Welcome to Gaia! ::

Many of Duniya knew of the Divine Order. They all had varying thoughts of the religious body, but most held some measure of respect for them whether it was for their devotion to the Pantheon or for their willingness to cope with the unreliable Duniya gods. The Divine Order did not typically involve itself in the everyday affairs of its residents, but something about the uniqueness of the existence of the Tabula Rasa had intrigued the gods.

The Order contained the gods' messengers, and so, the Divine Order learned that they must interfere with these 'Tabula Rasa'—blank slates born out of Rasa. The particular reasons for the gods' interference was unknown, but no matter if Locke particularly agreed to it or not, the new manifests were to be brought to the Divine Order—specifically, Shakuni—immediately upon manifestation.

Shakuni herself was a deeply devout priestess of the Order. It was said that the gods had touched her themselves, and therefore she held a deep connection and affinity to the affairs of the gods. Shakuni was a leader in the Order and perhaps the most important messenger of them all. To be called to bring the Tabula Rasa to the gods meant that the Tabula Rasa held some deep significance. The certain significance was, as of currently, unknown, but one did not question the gods' wishes.

Another manifestation had arrived—Sokka. It was time.

As routine before she had to present someone with the gods, Shakuni entered a meditative state where she could speak with her gods. No matter what, she kept alert for the sounds around her, to make sure she would not find herself surprised and to make sure she knew exactly when the manifestation would enter.

If the gods wished to meet all the manifestations, Shakuni would be the vessel which would allow that.

(( The gods have spoken through their faithful servant! They have decreed that all new manifestations are to be brought to the attention of the Divine Order and brought to Shakuni, their faithful messenger, as soon as possible.

This PRP thread is reserved for the manifestation Sokka.

This introductory post is very similar to the ones of the other Tabula because the Divine Order and Shakuni have not been known very long; it gives you a chance to get to know them as well. ))

Though Shakuni heard Sokka's indignant voice from the hallway, she was not quite as irritated as he had been with a few of her prior summons. The gods she was in communication with had already informed their wearied but faithful priestess that this Tabula wasn't quite so snobbish or simply irritated, and the priestess couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief as Sokka came closer. This would be far less irritating than what she recently confronted.

Shakuni rose from her position on the floor, turning to face Sokka. "That is alright, my child. Sokka, I was expecting you." It seemed that the priestess remembered the Tabula's name for him. "I am Shakuni, Head Priestess of the Divine Order, and the priestess that the Gods have most trusted to introduce the Tabula to them. You are here because the Gods wish to meet you, Sokka. They have taken a most peculiar interest in you."

With her recent summons, she did find the interest more and more peculiar. Of course, the gods always had their reasons, and perhaps their true purpose they have not yet shared with her. Even if they never chose to share with her--the gods could be incredibly fickle and moody--she would continue to do their bidding and bring these blank slates to the gods as requested. "Thank you for your earlier comments on the temple. The temple was created many years ago for the Divine Order to honor the Gods, and I am glad you are awed by it's beauty." She smiled while offering her hand to Sokka.

"Take my hand, Sokka. Together we shall go to the fountain, where the Gods have asked to meet all newborn Tabula such as yourself." Shakuni was gentle, like the mother these newborn Tabula never had.

"Oh no, I certainly meant the first kind of peculiar. The second kind is most gruesome and unnecessary." This Tabula was rather adorable in some ways. It was such a relief to have someone who was actively interested in what she was talking about, or at least calm and curious. She preferred calm and curious over furious and curious. "Perhaps you can come back here, Sokka. I am never one to stop someone from learning more about the Divine Order and the Gods. Anyone who has an interest may come visit peacefully." Shakuni threw a smile in Sokka's direction before continuing her walk forward, keeping his hand in hers.

"The Gods think you are unlike anything that has occurred in the mortal world before. They want to learn more about you, help shape you, see what makes you tick." Shakuni figured that was their reasoning from what she had been told. To the most faithful priestess of the gods, it made perfect sense. "And that is why you are here, as we are heading to the fountain."

Shakuni would honor Sokka's attempt at furthering the conversation. "Correct. While the room shall grow darker," and it did seem to be, now that she mentioned it, "the water in the fountain will begin to glow, leaving little balls of light. What you do with them is up to you." She, of course, would give direction through the words of the gods.

So it seemed one of these Tabula would be joining her at the temple a lot more often. Since this Sokka seemed to be a plenty nice and pleasant person, Shakuni had no problem or no regrets when it came to inviting him to come join her. Perhaps she could train this young man to become a priest.

He seemed to have an admirable understanding of the gods already, to admit. The boy had already learned there was no need to ask how--why was certainly a valid question. "The gods will learn through observation, not necessarily through you directly. Of course, by communicating to you, you will show them what they are interested in without you even realizing it."

As long as he reached out to one eventually, he was free to do whatever he wished with the lights. "I am sure the gods would be willing to let you look at the lights." Shakuni offered a smile. "Therefore," her voice had gained an unplacable ethereal quality by this point in their conversations, "feel free to observe, but remember: you must eventually reach out and touch whichever of the lights you feel most drawn to."



(( Black is between the blue and green. ))

Interesting choice. The priestess nodded as if to say he was in his rights to do that before suddenly freezing in place as if she had become a statue. She stayed that way for a few moments too long before motion seemed to enter her body again, and the priestess appeared a bit more aware.

"Interesting decision, Sokka. The Gods are intrigued." Shakuni's voice maintained it's echoing quality, except it seemed that there were only two voices echoing now. One was higher pitched than the other, though such a detail could easily be missed.

"And yet," Shakuni's voice heightened, "these two choices mingle with each other very well. Sorrow and compassion are intricately linked. The two emotions cannot exist without each other, and in that way it makes sense that you would be most drawn to both ideas."

It seemed that Sokka was perspective. "It naturally makes sense to us, Sokka." 'Us?' It seemed that there were two talking after all. And even if there was not, they referred to themselves in a plural. "You are quite observant, Sokka. Indeed, there are two of us, and neither are Shakuni." A feminine laugh much lighter than the voice of the current speaker left Shakuni's lips.

It seemed awfully odd to listen to Shakuni at the moment. Her voice was jumping octaves quicker than a adolescent boy in puberty. "You've made the choice to live your life by sorrow and compassion. What this decision shall me to us will be determined by what it means to you. After all, we're only here to observe and hear what you have to say about all of this." Shakuni's lips formed into a smirk.

"So tell me, Sokka," the voice went back to a deeper tone as suddenly as it had become lighter. "Why did you choose the rust and blue?" By now, all of the other lights had faded away. It seemed that the entire fountain was illuminated in a mixture of the rust and blue that Sokka had chosen to touch his hands to. "Why did you feel drawn so close to them?" a lighter voice asked.

It was surprising Shakuni didn't seem to have a headache.

"Shakuni is... asleep," the lighter voice started, after Sokka had finished his explanations and ramblings. "She is safe. Being our most faithful and important priestess, you needn't worry about her. She is safe." The lighter voice suddenly stopped, continuing no further about Shakuni's present state. Sokka knew all he needed to know about Shakuni's status.

It was then that the distinctively male voice took over. "You appear to be very knowledgable for your short life." That was certainly intriguing, and interested the current speaker all the more in the newborn Tabula standing before them. "And it is yet more interesting that you were born in front of the two colors you would later be drawn too. Hm...

"Well, I digress." After a few moments, the male voice continued. "Tell me, Sokka, do you have any goals? Do you wish to help those in sorrow with compassion? Are you a sorrowful man? What draws you to the concepts of sorrow and compassion besides that they are bittersweet and hopeful--or is that all you find interesting about these two concepts?"

The two possessing Shakuni had not yet introduced themselves, but they certainly gave the man in front of them a lot to consider.

The young Tabula began talking. And talking. And talking. Nevertheless, despite the fact that Sokka kept going on and on in his ramblings, it seemed that the voices within Shakuni were willing to continue being quiet and just listening, as if they had all the time in the world to listen to what he was saying and take it in their heads. Perhaps, it was so that they did have all the time in the world. After all, they were the voices of the gods themselves. Every once in a while, Shakuni would nod her head, but neither of the voices said a word until Sokka finally quieted himself.

"Don't worry, we understand what you're saying," came the gentler, lighter voice. A gentle smile matching the voice developed on Shakuni's face. "You certainly do love to talk, I'll give you that much," teased the voice, before small chuckles escaped her lips.

The deeper voice suddenly came, after Shakuni rolled her eyes, still with that gentle smile. No doubt she looked awfully strange; at least Sokka seemed to understand what was going on. "It is true, compassion and sorrow are interlinked in that way. Your motivations are good and true, and you want to do everything possible to get to that point. There's many things you wish to do... it shall be amazing to watch you attempt them all in your life as a Tabula."

The gentler voice came again. "We can help you with what you wish; give you a starting point to move off of. Of course, from there you would move in your own direction, but we shall always be watching you on your quests. Would you like that?"