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Epine de Rose rolled 1 20-sided dice:
9
Total: 9 (1-20)
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 Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:43 am
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He'd been listening to it for a while as he rested on the shores of the former Maestros lands. Now that he had been reunited with his mother and a number of new siblings, he'd already had a great deal to ponder over. His own children, nieces and nephews had also learned some valuable lessons as they helped their newly introduced aunt and uncle to ay the fallen to rest. All in all it had been a sobering experience but once they had all been formally laid to rest it had also been one that no one would forget.
...A valuable lesson to say the least, and one that had resulted in one of his usually abrasive children becoming much more contemplative. She was still coming to terms with what she had seen, what her father had faced and yet she was also beginning to find her calling. Just like his twin and her own mother, it seemed as though Lakshmi had the desire to become one of the Priestesses within the Stormborn. It wasn't a bad profession at all and it would be one he would encourage - he had no doubt that both Kluna and Dione would echo the sentiments.
Nevertheless she still hadn't found herself entirely happy with the circumstances in which the fallen had met their final slumber. While they were buried and Arimathras had provided them with beautiful places to sleep eternally, his daughter had felt incomplete. Alas it wasn't something he had the answer to and thus he had come to the shore for inspiration. What had followed soon after was something of considerable intrigue, the ocean had begun to sing.
Well he thought it was the ocean, but he couldn't be entirely certain.
He'd tried to listen for lyrics, but the longer he'd lingered the less coherent the sound had become. It was a lull more than anything, tempting to follow, but ill advised. He was beginning to suspect that the longer he dwelled here, the more likely he was to wade into the water and meet his end. Fortunately he knew better and he'd wandered in to more than enough questionable areas to recall that more often than not it had ended very badly for him - still, this didn't stop him from appreciating the eerie and rather tempting caress.
Sirens maybe? There had been a lot of things amiss as of late, he'd thought the Stormborn had truly gone to s**t but now that he was out here as well, he was starting to suspect that while they had truly screwed themselves over... Something else was going on as well. His mother had been understandably unhelpful given that she hadn't been 'home' in a considerable number of years, though she had made an offhanded comment that all wasn't well.
Something was restless.
Whether or not this came to impact them on a greater scale that singing sirens remained to be seen, for now though he could enjoy the eerie sound as he considered how best to provide his daughter with assistance in the wake of strict instructions not to return home until the Stormborn had ceased being a disastrous cesspool...
"One would be wise to avoid the ethereal calls," A feminine voice interrupted his thoughts as the rather lithe and intoxicating feline entered his line of sight. Her unusual lilt seemed familiar, and it was only as he regarded her that he recognised it as a rather thick Al-Siq accent.
"You are far from home," he replied before returning his gaze towards the horizon. Perhaps she was one of his father's informants, he seemed to have more than Tethys imagined, and yet there was something about her that didn't seem quite right. The manner in which she carried herself, the languid blinks, her demeanour was bizarre when held against those Al-Siq he had met before. While she might have referred to the 'ethereal' he had suspicions that she might be one herself - an illusion, a trick of the eye, she felt otherworldly.
"As observant as one would expect," She continued. While uninvited she had chosen to take a seat and was gazing out towards the horizon with a neutral expression. In her time in these lands, where she had observed the lulls and tides of wars; she had seen far more than she'd been exposed to upon the high peaks. They had prepared her for this of course, from birth she had been educated specifically for her duties, and yet it was still an unusual sensation to encounter each and every event that she had been taught about.
Brutal overlords? She'd seen them.
War torn regions devoid of resources? That too.
Shattered friendships and alliances? Those existed too.
What she hadn't been prepared for was a retelling of age old mythos, while the Al-Siq had yet to experience too many of these otherworldly anomalies, they had existed long ago in a time when the world had been young and their own tale had barely been woven. It made for quite the experience and it would most assuredly be once in a life time, one she should savour despite the dangers that lurked around every corner.
She had yet to experience such things as the Lake of Sighs, or even The Maw, but perhaps in time she would encounter more and more of these anomalies and by the end of her pilgrimage she would be equipped with many tales and maybe, just maybe, she might see something truly momentus.
Nevertheless as it stood, she now found herself in the company of one individual who (unbeknownst to him) was already participating in a defining moment in her pride's history. He might never know it, but several of his actions had already helped to steer certain parties in unexpected directions. This Captain, one who was unlikely to step paw into the Al-Siq lands for any extended period of time, had thrust them forward far more rapidly than several generations had achieved. Through his actions change was coming and it was unfortunate that he might never receive the recognition he deserved.
...Alas, he might not even desire it.
"It isn't difficult when your accent is so thick you couldn't possibly be misplaced," he lifted a brow and returned his gaze towards her. "You couldn't even pass as a rogue if you tried," he shrugged. "Though you can rest assured I have no intention of swimming with the sirens any time soon," he shook his head slowly. "Now is neither the time, nor place, to be playing with the unseen."
"You have learned much," A small smile lingered on her lips and she lifted her paw to scratch at the side of her nose. "Your journey has aged you well."
Now this did get an arched brow.
"Your father is not the one who sees all, nor are the forsaken who you have become so accustomed to pursuing," Her tone was kind, even when referring to the Scourge. She seemed to hold no animosity towards them despite clearly knowing what they had done and how they behaved. "It is us who do, we watch, we wait...And we marvel as hitory unfolds."
"But never intervene, right?" He snorted. "You know that knowing the truth, or knowing of terrors that will happen, makes you just as guilty as those who conduct the activities."
"If we were to intervene then it would be against all, your notions of right and wrong are... " She pursed her lips. "Subjective," she said finally. "History is written by victors and the truth often lost."
"And speaking the truth."
"Victors rarely like to be reminded that their actions are not always right," she smiled. "But I do not come to preach," she continued at last. "I came to explore, to observe and to learn," she lifted her paw once more to point towards the flickering colours within the sky. Unnatural, divine and bizarre, they were another anomaly she had come to enjoy watching and she would be saddened when it finally dissipated. The worlds beyond the veil would eventually settle again, or at least that was how it had always been before.
"Much the same way as you seek answers now, no?"
"I was never much of a father," Tethys said after a moment, choosing not to pursue the rather puzzling remarks the lioness had made regarding the 'victors'. He might revisit it in time, but now he had more important priorities. "Our home is a mess, assaulted by unknown beings and one has to wonder what provoked them."
He chose to ignore the lioness's pointed gaze, his pride certainly had a reputation and no doubt someone had been stupid enough to infuriate a being of power. No doubt whatever they had done had deserved punishment even if Tethys didn't agree with the collateral damage... His children hadn't done a damned thing wrong.
"So I was told to take them out, to educate them away from where they could be harmed and now I find I don't know a damned thing about half of the subjects they're interested in."
"So none are inclined towards battle."
"Law, Religious, Spirituality..." He gave a wry smirk. "Not a single sliver of interest in combat."
"Law is based on culture, they can do no more than return home to learn it as you well know," she paused briefly. "But spirituality... Perhaps I can provide you with some aid in this."
"Oh?"
"It is our duty to converse with those beyond the veil, to remember what was and to wait for what should be. This is all we know and all we wait for," she paused, albeit briefly. "It may not be the cultural inclinations of your home but perhaps an introduction to what it is could prove of use."
"And in exchange...?"
Tyche shook her head and sighed, if there was one thing she had come to learn in her brief time in this world beyond the high peaks, it was that there were few who did anything charitable simply because they could.
"I learn, and so too does the one who needs instruction, at the very least she might find some answers until such times as she can ask those who are capable of guiding her through the more complex and nuanced aspects of her journey."
"Hm..." He knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth and he certainly couldn't guide her himself, he was the most unreligious lion one could meet. "It is worth exploring," he said after moment and nodded.
Another pause followed.
"I don't suppose you know anything about this do you?"
"The anomalies?" She chuckled. "I have theories, historically something similar has happened before though never to this scale. Those behind the veil are restless, but one could only ponder over the mysteries... To give true answers is all but impossible without journeying in to it yourself."
"Can you?"
"To do so is an impossibility for the living."
"I see."
"If it were at all possible while still anchored to this world, then it is not a ritual that we are aware of... And I am not entirely sure we would be so unwise as to try. Nothing is more dangerous than ones own hubris."
"Duely noted, you're certainly a bit more unusual than the standard Al-Siq."
Tyche smiled, but said nothing as she continued to listen to the unusual siren's call that echoed across the shoreline. It truly was intoxicating, but as with Tethys, she found something about it quite unsettling... Much like the Captain, she wouldn't be attempting to find the real source any time soon.
Total Words: 1,936
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