Okay so I appear to be posting this everywhere, but lets face it, if you're proud of something you want it to be seen right?
Based on the aftermath of this Rp
https://shinlaicommunity.forumotion.com/t105-prologue-shukierns-shattered-faith----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had been several months since the Dailian temple had been torn down by Silas, in a rather over dramatic display of strength. And for what? To try and convince a blue water Shinlai that he should join the Darkbloods? It seemed a ridiculous effort to him, if anything, it should have scared them off, not make them think ‘maybe they’re right’. Dagda huffed and rolled his shoulders as he stomped though the forest. Aggressiveness shouldn’t be needed to sway people, you had to show them why you were better, and not that you we willing to rip down temples for fun. But then again, he wasn’t a Darkblood, maybe that’s what they did?
He glanced up to the clear morning sky as he walked glimpses of blue through the dense green leaves. He was alone for once, and away from home, which was even rarer. But when Alkyone had said she was needed in Talin, he opted to go with her, wanting to visit the ruined temple. Although he hadn’t mentioned that, she had enough to worry about without him wondering around on the edge of hostile lands, but he was less of a target than she was, and so, he was alone.
He shook his head, dark red mane whipping back and forth, as he tried to banish the thoughts of being alone. He just wasn’t used to it. That’s why it was all he thought about. Right? He sighed heavily, pausing for a moment to get his bearings; to the west he could faintly hear North Temple River. He didn’t have much further to go, he should find the clearing soon. Right on cue, he stubbed his foot against a hard lump of stone. He stopped and turned it over with his foot, it was covered in various mosses and lichens.
‘Has it really been that long?’ He mused, picking up the lump of stone, turning it back and forth, before flinging it away towards the river.
‘I should have come back sooner...’ He reflected a tinge of sadness to his thoughts.
He continued walking, the trees opening out to a huge mound, covered with ivy, moss and small flowering plants. The sight of it made him stop; the full scale of what had happened hit him squarely in the chest. It hadn’t dawned on him the full extent of what Silas’s power had done to the place. The thick temple pillars were broken and scattered, lumps of stone twice his thickness were strewn through the unnatural clearing. Slabs of roof, walls and floors had covered and crushed grass for so long, nothing could grow beneath them. The slight glint of shattered glass could be seen here and there, the shards dangerous and twisted against the softness of nature.
His claws burrowed deep into the earth, his body shaking with anger at what the Kordeth brat had done to this place. That’s all he was. An immature brat, pushing smaller Shinlai over, trying to show how tough he was by decimating a place of worship. Dagda shuddered as he felt a snarl rising in his chest, and for once, he didn’t hold it back. He was alone, and he was angry. Tail lashing he snapped open his jaws and gave a vicious roar to the silent forest. The trees shook and shuddered with the force of his energy and anger, birds fleeing the scene with terrified squawks. His roar ended, but his anger remained.
With fury filled strength, he threw himself against the nearest hunk of rumble and flung it away into the forest, its rolling thuds vibrating through the earth, even when it left his sight. Spurred on by the sight of the ruin being vanished, he threw himself against a section of pillar, and another and another. By the time he had worn himself out, his anger had been replaced by grief and several large pieces of rubble had been flung away.
He hung his head, panting heavily, recalling that night.
*
"Here is something interesting..." Silas had hissed, taunting the great Elite by Dagda’s side. "You know something; you are just like that temple. Stoic and strong, really something magnificent. But behind all of your strength, confidence, and will, all you have to do is apply the right kind of pressure to send it all crumbling down." He spat, a malevolent grin on his face.
Rondun’s reaction was to be expected, with a roar he had moved to attack the much smaller Shinlai. But Dagda’s words had managed to halt him. “You forget something Silas. Unlike that temple, Rondun is capable of healing with time, he’s capable of fighting back and he has many friends alongside him.”*
He shook his head. He didn’t need to think about that night, but he couldn’t help it, being back at the scene of the crime pulled those memories to the forefront of his mind. He took a deep breath, realising just how raw his throat was, with a grunt he turned and headed towards the river, following the gouge marks from the rolling rubble towards North Temple River. Once there he drank deeply, replenishing his energy and soothing his throat, looking up, he noticed that the temple rubble had crashed into the water, half submerged and creating a rapid like effect. He sat back, staring at them, watching as the dirt and moss was washed away from their surface.
The more he watched, the more... meaning it held for him. He knew it was ridiculous, gleaning so much from a natural process, but the dirt being washed away, to clean the stone and give it a new leash of life, gave him an idea. With a grunt, he hauled himself to his feet, and headed back up the slope towards the ruins, a new idea firmly lodged in his mind.
‘A new start. A new leash of life. Wipe the slate clean. Start again.’ Circled through his head, a repetitive beat, in tune to his footfalls. It would take a lot of effort, and even more energy, but if he could do it... If he could succeed in his plan, no Darkblood brat would be able to rip it down again. He’d make sure of it.
Reaching the clearing, he stopped, scanning the ruins and attempting to map out his plan. He’d have to remove the larger pieces first, the smaller ones would take less effort, and it was important that he didn’t exhaust himself on the small stuff. He padded forwards, hooking his paws around the largest lump of stone, pulling and pushing with all his strength, eventually managing to shift it from the dent in the ground. Once free, he put his shoulder to it, and sent it bouncing and rolling towards the river.
‘One down, one hundred to go.’ He thought bitterly to himself.
With a dogged determination, and strangely detached emotions he moved from one lump of rock to another. Sending them cascading towards the river, one after another. The thundering noise and ground shaking vibrations had long since emptied the area of any wildlife, only the largest animals, bears and moose would remain. He couldn’t help but hope the commotion would scare off any Shinlai in the area, he wished to be alone, and while company and help would have normally been appreciated, any conversation would have slowed and distracted him. He wanted, no, he
needed this to be done as soon as possible.
*
He worked until midday, eventually being forced to stop from sheer exhaustion, his dry throat again and there a gnawing of hunger in the pit of his stomach. With a sigh he looked around, wondering if there might be anything he could hunt, but he had the sinking feeling that there was nothing around. Instead, he settled for trekking down to the river to replenish his thirst and look for mushrooms. He spent his lunch in the shade by the river, a small collection of mushrooms and edible plants, not his first choice, but better than going hungry. As he ate he scanned the river, the lumps of rubble had created a chaotic stream of water, rushing around the sharp broken edges and washing away the dirt. Lunch finished, he began heading back to the clearing.
It was beginning to look better; the largest, most callous stones had been removed, leaving the smaller piles of rubble behind. The small mounds were much less intrusive on the eye than the boulders had been, but they still stood out sharply. He frowned, they might be smaller, but carrying them, one after another to the river, would take much longer, and waste a lot of time. He needed a way to move them quickly and affectively... But how... Determined to see this through to the end, he began pacing around the outskirts of the clearing, looking at the piles from every angle, running through different methods and plans, one after another.
Eventually he realised what he should have done from the start. Utilise his element. He situated himself somewhere so he could see all the piles of rubble, so to judge and guide them in the right direction. Curling his claws into the dirt beneath his feet, he reached out with his element. The ivy and vines around him rippled and shuddered as he took control, their leaves rustling with a quiet welcome. Satisfied he had full control, he began directing them, snaking out into the clearing, each vine, each tendril looping around a chunk of rock, almost completely covering it. Before beginning the march down to the river, rising to his feet, he followed the ivy snakes, only pausing briefly when vines reached their limits and had to be replaced with ones closer to the river.
After several identical trips, each getting quicker as he became used to the course and the manipulation, he uncovered something. Hidden below the largest pile of rubble was a long heavy slab of marble, the edge of it had been caved with the different element symbols. The Balance symbol situated between every other symbol, he ran his rough paw along them, feeling the carved dips and reciting each of them. “Earth, Balance, Water, Balance, Fire, Balance, Air, Balance, Light, Balance, Dark, Balance. And again.” He murmured softly. Sitting back on his haunches, he pushed the rubble off the pale marble, uncovering more and more of the smooth slab. Running his paws along the edge, he found two more slabs, this time holding up the top piece, and as he pulled the debris away, he realised what it was he had uncovered.
It was the altar. The great slab of marble at the head of the temple, he could see the crushed and destroyed offerings dotted around it, lumps of wax stuck to the floor, dried flowers scattered through the rubble. He took a few steps back, eyes roving across the pale white marble. There was no damage to it, no cracks, no corners missing, nothing. A piece of pillar must have landed nearby and shielded it from any of the heavy roof pieces. A grin spread across his face. That brat might have torn the temple down, but he had failed to kill the heart. What an ignorant fool for thinking the job was done after knocking a few walls down.
He tried to contain himself, but he couldn’t stop a chuckle from escaping, still smiling he shook his head and continued clearing away the debris, calling the vines forth to tow the stones away, taking great care not to scuff or scratch the altar. He walked alongside the rippling vines, a deep tuneful hum reverberating through his chest. Taking a deep breath he began to sing.
“Hundred years, hundreds more
Someday we may see
A woman king
Clock watch time
Slowing as she goes to sleep
Stars and angels sing
Yet the earth sleeps in shadows
Can this tiny spark
Set a world on fire?
Hundred years, hundreds more
Someday we may see
A woman king
Sword in hand
Swing at evil and bleed
Yet her light shall shine
From our lives, Spirit blazing
As we touch the flame
Of her holy fire
Hundred years, hundreds more
Someday we may see
A woman king
Bloodshot eyes
Head down and starting to weep”His deep tenor voice ran out through the trees, a pleasant change from the thundering rolls of stone, between verses he could hear birds singing, bringing a smile to his face. The wildlife was returning once again. Reaching the river he paused in his work for the briefest of drinks, before returning to the clearing with a bounding run. He burst through the trees, his song still flowing, and feeling rejuvenated and strong enough to continue his work.
Now the clearing was free from all stones but those of the altar, the hardest part of his work was to being. He bounded from one side of the clearing to the other, before looping around and doing the same again. Behind him, his footsteps created two long parallel lines in the earth, almost three Shinlai lengths apart and a dozen long. There was a moment pause, before the vines he had been manipulating most the day, rippled and traced his footsteps, marking out a huge rectangle in the clearing. Satisfied that they were in the correct place, he trotted down the centre of the rectangle and jumped on top of the altar, muttering a brief apology under his breath, before resuming his singing, turning to face down the clearing.
Taking a deep breath, he reached out into the forest with his power, hunting and looking for the biggest and oldest trees. He found one oak quickly, twenty feet away from the clearing, the roots deep in the earth and branches reaching high into the sky. Screwing his eyes shut, and focusing all of his energies on it, he began pulling it towards the clearing. There was an audible creak, sounding so old it was like the earth itself was stretching and he was positive that if he opened his eyes, he would see the tree tops leaning towards him.
With several cracks and a huge amount of effort, the oak trees roots twisted about, pulling free of the earth, before excruciating slowly, began moving in the direction of his clearing. Again and again, he pulled the roots free, and dragged the old tree another foot closer to him, to anyone unaware of Dagda’s presence, it would look as through the tree had come alive and was walking. Smaller trees were pushed to the side as the huge, thick trunk pushed its way through the forest, snapping off the thin branches of any tree in its way, leaving a great long furrow in the earth.
Dagda remained atop the altar, his singing had stopped and his eyes were shut, teeth gritted against the effort of the task at hand, claws wrapping around the edge of the marble top, muscles tense and straining with each pull. The wildlife which had returned had once again fled again, their homes as the great oak walked through the forest. It was only when the tree broke into the clearing, that Dagda opened his eyes. He was shocked at what stood before him, a huge gnarled oak, towering above the smaller trees around it, the thick long branches weighted down by the sheer mass of the leaves. The bark was rough and full of knots and blemishes. And yet, it was strangely beautiful.
He couldn’t help but feel proud about his strength, and while he knew he should be feeling weak and exhausted from all this work, he didn’t. He felt wide away and strangely alive, almost as though he could tackle this job again and again. And considering the fact he had only moved one tree, he needed to keep going. A new idea formed in his mind, a simpler plan, which would require less energy but still produce the same results. Returning his attention to the oak, he reached out again and moved it slowly around the clearing until it was directly behind the altar. The massive roots burrowed back beneath the earth except for a few, which he left on the surface to finish off later.
He returned his attention to the forest, picking out thirty trees from either side of the clearing, each of them the same species and roughly the same height. And taking great care not to exhaust himself, he slowly began walking them towards the clearing, moving only a few inches at a time, taking great care not to pass out from the energy drain. He found himself closing his eyes again, taking a wide stance upon the altar, head bowed as though giving tribute.
But beneath the calm exterior, he was fighting on the inside. His muscles tense and protesting against his efforts, small spasms rippling down his back as he fought against the pull of the trees. A weaker Shinlai would have been dragged off their feet and towards the trees, but he was determined not to give up, to keep fighting the pull and ensure the trees were towed into place.
An hour passed before he gave up, panting and shaking from the effort. He should have drafted in other Shinlai, he should have gotten help. But this felt like a personal project to him, he needed to do this himself, he needed to finish his vision. Shaking, his muscles weak from the exertion, he stumbled off the altar, heading for the river to dink and regain as much energy as he could. The water was cool and soothed his throat and the headache he could feel building up, he sank into the water, feeling relief as the cold water helped his aching muscles.
But he couldn’t lay there for the rest of the day. The sun was beginning to set and he still had lots to do, snatching up as many mushrooms as he could, he scoffed them down and hurried back to the clearing, trying to gauge how much further the trees had to be moved. A little over his own length, not as far as he thought, but still a long way considering he was beginning to flag.
He returned to the altar, stiffly climbing onto it, looking about the clearing.
‘Ohhh Daila help me, this is going to be hard.’ He thought to himself, a weak pray to the long gone Elite. Taking a deep breath, he resumed his bowed stance and continued inching the trees forwards. The rhythmic creaking and rustling of the leaves were the only things he could hear, their rhythm was soothing to him, enjoying the sounds of nature, albeit caused by an unnatural affect.
Also two hours later he allowed himself to pause and see how well he was doing. He let out a bark of laugher upon seeing the trees, so neatly lined up and less than a foot away from the ivy guideline. He hopped from the altar, almost crumpling on the floor, unused to the movement. And stiffly padded over to the closest tree, standing in front of it and moving it slowly forwards to the proper spot. Once in place, he moved to the next one and did the same, he repeated this process time and time again, to all sixty trees along the rectangle. Before he finally stopped.
He was exhausted and it was dark, he needed to rest, but trekking back to Talin would wear him out even more, not to mention the walk back in the morning. With a resigned sigh he padded back to the altar and curled up in front of it, sincerely hoping nothing would disturb him or wake him up. It didn’t take long for him to succumb to sleep.
*
He must have slept a long time, by the time he awoke the sun was high in the sky, indicating it was getting close to midday. He stiffly lifted his head, blinking the sleep from his eyes, before attempting to get to his feet, his joints cracked and popped from the effort, the previous day’s effort taking its toll. And he wasn’t even done yet. He yawned widely, hearing his jaw click, and froze. He could smell another Shinlai, but it was faint, very faint. He shut his mouth with a snap and scanned the row of trees, seeing and hearing nothing, maybe they had passed by during the night? He dismissed it and stretched, claws curling and back arching much like a cat.
That was when he spotted it, the limp body just beyond the rectangle of trees. He hurried towards it, worried that it was an injured Shinlai, but his fears were unfounded, it was a dead deer, large teeth and claw marks indicating it was a Shinlai that took it down. Looking around he couldn’t see any sign of another Shinlai, other than large foot prints leading up to the altar, before doubling back and then returning, presumably dropping off the deer and leaving again. He shook his head, a little confused by the offering of deer, was it for him? He didn’t know of any other Shinlai in the area, other than this ghost.
He pawed at the deer nervously, almost feeling like this was a joke, and if someone had been here why hadn’t they woken him up? As the deer head lolled about he noticed some folded parchment hidden under the head. He carefully pulled it out and unfolded it.
‘Dagda,
You should take care with where you sleep, enjoy the deer.
Sitka.’Dagda snorted in surprise, before shaking his head with a grin. He had seen Sitka around the Elites tower in Tieto once or twice, along with his fiery mate Larkein, they had never spoken, but clearly Sitka knew who he was. He refolded the note and tucked it into the pouch hanging about his neck, before settling down to eat the deer. He was thankful for the gift, it would last for the day, and he could come back to it later. He could help but feel relived it hadn’t been a Darkblood that found him, he dreaded to think of what they’d have done. The only ones he had spoken to at any great length were Linx and Rayner, although he doubted either of them would have attacked him while he was sleeping. Maybe...
He ate a good portion of the deer, before heading down to the river to wash his face and wake himself up properly. Back at home with Alkyone, Pipistella and La, he’d wake himself up by taking a brief swim in the Nevor River, which their home was built into the banks of. It was a funny little habit he had picked up of Alkyone, but he never felt truly awake until he had taken a brief swim. He smile as he entered the river, remembering the early days, having to teach Pip how to swim, least she be overcome by the currents.
*
“DAD, DAAAAD! Don’t let me go!” She had squealed loudly, the first time she’d entered the river, wrapped up in Dagda’s large paws and held close to his chest, the current was strong, even though he sheltered her from the brunt of it.
“Stop thrashing.” He warned, a large smile playing on his face. “If you slip your mother will have to fish you out of Glacier Bay.” He warned, grinning over at Alkyone, part way down the river. She was smiling and shaking her head, the pair of them wouldn’t let their daughter out of their sight, and she’d be pulled out of the river before she had gone twenty yards. Pip was clinging to the thick fur of Dagda’s chest, tiny claws gripping tightly as possible, wide blue eyes staring down the river at her mother, who was enjoying the swim.
“You know they’ll catch you, they won’t let you get swept out to sea.” Said a young, female human voice. On the bank behind him was Iapto, ever so young, hair a wild tangle, bright green eyes watching with a smile, feet bare and splashing about in the river.
“Siissss, come with me.” Pip whined, stretching out one little paw towards her.
Iapto grinned, looking ready to jump in the water, but faltered, glancing down to Alkyone, who gave a small nod. “Okay, but only if you do it yourself next time.” She said, slipping into the water and swimming over to him. Pipistella nodded eagerly, reaching out to Iapto as Dagda handed her over, Iapto hugged her close to her chest, floating on her back so the young pup could see where they were going. “You ready? Off we goooo!” She said, pushing away from Dagda.
He grinned as his daughters floated towards Alkyone, who had her arms held wide, directing the current straight towards her. The pair of them swept right into her waiting arms, giggling and laughing loudly, before being bundled up in a hug.
“See? That wasn’t so bad was it?” Dagda had called.*
He blinked sharply, suddenly feeling emotion hit him in the chest, those days had been so much better. But now. Now they were a distant memory. He sighed and swam back to the bank, climbing out and half heartedly shaking his wet fur. He took several deep breaths, and began heading back to the clearing, once he had finished, he could bring them here, they could play in the newly formed rapids and sleep under the shelter of the trees, visit the Aria National Reserve, maybe even track down some other friends. Maybe...
He returned to the clearing, with the long lines of trees, and began work on the second part of his plan, this part was much easier than moving sixty odd trees. He started up by the altar, placing his paws on two trees next to each other, manipulating the branches to reach out to each other, entwining each branch, stick and twig, until the gap between the trees was a solid flat wall. He moved to the next pair and did the same, again and again he intertwined the branches to its neighbours. Only leaving a single gap in the trees directly opposite the altar, an entrance way of sorts, big enough to someone the height of random to fit through, yet narrow enough to stop Brute’s wide horns.
With that done he moved to the altar again, focusing on the oak tree behind it, and the roots still laying limply on the surface. Standing directly in front for the marble table, he manipulated the great thick roots to lay either side of the altar, before slowly stacking and weaving them on top of each other, creating a hollow in the tree to shelter the altar. Pleased with his work, he stood back to view his progress. The great oak was a spectacular backdrop to Daila’s altar, he grinned, happy with how it looked, he turned and headed out of the trees, looking for grass to begin his next phase.
He didn’t have to go far, there was a decent patch of grass five feet from the entrance. He immediately circled around so he was facing the impressive wall of trees and placed his paws on the grass, and began pushing and forcing more grass to grow. There was a brief pause, before a ripple spread away from him, like a stone dropped into a calm pond, the grass spread away from him, around the walls and into the clearing, sheltered by the entwined trees. He grinned, pushing his power further and watching the grass grow tall, over a foot high and scattered with wild flowers throughout it.
He halted his powers, and turned, heading into the forest, looking for some plants to place within the walls. They would have to be beautiful to contend to with unnatural spectacle he had created. He soon found some wild roses, and grabbed a pawfull, his rough pads unaffected by the small thorns. Moving on he found some lupines, fox gloves, lilies and honeysuckle. He grabbed pawfulls of them all and carefully carried them back to the trees. Placing mixed clumps in all four corners and around the altar, he stood in the centre of the trees and willed the plants to take root and grow. Being much smaller than the trees it was easy, they blossomed and grew with such speed. The roses and honeysuckle climbing the tree walls and filling the air with their fragrance, the lupines, fox gloves and lilies shot up and grew along the bases of the trees, their bright colours mixing and changing.
He sighed and stepped back, looking around. Was there anything he had missed? He looked up seeing the blue sky. A roof? Could he manage that? It would strengthen the structure and shelter anyone looking for escape from the rain... It would just be a matter of intertwining the branches again. He must have extended his energy without realising, even as he watched the branches rustled and reached towards each other, wrapping around and creating a wide canopy, almost seventy feet across. He stared, more shocked at what he had managed to do than the actual spectacle.
He blinked as he felt a rush of energy leave him. He had finished. It looked just as he had imagined it. Strangely beautiful and other worldly at the same time. He backed up, one step at a time, eyes roving across the wall of trees, the hanging flowers, the altar framed by the thick oak roots.
A temple of trees.
He sat down with a bump. He had actually done it. It had taken over a day and a half, but it looked spectacular and beautiful. Slowly a smile crept across his face. He had to show Alkyone. He needed to show someone what he had created. Ohhh how he wished the Elites were there to see it. He’d have to tell them about it and have them visit next time they were in the area. He’d love to know what they thought of it.
A giddy joy over came him, and suddenly all he wanted to do was find Alkyone, surely her work in Talin would have been finished by now? He twisted about and bolted from the temple. Barrelling through the trees, ignoring the catches and scrapes from branches, he had to find her and show her, he didn’t care if he looked a state. He careened into Talin, terrifying some of the locals and nearly knocking over several humans.
“Alkyone!” He yelled, eyes darting about, determined to find her. “Alkyone! Where are you?” He called again. Before spotting her up a head, speaking to a blond human and another Shinlai, her head snapped around at his call, and she stood up, looking worried. “I’m fine, I’m fine!” He said, sliding to a stop by them. “You need to come see it. Please come and see it.” He practically begged.
“See what? What is it, what’s gotten into you?” She asked, half frowning, half smiling at how energetic he was, watching his bounce and fidget about.
“It’s a surprise, but you really need to come and look.” He said hooking her arm with one paw and trying to pull her away.
“Alright alright, calm down.” She said with a laugh. “Marcus can you finish off here and send a messenger bird back to the tower?” She managed to ask, before being forcibly dragged away by Dagda.
The pair of them ran through the city, sending humans and Shinlai flying with their haste. Alkyone asking Dagda repeatedly what it was he so desperately wanted to show her. He never answered other than to say ‘you’ll see when we get there.’ He slowed only fractionally when they reached the forest, his element pushing branches and shrubs out the way of their stampeding feet, he abruptly slowed, making Alkyone crash into his back. Before slowly leading her to the entrance of the clearing.
“We’re here.” He said quietly, nudging her to go first.
She frowned at him, not understanding why he had dragged her into the middle of the forest, before turning to face where she was going. Her jaw dropped as she stared up at the trees. “What?” She asked, eyes riveted to the great building.
“Remember the ruined temple?” He asked, receiving a small nod. “Well... I uh, cleaned up and grew this.” He said.
Alkyone’s attention switched from the temple to him. “You grew a temple?” She asked, disbelievingly. “How did you have the energy, how, what? How is that even?” She said, losing her words.
“I don’t know. But I managed it.” He said, bumping her shoulder with his nose. “Come on, let’s go home and tell the Elites.” He said.
She nodded meekly, still staring up at the trees, their interwoven branches, the thick carpet of grass and the array of flowers. Eventually able to tear her eyes away from the stunning spectacle and following Dagda, glancing over her shoulder to see it through the trees. “It’s beautiful.” She said, pushing her head against his neck.
“Thank you.” He said softly.
