The Starry Hope

Ilian

Hi! It's been a while since I posted an RP thing, but I've not been that active here.

I wanted to give raves to @Czixi for putting up with my rustiness, I was so surprised I got an interaction here. I accidentally forgot to log the part with Ruin, unfortunately, where she tells a certain someone to eff off and Ilian fumbles the introduction (I felt so baaad). But I wanted to show how cool it was anyway!

Here Ilian is exploring Lacunyr, and was in the process of looking about. Then she met Aiya Ehc'zi!

- - -

In the embrace of night and day.
At this distant edge of Lacunyr, something strange occurs. Behind to the south lies the light of the
cloud-streaked sky, all of Lacunyr's floating islands visible as they hover one atop the other.
Ahead, it is dark. Not the inky black of the night sky, but variegated clouds of deep purple, blue
and pink - striated and puffy in equal measure. They swirl amidst brilliant pinpricks of light, many
pale and some coloured - the constellations and planets of the skies beyond all skies. Aiya Ehc'zi
lingers here, a gentle look of curiosity lighting her iridescent eyes.
You see a single exit leading south.

You greet Aiya Ehc'zi with a sincere smile.

"Hello," Aiya Ehc'zi says softly, brushing finespun shards of crystal from her eyes.

With a serene peal, you say to Aiya Ehc'zi, "I do not believe we've met before. But I am pleased to
make your acquaintance."

Aiya Ehc'zi curtseys gracefully before you.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Aiya Ehc'zi replies politely, placing her notes to one side and
clasping her hands together. "I am Aiya."

You have emoted: Ilian dips her head softly, as she sweeps an arm to her chest. "I have no Name yet
," she remarks. "But many know me as Ilian, Lady Aiya. I was merely speaking to the souls here that
need guidance and came across these soulgems."

The unsettling feeling of being watched causes your senses to prickle to rapt attention.

Comprehension flashes across Aiya Ehc'zi's face.

Smiling warmly, Aiya Ehc'zi says, "Oh, you want to show those to Eurael, in the temple."

Her form colouring with a soft beryl, you say, "Indeed. His song was most interesting, the first I've heard in such a long time."

Your mouth turns up as your face breaks into a smile.

Aiya Ehc'zi flushes rosy quartz and chuckles, nodding her head. "He is certainly unique."

With a faint nod, you say, "As is the beauty here, I have noted the continuous appearance of the
same spiralling sequence as I stride within Lacunyr. I had wondered to myself upon the road whatever
happened to the souls."

A radiant constellation of light spills into view above you, displaying a complex sequence of shapes
before fading from all but memory.

Aiya Ehc'zi frowns slightly. "Ruin would be the better person to speak to about them, but - in short
, they are people who have died with something left undone, or unsaid. They are here to receive
second chances at the absolution they were denied." Her crystalline skin shifts again as she speaks,
returning to a neutral clarity.
 

Ilian blinks slowly as looks upward, her crystalline visage reflecting the brief display. Her form taking in the light and warming it to a fading shade of blue. "I see, it would explain the nature of their constant reforming. Though I see I have not been entirely thorough in my discoveries," she says, gesturing to the skies.

Aiya Ehc'zi's responding smile lights up her face as she follows your gaze. "This is Bedisa," she
explains, lifting her hand to gesture towards the distant nebula. "She is the reason I am here."

Her voice tolling with a deep tone of curiousity, you say, "It is truly captivating. Was this
anomaly a recent appearance? Forgive me, there is so much to learn of what is the Welkin's and what
is deemed appropriate to question."

Aiya Ehc'zi shakes her head.

Aiya Ehc'zi says, "It has been - goodness, some decades now. I could not tell you the precise number
, I am afraid. So much has happened."

Aiya Ehc'zi glances down and smooths the front of her gown, habitually rather than necessarily. "And
you should feel most welcome to ask us anything. The three of us, I mean - Ruin and Eurael and I."

Her eyes twinkling brightly, you say, "It's alright, I merely wondered how I could ever forget it if
I had seen in some time ago." She straightens as if the weight of formality was almost forgotten at
what she's seen. "I am grateful, Lady Aiya. Why do you remain here, for study I imagine?"

Nodding, Aiya Ehc'zi says, "I suspect that I could spend a lifetime seeking to learn about Bedisa,
and developing my communication with her, and yet never be able to say more than a few sentences."

Aiya Ehc'zi pauses, smiling slightly. "I would be quite happy with that, as my life's work."

Ilian emits a soft hum, the sound thoughtful and unobtrusive.

With a serene peal, you say, "It is a living nebula? How fascinating, truly. How did you ever come
across this?"

look aiya
A daintily featured lucidian with a resting expression of hope, Aiya stands with poise and grace.
Natural, crystalline striations cover her entire body, lending a rough-hewn edge to her otherwise
peerlessly clear form, most notable upon her head - where they splay forth to trail out in finespun
curls that tinkle with prismatic radiance. Her gown is a multi-layered requiem to the complexity of
aetheric manipulation, folds upon folds of gossamer silk dyed in a rhapsody of violet - from deep,
wine-hued mulberry to pale iris and delicate periwinkle, run through with skeins of desaturated
heather. It falls in elegant, oversized sleeves that leave her shoulders bare and open at the elbow;
a divergence of material echoed at her waist, where the overdress splits to reveal glittering golden
layers of underskirt. Delicate rose-gold jewelled panels form a frame to the bodice and decorate her
otherwise bare shoulders, unfurling like tendrils of astral power that cascade to accentuate her
shapely figure.

Aiya Ehc'zi laughs melodically, clasping her hands to her mouth in a polite stifling of the sound.
"Quite by accident. I spent much of my life working in the Observatory of Aethereal Astrophysics. I
was studying the link between aetheric energies and the Divine, especially pertaining to Their
Realms. That led me here, and upon coming here, I found Bedisa."

The vicious whispers of an inner voice wash over you as a fragment of the Welkin Goddess manifests
here.

Ilian sweeps her eyes slightly beyond the dainty lucidian, looking upwards again towards the clear definition of stars and planets. Her feet almost lift from the ground, perhaps, an old habit. "How interesting. I would have never thought of how aether would connect to Them in such a way, to bond into a realm beyond the Basin...Though, how does Bedisa live? How does she speak?"

The painful whispering in your mind fades as the fragment of memory departs.

"Their Realms are not wholly different to Aetherbubbles, in many ways," Aiya Ehc'zi explains,
turning and plucking her amplifier from its resting spot. "They span many layers of Aetherspace, as
well - connecting both to the Prime Material Plane and then, in the case of Lacunyr, to Cosmic
Aetherspace."

Aiya Ehc'zi flushes apologetically. "But you had a question. Let me show you."

With restrained tonal notes of awe, you say, "Oh...my."

Clasping her hands, you say, "Yes, please do!"

Focus creasing her features, Aiya Ehc'zi makes a series of practised adjustments to the settings on
her amplifier. Soon a low drone emits from it, vibrating the air around you. She idly plucks several
crystals from the rift and sets them spinning around her - amethyst, jade, turquoise and emerald.
Each one adds an extra tone to the hum, a quartet not unlike a distant chord of song.

Aiya Ehc'zi lets these vibrations ring out over the water and into the distant sky for several
moments, before abruptly cutting it off. Lifting her head to glance in the direction of the nebula,
she waits.

Soft and gentle is the sigh that sounds in your ears, close enough to warm your cheek with invisible
breath.

The vicious whispers of an inner voice wash over you as a fragment of the Welkin Goddess manifests
here.

It takes several long moments for any reply to come, and when it does it is so quiet that you almost
fail to hear it. But no - there is something. A pat, pat pat, like a broken and stuttering hum,
distant but distinct.

You have emoted: Ilian slowly lowers her fingertips, her ear cocked to one side as she listens
intently. She notes the circulation of the gems, her eyes widening momentarily.

Aiya Ehc'zi's mouth turns up as her face breaks into a smile.

"As best as I am able to discern," Aiya Ehc'zi says, evidently modestly, "her response to my hello
was an expression of warmth and gratitude."

Aiya Ehc'zi snaps her fingers and the gems cease spinning, tumbling into her outstretched hand.

The painful whispering in your mind fades as the fragment of memory departs.

Quietly, you say to Aiya Ehc'zi, "Astounding, my lady. I thank you for the demonstration..."

Aiya Ehc'zi says, "Oh! It is quite alright, you're very welcome. I was due to check in on her anyway
."
A small smile washes over Ilian's face.

Aiya Ehc'zi sets her amplifier to the side and cleans her hands with a lace-edged handkerchief. "She
is lonely up there, with her children down here. I try not to leave her long without a message."

With a serene peal, you say, "Perhaps if you require more assistance someday, I would be pleased to
further your research." She pauses, discerning. "Her children? You mean those beautiful creatures
that I've seen. The sidiak?"

Aiya Ehc'zi nods her head.

You smile softly.

With a serene peal, you say, "But how did they manage to end up here?"

Aiya Ehc'zi says, "She sent them to us. I have thought about it a lot, since she did. At first I
thought it was a gift to us."

You crease your brow in a frown.

Aiya Ehc'zi tilts her head to the side, a myriad of colours fluttering through her cheeks. "Now I
think that perhaps it was for their own sake. So that they could see the world."

Her form darkening to a distinct cobalt, you say, "There are so many things here that bespeak of
sadness and hope. Sacrifice and a chance for life. Perhaps, you're correct."

Nodding, Aiya Ehc'zi clasps her hands together and glances back up at the nebula. "I think, Lady
Ilian, that is an excellent assessment of Lacunyr as a whole."

Brushing a hand across her cheek briefly, you say, "Thank you, Lady Aiya. But it is only through my
observations. There are not many to teach of what the Lady seeks to guide us with, but I was told to
trust my intuition."

(well-timed curio emote)
Standing at your full height, you regard your surroundings with contempt as two stunning wings of
platinum white unfurl behind you in a grand display. The image shimmers like a mirage before it
fades, the feathers dissipating in motes of flickering light.

"Well, as I have said, the three of us in Her Sharded Cadre are here to assist." The corner of Aiya
Ehc'zi's mouth quirks into a smile as she brightens with warm gold. "Though I would say that it is
not that She seeks to guide us, but that She expects us to guide ourselves."

You nod your head emphatically.

With a soft laugh, you say, "What it is that turns upon itself, like the sequence within ever facet
here. I think I'll excuse myself, and perhaps talk to Ruin. I have bothered you long enough, keeping
you from Bedisa."

Aiya Ehc'zi smiles softly.

Aiya Ehc'zi says, "It is no trouble at all. Fair winds, Lady Ilian."

Quietly, you say, "And to you."