Vita.
The Bane of Gods, The Blessing of Mankind.
Vita represents all things pure, unaltered by the passing of time or mortal feelings.
She represents the life, the death, and all that walks in between.
The one being most venerated by all. And She has as many names as She has forms.
For millennia uncounted, She had stood alone as the sole reigning being above all.
Vita is the judge, jury, and executioner. While we… well, that's easy.
We are the suspect, victim, and witness to its greatness. And the Vita has yet to decide what to think of us.
She is fair in all things. She does not request veneration nor reward one for it.
The only thing She requires from all is a lack of greed.
And Greed, greed comes in as many forms as Vita does. Creeping into one's soul, feeding it whispers of absolute hunger, for the thing that the person desires most.
Making them throw reason, and ignore the warnings of the Vita.
Greed is the enemy of the Vita.
As Vita's hatred increased, She created curses.
To ignore Her warnings, Her love, and the care She extends to all life is to invite a fate more dreadful than death itself.
The curse comes in many forms. Matching the curse with the thing that the person desired beyond reason.
And the cruelest thing the Vita did against Her enemy, Greed, and all its followers, was to offer them immortality, and an endless hunger that will gnaw at them, unquenched by any meal, until they are put to death by the righteous of the Vita.
"I know that part. Well, most of it, at least," said Kael, throwing his hook back into the water. "But is it true Morois are one such curse?"
"It is," Blanc nodded, "A Moroi is a person who harvested too much of the Raw Vita of other people. Much more than the Mark on their body could carry. So, it began changing them into monsters with a thirst for human blood."
"Have you seen one?" Kael asked.
"Not in my eyes, but pictures in the books depicting them and how they look," Blanc said, remembering the hideous figures he saw that day, making him close the book and go crying to Mera.
"Wow…" muttered Kael, trying to imagine the horrors. Good thing he did not manage it. Otherwise, not a 'wow' would have left his lips, but cries of terror.
But Blanc stood silent, baffled by Kael's ignorance on the subject, "Didn't you read a whole library worth of books? How could you only know 'most of it' and not even know how they looked?"
"I cared more for the stories of heroes, or about nature, more than I did philosophy," sighed Kael, pulling another fish from the hook.
"And what about those books that Mother Auren got you… What were they about? Romance, right?" asked Blanc, a smug smile on his face, until he saw the pile of fish next to Kael and his, not-so-large pile of just half a fish.
"H-how do you know about those?" stuttered Kael, not able to hide the truth.
"Little Kael," Blanc began, "who do you think helped her carry them? Sera? No… I did. Nevertheless, interesting tastes. Do not mind me, though, I do not judge you."
Kael sighed as he sent the hook back into the water, "Tell anything to Lune, and I will kill you in your sleep."
"Harsh words, little Kael, if I wanted to tell her, she would know about them by now," giggled Blanc, ignoring the threat that sounded more cute than threatening.
"How I miss the smell of books,' muttered Kael, looking at the water, his mind back home, "And believe it or not, I miss Sera, and her attitude."
"Haha, Miyanna and her cursing remind me of Sera in a weird way," Blanc replied, "But I would rather have Sera here than her."
"Do you hate her?" asked Kael, bringing another fish to the shore.
"Who? Miyanna? No, I do not hate her. I have no reason to, really. But her presence makes me uncomfortable. What if she is someone dangerous?" Blanc wondered.
"She looks strong, but she is a commoner. She cannot be that strong," Kael replied.
Blanc sighed, "Once more, little Kael, your mistake is in the listening. I did not mean she is dangerous because of how strong she might be. But who might she know, and what her tongue might release to the ears of others. Others who may or may not be looking for us."
"What makes you think that?" Kael asked, sending the hook back into the water.
"I do not know, not yet at least. But there are not many options for who she might be or where from. Most likely a commoner of our domain. But that also has gaps in logic." Blanc thought out loud, trying to explain to Kael and himself, but was unsuccessful, "I need to think more on this."
"Sister Celine is smarter than you, Lune is prettier than you, and I, do I need to say anything?" said Kael, a smug look on his face as he moved slightly aside, showing off the pile of over thirty fish.
"Maybe I should use you as bait. Perhaps that smart mouth of yours will attract more fish to my hook," replied Blanc, pushing Kael slightly with his shoulder.
It was noon the next day. Luckily, a sunny, peaceful afternoon in this quiet part of the Golden Forest.
As promised, Blanc and Kael were off fishing, enjoying some time together and relaxing by the water.
Earlier that morning, after Blanc and Kael left, Lune and Celine had finished their training session, one that left Lune so thoroughly exhausted she had barely managed a bath before slipping off to nap.
That left only two awake inside the cave. Celine and Miyanna. The latter, half-asleep, with her head resting lazily on the table.
"You look tired," said Celine.
Miyanna clicked her tongue before replying, "And you look like you are shining, both because of the same reason, now leave me alone."
"Same reason?" Celine asked, confused.
"Leave me alone, please," said Miyanna, turning her head on the other side of the table, towards the wall of the cave.
"Now you got me curious, you cannot just say that and not give me an answer," explained Celine. At this point, not even Miyanna knew if Celine was attempting to play with her and feign confusion or if she really was clueless. But all the same. As it angered her, offering the answer Celine wanted to hear.
"Because of you two, who were fucking like there is no tomorrow. That is why I could not sleep, and I am now tired. Satisfied? Now, could you fuck off nicely?" Miyanna hissed.
"Oh," Celine giggled, "sorry about that, I did not realize how loud we were. Were you enjoying it?"
"As much as a knife to my neck," Miyanna replied, half lie, half truth.
"Ain't that a pity.. well, either way, we need to talk, then I will gladly, how do you say it? Ah, yes, fuck off," Celine said, sitting on the chair near her, so she could look into Miyanna's eyes.
"This better be fucking important or I swear to the Vita, I-" muttered Miyanna, as Celine began speaking.
"I will say this once, and once only, as another sign of trust. You do not have much time. Blanc is not stupid. He is worried about other stuff at the moment, but a single bad thing changing, and his thoughts might run to you and your origins, let's say."
"And what do you want to suggest with this?" Miyanna asked.
"That you find your trust in me soon enough and tell me everything. If you delay that for a long time, and Blanc guesses where you might be from, he will kill you. Unless I know everything and can hold him back and vouch for you," explained Celine.
"Wouldn't it be better for you if he killed me, then?" Miyanna asked, raising her head from the table.
"Why would it be?" Celine asked, confused.
"A woman less in Blanc's presence?" Miyanna replied.
An answer that made Celine burst out laughing and continue to laugh for a full minute, as tears even came out. This made Miyanna visibly embarrassed and angry.
"Oh dear, and you said you did not enjoy the sounds… Blanc does not desire more women. For now, at least, so please, humble yourself."
"Do you think I would not be able to? I have been considered a beautiful woman all my life. So I think I have my chances," Miyanna said.
"Oh, I do not doubt that. Go for it, for all I care, see how that goes. I bet your head will roll by the end of the day. Even such lust is useless for you at the moment. Get a hold of yourself, Miyanna. And when the time comes for Blanc to find out who and what you are. Hope you had the wisdom to tell me everything. Now, if you will excuse me, I will fuck off as requested," said Celine, getting up from the table and heading towards her room.
Peace now reigned over this cave. Lost in the woods as it were, it offered peace, away from the war that still roared on below the Golden Forest.
A peace built atop games, worries, and internal turmoil. A peace more fragile than a glass cup, but a peace nonetheless.
One cannot help but wonder how long such peace can hold.