Nightal 1 1369 dr- Feast of the Moon

[child_of_bhaal]

Who: Syeira and Open!!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: The Red Fish, if you want. Or she can go other places. I'm flexible.
When: From the night of 11/30 through all day 12/1.

[Syeira hasn't broadcast anything since her first day. That was a long time ago. She almost doesn't remember how, so it takes her a moment of fussing around with her device before realizes it's actually working. She's in the cargo area of the Red Fish, sitting on the floor against a wall. Her knees are pulled up, and the device is resting on them so she doesn't have to hold it. She's wearing her Nymph cloak, so she looks a little shinier, and seems a bit more compelling at the moment. She's not wearing it to command attention, just feels the need to be wrapped up in something familiar.]

So I realized tonight that I've been with the Fleet for exactly seven months. I'm still so unused to this thing...

[What an awkward way to start.

She sighs, leans her head back and just...talks.]

Today is a holy day in Faerun. The Feast of the Moon. It's the start of winter. On this day, people do a lot of things. One of them is recounting stories of heroic slayings.

[Yes, slayings. Not deeds. Slayings. Murders.

She fidgets with a strand of her hair.]

Since I've been here, I've hardly killed anything. It's surreal.

I hate this day. I don't want to hear stories of death and murders. Don't we all have enough of those? Does anyone have a nice story? I'd really like to hear them.

Please.

Comments

[hymnals]

[He runs his fingers through his hair, muttering.]

Some celebration.

[With more force:]

All right, try this on instead.

Once there lived a girl who did everything right. She studied holy ritual. She followed the teachings. She prayed, and she helped, and she fought.

But then, something terrible happened.

[child_of_bhaal]

[If it wasn't Adra, she'd get a resigned, unhappy feeling at this point. Because terrible things. But it is Adra, so she knows it's not going to be a bad story.]

What happened?

[hymnals]

Her people suffered terrible tragedy. In the wake of it, they turned to dark things to sustain themselves, and she followed them down that path.

For a long time, it seemed as though all was lost. The soul of her kingdom decayed, and her own spirit, too, became red and filthy with blood.

And then, while deep in the midst of this bitterness and hatred and vengeance, the girl experienced a miracle.

[child_of_bhaal]

[The girl's spirit becomes red and filthy with blood. That's. Comforting.

She lets it slide over her and away, not dwelling. (Except the statement moves into a space inside her reserved for keeping such observations, that she might conjure them up when she feels the need to remind herself exactly what she is.)]

What kind of miracle?

[The ideas of miracles don't exactly awe her, because the gods are very very present where she's from. But miracles are important. They usually lead to extremely good things, or extremely bad ones. It depends on the alignment of the god.]

[hymnals]

[He had a feeling Syeira might strive to take the story in the worst way possible, but he's going to press on.]

Though her people had brought suffering on a race of noble creatures, she found that these creatures not only forgave her--but had also prophesied all she had previously done. They knew that only by walking such a dark path could she be lead to salvation.

And she was.

[child_of_bhaal]

[It's sort of a reverse birthday for her; a day where she finds every reason to be down on herself. So yeah, she's seeing all the bad stuff bright and clear, and struggling with seeing good things.]

Lucky. [Sincere statement, regardless of her mood. She doesn't hold other's good fortune against them.] I'm glad her fate was intended to be a good one.

[hymnals]

No one's fate is intended, Syeira. She could have easily denied the path, or forsaken the prophecy. But she felt the grace of the Light, and she accepted it.

[child_of_bhaal]

[How can she answer that? Because she didn't just disagree. She knows for a fact he's wrong; her fate is predetermined. But she doesn't want to be mean or rude. He's trying to help, but happy endings are not for the Children of Bhaal.]

Your god is very kind.

[hymnals]

I don't have a god.

[child_of_bhaal]

[You know what would be great right now? Am invisibility spell. She's just saying everything wrong tonight. Maybe the floor will swallow her up if she sinks low enough.]

Sorry... It sounded-

Sorry, Adra...

[hymnals]

[He just groans.]

It's all right, Syeira. I was trying to comfort you.

[He rubs the side of his face.]

Maybe that's not what you need right now.

[child_of_bhaal]

I know you were. Are. I'm just being terrible today and I don't really know how to stop.

[She's awful. She's sorry. :c ]

[hymnals]

Okay, well, step one is to stop calling yourself terrible. Step two: take a deep breath. Step three: let me bring you some honeymint tea.

[child_of_bhaal]

[She closes her mouth, purses her lips together. It's the best she can do about step one. It's not like not saying it out loud changes it anyway.

But she takes the deep breath, and then just nods. Okay. She can behave, for him.]