Timestamp: 100th of Ashan, 717
Location: The Seas
Dreams and reality intertwining and merging, until one was as the other, both one and the same, yet inherently different. How long had Kura's life been like this, torn between past and present, dream and reality, truth and lies, all warped and malformed by the leprous, parasitic demon that claimed to be the missing piece of her soul. Yet if part of her soul was missing, she certainly felt complete and where would it go, anyway. Maybe it would become wings or a tail if it ever merged with her, either would at least be interesting.
In this warped reality, Kura stood upon a path that split in two mere steps in front of her feet. To her left, windswept plains without limit or boundaries. To her right, a throne made out of knives and draped in chains. On sight alone, the choice should be easy, but sight alone so rarely had input, and it was the same here. From her left, Kura heard screams of agony and misery, the scent and taste of burning flesh carried on the while a feeling of absolute freedom brushed against her. To her right, the sounds of joy and love could be heard mingling with the scent and taste of good food and drink, yet she could feel those chains and knives against her before she had even taken a step.
With an annoyed sigh, Kura looked about her. "Is there a point to all this? I grew weary of your games a millenia ago, spirit. Either make your statement or return reality to its rightful state. It's hard for boats to sail through seas of stone or farmers to grow crops in fields of fire." she said, her irritation clear in her voice. She had passed both sights on her journey to this crossroads and she knew her spirit was responsible for this madness. Still, at least this was better than the time her spirit had turned everyone into waffles. She had never quite figured out what the point there had been.
"You know what the point of this is as well as I do, Wolfsdotter. You have yet to decide who you are."
At that, Kura let out a sound that could be described as a roar of pure frustration. "Again and again, world after world, we have had this conversation. I weary of it and you both. Cease your roundabout manner of speech and speed this along, or would you rather throw another tantrum and turn the mountains into bowls of butter again?" she demanded.
"I have no memory of the butter incident, Wolfsdotter. Perhaps you should vary your diet more."
Kura blinked in surprise, then shrugged. "Perhaps so. I had eaten rather a lot of chicken kiev that week. Regardless, repeatin' your belief that I am undecided in who I am does not get us to the end of this world any faster, and I know it must be tirin' to create these warped worlds just to make a point." she said, her tone of voice slightly calmer.
"Sadly, I have no better means of communication. But this crossroads is of your creation, Wolfsdotter."
Kura looked back at the crossroads, then back at where she thought the familiars voice was coming from, a floating rock made out of cheese in this case. "Come again? Last I looked I was in no way torn between bleeding out and maybe gettin' hay fever." she said, her tone highly confused, eliciting a chuckle from her spirit.
"No, Wolfsdotter. The choice here is between freedom and duty. You know the pains and burden of leadership as well as many others."
Kura considered what the spirit was saying, then nodded as she understood what it meant. "Scalvoris. It has been lost, cut adrift from the whole. I could retake it, whether by force or by words." she said, looking out over the fields as she spoke. "And by doin' so, I'd be drawn back into leadership and politics, forfeiting the freedom I've had over the past few seasons due to my leavin' home." she said, before letting out a laugh and shrugging. "But such a choice is easy." she said, before turning on her heel and heading towards the throne of knives and chains.
"Hold, Wolfsdotter! Are you certain? Such a choice, once made, cannot be unmade. Are you so cert-"
"SILENCE! Kura roared, turning back to face her spirit. "Did I not say that I have grown weary of your endless questions and nitpicking? I am an heir to the Keepers of Idalos, a being born with the power to change the world for the better. This choice you keep bringing up is one I made long ago. All my choice to leave home and deal with your idiocy is was a moment of weakness that I will not succumb to again!" she snapped.
In her rage, Kura didn't notice that her form had changed. Gone was the black-clad form of a Velduris-wielding mercenary. It had been replaced with the golden eyes and white feather overcoat of the Mortalborn of Owls, a child of the Immortals whose force of will and conviction would change the course of the future and shape the lives of countless generations to come. The world around her had shaped itself in response to her own change. Gone were the fields and their screams, the path she had walked down before. All that was left was the throne Kura had chosen, and even it had changed to a much more simple thing, merely uncomfortable looking as opposed to a torture device.
"Listen well, you leprous, parasitic, inept fragment of a soul, for I will not repeat myself. I chose to commit myself to serving the people of Idalos, to making their lives safer, better. I do not serve myself and I never will. I gave, and would give again, myself to a greater purpose, to the goal of a world made safe from war, from famine, from the depravities of greater powers using mortals as naught but playthings! It is a duty and task I bear with honor and pride, and one I will not be dissuaded from my responsibilities by a disobedient shard of my own consciousness."
Kura sat upon the throne she had chosen and glared unblinkingly at her familiar. "My choice is made, spirit. I made it when I was still young and I have never regretted it. Not through any of the loss or hardships it brought. Fill my dreams with torments and rob me of my sleep should you wish it, I will not be swayed again." she said, before waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Begone. I have more important matters to attend to than the maldirected ramblings of a malignant familiar."
"Very well, Wolfsdotter. I believe we will finally, truly, meet soon."
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Kura groaned and shook her head as she awakened. "Damned familiar." she said as she stood up and stumbled over to the window. It was still very, very dark outside. "Brilliant. Still, at least I didn't wake up screaming this time." she said as she pulled on her clothes. In her experience, after her familiar had visited she wasn't going to get back to sleep in any sort of reasonable time frame.
So instead, she headed up to the deck of the ship she was on. They were headed to Scalvoris, where she would be the priestess for Faith's wedding. It was an honor, and an important one to be sure, but what she could remember of the dream had planted an idea in the Mortalborns head, a notion that grew and grew. Scalvoris, as it was, was a rebellious province of The Eternal Empire. I had to be brought back into the light of Korlasir.
More than that, according to the letter she had received from Faith, the Pirate Lords, the only obstacle to total Imperial control of the island, was gone. Because of them, Imperial control of Scalvoris had always been a little tenuous. However, it would be difficult for the Eternal Empire to mount an military assault to take Scalvoris back, as their navy wasn't great and a lot of their forces were tied up in the Hotlands right now.
However, Kura was an expert politician, with over a centuries of experience under her belt. Under its past leadership systems, Scalvoris had never needed, and thus likely didn't have, many skilled politicians, if it had any at all. That meant that she might be able to take control of Scalvoris with a minimum of bloodshed, possibly bringing it willingly back under the shield of the Eternal Empire.
Kura looked towards the north, where Scalvoris waited, and smiled. She would take control of Scalvoris, one way or another. Her will was strong, her cause was just, and her powers and skills were up to the task. She would have to plan, figure out the best way to accomplish her goals, but she had plenty of time to do so.
Location: The Seas
Dreams and reality intertwining and merging, until one was as the other, both one and the same, yet inherently different. How long had Kura's life been like this, torn between past and present, dream and reality, truth and lies, all warped and malformed by the leprous, parasitic demon that claimed to be the missing piece of her soul. Yet if part of her soul was missing, she certainly felt complete and where would it go, anyway. Maybe it would become wings or a tail if it ever merged with her, either would at least be interesting.
In this warped reality, Kura stood upon a path that split in two mere steps in front of her feet. To her left, windswept plains without limit or boundaries. To her right, a throne made out of knives and draped in chains. On sight alone, the choice should be easy, but sight alone so rarely had input, and it was the same here. From her left, Kura heard screams of agony and misery, the scent and taste of burning flesh carried on the while a feeling of absolute freedom brushed against her. To her right, the sounds of joy and love could be heard mingling with the scent and taste of good food and drink, yet she could feel those chains and knives against her before she had even taken a step.
With an annoyed sigh, Kura looked about her. "Is there a point to all this? I grew weary of your games a millenia ago, spirit. Either make your statement or return reality to its rightful state. It's hard for boats to sail through seas of stone or farmers to grow crops in fields of fire." she said, her irritation clear in her voice. She had passed both sights on her journey to this crossroads and she knew her spirit was responsible for this madness. Still, at least this was better than the time her spirit had turned everyone into waffles. She had never quite figured out what the point there had been.
"You know what the point of this is as well as I do, Wolfsdotter. You have yet to decide who you are."
At that, Kura let out a sound that could be described as a roar of pure frustration. "Again and again, world after world, we have had this conversation. I weary of it and you both. Cease your roundabout manner of speech and speed this along, or would you rather throw another tantrum and turn the mountains into bowls of butter again?" she demanded.
"I have no memory of the butter incident, Wolfsdotter. Perhaps you should vary your diet more."
Kura blinked in surprise, then shrugged. "Perhaps so. I had eaten rather a lot of chicken kiev that week. Regardless, repeatin' your belief that I am undecided in who I am does not get us to the end of this world any faster, and I know it must be tirin' to create these warped worlds just to make a point." she said, her tone of voice slightly calmer.
"Sadly, I have no better means of communication. But this crossroads is of your creation, Wolfsdotter."
Kura looked back at the crossroads, then back at where she thought the familiars voice was coming from, a floating rock made out of cheese in this case. "Come again? Last I looked I was in no way torn between bleeding out and maybe gettin' hay fever." she said, her tone highly confused, eliciting a chuckle from her spirit.
"No, Wolfsdotter. The choice here is between freedom and duty. You know the pains and burden of leadership as well as many others."
Kura considered what the spirit was saying, then nodded as she understood what it meant. "Scalvoris. It has been lost, cut adrift from the whole. I could retake it, whether by force or by words." she said, looking out over the fields as she spoke. "And by doin' so, I'd be drawn back into leadership and politics, forfeiting the freedom I've had over the past few seasons due to my leavin' home." she said, before letting out a laugh and shrugging. "But such a choice is easy." she said, before turning on her heel and heading towards the throne of knives and chains.
"Hold, Wolfsdotter! Are you certain? Such a choice, once made, cannot be unmade. Are you so cert-"
"SILENCE! Kura roared, turning back to face her spirit. "Did I not say that I have grown weary of your endless questions and nitpicking? I am an heir to the Keepers of Idalos, a being born with the power to change the world for the better. This choice you keep bringing up is one I made long ago. All my choice to leave home and deal with your idiocy is was a moment of weakness that I will not succumb to again!" she snapped.
In her rage, Kura didn't notice that her form had changed. Gone was the black-clad form of a Velduris-wielding mercenary. It had been replaced with the golden eyes and white feather overcoat of the Mortalborn of Owls, a child of the Immortals whose force of will and conviction would change the course of the future and shape the lives of countless generations to come. The world around her had shaped itself in response to her own change. Gone were the fields and their screams, the path she had walked down before. All that was left was the throne Kura had chosen, and even it had changed to a much more simple thing, merely uncomfortable looking as opposed to a torture device.
"Listen well, you leprous, parasitic, inept fragment of a soul, for I will not repeat myself. I chose to commit myself to serving the people of Idalos, to making their lives safer, better. I do not serve myself and I never will. I gave, and would give again, myself to a greater purpose, to the goal of a world made safe from war, from famine, from the depravities of greater powers using mortals as naught but playthings! It is a duty and task I bear with honor and pride, and one I will not be dissuaded from my responsibilities by a disobedient shard of my own consciousness."
Kura sat upon the throne she had chosen and glared unblinkingly at her familiar. "My choice is made, spirit. I made it when I was still young and I have never regretted it. Not through any of the loss or hardships it brought. Fill my dreams with torments and rob me of my sleep should you wish it, I will not be swayed again." she said, before waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Begone. I have more important matters to attend to than the maldirected ramblings of a malignant familiar."
"Very well, Wolfsdotter. I believe we will finally, truly, meet soon."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kura groaned and shook her head as she awakened. "Damned familiar." she said as she stood up and stumbled over to the window. It was still very, very dark outside. "Brilliant. Still, at least I didn't wake up screaming this time." she said as she pulled on her clothes. In her experience, after her familiar had visited she wasn't going to get back to sleep in any sort of reasonable time frame.
So instead, she headed up to the deck of the ship she was on. They were headed to Scalvoris, where she would be the priestess for Faith's wedding. It was an honor, and an important one to be sure, but what she could remember of the dream had planted an idea in the Mortalborns head, a notion that grew and grew. Scalvoris, as it was, was a rebellious province of The Eternal Empire. I had to be brought back into the light of Korlasir.
More than that, according to the letter she had received from Faith, the Pirate Lords, the only obstacle to total Imperial control of the island, was gone. Because of them, Imperial control of Scalvoris had always been a little tenuous. However, it would be difficult for the Eternal Empire to mount an military assault to take Scalvoris back, as their navy wasn't great and a lot of their forces were tied up in the Hotlands right now.
However, Kura was an expert politician, with over a centuries of experience under her belt. Under its past leadership systems, Scalvoris had never needed, and thus likely didn't have, many skilled politicians, if it had any at all. That meant that she might be able to take control of Scalvoris with a minimum of bloodshed, possibly bringing it willingly back under the shield of the Eternal Empire.
Kura looked towards the north, where Scalvoris waited, and smiled. She would take control of Scalvoris, one way or another. Her will was strong, her cause was just, and her powers and skills were up to the task. She would have to plan, figure out the best way to accomplish her goals, but she had plenty of time to do so.
