[The Stone Gardens] Summer after Summer (Eris)

[Jilitse]

Her tune was interrupted. Jilitse posed, body twisted in an awkward bend. She held both hands just above her abdomen. She walked and with each step towards Eris she hummed a note or two of her lullaby.

There was one thing evident in the Nuit, and it is that she must not be accustomed to talking with people. It was not etiquette to walk around while you are talking to somebody, and it was impolite to hum incessantly while engaging in a conversation. It said a lot about Jilitse, foreigner to Syliras, ignorant of human customs.

When she neared Eris once again, Jilitse said, "Because I need some time alone. Because I need some time alone in a place where people do not assume that I am plotting to kill them and steal their bodies," she stared hard at Eris, face blank with emotions, voice serene and hallowed, "Because I know this place do not get a lot of visitors so early in the morning and because I want to watch the sun rise."

Lazily, she laced her fingers and brought them together to her chest. "Is that a favorable answer?" It occurred to Jilitse that they have not yet been properly introduced, but then again as strangers to one another, Jilitse decided that it was unimportant to get the woman's name. She was nothing but a random human. It was even possible that Jilitse might never meet her again.

A little politely, she asked, "What are you drawing?"

[Eris]

A laugh almost made its way past Eris’s lips as the other woman spoke. Funny, how similar their reasons for coming here had been. Not that anyone would have reason to accuse Eris of stealing bodies, but killing was certainly something she was prone to doing. Many were weary of her for it, as if her crimes were written in blood on her forehead. So, she was here for peace and solitude as well. Except that Eris did not want to see the sun roll over the horizon. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed a sunrise. A sunrise signified a beginning. How could she enjoy a new beginning when she had yet to finish an old one?

A favorable answer? A normal human would not ask that question. Just after having the thought, Eris realized that the woman before her was neither normal nor human.

“Do you actually do that?” Eris asked impulsively, her gaze darting up from her paper to look at the Nuit. “Steal bodies, I mean.”

The pencil in her hand seemed to be moving on its own accord, the lines becoming shorter and more harried as she shaded a shape that would soon resemble a branch.

“A tree,” she answered flatly. “I’m always drawing trees.” Her lips quirked up at that as if she was sharing a private joke with herself.

[Jilitse]

The question did not surprise Jilitse so she quickly replied, "For the last five hundred years, I have taken my bodies from Sahova's preserved corpses. These are usually brought from the mainland. Whether or not they are stolen or killed for the purpose of serving Sahova, I do not know." It was blunt and unemotional. "But if I were to make a choice, I do not think I have the capacity, much less the ability, to kill a person and steal its body. Even if I could, Syliras has laws against that kind of thing. I am, at least, glad that Syliras has Li Mauta. I have yet to meet Benoit Grivin, but I heard from the Greeters that he is also a Nuit."

Deciding that the explanation drawled longer than it should, Jil closed her lips and watched the girl move her hand and pencil along her canvas. The strokes, to Jilitse, were somewhat refined, indicating Eris' proficiency in the art. She nodded and thought that trees would indeed an ideal subject for drawing. "Always?" She asked, "May I ask why?"

"Besides drawing trees," Jilitse asked, "Do you draw anything else?"

There was no undoing the awkwardness between the two of them. Jilitse decided to stay a few steps away, close enough to observe Eris drawing. The human showed animosity to the Nuit. While this was not new to Jilitse, she couldn't gamble the possibility of a heated conflict. But how would a Nuit comfort a human? Absurd, impossible. Perhaps it might be best if she left Eris to do her own thing? But she was here first! Regardless, the Stone Garden was a public place. They both would have to share.

But the ice, it seemed, will never be broken. Not even thaw a little.

[Eris]

Eris found it interesting that a person, whose only way to survival was through the death of others, did not kill. And she, who could have had plenty of other options, chose to kill as a means of survival. The regard which the Nuit seemed to place on human life was admirable and Eris couldn’t help but respect her for it just a little. Then, another part of what Jilitse had said dawned on Eris. 500 years! The woman had been in existence for 500 years! What did one do for so long? How did it feel to…not die? But even though Eris was brimming with questions, she refrained from asking any of them. This woman was not her friend and she doubted she would appreciate being posed such personal questions.

“Not anymore,” Eris replied dryly, refusing to let her mind wander to the one time where she had opted for drawing a person instead of a tree. “Trees don’t move. They don’t attack. They don’t mind being drawn.” She shrugged, frowning slightly at a stray line on the paper before her.

“They don’t die with the same frequency that humans do,” she added, one corner of her lips briefly turning upward. “If I come back to this garden ten years later, the tree will – in all likelihood – still stand in this very spot. The same can’t be said for people, or at least, human people.”

A long silence stretched out between the two, the only sound being the scratching of Eris’ pencil against paper. Feeling the need to feel the awkward void with conversation, Eris offered a question: “What do you do? Career-wise, I mean.” The unspoken question hung in the air: What can one person occupy themselves with for 500 years?

[Jilitse]

"I hail from Sahova, an island off the coasts of Syliras. The infamous magical research center." Was it right to expose her life like this? "I am an Animator by profession, I create golems."

She stayed silent for a while as she watched Eris, before finally saying, "Have you ever contemplated about how one particular thing seem to stay constant even after many years? Or how one changes but never really does at all?" She contemplated, more to herself than Eris, though it was clear that the human was included in her deliberations, "Like the tree you are drawing for instance," she philosophized, "What is its purpose for existence?"

"My reason for asking is that I have always contemplated death. You may find it weird coming from a being such as myself, but I do fear death. I fear the unknown and the everlasting." And she explained that the reason for hanging around the Stone Gardens was, "A sense of peace in the quietness of death. These people, they have done great service to Syliras and they are remembered."

"Forgive me for my ramblings," the Nuit apologized, "I am also vulnerable to existential woes." Perhaps it was not so bad to reveal a little bit of herself to this human. After all, what was the point in fraternizing if you are too hesitant to reveal things about yourself? "I have been thinking deeply about my purpose in life. To be exact, I have fixed myself upon a given goal, and now I must strive hard to run after it. Would you mind giving your opinion as a human?"

It was clear that Eris could somehow multi-task between drawing and talking to her. Jilitse would very much love to hear a Pulser's thoughts. "I have always been curious about a living being's take on things such as life and its meaning. Tell me Eris, what is the point in drawing a tree?" A purely superficial question, one that did not mean to offend.

And, with deep meaning, Jilitse asked Eris once more, "Why are you here?" She elaborated on this, "What does life look like from the viewpoint of someone who has... a limited amount of time to live. What do you think of it, and how do you make the most out of it?" The questions came in a barrage, "Do you have a goal you are striving hard to accomplish and have you found meaning in your life?" It might put the human off-guard, but then again, this Nuit's mind had been stimulated. It would be nice if Eris shared the tangles in her brain. Perhaps it may even do the human good. To let it all out on a completely random stranger. Didn't they say it was easier to talk to a stranger, one who did not know who you are, and would, most likely, not judge you with a preconceived idea of what kind of a person are you. Jilitse told this to Eris, persuading her, "It would immensely further my research. My stay here in Syliras had been filled with a lot of conversations that involved humans and their deities. I have been trying to establish how a regular human being connects himself or herself to a particular deity. You see, Eris, I have been looking for Priskil." Rather innocently, she asked, "Do you know where I can find her?"

[Eris]

“People don’t change,” Eris echoed Jilitse’s statement flatly. She actually considered the question before answering. “I suppose its purpose is whatever a person wants it to be. For some, its purpose is to provide shade, for others it is nothing but a garden decoration. The tree has no mind of its own, so its purpose must be established by those around it who do. I like to keep my hands busy. For the moment, the drawing of the tree has no other purpose than to keep me relaxed.”

She let out a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a smirk. “I suppose that’s an egotistical thing to say."

The manner in which the Nuit rattled off her questions could have been amusing if they weren’t filled with so much purpose. “I might not be the best person to ask if you want the opinion of the average human,” Eris shrugged. “I don’t make the most of life. I should, but I don’t. Perhaps one day I will…when I’m done with all this.” Her pencil made a dark point on the paper, almost engraving itself into its surface. “I am looking for someone. Until I find him, I cannot go on with life in the way most people do. I live now with the sole purpose of seeking out this man or confirming his death, knowing that I simply cannot die before I finish what I started. Once it’s all over, I wouldn’t mind death. It may even be a relief to an extent… Knowing how the others feel when-“ She cut herself off, aware that this may not be the best time to reveal that she wanted to know how the people she routinely killed felt right before drawing their final breath.

“Goals, goals, goals. Funny how the only goal I have is the one that keeps me from being happy,” she murmured. She looked up from her drawing to meet the Nuit’s eyes. “And no, I have not found meaning, though perhaps I will someday. Have you found meaning? Is it easier to find meaning when you’re not rushed by the limits of mortality?”

The corners of Eris’s lips turned down in distaste at the mention of deities. “I don’t take much interest in gods,” she replied curtly. “I heard of a pond named after Priskil, but I doubt she’ll be waiting for you there. Gods are hardly ever there when you need them,” she added with a hint of bitterness.

[Jilitse]

"And some people assume that Nuits are jaded with life. Here you are perfectly alive, and yet you sound like you are bored and tired of the few years you ahve lived." Jilitse whispered, low enough to let Eris hear, "Think of how one sees life when one had lived hundreds of years. You may look and look and look. And you may not find the person you are looking for. Humans are limited by their own kind of mortality."

"Some people see life as complicated, its meaning profound and hard to reach. More often it is not. Your goal, your purpose in life, it's what sets who you are." Jilitse smiled at Eris, ready to show her empathy, "I would dare say I have found my own meaning, but I will say that I have found the reason why I am alive." She shared, it was near impossible that Eris knew him anyway. "To me it is a man. He is now Nuit like me, but I have loved him even when he was faithful to his wife and family, loved him even if he was faithful to their memory after. I have lived willingly to be his apprentice, his assistant." A dramatic pause, but the human could see traces of a detached dreaminess in the Nuit's face. "He is the only thing I have lived for, and the only thing I will die for."

"Life sounds so much simpler that way, but if you look upon the circumstance why I have held onto my life despite the dreadful monotony, you will find that it was my own decision. Do I ever regret it? At times I might deliberate upon the ambiguity of my motive, but ultimately the answer will be no."

"I say this because to you, the tree may not hold a purpose," Jilitse's lips curved into a more subtle smile, "But the tree already has a purpose of its own, probably unknown to either both of us. Maybe the gods already have a hand in it."

"I thank you for that information," Jilitse said upon Eris' mention of Priskil's Pond, "I shall seek this place. I may not find her there, but I won't stop until I do."

Jilitse pondered upon Eris' words. What would she do if she ever complete her life's mission? If the gods grace her with the ability to face Sagallius and defeat the god, then she would have then freed Zarik Mashaen from his Grand Oath. Mashaen will be free.

And then what? She echoed Eris, somewhat oblivious that she had said it out loud, "I simply cannot die before I finish what I had started. Once it's all over, perhaps I will be ready to face Dira. And then I'll go back to Alahea."

[Eris]

OOC :

I’m really sorry I hadn’t replied to this earlier. RL sort of swallowed everything up.

Love. Eris did not understand it. She had seen people in love, had spoken with some, had observed many from a distance… Love was a fallacy. It invited weakness and weakness invited careless mistakes. Eris could not afford to make mistakes and so, she could not afford to love.

She listened to the woman with rapt attention, finding herself fascinated with what the stranger had to say. Her views were so different from Eris’s own and yet, there were so similar. Eris felt that she could understand this Nuit – an undead corpse – better than she understood some of her fellow humans. But Jilitse was interested in a goddess. She would waste energy seeking her out in the name of love. And no matter how hard she tried, Eris could not understand that.

She was surprised to look down at her sketchbook and find the drawing complete. It was far from perfect, but it was somewhat better than her last attempts at sketching trees. The branches were not thick enough, the leaves were not large enough, the shadow on the trunk was all wrong… Fallacies - that was all Eris could see.

She rose from her place on the ground, flipping her sketchbook closed in the process. The sun was rising higher in the sky. She would need to depart now if she wanted to have a full day of riding toward her destination.

“This has been interesting, to say the least. I don’t believe I’m sorry to have had my solitude interrupted,” she said with a half-smile. “I wish you luck in your pursuit of Priskil, though I believe it to be a futile attempt.”

She paused, squinting up at the sky. “I should go now. I will need the entire day to travel if I wish to reach Zeltiva in a timely manner.”

Eris had never been good at saying good-bye. She had left Joel without saying good-bye. She had no need to say good-bye to the dead bodies she so often left behind. But this time, she did say it, awkwardly with a half-shrug. “Good-bye.”

[Jilitse]

OOCI have been slow as well, but it was fun. Thanks for this thread Eris, may our PC's paths cross again. I'll submit this thread for XP after this reply, okay?

"Thank you for wishing me well, I would need as much luck as I could." It has been intriguing for Jilitse to talk to random strangers. True, there have been far too few who agree to speak with a Nuit. But, those who grant her a few moments of time have offered her a chance to study Pulsers. Like Eris, they have offered her a glimpse of what living in the world was like. There was wisdom in hearing out what other people had to say about gods and goddesses and life in general.

"I would like to wish you luck on your journey, too." Jilitse smiled and said goodbye. Will their paths cross again someday? Even if they meet again, Jilitse thought that it would almost be impossible for Eris to remember her. It would be likely that she had already changed her face, her body, by that time. She waved the stranger off, and continued to wander in the Stone Gardens, humming to herself.

The human had mentioned a pond after Priskil, maybe it was time to search for that place. Jilitse thought, "I never asked for the human's name." She nodded to herself. What was a name? Even Nuits change their names occasionally. Was it important to remember people who touch your life ever so lightly? Names and faces, they are easily forgotten. Jil then continued pondering about the transience of life until Syna's warmth covered the sky.

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Jilitse   Skills Skill Gain Info. Philosophy 3 -- Rhetoric 1 -- Interrogation 3 -- Singing 1 -- Observation 1 --   Lore Rude Greeting A Human Breaking Human Norms Sharing Secrets Accepting and Departing Eris   Skills Skill Gain Info. Interrogation 3 -- Observation 2 -- Drawing 3 -- Philosophy 1 --   Lore Not Everyone Believes in Manners Never Run from the Dead, or Socially Awkward A Taste of the Living Dead Accepting and Departing

Additional CommentsSorry for the long wait, hope you didn't lose too much faith in me.