"They believe that in order to secure the rise of their divine dragon, they must bring about his resurrection by feeding him the souls of those who leech his power."
"The pale ones?" Lakshmi was beginning to understand some of the easier aspects of her father's heritage. Hell, at this point in time she might end up knowing more of it than he would. However, Tyche had deemed it important that she understand where the rituals were born from so that she might be able to put herself in the paws of those who had experienced them... pleasant or otherwise.
"Correct, just as they are pure black in complexion and believe they are the embodiment of his existence; they firmly believe that those of pale tones have pilfered a portion of his spirit. Unlike the majority of the Al Siq, much like them, the paler beings are unusual. Our kind are renowned for their vibrancy and colour, of which these two connected entities lack."
"And at some stage that became a battleground."
"Religious doctrine can often be cruel," Tyche confirmed as they walked between the fruit trees that had sprouted in the process of Harvest's burials. Arimathras had certainly done well to make them peaceful, to ensure they had the prettiest place to lie, but Lakshmi hadn't been able to shake the feeling that a pretty prison was still a prison.
"If you all knew that this was going to happen then why did you not -"
"Stop it?" Tyche shook her head as she came to a halt at the first of the graves and sighed softly. "If we were to intervene in every dispute, in everything that makes us living beings, life would be very unfulfilling."
"So war and destruction, murder and strife, you're ok with this?"
"We are satisfied with the natural evolution of a society; while religious doctrine and societal constructs exist, they change. We have observed this over generations and we are satisfied that they will evolve in time once more."
"But in the meantime the whole infinite war thing is fine..." Lakshmi lifted a brow.
"Are you satisfied with the torture, rape, murder and violence that some of your kind exhibit?" Tyche challenged. "While there are honourable entities among your kin there are also those who display unpleasant traits. Do you do enough to punish them, to halt their behaviour, or do your kin elect to make use of them?" she continued. It was enough to force Lakshmi to consider what she had said, enough for her to acknowledge that her father was one of the 'good' ones but that definitely didn't mean that her kin were the same.
...She'd heard stories.
...She'd observed some of the injuries on unfortunate thralls.
And her kin had done nothing to stop that, to protect the rights of those beneath them. For all intents and purposes those who were not true stormborn were 'different' and as such, treated in anyway a Stormborn might wish. She could see the parallels between both parties in the Al-Siq when it was put to her this way.
"Life within the Al-Siq has always been cyclical and only certain elements remain constant," Tyche waved her paw, brushing away some of the leaves to examine the burial site. "My kin and I are one of those constants, the others must remain fluid so that the journey through time continues... If it were to stagnate then we would succumb to entropy and destroy ourselves from within."
There was a pause.
"The questionable tendencies of those within your pride can add colour and variety that others may find undesirable, but the fluidity of their actions as well as your own ensure that the pride remains full of life."
"You count arguments over honour as 'life'?"
"You exhibit passion, enthusiasm and a vested interest in how you believe something should be. Those with apathy expire, so yes."
Lakshmi wrinkled her nose for a moment as she considered this before nodding, that made sense. She would have to give it further thought, particularly certain aspects of how her own home functioned, but for the time being...Well, they had a grave to attend to, several in fact.
Tyche had already drifted away from the topic though and was preparing the sites carefully, cleaning each so that they still remained sheltered by the newly birthed grove, but were touched by the sun's rays. When this was done, she motioned for the young lioness to follow her and began to move towards the shoreline again.
"Shells," she instructed. "Pebbles, that which gleams and attracts the light," she added as she collected a number of her own and began to move them back. She was precise though, setting only twenty of relatively similar size beside each of the sites. Lakshmi hadn't yet joined in, but as she noted the variety of stones and shells gathered, she sought to do the same until the piles were gathered.
It was here that Tyche paused and drew the young lioness away from them, where she'd left a single pile of 'treasure' off to the side.
"Here," she patted the ground as Lakshmi sat down. "This is how we show them the way," she offered as she began to set the stones down carefull. Eventually they began to form a series of symbols that Tethys would have recognised, and perhaps been horrified by. After all, they were the exact same as those used by the Scourge during their grotesquely beautiful rituals.
"But this is -"
"The same as that you have seen before, perhaps?" Tyche gazed towards her and shook her head as she extended her claw and began to trace several specific lines. By the time she was finished, there would be a very crude starchart in place with certain directional lines and coiling waves to indicate a 'flow' of some sort.
"In the caves," Lakshmi admitted. They shouldn't have explored, but Tethys had decided that if they wanted to, it would be educational.
"In the end, the origins of our existence is universal," Tyche remarked as she settled and motioned to the ritual circle that Lakshmi would be required to emulate as best that she could. "The Al-Siq all spawned from the same fruit tree," she added and offered a wry smile. "It is just the journey we take that differs," she finished.
"So...they do the same thing?" Lakshmi seemed puzzled.
"Theoretically they would function in a similar fashion, if we all chose to set the Veil accordingly," Tyche confirmed. "This is the opened flow, the route in which all souls may find safe passage," she pointed towards the coiling lines that cut through the middle of the circle and swirled outwards. "In Phantom society, they place this flow elsewhere, believing that if they direct it to here..." she motioned to a constellation she had set northwest of the hemisphere.
"Their dragon?"
Tyche nodded.
"So if it flows out of this circle...It goes to another -" Lakshmi froze. "Oh it's the sky!"
Tyche's smile deepened and she nodded again.
"So it leads away from us?"
"The Veil is beyond our reach, but close enough so that new life can slip through and bless us during periods of renewal," Tyche murmured. "We can make sure those who are tired cross the veil to rest, provided their souls know where to go," she explained.
"So we just draw these...?"
"There is more to it than that, but this is the beginning and it will take us a while to complete them all, so mayhaps we should make these preparations and then we can proceed."
"This will take a while," Lakshmi murmured as she observed the pattern on the sand. She'd need to make several trips back to ensure she got it right, but she considered it vital that she did.
...And so she set to work, though Tyche had already swept off to start on the farthest most sites. She'd make quick work of them but Lakshmi hoped that Tyche would give her the opportunity to honour the majority of her kin where possible, even if it took a tad longer.
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