Legend of Ransera

Posted: **Tue Nov 03, 2020 4:52 pm**

Sometime in the Age of Dreams

Lana caught sight of a few other apprentices between the stacks, talking in hushed tones while they poured over their scrolls. From time to time, one of them would look up toward Sierra and Lana. Some looked confused, others annoyed, and still others sneered as they saw the doll trying to dance. She tried not to notice those gazes in particular, though she knew her movements were stiff and mechanical, like a marionette.

"Relax your shoulders." Sierra's voice was soft and reassuring, and when she looked back at her friend she was smiling. She was clapping in a slow rhythmic pattern, at each clap Lana was supposed to wave her arms in a very particular fashion while raising on one leg. It was awkward. Her body just felt... well, like wood. Her joints complained about every movement, and whenever she tried to copy the fluid movements of her friend she managed to somehow end up looking even more uncoordinated.

"Just focus on me." The clapping stopped as Sierra came closer, gentle hands moving to correct a few positions, "Dancing at every level is an expression of yourself. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says, this is your soul learning to speak to the world."

Lana let herself be corrected, giving way to each poke and prod of Sierra's hands as she let herself be molded by one of significantly greater skill. She could not stop herself from replaying Sierra's words in her mind, even as she was moved about like the doll she was.

Your soul is learning to speak to the world.

Was that really what was happening? Her eyes drifted back over to the group of other apprentices, all of which were now absorbed in their studies once more. It felt odd to Lana. She had never been the type to be... expressive? She had always locked herself away, enjoying the company of her books and the scripts, and the other TRUE scholars who did not care if she could not express her own desires well. What even was desire? What was it to have a soul that spoke?

"Dolls do not have souls." The words slipped out unbidden, and Sierra paused to catch Lana's expression. Her own shifted to something like a concern but quickly was masked with a smile.

"Everything has a soul." She said matter-of-factly, returning to her work, "To quote you, the scripts are the language of the divine, of the world. That must mean that the world itself has a soul, and if it does then everything that makes it up must have one as well." She finished her ministrations, stepping back and nodding. Lana sighed and continued the exercises once more, more slowly this time.

They worked in silence for a time, and it was Sierra that broke it, "You are not a Doll Lana. You know that the others are just--"

"It is fine." Lana interrupted, her brow furrowed in concentration as she worked. The movements, while still difficult did not feel quite so unruly. Sierra had done an excellent job in repositioning her, and her joints felt just a tiny bit looser with each motion. When she looked at Sierra the other woman looked dropped, so Lana continued, "I have dealt with this most of my life. I do not fault them for their opinion. She is my mother after all."

Sierra grimaced, "It is still ridiculous. I do not understand how the rumors started, and neither you nor your mother has done anything to correct them."

Lana shrugged, wobbling slightly before adjusting her foot that she balanced on, "Mother is not one to listen to rumors, or rather she does not care. As I said I do not really mind. I might be a doll, but I am content."

"Lana..."

"Besides," Lana cut in, smiling as she shifted her weight, sweeping her arms out as she fell into a half bow Sierra had shown her. She only wobbled slightly this time, "It is because of those rumors that you and I can do this sort of thing." Straightening Lana pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, frowning as she felt a trickle of sweat on her brown. She wiped it away quickly, stretching her arms over her head as she did so, "If I was not soulless, there would be no reason to teach me how to, as you put it, 'speak so that a soul understands'. Somehow I doubt dancing was intended to be used this way."

At this Sierra laughed, shrugging, "Tell that to the Leh'anafel."

Posted: **Tue Nov 03, 2020 5:18 pm**

Coming forward Sierra began to reposition Lana. This time she walked her through the steps of a simple kick. It required her lean to the side, attempting to gracefully extend one arm while standing on the toes of one foot, kicking her other foot out behind her. After a few test motions, Lana attempted the maneuver on her own and promptly fell.

"The Leh'anafel use dance for similar reasons then?" Lana asked as she stood, brushing herself off as she attempted the maneuver again. This time she did not fall, though it was a near thing.

"In a sense, yes." Sierra said. She returned to her position a few steps away, resuming her clapping. Her eyes grew somewhat distant and she continued, "The Leh'anafel, the Singers, believe that the expression of the soul can come in many forms. Song and music is perhaps the most obvious manifestation of the passions of a person, but it can be shown in other ways as well. Painting, dance, smithing, anything where one can take a piece of themselves and give form to what is deep inside."

Lana raised an eyebrow, her breathing starting to become labored. When she did not speak Sierra kept going, "In that sense, magic in and of itself can be an expression of the soul, and in some ways, it is the greatest expression. The Melody's, the rune that I was given, lets me hear the songs of people's hearts. I can... " she paused, frowning slightly and turning her head to the side. Looking over her shoulder, and subsequently stumbling, Lana saw a grew of boys walking past, laughing as they pointed at Lana. As they looked their way Sierra glared, and the group quickly contained on their way.

A part of Lana was grateful for the intervention, but another part of her felt... guilty. In reality, the two of them should not interact in the way that they did. Sierra was, in many ways, several tiers above her in status. This friendship, if she dared call it that, was something unusual, and perhaps taboo, were it not for who Sierra was, and who Lana was. Their circumstances in many ways were a mirror to one another. Her friend burned with a passionate light like the sun itself, while she... she was an emptiness, cold. Just a vessel that could help to carry that talent and passion as far as it needed to go. She knew what Sierra's father intended her for, what her Mother had made her for. She shouldn't feel the things that she did, and yet... when she was around Sierra she almost felt like a person.

"People's hearts all sing a song that is uniquely their own." Sierra continued finally, looking at Lana once more. Her smile this time did not reach her eyes, which seemed to smolder with suppressed anger, "I can pick out the cords and notes of their emotions, and through those melodies, I can determine what their desires are. The Leh'anafel teaches that as a Singer I am supposed to help guide those desires and help others discover their own desires in turn. That is where the arts come into play."

Sierra spun raised her hands, spinning with an elegant grace that seemed so effortless it was like she was floating. It was just two steps, a spin, and a bow, but the maneuver made Lana's breath catch, and her motions still.

"Music, painting, dance all share a similar concept at their core." she said, spinning slowly to face Lana once more, her smile back in place, "They evoke something from deep within a person. They awaken that passion, that desire deep down inside, and from that kindled flame I can start to understand their true song."

Lana felt a chill, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Looking up she realized that the day had given way tonight, and the glow orbs show with a soft silver light.

"What does a person without a soul sound like to you?"

Eyes widening Sierra rubbed her own arms, glancing up to where Lana looked. She did not answer immediately, and when she did she spoke softly so that Lana had to strain to hear, "Like the quiet of the deepest winter chill, the sound of wind over sand, and the long opening note of a symphony that never quite ends."

The stars this time of year were truly beautiful. Lana had always thought, if she were not destined for something else, she would have liked to study them. If she looked closely she thought that, just maybe, she could pick out pictographs formed from the shining point of light. Maybe, just maybe, the gods wrote back to mortals using the sky itself as the canvas, and the Hytori had just never thought to look up.

"My melody must be quite uninteresting." she said finally, breaking her gaze from the sky above, "It isn't really a song if there is no melody."

Sierra shook her head, smiling, "That's what most people do not understand about music. The quiet parts, the silence between notes and stanza... Those are part of the song as much as the notes themselves. The sound of silence is truly beautiful."

Lana gave Sierra an odd look, rolling her head and turning to return to their table where she had left her cloak, "So you are saying my soul sounds like nothing?"

"Your soul..." Lana could practically hear the smile on Sierra's lips. The other woman approached from behind and wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulder and laughing in her ear, "So you admit you are not soulless after all? "

"I--" Lana did not know how to answer, looking sideways at Sierra who was still smiling.

"You sound like ice. The wind across frozen tundra." She paused, tilting her head as if listening, "And, from time to time, I can hear the sound of that ice beginning to crack. Then I hear a soft chime as the pieces begin to fall, shattering piece by piece like the tinkling of bells."

Posted: **Wed Nov 11, 2020 10:58 am**

R E W A R D S

Lyra
XP:5. 2 XP can be used for Mesmer. (Very fun application!)
Skill Lore
Dancing: Relax your joints
Dancing: Basic Kicks
Dancing: Basic Spins
Dancing: Balancing on toes
Dancing: An expression of the soul
Mesmer: Use the arts to draw out a person's true song

Legend of Ransera

[Memory] Can you dance without a soul? II

[Memory] Can you dance without a soul? II

Re: [Memory] Can you dance without a soul? II

Re: [Memory] Can you dance without a soul? II