Nations- Priestess
Title: Priestess
Fandom: FF7
Warning: The universe!
Note: Aeris was kind of stubborn about letting me write her for a bit, but she's active now! Oh, and another tidbit of Outlands over here.
She was a priestess, the step below being an avatar, and she had been one of those most unhappy when Cloud hadn't come down to his training one morning. He'd always been impatient, trying to move further ahead before he was ready, but she'd kept her peace and hadn't been among those that had chastised him for his misbehavior. She was only a bit older than he was, but women always had been favored with their brand of power, and while there were, indeed, powerful priests, they were never a favored chosen.
At least, that had been the theory.
The temple had been in an uproar for days. Minor fluctuations of power that had been noted and used were gone, but so was a bulk of the presence that had filled the buildings as well. It had been more than a bit of a shock when a few unnoticed wards started flaring to life before dying out entirely. Study of the rune combinations used had been done, and it hadn't taken long to realize that the errant priest had laid his own protections.
It was only made more evident that he needed to be returned in that he'd been able to do such a process undetected. While loath to admit it, many of the priests and priestesses no longer able to touch the deities of their temples in anything more than the barest of superficial contacts. It was no human fault, simply the way the gods moved, leaving power for few, and the natural talents of many to cover the gap until the gods and goddesses returned to their followers. While the man had never been good at the illusions or healing with plants, he hadn't been without talent.
This meant that someone needed to find him, and she was sent to look, to confirm the suspicions of the others that he had been hiding his real potential from them. That had been a few years before, and while she kept in touch and sent prospective talents back to her native temple, it seemed for a time that Cloud had completely vanished.
Then, there had been a murmur in the wind, the plants turning more alive, and she followed the path to the castle at the heart of the capital city. Hooded and garbed in her temple attire, she could not be turned away at the gates and was permitted to pass. Even mages feared the gods, and while she might have seemed a delicate woman, none would honestly dare try to anger them. It was never a clear thing who represented the face of the god or goddess of any given church. The avatar was never announced, and it was safer that way for all concerned.
This, then, was how she found herself in the room for petition, the king entering from a side door in his green finery with a dark haired harem slave at his heels. When he settled, he took her measure before he spoke, and while she did not bow, she had not been expected to. "What brings a priestess to my home?"
"I've been on a journey, looking for someone, and I believe he is to be found here, if I was merely given leave to look." She peeked from under the deep colored cowl, green meeting green boldly. "I would not need your hospitality long."
"And what temple do I risk angering in refusal? By whose hand would wrath be dealt?" He didn't break the gaze, and it was a credit to him, though she hadn't expected signs of magic on him. Few kings had any true power.
She wasn't unaware of the violet eyes watching her either, no matter how the man might seem distracted by his master. "Aeris Gainsborough, left path priestess of the temple of Freya in Nibelheim."
"Left path?" He seemed to get the slightest bit more alert, and she felt she was being better scrutinized, though he didn’t break eye contact to do so. There had been many times that her introduction had gotten such a reaction, so she wasn't stunned that the king was giving her a due. "They sent a healer on a quest?"
She nodded, unable to help the small smile that flit over her lips at the faint tone of startlement she'd earned. No, healers rarely did travel. "We lost one of our right path priests, and they felt it wisest that I be the one to search for him as I knew him better than most."
"Is there a name you can give me for the warrior at the end of your quest?" He knew something. She could see the way he was shutting away his reactions after that first, but she couldn't quite pin down what they meant. He seemed to have warding against her empathic touch.
"Cloud Strife. He's been gone for a few years now, and I believe him to have come to a rest somewhere in your city." The man moved, he had been for a while now, petting the slave at his feet's hair while they'd been talking, but the action was distinct in that it got the man a nod before the dark form left the room.
"What shall you do if you find him and he doesn't wish to return with you, or he has given up his right to do so?"
She stared into shuttered eyes for a long moment, then drew a deep breath and decided that there was no way the man could harm her if she spoke in honesty. "I would stay with him. I am unwelcome by my temple if I return alone." She tipped her head so that the edge of her cloak hid her face.
There was silence for a few long moments, only the closing of a heavy door and light footsteps breaking through. "Then, lady priestess, I must ask how you intend to stay."
She lifted her eyes back to the man with the statement, gaze flitting quickly across those near the throne as she felt her heart sink. To one side of the silver king was the first slave, one who she had no name for. To the other was Cloud, dressed much the same.
Fandom: FF7
Warning: The universe!
Note: Aeris was kind of stubborn about letting me write her for a bit, but she's active now! Oh, and another tidbit of Outlands over here.
She was a priestess, the step below being an avatar, and she had been one of those most unhappy when Cloud hadn't come down to his training one morning. He'd always been impatient, trying to move further ahead before he was ready, but she'd kept her peace and hadn't been among those that had chastised him for his misbehavior. She was only a bit older than he was, but women always had been favored with their brand of power, and while there were, indeed, powerful priests, they were never a favored chosen.
At least, that had been the theory.
The temple had been in an uproar for days. Minor fluctuations of power that had been noted and used were gone, but so was a bulk of the presence that had filled the buildings as well. It had been more than a bit of a shock when a few unnoticed wards started flaring to life before dying out entirely. Study of the rune combinations used had been done, and it hadn't taken long to realize that the errant priest had laid his own protections.
It was only made more evident that he needed to be returned in that he'd been able to do such a process undetected. While loath to admit it, many of the priests and priestesses no longer able to touch the deities of their temples in anything more than the barest of superficial contacts. It was no human fault, simply the way the gods moved, leaving power for few, and the natural talents of many to cover the gap until the gods and goddesses returned to their followers. While the man had never been good at the illusions or healing with plants, he hadn't been without talent.
This meant that someone needed to find him, and she was sent to look, to confirm the suspicions of the others that he had been hiding his real potential from them. That had been a few years before, and while she kept in touch and sent prospective talents back to her native temple, it seemed for a time that Cloud had completely vanished.
Then, there had been a murmur in the wind, the plants turning more alive, and she followed the path to the castle at the heart of the capital city. Hooded and garbed in her temple attire, she could not be turned away at the gates and was permitted to pass. Even mages feared the gods, and while she might have seemed a delicate woman, none would honestly dare try to anger them. It was never a clear thing who represented the face of the god or goddess of any given church. The avatar was never announced, and it was safer that way for all concerned.
This, then, was how she found herself in the room for petition, the king entering from a side door in his green finery with a dark haired harem slave at his heels. When he settled, he took her measure before he spoke, and while she did not bow, she had not been expected to. "What brings a priestess to my home?"
"I've been on a journey, looking for someone, and I believe he is to be found here, if I was merely given leave to look." She peeked from under the deep colored cowl, green meeting green boldly. "I would not need your hospitality long."
"And what temple do I risk angering in refusal? By whose hand would wrath be dealt?" He didn't break the gaze, and it was a credit to him, though she hadn't expected signs of magic on him. Few kings had any true power.
She wasn't unaware of the violet eyes watching her either, no matter how the man might seem distracted by his master. "Aeris Gainsborough, left path priestess of the temple of Freya in Nibelheim."
"Left path?" He seemed to get the slightest bit more alert, and she felt she was being better scrutinized, though he didn’t break eye contact to do so. There had been many times that her introduction had gotten such a reaction, so she wasn't stunned that the king was giving her a due. "They sent a healer on a quest?"
She nodded, unable to help the small smile that flit over her lips at the faint tone of startlement she'd earned. No, healers rarely did travel. "We lost one of our right path priests, and they felt it wisest that I be the one to search for him as I knew him better than most."
"Is there a name you can give me for the warrior at the end of your quest?" He knew something. She could see the way he was shutting away his reactions after that first, but she couldn't quite pin down what they meant. He seemed to have warding against her empathic touch.
"Cloud Strife. He's been gone for a few years now, and I believe him to have come to a rest somewhere in your city." The man moved, he had been for a while now, petting the slave at his feet's hair while they'd been talking, but the action was distinct in that it got the man a nod before the dark form left the room.
"What shall you do if you find him and he doesn't wish to return with you, or he has given up his right to do so?"
She stared into shuttered eyes for a long moment, then drew a deep breath and decided that there was no way the man could harm her if she spoke in honesty. "I would stay with him. I am unwelcome by my temple if I return alone." She tipped her head so that the edge of her cloak hid her face.
There was silence for a few long moments, only the closing of a heavy door and light footsteps breaking through. "Then, lady priestess, I must ask how you intend to stay."
She lifted her eyes back to the man with the statement, gaze flitting quickly across those near the throne as she felt her heart sink. To one side of the silver king was the first slave, one who she had no name for. To the other was Cloud, dressed much the same.