Moon: Forterra

Forterra is an idyllic land of old growth forest and lush meadows broken up by soaring spires of weathered stone, and all shot through with towering spires of living crystal in a rainbow of colors. It is said that long ago, the land had a single crystalline heart deep beneath the earth. But when the Peacebringer joined with it, and then all of the people and other life joined with it, it began to resonate with their living energy and grew throughout the whole land.

The living spires of 'heartcrystal' are beautiful and incredibly hard (though not much tougher than granite). The Filfeex use heartcrystal in nearly all of their workings, finding it easy to harvest and work due to their natural resonance with it, non-Filfeex find it almost impossible, if not downright dangerous, to harvest any usable amount of it.

Forterra features little in the way of fauna besides the Filfeex themselves, and what there are are just as infused with the heartcrystal as they are. Because all animal life on Forterra possesses at least rudimentary resonance, there are no carnivores.



People: Filfeex

The Filfeex are a smallish race of rabbit-ear and tailed humanoids that usually range from four to five feet tall, not counting their ears. They come in a range of skin-tones and hair colors, though their skin and hair always have a slight, mineral glimmer to them, and their irises are always bright and gem-like.

Like all animal life on Forterra, the Filfeex are infused with heartcrystal. It is most notable in their bones, which are almost pure pearly-white crystal, but even their skin and hair is flecked with microscopic bits of it. While the raw physical qualities of this infusion makes them a bit glittery as well as marginally more durable than they might otherwise be, the true benefit of this is their power of resonance.

Resonance
The most important element of resonance (to the Filfeex anyway) is the way they resonate with each other. Heartcrystal resonant creatures can feel and understand each other on an instinctive level. It is said that the giving of this gift is what earned the Peacebringer that sobriquet. This is also the reason that the Filfeex are strictly vegetarian, since all animal life on Forterra has this same resonance to some degree. (Plants have it too, but they don't feel fear or pain in a recognizable way, so it's ok.)

The other feature of resonance, and the one that's much more important to non-Filfeex, is their affinity for raw heartcrystal. Not only does this allow them to harvest and work heartcrystal with relative ease, but it also allows them to synchronize lumps of heartcrystal with their bodies.

In it's simplest application, known as the 1st degree, synchronized heartcrystal becomes almost weightless in a Filfeex's hands (or strapped to their bodies, or whatever), matching their body's movements as though it were a part of it. This would be useful enough by itself, but is rarely used for much more than carrying around large chunks of heartcrystal, or by children and others with weak resonance. Instead, most practical applications are done at the 2nd degree, through the use of Kanta-kestos, or 'singing gloves'.

Nearly all Filfeex adults can resonate to the 2nd degree. In this application, the heartcrystal is still weightless, and still matches the Filfeex's movements, but does so as though the Filfeex was twice the size, hovering in the air as though held by an invisible giant. The most basic effect of this is that any movements made by the Filfeex are mirrored by the heartcrystal, but over twice the distance in the same time. Additionally, any force applied to the synchronized crystal is translated back to the Filfeex, but at half the strength. Filfeex do gain a vaguely expanded sense of their immediate surroundings while resonating to higher degrees, but it still takes practice to not accidentally smash things.

Every Filfeex that can achieve 2nd degree resonance has a pair of Kanta-kestos, a pair of large wooden or metal gauntlets built around a set of heartcrystal fragments. By synchronizing with the crystal 'bones' of the gauntlets, a Filfeex can effectively double their strength. The effect is even more pronounced when striking, as heavier gauntlets lend their greater mass to the blow, increasing the force even further.

More talented Filfeex can resonate to the 3rd degree, causing their synchronized crystals to mirror their movements at triple the size. Only the best can maintain the 4th degree for any length of time, and even they can't hold the 5th or 6th degree for more than a few moments at a time. As such, most Filfeex focus on improving their control of the 3rd degree over advancing to higher degrees.

Among those that practice it deliberately, skill with synchronization is rated by circle, with specific qualifications set for recognition to each:

1st Circle: Proficient with the 2nd degree (there is a test) and can maintain it under duress for an hour.
2nd Circle: Proficient with the 3rd degree, and can maintain it under duress for an hour.
3rd Circle: Expertise with the 3rd degree, and can 'split-sync' (synchronize two different resonators at two different degrees at once. This is very hard)
4th Circle: Can achieve the 4th degree and maintain it for ten minutes.
5th Circle: Can achieve the 5th degree and maintain it for one minute.
6th Circle: Can achieve the 6th degree and maintain it for ten seconds.
7th Circle: Be 6th circle and do something really, really impressive, like use two sets of kestos at the same time, or achieve the 7th degree, or who knows. 7th circle talents aren't even one in a generation.

Chesley and Abilene were with you, assisting with the little trip you'd put together. To north of Forterra, there was an meadow apparently barren of the heartcrystal. You knew there was heartcrystal beneath the area - that crystal was just so small that it was like sand, and thick loam had settled over the area. Recently, a new kind of tree had grown up over the area, and you'd heard it bore a fruit that dark and tart, but also sweet once it was fully ripe.

You'd need to step in and say hi to the other Filfeex that lived at the nearby warren-town, but that was pleasant enough and shouldn't prevent you from getting back before dark given you made haste and didn't spend more than an hour or two harvesting. It wouldn't take that long to take a modest portion from one fruiting tree.

You'd heard rumors, as of late, of other kinds of folk showing up in Forterra - much smaller than the Filfeex, but intelligent. They were helpful, but there dark suspicions going around - a young Filfeex, Abilene's fifth son, had been found dead and - horribly - partly eaten, not a week prior. Some suspected the new arrivals, but even a young Filfeex could put up a fight if pressed, and the jaws of whatever had done the vile deed were terrible.

You still had the dagger-sized tooth in hand. Yarrow hadn't gone down without giving his attacker a good lick.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:37, Tue 25 Dec 2018.

Petra stroked her thumb against the jagged edge of the tooth as she stared into the distance. It had been a long time... outside of living memory really, since there had been a predator like that in Forterra. And these rumors of outsiders too... It was a good time for her to be awake.

She took a deep breath, savoring the damp, earthy scent of the woods. The town was just a little farther. She could feel the shape of it singing through the earth and up through her toes. And the people too. Or... did she? Petra shook her head. Surely everything was fine. She would see soon enough.

She hopped down from the small hill she'd stopped on and resumed the journey. Chesley and Abilene were right behind her, having already sensed her desire to continue through their shared resonance.

Along the way, you saw a set of prints - that started a few meters to the right of the path, and ended a few meters to the left.

A set of massive, deep-set prints - you had no idea what predator prints looked like, but you could tell the pads on its four toes were as large as dinner plates, that it was four-legged, and that each paw sported a not-retractable claw.

It had landed - forming the deepest set - bounded forward once, and then - jumped again?

The trees of the canopy above were destroyed. The heart-crystal of the area still remembered the impact - from what you could tell, it couldn't have been more than six hours prior.

The meadow of the dark fruit tree was only a little ways ahead - your sensitive nose picked up the scent of ripe fruit and ground warmed by unobstructed sunlight.

You always smelled something - spicy? A confusion of floral and spice scents, like someone was cooking in a flower garden.

More signs of change, and danger. Petra took only a moment to look over the tracks and the trees before continuing on. As much as a part of her wanted to turn off the track and try to deal with the creature now, their little party wasn't equipped for a long hunt. Honestly, a six hour head start meant they were as likely to run into it by chance if they just continued onward as they were to catch up with it before the end of the day.

Still, a hunting party would need to be gathered. Another thing that hadn't happened for a long time. The Filfeex would manage. Petra only hoped that this would turn out to be a brief anomaly, and the old ways from before the heartcrystal, before the Filfeex were the Filfeex, could stay buried. But even stones changed with enough time...

And so they trotted on, albeit a little more alert than they were before.

You came to the grove, and were . . . not quite prepared for what you saw.

The muddle of scents was coming from a troop of very small mammals - about the size and general shape of squirrels - working together to gather the dark fruit.

They had multiple stations. Some were working together building ladders from twigs, others were weaving baskets from grass, and a few seemed to be supervising - they wore little hats and had little clipboards they checked from time to time.

They spoke in a chittering language you didn't understand, but had easily understandable facial expressions and seemed fully intelligent. After a moment, your mastery of speech broke the code - they were exchanging greetings and directions, exclaiming about the fruit, and seemed to be less 'talking' than exchanging some kind of cipher. Focusing on that, and you heard - the sound - a sort of psychic overtone, some kind of magic surrounding their words that was carried along with them.

Your hands twitched involuntarily, as the tiny psychic compulsions being exchanged affected your mind. Something was trying to - something was in your mind.

The Merits turned in unison and regarded you. Included a couple that were on ladders, who fell off and whumped on the ground. They swarmed together as a mass, and ran over you - rubbing themselves against your fur -

Weirdly enough, all of them smelled different, and none of them smelled like a normal animal. Some smelled just like flowers, others like distinct spices - peppermint, cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, rose, lavender, sandalwood - one even smelled like a strange smoke. And those were just the scents you had names for.

You were now in the middle of them, and you felt yourself click into something.

"I am Amitoj - and who are you? How is it that you hear us? Are you a Merit? Our Marshal said we were alone, and not to talk to strangers."

The Heartcrystal in your bones thrummed - and you detected that small bits of Heartcrystal were in each of these creatures. Perhaps that was how they were communicating?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:18, Thu 27 Dec 2018.

It took a moment, navigating the streams of meaning between their psychic connection and chittering speech until it spun together into understanding. Still, it was good practice. Petra hadn't had a good opportunity to practice word-weaving in a while. She chattered back to the Merits, out loud and through their psychic channels alike.

"Hello Amitoj, I am Petra of the Filfeex, and these are my friends Chesley and Abilene." She motioned back towards the others. "I love talking to people, and so I learned a special way to talk to anyone. That is why I can hear you."

It was reassuring to feel the familiar Heartcrystal in the Merits. It was a tiny amount, but it marked them as creatures of Forterra, and hopefully as friends. Petra let her own feelings resonate more strongly, projecting a reassuring sense of welcome through the whole meadow.

"Your Marshal is wise to be cautious, but there is no need for anyone to be alone on Forterra. I can feel that you are linked to the Heartcrystal just as we are. There are no strangers here."

She picked up one of the Merits gently and lifted it for a closer look. "Still, I have not seen your kind before. Tell me, if you would, where do you come from, and how did you come to this land?"

[Private to GM: Petra is gonna use her heart-reader power to see if she can get a sense of what the Merit (and Amitoj) want.]

"Our homeland is a blasted hellscape that is hardly worth naming. Our God was taken and slain. His son - the heir - has been missing for decades, presumed dead. Our people were pressed into slavery, our souls broken into pieces and used as currency of the elite . .  when we were not simply used as livestock."

The speaker was your height, and of proud bearing - mostly human, but with large, triangular ears with rounded points, and a long, double-coated prehensile tail. Most unusual were the eyes - the pupils were rectangular.

He was armed - a short sword on one hip, a steel wand on the other, a quiver on his back, and and a recurve bow in his paw-like hands.

However - the sword was peace-bonded with crossed leather straps, and as you watched he unstrung his bow, leaned it against a tree, and then slowly removed his baldric without touching his weapons, and placed it against the tree.

"I'm not here for a fight with natives. So long as my Troop is unmolested, I am harmless."

The Merit you had in your paws squirmed a little, the popped out of your grasp and ran up your arm to settle on your shoulder.

"That's the Marshal! We're here to hunt a Zarroki."

"Also known as a Godeater. Their fur is laced with Gammoril - deadly to Gods." said the Marshal. "Not Gods like you - I don't know what you are, but you're some kind of Anima. Which means I'm not on a Kookhean descendant .  . "

The Marshal took out a compass. "Shit. There wasn't a - when did this world appear?"

"Anima. I don't know your title, but if this is a - a young world, you're in grave danger. The Zarroki will eat whatever it comes across. Has anyone been -?"

There was... a great deal to unpack in the Marshal's words, but most of it would have to wait.

"Please, tell me more of this 'Zarroki'. I have heard stories of some kind of predator in this area, and have seen signs of it myself. I have little doubt that they are one and the same. So far, I have heard of only one being... eaten. A child. This was left behind."

Petra produced the fang for the Merit to see.

"You are all welcome here regardless, but I, and the Filfeex, would be in your debt if you could help us deal with this creature."

The Marshal's eyes grew frightening - really, truely red with rage - as you passed him the fang and told him of the child left behind. It huffed out a breath, mastered itself.

"Yes. One and the same. A Zarroki is sentient and the size of a bear - not that I expect you know what a bear is. It's . . . the size of a small house? Very large. And while Gammoril isn't deadly to us, it's still metal."

His eyes had cleared back to their usual brown color. "Those - mitts. Are those your weapons? I think they would be adept at smashing through the Zarroki's armored hide, enough for me to deal a killing blow before it can regenerate. If we can surprise it, we have a good chance of winning."

It paused. "If it looks like it's killed me or that I'm going to be killed, let it happen. Just kill the thing. So long as these little guys are okay, I'm pretty much immortal and will regenerate even fatal wounds, eventually. Perks of the job."

The resonance with the Merit's was weak, but Petra still felt the heat of their rage. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment as she took a sharp breath. "Oh..." She glanced back at the other two Filfeex, but they seemed unaffected for the moment.

"Yes... that sounds about right based on the tracks I saw." She glanced down at the 'mitts' Amitoj referenced where they presently hung from her belt on either side. They appeared to be made of woven strips of wood reinforced with brass, set around slender chunks of heartcrystal. They were of similar proportion to her own hands and forearms, though larger.  "Ah, yes, the kanta-kestos. They aren't really any more of a weapon than one's own hands..."

The gauntlets pulled loose from Petra's belt and zipped into position in a sudden motion, hovering in the air about a foot to either side of her. Faint light glimmered inside the heartcrystal 'bones', shining faintly through their lattice-like construction. "But, equivocation aside, yes, weapons are one of their many uses." She flexed her fingers, and the floating gauntlets mirrored their movements precisely. She swung her arm out, then forward, and the gauntlet followed the movement, closely at first, then far out into the trees, seeming to almost grow out from her as she reached across in front of her body. She moved as though plucking something, and then the gauntlet shot back down from the foliage with one of the fruits in hand.

"I am glad to hear that you will be safe, but let us hope that you will not need to regenerate anything." Petra turned to address Chesley and Abilene. "The Marshal here has some knowledge of the beast we've been hearing about. We are going to go deal with it. I want you two to head back to the village and put together a hunting party just in case we don't get it the first time. The Merits here may come with you. If they do, please make them feel welcome."

"Marshal... Amitoj, I am sending my friends to gather help at a nearby village. Your smaller kin are welcome to go with them and find refuge there, but I leave that decision to you. In the mean time, let us begin the hunt."

Petra gave the Merit on her shoulder a moment to hop down, then trotted to the edge of the clearing, searching for an exposed outcropping of heartcrystal. Once she found one, she placed a hand on it, closed her eyes, and began to listen...

[Private to The Empress: Petra is going to try and catch some resonance through the heartcrystal to see if she can get a lead on where this thing might be.]

Your friends departed with the little squirrels. They had safety in numbers.

He retrieved the steel wand at the same time as you reached out for disturbances in the resonance, something like radar. The thing was big enough that the tiny amounts of crystal in the deeper layers of the soil registered the the shallow craters it left with each leap.

It had passed beyond your ability to detect that minute difference, though. Some three hours past - it was more than fifteen miles away. Such was your mastery.

Yet - another impact. You felt it, even further, somehow - it was twenty miles away.

But - no, it was nineteen and three-quarters. It was drawing closer, but coming at a strange angle - back towards the village?

It passed the wand over the tooth you had provided, and you felt - the presence of the dead child, faintly. A bit of the child's bone must have lodged itself in the tooth.

"The child had a strong soul - and a rightful claim to justice. I am an Ichneumon - a sort of . . . priest-avenger of my people."

Using a retractable claw, he carefully carved into the tooth - a glyph. Your understanding of language read it clearly. - and you understood the Marshal's guttural prayer:

"I am the shattered shield, the broken blade,
the forsaken foundling, the shackled slave.
Blessed invocation of the Fierce God's Wrath - Admixed Virtue and Vengeance - Blood for blood, tooth for tooth! - écrasez l'infâme! Crush the loathsome thing!"

Dark, bloodly magic - a howl in the distance.

"I have stripped it of the ability to draw sustenance from food. It will starve to death unless it kills me first. However - the magic also informs my quarry of my position, as it provides the same location to me. I only know direction, though."

The Zarroki changed course, heading towards you. At the present pace, it would arrive in two hours.

The Marshal offered you the shortsword. "Can you wield this with your - kestos? If you can have one of the gloves holding this and hidden, we could surprise it."

The Marshal took out a lustrous white pearl, and pressed it against the tooth. The pearl was . .  . subsumed into the tooth, and then he pressed the tooth against his unstrung bow. Both glowed, then caught fire - a white fire - and when the fire died, he was holding a boar-spear with a head fashioned from the tooth. He pocketed the bowstring.

The spear still resonated with the spirit of the child. "The child desires to protect the village. Their spirit will aid us - I will entrust this spear to you after we have slain the Zarroki with it."

The Marshal knelt on one knee, and was still, eyes focused ahead. A predator lying in wait.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:25, Wed 02 Jan 2019.

"I can." Petra replied as she took the offered blade. "It is coming, though it will not arrive for some time yet."

After a moments consideration, she tapped the crystal outcropping sharply, producing a sharp ringing. She listened, then hummed a matching note and struck it again, causing the bulk of the crystal to shear off neatly near the base.

She carried the crystal back into the clearing and repeated the process a few more times, quickly shearing the large crystal into pieces. When she was done, she laid the shards along the outside of one kestos, bulking it up considerably with a sort of auxiliary shell of long spar-like shards.

She jabbed one of the shards into the soft loam of the meadow, using it to get a better connection with the crystal down below.

"It should be here soon." She drew Amitoj's blade with the un-augmented kestos, holding it in a reverse grip, then lifted it into the foliage above. She pulled the crystal spar back up, and then reached the other gauntlet out to mark another spot several yards in front of her. "If you can draw it around here, I can strike it from above."

You heard a whirring, and felt a new presence in Forterra - and then, cresting over the tree tops, you saw a tiny airship, about the size of a horse.

It was manned by more of the little creatures, although these ones were imitating mice rather than squirrels. One shifted to a squirrel-like form, then leapt from the airship, gliding on flaps of skin to land expertly near you.

From a little satchel, it took out a tiny box wrapped in paper.

The Merit approached you. "Okies. One little package for a miss Petra Filfeex of Forterra, from a miss Myriel of Phthia. Ohes, an' a letta," and then he opened a small scrap of paper and read from the even smaller scrap of paper inside it. "Helloes Petra, I am Myriel, a fellow deity. Please accept dis ring as a symbol of peace an' fren'ship. I would be delighted if you wou' - if you would attend the cele-bra-shun of my first birthday."

The Merit gave you the tiny package, then shifted into a tiny bird and flew back up to the airship - which then drifted into a foggy portal in the sky, and disappeared.

The package contained a ring box, and within a magical ring of rose-gold. Upon touching it, you understood your ability to open a portal in an instant and send a version of yourself to another place - to Phthia.

There was a deafening crash a few hours later - as predicted, the Zarroki arrived. It was still a half-mile out, and began circling the area. This close, you could hear the sound it made at is shoved aside trees to make way for its huge body.

Pause.

A gentle breeze came from behind you, heading towards the Zarroki -

Then, an immense sound, and then you and the Marshal were blown away, along with small trees and bushes uprooted from the earth by the hurricane-force wind.

You were able to recover well enough and stuck the landing, but the Marshal was slammed against the stalwart trunk of the dark fruit tree and stunned.

From the whirlwind of dust and foilage, the frame of the Zarroki was visible - a huge bear-like wolf, its eyes glowing blue, its hide made from black daggers of strange metal.

"Do not TRIFLE with ME, little HUNTER. ZARROK was too KIND to your FOOL GOD, and now YOU would challenge ME? I will CONSUME the little GOD of this REALM after I pick your BONES from my TEETH,"

Your Kestos were still in position, although they were both to the left of the Zarroki now.

The Marshal still had his spear and wand, and was recovering. The Zarroki would be on him momentarily, though. You were further back, about thirty feet, at the other side of the clearing.

[Private to Petra Filfeex: The little ring grants the minor power of shadow-melding - the ability to become mostly invisible while not moving and in shadow]

The meadow was quiet, save for the whisper of the wind through the trees... and also the buzzing of an airship? And a delivery, and an invitation, and then... quiet again.

Petra looked at the little package curiously, more than a little surprised and taken aback by the sudden detour in events. The thought of simultaneously being somewhere else, at a party no less, during a life or death struggle seemed strange, but perhaps that was just how things worked...

She slipped on the ring, and returned to her vigil.

---

And now the plan had encountered the enemy, and unsurprisingly, adjustments were needed. Still, the Zarroki seemed to be focusing on Amitoj as planned, they were just farther apart than they were supposed to be. She would have to be quick.

Petra waited for a moment, watching the Zarroki. Just as it began it's lunge, she hopped backwards, drawing in the reinforced kestos and planting it, the linked hand and both feet against a tree, then launched herself forward with all of her strength. Her own limbs gave a decent push, though they were nothing compared to the spring-like force of the kestos as it rapidly lurched from the first degree to something around the tenth, multiplying the force commensurately.

She streaked towards the Zarroki like a ballista bolt, swinging the borrowed sword down from above in a plunging stab even as she brought the other gauntlet back around and drove it forward like a stone-encrusted battering ram.

If she was lucky, and she often was, the dust and multiple angles of attack would ensure at least one would land, allowing Amitoj to get back on his feet even if it did not strike a mortal blow.

[Private to The Empress: Btw, Petra is gonna share some luck with Amitoj :3]
This message was last edited by the player at 23:02, Fri 04 Jan 2019.

Things went about as well as could be expected.

The speed of your leap transferred kinetic energy to your kestos, which was then magnified several times by your connection with the heartcrystal. The shard-bearing kestos hit the Zarroki with the approximate force of a ballista bolt, and your natural luck saw that the shards slip between metal 'fur' of the Zarroki rather than run against it. Not only the shards, but the Kestos itself carried through, crushing the Zarroki's only metal hide into itself. You had dealt a major blow.

The second Kestos buried the short-sword in the Zarroki, severing its spinal column and paralyzing its back legs. It fell to the ground with a whump. Seeing opportunity, the Marshal sprang to his feet and brought the spear forward in one fluid lurching motion, burying the spear in the Zarroki's chest.

The Zarroki felt to its side, legs buckling, blood pouring from its pierced heart.

It wasn't dead though - it had been terribly wounded, but supernatural regeneration would see it regenerate quickly.

The Marshal desired revenge, but you felt . . . a shifting in the resonance of the heartcrystal. Some sort of alchemy was occurring, between the Heartcrystal buried in the creature, the Gammoril that had been embedded with it, and your own inner divine power.

You could - if you wished - master this beast, and turn its mind to serve you, rather than killing it. But did it deserve to live?

[Private to Petra Filfeex: This is really Old theo stuff - Gammoril is a supernatural metal used to bind magical beasts into becoming the Guardian of your realm. Combined with the embedded Heartcrystal, you would have not only bound loyalty, but would also be able to communicate with telepathically over great distances.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:54, Sun 06 Jan 2019.

Her heart sang with victory and... pain? "Wait." Petra called out.

The Zarroki's pain was resonating through the heartcrystal, and it was growing stronger. Petra de-synchronized her kestos as she moved nearer to the beast, leaving them embedded in its hide for the moment. She felt through the resonance as she approached, strengthening her growing connection with the Zarroki, feeding the shards more energy as they spread through its body.

[Private to The Empress: presumably paralyzing/rendering it docile, if it's not already incapacitated]

"Something is happening to it. The crystal... I can feel it." She reached the Zarroki's side and placed a hand on its flank. "It truly is a monster. I can feel its cruelty, its hunger." She looked at Amitoj. "But we will not kill it." She lifted a hand. There was an awful, fleshy sound as the kestos pulled free from the Zarroki's side. The twisted ruin that had once been the gauntlet's hand streamed with gore, and most of the crystalline shards that had briefly armored it were gone, either pulverized in the impact or left embedded in the monster's hide. Petra plucked one of the remaining shards and let the ruined kestos fall to the ground.

"I feel your desire for justice as well, Marshal. A desire that I believe will be sated." She walked around to the Zarroki's head and crouched down near its ear. She whispered, "My heart is crystal, it sings with your pain." She drew a finger along the edge of one of its metal scales. It sounded like a knife being drawn across a whetstone. She continued, "My heart is stone, I will bear it."

Petra spread her senses downward, feeling the heartcrystal deep in the earth. It spread out through the meadow, into the forest, and further still. Back to the village, to the Filfeex and even the little sparkling motes of the Merits. She sent more of herself into the crystals growing through the Zarroki, now with all the grief, sorrow, and fear it had brought with it. She spoke again, louder now. "Your heart is crystal, it sings with our pain." She pressed the small crystal into its forehead, driving the razor sharp shard between its scales and into the flesh and bone beneath. "Your heart is flesh. It will break, and break again, until you are made anew."

[Private to The Empress: My idea is that she's forcing it to have empathy as she binds it, forcing it to really confront how much of an asshole it is all at once as a sort of penance. I figure maybe the weight of it literally breaks it, resulting in essentially a new being (it hates itself to psychic death), or it is the same creature and just kind of loathes itself until it can find some absolution in service and forgiveness. Or something like that.]

The wound healed as you removed the kestos from it, sealing the heart-crystal within. It struggled, whining, gasping, unable to draw breath. You saw brackish tears run from its eyes, even as you buried the heartcrystal within its head.

The spear-head had broken off it inside it as well, and - something - something strange was going on. Your connection with the heartcrystal - the soul of the child that had been slain was battling with that of the Zarroki.

Like ice, Heartcrystal was coating the Zarroki's body, growing rapidly as it own supernatural vitality fed the heartcrystal.

The Zarroki was in terrible agony, and then there was silence from it.

Its fur shattered, falling off in chunks, the skin beneath patterned with crystalline scales. it howled, and its teeth fell out, replaced by crystal fangs.

It shuddered and writhed, then stood, crashing blindly into the trees, falling again. Where it had walked, crystalline dust was left behind.

This wasn't just you - your energy had jump-started things, but the Realm itself had seized the invader.

It lay still near the outcropping you had broken off, and crystal grew over it, until after a minutes it was completely encased in crystal.

Then the crystal fell away, and there was something new before you.

The Forterran Dragon

The heartcrystal beast regarded you calmly. Someday, it may grow to terrible size . . .

The Marshal was quiet, still holding the broken spear. "That . . . is no longer the Zarroki."

"I believe my hunt is complete. If you would not mind - my troop is happy here, and I think they have adapted well."

The little merits had taken the form of bunnies now, in imitation of you.

"May we stay?"

OOC: You gain a minor power, and gain the title "Dangerous Prey."
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:59, Wed 09 Jan 2019.

"Indeed it is not..." Petra murmured as she regarded the dragon. "But..." She turned back to the marshal, smiling. "I think it is all the better for it."

"As for you... all of you." She took Amitoj's hands in her own. "I would be disappointed if you didn't." She looked back towards the dragon, extending an unspoken invitation to join them with a wave of her hand. "Let us go to the village and meet the others. This is a cause for celebration, and I have questions about some of the things you said before."

The dragon approached you willingly. It opened its mouth to speak, then closed it. It then communicated to you through resonance - it desired weight, to be burdened, to serve. You power translated - it had a keen desire to be ridden. It moved as if incredibly light, even though it should have been heavy, given that its scales, bones, and teeth were all stone. Curiously, it seemed to have great mastery of resonance - rendering itself effectively weightless.

And, of course, resonance also dampened any impact. Even at a mere second circle of resonance, damage inflicted to the dragon would be halved. Combine that with the regeneration it had inherited . . . and you had created a being far more dangerous than the Zarroki.

Amitoj was pleased, and went with you back to the village.

On arrival, a crowd on Filfeex awaited you. Kai, Leslie, Aubrey, Chelsey, Isabel, Abilene, Finley, Ashton, Heath, Monty - friends you'd known since kithood, along with their parents, and for the ones lucky enough to have found love in another village - their children as well, who were adorable as usual.

All of them were safe, because of your strength.

The little merits, still in bunny-like form, went ahead of you and gifted the dark fruit they had gathered to the children - a variety of cherry.

Amitoj hung back, but kept close to you. "It's better if you introduce me, and let them know I'm a friend. I look and move like a predator." he whispered.

The Forterran Dragon would have frightened the townsfolk, had it not been beautiful and clearly a creature of heartcrystal. It communicated its feelings of curiosity and desire to be touched to those who could grasp it, and soon enough several of the villagers were marveling at the creature, while also paying attention to you.

Petra was more than happy to hop on the dragon's back for the brief trip back to the village, though she dismounted once they arrived.

The village's welcome rolled over her like a wave, singing through their shared resonance in a deep, thrumming chant. She responded in kind, trilling with an added note of victory.

Petra glanced back at Amitoj with a smile. However much of a predator he appeared, the crystals inside him were already singing his intentions, however quietly. She would have to teach him, and all the merits, how to control that. But for now, she would humor him.

"Everyone, this is Amitoj. He is the 'Marshal', something like the leader, of all our new friends. He has been a great help to us already. Please make him feel welcome." She took his hand to pull him forward. "Today is a great day for the Filfeex and Forterra. Let us stoke the fires and open the casks, for tonight we will celebrate!"

The dragon seemed well occupied. Petra was glad to see it here in the village. Forterra wasn't the sort of place for a recluse. She wandered into the crowd herself, drawing Amitoj along with her. She wanted the villagers to have a chance to introduce themselves and become familiar, but she made sure to keep him from being pinned or monopolized by anyone too excited or curious. Of course, she made her own greetings and hugs along the way.

After a suitable time, she called out for the preparations to begin in earnest, sending the last of the crowd scurrying off to make ready and giving the two of them a few moments to speak. She took a seat on a bench looking out over a small pond.

"So, Amitoj. Before, you said something about 'not gods like me', and that I'm 'some kind of anima', and something about a 'Kookhean' something? And that this world is young. I feel some understanding of these things growing, but I would like to hear your explanation as well."

Curiously, you noted that the heart-crystal within Amitoj was also growing, as the crystal within the Zarroki had, albeit much more slowly.

Amitoj was on his backfoot throughout the entirety of the meeting and greeting. You could watch is mind working, trying to get ahold of what was the custom here and how he could avoid causing offense. Every time someone touched him, you could feel the sharp sting of his embarrassment, and his own mental effort to not betray that same embarrassment. In the excitement, his discomfort was overlooked.

At the bench, Amitoj paused, the movement of his eyes showing mental calculation, before he sat down exactly one and a half feet away from you.

He scratched the fur between his ears. "Well. You're . . . it's different from universe to universe, but there are two general ways the universe goes about the business of god-making. One way is called Theogenesis, which results in a Divine - a powerful ruler, with a mortal race that serves them, and realm that serves as their base of operations.

The other way is . . . a strange version I've only seen on two other trees - by tree, I mean world-tree, a universe organized into several different dimensional realities, or worlds, that have different timelines and don't touch - you can't walk from one to the other . . ."

He sighed.

"This is difficult. I'll simplify. There are gods that rule above their people - the god is a ruler of the land and the people. There are also gods that born among the people, live mortal lives, and then - as a duty, not a birthright - they take on the role of . . wardens for their race and land. An Anima is a blend of the people of the land, and the land itself . . they're an interlocutor.

The biggest difference is, that Divines inherently distrust one another and become friends only rarely and usually as a result of political concerns. Anima, on the other hand, tend to easily befriend one another - they are less interested in power, and more interested in just . . . living . . . because they know what it's like to be mortal. They're grounded, but they have a hard time growing in power.

"But . . . Anima are rare. They only exist in universes that don't fear the great enemy - the Void, and the Old Ones. Kookhe doesn't worry about them because it's even more insane and chaotic than they are. This place . .  I don't know this place."

His ears flattened. "Your people . . .  are affectionate. It's strange. I'm not sure I've ever done anything with another being but fight and kill them." He rubbed his eyes. "I . . . when they're close, it's like I can feel something, some kind of kinship. I don't know what's happening to me - I'm a hunter, a killer of killers. Why do I feel so much emotion, now?"

He smelled faintly of . . . lavender, and amber, and vanilla. A deep sweetness, but not heavy. You drew a connection - the males of his species had floral scents, and the females chose spicy scents.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:25, Sat 12 Jan 2019.

"It's the crystal." Petra held out a finger. The skin at the tip crumbled and fell away like dry earth as a small rosy-pink crystal grew out from the bone beneath. "Long ago, so long that it is difficult for me to separate my own memories from the myths and legends, the people of this land were much like you describe yourself. They did little besides fight and kill. The heartcrystal changed that."

She flicked the little crystal, creating a soft, clear ringing vibration that seemed to pierce straight through Amitoj's flesh and tingle in his bones. "I'll tell you the whole story some time, if you like, but the short version is that Petra, who is me, but also not, traveled deep into the earth and joined with the world's own heart, creating me, and the heartcrystal that you see everywhere, and that is now in you and your troop."

She held out a second finger, and another crystal grew from the tip. "The heartcrystal resonates. Touch one..." She flicked the first crystal, setting it to ringing. "And any near by will sing the same song." Petra gripped the first crystal, quieting it, but the sound continued, clearly coming from the second. "The crystal inside of you resonates with your feelings, and when it does, the other crystals near by do as well. That is how the heartcrystal binds us, and how it finally brought peace to Forterra."

The little crystals dropped off Petra's fingers, ringing softly as they fell to the ground. She turned on the bench to face Amitoj directly, taking his hands in her own. "It saddens me that you have led a life filled with killing and pain, and that your people, your god, your home, suffered such a terrible fate."

To an outside observer, Petra's sentiments might have seemed feigned. Her tone was sincere, if not particularly impassioned, but her expression was beyond placid, and her eyes were dry. And yet... To Amitoj, even the trace bits of crystal in him were enough to communicate a veritable ocean of grief and empathy flowing from her hands to his own. It was a pure feeling, devoid of pity, made only from a deep sadness that such terrible things could happen.

"But, I am also glad. Glad that you and your kind have come here. That we might give you some respite from your long journey." Her tone and expression did not change, but Amitoj could feel the truth of her joy almost as though it was his own.

"I am also glad that you bring so much knowledge and experience to us." The joy became muted, tempered with grim determination. "As much as I am loath to admit it, a new age is dawning on Forterra. I fear that the Zarroki was only the beginning. Still..." Now, she smiled. "If it means new friends, we will welcome it. And woe to those who think us easy prey."

Amitoj was silent. His emotions - once a roil, settled to an easy flow.

Within him was a dawning sense of wonder. Then, your vision flickered and turned to darkness.

Amitoj was in your head - reaching through the crystal. He waited, and you sensed you could end this at any time by blinking twice.

You saw a point of light - Amitoj.

More points appeared - scores of them. Everyone Amitoj had ever known, connected by colored threads that corresponded to the relationships between them.

Your attention was drawn from Amitoj, to yourself, to the Realm.

Time sank downward. You went through the realm, beneath it, falling through a stem, into a branch, into a bough, into the trunk of the World-Tree. A shift, and step clockwise.

Back to the trunk, to the bough, to the branch, to the steam, to -

Rivuria. A different realm. A memory - a simulation of a world within the spirit of Amitoj. Genetic memory, so to speak.

It was a Forterra without the Heartcrystal. There were no predators, and the Merits lived their peacefully, living lives bound by a psychic bond - how closely it imitated the Heartcrystal!

Then, you were seeing double. He was tracing the same pattern again, running through his mind and yours, connected by heartcrystal and psychic connection.

The exact same simulation of his genetic memory, but the one run using the Heartcrystal went differently. There was no Rivura - even with the shift - it was just Forterra, both times, but this time - the psychic nature of the critters was due to a microscopic amount of heartcrystal.

The simulation ended. You came back to yourself. The entire 'simulation' had taken about three seconds, but had felt a little longer with your eyes closed.

Amitoj was resting his chin on his hands, in silent thought.

"We have so many homelands. The memory was a jumble. We had to originate somewhere. From some universe."

He leaned against the back of the bench. "Petra. You're the . . . spirit of this place. You know . . the Zarroki was alien. Look at me. Am I like the Zarroki? Or . . . am I . . ."

[Private to Petra Filfeex: He's native to Forterra. You can tell he's one of your people, same as the Filfeex. You just know; it's part of your divinity.]

The wind sighed through the trees, the sound mixing with the soft muttering of excited voices echoing through the village. Petra released Amitoj's hands and stood to begin pacing slowly around the bench. "Like the Zarroki?" She mused, half to herself. "No..." She stopped, facing Amitoj with the village behind her. The sun dipped below the trees, casting the whole clearing into sudden darkness. "Certainly not that."

Petra held out a hand for Amitoj. Behind her, the village slowly emerged from the darkness. The happy sounds grew louder as both Filfeex and Merits scampered between the buildings hanging lanterns, filling the clearing with a warm glow.

"Welcome home, Amitoj."

Tentatively at first, and then fiercely, he hugged you, a mix of feelings coming through - gratitude, homecoming, and something you felt he was trying to hide - a shy attraction to you, in that way.

He gently let you go. "Well. Okay. There's a party, right? Should we go join?"

Petra hugged him in return, patting his head affectionately. She smiled ruefully over his shoulder. She couldn't blame him for feeling that way, though she wasn't so sure it was a good thing. She would have to think on it.

"Indeed there is, though I fear now that it is too small for the occasion. Never the less, it will have to do for now." Petra led him back into the village, into the gathering crowd of joyful Merits and Filfeex.

It was a simple but sincere celebration, with plenty of food, song, and dance. In between there were friendly contests of skill and strength, from simple arm-wrestling to elaborate challenges using kestos and other feats of synchronism.

At some point in the evening, Petra shared the news to everyone, that not only were the Merits here to stay, but that they were in fact long-lost kin returned to them through incredible trials by the blessings of Forterra itself. She also announced that there would be another celebration, a great gathering of all the Filfeex at the Heart's Rest to welcome them properly a few months hence.

[Private to The Empress: Hearts Rest is a big hill shot through with massive spars of heartcrystal near the center of Forterra where Petra first surfaced after merging with the earth's heart. There's a sort of town/city around the base, though it exists mostly to serve pilgrims and to support meetings and gatherings than as an actual city. Still, it's the closest thing Forterra has to a capital. The top of the hill is sacred, and is mostly overgrown with plants and crystal. Petra sleeps there when she isn't wandering Forterra.

Just came up with this since I decided I needed some kind of central meeting point. Feel free to suggest changes or embellish as you like :3]

Amitoj took note that you'd noticed what he'd tried to hide. "We'll talk about that later."

Amitoj mixed easily with the villagers, quite comfortable with the 'stony' nature of the Filfeex, although the affection still was a little stiff from him.

The feats of synchronization were interesting, to stay the least, especially with the entire of troop of Merits gathered around a single of of their number, who then offered a tiny paw to match with the Kestos of Ashton.

And won, swiftly. A rematch was issued, with Ashton not going easy on the little bunny, which . . . won again.

"My little guys can resonate multiplicatively when they are in close proximity, boosting effectiveness in most any venture. I'm sure the Filfeex could do similarly, given a few months of practice."

Some of the young Filfeex had started bonding with individual Merits, feeding them and brushing dirt from their hides.

As things were winding down, Amitoj found you again. "I'd like to discuss a little bit about my culture with you," he said. "Specifically, why I'm very glad you met me first, not a female Marshal."

He went on to explain that male Marshals like him were generally more concerned with protecting their troop than anything else, which required they be empathetic and not scary. Not so with female Marshals, who often left their Troops with a collective warren and went out hunting by their lonesome.

Female marshals killed for fun, and often. They loved 'avenging' minor issues with murder. When they found - or rather, tracked down - a male of the species, they would, as he described it, "Press their affection." This could be a rather traumatic event for the male Marshal, who would yield in exchange for being able to send his troop safely away from the female Marshal, so they wouldn't see what happened. Their culture was strictly matriarchal.

"So, when . . . I say I feel affection for you, in that way, it doesn't mean I'm ever going to do anything about it. I have no idea how I would even go about it, or what the result would be, or anything. I've spent my life constantly on the hunt because it was the best way to avoid the only idea of 'romance' I have.

"If you ever do feel something back, please don't just act on it. We'll need to talk about it. Extensively. And . . go very slow. And only after we've been friends for good while. Hunted whatever threatens this peace .  . together.

"Especially since you're my goddess, now."

Petra watched the pile of Merits tip Ashton over with great interest. "That is a... very interesting ability." Vaguely formed ideas of what might be accomplished through the combination of the Merit's powers and the Filfeex own resonance powers already danced in the back of her mind.

A small child was riding her shoulders when Amitoj found her, with a Merit riding atop the child. She set them down and shooed them away as he approached, sensing his desire to talk.

Petra listened, making little effort to conceal her surprise that such a seemingly brutal culture could produce someone like him. "Hm. Well, I do have to agree that meeting you was the lucky path. Forterra is a welcoming place, but there is no room for any of that kind of thing here." She crossed her arms, visibly miffed and resonating both disapproval and a fierce protectiveness.

Of course, those feelings were put away once the topic shifted to Amitoj's own feelings. "It's alright Amitoj. Really, your not the first one to feel that way. It's just... My normal way of dealing with it is to just be somewhere else until they get over it. For you... well, I think I'm going to need you around for a little while." She smiled and took his hand.

"I don't know if I can truly return your affections. I am a symbol of sorts... A 'goddess', like you say. I don't know if it would be right for me to hold one above others in my heart, if I even truly could. And physically... Well, suffice to say I am more like the old stone heart of Forterra than the original flesh-and-blood Petra in that regard." Amitoj could feel both that she was actually slightly embarrassed, and that she was making some effort to conceal it.

"Ah! That reminds me. I need to teach you a bit about controlling the resonance. You can quiet your own crystal to some extent, both to hide your own feelings or lessen the noise from others. It's rarely perfect, but just the attempt of hiding something is enough to signal that it's something you'd rather not talk about."

Amitoj knelt, then sat cross-legged. "Resonance, I've heard that term. It's what you can do with the Kestos, right? And it has to do with the telempathy." He rested his elbow on his leg, with his fist supporting his chin. "Can you train me to use resonance as the Filfeex do?"

"Additionally. I admire you, and that is a significant component to my affection. You're strong, but not hard. Alert, but not anxious. Your presence is reassuring."

The party was finished, and parents were returning the little ones to bed, along with their new merit friends.

Amitoj noticed. "In the morning, then. If it's . . not to much to ask, I'm not used to sleeping alone, but my troop seems to have been adopted. Would you mind if we shared your bed tonight?"

Perhaps oddly, his intentions were entirely pure. You got no hint that he had any association between rest and courtship; which made sense, since as described, he knew it as something communal.

"Yes, though there are many nuanced differences, both our ability to read each other and to move the kestos comes from the heartcrystal in our bones." Petra lifted a finger, and a small fragment of loose crystal zipped up from the ground to hover just above the last joint. She wiggled her finger, and the shard followed the movement perfectly.

"I can teach you how to do it, though it may be difficult for you. At least for now anyway. You still have only a small amount of crystal in you, less even than a young Filfeex." The shard began to move down her finger, then across the knuckles, the back of her hand, down to the elbow and back up again, all in one smooth motion. She smiled wryly and let the shard fall into her palm. "It's silly, here I am, goddess of the realm and I'm showing off. And to someone who can't even appreciate it yet as well." She tossed the shard to Amitoj, then straightened her shoulders to take on a very imperious posture. "I'll have you know that the thing I just did is considered very difficult."

Petra stared down her nose at him for a moment, then laughed, pulling him into a friendly hug. "I'm glad I can bring you some comfort, and I would be happy to keep you company tonight." She stepped away, pulling him along by one hand towards one of the many little houses. "Come on then, tomorrow will be busy!"

Petra's was home was no larger than any other, smaller in fact, given that she lived alone.

It was a two-room affair - a front room with something of a kitchen and larder on the left, some seating on the right, and a hearth in the middle of the home.

Towards the back was bed room, a pile of woven blankets over fresh, soft hay.

Amitoj went about gathering some wood for the hearth, building the fire with skill.

After an hour, he was satisfied with the way the small fire was burning - it would settle into warm coals overnight - went with you to bed.

He slept rather curiously, curled into a fetal position with hugging his long furred tail to himself. He took advantage of a blanket, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the mild chill of the night.

He was . .  far less fearsome while sleeping. Adorable, in fact.

While Amitoj stoked the fire, Petra changed into a simple nightgown and checked over the bedding, making sure it was in good order and sufficient quantity. Satisfied, she settled in.

When Amitoj joined her, she rolled closer, hugging his bundled form against her chest like a big pillow.

Amitoj relaxed when hugged, falling deeper into sleep.

You dreamed of blood and dark fruit, of the heart-crystal twisting into vines and trees of crystal, of knocking your toe against the frame of Isabelle's front door that one time and how long it took to repair the wall afterward -

You awoke at dawn, and Amitoj stirred, rubbing his eyes. "Oh no. You probably won't have food for me," he said, his stomach expressing a concerted interest in breakfast. "I'm an insectivore, primarily. I can eat other things, but they aren't terribly good for me."

He turned on his side, looking at you. "What do the Filfeex eat? Are bugs part of your diet? Do you guys eat together like I do with my troop, or separately like you sleep?"

Petra sat up slowly, placing a finger against her lips in a contemplative pose. "Insects is it?" She thought for a moment. "The Filfeex primarily eat fruits and vegetables. We can eat meat, but everything here is infused with the heartcrystal and resonates to some degree. It makes slaughtering animals for food... unpleasant." She made a small shrug.

"Insects though... They would probably be alright. They aren't really complex enough to feel anything particularly distressing." She stood, turning to offer Amitoj a hand to pull him out of the little pit of blankets and cushions they'd sunken into over night. "As for eating habits... That really depends on the individual and circumstances. Morning meals are usually family affairs, house by house. Midday meals are often taken either alone or with others depending on occupation and daily work. Evening meals are sometimes communal, but just as often limited to family groups or even taken alone. It differs by village too."

Petra strolled over to where she'd hung her day-dress the night before and quickly shucked off her nightgown before slipping the dress over her shoulders. "I don't eat much, but I like to share meals with others. Why don't we stop by, oh... Isabelle's house? I bet her children..." She paused, thoughtful, "Or is it grandchildren now..." She shook her head slightly, then shot Amitoj a smile. "Well, either way, I'm sure we can find you some forest bugs. I'll have to show you how to shiver them too. Don't want shards stuck in your teeth."

"Shiver them . . ?" Amitoj said sleepily, making a motion like cutting something open with a knife. Then it dawned on him, and he set up straight. "Heartcrystal, right? You 'shiver' the crystal with resonance to remove it from the food?"

He stood, walking over to the hearth. He studied you as you changed clothes. "Do you get cold easily? Clothing is a functional thing for me. I only wear it when I need protection, or for carrying things."

Perhaps that was the first time you notice that Amitoj had no clothes besides the baldric of weapons and his quiver. Despite being mostly human, Anything untoward was naturally hidden by sandy yellow fur.

"Do you think the other villagers are made less comfortable by my lack of covering? I would be happy to wear some loose pants, if you think it would be more decent."

"For some reason, I already care very much about the feelings of your people. They are good, all of them,"

"That's exactly it!" Petra grinned. "Just because it's inside living things doesn't mean it stops being rocks. Some things are safe to eat without shivering since their crystal deposits are fine enough that it just gives them a slightly gritty texture, but I think we might get away with that because the heartcrystal keeps our teeth from wearing out."

When he asked about pants, she took a moment to consider. "Well... I don't think anyone really minds all that much, but it might not be a bad idea to wear something. If nothing else, it will keep the children from getting any funny ideas about whether they should be wearing pants." Petra rolled her eyes. "The little ones run around naked enough as it is."

Some of the villagers were already out and about when they stepped outside, cleaning up the remains of the celebration or getting started with their usual business. "Cold? Well, I do get cold easily, but it doesn't affect me all that much. It's... well, remember when I said I took after the old stone heart? I wasn't using a euphemism." She glanced around, checking to see who was near. "Here, watch, I'll show you."

At first, it was hard to tell what she was expecting him to see, but then he started to notice little things. The subtle patterning of her skin became more pronounced, irregular groupings of light and dark, interspersed with glittering flecks and veins. Her hair no longer moved in the breeze and her features seemed suddenly hard and lifeless, though only through the lack of their previous life and softness. All together, it looked like Petra had been suddenly replaced by an almost perfect statue of herself.

And yet the statue moved. She took Amitoj's hand and placed it on her cheek. It was as hard and cool as the stone it appeared to be. 'You could think of this as my true self.' Her mouth didn't move, rather, her voice seemed to come up through his hand, echoing through his own bones. 'When I speak of my people as 'The Filfeex', rather than simply saying 'us' or 'we', this is why. I am as different from them as I am from you.'

And then just as suddenly, her cheek was soft again, though still a bit cold. "Though perhaps that isn't all that different, is it?" She smiled. "This is something like an illusion, though more real than a simple phantasm. After all, I'm only half-rock on my Father's side." She skipped a few steps away, then stopped. "Or do you think it would be my mother's side?" Petra shrugged. "Doesn't matter much. Isabelle's house is just down the way, I bet she'll have a pair of pants that will fit you!"

Amitoj was in awe as he touched you. He said your name, but oddly your powers altered the translation - he was speaking in his language. Tthe translation was long and complex. "The walls of home / dry ground / southern guardian / she who endures / familial unity"

His breathing was shallow and fast, his heart rate increasing. "Petra . . . "

"You're beautiful. No! I prefer - I prefer your truth. We are diggers. We live in the earth. Petra is . . Petra. It's like honor, and friendship, and safety. The women came first from the womb of the earth, and the men were born after, to be their helpers. In the myth, our God died because he betrayed Petra by asserting dominance over the women. When the hunters came to take him, and he fled his palace on the surface and went to hide within the warren of his mothers, the earth spurned him, closed up and shut him out. All those who followed him were swallowed up by the fog of death, but those that were loyal to the way of their mothers survived in the safety of Petra's arms,"

He looked you in the eyes. "You are Petra. You are kindness and good fortune and the shield of the children."

No one had ever looked at you like that, with passionate wonder and astonishment.

"Yes . . yes, let's go to her house, see about food and clothing," He said. "Petra provides, as the saying goes,"

His affection for you was mixed with the joy of homecoming. You were his goddess. His affection was less shy; there was an adamant quality to it now, as if he was prepared to tunnel to the core of Forterra if that's what it took to earn your admiration.

He wore his baldric and left his quiver behind. "I'll need to fashion a new bow as well. What wood is used for tools here? How low is the water table, and what is the composition of the soil? How deep down is the bedrock?"

He coughed. "Sorry. It's traditional to beseech Petra when planning to dig a new warren."

=

The walk was short but pleasant; the day was cloudy and cool for late spring, with a northeasterly breeze. The village wasn't too busy, since most of the Filfeex were busy in the fields this time of day.

An elderly Filfeex with flopped ears whom must have been the very same Isabelle answered the door of the house that showed evidence of a major repair sometime in the past. "Petra! For what do you darken my doorstep today?"

She hugged you. "Come in, come in. I've cordial, elderberry, I need a taste-tester,"

She took in Amitoj. "I see you've brought a friend. He looks a bit strange, is he from a far village? I heard mention of him from my grandson who attended the party,"
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:51, Wed 23 Jan 2019.

The sudden intensity of Amitoj's feelings caught Petra off guard for a moment, so much so that she almost blushed. "I'm glad you like it Amitoj. Though I don't choose to appear this way out of any embarrassment. It's just... well, your own reaction to it tells the story. I'm not so filled with false humility that I would reject anyone's worship, but worship is a very lonely way to be loved." She took his hand and pulled him to walk close at her side. "I wear this face so I can be closer to everyone. Think about it. Would you feel the same way about me if you had only ever seen me in true stone? Or would I be an unapproachable diva, too holy for the touch of mere mortals?"

She let him go as the subject turned to more practical matters, providing answers to some questions, and referring him to the local craftspeople for others.

=

Petra returned Isabelle's hug gladly, stepping carefully over the doorframe as they were ushered in.

"That sounds wonderful Isabelle." She looked back at Amitoj, following Isabelle's gaze. "This is Amitoj. He and his troop are lost kin returned to us from beyond the very edge of the world. We thought it might be best if he had some pants, and were hoping you might have an old pair that you could spare. And also that some of the younger ones might be interested in a little bug hunting."

"Oh, I don't see why he would need pants. The young ladies need all the excitement they can get in this village, don't you agree?" She said cheekily. "Oh, very well. I'm sure I can find something of my son's."

Sure enough, she came back with a few pairs after seating you with some tea, shortbread, and good (if still in need of further fermenting) cordial. The pants were plain, natural cloth intended for working in. The plain sash belt was serviceable enough; Amitoj really was quite lean compared to the more 'fluffy' average Filfeex, having the body composition of an endurance runner.

"My grandaughter should be back from helping in the fields in an hour or two. We'll see if she and her friends are up for catching some bugs. It's nice that you so often take the time to mind the children, Petra."

Amitoj smiled at that. "She'll be a fine mother someday."

Blink.

Blink blink.

"What did you say, dear?"

"Oh, just that she'll be a good mother," Amitoj repeated. "Did I say something off?"

Isabelle met your eyes. From her resonance, you could tell as far as she knew you weren't able to have children and that Amitoj was making quite the social gaff and embarrassing you.

Petra took a sip of tea, letting Amitoj stew in his confusion for a moment. She looked at him over the rim of the cup, her expression cool. "Really Amitoj, I know I do a good job of looking like a fresh young maiden, so I suppose I can't be all that upset when you talk about me like a youth just waiting to bloom into adulthood. But we just went over this not a few minutes ago."

She lowered the cup, revealing a grin, showing how amused she was on her face at the same time she let them feel it in resonance. She laughed. "A fine mother some day? Dear, I'm older than the Filfeex. I may not have gone through the messy business of birthing, but I'm already a mother many, many times over." She took one of his ears between finger and thumb and gave it a playful tug. "Now put on your pants you silly boy."

He blushed. "I didn't think -"

"Your . . . nature, shouldn't be any issue. Among my people, the fruit of courtship is obtained through a union of spirit . . ."

Amitoj blushed deeper, his eyes darting between you and the elder. He sampled the shortbread, then the cordial, avoiding the tea.

He put on the pants. "I feel more naked now than before."

He made a face. "I'm not a boy! I'm practically an elder, for a male. Most males of my people don't live past 21, and I'm 19."

He blushed again, his eyes evasive. "Don't . . draw a worrisome conclusion from that. I don't have only two years to live. We're just warriors. We fall in battle."

The sun we passing high noon; the younger workers, like the granddaughter and other youth, would be returning from the fields soon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:16, Mon 28 Jan 2019.

Petra laughed. "Well then I suppose we are all in good company, revered elder!" She finished her cordial with a quick sip, then stood.

"The young ones should be back soon, and I think that was enough teasing for the moment. How about we go out to meet them?"

With a gift of a bottle of her cordial, Isabelle allowed you to run with her granddaughter, also named Isabel. Named tended to run in families among the Filfeex.

The children were quite eager to hunt for bugs, especially once they found it was for their little Merit friends. Amitoj explained that feeding the little merits was the same as feeding him, since he was in a way the spiritual avatar of the troop as a whole (which is why they had introduced themselves by his name).

With the little one's help, a sizable collection of beetles, potato bugs, stick bugs, and earthworms (which also qualified for their diet) was collected. More importantly, an anthill was found, which was a ready source of food. "Termites, ants, bees, and other hive insects are the most reliable sources of food for the troop."

Teaching the little merits to shiver the stone from the bugs required some work, but using their own resonance ability to increase their effectiveness they were able to do it with no problems.

The idea of catching bugs to feed to their little merit pets caught on very easily, and it didn't appear that another explicit bug hunting expedition would ever be necessary again.

Amitoj was satisfied. "I think our two peoples will get along quite well. Especially once my little brothers and sisters learn to resonate with Filfeex to help them focus and complete tasks."

Amitoj was resting on a large stone in the field. "What do you want to do next, then? Perhaps explore further out from here - are there any other nearby villages? We could try to find where my people came from - I remember it being a tall cliff near a wide river's delta."

Petra followed along, leaving most of the actual hunting to the children. With the Zarroki gone, Forterra was back to it's usual benign self, and there wasn't a need for close supervision. Still, she liked to watch them.

Petra plopped down on the rock next to Amitoj with a sigh. The smaller Isabel was chasing after one of her still younger cousins with a large beetle, eliciting shrieks of laughter and mock terror among the pack.

"She's so much like her grandmother... And her grandmother before..." She trailed off for a moment. "I don't remember everything all the time. There's too much really. But times like this..." She chuckled. "I can't decide if they keep the old names to comfort or confuse me! Of course, it probably doesn't really have anything to do with me at all. At least not any more. It's just the way of things. Still..."

Petra was quiet for a bit, just watching. "Watching them grow up never does get old. I've been over every bit of Forterra hundreds of times over. I am Forterra, in many ways. But the young ones always make it feel new."

She rolled over and started kicking her feet absently. "Speaking of which, finding your ancestral... 'birthing place'? Sounds like an excellent idea. I'm honestly still a little confused by some of the specifics of it all, and that would be a great place to sort things out. Plus, I still want to have a big festival, and that means telling all the other villages, of which there are many, by the way." She rolled forward, somersaulting off the rock.

"There aren't all that many river deltas, and I can only think of a few with nearby cliffs. We should probably head for the Amberrun first. I don't know if it's the most likely site, but the other candidates I can think of are all down-coast from it, so it'll be an easy walk from there."

On you back, kicking your feet, you felt a subtle rush of embarrassment from Amitoj as his eyes traced the muscles of your legs. He looked away casually, suppressing the emotion. "The Amberrun? If that's the name of the river, I never knew it . . . we called Forterra by a different name, and called our home River's End . .  the Kusimanse tribe lived in the swamps north of the delta, and the proud Whitetails to the east, and at the furthest end of the south, there were villages of other folk who didn't know magic . . ."

He leapt to his feet. "This Amberrun, is it's delta to the north? I feel like north-flowing rivers are a little rare?"

He looked at his hands. "But there is another memory, that's very different. It says that my birthplace is called Olwydd, and lies on a island in the middle of a wide river that flows through a temperate rain forest . . ."

"I'm not sure any of my memories are reliable. I have no idea how old they are, or if they are the same Forterra that you know. I may be leading us on a wild moose chase."

"Perhaps." Petra smiled. "But I think it's time for a little tour anyway, so even if we don't find it, it will be time well spent."

"The Amberrun doesn't flow north so much as it reaches the coast at a point farther north than the others. Still, it's not all that likely that it will be exactly as you remember it anyway. I think our best course is just to visit and see if anywhere feels familiar."

Petra whistled sharply, calling the children in. "Come on now, lets head back. I need to collect some things and make some arrangements." She took Amitoj by the hand to pull him along. "We can set out today if you like, but we can just as easily wait until morning if you want time to prepare yourself. I travel light." Petra grinned. "Light for a rock anyway."

"Let's set out in the morning. There's no need to rush. Would you mind if I slept with you again tonight?"

Something strange was on the wind, though, reverberations through the heart crystal coming from the direction of the Amberrun - and a broader disquiet, coming from the whole of the coast itself - some kind of disturbance in the ocean, likely just a submarine eruption along a fault line, along with aftershocks. It felt . . . broader than normal, and more evenly spread out than just one fault line. Perhaps a chain of eruptions?