Shadows of the Past Still Haunt Me

[Asher Mossa]

Slavery was the only thing of Asher's past no one in the Confederacy knew about. It was the final secret the recluse had held to his own chest as tight as a hungry child held to a loaf of bread. The scars on his back were evidence of the many times he had been whipped or beaten for disobedience, or simply because he made a mistake. His time in the caverns had allowed him to wash away the hurt and pain of losing his wife and young son. All the blame he had put on himself for their deaths was gone. While those scars had been cleansed with the truth, the scars of his tumultuous past still remained.

He had been a child when he was taken from his home. The slavers took him off world to a place he did not know, a place that was not his home. He had been too young to know how to return, or to tell people where the world was. His culture had been unique, and while some had been amazed at people like the Nightmother who could change into another form, Asher knew them from before. Until he had seen it, Asher thought it was just a childhood dream, a fantasy he made up about a fantastical place he would escape to when the beatings were there worst. Instead, they were the memories of his home.

Asher retreated from the cavern through the falls until he reached a lake. The recluse shaman looked about to ensure no one was around before he tossed his leather tunic and pants aside for the drafty condition of his nakedness. Leaping into the water, Asher sought to soak and wash away the tension of memories that flooded his mind. Once again he was confronted with the loss of his village, the hunting party slaughtered in front of him, and the chains of the slavers. All of it came to the surface, but why now?

It had been because of HER.

He had seen her when she walked into the cave, blonde hair, but clothes like those of his mother. Her features were as though he should know her, but where had he seen her before. Asher searched those memories for some sign of her, but failed to find any. One glimpse, one sight of a face that looked familiar, now haunted him with a mystery he had to solve. It was time for Asher to come out of his hiding and solve the one thing that had eluded him from the moment he became free. Asher needed to find his home.

His head dipped below the water as he swam about the secluded and private lake. He was used to being alone, but for the first time in a long time he truly appreciated the time he had to reflect on what had just happened. This time he was not alone because he was lost or grieving. Asher was alone for a purpose. Swimming cleared his mind, he would find answers, remember something he needed to in order to find his way back home. There would be a word, a mother tongue perhaps. His accented basic was enough for him to know he spoke something else at one point. It had been so long, but if he heard his native tongue would he even remember it?

Asher sighed as his head came up out of the water. He froze. There was a sound in the bushes. Someone was close.

"Who is there... I know magic and kill you with a few words. Show yourself."

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

He has lost the path that will guide him home.​

Green leaves of fine silk caressed the smooth dip in her cheek bones. Sounds of the forest surrounded her in all directions. Alvida was grateful for the peace. Moving stills of the days events flicked through her mind like a scholar turning pages in a book. Faces she'd seen, people she'd met, questions that had been answered and discovered. Excitement and fear had taken its tole on the young wolf, that's why the forest was such a welcome escape. For the past ten minutes she had been debating on the idea of a hunt. The great beast that lived inside her pawed at her soul to be released, a feeling she could not ignore for too long. Only one thing was stopping her, the unfamiliar terrain of M'haeli. Alvida had never before set foot on the planet and the danger it presented was all but unknown to her. Lost in the battle between common sense and the wolf, Alvida found herself wondering down a path she had not intended to take.

Like a flash of lightning Alvida whipped her head round to face the wind. In an unfamiliar setting the tantalising call of damp skin and the soothing sound of a weight in water was enough to force the wolf to change course. When she willed herself, Alvida could move as swiftly as a summer night breeze. An amused grin crossed the young wolfs face as she crept along the forest floor to the source of her desire. She could hear her Father's voice loud and clear over the din of many others, chastising her for her insatiable curiosity. The revelation of a new family of Lupines, possibly even more, should have been enough to send to send the young wolf home with her tail between her legs but Alvida had never been in control of the steps her feet took. She was merely a slave to the voices that willed them on. One quick peak over the break in the trees would sate her curiosity, then perhaps she would take that hunt after all. Damn the consequences.

Through the divided branches of a nearby tree Alvida saw the figure that had disrupted the quiet forest. His face held familiar qualities and, clearly, something had drawn her to him like a moth to a flame. After all, intuition was a gift from the Gods and she would be foolish to ignore it. All went still as the sea-foam orbs watched the presence move swiftly through the gleaming water. His movements were entrancing, as graceful as the fauna that claimed the water as their home. She would only watch for a minute. There was no desire to spoil someones peace, no matter how temporary the state of mind was. Just as her mind had settled on the idea of leaving a rough voice called out through the silent night air. The spikes in tone and pitch caused Alvida's ears to burn. He sounded like home.

What the words were saying, on the other hand, was rather unfriendly. Alvida's slim blonde brows furrowed in the centre and caused creased to form on her pale white face. Perhaps she could find the motivation to ruin the sanctuary he'd found for himself. Like a shadow, Alvida drew herself back from the branches of the tree and allowed the disturbance to rustle the leaves around her. 'What if I know magic too?' She asked the voice, her feet carrying her slowly around the barricade of trees that surrounded the lake. The effect was quite impressive, her voice bounced off the water and sent ripples running along its surface, almost making it sound as if she were in three places at once. 'What would you do then? Would we battle?' Her tone, while serious, was taunting and sweet. There was no real desire in her to fight this stranger that reminded her of home but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to feed her sense of humour.

 

[Asher Mossa]

A voice called back to him, bouncing off the water and echoing in every direction. It was playful, but serious, sweet and yet stern. The effect reminded him of several stories he heard of witches in the wood, faeries, and wood nymphs that plagued on the souls of the innocent. Asher was far from innocent, so he felt his would be kept safe. Still the thought brought a smile to his lips, and if the woman was watching him she would see it.

"I suppose we could find out who has the stronger magic," he replied.

Asher closed his eyes and muttered a short spell under his breath and sent a cool breeze in the direction of where he heard the rustling come from before the voice had spoken. There was not a great force behind it, just enough to show his intention was more playful than violent. At the same time it was designed to show some force if that was needed. For all he knew the woman did have ill intent behind the playfulness she displayed. Asher was always one to be cautious. Which was why he suddenly realized this could be a bad idea. His eyes returned to the shoreline where his clothes lay on the ground for someone to easily take. The swim had seemed like a good idea when he was alone, but now that he was not, the idea seemed foolish.

Asher had let his guard down, something he was not known to do. The only weapon he had to defend himself were the magicks of the Mandragora which were potent enough, but not a battle Asher wanted to have. The magic would be sure to draw the attention of others. His only hope was that this woman's intent was not malevolent.

Her accent made him pause however. As it registered in his mind, Asher noticed something distinct. She sounded like him. A lot like him. It was puzzling, enough so that Asher blurted out the question without even thinking.

"Why do you sound like me... no one sounds like me... what magic is this? Please... show yourself."

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

The memories of home are still burning brightly within. Make him remember.​

​

A soft hum of appreciation buzzed around her skull. He was cocky. 'Well in that case I think you would be severely disappointed in yourself. Even from here I can see you, you have lost your way.' The voices had already told her this. He may seem to be a stranger from a foreign land but there was no spark of belonging in his eyes. Alvida had no need of her sight to see that much. He needed her, this man who was not as he seemed, though they were adamant he would not admit to it himself. They had called him strong-willed and stubborn, but the thing they shouted the loudest was lost. Of course, the voices were loud enough in their protest about her teasing him too. So loud that she almost covered her ears, only stopping when she realised that doing so would mean she wouldn't be able to hear him.

Instinct told her this put this poor man out of his misery, to break free from the line of trees and bathe herself in the moonlight, but in this case instinct was overpowered by amusement. 'Magic?' A questioning tone dominated her speech. 'There is no magic at work here.' Alvida lent against the tree trunk she had been standing behind and brushed her cheek against its rough bark. She was behind the stranger now, her eyes locked onto his silvery skin covering his back. 'Perhaps I'm not even real. Perhaps I am a voice you have created for company.' A high pitched laugh echoed around the lake, smacking from rock to water to tree. 'Perhaps I am just all in your head. That would not be so terrible, would it? You have been lonely for so long.'

With baited breath, Alvida risked reaching her hand out into a triangle of moonlight breaking through the canopy. A slow twist of her wrist disturbed the surface of the water and sent gentle waves lapping against his back. Her hand withdrew sharply, back to the shadow it had freed itself from. She wanted to see his face again. She wanted to know why he had forgotten.

​

 

[Asher Mossa]

"Lost my way," Asher protested as he turned about in the water looking for the source of her voice. "You know nothing of my path and the pain I have lived through. I am not lost."

Asher knew where he was, and he even knew the path he was walking. They could debate the finer points of what constituted lostness, but Asher was a bit self-conscious about arguing with a voice that had no face with it. Was he going insane? Far from it. The only voice he heard that belonged to nothing was Lylek. The spirit spoke to him more often than he liked which was the only saving grace in this instance. Her mocking and teasing was something he knew was just that.

"And you assume I would create the voice of a woman? Do you think I am so shallow and lonely that I would create a fantastical tryst with a nymph or forest witch to satisfy my desires?"

He turned feeling the waves on his back, but saw nothing. Whoever this was they seemed content to mess with him for now. Had they seen the scars? He dipped into the water until it covered his back. That was something he desperately did not want anyone aware of. This one part of his life was the one thing he kept to himself. It was the reminder that this voice was more right than he would ever admit. Asher was not just lost, but he did not know the way back home. Perhaps the voice would tell him next that he did not even know who he was. That would also be a truth, again one that Asher would not admit.

This was making him uneasy. Whether the voice belonged to a person or not, Asher started moving toward his clothes. With the loss of his wife finally dealt with, Asher did not have the emotional energy to deal with the questions this voice brought to his mind.

"What if I have... what is it to you. I commune with spirits, and I know voices... yours is very real."

Where was she?

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

Stop your games, it is time.​

​

'I know more than you think.' Came the sweetly voiced reply. She knew very little, of course. There was no chance of her diving into the unknown to confirm any suspicions she had about the man and his background, but she could see just as much with her eyes. The quick, hungry orbs in Alvida's head watched the floating figure. Slim silver lines on his back tugged at the skin on his back with each confused motion he made in the water. Head tilted to an almost ninety degree angle, she couldn't help but feel curious as to how the scars had appeared. Punishment of some kind, maybe? For now, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as her gentle coaxing of the water brought him to face her.

Another laugh, another echo. Alvida had never been compared to a nymph before, witch she had been called many times, but a nymph... She liked it. 'Voices manifest in many different ways.' The voices in her head concurred. They had long been a cacophony of many different things. Whether they had genders or not, she was entirely unsure, but they certainly spoke like it. 'You may not be shallow, that much I can tell. You have given many things to be where you are today.' Watching as he sank into the water Alvida took the opportunity to drink in his face. It appeared that the scars on his back weren't the only ones. He has been through too much. She was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of moving water and came round to realise that he was on the move. The voices were right, it was time.

The magic of the Gods encased her body and forced her muscles to hum like bees in the spring. Alvida loved the sensation. It took hold suddenly, and without warning. A rippling wave of power that coursed through her blood and caused the wolf to howl. She moved. Quicker than a flash of lightning. Zipping through the line of trees and causing a gust of wind to spray dust and debris up into the air. The first audible sound of her movement was the splash she made as the water collided with her clothed frame. In the blink of an eye she had arrived at the stranger, inches away from his face. So close she could feel his breath on her skin and his heart against her chest. Her fingers caught his chin and turned his head to lock their eyes into a stare that bore into the core of his soul. 'What do you know of spirits?'

 

[Asher Mossa]

She would not let it go. Asher wanted to roll his eyes, but could not bring himself to mock a voice that spoke the truth. Instead he sighed. The best thing he could do was escape the lake and whatever thing had found him here. Lylek better him to stay, but he refused. Asher did not need to have this battle after just fighting another. Each step and stroke to the shore was deliberate and with a good amount of haste. Never once did Asher think he needed to use the force to quicken his movements, and as he would soon find out, he should have.

The sound of water splashing made him stop, and seconds he was face to face with the woman who cast her voice against the water. They were so close his nakedness rushed to mind, but soon fell away as she forced their eyes to meet. Two pools the color of the sea captured the crystalline gaze that Asher now had fixed against her. His head beat against her chest, and as he looked down he was once again acutely award that his clothes were on the shore.

He gulped, hard and slow.

“Lylek is my keeper. I speak for him at times. You say the pattern on my shoulder, the scars that work down my arm to elbow. He has marked and claimed me. I am his shaman.”

The answer was as much a distraction from my thoughts as they were to satisfy the woman. Her blonde hair dripped wet clung to her face in places. Asher moved his hand, compelled to move the strands from her face so he could see it fully. His eyes wandered over it, admiring her features.

“I saw you in the caverns,” he realized. “I saw you walk past me to the flames. Did the Truth Sayers send you to me, or are you one of the spirits of these woods?”

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

False Gods and trickery. Tell him! Save him! Bring him home!​

Alvida refused to relinquish the hold she had on his chin. Her mind was too busy hungrily drinking in every line etched into his face. There were many familiarity's in the strangers eyes that Alvida could not place. No memory seemed to spark as she explored the depths of his appearance. The ring of colour around her pale green eyes seemed to darken drastically by several tones. Though there was little actual pressure exerted by her fingers she was firm in her grip. 'Ly-i-lek?' The foreign word did not sit right in her mouth. 'You allow yourself to be claimed? To be a slave to a false God?' Her head titled curiously to the side. You are a slave. True, she told the voices, but at least she was willingly so. Allowing her brows to furrow and show visible confusion on her face was all she could manage while she waited for a response. Alvida could not figure out the man standing before her. He was so similar to her brother, her father and her uncles. Yet, he was so different. He was missing the fire inside that made him a man.

Catching his hand in her own, fingers almost entirely encircling his wrist, Alvida's stare only seemed to get more intense. 'Nobody sends me anywhere. Nor am I a spirit of the woods. I am just as real as you.' When she finally released his chin from her grasp her fingers only moved to find a different part of his body to caress. They ran slowly along the smooth silver scaring decorating his frame. Alvida had brought herself closer now, the shifting water around them whooshing softly in protest to her movements. So close was she that their lips almost touched. Her chest expanded, filling her lungs with the musky scent Asher had no idea he was providing. 'The Gods know you, and you know them. You just cannot remember what it is like to have their blessing or to be in their good graces.' She dropped his hand from the prison her fingers had clasped it in and shifted her touch to the dip in his cheek bone. The skin along her thumb tingled as it brushed past the rough hairs lining his chin.

Almost lost in the softness off his skin Alvida was drawn back to the light by the voices. Lips parted slightly as she drew her attention away from the silver scars. Her voice took on a soothing tone, the same tone you might hear a mother use to comfort a child. 'Dú tilheyrir okkur. Dú tilheyrir Skóginum.' The sweet whispers were coupled with a gentle sigh that washed his chest in her cool breath. They said he would understand, they said it would make him remember, but they say a lot of things. Alvida continued to look at him through thick eyelashes that marginally obscured her view. She could see now. Truly see. Even if he didn't understand at this moment in time the Gods would show mercy eventually. They, and she, will guide him home.

Dú tilheyrir okkur. Dú tilheyrir Skóginum. - You belong with us. You belong to the Forest.

 

[Asher Mossa]

Her hand would not move, nor would she allow him to move. This woman held his face firm, keeping his eyes locked to hers, save the times she wandered about the scars which told the story of his life to this point. This stranger did not understand him, though perhaps he had not been clear. However, there was one point of protest. Lylek was not a false god. His voice was real. Jart, Doashim, Lylek, all of them had been real, and it was Lylek who had chosen him. His eyes narrowed slightly at the insinuation, and a gray washed over them like storm clouds rolling about the sky threatening a torrential downpour. Asher frowned.

"I did not allow myself to be taken by some false god as a slave. You have seen the scars given to me by the ones who took, and I would never allow that to happen again. No, I gave myself, by choice. I answered a call, they called to me, I answered. By my will, I placed my hand on the grimoire and saw them. I can defy him if I wish."

Her eyes bore deeper into his soul. What was she searching for? The words she spoke next were the answer he already knew, but wanted confirmed. A small smile pulled at his lips. "And what about a witch? Are you a witch?"

He did not have to reveal that he was as well. The Mandragora used the magicks of the spirits to shape and bend reality. Asher had demonstrated his magic, though it was small and near anyone could learn such a spell. No, there were deeper magicks he knew, all coming from the tome he had retrieved. For the past several months Asher had been committing the spells to memory, discovering how the fit with his training as a Jedi and how they had not. The recluse of the woods had fashioned his own methods and ways of doing the things he could do, but the mark on his arm still made him part of the witches he dwelled among.

"You speak of these gods as if I should know them, yet, I know nothing of my life before the slavers took me. I was too young, and the trauma of their beatings to severe."

Asher's voice was barely above a whisper as she was close now, too close. Every part of her was pressed against every part of him. The scent she gave off was unique and yet comforting. She smelled of woman and woods, a hard thing for Asher to describe, but that was her scent. He leaned into her touch, unsure why he suddenly felt comforted by it. As he stood in the lake, bare, Asher was reminded he had not been this close to a woman since the death of his wife. With his clothes cast aside, he was certainly more exposed than he had been since, and something sank to the pit of his stomach. Yet her words were soothing.

The language was one Asher knew. He did not know how her knew it, but the phrase was something he remembered from before. Suddenly an image of a dark haired woman with blue eyes came to his mind. She was standing over him with a warm and inviting smile. Asher could feel the love radiating from every detail of her face. She said those words. You belong with us. You belong to the forest.

Blue eyes bore deep into woman in front of him. His countenance became even more curious than it was before. Asher's eyes asked every question they possibly could, but his mouth fell to the most important.

"Who taught you that... where... I know that."

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

He stirs from the slumber trauma has trapped him in. He remembers, do not give up.​

'You say you can defy him but you have allowed your mind to be clouded by it.' Alvida was entirely unconcerned at the fact that the man was naked. It had never crossed her mind that most people felt uncomfortable without any clothing on. The wolf inside her much preferred to feel the wind through its fur, she just assumed that this man from her home world felt the same. At the mention of his scars she found herself looking at them again. Her lips parted slightly, head titled in confusion as the silver slices caught the pale moonlight. 'What God would give its servant such a grave injury?' The only idea that made any sense to Alvida was that this man, this stranger, had been punished by something. Or perhaps for someone? Some part of her wanted to reach out and fix it for him.

'NO!' Alvida cried, louder than she had any right to considering how far apart they were. 'You DO know them. They forsake nobody, though I can see in your head that you have long since believed such a thing to be false.' There was a tone to her voice that no human woman her size should have been able to make. A growl that came from the pit of her stomach, a growl that stayed firm in the centre of her throat as she spoke. Even the wolf was getting impatient to see the spark of understanding in his eyes. The sounds and smells of the forest had almost entirely been forgotten by the little wolf. What was meant to be an hour or two for her to gather her thoughts had turned into something completely unexpected. It was just a shame he was so slow to realise. Her teeth bared as she continued and a wild look had made itself home in her gaze.

A gentle tut caused her lips to pout. 'Nobody taught it to me. It is the language of my Fathers and their Fathers before them. The language my people have been speaking for many moons.' A pang of guilt for the air of mystery she had been displaying made itself known in the pit of her stomach. She could just come out with it and put the poor man out of his misery, but like many things, Alvida happily pushed it to the side in the pursuit of aesthetic. 'Dú dekkir dennan tungu vegna dess ao dao er ditt eigio. Dú manst ord min begna pess ad deir eru dinar eigin.' As she spoke again her lips grazed against his. The sultry tones she used filled whatever space there was left between them. Her fingers swept back a strand of damp hair from his face. The voices wondered how long it had been since he had last felt a woman's touch, in any sense of the meaning. Alvida could not help but ask herself the same question.

Dú dekkir dennan tungu vegna dess ao dao er ditt eigio. Dú manst ord min begna pess ad deir eru dinar eigin. - You know this tongue because it is your own. You remember my words because they are your own.

 

[Asher Mossa]

"It was just there," Asher said indicating his shoulder, "but that is not what I meant when I referred to my scars. The ones on my back. The ones my captors gave to me, and slavers would deal out for any slight deviance in my behavior. Those were not the work of gods, but cruel and wicked men that lord their strength over those who cannot fight for themselves."

Would she understand what he was saying? Yet she seemed fixated on the spirit he had chosen to follow. They were close, and her exclamation rang in his ears. In her mind he knew these gods, and they knew him. Why was she so adamant. She was angry, angry to the point that a low and inhuman growl settled deep in her throat. Asher knew in an instant, and his eyes widened. The growl was the same low rumble he had heard from Alwine when he angered her, speaking of something her brother had done or not done. The woman in front of him was like them.

Asher drew in a sharp breath yet he did not feel as threatened as he should have. Knowing that made him realize how easily she could rip his throat out, but Asher felt oddly safe even with her this close. She chastised his assumption that someone taught him the one phrase he was familiar with. Her tongue, the tongue of her fathers and their fathers she called it. Slowly Asher was beginning to understand what was happening, and who this woman represented.

"Home," was all he managed before she continued, her lips no grazing against his as she continued to speak.

It felt as though she was kissing him in a way, a sensation Asher had not felt in so long. Her lips tasted of something sweet and wild, and all Asher could do was give in to it all. All of the things his mind was processing at once clouded his mind and judgement. He did not know this person, and he should not trust her. Still, he found himself moving even closer, and his hands reaching for the cloth on her shoulders. Asher pressed his hands under the fabric pushing it off and letting his hands glide down the plane of her back. Crystal eyes remained fixed on hers, nothing about his look wavering from where it was fixed.

"And is this what these gods tell you about me... are you here to help me find my way back?"

There was no sense in denying why she knew those words and why they were familiar to him. Asher would pick up certain patterns in what she said, simple words like "you" stood out to him. He had known this tongue once, which meant perhaps the reason her face was familiar was because he had known her once.

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]

You will be his light in the never ending darkness of pain.


Alvida found her lip dropping slightly. There was no denying it now, as much as she had fought with the voices in her head, this man was from her home. He needed to return there just as much as she did. Bright white teeth sank into her lower lip as her fingers gingerly scraped against the expanse of his chest. 'They say you have been through far too much. The scars on your body are not the only scars you have.' Finally, her sea-foam eyes drew away from his and glanced down at the skin covering his heart. 'Scars that are so deep they cannot be seen by the naked eye.' For now, she would let the false God be, her intentions for the next few hours did not include trying to convince this man of that. A silence passed over the two as she watched his heart shift his ribs, back and forth and back and forth.

With her head almost resting against his chin she felt entirely entranced by the steady rhythm. She could hear the blood rushing through her ears in time to the beat. PAY ATTENTION, he remembers! Alvida's head shot up again to find the deep brown orbs staring down at her. He had said home. Excitement touched the corners of her face and lit up her voice with an ecstatic tone. 'It is nice to see you have finally caught on.' Without even thinking she allowed the material to slide free from her skin, it felt good to feel the gentle breeze rolling over it. The hairs across her body began their slow process of standing on end, a feeling that Alvida relished entirely. In her human form it was the closest sensation that felt like being the wolf.

A slim brow raised up on her forehead marginally. 'The Gods tell me many things.' But we tell you more. Alvida took a step toward him, so they were effectively one shadow cast across the moonlit lake. The closer she got the louder the voices seemed to shout. You're almost there. Make him remember. 'They tell me that you need me. You will not find your way on your own.' Reaching up with one hand, Alvida found her fingers curling into the mass of dark brown hair on his head. Something marginally important crossed her mind. 'What do they call you?' Almost immediately after she had asked the question the voices cried out in protest. They did not want details or semantics. They wanted results. 'It matters not.' Alvida spoke quickly, though she was still curious to learn his name. 'Eg mun leida dig heim.'

Eg mun leida dig heim. - I will guide you home.

 

[Asher Mossa]

Asher did not know these gods she spoke of. It had been far too long for him to remember the old ways he had followed as a child. The fact he recognized any of the language after the trauma he had experienced as a boy and into adulthood was a miracle itself. Yet as she spoke, the more Asher understood that she could “see.” This woman was touched by them, or could use the force, either way Asher was aware that she was gifted. While it did not take a magician to know he was wounded, but the way she looked at his heart as she spoke, it caused him to pause slightly.

“They are only just beginning to heal,” he admitted. What she could not have known was that it was the first time the chain bearing his wife’s ring was no longer around his neck. She had released him in the caverns of this world.

Her smell continued to overtake his nostrils. The closer she came, the more of her he breathed in. It was in her eyes as well, a hypnotic ferocity that matched her scent. Everything about this woman screamed that she knew exactly who she was and what she wanted. Asher had thought he knew, but with the prospect of home standing in front of him, Asher realized there was more of him missing than he ever had wanted to admit.

Asher only smiled at her reply as they melted into each other. Their skin was almost one, and every breath she took, he could feel against his chest. Her touch was intoxicating, her words drew him into the magic se possessed. These gods she spoke of, he could do without, but that was not the point here. One thing she said was truer than everything else. Asher would not find his home without her. He did not even know where it was, so he simply nodded.

“Asher,” he spoke regardless as the back of his hand came to slide down her cheek. His palm turned to cup the soft skin of the woman in front of him, and pressing his lips to hers he begged her. “Help me find my home.”

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

Bring him to us.​

'I can see...' Alvida had no idea what had caused the scars, no idea what troubles this man had been through, but she could see he had been through much. The voices had said that slowly, but surely, they would heal over time. Bringing him home was step one in the plan. 'Time will fix them, as will the Gods.' Her voice was so solid and sure even she could not convince herself otherwise. His heart beat quickened, as did hers. There was little time to waste, now that she knew a trip back home was in the cards. The voices had rejoiced at the idea too. They felt comfortable there, they felt safe.

Catching his kiss with her lips she allowed him the momentary break in conversation. His gentle movements almost felt pleasant on her skin, it had been a long time since she had felt such a tender touch. Despite her enjoyment her strong will, nor the voices, would not allow it to go on for too long. Once again her fingers returned to his chin, using it to push him gently away from her. 'My name is Alvida.' A friendly smile, the first she had displayed since her tormenting of him through the trees, graced her expression. 'Follow me and I will show you where you come from.'

 

[Asher Mossa]

Asher faded nothing for her gods now, but she believed in them as much as he did Lylek. Lylek was real to him, and as such there would be no room for calling him false. His travels across the galaxy taught him there were a great many things that people called gods. Were any of them true, or greater than the others, Asher didn’t know.

She allowed his kiss, but pushed him off as soon as she fancied. The woman herself was tempting, but the promise of home was even more so. Her fingers wrapped around his chin once more to push him back. His eyes fell on her smile, a thing he had not discovered yet.

“Alvida,” he said rolling the name around his tongue a few times. Whether he had the pronunciation right was uncertain, but it felt natural. Her name seemed more natural to say than his own, an oddity only for the sake that his name was not of their shared tongue. Asher suddenly knew his name was not his own. Where had it come from?

At her beckoning, Asher followed the woman toward the shore. Alvida had promised he would see their home, but how did she plan on accomplishing this. He reached for his pants the moment they stepped onto the shore. Asher was quite aware of his bare state and was certain whatever they were going to do required him to be covered.

“So how do you plan on showing me our home. Do you have a ship somewhere?”

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

Bring him into the light so that we might see our lost son.​

'Yes, my ship is not far from here, but it is a long way home.' Alvida dragged herself from the lake, Asher in tow. The forest air surrounding them was warm in comparison to the water they had just been swimming in, but still she pulled her dress back up and slipped her arms into the sleeves. After a quick shake that looked remarkably similar to the way a dog shakes itself after a bath, Alvida turned to Asher with a mischievous grin. 'I would like you to see it before we set off.' He had barely begun to get himself dressed when Alvida moved, swift as the wind, to capture his personal space again. There was little to say he would agree to what was about to happen next, but there wasn't much of a choice. Alvida wanted him to see before they left, she wanted him to know his home before he arrived. Her fingers fumbled with the damp leather satchel attached to her waist. She brought forth a small package, wrapped tightly in a thin film of plastic.

After unwrapping it, she held aloft the thing that would bring them closer to the Gods. From it she produced a small, wrinkly, capped piece of fungi. It twirled quickly between the tips of her fingers as she glanced up at him. 'This will help.' To show it wasn't harmful in any way she bit half of it off and swallowed, flashing her empty mouth to Asher. 'You will see. The Gods will speak to you.' The voices in her head joined a chorus of song as the flora slipped down her throat and settled nicely in the pit of her stomach. The effects would take hold soon. Alvida had experienced it before, but Asher... She was almost jealous. The effects it had when you first ingested it made you feel like you were on another plain of existence. Normally, back home, Alvida would have been chastised for offering this stranger a taste of the Gods, but he needed it. 'Do you trust me?' She took a step forward, placing the half-eaten fungi against the swell of his lower lip.

 

[Asher Mossa]

Asher was justly confused by the revelation she wanted him to see the word before they left for it. Once again she flew to invade his personal, something she seemed to enjoy. There was no complaint from Asher especially as the night air was a bit cold after having spent more time in the water than he had originally planned. He watched her pull something out her leather satchel. With great interest and curiosity, Asher watched as she unwrapped the crinkly plastic like substance to reveal an edible fungus. She twirled it about in her fingers, and as Asher reached to stop her hand she popped a piece in her mouth.

It was supposed to help. Asher had been taken through his fair share of visions, and this was a method he had never walked through before. Most came from the spirits after handling a grimoire or dropping blood into an eternal flame. This seemed safe. There would be no cutting of his own flesh.

Lylek begged him not to take the fungus to his mouth.

"You will not hear me..." the loud voice spoke inside his mind. Lylek misjudged the warning as caution, when it proved to be an incentive.

Did Asher trust her? He had only just met her. Everything in him told him not to trust her, but he did. Without any reason to trust her, she had captured it without any true attempt. In fact, everything she had done to this point should have made him respond the opposite. Instead, as the spongy morsel was placed on the swell of his lip, Asher simply opened his mouth and let her push it in the rest of the way.

At first Asher felt nothing, saw nothing, and about the time he thought it would produce nothing, Asher suddenly felt dizzy. His hand reached for nearest tree trying to hold his footing. Pupils grew wide and took in more of the moonlight than Asher thought possible. Falling onto his back, the sky spun until he began to hear voices. There many, all of them speaking at once and out of turn simultaneously. His heart raced as he could almost smell another forest. Every voice beckoned him...

"Come to us... see us... know us..."

In an instant Asher was laying on soft, fertile ground and staring at the sun. As if nothing had happened Asher stood and began to walk the new world he was seeing. Tall snow capped peaks displayed their majesty in a wood that felt more home to him than any he had walked in a long time.

That was when his eyes fell on the tree. It was large and taller than anything else in the wood. He looked for Alvida... but he did not see her.

"This tree... why do I know it?"

He asked it in his vision, and it was audible as he truly lay on the shore wet and cold.

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]​

​

Do not let him sink too deeply, little wolf.​

He trusted her. Almost too eagerly, she slipped the plant past his lips and shut his mouth with the tip of her fingers. With no real idea how he would take it, Alvida wrapped her hands around his arms. Most people passed out, just as she had done the first time she took the gift of the Gods. It was lucky she did really, because minutes after chewing and swallowing she felt his weight relax and fall back. Alvida, while not strong enough to support his entire weight, managed to let him down slowly onto the moss covered bank of the lake. Lying almost on top of him, milk white fingers gingerly scrapped the hair back from his crystal clear eyes. 'Do not worry.' Her voice sounded distant, like the fading memory of a person known long ago. 'Leyfdu dér ad fara, dú ert í höndum gudanna núna.' A soft, comforting whisper in his ear was all she managed to offer as she herself settled into the effects of the fungi. Tracing the outline of his jaw slowly, Alvida watched with wide eyes as he slipped further into the trance.

Blinding light after blinding light. Noises came from every angle, growing more and more distant as the plant dragged her into the depths of the unknown. A smile crossed her expression, eyes turned up to face the sun breaking through the canopy of the Father Tree. In her vision Alvida rose, arms outstretched to the sky and a song on her lips. Hjartad Skóginum. The Heart of the Forest. For a moment she simply stood, bathing in the familiar sunlight that cast her face in a comforting yellow glow. Her feet, now entirely bare, moved through the fallen leaves as if they would part to her will. A delightful laugh broke from her throat and echoed around the empty forest. The happiness she felt growing inside her could not be contained for long. She burst into a run, sending dust and debris up into a cloud behind her. Spinning, twirling, jumping, dancing. Everything felt right again.

'This tree, why do I know it?'

Alvida paused in her step, one hand touching the Father Tree and the other sweeping a mass of blonde hair from her face. Her head poked out from the side of the gnarled roots as her eyes searched for Asher. 'Back home it is sacred.' She swung herself from one of the larger roots, coming round to face the figure that was Asher. He looked distant, like a shadow of his true self, all his sharp outlines were fuzzy and blurred. 'Fadirin lies here. Father to all, God of all Gods.' She touched the root with the flat of her hand, her eyes fluttering to a close as she connected with the Father of all Gods. 'When his wife Knúsa, Mother of Gods, fell to her death he cried for nine days and nine nights, creating the seas and the rivers and the lakes. When there were no tears left to cry he fell here. He has been sleeping so long the Father Tree has grown over him. It gives life to all things on Skógur Heim.' Freeing herself from the tangles of the roots she took three light, fairy like steps across the open space to Asher.

She shouldn't have been able too, but her hands wrapped around his ethereal frame and she hung from him, like a child would hang from their Father. 'Do you see now, Asher? This is where you belong. This is who calls you home.'

Leyfdu dér ad fara, dú ert í höndum gudanna núna. - Let go, you are in the hands of the Gods now.

 

[Asher Mossa]

'Back home it is sacred.'

Her voice called to his on the air. Asher locker onto the sound of her voice and watched the tree as she began to fade into view. Alvida swung about the roots and branches as though she had played about the twisted and knotty bark her entire life. She knew it as well as it knew her. He smiled at the thought, wondering why she was now part of his vision. What Asher understood of hallucinogens did not make this seem possible. No, somehow this thing had manipulated the force. Asher’s mind could not reconcile it any other way.

“Fadirin,” he said allowing the name to roll off his tongue.

The name was familiar to him. As Alvida told the tale of their world’s creation, Asher remembered hearing it many times as a child. He thought it was a faint memory he had projected in order give himself some sense of origin. Asher knew he had to come from somewhere, but the lack of memory had always haunted him, until now. This had been real. The memory was true.

This was who who called him home. His eyes dipped to meet the blurry shape of the woman that now hung from his neck. Even in the vision she could not stay out of his personal space. Asher could not complain about it at all. He found that he enjoyed the fact she seemed to have no concept of personal space. Asher’s mind was frantic with questions she seemed to want to answer. Now that he could see, Asher only wanted to see more, to know more. There was one burning question.

“Why now? If He is calling me home, then why only now. Why would he let another spirit call to me, and allow me to answer? What purpose could they have to allow me to be lost for so long?”

Asher searched her eyes for answers, knowing he would not find them there.

“Are they here now, or do we have to go back for me to see them...”

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

M'Haeli | Set After Into the Jungle | [member="Asher Mossa"]

Teach him our ways, teach him to know us as we know him.


She could see the questions swirling in his head like a storm on the brink of breaking. There was little surprise in Alvida's face, she would have had thousands of questions too, where she in his shoes. The might of the Gods was enough to bend houses and break trees, the simple fact that he had managed to see anything was impressive. A smile graced her face. 'You sound so natural when you speak your tongue.' Some kind of pride was present in her tone. She was proud of him, proud that he had so willingly accepted everything that had happened thus far. There had been little protest and that in itself was saying something. 'You have many questions.' She twirled her nail against the back of his neck, almost as if she were coaxing them out of him. 'Ask me.'

A whoosh of air left her lungs in the form of a sigh, his first question happened to be the hardest one to answer. 'The Gods are mysterious in many ways, you should not question it, but perhaps they wanted you to have these experiences. Perhaps home would not have nurtured you in the way they wished. Perhaps they needed you as you are today and not as you would have been.' Alvida shrugged and released her grip on Asher, taking a step back to press up against the tree. Her hands caressed the bark, each bump and twist in the aged skin made her feel like she belonged. Here, in the forests of home, she could only hear one voice. His voice. The Fathers. 'He tells me your wife and son are with him, safe and sound where they belong. And you, Asher, will be where you belong soon enough. He asks that you trust him, just as you have trusted me tonight.' Her hand reached out from the tree, stretching out toward Asher. 'Come, touch the tree. Feel his power.'