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It started off with the sap, slowly dripping down the bark of Elzira toward the ground. It seemed normal enough, like many of the other trees that filled the landscape of Yael. No one seemed to question it at the time, because it felt inconsequential. After all, the missing seed and the new trees were more important to consider for the small sisterhood exiled to the island across the sea.

Then, the bark began to peel. It wasn't the entire tree, but where the sap seemed to collect the most, Elzira's bark would slide and eventually peel off to show darkened wood underneath. It was then that Nivalis and her small group of advisors brushed aside the concerns overseas to focus on the issue at home.

Something was wrong with Elzira.

Nivalis, a young mystic with room to grow, wasn't certain what to make of these new developments. The matron left no direction on what to do if Elzira was sick, and with most of the elders passed on, those left on the island were out of their element. They attempted to tend for the tree, to ensure that she had the water she needed and the soil was pure. Still, Elzira weeped thick sap, shed portions of her bark, and eventually...she no longer bloomed.

Before, when it was simply an issue of caring for their tree, but with the blooms no longer coming, it became an issue for their future. Their tree was no longer producing Elaria, Nivalis had no clue on how to manage this change on top of sisters leaving every day to travel across the sea, and no longer could they hide the reality of the situation.

And so, with the pride of a mystic leading a strong, determined sisterhood, Nivalis called a grand meeting with every Aisha in Zenris to share what they knew and determine the next steps to saving their great mother. If they still could.

Nivalis 1

'Don't be like this,' Nivalis chided herself internally as she glowered at a sticky bulb of sap that had collected near the base of Elzira's trunk. She should be frightened for her Great Mother and the future of her tribe. She should be earnest in her attempts to help and heal her people. She should be able to set aside her personal upsets if it meant ensuring a bright future for her sisters. Instead, she was only angry.

And once that was scratched away, there was only hollowness: a shell of offense and indignation encasing a dreadful empty pit.

What did it matter if Elzira was unable to bloom more Elaria? So many of them had abandoned their home and their roots at the first whisper of an opportunity to do so. Less blooms meant less traitors, less of her sisters who would leave her and their Mother behind for a future in an unknown land beneath a new goddess... Nivalis expected she would stop having children too, if all the ones she'd given life to decided to be ungrateful and neglectful of the one who'd bloomed them.

It was no wonder Elzira wept thick, sappy tears.

Nivalis had been raised on the belief that their tribe was superior in its strength and unity. They were to be conquerors who would steal earthling territories and then reclaim the Aishan homeland from their weak-willed cousins. They were warriors and fighters where the Chibale Alkidikes had turned into soft Earthling-lovers who'd lost the will to dominate and persevere in their vision of a world for them.

With many of the more aged Extremists having lived the extent of their lives, the Elarian fire had smoldered away to almost nothing. Niva's extremist cousins just wanted to return home, and her sisters just wanted peace. Peace with the other Aishans, peace with the Earthlings, peace from the terrors they had faced years prior...

It felt like everything that had made her tribe feel like her home and her family and her reason for living was just... not there, anymore. Nivalis had only ever wanted to be what was best for her sisters, but she wasn't... And so many abandoned her...

"Don't. Be. Like. This," she hissed venomously into the air, as she lifted her head to glare at the peeling bark of the Great Mother's trunk.

She hadn't come out here to mope and feel sorry for herself. Those that remained would look to her for guidance, so no matter how Nivalis wanted to crumple into a pit in the dirt and become nothing, she couldn't. She pushed heavy dreads over her shoulder to keep them from obscuring her figure and turned to face those that had answered her call.

She should stand tall, be firm and proud. When she had addressed her sisters in the past, her had always been laced with some variant of excitement, even in a dire situation. It was harder to summon that energy now.

She lifted her head, took a breath and tried to not sound terribly demure.

"Thank you for joining me, sisters." The welcome was accentuated by a twitch of her lip that may have been an attempt at a smile. "I have asked you all here to seek the tribe's wisdom and guidance. Our Great mother behaves in ways we have never experienced from her before, and with our numbers scattered," the word spilled from her tongue in a hiss, but she continued, "more than usual, I thought it would be best if we formulated a plan together. Elzira has ceased being able to produce blooms. She weeps tears of sap for us. Her leaves wilt. If this is an illness, we must do everything we can to fight it, but nothing we've tried so far has yielded results..."

"If anyone has any thoughts or ideas or opinions, please feel free to address them to me."

Pruu 1

Pruu headed into the meeting with a determined step and firm chin.. but inside she was honestly worried. It didn't take much to see that things were not going well for the Elarians. Everyone knew the Alkidike mothers would eventually cease, but she and the others were supposed to keep the line of Elzira going strong. Each time she had gone to pray to the mother tree though, the illness was clearer and clearer.

She walked up to Akel and gave her shoulder a squeeze, giving silent support to Akel as much as herself. Then Nivalis addressed everyone, and Pruu immediately felt her hackles rise. With everything going on lately, and all the things not happening that should have been, her worry about the spiral they were falling into only served to anger her. Now that the problem was voiced out in the open, it made the trouble they were in even more raw and real.

What also hit hard was knowing that she felt the same. Elzira wept for the losses of the many that had left... and her own twin was among those. Pyrrha's decision had been painful to bear, but she accepted and understood it as well. However, she could not excuse the other sisters who abandoned their lives here...

She pressed her lips and closed her eyes to calm her mind, keeping a hand on Akeldama's shoulder. After all, the complications of the matter were hitting her on a more personal level. With Elzira not producing blooms... No. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about herself.

Of course... she had no idea on how to proceed either, and kept silent until an idea would come. For now, listening would be better than adding to the chaotic air with random thoughts.

Nivalis 2

"It has been a handful of weeks," Nivalis answered as her gaze found the face of one of the few Alkidike who remained in the camp. "It is not unusual for her to go a few days or even a week without sprouting a new bloom. She is still young in this forest, and creating a life takes energy. But this length of time is unprecedented. None who have recently begged her blessing have received it." Her minty gaze lingered on the Alkidike a moment longer. Nivalis believed her name was Ai, and she had come from the Aishan homeland of Chibale. If anyone knew how to proceed, Nivalis might have hoped it was her elder cousins...

But she swallowed down the thought and spoke to the other questions. "Even Elzira's most recent blooms were pure of deformity and the children inside healthy. There was little evidence that something was amiss until it was." Her voice softened, still loud enough to be heard, but thoughtful, "It is almost as if she simply decided one day that she no longer wished to bloom for us..."

It wasn't the message she wanted to send, and she doubted it was one her tribe wanted to hear. There were so many unpleasant 'what if's to the situation-

What if a seed from Aisha could only flourish for so long, or what if Yael's poisoned soil had shortened Elzira's life? What if she never bloomed again? What if their tribe was doomed to be divided and left here to perish without ever making its mark...

"Our home forest remains strong and resilient. Some trees fall, as happens in nature, but it does not appear to be an illness that overtakes everything it touches." She allowed her gaze to wander out into the darkness brought about by the dense canopy overhead, still heavily shrouded by dense and luscious dark leaves. "Our home here remains safe, I feel. It is only our goddess that worries me. I have sought counsel from our cousins," Nivalis said with a slight nod. "But... there does not seem to be anyone here who is familiar with any illnesses Elzira... or Aisha may have experienced..."

She trailed off slowly, her arms shifting to twist almost anxiously behind her back. Some of her tribe had traveled to meet with the Alkidike before, and it hadn't exactly gone well that time.

Pruu 2

Pruu inhaled sharply at Akel's soft words. "Don't say that," she murmured just as quietly. This could not be the end of them... There was still so much left to experience.

No other ill trees, no known history of Aisha falling ill before her, no visible injury to the mother... Ticking off the possibilities left what seemed to be a rather obvious answer. Hearing the emphasis in Nivalis' statement, she felt the cringe dig into her chest. Seeking aid from the outside for their goddess? "Imagine the heartbreak she feels at so many abandoning her... abandoning us. The young tend to be much more sensitive to pain than those who have had the chance to grow. She is not a youngling, but she still has far to go in the vastness of a tree's life. Perhaps there is a way to reinforce that we remain loyal to her and that there is reason to continue on...?" Such a sentimental suggestion felt silly coming out of her mouth, but she was willing to try almost anything within reason.

Naisi slipped quietly into the meeting; lingering on the fringes of the gathered sisterhood as Nivalis began to speak.

At first, Naisi hadn’t even been sure she would attend - had it not for her indecisiveness, her hesitation, she may not even have been here to make such a decision. Okor, her oldest and dearest friend, had begged Naisi to leave with her and the others, to cross the seas in search of adventures unknown; but, she had been afraid. Zenris was all she had ever known. She had bloomed here, grown here; her mother had returned to Elzira here. The idea of leaving that all behind had left her thoughts crippled.

And then, it was too late.

Okor was gone. The tribe had been fractured. Naisi was left again.

In the end, it was guilt that had driven Naisi here. The thought that, maybe, if she had done something, if she could have convinced Okor - or any of the others - to stay, Elzira would still be healthy. In her mind, the fault rested just as much with Naisi, as with the sisters who had stolen the seed.

Quietly, Naisi listened as Nivalis continued to address those that had gathered. Her sisters chatted amongst themselves, offering suggestions, asking questions. The tension in the air was palpable. Yet, no clear answer was forthcoming.

”But... there does not seem to be anyone here who is familiar with any illnesses Elzira….”

At the sound of Nivalis’ words, Naisi frowned.

“If not here, then where?” she mumbled to herself, waiting for their mystic to continue.

One of Nivalis' Elarian guards looked over, surprised at what her mystic had said. Sure, they had little knowledge of the history of Aisha, but from what they were taught, Aisha was lifetimes old. Nivalis was implying that maybe one of the mystics or matrons of Chibale might actually have the knowledge to solve their problems?

That in itself was a boon, if you ignored the current state between the two groups.

Seeing many of the sisters whisper to themselves at what their mystic recommended, the guard stepped forward and boomed out in a loud voice

"Silence!" She spoke out loudly to get the whispers under control, before nodding to Nivalis respectfully and lowering her voice, "Our mystic is seeking the guidance of the sisterhood in a grave time of need. We should all be honored to provide advice in such a great decision. It is time we think only of our sisterhood, of our future, and what we must do to ensure our survival for generations to come."

Opening her arms, the guard looked out, "What say you, sisters and cousins?"

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[ A vote has begun. In your next response, you will need to RP out your character's vote on if the Extremists and Elaria continue to resolve their problem internally, or seek guidance from the sisters and matron of Chibale. ]

Pruu 3

Pruu felt her heart sinking into her belly with a sourness she hadn't felt in a while. It had been one thing to look for cooperation when the dretch had threatened to wipe out everyone in the world, but this only involved the Elarians! Why would Chibale bother helping them? She had heard plenty about the rumors of peace.. but was this really about to happen?

Her gaze slid from Nivalis to Akeldama to the guard and back to Nivalis. She wanted their race to survive and flourish. She wanted daughters. She wanted to trust the mystic's choices.. She had to believe Elzira could pull through... even if it took a little help.

'Elzira, my sisters.. my future daughters... You are worth it.' She tensed her jaw to keep from spitting the words before speaking. "We must not give up trying here, but I trust you to put our people first. Nivalis, if you feel that the cousins might hold an answer, then I will support your efforts."