[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/7oQVf7m.png[/img]

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[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/319517044364017674/530882221087784970/OhannakeloiSymbol2.png[/img]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/319517044364017674/530882185767550998/ohanna1.png[/img][/center]

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Ihokhe was having a good day, he saw the ocean for the first time, well the first time with his own senses to be more accurate. Ohannakeloi had shared some images of the sea when Ihokhe had first asked, but coming here, was well worth it to see the warm sea.  He had spoken extensively with Ohannakeloi and the god had named him a priest, and then explained what that meant. Ihokhe had learned many things from the god, he was given a purpose and told of the other gods and goddesses. At first, their differences and what that had meant were confusing but it grew clear in time. Ihokhe had taken to calling himself a ‘he’ after the god, few others had taken up such conventions however. Although, there were a great many other things he had not seen before either, plentiful species of birds and the numerous small creatures which ran so far when the Ihokhetlani approached. 

He turned his head the other Ihokhetlani, he knew they were still there as he could sense them, but looking at them was polite as Ohannakeloi had laid down. They were more awestruck by the sea than himself, as they should be for something by the Supreme Divinity, and that they had never seen such water in such quantity before. His two companions were quite young, young for the Ihokhetlani at least, all must be young compared to the divines. The companions, Ihena and Iaro, had not met Ohannakeloi, they were what was most of the Ihokhetlani, isolated from that first generation which had walked with him. Now Ohannakeloi spoke mostly through his priests, Ihokhe got updates every now and then when he prayed. 

Although his awareness was dim far away from himself, Ihokhe felt something familiar interrupt his musings. He looked to the sky and the focus of his soul-eye made his confusion clear, another Divine watching over from above! “Ihena, Iaro, look above and gaze upon Azura most fair, Divine of the Wind!”

When they turned their gazes the distant bird she seemed to react, her exploratory gaze shifting down to them. Even at this distance, he could feel that their gazes had met. Moments later she began to dive down towards them and as she did, the sky behind her moved to follow her. What he had thought to an ordinary sky temple was instead something very much alive dotted with other things whose souls were very strange indeed. They had an odd rigidity to them that he had not seen, nor been told of before. It was one thing to know that your maker did not know all, and another to see it before you that which they did not know. Living, for what else had a soul? Yet still rigid beyond anything known, Ihokhe was not sure what this was, and not sure what he should think.

The pair descended rapidly. The great moving temple stopped some way above them until but Azura herself continued downwards until she landed gracefully a little ways away from them. She peered at them with what might have been curiosity before greeting them with a cheerful [color=lightblue]“Hello there.”[/color] 

Ihokhe kneeled, after a sort as knees were not exactly a matter of his physiology, the other two hurried to emulate him. Ihokhe responded, “Greetings Great Goddess of Wind and Sky! We are humbled in your divine presence. How may such humble creatures such as ourselves please your magnificence?”

[color=lightblue]“You can tone down the reverence just a touch if you want for a start. Or a lot actually. I have no need for such platitudes, that I can assure you. Please stand or sit or whatever makes you comfortable.”[/color] she said, her tone invitational rather than instructional [color=lightblue]“I mostly wish simply to talk with you, to learn about you and your kind if that’s alright with you. What are your names first of all?”[/color] 

“As you wish Holy One, we shall comply. I am Ihokhe, priest and first of my race, the Ihokhetlani.” He paused.

“Ah, I am known as Ihena, gatherer of stones, Great Azura.”

“And I am Iaro, first of the westward journey, Holy Azura.”

Ihokhe spoke again, hoping curtness would be more favorable, “We will answer as we are able.” 

The great bird let out a barely audible sigh before she continued speaking just as she had been [color=lightblue]“It is good to meet you, Ihokhe, Ihena, and Iaro. You know who I am it seems but let me introduce my friend here as well”[/color] she pointed a wind upwards at the great structure. Then she shouted something unintelligible at it, at which point a number of stone limbs upon it moved aside at its front, revealing a fleshy creature’s gargantuan mouth. The creature spoke to him and his companions directly [color=RoyalBlue]”'S toil leam gur coinneachadh.”[/color] Needless to say he could not understand a word of what it said. 

Azura seemed to quickly pick up on this lack of understanding [color=lightblue]“Ah. Language issues. One moment.”[/color] she said before engaging with a brief conversation with this Luis creature after which it floated up and away from them. Luis spent most of the rest of their conversation exploring the area from above [color=lightblue]“Sorry about that, I’ll fill him in later. Your creator and I don't share a common language it seems. That’s not a problem for us, but that may end up producing problems for mortals like you in future. I’ll have to make note of that. Speaking of which, I’d like it if could tell me a bit about who made you and why? Are they treating you well?”[/color]  

Ihokhe looked to the other two before he replied, turning back with a downwardly averted gaze.

“First I was made by the Great Divine Ohannakeloi, blessed be his name, he taught me many things that he knew about the world and its gods. Then he showed me how I was made and taught how to make more of the Ihokhetlani. He gave us, me and the other Early Ones names, and taught us and warned us of dangers we might face. He withdrew, I and the other priests still commune with him, speak and learn, but he does not show himself much anymore. We taught those who came after us such as these two here, all that we knew and we all continued to learn as we could from the world.”

Ihokhe paused briefly, he had not told the others outside of the early ones this but it was a Divine asking the question.

“As for why we were created I have asked only once for it was something he did not tell us, he did not tell me then and I have not asked since. He has told me things that we must do, be kind to each other, hold respect for one another, spread across the land and always respect the Divines, but he has never told me that.”

Ihokhe lifted his head to look at the Goddess before him.

“For your last question, I cannot answer you. I believe with all my being that Ohannakeloi is good, I do not know what you would consider good treatment.” He paused before taking a chance. “If I may be so bold, are those souls in rigid structure above treated well? Our souls are not like that I can see, we are not treated like that if that is what you ask.”

Azura had been nodding alone approvingly for most of his explanation but stilled upon being asked his question. [color=lightblue]“It’s quite alright to ask. I should begin by saying that, apart from Luis who wears the structure, those specific souls are not people like you, but are instead things that I call Constructs.”[/color] she explained carefully as if what she was saying might upset them [color=lightblue]“They are like you physically this is true, at least when compared with most other life on this world which is made of flesh and blood rather than stone. Their souls are solidified but this isn’t unique to my Constructs, or won’t be anyway. Their minds, however, are far simpler, akin to those of insects. They have no imagination and exist only to follow instructions and carry out specific predefined tasks. I made them as tools and weapons to help and protect people not as, well, people. If they were people the way I use them would not be considered good treatment.”[/color] 

[color=lightblue]“In contrast,”[/color] she said, returning to her original cheerful tone [color=lightblue]“from what you have described of Ohannakeloi’s treatment it seems good overall.  Any misgivings I have with it are minor at best. He made you fine forms, has taught you well, imparted upon you good ethics and has, most importantly, respected your freedoms by not enforcing a set purpose upon you. He has done well by you in my opinion.”[/color] 

“Great Azura, may I speak to you as I would another of my kith and kin, would you pledge not to punish for the questions I may ask?”

[color=lightblue]“By all means.”[/color] 

“I do long to ask about misgivings you have with the treatment from my creator but I dispense with that for I do not understand. All things that live, plants, animals and we Ihokhetlani have souls, we can see this, but as far as I can tell insects do not. They have something different which is beyond me and Holy Ohannakeloi has not explained it although I suspect he knows something more. These constructs of yours do have a soul, like all things that live, but you say they are not like other life. You say that it is most important to not enforce a purpose on a person, but have you not enforced purpose on that soul which could have been a person? Please Great, Holy Azura, I do not mean to disrespect but I do not know, and I feel I must understand these things if I am to be a Priest and fulfill a duty to my people.”

[color=lightblue]“I am more than happy to answer. Taking those questions one at a time”[/color] Azura said as she turned her focus to what he saw was an ant hill in the grass some way off [color=lightblue]“Hmmm. That is odd. I was not aware that that was possible. I can sense Parvus’s essence all over them however, so perhaps that is taking the place of the soul. I am afraid I’d have to ask to know for sure.”[/color] 

[color=lightblue]“Anyway”[/color] she said, turning her focus back to them  [color=lightblue]“moving back to questions I actually have answers for. As I said my only complaint was a minor one, namely the lavish praise you must have been instructed to heap upon the gods. Some gods presumably desire such praise and might even be offended if it is not paid, so it's probably wise that you give them such dues lest you anger them, but personally I dislike it. Despite our differences in power, we are both people Ihokhe, and I find the idea of people lording over one-another unnecessary at best and dangerously abusive at worst. I haven’t spoken to Ohannakeloi, so I can't judge why he wanted you to act way, but from your brief description I imagine he had good intentions even if I disapprove with this one aspect of his teachings.”[/color]

[color=lightblue]“As for your last one, that is a question I have wrestled with myself and one that I and Luis have discussed. To be honest boiling down personhood itself into an exact definition is a difficult task. Nearly impossible in fact. However, we gods can see the minds of all beings, which makes judging personhood a lot easier. It’s a sliding scale of self-awareness, intelligence and so on. You and I are clearly people. An ant is not. It acts purely on instinct and does not have a consciousness of any kind, and neither do my Constructs. In between, you have a petty fuzzy sliding scale that I wouldn’t worry too much about. I recommend being kind to all living things just to be on the safe side. As for the person and possible people situation, we decided that actual people should take priority over potential people. We gods have limits, and we should focus our efforts where they could do the most good. Also making all things people is somewhat cruel. Imagine having your mental capabilities and yet being stuck as a tree. Blind, alone and unmoving. Or to be created with a set task in mind that you had to adhere to, despite your ability to imagine and yearn to do other things.”[/color]  she explained, though it was clear she was not entirely confident her reasoning was coming through.

[color=lightblue]“Perhaps it is easier if I let you see the mind of a construct for yourself. It is a thing made entirely of rules and directives, complex though they may be.”[/color] as she said this a bird flew down to their meeting spot, one with orange, red and pink feathers with a white mask on its head and metal bands on its wings, both of which contained the solidified souls Azrua had spoken of. [color=lightblue]“This is an Alma. With your permission, I could give you the ability to see its mind and command its actions.”[/color]   

“I should know more, you have my permission.”

With those words Azura nodded her head in confirmation, it would only take but a moment. She pressed a small portion of power to him, easy almost to do so to a being whose essential soul and being was partially opened to the world, and Ihokhe could feel the Alma in a different way. He reached out.

[color=silver]Greetings[/color] came a void in his mind. He followed it to its source and found that he could sense the soul of the bird far better than he could moments ago. Its very being was laid bare before him. Most of it anyway. There where 5 soul crystals which all were linked to the still unknowable regular soul of the bird their stone and metal frames were attached too. The collective had a symbiotic relationship, all of them performing different functions described in text and words, spoken words that he recognised as the same ones Azura and Luis had spoken with before. Now however he understood it perfectly and it appears that the soul gems consisted primarily of verses of songs that doubled as instructions and rules. An unfathomable amount of them there might have been, a veritable symphony of symphonies, but each individually made near perfect sense. There was no mind in here, he could see that clear as day, only an unending list of reactions to certain stimuli, situations or tasks as Azura had described.    

The whole construct was…  ...strange to be sure, less thought as he knew it and very procedural. Connecting through it now was strange, he had touched another's mind before when the Creator had first taught him and this was not at all like that. As Ihokhe examined this creature or thing, more grew clear about its form, its capabilities but its lack of a mind was strange yes, a rigid form, but not a still one. 

He withdrew his thoughts from it. “I have seen enough for now, and understand my lack of understanding far better.” This had given him much to think about, as he now had to answer his own question from his own thoughts from this knowledge.

[color=lightblue]“You may retain this ability if you wish. The Alma will be sticking around to... Well. Tell me, has Ohannakeloi spoken of what happens to the souls of the dead?”[/color] Azura asked him  

“Thank you, Holy one. No, he has said that he does not know.”

[color=lightblue]“I thought not, but thought it best to check nonetheless. Very well then, let me tell you a tragic tale.”[/color] she said. Then she told them a story, of untold souls brought to this realm by the hand of the Architect. How he had plucked a scant few souls from this mass and made them gods, while the rest were put to the torch by Katharsos, turned into ash that had then formed into the souls of all that now lived on Galbar. How their very souls and lives were owed to this slaughter, and how when their mortal lives came to an end they too would be drawn upwards, like moths to a flame, where they would be burnt to a cinder in the name of Death’s endless cycles of destruction and creation. She explained how the of light, virtue, and wind had met and sworn to oppose the suffering this cycle caused and how she had made the Alma to rescue the souls of the dead, crystallizing them in a solid form that could resist the pull of the vortex until such a time where they could be born anew.

[color=lightblue]“These soul crystals, are not like the ones in the Alma or in Luis’s armor, which I call Soul Gems.”[/color] she clarified at the conclusion of her story [color=lightblue]“Those were blank slates that I shaped into tools. Soul Crystals are a person’s soul turned into a different state and then placed in a stasis of sleep. They are people, even if they cannot express that fact until I create a way to reawaken them.”[/color] 

“I see, forgive me Holy Azura, it is a lot to take in at once.” Ihokhe paused, the other two were doing far worse at accepting this information than he although their outward appearances would have given little signature, their thoughts, however, were without much sense of order. He continued, “I have one question if you do not mind it. I appreciate the knowledge it is far better to know than to not, but what would you have of us?”

[color=lightblue]“Your consent.”[/color] she said explained [color=lightblue]“I want to make sure people know what is happening to them and that they let it happen when their bodies fail them. I’ve made sure that the Alma can't force anyone to accept their crystallization. A great injustice has been brought upon you, and I wish to grant you the tools to save yourselves from Katharsos’s infernal flames. Yet it would be an abuse of my power to take what has not been given. So please”[/color] Azura bowed her head low [color=lightblue]“Let me help you.”[/color]

“Ah, O Holy Azura, I plead forgiveness but I do not have the right to give unto you that which you seek! I am pledged to serve all the Gods and I am pledged to serve my people, my mind is in turmoil I cannot know which way should I lean, let alone what path my people should follow. I have no idea which path is right. I know you speak of injustices done upon my people, but I would do another if I spoke in reply without proper consideration, not just of my own mind and thought made clear but that of my people.”

[color=lightblue]“I. But...”[/color] the goddess of the wind rose quickly from her bow. Though he feared she might lash out Azura instead took a deep breath [color=lightblue]“You’re right.”[/color] she admitted after having calmed the emotions had coursed through her mind in response to his rejection [color=lightblue]”You’re right. I’m sorry for trying to force a decision, and that I let the urgency of the situation get ahead of me. I’ll not intrude for much longer then. This conversation has given us both... us all, a great deal to think about it seems.”[/color] 

“Great Azura, may I suggest that you head further south and to the east, on the base of the western mountains are the majority of my people, they stick around to continue building my race. There are most of the priests, first ones, and most of my people if you seek a decision prevail upon them for one after due time for consideration. I doubt any can provide a decision on such a choice to any satisfaction but there you may come the closest. Ohannakeloi is somewhere near there as well, but I cannot say where that may be, perhaps he can grant you more than I could.”

Azura nodded. [color=lightblue]“Thank you Ihokhe. It was good to meet you and your friends.”[/color] she said. Ihokhe bowed his head in response and the other two followed after quickly, “It will always be a pleasure to have the company of the Divine of Wind. I am always, humbly, at your service Great One.”

Azura seemed to want to object and then thought the better of it. Instead, she bid him farewell. [color=lightblue]“Never stop asking questions Ihokhe. Till we meet again.”[/color] before launching herself skywards, flying up and away to floating Luis above and leaving behind the her blessing and the Alma that continued to watch them with its crystalline souls. 

[hider=summary]
Ihokhe muses a little while chilling by the ocean with two others, Ihena and Iaro. Then he spots Azura, Luis and the Alma, above them. Azura proceeds to come down to them as Ihokhe alerts the others. They exchange greetings and Azura is a bit miffed about the deferentiality but they continue with a little less deference.

Introductions are had, language issues are overcome, they ask questions back and forth, talking of that status of the Ihokhetlani, the Alma, good ethics and good care. Ihokhe has some issue with the idea of the Alma and is granted to ability to command and connect with them which only raises more questions but more for himself than Azura. 

Azura proceeds to tell an account of Katharsos and the souls of the universe from her point of view, explain the purpose of the Alma and other such things as the Ihokhetlani had no knowledge from Ohannakeloi in this regard, given that he too does not know such things. They talk some about Soul crystallization but Ihokhe refuses to commit to any path given how little time he has had to think on such, also abdicates responsibility of decides for the Ihokhetlani to the great mass of the Ihokhetlani back with Ohannakeloi.

Azura is disappointed but understands well, (Nice burb) and Ihokhe tells her where she may find the Ihokhetlani and Ohannakeloi and to take her case up with them. They say their goodbyes and head on their respective ways except that an Alma remains with Ihokhe. 
[/hider]

[hider=might summary]
Azura: 3 fp, 0 mp start
Praise discounted to 0 fp by soul crystal port for Ihokhe: granted the ability to mentally linking himself with soul crystal constructs and the ability to command them.

Ohannakeloi 7 mp 8 fp
Teach an idea: Priesthood 1 mp

End 6 mp 8 fp
[/hider]