Serora 503: Sanctuary

Cardinal

word count: 291 | reference | i feel god in this chili's tonight - post 5

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Time slowed as that deep awoken power stirred the air once more, thickening it with black smog that stole away the blue sky above the Oasis. Cardinal's stomach lurched painfully, threatening to empty his humble breakfast out onto the smoky floor that curled about their hooves.

The barrage of information was endless, merciless. With the cries of the dying still ringing like the aftermath of an explosion in his ears, the Councillor could only look on in wet-cheeked horror as the next scene played out before them - the weeping child a murderer now, the mangled pegasus emptied of blood and life. Across the circle expanse, Crescent began to lose it - her scythe swung in rabid and deadly slashes through the darkness where only the ghost of a memory had been before.

An aspect of divinity stepped into the circle.

The stars in its unearthly form glittered and wheeled like the night sky that he had spent so many hours in Nico's company perusing - Familiar constellations warmed something in his mind. Quite suddenly, Cardinal felt his blessing stir, awakening in the presence of the Zesla as though commanded. It brought a sense of calm and stillness to flood his maddened senses, and all in an instant, the previously weeping Councillor was at peace. His red eyes narrowed and grew sharply focused, and without hesitance he fell to one knee before the messenger.

He met the whirling cosmic eyes and felt an emptiness, and an understanding. A lifetime's worth of study began to slip and fall into place. Behind the impervious warmth of his blessing, the broken mind was static and quiet.

"Show me more," He implored the phantasmal creature in a hoarse, gravelly voice, certain now of its celestiality. "Show me everything."

Though physically they all stood together, strong and unharmed, Tahla knew the impressions the visions they had just witnessed ran deep. They stood together, numbly, supporting each other in silence until the disturbing cry of a child cut through the tension, propelling Crescent forward with frantic cries of reassurance. Tahla automatically lurched forward to follow after his herd mate, but the ref-winged Warder was quick on her hooves, moving forward before he had a chance to intercept. 

"Stay sharp," was all he managed to bark before Katarina disappeared after their comrade. 

Minutes or seconds passed -he was unsure how time moved in that moment- something encroached upon the land. Silence, darkness, they invaded the very air around them, plunging the oasis into a plateau of nothingness, stealing the very words from their mouths as it descended. Without communication Tahla stumbled forward, using his teke to at least feel the comforting presence of his herd mates surrounding him, weak eyes scanning for any signs of their missing comrades. It was a scream that finally broke the unearthly silence, piercing the air as they watched as the pegasus from earler crash into the earth, obviously injured as they struggled to stand. Tahla found himself rigidly trapped in place, entranced with horror as a child darted forward, stealing the pegasus' life with no more than a slice of a blade. Then, it was though chaos itself was released. 

Visions of kirins flooded the area, and with utter alarm, Tahla realized some appeared strikingly familiar. They poured into the field, slaughtering without mercy, without remorse. Hoards of unicorns and pegasi fell victim to their blessings and blades, falling limp against the unforgiving ground. No words seemed to describe the horror of the situation, and Tahla was left frozen, wide eyed as he watched the battle play out before his eyes. Not even the warning stories he had been recited as a child managed to capture the true terror of the history that unfolded before them. 

At last, the visions faded away. From the remnants of the images emerged a new creature, seemingly manifested from the stars themselves. Alongside him, his fellow Councillor dropped to his knees, and if not for the stiffness that radiated throughout his own joints, Tahla would admit he was tempted to join him. 

"Why have you shown us this?" Tahla breathed, the words rising almost unbidden from his throat. It was a question that they needed to ask, but with the images of even the youngest of kirins proven merciless murderers pressed at the forefront of his mind, he could not help but dread any answer that may be revealed. 

The zesla waits.

Galaxies spin silently in their gaze as stars brighten and burst. It seems an eternity as it waits for some hint of acceptance in your mortal reactions. There’s a gentleness in the grace it allows you. Your questions fall into silence, but their posture is attentive. You are heard.

Still it waits.

As the last question fades into the air, it shifts.



The cosmos seeps from their skin. Nebulas bloom around you as the Starscape overlays reality. It assumes your vision until you stand suspended in the void.
You are not alone.

The zesla still stands with you, edged by a faint light. Beyond it, two deities tower. One, the dark fire, crowned with antlers and flame you recognize as Ignacio. The other, you recognize, perhaps with shock, as the earth mother, Kaia. They speak but the words are beyond your hearing--you are only able to catch their tones, quick and low, yet amiable.

It was only a moment ago that you saw kirins murder unicorns and pegasi alike with wild abandon. Now you see, between the two gods, the creatures called back to existence. A soul solidifies, drawing from the aether to form itself under their gaze. It cries out and you recognize the gold coat and blue scales before it is sent away to the surface.



The zesla repeats, as if narrating the scene. It turns to look at you and you wonder if there is pain now in its expression. The stars begin to whirl as if being churned by wingbeats that span the universe. The sky mother, still resplendent in her gold coat and blue striped wings, comes flying. Her face burned with with rage and hurt and terror at the betrayal she was not swift enough to prevent.

The howl Alya bellows at them is drenched in her disgust and despair. She will not abide another genocide. She will not watch her people die. Not again. With barely a breath of hesitation, she attacks them.

It is a battle of titans.

Kaia and Ignacio stand their ground, wielding the weapons of fire and earth. Alya calls the powers of space and sky and sound and she fights fiercely, with a determination drawn from the very depths of her divinity. Even still, she finds their united force too much to bear.

She begins to falter as Ignacio slices at her with bright, holy fire and the wound weeps pale radiance. Kaia draws meteors to pummel her skin and Alya cries out as each impact rends her. She is shrieking now, a keening sound of sorrow that reverberates through the empty vacuum. At the last, Ignacio envelops her in light and she burns, screaming.

She scatters into stardust. The matter of her spreads throughout the universe, sentient but dispersed, a distant consciousness that struggles to remember the very concept of self. Alya rebuilds herself slowly, overseeing her own rebirth. But it takes precious time.

Painstakingly, she returns, drawing her winds into her lungs with her new gasping breath. She unfurls her four wings and they are now the sky. A song is heard in the heavens and in your hearts.

Softly, reality reasserts itself, bleeding through the vision until it has blurred and then bled away. Only the Zesla remains, but now its eyes are clear and blue and piercing.



It is a voice your soul recognizes from every breeze in the desert, from every song you’ve sung in prayer. Alya. The zesla’s face is creased with gentle devotion, a smile curving its beaked mouth. Slowly, as if reluctant to leave once more after all she had done to return, even its form fades.

Now only you stand in her Oasis.