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"They know no god of Death, nor Life. No Tyranny, and no Justice. No cycles of the rich. Growing richer. Of the poor, getting poorer. No qualm of poverty. No desire of silk. Only the breath in their lungs."
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Thresh rose from her small lean-to, and makeshift sheltering. The elf rubbing at her wide gold eyes, as night had descended over the Viridale once again. Gathering the strength to get up and face a new day never felt so remarkably easy in her entire life. Even lacking an arm she'd never felt so remarkably whole, then here in this forest.
Not for her purpose, though proud she is to be Tuatha. To be 'the voice' of groves visiting the cities, to quietly protect the small pieces of earth around her. Pride hadn't brought her happiness before. Only a deeper sense of shame and distance midst others of slower faculties then those of her own.
Naked, and without any sense of shame for her body she wades into a river. There's still traces of warmth in it from the summer air and sun, and her 'perfect' river stone, even if fabricated, was a small treasure in a world where slowly. Each little material of the day before seemed entirely defunct and worthless. That every sovereign she'd ever obtained from her wands, her potions, her scrolls. All it had done was affix her to acquire more, and more of these. More dresses. More sticks to imbue, more advertisements to wave for some brief acquaintance to step into and out of her life for a measly pile of shiny bits in their wake. Shiny bits that'd never made her happy, one iota.
Had never pressed to her skin, like this single rock. And never made her felt clean for clutching them. Not like this river. Not like these surroundings, as Thresh drapes her soaked frame across a wide stone and begins to simply let water drip from her.
"I would have. Liked the house, perhaps. Nothing large. Just a roof."
Her eyes refocus from a brief snap of branch somewhere around her, back to the night sky. Her hand poised over her ruined arm in a self-hug, just a means of relaxing now as she counts stars. Smiling quietly from her perch, with every manner of insect crik'ing, clacking and chirping in the background. No screams of what may have been a murder. No groans for alms. No cackling of drunks, reciting their filthy conquests to impress friends before fighting erupted over some small and pathetic slight.
It was just her, and the world moving. And at such a slow pace, she could actually count the seconds passing without feeling some other binding ritual sliding away from her. Her studies? They'd be there in the few minutes it took to dry, still. She wasn't quite done.
"I think I'm ready. I think that. Think that I might. Julandias. Greagrios. Avara."
The smile never fell off of her face. Sitting atop her smooth boulder as the elf's slender fingers weave menthol smelling bandages onto her stump of an arm, recalling her last encounter with any 'sentient' being. Though her new found respect of the deer that crossed through her camp-site, slowly overcoming their fear of Thresh had shifted her views quite deeply on what 'sentient' really was. And just how much of a fool she'd really been.
Julandias' invitation to learn these sacred things as life and freedom. To break the final link of a chain that still rattled relentlessly in her every step, still kept her up at night in the inn and still let the radiating light of a drying world under the crack of her door...
She never meant to hurt anyone by drifting away. And she hoped they'd understand, when time came to visit River. To hold, and kiss her Gabrielle. To break bread with old father Drynn, to curtsy and take hands again with the Northern Watch. This time with the confidence of a changed woman. The equilibrium of the earth, and the blistering speed of the wind. With every star in the night like a shroud across her eyes, and a fire behind her every batting lash.
The path had begun in academia. She'd known so many names to so many creatures that she'd never met before. From the small newts she'd caught, only to study pet and release. To the quiet breathless moments of meeting predators. Wolves and bears. Studied always from afar, but there were those moments when the sharp eyes just couldn't be fooled and for brief moments. She felt their breath and their heartbeat.
She felt their quiet nature. When left alone, and respected. She felt their beauty in every track, and could swear that they too felt her with quiet reverence.
"They have no fear. No propaganda. No creed. There is no war here. ... and I will never. Let that world touch them."
For every time she'd heard a druid referred to as a 'woods worshiper', or a cultist. She never realized just how wrong every title had been that lay on the brow of her friends, Nora especially. Or how backwards it was of the 'civilized' to give slander to the free.
There's nothing to worship here that can not be reverently respected through merely existing. While man toiled over anvils to worship blades? While ports saw ships come and go, and peddlers worshiped coin? While great churches were erected, and laws scribbled in big books, to worship justice?
Even those were absolutely meaningless but twenty paces outside of a city's gates. Where food was as available as a bush, and all one needed to live in quiet was but the willpower to let the city. Stay in the city.
It had been one month since she'd left to begin. And it would be a lifetime of calm, quiet enjoyment of the world when she returned. Thresh gliding back to her small camp-site, not the least bit surprised to find another stag visiting for the small offerings of berries she'd strewn about. She let the large beast be, only a familiar chuckle at how hungrily it nibbled away. Just enough out of sight to feel safe, but not quite enough to keep its ears from lofting. Forcing Thresh to stroke her own pointed set and smile at the resemblance between them both.
Her pack feels so much lighter these days. Many of the wands kept far away from her now, locked up tightly at the bank gathering dust. So much weight, just gone. Cinching belts and straps down, and climbing to her feet with purpose this day.
A handful of berries are taken with her, to chew on for the road. She had no idea how she'd find her elders. But today, that felt like such a small worry. She would find them, because she sought. And because these woods were no longer a strange place, a second home.
They were the scene of her rebirth. And today, they were her home. It was time to find Julandias, and to embrace a path not quite new, nor old. But in her veins, it felt... just forgotten. And it was time now for her to remember.
The night sky shines everywhere. And the 'weaver of stars' had finally come home.
__________________________________________________ _______________
Thresh rose from her small lean-to, and makeshift sheltering. The elf rubbing at her wide gold eyes, as night had descended over the Viridale once again. Gathering the strength to get up and face a new day never felt so remarkably easy in her entire life. Even lacking an arm she'd never felt so remarkably whole, then here in this forest.
Not for her purpose, though proud she is to be Tuatha. To be 'the voice' of groves visiting the cities, to quietly protect the small pieces of earth around her. Pride hadn't brought her happiness before. Only a deeper sense of shame and distance midst others of slower faculties then those of her own.
Naked, and without any sense of shame for her body she wades into a river. There's still traces of warmth in it from the summer air and sun, and her 'perfect' river stone, even if fabricated, was a small treasure in a world where slowly. Each little material of the day before seemed entirely defunct and worthless. That every sovereign she'd ever obtained from her wands, her potions, her scrolls. All it had done was affix her to acquire more, and more of these. More dresses. More sticks to imbue, more advertisements to wave for some brief acquaintance to step into and out of her life for a measly pile of shiny bits in their wake. Shiny bits that'd never made her happy, one iota.
Had never pressed to her skin, like this single rock. And never made her felt clean for clutching them. Not like this river. Not like these surroundings, as Thresh drapes her soaked frame across a wide stone and begins to simply let water drip from her.
"I would have. Liked the house, perhaps. Nothing large. Just a roof."
Her eyes refocus from a brief snap of branch somewhere around her, back to the night sky. Her hand poised over her ruined arm in a self-hug, just a means of relaxing now as she counts stars. Smiling quietly from her perch, with every manner of insect crik'ing, clacking and chirping in the background. No screams of what may have been a murder. No groans for alms. No cackling of drunks, reciting their filthy conquests to impress friends before fighting erupted over some small and pathetic slight.
It was just her, and the world moving. And at such a slow pace, she could actually count the seconds passing without feeling some other binding ritual sliding away from her. Her studies? They'd be there in the few minutes it took to dry, still. She wasn't quite done.
"I think I'm ready. I think that. Think that I might. Julandias. Greagrios. Avara."
The smile never fell off of her face. Sitting atop her smooth boulder as the elf's slender fingers weave menthol smelling bandages onto her stump of an arm, recalling her last encounter with any 'sentient' being. Though her new found respect of the deer that crossed through her camp-site, slowly overcoming their fear of Thresh had shifted her views quite deeply on what 'sentient' really was. And just how much of a fool she'd really been.
Julandias' invitation to learn these sacred things as life and freedom. To break the final link of a chain that still rattled relentlessly in her every step, still kept her up at night in the inn and still let the radiating light of a drying world under the crack of her door...
She never meant to hurt anyone by drifting away. And she hoped they'd understand, when time came to visit River. To hold, and kiss her Gabrielle. To break bread with old father Drynn, to curtsy and take hands again with the Northern Watch. This time with the confidence of a changed woman. The equilibrium of the earth, and the blistering speed of the wind. With every star in the night like a shroud across her eyes, and a fire behind her every batting lash.
The path had begun in academia. She'd known so many names to so many creatures that she'd never met before. From the small newts she'd caught, only to study pet and release. To the quiet breathless moments of meeting predators. Wolves and bears. Studied always from afar, but there were those moments when the sharp eyes just couldn't be fooled and for brief moments. She felt their breath and their heartbeat.
She felt their quiet nature. When left alone, and respected. She felt their beauty in every track, and could swear that they too felt her with quiet reverence.
"They have no fear. No propaganda. No creed. There is no war here. ... and I will never. Let that world touch them."
For every time she'd heard a druid referred to as a 'woods worshiper', or a cultist. She never realized just how wrong every title had been that lay on the brow of her friends, Nora especially. Or how backwards it was of the 'civilized' to give slander to the free.
There's nothing to worship here that can not be reverently respected through merely existing. While man toiled over anvils to worship blades? While ports saw ships come and go, and peddlers worshiped coin? While great churches were erected, and laws scribbled in big books, to worship justice?
Even those were absolutely meaningless but twenty paces outside of a city's gates. Where food was as available as a bush, and all one needed to live in quiet was but the willpower to let the city. Stay in the city.
It had been one month since she'd left to begin. And it would be a lifetime of calm, quiet enjoyment of the world when she returned. Thresh gliding back to her small camp-site, not the least bit surprised to find another stag visiting for the small offerings of berries she'd strewn about. She let the large beast be, only a familiar chuckle at how hungrily it nibbled away. Just enough out of sight to feel safe, but not quite enough to keep its ears from lofting. Forcing Thresh to stroke her own pointed set and smile at the resemblance between them both.
Her pack feels so much lighter these days. Many of the wands kept far away from her now, locked up tightly at the bank gathering dust. So much weight, just gone. Cinching belts and straps down, and climbing to her feet with purpose this day.
A handful of berries are taken with her, to chew on for the road. She had no idea how she'd find her elders. But today, that felt like such a small worry. She would find them, because she sought. And because these woods were no longer a strange place, a second home.
They were the scene of her rebirth. And today, they were her home. It was time to find Julandias, and to embrace a path not quite new, nor old. But in her veins, it felt... just forgotten. And it was time now for her to remember.
The night sky shines everywhere. And the 'weaver of stars' had finally come home.