[center][h3]The Principal Pupil[/h3][/center] Nimueh could smell it. The deer were close. They were probably grazing in the nearby clearing. She made sure she was moving into the wind, so the deer wouldn’t catch her scent on the wind. An instinct forced her to look left and right. Nothing. She didn’t have a pack and something deep inside of her yearned for one. She always yearned for a pack as a wolf. While as a bear she was perfectly fine with being alone. But she was more in control of her own feelings than a regular wolf would be and she used her will to refocus on the deer. The sun was setting. This had been half a day of work. Slowly she crept closer, staying low to the ground until she pushed through a bush to find the clearing. The deer were indeed grazing. One must’ve heard the rustling of the bush and looked up. Nimueh stopped moving completely. The wind whistled in her ears. She could hear them chewing the grass. As a wolf she could hear so much more than any zenii ever could. The deer returned to eating. Nimueh took a step closer. The wind shifted. A breeze came from behind her. The deer all looked up and straight in her direction. She was made! Her instincts drove her. She started running straight for them. The deer started to run away. She had her eyes on one of them. The oldest. She was getting closer… closer. He turned. She couldn’t turn fast enough. He was getting away! No! No! Nimueh tried to chase him through the forest, but the deer were gone. Her stomach growled as she turned back into her zenii form. It would never work without a pack but still, most of the fun came from the excitement of the hunt anyway. For now she just gathered a few berries that she knew weren’t dangerous and ate those. The forest had given her ultimate freedom. She didn’t have to do any chores anymore or listen to Lonam. Every day she could just learn more about the Beast Queen’s gift. And she felt almost ready to do the one task she was given. There was really only one zenni who could make the zenii abandon those pots and baskets and that was Masol. She’d talk to him. He’d understand. Or so she hoped. Tonight though, she’d do something differently. For too long had she held it off. Though in her defense she tried to understand magic better first. She must’ve thrown a thousand sticks at trees. None of them sprouted roots and tangling vines like she had done that fateful night. So now, with the scarred moon rising, Nimueh sat on her knees in the clearing, closed her eyes and said: “Queen of magic. I was hoping we could speak?” For a moment, there was simply darkness as the young Nimueh sat in the clearing with her eyes closed, the rustlings of nature and the animals that lived within it joined by the odd gust of wind that managed to slip past the outer layer of trees to drive deeper into the forest. Then there seemed to be a change; All the natural noises seemed to cease, and the air started to… taste funny? As if something was infused with it but not in a physical way. [color=pink]“I must admit, no one has ever called me a Queen before. While I disagree with the title, I am thankful for the respect you deemed to show me by using it my dear.”[/color] A soft, happy voice rang out. If she opened her eyes, Nimueh would find herself seated in a completely different location then she had entered her meditative state: She appeared to have taken a seat at the edge of a forest clearing where a ring of mushrooms had grown in the middle. And sitting in the middle of side ring of mushrooms was a figure of zenni like body, but shorter with an equine like face and hooves on their feet, while a poofy mane and tail seemed to defy gravity as they floated slightly behind the smiling figure. While there were twinges of other colors, their hair seemed to currently be many different shades of green, while their tail had adopted a variety of blues. [color=pink]“For what it’s worth, I’ve recently taken a shine to using the title of ‘Keeper’. Before you ask, your body is still where you asked to speak with me… But I recently shared with the world the ability to dream and it’s already proving surprisingly useful for communications like this on top of everything else. But enough about that…”[/color] They offered with a chuckle and waved off that point of conversation. [color=pink]“What is your name my dear?”[/color] Nimeuh jolted up when she saw she was no longer in the forest. That’s where the other zenii are! But when she saw this keeper she knew she wasn’t in the real world anymore. She was in the dream world where she could meet the gods of the world! “Oh, sorry for calling you queen. My… protector,” she said, before pondering on what to call the Beast Queen in relation to herself. “Said you were a sibling of her and I just thought-“ She stopped herself from rambling as she was wont to do, took a deep breath to swallow her excitement and started again. “I’m sorry. I’m Nimueh and I was just hoping, Miss Keeper, if you could tell me a bit more about this ‘magic’?” She finished with a small, awkward, nervous laugh as she stepped a little closer. At the name of the ‘Beast Queen’, the strange deity blinked slightly in confusion. [color=pink]“You’ll have to forgive me, but I have many kin that I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting personally. Would you object to me peering into your mind in order to see my sister?”[/color] The expression on ‘Keeper’s face and the tone of their voice suggested to Nimueh that the god’s request was… just that. A request. Considering the Beast Queen could read her mind, it was likely this one could as well but seemed to respect her individual right to her mind and thoughts enough not to just impose upon her like that. Still, Nimueh’s request brought a smile to Keeper’s face. [color=pink]“Of course I would be more than happy to help you my dear Nimueh. In fact, you’re somewhat special because you’re the first mortal to ever actually ask me to teach them about the powerful resource that I brought into this world. [i]How[/i] to teach you is a bit more...challenging though.”[/color] Bringing their hands together in front of their chest, Keeper’s fingers interlocked so that their pointer fingers were pressed together against their lips for a moment of contemplation. [color=pink]“I can see two methods that I suspect you would excel at, though many would find their natures conflicting. I do not doubt that you’ll be able to combine them together in time to do great things, but as a starting point… which do you value more my dear: Your mind or your instincts?”[/color] The request took Nimueh by visible surprise. At first it freaked her out. A goddess in her head!? Just like that? Though after a moment she realized that the goddess could probably do so without even asking and the Beast Queen had already done so. So what’s the harm in letting another look into her mind? “Sure.” She said in her usual peppy self. “Wait!” She then suddenly shouted as she even put her hands up as if she could stop whatever would come. “Before you read my mind you have to promise me that it won’t hurt.” [color=pink]“The process is painless, but since the past can be painful I cannot say for certain that this dive won’t be painful for you dear.”[/color] Keeper answered back before they simply peered into Nimueh’s memories. The girl herself would see flashes of what Keeper was looking into; While it was true that they were actively trying to limit themselves to seeking out their new patron deity only, memories connected to the Beast Queen were also tied with other memories that were dragged to the forefront solely because of the association. Still, the procedure was over and done rather quickly. [color=pink]“I see… so this is the Green Murder of the Bjorks.”[/color] They muttered aloud to themself. As the god peered through her memories Nimueh had her eyes closed, hoping it would help the process even a little bit. She didn’t mind the recurring memories, mostly because the only memory she really had of the Beast Queen herself was her dream of the green-furred fox. But then she heard what the Keeper called her. “Green Murder?” She asked as her eyes opened. “That’s a pretty mean thing to say about someone.” Keeper shrugged at the statement. [color=pink]“To my understanding, she took offense to the Bjorks making their homes out of wood and trees and decided to send a warning… by assaulting one of their settlements and slaughtering the population. As you can imagine, the Bjorks themselves didn’t take too kindly to this.”[/color] Nimueh had no idea what a bjork was. Still, the words ‘by word or by claw’ suddenly sounded a lot more real than before. Slaughter was the word the Keeper used and her imagination was quick to roll with it. It would happen to the zenii as well if she failed. But then she shook herself free from her own imagination. She was here - wherever here was - for something else. “Right, right.” She said as she shook her head a little bit. “You asked me what I valued most, my mind or my instinct. Both of them are important to me but if I’m being honest: the best things that happened to me happened when I followed my instincts.” The instinct of a squirrel let her climb a tree she couldn’t climb as a zenii. As a wolf there was nothing more thrilling than following her instinct in a hunt. Even as a zenii it was her instinct to run from the predators that had chased her to the tree where she had eaten that fruit. Her mind was important but her instinct brought her way more happiness. “So yeah, instincts.” For their part, Keeper didn’t seem inclined to inform Nimueh of what a Bjork was. But since the matter wasn’t important enough for a follow up question it seemed to be dropped completely as Nimueh finally got around to the question that had been asked of her earlier. [color=pink]“Very well. I could explain in detail to you how to channel the various shades of mana but… the Beast Queen has offered us a surprisingly simple method that would let you learn how to do so without truly meaning to.”[/color] Finally moving their arms, the Keeper lifted them above their head as they shifted their fingers around and started to pop joints that hadn’t moved in a little while as they stretched out. [color=pink]“All you need to do is transform into a rat and let the instincts of the form guide you.”[/color] “A… rat?” Nimueh asked. At first she didn’t want to believe it. Then after a moment she realized that weirder things have happened. If it was a joke then well – it would be short lived at best. So she set aside her own doubts for a second as she focused on turning into a rat. She wasn’t sure if it would work in the dream, or if it did that it would work as intended but still she focused on becoming a rat. The world grew huge around her as it always did when she transformed into a smaller animal. As usual her senses changed. This time, however, she started to experience the world in a very different manner. It was as if she got a second sense of smell. She also felt it on her fur. There was some charged energy all around her. Instinctively she knew it was green, even if she couldn’t see the energy. As a rat she wanted to dig. She moved a paw to move the dirt underneath her. A rush enveloped her and suddenly with one move she had dug a hole she could hide in if she wanted. But the reflective instincts told her more than that. It was as if she was underwater yet not. She felt the energies moving about, giving her answers to questions she barely thought about. It was too much. She knew she could fly only by wishing for it. She would fly not on wings but on the air itself! She would- Immediately she transformed back. “By the Lady that works!” She shouted out loud. Her eyes were big and looking down at her own hands. Almost everything of what she spontaneously knew had faded away again. Almost everything, but some things lingered. Now, though, her rational mind started working again. “Why does that work?” She asked the Keeper. There was a musical chuckle of amusement as Keeper observed the excitement from the transformation. [color=pink]“Back when myself and my kin were newly born and we were creating the world on which you exist, mana… or ‘magic’ as you call it didn’t exist just yet. Wishing to add it to the world, I started to gather the various shades of mana around me… but one shade required something more in order to be properly brought forth. Mana is intertwined with life… but in order to do that fully it must also be intertwined with death and no living creature had died at the dawn of creation yet. So to connect Mana with death, I selected one of the first mortal creatures to be created and killed them… and that just so happened to be one of the first rats.”[/color] [color=pink]“There is more to the story that involves her creator, the Lord of the Hunt, but the short version of the story that is relevant is that the survivor of the pair of original rats made her case that I had stolen something from her… and I was inclined to agree. As compensation for killing her mate in order to help bring an otherwise absent shade of magic to the world, I blessed her and all her descendants to be able to instinctively use magic. They are so far the only race of creatures on the planet in which [i]all[/i] members can instinctively channel mana for their uses. You are also the first mortal to be informed of this fact. So… do with that knowledge what you will.”[/color] There was an innate desire in Nimueh that wanted to go shout the tale from the top of all the blackstones in the valley. How could she not? It was a tale about the dawn of the world. About the creation of magic, a tool most zenii were probably not even aware of. Then her heart constricted as she realized that none of her kin would listen to her probably. She had killed a zenii and because of that she was a pariah. She didn’t let that thought ruin her mood though. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Nimueh said as she rushed over to the Keeper and hugged them tightly. “I promise I will never forget this!” For their part, Keeper was honestly surprised when Nimueh ran over and hugged them. They had… never been hugged before. It was an interesting, new sensation and… honestly they found themselves rather enjoying it. Despite the surprise, after a few moments their arms wrapped around the zenii girl and hugged her back surprisingly gently. [color=pink]“There is one thing that I would ask of you.”[/color] They muttered softly, seemingly somewhat reluctant to let the girl go now that they had been shown physical affection for the first time. [color=pink]“I want you to teach others. Mana and magic is a gift to the world, but some are more blind to it than others and require help.”[/color] A cold shiver ran down Nimueh’s back when the Keeper asked them to teach others. There were no ‘others’ to teach. Who would even listen to her? But she didn’t have the heart to tell the Keeper of her predicament. She didn’t want them to think she was useless or a lost cause. Nimueh released them and offered a smile to try and hide her own fears: “I’ll do my best!” And then she opened her eyes. She was back in the clearing on her knees. The scarred moon hung high in the sky. Normally Nimueh would’ve transformed into a fox to find a den to sleep in. Instead she transformed into a rat and a whole new world opened up for her. [hider=summar]Nimueh tries to hunt a deer as a wolf but it doesn’t work out. She doesn’t have a pack. She’s still grateful for the Beast Queen’s gift but she realizes that she called upon another power before and wants to explore that. She tried before (by throwing sticks at trees) but that didn’t work. So she ends up praying at night to the “queen of magic”. Aethel answers her in a dream. The two exchange greetings and Aethel wants to look into her mind to see who the Beast Queen is. They conclude that it is the Green Murder. Which Nimueh finds a rude thing to call someone. Aethel explains that the Green Murder slaughtered a bunch of bjorks and destroyed their place (Nimueh has no idea what a bjork is). This makes the young zenii girl realize that the Beast Queen is probably serious about her threat. The two proceed to learn about magic. Aethel tells Nimueh that rats can use magic instinctually and Nimueh proceeds to transform into a rat. The way she experiences the world is too much at first though so she transforms back. Though she’s elated and questions how that actually works. Aethel tells her the story of how rat-kind got blessed with innate magical understand at the dawn of the world. Nimueh is grateful for the lessons and hugs the god of magic. Which is somewhat unexpected. They ask her one thing in return though: to teach others how to use magic. A hard thing to do for Nimueh who’s basically an outcast now. But she still promises she’ll try. When she wakes up she transforms into a rat again.[/hider] [hider=Spirit]Nimueh start spirit: 2 + 1 spirit: appears in this post + 1 spirit: main focus + 1 spirit: medium length Starts divine quest: teach others magic (given by Aethel) Nimueh end spirit: 5 [/hider] [hider=Vigor] No Vigor was used in this post. [/hider]