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avirael · 2 years ago

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FFxivWrite 2023

Day 19 - Weal

It had been the fourteenth summer of Rael‘s life when one morning they woke up, looked at themself in the mirror and realised that something needed to change or they would end up unhappy for the rest of their very long life.

It had been almost a year now since two of their best childhood friends had been taken away. Taken away sounded crueler than it had been, they had left willingly and in anticipation of the new life as Wood-Warders that awaited them, but from Rael’s perspective they had been ripped out of their life from one day to the other.

A long time Rael had spent wishing that they could join their friends but they knew that their role was meant to be a different one. A role they started to fear more with every moon that passed.

It was not like Rael hated the Rava‘s way of life or their village. They loved the Golmore Jungle and their home town but sometimes it all felt like it was going to suffocate them. Rael dreamt about what may lie beneath the borders of the forest and the adventures that waited there, while the days in their hometown were mostly uneventful, one like the other. But the idea of leaving all of this behind scared them all the same.

Rael had always been a peculiar child, not to say some of the other children had found Rael weird. Either easily distracted by seemingly nothing or overly focused on things of little importance to others, so some of the children had at some point started to not involve Rael into their activities anymore. Only a few of them had remained who were adamant of not giving up on the somewhat strange child and of those now remained even less.

When their friends had left for wood warder training there hadn’t been much difference between them and Rael yet, but now slowly Rael‘s body was starting to change, and they began to feel like none of this was right.

They did certainly not dream of being a boy rather than a girl, no, that idea seemed equally repulsive as the imagination of what Rael’s body would look like in a few years. Rael didn’t know what to want or how to feel, but wanting nothing of this at all couldn’t be an option, right?

Rael had tried to talk to their mother about how they felt and to their closest remaining friends too, but it was difficult to put into words and while most of them had been kind and patient, Rael was afraid that none of them really understood. Slowly Rael had started to turn away from the rest of the Rava children and instead found peace in the forest and company in the creatures that lived there. They had never looked at them before with a mix of confusion and reproach as if they wanted to say “Can’t you just be normal?”

This particular morning though as Rael looked into the mirror while tying a cloth tightly around their chest, hoping desperately that it would keep their breasts from growing, Rael made a decision.

Just as they had finished putting on their clothes a raven landed on their windowsill and announced it’s presence by loudly pecking at the wood. For the first time it had appeared a few months ago as Rael had once again spent the afternoon in the forest and since then it returned quite frequently to keep Rael company on their walks through the forest or watched them from a nearby roof while they went through their tasks and training at the village. It had become a dear companion for Rael by now and they had named it Frelsi - Freedom - because the bird was free to fly where it wanted to while Rael themselves was sentenced to remain in this village for the rest of their life and grow into a person, into a duty, they hadn’t chosen for themself.

As Rael greeted the bird it fluttered over to the dresser and cawed at them before looking into the mirror. It blinked and turned its black feathery head this way and that. Rael wondered what it was thinking. Then it looked at Rael, cawed again and took flight back out of the window and into the forest. As they watched Frelsi vanish into endless green of the trees Rael suddenly knew what they had to do. To be honest they had known for a while now and yet they had hesitated. But the time for hesitation was over.

Usually every morning they trained with the other young Rava girls. The women taught them in the use of all kinds of different weapons and also how to hunt. But Rael’s main talent had always been magic, a trait they had learned from their mother. From an early age Rael had been naturally gifted in the manipulation of aether and sometimes even thought they could hear whispers in the rustling of the leaves or words in the chirping of the birds.

That morning Rael skipped the weapon training and went straight to the little clinic where their mother was tending to the wounded and sick. She had been surprised to see her child and scolded them for skipping their lessons but Rael ignored her words.

Instead they announced with unwavering determination in their voice: "I want to go to the Forest Sanctuary and learn from the Green Oracle."

It was said that in the middle of Golmore Jungle, where the forest was so thick that sometimes even the light of the sun couldn’t reach the earth, lay an ancient holy place with roofs of leaves and halls carved into giant trunks and stairs that reached up to the highest treetops of the jungle. Only the strongest of the Rava woman were allowed to guard this sanctuary and apart from them people only visited it in the most dire emergencies.

Rael had heard rumours of the place and it‘s extraordinary mages, above all of them a person that was called the Green Oracle. It was said that the Green Oracle was a Rava much older than any woman in Rael’s village but with the appearance of a young child and their magic was so powerful that they could hear the will of the forest itself and sometimes even predict the future.

"Don‘t be silly, Rael.", their mother had said. "The way to the sanctuary is very long and they would turn you away anyway. Your magic is strong, I agree, but you’re too young and inexperienced to be chosen as a guardian of the sanctuary."

"I don’t want to be a guardian.", Rael had answered before finally revealing the truth. "I can hear the voice of the forest and it is calling for me."

The bowl Rael‘s mother held in her hands had landed clattering on the floor. For a moment she just stared at her child with wide eyes before slowly nodding. "I see… The way you sometimes look at the trees and the creek and the birds, like you understand them better than you do the other children. I feared it might come to this…"

"Feared? Why?", Rael asked surprised.

Their mother sighed. "The Green Oracle is the only one of their kind and it is said that they live at least twice as long as a normal Viera would. Only once or twice every millennium a child with their gifts is born to take the place of the former oracle. I don’t want such a lonely, long life for you."

Rael had just tilted their head and said: "But alone is not the same as lonely and I don’t mind being alone."

For a moment she stared at Rael but then their mother sighed. "There is no use in hiding it. Or trying to force you to something that feels wrong to you...", she mused, slowly picked up the bowl from the floor and put it aside. Then she gently ruffled their child hair and went to speak with the oldest and wisest of the other women. The rest of the day their village had been in turmoil. No matter where Rael went suddenly everybody seemed to eye them and whisper in hushed voices when they walked by. But in the evening their mother returned to their home and announced that they would leave together at dawn.

She hugged her child and handed Rael a small backpack. „I thought that maybe those will suit you more.“ Rael peaked inside and found the type of clothes and armor pieces they usually gave to the boys leaving town to become Wood-Warders. Rael wondered if their mother had misunderstood who they wanted to be but the gift made them inexplicably happy nonetheless.

The journey to the Forest Sanctuary took several days and for a while the forest was so thick Rael couldn’t tell anymore if it was day or night. Without their mother’s guidance they would have been hopelessly lost. But at some point the jungle started to feel different, more ancient and more powerful. From there onwards it was like something called Rael, guiding them into the right direction, and only an hour or two later they stepped into a glade filled with flowers more beautiful than Rael had ever seen.

On the other side of the glade the trees curled into impossible shapes and formed a gateway leading into the heart of the forest. On silent wing Frelsi emerged from the trees, flew a little curve and landed on Rael’s left shoulder. Suddenly a strong gust rolled through the wood and seemed to urge Rael to keep going.

As they stepped across the glade towards the entry to the sanctuary, two awe-inspiring Viera women stepped out of the shadows. They had without doubt been there the whole time but had remained impossible to be seen until then.

"We awaited you, Rael Hyskaris.", one of them said. "Please follow us.", the other added and led them through the wooden gateway.

The sanctuary unmistakably belonged to the Golmore Jungle, or maybe the Jungle to it? They looked similar but at the same time the sanctuary felt like a mystical dream version of reality. Nature and architecture went hand in hand here and it seemed impossible to tell where one stopped and the other started. Rael could feel the air sizzle with magic and ancient secrets.

For a while they followed a leafy hallway to both sides framed by identical trees like the pillars of a temple. Their branches formed a roof of deep green leaves through which the light filtered in warm beams. At the end of this hallway was a small creek, that meandered through a handful of tall willow trees and all kinds of forest creatures eyed them curiously. Sturdy roots grew out of the forest floor and were artistically woven together to small bridges leading into various directions.

Finally they reached the entrance to a cave veiled by vines with blue and white flowers. The entrance was pitch black but the further they stepped into the cave more and more luminous plants and fungi started to grow and illuminated the tunnels.

After a few minutes a bright light appeared ahead of them and as they came closer Rael realised that they had reached an exit leading onto another glade. The meadow was perfectly circular and surrounded by ancient looking, broad trees with snow-white bark and leaves in every color one could imagine.

In the middle of the meadow, placed in a small pond, stood a delicate pavilion elaborately crafted out of the same white wood and under the leafy roof this pavilion sat a small Viera. They had long white hair, sun-tanned skin and were dressed in a dark green robe streaked with white and golden patterns. It seemed impossible to tell wether they were male or female, they looked about Rael’s age but at the same time something about their posture and the gaze of their milky white eyes seemed ancient and omniscient.

"Are you the one the wind told me about? Are you Rael Hyskaris?", the Green Oracle asked with a voice that sounded very young and incredibly old at the same time.

Rael nodded firmly. "I am."

"And you think you can hear the voice of the forest?", the Viera questioned further.

"I do.", Rael confirmed.

The oracle smiled serenely. "Step closer, my child, and we will see about that."

Rael looked at their mother who stood beside them. She nodded encouragingly. Slowly Rael climbed up the three stairs leading onto the pavilion and the raven on their shoulder hopped down to the floorboards with a small caw. For a moment Frelsi looked at the viera sitting on the floor and the viera looked back at it. Then the bird almost seemed to make a little bow before it fluttered away and sat down on a colorful branch at the side of the glade.

“Sit.”, the oracle spoke quietly and made a gesture towards a light green cushion beside them. Rael did as commanded, their gaze reverently lowered.

A warm hand tilted up their chin and the milky white eyes of the oracle stared deeply into Rael‘s soul. "You came here for your own good.", they finally spoke and Rael felt caught by their words. "But as an oracle your focus will have to be the well-being of the entire forest and all the creatures living in it. Do you think you can do this?"

Rael shivered and answered honestly. "I hope I can learn how to fulfill this task."

The Green Oracle nodded. Slowly they turned around and then presented Rael with a small crystal bowl filled with an orange liquid.

"What is this?", Rael asked.

"It is the nectar of the blossoms of the most sacred tree in this forest.", they explained calmy. "If you drink from it and you truly are what you claim to be it will strengthen your gifts. But if you are not, it will drive you to madness and my guardians will have to kill you for your own good."

Rael nervously glanced from the liquid to the oracle, who observed them and asked: "Does this scare you?"

"No.", Rael answered and stubbornly shook their head. "I will drink it."

"But I have to warn you of one more thing.", the oracle explained. "The powers this nectar grants come at a prize. The moment you drink this, you will stop to age and never grow a single day older ever again for the rest of your life. You will never be able to have a normal life like any other Rava woman. Are you sure that this is what you want?"

For a last time Rael imagined themself - herself - as a grown woman of her mothers age, a fierce warrior defending her village or a healer just like her mother, maybe with a bunch of little Viera children and a lover she will only be allowed to see once a year.

Rael shuddered.

This was a possible future but they were certain that it wasn’t their future.

"You are the Green Oracle.", Rael said firmly. "Don‘t you already know the answer to this question?"

The oracle smiled. "I do. But I want to hear the words from your mouth and make sure that you know you had a choice."

Rael glanced back to their mother one last time and thought about the wishes she had for her child but their mother just smiled at Rael despite all of her worries. Rael nodded: "I am aware of my options and I choose the path of the oracle on my own free will."

"So be it.", the Green Oracle said and offered the crystal bowl to Rael, who carefully took it, raised it to their lips and then without hesitation swallowed the nectar in one go. It tastes almost like honey, just a little spicier, Rael thought, as the oracle carefully took the empty bowl from their hands.

Then suddenly a burning pain shot through their head and made Rael gasp for air. They convulsed and collapsed to the floorboards of the pavilion clawing at their head with both hands, their usual amber eyes glowing bright white.

For a moment Rael could hear their mothers voice screaming their name and the nervous caws of a raven mixed with the sound of fluttering wings. Then they heard nothing at all and every sound of the forest at once and dozens of images quickly flared up in front of their eyes. It felt deafening. Blinding. For a second Rael feared they had made a mistake after all. Then the chaos came to a halt and lingered on a terrifying scenery of fire and flames raining down onto the Golmore Jungle.

Suddenly Rael felt a hand on their forehead and at once everything stopped. They blinked and saw the Green Oracle leaning over them, Frelsi on their left shoulder curiously tilting it’s head. "What was that?!", Rael exclaimed and tried not to flinch away.

"I have to admit that I did not expect such a strong reaction.", the oracle stated thoughtfully. "What you saw was a vision."

Rael picked themself off of the floor, still shivering, and gasped: "I saw the forest burn!"

"Indeed.", the oracle nodded sadly. "I saw the same vision you did when I touched you. Just a little clearer than you I assume. It was a vision of the future. A future in which not only the Golmore Jungle, but all of this world will be destroyed."

"Wh-what?", Rael stammered fearfully. "What do we do now?"

"It was only a possible future.", the oracle explained trying to calm the young Viera down. "One that can still be prevented."

"But how?", Rael asked. "What can we do to stop such a catastrophe?!"

"All I can do is teach you the most important skills to control your powers." the Green Oracle answered. "Stopping your vision from becoming reality is something only you can do."

"Me??", Rael shrieked in panic.

"Yes, you, Rael.", the oracle put a hand on Rael’s shoulder and immediately Rael started to feel calmer again. "But to stop this fate, you will have to leave the forest."

"Leave!? But if I leave I won’t be allowed to ever return!", Rael said with another wave of panic flaring up inside them.

"Calm down, child. Fear is a bad advisor. It will only cloud your judgement and make you hesitate when you need to act.", the oracle took both of Rael’s hands in their own. "You are to become an oracle of the forest and the forest commands you to leave in order to save it. You will not be exiled. One day, if you can fulfill your task, you will be able to return and resume your training with me."

Rael let the information sink in and then slowly nodded. "I understand."

"You will have to learn as much as you can, so hopefully, when the time comes, you will know what to do. It will not be easy. There will be times of pain and sorrow and sacrifice, but you will have to endure them. For the well-being of all of us and to save every single living thing on this star."

"I will do my best.", Rael offered.

"May your best be enough... ", the Green Oracle said. "Say goodbye to your mother and then we will begin your training at once. There is no time to waste."

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