[YB, IC] Rebirth

[Lady Diamond]

Lady Diamond rides her faithful companion Striker home to the Cherry Blossom dojo and makes preparations for her departure from this world.

"By all rights I should have left long ago, when my parents died, I feel fortunate to have lived this long", she muses thoughtfully and grimaces a bit, the disease ravaging her body giving her notice that it will not be ignored, as she dismounts. "To have lived this long after, is a blessing from the gods. And so I will honor them in my passing."

She strokes Striker's nose thoughtfully. What to do with you, my constant champion? Of all things earthly, I've been able to depend on you alone. The world of men will kill you since you do not bow to their will, as I have not, yet I cannot protect you in this life or the next, and I don't know what to do. Set you free? Take you with me? Perhaps the gods will give me a sign soon.

Spirit whickers softly in her stall in the stables as Diamond and Striker arrive. Diamond breaks from her musings and nods thoughtfully. Two such as these will survive in the wild, surely.

Diamond leads both outside, and points Striker towards the west, slapping him on the butt and screaming "GO! NOW!" He turns back to her in confusion, and she reaches down and picks up a rock and chucks it at his head. "GO! Stupid beast! GO!". She weeps openly and screams at them till they run, and Spirit and Striker both turn to the west and gallop off. "Goodbye", she whispers brokenly, wiping tears from her face and walking to the bath house, for more preparations.

TBC

 

[Lady Diamond]

Lady Diamond makes her way to the bathhouse where many faithful maidservants await her. Their puzzled looks adorn their faces as she walks in. Her head is bowed as she enters, but lifts as she sees them all, gentle, faithful, loyal, she smiles at them resolutely.

"Hello my young servants... I am tired. Would you perform for me one last service, I wish to rest, my body has had enough for awhile, and I wish to enter the next world clean, absolved, free."

Diamond removes her combat garments and piles her long reddish-brown luxurious hair up on her neck and waits while the servants draw a hot bath in the huge tub.

 

[Vanor]

Ooc: Regrettably this will likely be my last post here as well, I have had a lot of fun playing YB and getting to know many of you, but as of late I find little enjoyment in YB as I’m sure you all have noticed from my not posting. I want to thank everyone I’ve played with here for helping me have so much fun with this simple game, but all things must come to a end, so I will say, goodbye, farewell and amen.

Vanor walks into the room he shares with Lady Diamond, he regrets that he has not been around as much as he would of liked recently but after finding out about her illness he knew he must take steps. He wouldn’t be able to save her mortal life, but that didn’t stop him from saving her at all. Entering the living room they share, he sees her sitting on the floor, dressed in her ceremonial white kimono. With her katana and wakizashi lying on the floor next to her, Vanor gets the feeling that she was simply waiting for him to show up so he could help her commit seppuku.

I am back my beloved; I take it you have something in mind. He says looking at the swords on the ground.

Welcome back my beloved, I’m glad you have returned I do have something in mind, and I want you to be the one to stand over me as I enter the next world. I also want you to promise me that you will go on with your life, keep training and fighting. You should not stop living because of what has happened to me.

No, I can’t go on without you I am instead going to join you…

NO! She tells him forcefully You mustn’t take your life my love, my life is nearly over, I will die shortly no matter what. I do this to spare you the pain of watching me waste away.

I have no intention of doing that, I should say instead that you are joining me. He smiles at then takes her hand and leads her into the courtyard, setting her on the bench under the cherry tree I have dismissed our servants, and found new homes for our students. This is perhaps not the most honorable thing for me to do, but I don’t care love means more then honor.

What do you have in mind beloved?

I can not find a cure for what is killing you, but I can make it so the sickness no longer effects you, but it will require a change that will in effect end both of our lives.

I don’t understand, but I do trust you beloved. Do what you feel is needed.

Vanor smiles in thanks for this trust, this is the very reason he could not go on with out her. He sits on the ground near her and starts to focus his chi, the jade gauntlet on his hand starting to glow brighter and brighter. Soon it glows so brightly that the whole dojo is bathed in the green light. Diamond finds herself unable to look at the brilliance for fear of it burning out her eyes, but in moments she finds the light to be not less intense, but rather less painful to her eyes. Adventualy to the point that she is actually able to open her eyes and look around her, the courtyard is filled with the jade green light, but this now looks right and natural to her. The way the light plays off the cherry blossoms in front of her nearly take her breath away.

She looks down on Vanor still focusing and chanting softly the green glow from his hand an odd contrast to the blue glow around him. Looking around again, she folds her wings due to them blocking the view behind her. Something about this bothers her, but she can’t quite put her finger on it.

My wings!? She asks realizing what she just saw, looking down she no longer sees her mortal body, but rather the body of a powerful jade green dragon, quickly as her mind expands to take in this new information her senses truly awaken and the world is filled with a newfound wonder. Everything is crystal clear; she looks out past the dojo walls and can see Striker and Spirit in the pasture outside the dojo, miles away. Clearly she sees Striker rear up almost as to wave goodbye to her. Somehow she feels herself reach out to him with her mind, and he ‘tells’ her that he is glad to see she will go on in this world, and thanks her for being a good mistress and friend to him.

But… how… She asks confused

As I said I couldn’t cure you, but I could change your form so the illness no longer is a threat, It is also time for me to leave this land and seek out the path we were meant to be on. Vanor is no longer sitting on the ground meditating, but is instead now a large blue dragon, but gazing at her with the same look of love and devotion he had as a man. Now we can be together, for all time. In time the illness will have run it’s course and then I can teach you to change your shape if you wish it, but that will be many years from now, as dragons mark time much differently then men and women do.

Together forever, I like that idea, and thank you so much for this gift. She moves her head forward and without knowing how she knows, she kisses him in the way of a dragon. Vanor smiles a dragon like smile at her, and then the two of them leap into the air, flying fast off to the west, searching out the next step on the path they will be taking together. Together they fly to lands unknown, perhaps too never been seen again. However from time to time, people looking out into the night sky have seen a pair of dragons, one jade green, the other sapphire blue flying over a pasture keeping an eye out on a pair of horses, one a white mare, the other a black stallion.

 

[Lady Diamond]

Beautiful story Vanor absolutely the best. Thanks again.