shylarah

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

@Mogtaki Yay!

Loving and Dreading the Black Shroud [shylarah & pugbutter] [Historical/Gothic]

"And until then?" Dawn asked, brows drawing together. The word he used was not one she knew, but his tone said enough: he would not agree. "Prayer good, yes. But do not pray for good harvest until /after/ planting seeds. No seeds, no harvest, no matter how much prayer. What to do now?" He must have something in mind, or at least intend to think of something. Surely he was not stupid enough to think that faith alone was enough. William had never struck her as stupid. Strange, perhaps, and selectively blind. But never stupid. He wanted his people safe, and he would no more abandon them than the Great Spirit would abandon any of its children.

Whatever his plan, he would need weapons, if they were to drive off or even kill the evil spirits. "Muskets, axes, arrows, knives -- these things hurt them, but not so well. Need blessings to be better. Light and life, to drive out dark and evil." She fully expected that she would be doing the blessings. She had seen the leaders of the Christian prayers, and they called upon the Great Spirit, but that was not something they could put in their weapons. Balance was the way of the world, and the one who oversaw the cycle embodied all parts of it. The calls they made to light were poorly focused, and their enchantments would not be strong. Dawn would ask the spirits for what they needed and bind it tightly to musket ball and knife blade, so it would go deep into the evil spirits and do the most damage.

Knuxieh's Official Interest Check~ [Casual - Mid Casual] [CLOSED]

@knuxieh Hm, the Death plot is interesting but...I'm fairly certain that if I played Death, I'd end up...y'know, having the human die. ^.^;; Not sure how to get around that.

Darker, Grittier, Damper (M for F)

*tilts head at and waits for an answer to Miyu's question*
'Fraid I can't not be Shy. That's m'name, y'see~ ^.~

Loving and Dreading the Black Shroud [shylarah & pugbutter] [Historical/Gothic]

@pugbutter Oh, do you want one? I...don't have one, since I just made her. Nor do I usually create a formal bio unless I have to, generally utilizing a set of brief notes in a rather disorganized format. I can try to draw something up though. ^.^;;

Loving and Dreading the Black Shroud [shylarah & pugbutter] [Historical/Gothic]

Song-of-Dawn-Rain was a good Christian. That is to say, she believed herself to be. She rather had to, if she wished to keep any sort of relationship with the community where she now lived. Their God was not so very different from the Great Spirit of her childhood, and if perhaps the Pale Faces did not understand the other spirits that resided in all things, Dawn herself did not see it as a conflict. The were new to this land and did not understand its ways as she did, and it was easier to go along with them than to try too hard to teach those who did not wish to understand.

Still, in her blended vision of spiritual matters, there were indeed creatures of evil, and she knew that was what they now faced. The land was restless, the bounty of their harvest tainted with rot. Streaked-with-Lightning hid his face in the fringe of her collar. He did not like the feeling that lingered by the slaughtered cow, and even had Dawn not trusted her spirit guide implicitly in such things, the sight alone was enough to make her agree with the little rodent.

"If He test, He also give way to overcome," she said aloud as she signed a similar protection from evil, kneeling to inspect the carcass though she did not touch it. It was the first in their town, but there was news of other towns with similar events, and of communities torn apart from within even as they were attacked from without. If they were to survive the threat of dark spirits, they would need a defender that likewise inhabited the realm of spirits, for there was only so much a spirit woman could do alone. If she was to enlist the aid of a more powerful spirit, she would need aid from others, something Dawn knew she would not get. The Pale Faces did not like her magic, they did not see how all things came from the Great Spirit and returned to Him, even though they said the did. Magic was evil, they said, and she was forced to pretend she agreed. She had to hide the dances she did to bring them rains and healthy crops, the small spells she wove into herbs to heal the sick, the wards she placed with the turning of the seasons to discourage the lesser evils that roamed the lands. They did not know how she had lured the swarming honeybees to that particular fallen long, nor how she coaxed them to part with a portion of their sweet harvest in return for the blessings of bounty she wove for their gathering. They did not know how she thanked the forest for the trees they used to build their houses, nor how she soothed the restless spirits they disturbed when their footsteps fell too roughly upon the land. They did not really understand the Great Dance, and perhaps in their old world they did not need to.

And perhaps they did not all need to. William was a good leader, she thought. He would understand what was needed to protect his people. Dawn beckoned him away from the farmer. "This is work of dark spirits," she said. "Men can fight, but not as good as other spirits. God say, He help ones who help already, yes? Not everyone like ceremony to ask God send spirits of land to drive bad spirits out, so that not work. But with just me, can ask /one/ spirit, come and fight. Make offering and ask protection. Then spirit follow you, and it see dark spirits and work together for fighting."

What Dawn proposed was not in keeping with the strict code of the settlers, but sincerity gleamed in her dark eyes. She was using the tools she knew to solve their problem, in the way she thought would work best. The spirits were there whether you liked them or not. They did not go away simply because it was unchristian to traffic with them. Indeed, why would the Great Spirit teach them the songs, dances, and rituals to commune with the spirits if He did not wish them to? But how would William see her idea?

@pugbutter

Redthorn's Art Forge

@Redthorn Anvil You are really good, and I will never turn down character art. I need to get some stuff done, but I would love to dig up char refs and request something when I finish!

Loving and Dreading the Black Shroud [shylarah & pugbutter] [Historical/Gothic]

@pugbutter Oh, that's from one of the Twelve Labor challenges. I was soundly defeated by one of my own characters. ^.^;

Got a start on a post, at least. I need to pop off to the store and do some chores before I can finish it. *waves on her way back out the door*

Loving and Dreading the Black Shroud [shylarah & pugbutter] [Historical/Gothic]

Right, double checking: we're dealing with actual demons? ..wait, on second thought, Dawn wouldn't use the same terminology anyhow. Right-o, gonna work on a post. I guess the refugees can show up shorty, or...hm, maybe there outside town, waiting for a verdict. Okay, the gears are turning! Wooooo~

Loving and Dreading the Black Shroud [shylarah & pugbutter] [Historical/Gothic]

@pugbutter I'm not sure why, but I didn't get the ping. Still, found you~