"As I said, there are many fronts on which this struggle is being waged. However," Wingilmë smiled faintly at the golden-winged beauty, "you intuit rightly that–"
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The lovely muse smiled warmly, even the tribulation above unable to dishearten her. "No, not even yours, sister Sasha." Even as the tall huntress gave a sigh of longing, Wingilmë said, "You all show great heart, but it is nearly time to go. Are you ready?"
"In a sense, but not how you imagine it and not in this battle." Wingilmë laid her hand upon the Princess' blade and it dissipated harmlessly. "A war is fought on many fronts. O Sweet Princess, though you may be willing to join the battle before us, yours is not the strength needed for this fight."
When Wingilmë turned to smile at the flame-haired woman, it became apparent that she was clad in resplendent armor that seemed to be made of gold and jewels, her slender hand holding a halberd of delicate crystal. "This battle is as real as I am, sweet sister. It was for want of aid that I was called here even as the three of you were called to me..."
"Neither." The celestial nymph shook her head slowly. "It is a vision. What you now perceive is your souls' comprehension of a struggle that transcends the void between worlds."
Theme: Continuum Alis... Lureene... Sasha... Each of them had been resting peacefully in their beds when a sweet and gentle voice called out to them. "Sisters, I implore you... Please, open your eyes..." Slowly, their minds still in a fog, the three beautiful friends looked up to see an angelic face looking down at them — Wingilmë! As they got to their feet, the three found that they had been resting within a large, white pavilion on the shores of a turquoise sea, a summery zephyr rustling the fields of wheat and flowers behind them.
Theme: Awakened Soul "Indeed, she has." A soft wind stirred the branches high above, and a gentle light shone forth from the Tear of Súmalya. Nearby, a ghostly form coalesced and the assembled elves gasped in wonder at the apparition of the beloved Hetaera. Reaching out, Wingilmë placed an ethereal hand to her own heart and another to Lureene's. Her ghostly presence invoked no fear, nor her touch a chill. Instead, the redeemed succubus could sense warmth, as if feeling a surge of pride from the nymph. "Be not afraid, Lureene." Looking around, you could see the assembled elves turn, wide-eyed in silent awe. Closer to the shrine, the priestesses bit their lips to see their dear elder sister yet again. "You have friends... loves... and whosoever is loved is never alone." With a kind smile, she took her hand away and touched Alis and Sasha's hands, before turning to walk back towards the statues. "Always move forward," she said, touching each of the priestesses on the cheek in turn. "Live without regrets." She passed thru the parting crowd to the patch of bluebells. "For even should our bodies wither and fade..." She knelt and touched the twisted mithril of the butterfly. "Even should the world be torn asunder..." The air seemed to shimmer as bits of broken stone and shattered glass were reconstituted. "It was love that saved you." She looked skyward, hands raised as the magnificent butterfly rose once more, now whole. "Never forget that. When she turned, tears of joy in her eyes, each person there would later claim that she had gazed directly into their eyes as she bade them farewell after her own fashion. "Because it is by love that you will save others."
"Quickly, sister!"
Theme: Destruction of the Evil Wench As Lureene watched her companions do everything in their power to thwart Avoreen, she once again heard Wingilmë's voice in her mind. Lureene:
"Your chance is now, share in your sister's sight — the sight of Súmalya!"
Correction:
Avoreen, Amhranai, Arion, Grak,
Not one to miss out on the excitement, Sasha drew back the string on her borrowed bow and was just about to take her own shot when she heard Wingilmë's voice inside her head. "Aim true, sister, I will–"
"You are never alone, sweet Princess, do not try to be. Lend hope to strength and it becomes stronger... your allies are that strength, invest them with hope and their will shall not falter. I will be with you, I AM with you!"
Instinctively, Alis looked down and fingered the priceless stone which now shone with its own inner light, radiating a gentle warmth. In her mind, she could hear the nymph's words once more, now louder and more clear. "Should you flee, you would survive the day, yes. Yet what would caution yield that was sewn with the lives of those who love you? Our mother would gladly fight for us against her old foe, to inspire us to move forward without fear. Yet how might she despair if her daughters abandon her in her time of need? Could you still inspire a nation to tread where you fear to?"
It was everything Alis could do to fight down the surge of bile she could feel welling up at the thought of leaving her friends behind. When she heard in her mind something else Mal had said, now spoken in a woman's encouraging voice... "There's a reason good leaders are surrounded with good assets.. to use them."
Although shrieks of terror went up from all the crowd, the nymph standing by the Princess' side merely smiled peacefully and gave her a light push in the chest, fingertips brushing the Tear of Súmalya. It was just enough to send the younger woman stumbling backwards before the falling sculpture crushed Wingilmë to the ground, shattered glass spraying everywhere! Even as Alis' scream rent the air, a calm, loving voice could be heard in the hearts of others. Alis, Lureene, Sasha:
"Do not fear, little sisters, I remain with you..." Avoreen, Darvesch, Sasha, Tiniel, Alis,
The warmth and adoration in Wingilmë's smile as she gazed up at the marble countenance of the Goddess of Passion spoke volumes. "Free will is a tricky thing, dear friend, and Avoreen is not the only power capable of alluring another's heart..." She lowered her gaze, briefly meeting Sindariel's icy glare, before turning once more to meet Alis', the nymph's face a portrait of bliss. "Ours is the Queen of Hearts, and Lureene's heart no longer belongs to her mother." She released Alis' hand and took a step backwards. Smiling sweetly, she held her hands out and proclaimed in a voice that all present could understand regardless of heritage. "She entrusts it... to you, sweet Princess."
"Yes and no... Avoreen is an outsider, one who looks with desire on the kingdoms of others and would make them hers. It was from her cup that Charelle was poisoned against Súmalya. She sought to gain thru guile that which had been appointed to our Beloved Muse by corrupting her greatest servant."
"Oh yes," Wingilmë thought in reply, a knowing smile on her lovely face. "There are worlds unknown beyond ours, each defined by what portions of The Song resound there in harmony or discord, by who is invited to that choir... or remains absent." "Just as a monarch rules absolutely within their own realm, there are yet kings and queens of other realms as well as those who would usurp them. Miralas and Cainrelée govern Elsemar and the Valar are their ministers and ambassadors, yet there are other worlds with their own powers..."
The Hetaera nodded. "Just as each soul is one voice in a choir, a partial refrain to the greater Song, so too is each world a verse unto itself."
The nymph considered this question for some time before she made her thoughts known, "Súmalya, Elsemar, our souls... Vala, Maia, or mortal, all that exists has its genesis in the song of Ilúvatar."
"Yes, she took passion to excess and sought to slake her insatiable thirst elsewhere. She could not master her passion and became consumed by it. Yet she was not alone..." The nymph's gaze swept subtly towards the woman around whose waist Arion had placed his arm.
Wingilmë herself smiled. "Of that there is no doubt. Ours is a goddess of passion after all. Yet remember: untended, the flame that lights a thousand candles may be blown out. Used carelessly, it may raze the palace of your heart and burn others." She sighed inwardly and thought, "Even Azata have succumbed to such temptations..."
"Your birth-sign, yes. Whether awesome like burning hail, or eternal as the cycle of heat and rain, that duality is our nature. That we choose to be the latter... that is the spirit that moves us."
The nymph's smile was full of melancholy. she squeezed the Princess' hand even as she gazed deep into the diamond at Alis' breast, finger tips lightly brushing the stone. "Even a muse requires inspiration, you know this better than most. A catepillar must shed its cocoon to take flight." As Alis' eyes threatened rain, the nymph tenderly embraced her, one hand stroking Alis' hair that the younger muse's tears might stream down unbeknownst to onlookers. "Sweet Princess, we are not Lanscarilma to be beheld from a distance until we fall... we are flame and water reconciled in one." Rolls: Bluff Checks
Sense Motive Checks:
Face serene, Wingilmë nodded, no one the wiser that she glanced momentarily at the redheaded elf that had accompanied the Princess to the shrine. Sylvan:
"Let us walk together in private..." As Alis looked at her expectantly, anxiously, she felt a silken hand squeeze her own, as of an older sister comforting the younger. With a silent nod she assented, and the two began to stroll slowly about the garden shrine, spoken words unnecessary as they knew the other's thoughts... Rolls: Perception OR SM Checks
The Hetaera smiled gently. While Alis' question was straightforward, the fact that it was also a compliment was as plain to her as the diamond at Alis' breast. Sylvan: "I am, or rather will be. For now, *O' Sweet Princess* , I am as my name suggests, Wingilmë."
"Oh wow, she's gorgeous!" That sentiment, whispered breathlessly, no... reverently by the huntress had indeed echoed your own silent thoughts. This woman, if indeed she was not herself a goddess, was tall and lithe with hair like spun gold and skin so fair and luminous as to seem almost translucent. She had approached with the measured grace of a ballerina, violet eyes even brighter than Alis', and when she spoke, her voice was as sweet and gentle as a spring breeze. For all his charm and training, Arion could not help but blush in her presence, and Sasha simply stood with her hands clasped like a child in awe of wonder. Only Lureene, who had long been exposed to such great beauty (albeit not of such purity), retained hold enough of wits to understand what the woman said. "Blessings of the Divine Muse, and the hospitality of this house be with you, friends. I am Wingilmë , whom my younger sister call Hetaera, head of this house." "Eärissien," she held a delicate hand to the elven woman who had attended your bath, "apprised me that we had received envoys of royalty — uplifting news indeed!" Smiling gently at the golden-winged enchantress and the fiery huntress, Wingilmë took each by the hand and said, "Let us meet with the Princess as sisters before our mother's loving gaze." With that, the three beauties walked off, hand-in-hand, Eärissien kindly helping the speechless scribe to follow. Although all sense of time was lost as if in a dream, it was not long before you all stood outside, basking in the radiance that shone from the statue of Súmalya. Rolls: Will DC X
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