[Location] The Temple of Everwinter

[Cheshire]

Temple of Everwinter Morwen's followers are very loyal but there are times when Morwen's is just too busy for her to see them. At those times her followers go to The Temple of Everwinter. The temple is named simply for the fact that Avanthal is forever in the season of winter. The temple is a little bit out into the trees but is not that hard to reach. It is the second most noticeable building in the city besides Morwen's castle because a tree has grown around the entrance. The building has been in Avanthal since the city was built. The temple was built by Torrence Iceglaze, the founding leader of the Iceglaze hold. He knew that his great queen was a busy woman so he wanted to make a place where her followers could go when she needed some time to herself. He started the project by himself but by the end of it's construction the entire hold of Iceglaze was helping. The temple is now taken care of by Lee'ena Snowsong. Her father was the priest of the temple before her and passed it on to her when he could no longer work. The temple is open to anyone who feels the need to visit. The inside is very beautiful but not as fancy as other temples. Its walls are made of stone and the temple is lit by torches. There are no statues in the temple because Morwen does not feel comfortable having people worship statues of her when she is so close to the temple. The temple is decorated with Skyglow artwork of all kinds. The temple is set up less as a place of devout worship and more of a place of meditation. There are no pews, people just bring something soft to sit on and try to get closer to Morwen spiritually. People are expected to bring their own mats or pillows but Lee'ena does keep some to loan to visitors. The temple is very comfortable and even whether one is a master at meditation or if they have no clue what they are doing they are welcome. Lee'ena is a kind priestess and offers help to anyone who needs help getting spiritually closer to Morwen. (NPC) Lee’ena Snowsong : Name: Lee'ena Snowsong Race: Vantha DoB: Winter 23, PoB: Avanthal Title: Priestess of Morwen Skills: Meditation 80, Philosophy 70, Rhetoric 75, Singing 50, Teaching 45, Writing 25 Gnosis: 2 Marks of Morwen Lee'ena was born into the Snowsong Hold the 1st of Spring AV. The majority of her childhood was spent with her priest father at the temple. She liked seeing all of the different people who came to get in touch with Morwen. She often would talk to visitors of the temple and she loved to hear all of their different stories. Once she as old enough to learn how to meditate her father began to teach her how to be a priestess. She was a quick learner and her father knew that she was the perfect person to take over when he was unable to work anymore. Lee'ena worked diligently at her father's side until he was to elderly to work. Now Lee'na is in charge of the temple and she works hard for her father. She is a very soft spoken and often will not talk to someone unless they talk to her first. She does make a habit of saying hello to everyone who enters the temple. She does it as a way to try and make her less nervous about talking to people but she also does it to make people feel welcome. She is very skilled in meditation and storytelling. She offers help to anyone who needs help meditating. It is said that no one in Avanthal is as in touch with their spirituality as Lee'ena. If one can get the soft spoken priestess to talk she is actually a brilliant conversationalist. She has very interesting stories, she just does not think anyone wants to hear them. Lee'ena is also at every funeral in Avanthal considering she is the only priestess. She leads each service different than the next. She is always the first to say her condolences and will always sit with the mourner as long as they need her to. She is patient and kind. Many people in town come to her when they are having trouble and don't know who to talk to because she is such a good listener. Moderator's Note: Location and NPC does not require moderation to use. Meditation lessons with Lee'ena Snowsong need moderation.

[Rykker Whitevine]

Summer day 25 of 511 It was almost two weeks since he had settled in Aventhal. He had a place to stay, even if it wasn't the Whitevine hold.... yet... And now it was time for him to finally make his way to the temple to pay his respects to the goddess and Queen of this area in her church if anything else. Its beauty, as simple as it was, so natural almost like nature had been brought inside, awed him. It felt warm, despite the coldness all around it of a forever winter place. He walked in and took in the quiet simplicity of it. There was no statues, no alter, or anything ornate about it, but somehow it was more seeming of a place of worship then anything he had ever seen before, not that he had seen a lot of worship places. He looked about and like he did with everything he observed those around him and what they were doing. He saw at one end of the building a pile of pillows, and in the center those that were there worshipping on pillows meditating so Rykker followed suit, he went and took a pillow from the side area and sat close to the side not directly in the center, and knelt down sitting on his knees on the pillow. Once on the pillow he closed his eyes and concentrated first on his mother and all of what she explained to him about her great Queen, and how gracious, kind, and caring she is. He meditated on what he wanted in this harsh, but seemingly beautiful, and accepting city. What he wanted was respect, acceptance from others, and a way to make a living in what her mother couldn't finish at that was healing. He mediated on releasing some of his unkind thoughts of his fellow humans, for he knew deep down that despite his Zith half he was still also half human. It felt good to release, relax, and let go of so much of the heavy burdens he had carried for so long, as he seemed to let them all go at least for now at the feet of those that dwelled in this temple. When he opened his eyes he didn't really want to move away too quickly from the peaceful environment that surrounded him, and he finally understood what gave his mother her quiet, peaceful strength that emanated always from her.

[Cheshire]

It was not everyday that Lee'ena had Zith visitors, even the mixed blood kind. The Vantha watched the man carefully when he walked into the temple and took a seat on a pillow. Lee'ena was a very kind woman but she knew that her first priority was to keep the temple safe. Lee'ena walked quietly to the man's side, pulling a pillow up next to him. She closed her eyes and breathed out as she prepared to meditate. "Mother Morwen protect me and all I love. I thank you for our aurora, the same the graces my eyes and those of my family. Praise to your snow and ice, the elements that hold my home." The Vantha's prayers were quiet but the man at her side would have been able hear her if he was listening. When the man's eyes opened Lee'ena smiled lightly at him. "Hello sir. Welcome to the Temple of Everwinter. I am Morwen's priestess, Lee'ena Snowsong. Are you looking to get closer to Morwen?"

[Rykker Whitevine]

Rykker sat on his pillow mentally saying those prayers that he knew from his mother. He however had blocked a lot more then he remembered of them. This when he realized made him sad, especially when he heard the prayer he so often had heard from his mother in the quiet hours of their slave chambers. He had his eyes closed but he felt tears burning underneath them. Come on you’re a man, men don’t cry because someone says a pray that you haven’t thought of since your mother died. He thought to himself. Quit being a baby your in your mid-twenties, he took a deep breath, asked in his head for peace, clarity, and understanding of her people, land, and to be closer to Morwen. His eyes had been closed when Lee'ena first came up, until she had spoke softly her prayer that sent him back to his childhood with his mother. His mother had been the only thing that kept his even slightly softer side. It also prevented him from seeing the slightly mistrustful look in her eyes, a look he was used to but could never quite accept it. He tried not to let it get him even more jaded then he was already, but it was hard, something he battled with everyday. Even though he didn’t like it hated it actually he was an intelligent man, and knew what his Father’s race was known for, knew that people around him would never look at him right off and welcome him with open arms. At least not until he proved to them that he was civilized, he had never eaten any humans, and while he did have a temper he wasn’t brutal, maybe that was why when he heard the soft voice beside him speaking softly it calmed him, because he hadn’t seen her initial slight wary look. He opened his eyes and looked into her eyes that were of the same luminous colors as his the only difference was his was gold and red swirling eyes. His dark hair shone with the red and green streaks of his mother’s people. “Hello, I am Rykker my mother was a Whitevine.” He introduced himself as, instead of his normally just saying he was Rykker Whitevine. He didn’t want to insult these people in any way. “Thank you for your kind words.” He turned on his pillow to face her better. “Yes, I do. My mother told me of her, but I must admit I have not gained much information about her lately.” He looked down for a moment. “My mother was Lyndra Whitevine, a healer so I also know some about medicine, and hoping to walk in her footprints.” He looked back up to her a smirk on his features. “However, I am afraid because of my appearance I am not readily trusted by others, so I was hoping to become a healer for animals.” His eyes were a light golden with swirls of a light red in them as he said, “Is there a way I can learn more about Marwen, and especially Rak'keli.

[Cheshire]

Lee'ena smiled lightly as Rykker spoke. "Part Vantha? How wonderful." The priestess was a quiet girl, that was for sure but the excitement was clear to see when she spoke. As she looked at him she could tell that he must have had some Vantha in him. The aurora colors in his hair and fur, the color of his eyes. "Well, a fellow Vantha is always welcome here!" When he spoke of being willing to work a bit of her worries were calmed. If he could get situated into a hold and given a job, perhaps he would not be a danger to the city. She had heard that Zith could be good workers if given the chance to have a job. The area of work would be up to his mother's hold though. Her place was not to judge or to direct, only to help one get closer to the deity they desired. Sitting down beside Rykker, Lee'ena continued to listen. She was always a kind ear when one needed it. "I think a good first step is to find your mother or your mother's hold. Vantha are accepting and welcoming people. You just need to make sure we can trust you and I'm sure we can." Her smile was reassuring as she spoke. "Morwen and Rak'keli are both beautiful Goddesses. Asking those marked by either Goddess can give you a good amount of insight as well as praying to the God whom you wish to learn more about." She was marked by Morwen, multiple times in fact. "I can tell you about Morwen or you could ask her yourself. She lives right here in the city. Many Whitevine are marked by Rak'keli and they can give insight on her. In my opinion though, the best knowledge one can get is from themselves." She poked a delicate finger against Rykker's chest with a girlish smile. "Meditation helps with that but of course, I am biased. I'm a priestess who does nothing but mediates, and sings for that matter."

[Eridanus]

** Understanding Morwen Again ** Day 5, Winter of 507 AV 30 Chimes after the 20th Bell The Temple of Everwinter The Temple of Everwinter. The place where Morwen's faithful gather when the Queen herself was too busy to tend to Her people. It was a beautiful place, eye-catching in its simplicity and its harmony with nature, the entrance to the temple being entwined with a grown tree. It was the fifth day since winter had began in earnest in Avanthal, and the temperatures had dropped more than Eridanus expected it to, the actual chill of the winter here making all other winters elsewhere in Mizahar seem tame in comparison. The Ethaefal had worn as much as he could, but could not fully protect himself from the cold. He could have stayed inside his cabin, at least the shelter protected him somewhat from the elements, but he had grown bored of staying in there, for he came to Avanthal not to hide in the visitor lodgings for a season, but with two main reasons. Firstly, he wanted to experience the local Vantha culture and tradition here, for his mortal form before being picked by Leth was Vantha. The second and more important reason was that he wanted to regain some of his memories from his previous life to help him better understand his position, why was he here in the mortal plane and not up where he should be in the celestial realm. He had somehow wandered in the snow city, lost in thought, and found himself walking to the edge of the woods, as if drawn by some kind of subconscious thought. He had not completely forgotten his previous life, and he retained some aspects of it, including his poor understanding of Vani, the language of Morwen's people, and an unexplained, lingering affection for the Ice Queen herself. He understood why he felt this way, for his previous incarnation must have some sort of strong bond with the Goddess of Winter and the strength of this affection might have carried over, but what he did not understand was why was he picked by Leth anyway? And why would he have allowed the Moon God to whisk him away from his beloved Queen? These were mysteries that he quite intended to solve, and a way of doing it was to get closer to the Vantha in his past incarnation, to put himself in his own shoes then and try to understand his motivations, actions and feelings. And thus Eri found himself in the temple, it being rather bare for a temple to the Goddess who deemed the city as her 'headquarters' of sorts, but subconsciously he expected it to be so, for She did not like wasteful luxury from her people, due to the fact that resources were already hard to procure in an isolated city like Avanthal unlike the trade-rich Zeltiva. He entered the lobby and found himself in a large area. Consciously he wondered what this place was for, but somehow inside him he already knew. There was a tinge of familiarity that he had with this place despite never having been here before and he was sure that his previous incarnation had not been in this place as well. Had he? If not perhaps it was some kind of leftover aura of sorts that Morwen had left on this place to invoke such a feeling? He leaned against a wall, closing his eyes when a wave of fatigue rushed into him after suddenly coming to these weird revelations. That was how he stood, and when he opened his eyes three-quarters of a bell later, he would not have noticed the jump in time for to him there was a swirl of thoughts, memories and postulations that made time pass so quickly, and he would have assumed that he had just blinked, for his legs would not feel sore as it was already slightly numb from the overwhelming cold that his body was unprepared for.

[Cheshire]

Any Vantha, young or old, born of the city or born elsewhere were welcome in the Temple of Everwinter. Anyone was in truth. If one wanted to pray, they were more than welcome. It was not every day the temple saw one of the fallen children though. Of course, they could be expected to appear some day. They had come and gone more times than anyone cared to count but it was always a event to behold when one of Vantha origin returned home. Some seemed to remember a lot from their past lives while others remembered nothing except scraps. When the ethaefallen child walked into the temple few turned to look at him. Lee'ena Snowsong had turned to look at him though. He did not appear to be familiar to her. She did not know every Vantha in the city. No one could. Still, the temple was a place often frequented by the population of the city. Vantha were a race which was faithful to Morwen. They wanted to visit the temple and yet she had never seen him before. The man seemed to just stand against the wall and while Lee'ena did not want to disturb him, she could not help but wonder why he was just standing there. Surely it would be easier to sit. When she noticed the man opened his eyes, Lee'ena walked to his side, offering a kind welcome. "Hello sir. I have not seen you around here before. Are you looking to get closer to Morwen?"

[Eridanus]

As he opened his eyes, he found an elegant figure heading towards him, bathed in a half-blinding ray of light and constantly surrounded by dropping snow which appeared from nowhere and disappeared as it landed on the ground. He stood there, entranced, until she opened her mouth to utter her first word. The lady addressed him, and the suddenness of the situation seemed to jolt the Ethaefal out of his trance, causing him to blink his eyes, and magically the supernatural effects that he had been dreaming about disappeared, and a Vantha woman stood in front of him, asking him a question with a compassionate tone. The falling snow was gone, the light was gone, and Eridanus shook his head, trying to clear his head from the maelstrom of thoughts that were attacking his brain within that three-quarters of a bell of 'unconsciousness'. He looked at her, and wondered who she was, but somehow inside him he already knew. She was somehow related to Her. He found his throat try, and licked his lips nervously, before responding to the priestess. "I... I... I want to know more about Her. What... what she means to me...", the moon child croaked, his voice partially that of desperation, and partially that of confusion.

[Cheshire]

Lee'ena's eyes turned a icy blue as the man spoke. "Well, the first part of getting closer is opening yourself up to Her." She looked over the man curiously. In her mind she was trying to work out which hold he could have been from. "No one can tell you what She means to you. Only you know that." She motioned for the man to follow, if he wanted to take the option. If the man followed, the priestess would pull out two soft cushions for them to sit on. She laid them down on the ground across from on another and sat on the one nearer to herself. "Sit, I can help you try to get to the mental place where you can find Her. From there, it is all up to you." Lee'ena closed her eyes, breathing in. She stopped her thoughts and focused on one thing. The sound of the icy wind outside. To an Ice Reaver it was not just icy wind. It sang and caressed the walls of Avanthal. She hummed quietly as she waited for the man to sit across from her. Then the meditation would begin if he wanted to learn.

[Gromm]

5th day of winter, 511 av

The mighty jamouran Gromm entered the temple, as quietly as a creature of his size could. He shook the snow of his fur at the door and surveyed the room. Although spartan, the atmosphere was strangely calming. He could not help but feel out of place among the vantha, his people aren't seen much in Avanthal and even less in a temple dedicated to Morwen. Although he knew very little about the vantha, he knew much about their zealous reverence for Morwen and he had no intention on upsetting them by neglecting to pay his respects to their god. He sat down on the cold floor and closed his eyes, contemplating the world around him and his place in it. The temple calmed his restless spirit, if only for the time being.