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Alea Iacta Story Hour: A Mythic Rome Campaign (Baby Announcement: 8/17)
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<blockquote data-quote="Orichalcum" data-source="post: 1108905" data-attributes="member: 3722"><p><strong>Fourth Session: Legacies and Freedom Eighth Post: An Eye for an Eye</strong></p><p></p><p>Talat trailing docilely, if a little clumsily, behind us, we walk back towards the grove of Lugh. We all clamp our eyes shut again, and Llyr hastily throws a hand across Talat’s eyes, unsure if her divine birth will protect her, and not really anxious to find out. </p><p></p><p> As we approach, the golden tenor voice rings in our heads once again: <span style="color: orange">“Ah, young mortals, I can sense that my brethren have finally departed the island. Thank you.” </span></p><p></p><p> “Yes, and now we’re here to free you in turn,” Heilyn says emphatically.</p><p></p><p> <span style="color: orange">“You cannot, my child.” </span></p><p></p><p> “Yes, we can. We just don’t do what Druids do, and figure out whatever that means here,” Llyr says, certain of success.</p><p></p><p> <span style="color: orange">“You don’t understand. My test is long since over, and it was failed.” </span></p><p></p><p> “Failed?” Cornelia asks.</p><p></p><p> <span style="color: orange"> “According to the contract and the rites of the Druids, each test of the three groves had three possible choices. The correct answer for a young Druid in each case was the path of power, for the Druids believe that one must know how to control and use power wisely in order to join their ranks. Thus, in Sulis’s grove, a Druid would have drunk some of the water and thereby gained great power; in Epona’s grove, he would have ridden her avatar for as long as possible. You may not realize, mortals, how much you chose to sacrifice in your abandonment of these choices.” </span></p><p> </p><p> “But those choices were wrong! You don’t drink gods, or chain them with human skin...What were the other two choices?” Metellus asks.</p><p></p><p></p><p> <span style="color: orange"> “In each case, there was also a choice for overuse of the power, and for releasing or freeing the power, as you have done. Good Druids would have taken only a sip of the water rather than consuming it all, and would not have harmed the horse, for instance. Those actions would have been punished with death by Our hands. </span></p><p><span style="color: orange"></span></p><p><span style="color: orange"> In My case, the test was also one of temptation. I am bound here on an ancient stone slab. On a pillar besides Me once rested My Cap of Twilight, which would have enabled Me, among many other things, to escape My confinement. A successful Druid would have used the Cap herself to accomplish some great deed and then returned it; another possibility was to give it to Me. When the Romans attacked, they eventually penetrated to this grove, although no farther. Their general, Gaius Tacitus Agricola, found the Cap of Twilight, and seized it, claiming that he would give it as a gift to the Temple of Mercury in Rome, to enable My cousin to fly more swiftly than on the flimsy sandals he previously sported. </span></p><p><span style="color: orange"> </span></p><p><span style="color: orange">Without the Cap, My test can never be completed, and I must remain here, trapped, with most of My divine power going to fuel the enchantments on this island. So, good mortals, you need not feel that your work is unfinished. Proceed forward to the grove, and cast off your dreadful curse. You have done well.” </span></p><p> </p><p> “But...wait. We can’t leave you here,” Heilyn insists, with a particular fervor in his voice. “What would happen if we got the Cap back in Rome?”</p><p> </p><p> <span style="color: orange">“If you freely offered it up to me, calling on my name, from any location in the world, I would hear, and I think I could then summon it to my side and free myself with its power. But assuredly the Temple of Mercury knows its power well, and it is well guarded.” </span> Lugh replies.</p><p></p><p> “That doesn’t matter. We’ll do it. It’s not right for you to remain trapped here,” Wena responds. The Romans look somewhat askance at each other, but do not speak for now.</p><p></p><p> <span style="color: orange">“Thank you. That is most courageous of you all. Like my brethren, I wish as well to thank you, but my power is very limited at the moment. I can offer, however, a gift with a high price. If any of you chooses to open one eye and gaze at me in my full majesty, you may gain great insight and wisdom through the sight. Yet...the divine in their true form are not intended for mortal eyes. It is quite likely that you will lose some or perhaps all your vision by undertaking such a risk. It is a choice for each of you to make; you must weigh it in your own hearts.” </span></p><p></p><p> We all pause for some time, and contemplate the risks and rewards of such a vision. Finally, Heilyn, Llyr, and Wena, the three Celts, all decide to open one eye and behold Lugh’s glory, while the Romans and Meloch and I agree that going blind is simply not worth the danger. Bowing their heads first in respect, each momentarily opens his or her left eye, almost immediately blinking it closed in the overwhelming pain of such an intense light. But in that half second, each of the three comes to understand far more about the nature of the divine and of the spirit world than they ever thought possible. While their distance visions are somewhat marred, there are new, reflective looks on each of their faces, as they contemplate the wisdom they have gained. Furthermore, Llyr and Wena now have a new sense of how Heilyn sees the world, with the spirits of trees and rivers and homes being very dimly visible under strong concentration. For Heilyn, his spirit vision is strengthened, and he can now view the local spirits almost without thinking about the process.</p><p></p><p> Having made our farewells to Lugh, we proceed forward into the last grove, similar to the others except for the altar of skulls at one end, presumably the site of Druid sacrifices. Heilyn, with the Staff of Earth and Stone, proceeds forward into the center, and then stops.</p><p></p><p> “I can break the staff and release the spirits now, which should both end your curses and keep my promise to them so they don’t destroy everything around. But before I do that, I want a promise from you all. You have to swear to help me go to Rome and get the Cap of Twilight from the Temple of Mercury, so that we can free Lugh. Otherwise I’ll just tell the spirits to go now, and you’ll never get your curses lifted,” Heilyn announces.</p><p></p><p> We are somewhat stunned at this sudden attempt at blackmail, but quickly recover.</p><p> Wena answers, “Well, I’ve also sworn to get the Cap of Twilight back, so that is not much of a burden. I swear to help you within the limits of my powers.”</p><p></p><p> Llyr says, “Look, I’m not under this curse, so I’m not going to swear anything. But Lugh’s my tribe’s patron god – of course I want him freed, and I’ll do everything I can to help.”</p><p></p><p> Metellus speaks slowly, “It does seem like the Cap belongs to Lugh, and obviously, him being imprisoned is wrong, though that’s the fault of the Druids, not the Romans. But I am unwilling to steal something from one of our own gods. I will help you to the best of my ability, but I will not break any Roman laws or commit sacrilege against Mercury in the process.”</p><p></p><p> Cornelia and Marcus echo Metellus’s terms. Heilyn is unhappy with this proposal, but agrees that if they promise to help him with their diplomatic connections and their powers, he will at least try to use all such methods before resorting to underhanded means. Finally, he turns to Meloch, who has not yet spoken.</p><p></p><p> “Obviously, I want the curse off. But, as a slave, I do not have the power to swear oaths in my own name. I follow the dictates of my mistress.”</p><p></p><p> Heilyn, under much strain, takes this as assent, not realizing that Meloch has not in fact sworn to aid him at all. While nearly everyone else notices this, they agree with Meloch’s conclusion, and are in any case unthrilled by the blackmail, so remain silent.</p><p></p><p></p><p> “Very well then. Spirits of Wind and Stone, I free you, in accordance with our agreement. Do not harm me or any of my companions, and depart peacefully from this place without damaging it. Farewell, and begone!” Heilyn smashes the staff in twain with his hammer. A whirlwind, full of icy blue eyes that glare out at us, erupts forth from one half of the staff, speeding up above the trees and out into the clear blue sky, where it vanishes. From the other half of the staff, a green and brown puddle of mud, smelling of mountains and rock, oozes out, congealing around our feet before beginning to sink into the earth below us. Green tendrils curl caressingly up and around Heilyn’s ankles and calves, until he bats them away with annoyance. As the puddle subsides into the ground, the rest of us see plants springing back to life in the circle around us. Meloch runs forward to test touching a tree, and finds he can. Llyr tosses him an apple from his pocket, and I snatch half of it, glad to finally be eating fruit again. Aeduana’s vengeance is over.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Orichalcum, post: 1108905, member: 3722"] [b]Fourth Session: Legacies and Freedom Eighth Post: An Eye for an Eye[/b] Talat trailing docilely, if a little clumsily, behind us, we walk back towards the grove of Lugh. We all clamp our eyes shut again, and Llyr hastily throws a hand across Talat’s eyes, unsure if her divine birth will protect her, and not really anxious to find out. As we approach, the golden tenor voice rings in our heads once again: [color=orange]“Ah, young mortals, I can sense that my brethren have finally departed the island. Thank you.” [/color] “Yes, and now we’re here to free you in turn,” Heilyn says emphatically. [color=orange]“You cannot, my child.” [/color] “Yes, we can. We just don’t do what Druids do, and figure out whatever that means here,” Llyr says, certain of success. [color=orange]“You don’t understand. My test is long since over, and it was failed.” [/color] “Failed?” Cornelia asks. [color=orange] “According to the contract and the rites of the Druids, each test of the three groves had three possible choices. The correct answer for a young Druid in each case was the path of power, for the Druids believe that one must know how to control and use power wisely in order to join their ranks. Thus, in Sulis’s grove, a Druid would have drunk some of the water and thereby gained great power; in Epona’s grove, he would have ridden her avatar for as long as possible. You may not realize, mortals, how much you chose to sacrifice in your abandonment of these choices.” [/color] “But those choices were wrong! You don’t drink gods, or chain them with human skin...What were the other two choices?” Metellus asks. [color=orange] “In each case, there was also a choice for overuse of the power, and for releasing or freeing the power, as you have done. Good Druids would have taken only a sip of the water rather than consuming it all, and would not have harmed the horse, for instance. Those actions would have been punished with death by Our hands. In My case, the test was also one of temptation. I am bound here on an ancient stone slab. On a pillar besides Me once rested My Cap of Twilight, which would have enabled Me, among many other things, to escape My confinement. A successful Druid would have used the Cap herself to accomplish some great deed and then returned it; another possibility was to give it to Me. When the Romans attacked, they eventually penetrated to this grove, although no farther. Their general, Gaius Tacitus Agricola, found the Cap of Twilight, and seized it, claiming that he would give it as a gift to the Temple of Mercury in Rome, to enable My cousin to fly more swiftly than on the flimsy sandals he previously sported. Without the Cap, My test can never be completed, and I must remain here, trapped, with most of My divine power going to fuel the enchantments on this island. So, good mortals, you need not feel that your work is unfinished. Proceed forward to the grove, and cast off your dreadful curse. You have done well.” [/color] “But...wait. We can’t leave you here,” Heilyn insists, with a particular fervor in his voice. “What would happen if we got the Cap back in Rome?” [color=orange]“If you freely offered it up to me, calling on my name, from any location in the world, I would hear, and I think I could then summon it to my side and free myself with its power. But assuredly the Temple of Mercury knows its power well, and it is well guarded.” [/color] Lugh replies. “That doesn’t matter. We’ll do it. It’s not right for you to remain trapped here,” Wena responds. The Romans look somewhat askance at each other, but do not speak for now. [color=orange]“Thank you. That is most courageous of you all. Like my brethren, I wish as well to thank you, but my power is very limited at the moment. I can offer, however, a gift with a high price. If any of you chooses to open one eye and gaze at me in my full majesty, you may gain great insight and wisdom through the sight. Yet...the divine in their true form are not intended for mortal eyes. It is quite likely that you will lose some or perhaps all your vision by undertaking such a risk. It is a choice for each of you to make; you must weigh it in your own hearts.” [/color] We all pause for some time, and contemplate the risks and rewards of such a vision. Finally, Heilyn, Llyr, and Wena, the three Celts, all decide to open one eye and behold Lugh’s glory, while the Romans and Meloch and I agree that going blind is simply not worth the danger. Bowing their heads first in respect, each momentarily opens his or her left eye, almost immediately blinking it closed in the overwhelming pain of such an intense light. But in that half second, each of the three comes to understand far more about the nature of the divine and of the spirit world than they ever thought possible. While their distance visions are somewhat marred, there are new, reflective looks on each of their faces, as they contemplate the wisdom they have gained. Furthermore, Llyr and Wena now have a new sense of how Heilyn sees the world, with the spirits of trees and rivers and homes being very dimly visible under strong concentration. For Heilyn, his spirit vision is strengthened, and he can now view the local spirits almost without thinking about the process. Having made our farewells to Lugh, we proceed forward into the last grove, similar to the others except for the altar of skulls at one end, presumably the site of Druid sacrifices. Heilyn, with the Staff of Earth and Stone, proceeds forward into the center, and then stops. “I can break the staff and release the spirits now, which should both end your curses and keep my promise to them so they don’t destroy everything around. But before I do that, I want a promise from you all. You have to swear to help me go to Rome and get the Cap of Twilight from the Temple of Mercury, so that we can free Lugh. Otherwise I’ll just tell the spirits to go now, and you’ll never get your curses lifted,” Heilyn announces. We are somewhat stunned at this sudden attempt at blackmail, but quickly recover. Wena answers, “Well, I’ve also sworn to get the Cap of Twilight back, so that is not much of a burden. I swear to help you within the limits of my powers.” Llyr says, “Look, I’m not under this curse, so I’m not going to swear anything. But Lugh’s my tribe’s patron god – of course I want him freed, and I’ll do everything I can to help.” Metellus speaks slowly, “It does seem like the Cap belongs to Lugh, and obviously, him being imprisoned is wrong, though that’s the fault of the Druids, not the Romans. But I am unwilling to steal something from one of our own gods. I will help you to the best of my ability, but I will not break any Roman laws or commit sacrilege against Mercury in the process.” Cornelia and Marcus echo Metellus’s terms. Heilyn is unhappy with this proposal, but agrees that if they promise to help him with their diplomatic connections and their powers, he will at least try to use all such methods before resorting to underhanded means. Finally, he turns to Meloch, who has not yet spoken. “Obviously, I want the curse off. But, as a slave, I do not have the power to swear oaths in my own name. I follow the dictates of my mistress.” Heilyn, under much strain, takes this as assent, not realizing that Meloch has not in fact sworn to aid him at all. While nearly everyone else notices this, they agree with Meloch’s conclusion, and are in any case unthrilled by the blackmail, so remain silent. “Very well then. Spirits of Wind and Stone, I free you, in accordance with our agreement. Do not harm me or any of my companions, and depart peacefully from this place without damaging it. Farewell, and begone!” Heilyn smashes the staff in twain with his hammer. A whirlwind, full of icy blue eyes that glare out at us, erupts forth from one half of the staff, speeding up above the trees and out into the clear blue sky, where it vanishes. From the other half of the staff, a green and brown puddle of mud, smelling of mountains and rock, oozes out, congealing around our feet before beginning to sink into the earth below us. Green tendrils curl caressingly up and around Heilyn’s ankles and calves, until he bats them away with annoyance. As the puddle subsides into the ground, the rest of us see plants springing back to life in the circle around us. Meloch runs forward to test touching a tree, and finds he can. Llyr tosses him an apple from his pocket, and I snatch half of it, glad to finally be eating fruit again. Aeduana’s vengeance is over. [/QUOTE]
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