LadyAnnaLee

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin had been smiling as Ajoran began his answer. Slowly though the smile fell as look that was a cross between concern and contemplation overtook her face. She had heard words like that before. She hadn’t realized that others said them. Well, they hadn’t been exactly the same, but the man’s words reminded her of her mother speaking of Martin. Suddenly, and without really wanting to, Darin remembered why she had Chained Ridahne to The Seed in the first place. She had thought her like Martin, abandoning Ajoran the way he had abandoned Talia. It hadn’t been long after that that Ridahne had decided that she was going to marry the Taja. Yet now, listening to him, Darin couldn’t help but be struck by how much like Talia Ajoran sounded. Still, Ajoran hadn’t given up like the human woman. He seemed sure that Ridahne would always return to him. Was that the difference? Darin wasn’t sure. She didn’t understand the whole love thing. Well, she didn’t understand the romance thing. Love was different. She thought, she wasn’t sure.

That didn’t keep her from letting a small smile grace her fingers as she told Ajoran, “Good.” She softly kissed his cheek, “If she makes you that happy, and I know you make her happy, I suppose I can allow the marriage.” She let go of his arm as she moved away, “Just treat her right.” She turned her attention to where Ridahne was taking to what looked like a captain, “Taja Torzinei! Have you found us a ship?” After receiving confirmation Darin bowed slightly to the captain, “Thank you for lending us your boat Captain Rheisun.” She entered the boat with a slight step as she pointed out towards the mouth of the harbor, “I need to get out that way. If you wouldn’t mind.”

It wasn’t long before the boat was in motion. Darin use the time to take off her boots and roll up her pant legs. She also shrugged her shoulder to convince Taja to take flight. He flew off and was lost to view as he hurried off to look for a snack or mischief on dry land. Darin waved goodbye with a bright smile as she moved to pull of her leathers. She didn’t know if she would be able to have this conversation with just her legs in the water or if The Sea was going to want her dive down deep. Darin believed in conversing with Astra, not just bossing Astra around. There had been Seed-Bearers that had done that in the past. Those Turns of the Cycle didn’t last very long at all. Darin had been given a head start by both The Gardener and The Tree. She wasn’t going to waste it. Her Turn would last a long time, almost as long as the last Gardener, if not longer.

When they got to a good spot Darin happily called out, “Here’s good!” She took in a deep breath as she moved to the edge of the boat, “It’s perfect.” Sitting on the edge she realized that her toes would barely graze the water so she turned to Ridahne with the smile still on her face as she handed her the trinkets from the children for safe keeping, “I’m going to have to dive in Taja Torzinei! I’ll be back soon.” She laughed, “Well as soon as I can.”

With another laugh Darin took in a deep breath as her eyes slipped closed. The Sky knew what was happening and for a moment The Seed-Bearer seemed to be breathing in light instead of air. She exhaled the light before taking an even deeper breath of yet more light. Then Darin pushed off the side of the boat in fell into The Sea. She kicked down a little bit before turning and opening her eyes. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled without letting her mouth opening and letting all the air our of her lungs. Darin was always amazing by how wonderful the world looked under water. She nodded as she turned back to kicked herself deeper under the waves. When she was at what she felt was an acceptable depth she let The Sea carry her to where It wanted her to be. Then, they started to talk.

It wasn’t a conversation with words. For one thing Darin couldn’t talk with releasing the air, or rather, light, in her lungs. For another it wasn’t like The Sea spoke common. That didn’t mean The Seed-Bear couldn’t ask The Sea what It thought it was doing by being all excitable and keeping people from an honest day’s work. The Sea responded with amusement and asked The Seed-Bearer how she thought It shouldn’t be excited. The Seed-Bearer wasn’t in hiding. Not that hiding was a bad thing. Safety was good. But now The Seed-Bearer was known! This was incredible! It needed to be celebrated! The Seed-Bearer laughed in response. Alight, fine, being excited was understandable, but not at the expense of good people’s living. The Sea had to reluctantly concur, but still wanted to dance and sing. Well, could The Sea at least give The Seed-Bearer some warning next time so she could warn people? Well, that was fair. In fact, The Sea could give her plenty of warning, a day’s worth. At least, but It would get to plan something big! Something grand! Something with The Sky and The Stone. Something that would be talked about and sung about for ages. The Seed-Bearer took a moment to call out to The Sky and The Stone. They were agreement, One more grand moment! They would give The Seed-Bearer a day’s notice. A solem promise. The Seed-Bearer laughed in agreement, but not the day of the wedding. Oh no! Of course, not the day of the wedding! It would before they left Tasen. The Seed-Bearer nodded once. The discussion was concluded just in time. The Sea seemed to pull back for a moment and the human braced herself.

Darin was practically flung out of the water and into the air on a geyser of water. She exhaled with a laugh as the water dropped down, leaving her high enough in the air that the boat that Ridahne was on seemed small. She laughed again as The Sky took over for The Sea. Darin dropped down in a spiral of air that simultaneously dried her off and guided her to the boat. She landed with a gentle thump and a twirl that brought her face to face to with her sister. There was no way that most of Tasen hadn’t seen that stunning display of her exiting the water, but Darin really couldn’t care. She felt so alive. She always did after taking to Astra. That was her job, well, at least an important part.

She smiled at Ridahne before turning back to the Captain, “Thank you Captain. Let’s head back to shore.” She turned back to the warrior, “It’s time to spread the word that it’s safe to sail, at least for now.” She looked up at the sun, “I was under the waves for longer than I thought, “An hour, and we still have so much to do today.” She linked arms with her partner, “Isn’t that right Taja Torzinei?”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin reclaimed the stones from Ridahne as she thought about that. It didn’t surprise her that the children knew. Children tended to be better listeners than people gave them credit for, and they certainly listened to The Tree better than adults seemed to. It wasn’t the first time that a child had realized that she was more than she claimed to be. Thankfully that hadn’t led to gifts like it was here. If the gifts kept coming it wouldn’t be long before an adult saw it and bribed the child with a treat or something to tell them why they had given that foreigner a gift. What happened next depended on what the child told them. It might also depend on what happened during her conversation with The Sea.

Now that she was standing by the port proper Darin could see the choppy waves that were keeping some of the sailors in port. She couldn’t blame them. Istaerih’s actions early today were in no way something that The Sea normally did. No one wanted to fall to an early grave when the warning signs had been clear. There were a few ships that looked that they were getting ready to head out. They looked like outsiders or younger Azurei, people who hadn’t had the time to learn the lessons that the older sailors knew by heart. It looked like a few younger sailors were heading the words of their elders. Darin didn’t think anyone would come to harm today but wasn’t sure and the ships preparing to set out were making her nervous.

She did laugh at Ridahne’s definition of nicely, “Yes. I suppose you are right.” She linked arms with Ajoran, “Why don’t you see if you can find someone to ask very nicely? Someone older who will need the business today. Ajoran and I will stay here. It will give me time to see if I want my sister to marry him.” She smiled brightly at the Taja, “It’s a human tradition to toughly examine your siblings’ potential partners. It’s one I did not think I would take part of. I am an only child, but not that I have a sort of sister I plan to interrogate you severely.” She winked at Ridahne, “Don’t worry sister. I won’t scare him off too badly.” Once Ridahne had gone to inquire about boats to rent she turned to Ajoran, “Tell me Taja Teleisun. Do you love Taja Torzinei? And if you do, what are your intentions towards her?”

She had used the title Taja for Ridahne on purpose. If she was to be Astra-Sol then that would make her guardian a Taja, if Darin understood it correctly. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to be Astra-Sol, but to be honest, Hanasha-Sol’s attempts to seduce Ridahne to her side right in front of Darin, did not sit well with Darin. Ridahne was her Seed-Chained. One day, sooner or later, Ridahne would be her Seed-Honored. Yes, that meant that Ridahne would be free to make her own choices again, but her first loyalty would have to be to The Seed, and by extension, The Seed-Bearer. Darin was selfish enough to not want to share with another, especially a woman who smirked at her. It was petty of her and Darin knew that, and her pettiness made her insides squirm uncomfortable, but she didn’t know what else to do about it.

She spoke again, “She won’t be able to stay after the two of you get married. She has a responsibility to The Seed, to see to its safety. You have responsibilities here. Are you okay with her leaving, this time by choice?”

As she was speaking another child came up. Darin accepted the small token with a smile and a ruffle of the boy’s curls. He giggled as he hurried off. This time it looked like a piece of small driftwood that had been carved into a rough heart shape. Darin couldn’t help but run her fingers over the grain smoothed by its time in the ocean. She could see the rough tool marks and could only assume that the child had done the heart himself. Looking up Darin saw a woman who looked older than Ridahne looking at her with question in her eyes. When she realized Darin had caught her looking, she hurried looked away. Well, it seemed that her identity wouldn’t be a mystery for much longer. Darin was surprisingly okay with that.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Thank you.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I would like Amaiera-Sol to remember Khaltira's name. If that's alright.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Well, that hadn’t been what Darin had been planning at all. She certainly hadn’t expected Ridahne’s question to Ajoran or his answer. Had they really forgotten Khaltira? How had they forgotten her name? Had Darin done that? If so, how had she done that. She hadn’t meant to do that. She hadn’t known that she could do that. She honestly just expected the false Sol’s name to be forgotten over the years. She hadn’t expected a grand dismissal from everyone’s mind. Was it everyone’s mind? Or was it just Ridahne’s and Ajoran’s? Was there a way to find out? Darin was biting her lip in worry as her sister came over to hug her. She quickly smoothed all signs of her worry away to accept the hug. When the Azurei pressed their foreheads together Darin actually smiled. She could worry about this strange occurrence later, much later.

She shook her head, “No, I need to speak to Istaerih. The Sea has been rowdy since I got to Azurei.” She cast a look towards the port beyond the market. I need to figure out it It’s just excited I am here or if something else is going on. People have livelihoods, that can’t be meet if The Sea responds to everything I say and do.” She bit her lip in confusion, “I don’t understand it. Usually Istaerih is much better behaved.” She smiled at Ridhane as she linked her arms with her sister, “Come along. Just know that I will probably be distracted as we walk though the market.” She linked her other arm with Ajoran as she turned to him, “It’s a failing of mine, “If something interests me, I just stop and start asking far more questions than I probably should. Ridahne knows this. I have yet to figure out if she’s annoyed by this or not.” She laughed as she tugged them towards the market and the port beyond, “Not that it matters. I do what I want.”

With that being said she let go of both of them to begin her hurry towards the market. Taja let out a screech as he appeared from wherever her had been hiding to take his place on her shoulder. As she got to the market, she realized that people were whispering about what The Sea had been doing this morning. People didn’t look at her beyond noting that she wasn’t Azurei, so despite the rumors that The Seed-Bearer was in Astra, it didn’t seem like people had connected her to that position of power. That was alright. Darin wasn’t going to call attention to herself. She wouldn’t lie when asked about it, but she didn’t want to be suddenly noticed. She found herself flitting when stall to stall to look at the different vendors. She found herself asking the woman selling pottery how she got just that shade of blue. The fishmonger was worried about how the strange storm earlier in the day would affect business. There was a pair with a collection of leather gloves and vest that seemed concerned about it as well. Darin was in the middle of asking the leatherworkers about the stitching on a vest when she felt a tugging on her pant leg. She turned to see a child who was a little taller than her knees.

That was odd, but didn’t stop Darin from crouching down and asking, “Yes?” She made sure to smile, “Can I help you?”

The girl looked at her with awe in her face as she pushed something into Darin’s hand; her voice was barely a whisper, “For you Astra-Sol.”

With that the girl was gone, running into the market, and being lost to sight. Darin back up as she watcher the girl scurry away. Darin wasn’t completely worried. Ridahne had told her how Azurei children would band together to form little gangs and roam while their parents worked. Darin had to assume that it was relatively safe. She took a moment to look at the object she had been given. It was a black stone that Darin didn’t recognize but there was a curling carving in it. It took her a moment to realize that the child had carved a simple expression of a crashing wave. Darin looked back in the direction the girl had run off in as she considered. Once again, she had been called Astra-Sol, by a child no less. Darin wasn’t sure that she wanted that, but she was becoming less sure that she could stop it.

She turned back to the leatherworkers as she pocketed the small treasure, “What does the world Sol mean to you?”

The first one responded immediately, “A woman of honor and power.” If he was caught of guard by the sudden change of conversation, he didn’t let it show, “She is charged with the care and the protection of her people.”

Darin let out a noise of question, “Now, I am an outsider, but didn’t Azurei just have problems with one of their Sols recently.”

The other leatherworker scoffed as the first one turned to spit on the ground, “That woman.” He paused for a moment as he thought, “What was her name?” He gave he head a shake, “No matter. She was not an imposter.” His brow wrinkled in confusion for a moment, “The humans had a phrase … snake in sheep’s clothing?”

Darin corrected, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

He nodded, “Yes, that is her. A wolf, not the best example of a Sol. She serves only as a warning as what not to do.”

The other mentioned, “Hanasa-Sol is doing much better. She seems to be learning form her predecessor’s mistakes.” It was his turned to be confused, “What was her name?

Darin shook her head as her hand came to run her fingers across the small stone in her pocket, “It doesn’t matter.” She pointed at the stiches, “The stitching?”

They returned to the previous conversation and it wasn’t long before Darin was making her farewells. She wasn’t inclined to go to another stall and found herself standing in the middle of collection of stalls. It seemed that Ridahne and Ajoran weren’t the only ones that had forgotten Khaltira. She wondered what that meant. She also needed to figure out what she was going to do about the people calling her Astra-Sol. She might not be able to stop it. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to stop it. It seemed like a lot of work for a petty reason. She fished the stone out of her pocket to look at it. Besides, what did it even mean to be a Sol, a proper Sol. Darin wasn’t sure she had the best examples. She wasn’t sure what to do. This was the first time she had been addressed my a title other than Seed-Bearer.

Another child, this one was about the height of Darin’s waist, ran up to her. He bowed clumsily as he thrust something out at her, “For you Astra-Sol.”

She took the stone and he hurried off. This one was red, almost the same color as the disk Ridahne wore around her neck. It looked like a flower was carved into it. The human was suddenly reminded of the mayor of Lively’s mother. She was older and her health was shaking. She only left the house at festivals. When that happened the children of Lively would press flowers into her hands and scurry off as quickly as possible. Was this the Azurei version? Darin wasn’t sure. The human had never heard of the tradition in other places. She needed to ask Ridahne.

She quickly found her sister and dropped both stones into her hands, “Two children, they were young, I think, gave me these. What are they supposed to be? Am I supposed to do something with them?”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

So you know how in movies and books the children will go up to the princess or the king or the whatever and give them flowers. Is there an Azurei equivalent? If so what is it?

The Cherridome: CHING SHIH, EAT YOUR HEART OUT: IT'S PIRATES

@CorrosiveCherri

Good to know. Thanks!

The Cherridome: CHING SHIH, EAT YOUR HEART OUT: IT'S PIRATES

@CorrosiveCherri

It kind of is a vote for each of them. (Am I allowed two votes?) The point is that if either win, with or without my votes, I would love to play. I did like Twisted Porcelain best if that helps. I did like most of them though so I have subscribed to this thread to keep up with what happens. I may apply to play in another story even if my choices don't win. If that's okay.

The Cherridome: CHING SHIH, EAT YOUR HEART OUT: IT'S PIRATES

I personally like Steam Clouds and Twisted Porcelain. I would be willing to join a role-play with either plot.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin put her dishes in a neat pile as she answered Ajoran’s question about seeing the sea, “The first time I had seen it I was in the Eluri lands. I didn’t even realize I was so close to it where I lived, but I would have had to cross a mountain to get there. I gave very little thought to leaving my home before The Gardener gave me my tasks, so I never did plan to see it. I’m glad that I did though. Though I have seen the sea daily for quite some time it, it is still one of the most beautiful things I have every seen.” She laughed, “I do miss my forest though. It’s not like the forests of Lihaelen, where the trees are so tightly grown together that not even sunlight reaches the forest floor. Instead that light that comes down is tinted green because of the leaves. Occasionally ta breath of wind causes a rustle and the leaves part to let down a golden beam that lights up the world.” She sighed happily as she shook her head, “But enough about home. I am here, in Tasen, and I want to learn everything that that anyone will teach me.”

Still that wasn’t going to happen until Ridahne laid the rest of her demons to rest. Darin was more than willing to let that happen first. She followed Ridahne following Ajoran to the nameless grave. When Ridahne took her hand and held it in a grip tight enough to almost break bone Darin gave it willingly. When her sister pulled away the human stood back to let the warrior swear and rant and exclaim. Darin had seen Ridahne before. She had seen the Azurei depressed. Darin couldn’t remember ever seeing her painted in rage and despair and eventually ruin as she collapsed to cry in her lover’s arms. That didn’t mean Darin was surprised. It was still Ridahne and everyone was entitled to their emotions.

While Ridahne was crying in Ajoran’s arm Darin took a single step forward. She had been planning to swear, but after Ridahne’s actions it seemed rather pointless. She took another step. The human didn’t even have a personal grudge against the woman. Her grudge was on behalf of Ridahne and The Tree, both her family even if it was in two different ways. Darin wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. She just knew that she wanted to say something. With one more step Darin was close enough to place a single stone on the cool white stone. She let out a shaky breath. Then she let out a surer breath. The wind began spin around the little group with the stone at the center. Lightning streaked across the sky. The waves in the port started to grow bigger and bigger. The Stone began to vibrate.

The Seed-Bearer spoke in clear crisp Azurei, “Your name will be forgotten, not even to be remembered among the Azurei people. Yet, because of you Astra, and all of Its Children will remember that a thirst for power unearned corrupts, hate ruins, and selfishness consumes. Let your unjust actions, and your merciless punishment, serve as a reminder that power is worthless if you do not use that power to help others. “

The rock shattered. Darin didn’t react as the pebbles hovered in the air for a moment before the wind condensed to spiral the stones into a pillar as the wind died and the stones were about to fall a bolt of lightning stuck the rocks and the ground underneath them, fusing them into a spiraling pillar that was taller than Darin. Eatched into the stone were the words that Darin had just spoken. The words were the same white as the stone but the words “help others” had burned black. The message was clear. The Seed-Bearer wanted the false Sol to be forgotten without forgetting why she had been forgotten. The wind died. The waves settled, Darin turned to look at Ridahne with a strange smile on her face.

Her voice was surprisingly cheerful considering where they were and what just happened, “Let’s go! We have a lot to do in a week if I am going to learn about Tasen and you are going to plan a wedding.”