There are many superstitions and beliefs in Tendaji, often originating from the culture and gods of each individual region. Wherever one goes, they might find a new routine or practice based on the region they are in. However, there seems to be one thing that all Tendaji residents believe in - the power and beauty of a meteor shower.
The rare celestial event is seen as a blessing, and this one just so happens to have appeared right when the New Year began. Oh what luck and what a great omen - this must be a sign of good fortune for the year to come.
[ How does your character react to the meteor shower that is lighting up the sky? How do they see this omen impacting their life and year to come? Explore the thoughts and experience either alone or with a friend. ]
From his perch on the front porch of his home, Lioe watched the locals scurrying along the ground below. There was apparently something going on with the sky that could only be seen once one got out from under the canopy of the thick trees. Something to do with the stars moving. From what he could tell, everyone was in a rush to get a glimpse.
Well, everyone except Lioe. He never rushed anywhere. Even now, he was letting himself lean back and flipped his book open again, idly wondering if his siblings had hurried on to see the show. The stars would still be there the next night, unless they were actually falling from the sky. He heard no panic from anything coming to the ground though. It was just cool to look at as far as he could tell, and the excitement from the others just wasn't enough to send the placid boy running.
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 7:48 pm
Cornetified
[1/7]
In all honesty Maritza didn't give two hoots about the stars. Her daughter had gone off with her friends to see them, and she assumed that was where the rest of her family had gone before meandering out onto the porch. Maritza had been wrapped up in her projects for most of the afternoon so she'd planned on spending that bit of time to herself as a break, but what she hadn't expected was to see Lioe.
"You're still here? I thought you might have gone off to see the stars." Maritza commented as she moved over towards the edge. She lowered herself so that she could slid her legs over the side and relax. "I was told it's supposed to be a good omen. Not so sure about that, but it can't hurt anything." Taleian superstitions still sounded incredibly ridiculous to Maritza, but if it pleased her family then it wasn't worth the fight to tell them it was stupid.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 12:27 pm
Lioe was surprised to hear someone else come out onto the porch, eyes lifting curiously while instinctively raising his book protectively. Of course, it was much harder to hide behind the pages than it used to be. He shook his head silently in reply, watching his mother curiously as she settled nearby. Was she not going either? "Why would stars falling be good?" he finally asked.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2021 5:50 pm
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[2/7]
"...When I was your age, I was just starting my apprenticeship on the first airship to cross the ocean. After we crashed, we were stuck on Tendaji for a while and I visited this..." She waved her hand around, searching for the right word. "...institution, in Zidel? I was visiting a friend, but they let me into their library anyway and I read up on some interesting superstitions."
Even to this day Maritza would rather rip off her own nails than go back to Zena. That sort of bitter cold, the type that could take the breath from her lungs, was fine during one season, but not all of them. "I read that in Zena some tribes believed it was the goddess Bergchi releasing wayward souls from purgatory so that they could finally be at peace. The nomads in Sauti think it's the souls of new babies being sent to down from the other world. Somewhere along the line a shower like this meant this year would be a blessing for hunters, farmers and families alike." Clucking her tongue, Maritza leaned back. "There were a few others, but it's all just stories."
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:06 pm
The initial mention of the airships had Lioe wrinkling his nose. Whenever his mother's travels came up, he couldn't help wondering if she was disappointed in him for not having the same desires... But the airship brought up an interesting point that thankfully took his mind off of the possible failure. Souls and blessings? "Doesn't sound real. That would be scary to fall that far," he murmured, eyes lifting toward the canopy cover again. If souls came from the sky, his must have been the exception. He enjoyed some excitement in his life, but flying across the sky like that? No thanks.
"Can you touch stars from the airship?" His eyes lowered bashfully once more. "Touching one should be luckier than seeing one."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 4:08 pm
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3/7
"I don't think they're meant to remember it." Maritza groused. She felt her palms slipping a little one the well worn wood, and instead of fighting it she allowed it to carry on. The mother of three gently slipped back until she was laying flat on her back, legs still dangling off the edge of the porch. It was rare for her to be sitting this much, but there was the odd time where she just needed the calm.
She raised her hand towards the sky above. Even if she couldn't see it because of the canopy Maritza knew it was there. "You could touch a cloud if you really wanted to, but not the stars. They're so much further away." Of course she didn't know exactly how much further, but she supposed no one ever really would. "When I was a little girl someone told me that if you ate a star you could fly, so, yeah, I could see it being a lot more lucky than just seeing it."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:41 pm
Oh.... "That makes sense," he said quietly, slipping down behind the book a little further. Perhaps it was a relief to realize that if one indeed come from the sky, one would not be allowed remember the perilous journey. On the other hand, if it was souls being released from purgatory, they would probably want to experience that trip. It was a nice thought, at the least.
He hadn't realized that the stars were so far! The clouds could block the stars, but was there that much of a difference? His brow rose with interest at the next tale. That sounded like it would make for a good book. As far as being real life though, not likely. Peering over at his relaxing mother, he cocked his head slightly. "You didn't need the star to fly, though," he offered lightly. "Is that why you're not going to see them?"
Painted Moose
Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 3:56 pm
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4/7
The mechanic flexed her calloused fingers towards the sky before ultimately pulling her hand back and tucking it under her head. She'd seen a few scholars in her time that were most interested in the skies than she was. All Maritza had ever really cared about was how to achieve flight by mechanical means, but they looked beyond that...
"I'm just not a fan of crowds." She didn't mind working elbow to elbow with a pack of sweaty, loud engineers but the moment she was stuck out in an empty field during some festival or another Maritza tensed. Of course she could find an isolated spot to watch the stars if she really wanted to, but at the end of the day she didn't really want to go, now did she? Turning towards her eldest son, Maritza quirked a brow. "What about you? Didn't Isaia or Zadia ask you to go?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:33 pm
Lioe shook his head. "Haven't seen them since earlier." While they remained a close-knit trio, these coming teen years meant more independent exploration and self-discovery. It usually simply meant more time alone in Lioe's case, but he did not mind at all. "Omens aren't real, anyway." Yes, why should he hurry off just to look at something that he couldn't even interact with? Omens were for books and elder Agna with her arthritic fingers that pointed at everything with some devastating prophecy. He flipped a page and sank deeper into the cushion he had propped against the railing.
Painted Moose
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:50 pm
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[5/7]
Maritza merely made a grunt of agreement. She didn't know if it was because of her upbringing or just Belrea itself, but she'd never put much stock into omens. Superstitious nonsense held no place in a scientific society and only tended to serve as a crutch anyway. If someone wanted to spend so much time wondering why souls were dropping out of the sky then they could be thinking of ways to catch them instead of telling stories to children.
"Have you ever thought about flying, Lioe?" It was innocent enough, but something that had Maritza's curiosity. None of her children had ever visited Belrea before, and while it was a little...saddening? that she hadn't been able to share her 'home' with her offspring she hadn't pushed it.
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 5:38 pm
Despite the easy-going delivery, Lioe felt himself flinch back from the question. Why was is so nerve-wracking to talk with his own mom about things? After a moment of chewing on his lip, he gave the slightest of nods. He had definitely thought about it, but... "Not that interested," he replied cautiously, this time keeping his eyes down on the pages in front of him though he had stopped reading by then. His imagination allowed for experiencing every kind of flying possible, but the idea of actually flying was not the most attractive thing to him.
Painted Moose
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:18 pm
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[6/7]
She couldn't help the sigh that followed. A part of her had known what the answer would be, but that didn't make hearing it any easier. She wanted to drag him up onto an airship and show him these things, but...that just wasn't how parenting was. These were concepts that Uquin had known for years, but Maritza's learning curve was still fresh and new enough that her reactions were anything but softened. Still, she was trying and despite her disappointment she couldn't find it in her to harass Lioe about it.
"That's fine. You don't have to be in the sky to see how beautiful it is." With a grunt she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "You should make a wish on them before they're gone. I heard that doing that is good luck too, and even if it sounds dumb it can't hurt."
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:05 pm
The sigh had Lioe bracing himself, fingers tightening on the book cover. It certainly didn't sound fine... but he did appreciate that she wasn't pushing the issue. He gave another nod, keeping his eyes down. The sky was pretty, but he didn't need to be up in it. Those huge floating ships didn't need him.
Whatever her intentions were, Lioe felt a stab in his gut. She was encouraging him to go make wishes even though they agreed it was silly? ..in his mind, this was clearly her way of telling him to bugger off.... Perhaps he should have left it at letting her know he had thought about flying rather than saying the rest of it. Talking was so overrated... Rather than risk irritating his mother further, Lioe nodded and tucked the book under his arm. A quick scoot, and he was slipping down the ladder with only the one hand steadying his descent. He wasn't sure he would actually go see the stars, but he certainly wasn't going to stay there.
If only wishing on stars did work... then maybe he could wake up tomorrow and he could be in one of his stories with nothing to worry about again.
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:01 am
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FIN
What did I say? All she'd meant was that he should shoot for whatever dreams Lioe happened to have and instead he was taking the chance to get away from her. She didn't try to stop him, however. Maritza simply looped an arm around the railing and watched her eldest son slip down the ladder into the night.
At some point along the way she'd turned into exactly what she'd always tried not to be; her own mother. The lack of a relationship between herself and the children was evidence enough and it...hurt more than she was ready to admit.
