Red Stars Fall

[Tempest]

21st of Cylus

The twilight of cylus has began for the "day" as the cult members began to start walking around the city. It was clear they had a mission and were prepared to do as their leader commanded. Watching from their hut with deep concern for the chaos that seemed to keep getting worse. Looking to each other the group knew something had to be done. But if not handled correctly, the part of the citizen’s following the foolish cult would riot. They could not afford to have the entire city up in arms against each other. Surely there was some way to fix the problem quietly while being efficient. The Iyo were the only way for the city to light its homes and businesses.

Fire was not a viable option because it would catch every tree in the area on fire. Looking to the cocoon in the jar nearby, the group had to figure out someway to hide the iyo from sight. If the attack could be held of just long enough for the iyo to hatch, perhaps the strange color would finally be gone. Taking a deep breath, the head of the elders sent out for anyone who stood against the cult to meet with them in secret.

“We must protect the iyo. Even if that means they must be hidden where the cult cannot find them. We must be careful how we move them. It could cause even more chaos among the people. It is a hard decision, but Moseke would not want her home and creatures attacked in such a way,” the oldest elder stated.

The cult moved quickly continuing to stir up anyone they could find to listen. Many of the businesspeople told anyone that came in with such accusations to leave. The hunters that gathered around the fire pits the young ones especially were ready to fight for their home. The unrest could be felt on the very air. It would soon come to a head whether someone wanted it to or not.

If anyone who had been at the initial gathering came to the elders they would find a group of older men that seemed concerned. Yet none were actually speaking, it felt like words were being passed between them without their mouths needing to even move. Motioning for the person or group to sit the leader would address them.

“Thank you for coming. I am embarrassed that our citizens are behaving this way. Moseke would be so embarrassed. I must ask something of you that could be highly dangerous. At this moment Gladysic will address the city again. He believes it is time for the iyo to be destroyed. They must survive. For now the nest is hidden from his eyes, that leaves the ones here in the city as his targets. We ask humbly that you assist us in hiding the iyo. We will not ask you where you hide them nor will we dictate where. It is best only those that you absolutely trust help in this endeavor,” the older man took a deep breath, “helping us will cause you to be targets. Please take some time to think about this and let us know your decision.”

[Kisaik]

Kisaik sat in meditation in one of the most peaceful parts of the forests surrounding Desnind that he knew of. He was seeking an inner peace, away from this sensation of panic, certain doom, and gloom. He wanted to entice a spirit of reconciliation to enter his orbit so that he might engender more of the same concept in those that resided in the great village among the trees.

He took a break or so of deep meditation, but once he arrived at a state of stillness of mind, which was quite a feat for the usually hyper tunawa, he dipped his head into the Beneath. There, he sought out the spirit that he was looking for. Among the spirits, he saw many. Beneath the realm of the mortal, mundane world, and that of spirit that lay under it were countless spirits. Ghosts and souls, Anak and diri, were there. And possibly more, but he'd only just begun to learn about his capabilities of dipping into the Beneath. Thanks to his bond with Ashan, that ability only promised to grow with time.

He reached out his arm, stretching it until he thought he found the spirit he meant to. It was a bold anak that embodied all the peace of the deep forest, which might be able to reconcile these acrimonious souls and factors. While there was predation and death in the deep woods, there was a certain accord of the natural world. He forged an agreement between all that lived under its precepts. This cult of Doomsayers was not of nature, Kisaik had concluded, fairly confidently. They wished to destroy a part of nature, simply out of fear and paranoia. It was not at all right, because of the color of the light that was in fashion with the Iyo.

Kisaik shook his head. Such intolerance wasn't his way. He wrapped the spirit of deep peace around his arm and enticed it in a cloak around his shoulders, like a hero's mantle. Thus clothed in his armor and spiritual concept of choice, he began skipping over toward the village.



He arrived in time for the elders to be gathering those who were there at the original incident. The sky was lit with stars and moons, as bright with moonlight almost as the Yaralon dry season during Cylus. Kisaik willed his spirit mantle of peace to consume some of his ambient ephemera. It weakened him slightly, but a sudden nimbus of peaceful intent began spreading throughout the area.

He stepped forward, and his gleaming green eyes beheld the elder. "I will help defend the Iyo, if necessary, moving them. If essential, to reason with these cultists and their fearful mob. I am the Warden of the First Tree of Yaralon. I have solved many such crisis with the help of my friends and the spirits. I would do so again here. I promise I will not fail."

!

Message from: Kisaik

Kisaik used a couple of mark abilities from Loshova: Spirit Cloak (Minor) The Favored has the ability to entice a basic spirit of concept into a partnership. The Loshova takes this spirit around their person and has it attached to their soul. The spirit must willingly agree to this and can be released at any time. While the spirit is attached, it can feed off the ambient energies of the Loshova rather than its concept, keeping it strong. The Loshova benefits from a small resistance from the concept and the ability to sense it without hearing or seeing it around them. Peer Through The Pool A basic ability given to the Loshova at early levels, Peer through the Pool allows a Loshova to look into the Beneath and see the spirits and souls within. While this does not allow them to interact with them, exactly, they can hear and see the activities through the barrier between worlds. Sometimes this can be instructive, as spirits of pain and torture lingering in a location might identify it as a place hiding a dark secret. Beings in the Beneath are only loosely aware of those in the physical world, but when this ability is used the user becomes as clear to them as they are to him/her. This ability also allows a Loshova to instinctively guess the nature or purview of each spirit they see.

[Elijah Lamoreaux]

Three trials earlier, after the confrontation with the cultist loon in the square, Eli had parted on friendly terms with the little tunawa that had perched on his shoulder. Apparently Kisaik had some deep thinking or meditating to do, and Eli would have been useless in that regard. Instead, while Perdita had been off at the library, the young aspiring inventor had taken his glass jar in hand and gone off on the hunt for iyo.

Finding any of what Eli thought to be Moseke's little pets, had been tricky, but he'd convinced a local or two to be of some help in locating them. After that, capturing them hadn't been much more complicated than collecting fireflies. Less even, since they were in their cocoon state, rather than flying about. Though he'd been carefully and made sure to then hand them over to those better equipped to care for them. And now here he was again with Perdie at his side.

Outside, the cultist's were out in force again and seemed to growing impatient. Their leader of course had tepidly agreed to an investigation. But Eli was of the mind that the man had only been humoring them, and had no intention of changing his course of destruction.

He was a talker. In fact it was rare for him to fall into long, contemplative silences unless he was on to a big idea. So, while he'd come dressed and kitted out for just about anything, at first he remained quiet while the elders spoke. He was happy to help, though the only person in Desnind who he knew well enough to trust completely, was Perdie. Eli was inclined to think that the little animated tree fellow was a reliable one. But they were hardly well acquainted just yet. It was just a hunch.

It stood to reason that anyone who opposed the plans of the cultists, would naturally come to be targeted by them. But here Eli was anyway. "I'll help. Moving 'em, hiding 'em, some place impossible or even in plain sight. Anything else that's necessary. I have a knack for fixing things, figuring things out," he added, "For what that's worth."

[Perdita Westcott]

Red Stars Fall

21st Cylus, 720

T

he longer they lived in Desnind, the less strict Perdita was with her hair. Having arrived from Rharne, she had been very prone to some of the more intricate styles worn by the fashionable young women there; not that Perdita would ever consider herself fashionable, but she was more prone to wanting to fit in than she was aware of. Or, perhaps, than she would care to admit. However, Desnind was very different than Rharne and Perdita was more at home every trial. Which meant that her clothing tastes were developing more into her own. In the depths of Cylus, the cold got to her and so Perdita was in a thick, warm jumper which was far too large for her. She liked it that way, it was comfortable and largely shapeless, with sleeves which were slightly longer than her arms.

The trial before, Perdita had gone to the library, and there she had read up everything that she could on the Iyo. Their history, their links with Desnind. The festivals which were important to them and their place in Desnind. However, she hadn't been able to find anything which might give any indication why they were turning red. Perdita was determined that she would find out. She'd spoken with Eli about it the night before, in the hotel room they shared. But, thus far, they hadn't managed anything particularly helpful - although they'd tried.

So, they made their way to see the elders and there was the little tunawa fellow too. Perdita didn't like the cultists who were there, in Desnind, and she was quiet as she usually was. Eli knew, she made no effort to hide it from him, quite afraid of the cultists and the impact they could have. Perdita was not a physical person and she had been bullied as a child ~ however, she wouldn't back down and so, she held tightly to Eli's hand and they made their way. As they walked, Perdita more or less hid behind her loose hair as they did, but when they got to the elders, she held back and listened.

Eli said that he was willing to help. Perdita's hand in Eli's tightened and she spoke up; her voice was shaking slightly, but she was determined. "We will help," she asserted. Looking at the Tunawa, she smiled and nodded, but it was more Eli that she spoke to - and her nerves were evident. "We are too few," she said, gesturing to the three of them. "We must be clever." When the elders discussed it, Perdita frowned slightly. Tell no one, not even them? "Do you suspect a traitor?" Perdita asked.

The Tunawa spoke and made a firm and solemn vow. Eli said that he would help, and Perdita had added to it. They had to think about this, she thought and she looked between the two of them. Perdita held tight on to Eli's hand and waited to see what the elders said when the three of them had - as they now had - affirmed their determination to be here and help.

[Tempest]

A Storm is Coming...

The elders were surprised to see that all three who had spoken against the iyo attack would so readily put themselves in danger. There was no way of knowing what would happen when Gladysic found out what they would be doing. The main elder looked at the three of them, there was only one way for them to really find who could be trusted and who could not. Anyone that believed in the hysteria would be bringing out the iyo cocoons that could be found.

“We know that the business owners are fighting to keep their iyo cocoons safe. However, it seems the citizens are pushing hard against them. If you could go around and let them know you will be working for us. Their iyo will be in jars and easy to work with, however those that are wild may pose more difficult to work with,” the elder explained, “we do not know of a traitor. There is also no way to know if the cultists will attack us in retaliation. We are old, and our bodies failing. Though we may wish to stand against them. I doubt we would have the mental or physical might any longer.”

With that the men gave their blessings for them all to work on getting the iyo somewhere safe. As the elders had said, the cultists were running around trying to stir up even more hysteria than they had already accomplished. Gladysic was already out in the same area from days prior. He was watching the growing crowd with a dark smile on his face. Finally, his plans were appearing to come to fruition. All the man needed now was for the people around him to believe his words only. And with the fact that the elders had no proof of the contrary for his claims the man looked more than a little smug.

“Do you all see? Even those who called out against me have nothing to say now! There is no proof that the iyo are only going through a phase. Even Moseke herself has not stepped in to help calm your fears!” Gladysic called out.

The rumblings in the crowd grew when he mentioned Moseke was nowhere to be found. It was not like the Immortal to not address something so major going on in her city. All that seemed to lead anyone was the fear and chaos around them. There was nothing else even loud enough to truly break through the panic. It was up to the group whether they would try and stay all together and collect the iyo or if they would splinter apart while the crowd was not paying attention to them.

[Elijah Lamoreaux]

Perdie was right. They were willing to help. But just like she said, they were too few. Especially since, so far as Eli could tell, that little plant fellow Kisaik had managed to slip away while he wasn't looking. It was a shame. He'd seemed a clever sort. They'd given their word nonetheless.

As for the cultists that were stirring up trouble and getting into the heads of the locals, like Perdie, Eli didn't care much for them. The young would be inventor wasn't any kind of scholar and hadn't been in Desnind long enough to know the city or the locals inside or out. But what he couldn't quite figure was how the cultists had managed to get so deep into many of the locals' heads. Their arguments from his perspective seemed to lack good sense or logic, and he wondered was there a bit of magic involved. Or maybe their leader was just really good at playing on others' fears and suspicions.

Perdie asked a good question though. Who knew for sure if there was or wasn't someone in this very room that was like to betray them? He smiled her way, just slightly and squeezed her hand gently. It was a very good question. So first they'd need to collect the jars of iyo from the local shopkeepers and then catch the wild ones. "How hard could it be?" Eli wondered, whispering to Perdie. "If we manage to find them, is it that different from catching fireflies?"

The dangerous part he figured would be fending off the aggressions of the cultists when they found out what they were up to. They'd have to be careful. "Ready?" he said to Perdita then, when the elders seemed prepared to dismiss them. And then outdoors, Gladysic appeared to be at it again. "I really hate that guy," Eli said to Perdie, under his breath. The man definitely didn't waste any time. As for what the man said, Eli just couldn't help himself. "You can't prove a negative," he whispered to Perdie as they skirted the back of the crowd. He'd read that once in a science book, on one of the rare occasions he actually read books, and had found it interesting.

Part of him wanted to confront Gladysic and say just that; that just because there was no proven reason yet for the iyos changing color, the lack of it didn't plug up a single hole in Gladysic's story. But rather than get into another discussion that would probably go nowhere, he glanced at Perdie and raised an eyebrow in question. As if he was silently asking her druthers. Gladysic seemed to have the attention of a large number of locals and even his own followers. If they were going to go round and collect the iyo unnoticed, this might be the best time to do it

[Perdita Westcott]

Red Stars Fall

21st Cylus, 720

I

t was understandable that the elders worried about this man. Perdita was afraid of him, of speaking up, of all of it. But equally, she knew that she had to do something. Or, rather, they did. No matter how serious it was, though, as Eli mumbled about not being able to prove a negative, she nodded. "Or clap with one hand," she said, with a very serious gaze. It was impossible to do that, too, she knew. It was one of her father's regular responses to her saying that something was impossible.

Perdita felt the same as Eli - she wanted to confront the crazy man who seemed completely determined to turn the people into a crazy frenzy. But would it make sense to? She thought probably not. So, as Eli looked at her and raised an eyebrow, Perdita nodded. She quietly gestured that he should go in one direction - to their left - and she would move to the right. They were in the perfect position to make their way around and collect up iyo. That was the plan but, as they stood together, Perdita realised that she didn't want to split up. So, she shook her head to indicate that she had changed her mind about something and slipped her hand into his. "Together?" Perdita whispered. That way, she justified to herself, one of them could act as a look out and the other could collect up iyo.

The speaker, Gladysic, was enjoying the sound of his own voice quite a lot so Perdita reckoned they had time. With a nudge, she urged Eli to lead the way. Each business owner, as quick as they could, in order to make sure that they minimised the delay. Although, there were the wild iyo to consider too and Perdita determined that she would ask each business owner if they had any thoughts about that. Maybe they could help, or give some suggestions or ... something. There would be something, she was quite sure of it. Because Gladysic couldn't be allowed to win this. They'd solve it.

[Kisaik]

Well! This villain wasn't going to just stand there, making unsubstantiated claims and demanding that the heroes prove a negative, an impossible proposition as Eli alluded to. Kisaik soon jumped off of Eli's shoulder, landing lightly on the ground, his lengthened legs bending and then contracting. He popped a piece of caramel candy into his mouth, slipped out of the domain satchel. Then he began hopping on skystep portals, bounding down and down. When at last he reached the vicinity of the speech-giving villain, Kisaik jumped into the air in front of him.

With his spindly little fingers, he dragged claws down against the air, creating a roar effect that drowned out the speech. In fact, the effect would be loud enough to make anyone present cringe, let alone their ability to hear anything the madman was saying. Like nails on a chalkboard, the roar continued until Kisaik slid directly onto the hat of the villain in question. Once the roaring ceased, he cleared his throat. Having a small voice, he spoke into a porthole that he created on the spot, to magnify his voice. Kisaik called upon the chaos of his Dark Bark power to bolster his persuasion skill, and considerable knowledge of Desnind Traditions to solidify the persuasiveness of his own speech.

"People of Desnind! Listen not to this foolish man. The Iyo have survived hundreds of years without interruption. Can any one of us be sure they have not undergone such a phase as this before?!"

Kisak paced along the brim of the man's hat, holding his chin as if in deep thought, "And furthermore, the burden of proof is on the person making the claim, that the iyo are some sort of dastardly danger to us?!" He took on a sardonic tone, "Preposterous! This man claims conspiracy of Audrae, if so, let him provide proof of his own claims, before you take up pitchforks and fly swatters! Don't let some loud fool such as this one under me, to destroy something beautiful and that has lasted hundreds of years beyond remembrance! Remember Moseke, she may not raise her voice, but she is always watching!"

Skill and abilities used

Kisaik has invoked his Dark Bark power to increase his skill at persuasion by two levels, bringing him to master. His etiquette is expert and he grew up in Desnind, so should have a good idea of how Desninders see the iyo. His spirit of peace is still hovering around, to keep things relatively calm and cool hopefully.

[Tempest]

A Storm is Coming...

Gladysic was shocked when the little man from before jumped to his hat. The man was a short Tunawa that had large opinions. A glare appeared on his face as the little man continued to speak out openly against him. The crowd quieted and listened intently to what he had to say. A panic appeared on his face as they began to whisper to each other. It was clear he was beginning to lose the uneasy faith that he had gained from the crowd. The cults plan would not work if the people would not listen to the leader.

The first business that was open was the Stone Oven a bakery within the city. It was one of the few places that could have a controlled fire within the city limits. The woman behind the fragrant smells was a half Sev’ryn called Nuvasi. She was a tough looking woman that did not hold back exactly what she thought about her workers when they made a mistake. The female looked when the pair decided whether they would enter together or not. A defensive look was already in her eyes as the cult had been trying to get at the iyo she had stored in her office.

“Welcome, what can I do for you today?” Nuvasi asked trying to settle her nerves.

While the two were going around to the businesses in the area, Gladysic was trying to win the crowd back over in any way that he possibly could. The last thing he needed was for the support of the city to turn against them. His own guards would only stay for so long if there was nothing going in their favor. He was no fool, and now there was a little Tunawa that stood in the way of his goals. Shaking his head, the man attempted to remove the nuisance from a top his head.

“Enough of this! They have not been able to prove that the iyo are safe to remain in the city. Yet everyone has seen the red colors and the red flames from the wishing sands! This must be stopped now!” Gladysic was making one final push to keep the people on his side of the battle.

“If we just allow outsiders who know nothing of our home to tell us how to think what do we stand for? Moseke has forsaken us in our time of need. We must act now,” Gladysic stated. It was his final call to action.

[Elijah Lamoreaux]

"You're definitely right about that," Eli responded, faces close together and voices lowered, as they considered whether they ought to split up or keep together while collecting the iyo. He even nodded sagely, his expression a serious one, as if in complete agreement with Perdie's assertion that one simply couldn't clap with one hand. As if a sage nugget of wisdom hadn't just sailed completely over his head. He wasn't about to admit that. But off course you couldn't clap with one hand!

And then there, out of the blue, was that little tree fellow, suddenly perched atop the cultist leader's head, and speaking at such volume that Eli couldn't have imagined such a small thing having that kind of wind. "Together," he said when Perdie asked, and hand in hand as they skirted round the rear of the gathered crowd, he listed to what the tunawa was saying. It appeared the crowd was listening too, and the cultist's frustration with that, was all the better a distraction from him and Perdie slipping away.

Words of wisdom anyway, delivered with dramatic aplomb. "He's got a gift for gab," he said to Perdie even as the two of them slipped away. It appeared that their first stop would be the bakery, and while Eli had spent a limited amount of time out shopping for the essentials, it wasn't a completely unfamiliar location. Not that the woman would remember his face. She had no reason to. "You're probably the better one to lay on the charm," he suggested, whispering into Perdie's ear before they'd opened up the door and stepped inside.

Of course the problem was, there wasn't any real way of knowing whether the shopkeeper was inclined to favor the cultist's claims or no. Tricky business and he smiled when the woman behind the counter welcomed them in. She looked and sounded a little jumpy. Might be a good sign for Perdie and himself, except that Eli wasn't entirely sure whether the woman would believe they'd come here to help or hinder. Hopefully between himself and Perdie, they could convince her to let them help. "Hello. My name's Eli, and this is Perdita. I guess that bunch out there," he added, referring to the cultists, "aren't very good for business, getting all the locals riled up. Not the best for shopping I'd think, or a good time for an iyo wanting to be left in peace."

Terrible, thought Eli. He was terrible at small talk and while he'd already proved himself a very good salesman of curiosities back in Rharne, this was completely different. Convincing somebody's housewife to part with a small fortune, in trade for some shining, whirring, ticking trinket she neither needed or could afford, was completely different that cajoling a complete stranger into handing over one or more of Desnind's winged and shining treasures. So he did the only thing he could do, he nudged Perdie to step in.