Welcome to Gaia! ::

A strange way to travel she thought vaguely as she stepped onto the darkened and cracked flagstones of the castle courtyard. Kimaya's eyes wandered slowly over the chaotic and wild scene before her, settling on an ancient sculpture of a long forgotten battle. The odd mixture of hopelessness and raw determination wrought through the hands of the artist was striking, even though time had brought the creation to its current crumbling state. Yes, she could feel the ground beneath her sigh as though weary of the tired and worn struggles of the past, or perhaps of those to come.

Her bootheels clicked on the stones as she made her way forward, unsure of where she was being led and not entirely certain why. But kimaya believed those things would be made known to her at their proper time. She believed the universe was a huge machination, and everything in it revolved to the beat of its heart, even her. It was no accident she was here at this time, certain events of the world did not occur by coincidence or chance. Some things were fated, and had been decided long before.

Kimaya paused, gazing at the ominous sight of the blackened and charred portcullis and felt the stirrings of feeling within her. She had almost forgotten what it was like to feel this... anxious. Long ago, her life had been one bloody struggle to the next, the endless progression of war, of the hatred of the races for one another, the unending battle of man to overcome those who were stronger but less plentiful than him. When it had ended at last, the dust settling around the destruction, an outcome no one had predicted.... the following peace and silence had been many long empty years for her. And now, here, she seemed to have come full circle. What would come next? The universe was not through with her, apparently. As always, it would use what it would for its game of life and death. Interesting...

A strange way to travel and an even stranger place. She waited.

Assured that this being's customs, if any, had been observed, Kimaya inclined her head towards the woman with a slight nod and then stepped forward. The strange sensation in her she had felt earlier pulled in the direction of the yawning entrance to the castle. With each step, the gray haze that had lain over her mind for such a long time seemed to lift slightly.

"All that is left"... Kimaya muttered the woman's words to herself and felt again the strange stirrings of curiosity, anxious to meet what destiny had waiting for her.

Her steps took her past the courtyard with its broken statues and chaotic landscape, through the darkened entrance, and finally inside the castle itself.

Kimaya was peripherally aware of the being who followed her as she was drawn further into the castle. She felt the immense power flowing from the woman like waves of the sea crashing against all that it came into contact with. She herself had long ago lost most of her power in order to survive the death of a world. She would be helpless against a being such as this.

She sensed the awesome being's impatience to be done with her, and Kimaya wondered how she should respond to the question, or perhaps the sound of her voice would bother the woman. She had been before Gods and powerful creatures and she knew well their peculiarities and fickle temperaments. She was not sure if this woman was a God, or some other ancient being.

Any particular room..? Hmmm... she had never been to this place, all was unfamiliar to her, and so she could say little more than a murmered "This way" while hastening her steps down a dark and crumbling hall.

Kimaya could barely recall the journey through the twisting corridors... had they come upstairs? Gone below perhaps? She was not sure, all other thought began to pale in comparison to the thread of excitement which had slowly begun growing within her as she approached the source of this feeling. She had come upon a door now, it was dark and she could barely make out its outline. If it bore strange symbols or was instead plain - she could not remember afterwards. Her hand reached for the door, impatient herself now.

The iron handle was cool to the touch, and Kimaya felt herself give in completely to the strong pull of this room. She heard the woman, Nox, urge her on and she hurried to comply, also eager to learn what was beyond the door. Without fear or reservation, she pulled upon the cold iron curve of the handle, not knowing what to expect.

The lights dazzled her eyes after the darkened but well kept halls of the castle. Motes of dust glittered like magic in the paths of the moonbeams, and there seemed to be a life to the room, although repressed in some way. It felt as though before a summer storm; the night heavy with thunder not far off, the air full and saturated with an unseen pressure. Kimaya's eyes opened from slits quickly adjusting to the light, and focused on the stained glass window; reflected colored and clear lights formed a brilliant but chaotic pattern upon the surfaces of the empty room. It was to here to which she had been drawn... and suddenly she felt the space separating her from the window was unbearable, the pull to be near it, even stronger.

She did not recall crossing the room, but she was aware that she must have, as she now stood before the window, her hand poised to touch. A slight hesitation, more out of wonder than anything. It had been ages since she had felt more than a bare emotion, but now a vortex of feelings and excitement coursed through her; a need to be a part of this... to be needed. What an odd idea, she thought, smiling faintly as finally her hand pressed lightly but firmly upon the multi colored glass.

Kimaya felt as though her entire being were being pressed in upon by the clarion ring of the voice in her head. Her mind wanted to consider it... the strangeness of this event, ever the observer, but the desire was fleeting and vague as her heart and mind were entirely absorbed by the colored glass before her, by the question of the voice.

Her spirit and essence...

With her hand still pressed flat against the surface of the beautifully crafted glass Kimaya spoke in a hushed voice a single word, "Yes." She was without thought of consequence, nor troubled by the implications of doing such a thing as giving her spirit and essence to this task. It was not that these things were not important or that she no longer cared what happened to her - she did, it was that there simply was no other answer for her. It felt right, as all other things in her life never had. From the silent and detached place in her heart where she had ceased to want to understand what it was like to feel and be a part of other beings and other worlds, a new feeling had emerged: Wonder.
This would change everything.