Thread: To thunder against the heavens (Alexander and Crvenqueenie)

It was a little bit humiliating, for her to exert herself so simply over his body when he struggled to achieve what a even a toddler would master, but once he was upon his feet, his body wobbled no more. Instead, it was his mind then went spinning, when she hit him with surprise after surprise. He was quite confused with her words at first, knowing nothing of their bond. Did she mistake him for her son, instead of that departed daughter, when she spoke of what was inside of him? Cyncus and Ailis had no relation, he knew his mother, and it seemed unlikely that their heritage included Ailis much further back. But she knew exactly what she was talking about, and though he did not understand it, he could feel what she referred to when her hand covered him. It was... something foreign, but it also felt like something that belonged, something that he absolutely needed, though he knew little how he came by it, by this part of Ailis, as she claimed. Perhaps that would be a good question for an oracle. Just as he was beginning to feel control over his body return, where he might have taken his hands and twisted them around her, she stunned him again. The agony in her expression gave a rise within him, and he wanted to amplify those feeling of hers tenfold, but she was hardly as broken as he would have wished, evident when she locked his lips against his. His eyes shot open as widely as his mouth did at this display of... he could not call it affection, but in some way she seemed to cheer him on. He could not understand it, but where there was an invisible weight against his body before, there was now energy. His arms instinctively wrapped around her, Cyncus mentally seizing her body to crush, but the touch was closer to a warm embrace, in truth. It did not take long for the energy to fade, however, as did the rest of his mind, when he began to drift away from his senses. The sky was no darker than it had been when the world first started twisting around him, but there were no longer the monstrous clouds erupting above him. He twitched his shoulders, and found himself fully in control for once. Curious, he ran his tongue around his lips, but found only the taste of the wet soil upon them, rather than the favor of the Goddess. While he uprighted himself, her words dwelled upon his mind. The further you continue on this path... Did he truly care about a part of him that had just surfaced itself, a piece of Ailis that he might want to rid of from this world as much as he would see the Goddess herself driven from it? And yet... there was a new sensation in his heart, something that he had not felt for five-hundred days, since he had departed to serve his country. There was... a sense of compassion for this village, and a love for his children. No, that did not seem right... Cyncus was without a heir. Certainly, he had known of his departure plenty of time ahead, and took every opportunity to help his wife conceive, but he set off for glory and duty before he would have known if his seed had taken. It was not an unusual custom, as he was born in the same manner to his mother and father. Even if his wife did carry, however, his child, his first child, would have met the same fate as his wife when their home had been overcome and sunk. There would have been no time for the many children that his emotions cried for at the moment. The strange thought occurred to him, that one of his last commands before he took to the sea was to make sure that tribute would be made to Ailis, so that she may bless the two in this endeavor. Not directly, of course, the seers had declared two generations ago that her worship would become an indirect affair, so that the other Gods may have their due appreciation, after Ailis had become an all-dominating figure in their society. Still, the others that he favored, Sotanus of the hearth, the good hunter Pacion, and of course, Diodrones of fruitful dreams all saw their tithes from him doubled, so that they could lend the extra share to Ailis. It was not the most intuitive system to him, but just like a good soldier does not question his commands, he did not push against the instructions said to be of the Lady's will herself. He realized at this point, even through what little he could see in the dark, that he was alone. He could only guess how long it had been, maybe five or ten minutes with the goddess, but not so many hours that the sun had risen and fallen again. Would his companions leave him here while he was knocked out? Or perhaps, he really was with Ailis, and the two had considered themselves abandoned when he disappeared. It would not be simple navigation, but he knew the direction of the ship, and how unlikely they would be to depart so soon after a storm through choppy waters. He marched his way towards the direction of the coast, trying to compartmentalize in his head all that had happened. As he felt the sludge caked onto his legs as he moved, he yearned for a bath, and he yearned to meet once more the oracle who might help him piece Ailis's mysteries together, and perhaps most importantly, he needed a friend to talk with, to come to terms with the terrible deed he had wrought tonight.