A Visit From An Old Friend (private: Llanwyn)

[Aerienne Sarista]

Third Cycle of Immanis
Tenth Candlemark in the Brightening of Carmelyana
The Winter of Era I of the Celestine Mandate
Thirteenth Era Post Fractum, the Second Era of the Reign of Arabella
Paradigm: The Eclipse of the Sun

The household of the Archprelatess had been cast in a somber mood ever since the Lady had returned home from Alleria Prime earlier in the winter. The sudden departure of the little Lady Fiabeth had robbed the great villa of the joy and laughter which had been so integral to the lives of the household. Certainly, the Little Mistress could be more than a handful on occasion, but her sweet-natured, innocent joy and curiousity had been a comfort to many of the staff and its' absence was very telling.

Nor was the Lady herself normal. Always Aerienne had had a kind word for everyone there, and her smile lit up rooms. She had returned from Prime worn and drawn, and spent much of her time locked away in the tower or in the restricted areas on the fourth floor when she wasn't in the Library. When she was seen, there was a pain in her eyes that she would not speak of. This alone was unusual, for Aerienne and her staff were on a first-name basis, friends, and yet now she was silent and withdrawn and it baffled the staff. There had been an unprecendented flurry of official business coming to and going from the household as well, surprising the staff. It had always been their Lady's policy to leave business at the office, as it were.

Now she came downstairs and her presence caused the staff to cease their work. She noticed, and when she came close enough, she could sense the strain and concern in their minds. It was a echo of what she had once been able to sense from anywhere in the household, and it only deepened her sense of loss. Still, she smiled for them, and inquired after their health and the health of their families. Aeri had always encouraged the servants to bring their families here, and the servants' quarters were home to many families. She had sponsored several of the older children for advanced education in the universities and keeping up with them was something that she liked to do. There were those, even now, who would dismiss the children of servants as having any potential. She had always thought such people wrong.

The answers she recieved, while encouraging, could not mask what they felt, and what they unconsciously showed. After a brief time, Aeri had excused herself and made her way into the gardens. The gardens of her estate were her pride and joy, and she'd gone to great length to cultivate them. But even here she found little joy. The little pond where Fia had once tried to catch a fish by jumping in after it didn't bring the usual fond laughter. She couldn't look at the playareas or the picnic spots, and avoided the more traveled paths. Finally, in frustration and despair, she spread her wings and took to the sky, flying low over the snowy Carmelyn plains near her home, in search of something to take her mind from her recent troubles. The fact that she was clad only in a white housedress and sandals in the middle of winter didn't even enter her mind.

[Llanwyn Siannodel]

Llanwyn was making his way on horseback to the Lady Aerienne's abode. He hadn't been to visit since the funeral he'd attended with her and was eager to see how she was doing. Llanwyn treasured Aerienne's friendship and though the two had never been extremely close (due largely to limited interaction), he had very strong feelings for her and has had them since first meeting her. "It must be her race," he's pondered on many an occassion, "Allerian, puts her emotions more on the outside and therefore she appeals more to others perhaps?" He wasn't quite sure if his logic was sound, and he didn't care. Aerienne was to him like a warm blanket. Even when he was there to comfort her, she had always comforted him.

Briigo's soft belly was warm as Llanwyn leaned down in the saddle to brush his cold hands on it. The winter air was crisp and unmerciful about him. The northern reaches had always had a way of freezing one's extremities, but Llanwyn was more or less fine. Only the tips of his ears and tip of his finger tips were cold enough to warrent attention. After all, he was Fae, a people of the forests, of nature. One thing he had taken special note of on his journey from Prime to Diana was the change in temperature. It was almost as if the lands between were perfectly balanced, for the temperature seemed to get cooler and cooler at an exact pace as he journeyed northward. This delighted Llanwyn's curiosity about the world about it. It wasn't that he had never traveled north before, just that he had never take the time to explore the change in weather by simple and steady observation as he had this time.

As he crossed a white field, the home of Aerienne in the near distance, a swooping sound over his head caught his attention and Llanwyn sat up on Briigo to observe the skies. It was the Lady Aerienne... flying in very little clothes. Llanwyn's time as a mystic had given him an insight into the mind of many, but he wasn't all that sure what would drive Aerienne to fly in such a cold breeze with little to protect her skin and eyes. Llanwyn grinned at the idea of meeting her in the sky, tapped Briigo on the head, and whispered to a sleeping Espe behind him, "Want to come flying with me?" Of course Espe awoke right away and stretched, never missing an opportunity to fly with her keeper. She morphed immediately into a nightinggale and took to the sky, followed by Llanwyn who lept from Briigo's back and with a single swoop of his oversized feathered wings was thirty feet up and on his way to Aerienne.

He flew quietly, not wanting to scare her by calling out her name, or bother her all the same. Sorrow (Espe in bird form) flew just behind and over top of him, keeping up with Llanwyn's slow speed well. The flaps of his feathered wings, a gift from the goddess Carmelya, were silent as he began to pick up speed, closing in on Aerienne within one hundred yards. He wouldn't fly up directly behind her as if to startle her, but simply get close enough to where she might notice him and then wave with a friendly smile.

[Aerienne Sarista]

Aeri had been flying listlessly about the fields near her home, not really seeing the snowy landscape or frozen Rhedrisa River below her. Her wings flapped every once in a while, the magic of her body doing more to keep her afloat than the snowy feathers extending from her back. She couldn't seem to find any peace, even in the skies! She should be appreciating the beauty of the wintery terrain and instead all she could think about were the same problems that had propelled her skywards in the first place!

She stopped and just hovered in place for a moment, considering going higher, when she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She immediately cast her mind out, then stopped herself with a sigh and turned to look. What she saw surprised and delighted her.

"Llanwyn!" She completely turned around to face him. "This is a surprise! How are you, and what brings you by?"

[Llanwyn Siannodel]

Something was bothering her, that Llanwyn knew now. She looked somewhat annoyed, or bothered, but not by his presense... by herself, by something inside. What was it though? He didn't know, but he would stand by her if she cared to share her pain. Llanwyn knew what it was like to be consistantly haunted by something deep inside, or by something he could tell another. He had long been pained by his own decisions, those he had rushed into and those he was sure he had thought through.

"My Lady!" he called out as he flew towards her. The Faerie wore a genuine smile, his cheeks beaming with warmth for her. "I came to see you of course!" Llanwyn made his way up to Aerienne and while hovering with a single flap of his wings, he made a curtious bow and offered to take her hand for a kiss. "May I visit my lady?"

[Aerienne Sarista]

Aeri couldn't help an amused smile at the Fae's gallantry. She blushed at having her hand kissed. Such things had never become something she got used to or expected. "Of course you may Llan! You're always welcome here!" She had noticed the bird who seemed to stay close to Llan the whole time and she tilted her head, a bit of curiousity coming into eyes that had had little reason to be curious about anything lately. It was a welcome change of pace and thoughts for her.

"Did you know that you're being followed?" She pointed to the flying bird.

[Llanwyn Siannodel]

Llanwyn was happy to know he was always welcome. It's just the type of thing you love to hear from someone you admire so. He had always found Aerienne to be so strong in faith and reason, a real boulder in his life, though she probably had no idea he felt that way. When Llanwyn was going through a rough time or a lack of faith, he would think of Aerienne and do his best to emulate her. She was truly a living saint in his mind.

"Oh yes," he said, looking over his shoulder at Sorrow. "That's just Sorrow, a friend of mine." He gave Aerienne a wink and asked, "Where shall we visit, it's a bit cold to carry on a conversation up here don't you think?"

Llanwyn really wanted to spend some time in conversation with Aerienne. He could sense that something wasn't right and his he had a feeling his friendly visit may become much more. But still, he looked forward to that. Llanwyn would always be there for her, regardless of the reason. She was the Church and the Church rested in his heart, as did Aerienne.

[Aerienne Sarista]

Aeri smiled at the bird, then blinked at Llanwyn's observation. She looked around, noticing the snow drifting about them for the first time. "Oh!" Now she belatedly shivered and her pale cheeks flushed pink. "Yes, let's get inside and have some nice warm tea." She turned and made a long, smooth arc down towards the gardens of her estate, her wings flaring out to allow her to glide over the plants (some covered to protect against the chill), and end in a landing on the patio. She turned and waved, then looked to the Archprelatines on duty and smiled.

"My friends Llanwyn and Sorrow are going to be coming in. Please don't worry." She opened the door and looked inside at her staff. "Please everyone, could you prepare some tea and refreshments? I wasn't expecting it, but it looks like we're having company."

The staff looked at each other, and then at Aerienne. Maybe that impromptu flight had done some good for her after all. It was with a renewed will that they set about their tasks.

[Llanwyn Siannodel]

Llanwyn grinned, "Tea indeed." He looked to Briggo not too far away and whistled for his horse to follow. Briigo did just that, beginning a lazy trot towards the house. Llanwyn and Sorrow swooped down behind Aerienne, landing a moment after she had introduced their arrival. Llanwyn's wings brought him up in an arc from his swoop, allowing him to land perfectly upright on his feet. As Sorrow came down, she landed next to Llanwyn, immediately morphing into her cabbit form, Espe. Llanwyn smiled at her and then at the Archprelatines. "My horse, Briigo, is on his way, please see to him to the stable?" He had been there several times before and he knew the routine, he also knew Briigo was in good hands.

Llanwyn popped his head inside the house after Aerienne, then entered, feeling the warmth hit his face and warm him to the bone. "Ah, warmth!" he said with a big smile, "It's perfect, thank you for having me my lady." He stretched his arms, his wings resting calmly on his back. Next to him at all times of course was Espe, curiously sniffing this and that.

"It was a long trip from Prime to see you," he said, noticing the staff for the first time in the room. "I'm glad you're actually home, it would have been quite dissapointing if you hadn't been."

[Aerienne Sarista]

The Archprelatines nodded. "Of course sir." They were of course startled by the arrival of a Fae and a shapeshifting cabbit, but they knew enough not to question their mistress's odd taste in friends.

Aeri felt a bit of surprise and pleasure that someone would take the time to come out and visit her, especially in the dead of winter. She smiled a bit, and then looked to the staff. She could sense the edginess in the nearest ones and repressed a sigh. "Everyone, please make refreshments and lodgings available for Llanwyn." She watched them file out and her face contorted for a moment as her own frustration at the situation triggering an empathic flashback.

The pain was excrucriating! Her legs wouldn't move. She looked down and saw the section of fallen wall that had her legs pinned beneath. In panic and frustrated fury she pushed at the unyielding stone. She had to get out of here! The Dianites were coming, the savages! She needed to stand, needed to fight with her sisters to save what was left of the La Femme Academy from the ravagers!

"Come on! Move!" She pushed feebly at the stone some more, trying to block out the smells of burning flesh and wood, or the death-screams of her sisters-in-arms as they were trampled by the Giants outside...

Without realizing it, Aerienne had spoken aloud the words of the doomed soldier. She collapsed suddenly, pain shooting through her legs and wringing a stifled cry from her. She could feel it. There was something blocking her! She pushed at the empty air above her legs, face screwed up in concentration, trying to remove the weight her senses told her was there. Part of her, deep inside, knew that this wasn't right. She couldn't be seeing a Fae standing in a living room and be lying in the rubble of the crumbling Academy at the same time! She couldn't be this other woman! She had her own feelings, mostly panic, fear, and frustration, yes, but her own feelings, and they and she were not a part of this woman lying pinned in the rubble of the crumbling Academy, but yet they were at the same time. If she could just find a moment's peace to separate the two!

OOC: Sorry for the delayed response. Finals are coming up and with it, paper deadlines and pressures. I'll try to be quicker on the replies but things might be a little slower than usual for the next couple of weeks.

[Llanwyn Siannodel]

Llanwyn stood in the living room admiring the beauty of his surroundings like always. Time was something that seemed to stand still when he was with Aerienne, especially at her elegant manor house. He was in his mind, remember the times he had been here before. He puffed up his chest and breathed in as deep as he could, letting it all rush back out slowly. And then with a sudden cough he leaped out of his daydreaming and back to reality, noticing that the Lady Aerienne was lying on the floor, something was wrong!

He hesitated for a quick moment, taking in what he was seeing. The Lady Aerienne was on the floor pushing at an invisible mass at her legs. She was calling out loud to the mass, whatever it was. And on her face was a look of frustration, confusing, fear and eagerness. Llanwyn had to do something. And the first thing to come to his mind was two words, "blind her!"

Llanwyn immediately stood up tall, his wings stretching out and expanding on either side of him. His mind fell into a state of meditation and within seconds he infused mana with psychic energy. As he cast the spell he called out to Aerienne, "Aerienne!" The spell triggered and the entire room was filled with a sharp, bright burst of light, capable of blinding Aerienne and all her servants for a a short time, and he hoped capable of snapping Aerienne out of her hallucination. It wasn't probably the best option, but it was his gut reaction.

[Aerienne Sarista]

The sudden exclamations of her departing servants and the bright flash of light in her eyes startled Aerienne. Suddenly she could see through the haze of mixed emotions and memories. Quickly, before the miasma could consume her again, she reached out with her mind toward the light, reaching towards the mental ground of her life and away from the lost life of the doomed soldier. She gasped sharply.

"Llanwyn?" She blinked and looked around, clearing to clear her sight. "Llanwyn? Did I--oh no!" Her pale skin flushed red as she slowly got to her feet with the aid of two maids who had come back in. As they fretted over her, Aeri gently waved them off and spoke soothing words to convince them not to worry overmuch. Then she dismissed them and looked to her Fae friend.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Her voice was low, tired, but filled with sorrow, a far cry from her soft, trilling, normal tone of voice she'd just used with her household staff. Her expressive eyes could not hide either her contrition or her shame. "I haven't been well or fully myself since I came back from Alleria Prime, and I know everyone around here has been getting worried, but so far there's been little I can do about it." She shook her head, then gave him a hug and an attempt at the smile that usually came so naturally to her. "But you've come a long way and you must be tired. Why don't you sit down and catch me up with what's new in your life while we wait for the refreshments to get here?"

[Llanwyn Siannodel]

Llanwyn shook his head in the negative. Aerienne was a kind soul, a strong personality and a humble host, but she would not escape Llanwyn's charitable heart, she could not. He moved towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. His brow was wide and his gaze serious. As he spoke, the words left his lips like a caring wind towards Aerienne's ears. He would make sure she knew he cared.

"Please Aerienne, come sit on the couch and talk with me. My journey here was uneventful in light of what just happened."

He moved to the right to take her to some surface on which to sit. The worry he felt for her was obvious in his eyes as they swelled, large almond windows to a caring heart. He wanted to know what happened in Alleria Prime and hoped Aerienne would share this with him, as it seemed to be greatly troubling her. "Should they be worried?" he asked, referring to the maids and cooks at her home. "What happened?"

[Aerienne Sarista]

This close, Aeri could not help but feel Llanwyn's concern. It went into her like a soothing warmth, easing away the remnants of the panic and frustration that had just so nearly consumed her. She made no effort to resist as he led her to the couch. Once seated, she looked him in the eye and saw his care, and a bit of her true smile showed.

"I hope that they, and you, don't need to worry too much. I...well...I experienced a visitation." She took and released a deep breath. Though she had spoken of it to a couple of good friends, and had sketched in the situation to her household staff, the full enormity of the events still stunned her. "Diana came to me in my office in Prime, and...well, long story short, She has removed me as Archprelatess. She feels that I have failed Her and the Church." Her smile had vanished, and her eyes were filled with pain and sorrow. "She has stripped away my inborn telepathy and empathy, except when I'm a few feet away from others, and She forced upon me the thoughts and feelings of all who fought and died during the attack on Tirisfal, the fall of Zerdargia, and the recent meteor shower in Imperia. And since She has taken my power to understand and use all of the other Spheres of Arcana, except for Thaumaturgy, I cannot try to create a spell powerful enough to contain the chaos inside me." She swallowed harshly, forcing down unwanted feelings of helplessness. This close, she might accidentally broadcast them and she didn't want Llanwyn to suffer from her emotions. "My friend Z'kron has helped to ease the pain, but now I must guard my thoughts and feelings, or else the memories and emotions of other people will control me. The control doesn't always work though, and when it fails...you saw what happened." She waved at where she'd collapsed. "For a while I didn't know where I began and where that other woman ended."

She looked down. "Fiabeth had to go to Palacrisis's house for a while. It wasn't safe for her here, not with me like I am. She is still so young, so impressionable. I..I don't want her to see her mommy like this." A tear suddenly fell from her eyes. She shook her head quickly, her crimson hair obscuring her face like a veil. Intellectually, she knew that she had been right to give Fia into Pala's care for a time, until she could get this under control. But it hurt her so much, to not be able to take care of the daughter she doted on. "I know that she is in good hands. Pala will treat her like his own, and she has a friend in his daughter Meyra. I know she won't be lonely, but, and it might be selfish of me, but I am lonely without her here, Llanwyn. I have my friends here amongst the staff, and the Archprelatines, and now you, but I miss my daughter." Her voice choked off for a moment.

After a few moments, she swallowed and looked back up, her hair partially obscuring the puffiness of her eyes. "Now I need to find someone to be my successor. Diana ordered me to find my successor and to step down, but I don't even know where to begin, or how. The Concilium Prelatum is gone, the Empire is in chaos, and I can't control my mind, not completely. I just don't know what to do anymore, but I'll have to do something. Diana warned me that she was out of patience with me, and I have to somehow make everything work so that my successor won't have too many problems when he or she takes over. Dimitri and Roland are helping me, but I can't leave everything on their shoulders. I just feel...trapped. And the more trapped I feel the harder it is to keep all these thoughts and feelings inside me from taking over." She took a few deep breaths. "My best friend Elle suggested that now I have the chance to find who I was meant to be, and that others still need help. But my family, and my whole life has been devoted to the Gods. If I'm not a priestess, then who am I?" The feathers of her wings were tense and her eyes looked into Llanwyn's searchingly.

[Llanwyn Siannodel]

Llanwyn could hardly believe what he was hearing. In the hard times in which they lived, he had known Aerienne only to try her best and often do that which was impossible by anyone’s standards. She had been caring and dutiful, loving and faithful. With the Empire in the state that it had been for the past pattern or so, Llanwyn couldn’t fathom Aeriennce being to do anymore than she had, but perhaps now was a time for change to occur for the betterment of all. After all, if the gods didn’t know better, who did?

And now she was to find and announce a successor? But who? How? Llanwyn knew that whoever it was would have mighty large shoes to fill in the wake of Aerienne’s loving rule. And if the goddess Diana wasn’t happy with Aerienne’s effort, how would anyone be worthy. “Then again, maybe that is the lesson to be learned,” he thought to himself. Afterall, the Church would always be a cycle of Archprelates, a cycle of faithful, coming and going through golden ages of peace and dark times of war. It was the way things worked on Telath, the mortal world.

His delicate hand reached for hers and squeezed it as she stared at him, looking for answers. ”If you are not a priestess, Aerienne, then you are a faithful follower in whatever other path you may find yourself walking.” He hoped he had spoken comfort to her in his few words. Aeriennce seemed so lost and Llanwyn knew the feeling. He had felt it himself before, but had come to find that he felt that way for so long because he was missing the target by a long shot. He would hopefully be able to convey that to Aerienne. ”I am not sure why the goddess found displeasure in your leadership, but as you have explained, your role within the Church is not finished. You are responsible for its future in finding a new leader. You are responsible for helping to solidify the faithful in the next era of the Church. These are responsibilities above and beyond most of us.”

Llanwyn took a breath and smiled at her as he fought back tears for her. ”When tragedies happen in my life, I try not to think of the ‘what happened,’ but the ‘why did they happen.’ By asking ‘why’ we can explore a little piece of destiny for ourselves.” He grinned brighter now, ”I believe things happen for a reason. We must hold true to ourselves and the gods regardless of how long and hard we fall or how tall we climb. That is who we must be, in whatever we do.”

His right hand came to rest on her shoulder and he squeezed it ever so gently to let her know that he was there for her. He was no priest, but he had always admired their way with people and hoped to emulate just that as he helped Aerienne with these hard thoughts and crushed dreams. To be aware of the thoughts of all those who had died, Llanwyn shuttered inside at the idea. He had found himself inside the head of others in the past and rarely liked what it was like. He felt for Aerienne, he truly did, and it took all of him to not weep with her.

[Aerienne Sarista]

Aerienne could feel Llanwyn's empathetic sadness with her plight from this close range, and she reached out and squeezed his hand. She pondered his words, falling silent as she thought on what he was saying. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter than normal.

"Helping others has always been the calling I felt true to. I was trained as a healer as well as a priestess. To heal and to comfort, I think that is me. Or it always has been. You really think I can help guide the next era of the Church, even as I am now?" She looked up at him, uncertain, but with a spark of hope in her eyes. "I don't know where to begin though. How do I guide the next era, when I myself am lost in confusion? I have prayed, every night, but I do not hear the voices of the Gods. If I am without their guidance..." She swallowed heavily. "But I can't just turn my back on those in need. Can you help me, my friend? Can you give me an idea of where to begin?"