(Open) Bloody Gods [Temple of Viratas]

[Sosicly Magnolia]

13th of Summer, 513AV The path to the temple seemed well worn though the red cord showed no signs of tearing. It did seem to hold a constant sway that came from constant use. The Temple of Viratas was never empty, loved ones, prayer goers and keepers of the temple wandered the halls. They wandered in silence, in quiet prayer, and meditation or in the rarer times, the shouts of grief echoed through the endless passages. Sosicly wandered the halls too, wearing a jacket for once. All her visits of the temple were made in her jacket for the sake of respect; she wished to look her best when coming to the place of her God. She walked slowly, hands clasped neatly in front of her as she stared at the bodies. Some were older than herself but they had not aged a day form their death nor did they reek of it. It was a place of beauty, and she felt content that she should end up in the temple someday preserved. Not some rotting corpse for the creatures in the cities underbelly. Her thoughts formed slowly, moving at the same languid pace in which she weaved her way through the halls. It continued on like this for nearly a bell, time seemed irrelevant while she was there but she managed to reach the heart of the temple. The heart of her people, where they all connected regardless of their personal feelings. She smiled, thinking of earlier in the season and those who held many personal feelings for her that were not always pleasant. When she reached a few paces away from the pool, Sosicly sat down in front of it quietly, and began to set out her writing utensils. Once she was properly situated she watched the pool from behind its curtain, the soft lapping sounds soothing her as she wrote. Viratas…the year has been a strange one but I pledge to you as always to do what I must for the good of Kalinor. I will follow your words, and pray that you keep our blood strong though we are few. She paused in her writing to watch a man bring in a small bat.

[Shausha]

13 Summer 513
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"What are you doing with that bat?" Shausha demanded. She flew low and fast towards the man who had caught one of the many cave bats that shared the dim air of Kalinor with her. "Release it!" He jumped and nearly fell over.

Shausha swooped low and over the man holding the bat. He could not hear its cries of terror, but she could. As a human would investigate the sound of a screaming puppy, the moment its shrilling reached her ears, she was off. The man walked quickly, shoulders hunched. Every now and then, as he zipped down the intricate lines of The Web, he'd glance fearfully back at her. She prodded him with her claws and hissed in his ear. "Release it!" she demanded again. The man mumbled something about blood and she concurred, "There will be blood if you do not let it go!" She knew her hands were tied. Valydor would hear about it if she killed a Symenestrian and her training would be over. This idiot would not need to know that, however.

They approached an ornate building and the man bustled inside. Screeching audibly, Shausha flew through the doors after him. Stupid pig, do not ignore me! The man stopped in front of a set of impressive doors. As she readied a clawed hand to tear through the back of his neck, she felt the tug of Valydor's leash on her. The man shut the door behind him. A snarl curled her lips as she yanked the doors open and followed the man into a chamber where -- Sosicly!

"Sosicly! This man is disobeying me!" She landed as hard as she could, trying to shake the ground. Sosicly sat sedately by a large pool of blood with trademark quill-in-hand; She smelled of magnolias, a light and silky fragrance. At the moment, her delicate face was painted with surprise. Shausha was suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of blood, the rushing of her heartbeat in her ears, the scent of both Symenestrians, the sounds from outside, and the baying of the bat. Trying to focus and clutching her head with a hand, she fumed, "The bat's cries reach me!"

.

[Oscar]

Travel through Kalinor was always a difficult thing for Oscar, today had been no exception as he was quite clumsy when compared to the graceful Symenestra. However the young healer felt that it was at least necessary to observe some level of reverence for the racial god of his hosts, he was not a follower of Viratas but that did not mean he could not respect the customs of the Symenestra. Besides, he was more than a little curious as to what the god was all about and how the graceful Symenestra worshiped their god. His travels were as much about expanding his scholarly horizons as it was to carry out the will of Rak'keli. Oscar arrived upon a scene he had not exactly been expecting, Shausha the resident Zith of Kalinor and his... student of sorts was yelling at a Symenestra male carrying a bat. Oscar hurried to the scene, fearing violence and desperately wishing he had brought a field healers kit with him from the Purging. The young healer winced as he noticed Shausha tear open the doors in an enraged fury as she set off after him. Oscar quickened his pace even more, his cloak billowing out behind him as he rushed after Shausha, wincing as she screeched loudly. The young healer entered the temple quickly and hurried up to the Zith, noting another familiar individual there. Sosicly, the odd but pleasant mute Symenestra was sitting near a pool of blood, no doubt significant to the graceful people of the caverns. The smell of blood was nothing new to him and didn't bother him very much, it was nothing compared to his focus on preventing a potential incident. He rushed to stand in front of Shausha, making calming motions with his hands. He already knew that it was unlikely she was going to harm him so his fear was much less great than it had been during his first meeting with her. His expression was rather serious, his jaw set and his eyes rather hard. "Shausha! Be calm, this is a place of worship!" Oscar commanded firmly and in a raised volume that few had seen him use, fixing her with a tone that he reserved for ordering about medical assistants. He assumed that her anger had something to do with the bat the man was carrying, it seemed odd to bring a bat here of all places in any event but that was beside the point. The young healer was a deeply religious man and this intrusion was an act of great disrespect, not just the Symenestra but to Viratas himself. Oscar knew very little of Viratas, only that he was the God of Blood, but this act was far too much to let go unchecked. "I would highly suggest you calm yourself then respectfully and quietly address your concerns with this particular man. However, if that is asking too much I suggest you quickly leave." Oscar said, much quieter and more controlled. It sounded rather like he was reprimanding a disobedient child, and honestly that was what it felt like at times. Shausha was certainly not improving the opinions Symenestra had of other races, not one bit. Oscar was more than a little surprised by his own outburst, and reminded himself to make an offering to Viratas to repay any slight he might have just committed. He was not a worshiper of the god so perhaps Sosicly might be able to advise him on that front. The healer stared the Zith down, stand straight and his expression much more calm.

[Sinvala Chrysanthemum]

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Sinvala's presence in the Temple had gone ignored, as she desired when she had decided to enter the place. She sought peace and tranquility and had thought, foolishly now that she thought back on it, that being close to her ancestors would allow her some peace of mind and clarity. She was wrong almost immediately when some of the first visitors entered where she lounged against one of the silken walls, curled up and reading the red book written by the God of herself and her people.

Distaste coloured her face at the noise, the horrible noise, that would have made any of her relatives turn over in their final resting place to show unimpressed expressions at the horrible cacophony of unnecessary sound. She was unimpressed herself. There was no sympathy for the creature making the racket, instead there was only disapproval that the creature would dare try to stop the man from connecting with his god, her god. She had heard of the Zith and that she was spending considerable time amongst them, but her ignorance of this part of the religion the people she forced herself on was too much.

Sinvala closed her book with a snap and got to her feet, rising to her not considerable height and stretching briefly. The burgundy eyes that reflected her anger shimmered the same liquid way that the great pool of blood did as Sinvala approached, reaching to work her carving knife out of her pocket.

"Here," she said to the man being beseiged by the bat, offering the knife so he wouldn't have to distract himself with finding his own. "Repent, brother," she finished softly, eyeing the Zith with obvious distaste, and malice, after that show of ignorance. Sacrifice was a part of the Symenestra culture, but even an unrefined Zith should have been able to observe this after her time here. There were more bats, endless amounts of bats.

"I'm sure Viratas would appreciate your blood as well, Zith," she said to the creature in Common rather than the Symenos used to address the man. "As repayment for harassing one of the humble people seeking only repentance and faith and for disrespecting Viratas at the same moment." She had that soft voice Symenestra often used with strange races from outside the caverns of Kalinor. Smooth and sweet and poisonous. It was the voice she used on the lesser beings, the unliked ones. It would work for the creature as well.

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[Sosicly Magnolia]

The man and his bat were accompanied by trouble. Sosicly wanted to find amusement in it but found herself a tad on the angry side. Although her anger was not entirely directed at the situation but being surprised by the sudden onslaught of people, she loathed surprises. Yet, they were guests of the city and they dared to act so in her people’s place, in front of Viratas pool itself! Not to mention they had interrupted her sacrifice. But at Shausha’s cries, she only raised an eyebrow, and rolled her shoulders. She could not talk to the woman so how was she supposed to explain. But the healer, Oscar, stepped in again, Sosicly was still unsure as whether or not to call it stupidity.

Then another Symenestra came, Sosicly recognized her only in the fact she was sure she had seen her before. At the offer for the blade she finally stood, plucking it up from the man’s loose grip, then handed it off to Oscar, her expression hard. She held up a hand to forestall any talking, and wrote swiftly.

She had no patience for offer someone repenting or any of this, if it was not acceptable they should not have done it in the first place. Wordlessly she held it out to the group, flashing Shausha a calming smile that did not reach her eyes, so they could all read.

If the bat is not his then the sacrifice is worthless, his repent would mean nothing. Viratas will not accept half-hearted apologies. He should make a blood oath and hope he can be forgiven. She tilted the book so it was only facing the man, If you continue with this, you will be forgiven by none.

“It is my choice for my sacrifice; don’t tell me how to appease Viratas as if you are him yourself!” The young man all but snarled. Sosicly was clearly not impressed by the declaration and shrugged, refolding herself on the floor. As she did she patted it silently, encouraging the others to sit. Do as you want, fool. It is no concern of mine whether or not you are forgiven for your offenses.

After showing it to the young man, she made a shooing motion then turned to Oscar and gestured to the knife then back to the other female Symenestra, giving the woman a polite nod. Content on ignoring the two Symenestra she stared hard at Shausha, then pointed to the knife then Shausha. The other girl was correct, she should make a small token of apology.

Sosicly looked at her own token silently with a soft sigh, and gently shut the book. It would have to wait for a moment. She only hoped they did not draw the attention of the temple keepers or anymore Symenestra. Crossing her arms she waited to see what would happen, noting the man was waiting for the blade again.

[Shausha]

Blood! Blood everywhere!
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Shausha was cut short by Oscar, who stepped in front of her. Raising a hand to gently remove him (cuff him across the cheek), she paused as he said "place of worship".

Shausha looked around. This place did seem much fancier than the other Symenestiran structures she had visited. The blood pool was super cool, too. Seeking more clues as to what was going on, she looked at Sosicly whose face was lined with anger. Shausha cocked her head, looking from person to person as she put the pieces together. The bat's shrilling ceased as Sosicly confiscated it from the man. She shot a smug smile at he who had tormented the creature, and in turn, her. She patted Oscar on the head and gave him a kiss on the forehead like she had once seen humans do after thanking each other.

When she turned to look at the newly-arrived Symenestrian woman, she blinked a few times. The woman could have been trying to debase and humiliate a wild glassbeak by listing her lineage, for the face Shausha wore was mild skepticism.

Shausha jumped over to sit next to Sosicly and squinted as she tried to decipher her gestures.

"Oh, so I should stab him? No? Her? Uhhh..." she looked around once more and the words the symenestrian woman said to her finally made sense.

As repayment for harassing one...blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, disrespecting Viratas at the same moment.

"Oh, I did something bad!" Shausha said, nodding, "You have bloody gods. Ok." Shausha took the knife from Sosicly and inspected her body for where best to nick herself. She decided the outer edge of her wrist would do. Flopping onto her belly and supporting herself on her elbows, she leaned over the blood pool and sniffed it. The smell of so much mixed blood made her gag slightly. It stunk.

She shifted onto one elbow and pushed the blade into her wrist and against the bone. A small leakage of blood met its silver tip and ran along its edge. Shausha quickly leaned her hands over the pool, but the blood just ran into the handle of the knife and down her arm. Grimacing, she felt a sharp searing pain as she dug the blade in further. This time there was enough blood to trickle into the pool below.

Licking the blade clean, she handed it back to Sosicly. Her wrist kept bleeding, and for a moment, she held it over the pool. Unsure what to do, she decided to stick her wrist in her mouth. She sucked at the blood and looked around, content to sit and listen to the purring of the bat's breath.
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[Oscar]

The ways of the Symenestra were indeed quite strange to Oscar's mind, though he supposed that the reverse was also quite true. Holding the dagger in his hands was quite... unnerving to say the least, weapons had a way throwing him off. Tools of pain and death that he saw very little need for being the man that he was, it was enough to send a slight chill down his spine. Oscar had initially been rather put off by the other Symenestran woman's intervention, she seemed to possess the trademark arrogance of the rest of her race. Then again, such things were not his to judge and her offence was understandable considering Shausha's lack of tact. He read Soscily's explanation, the truth of the situation dawning upon him as he read. A sacrifice to appease their god, it was understandable though his own goddess never required such things. Doing the best that a healer could do and helping others despite one's own discomfort were all that she wanted and expected. Sacrificing animals seemed rather excessive to him, but this was their city and their ways. The young healer's eyes widened when he witness Shausha cut her own wrist over the pool of blood and immediately his mark urged him forward, passing off the dagger to the other Symenestran woman with an apologetic look. He rushed over to the Zith and examined the cut, it was shallow and something easily healed by the power Rak'keli granted him. "Shausha please give me your wrist, I need to take care of the that wound before it festers." He said, gesturing to her wound. Some would consider having the compulsion to heal any injury a curse but Oscar did not think of it that way. It was a blessing to be able to help others, no matter how small the wound or the pain. He held up his marked hand, the shimmering opal swirls on the back of it glinting slightly in plain view. If he had stitches on hand he would have just used those but he did not, so he needed to use Rak'keli's blessings. Hopefully Viritas would not take offense to the healer's touch.

[Sosicly Magnolia]

Sosicly heaved a sigh upon realizing that this was beginning to be a pattern. Shausha would create a disturbance and Oscar would attempt to smooth it over. But this time there was more company than their previous excursion and no one in the temple had patience for this kind of idiocy. Taking the offered knife she handed it back to the young man, and reopened her book. How easily Shausha made an offering. It was not exactly what she had thought for forgiveness but it was still better than the young Symenestra’s who was watching the whole scene with distaste and taking the knife primly. “You bring your friends in here and that thing dared to put her blood in with ours.” Ignoring him she wrote a few sentences, flipping through to see if she had any pre-written phrases that would be helpful. They are guests. If they show respect they are given it. Shausha has atoned in a manner she thought proper. Perhaps you can learn from her. As he sputtered irritably the small bat long since gone and now that she noted it, the larger companion was gone as well. It was unacceptable from any of us to behave in a hostile manner here. It is resolved now. Stop complaining. She held it up for both of the other Symenestra to read, not bothering to stand once more. With another snarl the young man spun away, and Sosicly turned her attention to the remaining occupants. Shausha has left? she asked, mildly curious to know if the Zith had cut deeper than intended, Was her cut too deep?