#i've had this in my drafts so long its musty

[annie-isnt-0k]

Truly Devious

“Where do you look for someone who's never really there?

Always on a staircase but never on a stair.”

― Maureen Johnson, Truly Devious

[sparkpelt111]

Quest for Santa Perla

Soooooooo, I had to write a short story for one of my classes and my brain was like, what if you tell your own tale about that one statue in Pix's empire, then was like, hey, why don't you post it, and now we're here. Just to let you know, this has been edited from the original draft used for school and will probably have grammar/spelling mistakes. Yes, I know this isn't canon, or very accurate for that matter. I just wrote it. So, uh, enjoy?

...

They had all told me it was impossible, that She was only a legend. The Tomb of Santa Perla never existed. If only they could see me now.

I was studying my maps after a long day of trekking through the Northern Savannah, which history claims used to be a bountiful land of great fields of wheat. Rows of a multitude of crops used to thrive here, but something happened and all that has turned to dust. Legend says the land died with its grandest queen, who, after death, became a goddess of, well, everything it seems. Some say She’s the goddess of the crops, some say She’s the goddess of sunflowers, some that She’s the goddess of life itself. Yet others say She represents death, or the light after death. I've even heard someone claim She's the Goddess of Battle. No one can know for sure. 

I was out here trying to find Her tomb, which could hold the answers we’ve been looking for. My guide was named Sausage, a deeply devoted follower of Saint Perla, despite Her not being worshiped for hundreds of years. He knew the stories of Her better than everyone, and knew the Savannah better than anyone I knew. Using his information, with cross references from books, I had marked out a general location of where She could be, if She existed, that is. But a find like this would cement my name in history as one of the greatest archeologists ever recorded, so I had to keep going.

I had immersed myself in my books, trying to scavenge for a bit more information, when I came across a jewel of information I had not noticed before. It noted that Her tomb was placed under a grand statue of Her made from gold and clay.

“Sausage, can you come over here for a minute?” I called out from inside the tent.

The door flap opened and I saw the friendly face of my guide.

“What’s up Pix?”

“I need to know something. Do you know anything about a giant statue out here?”

He looked thoughtful for a minute, stroking his short beard.

“Some people claim to see a strange rock formation in about the same direction we’re headed. It might be the remains of a statue, but I’ve never seen it, so I can’t confirm.”

“Thank you for telling me. I found something that says it might be the marker of Her tomb.”

He nodded and said, “Okay, tomorrow we’ll keep going in that direction. Night”

“G’night.”

… 

As we crested the hill, a bright glimmer caught my eye. I pulled out my spy glass and peered through. It was a rock formation with a slightly green hue, with veins of what appeared to be gold. My heart leapt with joy as I handed it to Sausage. 

He gasped and said, “Santa Perla! We’ve found Her!”

We ran down to the remains of the statue. I held up a rough sketch I had found on a previous excavation for Santa Perla and compared it to the rubble. The green in the rocks, though faded, matched the hue of Her dress, remnants of what may have been a crown was laced with gold and faded patches of yellow clay that matched her crown of sunflowers.

We circled what was left of the pedestal, looking for maybe an entrance, or a sealed opening. We found a rusty plaque in some forgotten language probably explaining the statue, but I, unfortunately, couldn't translate it on the short timeline we had. That’s when Sausage had the brilliant idea of removing the plaque. We pried it off and found a musty tunnel. I lit one of my torches and we entered. 

We traveled for a bit before coming across a large cavern. Inside was a large mural of the goddess, painted with Her sunflowers, wheat, and, strangely, a large, wolf-like dog. I pulled out my sketchbook and quickly sketched it.

“Over here,” said Sausage in a reverent whisper.

I walked to him and saw a marble tomb, on the lid an engraving of the queen bearing Her sword and a bit of grain in Her arms. I gave the lid a strong push and moved it away. In it there was, nothing. Wait, there was something there. A book. I picked it up and was amazed to see there wasn’t even a flake of dust. Nothing had decomposed in this tomb, that I could tell. 

I opened the book and saw it was full of drawings and stories, from times past that Santa Perla herself had written involving all the other empires and their rulers during her time.

“The answers you seek are in there,” came a woman’s voice behind us.

John and I spun around, and I accidentally dropped the torch, but its light was not needed.

A tall, majestic woman stood before us, dressed in green and sunflowers. Light like the sun radiated from her, her hair flowing without a wind, a mighty sword at her side.

 John instantly dropped to his knees, whispering things I suspect were praises under his breath.

“Your, your Her? Aren’t you?” I asked, taking this being in as well as I could. After all, seeing a goddess is hard to comprehend.

The being nodded. “I am indeed Queen Pearl of Gilded Helianthia. I was burnt to death after the Rapture, where many of my fellow rulers also died or disappeared. Unlike most of them, I was allowed to ascend to godhood. After my death, my kingdom withered away, the ground losing its nutrients, the water disappearing, leaving the land you’ve seen. In that book, any answers you may need may be found.”

After this, She faded away, leaving Sausage and I in silence.

…

“Friends, enemies. Believers or not. I have indeed found the Tomb of Santa Perla. In it, I found a book written by Her own hand, detailing stories, legends, and history unknown to us for centuries. The goddess visited my friend and I, telling us all that we needed to know then. Now, you may be wanting me to tell you where She is, but a place as sacred as that should not be known to man. I, and my friend and guide, John, will take this knowledge to the grave. Call me a liar, a fool, whatever. A place like that should be kept hidden from mankind, for fear of disrupting the sacredness it holds.”

Welp, there you go. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave feedback in comments if you have any. Have a good rest of your day/night!

[beck-a-leck]

So about that Idea I had for Take My Arm

I have other writing projects I really need to be working on tonight, but instead I'm writing this. It's been so long since I've had any inspo for Arm, I'm taking what I can get, when I can get it.

Have a first draft sneaky peak.

This isn't going to happen in the actual story for many, many chapters, but shhhhh. details.

💜💜💜

The musty air of the temple pressed heavily around them, the weight of centuries of neglect. The stone was mossy and spattered with luminescent lichen. Moisture dripped down the walls and hung in the dank air. Their flashlights did little to cut through the gloom, and Obi-Wan couldn’t be certain if the fog surrounding them was water vapor, mold spores, or the temple obscuring their path deliberately.

Likely a combination of both.

They came to another fork in the hall. Anakin stopped, looked left and then right.

“This way,” she said in a low voice that had only become more and more hollow the deeper they went into this temple.

Obi-Wan frowned at her back as she took the left path. She’d grown quieter too, the longer they walked. Not the comfortable quiet of a lull in conversation, but the silence of deliberate avoidance. It had been Anakin’s idea to come to this temple. She had insisted there was something important here. Something she had to do.

Something, she had said only once, to rid her of Vader entirely.

If she knew anything more specific about what they were looking for, she didn’t find it necessary to bring it up.

Their path led them to a large chamber, it was pyramidal in shape, with the walls meeting at a point high above their heads. Small windows were set high on the stone walls, letting in enough sunlight to render their flashlights unnecessary, but leaving a majority of the chamber in deep shadow. The architects of this chamber had placed the windows, so their light pooled in the center of the chamber, illuminating a stone altar.

The altar was cut from a different stone than the rest of the temple, it was gleaming white marble with thick veins of black running throughout. Where everything surrounding the altar was mossy and overgrown with plants growing through the cracks, the altar looked pristine. Even the motes of dust dancing in the sunbeams seemed unable to alight on the altar.

Sitting in the center of the altar on a small pedestal, was a silver circlet. The metalwork was intricate, the details delicate. Obi-Wan could almost feel the obsessive care its maker had put into it. Tentatively, he reached out his hand, hovering several inches back from the gleaming metal. He could feel the Force working strongly around the artefact, and he didn’t quite like that. He had a feeling touching it would likely be detrimental to his health and wellbeing.

“Don’t touch that,” he cautioned Anakin. “Not until we know what it can do. Let’s see if there are any carvings on the walls. There should be some texts or glyphs or maybe a mural…”

He flicked on his light again and began searching the dark walls for clues. “I think there’s something here, under the moss.  Might be able to scrape it away… Anakin do you have – no don’t touch it!”

Anakin walked slowly up to the altar, her face blank, her eyes unfocused. “This is what we’re here for, Obi-Wan,” she said dreamily, “It’s okay.”

Gently she lifted the circlet from its pedestal. The Force thrummed around her.

“Anakin don’t put that on! Don’t let it touch your skin.” Obi-Wan ran for her.

“It’s all right.” Her voice was steady, sure. She met his eyes and smiled crookedly. “I trust your judgement.”

Then she placed the circlet on her head.

The Force concussed, like a bomb blast, and knocked Obi-Wan off his feet. He shot back to his feet as soon as he could get them under him again, but it was too late.

Anakin stood at the altar, her back towards him, she seemed to be studying her hands.

“Anakin!”

She turned slowly to look over her shoulder.

Obi-Wan sucked in an unvoluntary breath, his stomach turned to see the change that had come over her eyes. They were no longer the sickly Sith-yellow he’d grown accustomed to, nor the greenish in between shade she’d been sporting these last several months, nor had she returned to her original bright blue. Anakin’s eyes glowed a bright violet-white.

A smile crossed Anakin’s face, as if she was surprised to see him.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Many voices came from her mouth. None of them Anakin’s.

“Surviving son... Brother, it is good to see you again.”

“Who are you?”

“We are the Force. We are the Jedi who came before.”