Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gaia Handle: Fairymount
Gem Trying For: Children
Prompt Answered:
Entry: Drowsy heat beat down upon Whimsy's back. Twitching her ears slightly, the young gremlin flopped over onto her back, enjoying the rustle of the sun-baked grass as she moved. The scent of warm earth and grass rose around her, causing her eyes to droop in sheer, contented bliss. While such warm days were a delight for her, she knew in a vague sort fo way that they weren't so good for other things. Flowers, for instance. Whimsy adored flowers. But sometimes, they wilted in the heat... And as if that one, wandering thought were a fuse, Whimsy rolled frantically to her feet. Scrambling and laughing wildly, she raced down the hill and threw herself through the trees of the surrounding woods.

Ignoring the tree branches that whipped about and scratched her exposed face and limbs, the gremlin in time came to a small, hidden cave. Little more than a moss lined hole in the ground, Whimsy nevertheless thought highly of it as a hidey hole for her most treasured possession. Plunging her arm in, her fingers scrabbled carefully, brushing against something soft and cool as silk, before curling gently and withdrawing. Once free of the hole, Whimsy opened her dirt-streaked hand to reveal a small, delicate flower. As she sat staring at her treasure, Whimsy's mind tripped back to when she'd first found this bloom...

Cold. It was so cold. And dark. Whimsy, unlike her kin, hated the dark. She hated the lengthening shadows that stretched and twisted the familiar into frightening strangeness. And more than anything, she hated being lost in the dark. Her older brother's laughter as he left her to fend for herself echoed eerily. A swamp, she thought miserably as fetid water swirled around her ankles, was a horrible place after dark. The lush overgrowth that she delighted in by day hid the moon and stars from her now. And in the water, she knew there were things that came out at night to hunt. And her brother had left her here on purpose. At night! The tiny gremlin girl sniffled and scribbed a grubby hand across her nose. Her tail switched as a mosquito nipped it, the sudden sharp irritation bringing her back to herself. She would never listen to her brother again when he promised to show her the night blooming flowers. For a moment, she felt very bitter towards any and all flowers for her predicament. Then, common sense reasserted itself. It wasn't the flowers fault that she had a bully for a brother. And since she couldn't really go back (the scramble to get here with her brother alone had been confusing), she decided to go forward.

Taking a deep breath, she bit her lower lip gently in concentration and used her tail tip and feet to find bits of submerged logs to tread on. Small as she was, logs that would crumble and sink under an adult held her up. Frog and cricket song burbled from the plants around her and the occasional PLINK of water told her that the frogs out hunting. And the louder splashes and started croaks meant that something was out hunting the frogs. Choking back a sob, Whimsy continued forward.

She'd lost track of how long she'd been lost by the time she saw the faint glow. Thinking that it might be a lantern or candle held by someone out looking for her, the gremlin had plunged forward, now ignoring basic swamp safety in her need to get to the light. A sharp ripping pain across her foot brought a whimpering yelp to her lips, but still she continued on, albeit a bit more slowly. The glow remained faint as she neared. And when it revealed itself to her hopeful eyes as nothing more than a strange flower, Whimsy very nearly tore it from it's roots in a childish rage. All that saved the flower was the sudden, wracking sobs that seized her. Sitting beside the flower, Whimsy cried and wondered if she would ever see her parents and brother again. Then she saw the gash across the top of her foot and cried even harder, convinced that her foot would have to be removed. Then to the little girl's enormous shock, the flower's glow grew stronger, aas if the little bloosom wanted to comfort her.

Tears still leaking freely from her eyes, Whimsy scootched closer to the flower to study it. To her delight, it was the same shade of blue as her hair. Resembling a strange cross between and orchid and a rose, the bloom was only about as big as a mouse. A faintly pleasant scent wafted from the petals, managing to mask the stink of the swamp water and mud that spattered the gremlin's clothing and skin. Up close, the could see how each petal was faintly illuminated by a soft, icy blue light. With gentle fingers, Whimsy reached up and carefully brushed the petals, eyes widening in surprise at how soft and cold they felt. Almost like silken ice, she thought.

Whimsy stayed by the flower, talking to it and emptying her woes into its non-existant ears for the remainder of the night. When daylight finally creeped through the swamp, the flower's glow diminished only slightly. Acting on an impulse she couldn't have explained, Whimsy gently and with great care, picked the flower before hiding it within one of her pockets. The flower, she was sure, had kept her safe during the night. The flower had cared about her. Unlike her brother, whose voice she now heard calling out in false concern. Her parents must have been combing the swamp for her, she thought as she listened to the voices getting closer. Putting a protective hand over the pocket that held her flower, Whimsy sat and waited, calling out once the voices were closer. And though she was willing enough to tell her mother and father how she'd come to be lost (Oh, it had been so satisfying to see her father belt her brother), she never told them about the flower. Not about how it helped her, nor how it still glowed faintly and refused to wilt as other picked flowers did. The flower was her secret and her treasure...

Lost in the memory, Whimsy jumped as a bird's cry startled her. Then, she laughed at herself before holding the flower close to her heart and being her head to gently brush the petals with her lips. She'd never found another flower like it, and she strongly suspected that she never would. Then, placing it back into its hiding place, she stood, brushed the dust and dried grass from her hands and walked back to the hill.

Gaia Handle: Talencia
Gem Trying For: Valor
Prompt Answered: Prompt 2 (though flavored towards Prompt 1 as well)
Entry:

He said to me, "Here is an old soul..." when he looked at me. All I could remember were his eyes-heterochromatic blue and red, but they weren't real colours, for they changed the next time he blinked. He floated loosely before me, draped in a relaxed fashion as if he rested on some soft surface. I could see nothing holding him up, and curiously stretched out a hand to sweep it beneath him. He laughed, leaning over and catching my wrist in a grip of iron.

"Do you know who you are are?" he asked, smiling with his yellow and green eyes. I did not resist his grip, and shook my head.

"Do you?" I asked, tipping my head in child-like inquiry.

He laughed again, sending prickles of uneasiness across my skin. I shivered, and he released my wrist. He floated slowly around behind me, forcing me to pivot to keep watching him. "What good are you if you don't know who you are?" Was he mocking me? I frowned, both at him and at his question. It was a puzzling challenge. "Oh, I easily could tell you who you were, but that would be no fun, and wouldn't really resolve the real issue." He came back around the front of me and leaned very close, his eyes still changing colors each time he blinked. "What's the real issue, hmm?"

I stared into his bizarre eyes, and answered slowly. "It would have to be not who I was, nor who I am. Those aren't issues." He smirked at me and leaned closer, his eyes seeming to grow larger and swallow most of my view. I leaned backwards, trying to gain some perspective. "That only leaves... who I will be."

His laughter echoed in my ears, as he blinked repeatedly, causing the colors to spin and smear together. "Now let me show you who you were," he whispered, as the blending colors merged to grey. An image formed in the grey.

I stood on a rise in the ground, gesturing as if conducting an orchestra. I held nothing in my hands, with with each small finger movement and each great arm sweep, things happened. Saplings leapt from the ground, bushes clawed up from the soil, vines snaked and draped up every possible structure, including myself. A rainbow of flowers bloomed at my bidding, and a carpet of green rolled from my hooved feet. Fur glistened with dew on my lower half, and my face glowed with joy beneath my massive horns.

It was a jolt, like the floor dropping out from under me. I couldn't remember that, but it left me certain it was truth. I reached a hand to feel my horns, steadfast and heavy upon my head. Yes, it was truth, that was who I had been. But who was I now? It couldn't be the same. I didn't feel the same.

"Ah, now that's the current question, isn't it?" he cackled, back to floating a distance from me, just out of reach. "Noone can tell you who you are, so you're on your own there." He smirked again, as if knowing a secret he refused to tell me. "Who do you want to be?"

I shook my head. "Who I want to be is who I will be," I contended. "I can't know that until I know who I am now." He grinned suddenly, showing teeth ferally, with no mirth or friendliness in the expression. I frowned again at him and turned my back. He had no place in this.

After a great deal of thought, I came to a conclusion. I was... myself. There was no defining who I was. With every thought, I became someone new. Limiting who I was by words was impossible. I turned back to tell the strange man this, but he was gone. I cast about for him, caught between exasperation, confusion, and relief. Just as I became resigned to his disappearance, his voice floated to me, drifting lazily by my ears.

"Prepare yourself. You are about to become who you will be." The air about me stirred, a sense of anticipation and change making the hairs on my arms stand up. "One last key bit of information is mine to give you....," the voice murmured, "but should I?" The air began to hum, vibrating audibly, nearly drowning out the voice as I strained to hear. "It would be delicious to send you out blind," the whisper purred in my ear, "but I don't think I will."

The wind rose to a roar, encasing me in a maelstrom of sound and sensation. The light began to brighten and intensify, and still I waited, strained for that voice. "In fact," he was barely audible, "I will leave you with two pieces of information. First, you are a prisoner, savor your freedom." I was no longer standing, and lights were going off inside my skull, flashes of memory, but only glimpses, nothing more. "Second, I know your name." I was surrounded by light now, dizzy from the strobe of scenes behind my eyes. "Your name.... is Rajakhrev."

All the wind and light disappeared, leaving me blinking for a moment in confusion. My sight cleared, to show me a small room containing myself and a small child. My world snapped back into place, an acceptance of who I was, here and now. "I owe you more than thanks, miss," I spoke finally, after clearing my throat. "I am Rajakhrev, and I am happily indebted to your service."

Gaia Handle: Eftemie
Gem Trying For: Valor
Prompt Answered:



Entry:


The voice asked. No. It demanded an answer. A choice.

The words slid into me as if they were strokes from a knife being hammered into my chest. There were several moments that stood out in my life. I remember her screams, sharp, piercing my heart at the sound. I could not walk past as the man tried to kidnap her. I tore into him as if the entire universe depended upon it. I had always walked away, played and taken the easy way. I could not ignore this even though I did not know her. Someone did.

I remember the blood splattered walls where her entire family lay later. It looked as if a madman had torn them apart in a rage. I remember feeling the intense horror that another being had been capable of doing such a thing to them- to anyone. I remember the pain in my fists when I found and beat him within an inch of his life using all the skills I had. He was not the only one surprised in those moments and I finally stepped back in as much horror at myself before turning him over to others. I remember each deep crimson drop that ran together forming the blind rage I had been in. I could only see red then. But most of all I remember being unaware on so many levels.

She was long ago, but even now I see the sparkle in the blade once aimed at myself on a new battlefield. I feel its bite into my side and remember staggering backwards from the blow. My hand falling to my wound even as I leaned upon my sword, its point in the ground now. It was all I could do to kneel against it and keep myself upright as exhausted as I was.

What could I do? I was even then on my knees in the culmination of it all and this battlefield might very well be my grave. A cold dark damp place that I did not want to be had risen upwards in my thoughts. I pushed it away as something gleamed.

The area filled with light, golden and harsh. One would have thought warm and gentle. Not so. This was sharp, jaggedly painful, and demanding attention. I had to shield my eyes it was so bright or was I merely rubbing my head trying to regain my focus? I could not say now. Yet in that brilliance I could see a figure walking forwards to me. There were no features I could see clearly. Only the indication that someone was there.

"How long can you fight? Do you not want to just give in to Death and sleep peacefully?" It spoke to me gently, voice barely above a whisper as it tried to soothe my thoughts. Or perhaps distract me from his true purpose.

"As long as I am able." I replied, having gotten to my feet with the last bit of energy I had. "What have you come to taunt me with, Death? Something I should have done but did not do. I already know those things. They are in the past and can no longer be changed. All I can do is continue to try and never pass by again." I found myself leaning heavily on my sword hilt, the gleam of the stone embedded there reflecting in the corner of my eye. Doubts filled me as I listened, trying unsuccessfully to remain focused.

This voice tried to lull me from action. Deep within I knew that I could not let it. I had done the best to follow the dictates of my heart not just my mind since that day. I could not hesitate now. I would not hesitate now. Or I was dead and so were my brothers.

"You should be still." he said. "You will make the wound bleed more. It hurts more when you move. Let me help you. Let me take the pain away from you." The voice tried to soothe, coax, and cajole me into lassitude. I could not let it, but I struggled as I had never struggled before. Why was this so hard suddenly? It did not matter. I would do this.

"If the pain is gone, then I would not know I was still alive. I will not go easy. I will fight the entire way. I still have much to do. Bleeding or not, I will fight you until I draw my last breath." I grit my teeth together as dull pain shoved its way through me. Pain meant I was still alive and I loved the feel of it in this moment. Alive, I could still do what needed to be done.

Picking up my sword, I held it ready in front of me. I could feel my life draining with each crimson drop that dripped from the wound. "Do your worst," I whispered. I had such little energy and I nearly just let it happen. I did not want to die. I did not want them to either.

Growling suddenly, the bright figure swung its weapon at me. I blocked it, fueling myself with the thoughts of people who needed me. I could not fail them as I had once failed others. I would not allow myself to. If it meant my life then so be it. But none would die because I gave in too easy and accepted what I saw or what others told me. I would not give up.

The swords sparked as both slid edge to edge. I spun, disengaging his weapon, and blocking the next attack. At first he did not notice, but then as he continually moved, I felt the supreme satisfaction of denying him. Time after time the metal of my sword clanged against its mirror image in the hand of this reflection. It only fueled me onward, spurring me to keep trying.

Finally, I said, driving the figure to its knees as I had been when we had first begun to fight, "I will not let you win, nor will I ever stop. Never!"

With a smile, the figure nodded, bursting into a shower of light which swirled around me, sparkling. As each particle touched me, I felt such warmth and knew that I was indeed alive. The next instant I was back on my knees, the battle around me as if I had never left. The enemy still stood over me ready to strike. This one too would take my life, but he did not know that I did not know how to hesitate any longer. I had remembered what I needed to.

I could not walk away. I would never walk away again.

My hand clasped my blade, striking upwards and thru him as he rushed at me. I withdrew my sword as I stood up, the man falling away, eyes wide. As he gasped for breath, I leaned down, whispering, "I still have much more to do, but this moment I will remember for as long as I live. May your soul find peace." My hand covered his eyes, closing them, but even then I was looking forwards and around me. My other brothers needed me still. Without hesitation, I moved into the fray.

Gaia Handle: Vesale
Gem Trying For: Children
Prompt Answered: 2
Entry:

My day was coming, I knew that. Like it did for all my people, today would be the day I learned of what my true purpose would be. I don't know how it is for others, but for me it was very hard to accept that my path would be chosen by another. So much for doing what pleases me. I only hope that the task I am given is one that I can be happy with.

I've seen others, who have received their path and have gone on to accomplish great things. Then there are others, who have gone in the completely different direction, and withered away to nothing but shells, hollow versions of what they used to be because their job that they were given was so meaningless and shallow to them. I hope mine is the former.

Before the ceremony we're taken to meet with the oracle. It was a strange experience to say the least, one I'd been apprehensive about. I entered the small dark room that smelt of dust and paper, littered with broken artefacts and jars of nothing. He sat in the middle of the room facing a large open window. It had no glass, and was open to all of the elements. I was instructed to go and sit before him. I did, placing myself before him. It took some time before he said to me, "Here is an old soul..." when he looked at me. All I could remember from were his eyes-heterochromatic blue and red, but they weren't real colors, they danced in the light, seeming to swirl around the iris. It was enchanting. At one time I swear the colors jumped right into me, but I'm sure that could not be true.

We spoke for some time, it's not easy talking to a stranger, let alone one who is supposed to plan your life out for you. But we did. It was not what I expected. It was relaxing, and therapeutic. In a way it put me at ease. No matter what my fate, I knew that the oracle would chose what was right, and even if it did not fit, I would find a way to make it work...