Yael Every year, those who are able to make a great pilgrimage to the Sanctum, where they participate in a three-day ceremony seeking guidance from the gods. It is believed that this ceremony brings forth blessings of protection and luck for those who attend. The first two days are filled with prayer to Lurin, and the final day marks the great speech from the High Priest. It is very rare for a Yaeli to miss this ceremony.
Please Note: Much like Chibale, the Sanctum is a protected location to the Yaeli, and no outsiders are permitted to approach the city during this time. This means only Yaeli will be able to post in this ORP.
Pajore: The Sanctum
It was that time of the year again, the time for the great migration during the Season of Exhaustion. Yaeli from across the land made the journey toward the Sanctum, ready to meet the gods and perhaps gain some luck for the year ahead. All throughout Pajore, Yaeli settled in for the three-day ceremony, spending the first two days contemplative and alone. It was not a time for celebration, at least not until they finished with the final day and fully gained the favor of the gods.
No, this entire pilgrimage was about Lurin, and it all led to the great speech of the High Priest. Coming out of their internal focus of prayers for guidance and luck, many of the Yaeli have moved toward the Sanctum, waiting anxiously for the High Priest to exit and begin his speech. Only then, once his speech was complete, did the Yaeli feel they would be properly blessed with Luck and Protection from Lurin for the year to come.
|| OOC || ||. Mini-Chapter 2: Festivals starts Tuesday, July 5th and will continue for approximately 3 weeks. ||. If your character is not signed up for their thread, they may not participate. You can PM Suhuba for late entries. ||. 7 posts will count as a req for growth as with all Metas, even with the open-ended style of this chapter. ||. Please limit to up to 3 posts between NPC posts (these should be spaced out by responses from others to your post, no needless posting just to get more points). In this meta, NPCs will post once a week. ||. Growths and character quests will be closed until the time the Meta ends. ||. If you have any questions, please post them in Meta FAQ thread.
Characters Ayanna Itotia Jalase Kieran Lenila Malta Taijana Vaena
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2016 5:33 pm
Len || 1
When Lenila was a child—sheltered in the walls of the orphanage when she wasn’t scurrying the streets because she could—the matron mother Terissa had seen to it that she and the other children were afforded the opportunity to trek to the Sanctum for the yearly festival of Lurin Se. Of course, this was made simpler by the fact that they lived within the capital already, and it took only a trip through the city to visit the source of the ceremony.
Still, herding a flock of youngsters even on their best behavior was no small feat. Make them into unruly, trouble hungry orphans and add onto it the great swell of crowds that came to Pajore every year at that time, and mother Terissa became a miracle worker.
In retrospect, Len didn’t know how the woman had done it.
Now, though, those days were behind her, and as the capital city’s streets teamed with the yearly tide, nostalgia prickled at her. She tapped the back heels of her boots to the wall behind her, legs dangling over the lip of the housetop she’d taken as her perch, and squinted her silver eyes, studying the crowd. It was, at least, if nothing else, fantastic opportunity.
And never a boring moment.
Whistling a terse, off-key tune, she flipped her weight, and began a scramble down, towards the bottom level, and after her feet hit cobblestone, immersed herself in the crowd. Of the many pleasant things a crowd never lacked in, food, and unwatched coin were high on the list.
It all made for very pleasant day in the making for a small, ordinary and invisible street boy.
Quote:
Player Note: To anyone who engages Lenila, please keep in mind that she is presenting as a boy - hair cropped very short, dressed as a street rat, and posturing herself/talking like one. Since she isn't overly developed as a woman, this is a convincing presentation. So if you talk to her, please have your character assume she's male unless you contact me first and get permission otherwise.
Malta was alone in the capital. Yisette was not with her - the woman had things to do and creatures to tame and bottles to drink - and it was sort of nice to not be under her thumb for a few days. In any normal circumstance, Malta would not scurry forth from her shelter (such as it was) and would have taken advantage of the day to read and rest her tired limbs.
But this was Lurisin Se, and Malta wanted guidance. At the orphanage, they had gone together, as a group. That, too, had been sort of nice. More than that, it had felt... safe. Terissa had made things safe. Aside from asking for guidance and forgiveness for whatever she had done to make her so contagiously unlucky, Malta wanted to find that safety again. And, perhaps, someone she knew.
But, as she slunk nervously within the crowd, she realized just how difficult that would be. There were so many people - and alone, they seemed like so many more. The orphanage, and many rehomed orphans, and members of her family (the family that did not want her) were in the capital so it was likely - in fact certain - that there was someone she knew among the masses.
But where?
She fumbled nervously at the dog eared book in her bag, wondering if she shouldn't just stand aside, find a safe place, read, and wait for the crowds to thin to something less claustrophobic... but no, she had to press on. Just a little more. To someplace, at least, with maybe a better view...
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 5:44 pm
Len || 2
Lenila hadn’t been looking for anyone.
Not anyone in particular, certainly. Someone, naturally, but it could have been any someone with inattentive eyes and an open pocket. While choosier than beggers by nature, thieves couldn’t pick all the factors to be involved. Yet, as she meandered her way through the crowd, nimble and ordinary as a stray dog, she supposed she ought to have guessed that she might see a familiar face.
She knew a lot of them, after all.
Having inhabited the city all her life in various ways, at least among the resident population, there was a fair deal of familiarity to be had. The insurgence added to the chaos and made it all a more unique mix, of course. But not enough that she didn’t, as it happened, encounter a familiar stone.
It would have been easy to dart away. Keep her distance to the wall of the crowd and mesh back in, but that wasn’t Lenila’s style. She shuffled, weaving between bodies like a needle guided by a self-assured hand and then, “Ooi, you abouts on your own isn’t your normal way, lucky flower. What’re you on about here as a single miss in a dirty world? Haven’t seen you in moons. A hand of years, maybe even.”
Miss Chief aka Uke
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 6:44 pm
Taijana - Post One
Admittedly, Taijana wasn't a fan of crowds, but there was something special about this time of year. When she was a little girl she, her siblings, mother, father and Aunt would travel to Pajore together. Her memories were filled with spiritual bonding, as well as intense nervousness. As a rule her mother had always told her not to expect much from the gods; that a child like her should remain as inconspicuous as possible. So, she had stayed close to her parents side like a leech and hadn't truly absorbed the ceremony as it was truly meant to be.
This year she came alone. It wasn't as if her siblings hadn't wanted her to travel with them; far from it. She just...needed the space. For once Taijana didn't want to be near those that she could hide behind. They would have spent the first two days away from each other anyway, so why not keep it that way for the rest of the gathering? She wanted, no, needed the gods' favor in order to make some big decisions and didn't want her own weaknesses to hold her back.
So, Taijana was being brave and sticking it out on her own. Talking with other Yaeli all on her own, without any help from her extroverted siblings...Except, now that her two days were over and a bit of mingling was called for she felt as if she couldn't breath. What if someone actually wanted to talk to her? What if the High Priest could see that she, as a triplet, didn't actually have a soul and excluded her from the gods protection?
It made Taijana wonder if it wasn't too late to go home.
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Tai is open for interaction!
Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2016 8:34 pm
Malta (Post 2) ~~~~~~~~~~
Had her pocket been picked, the pickpocket would have come up disappointed and possibly somehow poorer than when they'd started out. Malta didn't have much, and most of what she had - besides her book, her glasses, and a scrawny snack - was in her cot in her loft. In the end, though, it was not her pocket but her heart that was picked.
The voice was clear, springing out from the crowd in that way that meant that it was for her. Strange, indeed, how that was - how a single voice could stand out so readily from the background noise. She clutched the book to her, an inadequate buffer against surprise.
"U-um..." She stared at the figure. They were not familiar, nor was their voice, though the pattern of the words was. Extremely familiar. Something about the way that they spoke, the ease with which the words flowed over each other, as if they simply poured out from the lips fully formed, without the need for constraining thought; filled with the sort of energy that could paint vivid pictures in the mind, or leave listeners hanging in suspense.
But it couldn't be that person. How could it be? This was a boy, and they were not. But then, the nickname... Malta squinted through her thick lenses. "L-lenila?!"
She should've been chosen. She was blessed by the Gods, everyone know met her knew that, but yet the Sanctum did not pick her. That was fine with her though. Now that she was older she understood that everything happened for a reason and even if she hadn't been picked she was still blessed. The God's had bigger and better plans for her right now, maybe the Sanctum was in her future.
Her parents had come with her, but ended up talking to some of their friends. Ayanna didn't want to stay in one place, she would be making her trek to the mainland once again soon and this time she planned on fulfilling her mission of converting some of the mainlanders. It would be more fun though if she could convince at least one other Yaelian to go with her. "Hello! This is all so wonderful isn't it? Can't you just feel Lurin blessing us!" She said happily to Taijana. Time to make a new friend, and possibly a follower.
Painted Moose
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 9:18 am
Jalase - 1
Jalase sighed as he stared out at the crowd in front of him. It was the same thing, every year, people gathered around to worship beings who, in all likelihood, didn’t exist. He rolled his shoulders, huffing out a breath as he was bumped into and the person scurried off without so much as an apology. As a child he’d been dragged along to these festivals each year and as a teenager, he’d become less and less involved — only going because his parents liked to set up shop a few days before and after the festival. Now, as an adult, he found himself back in the middle of the throng of people.
Jalase wasn’t entirely sure why he had decided to come out into the mess of people. He’d have been much happier remaining in his room, back at headquarters. Instead, for some insane reason he had decided the best option was to throw himself into a festival that he hadn’t really enjoyed since he was a youngling. As he moved deeper into the crowd, Jal instinctively reached for his sword’s hilt and frowned when his hands came up empty. Leaving behind his weapon had definitely been something he’d done reluctantly. With so many people around, the thing would have just gotten in the way. For the time being, he had stowed away some small daggers at his side — for just in case.
Running a hand through his loose hair, Jalase took a deep breath and started to weave through the crowd, trying to get closer to the sanctum and maybe catch a glimpse of his sister, if she were around. Though he would never openly admit it, he’d become even more curious about his long lost sibling after meeting her for the first time when he was still back home.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 1:28 pm
VAENA Post 1
Traveling had felt shorter than usual this year, and the journey had been uneventful. The days of contemplation were always hard on Vaena. She wasn't one to just sit still and be lost in prayer and thought all day. She would rather be doing something, have her hands on something and working. But it was a time for solidarity, and then later came the partying. Something Vaena was particularly fond of if only for the fact that they didn't restrict teenagers from drinking during these things. She grinned at the idea.
And it was almost time. She had spent her first two days praying for the mainlanders to just disappear, thinking of the Oban she had met and hoping that they would just pack up and go, or get eaten by something on Yael, whatever was to come first. She pursed her lips and took a seat at an open bench. Her parents were there of course, along with her sister, but they were off doing their own thing. Vaena was left to herself.
[Vaena's open for interaction, though she's a grump and I'm rusty D: ]
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 4:27 pm
a pet dino
Taijana - Post Two
This would have been the moment where her sister would have launched into an hour long conversation, or her brother might have charmed the young woman with a subtle look.
Taijana just choked.
What was she supposed to say?! Every time she spoke with a stranger her words ended up twisted. It wasn't the same as going out into the wilderness, and speaking with the woods. They never actually spoke back, and this girl...She was just so happy that Tai didn't want to disappoint her.
"Well...I...I mean, yes, of course." Her voice was so low one would have to concentrate just to hear it. Taijana clasped her hands behind her back in an attempt to hide her fidgeting. "I mean...I don't know. I hope so? Maybe. Sorry, I'm a little nervous."
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Miss Chief aka Uke
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2016 6:35 pm
Len || 3
Blink. Stare. Blink, blink.
The recognition wasn’t immediate, and Len didn’t suppose she could blame the girl. She didn’t remember every single stray child that sifted through the halls of the orphanage at any point in time; there were far too many. She remembered the ones that were missing something. More than their parents, that is. The soft ones who hadn’t filled their holes yet and hadn’t built their shells up properly. Or the clean ones, whose souls hadn’t put on grit in the way that any self-preserving soul ought.
Malta was many of those things at once, so far as Len judged her. A clean and soft soul without prickles or armor, which meant — Len flashed her teeth in a cheek-to-cheek grin — she needed company, when it was available.
“It’s Le—oooiii, shhhh-tshhhh-shhht-!” As soon as ‘Lenila’ came from the other girl’s mouth, Len’s hand was twitching in to cover it. “Eyyy, now,” she said, volume dropping but tone taking back on a good-humored, teasing lilt, “I’m ‘Lennart’ these days, aye? Bein’ a boy fairs me best on the streets. Don’t got too many folk lookin’ to…”
For a drawn moment, as her eyes caught something else familiar over Malta’s shoulder, Len’s words drifted off, and for several seconds the sentence lingered uncharacteristically empty and unfinished as her gaze skimmed the boy once — twice to be sure — and squinted. She turned her attention back to the girl at hand.
“They don’t, ah…nothin’ too greatly excitin’ about boys, y’know? Different otherwise.”
Making mental note of the boy’s direction, Len tucked the information away for later examination. Perhaps, if the opportunity presented itself, she could have more than one run-in with familiar faces on the gods’ day.
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2016 8:15 pm
VAENA Post 2
Vaena had her hand resting on her chin, waiting for... well anything to happen she supposed. She tilted her head to the side slowly as she watched someone who happened to look like they were on a mission. He wasn't really stopping for anything and kept his eyes on the Sanctum.
Was he just that excited for the priest's blessings? She shrugged her shoulders to herself and wove through the crowd to where he had stopped at least for now. "Ready for the speeches... or looking for something in particular to happen?" She couldn't yet tell if he was waiting for something strange to appear, like he knew something on the inside... but at the same time he could just be some nut and she was voluntarily engaging with him.
"...Lennart?" Malta corrected meekly. Not that she would have really known that Len was posing as a boy. Not that it didn't make... sense? Malta wasn't sure if it did or didn't. Either way, she would remember it now because Len clearly wanted her to, and it was Len. A shorter-haired boy Len. Her friend.
Malta didn't forget things like other people did. If she remembered something, or someone, it stayed there, as if etched permanently in glass. If she noticed a detail, she noticed it forever. Some of the orphans may have forgotten Lenila's stories, but Malta could, if she wished, remember every one she'd heard (and been properly awake for). She knew when they changed, and when they didn't, and when things became mysteriously more extraordinary from telling to telling.
"O-oh, ah, that makes sense." She said, shuffling a little closer. The actual truth of the stories wasn't important. Lenila... Lennart... was her friend. She was smart and resilient and larger than life - not afraid of life without a family and clearly able to handle herself alone in the big scary world.
She would protect her, here. Malta hoped. "But theres always something exciting about you." she said, shyly, "You always find something exciting, anyway. How have you been?"
The Only Black Uke
Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2016 1:16 pm
Jalase - 2
Jalases’s gaze roamed over the crowd, catching onto a few familiar faces here and there — most of them belonging to fellow guards or old friends of his parents. He nodded and smiled to those that spotted him in return but Jal made no more towards any of them. Instead, he remained where he was, arms now crossed over his chest and waiting. Surely there would be some priestesses that came out with the priest. Jalase couldn’t actually recall what exactly took place during such a speech — after all it had been years since he’d actually attended the thing. As he idly scanned the crowd, Jalase’s gaze snagged on a recently familiar face — Len. He tilted his head, eyeing the girl the boy was standing with and watched as they seemed to carry on a conversation like they knew each other.
Just as he was about to take a step forward to seek Len out, Jalase blinked and glanced around at the feminine voice. Raising and eyebrow he glanced in Len’s direction once before turning his attention back to the yaeli girl who had spoken to him. If Len was here, that meant he was here to hear the speeches and would be for a while — Jal could always seek him out later. For now, though, someone else had managed to snag his attention. He couldn’t help but let a small snort out before he began to speak. “I’d have rather of stayed home, to be honest. I haven’t been to this festival in a few years now.”
kaname423
Nah, not at all. He's going to eventually meet up with Len, though. So just keep that in mind if Uke has Len pop into the middle of things. xDD But he's quite content to interact with Vaena for now. x]
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 1:21 pm
VAENA Post 3
The guy in front of her seemed to be hesitant to talk to her for a moment, but then his attention returned. She shrugged her shoulders at his answer. "You and me both. The only upside to these things is always the party at the end." She offered as a fair consolation in her opinion. Though maybe he just wasn't the partying type.
"You looked like you're caught up on something, are you looking for someone then?" She asked, prying while still trying to be polite. "Seems like almost everyone in Yael is here for the pilgrimage this year."
Tangled Puppet
Fine with me ^.^ Gives her something to do in the meantime
