a wayward Lumenari [open!]

[Tally]

In the long trek from La'marri to the Draconi Forest, Dimitri had a lot of time to think.  His initial mania had eventually calmed to a slow-burning rage, and then finally had turned into…something.  Confusion. Anger.  Sorrow.

All of those things.  All circling in his head in a maelstrom that made clarity impossible.  The whole thing had him angry at a lot of people he really was not allowed to be angry at.  And that…scared him.  It wasn't like him at all.

In retrospect, he should have done a lot of things differently.  He should have told someone where he was going instead of just taking off.  Vulcan, if no one else.  He should have restrained himself when Speaker gave him the news.  That outburst was going to cost him.

Outburst? No, he'd completely lost control.  He'd thrown things, cursed, shouted, broken anything within reach.  He'd hurled such invectives at Speaker as could get him dismissed from the military or even outright banished from the faith and Solis forever.

And if <I>that</I> didn't get him exiled, well…he was about to do something that assuredly would if anyone caught him at it.  Which was why he hadn't told any of them.  If they knew they'd be caught between their loyalty to him and their obligation as soldiers, and he wouldn't put them in that position.  Once he did what he had to do, then he would return.  Assuming Speaker would let him.

He stopped at the first dirty little barbarian village he came across and sought out the local sundries store.  It was a tiny, ramshackle affair, but it should do.  Hopefully he wouldn't have to spend any more time here than necessary.

He slammed the door open so hard it hit the wall and made the shopkeep jump.  Dimitri spared him a glanceâ€"it was just some ugly little man who looked like he had the intelligence of a cowâ€"then looked around for what he needed.  Let's see…candles, an incense burner, sage…what else? Light, he wasn't a priest, how was he supposed to do this? No red cloth in the placeâ€"of course not, what did he expect from this shack?â€"so a red ribbon would have to do.

A few more things plus a small pack to put it all in and he was done.  He dumped it all on the counter before the shopkeep and tossed some coin down, way more than it would take to buy the lot of it.

Dimitri must have looked like murder walking because the man had been shooting him suspicious glances the whole time he'd been there and he couldn't possibly have missed the twin falcata strapped to Dimitri's back.  So he really should have known better before he pushed the coin back.  "Sorry, friend, can't accept those."

Oh, he <I>really</I> should have known better.

"What do you mean you can't accept them?  It's <I>gold</I>.  It's good <I>everywhere</I>."  They were Solisi golds, but golds nonetheless.  Anyone with a bit of sense would've recognized the quiet, deadly tone in his voice and would have shut up and taken the coin.  This shopkeep had no sense apparently.

"Can't take no coin what's not Adelan or Serendipity."

In one movement, Dimitri had a falcata in one hand and a fistful of the man's shirt in the other.  He stabbed the falcata into the countertop.  The blade burned white hot and all around it the wood started to blacken and smoke.  "Now there's two ways we can solve this.  You can take my payment and I can walk out of here right now.  Or I can cut your balls off and burn this place down with you in it.  Which will it be?"

[Anonymous]

Ah, a forest. It had been many...weeks of travel really. Heading across Serendipity and Adela, or most of Adela anyways until he came to the forest. Why had he been travelling so long? Well...there were reasons. He had seen things, heard things from Niamh, and the winds and spirits had been talking to him. Not many could communicate with the spirits, and he knew few that could listen to the wind the way he did. He only wished he could see the future better here, or really at all. In his world fate had been almost determined, or very close to it. There were many...turning points and the world could be changed if someone just tried.

He tried to make sure that he saw every part of this beautiful world and the cities and people that lived within it. He had passed over mountains, rowed across some rivers and walked over large plains and flatland, and gone through many forests like this...and it had been a challenge. He had to make sure that he kept himself clean after all and respectable. He had to make sure he shaved (as if he really needed to, nothing seemed to grow where a beard should.) and of course that his clothes were clean, hands were properly taken care of, nails trimmed, that sort of thing. Appearance was important too.

Soft skinned hand moved up to his face, fingers brushing slowly across the blindfold that was wrapped around his eyes. He let his fingertips trace along the golden ivy design that was on most of the clothes that he owned. He really did like the golden ivy that stretched on most of his clothes, that crept and made soft patterns. He brushed the silky blond hair from his face, bothered a little by the ticklish bangs that hung down in front of his face sometimes.

His hands went to his chest, dusting off the chest of his robe, hands feeling the long ivy pattern on the white robe. Heh. He was a sucker for the ivy, he really was, there wasn't any doubt about that now. He cast his blindfolded gaze to his feet, to his shoes actually, the thatched reed sandals that fit comfortably on the dainty feet of his. Ah, he could walk a thousand miles in these sandals. Sometimes he had to as well...Hm.

Now...where was he going again? He faced upward, stretching his arms out for a moment and letting himself get lost in nature as he focused for a moment. "The small village you say? Very well. I will go there." If anyone had seen him, they would swear that they could see misty objects, almost humanoid in nature, wafting around the man as he had stopped. Though when he had started walking again, the wafting misty objects just disappeared. It was a mystery as to what this strange man might very well be, or what he could do.

His pace quickened, and eventually he found himself in a small village nestled somewhere inside the little forest of Draconi. He was going to find this man, he was determined, he had to do this for the greater good of everyone after all. There was a commotion from inside a hut, that got the blindfolded man's attention, and he slowly moved inside the hut. The sight before him made him believe he had found the right place.

A man was gripping another fellow by the shirt and had stabbed a burning weapon into the counter top. This had to be the man then...it must have been the man.

"I believe friend, that it would be best to just accept the gold. Only a fool would let something so trivial end his life." His voice was calm, soft, gentle, the words flowed through the air like a babbling brook down through the hills of a mountain. It was soothing for most to hear, at least, he hoped it would be soothing with this angry fellow. "You look lost child, as if the way you once walked has taken a turn, like what you once knew and took comfort in has changed with the turning of the tides." Upon those rosy lips a smile blossomed and he bowed toward the rather...temperamental fellow. "I've come to meet you friend, I am Vec Lanrete. I believe I already know your name. You must be Dimitri of the Lumenari." Vec had straightened up, standing tall, but having a relaxed look to his posture.

Maybe it wasn't the...best technique, but he had gotten all he needed to know out of a certain friend of his. Vec was on a mission of peace, and this man was the one who needed to be at peace.

[Tally]

Someone entered from the door behind him.  Someone Dimitri didn't concern himself with.  He was seeing red again, and nothing was going to distract him from venting his frustrations.  The shopkeep's eyes were wide and in them he saw that mortal fear he was so well acquainted with.  The man just nodded and stammered agreement, couldn't even find real words to speak.

Dimitri yanked the falcata from the countertop, twirled it in his hand and braced it to run the man through anyway, because why the fuck not?  But he hesitated, and it had nothing to do with the blabbering idiot behind him, whose words he wasn't even really listening to.

It was because today was different.  He wasn't allowed to commit violence today, not if he wanted to do this properly.  And if he was going to commit a crime, he might as well go about it the right way.

Well, shit.  He had to think of these things before he went around threatening to burn down shops and mutilate people.  With terribly strained self-control, he slowly sheathed the falcata, and with a weapon out of his hand some of the murderous intent left him.  He released the shopkeep and shoved the items into the pack.  Smoke still curled up from the wood and the whole place now stank of burning.  The coins he left on the countertop.  He wasn't a thief, after all.

Dimitri paused as he opened the door and cast a withering glare at the strange blindfolded man.  He had a very specific purpose for being out here, and he meant to get it done and over with as soon as possible and get on with his life.  He wasn't in any mood to mingle with the savages and he didn't have time for it besides.  But he had to know.

"How do you know me and what do you want?"  If this guy was looking for a fight, that could be a problem.  Dimitri couldn't fight today.  He really should have left his weapons in La'marri to remove the temptation, but that might have alerted Speaker to his intents.

[Anonymous]

Vec could feel the hatred that the man had, the fury that he wanted to unleash upon the world...and upon the man behind the counter. Vec just continued to smile and kept talking as best he could. He wasn't really sure the man was actually listening, and he was holding a weapon which was very bad for him. Vec wondered if he would have to defend himself, the man seemed to be very short with his temper. Vec felt confident though that he could talk to the man. That would be a start.

The man seemed to have calmed down, for whatever reason he couldn't say for sure, but at least it was a start. Dimitri seemed to be a good soul, but he had so much rage pent up in him...it was almost heartbreaking for Vec to see such a thing.

Dimitri was leaving, well that wasn't going. Vec did want to talk to the man about what was going on. Vec just wanted to help the man, but well...Vec had seen and learnt a lot about the Lumenari from his observations of what people have told him. Dimitri was a big part of the Lumenari, though a little too...Hm, how to put it? He put himself and the Lumenari above anyone who wasn't a member of the Lumenari.

So much to learn.

So much to teach...

So much to have fall on deaf ears.

Oh well, if there was one thing Vec was, it was persistent!

"Hm? Oh, decided to talk to me now, how nice of you. Well then." Vec moved past Dimitri to head outside and gave a small yawn as he stretched his arms out. "Let us say that I know someone that you know. I feel like being cryptic, but you seem like an intelligent young man, so I am absolutely positive you will figure it out. I will give a hint for you though." Vec turned to face Dimitri, his arms hanging by his side and his blindfolded gaze upon the man, staring, but it was impossible to tell where he was really looking.

"She has very beautiful hair, platinum blond, as is very innocent and modest." Vec would be relieved to know that Dimitri didn't want to fight, that would take a load off of his own worries that he would be getting into a fight. Vec only had shields and distraction magic to use, so he would have to wait for Dimitri to tire out...and who knew how that would work out.

[Tally]

<I>Wrong answer.</I>

Any expression of annoyance Dimitri may have had on his face dropped immediately and became blank indifference.  He passed by the fool without a word, without even another look and without a thought save for one.  Anyone who had <I>anything</I> to do with that girl would get not even a moment of his time.  If the man had wanted to talk at him, he'd said exactly the wrong thing, and he was now dismissed from Dimitri's mind entirely.

Now, where to go?  He doubted this area had a proper place for such a ritual, but he'd do the best he could.  More than anything he had to make sure he didn't end up starting a wildfire.  Not that he gave half a damn about this place or what happened to it, but that wasn't the way this was supposed to go.  For Ash, he would get it as close as possible and try not to screw things up. Light, but he needed a priest.

First thing, he had to get away from the village.  Well away.  This was private, intensely so, and even thinking on it sent a tremor through him and started his eyes to burning.

If he broke downâ€"<I>when</I> he broke downâ€"it would be alone, where none but he and the Mother Herself could see.  He'd mourn alone, and he'd bear the weight of his sin alone.  It could be no other way.

He rubbed at his eyes with the thumb and index finger of one hand.  When he lowered the hand, he was composed once more.  He'd held it back for days.  Just a little longer.

<I>Just a little longer, Ash.</I>

He started off again, leaving the village behind and abandoning the road in favor of the wilderness.  He had no destination, but he'd know what he needed when he saw it.  Until then, he would walk ever onward, trudging through a pathless forest and trying not to think too much.  He just hoped he hadn't forgotten anything he needed from the store.  He touched a hand to his pants pocket to make sure the letters were still there, and found them safe and still with him.  Good.  Those were the most important of all.

[Anonymous]

Only the same expression stayed on Vec's face, the calm and pleasant smile as he regarded the man. He had been warned about this man, about how the man thought, and how the man worked as well. Lumenari were alright to interact with, while anyone else was considered...unworthy of his time. It was cute to Vec, who in his own realm was a deity and held a power that no one else could ever hope to have, to understand the world like not even the greatest monks and priests could get through meditation and praying. For Vec, this man was just another mortal stuck with his beliefs.

Vec had to admit that he admired Dimitri. The man was set in his ways exactly like a mountain was set in the ground, unmoving, and vastly unchanging. Of course, the changes were usually minimal in a mountain, and could take thousands of years to see any sort of change from it. Dimitri was a strong man, but he was...misguided to say the least. Not misguided...Vec knew that he should not judge people simply by their religion, race, or rumours he had heard about them. He knew that he had judge them when he met them, and that was it.

Vec followed after Dimitri as he headed off out of the village. Vec didn't want to anger Dimitri by following him, but he wanted to talk to this man, he wanted to learn about him and his religion. Was the man troubled by his religion? By Niamh and Nexus? By some other trouble? All Vec wanted to do was help, and he rarely took no for an answer. Vec enjoyed helping people, and this man was in a lot of trouble. Maybe Dimitri could lead him to the supposed Living Sun...and he could start to get some things straight. Besides, Vec had glimpsed into the future, he had seen some things that disturbed him. He was determined to find out just what was going on in this realm.

"I am not a heathen or heretic that wants to disrupt you from your path Dimitri. I am simply Vec, all I want to do is to talk to you friend. I pose no threat to you, and you definitely pose no threat to me. All I want is to talk to you Childe." Vec was fully prepared to remove his blindfold and start focusing his gaze of guilt on Dimitri. He wondered if this man had any sins to feel guilty of, any reason to have guilt within him. Who knew, the man seemed burdened by something now....so it was possible after all.

"If you need help friend, I can help you. Just tell me what you need Dimitri, I can surely help you." Vec stepped up to walk beside the man, letting the light flow from his body slowly and cause him to have a sort of glowing aura about him. The Lumenari were into Light and Fire after all, maybe Vec could help appeal to that. After all, if there was one thing Vec knew how to do, it was to make fire and light, both golden and pure white.

"The service of Vec Lanrete is yours to use, I suggest you accept it Dimitri."

[Tally]

As he went along, Dimitri gritted his teeth into a snarl.  There were some <I>noisy distractions</I> around here that were difficult to ignore.  In a way it was good, though.  At least when he was angry it kept all other thoughts out of his head.

Still ignoring said distractionsâ€"and the way his hand occasionally itched for a weaponâ€"he wandered through the forest and actually started to gain a grudging admiration for the kaleidoscope of green all around him.  The leaves dazzled in the Sun overhead, and even if his heart would always call the desert home, he could at least see why one would want to live here.  He'd never left the sands before embarking with the Lumenari, and at first it all looked very strange to him.  So many terrains they'd crossed, so much color and variation in the land.  Even the wildlife was different and oftentimes just plain odd.  Nonetheless, he was grateful to have gotten to see it all.

He sloshed through a stream and paused on the other side to look around.  He thought he'd seen something up ahead, some bit of grey amid the trees, but he'd lost it.  Moving forward, it eventually showed itself again, and he was intrigued.  The closer he came, the more it revealed itself, an old stone building covered over in vines and with most of the roof missing.

He approached slowly, and with something akin to wonder.  The place had a strange feel to it, as though it were alive.  It felt ancient to him, and he walked to one side then to the other to look down the length of the small building.  The height of the roof, the shape of the doorway, the energies thrumming all around it, all left the impression of an old temple or church that had been here maybe longer than Adela itself.  Clearly it was a place strong in spirit and harmony.

Venturing up to the doorway, he peered inside.  A dirt floor with only a little debris scattered about stretched the length of it, and at the far end lay a crumbling dais.

In a little further he went, letting his pack slip from his shoulder and to the floor as he stared up past where the ceiling should have been to the open sky beyond.  Here.  This was the place.  It was perfect.

[Anonymous]

Vec only wished there was someway to get through to the Lumenari, to even the hardest hearts like Dimitri, who were so stubborn, so ignorant and set in their religious ways, they refused to even look upon change and members of opposed religions. It was...

Heartbreaking.

That's the only way that Vec could view this as. Heartbreaking. Whether a true Goddess or supreme entity ruled over the Lumenari, her use of religion had been ultimately flawed. Vec was a being without an ego usually, he saw no reason to get the races of his world to worship him. They had enough to do in their lives, like living and experiencing things in their short life spans. So much they could accomplish in a mere one hundred years, it was an inspiration. Sometimes they did good, they did really good, but other times they did bad...Who ever controlled the Lumenari, who ever kept them in line ultimately, whether a Goddess, or just a human, they were flawed. As much as Vec wanted to voice his mind, sit down with the being and fix this person, he wouldn't.

This wasn't his world. This wasn't his fight. If the people of the world were...happy, then what could he say? This was not up to him. He was just a man here, he had given up his Godly powers in order to come out.

Vec followed Dimitri through the forest. He had fallen silent, deciding not to waste his words with this man for now. While Dimitri sloshed through the stream, Vec simply walked over it. His sandals had a nice little enchantment on them, Vec called the enchantment 'Dry foot' for convenience. He could walk on magma if he wanted to, but he'd probably end up losing his robe and most of his legs. It didn't repel the heat sadly enough.

Vec stopped outside the building, his blind gaze inspecting it carefully. Ah, if this old building could talk. Well...it COULD really, just one had to tune themselves to the right channel, that's all. Vec smiled slightly as he reached out to the outer wall of this building, placing a gentle hand upon it. Such an interesting building, why would Dimitri go here anyways? What was the man planning now? This building had much energy in it, spiritual and magical for that matter, which concerned Vec at this time. Dimitri had something up his anti-social sleeve, but Vec wasn't sure just what yet.

Stepping into the threshold he carefully looked around with Dimitri. The man seemed to be perfectly content with ignoring Vec, and Vec felt perfectly alright with being ignored at this time. There was no words that could be spoken to each other. Dimitri wanted nothing to do with a Non-Lumenari, and Vec wanted to just observe the strange culture. Ah. If only he could gain his powers back in this world...but unfortunately he was stuck in this immortal shell, the full fury of his Godly powers locked deep within the light that burned through his body.

"YOu probably will not answer this Dimitri, but I would like to know what you are planning here. This does not seem like a place you would venture to without an extreme reason." Vec made sure to stay away from where the man was, holding near the broken dais, his back up against a wall, and his blindfolded gaze watching the man. "Surrounded by darkness, and yet touched by light, it is a strange place for one like yourself to be." A comment, an observation on his part really. He didn't expect and answer, not from Dimitri. Vec felt like he was trying to squeeze water from a rock at this point.

[Tally]

Through the hole in the ceiling, he judged the time.  The trek through the forest had taken longer than he'd thought and already the Sun was dipping low.

He actually flushed in embarrassment at the thought of Her looking down on him while he committed this heresy and decided then and there he would have to wait until nightfall.  Ashamed, guilt making him hide his face from Her and hunch his shoulders, he still didn't turn back.  He knelt and began pulling items from his pack.  Even in sin he could not second guess himself.  His resolve was a fact; it was brighter than salvation, greater than religion.  It was just his nature.

From the pack he pulled out lengths of colored ribbon—poor quality, but the colors were the important things.  Yellow and red.  He found the incense and laid it beside the ribbons, and as he reached inside again, the man's question stalled him.

"I'm putting the past to rest," he said, and he didn't know why he answered and didn't dwell on it, just continued pulling out all the items he would need.  Out came the candles and the palm fronds, the two small ceramic dishes with braziers, and finally the letters he'd kept close in his pocket.  They were bound with twine and he laid them upon the dirt floor with everything else.

Nothing left to do now but wait.  He sat crosslegged and watched the light dim around him as evening set in.  He prayed.  He prayed for forgiveness and, if that was impossible, that his suffering might satisfy Her righteous fury.  He prayed for strength, for it was weakness that had brought him here.  But above all he prayed for Her to burn the confusion out of him.  Where once had been only conviction, there was now doubt.

When it grew too dark to see clearly, he flicked his fingers over the wicks of the candles and they flared to life.  It was time.

"Leave now," he said, but it was a command he couldn't back up.  If the man decided to stay, what could Dimitri do?  For a full cycle of the day and night he was forbidden to touch anyone in violence.  The incident with the shopkeeper had been a mistake, a loss of control.  Now Dimitri was calmer and his commitment to this task meant he couldn't so much as shove Vec out the door.

[Anonymous]

Vec made very sure to watch the man carefully as he wondered what was going on with him, going through his mind. He was a strange being, who was part of a very strange religion, with very strange beliefs. Vec still smiled as he watched the man work, wondering just what he was up to.

"It is already at rest. You are prolonging it, keeping it alive, but to each their own of course." Vec told her as he kept a close...well it probably was a close watch but you couldn't tell with his blindfold on. Vec saw the letters, his face faltering for a moment as he wondered what...well he was pretty sure he knew what the letters were about, and who they were for. This would not bode well.

However, he would not dwell on this matter. Thoughts of past, present, and future...well the debate could rage on. Everyone had a different view of time. For something like Vec, time was but nothing to him. He still calculated it how humans did, in terms of minutes, hours, days, years, eons, but he knew that it was truly just a passage.

"I will be outside. Do not think this is over." Vec told the man as he left the decrepit building to sit outside on a rock. Vec didn't stop staring at the church though, more specifically at the inside of it. Yes, he could see Dimitri within, he could hear the song that his soul sung, but Vec would keep quiet. To say the least, he was fascinated by the Lumenari, nay, by all religious orders. While in his world, in his realm, he would be classified as a God, he gathered no followers, had no need for them. They wouldn't bolster his strength, nor would their lack of belief in him, but a lot of Gods he had seen, heard of, or met, seemed to have this innate desire for worship.

He only wished to know more about the actual people who worshipped a God or Goddess. What drove them to? Did they find themselves relating to the Deity's message? Was it fear of the afterlife, or fear of the beforelife? He could never understand why people wanted to Worship beings like Gods, or why a God would allow it.

It seemed so...

Flawed.

[Tally]

Dimitri waited until Vec was gone before he began.  He held the letters in one hand and the ribbons in the other, hesitating, feeling awkward and inadequate for the task.  He badly wanted a priest there.  Any priest.  Even some barbarian shaman would do.  Just someone with the qualities of spirit necessary for this kind of thing.  He felt like a fish trying to fly.

Just start at the beginning, with the preparation of the body.  In Solisi funeral rites, the body was wrapped and draped in cloth of appropriate colors.  Ash's body was not here, but his letters were.  In the flickering light of the candles, Dimitri could make out his cousin's flowing, pretty script.  He had written often while Dimitri was stationed in the desert, then never again once the assignment in La'marri had begun because correspondence with Solis had not been allowed.  The letters were filled with little more than unimportant prattle and gossip.  They were quintessentially Ash.

They were all he had left of his family.

Slowly, deliberately, Dimitri began wrapping the yellow ribbon around the letters just as yellow cloth would have been wrapped around Ash's body if he had been allowed a Solisi funeral.  Yellow for men past adolescence.  When he had used that up, he took up the red ribbon and did the same, hiding the stack of parchment behind vibrant colors.  Red for those who had died unwed.  There were words to be said, but he wouldn't have felt right attempting them even if he thought he could get them right in the first place.  So he worked on in grim silence save for one petulant huff of irritation.  The body should also be anointed in sacred oils, but he hadn't been able to find any of those.  This was a sorry funeral.  

Holding the beribboned letters in one hand, he drew the brazier before him with the other.  It was quite small, the kind meant to sit upon a desk, and rested upon an iron tripod.  The bowl itself was laced with incendia.  No coal needed.  All it took was a touch of his hand and bright veins of white heat flared to life in the bowl, forming an intricate and beautiful pattern of light.  

Into the bowl went a few leaves of sage.  They were consumed into ash almost instantly, and Dimitri took the bowl in hand and sprinkled the ashes upon the letters.  There was a long list of leaves and herbs a priest might use for the ash blessing, but again, Dimitri had easy access only to sage.

So far, he was doing well.  He hadn't started to break yet.  But then the scent of the burning sage reached him, and no matter how pitiful a ceremony it was...it at last seemed like a real funeral.  And Ash was really out there, just another sad cluster of bones to be buried in a sandstorm.  The last of his kin.  Dimitri's only family, gone now.  He'd died alone, all alone, when Dimitri should have been there to protect him.

He must have been so scared...

Dimitri blinked to clear the tears from his eyes and they fell.  One hit the little packet of letters in his hand and left a tiny dark spot upon the red ribbon.  Go with the Light, Ash, he thought, and held the letters above the blazing bowl.  They caught and it was a beautiful fire, blinding in the dim light.  He held onto them until the flames licked at his fingers.  Then he let go, let it all go, as he sank his head into his hands and sobbed.  His shoulders shook and his wails echoed off the walls to circle all around him.