Thread: Dragonsoul [MRAZ]

Three sisters Kiri, Chiyuri, and Emi Ryudo, in order from oldest to youngest. Revered as the daughters of High Priestess Kanae, the grooming of these girls began at birth, intending that one would assume their mother's guarding role over the village Gorando. Though mostly a life of royalty, duties could be strenuous and required training. Else, the dragon goddess's appeasement would fail, and ruin would befall their remote farming village. Outsiders knew little semi-xenophobic, Gorandans refused outside help, living off their land and rejecting most immigrants. Their territory's thick jungles rooted in mountain terrain meant few survived the trek. Even the kingdom it lied in cared little about its strange occupants, leaving it politic-free and self-regulated. A double-edged sword, leaving them to make - but also enforce - their own laws and judicial system. However, it was peaceful, the occupants closely knit and more interested in surviving than troublemaking. Your neighbor might be the only source of fresh milk, or tailoring, or your favorite vegetable, and angering them meant potentially losing that resource. It could mean fewer hands to buy your goat horns, or your fabrics, or the wool from your sheep. Better to remain civil and kind, as you were raised to be, and keep the bartering economy afloat. After the death of Kanae, the time of her daughters' reign came to be. Kiri, the twenty-three-year-old cynic, submitted to the trials first. To begin, she offered a small lock of hair to a shrine honoring her mother. Then, she was to meditate in a hot spring surrounding the Ryudo chateau. The family's private bath, the girls were familiar with it however, the small grotto behind the home was reserved for this ritual. It was the water source for the rest of the spring, gently lit by strange blue plants that grew nowhere else. A tiny sprout flanked the entrance, younger than the rest, and surely representative of their mother's spirit. Kiri entered with arrogance, her white robe flowing behind as she waded to the center. She knelt, noting the fierce heat consuming her body, and closed her eyes to begin the meditations she'd studied so long. No matter how she focused her mind, though, the pain was intense, tingling spikes of it searing her skin all over. The twelve hours she was meant to stay in ended after only forty minutes, and she fled the cave covered in blisters, her deep brown hair a tangled mess from her struggle. Her proctor, an old man with a curly white mustache, looked on with disappointment. Next was Chiyuri... Who didn't even make it into the grotto before fleeing in tears. The water was simply too hot! Surely her ancestors had not endured this?! To everyone's surprise - and, honestly, dismay - the runt of the litter, Emi, was to get a turn. She was dressed in the ceremonial robe, sprinkled with the floral oil her sisters had been, warned not to speak until all trials were over, and sent into the water. She struggled to get to the cave, her short stature working against her as the water flow pushed her back. Kneeling was a task in itself, her chin touching the scalding water even without sitting back on her heels. Thus, staying upright for the twelve hours was her only option, and so it began. Emi closed her eyes, feeling the water pulling her robes and short black hair and leading them towards the entrance, almost as if encouraging her to leave. Emi never expected to be in this position. In fact, she'd hardly taken the grooming seriously, knowing deep down Kiri would inherit her mother's responsibilities. But now, here she was. Burning. Boiling. By the goddess, it hurt. How had her mother done this? How had anyone? Snapping back control of her thoughts, she attempted the meditations she'd been taught. They were apparently part of the ceremony focusing on the energy of her ancestors, focusing on the soft glow of the Tamasho plants, visualizing that glow taking over her body and guarding her from the heat and dehydration, picturing it healing the damage being done. Excruciating as it was, she was determined. Not for the role, or even to prove everyone's doubts wrong, but for the chance to see more and do more. The second trial was a journey beyond the walls of trees caging her for her entire life. Beyond that, maybe opportunities to do good with her power would arrive, and protecting her village from divine harm didn't sound so bad. It sounded wonderful to have purpose. Before she knew it, her name brought her to reality. Emi, the trial is complete. Come out, When she opened her eyes, no sunlight was peering through the arched entrance. Everything stung and burned, and her throat felt like sand. Had twelve hours truly passed? To her, twenty minutes sounded a more believable estimate. As she stood, her vision blurred, and her legs collapsed beneath her. Every ounce of energy left was gone in the fight to make it outside, where her last waking memory was of being dragged onto dry land, perhaps by fleshy hands, but to her burned skin, it was countless blades wrapping around her limbs. After that, she fainted, unaware of being carried to their healer's home, unaware of being wrapped in leaves and poultices to protect, soothe, and heal her blisters. She was unaware of all but her fever dreams, images of her mother flashing past between visions of herself engulfed in flame, occasionally seeing the eye of a beast amid the chaos.