"The worst pain a man can suffer: to have insight into much and power over nothing."
Herodotus
[PHASE ONE]
-THEME-
BIOGRAPHY
BIRTH - EARLY CHILDHOOD
854-858 ABY
THE FATHER
The last years of strife within the Novanian community were approaching by the time Siyarr was born, and though the boy would be kept away from it's cruel embrace for the first four years of his life, the horrors of war would force him to see it with crystalline clarity eventually. A truth of life of which not even the humans in Hirkenburg could change, or even shield against it for that matter, and when the Syndicalists eventually swept over all of Outer-Perlemia, the great Mitharran would have no other other choice but to cover the escape of his wife and three sons. Wishing that his legacy would survive long enough to rebuild from the ashes of this
,"Novanian Culture War", as his white-eyed compatriots dubbed it at the time, Mitharran knew he would never again get the opportunity to see the faces of the family he loved.
Fated a bittersweet ending to an otherwise-bloody life, fated a mythical demise that would resound across the ages - and the last stand was still days away by then.
Just as his longest-lived, dearest friend in life, Yan'Sharlim had perished a week before his family was sent away, so too would Mitharran
,"The Bloodscribe", remaining behind in steadfast comfort that the legacy of the Blood-Shamans would endure. Sending away the youngest members of this hidden, clandestine order of dark art mystics, the only ones who remained with Siyarr's father were old, wisened and more than ready to die by then, and all more eager than ever for a meaningful death, especially if it was to be a death embraced alongside one they dubbed
,"The Last Bloodseer", in the wake of his untimely election.
It is told that Mitharran's execution was chosen in a similar fashion, opting for the wood-splitting axe
(as accorded to Syndicalist-Novanian ideals at the time) so as not to leave any doubt that their enemy was felled that day, thus the noose was rejected a second time by non-believers. By those who always doubted the magic of the Ancients, by those who neither bought into superstitions nor Shamanic myths, and in their own factional return to tradition, these Arkanian, futurist traditions with which these Syndicalists forever flirted before, opted to make this execution more public than such was ever considered for the Godseer. However, just as they had countless times before, the Bloodscribe's seemingly self-sacrificial ways would leave their enemies scratching their chins for years after every encounter; but this time, and in unyielding, cackling mirth, Mitharran's old gaggle of prisoners had already resolved to reveal their workings to the entire world.
A turn of events so disturbing, and so horrifying to watch that both Mitharran's and Yan'Sharlim's sons alike would keep their Blood-Shaman Revival a secret from their new Imperial overlords - an event so eerily brutal that historians would aptly refer to this event as
,"The Manic Peace".
All the remaining Blood-Shamans would be lined up in clear view of the Holographic-Recording Droid, with the Syndicalist Cosme
"Gonçalo" Soutara presiding as a master-of-ceremonies, uncaring in the choice to let his closest commanders handle their roles as headsmen. Making it quite obvious to everyone that Soutara wished to have the affair concluded with short, snappy showmanship, unwilling as he was to stand on ceremony for too long, as no such poetry would be required but that which dared to follow the demise of Syndicalism's enemies; and after a fittingly showy introduction to audiences across the surface of Archais, the self-styled
,"Matador of Perlemia.", snapped his fingers in wordless demand, prompting his officers to proceed with the execution.
The officers would endure the last of the laughter to make a singular, collective strike to end the war with lasting finality, but not in any way as anyone expected, as everything would change from the moment the first head hit the oaken platform, marked immediately by the most-subtle of changes in the white irises of the headsmen. Then the weather would change, bringing deep, dark clouds in the midst of a regional dry-season, and still, people celebrated and recoiled in abject cluelessness as to what would follow, thus the world would delay in their reaction when the same headsmen then turned on each other. Almost disbelieving when the first executioners dropped to the floor, but when one of the manic few turned and buried his axe in Soutara's back, this is when the target audience finally understood that something dark and arcane had befallen the last-surviving Syndicalist commanders.
With the Holographic-Recording Droid's microphone catching the consequent wheezing death-rattle, and in disturbing detail at that, it was then that the power of Blood-Shamanism power became an undeniable truth - nightmares made manifest before their very eyes.
It was Game, Set, and Match in favour of the Ancients, but at the cost of a father's future and the best weapons Novania retained to field against their oppressors, though Mitharran had always expressed a depressive interest in making such a statement of power eventually, as such was life for all separatists on the run at the time. Beholden to his own word when push came to shove, as all other Novanian mystics were in these moments of despair, and yet the Bloodscribe was smiling with absolute resolve in his last moments, an acceptance of fate so rare that not even the revered Yan'Sharlim could muster a smile in his deathly resolve. Mitharran had been laughing after all, cackling alongside all the old mystics who
,"Surrendered", with him, so it only made sense to assume at the time that the Bloodscribe was enjoying, not only his own last laugh in life, but also the last laugh of a long, drawn out conflict of needless extremes.
His part was played, and much in the same way his tenure began as a Blood-Shaman, it would end in much the same way.
Written in blood.
THE MOTHER
Aline Ahana-Clara, dubbed
,"The Darling of Slumber", for her elevated status as a Dreamgod's conduit throughout her marriage, already was a powerful mystic when she met Mitharran for the first time, though Aline's very-first encounter with with the Bloodscribe had only been in a professional, strategic capacity. Though this was but a singular, petty barrier between practicioners of Shamanism, made all the smaller by the fact both were arguably the most-powerful coven leaders of their era, and smaller still in noting they were the among the youngest High-Seers of their sort since archival records began.
Yet in mention of beginnings, those early days before the Darling of Slumber's tenure, Aline was born and bred in a life much easier, raised in Hirkenburg's suburbs as a happy daughter of a working, secular family. But just like Aline's son would later learn at his own pace, the daughter of Tomás and Clara Criado would learn of her mystic aptitude in small, yet noticeable leaps of progression, and before long the path would open itself for the Darling-to-be, and all within the boundaries of her very own dreamworld, not knowing that her long-dead predecessor had taken her time in exploring as Aline had. The main reason for this being, as Siyarr himself has correctly surmised, that there was never any need
(or viable way-) to hasten one's improvement in dabbling with the magics of Arr'Huwal.
Time, fate, and the earnest that guided Aline every step of the way, however, had been enough that the second encounter would occur within the midst of Mitharran's mind, found wandering half-lucid in a blurry, though distinct backdrop. Making as much history as she was an impression on the Bloodscribe, destined, or perhaps even ordained to fall for the Darling of Slumber, though what was not arguable was the fact Aline would remain firmly in the heart, mind and soul of Metharran forevermore. Ill-fated though their romance would end up becoming, both of Siyarr's parents committed joyfully to each other, and would forevermore, though it only truly began to make sense after the birth of Siyarr's older brother.
Perhaps even moreso in the child who was born after
Meiarr, as the birth of a daughter aided a newfound context for that revelation, especially for Aline. Naming the daughter
Vela, the Arkanian word for
,"Candle", as a reminder of that same, much-needed illumination of understanding.
Not long after, Siyarr himself would be conceived, even though neither Mitharran nor Aline were ready to bring a third child into the world; as it was then that their ill-fated future began to make more sense to the couple, just as their connection had just four years before, making their choices obvious, and long before their fated last parting. Setting the starcrossed lovers in their ways like concrete thereafter, and to such a deathly level of resolve that one last child of the brood would be born without worry, and almost two years before the Syndicalists finally came for the Blood-Shamans, for any children who were borne of their union had a chance of surviving the rotten luck of their parentage. Or at least, this was assumed in the moments prior to the kiss farewell, as all that would follow Mitharran would follow Aline in turn, circumstances of which not even the Ancients could change.
Dark are the times when ancient celestial enemies weep together.
But mine hand was stayed, thus I was granted isolation.
To grieve in peace, a choice with which I still wrestle now.
Arr'Huwal - the Ancient God of Dreams
Caught traversing a quiet dirt trail toward the Novanian Wetlands, Aline would be found with her children without anyone left to protect them, as many of their protectors had already perished to flora and fauna, to pulse and steely weaponry along the way. All who remained to protect the children was the mother and mother alone, shielding them with her back to the Syndicalists, a vainglorious hope to keep the blaster-rays from passing through to sons and daughters alike, letting raw instinct guide her through abject hopelessness - as any brave mothers would in Criado's shoes.
But alas, only cruel, foul, murderous words and deathly intent would follow, and in the moment the Syndicalist officer bellowed
,'And so passes the Witch, her legacy AND ALL THE ROTTEN CHILDREN SHE FLED WITH!!!! AND SO, BY ORDER OF THE MATADOR - I BID YOU SLAY CATTLE AS OFFERINGS TO THE FUTURE!!!!', nothing else but the aforementioned instinct remained. Huddling close at Aline's strong-arming demand, pulling close with words of love for every last second that remained, the Darling of Slumber exhuded warmth and nurturing, unconditional love in it's purest form in her final moments.
Forever remaining an exemplar of Arr'Huwal, to the bitter end and beyond.
THE SON
Seemingly not the only ones trying to reach Aline in time, the pursuing Syndicalists would never know that Gods were hot in pursuit of those who beset the Darling of Slumber, sealing their own fates almost as soon as the first shot was fired. Unluckily for Soutara's goons, however, no Blood-Shamans would be around to let them die by friendly, familiar hands, and if Arr'Huwal himself had been compelled to stay his hand in this dreaded outcome, then it would not be difficult to imagine the strength required to yield a Cthonic deity's acquiescence in these moments. Made all the more apparent in the future Godseer's memoirs, mentioning those who stepped forth on the Dreamgod's behalf, and by name at that, for it was Melarran the Creator who personally bade his champion inflict a fitting justice.
In any other predicament, Melarran would have sent his brother, as Maaru was always a fitting vengeance as the Ancients' perennial Wargod, but seeing and feeling Arr'Huwal in crippling dismay would change his mind almost instantaneously. Thus Surr'Huwal, the Ancients' Cthonic Deathgod, would be chosen, a decision of which the Creator would later learn was the wisest possible decision to make. The only perceivable problem getting in the way at the time was the fact Surr'Huwal had only recently chosen a new, rather-youthful Deathseer, an untested, lazy lad by the name of Rukkaya, though Melarran himself fortunately had more faith in the boy than the Deathgod was willing to muster yet.
~=I BID YOU RECITE MY WORDS, BOY!!!!=~
~=THE HOUR OF INCANTATION IS UPON US!!!!=~
Surr'Huwal - The Ancient Ferryman of Death
Fortunately for all residing on Melarran's Firmament, the lad would be awake and within reach of the Casket-Wood needed to form the mask, and with the practiced incantation itself catalysing the formation of the mask Rukkaya needed, it would only be a matter of minutes to reach Aline's location from there. Yet when Surr'Huwal reached the expected scene of the execution, he didn't expect the killers would be dumb enough to stick around, thus seeing them mirthfully directing recording-droids towards the Darling's corpse surprised the Deathgod at first. Taken aback by these galling, brazen acts of desecration, it would take Surr'Huwal more than enough moments to comprehend what he was seeing, but when the realisation finally swept over him, descending like a red, sanguinous fog of rage, the killers would feel that otherworldly, loathing sickness approaching.
Feeling that dread of approaching doom almost a minute before they finally saw the lad in the mask, but by then, as all the perpetrators knew it was already much too late to escape it - as divine retribution had never known such exceptions on Archais.
None know what occurred next, for none now live who remember it, none but the Cthonic who answered the Creator's call, as Rukkaya would sadly take his glorious secret with him to the afterlife. Perishing in the early months of 873 ABY, and in his own ill-fated, coincidental fight to protect @ Gwyneira Vizsla from rogue Arkanians, sacrificed himself on Hoth's snowy surface to strengthen the resolve of his newly-coronated Godseer, letting secrets go unanswered so that Novania could survive as a culture. But what is known
(or rather, that which Rukkaya ever allowed to be known) is that during the exertion of his God's powers, another, unaccounted heartbeat had been detected, prompting an abrupt change in strategy, one such that forced Rukkaya to use brute-force on the unlucky Syndicalists instead.
At least in this way, it is perceived that Siyarr's soul would be in no position to perish, thus would not be sent to the afterlife in the midst of misled, perilous zeal, frightening though the ordeal would have been for the young child who heard every brutalizing sound in the process. But eventually the horror would subside, made all the easier by the sound of another young voice, and perhaps even moreso in the care taken with the handling of Siyarr's departed family, a respect for the dead that would serve to provide a great comfort for the otherwise-shaken, traumatised son of Mitharran
,"The Bloodscribe".
Closing over the eyelids, laying the dead out aside each other on their backs with faces pointing skyward, and with arms crossed toward the shoulders, chanting as according to the beliefs of their Shamanic coven before proceeding to dig their graves all night without interruption, the would-be Dreamseer would understand that Rukkaya's God had chosen his own Seer wisely. Acts of which still confuse today's historians as much as the following, seemingly-heartless choice made by Surr'Huwal in the story, as it seems to contradict the kindnesses shown, as in the hours following the considerate funerary practices of the Deathseer serving him at the time, Siyarr would be left sleeping by Rukkaya's campfire as an absentee-father would his own brood.
Rukkaya himself would protest this decision, and with all the violent, cutting language his vehemence could muster, but for as long as he awaited his order to break the mask, the Deathseer would find himself physically powerless to resist the will and control of Surr'Huwal. Not that the Ancient Ferryman could do anything about it either, as there was a familial consideration of his own to which he was blood-bound to adhere, and for as long as Arr'Huwal was resigned to languishing in this midst of his griefstruck, distraught stupor, the Dreamgod would remain unwilling to receive and initiate his next Seer.
Completely unaware that the Deathgod was the only one weeping for the boy they left behind.
BIOGRAPHY
LATTER CHILDHOOD YEARS
858-864 ABY
As the newly-resurgent NLA struggled against the peoples of the stars, Siyarr would remain in the wild with nothing but his own imagination to keep him company, and with the modernised, Arkanian-leaning Novanians losing their fights at every turn, the Dreamseer-to-be would go on clueless about the forces who beset his previous oppressors at the time. Even with the injection of Syndicalist remnants to bolster their numbers, the specific sort of mercenaries they were fighting were much too adept in the art of warfare to counter, not that the lad cared much for those who murdered his mother, thus Mitharranson would remain oblivious to the mystery in continuation of a slow, unhealthy descent into ferality.
Wandering aimlessly amongst the trees, the bogs and the rivers, dancing in the reeds as the world continued its deathly spiral around him, heedless of the traumas his mind was suppressing after being orphaned by his own fate. Every part as heedless as Arr'Huwal had been in turn, and for as long as the Dreamgod and his next Seer continued down these paths, neither would understand how powerful they had become until both could join in the Bridging of Souls, clueless as to how such unhealthy immersions could build the foundations of the magic they were destined to wield together. But like in matters of spirituality, walking such paths of blind faith always took time to bear fruit, thus the young Dreamer would need to wander a little more.
And with that - Arr'Huwal would need to sleep a little longer in turn.
In all that time, the winds of change would sweep across the Galaxy, bringing with them war and strife on a scale not seen in centuries, reaching out to shake the overlord status-quo and shaking it to it's very foundations, and still the lad remained blissfully unaware. Clueless as to the affiliations and enmities of the NLA's foes by then, even uncaring enough that Siyarr gradually gave in to his previous nonverbal habits, such finer points on the invaders' homeworlds and accents wouldn't be known for a few years yet, but eventually things would change.
A change that meant finding other Novanians along the way, as two other, older children would be found on the run from the NLA, but unlike the wild young Seer-to-be, both
Ajaya
and his older friend Yorunarr still retained the ability to communicate verbally. Thus three fates, as one, finally stepped in to bring destined routes together in convergence, and after four years of uncertainty, the young Dreamer would finally know relative safety again. Wild though the Wetlands had been for millennia, poisonous though much of the flora and fauna was for most sentient species in the Galaxy, Novania itself had seemingly shielded the boys from the wicked intent of rogue compatriots, and perhaps enough to keep them safe for another few years before the world came knocking.
Yet fortunately for all involved, however, time was, in fact, on their side, so Siyarr would have enough in reserve to relearn all the verbal language before the world discovered them. A marvel on it's own, one of which all three would grow up to look back on fondly, but it was the discussions that followed that truly brought the young feral back to the realms of the civilised, though this was not exactly without it's fair share of early-stages complications. From four years of untreated traumas, repressed memories and no guiding mentors, to all the deep-seated enmities the boy's new protectors never expected would be apparent, neither Yorunarr nor Ajaya thought that raising their friend would be so difficult in the beginning, but somehow - the older youths succeeded.
In that time, the boy's comrades would admit they knew him to be Siyarr, or at least that they correctly guessed it was him, admitting they had previously assumed Mitharranson had perished in the days following the death of his mother. In time the older lads would even admit their Blood-Seer heritage, with the name of Yorunarr's father hitting much closer to home than even Yorunarr himself had dared to consider, as hearing the name
,"Yan'Sharlim Ahan-Karidim", had coincidentally stirred up memories from the years preceding the end of the Novanian Culture War. But despite the regression-precipice they neared in the young Dreamer's tears, Siyarr would find a newfound appreciation for his friends in the midst of this fateful revelation.
Hatred and resentment still remained for the NLA and their Syndicalist Remnant reinforcements, especially after hearing what befell the other Blood-Shamans, feeling a sense of pride for what their fathers achieved in their final moments, but it was in these affirmations of resolve where curiosity would find them. Not only in consideration of the NLA's slow and bloody downfall, and not only in a need to know what they had been doing in the years after the Blood-Shaman eradications, but also
(and perhaps, mostly-) toward the very same mysterious invaders who had been so-relentlessly hounding their oppressors at the time. Sadly, however, neither Yorunarr nor Ajaya could possibly know more than Siyarr at the time, having embraced the wild for years like their young friend, but then another, altogether more-peculiar Novanian youth stumbled across their otherwise-hidden campsite.
Politely introducing himself as
,"Rukkaya Ahan-Marhiyyan", the lad would also reveal himself to be the Deathseer in the hopes it further-assured their trust, going so far as to boast that he knew exactly who the trio were, and that he had been searching for them since the end of the Culture War. Luckily for Rukkaya, and perhaps even moreso for those who would need to pick up the pieces of personal-progress lost, his face had been covered in a Casket-Wood mask in the hours he spent with Siyarr, thus the young Dreamer would welcomed and invited by the Deathseer to sit by their campfire, remaining blissfully unaware that his new friend was the one who both saved and abandoned him on the night he lost his family.
Little did the Deathseer know at the time, but this would be the one and only chance Rukkaya had to tell Siyarr the truth, but in the understanding that Siyarr himself was far from ready to learn what his new friend had known all this time - the oddball had been both wise and unwise to omit his recollections of the Blood-Shamans' downfall.
Some clean breaks are just a little too clean, too good to be true.
BIOGRAPHY
AMONG LIONS
864-867 ABY
By chance the foreign, Imperial invaders
(soundly victorious by then) had found the four youths whilst on patrol, though much to the great relief of Siyarr's clique, it was almost too-obvious that these invaders were different, and not only for the fact they were Human either. As it was in that confusion the Novanian youths noticed something, for Humans, they knew well enough already, but everything about the planet's new overlords differed almost-entirely to Hirkenburg's key-demographic, and especially in the many confident ways these Imperials carried themselves. Uncharacteristically so, especially in the wake of their wintry-preferences revelation, as the warmth and humidity hard served very little aid in hampering their combat ferocity, a matter of which had almost always proven an issue for outsiders before.
But these were men of Galidraan, a dual-sun system of which wasn't all that far from the singular sun to which, and in understanding of history, this wasn't the first time Galidraani and Goidels had occupied segments of the planet's surface. Previously under other barriers, and likely not even half as cohesive in their previous occupation, making Tal's Tigers, and a sizeable number of PMCs from the same region in the preceding decades, the most surprising, perhaps even the most-anomalous of naturally-adept surprises. Much the same would go for the nuances shown in considerations of Archaisian Humans and Novanian Arkanians alike, with Lord Willan Tal applying more than enough of a revolutionary's sense of balance and fairness, for all on Archais' surface bore a certain untapped potential, distinct enough for the Lion of North-Galidraan to notice within weeks of establishing the planet as his base of operations.
These Imperials were different to the Sith overlords of yesteryear, and by a margin wide enough to be considered chasm-like in contrast - and especially so in the way Tal's battle-commander handled the matter of the youths' integration.
Yorunarr would step forth to serve the New Imperial Order in Ajaya's stead, and in the old Goidel's acceptance of the lad's terms, and in Ajaya's acceptance of Lord Erskine's own, the next chapter of the youths' lives would be afforded in comforts far-exceeding those of the lives the young Novanians had been living by then. Yet despite the hardships faced by the Godseer-to-be in the next few years, Yorunarr would relish the fight for self-determination, and in that same warm anticipation he foresaw an easier end to the childhoods of his friends; as it was not only Ajaya's future that had been assured, but also that of Siyarr and Rukkaya in equal measure, the safety of Novania's Shamanic future.
Ajaya would be left alone to wander in search of meaning.
Rukkaya would return to the gravemounds.
But Siyarr, however, would need to begin his Imperial education immediately.
Making Siyarr the first Novanian ever to set foot on Nirauan, his three older friends at least stuck around long enough to bid Mitharranson farewell, as all were hoping to see him again someday. Their
,"Pet-Project turned out alright in the end.", as the elder youths had joked enough times already, but by the time their young friend's transport-ship surged off into the starry-night sky, it was made almost too obvious to Major Barran that they were already beginning to believe it. Knowing what the three elders had known all along, the old Woad had assured them that wherever their friend went, the other youths there would know as they did before long, sensing potential in Siyarr akin to that which he saw in Yorunarr at the time.
The others would worry for a time, knowing that their friend would be carrying over more than a fair share of untreated traumas from Archais, completely unaware of the effect a comfortable bed could have on a child of Slumber's Darling, never once considering that all the other students in Siyarr's class were either War-Children or Army-Brats of Galidraani, Goidelic, and even Archaisian origin. The Galidraan Imperial State were expected to field an army of their own within the year, and with several differing age-groups offered to the planet's Imperial Academy, it would be clear to all that every youth in attendance would form the backbone's makings of their armoured brigades eventually, either training to replace tank crews and the like in the long-run, or to join entirely-new warfighting collectives along the way.
It all looked like an interesting means of obtaining useful, relevent information, as it all could be learned as means of defending his people down the line, including infrastructural and political ideals Siyarr had personally understood as potential lifelines for Novania's future. Yet what was perceived as the most-useful lifeline of all was the connections, friendships and skills of the friends he would make along the way, the resource of reliable, dependable comrades to assure survival and prosperity alike, all of which had been proven meritous within the first few months of Mitharranson's first semester. Over the course of the next few years, all of this and more would work to make repairs to the broken walls of the lad's mind, though in the last semester, Siyarr would be introduced to intoxicating beverages when a Goidelic classmate revealed a finished, rather-excessive batch of homemade hooch.
Beginning a love-affair with alcohol of which Siyarr would take with him into the years of his adult life, but back then - the lad would only drink socially with his newfound friends.
Such were the ways of warriors in the making, much ringing to the same tune with the would-be Druids around Siyarr at the time, marking the beginnings of a forming insight, that which would ultimately prove vital to the Highland Brotherhood down the line. Making formidable of the broken like never before, breathing life into a confidence so self-assured it would magnetise many to the cultish following he would cultivate over the years, though the effect Mitharranson had on his Human counterparts differed almost entirely, as this would be something altogether more fraternal in contrast.
Well-adjusted, and then some, and especially as his older friends had previously hoped; this Yorunarr and Ajaya would see for themselves, personally making a point of visiting Siyarr for his Academy Tier-1 graduation, and it was here when the others would decide on whether-or-not the lad was ready yet. But the elder lads were men grown by then, with Yorunarr in particular standing battle-hardened and many steps ahead of his young friend in terms of personal progression, thus the appraisal would still meet with all the honesty expected of men wishing not to see youths traumatised by war, vehement in their hope to avoid a boy's horror twicefold before adulthood. Ajaya himself would naturally agree to the newly-annointed Godseer's assessments, and though the elders were doubtlessly proud of the lad's progress and recovery, relief wasn't enough to weigh down the risks Siyarr would face in his then-current state of maturity.
Not that the young Dreamer held a grudge for it, as at the time, young romance, and the allure of feminine wiles had finally met with the young magnetist in turn, as such was life for the decadent-to-be; however, much to the great chagrin and resentment of Mitharranson, the lad would embrace another, altogether more-stringent educational curriculum, and on the face of another planet entirely. As there would always be difficulty for the addict in parting with the attachments he had formed in New Carannia, so too would there be difficulty in parting with the world where he found his way again, but in crossing over multiple star-systems to OLD Carannia, further time and discussions en route with Yorunarr would quickly put these resentments to rest.
Serenno would have awaited either way - resenting or not.
BIOGRAPHY
AMONG TUTORS
867-872 ABY
The Yorunarr who stepped forth to offer his service to Galidraan and Imperial defiance, as much as Siyarr had respected him then, was seemingly an entirely new entity, a man grown from one whom Mitharranson would owe a fleeting respect in contrast. Yan'sharlimson had been a wonderful role-model in all that time, but for all that his older friend had achieved in bringing him back from the madness of ferality, it wouldn't take long to understand that Yorunarr had become the leader he was born to become. Yet still, even after all that time to think on his own about it, the young Dreamer had never once drawn to the conclusion that the Godseer had seen the same potential resonating in his young friend at the time, but Yan'Sharlimson knew Mitharranson well enough to know he still wasn't ready yet.
All the right learning had gone to the Dreamer's head, but there was still too much cloudy haze in Siyarr's mind to put him at risk - especially not in recalling the threats Yorunarr had been set against already.
Scars physical, emotional and spiritual alike would be shown in the slow, deliberate journey to Carannia's military college, revealed willingly and reluctantly alike along the way, carrying with them each and every last happening and story leading to these wounds, these callous marks the Galaxy dared to inflict on Siyarr's would-be mentor. Everything the lad was shown would be, and to each and every scar revealed, singular, stern reasons to wait a little longer, as too much from within the Godseer's former self had been lost to the Sith and the Mawsworn already. Thus with all the precedents a lad could ever need for such preparations, Mitharranson would accept the responsibility of training under the supervision of Pellaeonism's finest, embracing the sword as much as the pistol in his next educational setting, though under direction of Myrmidons past and present to ensure the best quality of training throughout.
"Among Myrmidons, among warriors, Druids, Knights and scholars - this was the time Siyarr needed most. As nothing in life would prepare him more for the long-run, the autonomy for which Imperials fight to this day."
Yorunarr Ahan-Yan'Sharlim - Exiled Priest-King of Archais
It wasn't until many weeks after the Godseer's departure that the Dreamer would learn of his friend's Blood-Shaman ritual on the surface of Lao-Mon, his War-Dance against Darth Malus on Ziost, and the introduction of Druidry to Shamanism on Carlac, all being revelations of which would keep Mitharranson in line. Especially in the wake of completed training, though fortunately for Siyarr, Yorunarr eventually would oversee and nurture the last phase of the lad's Shamanic progression; though the Dreamer had no other option but to wait and train some more, beholden to his own trajectory as the Godseer's achievements continued to filter through the rumour-mill.
Not knowing that his own achievements were nothing to baulk at either, as something of which his older friend had learned in combat had been learned in training in turn - learned without duress or life-threatening circumstances.
Unexpectly manifesting Combat Intuition, but instead of the
Warrior's Will aspect, as the Godseer had whilst wielding his mentor's very own
Silken Lion, the Dreamer would unlock a lesser, observational aspect within himself, aptly named
,"The Will of Perception", in the earlier days of it's first recorded conception. All whilst in the development-stages of Siyarr's signature defensive fighting-form,
(a particular technique of which wouldn't be perfected until the day he met his first Tuath, ten years after that day) almost as if by contrasting means to those needed to obtain such rare NFU-predominant powers, as it was in the midst of playfully approaching a certain lateral-evasion method when time began to slow to a crawl around him.
But for as long as Arr'Huwal continued to remain in a griefstruck slumber, his Dreamseer-to-be would remain clueless as to how shallow his growth would continue to be without him, like scratching at the dry, frosty peak of an iceberg as it continued to grow in mass. However, both Yorunarr and an unnamed Ancient had foreseen this for some time already, knowing that Siyarr was laying the best of foundations in his time spent on Serenno; as the future Priest-King knew it was all in preparation for the day the Dreamgod finally snapped out from his slumber, that fateful, impending day that was expected to change Mitharranson, and in much the same way Melarran changed Yan'Sharlimson forevermore.
Waiting, so irritating though it was to Mitharran's only-surviving son at the time, and even though he wanted to know why, was the best
(and only-) strategy his would-be mentor needed to assure absolute success. Yet Siyarr would be commended for his patience from afar, as the Highland Brotherhood would welcome Novanian Shamans into their midst in that five-year span of time in the dark, and some had been assigned to observe the prospect from the shadows, daring not to reveal their faces so as not to confuse or distract their young compatriot. This was still a tentative process after all, and in keeping Siyarr emotionally stable for as long as the Galaxy was willing to allow, time would be given before the Dreamer could make contact with other Novanians, a choice that would remain out of Mitharranson's hands until his second, resoundingly-final graduation ceremony.
The Godseer had been watching, but needed more to go on.
BIOGRAPHY
AMONG FRIENDS
872-873 ABY
Fresh out of the Academy on Serenno, and Yorunarr wasted no time in taking Siyarr to meet their commander on Sword Mountain, overlooking Carannia
(and Castle Dooku) from the southern hills like an eagle, standing sentinel over King Lucien's beloved city like an eagle on it's perch. Much had changed in his older friend over the years, and in the same night, the Dreamer would both learn why and learn how far-reaching the implications could be - with all roads leading to @ Lord Michael Barran as the answer.
The exact first meeting in time when the legend of
Preach, Heady & Antlers was born.
As for the
,"Why", and the
,"How far-reaching the implications could be.", and especially with Yorunarr in mind, there was much and more of which Lord Michael himself was willing to reveal, all of which Siyarr would internalise like a sponge. Such information, as far as Mitharranson could tell from Barran's perspective, would fit many a puzzle piece into place; but for all the questions the Woad would answer in the Novanian's mind, this would only yield other, mind-boggling questions, yet the Druid-Grandmaster would still answer every follow-up in a calm, encouraging tone. It would be made obvious before long that the Barrans had been exemplary mentors to the young Priest-King, and in the respect and appreciation shown towards the Dreamer's endearing first impression, that sense of earnest curiosity would be rewarded with a similar sort of curiosity.
By then, everyone around the young Dreamer had known of his potential, and with that, reports of academic growth and tutors' behavioural notes had always found their way to Lord Michael and in archival form; thus Barran had known from the start that Mitharranson was a heavy sleeper, an eerily-popular personality despite his laziness in the beginning of every morning lesson, following every last step of Siyarr's progress toward unorthodox academic brilliance. Alas, despite following the Dreamer's progress on paper for so long, there was only so much that could be done to aid the process, and Lord Michael was vehement in adhering to his own strict, personal codes of conduct and ethics, a near-constant reminder of the need to move with the times in order for traditions to survive.
After all, the true power of Novanian spiritualism wasn't locked away in it's traditions, but rather - it was beating within the hearts, latent within the souls of all surviving to renew their culture.
Without these indicators of latent, ancestrally-permeated power, and without these strengthening Shamanic connections to a sleeping God of Dreams, it may have been infinitely more difficult for Yorunarr to convince an otherwise-irreverent Lord Michael of the lad's importance to Novania's future, but the odds were defied in true Goidelic fashion. Like all the Galaxy's greatest gamblers, it didn't take long for the risk/reward factors to entice the Woad, and before long, that long-awaited reward would awaken within the mind and the soul of their young friend. Granting the lad much-needed access to the early makings of the
Root-X Program, and a chance to take note as the Godseer took his Deer-Skull Wearing commander on little trips to Melarran's Firmament, Mitharranson would learn of all the risks and requirements that went with Holistic and Weapons-Grade applications of the one substance he needed.
That one specific cleansing-psychedelic vineroot, catalyst to the very fumes that would aid in his impending Shamanic journey.
Fortunately for Siyarr, this meant he had time to lessen the intensity of the Root's detoxification effects ahead of the eventual first ceremony, and to Mitharranson's credit he stayed off the cigarras, beers and lesser-holistics, all the way to that one fateful night in 873 ABY. A night of which the Dreamer would carry with him for the rest of his days, even dragging it with him into the next century down the line, as on that night of nights, a close friend of Siyarr's and Yorunarr's alike would appear for the first time in almost eight years. It was as if they were all sitting by the same meadow campfire together again, but much to the Novanians' dismay, Rukkaya speaking telepathically from the cold, snowy mountains of Hoth, far from the home comforts of Archais at the time.
A hurting Arkanian soul had been exacting spiritual, personal and ideological vengeance, inflicting retribution on the sort of compatriots that Novanians all over would despise, and Rukkaya,
(following Death's Trail for nigh on nine months already by then) in his infinite wisdom had been drawn with reason to follow this individual's trail of carnage, following and investigating every every step of the way. Rukkaya, Siyarr's friend, was braving the dangers of the Galaxy, and all whilst Mitharranson was embracing the languishing process of reconnecting with the lands he left behind; but as soon as the Priest-King's small armada made it's way to Hoth, it was made apparent before long that the Dreamer would have been better off staying in Novania, as the lad's life was destined to change from the moment he found the Deathseer for the first time since they last embraced as brothers on Nirauan.
Great shame it would be for the Dreamer that his Cthonic peer, as powerful as he was, would be found dead with a Mandalorian protecting his corpse, overlapping destinies with more layers of fate's woven tapestry. An uncovered truth of which broke Siyarr to his core, as it did Yorunarr in turn, but in this discovery, the Mandalorian's pre-foundling ancestry was noted to be of Hybridised Arkanian origin, even answering to the surname
,"Krayt", at the time. But like with all things Arr'Huwal and Siyarr alike, the relevance of
Gwyneira Vizsla
's story with Mitharranson's own would take time and healing to evolve, with neither knowing that their futures would march in tandem down the line, as the paths of the Ajayids were still unknown to their would-be protector.
Even unknown to the Ancient who would eventually guide a worried mother to the Dreamer's coven, but as a distraught, grieving Mitharranson laid his head down that night, he would finally find an awoken Dreamgod awaiting his arrival, setting much of the long-awaited progression into motion once and for all. Arr'Huwal had been slumbering in his own grief for too long, and after seeing the son of Slumber's Darling wallowing in the same exact state the Dreamgod was in before, the Cthonic Ancient would feel a sense of remorseful candour taking hold of conscience; and especially upon the sudden arrival of Surr'Huwal, having held out for both their sake for decades, caring little and less until he finally made his own glance toward the youth.
A face of which, as the Dreamgod would quickly learn, tugged more at the heartstrings of the Deathgod than it had on Arr'Huwal's own - causing the Dreamer to question who they were and why one was more affected by his presence than the other.
In the following moments, all the truth would come tumbling out, including all that Rukkaya was never able to admit; compelling Arr'Huwal on the spot to accept Aline's son as his next Dreamseer, and though he was loathe to admit he was ready to take on another so soon, the Dreamgod was acquiescent in the moment the Deathgod revealed his brother should have answered the last prayers of Darling's Slumber. Too distraught to notice one of her sons had survived, too heavily in his stupor to know that Rukkaya had exacted divine retribution in favour of Aline's deathly dignity, even handling the process beyond the point of ferrying her soul to the next life, leading the Darling hand-in-hand beyond the threshold of Melarran's Gateway.
Where the Dreamgod should have been found waiting, just as it was the Dreamgod's duty to oversee Aline's burial - both of which Arr'Huwal knew he had not fulfilled.
Arr'Huwal owed Siyarr, Rukkaya and Surr'Huwal everything.
Forever owing his redemption to the son of Metharran Bloodscribe, of all people.
[END OF PHASE ONE]
Elise Ahana-Gwyneira
's abilities have since manifested enough that certain demands of supervision have drawn Siyarr's efforts into deeper focus. Rooted in the Dreamer's role as the young Ajayid's guardian, more aspects to his guidance and counsel have since brought out the natural mentor from within, awakening a fatherly, protective mindset that assures Elise's personal safety as much as it does success in the nurtured growth of her powers.
Yorunarr Ahan-Yan'Sharlim
in 880 ABY, allowing the Firedance schism on the merits of the Dreamer's loyalty and adeptitude of command, and avoiding blood with his best friend for fear of losing everything.
Tyrell Lockhart
, hoping for the Dreamer's sake that the welded spikes had enough purchase for another campaign or three. A gift of which many a Novanian-born Arkanian would accept from a Galidraani-born Human, and as according to some of Siyarr's associates, such a paired bestowal has been transferred to other warriors of the Firedance Brigades in much the same way - all taken as gestures of friendship between both cultures in times of war.
