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42 Lackern
We still had about 110 miles to get to Suth, on this last day of the year, last day of a dangerous month for us, the whole afternoon and evening in front of us. The mountains were rather far off, enough out of our way that it wasn't worth trying to find a touched space of the Father. I asked May what those sorts of spaces are for the Mother, and they're in forested, evergreen sorts of places. There were evergreen woods to the west of the road, and we decided to go into the woods, paralleling the road north, and hope May could find a sacred space of the Mother for us to rest in.
It took most of the afternoon until May sensed something, and past dark until we found the place, a little hill topped with a ring of trees, and fairly impenetrable (for horses, at least) brush on all sides. May and Jack made their way through the brush, careful not to hurt any growing thing, and found that the top of the hill had a small pond in it, and the center of the area was in the pond. May brought some water down to us, and it reflected moonlight that wasn't there as she poured some into her hand. It kept that light when she poured some in my hand and in Jack's hand, but it extinguished itself in Cor's hand. Not a surprise, exactly, but May wasn't sure if that meant Cor could come farther into the area of the protected space. We also had the question of what to do with the horses, which couldn't get up the hill. We thought we could camp at the top, while whoever was on main watch stayed with the horses. I disliked splitting up, even that much, but set about putting up our tents to be windbreaks for the horses (apparently there wasn't room for tents at the top, but it's warmer there).
May and Jack went back up to see the source of the space, then came down to get a rope; the center is in the pond, of course. When they came back, May told us that she'd gone to the source of the space, and had had visions in response to her thought-questions.
Apparently this last showed what the spirit of the shield is like, and May thought it likely that the battle was being fought on what would become the featureless plains in our day.
Using the other parts of the vision, May asked, "guardians, may we enter?" There was rustling in the underbrush, and an animal came out, of a sort none of us had seen before. It looked a bit like a cat, but with bit hind legs, and its front legs were turned out, with huge claws, for digging. It looked at May, waiting. She asked, "can you let us in?", and the guardian went back, and the brush drew back, making a dirt path for us to ascend with the horses. The path closed after us. Somehow the trees at the top moved somehow, too, since there was room for all of us that May said wasn't there before. The guardian came out one more time, to look at us, then went away.
We settled down for the night. May watched for the first half of the night, and I watched for the second half. When May woke me up, she told me about the birds that had been coming to tell her what they saw around the shrine, which was mostly nothing (nothing is good), or something that was not a concern for us. I was fascinated, but the birds wouldn't come to me, nor did they communicate with me. I watched as they came to see the sleeping May, and figured if one were agitated, I'd wake her up. None was; it was a very quiet night.
1 Oltaran
Happy New Year! I know we're not out of the woods yet (in many ways), but it still feels like an accomplishment to be done with Lackern. We celebrated the new year with some extra-nice rations, then decided what to do next. Jack pointed out that we'd not find as good a place to stay while they were in Suth, even though this was farther than we'd planned to be, so Cor and I should stay here while they went to Suth to find out more about the spear, and get us more supplies (food, medicines, rope, etc). Also, to send word to Darthow about Ruza.
It will take May and Jack about two days to get to Suth (I believe there will be clear weather, so I hope the journey goes swiftly and without incident for them), then two to four days in Suth before returning. If they haven't returned after eight days, Cor and I will start on the road to Suth (though possibly without the horses; I don't know if we can ask the guardian to let us pass or not.). In the meantime, I hope that Cor will have some serenity to gain peace of mind; he's been sore afflicted, and there are many hurdles still to pass.
We still had about 110 miles to get to Suth, on this last day of the year, last day of a dangerous month for us, the whole afternoon and evening in front of us. The mountains were rather far off, enough out of our way that it wasn't worth trying to find a touched space of the Father. I asked May what those sorts of spaces are for the Mother, and they're in forested, evergreen sorts of places. There were evergreen woods to the west of the road, and we decided to go into the woods, paralleling the road north, and hope May could find a sacred space of the Mother for us to rest in.
It took most of the afternoon until May sensed something, and past dark until we found the place, a little hill topped with a ring of trees, and fairly impenetrable (for horses, at least) brush on all sides. May and Jack made their way through the brush, careful not to hurt any growing thing, and found that the top of the hill had a small pond in it, and the center of the area was in the pond. May brought some water down to us, and it reflected moonlight that wasn't there as she poured some into her hand. It kept that light when she poured some in my hand and in Jack's hand, but it extinguished itself in Cor's hand. Not a surprise, exactly, but May wasn't sure if that meant Cor could come farther into the area of the protected space. We also had the question of what to do with the horses, which couldn't get up the hill. We thought we could camp at the top, while whoever was on main watch stayed with the horses. I disliked splitting up, even that much, but set about putting up our tents to be windbreaks for the horses (apparently there wasn't room for tents at the top, but it's warmer there).
May and Jack went back up to see the source of the space, then came down to get a rope; the center is in the pond, of course. When they came back, May told us that she'd gone to the source of the space, and had had visions in response to her thought-questions.
- In response to thinking about entering the shrine, she saw a battlefield, with people lying around. There was fire from the sky, and some burned people went to a stone building, to the gate, waved to the guards, and were let in. The strange part was that the people didn't look like regular people, but bonier somehow.
- In response to thinking specifically about Cor coming in, she was again on a battlefield, though a different one, and this time she was an Ovahon, riding a big-horned horse. There were things in the sky that the mounted people were shooting at. May was holding the side of a person who was pierced in one side, trying to keep him from dying.
- In response to thinking about the spear, she saw the same Orem that she and I have seen before, carrying the spear (?), charging with other Orem, going to a fin-shaped hole in the night sky, where the sky was red and the stars black. There were shields of three triangles, shaped with a triangular hole in the center, each one 10 feet to a side, white with trails of silver light. The shields were protecting them from some kind of attack. May was hit with rainbow sparkly stuff, the remains of what hit a shield, and was nowhere, knowing she was nowhere. She came back, though, and the leader waved the spear over her, making her better.
Apparently this last showed what the spirit of the shield is like, and May thought it likely that the battle was being fought on what would become the featureless plains in our day.
Using the other parts of the vision, May asked, "guardians, may we enter?" There was rustling in the underbrush, and an animal came out, of a sort none of us had seen before. It looked a bit like a cat, but with bit hind legs, and its front legs were turned out, with huge claws, for digging. It looked at May, waiting. She asked, "can you let us in?", and the guardian went back, and the brush drew back, making a dirt path for us to ascend with the horses. The path closed after us. Somehow the trees at the top moved somehow, too, since there was room for all of us that May said wasn't there before. The guardian came out one more time, to look at us, then went away.
We settled down for the night. May watched for the first half of the night, and I watched for the second half. When May woke me up, she told me about the birds that had been coming to tell her what they saw around the shrine, which was mostly nothing (nothing is good), or something that was not a concern for us. I was fascinated, but the birds wouldn't come to me, nor did they communicate with me. I watched as they came to see the sleeping May, and figured if one were agitated, I'd wake her up. None was; it was a very quiet night.
1 Oltaran
Happy New Year! I know we're not out of the woods yet (in many ways), but it still feels like an accomplishment to be done with Lackern. We celebrated the new year with some extra-nice rations, then decided what to do next. Jack pointed out that we'd not find as good a place to stay while they were in Suth, even though this was farther than we'd planned to be, so Cor and I should stay here while they went to Suth to find out more about the spear, and get us more supplies (food, medicines, rope, etc). Also, to send word to Darthow about Ruza.
It will take May and Jack about two days to get to Suth (I believe there will be clear weather, so I hope the journey goes swiftly and without incident for them), then two to four days in Suth before returning. If they haven't returned after eight days, Cor and I will start on the road to Suth (though possibly without the horses; I don't know if we can ask the guardian to let us pass or not.). In the meantime, I hope that Cor will have some serenity to gain peace of mind; he's been sore afflicted, and there are many hurdles still to pass.
