Exalted: Saving Pinehull

[Ravyn]

"Fine. Yes, I am an Exalt." Taraneh sighs. "You lot have fun. You know where to find me."

And she turns on her heel and walks out of the cabin, then looks around to see who's where and what needs doing.

[Kantolin]

Beigis' eyes widened, as he visibly tensed as the antlers appeared.

'Chosen of Luna'?

Then Taraneh seemed to flow with it - actually, she seemed pleased if nothing else.

The term 'Exalted' was then used. Honestly, both that term and 'Chosen of Luna' struck a familiar chime with him - but it was a nagging understanding. There was something here he wasn't quite catching.

Regardless, this 'Stone Spring' was rather unfriendly. Beigis actually had quite a few more questions - about everything he'd just heard about - but wasn't particularly intending on asking them now. Thus, he shifted to a stand. "Other matters? I'd like to help Taraneh solve this - to the best of my ability, anyway. So what were you thinking of?"

[GryffonDurime]

River

A young woman approaches Taraneh as she exits the cabin, carrying herself with a dignified sort of air and yet remaining approachable. She smelled like stewed rabbit, but only faintly. Her eyes glanced from Taraneh to the instrument and back again.

"Excuse me, miss, are you the priestess who summoned Fire-in-Ice earlier today?"

[Ravyn]

"Yes, I am she." Taraneh smiles at the young woman. "Did you need something?"

[GryffonDurime]

River

"Not I," the woman says, bowing politely and softly. "But my ladies would have a word with you if such is not unpleasing."

If Taraneh assents, River leads her to the house where Miyuki and Seras wait.

[Ravyn]

"Such would indeed be agreeable." Taraneh follows.

[Terraoblivion]

Awakened by the retainer returning with Taraneh, Miyuki fumbled around for her glasses before she went out to meet the young priestess. "Sorry for calling you here like that, but me and my sister wants to ask for your assistance in helping this town." She gazes out over the wretched place for a bit before continuing. "If you would come inside where we can talk more undisturbed, i would like to explain."

[Ravyn]

Taraneh smiles and enters, nodding to her before heading inside and finding somewhere to put down her case.

[Terraoblivion]

Miyuki smiled at the priestess as she sat down on the floor to be more comfortable as she talked. "Once again sorry about calling you like this, but me and my sister were trying to get some sleep before confronting the beast tonight. We just agreed that talking to you was more important. My name is Miyuki and my sister's is Seras, and we want to ask for your help. As you clearly know the beast is not the only threat to this town, the strange behavior of the local god is troubling as well. Your ability to call a garda bird serving him is quite clear proof that you are talented in handling gods, perhaps you are even godblooded yourself. You seem to want to help this place yourself seeing as how you called upon Fire in Ice, so i wanted to ask if we could work together. If we work together it will be easier for all of us to help the people of this place." The young solar smiled a bit at the priestess as she finished speaking, hoping that the proposition was acceptable.

[Ravyn]

"Pleasure to meet you. Something of the sort could be arranged.... as long as you don't insist on coming to my meeting tonight. I don't think he'd be very happy." Taraneh half-smiles. "So... what are you yourselves currently planning?"

[Terraoblivion]

She smiled slightly at the comment about Fire in Ice not enjoying extra company. "Don't worry. I had no intention of forcing my way into the meeting. No need in offending the local god or screwing up the one meeting anybody has with him. I would like to hear what you are planning on discussing with Fire in Ice, just to know what i can reasonably expect to come from it. As for what me and my sister is planning, then we are going to confront the beast tonight. Hopefully we will be able to defeat it and if not we will at least be able to learn something more about it than what the villagers could tell, which will allow us to prepare for the next confrontation. What are your plans beyond meeting with Fire in Ice?"

[Ravyn]

"Afterwards? A little bit of investigation on some related topics, mostly. Helping out with the monster if it's still there to help out with--I'm not likely to be too much use, but I can't exactly sit back, now, can I?" She shrugs. "As to the discussion, mostly his reasons behind his behavior and what sorts of things might convince him to do his job again, and seeing if I can learn a little more about this place in the meantime."

[Terraoblivion]

"That is great. It was the very same things i hoped to eventually talk to him about. He is quite a neglectful god who is hurting people here and forcing them to do as he wants instead of what is in their own best interest. So we work together for the time being, at least until this town is in a proper condition again?" The question painted on her face as she looked at the priestess.

[Ravyn]

"Yes." Taraneh grins. "I look forward to the success of these ventures."

[Terraoblivion]

She nodded. "I am glad we have an understanding. Those of us with extraordinary capabilities, whether skilled mortals, dragonblooded or others, have a duty to help those less capable. I hope to see you tomorrow with news of our victory over the beast and to hear news about your meeting with Fire in Ice." She yawned a bit, looking slightly apologetical. "I'm afraid i will need some rest to prepare for meeting the beast. I hope you understand."

[Ravyn]

Oh, you have no idea how much 'must' goes into extraordinary capabilities. Taraneh smiles. "I'll excuse myself, then; I should probably go find a place to doss as well, at least until evening."

[Terraoblivion]

She looked slightly interested at the pause before the reply. "Then let's both get some sleep. See you tonight or tomorrow, unless the monster kills either of us but i doubt that. And i certainly hope not. " Having seen Taraneh off, she returned to her sleep hoping to get enough to be well-rested when the beast arrived.

[GryffonDurime]

Time passes in Pinehull, and the Sun overhead slides slowly towards the horizon. The world goes bold and orange and quiet as dusk approaches. The people of Pinehull huddle together in a few of the last cabins of the innermost rung, dimming the faint glow of their remaining embers. Cricket says one last prayer over the brazier and then leads the priestess away into her cabin before finally returning to his own home.

Spoiler

Show

Assuming everyone's ready for nightfall, we're moving along. Decide what you're doing and where you're at. If it matters, you've probably all had about four hours to rest if you've used any of your Essence. If you'd like to have retroactively done something for that period, that's copasetic. Otherwise...let's see how the night goes

[Terraoblivion]

As night started falling and the time for battle approached, Miyuki got up and began preparing her equipment for battle. She didn't really want to have to fight, battle was horrible. She had the ability to make a difference, however, and should give it a try. The poor people of this town deserved that much. It might even be deep enough in the threshold that she could use it as a base, saving random people from immediate threats was all well and good but it did nothing to address the issues truly facing the world.

"So are you ready, Seras? This is it, time to end one of the major threats to this place."

[Ravyn]

Taraneh, having found a cabin to rest in and something to eat, gets up and ready to go about fifteen minutes before nightfall. After giving a quick goodbye to whoever--seems interested in seeing her off, really--she heads out down the northward path through the forest, all senses (particularly hearing) alert to everything around her.

[GryffonDurime]

As Taraneh makes her way deeper into the forest surrounding Pinehull, the air fills with the sound of old brass: simple in measure, heavy in tone. When she comes at last to the marked tree, the notes crescendo into a burst of music. A small scorchmark burns away on the tree's surface, leaving a small hole that, an instant later, frames a soft, yellow eye.

"Is it her?" a voice from within echoes, deep and old like a rusted tuba.

"It is," the garda bird's familiar voice remarks as great red feathers pry at the edges of the hole. More and more of the tree burns away under her red-hot touch and after a moment's work the opening is person-sized.

The garda bird smiles at Taraneh and motions inward, careful to close the doorway behind her. Within, the god's sanctuary is an antechamber of clean shale-stone smoothed and polished to look like marble, and a strangely man-shaped gout of flame sits in a crystal throne. Impossible flowers with wispy petals hang from the domed, green ceiling, and as the flame turns what should be its head to look at Taraneh, the flowers turn in unison with it.

"You're Sidereal," he says simply, clearly masculine. The more Taraneh examines him, the more his features become clear: he's like a statue carved from weak flame, wrinkled and bearded but still undeniably a presence.

[Ravyn]

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." Taraneh smiles as she switches into her most formal Old Realm. "My name is Taraneh. Your behavior regarding the village has been noticed upstairs, and my superiors have requested, among other things, that I discuss the matter with you so we can come to an understanding beneficial to both you and the village." She smiles. "So. First off, if you could please tell me your reasons for withholding fire...?"

[GryffonDurime]

Fire-in-Ice

The god's physical form flickers for a moment, taking on the trappings of a giant praying mantis before resuming a more human shape. He examines Taraneh briefly, sizing her up without tenderness or malice.

"Do you even know where you stand, Vizier? Older Chosen than you lived here, died here...may even still be here. I've done all that Heaven's asked and demanded of me for so long, but now all that keeps me here is the shadow of a promise: mangled by Fate, but still unbreakable. It's true, though, then? About the state of the world?" he asks as he pours a thick red liquid into a glass and sips it slowly. He pours a second and motions to offer it and a seat at the small table before his throne.

"Tell me, who in Heaven 'took notice?' Creation may be in sad affairs from what I hear, but Yu-Shan must truly be a shambled relic if one hand doesn't know that the knife's in the other!"

[Ravyn]

Taraneh sits down and takes the other glass. "Er... oh. That. Long before my time. Not exactly popular in those quarters. Still hearing about it." She sighs. "Yet the world cycles, and that which once had fallen rises. It is not mine to stand in the way of a brighter sky, only to fade away as black turns to blue." She sighs again, takes a sip. "Leaving aside who is to blame for what where--there are problems to be solved, and I am here to solve them. I cannot change the past, but there is much I can do for the future. They told me some of why you withhold your gifts, but the echo never rings quite like the sound that cast it. What happened?"

[GryffonDurime]

Fire-in-Ice

The god considers this for a moment and allows himself a brief sound of amusement, something like a chortle but older and hollower.

"You're direct. It's refreshing in your breed, if you're anything like the Fellowship I remember...or like your friends in green, then. But that's not the point, is it?" he asks, setting his glass down. The garda bird flies over and settles in an empty chair beside Taraneh, taking a flute of wine between awkward wings with surprising skill.

"The point is...why am I doing this to my own domain? The answer is simple, child. I want it to not be here anymore. I've told them to leave after that boy and his shenanigans almost...that is..." he says, then stops to cough. His tone has softened, his voice is careful and measured. "I use to have a purpose. This place used to have a purpose. Now, it's all just shadows of air: insubstantial vapour, supremely worthless. The best I can do for these people is convince them to leave. That's why I took away my blessings and my fires. But they're obstinate. They think they love this place, and they might, but they'll need to be more desperate to leave. The same thing that keeps me here beats in their heads too, a softer sound than in mine, but a drumbeat nonetheless. You...you, though," he says, taking up the glass between splayed fingers. "You could convince them, you could say it louder than I can, louder than that stubborn drums that tell them to stay put, to stay rooted."

[Ravyn]

"Please, tell me more. What was its purpose? Why do you wish to leave? I heard the forest... it was beautiful, and I had hoped to hear more. There are harmonies...."

Taraneh sighs. "....there is a desperation amid the fallen timbers, among the trees, in holes from which smoke rose once. There is a loss, more lasting than gold through the fingers, deeper than lives vanishing around them. Would it really be a service to them to take away the rock to which they cling, to send them down the river? Identity is a valuable thing--they have lost their ability to call themselves your favored ones, do they need to lose their place as well? What makes it so important?" Her voice cracks on the last word, and she tries to recover her dignity by taking a long sip of wine while her nerves settle again.

After a moment's pause, she looks up at him and continues, softer. "My apologies.... I am probably still too close to mortal for work like this. What I mean to ask is, is there an alternative to moving them? Could what was lost be regained? I could convince them to move, but...."

[GryffonDurime]

Fire-in-Ice

"Did I call you direct? I may have spoken too hastily," he says, eyebrow arched as the garda bird--he calls her Aja--passes a small pillbottle with a cork stopper. Inside, there's a small measure of Ambrosia: bright and potent and waiting to be something, anything. Fire-in-Ice measures out a thimble-full and stoppers the bottle, then pours the Ambrosia on the table before him, working it by will alone into the shape of the hill of Pinehull as he props his head up.

"Suffice to say, Pinehull was not originally my charge. It is only built over the ruins of it. My original domain was...how would it be said? Taken off the grid. Barely registers in Fate because the place itself was plucked from the Tapestry as a gift for exemplary service. I didn't mind, so much, when my first home fell. I was asleep," he said, adding that detail with a strange tone of bittersweet annoyance. "And when I woke up, the earth had healed itself over the entrance to my old home and my old friends, and there was a brash young Lunar building up a home, hidden away here. So I took on new charges, pitiful charges. But I had the Tablet, and Pinehull flourished."

The god looks away for a moment, gazing at a blank wall. Aja glances briefly at Taraneh to telegraph her concerns, then flies to Fire-in-Ice and set a one wing around his neck and another across his chest.

"About five years ago, the Tablet stopped working for me. I blamed Rusted Edge, but it can't have been him. I don't even know what his boy's done to try and help, but it just feels wrong. Without the Tablet, I can't give these people the food and protection they need. Already, the bounty it provided is fading. They'll die if they stay here. I thought, without fire, it might be enough. But they'll starve themselves to hear that pounding, the distant drums. The same power that binds me to this place tells them to stay."

[Ravyn]

"Tell a story, need a dozen." Taraneh chuckles wryly. "This tablet.... how did it work? What did Beacon try to do? Do... do you know if it can be fixed?"

She pauses, then somewhat more hesitantly asks, "May I listen to it?"

[GryffonDurime]

Fire-in-Ice

"When we took this world, many died for our cause and our freedom. This place was a reward and a refuge, a gift to the survivors. It wasn't their world anymore, that mandate had passed to a new generation. But a grateful lord plucked this place's fate the Loom and gave it here, to me. That's the drumming: this place's fate isn't part of Creation anymore. Live here long enough and you can hear it."

Fire-in-Ice smiles for a moment, eyes closed as Aja blazes into blue-white flames. The god waves his hand over the Ambrosial model and it changes, reshapes itself into a thick square of gold with a long hole at its middle, a single thread of bright light pulled taught across the center.

"Old friends who had inherited the world took that Fate and strung it into the Tablet, they gave it a song in the Sun's own voice. The Tablet strengthened us all, protected us all. I don't know why it stopped working, but it did: one day, the thread went black, and the sound of it changed. It just couldn't...I couldn't, and Aja couldn't, and you need Essence to even try and my kin had lost that."

[Ravyn]

"So it needs to be.... retuned, then?" Taraneh asks tentatively. "I... might be able to assist with that. I imagine some of the work might require the kind of... specialized training that my lot tend to drill into their new recruits...." She trails off.

Did I say too much? Is he going to take that as presumptuous?