The Dream-Shaped Shadow I - First Deceit

[Alice]

First Deceit Location: Vision Center Time: Morning, 31st of Winter, 510 AV Open to: Alodian Aviastas, Keyta, Elysia “Nel’vira shall not be allowed to touch the ground of Konti Isle while she is still instable. Therefore, any and all Konti who wish to help should report their participation. Starting tomorrow, Garola, organizer of the Mothers Circle, will accept applications and requests and answer questions. Please understand that details can only be revealed to those who are involved in the problem.” Such had been the Matriarch’s words and the Konti community was convinced that Nel’vira’s and Calia’nel’s fate would be in good hands. The storytelling festival continued, albeit with an underlying tension that couldn’t be erased so easily. However, those who chose to participate in the quest would solve the matter. Some Konti thought of joining because they were said to possess diplomacy and empathy. Some thought of joining because they had mastered the art of the Suvai. Some thought of joining simply because the fact that they were Konti commanded them to defend their homeland. Most of them, however, didn’t think of leaving Mura. Of course, Calia’nel being tormented by dreams, nightmares about Nel’vira even was something that had to be taken care of. But the Opal Order was omnipresent. At the same day, healers spoke with the girl to determine whether she was traumatized or injured in any other way. The Mothers and Grandmothers Circle held a discussion that same evening. V’nessi herself was said to converse with Avalis. With the Goddess of Visions on its side, Mura would not perish. *** Blessed with one gift or another, many Konti experienced visions about Nel’vira, her plans and Calia’nel’s role in them. It seemed that as soon as the matter had been brought to their attention, their minds opened up for any hints that floated around in the Chavi, channeling them through Avalis’ gift and turning them into scenes, pieces of knowledge, forebodings. Since all hints were important to piece together the puzzle of the lost sister, most Konti reported their visions as soon as they received them. When Elysia went to bed that night, she would probably wonder whether she, too, would have a vision. Would she, too, be able to help protect her sisters from Nel’vira? As soon as her subconscious wrapped itself around the Chavena, images started whirling in front of her eyes. First she saw a flash of blue and white. Immediately after sound and smell added to the vision, muffled voices talking in a serious tone and the wet stench of mildew. Next she ran through a chaos of colors cutting, bleeding into and confronting one another: black, blood red, white, grey, blue, dark green. In the end everything merged together into a dark, dirty shade of grey. A bodiless voice seemed to speak from nowhere: “Things are not always what they seem to be. Play your cards wisely, child, for you might be their second victim.” After that, the scenery changed. Elysia could actually recognize surroundings and people, or, more accurately, a single person. The Konti was standing at a cliff overlooking Silver Lake, watching the still water stretching out to the horizon. She didn’t move, only took in the sight of such a vast amount of vision water. And as the Konti raised her arms to the sky, Elysia’s emotions were in tune with hers and bathing in ecstasy. Such a beautiful sight! To her, vision water was the symbol of knowledge and power. Silver Lake was the key to solutions, to solving any problem in Mizahar. The Konti, they already used it, but it was not enough! What she saw was potential, pure potential that wasn’t yet utilized to its fullest. And she knew that someone had to make the first step. With that thought, the Konti plunged into the water – and Elysia was catapulted out of sleep. *** The next day Garola, a Konti still in her double digits, entered her office in the early morning hours. While casting a look into distant, shimmering Silver Lake, she wondered what would happen with Mura. That place was meant to be a center of serenity and harmony. However, Nel’vira had already split them into two groups. As a member of the Mothers Circle, she knew all too well that there were people who would grab the chance of making a difference. They’d most likely try to use Nel’vira for their own goals. Everything Garola could do, though, was make sure that the information was organized and the application process running smoothly. She exhaled and entered Vision Center. Turning left, she entered her office, a cozy little room with a balcony, and got seated behind her desk. Although shelves with books, reports, analyses and other documents took up most of the space, there was still room for a pastel-colored rug and two chairs in front of the desk. Any and all requests or complaints could usually be voiced in front of Garola, although she only expected applications on that particular day. The paper racks on the table were organized and overshadowed by several candles in one corner. In the back pastel curtains marked the exit to a tiny balcony, an excellent place for the regular five chimes of relaxation. Also on the back wall was a large painting, depicting Garola sitting in a chair and her daughters assembled around her. After preparing some blank sheets of paper, the ink vial and a quill, Garola was all set for work. When the first visitor came in, she would welcome them with a friendly smile and an inviting gesture. “Good morning, good morning! Please take a seat. You’ve come because you want to participate in the Nel’vira thing, right? Then, I ask you to tell me a little bit about yourself and why you’ve decided to help. Oh, and also what kind of skills and knowledge you can offer.” She’d listen to everyone who came, no matter what race they were or how they behaved.

[Elysia]

Elysia felt butterflies in her stomach as she sat down in the comfortable chair. Facing Garola, her expression only held welcome invitation, not expectation. This made her feel more confident.

Elysia immediatly explained her skills and knowledge while trying to keep her tone even. "The skills I can offer are Fortune Telling and Observation. The knowledge I posses of Nel'vira are only the stories that are told. In my understanding, she is disliked for her behavior in villainous acts. However, a small number believe it was for a higher cause; an action to protect that was misunderstood."

Slighly blushing in emmbarrasment she realized she forgot to inroduce herself. She hoped Garola wouldn't think of her as rude or disrespectful.

"My name is Elysia Sylph," Her tone was soft spoken, but direct. "it is true I have come to participate, but I wouldn't come here on stories alone. That wouldn't provide anyone with reasonable defense. I'm here because I had a vision that I feel I must share and see to the truth myself rather than being dependent on what others say."

[Keyta]

Little Keyta found herself sitting in the middle of a huge building on the floor and thinking about what she is going to do. Before she had a chance to enter the room, another girl had already walked through the door, and she was slightly worried because she knew she was not alike most of the women on the island. The little girl over heard some of these women talking about some problem with some one named Nel’vira, and that they needed help. Naturally Keyta thought she would do anything she could to help the place she intruded upon since the people seemed so nice, but while she sat there, she began to wonder. How is someone as small as herself going to be able to help with anything, and then an even bigger problem just came to her head, how is she going to speak with this lady in the room? Her eyes grew big as she sat there, in a panic she started thinking about how she was going to communicate anything, but with little luck, she didn’t know what the scribbles meant that most knew how to write, and she couldn't use her mouth like others to make words. Keyta felt her anxiety racing and she knew she needed to calm down, so she reached into her bag and grabbed the fruit thing her hand touched and began gnawing at it. Feeling the juices of the fruit running into her mouth, she began to calm, the sweet flavor of the fruit, but then she noticed her fruit was her precious orange. On this orange was her name, and she just bit into the side with her name on it, tears formed in her eyes as she just destroyed the only thing that was able to speak her name for her to others. A despicable taste of metal invades her mouth, and all desire to eat the fruit leaves her, so she places the rest of the orange back in her bag and continues sitting on the floor with her head on her knees and tears falling from her eyes.

[Alodian Aviastas]

Mura had proven to be quite the place of wonder. For an outsider such as Alodian, it was as if he had never seen such a place before. In all truth, he hadn't, and he was enjoying the new change of scenery. Since his arrival, Alodian has been captivated by the architecture, as well as all the colors he experienced here. Back home in Avanthal, it was pretty much filled with white and greens, with a few colors mixed in. Here, every color he had imagined could be found. During his time here, Alodian had heard about a quest that was going to happen, and he had the thought that maybe he could offer his assistance to whoever was going on the mission. He had assumed they were going to be Konti people, which he had found out by talking to a resident who spoke common. The Konti race was the main race here at Mura, and he had learned a few tidbits of information, but not a great deal in order to be able to understand it; that would take a bit longer for him to understand. As told by the resident who had informed him of the quest, Alodian went from place to place, asking if he was heading in the right direction to the Vision Center. Once he got a sense of direction, Alodian headed into the same direction he had taken on his first day In Mura, when he had visited the Opal Temple. Instead of going through the gates though, Alodian turned and headed south. It wasn't long before the Vantha came across a building that set his eyes ablaze with amazement. There were balconies and ornaments in the windows, along with different colored glass windows! Grinning like a Vantha when Queen Morwen returns, Alodian hurried down the path, until reaching what he supposed was the entrance. Stepping through the portal, Alodian found himself in a room that was filled with cushions, chairs, and blankets, as well as a small altar. As his eyes wandered about the statue and paintings, Alodian's eyes lit up. There was a picture of his Goddess! "Goddess Rak'keli!" Alodian spoke in Vani, the words flowing from his lips. A great sense of happiness filled him as his eyes studied the painting. He knew he was in the right place! Following the directions he was given to sign up for the quest, Alodian made his way to the left, and came to what looked like an office, where three people were currently there. Making sure his emerald shirt was smoothed out, as well as his temperamental hair that seemed to have a mind of his own, Alodian entered the office with a slight knock at the door. He had only hoped that these people spoke Common, or he would never know how to communicate with them. Grabbing a seat next to one of the ladies, Alodian turned his attention to the one behind the desk. Composing the sentence in Common in his head, Alodian gave her a smile. "My name is Alodian Aviastas, and I would like to help in quest," he said, making sure to make eye contact with the woman behind the desk. "I can offer my healing gift to you if you wish. My hopes are to gain favor from the Opal Order," he spoke, as he lifted up his right sleeve, exposing his gnosis mark from Rak'keli. Looking back at the woman, Alodian waited to see her reaction, and to see if he would be accepted or denied.

[Alice]

Moderator Plot Notes

Elysia

Garola leaned back in her chair and listened patiently. She made note of the mentioned skills and knowledge, so she could later write it down for the record. Garola loved protocols. They helped keep things organized and served as some kind of chronicle. Nothing was ever forgotten by protocols.

When Elysia introduced her towards the end of the monologue, Garola nodded in greeting. Of course, she expected the other Konti to know who she was. Not as prominent as the rest of the mothers circle, she still was an important figure around Vision Hall. When Elysia mentioned the vision, her eyes narrowed and her fingers folded. Then she took a deep breath. That was interesting news. “To sum it up, you know a bit of fortune telling and are good at observing others. That means you have some people reading skills, right? I want to make sure I got everything right.” She smiled and shifted into a more business-like position. “Yes, her actions can be described as a betrayal of our entire race. She wanted to steal vision water ... I can’t even think of a reason why a Konti would do that. It’s like spitting Avalis in the face ... Anyway”, she added, regaining control over her feelings quickly.

Now the important part could be discussed. “Please tell me everything about the vision you had.” While Elysia did so, Garola leaned back once more and folded her hands in front of her chest. A thoughtful expression was plastered on her face, with furred eyebrows and slightly narrowed eyes. However, she wouldn’t interrupt until Elysia had finished the story. Even then, she didn’t break the silence for a while. Every vision could help, and in every vision there could be a hidden hint about the intentions or thoughts of Nel’vira. Technically that meant she could use any Konti’s dreams she wanted. But in turn, if Mura made careful and intelligent actions, they could gain an advantage as well.

Eventually she said: “It is possible that Nel’vira used her Divination ability to send you that vision. She tries to frighten you, but at the same time she wants you to understand how she felt like. We can’t say it for sure, but I think your vision was inspired by Nel’vira herself. Just like Calia’nel, you must be careful. She thinks of us as pawns, nothing more.” Garola sighed. This was serious, she thought, probably for the thousandth time. “You said you saw a Konti? But Nel’vira is Akontak ... What is her intention behind the vision? What do you think, Elysia?” she then asked.

Keyta

The first visitor of the day often influenced Garola’s mood more than all the others afterwards. This time, it was a young Konti who seemed to desperately get into the support group around Calia’nel. Garola had to tell her that, no, based on the skills she had mentioned, she probably wouldn’t be of any use to the group. However, she could help at the Opal Temple, because many Konti were penetrated by visions and needed medical help to calm down and relax.

Making sure that the girl understood, Garola even walked her to the door and held it open for her to leave. That was when she spotted the small child sitting on the floor with an orange in her hand. First she blinked, a little irritated, but then she remembered her job and smiled. “Would you like to help Mura in the Nel’vira matter? If that’s the case, please come in and have a seat. I’ll interview ...” Trailing off, she realized that the girl was in tears. “What’s wrong, my dear?” she said softly and approached the little thing. As a multiple mother, she was excellent at making her voice sound soothing. One hand touched the girl’s wet cheek and caressed it. Hugging a stranger seemed wrong to her, after all. “How about that: Come in my office, I’ll get you some refreshing water and you can tell me what’s wrong. Hm?”

Once in the office, Garola offered the girl a glass of vision water and lean against the edge of her desk. She refused to put the massive amount of wood between the girl and herself, as she felt that the situation still called for some comfort. Then she patiently waited until the girl started to communicate.

Alodian

In fact Alodian caught Garola staring for a while until she regained control over her expression and smiled politely. Being interrupted in the middle of an interview was a little unusual at best, but the cheerful attitude of the new arrival quickly washed her irritation away. The two visitors she had just spoken to eyed Alodian too, but refrained from commenting. One of them, a girl of about sixteen years, simply turned back to Garola behind the desk and continued the train of thought she had just had. Surprisingly, she spoke in Common. “Like I said, I’ll be very careful and try not to get in the way of anyone. I feel that my vision is of grave importance to the mission. Participants will be in danger anyway, so why not choose me? I’ll support the group from the background and try to not get involved in physical fights. Those were your conditions, weren’t they?” The last sentence was directed towards the elder woman, obviously the mother. Their white hair fell in wild locks, their faces were soft, the child’s more so, and both were petite and delicate. The mother sighed and nodded. “Just promise to not get involved in anything and not make any enemies.”

Garola flashed Alodian another smile and offered him a glass of vision water. “I’m sorry, I will get to you in a moment.” Then she turned back to the pair, trying to ban the irritated expression from her features. With her own daughters at home, she didn’t really want to listen to mother-daughter-conflicts at work as well. She raised her hands and turned to the girl. “Your vision does sound really important, but I, too, insist on your mother’s conditions. She just wants you to return safely, bear that in mind. Since your skills and abilities exceed those of most other children I know, you’ll be useful to the group. I believe you can come with them, Sya.”

The girl did a little happy dance around the chairs, accompanied by some singing. Obviously she couldn’t have been picked for her singing skills. Her mother rose and gave an apologetic nod. “Let’s go, Sya!” But the girl didn’t listen. She stood in front of Alodian and smiled, bright green eyes staring at him. “You look nice. Where are you from? I’ll listen to your interview.”

The mother sighed and seemed to give up. She said something in Kontinese, nodded towards Alodian and left the room. With one person gone, it was much less crowded. Garola visibly relaxed and concentrated on Alodian. The gnosis mark earned a curious glance. Many people visited Mura to study healing, but few of those tried to give the Konti something back in turn. “Healers are always needed. The Opal Order is currently quite busy, so we’d be glad if you joined the mission. However, as a stranger, what do you know about Nel’vira? What do you think about her and why do you want to help us? I don’t think that you’ll easily get Opal Order membership in exchange for participation.” Her gaze took in all the details of his reaction. Although Garola was the trusting type of person, she had to consider the possibility that Nel’vira employed spies.

[Keyta]

Keyta merely stared at this lady as she offered her some water and tried to comfort her. She did not know what to do, here she was, nameless and unable to speak. She took the cup with both hands and laid the cup in her lap and looked down at the cup. This water seemed much cleaner than any water she had ever had before, it was almost too clean to her. She looked back up at this lady and back down at her cup, then the little Kelvic carefully lifted the cup up to her lips and began to sip on the water. Its cold touch first hurt Keyta's teeth as she made a face, but then the water slipped down her throat and a whole new expression took her. The water was so good, it began to remind her of how soothing her mother was, how she held her after her first fight. Only then Keyta began to feel extremely home sick and slowly lowered the cup back to her lap as a small tear left her left eye again. Keyta tried her best to ignore this thought and began thinking about how she was going to communicate with this lady. The only thing she could think of would be to draw everything out, but she had no paper and no ink. She quickly looked around and saw something that reminded her of what the first lady at the dock used to write her name down several days before. The tiny Kelvic quickly jumped up and snatched this tool and began looking for something to write on. So many papers were there but all of them were already full, but she continued to look and flipped one over and found the back empty. Keyta took this tool to the paper and began drawing pictures of how she got here. She first drew what reminded her of the shape her mother would cut her oranges when she lived with her. Then she drew three lines coming from the fruit cut base and each had about three curves coming from them to resemble the white sails that were on the boat she took to arrive to Konti Island. Satisfied with her work, the small Keyta turned the paper towards this pale woman to see if she could understand.

[Alice]

Garola was silent while Keyta drank, unsure what she should say or how she should treat the little girl who obviously was no Konti. She simply watched as Keyta seemed to calm down a bit. But then another tear escaped her eyes.

When Keyta was finished, Garola took the glass back and put it to the other side of the desk. Then the girl was looking around for something. She still didn’t speak which struck Garola as odd. “Is there something you want to tell me? Do you want to write something down?” A little slow she felt as Keyta continued scanning the papers and writing supplies on the desk. However, raising three children had taught the Konti patience and gentleness, so she simply assisted the girl whenever she could and pointed out a quill and a blank sheet she hadn’t used. When the girl started drawing, she curiously peered at the paper, trying to discover the meaning behind the lines that were upside down from where she was leaning against the desk.

As soon as she was finished with the drawing, the girl showed the paper to Garola, so she took it in her hands and inspected it. She squinted her eyes a little to find out what the lines meant. Two were arched towards one another and mostly horizontal, and then there were a few vertical lines coming from the upper horizontal one. The shape reminded Garola of a ship. Her girls used to draw similar shapes after a stroll around the harbor.

So what did that mean for Garola? “You have come here by ship, right?” she suggested and looked up, inspecting the little girl. She was pale and young, but still she had come to Vision Center to participate in the quest? Garola didn’t quite understand and hoped for a sign to confirm whether her statements were right or wrong. “Or does that mean you want to leave by ship? You see, we are currently organizing a journey from here to Sahova to keep a lost sister, another Konti, from hurting others. Do you feel that you should come with us to Sahova?”

There had to be a connection to Nel’vira, otherwise the girl wouldn’t have come. Her appearing couldn’t be a coincidence – especially not after Garola had already turned down the first volunteer. Right?

[Keyta]

Unable to disagree, Keyta just looked at Garola wondering how this conversation was going to go. The little kelvic wasn't sure how she would be able to help the people that lived on this island, but she wanted to do anything she could. Keyta took the quill that was filled with ink and carefully examined it, trying to understand how it was able to make lines one paper like it does. The curious girl lifted her finger to the end of it and touched the black tip and wathed as the ink slowly began to drip down her finger to her hand. She took her hand away from the tip and cupped her hand to look at the puddle of black ink now resting in her hand, this was obviously how it makes lines, but where did it all come from. Keyta moved her hands around a little and noticed that it was staining her palms black. Unable to fully understand this, the kelvic girl looked back at the konti woman to try and see if she could explain what was happening to her. The ink was cold yet it was wet, it reminded her of water, but it was much thinker and certainly not something she would want to try and taste.

[Alice]

Garola was torn as she watched the girl playing around with the ink. On the one hand, she wanted to get as many people involved in the quest as possible, people who could be useful. On the other hand, the girl was so young! As a mother, she couldn’t let anything happen to children coming with her. There was already one girl she had accepted. They could probably entertain each other, true, but the most important question was whether Keyta could add her part to the effort of the group.

“It’s ink”, she eventually explained and showed the little pot of ink to Keyta. “When you dip the quill into this, it will suck up ink and release it once it touches a surface. You can write or draw with it. Do you want to tell me something?”

Setting the inkpot away, she sighed and examined Keyta from head to toe. “All right. I see you’ve calmed down now. Please tell me if there’s something I can do for you or something you wanted to say. If there’s nothing in particular, I must ask you to leave. You see, I should be doing work right now.” Of course, she was friendly and eager to help anyone find their way around Konti Isle, but she also knew that the matter at hand was very urgent. They needed to get going, and the sooner, the better.

[Keyta]

The Kelvic frantically took the quill and began scribing lines all across the paper, trying her best in anyway to put together some kind of story to tell. Putting together what looked like to herself as a story from arriving on the large boat, to meeting her first two konti friends, to hearing the story of help needed, Keyta tried to show this woman the pictures and pointed to each one in a row to inform her that they were indeed in this particular order. While the paper was at the other end of the desk, the little girl reached for her bag and began to eat another fruit at random, and even grabbed a second fruit to offer to Garola in case she was hungry herself.