Scarifar — Roleplayer Guild

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Athanasios hummed a snatch of a human ballad to himself as he meandered his way to the next village that was drawing him towards it. He was in his third primary form, that of the cervitaur-a half deer, half human shape. From the head down, was male human, and below that was the body of a white stag. His loose, green cotton vest fluttered in the faint breeze, and the young demigod was feeling optimistic about the day. Having just come from the ruined village with the burn-wound victims, he knew his calling in life was to heal, and to teach others to heal. He had showed them, the plants that were safe to eat for medicinal broths, poultices, salves, ointments and the proper way to clean and bandage wounds.

"You must clean the wound thoroughly, first," he had said, firmly to the village healer who had been at least twice his physical age. "Then you put this salve," he dipped his fingers into the freshly made green tinted mixture. "On it and gently rub it in before bandaging it with clean cloth. White or brightly colored fabric such as yellow, pale greens and whatnot are best, that way you know if it has begun to bleed. Stay away from the rougher fabrics, like sackcloth and hide blankets. They'll cause irritation and infection."

Now, as he gazed about the forest that led on him to his next patient, he stopped when he felt like something other than his patient was calling him. It was like the wind which whispered through his vine entangled antlers and long white blond hair, but it was unfamiliar to him. He knew, from the memories his mother had inadverdently passed down to him, that there were other gods and goddesses, but in all of the years that he'd run to find his next patient, he'd never encountered one. He'd felt their auras brush against his own from time to time, but he was sure he'd been the only one to ever feel or acknowledge it.

The male cervitaur stopped walking to breathe the breath of the forest, the tips of his slightly pointed ears twitching at the sounds both flora and fauna made, and there was-something. 

Female, by the way its footsteps fall, he decided. Females always walk softer. Well, most of them, he ameneded. That healer back in the ruins walked heavier than most of the men.

Niciel let a Wisp rest on her hand as she slowly made her way through the forest, a few others guiding her way. This one had alerted her of a presence in these woods, not quite a God, yet not mortal either. Niciel could only assume, by process of elimination, that it was a demigod. She wondered what this being would be. Seeing as the Wisps were not agitated, though, perhaps it was safe to say that it was not openly hostile. Frankly, that was a big change compared to most of the things she had experienced beforehand. She had high hopes for this demigod.

Stepping past a tree, Niciel looked beyond it as she spotted a four-legged creature. She found it incredibly bizzare in its appearance, having the torso of a man yet the body of an animal. The Wisps didn't seem to care, though, as they immediately left Niciel, even the one on her hand, and began circling the cervitaur for a few moments before returning to her. Niciel could already tell from its presence that this was the demigod the Wisps had alerted her to. Such a pure soul, too, and this power... Slough's? That was interesting. Niciel calmly walked over to the cervitaur, unafraid, and greeted him with a radiant smile. "Hello," Niciel said warmly. "My name is Niciel. What is yours?"

Athanasios was fascinated by the small, brightly glowing wipslike creatures that briefly circled him, then returned to wherever it was they had come from. He then gave a small jerk when the female he'd heard approached him and introduced herself. He smiled and dipped his head in greeting. He found her white wings to be beautiful, and her aura put him at ease.

"Hello," he replied. "My name is Athanasios. Would you happen to be a goddess? The only one I've ever known was my mother and I have not seen her for quite a few years". He tilted his head slightly as he looked down at her for he was quite tall in his cervitaur form, at nine feet in height not including his slender antlers.

"That I am," Niciel replied, lifting her dress with both hands while performing a curtsey. "I am the Goddess of Light." Gesturing to Athanasios with an upturned hand, Niciel continued, "As for you, your mother would be Slough, correct? Meaning you would be a demigod."

"Ah, yes, I am the son of Slough," he replied. "I can't create life as she does, but I can heal it. I was on my way to do just that, actually." He swept an arm in the direction of the village in where his next patient's voice seemed to emanate.

Niciel looked over to where he was gesturing. While she could not see what he was trying to gesture to, she had no reason not to believe him. "Would you mind if I joined you for a while?" Niciel asked. "It'd be nice to travel with a companion for a change."

The healer smiled at her, flashing white teeth. "Of course, Niciel," he said, elated. "It would be a nice change to have some company." He then looked at his cervitaur body and grimaced, realizing that in this form, he was much taller than her, and talking down to a goddess might be just a tad rude. He shifted shape, soft green light surrounding him for a few brief moments, then it faded to reaveal him in his 6'8 human shape, clothed in loose light green fabric. He still retained hte antlers, though, and a circlet of woven stick rested upon his head, coming to rest just below his high cheekbones.

He offered her the crook of his arm in politeness.

Niciel watched in pleasant surprise as Athanasios changed form to a more human shape. She could make a few educated guesses as to why he would do that, but Niciel decided to let it be. Smiling, she graciously took his arm, placing her hand on the crook of his elbow. "Thank you," Niciel said politely. 

Athanasios nodded and they walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes. His mind raced not only with his own thoughts, but the voice of his future patient still sang throughout his skull. The closer they got to the village, the greener his eyes looked, and when he finally found them, they would be solid green, including the whites.

"So, Niciel," he said turning his head to look at her. "Going on the assumption that those fascinating wisps of light are yours, what are you the goddess of, like what are your abilities? I've brushed up against other gods in my years, but I've never actually met one until today. Would you mind telling me about them?"

He had a very curious mind, and while he might be a demigod, he was the equivalent of a newborn babe when it came to things that did not pertain to healing.

"As I've said before, I am the Goddess of Light, mostly of that which is Pure," Niciel explained. "Mainly, I see the Purity of my surroundings, whether that be of the forest around us or the people I come across, among other things. You, for example, possess a much purer soul than most beings I've met."

Niciel lifted an upturned hand, and gathered a small ball of pink energy on her hand. "This is Pure energy," Niciel said. "I find its most practical uses to be for healing and removing curses." Allowing the energy to dissipate with a wave of her hand, Niciel continued, "As for the Wisps, I created them to be my eyes around the world, allowing me to see the many events that occur."

"As for the other gods...." Niciel said, this time with a dejected tone. "To be honest, I have not had the best relationships with them, but I will do my best to describe the ones I still remember."

"There is Zephyrion, the God of Wind and Change, and Teknall, the God of... Crafting, I believe it was. They're the ones responsible for creating the Celestial Citadel. It's a large castle that drifts in the sky, and it radiates quite a bit of power even to this day."

"There's Jvan, the Goddess of Beauty. We've not really met, actually, so there's not much I can say about her, although I have heard somewhat unpleasant things about her from time to time. I'm sure she has her reasons and that it's not as bad as people say, though."

"There's Logos, the God of Order. It's difficult to determine what he's thinking. He's largely ignored this world ever since it was created, but then he suddenly attacked Galbar. I tried to get him to explain why he was doing so, but I still couldn't understand him. At the very least, Logos has ceased his efforts."

"There's Toun, the God of Perfection. I've... been in.. well, a disagreement with him for the longest time, and it's only been recently since I've finally worked up the courage to apologize for that. I still don't know whether or not he's forgiven me, but I'm fairly certain that he does not hate me like in the past, so that's progress."

"There is also... Vestec," Niciel said, a tone of heavy disappointment in her voice. "He's the God of Chaos, the very opposite of what I stand for. He has caused much strife in the world for the many beings of this world, even the other Gods and Goddesses. He was the main cause of the conflict between me and Toun as well, although that was a long, long time ago. I will not fault him for performing what he was made for, but I cannot help but feel that perhaps he could do better. Cause less chaos than is needed, perhaps. Nowadays, though, I hear he has been merely causing mischief as opposed to complete warfare, so I suppose there is that. Even so, I suggest you be careful around him. From my experience, he has almost never been up to any good."

Niciel was silent now, not sure whether or not she should speak of those that died as well. It was not a pleasant topic for her, and she would rather not speak of them because of that. However, she swallowed down her feelings, believing it best to do so. "A number of Gods and Goddesses have also... passed away, as well," Niciel said sadly. "Vowzra, the God of Time,  and Vulamera, the Goddess of the Mind. Those are the only two I can still remember." Niciel cleared her throat and said, "Forgive me. Perhaps I shouldn't be speaking about such a depressing topic."

Athanasios was silent as she descibed the gods to him, his brain soaking up the information she gave him. He gently laid his hand on hers where it rested on his arm. "No need to apologize, Lady Niciel," he said softly, his healer's soul aching to heal what it was that hurt her, but wounds of the spirit were not so easily mended. "I am glad that you have decided to humor me by telling me these things. I have been ignorant since my birth of these things, so now that I am no longer such, I can continue to grow and learn and become what I am supposed to one day be."

He raised his head as the softly calling voice in his head got stronger, then turned to Niciel. "We are much closer to her, now," he said referring to the voice. "If I shift into a stag, you are welcome to ride me if you do not wish to use those lovely wings of yours. However way we get there, it must be quick." he tilted his head, his eyes becoming unfocused, the green beginning to swallow the whites. 

"She is fading, fading fast, and her babe will die, too."

His free hand clenched the loose fabric of his pantleg in urgency before the same light as before enveloped him and in his place stood a magnificent white male deer with an impressive rack of antlers, leaves growing from the many smaller prongs, vines interlacing them. He looked at her with kind eyes, wishing to know what her mode of transportation was to be.

Niciel smiled softly as Athanasios gave her some slight comfort, thankful for his kind words. She snapped out of the mood when he began to speak more seriously and he transformed into a deer. Niciel could tell that this was no longer the time to dwell on the past. "In that case, there is no time to lose," Niciel said, lifting herself to sit atop Athanasios, her legs resting on one side. "Let us hurry."

He hoped to hell that she had a good grip on him because he was going to be very fast. He immediately lunged into a steady, ground eating lope as he stretched his long, muscled legs to their fullest. The wind of his passage fluttered the vines and leaves and the thick forest around them began to thin out a little. Maybe ten minutes passed, with Athanasios's sense of urgency growing stronger. Time was slipping and the mother was running out of it.

He came to a small hill overlooking a fairly sized village and paused for a minute of breath, then nimbly wound his way down the slope, following his instincts. People stared in awe as two beings who were obviously not your average human and deer raced through. Athanasios paid them no heed as he came to what he would later discover was the village chief's house. He gently set the goddess down and quickly transformed into his human shape, opening the door without knocking, and headed straight for a room in the back where the lady in question was attempting to give birth, not once looking back to see if Niciel followed him. The two other females squawked at him to leave, but he refused. They seemed to not care that he had antlers, only that he was male and entering the birthing room of a woman. His infinite patience was quickly being worn down as they tried and failed to wrestle him out, so he took a length of vine from his antlers and gently but firmly tied their hands together, tying a deft knot that would have them picking at it to get loose. Once that was done, he turned to the laboring woman. She looked up at him with wide, scared eyes that told him she knew there was a possibility she would die trying to bring her infant into the world. He laid a gentle hand on her stomach and frowned at the red that soaked the sheets, his worry increasing. Too much blood had been lost. This was going to be a difficult birth for both mother and child.

Niciel smiled and waved at the humans as they arrived at the village. As Athanasios left her side, a few brave humans came up to ask what was going on. "We're here to help," Niciel simply answered. She hadn't received the details from him either, so she didn't know exctly what was going on either. As the humans continued to ask more questions, Niciel began to hear some commotion from the house Athanasios had entered. Excusing herself, Niciel walked over and peeked inside, where Athanasios had already tied up a couple of women and left them to tend to the one in labor. As they struggled, Niciel went over and began to apologize, as well as plead for their approval to allow him to do what needed to be done.

Not daring to risk his magic, he went to settle himself between her legs and encouraged her to push as hard as she could. While he helped her to rally enough strength for another push, he reached his hand in to inspect what was wrong and soon found out-the babe was trying to come out feet first. He grit his jaw in determination and began to gently turn the babe around as quickly as he could. Once the child was in the right position, he told her to push, hard, and pressed down and towards him on her belly with the other hand. The babe suddenly came free with a pop, and the healer caught her with lightning quick reflex.

Pleased, he waved a hand, and the two females were surprised as the vine came free of their hands, returning to his antlers. He ordered them to help with the afterbirth and cleaning up the woman while he tended to the baby. Oh, but she was a beautiful child, with soft, tawny skin and dark curly hair. He went to a small basin full of lukewarm water and slowly lowered the small girl-child into it. The water did its job-it shocked her and she let out a cry, clearing the fluid from her lungs. Athanasios soothed her, cooing soft noises as he bathed the blood and fluid from her, then took off his shirt and wrapped her small, wet body in it.

"How blessed thou shall be, little one," he murmured. "Common sickness shall have naught to do with thee, and thou shall be a mighty warrior in thou own right." Athanasios was only half aware that his blessing was not just words, but also a gift to her. He returned the babe to the weary mother, who smiled at him with tears of gratitude in her eyes. he kissed her head and said to her, "Be at peace, daughter, thine child is healthy and whole."

While Athanasios worked on the baby, Niciel kneeled down next to the woman who had given birth, raising a hand as she prepared to heal her with Pure energy. The energy slowly radiated from her palm to the woman's body, repairing the damage done during the labor. "You're going to be alright now," Niciel said softly as the woman recovered from the ordeal. The woman cradled her baby carefully in her arms, saying, "Thank you, kind strangers."

Athanasios's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at the woman. "It is always my pleasure, sweet lady," he replied. "You are both very strong." He turned to Niciel.

"Shall we go, Lady Niciel?" he asked of her as he manifested a small ball of green light in his hands, one that turned into an exact copy of his first shirt, which he slipped over his head.

"Yes we shall," Niciel replied, getting up from the ground and leaving through the from door, looking back to make sure Athanasios was following her. "Where shall we head to now?"

"I do not know,' the white-blonde demigod shrugged. "This is the first time that I do not have to heal a lot of people. The mortals here must take very good care of themselves." Indeed, Athanasios could only remember stopping to heal then eating, sleeping and then healing when the next voice whipsered through his mind. The young demigod was a bit at a loss at to what to do, now, and the lack of whispers in his head made him feel oddly empty. 

He turned a rather helpless look on the goddess who stood beside him.

Niciel chuckled a bit as she smiled. "Well, there's no need to rush," Niciel said. "As long as you search, you'll always find a goal. Let's keep wandering for a while." As she extended a hand towards Athanasios, however, Niciel's staff suddenly appearae in her hand, a blue light slowly flashing in the center of the cross. Niciel pulled her staff back in surprise, then sighed in disappointment. "Apologies, my Wisps are calling for me again," Niciel explained. "It seems I won't be able to travel with you for the time being. Allow me to give you a parting gift instead." 

Firmly placing her staff onto the ground, Niciel concentrated, swirling energies colored pink, yellow, blue, and green together into a small ball. Intricate patterns began to appear on the ball, which then peeled off and revealed themselves to be four wings. The ball, completed, began to shine with a white luminescence. Its wings fluttered rapidly as it flew over to Athanasios. "A little companion to keep you company," Niciel said. Niciel then began to glow yellow, and with a flash of light, she was gone.

Athanasios smiled at the small, winged white ball and motioned towards his shoulder, indicating that it should rest there. The ball seemed to agree with a low pulse of light as it flew over and rested on his shoulder. It hummed with a low, soothing frequency, and the demigod felt a little light knowing he would not have to wander alone. He touched a fingetip to the ball and felt his finger warm up pleasantly.

"I shall call you Kasen," he decided. "Would you be okay with that?" The ball-Kasen-hummed in agreement. Humming, Athanasios decide to find a small clearing to sleep in his stag form. He needed rest, for even demigods need to sleep and regain strength.

-Athanasios has been wandering, healing the beings he comes across, as well as teaching them how to care for themselves should they get injured again.
-Suddenly, he comes across a feeling unfamiliar to him, and makes an educated guess that the being approaching him is female.
-Sure enough, it is Niciel, who has been following her Wisps in their latest alert. The two meet, and Niciel comes up to greet Athanasios. Athanasios, of course, responds in kind.
-The two exchange pleasantries, and they agree to travel together. Along the way, Niciel talks to Athanasios about a number of the Gods and Goddesses that exist.
-After the informational conversation, thanasios suddenly feels the urge to hurry, and has Niciel ride him to reach the village he is getting the urge from. The cause of this is a pregnant human woman having a difficult birth, and Athanasios does his best to ensure that the birth is successful. 
-Fortunately, everything is fine, and the baby is successfully born with no complications. The mother survives as well, and is restored back to health by Niciel. Athanasios also blesses the baby to be free of diseases and become a mighty warrior. 
-With a happy ending achieved, Niciel and Athanasios leave the village to wander again. Before they can actually start, however, Niciel receives another alert from her WIsps through the staff of Enlightenment. Before excusing herself, Niciel leaves Athanasios a parting gift: a Companion Wisp. Niciel then teleports away.
-Athanasios accepts the Wisp and names it Kasen, which it seems to accept. Together, they go off to search for a place to rest.

Niciel:
1 Might (and Portfolio bonuses) spent to create the Companion Wisp.

Might remaining: 18
FP remaining: 6

Athanasios:
1 Might spent to bless the baby boy.

Might remaining: 0
FP remaining: 1
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