ORIGIN - The Masters of the Cave and Their Disgrace

Zutar sat near one of the ponds, with a stoic expression on her face. She had gotten over the grief of losing her mother, but the anger towards the masters, especially Astraea, remained. From what she had heard from Aetius when she was alive, Astraea was a benevolent soul. But no, that was just an act the damned deer put on for show in front of the gembounds of the cave. He would even stoop so low as to threaten to kill a mere child! She decided to push Astraea out of her thoughts for the moment, and sing an mystical yet graceful song she came up with on her own. Her British accent made her singing voice sound even more beautiful as she sang. "Let your arms enfold us. Through the dark of light. Will your angels hold us? Till we see the light." Zutar had a lovely voice. She also found singing to help her relieve stress from time to time.

OC note: This is the song she is singing. I made a minor tweak to the lyrics to make it more relevant to life in the caves, changing "night" to "light" .

@Asimona

Unrest. Dissonance. Upheaval. Despite the severance from Astraea, Tenzin could not help but pine for his connection; had he truly turned so sour? Could Tenzin yet save his part--former.. partner? Was it failure and abandonment that cursed the heart of his friend? There had been a great push of the Ruby's magic earlier and it left the ice phoenix feeling uneasy and sad. How he longed to comfort his Ruby again, if only Astraea would be willing.

It broke Tenzin from his meditation and he had risen from the lagoon to perch within the crescent-shaped hole above it, extending his senses into Fornax, listening, watching; but whatever it had been was done.

He remained in his perch for some time, a cycle of the lights grinning and dimming perhaps, until a solomn song drifted into the waterfall canopy. Tenzin had not even been paying attention to the other stones, finding solace in silence after the experience he had the previous day.

For a moment, he focused on the Black Obsidian located somewhere within his home of Pisces. Closing his eyes, Tenzin steadied his mind to read her energy, rife with turmoil and anger.

"Dear child," he whispered into her mind, still hidden away on his perch. "What troubles you so painfully?"

@Zutar

She wandered through Pisces as she usually did, icy aura cold enough to freeze much of the water in her path, the temperature here was so low. It was soothing to watch the water frost over and freeze into fractals in front of her eyes, addicting almost, so she walked and walked, bringing ice and beauty where she went.

She paused when some sound reached her ears. Someone was singing nearby. She swiveled her head towards the direction and saw a figure in the distance, sitting besides one of the pools. Curious, she changed her course, approaching them instead. They sounded...very sad, a sound that resonated in her heart. It wasn't the same deep loss that she felt when her children had left the nest...no, this was deeper.

A little concerned, she picked up her pace but slowed as she approached. She looked down at the hybrid standing before the pool and started, gently, "That's a lovely voice you have."

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Zutar
notes:

Zutar stopped singing as she heard what sounded like a kind and benevolent voice in her mind. She turned around, seeing nobody around her. Before she could delve into the situation any further, a dragon approached her, and commented on her singing. She gave the dragon a nod, as a friendly greeting. "Thank you. It was a song I came up with on my own. I'm Zutar. I'm not in the best mood these days, I hope my singing didn't disturb you."

Then Zutar put her attention back to the voice. She decided to think in her mind as a way to speak to the voice, and tell the voice exactly how she felt and what was going on. 'Astraea goes around pretending to be a benevolent master, when in truth he is a monster. I found out he killed my mother, simply because she knew too much. My mother was a snowy owl named Aetius, and she was harmless, for all she did was study the caves lore because she was a researcher. Astraea ripped my mother's stone violently from her body, and due to his magic, turned her body into a pile of goop. I only have white feathers to remember her by. Astraea killed my mother on a whim, for no reason. I hate him for it. I don't trust the masters of the cave, especially that demon deer. Not only that, Astraea threatened to kill a child, a seal pup, who witnessed his murderous deed. Astraea does not desrve to be a master.' Zutar waited to see if the voice would respond.

@Game Master CJ

Tenzin listened to her speaking mind, a sadness curling up inside of his belly; yes, it did sound like something Astraea might do, but so violently? It pained him to wonder what sorts of things cursed and hurt Astraea still, to commit such an awful deed. When she was done, he chewed on the words, wondering how best to respond. He noted her name from moments ago, glad at least a friendly face decided to approach her; Asimona was good, and could help Zutar.

"I am sorry this has happened, Zutar. It is only fair that you know I too am a master, my name is Tenzin; but we do not all operate the same, or follow the same fate. There are those of us more neutral, those of us friendly, and others... possibly dangerous. Your new friend there might have her own information, she is kind and trustworthy." He paused for a moment. "I will leave you to converse with her, but before we part ways, know too that all Gembound bodies turn to goop--it is sad, and tough to hold onto memories after--but it is good you were able to find some memory at least. Next time you visit Pisces, may I have a single feather of your mother's?" The sadness in his belly stretched and kicked. "I would like to remember her too."

@Asimona

Asimona was completely unaware that Tenzin was speaking to the hybrid in her mind and simply took the staring off into the water as a part of Zutar's sadness. She sighed softly and took another step forward, lowering herself down so that she wasn't so high above her, snaking her head down to rest on the ground. "No, it's quite alright. Why are you sad, if you don't mind me asking?"

Zutar hadn't specifically stated that she was sad, but Asimona had courted depression enough times to hear it in her voice and see it in her body language. There was loss here. That, perhaps, was the deepest sting of all.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Zutar
notes:

Zutar listened to Tenzin, and made a choice. She decided not to hold all the masters accountable for what that demon deer has done. Though, she only decided to forgive and trust Tenzin. The rest, would have to prove themselves differently. As for Astraea, she hoped his gem would be ripped out and shattered. Or at the very least, his gem revived to create someone better than him. She spoke back to Tenzin in her mind. 'Thank you Tenzin. I will definitely come back to see you, and I will grant you a couple of feathers, as you seem to be a very kind person. I hope to see you soon'. With that said, she focused all her attention on the dragon.

She spoke to the dragon with kindness laced in her voice. "I'm not sad, I am quite angry, actually. There is a master named Astraea who is one of the masters of the cave. I hate him, for he is a monster. He ripped my mother's gem from her body and killed her, turning her body into a pile of goop. Why? For no reason, just simply because she knew too much about the caves. My mother was a polite researcher, learning all she could about the caves, and he killed her just because of it. Not only that, Astraea threatened to kill a child, because the child witnessed what he had done. I hope one day one gembound can rip his gem from his body, and do what they will with it. But besides my slight anger though, I am alright."

@Game Master CJ

Tenzin falls silent, resuming meditation.

@Asimona

At the words "Master", Asimona's face fell from sympathetic to downright furious. Of course there was a Master behind this. Her great dislike and bitterness for all of those ancient creatures rose in her throat like bile and her lip unintentionally curled with disdain. The name Astraea was familiar and she faintly remembered seeing a deer in Hydra, lagging behind with the Merchant and with Vargas. And probably with Nemean as well.

"Oh, I see," she snarled. "You're mother got on the bad side of a Master. They always find fickle, ridiculous reasons to make us miserable. We're nothing but playthings for them, to be thrown away or killed at their pleasure. I'm sorry for your loss and I understand. I lost someone to a Master as well." The image (or sound, really) of Llamrei's head coming clean off her body and the sound of Nemean's mocking laughter rang in her ears.

She shook her head, her stomach turning. "I don't know of Astraea, exactly, but I'm sure he's no different then the one I encountered. What did she know that got her killed, if you know? I won't repeat it."

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags: @Zutar
notes:

Zutar felt calmed seeing another gembound and their distrust towards the masters. Though at the moment, Zutar only trusted Tenzin, for he seemed to be the only one to earn her trust. Zutar looked towards the dragon with sympathy in her eyes. "I am sorry for your loss. The masters have no right to take a gembound's life like it is nothing." Her ears flicked when the stranger asked what got her mother, Aetius, killed. Zutar gave a small sigh, and answered truthfully. "Honestly, my mother knew a lot of things. But I think I know what got her killed." She walked closer to the dragon and spoke a little more quietly. "My mother told me that she heard something big from a master named Nemean. Nemean told her what Astraea used to look like before he was a deer. In Astraea's original form, he died, then someone changed him into a deer. Aetius told me not to mention it at all, in fear that Astraea might hear. I think that is what got her killed." She turned away and sat back down. "That still gave him no right to pointlessly murder my mother! Her tail feathers ruffled in anger as she tried to compose herself.

@Asimona