Information

Laoise has a minion!

the Yunlong

Laoise
Legacy Name: Laoise

The

Glade Bhakoru
Owner:

tendril

Age: 8 years, 6 months, 3 weeks

Born: September 21st, 2015

Adopted: 8 years, 4 months, 1 week ago

Adopted: December 8th, 2015

Statistics

Level: 7
Strength: 10
Defense: 10
Speed: 10
Health: 10
HP: 10/10
Intelligence: 10
Books Read: 10
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

I

“Hello, sage.”
Laoise smiles at you as she tucks strands of her brown hair behind one ear. Her large, almond shaped eyes tilt slightly more upward.
“Lapis must have sent you, yes?”
You don’t know a Lapis, so you just look at her, confused.
“Oh oh, I’m sorry, Lapis is my daughter, but I suppose you would only know her as the gatekeeper. It seems strange to call her that as her mother.”
You smile and nod. It seems strange to call her that period.
“Well,” she blinks at you, her smile lightly fading, “how can I help? What questions do you have?”

You fumble through the many questions you have, trying to pick just one. You decide to ask:

- I have so many, may I look around as I organize my thoughts?
- I am still unsure why I was chosen as a sage, can you help me understand?
- What do I do now that I have been chosen; what of my past life?
- Who are you, exactly?
- I want more information about the lore, what more can you tell me?
- I would like to know more about other ancients, how can I find them?

Profile by Ringo
Pet story by User not found: hare

II

“Of course,” her voice is warm and welcoming, “I’ll get you a cup of tea.”
Immediately you notice the hundreds of books carefully placed on the intricately crafted built-in book shelves, covering half the walls in her home. Upon looking closer, you can tell most of the books have been bound by hand, and have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of years pass by. You cannot bring yourself to touch them. The rest of her home is surprisingly simple. Herbs hang upside down from underneath the cabinets in her kitchen. There is a smell of sweet smoke as her wood burning stove heats up a tea pot. You hear Laoise humming gently as she waits for the water to boil. The door to the home is still open, allowing a gentle spring breeze to float in. You walk to the middle of it and stare upon the valley beneath the mountain. The gingko tree above the home is beginning to bud.

Laoise walks by you with two small tea cups and places them on the kitchen table. She sits down and looks at you, inviting you to do the same. You take a sip of your tea.
“Okay,” she says, “ask me your questions. All of them.” Her sipping lips turn upward into a smile.

Return.

III

"I can do my best to explain it to you my child, but perhaps there is no reason you would understand. You are the unearther, and a sage of Folaigh, because you and Folaigh are compatible.
You are guarded, yet vulnerable. Hard, yet soft – you are full of beautiful and complex contradictions.
Your Folaigh is very much the same. Part of your duty as a sage is to not question why you were chosen, but to relish that you were. Many spirit beings require their sages to possess unique traits; Folaigh has chosen you for the qualities you inhabit, which she deems desirable. It is also a common school of thought amongst the keepers that the sages of the spirit beings are actual decedents, and the beings call out to you through the blood you share."

"Anything else?" she asks calmly, expecting more questions.

IV

"Do you remember any of your past life?"
You shake your head, “not really.”
"That is because everything in your life lead up to being a sage. Your memories do not serve your practice. Your duty now is to grow in the way of the sage. You must learn the lore and hold on to it. It will replace your past life. You now serve Folaigh. She rarely asks for much, but if she needs you, you will be there."

"Anything else?" she asks calmly, expecting more questions.

V

"I am Laoise, the mother of Lapis, and many other keepers you have not yet met. I am the highest keeper. I know and share the lore of many of the spirit beings. Sages from all over the realm come to me to learn."
She explains no further; you know there is much more to Laoise, but you cannot find the courage to ask.

"Anything else?" she asks calmly, expecting more questions.

VI

"I can tell you many things, but I believe you do not know that there is a great war hidden within Folaigh’s lore. (But not The Great War. More on that later, perhaps.) This war of Folaigh's lasted several years, and it became quite a significant chapter in Folaigh’s existence. Before the war, however, Folaigh was an infant in the way of spirit beings. She was naïve and fragile, and confused by her place as an arasyad (a term we keepers use in reference to the spirit beings, meaning “ancient one”). She gathered sages, but many of them were not completely aligned to her, as she did not know herself well enough for compatibility. Many of them strayed, abandoning her. Abandonment is a severe iniquity in the world of sages, but many of Folaigh’s sages did not care, leaving her despite the consequences. "
“What are the consequences?” the words jump out of your mouth before you have time to pull them back.
Laoise smiles a coy smile.
"That is why you come to me darling. It is very important to know these things. Death is the consequence. Some sages, especially in the meek ages of Folaigh, did not keep the lore well enough to know there even was a consequence. So their death crept up upon them, and came much, much sooner than it would have otherwise.
There was one sage, however, that was perfect for Folaigh. They were aligned very well, and the two of them grew together. The sage’s name was Karis, and it was with Karis the war began.

There was a being, named Jere, who arose in the realm of the ancients at almost exactly the same time as Folaigh. Jere was born of immoral blood, and had witnessed many evil things at a very early age. These things haunted Jere, and in turn, perhaps unintentionally, Jere began to haunt others. At this time in the ancient realm, there was a glade, dressed in small lakes and braided rivers, which the arasyads and sages used as a common ground. It was here Jere met Karis. Karis was young, and had not heard the stories of Jere, and this was something in which Jere reveled. Jere was, and is, a horribly charming creature - and very persuasive.
Jere tried to sway Karis in abandoning Folaigh and joining him in his own realm. Karis was still callow, but knew the ways of the sage. She knew she would die if she abandoned Folaigh, and adamantly disagreed. Jere told her that every bit of lore she knew was a lie, and that no one would ever lie to her again if she came with him. Karis could not believe him for Folaigh and she were very close, so still, she refused to go with Jere.
Some time went on – Karis and Jere would still meet in the glade every so often, and Jere would still attempt to entice her. Little by little, Karis developed feelings for Jere she could not explain, but still never attempted to leave Folaigh. This infuriated Jere, and one evening, when the glade was empty for all but Karis, who was studying by a twilight-lit brook, Jere evasively crept up behind her and abducted her by swallowing her in his spirit, then spitting her back out once they reached his realm.
There was nothing Karis could do, as sages cannot move from one spirit being’s realm to the other, and even if she could, Jere would not let her. It took no more than a day for Folaigh to find that Karis was missing, and another three before she knew where she had gone. In the world of the ancients, it is an act of war to steal a sage, and it was a war that Jere would get. Folaigh was young, and her powers were shallow, but she was still aligned with the purity of the earthen way. Jere, however, relied on chaotic powers. He gathered energy from black holes and the shadowed side of the moon. This can be a very powerful force, but he too was young. It is the way of chaos to consume all in its path, and to an extent, this included Jere.
It was in the neutral glade that the two of them found war. The sages of Folaigh joined her in the fight, as did the sages, or soldiers, as he calls them, of Jere. Matched perfectly in numbers, it was a test of power. Jere brought Karis to the glade, but kept her bound and hidden. At the end of the day he would return to her, bruised and seething, and he looked to her for approval and acknowledgement, yet never did he find it.
The sages of Folaigh attempted many times to unbind Karis and return her to Folaigh, but every time they were met by Jere’s soldiers. Again and again this initiated a battle in which both sides were slain, and the splatter of blood would dress Karis’ face.
'Do you see how important you are,' Jere would tell her at the end of the day, 'they sacrificed themselves for you.'
Karis only shook, still bound, her eyes fogging over.
These secluded battles between soldiers and sages happened many more times - with short lived treaties in between - until Karis was frail and numb, hopeless of returning to Folaigh. It was in the last battle, when only one soldier remained, that Karis was killed. The solider, weak from fighting and bleeding terminally, decapitated Karis as she sat. Perhaps he thought the fighting would end there, with him and with Karis, and in part, he was right.
Jere knew immediately that Karis had been slain, and rushed to the place he bound her.
His hoven feet came to Karis’ lonesome head, hair tousled and bloody, eyes staring straight at him, and there he saw his soldier, still alive, but just barely, with an axe in his hand, standing beside the body. Using the last of his energies, Jere killed the soldier, slinging his limbs and entrails all over the glade. The last soldier now dead, and the last sage having fled from Folaigh, she and Jere were the only beings alive in the glade. Folaigh was covered in wounds; blood dripped down her forehead and stung her eyes. Jere was too weak to walk, and instead laid in the tainted grass, his head pressed against the head of Karis.
Soon Folaigh reached Jere.
'Kill me,' he said, almost begging, 'Kill me, Folaigh. You have won, be proud.'
'There is nothing here to be proud of,' the hare spoke, exhausted. 'and I will not grant you the mercy.'

Folaigh left Jere and returned to her womb in the earth. Here she slept, in a pool of her blood, for thousands of years, and the earth decayed around her. Then the rains came. From there you know the rest.

You are the first sage Folaigh has gathered since the war. Do not take your duty lightly.

"Anything else?" she asks calmly, expecting more questions.

VI

"Most ancients prefer their solitude, but there are a few that enjoy the occasional company. Just mind your words, be prepared to listen, and remember the rules of the sage.
Firstly, though he is not an ancient, you should seek out Joachim. He is the Keeper of Sciath, and therefore very important to your journey. He should be like a father to you; he has much to teach you.
Chava is an old and gentle ancient, recovering from the Eclipse - which is also known as The Great War, which I mentioned earlier. The Eclipse happened long ago, even before the clash between Folaigh and Jere, but her wounds were deep, and she is healing. Your company may help her.
Erno is a strange creature, and a high keeper much like myself, but he can give you information about ancients who have passed.
Lastly, and I am only directing you to him because I can see that your curiosity has just began to unfold, there is Jere. Be careful around him. I believe he has learned his lesson for now, but he is too tempted by new company for his own good. "

"Anything else?" she asks calmly, expecting more questions.