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 Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 4:25 am
"Well, sort of," he said, pleasantly surprised that Fenja got what he was talking about, "And yeah, it has more to do with brightness than colour for a Sacrifice. The colour and brightness can say something about the nature of that lion's spirit, and it can determine what that lion decides to do in life, but not always."
As a cub Blota had entertained the thought of becoming a warrior one day, but although his spirit had a lot of fight in it his body wasn't quite up to the task. He had found solace in knowing that he would get to battle once he joined the Spirits, but fighting didn't seem as important anymore. He still wanted to protect his pride of course, but glorious fighting wasn't his main motivation anymore. He had seen real fights now, and it was neither pretty nor fun.
Blota paused for a moment before answering Fenjas next question. He had never been able to get an outsider to understand the meaning and importance of Sacrifices, and that they didn't have to get all worked up about it. The prospect of getting a paw to the face again wasn't tempting, but he pushed away his fear. On one paw he rather enjoyed her company and didn't want her to turn against him, but on the other paw... The least thing he could do for Fenja was to be honest.
"It's not entirely straight forward to explain," he started, trying to find the right words, "You have to understand that I've always known the Spirits and that all this seems very natural to me. Hear me out and then ask if there is something you don't understand. You know a bit about the spirits, right? They are everywhere and just like lions they can have all kinds of tempers and there are nice ones and... well... some evil ones."
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 10:49 am
Oh, she’d been right about the brightness. The pale lioness eyed Blota with interest as they moved along together, her ears shooting forward curiously listening to the young male’s every word. She did love to earn new things and Blota seemed willing to teach her more about the Mizimu. And she did like the “not always” part as it implied lions had some choice in the matter.
“Mmm. I suppose... Yes, I can understand that.” It was easier if she considered the word “spirit” as a synonym for god and not a departed soul as Skuld had taught her. The latter made her just a bit too uncomfortable. A group of angry evil dead lions lingering about all around her was a rather scary concept as far as Fenja was concerned - especially given her own history.
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Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 5:57 am
"We learn all this as cubs," he continued, "But we are not afraid of the evil and unfriendly Spirits even if they can harm us and make life truly miserable."
He knew just how miserable after suffering through the bad times leading up to the war. The spirits had been really angry, making it harder to hunt, harder to live, and generally making tempers run short. The whole pride had seemed to suffocate under a blanket of misery. It was scary to think about how vulnerable they really were when it came to the whims of the Spirits.
"We are not afraid," he said and smiled, "Because we know that there are those that protect us. Just like our warriors protect us from threats in this world, Sacrifices protect us from our enemies in the spirit realm."
He was satisfied with his explanation so far, and hoped that he had made it clear enough to someone who wasn't familiar with the Mizimu. The next part was trickier... On his journey he had learned that not everyone understood the importance of a honourable death, and he walked in silence for a while, pondering how to explain it better than the last time he had tried.
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Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 6:24 pm
As far as Fenja was concerned, these were pretty easy concepts to grasp – even if she did have some trouble actually believing in them. She could see it already, a row of young, bright colored, well-fed lions meditating or praying or whatever they did to fight in the… “spirit realm”. Bah, she had a hard time believing that part. She could see how some hallucinogenic plants could be involved in the Mizimu beliefs though perhaps that was just her skeptic nature doing the thinking now.
“I guess I can imagine it. Must be a bit boring though.” The bright lioness said slowly trying to avoid anything that might sound offensive. “I mean, while others are training and stuff, the Sacrifices have to ah… train the mind?” How did one train the “spirit” anyway? She smiled at Blota apologetically. The orange male was being pretty nice teaching her about his pride after all and Fenja was more than happy to absorb all the knowledge she could get.
“Do you find it hard…? Understanding the… will of those you can’t see? Do you make mistakes sometimes?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:14 am
"Boring? No. But I liked to watch the warriors a lot," he admitted, but he couldn't quite agree that his task had been boring, "I wanted to be one when I was little, but I was stronger in the spirit than in the body."
He had filled out a little and was more muscular than when he had left on his unplanned pilgrimage, but Blota was still by no means a large or imposing lion. Despite his diligent study of the warriors of his pride he would have a hard time holding his own in a fight. He knew some theory but that was all it was - theory. Luckily he had never really had to fight, not even when the Dhati caught him. They were too many, he was overpowered quickly and he never really had the chance to do something stupid.
Her next question made him look uncomfortable and he looked down at the ground for a moment. Much of the trouble he was in had come from assuming what the Spirits wanted him to do, and while they might have done this to send him out and learn a lesson it was still hard to admit that his own ego had put him in many of the more unpleasant situations.
"Yeah, I do make mistakes," he said, getting the hardest part out of the way before trying to explain, "Every cub knows how to read the most common signs. Tell good signs from bad for example. But to get more nuances than that is hard, and that's why we have the members of the heart. They dedicate their lives to read the will of the spirits and they can guide the rest of the pride in spiritual matters. The scryer you met would have been able to explain this better I think."
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 9:08 pm
She wondered how he could tell his spirit was stronger than his body but Fenja decided it was best not to ask. Not only it sounded like a very personal if not downright rude thing to ask but she also suspected that the answer might not be entirely to her taste. If he said something like “I started hearing voices”, she was sure every hair on her body would stand on end. No… she was perfectly happy not knowing some things.
“Oh, don’t look so down.” She said suddenly, a somewhat guilty look taking over the bright lioness’ expression. “You’re still pretty young, you’re supposed to make mistakes… right? You should just think of how you can improve so maybe you could ask a scryer to teach you…? Skuld seemed nice. If everyone could read it their will perfectly …” she purposefully avoided saying the word spirits again. “… then there would be no need for lions to fully dedicate themselves to it, right? And if you understood their will but decided to ignored it, well, it was just a youthful mistake and you’ll make amends, right? And then you’ll be a respected Sacrifice again. Cheer up, Blota!” She pawed at him softly, trying to pull a smile from the orange lion.
Cubs being taught from a young age, the “heart” and its members, this was all so very interesting. Fenja had a million questions but it was so hard to find a balance between polite conversation and nosy prying. Poor girl… she had no idea of what she was encouraging the young male to do.
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 4:39 am
Blota smiled a little as Fenja started to break down his problem into things he could do. He still wasn't sure she really got what this was all about, but he really appreciated the effort. Being able to decipher the will of the Spirits perfectly was something he could only hope to achieve, especially since even the most skilled Haruspex could be wrong. Only the royal family had a near enough perfect connection to the Spirit world, as far as he knew. But she was right in one thing; he could and should always strive to better himself.
"Thank you," he said softly, "I really appreciate all your help."
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Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2010 7:43 pm
“It’s quite alright. I’m just showing you the way. Just up this hill, you’ll see it.” Fenja smiled, happily. She liked taking the role of the helper rather than her usual position as the one being helped – though she was considerably more independent these days.
“See? See?” she asked excitedly, standing proudly at the top of the hill, prism-colored eyes shining like beacons as she turned to face Blota. “You just have to keep walking towards that rock formation in the distance. If you keep going through the night you’ll reach it by morning. “
She was feeling just a little too happy with herself.
“I met Skuld just a bit after that. You should have no problem getting back home.” And that was such a comforting thought. Tonight she’d sleep knowing that Blota would soon be with those who loved him, his family and friends. “I’m afraid this is where we part ways, Blota. You know… it’s kind of a long way back. I’m going to find a nice tree to spend the night.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 2:41 am
As he walked up the hill with Fenja everything started to feel lighter, as if he had lugged around something heavy without noticing it until it was gone. In a way he supposed he had. He could see the rock formation Fenja indicated, and just grinned in response to her question. The sun felt warm on his back, but most of the warmth came from within. He would be home soon. Blota didn't recognise the land just yet, but he could feel his home calling from beyond that rock formation. Every impulse told him to start running now so he could be there sooner, but that wouldn't be very polite.
"I see," he said, nodding eagerly, "That shouldn't be too hard for me to do alone."
He turned towards Fenja and bowed his head in respect. She had done much to help him, and she had showed him the right direction in more ways than one. It was hard to convey the extent of his gratitude, but he tried nevertheless.
"Thank you for all your help," he said, meeting her eyes again after his bow, "I hope to see you again in the spirit realm."
Her comment about finding a tree puzzled him momentarily, but the pull from Mizimu'Tungika won over his curiosity, and with a last nod to Fenja he trotted off down the other side of the hill. His heart felt as if it was one size too big for his chest and he walked with renewed faith in the spirits.
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Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:56 pm
“It was my pleasure, Blota.” Fenja said cheerily, sitting down as she watched the orange male walk away. Some might find it disheartening or perhaps offensive that Blota didn’t even seem to consider requesting that Fenja accompany him but for the bright girl it was a relief to have such an easy and clean break. She could do without the slightly uncomfortable farewells like the many she’d experienced before even if the vainest part of her couldn’t help but to be a little surprised at the lack of interest.
As for meeting again in the spirit realm… well, Fenja would rather pass on the heartfelt wish of the young lion but she was getting really good at ignoring the “spirit talk” so she barely noticed the small statement.
“Stay safe.” She kept her eyes on the departing shape for a few moments longer until her mind grew restless and the lioness finally stood up and walked away in the opposite direction.
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