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 Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:39 pm
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Before A Journey Begins
Getting ready before heading to join the Daelyth group~
Thankfully she had time to get Ser settled in at her home before the message at came from Glyph. It seemed Forest had found further information on the whereabouts of Forge. She was on a world called Daelyth- a barren desert wasteland stripped by Gehenna. The plan at present was to travel there, recover her and return. According to the letter others had joined the expedition as well- Xun Jiang, whom she knew, as well as Cosine and Ankou who she did not. Well, that was not entirely true, she had met Cosine’s host briefly once- what now seemed like forever ago.
There was no doubt in her mind that the journey would be interesting. She had never been to a desert before unless New Mexico counted; even then that had been in a city and not anywhere out in the wild. Glyph’s letter had not been specific on how long they would be gone, only to prepare for a few weeks journey just to be on the safe side of things. That meant a few sets of loose, light clothing for the daytime and something to throw over top for after nightfall when the temperature dropped. A sturdy pair of boots, that she could tuck pants legs into in the hopes of keeping sand out. The list went on and on…the best she could hope for was not to forget anything glaringly obvious.
It took a while before Tien had everything organized and packed. The group was not supposed to leave for a few days but she still had some things that needed to be done beforehand. After the party she had promised Lisana that she would visit and there was the small matter of a letter that needed to be written and delivered. At least Asherah, Gul and Itzal were already aware of what was expected of them while she was gone, that was one thing she would not have to worry about. They would look after the house, keep an eye on Ser and deal with any visitors who happened to come along.
The particular problem on her to do list lay in actually writing aforementioned letter- how exactly was she supposed to put it all to words? He deserved to know the truth- even if he could not accept her; at the very least it could put an end to this awkwardness and give them some sort of closure…maybe, anyway. If nothing else perhaps it would narrow the chasm that had formed between them.
Trickery sat at her desk, staring down at blank parchment, fountain pen tapping gently against the wood. She had been at this for the better part of an hour and still nothing. It seemed this would be harder than she first thought- much harder in fact. She dropped the pen on the desk, scrubbing her face with her hands. Perhaps if she slept on it something might come to mind?
By now it was late anyway and she needed the rest- practicing shifting as often as she had lately tired her out. She pushed the chair back, got up and practically collapsed into bed when she got there.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:45 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:39 pm
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An Innocent Looking Letter
A Note for Tian Yue.
Tien's hands shook as she made her way down the hall, clutching a rolled up letter. It was a secret she had kept too long and needed to tell, but feared speaking the words aloud. So quill had been put to parchment and the confession poured fourth and disappeared once it was done and another more unassuming letter penned on top. The message underneath could only be revealed if the paper were heated enough to bring it to the surface. Worldshield was clever, so surely the clue she left him would be enough to tell him what to do.
Even from the unfamiliar direction the goddess found herself in front of his door with nary a thought, her feet knew the steps to take carry her there all too well by now. Trickery bent down and left the letter just in front of the door before knocking and bolted down the stairs, heading for the Orator's Walk. It might seem a juvenile gesture, but she didn't know what else to do and besides Glyph and the others were waiting on her.
Once out of sight of his door she paused, resting her back against a wall. She needed to take a couple of moments to compose herself. The last thing she wanted to deal with when she joined the others was questions that she did not wish to answer. What will he think of me, after this?
The letter sat on his doorstep looking like an unassuming roll of parchment held closed by an orange ribbon.
What Lies On Top Worldshield, I thought I should let you know that I won't be able to offer you any reprieve from your mountains of paperwork for some time. I have gone with Glyph on Council business, seeking to recover Forge. With any luck we will return with good news. Regardless, I'd like to see you when I get back, hopefully I'll have some good stories to tell. Until then be well and remember to give yourself a break sometimes! You may find Lament on your doorstep while I am gone, I met him in the gardens some weeks back and I suggested he come to visit you. He has grown into a charming and clever young man since you saw him last. No doubt Underworld will be cross with me for making friends with one of his sons. Ah, well. just one more reason to add to the list! There is also something else I should tell you about, but you will have to bring it to light first. Until we cross paths again, Commedia Dell'Arte
What Lies Underneath Dearest Tian Yue,
It his hard to know where to begin with such things as this, but seeing Ser again made me realize that I can not keep this buried forever. (In all honesty, I am afraid she will tell you before I can, if she finds out.) It is a secret I've kept from you all this time but perhaps now it is better that you know, if only so you understand my feelings.
When the darkness took her and I, I was not sure who would emerge. When I woke in your bed afterward I felt muddled and confused, things had changed and shifted in a way I could not comprehend then. I thought it was the fact that I was so new in my rebirth and I hoped that everything would sort itself out in time. I should have told you then, but I had no idea how to put what I was feeling into words, so I left to try and find answers that did make sense.
Then the Weeks happened and I was lost in dreams. I woke occasionally, still not truly sure who I was. Eventually things started to make more sense- she and I, we are just one in the same, two halves that made a whole. Memories, feelings...I have all of it and it feels as if all of it is truly mine; there is no distinction in in between what was hers and what was mine. I think on things that happened before and its as if I were there. Like I lived a mortal life in a dream, found the mortal you and the greatest happiness along with it. Then I woke from that dream and lamented its loss. I still do.
I remember things that you might wish I didn't. That first clumsy kiss that seemed to seal our fate and every one after that. The warmth and comfort you brought me when I slept at your side. The touch of your hands on my skin and how shy we were that first time. Our little adventure in New Mexico. I remember how relieved I was when you first came to see me after you changed, kissing you and crying in your arms. The feel of your scales after you first found your dragon shape and how excited you were. I even remember the fear and envy that gripped my heart when I thought I might loose you to Universe. The list goes on and on.
I know you do not know the me from before that mortal dream, but you can learn of it all in time, if you are still willing after what I've told you. I too want to learn about you and all the things I've missed. We have all the time in the world now, Crown willing.
You told me once that if I became a goddess we could build a heaven together. It might have been pretty words then, but I think we could do it.
The last I will say it plainly: I love you, even more than I did when I was a mortal...if that's even possible. I know it might not be a love you can accept, but it is there. It is my sincerest hope that one day I won't have to leave your side ever again. Whether I stand by you as a friend or somewhat more we'll see in time, won't we, my lord dragon?
Yours Always,
Tien
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2012 12:29 pm
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Limitations
The Broken Hammer - Chapter 3
Tien had not been willing to admit it, at least not aloud, but the journey had been rough on her. Far rougher than she had been prepared for, in fact. Having no practical experience with deserts the environment on Daelyth had been less forgiving than she had imagined it would be. She found herself a bit jealous of Ankou and Cosine (not so much of Glyph because Forest had been having a hell of a time as well, near as rough as it was on Xun and herself at times). It was probably the first time she had ever really cursed her mortality and meant it. Before now she had never really noticed or cared about her limitations- they were just a necessary part of existence. Now, they were just annoying.
Being still mortal bound made her weak and almost compared to the others- even Xun, at the very least he could easily become a dragon and be better protected from the elements than she was. Sure, she could shape shift as well but unlike Lifewater her shifts took energy to maintain and right now that energy would be better spent elsewhere.
The goddess sighed in frustration, working to slowly carve away at a groove she had started in a piece of wood Glyph had given her with one of her daggers. Wood carving was not something she was particularly practised in, but working on the puzzlebox would give her something to do during the time they rested and recovered from the aftermath of the sandstorm. The particular piece of wood in her hand, like the other ones on the floor beside her, would make up a side of said puzzlebox. Once it was complete it would hold one of Cosine's scrolls about their journey on Daelyth.
The hope was that someday when this world was inhabited by mortals again, they would find the oasis, open the box- learn about the journey they had taken and follow in the footsteps of gods across to wherever their journey across Daelyth ended up taking them.
Once this last piece of the box itself was done, Tien could get to work on the puzzle portion of it. The puzzlebox she would make at each stop on the journey would be different- what she wanted, and hoped, to do for this one was to conjure a set of puzzle tiles to fit in the top. Once the image was put back together the box could be opened and its contents revealed. The only flaw in this plan was that once the puzzle was solved the pieces would vanish due to the limitation of power.
Limitation. There was that word again.
Tien sighed and slid the dagger back into sheathe on her hip. Despite how much she disliked it there was little she Trickery could do to change the situation. Though sometimes she wondered if she was doomed to remain like this, due to some fault in herself she had yet to correct and that nothing would change until she did. If that was the case it was probably something she had forgotten, or just managed to overlook all this time- neither case would surprise her anymore. With any luck some form of truth would reveal itself to her sooner or later- whether it ended up being for good or for ill, well, that was up in the air.
She picked up one of the pieces of wood she had finished previously, fitting the groves together and giving it a hard tap with the heel of her hand. Once she was sure the pieces fit together tightly, the process was repeated with each side and the bottom of the box. After it was done Tien took a few moments to inspect her handiwork. She was no carpenter but it seemed to be well done.
No visible seams? Good. She could probably thank Glyph for that.
Nice and sturdy? She gave the box a shake to test it. Check!
“Alright, then...easy part is over.” Trickery snerked and set the box down on the floor beside her. The particular power she needed for this was not one she had made much use of beyond conjuring small things like coins for parlor tricks. So she was fully expecting it to take a few tries, at the very least, to get what she was hoping for. The goddess closed her eyes and concentrated...
The first attempt was a puzzle, but not in the sense she had been looking for to use in this particular project. Better than expected for a first try, since it was in the right ballpark at least. It bore a great resemblance to a rubix cube- a memory that came entirely from Morgan. The colorful, deceptively simple and frustrating puzzles that the girl had enjoyed so much. Perhaps that was something worth keeping to toy with at a later time? She tossed it into her pack and closed her eyes to try again.
The second attempt was closer, when Tien opened her eyes again she found her hands full of jigsaw puzzles pieces. She toyed with a few of them to try and make out the image they would form, but the pieces were too small to determine much of anything.
She dropped the pieces off to the side and again. It seemed the 'old' adage was true and the third time was the charm. Tien had managed to conjure a sort of sliding tile puzzle, with a mechanism that would prevent the lock on the box from being released until the puzzle was properly solved. The tiles in the puzzle were made of painted wood, with a complicated knotwork design painted across them. A simple, pretty thing- she might make one for her own use later now that she knew she could do it.
It took a bit longer to put the sliding puzzle in place, secure it as the lid and push the tiles around into a suitably scrambled mess. By the time she was done Trickery was unsurprisingly tired. It was a good thing the group had planned to stay another day or two at least- so she could catch up on the rest she so sorely needed.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:12 pm
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End of a Journey
The Broken Hammer - Epilogue
It seemed the Spirit Guide had a plan when he pulled his little vanishing act. Tien had been rather surprised when Ankou suddenly reappeared, sticking his head through the new Door nonchalantly. Still, Trickery was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth; she had just been grateful for it. The thought of having to find a way out of that tomb (for lack of a better descriptor) and the weeks of walking back to their original Door would not have been enjoyable. She was more than willing to bet she wasn't alone in that sentiment.
It was nice not to have to breathe air through a scarf filter for the first time in weeks. Though truthfully with how much they had been through it felt like a lot longer. She would be glad to not see another desert again for a long time again, if ever. Once the others had gone she ventured into the garden to rest for a while. The green here was something not to take for granted. They were trully fortunate here. How many worlds were out there like Eshurian?
Somewhere during that train of thought Tien dozed off and when her eyes opened again it was late in the day. There was no telling how long she had been asleep, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't matter. What was one more day when she had not been able to give the catgirl a time beyond 'a few weeks' anyway?? Nothing really.
But now that she was awake the first order of business was to venture into the marketplace, get something to eat and see about a way home. Asherah had brought her to the pantheon to meet the others and gone back to Kedatol with Mocha afterward. While taking dragon shape and flying was tecnically an option, it wasn't one she was keen on exploring. Tien highly doubted she could fly straight at this point, even after sleeping she was still exhausted. So the only remaining options were a horse or finding a merchant headed that direction.
Trickery picked up her pack and headed into the marketplace. Weaving her way through the crowd. Kedatol was only a few hours away, surely some merchant traveled to here to sell at the larger market or vice versa. Shifting to an even more mortal shape was ingrained habit by now. It took far less time than she would have expected to find a merchant that fit the bill. He had been more than happy to help once he recognized her as "Lady Nancy". He had planned to make a stop or two on the way back, but if nothing else she could get a horse in another village to make the rest of the trip on her own.
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