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Contest entry:
Name: Shai Adi (
A gift of jewels -Hebrew)
Gender: Male
Mythbase: The Tzohar, Judeo/Christian
Link to a source on the mythbase: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/tzohar.htmlhttp://www.newsbackup.com/about116465.htmlhttp://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrGemstones4.htmlLink to Fa'e quest thread:http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=5989243&page=1Appearance:Skin tone, shards, and inner glow are Shai's three integral traits. A more complete description may be found in the quest thread.
Skin tone: Unless it is due to the transparency of flesh, and Shai's inner light, Shai should not be depicted as pale. His geographical origin should allow for a richer tone.
Shards: The remaining shards of the Tzohar should be connected to Shai in some way. The number of shards is not particularly important....I'd imagined 5 in his current stage. I imagine the shards connecting via golden wires, which combine into a twined collar around Shai's neck. The collar is symbolic of his obvious servitude, though the attachments can be redesigned and anchor wherever the artist decides.
Glow: The Tzohar was a vessel of divine light. This characteristic should carry on to Shai, and manifest as the glow around each of the shards, and the luminous quality of his pale eyes. I've speculated that any breach of Shai's skin may release some measure of radiance...through his eyes, mouth, hair follicles (accounting for the pale/clear hair if the artist so decides) and wounds.
Powers: Restrictive Powers~ Shai is compelled to obey the request of a soul in good standing. Though this compulsion may be resisted, it is not usually in his nature to try. A soul in good standing is defined by the measure of sin one carries, the willingness to be free of that burden, and the true intent of the mind behind the heart.
~ Shai cannot refuse a command by the righteous. Unless they have fallen, most celestial agents and characters with divine origin are considered righteous. The truly innocent or pure of heart may also invoke his obedience.
~ The powers of the Tzohar cannot be awakened by any other than the righteous...not even by Shai himself. He is incapable of wielding the divine light within him, even in self-defense. The only manifestation of power that serves him is Immaculate Form, detailed below.
Beneficial Powers~ Telling Glance: The eyes, as they say, are the windows to the soul. Shai can tell the standing of a soul with a few minutes of interaction or study, judging by the resonation of his shards. This is an invisible process, integral to his work, and cannot be ascertained by others. ((More powerful souls, or 'non-traditional' souls (such as some Fa'e), could present Shai with some difficulty. In RP, it will be the choice of the character's player whether or not they will allow Shai to discern their standing!))
~ Immaculate Form: The Tzohar was little more than a vessel for divine light, and a tool to be used by those worthy. The light resides within him still, spilling forth if his skin is broken. Even as the bound shards of the Tzohar are reknitting with his growth, all injuries will eventually mend...except those caused by the righteous. Those marks Shai is bound to carry, and only through said agents can he truly suffer.
~ Invocation of the Tzohar: Awakening the powers of divine light takes the command of the truly righteous, and Shai is powerless to resist. The blessings that may manifest depend on the will of the Exalted in command...and may include a vivification of any ability mentioned in the histories of the Tzohar. Limited spiritual purification or healing, portent dreams or visions, enhancement of existing divine powers, and an aura of divine illumination and radiance encompass the most likely possibilities.
Shai himself has speculated that extremes may also possible if the shards of the Tzohar ever fully re-knit...extremes such as an order for divine resurrection, or a command to smite the wicked. Shai is also aware that such extremes would most likely damage the vessel containing the power called forth....in this case, the vessel being him. Such damage, from an intrinsically holy source, would be irrevocable.
Personality: Shai Adi is an unusually composed young man. Being free of both sin and judgment is a peculiar state of being, especially when coupled with the years of passive crystalline memory. The Tzohar received a single commandment from the Almighty: "Serve the Righteous." Though he has been reborn, these words still drive him, often putting Shai in a gracefully submissive role when dealing with peers.
Shai's current experience outside the temple is limited. Though he is capable of the full range of emotions a soul should possess, he has seen little of it demonstrated. He retains some memory of his past, but for many long centuries the Tzohar was simply a tool...serving a single purpose, and having no true perspective with which to cement experience. His clearest memories surround the defining points of his souls formation and growth, periods of choice and will.
Still bound by the strictures that the Almighty designed him to uphold, Shai accepts his fate of servitude with grace and patience. The revenant of the Tzohar does not consider himself lower than others, simply distinct. He also knows that it is not his place to judge, and will treat souls in poor standing with whatever respect he can muster.
Shai also holds a self-serving curiosity about the machinations of sin and fallen souls. He strives to attain a place in heaven, a lofty goal for one granted a soul by an effort of will, and not the grace of the Almighty. Shai holds hope that he can 'piggyback' his way into heaven by sharing in the salvation of a corrupted soul, and knows that understanding the 'enemy' is a necessary evil...even if that understanding means experiencing such sin first hand.
How does the characters personality, appearance and powers and your character relate back to your chosen mythos?:Appearance: Shai's skin tone is a reflection of his geographical origin, since most accounts hold the origin of man and many holy figures in the area surrounding northern Africa and the middle east. His inner glow and the shards he bears are directly taken from the description of the Tzohar. The robes and loose clothing are period/region appropriate for the myth.
Personality: Shai's basic subservient nature is rather unique, derived from the original command the Tzohar received from the Almighty. Such a command is integral, even through incarnations.
His resistance to depression, despair, and rage stems from his spiritual focus. The material life, and all it contains, are of far less importance to Shai than the status of his everlasting soul. He knows from experience that he would rather risk damnation than face oblivion, which makes any experience intrinsically positive.
Tolerance, however, is not Shai's strong point. The Tzohar was known to change hands, and left Noah after the man spoiled what was essentially a second chance. Shai is subservient, but eventually leave if faced with repeated offense or abuse.
Shai's greatest attribute is his hope. Over the ages of its existence, the Tzohar was unable to prove itself worthy enough to earn a reunion with the divine light of the Almighty. His elation at having a second chance to serve, serve well, and return home is unsurpassed, the climax of his original command
Powers: The limits of the Tzohar are clearly outlined in the legends surrounding it. The stone could only be commanded by the righteous, and thus Shai's powers are exclusive to use by exalted souls. Shai's inability to draw upon his powers of his own volition is related to the Tzohar's status as a tool. It was meant to be wielded, and tools do not wield themselves.
The beneficial powers are based upon the miracles manifested in the legend of the Tzohar. Healing, visions, and manifestation of divine light are all reported abilities. The ability to discern the status of a soul is also necessary, and must have occurred for the Tzohar in some fashion.
Immaculate Form, the power that allows Shai to eventually mend non-lethal injuries, comes from the description of the Tzohar as a flawless or colorless stone, filled with light. The image invoked is that of a diamond, durable despite its fragility. Only righteous men have changed the course of the Tzohar's history, and since the Tzohar will always bend to their will, only injuries from such souls or sources are permanent.
History: Legend of the Tzohar-Of all the blessings bestowed upon man by the Almighty, one shines brighter than any other. A colorless stone was filled with the last vestige of primordial light salvaged from the ruin of the First Day, and this stone was called the Tzohar. It was offered unto man as a gift, to serve the righteous as man ventured forth through the world on the path to heaven.
Those that were righteous, the Tzohar served truly. Those who proved weak, it tested, and those who succumbed to sin, the Tzohar abandoned. A purpose had blossomed, beyond the original commandment to serve. Like those it labored for, the vessel of divine light longed to return to the warmth of heaven…yet as each of the righteous ascended, the Tzohar was left behind to attend to a new generation.
Extended Legend-The day the Tzohar was shattered ended this cycle of directionless servitude. When the stones of the temple housing the Tzohar crumbled, the jewel was shattered…light escaping toward the nothingness of entropy. It was more than the need to fulfill the wish of the Almighty that allowed a soul to form in that very moment. It was the true will of the Tzohar, and its wish to return to heaven’s embrace, though such a thing had never been promised.
The History of Shai Adi-
[Reading 'World' section first is recommended]The Tzohar had been forgotten, stored with other relics below the outer reaches of the temple upon Mount Sela. When the mountain gave way, under the weight of the rains and the upward flood of refugees, the western half of the city of Tiras crumbled into the sea...and the shifting stones crushed the remains of the hidden tabernacle. The Tzohar was shattered, and the divine light fluttered on the edge of entropy.
The will of the Tzohar, which had been given no will, fought the approaching end. The rain gathered in great pools between the cracked and tilted slabs, leaving islands of jagged stone. Upon one of these islands, nestled under a fallen column, young Shai Adi was found.
He was named such by the holy men that took him in. Shai Adi,
a gift of jewels. They were not the first to find him, however. Even as the multitude of glowing shards were drawn closer to the babe, connected by thin threads of golden light, Aki emerged from the thin moonlight overhead.
Though she wished to gather the babe in her arms, the priestess could not. She was attuned to Gaia, and the realm of Abaddon Elam had quickened in its dying pace, hurtling towards the end. To her eyes, the ever falling rain was a solid haze, and those that came and went were simply flashes of upturned faces. To those of the city of Tiras, Aki was little more than a statue, frozen at the peak of the column strewn isle.
Shai grew swiftly, as Fa'e do...though his true nature was a mystery to all. In his first few months of life, Shai was sheltered in the temple, too young to make the journey to the growing lake where he was found. During his seclusion, he made the acquaintance of a young girl named Gera, who was also fostered at the temple. She had lost both of her parents to the slide, and was offered shelter in the church until she was of marriageable age. The first time Shai returned to the pond, Gera was by his side.
They were close to the same size, then...young children, struggling to make the journey up the rain slicked path. In a realm where the sun was little more than an orange disc behind the constant clouds, the light of Shai's gems was invaluable, and those of the temple were loathe to allow him out. One journey a week was all that was granted, and the boy lived for nothing else.
Hand in hand with Gera, light from his nine collared shards glimmering through the rain, Shai faced his guardian for the first time since his birth. She was just as he remembered her, from that first vivid memory...colorless and perfect, balanced with divine grace upon the pinnacle of stone.
In his mind, she was an angel. A frozen corona encircled her head, and the locks of her pale hair were curled, weightless despite the rain. In his mind, she had come to take him home.
Each time Shai visited, he knelt at the edge of the pond...staring up at Aki, unflinching, as the rain pattered upon his face. He stayed as long as he was allowed, hours at a time, and only returned to the temple once the bells tolled in frustration. These moments were long enough that Aki saw him among the blur of the rushing realm, each flicker showing an upturned face that matured slowly, the multitude of crystals narrowing in number.
As Shai continued to grow, standing tall over Gera in just a few more months, life began to change. He lost his young friend to fear, as she realized the differences between them were more than luminous eyes and shards. He was aging, leaving her behind in childhood, and soon Gera refused to see him at all. There was nothing else in the temple for him, aside from her friendship. Even books were reserved for the holy men, and Shai was rarely called upon...kept and protected and largely ignored, much as the Tzohar itself had been.
Saddened, Shai spent more time at the edge of the pond, tired of life upon the dwindling peak of Mount Sela. He longed to return to the warmth of the Almighty, remembering precious little through his shattered memories. What little he did recall was reflected in the frozen angel, and Shai took comfort in her silent presence. She would claim him soon, he knew...for things changed slowly over the months of his visits. Her arms had been by her sides, in his youngest days, and inch by inch one arm had raised.
What Shai saw wasn't an illusion. Though time in Abaddon Elam was swift, fluid, Aki saw flashes of Shai's face time and time again, and reached for the godling she'd come to care for. Her fingers uncurled slowly, beckoning in long awaited invitation, and Shai's sleep was riddled with bright and shifting dreams.
The next day, he knew, her hand would be open. He would brave the water between them and take it, leaving the forsaken realm of Abaddon Elam behind. The next day...he was going home.
Guardian: Name: Aki Ana
Appearance:Over four centuries of existence have done little to weather Aki...a fortunate trait of her elven heritage. Though she is unremarkable in the eyes of her own people, her pale countenance and celestial corona are decidedly angelic to Shai. The corona is not a true halo, but a mark of her waning contract with the moon goddess Elunae. In Shai's eyes, however, Aki is messenger from the Almighty.
Aki's attributes and demeanor depend largely on the deity she serves. As her dedication to Elunae ends, Aki will slowly lose her brilliant halo and revert to the basic veils and robes of an unaffiliated priestess. It will take several more centuries, however, for her alabaster beauty to fade.
Personality:Like Shai, it is in Aki's nature to serve. She is well suited to being a mother, a guardian, and a priestess...yet surprisingly inept at dealing with her own issues. Matters of love, especially, are far too convoluted for the elf to bother with. It is easier to simply care for others, and focus only on her family and patron.
When Aki is faced with uncomfortable situations, scenes of passion or violence, she often reverts to the norm for her race. Elves possess a cold, impenetrable beauty, which Aki uses as a mask to cover her own insecurities. Her children are more than familiar with this expression, and avoid the chill whenever possible.
History:For the past century, Aki has focused two things; her service to Elunae, and caring for her ever changing family. Since she hails from an elder race, Aki has learned to accept the fact that she will outlive the majority of her adopted family. This fact, coupled with her sexuality, has ensured the elf will never have children of her own.
After her training in the service of Elunae, Aki was allowed to select a realm to settle in. Anywhere the moon shows its fullest face was within reach, and Aki chose Gaia in an effort to rejuvenate her waning interest in the material world. Gaia is bright with young life, fresh resources, and untapped energy...well suited to her needs.
For several years, life in Aki's villa was calm and enriching. Her children were loved, the garden tended, and the days passed in a blur. Such a life was never meant to be permanent, however, and as the priestess changed her focus once more to her goddess, the villa suffered. The remaining children were agitated, embittered, and more than a few left before their time. The garden was overgrown, and even the nanny Aki recruited was unable to keep up with the towering decay.
Realizing that the allure of the material world was fading, Aki did what she had to do, and transferred guardianship of her remaining younglings to Elle...her friend and nanny to her children. The voice of Elunae whispered of change, her contract was ending, and Aki's spiritual life once again enveloped her. So many years had passed unnoticed, however, that Aki had no new affiliation secured. Her contract was ending, her future uncertain, and for the first time the elf was desperately alone.
She needed a new patron, a young godling that would accept her with none of the traditional courting or notice. With the last of Elunae's grace, Aki cast outward...sifting through every realm she could reach through the fading moonlight.
In the twilight, almost as though she'd willed it, a stunning glimmer surged and twinkled. From her drifting cradle in the ether, Aki witnessed the birth of Shai Adi, and settled with relief to the realm of Abaddon Elam. She had found her young patron...or so she thought.
World: The Ruin of Abaddon ElamAbaddon Elam, the Hidden Ruin, is all that remains of Shai's once blessed world. In the years before the Tzohar was shattered, it was passed from generation to generation, and traveled from land to land. Rolling hills shone in the Tzohar's brilliant facets, wide deserts and tangled forests reflected for silent centuries.
When the rains started, the stone accompanied Noah upon the waves, settling back to the earth as the waters eventually receded. Instead of reflecting the splendor of a rainbow, however, the Tzohar reflected only the decent of a once righteous man into drink. No promise was offered to the people of Abaddon Elam, for none was truly deserved...and soon, the rains returned.
Enshrined upon Mount Sela, the tallest peak of the great range of Ararat, the Tzohar felt the tremble of the ceaseless downpour. Many flocked to the mountain top city of Tiras as the waters began to rise, seeking comfort in the presence of the tabernacle and the hope within. Voices rose, begging mercy, but the Tzohar was unmoved. Among the many voices, not a single rang with the true command of righteousness, and both stone and Almighty watched with little more than slight sadness.
Even the peak itself groaned, burdened by the weight of the rain and the constant stream of refugees. Without warning, the great rocks slipped, and Tiras was divided...the fault splitting straight through the grand temple and the Tabernacle it held. In that moment, as the inner sanctum collapsed, the Tzohar was broken and shattered.
The rains slowed, but did not stop. Western Tiras had vanished, into the storm tossed sea, taking many lives with it. Beneath the crumbled foundation of the temple, the shards of the ancient Tzohar were forgotten. The temple was repaired, carved from the living rock into a dark and towering cathedral...lit only by scarce lanterns in the eternal twilight of Abaddon Elam.
As the Tzohar faced its final decision, the soul of Shai Adi was slowly formed. The new soul coalesced in a glorious column of light, streaking upwards from the ruin, as bright and gentle as the moon that peered through the break in the clouds over head. Only the peaks of only three mountains remained above the rising waters...Lubar, Van, and Sela. The light was visible to each, if only for a moment as a distant glimmer at the edge of a watery horizon. While the babe they discovered was not their savior, he was certainly a miracle...and a miracle meant hope for the drowning realm of Abaddon Elam.
Writing sample:"Stay in today, Shai." The voice of the priest was rich, comforting, commanding. He settled a hand on the young man's shoulder, and smiled a knowing smile. The lad had never refused a request, and it never occurred to the priest that he would. "The rains are heavy, and the winds are strong. Next week, perhaps."
Shai inclined his head, but acknowledged only the warning. No compulsion stirred within him, and he saw little more than tarnished mortality within the aging man. It had been such ever since the priest had taken little Gera to his chambers, shattering the purity both had held.
Once the door shut, Shai rose, and gathered his sparse belongings in silence. His robes he wore, and his wooden comb he tucked into a pocket. That left only the pillow he sat on during visitation, and the small bracelet of brown hair Gera had made for him many months ago. The pillow was left upon the cold stone floor as Shai opened the door into the echoing quiet of the darkened hall.
No one hailed him as he made his way through the temple. Some were silent out of fear, some out of respect...others simply had nothing to say. Many resented him over the hope they'd experienced just a few short years ago. Though his birth might have been a miracle, it was clear now that Shai was not a blessing, nor did he carry the forgiveness of the Almighty. The rains still fell, and the waters still rose along the sides of crumbling peak. To many, he was simply another mouth to feed.
To others, Shai was a danger. Within the temple, it was known that only the worthy could command his obedience. His cheek ached with the memory of a blow he'd received more than a month past, for failing to manifest a miracle at the request of a well respected priest. Such failure on Shai's part was an indirect critique, and one not willingly received.
He would be glad to leave this place. Slipping out of the massive double doors, Shai paused for a moment as the wind snatched at his breath. It tangled his pale hair, pushing it carelessly across his dark skinned face as he sought the path amid the stones. Shards chimed as they swung, and Shai hunched his shoulders slightly...urging the collared stones to fan with the same motion one might spread wings.
Light gathered in a pool at his feet, echoed by his luminous eyes. The dark held no surprises, as the glow from the shards could never be dimmed. Neither the gathering clouds nor sheeting rain detracted from their glory, held high from the spokes of his twining golden collar.
The robe was tight across his shoulders, but Shai tugged it tighter out of habit. The cold cut through him, rain plastering the rough spun fabric to his frame, but today it was easy to ignore. Today was the last day he had to endure it.
The thought was a relief. It was hard to abide, the prolonged grieving of the disappointed Almighty. Every drop of rain reaffirmed the failure of the souls in Abaddon Elam. Though he spoke like them, walked like them, Shai had never counted himself among their number. His past was shattered, as surely as the knitting shards he carried, but some facets shone clearly through the ages even if his true name had been lost. Shai knew he had done everything in his power to guide those he served, but men were a selfish and wayward bunch. They deserved their fate.
One hand settled over the braid in his pocket. Even Gera had turned her back to him, swayed more powerfully by the crumbling sweets of the priest than Shai's careful warnings. Though she had fallen, Shai would speak for her once he had returned to the warmth and light of the Almighty. This he had already decided.
Despite the weight of the driving rain, Shai felt lighter with every step. The frozen angel had beckoned him, drawing him closer with every month that passed. His blank and bright eyes lifted at the thought...gazing not toward heaven, but toward the dim moon. It was little more than a sullen disc, glowing grey though the dark clouds, but it filled him with eagerness. Her colors returned in the moonlight, a blush of life that assured him his angel was more than a forgotten statue.
Shai was still gazing upward as he crested the first rise, the highest point of his journey to the pond. Just two years ago, he had been so little...it had been effort with every step to come this far, but that first look down had always driven the ache and chill from his body. This time...
Shai stood upon the peak of the path, as frozen as his angel. Below him, vibrant and pale, untouched by the rain was a girl in a dark and billowing cloak. For several moments, he simply stared...silhouetted by his shards and the distant temple, built up into the living peak of the mountain. It wasn't
his angel, he knew that, but surely she was beloved of the Almighty in her own right. So delicate, so out of place...he was distantly worried the wind would sweep her up, and dash her into the sea not so far below.
The distance between them closed, though Shai hadn't moved. She was there, before him, gazing up at him with a small and serious face.
"It's time to go."Shai nodded, resisting the urge to take her small hands in his. "I know." There was light in his smile, as though he was filled to the brim with the same luminous glow that obscured his eyes. Elation, excitement,
love...for the first time in his new incarnation, Shai Adi knew the meaning of joy, and his shards thrummed brightly with it.
Airi, though he did not know her name, lifted her chin in a moment of quiet contemplation. There was a distant sadness, weariness, to her eyes that Shai hated to see...but it faded ever so slightly into vague relief.
"There is someone you should meet. Come with me."Even without the tug of compulsion, Shai would have followed. He could no longer feel the rain upon his skin, and the soaking robes were nearly weightless. Several times he reached for Airi, to help her over the streams of run off or the piles of tumbled columns, but each time his fingers fell short. Such beings were not for one such as him to touch, and she truly needed no help. In moments, they were at the water's edge...standing together on the spot he'd rubbed clean of damp moss over the years.
His angel was there, upon the little isle, just as she had been every night for almost three years. Slender fingers beckoned motionlessly, almost uncurled, in that same motion of gentle acceptance. Not all was the same, he realized, and the golden wires of his collar tightened slightly as he willed the shards to lift. The light kissed her face gently, and Shai realized a hint of a smile had broken the angel's cold facade.
A smile. Shai's smile blossomed in turn, teeth bright against his dusky skin. A small hand had settled upon his arm, and in the space of a heartbeat, the world around him slowed. The spell upon the angel was broken.
Or so it seemed. The rain eased to a halt, perfect drops hanging nearly motionless in the air. They filled the space between them as Aki's reaching gesture was finally completed. Airi's hand fell unnoticed from Shai's sleeve as she turned to face the radiant elf.
"He needs you, just as you needed him. Will you return with me, together? Leave this place behind?"A few surefooted steps took Aki across the length of a fallen column, to the bank where Shai waited with trembling composure. The girl was so familiar, but everything was happening too fast for Aki to get her bearings. Instead, she nodded respectfully, as she had been taught by the elder priestesses...once to Airi, and again to Shai. Tapered ears pushed through her tumbling hair, and Shai was surprised to see them, but nothing about angels was anything less than perfect.
"I will! For as long as you'll have me, I will be with you." Though Airi had asked the question, Aki's response was to Shai. This was her new patron, her young godling, and already she could feel the blessed contract settle into place.
Shai knew nothing of Aki's impressions, and he was far from a god...but then, she was no angel, even as he assumed. Never had a case of mistaken identity worked out so beautifully, and Airi had no time to dally. The girl stepped back with a nod in return, and smiled faintly at the both of them.
"Follow, then, when you're ready."If they heard her, neither gave any indication. For so long, Shai had watched his frozen angel from afar, and now she was here...just a few steps from him. Closing that distance slowly, Shai pushed the motionless drops of rain gently out of the way. The drops shivered and fractured into eldritch mist as he brushed them aside, scattering slowly at his touch.
The fine spray of mist caught the light from Shai's shards as they turned to face the path Airi had taken, and for the first time, the glimmering arc of a rainbow shone in Abaddon Elam. Even if truth was still a dim and distant thing, there was
hope.
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