❋ A Test of Faith ❋

[The Santach]

Imbrium 10, 1594 – morning
small forest near Lake Jazero, Falian Lowlands, Resmir

It was a warm spring morning, a few hours after sunrise. Birds were singing cheerfully in the little forest at the base of the Synoran Mountains. Less than a mile in the opposite direction, fishermen were working hard to collect their goods from nature. It was peaceful.

For most.

A depressing wail of pain came from an injured deer near a fallen tree. She was a doe, and there was an arrow in her left haunch. A poorly trained hunter had missed a lethal spot, and she managed to get away, though with excruciating pain.

The doe wailed in agony, perhaps beckoning a hungry predator eager for an effortless meal. It would be better to cease the pain rather than suffer until she bled to death, anyway. Her cries begged someone to just take her. She wasn't capable of removing the arrow herself, and the pain was just too much to bear. Someone just help me!

[Sky]

Chiyoko had her bow in hand, she had been stalking a deer for a while. She could tell it was injured too. The lesser angel didn't hunt often, only when she was really desperate for food or needed some fresh meat. The trail of blood seemed to worsen as she went to, making it obvious that whatever kind of wound it was only making it worse.

That's when she spotted it, the doe was obviously injured by an untrained hunter's aim. The arrow shaft was sticking out of the left hunch, missing a fatal blow by what she considered miles. Chiyoko sighed, Well Kurayami I found my dinner. Why don't you go find a big fish or something in the ocean? You haven't eaten in a few weeks and I know you have to be hungry.

She drew back the arrow in her bow, aimed, and let the arrow fly, knowing that as long as the doe didn't move too much the blow would be fatal. She whispered a word of thanks to the doe, knowing it had to go through a lot of pain to escape the last hunter the way it did. "Rest in peace and no longer be in pain"

Yes Chiyoko had killed nearly her whole family, but she was a hunter too. She hated to see any animal in unnecessary pain. The doe would die and she would use the meat to keep herself going. Probably use the hide for a new bag. It was a good find indeed.

[Holly]

Zola Coy was a Mystic. What came with that was the sense of needing to protect anything that was hurt. As it were, the blue-haired maiden was scavenging for herbs when the cry of a deer in pain caught her ears. Upon her own natural habits, she jumped in surprise and the flora that was gathered in her hands went flying.

"Oh, dear," She frowned, her voice, per usual, in a whispering tone. She put down her basket and rushed to the direction where she figured the cry to be orignating from. Her tiny pigtails flew after her as she rushed towards Lake Jazero in the hopes that the animal would still be there.

And what she found was an arrow being shot at the poor thing. "No!!" The word was out of her mouth before she could stop herself and a bolt of lightning, the fastest element she could think of, was sent flying at the arrow to throw it off track. "Are you crazy? Why can't you go buy meat at the bazaar or something?"

Her questions weren't harsh, but the words implied that they should have been. If anything, her voice was concerned, as her gaze was on the doe. The first arrow was pulled delicately from her flesh and the usual healing light of a medic surrounded the wound as the other girl was quickly forgotten with the new task.

[The Santach]

The doe jerked up her head as soon as Zola began to heal the devastating wound. When she looked at the two passersby, her eyes were glowing vibrantly, one a red of blood red and the other a lively hue of spring green.

Both of those colors swirled around the doe as she slowly stood up, effortlessly. Her body style changed as the crimson and chartreuse showered down her in a twisting pattern, almost completely blocking her from view. When the colors dispersed, Syndethite, Lady of Nature, revealed herself to the commoners.

She had a very maternal figure, being busty and possessing large hips and a dramatically curved body. Her skin was sunkissed and decently tan, and she had freckles which lightly dotted her face and shoulders. Wavy, auburn hair cascaded down her modestly simple, sheet-like dress, and her green eyes were warm and looked like the forest itself.

Syndethite placed a loving hand on the shoulder of Zola Coy. Her connection with nature was literal in the sense that the Lady of Nature herself was physically in contact with the mystic. She smiled and rays of sunshine practically burst from her face, the face of mother nature. It didn't matter to the Selfish goddess that Zola was a worshiper of the Holy. Those who were kind to the environment were blessed in her heart.

"Miss Coy, you have proven your bond with nature to be one of true strength," she said in a caring voice. It was motherly and empathetic. "I wish I could say the same for your friend."

The goddess looked over at Chiyoko, and her eyes flooded with obvious disappointment. Her entire face looked downtrodden and upset with the girl. A gloomy cloud moved in front of the sun at this time and cast a dreary shadow over the forest.

[Sky]

Chiyoko frowned in annoyance when the arrow was shattered by a bolt of lightning, and equally annoyed when the girl asked why she doesn't just go buy meat. If Chiyoko had the money she would go buy meat. As of the moment though Chiyoko just needed meat to keep her strength up until she could get the money to do other wise. And why else would a hunter hunt? They needed to get food some way, right? It wasn't like she didn't need to eat or anything.

She was just about to say this when the doe shifted form into a form she recognized quite easily. A Santach Goddess, Syndethite to be exact. Now she was surprised by this, and quickly knelt down and bowed her head. She was still fuming about the way she had just been treated by...Miss Coy? Now that she recognized the name somewhat she realized who had just interrupted her hunt, which obviously was of the Goddess.

Zola Coy, mystic of Deliciae. She would deal with that problem later, right now though she had to apologize to the Goddess.

"I am sorry my mistress. I promise I will be more careful while on the hunt. I will not try to harm you again." She stated respectfully. She didn't want to get on the bad side of the Santach, they were the Gods she actually liked.

[The Santach]

Syndethite still frowned disapprovingly at Chiyoko. "A very mature – and wise – response," she said. "Consider yourself lucky that I spare you and everything about your life... But you might find a peculiar abundance of predators on your tail in the future. Be watchful! By the time I leave, you won't remember a trace of what I've said or our encounter; to you, it will all have been a dream you've just remembered about last night."

And as her words faded into the forest and became the whispers of the wind, Syndethite hid herself, but only from Chiyoko's eyes and ears, and it was true what she said. The Gods frequently visited the mortals, but the only memories they had of said encounters were vague memories reminiscent of a dream. They preferred to keep their status as wonderful to meet; it made it more interesting for the mortals who swore they saw a God. The rest of the villages would think them mad.

"Now you, dear, you have a special heart," Syndethite said. She smiled warmly upon Zola. "Humans are omnivorous creatures; it's true. However, before the common era, they saw fellow animals as wise role models and learned from them, how to hunt and disguise themselves and keep themselves warm. They used to be cherished and eaten very rarely, but now, the opposite seems to be the case. You have a heart found in the historical texts, the heart originally designed by the Gods, and for that, I shall reward you."

A mystical light, still visible only to Zola, hovered in front of her face, and a simple glass bottle topped with a cork floated within the densest part of the light. Inside was a blue-green liquid with the consistency of water, and uniquely -shaped leaves were suspended in the substance. There were about 50 milliliters of the substance in the bottle.

"It's a combination of ordinary spring water, mint leaves, and leaves from a secret species of tree native to my realm," Syndethite said. "The healing properties are unbeatable, and even once the liquid is gone, you will still have the bottle. It is unbreakable."

The top of the cork had Syndethite's seal on it, at least the one created by her worshipers: a noble deer encircled by small vines, fully green in color.

[Holly]

S-Syn-Syn-Syndethite?!

Oh, goddess. She was in the presence of a goddess and she was thanking her and what was she supposed to do? Even if she was a Selfish god, she was not one of the more wicked ones to have ever walked the ground the mortals do. Hastily, she bowed several times, trying to be sure not fall forward and faceplant the ground as she was being so generously complimented by the goddess infront of her. Of them! Oh, that's right, the other girl!

"U-Uh. Um. Th-Thank you so much, Syndethite! Your words are ever so kind. And I will use this with great appreciation towards you and see to keep your words true. Thank you," Zola Coy beamed widely, her eyes still large out of the surprise of the whole ordeal. She couldn't really think of any other way to thank the goddess anymore than she had, even though she knew it wouldn't suffice.

The bottle with the strange liquid was taken, though. Would people be mad that she accepted a gift from one of the Santach? Well, for what it's worth, she was only going to use the gift for aiding others, so she couldn't see how they would argue. No, she was going to use the gift as proudly as she could.