as K'nell took a long vanilla scented pull, he seemed to ponder the question for a moment. Finally he slid the cigar from his mouth and slowly blew a thick stream of smoke.

The smoke turned and floated upwards. As it did, the wisps of grey took on new shapes and eventually colors, until Ashalla was seeing --and somehow hearing-- K’nell’s own memories from the moment he had found the puddles, to the conclusion of his time within the dreams of Li’Kalla. The images were in such dimension as to match the many visions of a God, so much so that it is likely any mortal would have been driven mad attempting to see the story in the smoke. K’nell puffed out a ring of smoke, the new miasma ending the story with the image of the bright blue rose he had placed upon the sleeping beast’s snout. 

Another thoughtful rumble echoed through Ashalla, this rumble bouncing off the landscape and lasting for some time. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"You now seek to restore the lost parts of Li’Kalla,"[/b][/colour] she eventually said.

K’nell flicked the stub of his cigarillo, the brown wrap disappearing into nothingness before it could hit the ground, “It would appear so.”

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"I shall inform you if I happen to locate one of these parts,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla said.

“That would be appreciated,” K’nell nodded with a respect smile, “Thank you.”
There was a lull in the conversation between the two. Ashalla broke the silence. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"I met your creation Hermes not long ago."[/b][/colour]

“And how did you take to her?” K’nell seemed to crane is neck upwards in interest.

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"She is a wonderful dancer and appreciates beauty, although her hubris is perhaps slightly greater than what is appropriate for a mortal and your design for her was lacking in a couple key details,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla said.

“It is unfortunate that you feel that way,” K’nell replied with a polite smile. He paused in a humming thought, “Might I ask; how would you create a mortal?”

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"If I am creating a fleshy creature, I bring together biomatter and transmute it to form a living creature,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla said, [colour=lightseagreen][b]"If you refer to design, the key differences is that I would include a means for the mortal to reproduce and I would include colour."[/b][/colour]

“Understandable and forthright,” K’nell nodded, “If I may perpetuate the hypothetical; what shall be the purpose of your new creation?”

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"You are implying an intelligent mortal being similar to Hermes?"[/b][/colour] Ashalla said. There was a pause. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"I do not know. I was speaking of living things in general."[/b][/colour]

“As was I,” K’nell smiled upwards, “Forgive the confusion.”

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"I created a large bird very recently, near the north-eastern tip of this continent. I gave the bird wind in her voice, lightning in her plumage, thunder in her wings, and midnight blue feathers with a dash of azure. I made it to stand above the large beasts Kirron had made in that region."[/b][/colour]

“Beautiful,” K’nell’s voice began to swirl away from him, “but if I may ask, why?”

Ashalla seemed to be taken aback by the question. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"To show my strength through my creations, of course."[/b][/colour]

“Of course,” K’nell nodded, his smile unending. A grainy hum swirled around the God for a moment, “Show to who?”

Ashalla rumbled for a moment, then answered, [colour=lightseagreen][b]"Everyone."[/b][/colour]

At this point, K’nell’s smile had arced into a cheshire grin, his head bobbing in understanding, “I’m sure everyone will see.”
Ashalla’s cloudy face gave a nod. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"Have you seen Hermes recently?"[/b][/colour]

“I have,” K’nell’s voice hung between them. 

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"Did you like my addition to her?"[/b][/colour] Ashalla asked expectantly.

“I did,” The God of Sleep’s smile flashed again, his voice returning to his mouth.

The clouds above K’nell burbled happily. [colour=lightseagreen][b]"So, why did you create Hermes?"[/b][/colour]

“To see,” K’nell answered cryptically, “We are damned as well as divine. Tied to a purpose and driven by our own means; there are things even a God cannot see or create without a little help.”

Ashalla simply gave a wet huff in response. A smile cracked on K’nell’s face and he slid the tin back from out of his jacket, “Until next time, then?”

[colour=lightseagreen][b]"Until next time, K’nell,"[/b][/colour] Ashalla replied. The face in the storm disappeared, and the clouds blew away.

[hider=Summary]

Taking a stroll on the Krablunds, K’nell is met by an army of magpies. With much on his mind, he decides to bless their mimicking voice and song, so that they retell the tale of Vakk’s assault on Li’Kalla and subsequent soul breaking things. He then sends them on their way.

He soon bumps (not literally) into Ashalla and the two talk about Vakk and Li’Kalla. Ashalla does not respond strongly to the story, but promises to let K’nell know if she finds any fragments of Li’Kalla.

The conversation quickly dies but then is revamped with talks about Hermes and then some deeper questions on what Ashalla would create, has created, why and for who. The talk ends on her fishing for a well deserved compliment, which she receives, causing her to burble. 

She then asks K’nell why he created Hermes, his cryptic and somewhat demeaning (to Gods) answer causing her to huff. K’nell finds it amusing and bids her farewell. 
[/hider]

[hider=Might Summary]
[u]K’nell[/u]
[i]Start:[/i] 0 MP & 1 FP
[i]Spent:[/i] 1FP spent on blessing the magpies with a never ending story
[i]End:[/i] Nuthin’
[/hider]