[center][b][h1][color=lavender]Eleanna[/color][/h1][/b] [b]VII[/b][/center] The family life really wasn’t for her, Eleanna thought as she sat at the top of one of the great dunes to the south of the Daman Lands. Sure, playing the part of girlfriend was fun, so was the spontaneous romance and even the jealousy… But she was far grander than all of that. Yeah, she definitely was too important to spend time chasing mortal dreams… Or was she? She furrowed her brow and looked at one of the tiny skulls that decorated the tip of her spear. Her first kill, the Squirrel. Its empty eye sockets seemed to judge her every decision… So, tired of feeling like she hadn’t spent her time wisely in the last few months, she ripped some fabric off her underclothes and tied it around the tiny skull as an improvised blindfold. Life was difficult enough as it was without being judged by the dead. She stood up and gazed at the horizon. In the distance, she could start to make out the hints of a change of biome, her great dunes giving way to a more temperate if somewhat mountainous land, a land which she was sure housed many treasures and trophies to be collected. One day, she’d visit it and say hi to the locals. Today, however, was not that day. She stood up and turned around, regarding her small following of demi-human pilgrims with a nod and a clench of her jaw, prompting them to huff, stomp the sand, and turn towards the modest pyramid just a few paces behind them. There were offerings on each of the fifty-six steps, and the offerings ranged from fruit and vegetables all the way to hand-crafted weapons, emblems or idols. It was one of Eleanna’s duties as the Bronzed Bloom, that of choosing whether to acknowledge her Seekers’ struggles or to disavow their goals. And so Eleanna walked up to the first of the fifty-six steps of the Sanctuary. Carrots. Freshly harvested. Lumpy, dirty, but with a colour only matched by the redtails to the west. A short and stocky man approached Eleanna. His cloak almost concealed the fact that he was hunched over and trembling. Almost. “Leaf-Talker, your carrots are full of nutrients. The colour on them is unmatched. Your goal?” The short man nodded, standing just a little bit straight so that the cloak no longer concealed his long, scaled muzzle full of sharp teeth. “T-To grow the best vegetables in the Daman Lands, B-Bronzed Bloom.” “Are these the best vegetables in the Lands, Leaf-Talker?” “N-No, Bronzed Bloom. They need to be more appealing.” “Good. Keep working on your craft.” The man let out a breath he had been holding and withdrew back into the crowd. Eleanna then moved to the second step, where a curious little rodent sat rather patiently. It had beady little eyes and an orange and white coat of fur. It seemed to shrink a little as it saw the squirrel skull tied to her spear but a large man, taller than Eleanna by at least a full head (which was impressive, considering Eleanna was taller than every mortal she’d met before), walked up just in time to prevent the rodent from running away. Instead, it scampered over to the man and climbed onto his shoulder. “A tame beast.” Eleanna said slowly, never taking her eyes off the rodent. “Excuse me, Bronzed Bloom. Not just any beast, but a were-human. C’mon Chip, speak.” The man cooed to the rodent. “bronze” The man beamed at Eleanna with such intensity that she couldn’t help but smile back. “You’ve tamed a were-human. How? Tell me your name.” “Were-Taker… And that’s a secret of the trade, Bronzed Bloom.” He explained, nodding his head apologetically. “Your goal?” “To become the most famous beast-tamer in the Daman Lands, Bronzed Bloom.” “And how do you intend to do that, Were-Taker?” “I need to do something new… Something that will definitely catch everyone’s attention! I’ve been working on taming bigger were-humans, so I’m feeling confident.” Eleanna raised a bushy eyebrow. “Bigger were-humans? Good. Stay until the ritual is done, we need to talk about your first test.” Were-Taker nodded and stepped back into the crowd, and so Eleanna moved to the third step… [hider=Summary] Eleanna sees the border of Node 14 to the southwest of the Great Dunes of the Daman Lands and resolves to make her way there someday. For now, she is busy performing the Ritual of Acknowledgement, in which she gives people her blessing to chase their dreams. During the ritual, she meets a cloaked man named Were-Taker whose dream is to be the Daman Lands’ most famous beast-tamer, and has managed to tame a were-human. She immediately sees the man’s potential and asks him to stay behind after the ritual to talk about his upcoming test. [/hider] [hider=Might] 1 Might used to bring the Daman Peoples into Tech Tier Two in between last post and this one. [/hider]