Shadows of the Past Still Haunt Me

[Asher Mossa]

Perhapses and Maybes, Asher wanted more certainty than that, but what did he expect from a hallucination and the work of spirits. There were always reasons why "gods" did as they wished. Sovereignty was man's excuse for not understanding the deeper mysteries of a realm most sentients could only dream of accessing. Yet, he was Asher, with Alvida, in a state that was far beyond whatever they had ingested could have brought about. Still Asher wanted those answers, and hoped with time and persistence they would become clear.

Asher watched her move back to the tree, placing herself against it as if her contact coaxed language from it. That was not why she touched it however. He could feel it, even from a distance, the raw power which pulsed outward from the tree. It was neither magic nor the force, yet it was living. Asher sensed life itself, drawing him near even as Alvida invited him to draw close.

His eyes shot a dangerous warning to her at the mention of his wife and son.

"I have just made peace with them, there is no need to mention them now. They have released me to live whatever life is set before me."

The words were sharp and carried a slight bite to them, but they were not hostile in anyway. Asher was simply establishing boundaries, and while he had trusted this woman enough to place his life in her hands for this moment that did not mean his family was a topic of discussion. There was no one Asher was intimate enough with to allow that conversation. Perhaps with time he would allow someone to tell them what they could see, but not now. The would was still too fresh from the caverns.

Slowly Asher reached out toward the tree. His hand grazed against the rough bark and then let it rest with intention. The power he felt from it was raw, yet gentle. He knew it, and yet he did not. The only way he knew to describe it was that it was part of him, and he was part of it. Suddenly Asher knew he belonged. Then it spoke.

"Follow her... she will bring you to us."

The voice sounded of the woods, and was the forest. Asher smiled at the sound, and turned to look at Alvida.

"I can feel him..."

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

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

​

He finally sees. He finally knows.​

Alvida grasped him in her hands before he could reach the tree. Despite her short stature she appeared stronger than she seemed, easily bringing him to her chest to rest there. The slow steady beat her heart made was quickened slightly as she pressed his head against the cloth that separated skin from skin. As she spoke into his ear her tone took on a comforting, yet stern quality. 'I will make no further mention of them except to say this. Making peace with the dead does not mean you must forget them. Their memories are alive and well, as they should be. Do not let them fade away. Speak of them often and smile at the fact that you were lucky enough to be one with their lives, even if only for a short while.'

The sharp sting in his tone was neither here or there to Alvida, she was merely the messenger that delivered. The pain in his eyes, however, she could not turn a blind eye too. Her fingers ran through his hair slowly, catching on the knots and curls left by the waters weight. For once in her life she wanted so desperately to take away the keen sting of death, but she knew in this regard she was powerless. Just as he was powerless to prevent what the Father made her see or hear. Instead she pressed a single kiss to the bare skin on his forehead, in the wild hope that it might provide some comfort.

When she released him he stretched his hand out to the tree and Alvida motioned eagerly for him to make contact. The Father's voice boomed in her head the closer he got, making her skull shake. Power burst forth from the roots of the tree, filling the forest with an unshakeable presence. An unearthly expression filled Alvida's eyes, making them glisten in the shimmering light of the sun. Follow her... she will bring you to us. Another laugh from the depths of her stomach burst forth and seemed to shake the world around them. 'You can feel him, you can hear him. He is always with us and despite what you think he has not forsaken you, Asher Mossa...' Alvida, eyes locked onto those of her charge, stepped forward and placed her hand on the trunk next to his. Together, as their hands pressed against the deep brown of the Father Tree, the rolling voice spoke again.

Fardu, börnin mín. Farid aftur til landa mína. Dyrdu mer eins og du viest hvernig.

Alvida turned to lock eyes with Asher, an ethereal smile on her face as she did. There was no attempting to ignore the voice that spoke to them through the magic in the forest. He commanded of them and they followed. Even now Alvida could see the edges of the vision beginning to fade. The moonlight they had left behind crept back over the clear blue skies. 'We must not ignore the bidding of Fadirin.' The hand she had placed on the trunk shifted slightly to cover Asher's. Once she had found it the fingers curled slowly and brought it away from the textured tree. 'Come. It is time I take you home.'

Fardu, börnin mín. Farid aftur til landa mína. Dyrdu mer eins og du viest hvernig. - Go, my children. Return to my lands. Worship me as only you know how.

 

[Asher Mossa]

Asher did not fight the pull toward the woman’s chest. It would have been counter productive to try, likely making them both trip over a knotted root of lose their balance altogether. Instead Asher just sighed as the need to apologize seemed settle in his gut. She had not meant to bring up his wife if she was truly speaking for the gods. It had been their voice through her. He only nodded at her whisper and closed his eyes at the comforting kiss. It was a maternal gesture, caring and calming. Asher looked up at her eyes before he pressed his hand to the tree with a look that simply said, “I know.”

Everything happened so quickly and yet all of time stood still. The power and quaking of the wood was both wild and yet contained. Asher knew, and his eyes went wide. The voice had been in her tongue and the language Asher had relied on for so many years. Yet when Alvida placed her hand on the tree, Asher felt something shift. It was as if the Father had designed this moment. Asher couldn’t explain it, but as he looked toward Alvida, he suddenly seemed to know her. Perhaps it was simply the aspect that all life flowed from this tree, but in this instance it was what connected them.

It spoke again, this time only in the native tongue. Asher understood it though. He told them to return home.

Asher looked to Alvida and mouthed the word, home. She spoke as the vision was fading, and Asher nodded once more. Moonlight soon overtook the clear blue sky. Sunlight was replaced with a million bright stars shining like beacons in the night. Asher was still on his back, Alvida was with him as well. A sudden chill washed over him. His head rolled to find Alvida’s eyes even as Asher could still feel the effect of the drug wearing off.

“Well, that was different,” he admitted.

[member="Alvida Osulf"]

 

[Alvida Osulf]

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

​

Hear the call of the Forest, return to me. ​

With one hand on the tree Alvida could feel the gentle breeze rolling through the forests of home. It shifted the golden hair on her shoulders and forced a smile onto her face. Alvida was used to the Father's voice, so used to it that it felt like her own. It felt like family. Sea-foam eyes sparkled back at Asher when he mouthed the word home. 'Yes, home.' Moving her hand from the bark of the tree she placed it over Asher's own with a smile on her face. 'Your people have missed you and will welcome you back.' With that she pulled herself away and dusted her hands down on the forest green dress she wore. 'Some may even recognise you, we can try to figure out why the God's wanted you raised else where.'

Avlida was already awake by the time Asher stirred from his drug induced slumber. She had shifted the hair from his face and covered him with the clothing he had left on the shore of the lake. 'Asher...' Her voice sounded distant, far away, almost as if she hadn't entirely returned from the vision herself. A grin brought her shining white teeth out from hiding as he finally opened his eyes and turned his head. 'That will not be the last time...' She ran the length of her finger across his cheek gently. 'We have little time to waste, we must go.' Alvida stood from her spot, shaking out her muscles to relieve the cramps that had settled there. One hand stretched out, the appendages on the end wriggling excitedly. 'Koma.'

Koma - Come