The lights swirled around her with such grace that, had she the capability to do so, it would have held the power to bring her to tears. It was power and light in it's purest form; a power that felt somewhat familiar, though admittedly not something that felt as though it belonged to her. It was a gift; a present from the god Naota to the people of this realm. He was the bringer of light; the northern light itself. Or at least that was reputation the preceded him. Was he great or was he wicked? It didn't particularly matter in the grand scheme of things; not really. He held a power that seemed somewhat familiar, and though he was a bearer of light, she had spent enough time in this realm to realize that light was a weapon that was employed by more than just the virtuous.

For a moment, her mind fell upon the visage of the sea witch. He had power too; glowed with it, in fact. But there was something about him that left her uneasy. Or at least as close to uneasy as she could feel. He held light in his very veins, but was not a child of virtue. He was the opposite. 

Quite abruptly the lights around her faded; painting the illuminated horizon of the god's temple. She had thought about the place a hundred times before whispering her desires to the captured light, but her mind's eye did it no justice. It was so incredibly bright, and solid. In any other landscape she felt as though the place would have been cold, but somehow this place felt so welcoming. So warm. So familiar. Almost like home.

She pressed her eyes shut as her thoughts tried to remember something that no longer existed; a home of which she held no memory but somehow found herself searching for day in and day out. Could this god Naota hold the key to her past? Or better, could he help write the story of her future? The deities of the land had somehow left Lucielle curious in the past, but she had never saw fit to venture to the running grounds of the divine until this god. He could be important. Or at the very least, a very powerful ally.

Slowly, and strongly over calculatedly, she began walking towards the main halls of the stonehewn temple. She had to present herself in a specific way; powerful in her resolve. Not weak. Not naive. Though she knew her inexperience would eventually betray her once the god found fit to speak with her. She didn't particuliarly care about the way that she was perceived, but if the god held ill intentions, she did not want her power, and the mysterious origins therein, to be seen as a tool towards an end. 

She shook her head lightly. Why would he need her power? He is unsurpassed in her kind of magick. He was the brightest star in realm. She paused for a moment and turned her eyes towards the sky as a soft pink blush touched her cheeks. If she was truly honest with herself, she cared. For the first time since entering this realm, she wanted to be liked.

Something was different at The Crystal Palace today.  A newcomer had arrived, someone he didn’t recognize.  New faces came to his temple every week, but there was something different about this one.  Immediately he felt a draw to her, for what reason he wouldn’t be able to tell you.  More so, he felt as if there was need to go to her.  Her image hovered in Onnen’s Amber, and something about the near deadened expression of her face left him curious.  Only until her cheeks flushed with color did he see any real human emotion.  But even from his throne room he could tell that, though she was human, there was more to her make up than that.  He felt very in tune, as if she belonged in his realm.
 
He stood from his floating black tourmaline seat and flickered from the room to reappear directly behind her; head tilting in curiosity.  His eyes widened and the white markings that ran nearly his entire body all glowed brighter at once.  From being this close to her he knew exactly what it was that had called him to her: holiness, light.  Two areas he was quite well versed in…obviously, as the latter was part of his domain.  She seemed neither homeless nor injured, and he wondered if her being was what had brought her here.
 
Nonetheless, he could sense her hesitation in entering.  His eyes softened and he was sure to keep his voice quiet so as not to startle her as he spoke, “A lot more can be accomplished if you’re inside.”  A small smile graced his lips, “It’s warmer too.”  While he had grown used to the frigid temperatures of his home, he knew that not everyone was, and there were plenty of fires to thaw even the weariest traveler.

She felt odd having such an emotion. Her feelings, if that is what you wanted to call them, were usually shallow at best. But this… it was deep. There was something real about the emotion. Something that echoed in the corridors of her memory.

All at once her thoughts were gone. Replaced with another feeling; one that was not so much an emotion as it was an instinct. She was startled, and for a moment, thought about spinning to meet the voice with a clenched fist; memories of the sea witch having left her less trusting than she once was. However, once her eyes fell on the male, and her mind registered who it was, everything changed.

Her heart dropped at the site of him. An oddly deep connection reverberated within her like a tuning fork. There was a resonance.

Instinctively, she bowed her head: growing more embarrassed by her thoughts. Emotions were so foreign to her, and now she’s being slammed with one that was so deeply engrained that it left her reeling. What was this? She began to grow warm; and panicked.

The last time she had an emotion take root like this, her body reacted in a violent way; shining with a brightness that she couldn’t control. She didn’t want that to happen again, but the warmth that grew within her warned of the reaction.

”I would prefer to be indoors. Though, warmth is not really an issue.” She blushed again and this time a faint glow emanated from her body; betraying her thoughts.

She closed her eyes tight against the glow and tried her best to disconnect from the nervousness that had somehow weaseled its way into her heart. She had to get it under control. She had to seem like she had some semblance of control… she had to.

She glowed brighter as she tried harder; the effort simply misdirecting the power.

"I-I'm so sorry. I… I can't…" All at once the light poured from her; sending holy magick every which way.

While her actions said ‘surprise’, her face said… ‘bored’.  Well that was new.  He couldn’t help but smile from the contrast and gently chuckled as she bowed her head.  In return he dipped his back, but when they both rose back up he saw and felt light grow stronger and stronger.  This wasn’t his own power, this was coming from her directly and his eyebrows rose curiously.  Despite her less than expressive face he could tell she was making herself upset and his lips parted.  Instantly he recognized internal struggle, and at the instant holy light shot out around them he stepped closer.  

Being gentle, he rested one of his hands on top of her head: his fingers lightly gripping around her crown…and just like that everything dimmed to a more understandable level.  His fingers eased and he softly moved them through her hair once before stepping back and drawing his hand to his side.  The only thing worse than losing control was someone bringing direct negative attention to it, so he treated it as if were normal.  And really there was no stretch to do so as he himself had suffered his fair share of outbursts over the years, even after ascending,

“Now that can’t happen every time you meet someone new can it?”  His eyes softened and he reached out once more to set his hand on her shoulder,

“I think I know exactly what could help…”  Their bodies quickly came apart, merging with the sunlight bouncing off of the snow, shining from his palace, until they were one with all light around them.  And just as quickly they came back together at the edge of Hikari no Michi.  For a short moment they were merged with its pure source, but no mortal should stay bound with that for too long…even if it was well meant.  When their bodies formed back together he took his hand from her and looked towards the entrance, “Walk with me, if you will…”

She had only shone this bright one other time, and it had not ended well for anyone. Despite the fact that she knew that the God Naota would not be impacted by her magick, she was afraid, well, her version of afraid, that she would disappoint upon first meeting.

An emotion almost touched her face when she felt his hand upon her. Had it been an emotion, it would have been a combination of shock and overwhelming relief. His touch was gentle, but strong; muting her powers quickly. It was odd though. Despite the fact that he had impacted her light on such a large scale, she did not feel as though it had been taken. More like he had been able to calm it with his touch as if it was nothing more than an overly chatty child that needed to be reminded to hold their tongue.

Her lilac eyes moved up to his. They were the kindest eyes she had seen in this realm. Though, to be fair to the realm, most of the entities with whom she had interacted did not have her best intentions in mind when looking at her. But he had the eyes of someone who had no ulterior motives. He just was trying to be kind for the sake of being kind. This is what she had imagined family to be like. People who cared about you because you were you; not because of what you could to for them or what you could do to them.

She wanted to respond to his words and tell him about her disconnect from emotion and how they were the cause of her explosions, but before she could he was touching her again. Calming her. And all at once, things were different. Gloriously different. Light surrounded her on all sides; warming her to the very soul. Then with a quick flicker, she was light. It, somehow, felt alarmingly familiar. Like a story told to a child in their youth. Something was…. Intoxicating about it. It was, quite literally, the first time she felt at home in this realm since her arrival.

As quickly as it happened, it had ended, but the light within her still shone with renewed clarity as they stood before and entrance. She stepped toward him willingly; wanting to see what was awaiting them on this path. She felt, using that word lightly, that she could trust him almost instantly. Had he not been known as the virtuous soul that he was, she would have sworn that some kind of spell was afoot.

”Thank you,” she was finally able to utter taking the final steps to be at his side. ”Let us walk. It would be a great honor.’

His eyes softened as she moved towards him. Yes, this was definitely what she’d need, and he began to lead her at a leisurely pace. All around them were thick beams of light, acting as makeshift walls to block out the rest of the world. That, after all, was the point of Suisho no Kyuden: to take you away from the troubles that plagued you. It was a retreat, and he was glad that its location in Parvpora had still yet to be disturbed. With someone such as her it would do her good to escape for a little while, or however long she would need. He smiled to himself at the thought, thinking of how many souls all but took up residence here. Ah, all in time, they’d make their venture back out into Revaliir when they felt ready enough to do so. And when that would happen with this one, he’d gaze on her with the same expression of pride as anyone else.

“Now then,” he started with a voice barely above a whisper, “what brings you here today?” From having seen that outburst a few moments ago, he wondered if any of it had to do with finding control within herself. Having so much power within her, he was surprised that hers was a calm face. Where was the fear? The worry? And more so, there was the tiniest fleck of darkness he sensed in her; like a sooty fingerprint on a freshly cleaned mirror. It was foreign, who had put it there? No matter, a good walk on the Light’s Path would sufficiently buff it out so to speak.

“It’s clear that you have great power within you, we just need to focus on channeling it properly.” He turned softly glowing emerald eyes to her lilac, “Tell me of your times leading up to me.” He wanted to learn all that he could about her, within her comfort level at least. As they walked he felt himself grounding, his eyes halving comfortably as his soul became one with the light he poured into this holiest of spaces. With each step they took, his markings glowed brighter until they were indistinguishable from the obvious power of the walls around them.

“Not that I would want to impose on your privacy, but many that come to me have usually suffered some tragedy or internal discord.” He thought again of that near imperceptible bit of blackness that had somehow lingered. What had caused that? “Your personal accounts are yours of course, but do know that you’ll receive no judgment from me…All of us have our moments of falling at some point in our lives.” Which was true, on both accounts.

The path was gorgeous. Pure light crafted into something that she never would have believed it could be. Something brand new, but somehow shockingly familiar. How was that possible? A part of her supposed that it was simply the power of the god. They are beings of pure power. Some things they were able to do were simply not meant to be understood by the mortal mind.

The god's voice cut through her musings long enough to pull her attention. What had brought her here? In short it was series of bad decisions and pain. But moreover, there was a longing in her that she could never explain. A whole that had been there for the entirety of her time in this realm. She had thought, after some light research, that it was emotional memory that simply couldn't penetrate whatever it was that had eliminated the memories of her old life. Regardless, this longing is what drove her to be here; it had felt the holiness of this place. But how could she put that in words without rambling to the god, or seeming like a clingy follower?

"I suppose," she began with a deep breath, "that the events of my past are exactly what brought me here. I suppose I should start by saying that I do not remember much from anything before a few months ago. I have no idea where I come from or why I am here. This lack of understanding drove me into the presence of a man. I believe people of this realm call his kind a witch. He did something to my light that made me…. explode." Her eyes turned up to the god with that word. He had seen her light burst rather recently, so she was sure it would resonate.

"After everything happened, and I was able to get away, I was drawn here. As though a part of me knew this place. So, when you gifted the Globe of the Northern Lights, I set this destination as it's maiden voyage."

It was a lot to say. She knew that, but again, he was pure power. Light. Endurance. Surely he could withstand the onslaught of a young girls short sordid past.

"I apologize to show up asking for your help in understanding myself when I have no idea who I am, or even what I am, but I - I feel as though you are the only being that could. I really appreciate that you would be forgiving of me and what I have done. But aside from the dark days spent along side a sea witch, I have nothing to lay at your feet." Her eyes fell back to the path in her own form of sadness; her face still flat. She was asking so much and was able to give so little.

The god Naota had been so kind with no prompting, but she would completely understand if he turned her away after this radiant walk. She just hoped, with everything that she wanted to be, that he wouldn't.

His lips parted, eyebrows raising ever so slightly when she told him how she had no recollection of herself other than the past few months. Was there an injury she had suffered or did it go much deeper than that? This talk of a witch though, he wasn’t sure what to take of that. There were many of their kind in Revaliir, some good, some…not so much. It came as no surprise to him that her being around such a person would increase her own power, but even with her flat expression he could tell that it didn’t seem like a pleasant experience. And then he was swiftly reminded of the flustered guilt only a few minutes ago when she’d done so on his doorstep.

Like usual when others told him of their troubles, he was urged to reach out and offer her a comforting touch. Though, also as usual, he refrained from doing so. Her next chosen verbiage didn’t exactly evoke confidence within him either: ‘able to get away’. Hmm…in the future he might have to look more into this man she had encountered. Even though there were no visible scars on her body from what he could see, that didn’t mean no serious damage was done. That speck of black within her was suddenly more noticeable. “Those gifts are for people exactly like you…” he said softly, speaking of The Globe of the Northern Lights. “So I’m very glad that you used it to find me.” His eyes softened with a matching smile, “I’m honored that you thought of me first and felt safe enough to do so…to make me your first trip I mean.”

He was hoping to lighten her, perhaps bring some ease into what otherwise would be a stiff expression on anyone else. With that clear voice and nigh unreadable face she was quite a paradox, but here on the path all were connected. More so with her being a creature of light, it was much easier to make that metaphysical bond, and there was no way he could allow this much worry and tension to remain if there was something he could do. His eyes stayed on her as he moved a hand out, letting his fingertips brush along one of the walls; blinding trails ran behind his fingers where he touched, and there was a quick boost that filled the path.

That hand moved from the wall and gently waved away her words, “There is absolutely nothing to forgive. Problems like this are exactly what I’m here for and you are no bother to me.” What she’d said had troubled him more though…the poor thing didn’t even know what she was. To be honest, he wasn’t even entirely sure. His first instinct was human, but even with his demonic traits all but gone, he could smell that she held something more than that in her race. Or maybe it was just all of that untapped power. Dark days… Yes, the more she talked about this man, the less he liked. That would come in time though, he wasn’t the one that needed focusing on: she was.

“Now then,” he started, “with all of this said, what is it that you hope to achieve in coming here…? Many come her wanting an ear to listen, which is fine, but something tells me that’s not the case with you. Not fully at least.” There was much he could do for her, especially with her being a creature bound so closely to light. “Not to alarm you, but there is something I see in you that troubles me…”

He chose his next words carefully, “At your core is the brilliant light you’ve already shown me, but…” His steps slowed, though he didn’t stop them, wanting her to keep her walk down the path. He brought up one of his hands and pinched his fingers together to indicate a small size, “A speck no bigger than a grain of sand is at your center. It’s size is so small which is good, but the blackness of it might as well be a void…This troubles me, and it needs addressed.” His eyes searched hers, his own softly pulsating between a rich emerald and crystal clear diamond, “Is there something more that you need to tell me…?”

She listened closely as he spoke; hanging on each bit of wisdom that he deemed worthy to birth into this world. In all reality, he was just speaking. Of his gifts that he so graciously gave to the land. Of their intention. But something about him rang with such truth that it could not help but to be seen as wise. For a moment, she wondered if he could have said anything, regardless of its validity, with such a truthful glow.

She watched him move down the path; keeping only a small space between them. It was mesmerizing to see the god of light move about this holy path. He belonged here. Belong. What a silly word. One that made no sense when applied to Lucielle. But juxtaposed with Naota? It made perfect sense. The light of this place was his family. And according to this realm, family gives a sense of belonging. There’s that word again. She didn’t belong anywhere, and that was okay. But… maybe…it wasn’t?

The god spoke at the perfect time to interrupt her growing existentialism. Had she allowed herself to think any longer, she was certain she would have wretched from the pain slowly growing in her chest. Loneliness was always the hardest emotion for her to process.

What did she want to achieve from coming here? It was a question that she had never asked herself before. She was the kind of person that made a decision at will and followed through; regardless of how flimsy of a reason lead her to this decision. Thinking back, all she could really recall was the desire to be close to the Northern Light. Perhaps her spirit alone had brought her to this place. But what now? What could she ask of the god?

”Truthfully, I do not know what brought me to your domain. I had heard of you through other travelers and something in me told me to come to you. It’s what I have always thought it would be like if you found out that a relative of yours moved into your village. Regardless of whether or not you know them well, something in you feels as though you should see them.”

He continued. His voice so sure. There was something about her that concerned him. And, as one would expect, that concerned her. Something, anything, dark in her was enough to send her screaming; or at least her version of screaming. Was it Dorian? Did that sea witch mess with her more than she had thought?

A soft light began to pour from her, and only grew as she attempted to explain her recollection of events.

”Before the witch made my light act weird… he pulled some of it from me. I felt it leave and I saw the marks on his body glow brighter. I just thought that it was energy that he was using… I did- I didn’t think that it impacted my light as a whole…”

She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to hold the emotions back as best as she was able, but she could hear it in her voice. She was scared. And shaken to her core. This realm had so many things that she didn’t understand, but the warmth of her own light was something that she had always believed to be a constant.

”Can we—can you fix it?’

His eyes softened, and he was eased to hear how comfortable she was in coming to him. A relative, yes, that’s exactly what he tried to achieve with others here; that was the feeling pursued in his outreach. Not literally speaking of course, but the trust and closeness one could find with a relative. Well, a good relative at least. He knew as well as anyone else here that not all relatives were bathed in a positive light. Luckily, he didn’t know from personal experience. As much as he wanted to think ill of even his biological sibling, he couldn’t. Everyone had their own prejudices to work on, even a deity.

The oncoming smile faded before it could even surface. There it was: talk of the witch again. Who was this man? This, ‘Dorian’? Was that even his true name or something he’d filled her head with? He was trying his best not to have negative perspective towards him simply for what he was, but the more he experienced, the more she described, he couldn’t help that it was happening despite himself. Pulling energy from her, draining her light…from how she described it, he was certain that the man had boosted his own power. Not to say that his markings meant the same as Naota’s, but that was usually the case with his own marks glowing brighter: a surge in power.

Thankfully Lucielle hadn’t been hurt or damaged more than what he couldn’t immediately see and sense. That speck though, it worried him. He knew it was only his anxiety to the situation, but he thought it had grown larger. Darkness of this kind wasn’t common in his temple, and while he was uncomfortable to have it there, he was more perturbed by the fact that it had been forced on someone so abundant with light. No, the grain of evil hadn’t truly spread in her, and a simple blink of his eyes was confirmation enough.

From her words he was doubtful that it had affected her negatively as of yet, which was a good thing. Hopefully a good cleansing would do the trick. Luckily, she was so filled with light herself that it wouldn’t be difficult…He couldn’t deny that he was curious as to what might be experienced if he tried to tap into that void the witch had placed. Had he even done it on purpose or was it some side effect?

The smile returned, his eyes softening once more at the sight of her glow radiating stronger again. No, he wasn’t happy that she was obviously upset, not in the least, but when someone is afraid getting scared with them does nothing. And really, there was nothing to be so worried about when it was something so easily remedied. He gently rested his hand on her back, a touch so featherlight one might wonder if they were truly contacted at all. His thumb gently brushed, making sure she kept walking forward and with each step he calmed the light back to a safer glow, just as he had done at the entrance of the temple.

“First, let me say that I’m humbled by your words. Taking away what I am, it’s always my goal for others to feel comfortable in coming to see me and to look at me as you do: a friendly figure with semblance to relation.” he sighed, keeping his eyes forward, “When you come from a large family, you can’t help but want to keep a large family.”

His head tilted to the side and he looked back at her, his eyes trying to meet hers, “And you were right the first time: what we can fix.” He searched her eyes for a moment before continuing, “There are many things I can fix with a snap of my fingers, but that is usually when it is something so out of someone’s reach that there is no other choice. You, however,” He smiled, and it reached all the way to his eyes to the point that they glowed brighter with his next words, “Have enough power in yourself just from our short time spent together to pull through and fix this on your own.”

His head tilted from side to side in thought, “You just need to right guidance is all. Hearing you have something like that in you would be startling to most sane people in my opinion. We just don’t let our fear control us, lesson one.” With that, he looked forward again and gently removed his hand from her back.

“Before we do though, I might want to tap into that negativity and see if it can give any further information as to who this person is. Right now it seems to be a side effect of what was done to you, and I’m sure that’s all it is, but just in case…” His words trailed off in thought and he brought the smile back, having felt it fade once more, “Either way, easily remedied.”