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 Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:41 pm
 Mary stretched her limbs as she walked. The previous night had been rewarding, but not easy. She gave her servant a light boff on the head, and was rewarded with a smile. The familiar knew it had done well. Mary was glad to have this little follower, while it galled her to admit that there was anything a mortal could do better then she, she had to concede that claws were in fact better for grave digging then hooves were. So, she delegated. She still honored her children by using her own blood to soften the soil, of course, but it was beneath her dignity to do something as menial as digging anyway.
Well, no. Actually, digging was not below her, and she knew it. She banished the thought and like an unwelcome mortal it fled. She would simply have to get better, that was all. There was nothing to say a Goddess couldn't continue to improve. And if she was imperfect now, it was only to give her room to grow, and because she began life as a mortal.
Still, she was the Dark Goddess, and her children needed her. Speaking of...
Mary spotted Tempest up ahead, and smiled softly even as she sighed. A Goddess' work was never done. She let her mirror float around to come up in front of him as she silently walked behind, signaling with a flick of the ear to Taphos, the raccoon, to go hide in the bushes, which it did. Life was, frankly, good. She couldn't imagine going back to being a mere mortal, she didn't know how mortals could stand it.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:20 pm
A deity's work was never done? Perhaps this was true, but the devout follower's work was endless and when one milestone had been reached another reared its head. These were the observations of the stallion, who, since as far back as he could remember, had been guided by the hands of one particular god. Had he not had those fated conversations with his Grandfather then perhaps his life would have been very different; but as it was, he had discovered a hidden being that had defined who and what he was from that point forward.
His duty was simple in theory - he was to seek out loyal followers, those who expressed interest in his guardian. A being that healed the devout and bestowed upon them great knowledge... For all those who scoffed, he unlike other 'heretic' priests possessed proof of his deity's might and that came in the form of his sister. Divinity had saved her, or rather, Divinity had graced him with the knowledge and he had used it wisely. However, in practice he had quickly noted that his duty had challenges that very few could possibly fathom.
...Doubt and disbelief were rife in these lands.
His patience had been tested to the brink and it had taken all his self control to settle himself and withdraw. Divinity did not condone violence unless it was absolutely necessary, a lack of faith wasn't a 'necessary' evil. Instead, divinity had consoled him in the sense that upon their death they would have to answer for their failings (especially when they had been given the chance to redeem).
It had been after one particularly difficult encounter that the stallion had bid his farewells and departed in what could only be regarded as an abrupt fashion. His steps had been swift, his cloven hooves cutting swathes through the long grasses, and eventually, the undergrowth within the forests until he had placed proper distance between himself and that individual.
Where he found himself following this exit was unfamiliar, but this was unsurprising for the stallion who knew very little of the geography of the lands beneath the slopes. He rolled with the punches, embraced the opportunity to learn of the various key locations and while this location wasn't a great seat of power there was a niggle in his mind that said 'sit'. It was an unusual sensation and one that he only experienced when Divinity was providing him with direction - he knew it well. The cream stallion may not necessarily have understood why this location had been selected, but, who was he to question?
No one, that was who. He trusted his deity absolutely.
Thus it would have come at no surprise to the telepathic to find he had lowered himself to the ground. Braids coiled around his flank and sides, he had closed his eyes and sunk deep into his own mind. His breath grew controlled, his sides scarcely heaving and within moments he had tuned out the world. However, it was with another niggle that Divinity stirred him, an indication that something was amiss...though what it was remained to be seen.
Slowly, the stallion regained touch with his physical form and as each limb tingled he slowly opened his eyes. It took a moment for the amber gaze to focus, but when it did he found himself face to face with a mirror and in addition, he seemed to have a visitor. He lifted a brow at this, casting a word of thanks to his deity as he regarded Mary. Had he truly been so deep in his meditations that he hadn't heard her move that giant object around?
...Evidently he was improving.
"Quaint," he spoke at last, his tone deep but otherwise soft. "Did you move that all by yourself while I sought enlightenment?" he enquired. Releasing a sigh, he slid his hooves out from their rather peculiar position and pulled himself to his feet. He didn't quite stagger, but he would accept that no soquili ever looked particularly dignified when rising from a position on the ground. "That being said..." he turned his gaze from the mirror, adjusted his stance and shifted round until he was in an appropriate position to look the mare in the eye properly.
"I fail to see the purpose of such behaviour."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:28 pm
"Enlightenment?" Mary all but purred. "As in seeking advice from a higher power?" she asked. "As in learning what no mortal dare dream to know? That kind of enlightenment?"
A smile spread slowly across her features as her blood trailed down her legs. Oh, this would be fun. How rare one of her children came to her looking for her, how rare to find one so ready to receive her wisdom. A truly good day.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 2:21 pm
His brow lifted much higher at her tone and while his ears made no move to flatten, he did regard her with suspicion. He was by no means a stallion in his 'prime', an adult only recently, he had yet to experience all the world and Divinity chose to throw at him. However, he knew of this tone of voice and the otherwise wiley behaviour, it often led to disaster and other more negative consequences. With this taken into consideration and with his mind already steeled against such games, he schooled his features into a more neutral expression and finally chose to speak.
"Divinity provides me with advice and guidance as and when it is appropriate," he replied smoothly. "I do not have the right to request it, if it is required then Divinity provides," he continued. His statements were presented in such a manner that there was no room for argument in relation to his views. His ideas were very set and were unlikely to budge without extreme reason.
"Enlightenment is not to seek advice from any individual, it is to look within oneself. To recognise, to address and to educate certain aspects of your personality that need to be addressed," he tilted his head to the side, glanced down briefly at her bloodied legs and then continued. After all, it was not his place to comment on the appearance of others, Divinity had informed him long ago that allies came in all forms.
...As did enemies.
"For example, if one lacks patience then it is through meditation that they will master this and discipline the more reckless aspects of their nature. One cannot aspire to converse with Divinity, if one cannot even converse with themself," he finished delicately.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 2:28 pm
"Divinity," she repeated, seeming surprised, and pleased. "My child, you are perhaps the first to call me that to my face. I admit to liking it. You have pleased me, so in this moment, I will allow you to request my aid, since you have acknowledged that under other circumstances that right is not yours. I will even excuse the lack of customary awe, and knees taking. Ask, my child, and you shall receive."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 2:42 pm
Wait, what?
At this, the cream stallion did pause momentarily as he recounted her words in his head. When he had run them through three times it became apparent that he had not been mistaken. The mare before him had actually had the nerve to proclaim she was Divinity. He knew of Divinity, had felt the mbrace and heard the whispers - suffice to say, he did not take kindly to those who make a mockery of his faith. He had respect for other cultures and their beliefs (regardless of their inaccuracies) but this was not something he could ignore.
"I am no child of yours," he snapped sharply, his eyes narrowing to mere slits. His nose wrinkled, his pearly fangs becoming more apparent as his hostility became clear. Tempest was not an individual who attacked immediately, but when he did not approve it was obvious immediately. "Nor are you Divinity and you disgust me with the attempt to claim such a position," he stated. It was at this point that he observed her from ear to hoof and gave a disgusted snort - filthy and bloodstained, it would be more accurate to assume she was both a self-harmer and completely deranged.
He brought himself to an abrupt halt.
The stallion fell silent, pursed his lips and in what seemed to be no more than two moments his expression took on a most unusual form. Once hostile, it had shifted to something more hostile and he diverted his gaze elsewhere as if he seemed to be conversing with another. His ears swivelled in reply to unheard sounds and his flanks gave a quiver - then his lips seemed to twist into a smile and he returned his gaze to the mare.
"Mmm, I see," he mused softly. His brow lifted again and he tilted his head to the side. "You say I am permitted to ask something of you divinity," he drawled coolly. "Very well," he chuckled and cleared his throat. "Then I ask you this, divine one, who am I and how did you come to know me?" he enquired.
No one claimed to be his Divinity and succeeded.
He would show her this, but in order to do this in the most efficient manner possible, he was going to have to destroy her. A war of the minds as Divinity had informed him, in such circumstances, brutality was regarded as a necessity.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:01 pm
Mary watched as her child rebelled, flashed his teeth at her in a clearly juvenile manner. She watched the emotions play across his face, and then the change of tune. She heard his question and gave the merest flick of her tail, signaling Taphos to be alert and ready.
"My child, you are permitted but a single question, that is but two. Yet, I hesitate to answer either. All the mysteries of the universe, all my wisdom, childm and that is what you wish to ask? I would be a negligent Goddess indeed to allow you to squander so precious a chance on something so foolish."
She gave her mirror a mental nudge and it lifted to float behind her. Let the child see just how petulant a face he had dared show, and he shall reform himself, she mused.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:16 pm
He had no need to reform and paid no heed to the mirror. An object was only useful if it was of interest and the centre of attention, it lacked a use for him and as a consequence it ceased to exist. If her intention was to make him feel guilty for his behaviour then she had been sorely mistake and he gave a dark and rather throaty chuckle at her reply. He'd heard excuses before and some had been very creative, her reply was simply lazy. Did she truly believe he was that pathetic - it was no wonder he had to perfect his patience, encounters like these often took their toll.
"In short, you don't know the answer to either," he corrected her and shook his head. His facial features shifted and he gave a disappointed tut, a set of three clucks and his expression had shifted from amused to pitying. Now her blood soaked legs, filthy coat and wretched hair served only to paint a picture of desperation and absolute madness.
Pathetic.
"I would place great weight on Divinity's true assessment," he crooned and shifted his weight, nudging his braid away from his eyes and back to his neck. "You know nothing, yet desperately wish that you did. Perhaps if you had been a better actress you could have led a mass of hapless followers, a fine act indeed but you..." he shook his head and very pointily flicked his gaze across her form.
"Deranged hermit fits the description quite well," he mused and heaved a sigh. "I will inform you here and now that I have heard far better excuses for not knowing an answer."
He paused, gave a snort and then chuckled.
"Try harder, Divinity has not yet even expressed an opinion on your horrendous performance. Perhaps the Divine One seeks to see whether or not you have greater potential. Will you prove yourself, or will Divinity voice its disappointment and introduce itself accordingly when judgement is upon you, hm?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:23 pm
"If it is an act you are looking for, child, then it is little wonder that you are disappointed. But then, it is ever the mortal way to misrepresent in their minds that which is too great for them to comprehend." Excuses. Really. Like a Goddess had the time to know the history of how every single little one came to follow her? Deranged hermit indeed. Thus child did need a lesson, but she was rapidly wondering if he was not hers after all. In which case, the lesson was not hers to give.
Revenge however, well, no one was allowed to treat a Goddess so. Perhaps if he did not reform the lesson would be very different in nature.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:34 pm
"And another excuse," he drawled.
Now he was bored, his expression shifted once more and he raised his eyes heavenwards. It was in these moments that he did grace Divinity with a request for greater strength. He was unsurprised when he did not receive it, accustomed to the knowledge that these encounters were often a test. If he could survive them and retain his dignity then he would be rewarded, but he was not to rely on Divinity to resolve his disputes for him. Well, not unless another deity decided to intervene and disrupt the balance of power.
"If I were seeking an act I would go to a performance held by the wandering bards," he pointed out drily. He knew of quite a few bards, he'd met one particularly interesting one before. Unlike this particular mare they possessed talent and could actually play to an audience's needs, this mare just dug her own grave.
...Ironic, all things considered.
"However, what stands before me now is a mare that possesses neither grace or talent. Did you fall and scrape your knees, perhaps into a ditch so deep that you are head to hoof in mud?" he gave an amused snort and continued, "You are no more immortal than I am, but you are certainly much less presentable," he wrinkled his nose at this and gazed in particular at her legs.
"I would advise a bath as a beginning point."
"Then after that, find a bard to instruct you in method acting. Divinity only knows whether or not you will improve under such ministrations but right now... Well," he rolled his shoulders in a lose shrug. "You are little more than a filthy wretch writhing in the mud for attention. If you genuinely believe that proclamations of a divine birth are the way to acquire company then you are sorely mistaken."
"I pity you. A dillusional existence is a lonely one."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:43 pm
"Then that pity should turn towards yourself, I assure you," she told him, ears laying back a bit. How dare this mortal insult her so. Still, she was a Goddess, and dealing with mortals, even foolish ones, was all part of the job. "To be so deluded as to mistake a Goddess for a mortal to be pitied, it is you who know nothing of the true world, child."
Still, she could not lat anger steer her now, not when there was a chance to educate and raise this mortal. She was the divine one here, she had no need to prove herself, nor to sink to his level. Her duty was clear. She must offer him the chance to better himself, and reserve her punishments for the truly deserving. At the moment he deserved little more, in either direction, then a sand flea in a saddle blanket.
"Child, you look at the outward appearance only. Have none ever taught you the art of symbolism? You see blood and soil, and presume this means I am unkempt and dirty. Do you not know how to look deeper, and to question why? Rapid judgments such as that are unbecoming in a mortal."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 3:59 pm
"Speaks the one who presumed to call me her 'child'. For a 'goddess' you make many errors - Divinity knows how to select their own accurately and is never foolish enough to make such a critical error," he tilted his head to the side, a cruel smile creeping onto his lips as the pity deepened in his eyes. She was certainly trying to twist this to her advantage but she was against an individual who wasn't buying any of it. She'd started poorly and she would finish poorly - if she attempted to send in her raccoon as a distraction, she might find it crushed in his jaws. Alternatively, he might throw it against a tree and shatter its bones but that remained to be seen based on the moves she chose to make in the future.
"The critical errors are made by the devout, are made by mortals and not by any immortal," he puckered his lips, leant forward and then released a bought of dark laughter, rising up from the depths of his stomach. He truly was amused by her behaviour, now that he had become aware of her nature he was no longer furious. Her claims were false, she was simply another maddened beast desperate for recognition.
The pathetic did not frustrate him.
"Which leads me to wonder... If you truly were immortal then you must have been so very flawed that the heavens cast you out. If this is the case then you are to be regarded with abject pity. I suspect you are an example of what not to do," he stated.
"Rest assured I am well aware of symbolism, you do not represent it, Filth." He finished. As she had chosen to refer to him as 'child' he would provide her with a valid and descriptive name as well. Disrespectful or no, it was an observation and therefore warranted. "Symbolism is ineffective if it needs to be explained, particularly by the individual trying to convey it."
"Nevertheless I do express my pity for your plight, such a desperation for recognition must take it's toll on one so weak-minded as yourself."
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:33 pm
"My children are those who need me, I assure you. That you do not recognize your own need is no concern of mine," she said coolly. Often, in fact, her children seemed unaware of their own needs. Well, that was what a Goddess was for, to see what they could not. As for errors, well, she was still new to being a Goddess. But there was no reason at all to admit that to him. She was quite certain she had never been so uppity when she had been mortal.
"There is no cause to pity me, child, I assure you. And if your mind is too small to understand symbolism, then I am sorry for making the assumption that you were intelligent. However, do not religious scholars spend eons meditating upon and studying the symbolism of a single act or sign? That you expect it to be obvious at a glance and are then frustrated when it is not..." she trailed off with a small shrug that sent blood coursing down her legs.
"I have no desperation to be recognized, child. I assure you, my children are a blessed burden."
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Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 1:04 pm
"You assumed I was frustrated? Another flaw and failing, Divinity does not make such foolish mistakes," he shot the mare down one again and rolled his own shoulders. Now thoroughly bored with her masquerade and more intrigued by what he might find for lunch, the stallion had no reason to waste further time in her presence. Even Divinity had grown still, as if the deity had shifted its immediate attention to another matter - this merely served to support his beliefs further. Divinity had provided her with an opportunity to prove herself and when she hadn't, it had promptly turned its gaze away. In essence her fate was sealed, the day she died she would have the opportunity for beg for forgiveness for her behaviour.
...A god indeed.
Pitiful.
"Allow me to make things simple for you. Given you are incapable of reading anything as the Divine would, I will state the obvious just for you..." he paused, gave his forelegs a stretch and then continued. "You bore me with your lies. I provide you with nothing more than pity and had Divinity chosen it, I would have sliced your throat to relieve you. However, it has grown silent and as a consequence it has indicated it's lack of interest."
"In the eyes of Divinity you are nothing and so you will assume such a role to me as well. As it has stated, you are of no concern to be of no concern to me - when you perish it will fall to you to beg for mercy for your transgressions," he finished.
Satisfied that he had stated his case, he flicked his gaze briefly to the right and then the left. His ears gave a swivel and then a twitch - within split seconds he had selected his destination. His instincts stated that he head southeast, while he didn't completely understand why this was, he had long grown accustomed to not questioning such things. All was revealed in time, when he came to a halt, he would find his answers.
Manners now deemed unnecessary in the eyes of the male, he gave the mare a dismissive glance and stalked away. Let her spout her nonsense at another individual, if they fell for it then so be it, if they slit her throat and fed her to wolves...even better.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:36 pm
Mary watched him go with distaste. Foolish mortal. But her words could not reach the ears of those unwilling to hear. She toyed with the idea of knocking him out and burying him, but he was unworthy of such a gift. No, let the fool stallion go believing in his Divinity.
Divinity. Now there was an interesting concept. It stood to reason if she were a Goddess, and a young one at that, that there might be other Goddesses and Gods about. Was this Divinity one of them? She would have to look into that.
Truly interesting. What would the other Gods and Goddesses be like? Oddly, she found her thoughts drifting to Hyde as his image flittered across her mind. With a small smile, she wandered off, to look into the idea of other Gods.
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