21st Summer, 512
I'saya felt the smile edge its way upon her expression as she heard the call of the gathering. Her mother was readying her makeup, placing dark red paint upon her face, layered around her eyes as her and the remainder of the Tuvaliks began their ascent onto the stage they were given. At fifteen years old, I'saya was assigned a position at the front of the stage, placed in the limelight for the crowd to bear witness to the prodigy that the Tuvaliks had produced. Lacking her mark as of yet, her family assured her that she would be blesed with it soon, given to it by Ivak and allowed to join in the practices of consuming fire and juggling it. For the moment, however, she was given a different role to play.
The teenager reached into the depths of her soul as the crowd watched her, light brown eyes dancing with excitement as she built upon her Res. The process took time, approximately two ticks to build the necessary expanse of Res. The ethereal gas danced as a small, globular shape in the girl's tiny hands, shifting and rippling before she set the outer layer ablaze. It ignited, though the Res remained inside, allowing the flames to both be fueled and for the budding Reimancer to control it, turning to face her family with a bright grin upon her features before she released the flame. It was directed towards the nearest torch, the oil rag set about a wooden pole immediately set ablaze by the contact and the trio of firedancers in front of the girl quickly passed the torch about, setting six torches in total ablaze before their performance began.
The crowd, how it roared! It was a living, breathing entity of screams and shouts as the dancers gathered in unison, their seamless display of torch throwing and juggling paralleled by the beginning of I'saya's own movements.
Her arms managed a slow, steady sway, a single flourish of body movement before she ran forward, three small strides taking her to the forefront of the stage space before she adjusted her body's weight lowering her center of gravity before pushing from the ground. She leaped, her back bending to allow her center of gravity to change again as joy flowed through her body, sweat permeating at her childish form as she landed upon her hands, a quick handstand set in place before both of her legs were grabbed by her brothers. Both held a torch between their lips, the other tossed into the air as they grabbed I'saya's legs with both arms, pulling her slender form higher and into the air. A flip was done as the force drove her skyward, two hands extended to grab each of the torches before she landed upon her feet with a grin.
The pure exhilaration that was dancing with the flames swelled within the girl, the Tuvalik girl allowing herself a moment to breathe before she began her movements anew. She settled herself upon her hands, core burning with the smooth effort of the handstand as her arms held her upright. This time, the girl built upon her Res once more, drawing the flames from the depths of her soul as Res and materializing it her feet as they interlocked. The Res permeated her soles, a thin, silky layer of vibrant red Res colouring her skin before she set it ablaze directly over her skin. She withdrew her feet as the Res ignited, the fire swelling for merely a moment before dissipating with nothing to maintain it, the girl advancing with a single roll before she leaped from the stage, to be caught by the crowd.
The girl allowed a laugh to escape her as her sweat-ridden form was caught by the crowd, their hands carrying her backwards and out of the gathering of patrons until she reached the end. Large hands quickly covered the girl's face, a gag placed in her mouth, quickly followed by a blindfold before she was stolen away. She could do very little to struggle, her body and djed spent from the show as the hands pushed her forward. The man pushed the girl into an alley, and as they progressed, I'saya swore that she could hear the sound of stone colliding with stone, and unbeknownst to her, the way to chase them was sealed, a wall formed from Res set to protect the kidnapper's escape.
51st of Summer, 512.
Thirty cycles of Syna and Leth pass, the dead of night and the light of marking the flow of time into the encroaching grip of abyss the collective breath of the Tuvalik family was not heard, their camaraderie lost as their youngest daughter was placed in a cell, given only bread and water to sustain her as she looked upon the restraints that held her in place. She had no idea where she was, but the light of civilization was nonexistent and the air was different from Lhavit, where she had performed. So long ago... She was set in stocks, made of wood and with a dense metal lock, and the kidnapper was nearby, watching her, a hood raised as he spoke out,
"You're a Reimancer that employs the use of fire... So young... So talented. But you are nothing. Not yet. Weak and sloppy with your Res. I could make you more."
The girl looked upon the kidnapper with nothing but disdain, a fierce scream escaping her lips as she negated her kidnapper. But, he was no longer there. He left to tend to the night. She rejected his existence, she rejected the very concept of being enchained. She felt the shiver of her body as the cold of the cell penetrated her, the sensation less physical and more spiritual as she was left alone. She growled at her captor and whimpered at her captivity. She sang to forget and spoke to remember. She curled in a corner, begging for freedom or death, before the cell was opened and the kidnapper returned with shackles, adorned and shaped with a variety of strange designs that the girl could neither read nor understand.
She was lost. But, the man made himself a target.
Res built at the girl's shoulders and her hands, drawn from the depths of her soul and built, caked and layered upon as she drew from the depths of her soul. She looked upon her captor as he stepped forward, to remove the stocks and just about to place the strange shackles upon her wrists before she struck at him. The Res made its ascent, pouring into the man's throat and layering his shoulders, the process ended with Transmutation.
Fire. How it burned when it was so close. The proximity of such a large release of fire choked at the girl's throat as he kidnapper was set ablaze, the beginnings of a scream formed before his throat was charred, vocal cords incinerated by the depths of fire as the girl took several steps back. She shielded her face, though the fire began to spread, the kidnapper's body consumed by immolation, the flames of which spread and magnified, setting with the moss that caked the floor and walls of her cell. The entire place was set ablaze, but the girl made no effort to escape. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried out, despair wrenching at the depths of her soul as she realized that she had no way of knowing where the Tuvaliks were. Where she was. Where anything was.
She decided to simply let the flames do their bidding, that, at the very least, it was the fires of Ivak that would take her and not starvation.
She was wrong.
Teary eyes stared at the flames as their expansion ceased, the collection of them moving to a collective space beneath his feet. The form of a being stared at her, a smile worked upon his features as he appraised the Tuvalik with an amused stare. The paint upon his face was similar to the designs that the Tuvalik heirs wore in the moment of performance, his hair swept up, though at the reaches of his feet, the flames licked where shoes ordinarily would exist. He stared at her for several moments longer before he commanded for her to stand, not with words, but with a motion of his hands that beckoned for her to obey.
I'saya did not question her saviour, a mixture of confusion and budding comprehension set upon the girl's features, but she dared not speak. Rather, it was Ivak that spoke instead.
"You defeated your captor, but you know not where to continue. You give in to despair that grips at you. The fires made by your own hands threaten to consume you, but you fail to flee to continue on. I'saya, you are a Tuvalik, and a descendant of the Azenth. To surrender yourself to death is not what I desire for you. Instead, I first have a question. You submitted yourself to despair for after thirty days of captivity. You freed yourself from your captor, yet you allow yourself to surrender to you situation. Why does it grip you? What you spent in captivity is but a breath in comparison to what I have known. Thirty days? I lived in the depths of captivity from the world for more than 500 years. You know nothing of despair."
The deity spoke to the girl with an aggressive tone, though he seemed to understand. He lowered to level with her before he pressed his hand to her chest, just above her left breast. It was then that he spoke again, staring at I'saya with an intent gaze as he asked her,
"Why did I bother to spare you, I'saya? Answer me this."
I'saya looked upon her God with a curious stare, light brown eyes taking in Ivak's features as she paused for a moment to think.
Why did he spare me? It's like he said... I surrendered to how my emotions swayed me, I surrendered to the despair that took upon me. I killed my captor but stopped at that... What reason do I have to live?She answered immediately,
"Because I am not the product of my despair. I am the product of emotion that sways and breathes. Rage... Excitement... Emotion. That it was you are, isn't it? The God of Fire, in more ways than one. I have that in me... don't I?"
Ivak looked upon the Tuvalik with a nod, his features softening to that of a smile before he released his press to her chest. In the wake of his touch, there was a flame. It sat upon the Tuvalik's chest as a crest of vibrant vermillion. The flames brought with them a surge of warmth that flowed through her body, a breath filling her lungs as Ivak immediately gathered up the flames born from I'saya's Res. He expanded upon them, raining the flames upon the Tuvalik's body, though I'saya lost all grip on her fear. She was engulfed by the flames, but they did not bite her, their warmth radiated upon her as she basked in it, her body swaying with the movement of dance before she produced her Res, willing attraction to spin the flames around her as a funnel. She played with them for a moment longer before Ivak dissipated the flames, the Reimancer looking upon her deity with an intent stare.
"Exactly. You are Tuvalik. You fire will, rather than engulf and consume, entertain the world and let them be aware of what it is to truly feel. You are Azenth now. Fear, despair... These are lost upon you. You will walk the world as a tool of entertainment, a spread of the rush of exhilaration and the knowledge of sensation. A Tuvalik, like your brothers and your forebearers. Do not betray yourself again, and least of all, do not betray the course I have set you upon."
And with that, Ivak vanished, leaving I'saya with new tears, steaming from her face as laughter bubbled from her lips. She was still lost. She was still isolated. But, she knew now that Ivak had not forsaken her. He had saved her, and I'saya would obey his commands. There was nothing else to do. Her life was given over to Ivak, for he had saved her. He had marked her. And she was his to utilize as he desired.
Ivak's words echoed in the Tuvalik's mind as she cleared the cell in which she was imprisoned, a new life born within her, sputtering within her soul like the flames of a newly born fire. His words instilled her cause within her, it implored her and desired of her. The Tuvaliks were in Kalea, an entity of Ivak's desires there. She had a different plan, a different desire manifesting, welling within her as the gnosis flared upon her breast. The world was a land of unspoken places. She would entertain for all of it. Perform for all of it.
This is what Ivak asked of her.
![[Verified by Crosspatch]](./images/checkmark.png "[Verified by Crosspatch]")
I'saya Tuvalik 
by I'saya Tuvalik on June 6th, 2014, 9:20 pm 
