A Continuation: Mahin Reveals the Truth to Gabriella; Hiriako Has a Disturbing Conversation

Gabriella

(This first part is provided for context, as it took place while Gabriella slumbered. She has not heard of this conversation from Hiriako, or is aware that he experienced this.)

(Ays Andeystelis): Maylea says, "Hiriako... do you have a moment for Me?"

(Ays Andeystelis): You say, "I do, Mother."

<Travel Spam>

The Bloom of Serenity fades into view slowly.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity raises Her head weakly at your approach, Her faded eyes fixing upon you.

You have emoted: Greywalker Hiriako Myeras steps forward with a gentle smile, looking over Maylea with a clear concern. 
"Mother... You seem tired." He takes up position before Maylea, glancing once more at the injured arm.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity whispers, "Something strange has come upon Me... worse I feel than when the thing
 sank its teeth into My flesh!"

She is a radiant immortal and suffers under the effect of some unknown malady. The familiar aura of power that usually plays across 
Her slender form is faint and fragmented, its colour muted. The dark hair streaked with blue falls limply against a face grown haggard,
and the golden eyes, usually so alive with the continued musings of Her heart, are faded into a warm grey, listless and lost. She is 
wearing a woven sari edge in prismatic embroidery, a trailing rainbow sash, an armband of twining vines, a sky-hued bluebell, 
a translucent crystal bindi, an anklet hung with crystal chimes and bloodied bandages wrapped about Her left arm.

You have emoted: Greywalker Hiriako Myeras brings a hand over in a comforting gesture, setting it gently upon Maylea's unharmed wrist. 
"A poison strong enough to wound You is terrifying," he whispers, almost muttering as he listens.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity whispers, "Something changed, Hiriako... the thing was set to heal, I swear. I know many poisons, 
and the changes are fast, if subtle to begin. There is a redness or a heat, but neither plagued Me until a weave had passed from the bite.
Do you in truth think it is a strange new poison?"

With a moment's hesitation, you say, "I've seen what the soulless poison can do. But no, not necessarily a poison.
Something though, and I am worried."

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity extends the afflicted arm, and pulls gently upon the end of the bandage. 

The bloodied fabric unwinds from Her limb. She stops as the edge of the deep wound becomes visible. 

A redness lingers upon the flesh around the wound, yes, but more startling still are the lines running from the wound upwards 
towards Her heart. They are not red like the lines of infection, but faintly glowing, shifting from one colour to the next.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity whispers, "It is like it feeds upon what I am... what poison does that? It is like a curse, robbing My unique 
strength and turning it against Me... what do you make of it, Hiriako?"

You have emoted: Greywalker Hiriako Myeras emote leans forward, taking a moment to better look at the wound upon Maylea's arm. 
He does not balk at the sight of the injury itself, the redness expected with a cut this great. Rather, the strange lines cause him to pause, 
jaw hung half open in surprise. "I've never seen anything of the sort, Mother. I..." He shakes his head suddenly, pausing as he delves into his mind 
to think, of anything that may have acted like this before. "I have seen a few things that would consume another to make itself more powerful.
But never to a Divine, unless..." He hesitates once more, looking up at Maylea's face with worry in his eyes, "Your words make me think of the
Primal Gods."

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity recovers the wound and the strange lines, grimacing in pain, as She whispers, 
"Something changed last weave, somewhere around half a month ago. I cannot tell you how, but I must task you with trying to 
find out what it was. Perhaps another of the Gods have concocted some ritual to curse Me..."

Maylea closes Her eyes and inhales deeply, absorbing the scent of Her surroundings.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity whispers, "Please keep this close to heart for now. I would that none know except the Inner Order. 
Perhaps between you and Gabriella, something can be discerned, yes?"

With a solemn nod, you say, "I will share this with none but her, Mother. I will also start my search. If Gabriella has not told You,
I know that Nocht has been showing Himself around her and our son recently, attempting to scare them I believe."

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity whispers grimly, "I will attend to that when I am able."

You say, "He'll have to go through a stubborn old mule in myself. I know I cannot stand up to even the weakest of the Gods, 
but...I can be annoying. I'll see what I can find out about this, Mother, with all the haste I can muster."

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity whispers, "Thank you, Hiriako. I will keep to My portion of the havens for now, lest someone 
discover My weakness."

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity shakes Her head and sighs, whispering, "I can only have faith that determining this cause will lead us to a cure."

You say, "I am Your hand. I will perform this task, and seek what I can. Do rest well, and please let me know if there is anything 
I can acquire for even temporarily relief.  I will talk to Ella and see if she has any thoughts before I go randomly wandering."

Maylea smiles softly.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity leans forward to kiss you upon the forehead, a familiar act, and yet this time the heat from her 
wounded arm can be felt, a dull reminder of Her condition.

Maylea, Bloom of Serenity says, "I have faith in you both."

The Serene Goddess fades from view, gone in an instant to Her place in the havens.

Gabriella

(The second part:  Mahin, by the way, is a nine-tailed vixen that occasionally visits the Serenwilde.  I don't remember exactly where she comes from.  This is what happened to Gabriella when she awoke.)

A shadow flutters through the corner of your vision.

You put a painting of a frost-touched cluster of snapdragons into a darkwood cabinet.

You close a darkwood cabinet.

You have emoted: Gabriella slowly closes the doors to the cabinet and turns to face the rest of the room.

A lush beige carpet is spread out on the ground. A cabinet crafted of gleaming darkwood stands against the wall, closed doors hiding its contents. A painting of Aramel is proudly exhibited on a nearby wall.

You get the sense of being watched by silent eyes that you cannot quite see.

You have emoted: Gabriella inhales sharply as she leans back against the wooden cabinet, fingers splayed against its surface as her eyes dart, looking about the room.

A nine-tailed vixen hops down from atop the cabinet.

Mahin says, "You reek of your fear."

Mahin twitches her whiskers towards you.

You have emoted: Gabriella jerks back from the cabinet, caught off guard as she stares down at Mahin, hand clasped to her chest. "Gods, Mahin, you scared the Nil out of me. I th-thought - I thought you were - ".

Sitting and coiling her tails about her paws neatly, Mahin says, "You thought I was...?"

You have emoted: Gabriella shakes her head, falling quiet. "It... it is not important." She blinks, and then looks more properly at Mahin, frowning in thought. "It has been some time since I have seen you. I thought you went on to investigate new places."

Mahin says, "Events became interesting back here again."

You have emoted: Gabriella's gaze skitters to the side.

Mahin says, "In fact, I think it rather important who you thought I was."

Mahin fixates her uncanny gaze upon you.

You have emoted: Gabriella rubs her arms, turning away from the cabinet and Mahin, as she paces a few steps away.

You have emoted: Gabriella finally turns to face Mahin again, still hugging her arms as she looks at the nine-tailed vixen, her expression unreadable. "I thought you were Nocht."

Mahin flicks one tail after the other in turn, saying casually, "Fear I smell. You reek of it. But I smell things other than fear upon you. Tell me, what is it you have done?"

You have emoted: Gabriella frowns at Mahin, lowering her arms. "Other things?"

You frown and say, "What other things? Fear - fear I have, due to Him, due to my worry for my Mother - but..."

You whisper, "Last month, He haunted me, haunted my son, deathly wounded my friend - or so I feared. But it was just a trick. As always by Him."

Mahin says, "Ah... fear is distinct. It is as a lemon, sharp, undeniable. This other thing, what is it? A wormy smell, an intriguing smell like that which rises from the bitter earth of a grave. You will have to tell me what it is."

You have emoted: Gabriella blinks at Mahin, looking uncomprehending. "A wormy smell? As of death?"

Patiently, Mahin says, "What did you do, Gabriella the Afeard?"

You pace back and forth nervously.

Muttering, half to herself as she thinks, you say, "I did nothing that I know of, that could relate to such a scent. Perhaps you smell a lingering scent of the head from the Silent Lord's fulcrux - it was there after all..."

You have emoted: Gabriella pauses in her pacing.

Mahin says, "Ah no... there is something you are guilty of, or I haven't more than three tails to my name."

Mahin scents the air lightly, still staring at you.

You have emoted: Gabriella turns to slowly look at Mahin. "Ah," she whispers, "There may be something that I feel guilt for, yes. But I was tricked into it."

You rub your temples in frustration.

You whisper, "I thought the Lord Nocht had destroyed, Calythan, or at least wounded him severely."

You whisper, "So I went to His fulcrux - to, to try and reason with Him, to understand what He wanted from me - and while there, He offered to restore Calythan to me, whole and unharmed, as he was before - for a price."

Smiling a vulpine smile, Mahin says, "Here comes the meat of it. What was the price?"

You whisper, "He told me that I must kneel before Him and renounce my Lady, and to curse Her and all She stood for."

You say, "I... I stood there for an age, in agony, and He warned me the offer was not indefinite. So, I said to Him, that in exchange for Calythan's safety... I gave Him His price. I feared that He wanted me to desert Her entirely, but all He wanted was the words."

You whisper, "For me to say it. And I could not deny Him, for I was scared, and thought Calythan to be dead or dying. And my Lady has need of Him - we all do, and he is an innocent. So I paid the price."

Softly, Mahin says, "And now I know the scent for what it is."

You have emoted: Gabriella rubs her hands over her face, shoulders heavy with the guilt. "I have not had a chance to tell my Lady of the event. And I did not mean it! It was not true! But I feel as if I have betrayed Her all the same, regardless of the reasons."

You have emoted: Gabriella lowers her hands, looking up at Mahin. "What is the smell, Mahin?"

Mahin says, "You have named it yourself, actually."

You quake in fear.

You whisper, "Betrayal?"

Mahin says, "Yes, yes... the scent of a turncoat, a sellout, one who found herself unfaithful when emotions ran at their highest and faith was worth more than life."

Mahin ducks her head demurely, saying, "What a burden nine tails can be! I desire to be truthful when I know it stings the most."

You have emoted: Gabriella shakes her head slowly, and then more quickly at Mahin in denial. "I have every faith in my Mother! I did not mean the words, they were empty, hollow, said only in exchange for the life of one who is dear to us all, my Lady included!"

You say, "And He tricked me in the end, it would seem, as Calythan claimed he was not harmed - but Nocht made it appear as so to me, to my son."

Mahin says, "Did you not think that our goodly Lady has this same power to put the Frost aright as the Silent has? Even if he had been gravely injured?"

You say, "My Lady is injured! She is not at Her full strength, and She did not respond when I called and searched for Her!"

You say, "I thought Calythan *dead*."

You say, "And when Nocht promised that He could restore him, I did not know what else to do, but to do what I could to save him!"

Gravely, Mahin says, "And better dead than touched by such a hand, I think."

Her voice hushed, tears rising to her eyes, you say, "He was already touched by that hand. Ifhe could be restored -."

You say, "Calythan is as dear to me as my own children. How could I leave him in such a state, even for a moment, if he were alive? He was not himself, when he was injured that first time by the Lord-and-Lady, and was healed only at the expense of the Lord Zvoltz. I could not do anything for him but what I did!"

You say, "If I had thought but for a moment that my Lady Mother would not understand, or agree, I would not have done it!"

Mahin shakes her white head and says, "Our good Lady's wound has taken some greater ill... a thing that soaks up Her own energy and feeds it against Herself. I wonder from whence such a thing came. It is as though a part of Her has turned against Her, well-intending or nay, and to what end I cannot tell."

You have emoted: Gabriella stares at Mahin.

You whisper, "What did you say?"

You whisper, "I have not seen Her since - nay, She was healing, She assured us."

Mahin says, "Nay, the healing was interrupted."

You have emoted: Gabriella slowly slides down to the floor, sitting upon it with an audible thump as she looks at Mahin in disbelief, fear crossing her features. Through numb lips, she whispers, "Because of what I said? Even though it was not truly meant, a farce... ?"

Mahin gets to her feet and prowls over close to you, looking into your eyes from close enough that you can smell the wildness of the untamed forest upon her fur... and she could bite your throat in a heartbeat.

Mahin says, "Words have a power that you must remember, Gabriella the Afeard. And this was a deed as well. Perhaps you can make it right again, who can say? Keep your eyes open for the opportunity."

You have emoted: Gabriella stares up at Mahin, violet orbs wide as she trembles from the violent emotions running through her. "But how can you know this? Have you seen Her? Why does She not answer me - th-this cannot be." She buries her face in her hands, a great sob escaping her.

Mahin says, "Ah well... She ever has Her way, and She is gravely injured. I am sure that She will come to you."

Through her tears, you snarl, "This is His doing! He tricked me - I will - I will *kill* Him - this cannot stand -!"

Looking into your eyes with great sympathy, Mahin says, "And you will have to tell Her what you have wrought."

You have emoted: Gabriella stares up at Mahin again, trembling.

You whisper, "What... what have I done."

Not unkindly, Mahin says, "A thing that will not be done again, I think. And lessons are how we earn our new tails, no? Take heart in at least that."

You have emoted: Gabriella nods numbly, tears running unchecked down her cheeks. "Thank you, for telling of this, Mahin," she whispers.

Mahin says, "I suppose in the end it is a small kindness... you are thus prepared in some measure."

You close your eyes and inhale deeply, absorbing the scent of your surroundings.

You have emoted: Gabriella rubs at her eyes, wiping away her tears impatiently, frowning gravely at herself.

Mahin gently licks the tears off of your right cheek, her tongue smooth and somewhat soothing.

Mahin says, "I wish you well enough, Gabriella the Afeard."

Very briefly extending her hand and touching Mahin on the shoulder, you whisper, "Thank you."

The nine-tailed vixen jumps nimbly to the top of the cabinet in one bound, and then disappears from sight.

You have emoted: Gabriella stares mutely into space for a long moment, before sniffing, dashing her hands across her face to remove any lingering tears, and then rises to her feet, turning her back on the cabinet.

Xenthos

This Nocht / Maylea story arc is really intriguing.  Thank you for sharing it.

I don't tend to see much Nocht RP since it's mostly confined to his order & Maylea's order, but it's always very well done when I get to see snippets.

Gabriella

I have more that I could share, but I don't want to break the spamming rule. >.>

Xenthos

You could just add it to this thread, or the other one!