Naevari Becomes Yneli

Naevari

Meant to post this earlier, but I was super lazy about it:


* * *

You trace the path laid out by the wildflowers, vibrant colour suffusing the air and obstructing your vision in an array of rainbow hues before the vision passes and you find yourself somewhere else.

 

@Lief follows you ether.

 

The Fulcrux of Maylea.

Branches twine overhead, the ambient light filtering through the thick, vibrant green canopy to dapple this copse of young beeches in flecks of brilliant gold. In the shade cast by the leaves, bluebells have grown across the ground so thickly that the sky might be dwelling underneath the trees. Each delicate blossom shimmers faintly with a hidden power, beautiful and ethereal in nature. Where the beeches stand aside to form a grove of vibrant blue, the flowers soften each footstep to a whisper of sound, and even the trees seem to bow quietly towards the shrine placed at its centre, which is adorned by a single, golden peach. Outside of the grove, the bluebells fall away gracefully from a colourful path of vibrant, low-lying wildflowers that passes seamlessly into the aether. Light arcs across the surface of a standing stone at the centre of the grove, bending in shifting patterns of colour. Abandoned here, a translucent sheet of butterfly stationery shimmers faintly when caught by the light. A handsome, white stag with creamy white wings wanders about here, his head held regally. Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon is here. She wields a golden whip of the pious in her left hand and a white blossom shield in her right.

You see a single exit leading through a path of wildflowers.

 

Leaves unfurl as new bluebells slowly open to drink in the magic of this place.

 

Turning and cocking his head, his faint seeming to grow just a little bit nervous, you say, "And... I just pray? Here? And She'll hear me?"

 

For her part, Lief seems utterly at peace. She smiles with exceptional warmth toward you, pulling a delicate iris from behind an ear. Winging nearer to the master shrine of Maylea, she dips down, laying the blossom at its foot. "You just pray here," she agrees, "and She will hear. She may not be able to speak right away, but She will hear."

 

Lief drops a delicate iris.

 

As Lief drops a delicate iris upon the ground, it takes root amid the wildflowers, joyfully unfolding petals and leaves to soak in the magic of this place.

 

The light shifts through the canopy overhead and moves across the forest floor in dappled streaks of gold.

 

Naevari draws in an anxious breath and nods - a slow, tense looking gesture. "I understand," he manages quietly. Taking first one nervous step forward and then another, he approaches the master shrine at the foot of which Lief's blossom now lies.

 

Lief's wings carry her to one side, allowing you privacy for your prayer.

 

Kneeling humbly, you press your palms together before you and close your eyes momentarily as you pray devoutly to Maylea, Bloom of Serenity, "Lady Maylea, I know of You from Lief - from what she's said to me and from her book of poems about Your Way - and I've seen You before, too, although I know I'm not so important to be of notice to one so great as You. Still, I entreat You, Lady Maylea, let me follow You, that I might become Your disciple and grow from the guidance You offer. I believe it could be of great benefit to me."

 

Rising slowly and then turning to face the faeling with a faint, nervous smile on his lips, you say to Lief, "It's done."

 

Bowing his head just a little once more, you say to Lief, "I... do appreciate this, Lief. Truly. I don't know if I've done more than exchange the most insignificant pleasantry with an Elder Goddess before, if that. Your being here means a lot."

 

Lief clasps her hands together, eyes smiling with absolute delight. "I've opened my eyes to so much I don't know I'd have ever see before, and it's thanks to my Lady," she says to you. "I'm so happy you might seek Her guidance as well."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "Naevari, My dear, you offered Me a figurine of yourself."

 

Lief's ear twitches, and she quietly claps her hands together with delight. "My Lady," she whispers happily. And then to you, she whispers, "I will leave you with Her."

 

Lief flits about happily.

 

Lief walks along the path laid out by the wildflowers, soon lost amid the vibrant colour. A handsome, white stag with creamy white wings departs with a stately walk to the ether.

 

Turning abruptly as though in a bid to find the origin of the words, his own voice just a little bit shaky, you say, "Yes, My Lady. Although... only because that figurine was a gift to me, you understand."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice exclaims, "I think it's lovely!"

 

Bowing his head just a little, you say, "Then I'm glad, I suppose."

 

Fidgeting with the train of his tunic in a nervous sort of way, you say, "I suppose it could be taken as symbolic, couldn't it?"

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "How do you mean?"

 

Very slowly raising his gaze - as though once more to search for the voice's origin, you say, "Because I... Well, I suppose in a sense, I'm offering myself to You now, for guidance and teaching."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "I have heard your prayer. And I remember your performance with My Lief. You were on the stage with her, yes?"

 

Bowing his head just a little once more, you say, "Yes, My Lady. I was. I played the lyre to her violin."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "Ahh! The lyre! It has its own sweet voice, and Lyreth sang best with it. Do you have an affinity to the lyre?"

 

Still keeping his head bowed, you say, "I do. My mother gave it to me. The... teaching of it, I mean, not the instrument. That was loaned. It's all I have left of her."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "I'm sorry for your loss, little one. Who is your mother?"

 

Eyebrows pulling inward as he shakes his head slowly, you say, "I couldn't tell you her name. I only remember that she was of the Lost Tribe. She left me when I was very young."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "And here you stand, having played the lyre with knowledge she imparted to you."

 

A faint smile twitching nervously onto his lips, you say, "Yes, My Lady. That's so. I have Lief to thank for that."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "My dear, what brings you before Me? It seems that you wish to be Yneli?"

 

Lifting his gaze once more and then nodding, you say, "I do, yes. I do wish that."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "The ones called Yneli come to Me just as they are and find themselves. That is how they learn conviction. Are you willing to see inside you and know yourself?"

 

Biting down on his lip and then pausing, and then letting out a slow, nervous, audible breath, you say, "Yes, I am. I mean, I try to. And in truth, while it's a path I think I've started on, I also think it's one that I very badly need to walk."

 

The air swirls with prismatic colour as a soft, insightful voice says, "Then come. Who knows what you will be, Yneli?"

 

Smiling gently, Maylea touches the middle of your forehead with Her index finger, causing a tingling sensation to run from the point of contact down to the tips of your toes.

 

Bowing his head once more, that faint, nervous smile creeping back onto his lips, you say to Maylea, "Thank You, My Lady."

 

Maylea smiles mischievously and winks. "Once you have learned of yourself, write of yourself to Me, and we will speak again."

 

Gracefully departing, Maylea dissolves into a swirl of prismatic colours.

 

[I think this was how it read - I forgot to record this one in the log, initially - but it might have been "I will, Lady Maylea" instead:] Kneeling humbly, you press your palms together before you and close your eyes momentarily as you pray devoutly to Maylea, Bloom of Serenity, "I will, My Lady."

 

You tell Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon, "It's... it's done. It feels... good. Truly good. Thank you, Lief."

 

Lief tells you, "Doesn't it just? I'm so very glad you feel the same. I'm so happy to have been a waypoint on your journey, and I'm very excited to see where you will go."

 

Lief tells you, "Would you like me to show you to Her Temple?"

 

You tell Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon, "More than a waypoint, I think, whatever else I can say to be true. I feel like I'm at the head of a trail that will lead to something truly special. I mean, I know I am; all I have to do is listen to the way you speak of Her, and I'm certain."

 

You tell Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon, "Yes, though. That would be nice, I think."

 

You trace the path laid out by the wildflowers, vibrant colour suffusing the air and obstructing your vision in an array of rainbow hues before the vision passes and you find yourself somewhere else.

 

* * *

 

You step into the waters of the pond and a warmth pervades your being, embracing you gently as you feel yourself drawn into the pond and taken swiftly elsewhere.

 

The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Superimposed over this location, an ethereal forest reaches up to the sky. Fed by a pure, underground spring, a small pond takes up the centre of the gardens. Delicate white fish swim in the crystal waters and around the base of lotus blossoms that float upon the pristine surface. Around the pond, silvery grasses and other white flowers create a space of intricate serenity and beauty. Some paces further on, the grasses become vibrant green and low rosebushes blossom in yellow and orange as colours come into vivid relief. Beyond this multihued boundary, nothing grows at all, leaving only black sand smoldering here and there, or glowing red with some unseen heat. This unsettling vision only serves to augment the protective calm provided by the garden itself. A blood-splattered stone, worn smooth by the flow of a river, lies here. A handsome, white stag with creamy white wings wanders about here, his head held regally. Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon is here, shrouded. She wields a golden whip of the pious in her left hand.

You see exits leading southeast, southwest, and through a small pond.

 

Nodding slowly, you say, "Yes. I remember this place."

 

Lief smiles softly.

 

That faint, wry smile still on his lips, you say, "I should have stopped and looked, but my intuition was drawing me further, quite far away from here."

 

Lief flashes you a smile, a twinkle in her gaze betraying her amusement. "You found your way nonetheless," she says. "Now..."

 

Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon says to you, "It's our duty to empower the dryads we find here. I think you'd benefit immensely from doing this when you next have time. Collect the tears that they shed..." Her features soften. "They feel very deeply."

 

Naevari turns to meet the faeling's eyes more fully, a hand coming up to knead at the nape of his neck while he listens. At the comment on the dryads' feelings, he bites down on his lower lip, then dips his head in a shallow nod. "I understand," he acknowledges in a soft voice.

 

[REDACTED EMOTE.]

 

Nodding yet again in the same understated way as before, you say to Lief, "Southeast or southwest. I will remember that."

 

Eyes twinkling again, Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon asks you, "And you'll pick now, I hope?"

 

Lips twitching wryly upward at the corners, you say to Lief, "Of course, Lief."

 

Lief follows you southeast.

 

The pensive path.

Superimposed over this location, an ethereal forest reaches up to the sky. A low marble plinth indicates the entrance to this secluded pathway, marking a walkway lined with intricately tiled walls that bear concentric circles and interlacing spirals of indigo and ivory tiles. Shallow channels run alongside the path into the temple, filled with clear water - here and there, a golden fish flashes through the water, vanishing beneath the shallow, tiled edge that rises over the waterway. Small containers of red clay sit here and there along the edges of the path, bearing single bluebells or snowdrops. Above, the walls give way to ribs of grey marble that bear the weight of heavily laden grapevines. Loose fruits lie at the side of the path, perfuming the air with a rich, sweet smell. A handsome, white stag with creamy white wings wanders about here, his head held regally. Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon is here. She wields a golden whip of the pious in her left hand.

You see exits leading northwest and down.

 

[REDACTED EMOTE.]

 

[REDACTED EMOTE.]

 

The air stirs briefly, colourful shapes folding and unfolding as the light bends around you, enveloping you in shifting shades of blue, before you suddenly find yourself somewhere else.

 

Lief follows you ether.

 

Amid a labyrinth of arches.

Subtly decorated arches lined with sage green and grey tiles stand everywhere in this chamber, leading to a slightly bewildering maze of clever angles and odd alcoves that serve to amplify the faint sound of running water and a whispering breeze that eddies through the chamber, admitted by slits of windows in the arching vaults of the ceiling. The sweet smell of water lingers within the quiet confines of the chamber, subtly enticing the nose. A sigil in the shape of a small, rectangular monolith is on the ground. A handsome, white stag with creamy white wings wanders about here, his head held regally. Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon is here. She wields a golden whip of the pious in her left hand.

You see a single exit leading southwest.

 

Stepping slowly forward as he gazes around at the arches, the faintest traces of awe bleeding onto his visage, you say to Lief, "It's beautiful."

 

Nodding agreement, Awanydd Lief Myeras-Silvermoon says to you, "It truly is - it's beautiful. Incredible. This is where I find peace, when all else fails."

 

Still not tearing his eyes from the labyrinth of arches, you say to Lief, "I can see why." He sounds just a little bit breathless. "I think I will stay here," he says decisively. "Perhaps I will meditate once my eyes have had their fill."

 

"There's so much to see here," Lief says with effusive warmth, "and so many people and beings call this place home. You can now, too. Just don't forget about the outside world - you can touch the plinth here to return once more."

 

Finally turning with languorous reluctance to make eye contact with the faeling again, Naevari offers Lief a faint, reassuring smile. "I wouldn't, Lief. There's too much out there that means too much to me, even already." Something about the words - or perhaps about the labyrinth of arches that only recently held him enthralled - makes the elfen hesitate, then. His smile wavers, and for the briefest of moments, he averts his gaze, just slightly. But only for the briefest of moments. Then it's on Lief's again, and he's saying, brightly but quietly, "Thank you, Lief."

 

That briefest of moments is enough to tease concern from Lief's own features. She tilts her head just slightly, but relaxes when your gaze meets her own once more, and that smile returns, renewed. "You're very welcome, Naevari, in every sense of the word. Especially here - you're very welcome here. I'll see you again soon, I hope?"

 

Cocking his head just slightly, that faint smile still on his lips, you say, "You should know the answer to that already, Lief." But despite the teasing dismissal of the question, he apparently thinks better of the ambiguity and adds, a moment later, "Always."

[REDACTED EMOTE.]

 

[REDACTED EMOTE.]

 

The air stirs briefly, echoing oddly through the corners and alcoves as the light bends around Lief, enveloping her in shifting shades of blue before she fades from view.

 

A handsome, white stag with creamy white wings departs with a stately walk to the ether.

 

Lief tells you, "Enjoy, and I mean that sincerely!"

 

(Serenwilde): Lief (from the Aetherways) says, "Fare you well, Serenwilde."

 

(Serenwilde): You say, "And you, Lief."

 

Naevari takes one step backwards, then another, his gaze once more rising to scan the labyrinthine architecture of the temple. At length, he sighs, a quiet little sound that doesn't pass beyond his immediate environs. And then he lowers himself into a cross-legged position and closes his eyes, and the last troubled furrows smooth from his brow.

* * *

So thrilled to be part of the order of a Goddess that's so intriguing and well portrayed! Thanks for the interaction, @Maylea!