Private One Holy Tree; Two Fates Tied

[Aurelia Xonavi]

[NAME] odemyrii [AlIAS] 'aurelia/odee' [SPECI3S] xonavean-base [AGE] twelve [HEiGHT] 5'1ft / 153.5cm [L0CATiON] the sanctum [PlAN3T] X O N A [DATE] 25 years past [TAGGiNG] Andrew Gaul

ONE HOLY TREE; TWO FATES TIED​ At dawn, the first sun arose in the east through a window between the mountains, the narrow tops of the towering pagoda was graced with a brilliance of orange rays. A gentle snowfall, the first of the season, had shrouded the temple roofs in white. Printed on the blanket of snow were small footsteps in a nimble trail across the palace courtyard, outside and leading up the steps of a nearby hill. There she was, atop the snow-capped field kneeling by the foot of a massive tree, its weeping leaves still luscious and the vibrant colours glowing dimly in contrast to the pale snow around. Odemyrii was now her name - a deity that she was told had incarnated within her mortal self. After the departure of the former to the heavens, the palace was hers to be. And despite her protests and demands to see her parents and return, her aunt abandoned her to the bishops, an exchange of coins she was sure of. Odemyrii they called her, the Goddess of the Stellar, the young girl was compelled to believe. Two weeks ago, she had arrived with her aunt, after a 4-day journey to this temple on what the 12-year-old understood was a pilgrimage to witness a holy ritual. It was the quinquennial sacrifice of a virgin goddess with hair like hers, albeit much older than she was. A strong concoction to her lips put her to rest before a knife plunged swiftly into her heart. Like a stream down the river, the blood flowed crimson. A divine force of untainted purity within the mortal form claimed into the earth by roots that enveloped her. She who would ascend past the astral realm through the Holy Tree; its roots connected to the eternal force of Xona. Ishimet, that was her name, the Goddess of the Heaths - her life now everlasting. That was now Odemyrii's destiny. Under the tree she said her prayers, whatever for, she wouldn't know. But all she needed was an excuse for a time of solidarity and peace away from her attendants - even if it was out in the cold morning. Odemyrii, the Goddess of the Stellar would pray.

 

[Andrew Gaul]

"Divine grace, if I may ask..." A small voice would interrupt Odemyrii's prayer. A young boy, fair-skinned and bald-headed, looking to be not much older than she was, and standing not much farther away from the Holy Tree, peered over at the brunette beside him. "Why are you praying?"

Why herself, or why the reason? There was no ridicule or reprimand in his tone. Simply one of curiosity. A sprinkle of childlike wisdom, as pure and small and fading as the snowflakes that fell and melted around the canopy of the great Tree that sheltered them.

"You're a goddess," he commented. "You're the one who answers prayers."

They had never met before, though the boy seemed to speak to her with a tone of familiarity. Ashen gray robes, typical of a youth who had yet to earn title or rank, as the lowest of temple servants.

Aurelia Xonavi

 

[Aurelia Xonavi]

It was the first time she had been to the tree since the ritual - witnessing death on the very ground she knelt on had been enough to deter the child away for a while. The tree said to link the astral realm to the corporeal lands of Xona. In this palace, she was venerated as a Goddess she didn't feel like at all. Perhaps Odemyrii was here searching for her own answers... that she might connect to something, anything at all.

Serenity was all that there was, eyes closed with her small palms clasped in front of her. The soft howling of the winds and the cold it brought drew a gentle blush of red to surface on her nose and the apples of her cheeks. Her eyes opened as the silence was broken, turning to see the young boy who addressed her with much reverence. Since she had arrived, she had seen very few children around the temple, even some who attended to her, but none who held a conversation with her for more than a few words.

The girl, with the malleable faith still of a child, was told many things since she arrived, and what other choice did she have then to be made to believe? Despite that, she did not quite have an answer to the boy's question, one she might have even asked herself. Why was she here? He brought along a good point. The frank answer was that she didn't know how to be a Goddess, sure they were treating here like an ancient deity, but what she knew was merely of the child that she was.

Yet she would find and answer for the boy, a plausible one from the things they taught her."A Goddess in a mortal body on the mortal plane. Until ascension, my senses are like yours, I can only hear as far as my ears perceive - I cannot answer prayers I cannot hear." Was that good enough? Perhaps. She didn't want to disappoint him. "I am trying to connect to the tree." She stated plainly. Enough of that today, A smile formed on her lips, perhaps delighted to have another kid to talk to. She patted the ground beckoning him over. "And who do you pray to?"
Andrew Gaul ​

 

[Andrew Gaul]

"Aeron, God of War. My father’s god," the boy said, perhaps a little too proudly, as he stepped over to take the invited seat. "And grandfather's god." Resting on the soft earth, he crossed his legs, parting himself at an angle so he could better turn and face the girl.

"Do you watch gladiators? Titan, he's my father. And the Ghost is my grandfather.” As if he could bolster his heritage any to impress a goddess. Clearly the subject was enough to deter him from questioning Odemyrii's legitimacy, for the time being.

Aurelia Xonavi

 

[Aurelia Xonavi]

The boy joined her. The young Goddess shifted, assuming a position that was more comfortable, both legs tucked to her side elegantly and an arm propping herself up. His family worshipped The One, The God of War. With a few gentle nods, she acknowledged.

Odemyrii knew some of her family who worshiped him - most of those who were faithful by the Joranis Creed did. “Just the God of War? My family worshiped Ceshen, the Goddess of Abundance, and Otheira of Sapience.”

Gladiators was a term she heard before. The brutal games, far too barbaric for her young soul. She shook her head. Those were odd names. It made sense why the God of War and Victory was the one they worshiped. “And what should I call you? Do you want to be a gladiator?”
Andrew Gaul ​

 

[Andrew Gaul]

"All the gods, of course. I live at the temple, we pray to everyone." One could hear the amused eye roll in his tone. Didn't she know what he was? "But by myself, just The One." He shrugged. "Why pray to many when you can pray to one, the most powerful god of all?” He didn't mean to offend or boast; it was fact, wasn't it?

The girl shook her head, implying her unfamiliarity with gladiators. "Oh." He glanced at the ground, a bit disappointed, shifting slightly in a pause of awkward silence. "I thought because, you came from a free family...you'd know about them." He had heard a little about how Odemyrii came to be at the temple, a different upbringing from most of her predecessors. The outside world a mystery to he who was dedicated to the temple since birth.

"Yasha," he replied, when the girl asked for his name. "And no... But I want to meet one." A smile crept upon his lips, before it pursed with uncertainty, squinting his eyes in suspicion at the goddess.

"You won't squeal, will you?" Something in Yasha felt she wouldn't. If one could confess sins in prayer, why not face-to-face with a divine incarnate? "Brother Zimri says it's not proper for eunuchs to talk about gladiators." Relaxing his posture, he leaned back with straightened arms, propping himself up with palms against the earth. "But it's fun, and, well, he has a radio, and we listen to the games sometimes. You can listen too sometime, if you want." His gray blue eyes met hers, with a devious whisper. "It'll be our secret."

Satisfied, the boy would stare up at the canopy, and contemplate for a moment. "So... If I tell you my prayer, you'll answer it?" He turned to Odemyrii again. As innocent of a query it was, the challenge was set, else he use the goddess' own words against her.

Aurelia Xonavi

 

[Aurelia Xonavi]

The boy possessed the wisdom she did not, but it wasn't surprising if he had been raised here. she was Goddess - a divine entity and descendant of the God of War, raised at the temple or not, Odemyrii felt that she should know more. Now, to be reminded of he family that she longed to return to was disheartening. Did her Mother know where she was? What about her Father? She had many questions, but the young girl was simply told this was where she belonged from now on until her ascension... until her death.

Well, at least now she met Yasha, living here might not be such a gloom after all. The promise of some fun was enticing to the child in a place where she was expected to act like a living deity. "I would love to. I won't tell. When?" The excitement rang clear in her voice. She thought the subject of her divinity had departed, but she was wrong. Her lips pursed together into a thin line, apprehensive. While she felt an honour to be prayed to, she had barely figured how to be a Goddess, let alone answer prayers. Evasive she could be. "Whatever do you have to pray to the Goddess of the Stellar for? Why pray to many when you can pray to The One?"
Andrew Gaul ​

 

[Andrew Gaul]

He was pleasantly surprised that the girl would be so enthused to involve herself in his interests. His excitement rose with hers. "Next week, I think. Zim knows, I'll bring him to you so you can meet him, and we'll show you Zim's room; that's where we usually listen to the games, at night, when everyone's asleep. You'll have to sneak over, though." Normally the distance between the women's and men's quarters would have concerned him, as he squinted one eye mischievously at Odemyrii. "But that shouldn't be a problem for you, right? Considering you made it all the way out here."

How the goddess managed to sneak past everyone at the temple was a mystery to him, if not a testament to her divinity. Silent wardens stationed around the Holy Tree who wouldn't protest to the goddess' presence, nor to the eunuch who tended to the Tree and its gardens around.

Just when he thought he'd trapped her, she then turned his own words on him, instead.

"He is slow," Yasha pouted. "Obviously he has so many prayers to answer. And you're here, so--oh, right, you're not connected to the Tree!" He realized, dropping the argument. How could the goddess answer prayers when she had not reached her full divine potential?

He looked to where Odemyrii's hands were, and then to the wall of bark that was the ginormous Tree in front of them.

"Maybe if you touch it, it'll help?" He suggested.

Aurelia Xonavi

 

[Aurelia Xonavi]

Who ever this Zimri was, she very much liked to meet him. A bit of mischief couldn't hurt anyone, and who was to deny a young Goddess her whims? If she was to be here for years, she would need some good friends to keep her company. This palace was hers, and she only found out she'd only need to say a word to dismiss her handmaidens. The guards, however, would not, even now, they were always at a distance with an eye on her. "The guards are always watching... somewhere." She whispered. She was a Goddess, albeit in a mortal form, they couldn't let anything happen to the sacred lamb. But it would certainly be easier to sneak around under the cover of night.

As Yasha answered, Odemyrii chuckled. Being a divine being had its advantages, while she'd ask what he prayed for to appease her curiosity, it seemed intrusive. "Patience is a virtue - you should wait to hear from him. Aeron might not like you loosing faith and confiding in another Goddess." Odemyrii pointed out, shedding some of her wisdom. If Yasha was here for years before her, perhaps he'd seen how the previous Goddess Ishimet connected to the tree. It wouldn't hurt to try. "Perhaps," she muttered. The girl stood palms extended that pressed against the cold bark of the tree.

She squinted her eyes closed, willing herself to concentrate. It was only a matter of seconds before they opened again. "I don't think its working, Yash-" Just as her hands lifted from the tree, its roots emerged from the earth, wrapping tightly around her ankle and a small yelp to leave her lips. It was enough to stir panic within the young child, having seen the other Goddess pulled under as a Holy Sacrifice. "Help!" The girl squeaked as she attempted to pull her leg from its grasp despite its unyielding grip. Then Odemyrii froze, as if in a daze. Her eyes glazed over in vibrant ember and green fern-like veins appearing over her skin seemed to glow.

The fog swirled around her as if she was on the clouds. Was this heaven? Odemyrii glanced down, the roots no more nor her physical self. All but a glimmer like the stars that filled her form. The tree was behind her, quite different that shone from within - a crack of light. It was peaceful, she felt all of Xona in transcendence, heard every whisper and russle of leaves. "Hello?" her voice echoed infinitely. Then she caught a glimpse as if she was brought back into the mortal form - but not quite. It was at night, red shone from the skies. Within her was an incredible power, an abyss of darkness, yet it felt so foreign, like a thorn in her side. It was Aeron - or she was Aeron. An overwhelming pain rose from her core, so intense she felt she hardly breathe. In front of her was a face, familiar, a man, head bald and eyes of a gray-blue hue. He held the hilt of whatever it was impaled within her.

Odemyrii gasped as if jolted awake from a nightmare. Grounded back to reality as the tree released her from its grasp. The boy Yasha stood in front of her. What ever it was she just saw - a vision - it was him. "Aeron. I... I think I saw Aeron. " The girl stuttered, still in quite a bit of shock. Did she actually? She was Aeron. Odemyrii shook her head as if trying to clear away the fog that clouded her thoughts. It felt as if she had just woken up from a dreams, those dreams she barely remembered. "Yasha, you were-" Her words were cut short at the interruption of another.

"Your Divinity, the travellers are awaiting at the shrines. They may wish to receive the blessing of the new Goddess." One of the priestess bowed low. It was impertinent to keep her worshippers waiting - so she was told. Perhaps still to meek to dismiss her, the young girl looked back at Yasha. Whatever it was between them could wait for another day. "I'll see you tomorrow?" A question rather than a demand, with a polite smile, she turned and left with the priestess.​

Andrew Gaul

 

[Andrew Gaul]

In all his life at the temple, there was little Yasha hadn't seen or heard before concerning the Holy Tree and its goddesses. No sudden movement or terrified expression at the grand supernatural display before him, as the sentient roots darted out and latched onto Odemyrii's leg, pulling her into a trance, as still as a statue.

For a moment, Yasha watched her, eyes widened in awe, surprised that it had actually worked. Rising to his feet, he drew closer to inspect the sight. The green markings flourishing across Odemyrii's skin, her eyes shining amber... He skirted around and stood in front of the girl, glancing worriedly between her and the Tree as seconds stretched by like hours. How long would this last? He feared to reach out and touch Odemyrii, less his interference harm himself or the holy union.

Then the Tree roots relaxed, snaking back into their burrows. The girl unfroze, and Yasha's hand reached out to steady her, worry and relief evident on his face as the goddess came to. "Are you all right?" He asked.

What she said next caught Yasha by surprise, at her prophetic words. Her mention of Aeron... his name...

He wanted to hear more, but alas, the moment was lost. The mind of a child easily wandering, readily forgetful, now turned to the priestess whose arrival fanned Yasha's self-consciousness in front of the sacred goddess. Dumbly, the boy nodded at Odemyrii and smiled softly back at her, watching her leave with her entourage, before walking away himself. The winter dream fading away with the dawn as melting snow from the branches of the Holy Tree dripped all around him.

— FIN —

Aurelia Xonavi