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 Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:06 pm
It was further away from home than she had ever been before - on her own, at least. But she wasn't really on her own, not with Verthandi whispering directions in her mind. And nobody paid much attention to a child who looked like she knew where she was going. This was something Svana knew well, so she marched ahead in time to the goddess' instructions with a firm facade of determined knowledge.
In fact, Svana was so intent that she very nearly walked right past Seasons, brought up short only by Verthandi's sharp mental poke. Stop stomping along like a barbarian, child. We're here.
We are? Svana stopped dead in her tracks, nearly tripping the man who had been walking behind her - he cursed in a language she didn't understand, missed her, and kept going - and looked up at the shop. "Oh. Um."
Go on, don't just stare. Remember. You need to be assertive.
Svana took a deep breath. Assertive. Brave. Special.
She pushed open the door.
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 7:06 pm
Persy hadn't been expecting the arrival of a child today, so when the door opened, she looked up from her work, carefully twining a series of bamboo into a braided design as it actively grew by her touch. She hesitated, her hands leaving the plant in case the girl was normal, then turned and straightened her posture, looking her over.
No, this one wasn't normal--she held so much of a divine essence that she had to have already been initiated into the Game by Anubis. But then, if that was the case, then why was she here? Normally, they didn't bother her until after they hit puberty.
"Can I help you?" Persy asked with a somewhat confused tone as she walked forward, trying to distinguish just what type of god it was that held sway over the girl.
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:24 pm
"I-I..." Svana paused, then steeled herself. "I'm Svana. I need to... to know more. About the Game." She folded her arms firmly in front of her chest and gave Persy a vaguely defiant look, though her lower lip was trembling a little. "Please," she added, quietly, after a moment.
It's a start, Verthandi said. Really, she could have explained this to the child herself, but just getting the girl out and about was a very good thing indeed. They could not be crippled by her... issues.
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 6:27 pm
"Svana," Persy repeated, allowed the first nordic sound to roll off her tongue experimentally. She'd heard the name before, in whispers, but had never met the girl herself. After all, her network had never quite recovered since it'd been set loose.
"I can tell you anything you'd like to know, but you only get one free question. After that, you trade information of your own," Persy explained, her voice somewhat softer in the face of a frightened girl. "What knowledge do you need?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 7:47 pm
"Only one?" Svana said, startled; then, quickly, "Er, that wasn't a question." She gave the woman a curious, thoughtful look, calming down a bit. The green hair was different, but she had a soothing feel to her... at the moment, anyway.
She is of Growth as well, at the moment at least - our goals are ever so lightly touching. She will know the value of seeds, Verthandi whispered.
Svana nodded, slowly. "Um..." One hand wandered to her pocket, to press against the feather talisman there. "The Game is... it's the gods playing for the world, that's what Verthandi told me... but..." She bit her lip. If she only got one, then this was really, really important. She doubted she had any knowledge that Persy would want.
You have done well just to come here; you are right to not spend your chance foolishly... but I do not believe any of your questions are foolish ones. Go ahead, Verthandi said, with surprising encouragement.
"Um... okay. Where... I'm kind of... stumbling around, trying to figure out what I need to do. The... the Game... I want to win it, but I don't want to make people suffer. Yggdrasil needs to grow. How can I make it grow without hurting people?" She gave Persy a serious look.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:11 pm
Persy hesitated as she formulated her answer: it wasn't one she'd gotten before, and in all honesty, it's not one that she'd really heard vocalized by any of the prophets. Sure, the last winner had been peaceful, but even He'd had to do some dirty work to get there.
"To make...this tree, I suppose, to make it grow, you'd have to win the Game," Persy explained, still somewhat baffled by the question. Was the girl really so pure in intent? "To win the Game, you have to be the last one standing, and to be the last one standing, you'd have to kill the second-to-last, or convince them to step down."
"After all, there can only be one winner. And in any competition, people lose and people hurt. People will die for the chance to do something like plant your tree." She hesitated again, her body stiffening up. "People already have."
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:33 pm
"Oh..." Svana said, very quietly, and looked down. Why would you make me do that? Why would you think I could do that?
... Svana, the power of the Norns is not only that of the gentle tree. It is also that of the valkyrie. An image intruded into her mind, a silhouette of a small yet powerful figure clad in armor, holding a spear. Skuld, my sister. The strength of the valkyrie and the einherjar. The souls of the dead are not for you, but that strength is something you must learn, or... someone will grind you into the ground, make stairs from your bones as they climb to their own goal. The goddess' tone was grim.
Svana shuddered, then looked back at Persy. "This is a bad thing you're all doing," she said, with the certainty of a child. But then she sighed. "I took the feather," she added, almost too quiet to hear.
She took the feather, and had had the curse - gift - of the Norns all her life. You knew, since before I was born, right?
Yes. I - we - are sorry, Verthandi said, gently.
Svana visibly steeled herself. "I can see things. In water. Maybe I can see something for you, and get another question that way?" she asked, her hands shaking a little.
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:13 pm
"Is it bad?" Persy asked, not sure whether to empathize or feel somewhat insulted. "Mortals die either way, and on their own, they've ruined their existance. If you need proof, step outside the City. I think you'd be more appalled than by what we're doing here."
"And if you plant the tree, won't you be doing something good?" Persy added gently. "We go to war so that we may have peace, I believe the quote is."
She smiled - for once, there was a child who understood the concept of a trade. "I have no need to see anything now, but in exchange for your promise, I can give you a question for each time in the future I can call on you."
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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:40 pm
"Maybe," Svana replied, evasively. She wasn't ready to say it was good or bad, either way. But she did nod to Persy's last statement. "Okay. Um." She paused, thinking. "If... you have to be the last one standing, to win, then how come everyone doesn't just kill everyone else? I.... I met Fish, and... he could have... done that." Svana looked away, and her hands trembled at her sides for a moment. "But he didn't."
Maybe that wasn't a question worthy of Persy, but it had been bothering her for a while. She didn't want to be a target when she hadn't even done anything!
Yet.
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 6:46 pm
"Well, for one, Fish is one of the more passive prophets: he isn't the type to hurt others without need," Persy explained, noting that she'd be receiving aid from the girl later. "But most of the prophets in general choose to ally themselves with others at first, to get their bearings in the Game and all."
She gave the girl a steady look. "The gods stopped alliances when the monsters are about, but if I've heard correctly, it's starting to become the norm again." Hopefully, that was enough to answer her question.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:57 pm
Svana gave Persy a skeptical look. "So nobody's going to come after me right now? Why? Honor, or something? Or was I just lucky?" Her hands shook a little at her sides, but she needed to know the truth. How safe was she? Where was harm likely to come from?
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Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 9:46 pm
"A little bit of both, actually," Persy responded. "In this round of the Game, we haven't really had an instance where a single prophet tried to pick off others without several of the bigger players getting involved. For kids who are supposed to kill eachother, you get pretty close."
"At present, I'd be more concerned about Blacksuits. We think they're on the move again," Persy murmured, her expression darkening. "It's simple: you see someone shady in a black suit, you steer clear. They like Uppers and Corridors, but they've started to spread."
"And, of course, Seasons is neutral ground. No one can harm you here. Think of it as a home base," she added, trying to be positive.
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