WHAT IS THIS PLACE? WHERE IS OUR GOD? It didn't take long to get here. The smell of rot and decay was faint. The strongest aroma in the room was that of lavender, fruits and various burning incense. It was something to take note of, but something about it seemed to be just right. She had found this temple on the far side of the town. It seemed as if creatures of the night feasted on the citizens of this city when nightfell, and a great handful of people found refuge in this temple. She looked before her, the pathway past benches and pews. Stone lanterns stood at the end of the walkway, with a single altar in the center of it. Namé Les approached it, the sounds of sleeping people covering her steps, coughing elderly as they watched her observe this new place. "We do not touch his altar." an old woman said. Namé faced her, only to stop before the altar, looking at it for markings, anything for a sign. "Ah, my children, you shall finally meet at once. "Children? Meet? Who?" the asked, aloud, as if someone was talking to her, but she knew who was really speaking. "She hears the god's voice!" a man spoke, his voice faint and raspy, "She is a child of the great god!" |
The Manji's Temple (无名)
Thu Nov 16, 2017 6:39 am
Thu Nov 16, 2017 6:49 am
Death. Death. Death.
The blood poured from the corpses as they lay in the corner of the room. A large woven tarp covered the bodies. It masked most of the smell, but not all of it. She lit candles all around the room, incense burned in piles at each corner. She had been in her own bed, a pile of blankets and cloth, staring at the ceiling, a marking, a seal of some kind. She was not one who placed it, nor knew what it was, but she understood it had some great importance, but she could not find her answer.
"We do not touch his altar."
That voice of that wretched old woman. Caitlyn despised her needing to butt into everything. But alas, a dying aged woman had her uses. She was the perfect alarm, no matter how quiet or loud.
Caitlyn would turn from her bed and grab her shirt and make her way back up the stairs. She was not going to waste time with some intruder trying to steal the jewels and gold of the shrine. It was her temple to protect.
Each step she took up the steps, she could feel something change. Something was off, really off. . .
"She hears the god's voice! he is a child of the great god!"
She opened the door to find a woman, a face she never saw-
"Namé?" she looked into her face, ". . . How did. . . " She ran up to the girl. She would meet her in an embrace. "I'm so glad... that you made it. . ."
And so the family grew by a single number.
Fri Nov 17, 2017 1:08 am
WHAT IS THIS PLACE? WHERE IS OUR GOD? Caitlyn held her, and for once, she could never be happier. She wrapped her arms around the woman, wondering what had truly brought them together. But of course, that answer was already known. "Thank you, merciful god." Namé Les buried her face into the woman's shoulders and begun to weep. It felt so long ago, but also as if it was the other day that so many of them were killed. She was so happy to know that at least they lived. But she also knew that Chi was out there somewhere, and if she was told the same thing, eventually she would make her way to this temple. "Have you been here the whole time?" She would ask the ivory haired woman, "How have you been?" She would hold her tight, she was a few years older, and in this moment it was like seeing her mother again. They were all orphans in this new country, but Caitlyn was native to these lands. As the Manji taught her Sin, she hoped this woman would show her Fiore. Today, their family was expanding, and hopefully they would all reunite and discuss the direction they were to take. None of them would know what to do, it would be by a council that they would find a way. |
Fri Nov 17, 2017 2:43 am
"I've been here, waiting, since I saw the village... burned." she paused, trying to forget the pain from that day. She held the girl, loosening her grip ever slightly.
She wanted to believe that they were all okay. She wanted to believe everyone was okay. She wanted to pretend that all of them moved away out of boredom, not necessity.
No.
She would find them, whoever did that. She would slay them all. She would train day and night as needed until she could kill them all with her bare hands. They would be avenged.
"I will avenge our family. You both are to tend to my temple."
There it was, that voice again. Caitlyn rose her head to look. "My temple?" she thought. Who would call it that?
She distanced herself from the Manji descendant, only to stare upon the shrine.
"HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO FOOLISH." She would bow to the stone lanterns, "YOU WERE WATCHING OVER ME THIS WHOLE TIME, FORGIVE ME, NAMELESS ONE."
She was a fool to play god. How could she forget the power of that deity? She was something that was ever existing and seemed to be every where at once. Could the god? Could he really?
It wasn't known for sure, but Caitlyn would place no doubts.
Fri Nov 17, 2017 5:57 am
WHAT IS THIS PLACE? WHERE IS OUR GOD? As time would unfold their destiny, the both of them could hear the some voice. Their roles were changed once more. Perhaps Namé Les was right all along. Maybe this was going to be their new haven, their new home. The new Manji house. Namé Les wanted things to return to the way they were, but to serve this god the way they did before was the only way to make right of anything. So few of them were left, if they didn't do it for themselves, they had to do it for their family. "As you wish." she would bow with Caitlyn to serve their god. "I shall tend to the services of this temple and restore it to its former glory, and forth." "A Half-Blood will make her way here. When she arrives, one of you will have to continue igniting the lanterns." She would remained bowed. She wondered the importance of the shrines. What happened when they were all lit? Did they serve anything? No, of course they did. They were extensions of his consciousness. With more people coming to pray and talk with him, his knowledge grew. It was a simple request and it wasn't life threatening to any of them. With the shrines lit with candles, they were all protected and watched over. It was for them. It was for their safety. It was for this land. |
Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:03 am
She wasn't going to allow herself to put another Manji in danger. If she couldn't save the royal family, she was going to devote herself to protect what was left. She offered countless souls since her stay in Dahlia, but now her calling was needed. She was going to serve a higher purpose.
"Les, when this Half-Manji arrives, I will finish the pilgrimage." she would tell the raven haired girl, "You two will tend to the temple until our god tells you otherwise. But even if the god demands it, someone must remain in Dahlia to stay with the temple." She would raise herself to stand with her, looking deep into her eyes.
"Misfortune falls to the Manji if our sacred grounds are left vacant." she spoke, thinking of the only reason the clan could have been slain so easily.
But still, if they were going to clean the temple, they would have to do so without disturbing the few that took refuge in this temple. They would have to start with the bodies in the basement. From there, the sacred artifacts would be moved. The shrines would be placed elsewhere as well as the altar. They could not allow others to find this place so easily. They would have to place a faux shrine on the top floor, just in case.
It was their gods house, and as such, they would protect their belongings, as it was not their own.
Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:07 am
WHAT IS THIS PLACE? WHERE IS OUR GOD? She wasn't born to any of the houses, but she held the magic of their bloodline. By default, Caitlyn outranked Namé Les by a league. It didn't matter if she had the blood in her, she was superior in both skill and teachings, not to mention her age and the fact she mentored so many of them. She was idolized by Namé Les, and in a way was like her big sister. "Of course." Namé Les answered, "Perhaps I should familiarize myself with this city then. Looks like we'll be here for a while." She looked around the room, many of the others took note of the importance of them and let them to themselves. The old woman by the door, however, stared as if they were living demons or ghosts. "Is there somewhere else we can go to figure this out? That lady creeps me out." Namé Les would sigh, it seemed as if this was the life she wanted all along. It was almost disappointing to succeed so soon. She would busy herself in this city, and if she could, she would leave the girl behind to safeguard the temple as she went on her own tiny adventure to find herself. But still, they all had a job to do. |
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