The year had been exceptionally long, longer it seemed than it should have been. The Gods themselves seemed to have selected Gaelwen for special attention. First with the death of her mate and then to lose her parents as they faded and went on to the next life. It was too much, and yet, there was peace no. Now, as the moon rose over the hot springs, filtering green on this particular spot she disrobed and placed her weapons beside the glittering pool. Gaelwen disliked the hot sun, preferring moon bathing, as the night simply felt calmer. The hot springs were quiet, the water the only sound at this late hour, as Gaelwen stepped into a large pool of warm water, moaning as she leaned her head back.
This was the bliss she had needed for some time.
As her eyes slipped closed, Gaelwen felt the tension melting from her limbs and dissolving under the magic of nature. This was a time to start anew, time to look to life and the hunt. The water flowed through her hair, leaving white trails like ancient fishtails trailing beneath the surface, taking with it the pain and uncertainty that had settled in her heart. Sirona, the goddess of light, of storm, had sent tempests for weeks over her home. This night, this night, she had shone her light over the young elf. The light that would guide her forward.
“Now,” she mused, “Where to continue this life, I wonder.” It would be a hard decision to stay here or find a new land, with new possibilities that would bring about a change of winds for her. Meditation and reverie had been elusive on the matter, making the future uncertain and the gods less than helpful. Then again, had there ever been a time when the gods themselves had actually answered a question directly? Surely not that she had heard, either in her lifetime or the lifetime of the elders. Did the Gods answer prayers, did they hear the cries of the children of Revaliir? Surely this was what it meant to have faith, to question your heart but see the divine in every small moment that passed, to see the divine in the moons and their phases and to know that there was more?
She shook her head, laughing at her foolishness and setting her mind to rest. Slowly washing each limb, wistfully going through a ceremony of self-indulgence with each movement, humming as she sank beneath the surface of the water to soak her hair through, only to lay back and float. Lost in thought, and relaxation.