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Oraelia buzzed with excitement as she stepped out of her portal and into Antiquity. Her base form could hardly be seen underneath the luminous glow her body gave off. It constantly shimmered, pulsed and just wouldn’t sit still for a single second. She skipped out on the alabaster stones, quickly forgetting why she had even come to Antiquity, other than to just enjoy that giant pillar before her! Or or or walking into that one hallway without any sort of recollection of how she got there. 

Oraelia shrugged, then giggled loudly as she skipped down it. She plopped another berry when she was feeling a bit low and her energy rebounded, and she switched forms and zoomed off as a little green orb. She never lingered anywhere for too long, because there was always something new and exciting to see! 

That was until she flew into a portal. 

The sight before her, stole her breath and for one fleeting moment, the small orb that she was, paused in awe to stare at the beauty before her. Then she quickly flew off towards a floating island, bathed in the light of a blue sun, with stars so aplenty she felt small. She skirted over the island, gazing at what it contained with a blink before moving off to the next one with an excited laugh. 

What a beautiful place! It reminded her of something, but she couldn’t place it. 

She flew through a ruby stream, and danced within a garden of glowing plants and she stole a glance at the blue sun and she smiled for it was beautiful in her bliss. The life there was strange and whimsical, always running from her like in a game of chase. She couldn’t contain her laughter, as she switched forms again, and landed within a pool of topaz. She floated, plopping another berry in her mouth. 

Who knew Antiquity had such beauty!

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Qael sat on an island. Motionless. His six eyes were open but all shimmering with iridescent lights. Galbar continued to be far more intriguing than his own little realm. Kubrajzar was trudging quietly along, creating about as much magic as he had anticipated for them. Mydia’s collective arcane knowledge was furthest ahead in all of Galbar. Not just due to the presence of The Library or Orb on the continent. Peace and trade seemed to be taking precedence over conflict. For now, at least. Toraan was getting somewhat worrisome though. Especially in the north, where Gibbou’s druids had chosen to become troublesome indeed. At the same time Qael’Naath had seen a spell that should not have come from Toraan as well. A spell none should have access too, perhaps ever. If only he had more time, he could’ve investigated it. Right now though, he had to be the steward of all the newly created spells. It was thanks to the god of magic that most of them didn’t flutter out of existence anymore.

Yet his attention was ripped away the second a foreign entity entered his portal. All six eyes stopped shimmering and the god of magic rose from his meditative position to float around in his realm. He spotted the divergence of his designs soon enough: the goddess of the sun. Her presence surprised him. [color=a187be]“Sister…I did not expect you. I-“ [/color] How did his siblings generally greet each other in their realms? He had only visited Cadien’s realm, and then only momentarily. [color=a187be]“How may I help you?”[/color]

She seemed to sit up at the sound of his voice, eyes blazing with light as she smiled widely at him. [color=gold]”Oh hellllooooo!”[/color] she said, giggling. [color=gold]”Isn’t this place so beautiful! I didn’t think Antiquity could have color, it’s soooo dull.”[/color] there was a lull in her voice, before she blinked, [color=gold]”Do you come here often?”[/color] she asked. 

[color=a187be]“I-I. This is- I live-“[/color] Qael was entirely sure what to say first. [color=a187be]“You must be mistaken, sister. This isn’t Antiquity. It’s my realm. I made when we were first ripped away from Galbar. I work here as well. Antiquity can indeed be somewhat dull at times. Or noisy.”[/color] She most certainly was akin to Gibbou, much to his own surprise. [color=a187be]“Thank you, for the compliment.”[/color] He quickly added with a faint smile, which sadly remained hidden under his hood. [color=a187be]“It means a lot coming from someone as beautiful and radiant as you.”[/color]

[color=gold]”Oh! Your own realm!”[/color] she looked around then back at Qael. [color=gold]”That makes sense! It is very beautiful and radiant.”[/color] Her eyes seemed to widen a bit. [color=gold]”Just... like... me?”[/color] Her golden light erupted into a deep red as she glanced away from Qael and down at the pool. Her hands bunched up in front of her face as she stuttered. [color=gold]”O-Oh s-stop you, y-you’re too kind.”[/color]

Qael was confused. [color=a187be]“Apologies sister. Did I say something wrong? You seem to have turned somewhat red.”[/color] Was this not how most mortals greeted each other? With small compliments? He reckoned most gods would react just as well to the compliments any mortals would. It would make them, hopefully, more friendly towards him. Alas, right now Qael’Naath was afraid he had somehow enraged the goddess somehow. Even though she did not sound angry.

Oraelia looked up at him from between her fingers, her color fading back into gold slowly. [color=gold]”N-No need to apologize. I-I-I uh…”[/color] she quickly took from a small pouch a crimson colored berry and plopped it into her mouth. She seemed to relax, and her golden color returned even brighter. She laughed and dropped her hands, placing them on her hips. [color=gold]”You feel sooooo familiar!”[/color] she quickly went on. [color=gold]”Like, I feel as if we’ve met before, or I’ve… Felt your presence?”[/color] she seemed to pause, her eyes darting to a particularly bright moth. She gasped and went in for a closer look. [color=gold]”It’s sooooo bright! And so small! Oh oh, I love small cute things. They make me so happy.”[/color]

The god of magic outstretched his hand towards the moth and ushered it closer to Oraelia. It was, after all, made purely out of mana. As was everything in his realm. At his mental command, several other moths appeared to dance around the sun goddess. [color=a187be]“Perhaps you’ve seen me in the works of your daughter. Lucia is a bright pupil of magic. It’s an honor to have her master my magic. She’s a very clever and kind girl.”[/color] He said. These were not niceties to placate the goddess. The compliments were genuine. [color=a187be]“Or maybe you’ve seen my influence on Galbar. Mana, my charge, is everywhere on the planet. Mortals are on a cusps of reaching their first milestone there.”[/color] As was by design. At least the modified design. Lifeblood’s sudden removal of him from the world of Galbar and his subsequent two millennia absence had some consequences upon his grander designs. None the less he spoke with great pride of his creation.

Oraelia seemed to be smitten with glee as she let the Moth’s land on her. She laughed as their little legs tickled her. [color=gold]”Lucia!”[/color] she suddenly exclaimed, [color=gold]”Yeah! My daughter, my love! You helped her? That’s wonderful! Thank you soooooo much!”[/color] She began to mimic the moth’s dance. [color=gold]”You must have helped Auriëlle and Soleira too! Yes! That’s right! Your essence was upon them! Oh oh oh! I love Soleira, she’s such a caring and loving Oraeliari. Her heart is so pure and golden and,” [/color] she teared up, [color=gold]”I love her so much.”[/color] She sighed, [color=gold]”Then there’s Auriëlle, my heart goes out to her. She’s lost her way and believes killing is the only thing she can ever be good at. It breaks my heart, it does. I just wish there was-”[/color] she stopped and then laughed as a moth landed on her nose.

[color=a187be]“Well, in all honesty Lucia helped me and I simply repaid the favor. Well no, that does not do what she did justice.”[/color] Qael’Naath said. [color=a187be]“She made me understand all life should be cared for. Not simply observed from a distance. Though I might not yet be perfect at it still. Especially not compared with the life-giver herself.”[/color] He walked around a dancing Oraelia, observing her form as she moved around. Dancing, mortals would have called it. In fact some dances were used by mortals to invoke his magic. It was a wonderful sight to be sure.

[color=a187be]“I have not heard of the name ‘Auriëlle’. She is probably a Servant. Though I am surprised you could feel my essence upon her. Considering their blessing is exceptionally thinly stretched.”[/color] Qael’Naath continued. With his hands behind his back. [color=a187be]“Alas, many mortals live tragic lives and resign themselves to the simplicity of murder. I will admit my gifts can be… uniquely advantageous in such regards.”[/color] By now he was somewhat musing to himself. [color=a187be]“We cannot save them all.”[/color]

[color=a187be]“Yet this Soleira… an Oraeliari you say? My dear sister, I do believe you are mistaken.”[/color] He said with a small smile and his arms behind his back. [color=a187be]“I’m afraid I could not yet bless the winged ones with the gift of mana. Their creation, it sits outside the great plan. I require time to ruminate upon their existence. For one to have my blessing, well it is utterly impossible.”[/color] He let out a small chuckle.

[color=gold]”Nope!”[/color] Oraelia said with a wide smile. [color=gold]”Both of them definitely were blessed by you. In fact, Auriëlle had been told by your Servants that she had been blessed by you! She still doesn’t believe it to be true, but I see now! And Soleria, she has extra wings that allow her to do magic, I didn’t give it to her!”[/color] Oraelia giggled again.

[color=a187be]“Very droll Oraelia.”[/color] Qael’Naath said with a slightly bigger smile. [color=a187be]“You must have seen my creation in the Hreeclii Isles. I assure you, the animal is simply an experiment and a herald of a much larger test I have intended for the region.”[/color] He lowered himself as he was about to sit down on something invisible. Yet under him the soft round rocks moved to make the chair. [color=a187be]“But for such a power to inhabit something with sapience, free will and a complex, creative mind? Heavens could you imagine the danger!? This – Auriëlle, was it? – would be cataclysmic for the mortals! But I assure you, my designs do not allow for such a concentration of power in a singular sapient creature for still some centuries. Perhaps with some well-argued exceptions. Mortals have proved to be surprising, at times.”[/color]

[color=gold]”What’s, uh, the Hercelii isles?”[/color] she asked, staring at him now. [color=gold]”Plus, Auriëlle, sorta does… Vaporize people.”[/color] she said softly.

Qael’s purple skin turned a very unhealthy shade of blue. [color=a187be]“I-I-I-“[/color] he began to stammer. Two of his six eyes began to shimmer again. On Galbar the Winds of Magic was edging and almost shrieking in the air as it scoured the stream for that spell he had seen. The second he had it, he pulled it apart. Observed every bit of it while he began to shiver on his rock-chair. [color=a187be]“Oh heavens.”[/color] He said, as he felt himself realize what he had done. [color=a187be]“Oh siblings forgive me.”[/color] How could he have been so blind. He tried to get up, but instead nearly fell off his chair. [color=a187be]“This is terrible.”[/color] He turned, for a moment, to Oraelia. [color=a187be]“And there are two of them!? Oh heavens. The design.”[/color] The gently floating glades suddenly stopped in their orbit. Then moved again. Some faster, some slower. Some moved the opposite direction. He managed to get up by himself. [color=a187be]“This is a disaster. A cataclysm. The world! It’s not yet ready! I should- I should eradicate them. Yes, yes. A quick end.”[/color] His body continued to shiver and shake. Four eyes lit up. None of them shimmered now. Instead they shifted between a dark violet and deep crimson.

He felt two arms wrap around him in an instant. [color=gold]”It’s okay- It’s okay.”[/color] she said, patting him on the back. [color=gold]”There’s nothing to be sorry about! And they most surely don’t need to die. There is always another solution. They are beautiful souls, after all. They do not deserve death when they have barely lived. Guidance, if anything, they should learn from you. Do not forget the words Lucia told you. You must care for them, for they are your daughters Qael.”[/color] she squeezed him tightly. [color=gold]”Oh look a bird!”[/color] she said with a mouthful, as she let go of him.

[color=a187be]“Lucia. Yes Lucia. Oh dear I nearly did it again.”[/color] Qael’Naath said as the four eyes shimmered with all the colors of a rainbow again. He took deep breaths, trying to simulate what mortals used to do when they panicked. It didn’t work. [color=a187be]“Sister you.. Tell me of Auriëlle. I need to know it all.”[/color] He needed to know the full extent of his failings. Perhaps he could make it work. Perhaps they weren’t errors in the grand design. Perhaps they were just…outliers. Anticipated irregularities. Something he could work with.

Except Oraelia did not respond right away. Instead she giggled as she tried to jump up to touch the bird, who had landed in the tree over her. It looked down at her with large eyes. [color=gold]”Come here, come here!”[/color] she asked. The god of magic let out a deep sigh. Perhaps Oraelia wasn’t the best person to ask. He outheld his hand once more and the bird flew down to sit upon Oraelia’s hand.

She stroked its head softly, her glow growing brighter as she did. [Color=gold]"I really love animals. They're so innocent and precious. Have you seen what their babies look like? Like mini versions!"[/color] she gushed.

Qael’Naath managed to gather himself as much as he could. His skin still wasn’t the full purple it should be though. With a wordless command he banished any and all small animals away. The bird itself managed to fly up and then away, out of sight from Oraelia. [color=a187be]“Sister, it is of vital importance that you tell me everything about-“[/color] He could barely say it. The word stopped in his throat. Yet he forced it out. [color=a187be]“-my daughters.”[/color]

Oraelia waved to all the animals as they left. She then turned to Qael. [Color=gold]"Daughters! Yes! Uhhhh…"[/color] she seemed to rummage through her little pack but came up empty. She stilled at once then looked again with quicker hands. [Color=gold]"I um… I have to go! Yeah! I forgot something!"[/color] she said, breathing heavily. She managed to trip into Qael again and their skin touched. Oraelia's memories of Soleira and Aurielle flashed before him and then just as quickly they turned to a green Sylphi, one he quickly knew as Genesis, her own daughter, and Oraelia's subsequent pain at her death and her relief in the berries. The connection then shattered.

Oraelia dusted herself off and shouted, [color=gold]"Oh oh! Sorry, clumsy me! I need to go! Bye!"[/color]

[color=a187be]“No, no, no!”[/color] Qael shouted. [color=a187be]“No please I…”[/color] He had no idea what to say. What to think. The pain she carried through. The berries. It all became clear, then it got muddled again. Muddled by things he didn’t understand. His mind turned to chaos. [color=a187be]“Oraelia I saw what… happened.”[/color] Where was he going with this? He didn’t know himself. The only thing that became undeniably clear was his own recklessness. His own narrow minded stupidity. He was seconds away from killing one of his own children. Yet now he had seen the heartbreak that would’ve caused. The pain it would summon.

Oraelia stopped in mid run and turned her head, she then shook her head wildly. [color=gold]”I’m sorry, Qael.”[/color] Her voice broke. [color=gold]”I-It’s m-me… I h-have to go.”[/color] she clutched her heart. [color=gold]”C-Care for them. Don’t be me.”[/color] she said, changing forms and zooming off into the distance. 

Qael left standing. Around him his realm was trying to recover. He sat down again. This time no stones built up a chair underneath him. He remained that way. Shocked. Stunned. It would take decades of ruminations before he could even place his own daughters within the designs he himself  had created. And at the same time he would have to actually find a way to care for them. There was still a pang of pain in his heart. A remnant from Oraelia’s memory of Genesis. The sun goddess, she needed help. Now more than ever. Help Qael’Naath couldn’t even give her. [color=a187be]“I can’t do this alone.”[/color] He eventually whispered to himself, as two eyes began to shimmer again.

[hider=Summary]
Oraelia flies out into antiquity because she is doing Oraelia things and eventually flies into Qael’s realm. There she becomes amazed by all the life she sees and it’s beauty. Qael eventually finds her and they chat some. Oraelia eventually spills the beans about him having two kids and he freaks out but she comforts him sorta before she finds a bird and gets distracted again. Oraelia realizes she’s run out of berries and begins to freak out, saying she needs to leave, but trips into Qael and her memories of Aurielle, Soleira and Genesis leak into Qael, making him understand his sister’s problem. But Oraelia peaces out and leaves Qael to ruminate alone.
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