Gardenia stared at the plants, eventually looking to Ash as she spoke, "If I was able to convince the other heads of the temple and we were to collect more of these seeds, would you be able to begin planting them in the temple, Ash?"
Ash's eyebrows rose slightly as she hadn't expected convincing even one of the priestesses of the temple, including the easygoing Gardenia, would be easy. They were taught strictly that the ponds were sacred, untouchable, that nothing but simple grass should be left to grow near them. Even flowers were rooted out, not allowed to bring their beauty to the serenity of the pond.
"Are you certain about this?"
Gardenia smiled, looking back to the pond, "It looks beautiful, magnificent. It looks," she went quiet, as if searching for the right words.
"Natural," Fel was the one to provide the word, "It looks like this is how it should be, how it was always meant to be."
Ash nodded, feeling much the same, "My pond, the one I was born from…It has all of them…But the temples in my world will not listen when I tell them that is how the ponds are meant to be. That the stars aren't just cold but also filled with warmth and life…That the gods do not stand alone, have not since Sidus joined Umbra."
Everyone stood for a while with those words, picturing what the pond would look like with all of the plants they knew of. Eventually, they moved on and headed for dinner, picking a small out of the way location to eat at that didn't seem to be frequented by many Godsborn at all.
After dinner, Gardenia and Fi both rushed back to the temple with Fel, Ash, Yarrow and Luna following at a more sedate pace.
Fel watched them with a smile until they were out of sight, "I don't think I've seen her that excited in a while," she said, a small grin touching her lips, "I like having you here, Ash. You're good for this place, I feel it," a light chuckle, "In that strange way that Fi sometimes feels things, when she knows for sure they're true no matter what anyone else wants to tell her. In the same way I knew I wanted to walk the world at her side."
As they made their way through the town, Ash was rather surprised when no one approached them though she did feel several Godsborn watching them. They were passing through the town square under the Star Ash when someone finally had the courage to do so.
It was the man from her first day in Fantastoria. He stopped at a respectful distance and spoke up, "Might I ask you for a duel?"
Ash looked him over for a moment, contemplating the question seriously instead of just dismissing it. She had no interest in the dueling title but combat could help one figure out a lot of things.
Luna spoke up before she could answer, "She is a bit busy to duel now," she saw the disappointment not just on his face but a tiny bit of it in Ash's eyes, "But, I think she'll be available after the festival," a wave of her hand showed the busy city, preparations well under way for the same thing she was helping to plan in Terra, "Why not meet in the city square the day after the festivities and decide things then?"
He seemed curious at that, "Are you actually related to the temple then?"
His inquiry felt genuine, as if he truly wanted to know the answer and had a reason for asking about it. Ash responded with a light nod.
"I met Virtus, you know," he said, his gaze unfocused as if he was seeing something else, "He felt…real…very real…is Sidus real? Are the gods," he went silent for several long seconds, almost whispering, "Are they real?"
Ash nodded, "They are. Humans are the race that Venatio, the lord of the hunt, created. For a long time, he hunted alongside them, watched over them but humanity is a short-lived race. Even gods feel loss and eventually it wore too hard on him and he withdrew. Since humanity is so short-lived, though, they have long since forgotten him."
He looked her over, frowning ever so slightly, "You're an elf, then, really an elf? I've never met one before…They don't come to where I live. I heard they live thousands of years…"
She nodded, "Elves do live thousands of years and I have already passed my first thousand."
He took a deep breath, turning away towards the temple of Virtus, "You've given me a lot of food for thought, princess. Let's meet up after the festival, we'll talk then, maybe have a good duel."
"My name is Ash," she responded, surprised when he turned, seeming shocked to hear it.
"Ryn," he said with a slight grin, "I'll see you later, Ash," he nodded slightly and turned, striding off with a distant expression on his face.
They headed to the temple after that, finding a number of people chattering in an excited sort of way. Paladins, priests and priestesses alike all seemed to be talking about the possibility of change in the temple of Sidus. Ash led the way, long-legged strides taking her through the beautifully lit temple and to the pond.
Several more paladins, priests and priestesses all stood on the shore of the pond embroiled in what seemed to be an argument. Ash was quite certain she was looking at the full leadership of the temple. She approached, curious as to how things were going, and found them relatively well-split. Many of them seemed to be agreeing with Gardenia, even having not seen the plants in bloom around a starseeing pond, while the rest seemed to be arguing that things just were not done that way in the temple.
Ash took a deep breath and called on her magic, calling on the spell that Lucrum had given her. The pond's landscape around them changed, dozens of plants coming into bloom in parts of the water as well as at the shore and on the land surrounding it. The arguing stopped, eyes drawn to the beauty that had bloomed around them.
One of the older paladins spoke up, looking up at Ashterra as he felt her to be the source of the spell surrounding them, "It is beautiful, daughter of Sidus, truly magnificent…but…is this what Lord Sidus would want?"
She responded, voice calm and gentle, almost regal, "This is how the ponds look in nature, how they are without outside intervention. I think that alone speaks to Sidus' desires. Even were I to call him, even were he to come here, he would not answer your question because this is a matter for mortal races and not a matter for gods to decide."