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What is Ritual, sister?
Wherein Lin asks her sister and Hand of the Praadi, Pilar, what a Shaman ritual is and what it means. Spiders, a raven with white eyes, and a talking snake spirit make their appearance!
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "Aagh! I don't understand any of this!"
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "What is a ritual for? How is it different?"
Enjoy!
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "Sister, sister."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I have thought of a ritual!"
(Tells): Speaking from the back of her mind, you tell Lin, "What is that?"
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I am breeding spiders in my shop, sister. Many are very poisonous."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I think that if you drink the venom from one, it will give very good dreams."
(Tells): Speaking from the back of her mind, you tell Lin, "I have a moccassin that I care for whose poison does something similar...better for pain though. I am liking this idea, continue."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I want to make a competition of it. The ritual is for stamina and toughness, to be done by two or more people. Whoever does not die is the winner."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "If you live you compare your visions."
(Tells): Speaking from the back of her mind, you tell Lin, "This sounds like a game or a study rather than a ritual, shavora."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "Aagh! I don't understand any of this!"
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "What is a ritual for? How is it different?"
....
A tumbledown shed against the Burly Chest (57023) - the City of Esterport (360)
A festive garland of white paper snowflakes hangs here. A white linen shirt is here. A thick, black woolen coat has been left here. Deathly still atop its perch here, a dark raven monitors its surroundings with glowing white eyes. Coiling and shifting endlessly, a serpent spirit hangs in the air. Lin sits atop a stack of crates, letting the rafter's spiders crawl on her horns. She wields a tiny hedgehog in her left hand. You see a sign here instructing you that WARES is the command to see what is for sale.
You see exits leading east and down (closed pine door).
Pilar ducks her head as she enters the shop with the serpent spirit coiled many times around her neck and the raven soaring in to find his own place among the rafters. It glares down at the two women though the faun glares back before turning her attention to you. "This is my first time in your shop," she says, looking about, "I'm surprised I did not even notice it before."
Lin sucks in a cautious breath, holds up a finger, indicating for you to wait. Leaning forward, she gently taps her horns against the nearest rafter, where what must be dozens of spiders have made their home. There she waits patiently until the widows leave the safety of her horns, then letting out her breath, she jumps down, dusting herself off. She strokes the tiny animal in her hands. It looks terrified. "Friend Rasani said I could put it here," she says fondly. "Make so much money."
"Do you want money?" Lin asks, her brows perking up.
Pilar shakes her head and smiles softly, "No, shavora. I make my own just fine." As she says this, the white-eyed raven above hisses and ruffles his feathers before returning to a deathly still posture, even as spiders begin to crawl over him. "Ignore him, I've come about the rituals."
Lin's eyes narrow, watching the raven warily. Her tail starts to snap at the floor and there is a certain tension in her shoulders and thighs, as if she means to spring. But she holds her ground. Her eyes flit back to you. "It was a stupid idea," she says. "You are right. Only a game."
"It is a good start not a stupid idea," Pilar corrects, holding up a hand, "rituals are meant to -take- you somewhere but they are for a purpose. To honor someone, to curb something, to ask, to enrich." Both hands reaching upward, she reaches for the serpent spirit coiled around her neck and begins to unwravel him as though it were one of its solid counterparts, "The venom of snakes can be used for medicine. They can help to lift pain and when handled properly, our minds as well."
Lin comes up to you and drops to a crouching position, her knees forced up against her chest. The timid, helplessly submissive display of the previous week is gone. She looks up to you deferentially, but with an impatient, attentive eye. "Will you help me? I... I think I have to know what I want, if I want to make a good ritual."
"You do have to know what you want. Visualize it." After many cycles, finally the serpent spirit has uncoiled from Pilar's neck and it turns its amber gaze to you, tongue tasting the air. "I will help you all I can, shavora, you know this," the faun continues, her voice calm and serene, "you have the materials, the talent, now it is just to manifest what you are looking for. What you are wanting to honor. What you are wanting to -see- before you."
A serpent spirit says, "Manifest and ssseeeeeeee..."
Lin's eyes stick to a serpent spirit, tracking its motions warily, her tail freezing in the air. Caught between watching the ghostly snake carefully and thinking hard about the conversational matter, she is silent for a long moment.
"I want to remember who I used to be," Lin says, "But I want to know myself, not for others to tell me--" Her eyes flicker to you. "Is that possible?"
Pilar raises both brows and blinks, appearing somewhat shocked by the request, "It can be." The serpent spirit lifts itself from the faun's hands and floats to the rafters, undulating and weaving about as its pale light illuminates the glittering webs. The dark raven remains still as the spirit passes near it, a staring pair of white eyes in the dark.
A serpent spirit says, "It can be. It can beeeee...."
Lin skitters aside, standing next to you, watching warily, and with barely-contained outrage, her hands clenched into fists. The spiders react strongly, finding secure corners of their homes, but when Lin sees that they are not otherwise physically disturbed, she relaxes, little by little. "Would this be acceptable to you, my Hand? A ritual for memory? How might I do it? Will I make myself dream about it? Will I meditate?"
Pilar clicks her tongue as she considers these questions, her own narrow eyes staring at you so thoughtfully wrinkles begin to appear on her brow. "Memory may require things of the past," she says, hands dropping to pull a heavy quartz pendant on a gold chain from beneath her robes, "anchors to look deeper into your mind. Smells will be important. Patience. A strong blend of herbs that tap into dreams and the processes of the head. It can be done."
"Then I will try different things," Lin says, reaching up to you, stroking the quartz with utmost care, as if fearful she could shatter it with a touch. "You showed me the usefulness of smoking. I like what it does to my head. I can think certain ways. Will this be acceptable to you? If I find a good way to do this ritual, will you allow it?"
Pilar nods slowly and drops the pendant, allowing it thud heavily against her flat chest, "As long as you do your research. Taste flowers and herbs. Add the spider's venom. Find your anchors. Everything must serve a purpose. Even how you breathe. What you wear. Remember the details." As she finishes, the white-eyed raven above swoops down to land on the faun's shoulder, blinking only once before becoming deathly still again, "Then I will allow it."
Lin leans in and enthusiastically wraps her arms around you tight, threatening to squeeze the life out of you, jostling you such that it makes the raven's footing uncertain for a moment. "Thank you, sister. Thank you. I am glad you are in charge. I want to be a great Praadi. It is not good that I've been so lazy." Mercifully, she lets you go.
A quick gust of wind blows through the nearby buildings with a chilling whistle that sends a shiver across your skin.
The white-eyed raven hisses and croaks in annoyance, hopping from his perch on Pilar's head to the tip of her horns, flapping its large wings angrily. The little Yeleni, however, doesn't seem to mind or care. She simply hugs you back as tight as she can possibly can until you've nearly squeezed the breath out of her. On the release, she gasps and pants for air, putting a hand to her chest as the corvid hops back to her shoulder, "Aye, aye, I am glad to help you. Do not worry, shavora, I will do my best."
"I have to see to Delyth," Lin says, stroking your cheek with her thumb, thoughtful enough to keep her clawtip at bay, "Can I see you later in the week?"
Pilar nods and gestures to the serpent spirit who comes down to coil itself around the woman's other shoulder, "I should be about but I cannot guarantee it. The three of us are going to look for Olto's trail again. I will be back soon."
Lin shakes her head swiftly. "I wouldn't interrupt your work," she murmurs. She uses contractions far more liberally - her Aetolian has gotten quite good, even if marred by that odd accent she never had before. "Thank you, shavora. Thank you, sister. I feel like you have opened a door for me." Springing to her feet, she is off in a hurry, trailing the ghosts of
cobwebs as they drift from her horns.
Lin leaves to the east.
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "Aagh! I don't understand any of this!"
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "What is a ritual for? How is it different?"
Enjoy!
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "Sister, sister."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I have thought of a ritual!"
(Tells): Speaking from the back of her mind, you tell Lin, "What is that?"
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I am breeding spiders in my shop, sister. Many are very poisonous."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I think that if you drink the venom from one, it will give very good dreams."
(Tells): Speaking from the back of her mind, you tell Lin, "I have a moccassin that I care for whose poison does something similar...better for pain though. I am liking this idea, continue."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "I want to make a competition of it. The ritual is for stamina and toughness, to be done by two or more people. Whoever does not die is the winner."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "If you live you compare your visions."
(Tells): Speaking from the back of her mind, you tell Lin, "This sounds like a game or a study rather than a ritual, shavora."
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "Aagh! I don't understand any of this!"
(Tells): Lin's voice roars in your skull, "What is a ritual for? How is it different?"
....
A tumbledown shed against the Burly Chest (57023) - the City of Esterport (360)
A festive garland of white paper snowflakes hangs here. A white linen shirt is here. A thick, black woolen coat has been left here. Deathly still atop its perch here, a dark raven monitors its surroundings with glowing white eyes. Coiling and shifting endlessly, a serpent spirit hangs in the air. Lin sits atop a stack of crates, letting the rafter's spiders crawl on her horns. She wields a tiny hedgehog in her left hand. You see a sign here instructing you that WARES is the command to see what is for sale.
You see exits leading east and down (closed pine door).
Pilar ducks her head as she enters the shop with the serpent spirit coiled many times around her neck and the raven soaring in to find his own place among the rafters. It glares down at the two women though the faun glares back before turning her attention to you. "This is my first time in your shop," she says, looking about, "I'm surprised I did not even notice it before."
Lin sucks in a cautious breath, holds up a finger, indicating for you to wait. Leaning forward, she gently taps her horns against the nearest rafter, where what must be dozens of spiders have made their home. There she waits patiently until the widows leave the safety of her horns, then letting out her breath, she jumps down, dusting herself off. She strokes the tiny animal in her hands. It looks terrified. "Friend Rasani said I could put it here," she says fondly. "Make so much money."
"Do you want money?" Lin asks, her brows perking up.
Pilar shakes her head and smiles softly, "No, shavora. I make my own just fine." As she says this, the white-eyed raven above hisses and ruffles his feathers before returning to a deathly still posture, even as spiders begin to crawl over him. "Ignore him, I've come about the rituals."
Lin's eyes narrow, watching the raven warily. Her tail starts to snap at the floor and there is a certain tension in her shoulders and thighs, as if she means to spring. But she holds her ground. Her eyes flit back to you. "It was a stupid idea," she says. "You are right. Only a game."
"It is a good start not a stupid idea," Pilar corrects, holding up a hand, "rituals are meant to -take- you somewhere but they are for a purpose. To honor someone, to curb something, to ask, to enrich." Both hands reaching upward, she reaches for the serpent spirit coiled around her neck and begins to unwravel him as though it were one of its solid counterparts, "The venom of snakes can be used for medicine. They can help to lift pain and when handled properly, our minds as well."
Lin comes up to you and drops to a crouching position, her knees forced up against her chest. The timid, helplessly submissive display of the previous week is gone. She looks up to you deferentially, but with an impatient, attentive eye. "Will you help me? I... I think I have to know what I want, if I want to make a good ritual."
"You do have to know what you want. Visualize it." After many cycles, finally the serpent spirit has uncoiled from Pilar's neck and it turns its amber gaze to you, tongue tasting the air. "I will help you all I can, shavora, you know this," the faun continues, her voice calm and serene, "you have the materials, the talent, now it is just to manifest what you are looking for. What you are wanting to honor. What you are wanting to -see- before you."
A serpent spirit says, "Manifest and ssseeeeeeee..."
Lin's eyes stick to a serpent spirit, tracking its motions warily, her tail freezing in the air. Caught between watching the ghostly snake carefully and thinking hard about the conversational matter, she is silent for a long moment.
"I want to remember who I used to be," Lin says, "But I want to know myself, not for others to tell me--" Her eyes flicker to you. "Is that possible?"
Pilar raises both brows and blinks, appearing somewhat shocked by the request, "It can be." The serpent spirit lifts itself from the faun's hands and floats to the rafters, undulating and weaving about as its pale light illuminates the glittering webs. The dark raven remains still as the spirit passes near it, a staring pair of white eyes in the dark.
A serpent spirit says, "It can be. It can beeeee...."
Lin skitters aside, standing next to you, watching warily, and with barely-contained outrage, her hands clenched into fists. The spiders react strongly, finding secure corners of their homes, but when Lin sees that they are not otherwise physically disturbed, she relaxes, little by little. "Would this be acceptable to you, my Hand? A ritual for memory? How might I do it? Will I make myself dream about it? Will I meditate?"
Pilar clicks her tongue as she considers these questions, her own narrow eyes staring at you so thoughtfully wrinkles begin to appear on her brow. "Memory may require things of the past," she says, hands dropping to pull a heavy quartz pendant on a gold chain from beneath her robes, "anchors to look deeper into your mind. Smells will be important. Patience. A strong blend of herbs that tap into dreams and the processes of the head. It can be done."
"Then I will try different things," Lin says, reaching up to you, stroking the quartz with utmost care, as if fearful she could shatter it with a touch. "You showed me the usefulness of smoking. I like what it does to my head. I can think certain ways. Will this be acceptable to you? If I find a good way to do this ritual, will you allow it?"
Pilar nods slowly and drops the pendant, allowing it thud heavily against her flat chest, "As long as you do your research. Taste flowers and herbs. Add the spider's venom. Find your anchors. Everything must serve a purpose. Even how you breathe. What you wear. Remember the details." As she finishes, the white-eyed raven above swoops down to land on the faun's shoulder, blinking only once before becoming deathly still again, "Then I will allow it."
Lin leans in and enthusiastically wraps her arms around you tight, threatening to squeeze the life out of you, jostling you such that it makes the raven's footing uncertain for a moment. "Thank you, sister. Thank you. I am glad you are in charge. I want to be a great Praadi. It is not good that I've been so lazy." Mercifully, she lets you go.
A quick gust of wind blows through the nearby buildings with a chilling whistle that sends a shiver across your skin.
The white-eyed raven hisses and croaks in annoyance, hopping from his perch on Pilar's head to the tip of her horns, flapping its large wings angrily. The little Yeleni, however, doesn't seem to mind or care. She simply hugs you back as tight as she can possibly can until you've nearly squeezed the breath out of her. On the release, she gasps and pants for air, putting a hand to her chest as the corvid hops back to her shoulder, "Aye, aye, I am glad to help you. Do not worry, shavora, I will do my best."
"I have to see to Delyth," Lin says, stroking your cheek with her thumb, thoughtful enough to keep her clawtip at bay, "Can I see you later in the week?"
Pilar nods and gestures to the serpent spirit who comes down to coil itself around the woman's other shoulder, "I should be about but I cannot guarantee it. The three of us are going to look for Olto's trail again. I will be back soon."
Lin shakes her head swiftly. "I wouldn't interrupt your work," she murmurs. She uses contractions far more liberally - her Aetolian has gotten quite good, even if marred by that odd accent she never had before. "Thank you, shavora. Thank you, sister. I feel like you have opened a door for me." Springing to her feet, she is off in a hurry, trailing the ghosts of
cobwebs as they drift from her horns.
Lin leaves to the east.
3