Solo To Trust in the Father

[Pulren Marsh]

40th of Spring, AV 515

Just before dawn.

Pulren sat on the jetty, looking out on the water. There was a fog floating over the bay, a slight breeze moving through it to create a kind of spectral vision among the ships. Wearing only his brown linen undergarments, he had his backpack with him with his leather pants and a linen shirt inside. There was a rowboat tied up at the end of it that Pulren knew was just used for maintenance of ships in the harbor. The chances of it being used in the time that he would need it for storage were slim. Pushing off of the wall, he landed on the wooden pier, the creak of it and the slight ripples in the water the only echoes of his presence. Kneeling near the dinghy, he put the pack up under one of the bench seats, not making it so obvious. He could stand having to walk home in his undergarments, but he really didn't want to lose the pack or the leathers. He liked the pants and really didn't have the coin for another pair.

Across the bay, an earthen monument to the determination of hopeful Guardsmen stood out of the water. It was the point that all trainees had to swim to and return from in order to pass their Wave Trial. Today, he would swim there again but for a different reason. It had come to him while he sat at his desk, to truly trust in Laviku and also to find the place within where he could truly search and find himself. First things first, however. He bent and stretched his legs, kneeling and flexing his arms and legs. He then jogged in place to get his body warmed up, his breaths deep and steady to prepare for the long swim ahead. Kneeling one more time, he cupped his hand and took in some water from the Bay. His eyes closed, he said words to Laviku before drinking the water in his hand.

"Father, enter my body and travel with me across the Bay, so I may find You."

With that, he dove off of the pier, wind whistling past him as his body pierced the water's surface. Legs kicking beneath, he broke through the surface and began swimming, his vision and arms pointed at the rock. The fog was still floating around him and in moments, the fog was all there was to see save for the sky. He could tell that he had brought his body back into a better shape, the water sliding past his body as he made his way toward the rock.

[Pulren Marsh]

The sounds of the sea. The sounds of bubbles and motion. These two with the sounds of his breath were all the companionship that Pulren had as he swam across the Bay. Light came into his vision as Syna awoke and pushed her way through the otherwise overcast sky. The warmth felt good against his skin, the fog began to push and move off of the surface, running from Her divine sight. Slowing his body down, he began to tread so that he could reorient himself. The rock still stood before him, though he had drifted a bit due to the slight waves. He could hear the harbor as it came to life behind him, though the distance had quieted it from what din it was probably actually making.

His arms and legs moving through the water slowly, he could feel the heat of the burning muscles. He needed to keep them burning until he reached the rock. No slowing down now! Diving back into form, he pointed himself back toward the rock and began kicking and really pulling the water with each pass of his arms. He knew the rocks would come suddenly, so he would slow himself on occasion and bring his head up so he could see the rock looming. The third time it was and he slowed down to a more leisurely pace, his feet eventually finding purchase on the slime covered rocks beneath the surface. Stepping up and out of the water, he found himself in the full embrace of Syna's warmth.

Looking back, he could see that all of the fog had subsided. The harbor was in full swing and people could be seen moving along the thoroughfares. Boats were beginning to awaken, sails unfurling and ropes untied. Turning away from civilization, Pulren looked out to the other side of the bay and its wilderness. Eventually he would make the long swim over, but he would have to wait until he had the skills to sustain himself should he be too tired to return in the same day. It was a long distance across the bay. A slight shiver reminded him of why he was out there. He needed to get back into the water.

Submerging himself until he was chest deep, he dunked his head beneath the water, washing his face and running it over his scalp. Once he could feel the land slipping away beneath his feet, he picked his legs up and leaned back, stretching out and floating on the surface. His ears were submerged so all he could hear was his breathing and the muted silence of the deep beneath him. Closing his eyes, his arms fell limp at his sides. His body gently rose and fell with the air filling and then departing his lungs. Silence came. Journey began.

[Pulren Marsh]

While his eyes were closed, Pulren could see and feel Syna's presence caressing his body from above as he lay cradled in Laviku's bosom. His breaths were even and he could feel his body becoming very relaxed and sort of distant. As thoughts began to creep into his mind, he found that they were trivial. What he would do for the day after, his duties with the Guard, what he would eat for dinner. Pulren let these idle thoughts pass through him and sink into the cold depths below. One thought remained, however.

He knew that the Bay was full of life of all sorts. The sea snakes, sharks, probably larger and more ferocious creatures even, with all of the strange happenings of the Labyrinth and the odd pillars that came with it. Swimming through the Bay was dangerous enough much less diving its depths. If it was a godless land, it would probably even be suicide to spend so much time in the water unprotected. Fortunately, this was not the case. Laviku's temple rose above the Bay and looked down upon its waters. As long as one made sacrifices to the Sea Father, one could also expect the protection and oversight of Him.

This is how Pulren came to find himself floating in the Bay. He would provide his own sacrifice to the Sea and to Laviku and he would also continue to trust in His protection. He could easily imagine the stirrings beneath him, the great shadowy shapes that might see him as a floating piece of food, eager to have a nibble. Sensing the Res inside his body, he pushed it forward from the scar on his chest, the green gas forming into a gel. His fingers probed the stuff, shaping it and pulling it into a long flat shape. His eyes remained closed, though once he felt the shape begin to solidify, he allowed it to take on the element of Earth, forming into a kind of shale plate.

The sudden added weight of the earthy plate made him sink beneath the water, his lungs taking a gasp of air just before his face disappeared beneath the Bay's surface. The cold of the depths surrounded him again and with eyes still closed, he held the plate out before him as he sank slowly. His mind went to Laviku and all of His reach across the world.

'Father Laviku, I have created this gift for You from my own essence. Take this piece of me and accept it as my gift to You. May it become a piece of shelter for your other, smaller children.'

With that, he released the flat stone and slowly kicked until he broke the surface again. His eyes opened and he was temporarily dazed by Syna, as his eyes had been closed for long enough that Her presence even seemed brighter. Looking around, he could see the rock some distance away, his meditations having distracted him and the tide carrying him out toward the greater sea. Lazy limbs moved into position and Pulren began swimming back to that point.

[Pulren Marsh]

As he pushed himself toward the rock, he noticed that it appeared to be sinking. This, combined with the clear resistance of tides coming into the Bay, proved to Pulren that the tides were coming in. He knew that at their peak the rock would be mostly submerged. He also knew that though his legs and arms were heavy and beginning to burn, he had to endure and push himself to the landmark. Legs began kicking and arms began paddling as he worked his way back, his mind only focused on getting to the temporary solid rock.

Though it seemed to last forever, much longer than it had taken him to swim out there in the first place, his hands found purchase and he breathed a sigh of relief. Turning, he slid himself backward up to the rock until he was sitting, the wind blowing over the water causing him to shiver. A feeling of being lost and the lingering thoughts of how others could fear death at the hands of the ocean came to him. A slight chuckle reverberated from his mouth and over the water. He had no reason to fear. Looking across the long stretch to the docks, he knew that even if his own body failed him, Laviku would not.

Standing up from his seated position, he crouched and squatted before stretching his body out. Pulling his knees up behind him one at a time, he slowly massaged the muscles in his legs, warming them for the long swim. "Father, I believe in You. I believe in myself as well. Together, we will make this pass." With that, he took a step out and dove into the depths. The water was warmer than the air, its embrace sliding around Pulren as he kicked to get his momentum going. Breaking the surface, he could see the docks and he began pushing his body, the tides now aiding him in his travel back to the safety of the harbor.

This was something that warmed the Zeltivan further as he moved along naturally with the course of the current. Fighting the tides and the current wore him out; it was exhausting to fight the source. Why fight it? Swimming with the tide brought him to the docks in half the time it had taken him initially. Before he knew it, he was reaching up and pulling his tired body from the waves, lying out on the pier for a few chimes before rising and gathering his clothes again. He could feel exhaustion creeping in, threatening to put him to sleep in a very vulnerable position. While he wasn't in Sunberth, he also couldn't risk being awakened by the wrong people in such a manner.

Rising up to his knees, he looked at his reflection in the choppy, brackish water. He was smiling a tired smile. "Thank You, Father, for carrying me today and for bringing me home. From the sea I came and to the sea I will return." Rising on shaky legs, Pulren dressed and made the short jaunt back home. He was more than ready to crawl into his bed and call it a day.

[Ball]

Pulren Marsh

Sorry there wasn't much to give. Nice thread though! Any question please PM me.

Swimming	+2
Reimancy (Earth)	+1
Endurance	+1
Meditation	+2

• Harbor's current changes one's path
• Laviku: Prayers of accepting one's sacrifice
• Laviku: God of the Waters, Protector of those that believe