[Y] The Matter of the Golden Tree Spirit [Zekiel | Nuawahn]

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

A ghost, they said. Some strange spirit slipping amongst the trees just inland of the shore around Ilidan. After the events which transpired in Pajore, the already anxious and easily spooked peoples of Yael had been even more fervent and suspicious. One of their own Chosen had been dragged from thin air before their very eyes — for those in attendance — and from what Zekiel could discern, those who hadn’t witnessed it themselves understood the situation to be worse than that, inflated beyond recognition after having been retold and spread, gaining volume along the way.

Some feared the Sanctum had been taken down, or half the church had disappeared, the High Priest and Priestess had been abducted or overrun by black demons.

He spoke to each family in turn that came to him, and traveled himself among the people. In his first days, there was never an idle moment. This, though, was a repeated concern. ‘He’s out there! He’s watched us and moves between the branches…’ ‘It’s another demon!’ ‘Pale, pale like gold in the dark! Spun of sun and moonbeams, I reckon…’ One woman in particular was convinced it was out to steal her newborn.

Zekiel tried not to smile overly much, but it was difficult to find the situation anything but curiously wondrous when every single person brought him a different description of the same story. He decided not to explain it to them as such and instead gave his sincerest assurances that he would take protective precautions and investigate the matter of the spirit himself.

It was a warm evening or late afternoon, the sun painting the tree leaves with glints of gold and the air gentle about him, barely stirring. He carried nothing with him but what he wore and took no guards. Despite the fear he saw in the eyes of his people, the gods had not put the same fear in his heart, and he went with instinct, letting his feet take him where they may and trusting that the situation would unveil itself as the gods saw fit.

Even if nothing came of it so far as the ‘spirit’ was concerned, it was a beautiful evening, and would be a treasured walk just for that.  

[DraconicFeline]

The Only Black Uke

Nuawahn intended to explore this funny dark island, but he'd gotten distracted not long after he came off the boat. This was not unusual for him - it had been a while since he'd seen such interesting trees. He had, of course, climbed them - they were so much nicer than the mud below - and proceeded to frolic in them for a little bit, leaping from branch to branch the way he'd learned as a child in Jauhar keeping up with Alkidike - and Shifter - friends. Then it had gotten very dark, darker than Jauhar, and he'd summoned his lights to keep him company amid all the scary spooky dark sounds. His lights chased away his fear long enough to find something interesting - his first Yaeli.

They were out at night - he didn't know why. What he did know - or quickly notice - was their eyes. Their sparkly, sparkly eyes. Shifter eyes were silver and changed color, but these eyes... they actually glowed! Like stars! Like the moon in the sky! He'd followed them for a while, even when they'd started walking faster. It had been a fun game, seeing who could outrace who, seeing who would start running first (though Nuawahn had stuck to the trees - games were most fun when one was hidden, after all!) and fun was - he thought - had by all. The best kind of fun.

There was a whole village of these star-eyed people. With such thick, pretty hair, like spun Sauti clouds! He giggled from the trees as he played a different game - how close could he move little things to their hair with his magic while hidden, he wondered, what would stay? They reacted so suddenly to it that he couldn't help but cry out with delight. Everyone was having so much fun.

So he got a little more impish than usual, playing with the nice star-people Yaeli. Sure, their reactions were odd, but they were odd too. Surely they couldn't be frightened, not of him! They were all just playing!

The best one was when he'd crept up on a baby, with hair like spun candy. He'd pet their head and it really did, actually, feel like clouds. Clouds and eyes like a nighttime sky - they were like sky people! The mother started yelling at him and chasing him and that was a fun game too, especially when he'd splashed her with water and climbed back into the trees, quick as a Shifter. He was the best at tag - no one could catch him!

When he wasn't feeling like playing, he just watched them as they went about their daily lives. So many funny rituals! So much order in their lives! He would have gone up to them then, but that wasn't the game they were playing because whenever he did take a step out of the woods to say hi, they would look at him strangely and yell, or whisper, or point, and it was clear that he was breaking a rule. Rules were good - he shouldn't break them. Rules made things fun for everyone! So he kept playing hide-and-seek, or whatever the game was.

Right now, he was watching the road. The most interesting people came by there - travellers, not unlike himself, with nice clothes. They always looked tired, and here he was to cheer them up. It depended on the traveller, though, Nua knew (at least) that some travellers didn't want shiny lights floating by them on their way. Or fun gusts of wind. He was sure, also, that some did. He was helping!

He lay on the branch and, hearing soft steps on the road, turned towards the latest arrival - a Yaeli man with really pretty clothes, walking through the beautiful golden day. They looked so calm, so composed - it was very different from the others. Nuawahn tilted his head from side to side, thinking, letting his hair on one side, then the other. Would he play with this one?

The answer came quickly. Yes! He looked like fun! And it was a hot afternoon, maybe he would like a breeze! Nuawahn lifted himself up on the branch slightly, calling on his magic. Yes! That was what he would do.

He pulled at the air almost effortlessly, spinning it into a breeze that played in the leaves around him before dancing around the man below, a single leaf caught in its grasp. There - that was fun, wasn't it?  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Zekiel did not think to define what inspired him to pause when he did, but rather felt that his boots came to a standstill almost of their own regard, guided into stillness by some unknown impulse that he didn’t question as the air about him stirred with an almost magical liveliness. Chased them, the villagers had said. This spirit that scurried about amongst the trees, terrorizing and attempting to curse them. Since not a one had been hurt, Zekiel had come to wonder if the spirit wasn’t perhaps something like Matchitemen—a benevolent creature of the jungle, only just skirting the outskirts of society.

The tingle to the wind only furthered his curiosity, and as he stood, watching the breeze skirt and dance, drawing a single leaf up like a puppet of its choreography, he could not help but think of Tacrith—and, by some strange notion, his brother. Mostly, he supposed, for the magic they brought into a room.

Though the clergy was not taught spellwork and Zekiel himself did not have a hint of magic in him by his own guess, he had known enough of those who did to think that he could feel it when more than the gods were at play in nature. He smiled and made a symbol of blessing before his chest before letting his hands come to rest at his sides, eyes meandering up over the surrounding trees and undergrowth.

“Do you like magic, spirit?” he asked. “I should think it wondrous if I might speak with you, if it please you. I have come as a vessel for the words of my gods and my people, who are beautiful but easily frightened and find their hearts excited by strange visitors. Do you visit from the far shore?”  

[DraconicFeline]

The Only Black Uke

Have some floofy

"Mmhmm!" Nuawahn replied, before giggling and covering his mouth. He was supposed to be quiet, that was how he played the game. That was the rule, one he'd made up.

But! Rules you make up yourself can be broken, and no one else had wanted to talk to Nuawahn. So, if his pretty man wanted to talk, maybe that was the new game;

Talk! Play! Without being seen.

"Hiii!" he chirped a greeting, "I like magic!" he repeated, "It's fun!" He let the breeze swish at the nice man's robes some more, making his pretty purple hair ripple a little. "Do you like magic, too?" He hoped so. He wanted to play more!

Spirit, though. "I'm from... uh." He hesitated, "Lots of places!" he said, after a moment. It was true, though. He was wind, but his feet had taken him so many places. Everywhere but here. Or Oba. He would never be from Oba.

It took him a moment to realize the implications of what the man was actually saying. Oh! All his games, all his playing. "I'm sorry if I scared the others." he said, with very real apology. Fear was bad! "I just wanted to play. Do you want to play?" he asked hopefully.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Mmhmm!

Zekiel’s eyes flit up toward the sound, his lips curving with new amusement at the apparent spontaneity of the answer, followed by an airy giggle that seemed to bubble in the forest breeze. There was magic, though, in the next gust that danced about him. Though he had none of his own, he felt he could tell when it was present—an extra energy in the world weaving itself into the tapestry.

“I do,” Zekiel answered in response to the first inquiry. He had always liked magic, despite having no personal skill for it. “I think it is a wondrous thing. And…”

His gaze skimmed the spaces words had come from.

“You have harmed no one yet, so for that I am grateful. My people frighten quickly amidst things we do not yet understand and must only be introduced as gradually as the gods permit.” His smile returned with a particular glint to his already glowing eyes. “I would play if it please you, yes. What is my task in the game?”  

[DraconicFeline]

The Only Black Uke

"Yay! Then more magic!" Nua called up some water from the swamp below - tiny droplets that shimmered like crystal. He made them dance in the wind, and sparkle.

He let them swirl around the priest and settled the magic back down, giggling as the 'rain' pattered onto the road below.

The mans words made him feel relieved and very much not-sad. He would be gentler next time when he played with the people here, yes yes. If that was all he needed to do, then he could still play.

Play!

The sneaking games wouldn't work with this man - Nuawahn needed to play a better game, a funner game.

He had a great idea!

He knew he should remain hidden - the best games were done from hiding, after all, but he couldn't help it -- his idea needed it.

Nuawahn crawled out onto the tree branch and, dangling half-percariously from it, held out a closed hand. "Whats in my hand?" he asked, giggling excitedly, "Guess, guess!"

The rest of him was still in shadow.  

[Miss Chief aka Uke]

Yay! Then more magic!

Zekiel watched the trees, feeling a particular curiosity at the oddity of this stranger—but still no fear, just an easy interest born of the bounce in the ‘spirit’s’ voice. And he felt a prickle under his skin as the air stirred again with magic energy. It always felt alive, then, he thought, when someone who possessed the innate connection to pull on the world in that way plucked at the various strings of the elements and brought them into a dance.

When it surged up, swirling about like dewdrops spun into mythic rain, his eyes moved to chase their spin until they all pattered and tittered to the ground again. Whatever wetness might have come to Zekiel’s clothing did not concern him or even cross his mind in that instant, his attention instead flitting back to the tree when there was movement and focussing on a hand.

Guess, guess!

“More magic,” Zekiel guessed, “many waves that haven’t been given yet…just a very small part of a hug — a handshake! Five fingers and a capacity to clutch all those things you consider most wondrous to you…”

Pale fingers.

They reminded him of…

He shook his head. “A seed?”  

[DraconicFeline]

The Only Black Uke

"Those are all wonderful answers!" Nuawahn laughed. He'd never thought of those answers before - he loved them!

"It couuuuld be a seed! Things come from it, and they grow, and they are beautiful." Nuawahn said, giggling. He scooched further down the branch, "Do you like seeds, shiny man?"

Nuawahn considered his own words for a moment. "Have you ever planted a seed?" he asked, almost suddenly, as if surprised by his own question.