PI: Seeking visions -Chyril 22nd MT

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PI: Seeking visions -Chyril 22nd MT

Post by Tristam »

Nakwa had to stoop a little to fit inside the front doors of the Temple of Pan. Instead of the smells of burning hemp and passion, this new temple still smelled of sawdust and fresh paint. The main chamber was round and took up most of the first floor. At the far end was a simple altar on which rested a statue of the Mother and Father bestowing their son Pan on the world. A pipe, a flute, and a cup were also on the altar for worshippers that wished to commune with Pan in their own way.

The rest of the room is largely open with many colorful cushions and few reclining benches to lie on. A few naked adhiel are curled up on the cushions sleeping off whatever Joyous worship took place the night before. A young adhiel priestess walked deftly around them as she went about her duties. At Nakwa's entrance, she came to the front of the temple to greet him. Her blue-gray eyes, much similar to the sky first thing in the morning, looked him over curiously. Her hair was long, and drifted over her shoulders in elegant blonde waves. She wore a green sarong with a bronze medallion hanging between her breasts. "Namaste, traveler. Let me offer you the hospitality of my tribe." Her adhiel accent made the traditional greeting of his people sound odd.
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The moment Nakwa stepped through the door, the smell hit him; that combination of passion and hemp, bittersweet destiny that had seen him both exiled and set on the first steps of fate.

It smelt good.

Despite his semantics, he still felt a little uncomfortable with the naked adhiel sleeping on the floor; such casual nudity was not something he was accustomed too. Still, the passion behind it appealed to him; something about living life one breath at a time.

It took some effort to drag himself out of his thoughts and focus his attention on the priestess who now stood in front of him. It was with some surprise that he heard he greet him with one of his traditional tribal greetings.

"Na...maste," Nakwa replied awkwardly, attempting to return the favour. "Your home is my home," he said in return, brushing his fingers along the sword hilt above his shoulder to complete the greeting as he had always known it.

"This is my first time in a temple of Pan, and I must admit that it appears that my life has been lacking all the more for it. My name is Nakwa Mumina; I have only just arrived a few burns ago from the Great Desert, having left with the goal of coming here, to Pan's Isle. I believe Pan has guided my footsteps away from my tribe to this island and has instructed me to take up His chalice of blood and worship Him, through the medium of divinely-inspired body-art."

Nakwa twisted slightly to show her his right arm, covered from wrist to bicep, almost to his shoulder, in a solid mass of tattoos. Though interwoven with each other, changes in colour marked a few separate phases; the last phase - the upper-most one - had scenes of battle, a horned head, a chalice of blood and a mouth that devoured the world.

OOC: Has something happened to Finley? Hope nothing bad; thanks for picking this up though :D .
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Post by Tristam »

OOC:No problem. Finley has retired from Tazlure to focus on real life. I'm handling things until mid-August and then Brytan is taking over all of PI.

The priestess at first looked bemused at his reason for coming here. Then it became more thoughtful and a little impressed as she gazed at the visions upon his arm. "Beautiful and terrible," she pronounced them, "I can easily believe these as visions from Pan."

She looked back up at him. "I am Paloma, High Priestess of this Temple and I welcome you blood brother. The others of your people that have traveled here have been blessings and I have no doubt that you will be also. Please come and take your ease and tell me more of this art of yours." Paloma threaded her away around the sleepers once more to set of cushions near the altar. She gracefully reclined onto them and gestured to a second pile or a bench as he wished.
Last edited by Tristam on Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Nakwa was pleased that the priestess - Paloma - accepted the authenticity of his tattoos; while her denial wouldn't have stopped him, it would have been an obstacle to overcome in his path. Pan spoke to him, and no mortal could stand in the way of his instructions. Following the priestess, Nakwa hesitated before deciding to sit on the bench. He leant forwards, with his forearms resting on his knees.

"These tattoos are a form of prophecy and guidance, Paloma," Nakwa began. "The first one" - he raised his wrist to show her the tattered sash inked around it - "came when I smoked the victory-pipe after killing my first man in a duel. I remember little of that night, but woke up with that tattoo; shortly after, my mother was killed, her headscarf wrapped around her neck and slashed just like the one on my wrist.

"After my second victorious duel, I smoked the pipe once more; this time, I woke up with another tattoo on my arm." He showed her the scene of carnage and bloodshed that had been drawn onto his forearm, turning it so she could see the lone figure he had identified as himself walking away from it all. "I believed it foretold the imminent destruction of our tribe, and warned the elders; but my warnings went unheeded. When a hostile tribe made camp not far from us, I believed they were the ones who would destroy us; out of fear for our tribe, I attacked pre-emptively under the cover of night and slaughtered them.

"It was only the next day that I realised that the prophecy on my arm had come true regardless; only, it was not our tribe that was slaughtered - but the other tribe. My kinsmen found out, and I was exiled for dishonest killing under a supposed drug-induced haze. I was lost in the desert for days, but eventually made my way to a village on the edge of the desert; the heat had made me hallucinate and delirious, and when I woke up I had this final tattoo on my arm."

He showed Paloma the final tattoo on his bicep; amongst scenes of battle, there was a huge mouth about to devour a tiny island, a horned creature he saw to be Pan next to it, and a goblet of blood.

"It was here that Pan showed his face to me, his instructions clear; I was to make my way to his island for further guidance, and to worship him through the way of his Blood. As soon as I made enough money from working at the inn for a boat fare, I set sail; and here I am now."
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Post by Sevti »

It was a short walk from the Nymph and Satyr back to the temple. As seemed her wont of late, Sevti was in deep thought as she walked along. Never, of course, so deeply that she couldn't spare a smile or a brief word with those she passed, but as soon as her feet began to move again, so did her thoughts.

She wished she'd had more time to with Thyren and Gotham. She would miss the friends she'd made through the pain of the War, but she knew they needed to follow their own path. After all, that was what she was doing here - even if Pan hadn't completely shown her what that path was. Just that it lay, for the moment, in Seinor.

And her meeting with Finodborn... again, much too short, but she hopped to meet with him again sometime. They had shared an enjoyable pipe, and easy conversation. But his lack of time spent in Seinor made the dark haired girl wonder if he was as dissatisfied with the results of the war as she was. It would be worth speaking with him again, if Pan wished their paths to cross.

In a flickers time, or so it seemed, she was once more standing before the temple. The sun-warmed doors felt comforting under her hand as she pushed it easily into the room, her small lithe frame following shortly behind.

A smile of being home curved her lips as her dark eyes took in the comfortably naked bodies lying around the room. Even if our home has changed, the worship has not, she thought happily. She missed the feel of bodies curved with her own, the warmth of others sending their Joy to Pan as she did herself. Maybe tonight, she told herself. It has been too long. Just because Abeo was gone didn't mean that she should give up...

The little human's thoughts stopped immediately as her eyes fell upon the stranger that was speaking with Paloma. It would have been hard for her to miss the newcomer. Tall. Very tall. The dark skin reminded her very much of her old friends Mnnaguth and Tannoc. Another of their clan? she wondered as she tried to catch the priestess' attention with a raised eyebrow of curiosity.
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Post by Tristam »

Paloma listened to Nakwa's story with rapt attention. Idly she rubbed the bronze medallion she wore between her thumb and forefinger as she thought over the implications. "I agree it seems such a clear vision and that itself is odd. I'm no stranger to walking with Pan on clouds of smoke," she admitted with soft smile, "but always what I've seen is lost in the haze upon waking." Paloma reached out and ran a finger down Nakwa's arm. "Perhaps you are wiser than I to keep a record."

Paloma was about to say more when her attention was caught by Sevti gesturing to her from the doorway. She smiled at seeing her friend and called her over with a beckoning hand. "That is Sevti." Paloma explained to him, "a dear friend and a priestess in all but name. Perhaps she can help to riddle out these visions of yours."
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Glancing over at the raven-haired woman Paloma had pointed out, Nakwa opted for a compromise between etiquette and practicality, rising most of the way from his place to bow in greeting before sitting down again, expecting Sevti to do the same shortly after.

"Namaste, Sevti," Nakwa said in greeting, doing his best to get used to the local greeting. With the number of people he was greeting, he didn't think it would be long until he spoke the word fluently. Other phrases may prove more challenging, though.

"I was just telling Paloma of how I came to be tattooed this way," Nakwa explained, showing her his right arm. He opted to summarize his tale, rather than explain it all again; if Sevti had any questions he would answer them. "I was tattooed three different times, twice after smoking a victory pipe and once after I was delirious from dehydration, with no memory of how I got them. The first showed me a vision of the future beyond my control - the death of my mother. The second showed me a vision of the future that I came to fulfil myself - the death of an entire tribe. The third" - this one Nakwa pointed out especially, showing her the horned head, blood-filled goblet and mouth - "revealed to me that these were visions from Pan. Following the message He inked on my arm, I have converted to worship His Blood, and came to this island to seek further guidance.

"I wonder, do you have any clue as to the importance of the mouth?" Nakwa gestured to the mouth on his arm, gargantuation in scale compared to the tiny island it was about to devour. "From rumours I pieced together that it probably referred to the place called 'World's Mouth' that..." Nakwa paused for a moment, trying to remember what he had heard. "...established a colony on the island, 'Avass'? I apologise; my tribe did not get much word from the outside. The head of Pan seems clear enough, as does the goblet and the depiction of Pan's Isle; but I am unsure about the significance of this place."
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Post by Sevti »

"Namaste, Nakwa," the tiny Panling greeted the large visitor. "Let me offer you the hospitality of my tribe." The words she spoke were in broken, very slow half-giant.

"I'm afraid that's the extent of my experience with your tongue," she apologized sheepishly before moving in to kiss Paloma in greeting.

With one smooth movement, she lowered herself to the ground. One slim hand reached out for a large, soft cushion as she stretched her feet toward the door, legs crossed at the ankles. Her head rested upon her hand, the cushion settled underneath the upper half of her body. Her dark hair curtained around her, the tips sweeping the floor as a slight breeze caught them.

She listened intently as Nakwa described the creation of his colorful body art. While she was curious about the first two tattoos, it was the third that caught her attention most fully. The cup, the isle, Pan's horned visage - those could just have been a sign from Pan for the half-giant to be a Warrior of the Blood. And there were many here that had given themselves to that way of worship after the invasion. But the mouth, about to swallow the isle...

"How long ago did you receive this vision from Pan?" she asked, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in thought.
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Seeing Sevti's intent listening, the unspoken questions in her eyes and the thoughtful biting of her lower lip, Nakwa took heart; perhaps she had some insight as to what the mysterious tattoo meant.

"The final vision was sent to me some three months in the past," he replied after a moment's thought. "I was exiled with no money and was paid very little at the inn I worked at, even while they took out money for board and food; it took me that long to earn enough money to afford the sea-journey. Has something seized your thoughts?"
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Post by Sevti »

Sevti looked over at Paloma, the corner of her lips curved downward with a little worry. Did the priestess have the same fears that the younger Panling had?

"If it had been a yahren ago, I would have thought that it was the problems between those that blindly follow Dominicus and those of us that joyfully follow Pan. It would have been clear. But the vision coming at the end of the war..." She sighed heavily as she rose to a sitting position.

"Pan may be trying to tell us that the threat isn't over." Her dark eyes sought Paloma's. "Has anyone else reported similar visions? Or anything else that might indicate that this has just been the calm before the storm?"
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Post by Tristam »

"The Bloodlings have always claimed that the battle is not over but that is what those of Blood often say." Paloma said with a shrug. "All that we have heard from the Mouthie colonies speaks of them focusing on running their plantations and building more of them. They've been bringing in shiploads of people to work them. Slaves mostly I am told." Paloma said grimly.

"If there is a battle to come none here have received warning of it from Pan." Paloma sighed. "But we hear little from those of the Blood that still fight. Perhaps seeking them out for the latest news would be helpful."
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Listening carefully as the two women spoke, Nakwa filled in the gaps in his knowledge about the region. He had known of the War of the One through vague rumours that had reached even his isolated tribe, but had not known of the details. It seems that fighting had reached the Isle, between (presumably) the inhabitants of World's Mouth - the Mouthies - and the Panling denizens. Though the war appeared to be over, those of the Blood - his fellow members, he reminded himself - kept on fighting.

"Such an idea has merit," Nakwa rumbled. "Perhaps I am the warning of future conflict that has been lacking; speaking with those on the front line may help confirm or deny such a view. If that fails, then perhaps I can, as you so put so well Paloma, 'walk with Pan on clouds of smoke' again and seek guidance."

Secretly, Nakwa saw this as an opportunity to flex his warrior-muscles, itching for exertion after months working at an inn where the closest he got was clobbering drunken louts who refused to take their quarrels outside. He was convinced that the tattoo pointed him in the direction of those from the Mouth, sword drawn and blood raging.
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Post by Sevti »

Sevti nodded, her tongue darting out to dampen her lips as she thought. Yes, the Bloodlings would be the best to know if there had been a change in the fighting they were bringing to the usurpers of their homeland. Though many of her ties with the Bloodlings that she'd had were no longer and she honestly was not certain where to start.

Though Finodborn just returned to town... she reminded herself.

And the Bloodlings might not be the only people that would have information, she admitted - though she hated the thought of bringing her family into potential combat once more. Still, if Pan did indeed send Nakwa, she had to get confirmation. She only half-heard his words as her own musings lay in her mind.

"I saw Finodborn less than a mark ago," she told Paloma in a seeming non-sequitor. "We spoke of very little, and nothing to do with the small strikes of fighting that still break out on the island. But he may know..."

She let the idea trail off, allowing Paloma to pick up on it if she wished. Then, taking a deep breath, she continued, "And it has been too long since I've visited my parents. It may be time."

The thought of walking into that city to see her parents, proprietors of the same bar with a new name in the same city with a new name as they had raised their Panling daughter, filled Sevti with a deep cold. Not at the thought of seeing her parents - there was no less of the love that had filled her household as a child now that they lived in different cultures with different ideals. But to enter Tal'Fea-no-longer, to know that she could easily pass as one from their culture all because her ears were rounded and her hair so dark whereas so many of her brothers and sisters in heart could not...

For all that it seemed she could move on and live in this new city, created for those who put joy above profit, she was still filled with anger at the losses that the invaders created. Father Andi, her teacher, missing and never found. Crysal, the young girl that she watched killed brutally by a callous soldier in front of her. The warriors that fell around her as she tried to rescue her father - and lose her love. The burned body with the dagger that now stayed at her side...

She didn't think she could ever forgive them that. And even the prospect of visiting with her parents, of hearing any news that may help keep the Panlings free people should the interlopers decide to try to subjugate them once again, even made the girl wonder if she could keep her hate in check.
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Post by Tristam »

"Finodborn would at least know who and where to contact the Bloodlings if he has no news himself." Paloma confirmed. She layed a comforting hand on Sevti's shoulder. "Do not be afraid to confront the past. There are many that will confront it with you."

"I shall pray over this, Nakwa." Paloma assured him. "If your coming heralds some new threat to our isle, then I will do all I can to suss it out."
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After a moment's pause in consideration of what was clearly some emotion welling up inside Sevti, Nakwa spoke.

"Thank you, Paloma," he replied first, giving her a small seated bow, the greatsword and satchel shifting slightly on his back. "For now, it would appear that we should seek out this Finodborn; unless there is anything further, I suggest we depart now."

With a clear goal in mind - find Finodborn and the Bloodlings - Nakwa was loathe to wait in one spot more than required; Pan's message was all that mattered, and the tattoos on his arm veritably itched in new-found impatience.
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Post by Sevti »

Sevti offered the Priestess a small smile, her slim hand coming up to rest over Paloma's. "But some things no one can confront for me. Some things I need to take on alone." Alone....

The petite woman was grateful for the change of subject when Nakwa suggested they seek out Finodborn. "I'm not certain where he's wandered to, but I don't believe he's left Senior yet," she replied. "I'll be happy to help you seek him out."

She turned her attention back to Paloma as she rose in one smooth movement. "I'd like to speak with you more this tradetide, if you'll be available," she requested of the priestess. She did not go into any further detail regarding the request. Truth be told, she wasn't certain exactly what her need to speak with her friend was. She just felt that she needed time alone with Paloma before she left the town that day.
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Post by Brytan »

Paloma offered Sevti a smile and a graceful nod. "You know where to find me Sevti." The priestess stood up and glanced over to the adhiel in the large room, some of whom were slowly waking up to their conversation.

"And you are right, some things you must do alone, but make sure you choose which things those are, because you do have friends to aid you when you need them."

OOC: It's me :) As discussed, feel free to start a search thread before dropping in on Finodborn. I'll be glancing into his thread shortly aswell. And get everyone back on their feet that way.
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Post by Sevti »

The smile came unbidden. Sevti reached forward to wrap her arms around her friend, placing a small kiss upon her lips. "I know. And you are among them. You needn't tell me." The smile turned into a large grin, her hands squeezed lightly over Paloma's fingertips. "Thank you. And I'll see you this tradetide."

Turning away from her old friend, she smiled brightly up at her new friend. "Whenever you're ready, let's go find Finodborn"

OOC: Fin, after Nakwa's reply?
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Sevti's smile and the warmth between her and Paloma were infectious; Nakwa found himself smiling a little for no other reason than they were when Sevti turned back to her.

"Lead on," Nakwa said with a gesture of his hand to indicate she should go first. "You know the Isle far better than I."

OOC: I'd say that's a wrap for here :D .
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Post by Brytan »

Will lock and check it again for skilling. Catch you in the other threads! ;)
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Post by Brytan »

Skills;

Nakwa; Communication - basic (new)
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