Dawn breaches the horizon, pale and tentative against the lingering northern lights. That filtered, gentle light leeches through thin tent walls, offering a moment of solace.Â
Selowynâs eyes open with the growing glow. She inhales deeply, inviting calm. Her efforts are well intentioned, her discipline intact, but...
Something is different.
Selowyn stirs, partially sitting up to brush the thin layer of frost off the blankets. Whispers of anxiety nip at the edges of her consciousness, gaining strength with each inbreath of awareness. Gritting her teeth, she sighs, tempted to open that mental vault. To acknowledge the loss and begin to formulate some sort of attempt to contact the taken....
âMilady?â a voice calls out from beyond the tent walls, interrupting her thoughts.
âYes?â she croaks. She clears her throat. âWhat is it?â she calls out, more clearly this time.
âLady Sunhawk, there is a visitor here to see you.â
Quizzical brows knit. âAlright, one moment please.â
Donning her heavy robes and cloak, the cleric steps out into the chilled landscape. A willowy figure in similar attire stands waiting, her form ensconced in shadows, backlit by the shafts of the rising sun. Selowynâs hand flies to her forehead, shading her eyes from the blinding light in an attempt to see...Â
Her eyes widened in disbelief. It was none other than Bishop-Confessor Phadrene Morningdove, the Convocate of Faith of Silvermoon.
âMy lady? Confessor Morningdove?? Is it really youâŚ?â The tone is tentative, almost pleading.
The figure steps forward and the light illuminates her fully, cleanly. She is stunning and placid, wrapped in robes of whitest snow, champagne gold and daybreak turquoise. As always, she seems out of place on this plane of existence, let alone the bleak Borean Tundra. âConfessor Sunhawk. A pleasure to see you again.â Her smile and tone are welcoming and pure, her golden eyes warm and searching.Â
Tears sting the junior confessorâs eyes as she cannot help but spring forward. Eschewing protocol, she wraps her mentor in a huge bear hug, sobs wracking her chest. âPhadrene, it has been so long...we need you. I need you!â She leans back, blinking as she drinks in the senior confessorâs blessed countenance. âHow long are you here for? WHY are you HERE??? It is not safe...â
âWe go where we are needed, do we not? And as you say, perhaps I can help.â The Bishop meanders toward the medical tent. Already she is rolling up her sleeves. âLetâs start where we are, and you can fill me in as we go.â
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
We continue our pursuits, for the good of our people and for the sake of knowledge itself.
In quietude, in solitude.
The world is busy, full of tangled pasts and possible futures colliding.
Full of dark forces seeking domination and control.
The people are busy, fighting and striving as always, with more and more vistas to chase.
Few think to visit us now, and we have grown to prefer it.
Through meditative discipline and faith, I keep the deep sadness, constantly tugging, from swallowing me whole.
He uses the abrasiveness of his intellect to do the same. Like salt in a wound.
Sometimes we may seem separated by the gulf of our methods, and the weight on our shoulders, and thus almost tepid in our affections.
But no. That would be wrong. For, I can say this.
As we have weathered, so we have changed, and so we have grown,
Sometimes apart, but always back together. Like the vines of the great roses in the high garden, made all the more beautiful by the complex, organic pattern.
For faith and intellect are necessary for one another. Dancing, balancing partners. And so are we.
The awe of mutual fascination and respect bind us, always.
Selowyn peered into the ever-present gloom of Zulâdrak, sighing heavily. It was pre-dawn early, and all but a few of the watchers were fitfully sleeping.
While rolling bandages, she mused about the cyclical nature of time and experience. She was back here, in Northrend, and at some of the same bases of operation from which sheâd been mobilized in the not-so-distant past. And yet, history was already repeating itself. Thrym was back (at that she shivered); the Scourge ran rampant; there was even the threat of a new crown. Was there some cosmic law about this futile striving to defeat the same consuming evil over and over until it ultimately won?Â
âYou are having those thoughts again,â her mentor murmured quietly as she approached.
Selowyn furrowed her brow, pausing in her work. The Bishop was a soft balm of moonlight against the hard stone structures which surrounded them. A welcome sight, and yet a tiny part of her bristled despite the non-judgemental tone. âYes, I admit it, Mother Confessor. Iâm having doubts. You know I always struggled with such...questions.â Pausing, the senior Confessor merely folded her hands within her robes, nodding for Selowyn to continue.
Peering around, she ensured no one was within earshot. âFirst off, as an Argent officer, I have to stay so constrained. I cannot show much emotion. My people are scared, theyâre hurt. They look to me for consolation and answers. And yet they press on. But I cannot give in to my own feelings which race beneath the surface.â She exhaled. âItâs tiring, and I worry they think I'm perfunctory, even cold at times. But...we are at war. It is my obligation and duty to remain focused on the end game and lead by example, even if it distances me from their hearts.â
Phadreneâs brow raised but still she held the space, not interjecting yet. Selowynâs jaw worked and she looked down at the pile of cloth in her lap, yet to be cut and spun into the pristine white rolls which would soon enough be soaked through with crimson blood.
âAnd...there is no point in hiding it from you. The shadows within me grow. A bleak seed was planted back when I was taken at Corpârethar, and imprisoned with...â She stopped, swallowing. They both know who she meant. âYou somehow cultivated roses from that fetid plot of mental soil, but since then much has happened. I was infested by what I now know to be the âShaâ in Pandaria. They found that seed and gleefully corrupted it. It grows, day by day. And the worst part? I canât shake the feeling that the shadow offers strength, something I can finally use against them. Is that foolish?â
The Bishopâs face grew grave as she nodded knowingly. âI understand. The Sha are insidious, a force which influences from the inside-out. I know that long you have striven to balance the opposing forces within you. You were once an aspiring warrior of the Light, swallowed whole by the darkness. The experience allowed you to unlock your potential, but certainly it changed you. Long have you been held in thrall between opposing forces; and that calling to keep it in check will be an eternal one for you. Just because the scales have tipped upon this harrowed path does not mean the ultimate giving in of one to the other. Such is the path of Discipline, which you have tread since you were carried out of the Citadel, as much as you may try to deny it.â
Selowyn blinked, standing quickly as she peered at her mentor, who padded toward her as she continued. âThere is a great dimensional temple, far, far from this sphere. On one side of the structure is the Sanctuary of the Light, in which a Naaru dwells. Across the way is the Sanctuary of the Void, lit with a million black candles and in which one can hear the faint vespers of the great dark beyond. The space between is affectionately known as Balance Hall. I can take you there, and you can meditate upon either side or the space between, as you need.â
Selowyn gasped, glancing around at the Stand. The tents, the guards, the coalition members, resting for another day of trials⌠âI cannot desert my people! But, you would not suggest this if it were not importantâŚâ Her hands wrung in indecision.Â
Phadrene smiled knowingly and, as if bidden, a statuesque Sinâdorei magister in flowing blue robes emerged from the Bishopâs tent. He glanced at her as she nodded. He began chanting, conjuring a portal to life. âThis gateway is a warp of both time and space, and it will whisk you to this temple of which I speak. There you may take all the time you need to quell some of the dissonance within, and you will emerge upon this same spot and as if very little time has passed.â
Seeing Selowyn remained hesitant, she placed a reassuring hand on the junior Confessorâs shoulder. âI will watch over them while you are gone. I have some work to do here myself; maybe some of them can assist me? I have observed them to be stalwart of heart. Your leadership is a testament, even if you worry about so-called disconnect.â
Smiling gratefully, the Captain stepped gingerly through the portal to seek inner peace.Â
âNow,â Phadrene whispered to the magister. âI think I need to minister to some lost souls. See what you can do to fortify the defenses here. Something is coming, but there is strange energy blocking my ability to See via the Loom.â The Bishop glanced up at the distant dawn attempting in vain to break through thick clouds. âSomething strange indeed.â
Changing the name of this main blog, because itâs become the hub for my role play babies @selowyn and @shylmenra. Going to try âradiance-and-resonanceâ on for size, and see if it fits and sticks. Sorry for any confusion in the meantime re: follows and asks. (Itâs still also Phadrene Morningdoveâs aesthetic blog, sheâs just more of NPC status these days.) <3
People often wonder if the Magister and I are intimate.
Yes, I have heard the rumors...
They whisper my womanly parts are âdustyâ and the Magister has âcerulean testiclesâ.
Itâs quite interesting what people think and say, when they assume and do not understand!
I assure you, this is not the case.
This surprises you? Iâm sure it does. It still surprises me!
Allow me to try to explain.
My purity is my strength and my joy. I must remain pure of body and spirit to be of the best service to the Holy Light, to remain Chosen of Aâdal.
This Iâve come to understand is my private pact, begun when the Naaru appeared to me and lead me away from the Scourge invasion.
But that is a story for another timeâŚ
Iâll admit, this necessity for chastity creates a bit of a quandary when one has a love so strong as that of mine and Ranidarisâ.
The yearning for connection; the carnal appetite, yes, even for me, grows nearly overwhelming.
Many times we reached the precipice of giving away my maidenhead. Many times I offered it up to him, sweetly and without guilt. And each and every time he insisted I keep my trust in him and turned it down, understanding that the world needs it more than we do.
However...there is more than one way to peel a TelâAbim banana.
With my ability to tap into the Light, and his mastery of the Arcane, we have found a way to fuse our essences and quell the pangs of joining.
It takes a great deal of focus and energy, and thus we do not dabble often or idly...but itâs possible, and we avail ourselves of this one temptation now and again.
I taught him my ways of the Loom; that of astral travel, which he with his intellect picked up quickly, cleanly, and safely.
Given his level of experience with manipulating energy and my ability to shield and protect, our astral bodies are free to roam.
Lucky for us, they are also exquisitely sensitive. In this way, we are able to merge and explore one another in ways so deep, it would be difficult to fathom if youâve never experienced it.
You wish to know more?
Alright. I will indulge you. Just a bit.
One of my favorite moments was probably the Titanâs bathtub. Surrounded by vines and flowers, with a crackling fire in the background.
The Magister was not just in the bath with me; he became the water.
It moved around me....
He moved around me. And inside of me.
Surrounding me, spreading me open, spilling over the brim.
......................
When it was done, we opened our eyes in the study, fully clothed, and merely smiled.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Qualityâ Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Angel of innocence, spirit of grace; sheâs curled up on my bed under a cascade of moonlight, cast in a cocoon of intangible white silk. Untouched â by me, by the world, she bears no shame, for she has nothing to be ashamed of. Her true colors are painted upon her face: respect, tenacity, compassion. Those rose petal lips of hers utter only words wet with relief for the thirsty soul. The shadows of the underworld chain me to a stone of bitterness and cynical passion, far away from her light. Yet, for reasons unknown to even me, sheâs fast asleep in my embrace, aware of the darkness plaguing my heart. She sees no reason for alarm. Â
Oh, darling Phadrene.
4th anniversary of my favorite post on RP Haven ever. (Author: ranidaris.)
These past few years with you have been even more glorious than I could have ever imagined. Your fathomless intellect tempered by old-soul wisdom, your gentle stoicism, your compelling protectiveness, the air of secrecy born of tempered pride, and endless devotion are not lost upon me. I give thanks for you every day. Facing the trials, tribulations, joys and mysteries of the Ages seems so much less daunting with you by my side. Oh, darling Ranidaris. How I love you so.
