Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sundown came and went and didn't bring any sign of the spirit again. I've sat here for nearly five hours reading, playing my gameboy, sitting, humming to myself, and I've seen nothing near my shelf. I think maybe my brief absense to run to the library has scared it away. Maybe it thought I'd abandoned it....or maybe it thought I was going to get something to hurt it with.

For all I know, maybe that little rune it wrote in my book was the Ieldi equivalent of a middle finger. Oh sure, YOU think its funny, but I'm rather disappointed. I guess it can't be helped...it was certainly the spirit's choice whether to go or to sta---

Its back!! I think it is, at least....it looks like the same one that had visited me yesterday. I saw it just now hovering beside one of the plush toys. I'm writing this in little bursts as I look up every few words to see what its doing. Its coming closer now and has stopped near the books. I'm guessing this is a subtle hint that it would like to be read to a bit more, I don't want to keep it waiting, so I'll continue this entry later.

The day really speeds past when you're keeping yourself busy. I should have continued my entry from yesterday but by the time I woke up and got everything accomplished I'd set out to do, I was already exhausted.

The spirit was waiting for me in the same spot it was when last I woke up, hovering over my closed journal. I'm not sure if it was, again, trying to somehow read what was inside of it or if it just assumed that I would think to look for it there again.

I gathered up the books to take back to the library once I'd gotten my barings and, after a little deliberation, tore out two pages from the back of this journal and left them on the floor of the shelf, weighed down by various bottles and plushes. I likewise left the pen and uncapped one of the bottles of elixer in case the spirit decided it might like to write or otherwise decorate the papers in my absense.

Assuring it I would be back soon, I climbed down the tree and headed for home, deciding I'd spare the librarian another visit from "Witch Hazel" and get myself showered and groomed first.

The house....was in shambles gonk My first thought was that we had been robbed, and then I heard yelling from the basement and went to investigate, narrowly avoiding being hit by a nerf dart as I opened the door. Apparently, Meka and Erik had decided, somewhere along the line, that turning the house into a full-out battlefield would be a good idea.

After I had managed to calm down from the point of wanting to cast them both into the fires of Mount Doom, I was given a lame explanation that it had started when they'd both gotten up to have breakfast and Erik had accidentally flicked milk at Meka. From there, they had declared a playful war that had ransacked nearly everything. Scoldings given and threats made, I left them to clean up while I showered and brushed my hair.

At the library, I was a little more careful with my selection this time and decided to try a variety of books. What I've got here currently is: Oliver Twist, House Of Leaves, Where Dragons Rule and then I decided I would like to introduce non-fiction as well, just as an experiment. I currently have about five history books, some with pictures, some without and a Field Guide to North American birds.

The librarian seemed a little perplexed at my sporadic selection, but didn't question it and, after a quick lunch, I was on my way back to the shelf.

The spirit, to my delight, decided to wait for me this time...seemed to brighten a bit, in fact, at my return. Given how skittish its been the last couple of days, I can't tell you how much this meant to me. It didn't flit off to hide, rather it backed away to the opposite edge of the shelf as I got myself situated and set the new books down after a quick examination of the papers I'd left.

A few drops of elixer had been drizzled onto them, but there was nothing noteworthy. It was as though the spirit had thought about placing something of significance there and then changed its mind. No matter, it was just a thought.

As I picked up the first book on the pile, House of Leaves, and opened it to read, the spirit didn't stay in front of me to listen as it usually did and, instead, drifted to the pile of books, ignoring the fiction on the top of the pile to run a milky tendril over the spine of the book about Ancient Egyptian Culture.

Deciding to switch gears, I withdrew this one next. As I opened it to the first chapter, bearing a large picture of a sarcophagus, the spirit did something its never done before....it came right up to me. If it had a physical form, it would have been sitting directly in my lap to have a better look at the book.

Apparantly, wariness for this spirit is not greater to its love for knowledge.

Allowing it to stay where it was to look at the pictures, we spent the afternoon reading through the contents. I won't lie -- for me it was an abyssmally boring process...it was like being in high school all over again. The spirit, however, seemed to be thrumming with excitement and this fact alone is what kept me going.

We reached chapter eight before the spirit moved away from me and hovered near the relic again. For a moment, I was hopeful it might decide to cement its decision to stay by going in, but no such luck. Instead, it hovered near the entrance expectantly...expectant of -what- though?

Taking a guess that maybe it had picked up on my growing disinterest with the current reading despite its enthusiasm, I thought perhaps this was a hint the spirit might like to look through the book on its own. I removed it from where I'd been balancing it on my lap and leaned it carefully against the side of the relic where the Ieldi spirit immediately moved in, hovering before it and flitting with short bursts of movement about the perimeter of the book to examine the text and pictures before extending a tendril of itself to turn to the next.

"I don't know if you can read the words in our language...but you seem to understand it when its spoken." I told it, making it stop to regard me. "I could bring you recordings of other people reading so you wouldn't have to rely on me if you want. That way we wouldn't have to stop every time my throat got sore...."

The spirit's color dimmed a little and it coiled itself up, looking either apprehensive or confused. I couldn't tell which. Likewise, I don't know how far technology had advanced in their civilization before its downfall and it occurred to me it might not even know what a recording -was-.

"Its like a box...and a voice comes out of it that reads the words in the book for you." I said, trying to explain it as simply as I could. "That way you could try and follow along yourself while I'm sleeping or when I have to go. Would you like that?"

The spirit hesitated and then returned to the book. I guess I'll take that as a "maybe". That's how its been most of the day, really...its been examining the pictures and text in the books with great interest while I've sat here doing...well...pretty much nothing.

When it finds a picture it especially likes, it zips quickly in my direction to get my attention and then back to the book in a soundless "Look what I've found!"

As I write this now, I'm ready to fall asleep and my visitor is still engrossed in its books. I've left all of them out and open on the shelf floor near the relic for it to peruse while I rest.

It has occurred to me that maybe I should try placing a book inside of the relic, but I don't want the spirit to get the idea that I'm trying to trick it into going in. I'd rather it moved in on its own if at all. The fact I'm starting to gain a little leverage in its trust at all is privelege enough, I wouldn't want to alienate that.

So, that in mind and with high hopes, I'm going to lay down for the night.

News travels pretty quickly around this tree. It seems Rasu's spirit has decided to move in! biggrin Now that its proven it can be done, I feel much more encouraged to keep trying with my own visitor.

When I returned from my morning errands, it seemed a bit distressed. Its movements were more spastic than usual and it didn't seem to want to stay in one place particularly long. The books I had brought yesterday remained in a stack, not having been plowed through like the ones I brought the day before.

"Something wrong?" I asked it as I set down a new set of books and a shopping bag. It regarded me, its body fading in and out of visibility. It seemed restless...perhaps troubled. Its funny, a few days ago I wouldn't have known -what- it was doing if I were to look at it, but as its stayed here, its become easier to pick up on the emotions its trying to convey.

It didn't offer me any sort of confirmation of a bad mood, but it hovered forward until our faces were only inches apart. I felt like it was staring past my eyes and -into- me...like it was trying to decide once and for all whether it could trust me or not.

After a few minutes, I got a bit unnerved and broke eye contact. "I...uhm...brought you some new things to read. I know you like your history and documentaries, but I thought we could try something new today..."

I picked the top book off of the stack and held it up for the spirit's inspection. "Dave Barry Does Japan". I wasn't sure if the spirit would understand half of the jokes in it, obviously never having BEEN to Japan...but the book -was- written with people who'd never visited in mind.

I figured that my visitor had done a splendid job of expressing distress, excitement, and curiousity, so it wasn't too far-fetched to assume that it might have a sense of humor.

For the first half-hour, the spirit didn't seem interested as I sat and read aloud and continued to drift about the shelf aimlessly. However, as I read on, it settled down and hovered in front of me. I was starting to get a bit discouraged at its utter lack of difference in mood...I wondered if I wasn't confusing the poor thing more than amusing it.

Deciding that I'd keep going until I recieved some sort of concrete signal from the spirit that it wasn't enjoying this book, I turned the page and read the following passage:

"This happened quite often. It started when we arrived at our hotel in Tokyo. As I was descending the steps of the airport bus, two uniformed bellmen came rushing up and bowed to me. Trying to look casual but feeling like an idiot, I bowed back. I probably did it wrong, because then they bowed back. So I bowed back. The three of us sort of bowed our way over to where the luggage was being unloaded, and I bowed to our suitcases, and the bellmen, bowing, picked them up and rushed into the hotel. We followed past a bowing doorman into the hotel, where we were gang-bowed by hotel employees. No matter which direction we turned, they were aiming bows at us, sometimes from as far as twenty-five yards away"

Noticing a change in the lighting, I looked up to see the spirit glowing brilliantly and moving in a spiral motion in the air. It was not an aggressive spiral, nor was its color an angry or distressed flare. It was as though this was the spirit's equivalent of laughter!

Delighted, I kept reading. Within the hour, the book had been finished and the spirit seemed to be in a much better mood. After I'd set it aside and the spirit's light had dimmed back to what was about normal for it, I decided it was safe to give it the present I had picked up for it while I was out today. As I rummaged in the shopping bag, the spirit moved forward curiously to watch as I produced a short cardboard tube from within.

It listed to the left, seeming a little perplexed as I popped one end off of the tube and brought out a small scroll of paper which I unrolled, producing what I'd picked up earlier that morning. There's a store near the shopping center that sells various prints and posters. I was fortunate that they had this one:



Painting by David Spencer


As I unfurled it, the spirit zipped toward it, not hesitant at all, as it gleefully examined it, its color brightening to the point that it made me squint slightly.

"That's not even the best part..." I said, trying to find a dark area of the shelf to bring the print into. Unfortunately, there wasn't one...not unless I blew out the candles, and I didn't have any matches with me. I looked toward the relic hesitantly.

"I'm just going to show you because its dark in there..." I explained as I crawled toward the relic and poked the half-rolled print in. The spirit hung back, seeming a bit unsure of what I was doing...especially since it involved the relic. I moved aside to reveal that the picture, when placed in the dark, shone with a gentle green-blue color. "It glows, see?" I grinned. The spirit moved closer as though to confirm this, and then turned a saumersalt in the air, shimmering like liquid satin.

I let it stare at the picture for several minutes before my arm started to get tired and I drew the print back out into the open. "I could lay it out on the floor for you if you like...that way you could look at it whenever you want to." I explained as it came toward the print, bringing out a tendril to touch the paper, its color starting to dim. It seemed....disappointed? Why?

"More impressive when it glows, huh?" The spirit's light pulsated a bit in the affirmative as I looked back toward the relic. "And you don't mind it being in there? You won't get scared?" It moved in a brisk left-right motion. Well....I guess it was worth a shot, anyway...

I told it to wait where it was for a minute while I excused myself down the ladder and followed the tree's paths to the ground where I selected four weather-smoothed stones by the pond's shore and brought them back up. With the spirit watching me, I unrolled the print once more and placed it so it was leaning slightly against the inner wall of the relic at such an angle that it could be seen without having to go in and weighed down all four corners so it wouldn't roll back up.

With the picture of the majestic egret glowing softly and the spirit watching it longingly from a two-foot distance from the relic's entrance, I returned to my sleeping bag to relax a bit, selecting the next of the books off of the pile to look at on my own before picking up this journal to write some more.

As I've watched the spirit, it seems to be in a calm state of mind, dividing its time between looking at the egret's glowing visage and leafing through the selection of books it hasn't yet seen. I'm glad it seems to have forgiven me for the turmoil of last night and whatever stress it had undergone in the process.

For now, I suppose I'd better get to sleep. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

The spirit seems to be experiencing a medly of different emotions as the day has gone on. I've heard it rustling inside of the relic, now and then it peeps at me, and twice I've seen a brilliant aurora of white like a flashbulb going off emit from the relic's entrance.

I grew worried about my friend as evening started to settle in and it still seemed restless and moved forward to speak to it quietly in hopes I might sooth it. As I spoke to it, it stayed deeply in the relic, not coming to the entrance or giving me any sort of indication it was even listening.

I decided maybe it might need some time to itself and left the shelf briefly to climb down the tree where some of the other keepers and visitors were gathered. Among them was Tiagra who'd gained a reputation as quite a crafter. She'd provided several colorful additions to others' shelves from what I heard and, when I arrived, she was discussing the creation of a small water fountain.

There seemed to be scattered interest so I decided to add my own to it and asked if I might be able to buy a commissioned fountain from her in blues and silvers as that was the color theme my shelf had adopted. She told me that she would see what she could do and, in return, I donated some money toward her fund being held in her future Ieldi's name.

A half an hour or so later, she presented me with a wonderfully-crafted blue fountain which didn't require batteries and ran on its own internal pump.




I decided this might be just what my visitor needed to calm down, thanked her profusely and hurried back to my shelf. Not much had changed in my absense. The spirit still seemed listless and disoriented. It regarded my return with little fanfare and continued to poke about the inside of the relic, pausing now and then to focus on the glowing egret's picture within.

As I placed the fountain outside of the relic and the sound of gently-trickling water permeated the shelf, it grew curious and drew near the entrance to see what was happening.

"There....just like a real brook." I said softly. "And here...let's give you a little more privacy so you don't get so frazzled..." Saying so, I fished my jacket out from beneath my sleeping bag where it had been forgotten for several days and draped it over the entrance of the relic, leaving only a small crack of light where the spirit could still comfortably look out to observe the shelf and otherwise blackness.

I wasn't met with complaint or distress as I thought I might be...the spirit gave a soft almost-sighing noise and its color mellowed a bit, as though great tension had passed out of it. I sat there a moment, watching as it stopped milling endlessly inside of the relic and came to rest in its center, soothed by the sound of the water and the envelope of darkness.

Unable to think of anything to say, I hummed softly...anything soft and slow that I could think of. I'm not sure if the spirit appreciated it, or even heard it, but it remained still. I imagine it wasn't feeling at its best with all of the new magics that were overtaking it and, even as I write, are starting to change it.

Rasu never said how gradual the process would be...so far I see nothing noticeable. For all I know maybe it won't be a gradual process at all. Maybe the magic gathers and builds on itself and then explodes outward and changes the spirit in the blink of an eye into its next form.

I suppose we'll see soon enough. For now I'm going to do my best to keep my companion as comfortable as I can. I can only imagine what it must be undergoing, but I wouldn't think something like this would be the most pleasant of things. If it were, we'd have been blowing spirits away with fans as they swarmed the relics for another chance at life. No...I imagine this must be a very invading and very uncomfortable process.

I suppose I've written all I can for now. I'll write again when I wake up with my updates.

Today I did what I said I had planned to. When I woke up, I made a brief visit with the spirit to inform her I was leaving for a bit.

Yes, I said 'her'.

Why have I decided its a female? I can't tell you, really, but it has much to do with the way the spirit carries itself and reacts to things. I'd decided a few days ago that she had a feminine personality but only just now have worked up the nerve to start referring to her as such. Just to see the reaction, if nothing else. Needless to say, if I'm blessed with a young ieldi male when all is said and done, I'll be more than a little embarrassed.

I stopped by the house again to eat, shower, and retrieve my CD player and as many albums as I could carry. Erik was sitting on the sofa, engrossed in a Harry Potter book and Meka was napping, apparantly, so I took the opportunity to sit with him for a bit and inform him how the process was going. He was both excited that I'd come so far with my spirit and disappointed when I informed him it would likely be at least a couple of weeks before he could meet it.

"Still needs to go through two more processes." I said. "And unfortunately I have no idea how long either takes or how traumatic they are. This first one seems to be taking its toll on her badly enough."

"Is she she hurt?" he asked, seeming concerned for an entity he'd never even met.

"She might be, for all I know. But if she is, she's not letting on very much. I think the whole thing is just uncomfortable more than anything." I showed him the stereo and the CD's "I'm hoping I can brighten her up a little today."

"Better get some more batteries." he pointed out, straightening his glasses on his nose. "Meka used the last of the ones in there two nights ago while he was listening to his Rent soundtrack again." I popped open the CD hatch, sighing as, sure enough, the obnoxiously-orange Rent CD greeted me. I handed it to Erik, told him to please remind Meka the next time he saw him that he had his own CD player and didn't HAVE to use mine all the time.

Pleasantries exchanged and hugs issued, I set off again, stopping by the store to get more batteries along the way.

I climbed the ladder to my shelf as quietly as I was able, not wanting to let on that I had anything with me. I'd taken care of exchanging the batteries at the base of the tree and loading the first CD so all I'd need to do would be adjust the volume and turn it on. Turning the knob and hitting the button quietly, I awaited the album's start. After sitting there for a minute like a fool, I realized I'd turned it down too far and cranked it up a bit, soft music to the tune of the music stylings of Enya issuing from the speakers.

The response was immediate as a small starburst of light was seen from the mouth of the relic and I moved over to comfort the spirit within. "Shhh...its okay." I assured her. "Its just something I brought. Music...don't you like music?"

The spirit, who had brightened in color warily, remained tensed for a minute and then slowly began to relax again....not seeming like she was precisely enjoying it yet, but deciding, at least, that the music didn't mark a threat or intrusion.

I sat still, letting the first song complete and the next song start. "This is Enya." I explained. "They specialize in spiritual music like this." I was disappointed as I was met with the same sort of indifference I'd gotten yesterday. I'd hoped I'd get at least some change in mood...good or bad, but -something-.

"Or...." I sighed "...if you don't like that, I could always try something else..." I wasn't going to give up just yet, I decided. Next, I popped in the soundtrack to The Last Unicorn and let it run from start to finish with, likewise, no reaction. I even tried to explain the story that went with it as the music played, in hopes I could appeal to the spirit's love for literature.

One by one, we went through the CD's I'd brought, debunking the ones I'd thought she would have enjoyed and slowly working our way up to the ones I wish I'd thought better of bringing.

It wasn't until I, with much deliberation, started Phantom Of the Opera that the spirit seemed to stir out of whatever lull of depression it had fallen into and swirled with a bit of color that seemed somewhere between agitated and questioning. I honestly hadn't thought she would enjoy the dynamic volume changes and the chaotic organ chords...with as peaceful and reclusive as she's proven to be, I thought for sure she'd rather hear soft and melodic pieces.

Apparantly, I thought wrong.

I sat, watching her with bemused interest as she swelled and diminished in color, wriggling a bit now and then as the songs played. She seemed particularly taken by the phantom's voice and seemed to react most to the song, "Masquerade". Given what I've been told of the Ieldi, this could very well be that she was able to relate. At least a bit, anyway....its my assumption the Ieldi wear their masks out of shyness moreso than they wear them out of necessity.

As the reprise played, she was all but strobing with excitement and, as it ended, she remained a brilliant gleaming white. "Funny," I teased, smiling "that was my reaction the first time I heard it too." As she climbed down from her musical high, I quietly told her the story behind the music, giving her an abridged version as I'm sure she'd been able to pick out most of it by listening to the songs.

"And if you like music like that, a friend of mine has an entire collection of albums with similar on them." I assured my visitor, referring to Meka's vast collection of broadway CD's back home. I figure if he can borrow my batteries, he wouldn't mind lending me a few of them for the spirit to hear....and if he did mind, well, then too bad.

Encouraged by her uplift in spirits, I put in another album to play as I went to fetch my journal to write in it.

As I write, I'm currently playing the Les Miserables soundtrack which she, likewise, looks to be enjoying. I'm not sure how long this transformation plans on taking, but with any luck, I'll be able to keep her playcated much in this way until its completed.

Maybe its not painful at all...maybe she just isn't used to being forced to remain stationary for long periods of time and that's what's been bothering her.

Sounds like its time to switch to the second CD and, likewise, a good place to come to a stopping point with this entry.

I apologize for the lack of update, but it seems I misplaced my journal somewhere between shuffling books and CD's around. A quick trip to the library later (I know I said I wouldn't leave the shelf except for emergencies, but I deemed this an emergency) to ask if they'd found it turned it up in the lost and found bin. I wonder if they read it. For that matter, I wonder if they think I'm a complete nutter, running in and out of there constantly in various states of undress.

The spirit seems to have more or less settled as the days have gone on. After an unfortunate update from Rasu explaining that she would not be able to give us further guidance until her arm healed, we've all been taking things as they come.

In my visitor's case, she's begun to respond to music and reading again, but not as intensely as she once did. I think she's invested most of her energy into concentrating on the transformation that's overtaking her. I don't think, anymore, that she's afraid or angry with me, I think she moreso just wants it to be done with so she can move again. I don't blame her personally...I can only imagine how boring it must be to be anchored in place.

On the plus side, I think the transformation has begun a bit more in earnest. I've heard her make noises that she didn't make as a spirit...not that she made much of them in the first place. She was capable of faint chirps and a soft humming sound, but now they've become more pronounced. I've distinctly heard clucking, a strange trilling, and a low whistle while I've gone about my business up here.

Upon peeking in at her once in awhile to ensure that she's okay, she still looks the same. The same irridescent form of white light that I've come to know.

Having run out of soundtracks both of my own and of Meka's, I've moved on to different music genres. She doesn't respond well to soft lilting music, but I get reaction out of her when I play slightly more upbeat things...more contemporary tunes that aren't gentle, but aren't out-and-out noise either.

When we break from the music to read, she grows less attentive. In fact, I think she's starting to lose interest entirely in being read to and would rather have it quiet so that she could focus. I've been cutting the sessions shorter and shorter as the days have gone on and she hasn't seemed to notice or to care as I've quieted myself and gone back to reading or playing my gameboy.

I guess there really isnt much else I can do for her aside from what I've been. When she acquires her next form, I know, she'll need to eat and drink. As an occasional experiment, I sometimes attempt to offer her food or water, but she shows no interest yet. Maybe I WOULD be better off just keeping my distance for now and staying nearby in case she needs me. I wouldn't want to distract her or tire her out more than she already is.

Its times like this I really wish she was able to speak. Such is the curse of being an impending mother, I guess. sweatdrop