(( this relates to something that happened at the weekend (14th june). its only a small part of an ongoing storyline betwen Vex and Vyp, but i want to post it now for the people that were around the pond in TB that night))
Vypra woke early, the previous night’s events still at the fore of her thoughts.
“How could he?!” she seethed.
Vex had gone off before, often for weeks at a time without even saying goodbye…and yet, this was different. It sounded like he might not come back, or at least that he didn’t want thoughts of her interfering with his ‘work’…whatever that was.
And, to make matters worse, He’d just handed over responsibility for her to Oyhomas…like she needed a keeper!!!
She growled as she recalled him, talking about her as if she wasn’t even there…as if he had already left her behind.
It wasn’t fair! The spirits had promised her…he was her soul mate…they were supposed to be together forever!
Blindly, she pulled on the old tribal garments and walked to the elevator, descending to the plains below. The pools of vision were not the place for this quest.
Already she had begun to perform the mental preparations for communing with the spirits, willing herself into the calmness that lead to the trance state. Eventually she found herself at a small cave atop a gentle rise.
Making a small fire, she began the breathing exercises and tossed a handful of Dreamfoil onto the flames.
Taking out her spellblade, the shaman slashed her cheeks and forearms with four swift strokes. The blood dripped slowly onto the fire as she leaned over the flames and inhaled deeply.
Sitting back on her heels, her mind began to trace the spiral path that led to the realm of the spirits…
Vision darkened…
The familiar roaring filled her ears…
This was the barrier all must pass, the test of the strength of the mind of the shaman.
Sweat beaded her forehead as she called her inner fire, blazing a way through…the spirit-world manifested before her.
She stood, leaving the physical world behind, letting the sounds and magical currents wash over her.
A path lay before her and she dutifully followed it to a small clearing where the spirit of the Wolf waited.
Vypra shifted to wolf-form and assumed a submissive posture.
“Greetings little sister.”
“Greetings Wise One” she replied. The wolf instincts took over and she made the ritual greetings unselfconsciously.
“It is time to hunt.”
The shaman huffed impatiently, eager to ask her questions.
“Your spirit is unquiet little sister. Patience – we must follow the ritual.”
Again, her wolf-self was dominant and her instinct to hunt overpowered any other desire. The scent of Kodo was in the air and the earth beneath her paws vibrated with their ponderous tread.
She wagged her tail “It shall be as you say Wise One.”
His tongue lolled out in a wolfish grin “Come then” he commanded and they went forth onto the plain that both was and was not Mulgore.
Swiftly, they separated a target from the herd. Powerful jaws nipped and choked, until the kill lay spilling its last breaths before them. The herd moved on, survival utmost in its motivation.
Vypra dutifully waited until the Wolf-spirit invited her to take meat, before feasting from the kill.
Sated, the Wolf-spirit grinned once more “I believe you will need your hands for this part little sister.”
Shifting back to troll-form, the shaman took out her enchanted blade and made three precise incisions. Reaching into the carcass, she pulled the innards of the beast into view, wrinkling her nose at the smell.
Frowning, she examined the patterns. This wasn’t her preferred way of scrying, but the Ancestors presented the knowledge in their way, not hers.
“He’ll be back?” she asked hesitantly.
“Your mate is on a dark path. It diverges from your own. Should he find his way aright, you will be re-united. However, this is something he must do alone.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but the Spirit continued, its voice firm, yet understanding “ The fire within you warms all you touch. You are not alone little sister, nor shall you ever be as you walk your path, stormy though it may sometimes be.”
Her mind whirled dizzyingly, a montage of faces passing through her thoughts, so many she had known, several she had loved, all now moved on. And yet… always there was somebody to care for, who was comforted by her advice, or even just her presence…
The Wolf-sprit grinned, his muzzle level with her face as she knelt in the cooling offal “Take a tooth from the kill little sister and add it to the thing about your neck, as your token from this quest.”
Vypra nodded, her consciousness was shifting now, back to the mundane world. Quickly she wrenched the huge jaws apart and dug out a tooth.
As she turned, her vision swam, blurred as if by smoke.
“Farewell little sister”
The voice of the wolf was distorted now.
She couldn’t breath…
She peered through the tears streaming from her eyes…
The fire in the cave had almost gone out, the smoke from the Dreamfoil stung her eyes and nose as she stumbled to her feet.
Vypra staggered out into the late morning sun covered in gore, a Kodo tooth clutched in her fist.
“Damn…need ta get me a bath” she mumbled.
Later that day, the shaman sat atop the Scryer’s tower, re-fastening the collar with its new ornament about her neck.
A few hours work for the Shattered Sun Offensive had paid for the work.
“I’ll be waitin’ Vex.” She promised.
Subject: Vision quest 