#shade sundrake

[wuzhere75]

Headshots for the Realm of the Serpents RP group. Booby on the left belongs to Eclipsed-Sky, Sabik on the right belongs to ThatSoulessGuy (Both on DA).

Also a reminder you can commission me for headshots just like this at my Caard. Get them while prices are still low!

[norhimorovine]

Storytime: The Spring of the Divine Sisters

It was the last leg of their journey to Kugane. And Norhi had been telling every story she could think of. One in her dreams each night, and one more during the day. Thankfully, she wasn't low on stories just yet. If the crew found it odd that she would sit and tell a story to the ship, they never showed it. Not a blinked eye or a cocked head. If anything, Norhi suspected no few of them would sit just out of her line of sight, and eavesdrop. She didn't mind.

Norhi settled in the safe spot in the hold, that'd she'd taken to using for story time. It was a spot where some of the cargo was securely lashed in place, with bags stowed between. She now had a sort of ritual she went through for all this. She had found a sea-worthy lantern that no one minded her borrowing for an hour. She'd light it with her magic, set it on the floor, and then pull out some little object from her bag. Some personal key to the story. Today, it was a jar of sand.

Norhi set the sand by the lantern and then relaxed back against the bags, gently patting the floor beneath her. "Now... Today I'm going to tell you a story that comes from somewhere very different than where I grew up. I've already told you that I was adopted. But I supposed I haven't told you much about my adopted parents. You see, Papa is from the desert, a Seeker of the Sun, where I'm a Keeper of the Moon. The land he hails from is called the Sagolii Desert. It's a very large, arid land. Water is scarce. I imagine that must seem horrifying to you. But to the tribes of the Sun, it's life as usual. Because of this though, many of their fables feature water as an important piece of imagery. The value it brings is intrinsic. And so it's always valuable in their stories. So, this is how my favorite one goes."

She sat  up then and folded her hands in her lap, taking her story-teller's posture. "Deep in the farthest reaches of the Sagolii, only accessible to the reckless, the suicidal, or the gods-blessed, there is a cave. And inside this cave is a spring, an oasis if you will. The water from this spring is a symbol of holy compromise between the divine sisters, Azeyma and Menphina.

"For you see, it is Azeyma, that the sand tribes revere the most. But it is Menphina who spurs love to grow in our hearts and souls. Azeyma guides the steps of her devotees in nearly every part of their lives. But in love, she is not so sure footed.

"So, seeing that her people pined for love, Azeyma finally looked to her sister. It had been agreed long ago, that water had little place in the desert, just as fire has little place in the forest. And Menphina is the guardian over the forest tribes. But they gathered in this cave and made a promise. A little water to bring love to Azeyma's children, for a little fire to light the paths of Menphina's children. With the promise struck, Menphina created the spring in that very cave. And Azeyma lit a clay lantern to be taken back to the forest.

"Now, this would be a fine place for such a story to end. But in the desert, hunger and thirst drive passions. A young huntress, a woman of great ambitions, and little sense, desired the heart of one of her tribe's nunh. But she knew she'd never win his when her sisters were so much more lovely and so much stronger than she. It was in this despair, that rumor reached her, through some odd, suspicious trader, of the spring. Stories had warped over the long centuries, and now it was believed that the waters commanded the birth of true love.

"Several more bottles of wine, and the young huntress had a map. She gathered her gear and told her mother she would be gone on a deep desert hunt and that she would return with a rare kind of sundrake, only found in the deepest parts of the desert. She told her mother that she and her sisters could use the scales to strengthen their armor and honor their nunh. And so her mother gave her blessing and the young huntress left.

"The huntress did indeed find such a sundrake. She did indeed kill it, harvest its meat, scales, bones, and every useful part, binding them up safely for the trip home. But then she continued on her journey. It was more perilous than the trader had told her. Too often she came close to running out of arrows, or being another monster's dinner. She began to travel at night, for the day became more intense than even her desert bred heart could bear.

"But after a sennight's journey, she found the cave. She was baffled to hear weeping, coming from deep inside. But before she could find the source of the sound, a priestess of Azeyma stepped into her path. 'Welcome, traveler. Sit and rest in the shade of our dwelling.'

"The huntress sat as she was bade and accepted the cactuar juice that was handed to her, drinking the cup dry in mere moments. The priestess smiled and sat with her. 'You come searching for the Spring of the Sisters?'

"The huntress nodded. 'I do. I wish greatly for my nunh to love me. Please, tell me you can help me. What must I do?'

"The priestess smiled sadly then. 'I can help you. But you are not ready for your task to be honored yet.'

"The huntress wilted and then begged, 'Please, I'll do anything!'

"The priestess sighed and then nodded. 'This... is what I can do. I will give you a flagon of the spring's water. Before you return home, you must go and harvest one Menphina Lily and one Azeyma Rose. Only one of each. Dry them during the day, while you rest. When you reach your home, take the dried petal and mix them into the tea your tribe serves your nunh. Brew that tea with the waters from the flagon. When he has drunk of the tea, drink the dregs for yourself. Within a sennight, he will take you as one of his. You will bear him a child. And when that child is weaned, you must return here to complete the task that is required of you. Do you understand?'

"The huntress nodded quickly. 'I do! Only one lily and one rose, dried and brewed in the tea. Come back after our child is weaned.'

"The priestess smiled sadly once more and then stood. 'Very well. Come, sleep for the remainder of the day. Come nightfall, we will feed you, give you the waters, and let you be on your way.'

"The huntress smiled with delight and followed the priestess. It was only when she was settled in an empty room with a sleeping mat, that she began to wonder why the woman was so sad. And still yet, the cave was filled with the echoes of crying. The huntress shook her head and turned to her side to sleep. She would not worry for the plight of others. She had to return home safely to her tribe.

"Night fell and the priestess woke the huntress. She was fed with fruit and juice, before being handed a tightly sealed flagon, that was as cold as the sands were hot. She bowed to the priestess and left the cave. At the next oasis she found a Menphina Lily and an Azeyma Rose. She worried for a moment, afraid that she'd mess up the drying if she only took one. But the priestess had been specific. So, she only took one. It would not do to take a flower that could power another's love, she supposed.

"So, during the day, she dried the petals, and at night she traveled. They were ready for tea by the time she returned home. Having been gone for little more than a moon, her tribe rejoiced to see her home. She showed them dried meat she'd hunted, the scales and bones she'd brought. And the tribe rejoiced at the small windfall, brought at their skilled sister's hands.

"That night, as they feasted, the huntress brewed the tea with the dried petals and the spring's water, just as she'd been instruced. She took the tea and offered it to her nunh. He smiled warmly at her and drank the tea, before giving the cup back. When he no longer watched, she quickly swallowed the dregs and returned to her mother.

"The very next night, the nunh called her to his tent. And by morning, she was the happiest woman in the tribe. Within a moon she saw the signs of child and her family rejoiced. The nunh doted on her, gifting her with furs and supplies, to keep her healthy and safe while she bore his child. And soon, the child was born. Another healthy daughter to hunt for the tribe. The nunh smiled and thanked her. And then that night, took one of the others to his tent.

"The young huntress was surprised at first, but wrote it off. He had a duty to father the tribe. Of course he wouldn't only keep to her. Also, she was still healing from the birth. It was only logical. So, she doted on her child and began her life as a mother, watching for the time she'd have to return. Three sennights pass and he doesn't call for her. Three more and still no call. Two more of her tribe-sisters become pregnant. And the tribe rejoices for them. It seemed the nunh no longer had eyes for her.

"Finally, when the child became weaned, the huntress left the babe with one of her sisters. She gathered her belongings and took to the desert once more. Why didn't he love her? She kept wondering and kept fretting, the whole way back to the cave.

"When she got their, the priestess was waiting for her at the entrance. The woman had that sad smile again. She held out her arms to the young huntress and said, 'Menphina teaches us how to grow love in our hearts. And Azeyma guides us in how to live between those moments. That we seek to influence them with magic is a lesson harshly learned. The waters are meant for compromise. Did he know what he drank?'

"The huntress realized then that she had not told the nunh of her heart, or of her journey. She collapsed into the priestess's arms and sobbed. 'No. I did not tell him anything!'

"The priestess nodded. She then led the huntress back into the cave, following the sounds of sobbing. 'Then your task will to be one of our acolytes. If your nunh loved you before the waters, he will come for you. But if not, then your tears must supply the spring's life.'

"The huntress then saw for herself, the spring in the back room of the cave, surrounded by others who had made the same mistake as she. And so, she knelt at their side and began to cry, letting her tears fall into the waters.

"Now, it's said that there's two endings to this story. One in which the nunh came for her, declared that he'd loved her always, and had been letting her have her child's youngest years, before taking more from her. In the other, he never comes, but the child does, many years later, choosing to cry by her mother's side, for the lost years they could have had together."