Chapter 5: The Path of a Ven Priestess
"Do you see how the flowers bloom so beautifully? How the trees show their splendor with such radiance? And the- Liri? Is something wrong?"
"N-No, sorry…" Liri replied as she scratched the back of her head. "I was just thinking about something."
"Oh? About what?"
[About how if you were on Earth you may have been one of the single most annoying kinds of people to talk to out there.]
"Uh… Nothing."
"Ah, I see."
The next morning saw Liri and Lys moving through the woods southeast of Elmira, on their way to one of the Mother Trees carrying a couple of backpacks with them that held some snacks and flasks filled with water.
Because Liri had never seen the Mother Trees before, she felt excited. That said, she had quite literally met the goddess they were connected to. She wondered if maybe that would give her some sort of insight into these things that others didn't have.
"As you know," Lys told her, "our belief comes from our connection to nature. There are other kinds of people out there, Liri. Races of other intelligent beings you have not met. However, they do not possess the connection to Alteria that we have. It is because of this that we are able to sense parts of the world that hold more purity than others. Unfortunately, it is also because of this that we suffer when that purity is taken away."
"What?"
This was the first Liri had heard about this.
"You may not have felt it because you have not developed your connection with nature too much. You're still growing, after all," Lys stated. "As your connection with nature intensifies, you will begin to feel it. Anytime the earth is hurt, your own emotions will be stirred."
"Is… Is there anything we can do about it?"
"For most of us? No. For ven like myself, however," Lys added, "we do have a task. Our duty is to tend to the earth. Heal its wounds and nurture our connection to it. That is the essence of being a priestess, Liri. That is why I chose the path that I did."
Her words did have an immediate effect on Liri. On one side, her curiosity grew with every word she heard from Lys. On the other, this sounded like she was volunteering to make things more difficult for herself.
[It kinda sounds like having this connection in the first place is a burden,] she noted. [Did I mess up by asking Lys to take me here?]
"We're almost there," Lys told her. "Prepare yourself, Liri. For someone who's encountering the essence of the world for her first time, this could be an intense experience."
[What the hell is about to happen?]
Despite whatever hesitation Liri was feeling now, she willed her legs to keep moving. At the end of the day, she needed to find something she could dedicate herself to in this new world. On Earth, she had nothing. Here, she had the talent to make something out of this new life. She simply needed some options and, as a ven, this was one of them.
[… Fuck, I'm nervous,] she thought as she quietly followed her mother. [What is this gonna feel like? Am I about to look like one of those people on tv who pass out when priests put their hands on their heads? Or is Lys just exaggerating? Crap, I'm really not…]
All thoughts going through her head ceased.
She began to feel something.
The closer she got to whatever was waiting for her up ahead, the more Liri felt this strange sensation.
Peace, serenity, humility. All of it began to spread from Liri's heart, moving to the rest of her body. It all arrived so suddenly that Liri felt overwhelmed. As the two of them passed into a clearing, finally, Liri saw it.
"There it is," Lys said, pointing ahead. "A Mother Tree."
Liri stopped moving as soon as she laid eyes on it.
The instant that she did, she felt safe. Like all of her worries were fleeting things she should never have taken seriously to begin with.
The Mother Tree in front of her was a massive, sprawling entity. Its leaves were different shades of red, yellow, and blue. Its roots grew out of the ground, appearing in twists and turns over the dirt. The branches formed a sort of umbrella above and all around the tree Liri could see little green-white lights floating in the air.
Lys gently took one of Liri's hands and led her closer to it.
"These trees are points where the remnants of Alteria's power in the world focus and sort of… clump up together," Lys explained. "Forming these glorious natural structures. We ven are lucky enough to be able to tap into this power and interact with it. Our actions can hurt or aid the world itself. That is the responsibility we bear."
"It's beautiful," Liri couldn't help but mutter.
"I know… But," Lys replied, "you can sense it, can't you?"
"Huh?"
"The underlying corruption. Look for it. You will find it if you search."
[Corruption?]
"Oh, uh, how?"
Lys then walked up to her and held Liri by her shoulders.
"Close your eyes and center yourself. Let your senses wrap you in nature's embrace. Eventually, you will start to feel the world's 'body' as though it was your own. Then, you will feel what I am referring to."
Inhaling deeply, Liri nodded and closed her eyes. Her mother took her hands off her, and all Liri's senses were left to feel was the natural world around her. The slightly minty-scented air, the strangely clean dirt, the sounds of birds chirping in the distance.
It did not take too long for Liri to feel like there was something, or someone, else there now.
It was as though she had been standing in an empty room with only her mother there, and a spirit had suddenly materialized with them. That was the sensation she got as she sensed this new presence.
It was bright and powerful. An otherworldly power that was embedded into every part of the earth.
It was also old and weakening, however. Liri soon realized what Lys had been talking about. It was sick. It wasn't too difficult to detect, actually. There was a darkness that was beginning to spread throughout it.
"What is that?" Liri asked aloud. "This… Disease."
"It is the result of the actions of the other races," Lys replied with a serious tone. "The corruption they have spread by destroying nature. Many Mother Trees have deactivated as a result."
"De… Deactivated?"
"Yes," Lys replied. "If the nature that exists around them is removed, these beacons of nature's beauty simply cease to function. Because of this, every day, more and more of the earth becomes 'sick', Liri."
"But who's doing it?" Liri asked. "Who's deactivating them?"
"We are not too certain, unfortunately. All we know is that some *things* have been systematically wiping out ven villages, just like Elmira, and debilitating the natural forces that surround us."
"Wait, what?" Liri asked, completely scandalized. "How is this the first I've heard of this? Ven villages have been getting wiped out? Seriously?"
"We hadn't told you because we don't have much information to share in the first place, Liri," Lys stated. "There have been no survivors left from these attacks. And there have not been enough attacks to where we can identify patterns. No traces of the attackers or anything we could use to identify our opponents. All we know is that forces beyond what we know are set on eliminating the earth's purity."
[… Why?] Liri asked herself as she looked back at the Mother Tree. [Why would someone want to destroy something this great?]
"Setting that aside, however, how do you feel?" Lys asked. "This is it. This is what being a ven priestess is all about. We do not know enough about our enemies to protect these Mother Trees, but we can nurture the connection we have to the ones that remain. That is why I chose my path. Is it a path that appeals to you?"
[I don't think these attacks are something we can just "set aside", though. Come to think of it, is this the "injustice" that Alteria was talking about?] Liri wondered, as she felt her connection to the natural world beginning to blossom. [How would my having children help with that, though?]
"I think…" Liri said quietly, as she stared up at the structure. "Is it possible to make my connection even stronger?"
"Yes," Lys replied. "It will take years, though. That is why, if you do wish to become a priestess like me, you should choose now, so you do not waste any time."
Hearing that, Liri nodded. When taking into consideration the options that she had, it wasn't really a contest.
[This beats anything else I've seen. I don't feel like I wanna be a farmer, or a soldier, or... whatever. I feel… I feel at home here.]
"I'll do it," Liri declared. "I want to help with this."
Her mother had looked proud of Liri throughout many points of her life, but she'd never seen her quite as proud as she looked right now.
"Let's head home then," she said. "And, we'll tell the Temple about your decision."
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