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Into the New World, Chapter 1: Amongst the Verdant Towers
- Thread starter Zurai
- Start date
Dire Lemming
First Post
"Oh, yeah, can you help me find a good straight branch or another staff? We can make some sort of a carrier with a bedroll." Enko starts looking around for a suitable piece of wood to compliment his staff.
Dire Lemming
First Post
"Oh, thanks Erin." Enko gets both staffs and attempts to fashion them together with his blanket into a stretcher of sorts.
Zurai
First Post
As the rest of the party packs up camp and Ryon sets out to scout the area, Enko begins preparations for a Ritual of Communion in an attempt to contact the spirit of the great oak tree. First, he carefully lays out twelve small bundles of fragrant herbs in a rough circle about five feet from the tree trunk. Then, he paints stripes of ash from the campfire across his arms and face and matching stripes around the tree's trunk. Finally, he sits just outside the circle of herbs, places another batch of herbs in a small stone bowl held between his knees, lights the herbs carefully, and inhales deeply from the pungent smoke they give off as they slowly burn.
[sblock=Enko]As the smoke pours into your nostrils, you feel your spirit separate from your body. Before your mind's eye, you see a circle of brilliant verdant color, about twenty feet across, taking up roughly the area defined in the ritual. In the center of the circle is a swirling mass of energy; lines of pearlescent white, raw sienna, pale jade, shimmering sapphire, and even a few strands of angry vermilion twine and twist into an awe-inspiring conglomerate that towers hundreds of feet into the air - the spirit of the great oak tree.
Humbly, your spirit-self drifts forward into the circle, as required by the ritual, to speak to the spirit. Even as a question forms in your mind, a sense of benign amusement washes over you. Several impossibly thin lines of color untwine themselves from the tree-spirit and stretch out towards you, gently brushing against your spirit-self and pulling you towards the great spirit. Again you feel a wave of emotion wash over you, this time tranquility; you feel, for a brief few seconds, all the tension, pain, and worry of the previous days and nights vanish from your consciousness.
The tendrils of spirit force slowly surround you and draw you closer and closer to the great spirit, until at last you are completely - and harmlessly, thanks to the Ritual - subsumed within the great pillar of color. For the first time in the Ritual, you receive a sensation other than sight or emotion - a pair of slim feminine hands slide sensuously up your chest and neck and lightly cup your face in their palms. Again you feel the benign amusement, followed quickly by a burst of pride, as if you had done something that needed to be done, and done it well. Then the hands withdraw and you feel a pair of warm, full lips press against yours in a searing kiss; accompanying the lips is a mental image of Artemisia and a rapid series of emotions - caution, longing, companionship, protectiveness. Then, the image and emotions are gone as quickly as they came and your eyes snap open to the soft light of morning in the Noonshadow forest.
Even as the last of the smoke wafts up from the bowl in your lap, however, the wind blows about your head, feeling for all the world like a hand fondly caressing your hair, and you can swear you can hear a feminine voice whisper "Follow the Guide"[/sblock]He remains there, seated facing the tree with his eyes closed and smoke trailing up from his lap, completely unresponsive to what is going on around him. After nearly an hour, his eyes snap open and he appears to be cognizant of the world around him again.
________________________________________________________________
Refreshed from the morning meal and the cool breeze that seems to follow them, the party sets out again at a faster pace than the previous day. Thane leads the bulk of the group while Artemisia and Ryon slip into the undergrowth to guard the others at a distance. Thane sets a hard pace, and by mid-day the town dwellers are panting and sore, and greatly relieved when a break is called for. At this point, the party is about one solid day's travel into the Noonshadow Forest; few hunters travel much deeper. By the end of the day, they will pass into unknown lands.
[sblock=Enko]As the smoke pours into your nostrils, you feel your spirit separate from your body. Before your mind's eye, you see a circle of brilliant verdant color, about twenty feet across, taking up roughly the area defined in the ritual. In the center of the circle is a swirling mass of energy; lines of pearlescent white, raw sienna, pale jade, shimmering sapphire, and even a few strands of angry vermilion twine and twist into an awe-inspiring conglomerate that towers hundreds of feet into the air - the spirit of the great oak tree.
Humbly, your spirit-self drifts forward into the circle, as required by the ritual, to speak to the spirit. Even as a question forms in your mind, a sense of benign amusement washes over you. Several impossibly thin lines of color untwine themselves from the tree-spirit and stretch out towards you, gently brushing against your spirit-self and pulling you towards the great spirit. Again you feel a wave of emotion wash over you, this time tranquility; you feel, for a brief few seconds, all the tension, pain, and worry of the previous days and nights vanish from your consciousness.
The tendrils of spirit force slowly surround you and draw you closer and closer to the great spirit, until at last you are completely - and harmlessly, thanks to the Ritual - subsumed within the great pillar of color. For the first time in the Ritual, you receive a sensation other than sight or emotion - a pair of slim feminine hands slide sensuously up your chest and neck and lightly cup your face in their palms. Again you feel the benign amusement, followed quickly by a burst of pride, as if you had done something that needed to be done, and done it well. Then the hands withdraw and you feel a pair of warm, full lips press against yours in a searing kiss; accompanying the lips is a mental image of Artemisia and a rapid series of emotions - caution, longing, companionship, protectiveness. Then, the image and emotions are gone as quickly as they came and your eyes snap open to the soft light of morning in the Noonshadow forest.
Even as the last of the smoke wafts up from the bowl in your lap, however, the wind blows about your head, feeling for all the world like a hand fondly caressing your hair, and you can swear you can hear a feminine voice whisper "Follow the Guide"[/sblock]He remains there, seated facing the tree with his eyes closed and smoke trailing up from his lap, completely unresponsive to what is going on around him. After nearly an hour, his eyes snap open and he appears to be cognizant of the world around him again.
________________________________________________________________
Refreshed from the morning meal and the cool breeze that seems to follow them, the party sets out again at a faster pace than the previous day. Thane leads the bulk of the group while Artemisia and Ryon slip into the undergrowth to guard the others at a distance. Thane sets a hard pace, and by mid-day the town dwellers are panting and sore, and greatly relieved when a break is called for. At this point, the party is about one solid day's travel into the Noonshadow Forest; few hunters travel much deeper. By the end of the day, they will pass into unknown lands.
Dire Lemming
First Post
As Enko becomes aware of the world around him again, he opens his eyes and stares for several seconds at the tree, before picking up the bowl of burning herbs and turning to look at the others, trying to put his experience into words as he awaits their questions.
Dire Lemming
First Post
"Um... well I felt that... she did not intend any harm. Um... It's really not easy to explain." Enko looks at Artimisia. "She... seemed to know you. Or at least of you. I'm not entirely sure if it was my thoughts or hers though... erm. Hm. Well, I haven't ever really spoken with a spirit other than my own guide before..."
Lorthanoth
Explorer
Alistia chips in "Well in some stories, spirits can be just like people, and er... you know, er... do stuff that people do. Sometimes they can be like animals or plants. It is weird to see one in the flesh though."
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