seventh arrow → VIDEO → Seelie / Hermionenet

[notyetlegend]

I'm sure by now we're all aware of th' Shuck's decree.

[Sup, Drabwurld? It's your resident princess coming to you live from the back of a flying bison. When Korra had asked her if she wanted to go to Quendi to see the Shuck, she'd jumped at the chance, and now her friend was holding her compass and her locket for her so she could talk while they flew there.

As excited as Merida is that the ban on interacting with Unseelie has been temporarily lifted, it doesn't mean that she'll get to see everyone that she's missed, or that they'll be happy to see her. Instead, she focuses on what she wants to talk about.]

To those seekin' Him, I suggest takin' an offerin'. When talkin' to gods, you should always be respectful, while keepin' in mind that He can an' will kill should He feel it necessary. He is the god of death in this world, an' you'll do well to humble yourself before Him.

[With that out of the way, she clears her throat.]

Banshee are beings of lore in my world an' time. They're women who met with terrible fates an' wail when someone is to perish. Bean nighe we call them, for they wash th' blood from the grave clothes of those who are about to die. I've heard tales that they are spirits who died givin' birth, but that might not always be th' case. Sometimes they lose things, such as hair combs. Perhaps these might help them regain their voices.

[For banshees to lose their voice makes her worry. Is it to do with the vision that Ben had? With the sightings of the White Hart scampering through the cities a month ago with death on His heels?]

Help them. Aid them as He's asked, in any way you can. This is a balance that shouldn't be broken.

Comments

audio;

[babbylon]

What sort of offering might you recommend?

[Not that Gilgamesh intends to make one. Oh, no. He doesn't need to. Didn't get in trouble with the Shuck or anything, not in the slightest, why would you think that... and if you heard anything like hesitation in his voice, it was clearly just your imagination. Totally fine. Completely. Never been better.]

audio;

[notyetlegend]

[No, that's definitely hesitation she hears in her king's voice, and she can't help it but she smiles though he can't see it.]

I've always been successful with deer in th' past. Older ones, not th' young bucks.

[babbylon]

[A thoughtful hrmmm noise follows.]

A stag, perhaps? To make him less angr... err, to appease him?

also on the bison

[dicktionary]

...Did we bring offerings? I mean, I'm assuming we did but I may have to figure out something whenever we land. [ He rolls his eyes, clearly exasperated with himself. ] Should've thought of it, really. We're gonna go see a god, and gods generally like offerings. ...What does someone offer the god of death?

on the bison too

[needmetoo]

I have seashells.

[It's a quiet and admittedly sheepish suggestion. But it's not exactly like she has a lot to her name that she could give the Shuck either.]

Re: on the bison too

[dicktionary]

Which aren't bad, but...for a god of death? I don't know what I have that would work...

BISONNNNNNNNNNNN

[sangilak]

[ calling back from her spot at the head: ]

It'll take us a few days to get there [ closer to a week, actually ] so Merida and I will go hunting when we get closer.

\m/

[dicktionary]

Shouldn't we all be pitching in if we're all going?

[ He feels like he owes other people enough, Korra in particular, and while he understands helping out without expecting anything in return, he just--doesn't want to dig himself further into debt. Whether it's of his own imagining or not. Hunting, he isn't so sure how good he's going to be at, but if it's a necessity, it's a necessity. ]

Just let me know what I can do.

cross; video

[wwjd]

What are suitable offerings for the Black Shuck?

[Kirei doesn't intend to walk right in to disturb Him, but... it's a question worth asking nonetheless.]

I... did not know death could fall out of balance in the Drabwurld.

cross; video

[notyetlegend]

Game. Thick cuts of meat, or th' full thing. I'd recommend huntin' it yourself rather than buyin' it.

[She can remember the first time she gave offering to the Shuck, how ill prepared she'd been. Merida shakes her head.]

I didn't think so either. Th' banshee are His harbingers, they call when He comes. For someone to have taken their voices...it worries me.

action forever

[midnighthero]

[ Near the end of her post, Riku pops up over her shoulder, taking in that Korra's holding not one but two devices. One's obviously a locket, but the other... he's got no idea. ]

What are you doing?

[notyetlegend]

Informin' people.

[Merida takes her locket and her compass back from Korra and snaps them shut, then hands the compass over to him so he can look at it.]

It's a compass. Hermione makes them.

[detoxifying]

He also... doesn't take overly kindly to questions about the Void, no matter how kindly you ask, or what offerings you bring.

[ In Cullen's experience at least. ]

[dicktionary]

That's actually really good to know. You've met him?

» compass

[skjalf]

A fact I shall well recall. You have my thanks, Commander.

audio;

[cinnamoned]

I assume game would suffice. I'll keep it in mind if I ever go meet him myself.

More importantly, the banshee....you think it will be that simple? Just finding something of theirs in their past life? I admit I haven't had experience with them myself.

[But Snow does want to help. This is serious. The monarchs are foregoing their preparations, their fighting for this. So of course if there's something she can do to help in this, she wants to try. Even this much could be a start to go on at least.]

audio;

[notyetlegend]

Aye, I have taken him game in th' past. Somethin' that I have killed personally. I'm afraid I wasn't quite so prepared my first Samhain, though it sufficed.

[Merida has heard that the monarchs bow only to the Black Shuck and the White Hart; for them to even call a truce because of the Shuck's word is enough for her to believe so.]

It might not be. Some of these banshees are no doubt hundreds of years old, it would be impossible to find somethin' of theirs from their past life.

» voice (compass)

[skjalf]

( ...oh! That is Merida's voice! Elizabeth silently thanks Dorian and this lady name Hermione both for this device. It has just reconnected her with an old friend. )

Merida! By God and all His Angels, it is good to hear your voice! And the gods of this world, as well.

( Speaking of! That is a lot of very, very useful knowledge. Some of it she has only known through vague references to Scots or Irish myth, mentioned flippantly and with utter disregard. Now, incredibly relevant.

And as for the Shuck, well. )

October last, I killed a male deer and waited by a fire for Him, but He did not come. In His place was a small pup, who explained to me that He did not come because I still held God highest in my heart.

I can hear the banshees, Merida. Their song carries upon the water and I can hear their words. Sorrow, pain, regret, longing; these poor women deserve to be reunited with whatever they have lost.

» voice (compass)

[notyetlegend]

[Merida feels a strange sense of relief roll through her when she hears Elizabeth's voice, immediately switching the feed to private. Hermione's network might be composed of those who wished to keep in contact with each other through different means, but there was no sense in never being too careful.]

Yours as well, Elizabeth. [She sighs a little.] You'll have to forgive me for making this private. I have my reasons.

[As private as it was with her on the back of a bison anyway. There's a thoughtful hum; she'd heard rumors last Samhain of such a pup. God...Elizabeth was like Kirei then. A follower of the God those crazy cultists in her time believed in.]

He has shown me kindness by coming to meet me not once but twice, an' tellin' me of my homeland an' my mother, givin' me reason to believe His word over Morla's. He's a connection to that place for me, one of th' only ones I have.

[The Black Shuck is important to her, for many reasons, but that one is the most prominent.]

I'm afraid I'm not quite so inclined, even with all things considered. I have never laid eyes on one before, but I wish to help them in any way I can. For them to lose their voices an' throw off th' balance of life an' death...there must be somethin' else happenin'.

video;

[uptowngirl]

[ She recognizes that animal--even the only parts she can see of it. Is that girl really riding a sky bison? Where did she get it? She was under the impression that Korra had the only one, but... ]

That sounds like an awful fate...

[ Asami had no idea that they were tortured souls, of sorts. That definitely makes one rethink the situation. ]

Do you know if there's any way to discern what objects might have belonged to them and those that haven't?

video;

[notyetlegend]

Aye. Sometimes you can't escape fate.

[Her expression turns into a grimace. If she hadn't been able to change her mother back, would she have become a banshee eventually? Lost in grief and warning others of the Shuck's approach? It was difficult to say. The question makes her shake her head.]

I've only heard tales of banshee before now. Ask them, and they may yet answer.

Seelie; video

[roman_hands]

Thanks for the tip. You sound like you know an awful lot about what they're like.

[Seriously, Jason's very impressed.]

I thought there were only fairies here, not Gods.

video

[notyetlegend]

My mother told me of spirits an' gods of old when I was little. I figure I should be of use to people who need it.

[She blinks a little. He seems a bit familiar but for the moment she brushes it aside, instead smiling softly.]

There's gods everywhere here, th' Shuck an' the Hart aren't th' only ones, but they are th' most important.

video.

[rube]

[long time no talk, merida. what in god's name are you riding on? honestly, ben's more focused on the bison for a moment before his gaze finally falls back to merida's face.]

Damn well should've stopped at the library when I had the chance.

[he'd learned about plenty of mystical creatures, but with so much time spent out in the wilderness he hadn't had the chance to look up banshee lore.]

How you been?

[notyetlegend]

[She visibly perks when she sees him. It feels like forever since the last time they talked, and it's a good reminder of why the Shuck is important to her. He brought her Ben and while she can take care of herself, it's nice to know he's there when she needs someone.]

Well, all things considered.

[Things she would rather not discuss over the lockets.]

There'll be time to check out th' library later. How are you, Ben? I haven't seen you for a while.