The night air of Hosenka was crisp and relaxing, as the season of Autumn was in full swing. Although Hosenka was not as close to nature as some of the other cities of Fiore, it was still clear, from the trees and grasses that could be found in parks and other public spaces in the flamboyant town, that all vegetation was preparing for the cold march of Winter, which would soon arrive. The world was so ordered in its workings, even though the planet itself, and the natural geographic and climatic features could not be strictly said to be alive. Everything seemed to respond to a set time, and all nature followed suit. All nature, except humans.
Autumn was the season of dying. All nature accepted it. Death would run through Winter, and Spring would signal the return of life to the vegetation in such climes as were affected by the four seasons. Humans, however, refused to work in tandem with nature, instead striving to carve their own paths through the difficult world, an effort which resulted in both spectacular deeds and unfathomable pain. Humans celebrated life, but violently rejected death, even if it was a part of the workings of nature. And when they were not rejecting death, they were dealing it on a scale that threw the balance of the world into disarray. Like what had come to be known as the Tragedy of Felidae. Like the event at Cedar.
Then again, it wasn't humans who were the only ones who seemed to have this issue with trying to force the world to bend to their whims. After all, Cedar's calamity had been caused by a dark angel, although all the blame was not particularly the fault of said dark angel. And the other, on whom the rest of the blame lay, was no human herself. It was very likely though, that Medeia would probably not have cared for the souls that had been lost in Cedar, seeing mortals as little more than fleas. The other culpable person, the one Nita Fortune referred to as 'Maria', had been hit really hard by the event. For she had, against Nita's warning, attempted to get Medeia to attack her at full power, and the result had been so much death and destruction. And even though a few years ago Maria cared nothing for human lives, she had not been Maria then. The goddess had changed much since her amalgamation with Nita. And she had learned to care when unnecessary death was a direct result of her actions.
If Nita was not aware of the goddess' presence in her mind, and the fact that her powers were still functional, she would have though, for all the silence that presently existed in her headspace, that something about the time in Cedar had removed the goddess from her mind. For the first few weeks after the Cedar calamity, Nita had felt the heart wrenching sorrow emanating from the goddess' soul. It had slowly mellowed down into some sort of sulk. But sulk as it was, Nita had realized it was a serious matter when she offered Maria the chance to control her body, something Maria had always loved doing. Instead, her offer had been met with stony silence, and the sensation of fear. And though Maria refused to reply Nita when the latter tried to speak to her, Nita knew that Maria's brooding was due to being ashamed of herself for not being strong enough to back up her words with the required power. It was to be expected; Maria had never had to deal with shame and regret on such a level before. All attempts of Nita to cheer her up had failed.
That was partly why Nita was presently strolling along a street in Hosenka, as the Fiorean festivity known as Halloween was being celebrated across the country. Perhaps engaging in the festivities would cheer Maria up, seeing as Maria had some sort of sensory reception of the things Nita experienced. The concept of Halloween was a bit odd to the Pergrandian. People seemed to be celebrating scary stuff, the things that went bump in the night, the things that raised the hair and made the blood curdle, the things that nobody would absolutely want to encounter in reality. Why they did this, the blonde had no idea. But perhaps learning some more about this festivity would not only be entertaining, but would serve the extra effect of lifting Maria's spirits. Hopefully.
As Nita walked, she came across a large park with a lot of people milling about and engaging in various activities. Maybe she would partake in one or two of them, just for the fun of it. There was the smell of something fruity in the air. It did smell quite delicious, and Nita decided that something to sip at or nibble while she strolled around wouldn't be bad at all. So, following her nose, as her Slayer senses were quite heightened, the blonde mage came across a huge pot, with a white-haired, freckle-faced young lady in not so practical but eye-catching witchy robes and a pointy hat stirring the phosphorescent contents with a wizard's staff. The stirrer looked up and waved to her with a bright smile.
"Hey there and hello to you! Would you perhaps be so kind as to try out the Witch's Brew?" the witch girl asked, lifting the stirring staff, which had a nifty spoon head at its end, and ladling some of the glowing weird stuff in the pot into a small bottle, that made it look like a magical potion. Maybe it was. The girl held out the bottle to Nita. "You may feel strange, and you may look strange, before this night is over, but I promise you on my black cat's single whisker that no harm comes to those who drink this potion. It's just some lighthearted fun, and who knows you might just be getting a delicious drink, nothing more! What say you?"
Nita shrugged with a smile of her own, and took the bottle with thanks. Even if something was wrong with the potion, and its effect was unpleasant, she was sure she could negate any problematic effects with her magic. So, why not? Placing the luminescent bottle to her lips, she took a long swallow....
WC: 1058
Autumn was the season of dying. All nature accepted it. Death would run through Winter, and Spring would signal the return of life to the vegetation in such climes as were affected by the four seasons. Humans, however, refused to work in tandem with nature, instead striving to carve their own paths through the difficult world, an effort which resulted in both spectacular deeds and unfathomable pain. Humans celebrated life, but violently rejected death, even if it was a part of the workings of nature. And when they were not rejecting death, they were dealing it on a scale that threw the balance of the world into disarray. Like what had come to be known as the Tragedy of Felidae. Like the event at Cedar.
Then again, it wasn't humans who were the only ones who seemed to have this issue with trying to force the world to bend to their whims. After all, Cedar's calamity had been caused by a dark angel, although all the blame was not particularly the fault of said dark angel. And the other, on whom the rest of the blame lay, was no human herself. It was very likely though, that Medeia would probably not have cared for the souls that had been lost in Cedar, seeing mortals as little more than fleas. The other culpable person, the one Nita Fortune referred to as 'Maria', had been hit really hard by the event. For she had, against Nita's warning, attempted to get Medeia to attack her at full power, and the result had been so much death and destruction. And even though a few years ago Maria cared nothing for human lives, she had not been Maria then. The goddess had changed much since her amalgamation with Nita. And she had learned to care when unnecessary death was a direct result of her actions.
If Nita was not aware of the goddess' presence in her mind, and the fact that her powers were still functional, she would have though, for all the silence that presently existed in her headspace, that something about the time in Cedar had removed the goddess from her mind. For the first few weeks after the Cedar calamity, Nita had felt the heart wrenching sorrow emanating from the goddess' soul. It had slowly mellowed down into some sort of sulk. But sulk as it was, Nita had realized it was a serious matter when she offered Maria the chance to control her body, something Maria had always loved doing. Instead, her offer had been met with stony silence, and the sensation of fear. And though Maria refused to reply Nita when the latter tried to speak to her, Nita knew that Maria's brooding was due to being ashamed of herself for not being strong enough to back up her words with the required power. It was to be expected; Maria had never had to deal with shame and regret on such a level before. All attempts of Nita to cheer her up had failed.
That was partly why Nita was presently strolling along a street in Hosenka, as the Fiorean festivity known as Halloween was being celebrated across the country. Perhaps engaging in the festivities would cheer Maria up, seeing as Maria had some sort of sensory reception of the things Nita experienced. The concept of Halloween was a bit odd to the Pergrandian. People seemed to be celebrating scary stuff, the things that went bump in the night, the things that raised the hair and made the blood curdle, the things that nobody would absolutely want to encounter in reality. Why they did this, the blonde had no idea. But perhaps learning some more about this festivity would not only be entertaining, but would serve the extra effect of lifting Maria's spirits. Hopefully.
As Nita walked, she came across a large park with a lot of people milling about and engaging in various activities. Maybe she would partake in one or two of them, just for the fun of it. There was the smell of something fruity in the air. It did smell quite delicious, and Nita decided that something to sip at or nibble while she strolled around wouldn't be bad at all. So, following her nose, as her Slayer senses were quite heightened, the blonde mage came across a huge pot, with a white-haired, freckle-faced young lady in not so practical but eye-catching witchy robes and a pointy hat stirring the phosphorescent contents with a wizard's staff. The stirrer looked up and waved to her with a bright smile.
"Hey there and hello to you! Would you perhaps be so kind as to try out the Witch's Brew?" the witch girl asked, lifting the stirring staff, which had a nifty spoon head at its end, and ladling some of the glowing weird stuff in the pot into a small bottle, that made it look like a magical potion. Maybe it was. The girl held out the bottle to Nita. "You may feel strange, and you may look strange, before this night is over, but I promise you on my black cat's single whisker that no harm comes to those who drink this potion. It's just some lighthearted fun, and who knows you might just be getting a delicious drink, nothing more! What say you?"
Nita shrugged with a smile of her own, and took the bottle with thanks. Even if something was wrong with the potion, and its effect was unpleasant, she was sure she could negate any problematic effects with her magic. So, why not? Placing the luminescent bottle to her lips, she took a long swallow....
WC: 1058
