mi'ia layed on her back looking up at the stars and thought a little on what was said. 'hmm.... truth..... i wounder if she knows what truth is? a reality between what we call truth and lies... what we call truth... and what of the faith...... hmm......' as she layed there she became mezmerized by them. 'i wonder what those stars are really made of? is it the truth that we know of or is it another truth that we dont know and what we think is just a lie.... wonder what the others think of the stars.' "i wonder what the stars are made of?" she sat up and looked around to see if anyone would answer her question.
"You think that you can tell us apart? Many have tried, but then again, many have failed. What do you think the price for that is?" The Three Sisters Lylie-governess to a child of the first plain "You grew up. Thats a shame. The carousel never stops turning. You cant get off either. Its a shame."
Just as Pol finnaly managed to arrange himself comfortably on the hard earth, he hears Mi'ia's question no question should be left unanswered.....but I'm so sleepy.....aaahhh.....better make this quick before I wake up too much
"The stars? they are made of the hopes and dreams of the young and old, the rich and poor, the good and evil, the stars stand as a representation of hope. they have been there since long before the lives of our ancestors, and will endure far past our existance. that is what the stars are made of.....now go to sleep. "
with that, Pol settled down once more to sleep, perchance to dream....
She thinks carefully at Mi'ia's question and of Pol's answer. "Yes, I think that hope is correct. Hope, dreams, wishes, they can be anything, and as no one has ever been to a star, then the stars could be anything."
She looks up that the stars. At first her instinct takes over to watch them for omens as she had been taught to do, but she shakes the thought from her mind and thinks about their beauty.
"They are the future. Some are taught to read the future in the stars. To look for pictures and hidden meanings. The stars hold this knowlegde as one of thier secrets and we as mortals seek to attain it." She sits down and continues to star at the shinning lights. "They represent our future and the endless possibilities that it holds. So they themselves are endless." She smiles and shakes her head. "I'm not making much sense am I?" She looks up again. "I guess what I mean is that they are whatever you want them to be."
She lies down and closes her eyes, invisoning the stars in her mind. "They are just like us, the stars." She thinks. "There are countless stars just as there are countless lives and each one of us holds a secret, even if we don't even know what it is." She difts off to sleep with a final thought. "Maybe, there is a star for every soul, past present and future. A star that represents our own individual hopes, dreams, whishes and secrets."
Each of the Knights takes a turn on the watch, allowing the Supplicants the opportunity to rest after their ordeal. The night passes oddly quiet. When the last Supplicant awakens, the sun is threatening to break the horizon and flood the world with light again.
The Knights are busy cleaning up the remnants of a fine breakfast, fit for the heroes of yesterday's ordeal. It is during this breakfast that the Supplicants learned that a whole pack of dire wolves had been engaged by Jaya's Knights. "Whittling the pack down, we fought as hard as we could. Finally, we were just too tired and the enemy still was coming after us. We tried to fend them off, but all seemed in vain. Finally, you came to our aid." Jaya speaks with utter respect. "We are in your debt. Perhaps there will yet be a way to repay the difference?"
Kraln nods, "There is no need, but we shall see what must be done and what happens. So is the ways of Pantheon and Divinity," he says solemnly.
"The Willow be blessed for such things." Replied the other three Knights, almost in perfect unison.
Jaya quickly added, "Speaking of whom, I'm sure our Supplicants have questions to ask. Shall we entertain them with answers?"
Wakes up fightened by the images that had played though her head. She tries to quickly repeat the dream over and over in her mind to lock the memory before it fades. She thought carefully over the words she had heard and questioned herself, "My purpose?" She lifted her hand to her temple and rubbed it slightly, being acustomed to headaches after such dreams it took her a moment that there was no usual pain, only the memory of the dream. She noticed that the hand she had lifted was her tattooed hand and again removed the glove to look at the mark. "Am I to be a seer, or something else?" She looked over at the horizon to greet the newrising sun, watching it rise until the light was too bright for her. She looked away back to her tattoo and then replced the glove.
"I don't understand," she said partly to herself, partly to any one who would listen. "Last night, I thought I understood, my path wasn't clear, but I thought that was okay. I thought it was supposed to be that way. I thought weither I choose my path or need to discover it, I had time, time to be myself and tiem to figure it out. But now," she placed her hand over her heart, grasping the cyrstal under her shirt, "but now it seems that it must be soon, before something bad happens."
She looked again to her gloved hand, invisoning the tattoo under the glove in her mind, "Am I a seer?" she looke to the ground and spotted a small grass that had medicinal uses, "or am I an herbalist." She looked again to the sun, "or am I something I don't know yet." Her voice was worried, nearly fightened. She hung her head, "I just don't know."
Sitting straight up, Pol finds himself covered in a cold sweat. what was that? another horrible dream? but why does it irk me so? it asks a simple question, and so the answer must be equally simple.....what is MY purpose......for now, I think I will go with "to do what must be done, to protect those in need, and to do what I can when I can for the benefit of myself and others." are you listening specter of my mind? I will commit myself to helping others, even if they turn thier backs on me in the end. As he thinks things out, Pol slows his breathing, bringing down the racing of his pulse to a normal beat, and whiping the sweat from his brow.
As Pol begins to roll his bedroll up, and pack his things he thinks perhaps it would be best to ask one of the more experienced if they have had similar happenings. if they can shed some light on this, I may find out why my normal dreams of death, destruction and decay were replaced by a much eerier and creepier one of loss....
After finishing the packing of his things Pol proceeds to the breakfast of champions, thoroughly enjoying the wonderful meal, but all the while keeping himself far enough away from the others to hide his face. Upon finishing his meal he re-wraps his face, and dons his hat to cover his eyes before returning to the others. when Jaya asks if they have any questions, Pol is quick to speak up, " why were my normal dreams replaced last night, they were eerie, creepy, and called into question my philosophy of life. do you happen to know why? "
She listens to see if anyone will answer her and hears a similar questioned being asked. "Hmmmm." she wonders to herself. "Is it possible that we..." she walks over to Pol. "You had a dream as well?" she asks timidly. "Tell me your's please so that I may know if it was the same as mine or not." She wrings her hands together. She knew that there was something different about Pol. Something like herself. Was he a seer too? Was this dream a prophecy? Or was it something experieced by everyone? Her face looked worried and hopeful at the same time, waiting for him to answer.
Waking from a warm dream of home and family, Deus immediately started to pack up. When he noticed and remembered that he now traveled with others, he smiled. 'I will have to get used to this... Some of them are not even awake yet...'
He slowed down then, taking his time and enjoying the morning, waiting for the others to wake. He was finishing his breakfast when the Knights drew them into a circle, as such. Perked with interest, he sat, listening carefully.
Hearing the others speak of dreams and prophecies, Deus felt compelled to speak up. "Dreams? Did you two dream of something special? I saw nothing but my home; it was nothing that felt like a vision..."
Turning to the assembled Knights sat. Pausing for a moment in thought, he shook his head and said the words as they came to him. "Purpose... can we be told our purpose? Or is it something that we ourselves must face?"
mi'ia woke finnally. no dreams had visited her last night. but that was not unusual for her. she uncurled her self and stretched on all four as if she were a full blooded feline. she stood up and looked around. she saw that it was later than she normally slept. she started to pack up as fast as she could. what little she had anyways.
she looked up afterwords and relized that the others were not packing but looking at eachother. she went and stood by deus to see what she could learn. she couldnt help but yawn after she got there.
"You think that you can tell us apart? Many have tried, but then again, many have failed. What do you think the price for that is?" The Three Sisters Lylie-governess to a child of the first plain "You grew up. Thats a shame. The carousel never stops turning. You cant get off either. Its a shame."
Turning to face the one with hope in her eyes, Pol says, " My dream? it was one of loss, great loss, but not so much in the physical sense. I was losing my soul, my sanity, and my friends... which is very unlike my usual dreams of death, destrcution, and merciless killings. those I had grown at least a little accustomed to, but this one....was creepy."
Pol sighs and turns his head down, as if looking to his feet. now they will ask why I dream of such things normally, but for that I have no answer.... perhaps if I am lucky, they will leave my answer at that...
After a few moments Pol turns his head back up to face the others, " and what of your dream? was it filled with unanswered questions? loss? "
She listens carefully to Pol's discription. She momentarly thinks of what he said of his usual dreams then dismisses it with the thought that maybe he is a doom prophet. His was loss, his soul was being taken. It seemed almost the same as hers. "I have had prophet dreams before," she says, "but with the exception of my first and this one, they always came with headaches. This dream was different, I can't tell if it was a vision or not. I found myself seperated from everyone else. I can see the others looking for me but I cannot reach them for a great casm seperates us and also something is holding me back. Some one from the group see me and a look of horror comes across them and the others as they see me. Then they leave, as to save the group. I feel like my soul is being stolen, eaten out of me and then a voice asks me what is my purpose. After that I woke. I don't know what it means. I don't know if these events will come to pass or if they are only symbols. I can't tell if I must answer this question or something bad will happen."
She looks down and places her hand over her crystal. "Last night," she says softly, "I felt at ease. For the first time in my life, I wasn't questioning myself and my path. I felt like I understood something, and that calmed me. Now, all that is gone and I have no idea what my path or purpose is, and I have no idea how long I have to find it."
Pol blinks, then ponders for a few moments, that sounds so very much like my dream.....but there is a fallacy in this, if we both had the same dream, that of the entire group moving away....then it would be impossible for either to be true. for to have the rest of the group, the other could not yet have been left behind....so there! logic prevails! it still feels bad though....perhaps we need to examine this, there is more to it than meets the eye....but I will do this alone, she seems....disturbed by it, and I would rather not have that in my companions....
After clearing his throat, Pol speaks up, " if we both had the same part of the dream....where the entire group was leaving, then it proves that this cannot be hard fact. understand? because if, in my dream, I was being left behind by everyone....and in your dream the same was occuring, I would have to ask, how? how could they leave each of us behind, alone, at the same time. if anything, the dream was only to call our resolve into question, who cares what our meaning in life is. as long as we keep trying to find one, then follow that one to the end, I think we will be just fine. In other words, don't worry about it, few know the meaning of thier lives until the end has come for them, and they have the benefit of decades of hindsight. " Smiling beneath his wraps, Pol reaches out to lay a re-assuring hand on Kiley's shoulder, " remember, Dreams can predict future, past, and present happenings, but that doesnt mean that they are set in stone. if you want to, you can change the future, it only takes the will. for where there is will, there is a way."
Last Edit: Jul 25, 2005 19:48:03 GMT -5 by sagetim
She smiles at his response. "Yes, that makes sense." She pondered it for a moment. If they both had the exact same dream, then it cannot come to pass. She smile remains on her face, but it fades slightly. "Still, I wonder what it's meaning is. I mean, I once was told what my purpose was. I now know that I don't have to follow that path, that I have a choice. Still, I worry, this dream, tells me that I should choose soon." She looks at the sun, "I supose we will be leaving soon. I better pack. Thank for your insight." she bows to Pol and leaves to pack her few items.
(( I'm not going to be here for the next week, so, uh.....just don't do anything crazy, or get us all killed, k? if you want a reason for my absence....well...too bad, its going to left at: I'm going on vacation for a week. if I get a chance, I will post from where I am, but that's doubtful, so.....see ya all in a week!))
Pol bows in return to Kiley, and after quickly making sure that his things were secured, he sat down to meditate, while he awaited the others. lets see....what are the similarities between our dreams? we were both alone, we were both being abandoned...both of us felt as if our souls were being torn from us....in both dreams there was a chasm. in both dreams we recieved looks of horror....and in both dreams we were being asked our purpose....many similarities....now what are the differences...in her dream I was part of the group, and in my dream she was part of the group....not much difference there....but perhaps it shows us something....we should look beyond the simple sheath of the dream, the images, now what could those represent. moreover, if we had the same dream, do we share the same destiny? that would be strange....in any case, the symbols, what could they mean? if the chasm represents an ordeal, then the look of horror would not have been of my face, or my eyes, but of a failure to succeed, or is it fail? in that ordeal. if the chasm is a symbol representing a vast difference in us, then perhaps it represents the difference in our spiritual strengths....I know for a fact that mine is far above the norm, so if my companion of dreams is the same, then perhaps that is the meaning of the chasm.....but why would they have a look of horror? are we, the spiritually aware, in danger of something that others are not? this last thought sends a chill down Pol's spine, but he shakes his head and continues his thinking....if so...then we need to find a defense, a way to beat it, something to defend us against this threat....
"Purpose... can we be told our purpose? Or is it something that we ourselves must face?" Deus's question perked over the silence of the morn.
"Understandably, the words of the Willow's dream are most perplexing to many Supplicants," Jaya spoke in a calm and direct manner. "Most of the Order will promptly insist that each persons purpose is their own to find." She giggled a little, like a schoolgirl who knew a secret but wouldn't tell. "I, however, do not hold such an indoctrinated status. I have studied and learned; watched and read. I have found no conclusive evidence that says we must find our path on our own." Her demeanor became wise and learned, "I have found that we do not discover our purpose on our own. Divinity and Pantheon conspire to show us our meaning because discovery means reunion. And there is no greater... ideal in life than reuniting with the gods and goddesses." She sighed heavily, "Thus, the answer to your question is that others may tell you how you should find it, but only you may find you purpose in life."
She listens carefully to Jaya's words. She tilts to head to the side trying to understand. She says quietly, almost to herself, "I don’t think any one every told me how to find my purpose. My brother... maybe... every one else always told me what it was. I think I understand but... how does some one find their purpose in life. Do they decide by what they are good at, or what they like, or both? Do they choose from their strengths or weaknesses?" She looks around at all the different people around her. "Every one here is different for every one else. Don't we all have different ways of finding our path, our purpose?" She thinks of every one around her, they all seem so much wiser than her. "Or maybe... do we take the combined wisdom of those around us."
She thought carefully of what she had heard so far today. Both Jaya and Pol were very wise, much more than she. "Maybe," she thinks to herself, "maybe one of them can help me." She thought carefully of them both. "Jaya is very experienced. She had traveled a lot and she knows her purpose, I think. Maybe she could tell me how to find mine. Then again, she is probably too important, too busy. Pol, we shared dreams. Maybe that means there is something else we share. He seems to be a seer too, maybe there is even more we share. Maybe he can help me find mine." She looks over at Pol, "Then again, he seems much more experienced than I in the world of the spirits, I wouldn’t want to bother him, or hinder him.” She looks again at Pol, he seemed deep in meditation. He looks so… wise. She knew he was trying to figure out their dream. “Still, we did share dreams. I'll ask him later, when he isn’t busy.” she thinks again of her dream. "If my dream is what I fear it to be, I don't think I have much time."
Deus nodded his head, carefully mulling over Jaya's words. He did not want to miss anything, after all.
"So... We can be shown the path, but once again we must walk it on our own... " Looking back at Pol and Kiley, he shook his head. They seem to have seen glimces of their path, yet it gives them no confidence. If one knows the future, why is it not reassuring? Hmm... Perhaps it is not my place to ask. I am obviously missing something here...
"If..." He shook his head, cutting off the words before they were spoken. The girl looked shaken enough as is, and he did not want to contribute to her distress.
Looking back to Jaya, he spoke to her again, pushing past his doubts. "If we can be shown the path that we travel, where must we go? What do we do to know our purpose?"
"paths are always winding and turning and splitting. can we truely be shown our path, or is it just one path that is posible? i think that you two have only seen one path that is a posability. this is what my grandmother told me once. she was very wise. if you do not want that path to be then try for it not to be, and if you want i will try to help you too."
mi'ia held out her hands to the two in a token of friendship. she had ment what she had said she will strive for that not to happen but she knew that sometimes things that we didnt want to happen happens weather we try to stop it or not. that her grandmother told her too.
"You think that you can tell us apart? Many have tried, but then again, many have failed. What do you think the price for that is?" The Three Sisters Lylie-governess to a child of the first plain "You grew up. Thats a shame. The carousel never stops turning. You cant get off either. Its a shame."
Tia mulled over the complexities of the Path. There were reasons not everyone could believe in the Willow's dream. She couldn't understand not believing, but she did understand sticking with fellows and comrades. Though they had just met, she felt ties and kinship to these people around her. She had heard about teams of Constants who were good allies beating almost insurmountable odds. Why, hadn't even the Heroes been friends in the end?
She looked from Ma'Ia to Pol and Kiley to Deus and the Knights. She declared in a solid voice, "I, too, will be there for you, regardless of our paths and how they may run." She put her hand upon Ma'Ia's hand. "I wish to travel the path with you, my friends."
As Pol comes out of his meditation he thinks of course...by helping eachother, by assisting one another, we can cover any and all holes in our defense...it just might take a while for us to get used to eachother and learn how. Then, after standing he nods in agreement with Tia and Mi'ia, " then we will all stick together. With each of us covering eachothers backs I doubt there is anything that can stand in our way, even religion. " there, I tried to make a joke, if it doesn't get a laugh, at least I know I did my best....huh I don't think my meditations have been that refreshing for a long time, perhaps it's the knowledge that I am no longer alone? in any case...it's...nice.
((yea yea yea, short post, I know....but can you blame me? it's been a while.... ^_^; also, if Pol seems a little off, I blame it on the time I've been away... ))
