11-19-2020, 04:07 PM
is this the end of everything?
STRAIA
or is it just a new way to bleed?
Her request is met with a surprising amount of agreement. The faeries are not necessarily the most agreeable creatures, but then again, Pangea had never been theirs. No, Pangea was an abomination, a reminder that even the faeries are limited and cannot control everything. There are no true gods, at least not in this world, for there are always powers that can contend with another.
Straia returns from the mountain, a raven flying above her with the pinecone held gently in one taloned foot. She can feel the magic of the pinecone and it is clear what the Ice Fairy wants her to do. Though the fairy’s words were few, there was a deeply rooted understanding that passed between them. Straia does not know if it is the magic of Beqanna that tells her or unspoken directions from the fairy. In the end, it doesn't really matter though, for she knows what needs to be done.
Once she descends from the Mountain, taking the slow way down to ensure that she is being respectful, Straia disappears, appearing again in the middle of Pangea. The raven lands, the pine cone still in its foot. Using a familiar magic, one the Chamber had given her long ago, Straia rips out a piece of her heart, tucking it into the pinecone itself. It is not Atrox’s heart, buried beneath the dirt, but it is something. If ever her heart belonged to anything or anyone, it is the Chamber. It would always be the Chamber.
Straia takes a step back and the raven bursts into flame. The pine cone burns and before long it is not just the pinecone that burns but Pangea, the tiny little pinecone now a raging inferno. The fire will not burn the equines that call this land home, but it will purify the land. So many see destruction in fire, but Straia does not. She has never seen destruction in fire.
Around her she can see the Chamber forming, the pine forest of her youth appearing inside the flames, the small knoll in the center of the kingdom where she’d called meetings so many times. She can feel the magic at work, and she responds, directing just a bit what the fairy had given her. Straia calls to the river that winds through Pangea and roots it in place. She holds fast to the cliff face that bears Ghaul’s memorial, and the mountains of the Chamber take on some of the yellow and red coloring of Pangea’s canyons.
Slowly, the fire dies. Straia stands in the center of the territory, on the knoll that is so familiar to her, the pine forests around her misty with smoke that has not yet cleared. She is home. Home, home home. The word beats like the soft thudding of her heart, burned into the earth along with the pinecone. She has no idea if such a thing will last, but still, it is satisfying and comforting to feel the familiar pulse of life beneath her feet.
The Chamber lives.
She calls to her people then, inviting them to come if they wish. Her plans had never been a secret, but she had never asked their permission either. Though she knows Ana had dreamed of bringing the Chamber back, and her support might be enough. Or perhaps the Pangean’s would not care. In the end, this was only the beginning. She did not know exactly what else they ought to change, only that they could change it. She knew that they could remake Beqanna as they wanted, and she has always dreamed far too large.
”I have spoken of remaking Beqanna,” she says, broadcasting to her voice to all who wish to hear her. ”This is but the beginning. Tell me what changes you would like to see in Beqanna, and together, we shall make this world better for all.”
****
If you want to bug Straia, please feel free, but this isn’t a mandatory meeting (open to horses from other kingdoms….it would be pretty easy to spot a giant kingdom-wide fire). She welcomes help, thoughts, suggestions, etc. etc.
Straia returns from the mountain, a raven flying above her with the pinecone held gently in one taloned foot. She can feel the magic of the pinecone and it is clear what the Ice Fairy wants her to do. Though the fairy’s words were few, there was a deeply rooted understanding that passed between them. Straia does not know if it is the magic of Beqanna that tells her or unspoken directions from the fairy. In the end, it doesn't really matter though, for she knows what needs to be done.
Once she descends from the Mountain, taking the slow way down to ensure that she is being respectful, Straia disappears, appearing again in the middle of Pangea. The raven lands, the pine cone still in its foot. Using a familiar magic, one the Chamber had given her long ago, Straia rips out a piece of her heart, tucking it into the pinecone itself. It is not Atrox’s heart, buried beneath the dirt, but it is something. If ever her heart belonged to anything or anyone, it is the Chamber. It would always be the Chamber.
Straia takes a step back and the raven bursts into flame. The pine cone burns and before long it is not just the pinecone that burns but Pangea, the tiny little pinecone now a raging inferno. The fire will not burn the equines that call this land home, but it will purify the land. So many see destruction in fire, but Straia does not. She has never seen destruction in fire.
Around her she can see the Chamber forming, the pine forest of her youth appearing inside the flames, the small knoll in the center of the kingdom where she’d called meetings so many times. She can feel the magic at work, and she responds, directing just a bit what the fairy had given her. Straia calls to the river that winds through Pangea and roots it in place. She holds fast to the cliff face that bears Ghaul’s memorial, and the mountains of the Chamber take on some of the yellow and red coloring of Pangea’s canyons.
Slowly, the fire dies. Straia stands in the center of the territory, on the knoll that is so familiar to her, the pine forests around her misty with smoke that has not yet cleared. She is home. Home, home home. The word beats like the soft thudding of her heart, burned into the earth along with the pinecone. She has no idea if such a thing will last, but still, it is satisfying and comforting to feel the familiar pulse of life beneath her feet.
The Chamber lives.
She calls to her people then, inviting them to come if they wish. Her plans had never been a secret, but she had never asked their permission either. Though she knows Ana had dreamed of bringing the Chamber back, and her support might be enough. Or perhaps the Pangean’s would not care. In the end, this was only the beginning. She did not know exactly what else they ought to change, only that they could change it. She knew that they could remake Beqanna as they wanted, and she has always dreamed far too large.
”I have spoken of remaking Beqanna,” she says, broadcasting to her voice to all who wish to hear her. ”This is but the beginning. Tell me what changes you would like to see in Beqanna, and together, we shall make this world better for all.”
****
If you want to bug Straia, please feel free, but this isn’t a mandatory meeting (open to horses from other kingdoms….it would be pretty easy to spot a giant kingdom-wide fire). She welcomes help, thoughts, suggestions, etc. etc.