Young Lu Gavima had weathered her words well, and as he paced she tried to do the same. Her mind fled to her mountain, a snow capped peak standing alone among the starry night sky. As Lu's words permeated her mind, another figure began to form. A young man, a boy, a grandfather. Wise beyond his years and floating before her, he spoke Lu's words in a voice that echoed throughout the heavens. Why was it that these Lhavitian born and bred Shinya made her feel so inept? She truly had missed out on a precious gift. Their lifestyle seemed to lead them to a position of ever present insight.
When he spoke of her accusations of judgement, her mind's eye crumpled. The night sky was washed out by the day, and the formless figure she had concocted to whisper Lu's words were replaced by the boy himself. She judged. She knew this. What Lu said was logical. It was also naive. Everyone judged everyone, that was simply life.
Zintila's judgement however? That was all truth, and she could not agree more. May the god queen herself strike her down if she was not a proper servant. It was the knowledge that so long as Zintila judged her worthy she would succeed that allowed her trample all over centuries of tradition.
She rose as he touched on what he thought of her past and the potential for what she may or may not become. He didn't understand, but that was okay. An entire life could not be explained in a matter of minutes, and to ask such a level of understanding between them was far too rash even for her. Elhaym took one step towards his waiting hands, but she did not fall sobbing into his embrace. She reached to take a hold of him by the forearm, taking another step forward while trying to pull him closer as well.
"You are right…" she whispered, shaking her head. "There was once a me forged of pain and suffering. It was all I knew. But she is dead brother, and I stand before you. I walk a similar path because it is all I know, but I am different. The pain was forged into a blade of steel, unrelenting and strong… but when put to it's limit and bent too far, it shattered. What you see before you grew in it's stead over the top of pain's grave. I am a blade of grass… perhaps not quite so strong, but when cut down it cares not. It simply grows back as it was. If it's lucky, maybe even a little bit larger."
Elhaym looked into his eyes at that moment, searching for understanding. It was probably the most daring philosophical spin she had ever put on these last years of her life. She hadn't planned on it, it just happened. She threw an arm around young Lu Gavima and pulled him close in a hug. Sterile as it was, she had yearned for a man's touch. "If it pleases the Order, I'd like to study with you in earnest."
He was not Kota. No man could fill that void, and right now she didn't want anyone to try. This Acolyte had shed tears for her, and that was enough. Maybe he would never understand who or what she truly was as Kota had, but it was good enough for him to try. She needed the human connection back in her life in Lhavit, and this was a start. A friendship.
When he spoke of her accusations of judgement, her mind's eye crumpled. The night sky was washed out by the day, and the formless figure she had concocted to whisper Lu's words were replaced by the boy himself. She judged. She knew this. What Lu said was logical. It was also naive. Everyone judged everyone, that was simply life.
Zintila's judgement however? That was all truth, and she could not agree more. May the god queen herself strike her down if she was not a proper servant. It was the knowledge that so long as Zintila judged her worthy she would succeed that allowed her trample all over centuries of tradition.
She rose as he touched on what he thought of her past and the potential for what she may or may not become. He didn't understand, but that was okay. An entire life could not be explained in a matter of minutes, and to ask such a level of understanding between them was far too rash even for her. Elhaym took one step towards his waiting hands, but she did not fall sobbing into his embrace. She reached to take a hold of him by the forearm, taking another step forward while trying to pull him closer as well.
"You are right…" she whispered, shaking her head. "There was once a me forged of pain and suffering. It was all I knew. But she is dead brother, and I stand before you. I walk a similar path because it is all I know, but I am different. The pain was forged into a blade of steel, unrelenting and strong… but when put to it's limit and bent too far, it shattered. What you see before you grew in it's stead over the top of pain's grave. I am a blade of grass… perhaps not quite so strong, but when cut down it cares not. It simply grows back as it was. If it's lucky, maybe even a little bit larger."
Elhaym looked into his eyes at that moment, searching for understanding. It was probably the most daring philosophical spin she had ever put on these last years of her life. She hadn't planned on it, it just happened. She threw an arm around young Lu Gavima and pulled him close in a hug. Sterile as it was, she had yearned for a man's touch. "If it pleases the Order, I'd like to study with you in earnest."
He was not Kota. No man could fill that void, and right now she didn't want anyone to try. This Acolyte had shed tears for her, and that was enough. Maybe he would never understand who or what she truly was as Kota had, but it was good enough for him to try. She needed the human connection back in her life in Lhavit, and this was a start. A friendship.
