Zion: Light of the New Moon Part 2, Ch 1.4 Doen
Zion - Light of the New Moon, Part 2 Chapter 1.4
Doen Fairview
Zachary is going to attempt to awaken the party using divine prayer and probably exhaust himself in the process. Let's hope this turns out for the best! Currently, the Doenians will be receiving +++ Delay and + Luck for this event arc, though it may be modified by further choices as the chapter continues.
Knowing that our time was limited, I had Rozs and Mina gather up my traveling companions and arrange them on the ground in a circle around me. Ideally, divine rituals involve four, five, or eight-sided symbols... or at least points on a circle; unfortunately mine had seven. I remember hearing somewhere that seven is a lucky number, but it is a little unorthodox for the Moon Mother.
There had been times in the past when some of the older priests taught me prayers that originated in other cities and payed homage to the aspects of Tah'aveen other than the Pregnant Moon, but we never spent any great time on them. At that moment, I hoped to Moon's Pathway that I remembered enough of the Cleansing Ritual of the Full Moon to bring my friends out of their slumber.
"Stay out of the circle, and keep an eye on the sky outside." I gave the clear and simple directions to the two hedgehogs, "Interrupt me only if the sky starts to lighten." They assured me that they would and only then did I begin the prayer. The words felt strange on my lips, speaking in tones and phrases not usually reserved for the Moon Mother. The Cleansing Ritual wasn't one that could be found in any missal from the Temple of Doen, but I was a priest, and any connection to Tah'aveen was possible... with enough faith.
I don't remember all of what happened next... but, then again, most priests don't once they are encompassed by the energies of such a powerful ritual. I recall the Goddess' light flowing through me, the stark, purifying, burning, holy light of the Full Moon using me as its conduit as I directed Tah'aveen's favor out around me to my stricken companions. The contrast between the energy filling me and the impurity of the drug infesting them was made all the greater in my eyes; I could see the way that it absorbed the light in its empty blackness but, slowly, the moon's glow prevailed.
I lost track of time... and pretty much everything else. The light was everything to me, and through me, Tah'Aveen's energy entered into our world, doing Her will as I prayed for her to rouse my allies from their slumber. It felt like it took forever but, at the same time, it seemed as no more than a few seconds could have passed. In one sense I longed for the ritual to be complete and my friends to be awakened but, on the other paw, I had hoped that I would be able to bask in Her light for hours upon hours. The Full Moon's bright silvery glow was much harsher than that of the Pregnant Moon, but it held no less of Tah'Aveen's majesty.
"Brother." Rozs' voice broke through the endless white, causing the light to pull back and dwindle to nothing. Even as I lamented the loss of the glow, his next words snapped me out of my communion, "Dawn is coming..."
"What?" I asked, feeling my throat croak out the question. Only once all of the light had faded did I realize that, although it felt like minutes in reflection, I had been conducting the ritual for hours. "Oh Goddess..." I rasped, looking around at my still-unconscious friends, "It's dawn?"
Though my eyes were bleary from the all-encompassing light of Tah'Aveen it didn't take long before I could make out the windows on the walls. Beyond them the blackness was almost complete but I could still see the dark shapes of other buildings. Past those, however, the charcoal-gray horizon was beginning to grow much more distinct as the sky above it gained contrast, lit by the fiery disc as it made to begin its trip across the heavens.
"The sky is brightening in the east." the inn keeper's voice cracked in fear, adding words to what I was witnessing, "The villagers have been working for the past few hours to move baskets, crates, barrels, wagons... anything to block the roads, but--"
"That won't help." I spoke, "We need to--" I went to take a step, but my leg gave out and I collapsed to the ground; I didn't realize how tired I was.
"Brother?" Mira asked, moving to me immediately, "Please... get up... we need you." she pleaded.
"I'm... I'm alright." I offered, knowing too-well that it was a lie, but I had to keep going. "What... weapons do you have?" I asked.
The two hedgehogs looked to one another uneasily. Mina continued wringing her paws together while the inn keeper finally came clean, "...nothing." Rozs whispered.
"Nothing?" I questioned, slowly sitting up, "You have to have SOMETHING." I pressed.
"The contract..." he explained, "We are bound as pacifists by the Fey's contract."
The clear peal of a hunting horn rolled through the street, followed by a baleful, otherworldly chorus of howls. Everyone's eyes went to the windows and even from my place on the floor I watched as mist flowed through the streets. The surreal vapors blotted everything out so entirely that I completely lost sight of the buildings just across the street from the inn, "At this point, I don't think they're interested in the contract anymore."
Mina stared out the window, shivering. She looked back to me, pleading as she whimpered, "Help us... oh Tah'aveen, help us, Brother Zachary."
"I..." I grunted, somehow managing to get my feet under me and rise up to a kneeling position, "get whatever you can that will work as a weapon... kitchen knives... pitch forks... anything." I suggested.
Rozs moved to my side and slid one of my arms over his shoulder, "Do you think we can fight them, Brother?"
I closed my eyes as the honesty escaped my muzzle, "No, Rozs... I don't think kitchen knives and pitch forks will help... but if they see you're willing to fight it might give you a chance to try and negotiate with them."
"You mean..." he paused, and I could feel him quaking through my arm, "You mean so YOU can negotiate, Brother?" he asked, "You're a priest... you can tell them they're not welcome..."
"I tried to protect your village, Rozs... and then enacted a ritual to raise warriors to consciousness so they could combat the Fey." I glanced back at my friends, overbalanced, and then felt the comforting firmness of the floor, "...they won't want to talk to me." I said, gazing up at the ceiling, "They'll probably want you to trade me to them." I suddenly realized, but couldn't find the energy to be concerned about it. I noticed then that the floor was wet... apparently with my blood.
"Brother, you're bleeding!" Mina announced immediately, moving to my side as Rozs knelt down beside me too. She reached out with her apron and blotted at my head where it had hit the ground; I couldn't even feel the pain at that point.
"I... don't think I can help you, Rozs..." I explained, "I'm sorry."
"You have to help us!" Rozs objected, "We need you Brother... please!"
"The ritual..." I explained, gazing up at the ceiling as I FINALLY began to feel the ache of the impact through my skull, "... I don't have anything left..." I remember wishing that I was still unable to feel the pain as it began to get rapidly worse.
"You need to get up... please, Brother... we need you." Mina pleaded.
"Just..." I hesitated, my own voice worsening the ache in my skull, "...put the staff with the statue..." I suggested. The ground felt so comfortable at that point, but I made sure to add, "It is our Divine Shield... if the statue was your old one, maybe the staff will help..."
Our discussion was interrupted by the shrill shriek of a horrific voice somewhere off in the distance; exhausted even as I was, the sound sent a shiver through me, and I prayed then that I would never have to hear anything like it again. The hedgehogs' words came out that much more frantic.
"But we need a priest to help use it, Brother!" Mina objected.
"We can't do this without the divine!" Rozs spoke. He continued on to say more after that, but I don't remember what it was. At some point I remember the two of them trying to get me up, but all I knew was exhaustion... I was beyond tired. As everything in my mind started to shut down, I could vaguely make out surprised sounds from both of the hedgehogs, followed by a voice.
"Good thing you have a priest here then." it was Lord Rust's voice. All around me, my friends began to come too. Drifting off as the dark haze in my mind separated me from the world around me, all I could do was pray that they were up to the task. Unlike my earlier observation of them being asleep and me being awake, I wasn't in any condition to laugh... and, with that, my part in the battle for Fairview was done. It's a funny thing looking back on it: reality seemed to right itself-- as they all rose up awake I returned to my rightful place in the comforting arms of unconsciousness.
* * * * * *
The adventure continues for the Doenian party in the fourth post of Chapter 1!
It seems that the party is awake and will stand in to help Fairview with their fey problem. Unfortunately, in exchange, Zach is now the unconscious one. The party will have a decision to make.:
1) Have Haldyn take control of the situation and organize the townsfolk for a fight. 2) Put everything on hold and see if Dillan can work his negotiation magic on the fey. 3) Have everyone gather at the statue with Lord Rust as he attempts to protect the town from the Fey with the Divine Shield. 4) It's Narissa's time to shine: she can mesmerize the Fey with a performance so great that they'll withdraw. 5) The group can still get the hell out-- grab Zachary and GO!
Champions of Doen, since it is possible that you will engage in combat based on how the votes go I will require a Stance from each of you. Stance is given on a rating of 0-5 where 5 is full offense, 4 is aggressive, 3 is neutral, 2 is conservative, and 1 is reserved, A rating of 0 indicates that the character will NOT be taking part in combat (not even in a support role). Please bear in mind that these ratings will increase your Offense the higher your Stance number and increase your Defense the lower your Stance number (or, in the case of 0, have the character try to avoid combat altogether)-- the opposite sub-trait decreases conversely (Defense goes down if the number is high; Offense goes down if the number is low).
I will also require a Utilization number for those characters that have an 11 or higher in combined Magic + Sub-Trait or Faith + Sub-Trait. Like Stance, Utilization ranges from 0-5. Utilization is a numerical equivalent of how free your contributed character is with their magic and/or prayers-- a charater with a higher Utilization is more inclined to use their abilities often and more powerfully while a character that elects a lower Utilization is less likely to depend on them (Utilization of 0 will result in the character foregoing any such abilities). Bear in mind that the higher the level of Utilization the more likely a character is to suffer from fatigue. Characters with higher Attribute + Sub-Skill totals are able less likely to be affected by fatigue unless they use a higher score of Utilization.
For an example of how to declare Stance and Utilization, please view the actions taken by the Author-Contributed characters below.
Contributing Readers have until midnight on Thursday, November 24th to vote. Happy Turkey Day!