Aeternita: Now some distance from the group Nita's soft amythst eyes lift to the sky and the stars through the trees. Things have been...hard and confusing. She doesn't understand Ana's indifference and why she would act the way she is towards her. Then there's the caravan...Whatever group she's with now, they seem very capable...they're doing a lot of good for a lot of people. Nita slumps to her knees and looks down at her palms. They're healers...and a constant reminder of what Nita has lost along with her magic. Even this forest...she smiles half heartedly as her hand lightly lays upon the side of an amazingly large tree, her fingers tracing the lines of the bark...she can't feel anything from it, just an emptiness in her heart that used to be a thriving power that matched that of the nature around her. What now? What could she possibly do now...?
The Oracle: "It'd be dead, neh?" Came a voice from nearby. Not so nearby, perhaps, as to scare Aeternita, but close enough that whomever it was was definitely within running distance. And under the moonlight, and the stars, and the frigid bite of winter that slithered through the air, came a woman with dark skin, and darker eyes. She's dressed rather simply, but the heavy gold at her neck and her ears is reminiscent of, perhaps, a pirate, or a gypsy. Or a fortuneteller...She rests a hand on her own nearby tree and looks up at it. "They'n all be dyin', an' fas'er than I kin e'en reck'n. Tha's th' price o' losin' th' leylines..." She then nods. "Bu' th' people, ah yeh, they's findin' they's own, now. Talen's they had an' ne'er e'en tried a'fore when they's ha' the magic."
Aeternita: A surprised squeak escaped Nitas lips, one that brought a quick embarassed flush to her face. Quickly she snapped her wings behind her and out of sight before sighing and assuming its probably far too late for that. Turning towards the sound of the voice she met the dark gaze of this stranger, the moonlight in her own eyes making them seem brighter by contrast. Those bright eyes then fell to the floor, a sad smile curling the corners of her lips. "...They only thing I know is magic...I trained most of my childhood...my adolesence. I was made to be a priestess, to server the highest of the high..." Her voice softens to a near whisper. "...I can't serve anyone now...it's all i know..." She doesn't know why she's even speaking so candidly to a complete stranger in the woods, but she is all the same. She shakes her head. "...Talents?" She chuckles, though it's filled with desperation. "...The only talents this new world has revealed to me, is my talent to kneel and to draw a crowd..."
The Oracle: The woman now comes over, slowly, but with purpose. And her steps carry a weight to them, and it's almost as if the world around her suddenly pauses, holding its breath, the air grows still, and even the birdsong dies down. Crickets go utterly still, and soon the woman is before Aeternita, appraising her with those deep eyes that seem to hold the epitomy of mystery within them. She looks her over, walking around her, and then comes to stand before her again, hands on her hips, her tongue clicking inside her cheek. "Yeh be talented. I sense yeh has a kin' heart. A bi' o' kin'ess can go a lon' way, yeh? Yeh has hear', an' yeh has spiri', an'...yeh has hope." She raises an eyebrow, gazing at Aeternita sternly. "Yeh be'n hurtin' yeh? Bu' no', I t'ink, from teh Empire..."
Aeternita: Nita tenses at the womans approach, watching her with suspicion and caution...The quiet is immeadiately noticble as the woods become deafeningly silent and her heart begins racing in her chest. Who is this woman..? She can't help but feel like some sort of creature being circled by a predator as thiswoman looks her over, Nita watching her over he shoulder as she passes behind her back. "...Kindness? Kindness can't help anythign when showing your face anywhere brings an immediate hatred to those around you." She then scoffs. "..Yea, maybe I had hope...once." She can't meet the womans eyes now as she is overcome with shame, knowing how this new order has taken away some of the things that made her, her. "If my talents are simply kindness and hope...I should be grateful I made it as far as I have..." She then shakes her head,trying to nonchalantly wipe her eyes. "...It doesn't matter."
The Oracle: "Oh, nah. Neh, yeh're wron' there, child." The woman sighs deeply. "I' matters to one. One who nee' yeh more now th'n e'er. E'en tho' she don'a remembeh who yeh are. Aye, an' tha' the'e no' be 'er faul'." And now she was coming directly to the heart of the matter. And for a brief moment, in the moonlight, and the darkness, perhaps the faintest image of Esylana was there, the Esy she knew, smiling, laughing, but then frightened, and in pain. The heavy, familiar scent of that wretched "Empire's Kiss" wine that was used to make slaves want more wafted through the air, and the faint, distant echoes of screams, of pleas could be heard. "Sh' had hear' whe' she left, bu' comin' back wasn'a smooth as she though', neh." And the sensations faded into nothingness, as though they had only been hallucinations, or illusions, and the woman paces away slowly, shaking her head. But she doesn't go far, before turning and leaning against the tree, her ever-appraising eyes staring at Aeternia, as if waiting for something.
Aeternita: Her eyes widen as the phantom Esy forms in front of her, Nitas hand instictively reaching out for just a moment. The light of the moon catches the welling of tears in her eyes before they roll down her cheek, her arm falling with the fading of her friend. "...Esy..." She whimpers softly. If it's true...if she doesn't know who I am anymore...is going to her really the right thing, she wonders. "Wh-what should I do...? I..." She looks down at her hand again as a tear falls into it. "...If I'm just a stranger now...Am I not more of a burden and a danger for her than anything...?" Her fingers curl into fists. "I-It's not fair...It's not... The one thing...The one thing I found in this world that made me feel whole again!" Her voice grows angrier as her emotions rise, the excitement, the joy, the relief that finally she wasn't really alone anymore...stripped away. Of course she's beyond happy to know she's safe but...but what about herself? It wasn't fair. When will this world just stop torturing her?
The Oracle: "Yeh shoul' follow yeh hear'. An' kno' tha' tha' one walks e'er alone." She nods back towards the camp solemnly, a grim look in her eyes. "She be'n a slave lon' a'fore tha' Empire, yeh, an' th' Lan' be o' har' Master." The Oracle scowls deeply at this, closing her eyes in the moment of lamenting, before opening them again. "She be givin' all, an' for wha'? A worl' she barely kno', an' los' all memory of. If'n yeh wan' th' full truth. Then go ta 'er. Or go, an' seek a new Fate, yon' in th' world." She doesn't move, nor does the rest of the world, still holding it's breath for this strange woman. As though her words held a weight, and that the decision to be made just might be final, and perhaps irreversible. But that was silly, wasn't it? One was in control of their own destiny, weren't they?
Aeternita: She slowly fell to her hands and knees, her forehead pressed lightly to the ground as she sobbed...she cried for Esy, she cried for herself...overcome with shame that she'd leave someone she claimed to love and hold so close to her heart, for such a selfish reason. So what if Esy didn't know her, should that have ever been a reason to not be there for her everytime she could be? She cries for the world she knew...unable to let it go before she finally grieves for what she lost. This is a new world now, with new rules and laws...everything has changed, she sees now that she has to change with it...but not without always still being true to herself. She won't let the adversity here silence her heart, no...she does have hope. She'll always have hope and she'll spread it to all who need a spark of it in their hearts. Her eyes open, her fingers cruled up in the soft earth beneath her as she catches her breath from her cleansing cry. Nita then pushes up to her feet, wipes her tear streaked cheeks and inhales deeply...it filling her soul with renewed purpose.
The Oracle: The night was alive. Alive with the sound of crickets, the sound of the forest, the dancing of the midnight light from both stars and moon. The wind was blowing, cold and fresh, winter was here, it seemed to say. And the Oracle was gone. That woman had vanished, without leaving behind so much as a broken stalk of grass. Had she really been there, now came the uncertainty. Or had it all just been an internal struggle for Nita all along? Did it matter? The soft campfire glowed in the dark, in the distance - a beacon back to the camp from whence she'd just come. And on the opposite side of her, the forest stretched away into the night, the moon illuminating the ground as if it were a path to some unseen story. It was time to choose. And it was her decision, now feeling freed from the loss, even if only long enough to do what she needed to do.
Aeternita: A gentle smile paints her face, her hand pressed together as though in prayer. She closes her eyes and whispers under her breath. "Thank you..." Whatever force she just experienced, mortal or immortal...she'll be grateful forever for taking her and bringing her back from the abyss she had fallen into. Without even considering the path behind her, she walks purposefully back to camp...knowing she's going to find her place here. She'll be the light, the power of the heart that will see people through whatever is coming. Her strength was never battle or strategy, it was love...and with it she'll inspire those around her to accomplish their goals, to continue on...and to make the change that this world needs.