Description
The sound of interrupted whispers can be heard and the smell of apples or
apple blossoms fill your nose. Before you stands a feminine form of just
five feet or so. Her hair is mixture of haphazard, wavy, thick blonde
strands and intricately decorated brunette braids, including two that sit
to the right of her head, ending at her unblemished shoulders in glass
beads. Her face is thin, with a delicate pointed nose, two large azure
eyes above full cheeks which frame her puffy lips. It is also painted
strikingly, with a thick line of golden gloss across her mouth and a wide
bright blue stripe stretching from temple to temple across her eyes. Her
bare arms are ivory like the rest of her, lithe, lean, and soft. Her
clothing is comprised of transparent, flowing fabrics of white and silver
seemingly floating atop a few leather articles of modesty. Only her back
is truly covered, a dark stiff structure of cloth is bound tightly to
her, obscuring the view of any skin above her waist and below her neck.
The longer you stare, the whispers return.
Role
You And You And You
Added Sat Aug 19 11:33:33 2023 at level 1:
You are the clipped winged fae. You are the stolen child of the orchard. You
are the last daughter of the false king.
At birth in your Emerald Forest, a riddle was solved and it required the wings
of a newborn pixie. You remember nothing but you have the scars on your back
still where what once gave you flight is now gone.
You were granted by some benevolent force in an act of mercy a growth in size
to you never before seen by any of your lineage or heritage and it was this
that allowed you to be taken away to masquerade as one of the wilder elves in
the apple orchards near Evermoon Hollow.
As a parentless child, you were an easy target for a final cruelty. The
youngest and twelfth wife of a long lived and deranged false king, swapped you
for her own child so that she could escape with her babe. Raised by the other
mothers in a secret pact not told to you until you were old enough to venture
on your own, yet you still bear the name of the runaway, Jeihyue Yuelghana.
Your spirit is unknown. Your spirit is strong. Your spirit is life.
But Then Your False Father Died And You Learn Of Your Birth
Added Tue Aug 22 19:13:13 2023 at level 19:
I think far too often about what my name is or was or should be. I'm borrowing
a name and I think far too often about what happened to the little girl whose
real name is mine. Are names powerful? Do they really hold anything of value?
What is a family really? There's where names come from, family. At least I
think so. You look to your family to meet yourself and then you look to
yourself to know yourself. But you must start somewhere, I must start somewhere
and being twice-orphaned and wing-clipped, I don't know where to begin to look.
Since leaving Evermoon Hollow after my false father died, I spent a time
tending to the orchards again. The mothers now free of their tyrannical husband
made their way safely back to their families and encouraged me to find mine.
Only one knew of the orchards where I spent a brief time before the merciful
abduction, as they called it. One of the apple pickers, a woman, did remember
me and told me the story, though even she knew not my name.
One night nearly a hundred years before, a small group of pixies came to the
apple trees with an infant nearly their size. A poem was left beside the child:
She was one of us and will always be
Tend to her mercifully
hEr spirit is strong
Zhe is grounded now, like you
And so with you, she must now be
The 'E' and the 'Z' confused them and so she remembered that specifically. They
told her they went off to hunt the one responsible and they would return for me
once they were successful. What's more is they did return, but I was gone. She
suggested I find them in the Ancient Emerald Forest.
And Yet You Found Labor And Purpose In Visions Of Spirit
Added Thu Aug 24 16:02:49 2023 at level 19:
Whispers followed me from the orchard through the mountain pass and across the
northern plains. I started to hear them ever louder the closer I got to
Feanwynn. When I held still to make out what they were saying they would cease,
like an interrupted moment of gossip containing secrets of yourself unknown to
you and shared amongst strangers. I found green apples on the ground and ate
them almost exclusively while I put apple blossoms in my hair, wandering
towards the Emerald Forest. I couldn't stop the whispers. I couldn't decipher
them. So I thought of my second home, until I found my first home, where I saw
my people for the first time and they looked more like me than any mother I
shared in Evermoon. And they certainly looked more like me than a false father,
aging and unpleasant in his final years.
I was shy to approach initially and certainly felt more than uncomfortable to
ask them about myself. I learned about all manner of things by watching, and
then slowly by joining them in their daily lives. I wasn't built for fighting,
I was the weakest wood elf they'd ever met, one pixie told me. I gathered roses
and still more apples, trading with my people and making a small life for
myself. They encouraged me to venture to the Academy, suggesting the path of a
priest of Nature but I was dissuaded they night before I made my way down the
fateful stairs.
It was a lucid dream where I continued to move from the form of my birth to the
form of myself now. There was always a spark, a glowing light which popped
unnaturally right at the center point of the two forms. It seemed to me to
speak to some other manner of transformation than one which was natural. But it
protected me. It felt spiritual, but in a magical way. I struggle now to
describe it, only to say that the colors I saw I have not seen before, nor
since. This spark, this spirit; it was to be why I'm here. So I chose the path
of protector and healer, something to contribute to the world beyond myself in
balance with my pursuit of my own mysteries.
Your Days Went By
Added Mon Sep 11 18:05:29 2023 at level 40:
Early adventuring days were a whirlwind of tasks, new people, mysteries, and
practice, practice, practice. I spent much of my time studying with the other
priests in the guildhalls of Galadon, Voralian City, and Hamsah Mu'tazz. I
researched the lady Joihe, a goddess of adventure, mystery, magic, and spirit,
spending much of my time trying to find out what I could about Her: the Cadre,
Her shrine, and how best to be a voice and a set of hands for Her faith. Her
story and Her philosophy spoke to me in a way little else in my life had
before, it felt like meaning and true family could come from a place of
excitement and a life of journeying.
The first hundred years after the academy was spent in journeys. I learned
different ways to help the people I met and worked to make friends wherever I
went. All of this was done in balance. Too many evil creatures pruned? Help an
anti-paladin for a few days. Too many dwarven souls dispatched? Aid a would-be
Maran. Too much time spent putting out fires in the wilderness? Heal the
Captain of the Blood Tribunal for an afternoon. See a wanted member of the
Village? Heal them with a supplication while they attack guards within a
protected city. So many thank you's and, such as that last one, so many don't
ever do that again's. But why balance? I find it to be the best path to
harmony, peace, and spiritual growth. But balance isn't passive, it takes work
and focus.
I focused much of my time trying to find the ear and voice of my Lady. When I
was finally blessed by Her presence, she imparted upon me the importance of
three virtues: Loyalty, Merit, and Time. For Loyalty, it was as simple and as
complex as it sounded. Joihe insisted upon my fealty to Her and to the Cadre
above all else, something of which I had already decided upon. It was Time,
Time spent proving my Loyalty and patience in the development of my faith that
was critical. I had much to give yet it would be impossible to give all of it
in short order. But interestingly, I was challenged to come up with my own test
of Merit, how did I prove that I was worthy of being in the Cadre? Something I
needed a bit of time to think about.
Lastly there was the mystery of my birth, something I hadn't taken for granted
or ignored. I began to ask the pixies within the Emerald Forest about the story
I had heard; about the abnormally large pixie infant brought to Evermoon in
need of care. Most knew nothing of it or believed I was telling them a fairy
tale from some faraway land. Finally I spoke to an aged pixie who tended to the
rose bushes I frequented. She scolded me for selling her flowers and so I gave
her gold I had collected from some quest or another. She scolded me some more
and said she didn't need gold and I asked, well what do you need? Her response
was as plain as it was odd: 'The Apples You Have Lost.' And that became my next
mystery.
And You Must Listen To The Whispers
Added Thu Sep 21 20:33:03 2023 at level 48:
'The Apples You Have Lost?' What does that mean? Apples, probably. Or something
about apples.
I'd taken it upon myself after my time with my Lady, Joihe, to find members of
the Cadre and learn more about them and its past. So I went to the most
past-ful member of the Cadre I could find, the bee keeper Coqui. She had a role
in the Fortress too, I think... less important, obviously. Coqui told me of her
own missions and focus, about bioluminescence, positive magic, and negative
magic amongst other things studious transmuters and other magically inclined
folks concern themselves with. She also spoke of the Masters, and how many past
members of the Cadre had worked and failed to bring about its return. I had no
more insight on my own audition than before, as Coqui noted hers wasn't one
event so much as a journey she still walked upon up until to the day we spoke
and likely far, far beyond.
As for apples, I began working with conjurers who were learned enough to
determine where apples could be found, and there were plenty to be found. It
seemed every fruit stand and field in all of Thera had an apple of sorts to
offer. So I walked, and walked, and gathered, and gathered. I ate apples, I
plucked apples, and I threw out several rotten apples. No insight could be
found or I couldn't see it. I had come to the same green apples for the
hundredth time and nothing, nada, nope. So I stopped. And I listened.
Closing my eyes, those strange whispers I had heard throughout my days began to
get louder. I just had to be quiet and still. And what's more, they began to
form words... 'home,' 'orchard,' and 'moon.' So I returned to Evermoon Hollow
once more.
So You May Hear What The Whispers Know
Added Thu Sep 21 20:39:53 2023 at level 48:
The remains of my false father's home was a vision of spring descended upon an
abandoned castle. It was a large estate with rooms enough for all of his brides
and children. There were walls in ill repair and rooms completely open to the
elements. Most of his children had scattered to the winds, those who had
survived birth. Of his brides, only two remained in the house. They tended to
his son and my nominal half-brother, who had been mute since birth. To their
knowledge and mine, he was the only child besides myself accounted for as an
offspring of the cruel man.
I made quick pleasantries and shared a brief story of my journeys. I regaled
them with tales of dragon lairs and buried treasures, speaking of my many
friends and comrades, and how I kept souls safe amidst the most dangerous of
adventures. Finally I came to the story of searching for any family amongst the
pixies, and I sensed their nervousness in broaching the topic.
'I met one pixie who finally gave me something to work with, a phrase: The
Apples You Have Lost. Not super useful! There are so many apples about. But
then I thought about the orchard and wondered if there wasn't something I had
neglected to learn here.'
'Our little investigator.' My mother said. 'Our accomplished rejuvenator.' My
other mother said. 'There is something you left, or was left for you. I'm
unsure if it's lost.' My mother continued, 'There is a large tree that sprung
when you arrived, it has produced some of the most delicious golden crisp
apples. But after a decade or so of seasons, it bore no more fruit.' My other
mother continued, 'We took an apple from the harvest and planted it, and much
to our delight it too grew over the years, and then it bore fruit, and then it
too bore no more.'
They went to a shelf in another room and brought back a small potted plant.
'This is the youngest of this cycle, like you. Perhaps now that you've found
it, you may learn something from the journey?'
I shrugged, it was as useful as anything else I suppose. 'I'll come and visit
again, I should visit more.' 'Of course, love.' My mother said. And with that,
I opened a gate to return to the Emerald Forest. 'We can't keep...' I heard as
I stepped through and the portal disappeared.
You Begin Anew
Added Sat Sep 30 13:42:00 2023 at level 51:
I found the elder pixie once more and presented her with the baby apple tree.
'You have been found,' she said to the tree and then looking at me saying, 'And
you, spirited little apple blossom, have found what was lost.' I smiled a
blushing smile, and told her everything I knew, hoping she would fill in some
parts of the story I did not know. She told me of how many, many years ago that
a pixie child had been born and was violently kidnapped before being returned
to the village with her wings ripped from her body. The child had been brought
to her for tending, to be healed as best she could, but something was truly
wrong with her and experimental magic was called for. The elaborate ritual the
wise pixie concocted kept the child alive despite her injuries, both physical
and supernatural, but two strange things occurred: she grew to the size of an
elven newborn and a tree with crisp, golden apples sprouted instantly. Apples
from the tree and the infant were brought to Evermoon Hollow where she was
tended to further. 'The poem holds the name you search for, STEZA' and then she
spoke to me another poem, which I hastily scribbled down in the front cover of
my journal.