|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 2:53 pm
 "That is correct." The speak of life in the host propulsed the god anew.
"Nothing, immediately. It takes some time - the god needs to return to true awareness and build up strength once more." It was not an instant process, and there would be time. "You would hear the god's voice in your mind, as a part of you. Eventually, the deity will be strong enough to take your body and start changing it." What would happen to Shiana... depended. Some lived seamlessly though the god that took them as the host had once done. Some remained separate. Some were extinguished completely, leaving only the imprints they had managed to make behind.
"I believe this is your choice. If the god inside this gem had been intent on taking you, then it would have been done the moment you had picked it up."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 8:59 am
"I... I see," Shiana said, haltingly, her eyes still fixed on the stone. "And if I do not accept?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 9:26 am
"Then the god within will have to find someone else... And be lesser for it, because that someone might not have what you do." To be honest, he had never heard of an host turning a stone down before, even when there was a choice for them. Lien had taken Cosine, Asedri had taken Keme... Perhaps there was not truly a choice, only the illusion of one.
He could see how that could work, how feeling like one's fate remained in their own hands while at the same time being unable to avoid the inevitable. It would make the whole process a lot smoother than taking someone by force would be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 9:37 pm
The asari seemed frozen for a moment until, slowly, she nodded. "I... understand. I'm not... I can't decide this, something like... like this, in an instant. I just can't," she said, looking up at the god almost pleadingly. "I don't know anything about... about this, this god or... do you know? What it is? Who... it is?" She looked at the gem with a vague sense of terror.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:12 am
"There is no way for me to know, sadly." Logic would dedicate that gods who ruled concepts that mortals considered to be 'bad' would be more likely to take... But given how the poor girl looked like she might faint at any moment, this probably was not the best thing to say.
It was a lot to take, he could understand that much. "You do not have to decide right there and now. I can keep the stone until you do." As far as Lament knew, the god within would be no worse for it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 5:50 pm
"I..." She seemed frozen again, like a deer in headlights... but then a firmer resolve showed in her features. Slowly, as if afraid the gem would bite, she reached forward and tapped it with one finger, a swift movement that left her trembling and the gem rocking slightly on the tea tray. Nothing had happened, save a faint feeling of warmth at the point of contact. She made a dissatisfied noise, then leaned forward again and scooped up the gem, cringing and closing her eyes... but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see the gem lying in her hand, her knuckles white around it. She unfolded her fingers slowly, almost fearfully. Nope. Whoever was in there was clearly not interested in taking without asking. "Is there... is there any way to know?" As she spoke, she felt an odd fluttering against her skin. Not physical, but... something else. This was absolutely no ordinary rock.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 6:00 pm
Was there ? He really had no idea - his mother would really have been more suited for this talk, but the fact that he was the one sitting here right now, and not Echo, was likely a blessing in itself. She had done such a thing before, but in the state she had been... No, Lament was not sure if she could have handled it.
"I wish I could answer you better." He would admit. But he truly knew little about the whole thing, having never went though it himself. "Do you feel.... anything from it ?" It seemed a strange question, but. "Some sort of feeling, emotion ?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 7:32 pm
Shiana took a deep breath, then another and another, visibly calming herself, reaching for the meditations she'd been taught as a child. When she felt she was ready, she shifted, releasing the gem from her cramping fingers and instead cupping it in her hands. Did she feel anything...? She closed her eyes and reached out to it, as she might reach out to some further-away object with her biotics. She felt... ... She felt warm, safe, welcomed. A chiming laughter on the edge of hearing flowed into the triumphant cry of a hawk which became the toll of a bell which became a delicate whistle, like wind through dry reeds. She felt... Her eyes flew open, and she gasped. "I... I remember..." It was the same feeling that had called her down, down, down on Pertica, that had led her to the relay and then onwards to this very place. She had always thought that it was the Lady Echo who had called her... and yet she could not deny the resonance she felt with the god trapped within this stone. Trapped, already she could feel her fear softening. Not a rock. Her Lady had once been in such a state. And it seemed this one had called her - had needed her so desperately that it reached beyond the stars even at a time that the stars had ceased to be. And it had waited for her. Was still waiting - she wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, but the gem lay quietly against her blue skin, a seed not yet planted. "It called me," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "It called me here. All this time, I thought..." A lump rose in her throat.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 10:11 am
So perhaps it was not his mother who had called for the asari, after all.
It was a curious thing in itself. Shiana had been here for almost as long as he had lived - if it was this gem who had called her, then...
Then this gem was very, very, very patient indeed. And it also proved that gems could likely sustain themselves for years without a host, which was a concept he found fascinating.
"This not been the first time..." He would say, simply. Had Lien not been Echo's guest first, then Cosine's host second ? Same with Exalla. Shiana was not the first, and she most likely would not be the last. "If you were convinced it was my mother that called you... and when the gem did not show up soon after you came... Then she would not have disproved you." And neither would she have abandoned Shiana when she had clearly needed someone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 5:55 pm
Shiana closed her eyes, bringing the gem up to her chest, holding it against her heart - and, when she opened her eyes again, they were nearly black, all the way through. "If zhi has called me, I must answer," she said, very quietly. "What must I do?" The calling had been much stronger on Pertica - perhaps the deity within had expended nearly all strength in leading her to this place. To this moment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 6:08 pm
He knew little about asari biology, so Lament had little idea if her eyes were even supposed to do that.
Honestly, though, her choice seemed to be made, and he would answer. "Press the gem against your skin where you wish it to rest. The fusing will happen then."
Asedri had blacked out when she had taken Keme, and so he kept himself ready, in case this happened.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 6:50 pm
Shiana nodded, her eyes darkening still further; she shifted, looking down at the gem in her hand. " Embrace eternity," she whispered, and her eyes flared to pure black as she pressed the gem against her chest, over her sternum. She felt a warm wave of delight - and then pain, dull at first but increasing, like bruising. With a shock, she felt the gem slip free from her fingers, but it did not fall; it had found purchase in her flesh, the odd bulbous curves of it vanishing under her skin. She had a vague sense that it really should hurt more than it was... Thou art mine, stars-child, blue-like-ocean. The voice was incredibly weary, and yet there was a deep, rich joy there. "Who..." She shuddered all over. "Who are you?" So... many names... stars-child... The voice was faint, and shifted moment by moment, first that of a child, then an old man, then a high and pure tenor that ached in the mind. For thee... Eliade... the Transmigrant Breath... There was a pause, so long that she nearly fainted in the middle of it. We are... Shapeshift. The word came in a rush, and then Shiana was falling off the bench, landing hard on her knees. When she hit the ground the black fled from her eyes, though her mouth felt stuck in an o of shock. "Sh-shapeshift..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 7:00 pm
Akakios moved when Shiana slumped forward, but did not get there in time. Still, he would catch her before she could fall over completely.
"Shapeshift ?" Was that what the gem was ? Either way, it was done, and there would be no going back from there. "Do you want me to get you to somewhere you can rest, Shiana ?" Was the asari even hearing him ? He had no idea, but it seemed better to at least try to catch her attention, rather than outright carry her and have her panic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 7:02 pm
Eliade's 'voice' had gone silent within her, but she could feel a spreading warmth within her as the deity joined with her... or, at least, she assumed that was what was happening. "I... I..." Her body shook so violently that her teeth chattered, and she had to take a moment to wrap her arms around herself until the shuddering ceased. "... Y-yes," she managed. "P-please. His... her..." No, neither of those felt right. She reached for something, found it offered up by the weary god. "Zhi is... Eliade..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 7:10 pm
"Shh." And this was the healer instinct kicking in. In spite of his apparent light stature, Shiana would find herself lifted just as easily as if she was a feather. "Rest."
His room was still there, though it had been occupied for nearly a year, and it would do just fine. He knew it was kept clean and comfortable, and it would be a place where the new host would not be disturbed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
