[Grotto of Dreams] The Creating of a Reverie (Adelyn, PM to Join)

[Viskyia Crow]

TS: Mid Pontius, Winter, XV (pf)
Early Morning in The Grotto of Dreams

It was a labor of love... or it was going to be. Viskyia just had no idea how to communicate what the place was going to be. As far as Adelyn knew, they were coming out here to start on a project and have a converstation about all sorts of things. She'd brought the horses, the big mellan's this time with their harness and tools to clear the land. There were saws, a plow, and while there was no snow on the ground presently, Viskyia thought it was a perfect time to get the grotto ready for spring planting. There were those scholars that claimed a deity gathered strength by its worshipers, and places like this would add strength... but Viskyia did not exactly believe that. Rather, she believed that when a deity helped someone, they were owed a thanks, and words were not often enough. And for the help that Kaimelea had granted her, and the pathway she now walked, the next logical step was to turn the two acres she'd purchased hidden in the Weaver's Wood into a shrine of worship and a place for the women Viskyia knew would soon be circling around them to gather and plan. But what was more than a thanks, this creation would be a labor of love and a central gathering point for those that were of a like mind to the Jeweler turned Dreamer turned Mystic.

Changes. Her life had been full of them lately, and in some ways she'd grown in leaps and bounds from the time in Nexus. Everyone she'd met along the way had impacted her, and now it was time to give something back and to start a dream and move it into a reality. It was Viskyia's hope that Adelyn would be open to the possibilities, because the jeweler knew that the woman was seemingly as lost and direction less as she herself was. With Roland off on so many of his projects, Paxia well underway with its rebuild, and everyone she knew now gone from Nexus, it was Viskyia's hope that Adelyn would find something of a home here and a place within so many circles.... a place to hold her head high and find confidence in her own existence and a sure pathway to walk.

And so she'd brought Adelyn along in the wagon to get started, knowing the two would need privacy and a chance to talk and work out the original plans for the grotto before Viskyia turned Jobbie and a work crew loose on it. Most of it though, would be done by the women... only stump removal and such taking place via the helpers.

"We're here finally... I know its not much... just a wild piece of land, but its going to be something very special." She said softly, turning to smile at her friend as they parked the wagon by the edge of the weaver's wood and a pathway Viskyia had already cut into the piece of sheltered land.

[Adelyn Weiss]

Adelyn laughed to herself at how quickly she had gotten herself involved in projects, but her eagerness was sincere. There was no reason at all to question Viskyia's intentions so she didn't, even as they neared a completely open and empty space by Weaver's Woods, a place she had heard might be dangerous. Adelyn's friend had big dreams and plenty of plans to go around so she figured this was just another one of them. "Special?" she asked quizzically, "Well, what do you mean, Viskyia?"

They had traveled with a work crew so surely there was work to be done, but Adelyn wasn't quite sure where to begin considering it was near well, empty. The location reminded her of a secret meeting location. "Oh, secret location, hm? Alright so what's the plan?" the girl joked, unaware of Viskyia's actual ideas.

[Viskyia Crow]

They were coming in advance of the work crew Jobbie would lead... he was her groundskeeper and good friend... recently married to her housekeeper Bunny. He was amazing with plants and landscaping, and a fair hand with the horses, so it meant a lot to Visk to trust him to help with the project. But first, there was the project to explain to Adelyn.

She latched the brake on the wagon, dismounted it, and waited for Adelyn. Once the girl was on the ground beside her, Viskyia carefully bared her wrist to Adelyn. Upon it was an elaborate eye, fresh made in bright inks and lined with black. "It's an Awakened Eye...." She explained carefully, her eyes looking from the tattoo on her inner wrist to catch Adelyn's eyes. "Ever since I visited Demios, the first time, strange things have been happening. Someone's been watching over me, teaching me, and .... freeing me from so many of the chains I was willingly carrying around." Viskyia said softly. "I've never been one for religion, but somewhere along the way a planetar took an interest in me and did me a great favor. I used to carry a brand on my inner ear... a brand of slavery because I was a runaway from a Vortexian house. She... Kaimelea took it from me. For some reason... somehow... she's taking an interest in Demios, and its the best thing thats ever happened to me, Adelyn. She's showing me... teaching me.... how to move between planes, how to work magic of the mind... how to fly. This place...." Viskyia took a breath and started walking down the fresh cut trail... which opened up into a small sunken valley with a small bubbling spring. "This place is going to be a garden to honor her. I want to turn it into a grotto dedicated to the Dreamer... a garden paradise where women like us can meet, grow stronger together, free ourselves of our chains and the weights on our soul, and strengthen ourselves for the future to come." She added.

"Things aren't so great in the Empire. Nexus felt it acutely with the crime and corruption. Paxia felt it too when the Empire didn't come in time, didn't care until the threat had passed and the true criminal went free. Temujin told me.. he saw the mage with his own eyes letting the hordes in through rents in the world.... there's a thousand stories like Paxia and Nexus... a thousand. Sheria is going to be another. But I don't want to be part of any more of them. I've picked Demios to take a stand. I've been offered a place with Kaimelea, to dreamwalk, to utilize weapons those that threaten us can never understand or fight.... and all in the name of security. Together, when things get really bad... really corrupt... we'll have a stronghold and a support group, Adelyn. That's what the Crystal Gardens' is going to be.. a focus. I dream that Her followers will come. I dreamt that you would come. We're going to have a fortress, an infrastructure, and we're going to control what we can of Demios to protect it... and if we start now, we won't be caught unaware." The jeweler said, still walking. They were standing in the middle of the grotto now. "I have no idea why you decided to come... what brought you here. But there's good people here. The Paedia is full of them. The city itself is too. There's evil here... true evil and things we don't fully understand and may never understand totally... but the important thing is.... we act now. This ... this Grotto of Dreams is my thanks to Her, for waking me up... for teaching me to dream, and giving me the confidence to go forward. It's going to be here that we meet. It's going to be here that we dance to honor Her, and dream together.... " Viskyia finished, taking a breath and looking around. Of course, Adelyn couldn't see what Viskyia saw in her minds eye... a magnificent garden filled with fantastical topiary, sculpted streams, a statue or token of her honor, and as many Cathedral geodes that she could import. All the jeweler could do was be honest with Adelyn, and let the other woman decide for herself... to help, to ask questions, to walk away.

[Adelyn Weiss]

Carefully Adelyn dismounted the wagon after her good friend Viskyia. She dusted off the non-existent dust from her pants and marveled at the location the two women were now standing on. For sure a lot of work was going to be needed because for now there lay only a path but no foundations for anything, at least not to her knowledge. Adelyn had yet to hear Visk's grand ideas, as they were wont to be, or all the plans she had heard from her friend anyway.

Suddenly the half-esh turned to Adelyn and without explanation bared her wrist for the petite human to see. Without a word, and no look of surprise Adelyn squinted her eyes to look at the tattoo more closely. It was a nice tattoo, and one she recognized. As Viskyia said, it was an awakened eye. She wasn't sure where she had seen it before but it looked awfully familiar. As her friend spoke it dawned on Adelyn that the eye was a sign of Kaimelea, Goddess of Mysticism. She knew this, of course, because Adelyn had spent some time training.

Signs of affection and care could be noted from her facial expressions as the girl listened to her friend's story. Truly she was touched that Viskyia would share this much with her without even asking. "Demios definitely has worked its magic on you, Viskyia Crow, in more ways than one it appears. I believe in Kaimelea, though mostly for her being the Planetar of Mysticism. Not until now did I realize she also controlled the dream realm. It makes sense... A lot, actually." Adelyn nodded and grabbed her friend's hand, the one with the tattoo, and squeezed it gently, continuing, "I am glad she has done this great favor for you. Kaimelea has done a great many things and now this is the proof. My faith in her is renewed, and I feel strongly honoring her is the right thing. You no longer have to be a mental slave to your past. The mark is gone, gone Visk." She smiled, and let go of her friend's hand. From her own dangled the leather thong bracelet Viskyia had made and given her what felt like ages ago. The white stone hawk rocked back and forth slowly.

As Viskyia talked on Adelyn couldn't help but agree. At the age of 19 eras Adelyn had seen and felt too many injustices done not singularly to Paxia, but also to Nexus. "I, too, want to take a stand. I feel as you feel. Security is of the utmost importance. Never again do I want people to experience what happened in Paxia. It's only too sad to see things go poorly in Sheria as well. There has to be more that can be done..." her voice broke slightly, moved by all her friend had said. "I dreamt of coming, too, but I do not think Kaimelea has yet touched me, inspired me as she has you. Perhaps not sure if I was a true believer, she has so far doubted me. But I am here, and I am willing to help, to honor, to fight back, to dare to dream."

The small spring before them was calming. It bubbled feverishly, almost as excited as the pair of them. For a while Adelyn said nothing, letting it all make sense in her head. It took a bit to settle in her head. She turned to Viskyia, looking intently into those citrine eyes, "This is all a bit much, Viskyia. What evil is you speak of... or is that not entirely clear yet? Kaimelea may reveal it all with time, but I would like to know what you know if you'd be so kind enough as to impart me with your wisdom. And this dreamwalking you speak of, what does it feel like? What is it, even?"

Her brows were furrowed in serious curiousity. Each day Viskyia threw a new surprise her way. There was no end to the excitement she brought to Adelyn's life. This was what she really wanted - change, progress, efforts that would not go to waste, as they mostly did in Paxia. That was why she had left after all... though the nagging feeling that something more had called her here to Demios hung in the air.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia smiled as Adelyn took her hand. It felt... somehow freeing to speak so openly to someone. This was what Viskyia pictured family to be about. There was a safeness in their converstation, and though Adelyn hadn't been around for a while, the jeweler knew her words wouldn't be mocked. Sure, Adelyn wasn't a blind fool. She had her own strong opinions and viewpoints, but the woman was accepting and open to new ideas, and the converstation was proof enough that it was what it was. Confidence and trust. Openness. It sent a smile blazing across Viskyia's citrine eyes.

"Gone... long gone, Adelyn. I agree." Viskyia said softly then quieted to listen to Adelyn's words. Gods... if she had half the young woman's passion. The jeweler nodded, listened, even as Adelyn laid out all of what Viskyia was feeling in words far more sensible than the half-esh could never manage. Adelyn was right. Absolutely right. And it sent such a thrill up Viskyia's spine she couldn't really vocalize how important the instant was.

She tried anyhow.

"That's what we need to do here, Adelyn. We need to establish a base of operations. Secure it with cash on a front that benefits the community. Then we need to train... and what I learn I can teach, what you know you can teach. What others know, they can teach... we will all strengthen each other. And continue to do so, providing encouragement and setting goals. Once we have the financial means, we make sure Demios is a bastion for what we need... an unbreachable haven. Then, we move outward, onto the Dream Realm. We seek others like us to buoy up our numbers and fill in their strengths where our weaknesses lie." She took a breath, uncertain how to voice this. "There's a lot of enemies out there. Some are real, some are things that go bump in the night that we pray to Kaimelea aren't real...but are. We prepare. There are things She's going to ask of us, and in exchange, we're going to get the training and ability from her to be able to pick our own battles in the greater whole of Telath. Perhaps for the next war, if we are all ready, we can taint the dreams of the enemies and never allow them to sleep peacefully again. Dreams have real power. They can heal, and even kill sometimes, Adelyn. Thats what I'm learning right now, along with my mysticism. I know you already know some of it, and more of it will come. Together, as a whole, we are going to be a lot stronger as individuals. That is what this is all about... building a Reverie here. This grotto is just the beginning." The jeweler said, looking intently at her friend as she leaned against a shovel. Adelyn's questions came out calmly, and Viskyia nodded.

"I have a ten year old I adopted. He's growing at a phenomenal rate. There was a war here, a mer war, where many children were homeless... it was two.. three years passed. Something happened to him... somehow... that tainted him. I'm trying to fix it, but I'm just one person. That war was hideous. The enemy was misunderstanding, anger, outrage. Both sides refused to listen to one another. They got out of control, treaties broke down, war ensued. This island bled. Now no Mer are truly welcomed here. Not really. Those things are first and foremost our enemies. The entirety of misunderstanding, lack of direction, and narrow mindedness. We can fight this. Other enemies are more tangible. They are people that tend to want to restrict others. Risthal is one of those, sending her nightmares and caging people in fear and doubt. She's by far the biggest, and one Kaimelea is fighting tooth and nail. She'll need our help, for as Kaimelea is gathering forces, I cannot imagine the Goddess of Nightmares isn't as well." She said gently, then took Adelyn's hands. She turned them over, and gently shaped them into claws.

"Imagine your hands becoming talons, Adelyn... sharp wicked gryphon talons. Then reach out and rip the reality of the world and step through into a whole different Plane... the Plane of Dreams. There are cities there, and places just like here, though it doesn't follow all the rules. I can do this, Adelyn... and you can learn as well. When I go there, as I do in dreams, I become a white gryphon and take on a new name... Nychi... it means Talon. Others can do what I do as well. We'll help you... we'll teach you, and then you too can combat what we need to fight on a whole new level. " The half-esh said quietly and passionately. She stared deeply into Adelyn's eyes, willing the woman to believe her.

"I promise. We aren't going to let Demios fall again, not to corruption and injustice and raw anger. We won't let others fall victim elsewhere either. But we have to train and get stronger first. And to do this, we need to do it together." Viskyia said softly, then turned her wrist over, staring at the awakened eye. "I'm awakened. I know now that things that go bump in the night are real. I'm not going to be caught out unprepared or ignorant again. Join me, Adelyn... and the others that will come. Kaimelea has promised. Together, we will make this happen..." The jeweler said, her citrine eyes fierce suddenly. She meant every word she said, every single one...

[Hay'aan Benedict]

ooc: jumping in with permission!

Hay'aan had promised Viskyia that she would help with the ... well, she wasn't really sure what it was that she was helping with but she knew that Viskyia had said about some manual work that needed doing, and so Hay'aan arrived. Dressed for work in a pair of loose but sturdy black trousers and a black top, she had tied her hair back out of the way and she was wearing her sturdy boots.

She saw that Viskyia and Adelyn were working on something, although what this piece of land was going to be she could not tell. She walked forward, though and smiled her soft and almost-shy smile. It meant a lot to Hay'aan that Viskyia had welcomed her into her home, into her workplace and had done so with the intensity and ferocity of spirit that Hay'aan was coming to know was a characteristic trait of Viskyia. That ferocity had meant a lot to Hay'aan and continued to do so, so she was more than prepared to do whatever she could to return the favour in some small way. If that meant coming and helping with lifting and carrying, then so it was, and it was her pleasure to help.

"Serale" she said, looking at them both and then dropping her gaze as was her habit. She glanced around the wild area and then forced herself to look the two women in the eyes once again.

"What can I do to help?" she asked. Shy and bookish Hay'aan might be, but she was willing to get herself into the thick of things and get on with the job.

[Adelyn Weiss]

OOCSorry for the delay. School has definitely been keeping me really busy.

Viskyia's words were fierce, strong, and ultimately passionate. All Adelyn could do was listen and take in all of what she was saying. At times her eyes widened, nodding when appropriate, or gasping at the horror. A strength grew in her she had not known before, powered by the raw energies Viskyia seemed to possess.

"As a base of operations this place is perfectly beautiful. We are one with nature and we can feel free to dream underneath the stars together here. I am a Mystic and by all means I can share what I have learned with others that want to fight alongside us against any enemies we come across. And there are other forms of combat I am interested in training in," and with these words Adelyn pounded her shovel into the dirt with a solid resolve. "Whilst I know nothing of the dream realm up to this point I believe it wholeheartedly and even if it not be real - dreams affect us all."

Her hands went into Viskyia's who molded them into claws, asking her to imagine them be talons. A cold breeze came just then and the sensation of flying overcame her. For a brief moment it was as if Adelyn could fly, but it felt more like floating... "Nychi. It fits you Viskyia. When the time is right I will know my own dream form and we will fight together with whomever wants to join the cause." The citrine eyes gazed intensely at Adelyn, a deep sense of understanding created between the two. The awakened eye on Viskyia's skin meant a lot and Adelyn only hoped to have her own soon.

It was then that another woman walked the pathway into the grotto. She seemed to know Viskyia and so Adelyn smiled widely at the gorgeous shy-looking woman. "Serale! My name is Adelyn Weiss, and it's a pleasure to meet you. We are only just getting started... we are basically just going to clear some of the area and perhaps do more... but I leave the ideas for the grotto to Kyia here." She leaned against the shovel, placing one of her leather boots atop the metallic part of it.