Stars shining bright above me.....

10th of Cylus 720

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Just before it was time for the service to begin, Labrae entered. It was not some grand entrance, nor an attempt to sneak in unnoticed, she simply entered quietly. She wasn't dressed as she usually was, but in a simple black mourning dress. It did, however, highlight why the baggy overcoat she normally wore looked so oversized on her, as Labrae was, while not dangerously so, remarkably thin and lacked any form of visible muscle mass or body fat. She approached the stage, and set down a keepsake, a small toy that Vri would recognize as having been Kielik's when the Prince of Nightmares was just a boy. "I apologize for my lateness. It took time to find Kielik's things." she said, stepping back from the stage and going towards Kielik's part of the seating.

However, before she got more than a step, Labrae turned back to Vri. "Thank you, for letting me come. He was my friend, though I know you don't like me or my mother. Kielik..." she paused a moment, and looked down, then looked back up at Vri. "I didn't fully understand him, I don't think anyone could. But he loved you and Jesnine both, and his mother as well, though he could not express it in any form or fashion that didn't frighten people." she said, before she turned and went to the seating. There, Labrae sat among a group for Kielik's Nitahi, not in a position of importance or power, but as a friend, helping them to grieve for Kielik. There were less of the Nitahi than there were of the Nyvora, and Labrae was the only Mortalborn or Immortal there, but it was clear, from the way they behaved and their expressions that Kielik had not been unloved, even outside of his family.
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Re: Stars shining bright above me.....

10th Cylus 720
Did she think PB was trapped as well? Faith considered it. "We all are, to greater and lesser extents. As a human, I am incapable of having silver blood, a man is incapable of carrying a child, and so on. We are all trapped by our biology, our make up, our creation." Gesturing to Vri - or where he had exited - Faith explained. "The Immortals were created as purely, solely, the embodiment of their Domains. Nothing else, nothing more. It seems.... " She needed to think about it, so she said no more for the moment, merely shrugging and returning to her work. PB approved of all that she had done and Faith was left, for a while, with her own thoughts. The more she considered what she said, the more she realised that yes, the Immortals were trapped; and trapped in a situation which meant that they were likely to be in close and regular contact with mortals, put in situations where they would want to, need to change and yet could not.

It was like they were trapped. Enslaved.

Still, now was not the time to consider it and so, instead, Faith focused on getting ready for what they were here for. The memorial. She was there to greet those who arrived, in order to make sure that Vri had as much privacy as possible. Yet always, she was aware of what she had to do. That was something better done in private, she knew, and so she went into a private room before the service started - and asked PB to ask Vri if he would like to join her. Either to Vri, or PB, depending on who was there, Faith spoke softly. "She will be here, alive and in the peak of her health, for seven full days. She will know what is happening. At the end of that time, she will simply disappear, back to where she has come from." Wherever that was - Vri knew more about that than anyone, so Faith did not insult him by discussing it. "Before I do this, are there any questions?"

If there were, she would answer them to the best of her ability. Once there were no more, however, Then, she used her ability, granted to her by Famula, speaking the Ancient Tongue, she called back Anaza. The woman - Vri's beloved, and mother of the children who had died - returned to life for seven full trials. Faith felt both pleased and sad for the woman in question, as she returned once more to her love, but at such a sad time. Once Anaza was back, and Faith was sure that the mother of the two mortalborns was safe and understood what was happening, and of course, once Faith was sure that Anaza was cared for, she made her way out into the place where the service would be and she greeted people. That gave Vri and Anaza time, Faith thought, before they would begin.

Faith was not sure how this would be run, or what would happen. So, she made sure that she was close and available, should any task be expected of her. To each of them she greeted, no matter who it was, she was polite and calm. Here, this trial, this was about parents grieving for their children and that had to be respected.

Call Back The Dead
Although Famula honors the natural order, for her Champions she maintains a certain allowance that no other Immortal could hope to offer. For seven trials, once an arc, after invoking the Ancient Tongue, a Champion can call back any soul that has passed on. Any soul that has gone to its rest throughout history, if the Zuuda knows of it, they can call it. The soul is brought back in body, although their memory of the other side is lost in fog. For seven trials they can live an ordinary life before returning to the natural order. Some Zuuda have used this ability to reunite with loved ones and still others use it to ask questions of the long departed. Unlike Entreat, this ability gives the soul a body and can be used without the material of the dead to guide the summoning. For seven trials the resurrected will enjoy the peak of their own health and life. They have their own will, although many will look to the Zuuda before attempting anything truly shattering.

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And so the memorial was set to begin, there were no questions from PB to Faith, and Anaza seemed entirely lucid and put together on forming in this world, for one who’d been beyond its reach for so long. She was a radiant woman, wearing a thick velvet dress of white and gray, roses pinned in her wavy blonde hair. She looked at Faith once, and seemed to understand why she was here, she said, ”I’m… grateful you brought me back for this. Famula has explained why I’m to be here, and for how long. Truth be told, I’m not sure how I feel about it… While I don’t remember the realms beyond from my time asleep, I do recognize my place in this one. So…” She looked a bit disoriented, but after a chat with Faith to ensure she was indeed okay, Anaza seemed much more sure of herself.

”Thank you. Will you take me to my… to Vri?” She murmured, almost shyly.

So as Faith entered to the Memorial, Anaza followed behind her. And Vri was there, speaking with or being spoken to by Labrae. He stiffened at the sight of the mortalborn, on her entry and approach to him, yet he didn’t make any offensive statements toward her. He sensed the sorrow of the Mortalborn and the intention to remember Kielik, and that was enough to placate him, it seems. He nodded solemnly to Labrae, but said nothing, allowing that she would retreat to Kielik’s quarter.

But when Vri caught sight of Anaza, he nearly lost his composure. Yet for the moment caught himself, he didn’t want to be seen as weak in front of his beloved, and so stood firm and merely wiped a tear from his face. Of course he remembered every detail of her, could recall every moment of their life together, a life that refused to guarantee another moment after her death and passage to the other world. A life that he was designed to allow to slip away.

He smiled at her finally, and simply said, ”My love…” There were words and tears shared between them, only for them, as none intruded on their time together. Yet when it came time, they stood on either side of the quarters, Anaza on Kielik’s side, and Vri’s on Jesines. Though they were only separated by three feet, they were in touch spiritually.

PB appeared with some discretion next to Faith, and pat her on the back, smiling in an uncharacteristic show of sincerity. ”They seem happy, almost. Well it’s hard to tell when the boss is happy. Usually he’s thinking about what’s happened, where everyone is, and where everyone is going. It ain’t easy being one who pretty much encompasses the domains of Fate. But there ya are.”

PB spoke silently so that his speech wouldn’t offend any other ears than Faith. ”Now… I think some opening statements might be in order? I know Vri will want to speak, and then possibly Anaza, Ti’atha, and Labrae. I think if… if you go first, then in reverse order of importance to the ceremonies… Labrae will speak of Kielik, and then Ti’atha may speak of Jesine, and finally Vri himself.”

PB stared at her solemnly, wondering what she thought of his ‘battle-plan’. ”Oh and don’t forget to set the shroud upon the altar?”
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Re: Stars shining bright above me.....

10th Cylus 720
Anaza spoke to Faith and she smiled at the woman who Vri loved. Faith - as a slave from birth - was always very aware of what her 'place' was. She knew when she should - or when she would be expected - to give an opinion, when she should keep quiet. She was careful and considered and aware. Pressing her fingers against each other, Faith listened to Anaza and she nodded. "It's disconcerting," she said, kindly, and then she nodded. "Of course. Please, this way?" As Anaza had requested, Faith took her to Vri and then, she stepped back.

Looking at the two of them as they reunited, Faith felt a sense of being present in a moment of great significance, great importance. She knew why, she knew how. But there was more, and her mind ticked over and ticked over again. She watched, she thought, she considered and reflected and - as was her way until it was time to do differently - Faith was quiet.

They had time together, the two of them, although not much. Faith did everything she could to make sure that things were quiet, that Vri and Anaza were not disturbed. Listening to PB, she glanced at him and an idea began to form in her mind, just swirling there. But his suggestion of what should happen now, and in what order? "I think that's an excellent idea."

She waited until all were seated and ready, and then Faith made her way to where they were going to start. She held the cloth in her hands, gently. Her knees knocked together as she looked at the crowd. This was the funeral of the children of one of the Immortals - and this was a solemn moment. But all she felt was the cold grip of fear on her heart. She had no wish to upset anyone, she wanted everything to be perfect, but she felt her mouth go dry as she stood. Looking down at the shroud she moved and placed it, carefully, upon the altar. As she moved her hands from beneath it, she caught sight of them - so pale and stark against the black nails which marked her as Vri's blessed. Faith looked down at her hands, almost entranced by them for a moment. They trembled, she was unsurprised to note, but she was sure that only she could see that. During the War of Death & Souls, Faith had needed to stand in front of crowds and speak - as the Dean of the Institute of Innovation in Rharne, her teaching career had brought her here and she was no longer terrified at the prospect of speaking before a class.

But this was different.

This was different and, standing and looking at her hands, Faith realised that this was different for a number of reasons. "When this is done," she said to PB, although she thought it in her head - not spoke it aloud "I need to speak to him." There was a look Faith got, and she had it now. Something important was happening.

Finally taking her gaze away from the nails which had so entranced her mere moments ago, Faith spoke. "We are here to commemorate Jesine and Kielik. First, we will share memories of them, and for that Labrae and Ti'atha will stand together - and speak their eulogies and memories side by side. Then, when all who would remember them have spoken, their parents will speak," she didn't name them because, frankly, if anyone there didn't know who Faith was referring to then said person was very lost, utterly oblivious, or in the wrong place. Probably all three.

Looking around, she considered for a brief moment and then said, "Here we are united in Sorrow, in Love as we remember the twins who have died and we mourn their Death.". She glanced, then, to Labrae and Ti'atha. "Would you both like to speak?" Not putting one twin's representative in front of another in the order was something which Faith thought was important. After all, they were both being mourned.

Then, she stood back and let them speak. If needed, she'd introduce Vri and Anaza, but mostly she was there in the background. Not in the limelight, this wasn't her place.

And Faith knew - always - her place. So she watched and she waited and she made sure that this was as beautiful and as appropriate and what Vri and Anaza needed as it could be. That was her role. Nothing more.
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Labrae, when she was called to remember Kielik to those had either not known him or not understood him, simply nodded at the invitation and walked to the front alongside Ti'atha. There was, despite the purpose, a small but definite physical distance between Labrae and Ti'atha, and Labrae appeared to be somewhat guarded around the other Mortalborn, as if she were actively trying not to provoke Ti'atha.

When the two reached top, Labrae bowed slightly to Anaza. "My honor, ma'am, and my condolences. He always spoke highly of you." she said to Kielik's mother, quietly, before she turned to face the assemblage. When Ti'atha apparently decided to let Labrae speak first, the scarecrow took quick breath, then looked out at the crowd. "Kielik was a complicated man, and perhaps only his sister could ever fully understand why he was the way he was. But for all of that, he was a very dear friend of mine and of those who carried his Blessing." she said, nodding at the others who sat in his section. "I do not claim to have to understood everything about him, but I knew someone beyond the boogeyman who gave people bad dreams. It is...difficult to explain, so I hope you'll forgive me if I am not as clear as I would like to be." she said, giving a slight, sad half smile.

"Kielik was, in his own way, an artist. Not of paints or stone or any of the other classic arts, but of dreams. However, his art of choice was horror, and not just for others. I saw him create nightmares for the sake of scaring himself because for him, that was fun. However, like all artists, Kielik liked to share what he created with others. Most people, however, do not like to be scared and he was, unfortunately for him, too good at his craft. This led to the reputation that has followed him all this time." Labrae said, before shaking her head. "Despite that, I knew a man who was willing to help others who had powers that were considered frightening or evil by everyone else to come to terms with what they were." she said, her voice indicating she was speaking from direct personal experience.

"More than that, his nightmares were, in his own way, often an expression of care. Kielik could not express himself easily, and he often did not understand regular people. But if he saw someone being bullied or abused, he would often visit both the culprit and the victim. The culprit would get the worse of the nightmares, as a sign of his displeasure. The victim..." she paused, before shaking her head. "Kielik himself found comfort in his creations, and he would try to share that comfort with those who were hurt and alone. To his own pain and sorrow, many did not share his tastes." she said, before smiling and gesturing to those who had borne his Blessing. "But, in time, he found those that did, and brought them together, gave them somewhere to belong." she said, before pausing a moment and sighing. "I, and all of his Blessed, have lost a dear friend. His parents have lost a son. But Kielik would not want us to remember him in anger against his fate, or in the random spread of nightmares and fear for their own sake. Instead, he would have us remember him by following something he told me and all of his Blessed: "Everyone has an art of their own, however accepted and praised or maligned and misunderstood. Share that art with the world, though, and no matter what it is, you will find someone who loves it for what it is, rather than hating it for what it isn't." she said, before falling silent to let Ti'atha speak of Jesnine.
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Anaza tilted her head toward Labrae, as she greeted her, and gave her well-wishes and confided Kielik's special regard for his mother. While Kielik and Vri sometimes clashed and didn't see eye to eye, especially after his mother passed, Anaza expected nothing less of her son, with whom she always had a strong relationship.

Tears fell from Vri's eyes although he didn't sob or cry, as he listened to Labrae's speech.

Then, when it was Labrae's turn to speak, Ti'atha took up a place beside her, to speak on behalf of Jesine, who was her friend. Ethelm sat still in the crowd, but offered moral support to Ti'atha by way of giving her encouraging nods.

After Labrae opened up with her first comments on Kielik, Ti'atha spoke for Jesine, "Jesine was a special person. Almost as lovely and perfect as one could possibly be. She offered comfort and relief to those who couldn't have it in their waking life, and restful healing to those who were plagued by the harshness of Idalos."

"She loved her brother, though they often quarrelled and didn't see things the same way. She too was an artist, but more than that, a healer." Ti'atha smiled at Faith as she said that, nodding to her, "She always considered it a profound privilege to be born the way she was, and then to become an heir, and give comfort to all those who slept."

"Jesine was the ligher half of Kielik, and while perhaps she didn't feel as deeply or keenly as him, she was a gentle soul. She never gave up on Kielik, perhaps knowing more than anyone who he really was at his core. Something not all of us understood, having suffered from his nightmares on occasion." Ti'atha looked to Ethelm for a moment, and then nodded, "But she was a good friend above all, to those she marked as well as those of us who knew her most closely."

She concluded her speech in tandem with Labrae, using much the same words to describe what her wishes would've been for those who mourned her death. Her transition to something else.

Then it was Vri's turn to speak about his children.

For a moment, as Ti'atah and Labrae departed from their place along the altar holding the twins' belongings, it appeared he was at a loss for words. So lost in his memories, sorrow, and the terrible silence of the twins. But most of all, overwhelmed by the love in the room.

"I wasn't the best father, that is true. Although I have loved, and remembered, and sorrowed for my children, there was always something that eluded me. Some, mortal connection to relate to my children. Something that I only found in Anaza, but since lost when she ventured to the realms beyond."

"I have acted out of turn, acted as if a God, acted as a bringer of Death and warping the nature of mortals to my whim" He shook his head, "I have been a lovesick, sorrowing, backward chasing fool. Trying to patch up my memories of the world to find some balance, to try and make things right."

"I always envied my children, coveted their mortal sensibilities. Their ability to feel a full range of what sorrow meant, not just the source but the panoply of sensations that radiate from that one center."

"I haven't always understood, nor acted in the best interest of mortals. I have been a fool."


He reached backward, his thin arm pointing toward the altar that held his childrens' belongings. "But here lie a pair of innocents, who helped more than harmed, and left the world better than they found it. May they find peace in eternity, we will not forget them."

So saying, Vri stepped down from the altar, and lurched toward Anaza, who held him in an embrace for a few long moments as he sorrowed.
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Re: Stars shining bright above me.....

10th Cylus 720
And, eventually, it was done.

The funeral had been - as much as one ever could be - a success, Faith supposed. It had met the expectations and needs of those who grieved, and that was the purpose of such an event, after all. To validate grief, to allow it and to feel as though you were doing one, last, thing for those you loved. Planning and preparing for it kept head and hands busy, too, and that was needed in the shock - and even when you knew it was coming, death was always a shock - of a shattered heart. Faith understood that the funeral was focused on the dead but met the needs of the living.

It gave voice to pain, created a brief and vital community of commiseration. But the most important part of any funeral, she knew, was to mark a moment. A moment where there was nothing left to do. No more to organise or prepare. A crashing silence as people turned and walked away.

An end. A beginning, too.

Her pale hands folded the tablecloth in movements which were so familiar that she didn't really notice that she was doing them. PB was unusually quiet as he sat and watched her, glancing from her to Vri and Ananza. When everything was cleared away and she judged that now was the correct time, Faith moved over to the Immortal and his Love and she dropped a curtsy. PB raised a chalky eyebrow at that, it was something she had done as a habit when she was a slave, and it was something she rarely did now. But still, the Diri of Death remained quiet and Faith spoke.

"Forgive me," she said softly. "If anything I say offends you. It is the very last thing I intend, I assure you." Looking at Vri with a compassionate gaze, Faith spoke. "It seems to me that the Immortals do not simply have Dominion over their Domains. But you embody them, too. You, my Lord, are Love as you are Death and Sorrow and Remembrance." It was astonishing to her, really. He was those things. Completely, irrevocably and unchanging throughout the ages. Yet, also - those were all he was. They were everything he was and that could not change.

"You said that you have sought balance, when you spoke earlier, and I think that there is something that is out of balance my Lord." Pressing her fingers together, Faith looked up at him and spoke her mind, in the kindest way she could. "You are Love. And you love with all of you. You are the love of a friend, of a family, of a father and brother, of a husband." Faith glanced at Anaza and she smiled. "Forgive me, I do not know if you are married, but it is a husband's love, either way. My lord, you live and breathe and embody every aspect of Death. Each nuance of Sorrow is in your purview and so, too, Remembrance." Faith bit her lip, just for a moment. Last time she'd used her own experience of life in a conversation with Vri it hadn't exactly gone well. But, she worshipped this Immortal and she served him.

So, she did what was right. What he needed.

"I know that my feelings are not as yours, I mean no disrespect, but my Lord, Love is passion. It's the frisson of a glance, of fingers touching. It is someone who can make you so happy you fear you'll die, and so angry that you feel you'll shatter. It is anticipation and chills, excitement and shared moments. It is a life made whole by the mere existence of another. It is the mundane moments, the shared chores, the routines and habits." Faith breathed in and smiled. "You seek balance, and I believe that is what is making you feel that you need to. Love is eternal, even beyond Death, my Lord and it is alive in this moment. Your Love is wrapped in Death and that is right and part of it. But you embody love, and love is alive, too." She turned her gaze to Anaza and Faith looked sorrowful as she did.

"I can think of no curse so awful as to live forever without your love. It would be pain unimaginable. So, I would ask you, my Lord, if you would help me." Faith was entirely serious when she said that. "Because I do not have the power to do what is right. What is needed, I firmly believe, to ensure that you have the balance you crave." Faith shrugged, just a little. "I am a healer, of body and mind, but I lack the power to give you what I believe you need."

She spoke softly, but her voice was intense and earnest. "Please, my Lord, if it is what she wishes, make Anaza your Champion, if it is what is needed." His Champion, Faith knew, had the ability she was asking for him. "Make her Deathless, so that you two embody every aspect of Love." That was it, Faith was sure of it.

That was the balance he needed. It was why he had, in his words, warped mortals to his whim. He was seeking the in-the-moment connection which he had with her. Only her.

And Faith couldn't cure it. Only he could.
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Vri and Anaza were still basking in their sorrow, grief, and of course their love for each other. Enjoying what few precious moments they had. And in truth they were little enough as moments went, for the Immortal Vri, whose face seemed only to grow longer the more time he spent in Anaza's presence. For he more than anyone knew that soon she must go, and return to whence mortals go when they depart from Idalos.

His melancholy was interrupted, however, when his Adored Faith interjected. Vri shook his head and smiled with love on his adored follower, and said, "Far from it, you've granted me closure that I could scarcely have imagined. These moments with Anaza, my children, their friends, gave me more healing than I've had in many centuries."

Then she went on, to speak of balance, which was fair as he'd brought it up during his eulogy. She spoke of his domains, and the versatility of them, especially of love, and remembrance.

Memory was a living thing, what carried on when the beloved and grieved over dead moved on and were no more. Unfortunately for Kielik and Jesine, they were not quite dead, but in a sort of amalgamation of form, existing as a whole Immortal together, in Unity. Vri knew this well, but the memory, that was what needed to be put to rest, in a way, to allow Unity to become what they had to.

Faith spoke of Anaza, and what he might do to make things right. That it was in his own power to grant himself balance, and she thought... Anaza was the key to that. True enough, it pained him to think he must let death claim her once more. Yet it was not within his domain... Or was it?

Vri stood stunned, and shook his head, but then... Anaza was indeed devoted to Vri. She had carried his twins, and loved him to her dying breath. If she didn't deserve to become his Champion, who on Idalos ever would?

He spoke then, his voice shattered by the threat of refusal from Anaza. "I... could I? Should I?"

Ask her.

"Anaza, you have forever been on my thoughts, and never have I named another Champion in my time as Immortal. I have cursed some, and blessed others. But..." He seemed totally shattered by his conflict, torn between death, love, sadness, and memory. "Will you be my Champion? Can this be?"

For a few moments, it was quiet, and Anaza herself stood stunned by the boldness and selflessness of Faith's suggestion, to use this opportunity to curry favor with her lord, in order to promote another?

Anaza was silent, for so few moments very silent. Almost painfully so. But then, she spoke, clearly and loudly, "Yes, Vri, I will be your Champion. Through all the pains, tortures, and pleasures of life, I will forever be yours, until you say that my service is over."

And so, the two coalesced in a burning beacon of light within Emea, as Anaza was filled from head to toe with Vri's power. Vri himself glowed as he embraced her, and for a little moment they were one.

Faith, of course was witness to this momentous occasion. A small sliver of the power shed by Vri entered into her then, and almost by happenstance, she was made into one of his Exalted. Although that surely was by intention, and not an accident.

Then she would be alone, and by herself in her dreamscape, back where PB had contacted her for the service to the funeral. She remembered all of it, of course, for it had truly happened. For her eyes, and all of Emea, Vri now had his Champion, and she was Anaza.
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Re: Stars shining bright above me.....

10th Cylus 720
It was a truly surreal experience, here, at the funeral for his children and the Immortal said that he'd experienced more healing than he'd felt in centuries. Faith's heart went out to him and she could not feel the anger which she knew others felt towards him. Vri was an individual in pain, she did not doubt it and Faith felt compassion and nothing more. When he spoke, when he questioned if he could or should, Faith didn't reply. She didn't need to, she knew that he already knew the answer. The answer was to ask.

And ask he did.

Anaza took time to answer, and Faith was glad she did. It meant, Faith thought, that the woman was genuinely thinking about it. It was a commitment, and then some, Faith knew. She was a Champion of an Immortal herself and her service had led her to war and had pushed her to the very brink of her skills and abilities. Of course, there was a simple truth for Faith - she would have done those things whether she was Champion or unmarked, should Famula wish it. Because she served and she worshipped. Her devotion to Famula, to Vri, to the other Immortals she served, none of that was contingent on or dependent on the gifts they gave her.

And Faith thought that the same was true - or would be - for Anaza. As Anaza said yes, Faith smiled and then Vri took his love into his arms and Faith was witness to a beautiful moment. It was an honour and privilege of the highest order to be witness to this and she felt no shame for the tears which fell from her eyes. The light grew and she blinked. In the time of that blink, she was back sitting on warm sands of Scalvoris, with purple waves washing against the shoreline, a bright yellow sun in the somehow-still-night-time sky and a pair of needles in her hands. Except now, the knitting needles moved and created beautiful things. She remembered how to knit now, of course, because she was awake. Stowing her knitting in her bag, she looked at PB.

"Shurrup, I'm not cryin'. You're cryin'. You big wuss."

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?" PB flung himself on her leg and started sobbing uncontrollably. His wails finally subsided to hiccups and Faith looked at her long-time companion with a perplexed expression. "Better?" Faith asked, and he nodded, sniffed and then looked at her. "I don't get it," PB said. "Why didn't you ask for somethin' for yourself?"

With a shake of her head, Faith smiled. "I'm not answering that. You know the answer." PB sighed, dramatically.

"Cos you've got everythin' you want an' it's yer pleasure an' honour to serve an' you're not doin' it cos you want somethin' back. You're jus' doin' it to do it." Faith reached out a hand to him as she stood and she began to walk to the small rock which was, she knew, the way out. "It's because you're selfless." PB said, lifting his paw to hers. As his hand touched hers, in the moment that her eyes fluttered open, she heard him say, very clearly. "Or, o'course, yer jus' ruddy stupid."

Faith's eyes opened in her bed and she smiled. "Yes," she said to the bunny. "Probably all true."
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Life, Death and the In-Between .
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Re: Stars shining bright above me.....

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Faith Augustin

Experience: 20 xp These points may not be used for magic.

Knowledge:

Textile Production x 18 (For weaving a funeral shroud for Kielik and Jesine)
Etiquette x 15 (For impeccable manners during the memorial)

Renown: 25 (Vri's Faithful and many others besides will hear of the favor that Faith did for the Immortal Vri. Stories will be told, songs will be sung.)

Skill Usage: Appropriate to level.

Loot/Losses: The first three powers of Exalted line. Updated your wiki just now.

Injuries/Conditions: none

Consequences: Vri has his Anaza again, and she is the Champion of Vri. Perhaps the first ever, opening the door for more Champions of Vri. Because if Anaza was never qualified to be his champion, really nobody was.

Comments: I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this event, with all the twists and turns. I thought the biggest surprise and interesting development would be Anaza's temporary resurrection and reunion with Vri, but then Labrae joined on Kielik's side of the Memorial. I thought that was it, I was done being surprised by this thread, then Faith decides to do the Impossible and bring Anaza back to life for good!!! Vri couldn't be more pleased with his newest Exalted, I think, and I doubt this'll be the end of it by a long shot. There's so much more that can be done with this plot point, it boggles the mind.

Wonderful way to play it, and really I'm still only beginning to realize the significance of what was accomplished, and where it might go.

I loved this thread so much, thanks for asking me to moderate it. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.


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