Nobody's fault but mine

[Christine Daye]

"Danú is the mother of us all... Blessed Mary... Our Lady, Star of the Sea... Ave Maria, gratia plena, qui tolis peccata mundi, misere nobis..."

Her gaze goes distant, as she looks over the river water, then back again with a jerk.

"...oh... the musicians? No, I spied them in other orchestras, I'm afraid... though some may go moonlighting... if you spot someone with talent, please let me know!"

A smile, which fades as Kira describes Seraph. That is not who she remembers, who she saw at Christmas. But then, the woman she knew was a lifetime ago. And Christine had some inkling of what had happened to her since.

"I will consult with Lord Black before speaking to her in person. But, I do not think that he will begrudge her a few fripperies and distractions..."

...poor Seraph... one day, I hope, we shall work together as we planned...

She smiles softly at the change of topic to the mental stories after shows.

"Alas, though they are so vivid at the time, I quite struggle to recall them now... like dreams..."

Kira's melancholy is infectious, but Helen's gaiety is too. And there is only one choice but to laugh at it all, laugh at the absurdity of this life. The insanity of three vampires walking along the darkened river, talking of love and fate and free will.

And so Christine does what she always does when her thoughts and words fail her. She sings:

"Birds flyin' high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me
And I'm feelin' good

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River runnin' free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me
And I'm feelin' good..."

She laughs, long and loud and free. Then:

"...favourite God?"

She blinks and starts reciting, apparently without conscious volition:

"I believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.... um..."

She cuts herself off, looking embarrassed.

"...um... Clíona of the Waves... " she answers softly. "...and um... Euterpe and Erato... but do the Muses count as goddesses?"

She looks hesitantly over to Helen for confirmation.

[annabelle]

The Ventrue’s dance is not artful, it can be perceived as awkward or unique, depending what you want to see there. She takes Christine’s hand encouraging her to dance as well.

“Fear not, there is nobody around, we can dance and dance badly if we want to, there are not any judges.” And she speeds up a little bit with Kira, adding small jumbos and turns and laughing happily and no mockingly with Kira’s missteps.

"show me how to just enjoy the ride, please?"
Helen snorts to that “How am I suppose to show you that? I am trying to figure things out myself. But now I feel like dancing and say fuck it all. Just dance for now and don’t think, too much thinking too much talking, too much analysis. ”

“I think we like Persephone for different reasons though. I don’t quite understand her infatuation with her captor. Or maybe my captor wasn’t good enough.” And she chuckles mockingly not towards Kira but towards herself. “Now you have another reason to like this myth.”

And then she just goes along, letting Christine’s music bring the music on our feet, there are so many missteps but she doesn’t care. A wide smile marking the Ventrue’s face because Spring is here and is time for Persephone to come back, show her face to her mother and allow the rebirth of life emerge from the deep cold winter soils. No more cold for few months, only blooming and birth and recreation until the scorching sun comes back and burn the flowering glory until it’s time to fall again into Autumn. And these are changing the three kindred are meant to see for centuries to come potentially so there is no point of resisting the seasons.

“Muses, nymphs, angels and fairies, all allowed to look upon Christine, please feel free to tell us.”

[Christine Daye]

Christine laughs again, letting herself be pulled by Helen into the dance. Losing herself in movement and sound as she keeps singing:

"Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun, you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done: that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world and a bold world for me

Stars when you shine, you know how I feel
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel
Oh, freedom is mine, and I know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me

And I'm feelin'... good..."

Twirling and whirling, spinning up, up, up, into the night black blood black sky, starlight sparkled, singing, singing, ever singing, the river laughing with her.

"The stories never tell us, do they...? What Persephone wanted? She is always nothing but a prize... an object... Hades desires her... Demeter demands her back... Zeus gives judgement...

"All we know is that she eats six pomegranate seeds... and so her fate is sealed... But I find myself wondering... why that? Why only six? If it was naught but hunger, she would have eaten more. And she a goddess in her own right... she did not need to eat..."

Christine smiles, her expression distant and otherworldly.

"So this is the story I tell myself... a love story... Persephone and Hades... meeting by chance on a moonlit night... seeing the dark, sorrowful eyes of the Lord of the Dead... the sweet joy of life in the voice of the flower maiden.... so, in this tale I tell myself, they fell in love, and she went willing into the Underworld...

"...but none would believe it as love, for who can love Death?" she smiles softly to herself "...and her mother mourned... held humanity to ransom.. and so Persephone had no choice but to leave her love and walk the fields above... but that would grieve her so... to leave her sorrowful love... so... the pomegranate seeds... and a compromise... half the year above, half below... half the year in sunshine, dancing with her mother... half the year on a dark throne, ruling beside her King... and so, balance above, as below..."

Her voice trails off as she seems to realise something, then she shakes her head, and continues.

"...for did she not guide Hades to compassion, when Orpheus came seeking his beloved Eurydice?"

She smiles, and shrugs her shoulders.

"...or at least, that is the story I tell myself..."

[LittleBird]

Kira laughs heartily as they dance around and with, weaving and spinning to and fro. "Ha! You say that, there has got to be a cricket cackling at the sight of us somewhere!"

Just dance for now and don’t think

"Hmmmph, fine!" she sighs, bending low at her knees and mock stumbling forward, "I will comply with the turning off of my mechanical mind and-waht?!Captor?" Kira gasps suddenly. wrinkling her nose, "Woah up there, this, this-you cannot expect me to turn off my mind and offer this to the gears! Since when was she captured?"

The stories never tell us, do they...? What Persephone wanted? She is always nothing but a prize... an object...

"Aaand double wait!-Oh!" she skips ahead with a flourish-or what she hopes is-a flourish of a spin. "But they do! They do tell us," she gestures forward, "In some retellings, twas a flower that she took that first allowed Hades to invite her to the underworld, I always gathered they saw each other often in those fields before she first travelled down." "I never saw her as a prize, this is a tale of Hades and his love, not Zeus and his stupid, overactive loins, ugh!"

"Anyhow, in the version that introduced me to the tale, it seemed that it was she who invented the plan of the pomegranates, the deal and the rules, so she can be with her love and her family, fearful her mother would not approve. That part kind of confused me I admit...Fearful she would break her mothers heart if it became known she chose the depths below willingly, I can understand, but why not have Hades and Demeter talk? No, instead Persephone plays the victim and well, Hades allows her to paint him the villain?" she blinks, holding arms out wide as she spins, dazed and confused before chuckling.

"Shh shhh, yes!" she holds a finger to her lips and shakes her head, "Yes I'm over thinking but, but you both started this one," she gives them a teasing glare through narrow eyes before softening once more, "...tis more a sacrifice on his part it seems, the mother pays the price in the apparent loss, the lover pays the price in the eyes of others,” her voice trails off, “I do not believe he was ever a selfish, cruel, nor vindictive God, he got dealt the worst hand, true, but...he was always compassionate, just through Persephone that most are able to see it-or are further blinded to it sadly,"

She brushes her coat and looks up brightly to Christine, "Yet yes, I must agree with you, I every much prefer your view of the tale, much more romantic, higher stakes and turns, and pulling of those heart strings." she smiles and offers to spin Christine around gently, "If I ever find that retelling again, the one that sparked my love for this tale, I will find it for you, not that you need it, you captured it beautifully,"

"Tis a shame, not many artists of our times deem such a telling fashionable,” she sighs, before humming to herself, "They prefer the version where it wasn't planned," Kira pokes out her tongue and rolls her eyes at the though, "aaand Hecate and Hermes swoop on in to save her...he was perhaps one of the few gods who didn't want to woo her right? Apollo tried aaaand-" she raises her hand in dismissive defeat at trying to recall, "we'll forget that one though, that was a mess, created a beautiful painting though, but stupid!"

"Still, I love it...one of the few truly beautiful tales I know in Greek mythology, the majority are plain terrifying or hilariously petty if you ask me." she raises her hand in triumph, "Romantic versions all the way, despite the silliness of the plan, it still...still feels like a foolish choice someone would make when in love, but still...," a foolish choice that while they play the victim, they forget they are creating victims out of their lovers in the process, but love will blind that paid toll...

[Christine Daye]

Christine's voice is soft, like it comes from far away.

"They are fools, who reckon love a soft emotion... let the warriors devote themselves in fury to gods of blood and thunder... love is hard, harder than steel and thrice as cruel.... as unforgiving and uncontrollable as the tides... and life and death alike follow in it's wake..."

She looks confused at her own words, but lets the sound of them go, washed away by the river. And she goes back to humming a merry dance tune as she keeps on dancing.

[annabelle]

Helen listens to their version carefully with a smile, obvious she was enjoying this conversation greatly. She could debate for days Greek mythology with the Victorians but maybe there was a hint of truth in their versions as well, cause Helen knew different versions and one of them could have led to their romantised version.

With a theatrical movement she turns around facing them whilst walking backwards, still moving forwards but facing them this time.
“You both believe she went willingly, interesting. From my education, which is closer to the original sources, there are indeed different versions. It’s natural for myths to change overtime and to have different perceptions of the events so I can only embrace your version as well and maybe encourage you with a testimonial of a byzantine. So…let me think…what do I know that it can fit with your version. Ah…right….I know”

She seems excited now, a wide smile framing her face.
“There is one version that describes Persephone’s spirit as adventurous, trying to explore the world, trying to break free from the suffocating love of her mother. A free spirit as hers, she fell into the dark underworld where Hades found her. Some say he abducted her, some say he lured her, you choose, you paint this with your own colours. I might not agree with some colours but then I would never tell you not to let yourself free to enjoy myths the way you desire.

Christine, I have to agree with something though, there is an allure around Hades, maybe Persephone indeed loved him. She saw the beauty of death and darkness, of a man bound to the deceased and tormented. She saw the balance they could bring to each other and she joined the world of the dead. In my version though, she didn’t have time to fall in love, she was thrown into this trap unwillingly until she realised that despite his darkness he was right for her.

Kira, her own wildness brought her this difficulty and she dealt with it. I think she didn’t play the victim in any of version. Instead she accepted her fate and embraced it gloriously. The change of the seasons is a proof that Demeter and Hades found the right balance, sharing their beloved Persephone for Eternity. Nobody wanted to loose Persephone and they were both living in different parts of the world, gods don’t discuss, they just claim, so I would lay the blame on Demeter as much as on Hades for wanting Persephone all they themselves.”

Then she stops walking and a wicked smile appears. Eyes gleaming full of youthful mischief. Her voice is a whisper now, relying on the girl’s Auspex to hear her.

“Let me tell you a secret…the real reason behind my childish fascination…There are so many layers in Persephone’s myth my lovely friends, deep and dark layers behind her origins. Versions I’ve read in forbidden books locked in the dark parts of the Imperial Library of Constantinople because…well…I had my ways…So many versions…some ancient, more ancient than the ancient.

Persephone…She Who Shines in The Dark…She Who Destroys The Light, Mistress of the labyrinth, The lady beneath the earth. More ancient than Hades, the Goddess of Death before him. The Iron Queen. Have you heard of the Eleusinian Mysteries? Rituals hidden from public view and we never learned what they were about. They worshipped Persephone not Hades...why is that? I'll tell you why and this is a speculation based on the my forbidden nigh time readings.

Christine in that version she did she not guide Hades to compassion to allow Eurydice into the underworld. She was the one making the decision, the original deity of the underworld. Brought back to life from her Mycenean version into a more submissive figure in classical Greece. You see before the Classic period of ancient Greece we all know, there was the Minoan Culture, destroyed by the vicious volcano of Thira, a cursed island in the middle of the Aegean sea.

Women and Men were equal if not superior. Holding dominant positions in all kind of areas of the minoan life. Goddesses were worshiped as symbols of fertility and power, not as submissive women who were made Queens because somebody decided they were desirable. That’s why these readings were forbidden in Byzantium, showing there was a world were women were powerful and respected. And that’s the real reason of my fascination with Persephone, there you have it”

She then brings back her voice to a normal volume and tilts her head.
“All versions, all valid, we choose to see what is closer to us don’t we? And our interpretation of myths revealing a lot about our self. Both of you Romantic to the bone whereas Kira is analysing and questioning everything but Christine is letting the emotion flow freely without a protest. You both can learn from each other and I can learn from both of you.”

[LittleBird]

"Yes, perhaps some loves are like a battlefield, glorifying a death in honour as much as a loss in love, yet what about those left behind...only when one is left behind does it get sad." her voice teeters off once more, she twirls and splays her hands open, "Still, perhaps those who reckon love a soft emotion have either barely lived with that fall, are just on the precipice of their love, just begun, with soo much to look forward to, to embrace and bare...or, or if it's for the long while, perhaps they are incredibly lucky..."

"Surely not all love is as uncontrollable or all consuming as which...which we may be used too..." she nuzzles her neck once more, her glistening eyes almost hidden behind a tight ringlet that escaped from beneath her hat. Whatever charade Helen and Kira had to pose as men certainly lapsed long before the skipping and the dancing after all... "Do you believe such could exist? Or is such a soft, carefree love confined to a moments past?"

You both believe she went willingly, interesting
"I do not know what I believe Helen, just...my own preference, what I would choose to read once more. What I would hope perhaps, I admire her, I still would if it were not willing,"

"Just...acceptance takes time, right? If it were accepted from the beginning it wouldn't be acceptance, it might as well be called a agreement, a good arrangement, yes? So, to go on that journey of acceptance you had to disagree, resist, struggle at first...no harm in admitting that, admitting she was a victim in someways..."

"Persephone was a Goddess too, as her mother Demeter, and Hades...Why couldn't she too reach out and claim as the others? It wasn't due to her sex, many Goddesses reached and snatched after all, of course now most are painted in taking such action due to vanity now, yet...tis hardly different then Zeus's eternal claiming." she grumbles on, clealy having no love for the interpretations of Zeus she is familiar with. "So, why didn't she claim for future for her own? Unless...she wasn't powerless before Hades was she?" Kira asks Helen curious.

"You said they treated her like an object to be claimed, yet you do so too. Perhaps she too saw that, and through gritted teeth saw that chance to get the best of both worlds, that perfect balance you spoke of, despite the tears to her core. Even if it meant her wild heart, that freedom, carefree nature, that ounce of life had to lay low, that she had to subdue it herself. Even if it meant she had to force herself to accept the action of others as opposed to the action she wanted to take, perhaps within her inaction...within the observation and afterthought, that, there lay her struggle before acceptance...and then she could be free, to explore all of her and all of those she held dear, and would learn in time to? Most paths in life, as much as I would like to believe we have a hand in each one we chose to create or walk down...most rely on the actions of others..."

"Oh?!" a energetic gasp and a sly smile brandishes across her lips as Helen speaks of forbidden books and various variations of tales. She speeds her step to a brief brisk jog to catch up.

"Right, so the versions we were more familiar with are the more fashionable versions now, the more palatable ones...tried to strip her of so much," she runs her fingers along her veins, along her arms, "I always thought her of the light to his darkness-yet she who destroys the light, was that always a phrase that sounded so ominous?" until finally, her fingertips reach their necklace.

"Did it perhaps hold other context back then? You said a volcano destroyed Island, perhaps destroyer of light is a translation in regards to that? Perhaps it was a phrase meant to offer peace? And safety? Or merely an allusion to night and the serenity it brings? What do you believe her to have been like? Do you think she'd approve of such tales now?" Kira asks softly, gently, so many burning questions, so many interwoven feelings, "What else did you find of her origins? What other Mycenean deities do you have such strong feelings for? Any that are hardly recognisable from what the modern nights now spins of them?"


whereas Kira is analysing and questioning everything but Christine is letting the emotion flow freely without a protest

Kira nods with a open smile to the singer at the mention of her name, admiring that aspect of her, and...and missing it too. Kira looks down and with a voice softer then a veil across a brides forehead she replies.

"Both can coexist, in one. A maze of questions and a ocean of emotions, just depends what layer is best to land on top," her lips stay parted but silent, though her mind and aura is anything but as her inner thoughts scream. I just get lost in a public crowd, and drown in private now, after all..look what happens when I dare to feel deeply and openly. At least this way no one else gets hurt. Dirty little secrets stay secret.

[Christine Daye]

"Hail to thee, She Who Shines in The Dark…She Who Destroys The Light, Mistress of the Labyrinth , The Lady beneath the Earth...." Christine murmurs, looking into the darkness, and dropping into a graceful curtsey to someone that none of the others can see.

She rises, and regards Helen with a smile.

"...and with the revelation of those titles, I am now in less doubt than ever that Persephone chose... chose her love and her fate... and that time has twisted her story to make her... a more suitable example of young womanhood... easier to control... but we know better now... don't we?"

There's a dark excitement in her eyes.

"...hmmmm... amoung my people... we did not have a God of War... no... a triple goddess... the Morígan... Macha, Badb, Nemain... and more... a history of warrior women and queens... but we are uncivilised, don't you know?"

She giggles, high pitched and fae.

Kira's body language is screaming of inner turmoil, but Christine is at a loss of how to deal with it, or even broach the subject. Whatever it is, Kira feels it keenly, and has taken the tale of Persephone and Hades very much to heart. That tell of hers, reaching for the necklace at her throat...

...still I sing bonnie boys, bonnie mad boys, Bedlam boys are bonny...

Christine's voice is soft, soothing, as she looks out over the water.

"...there are as many different types of love as there are stars in the sky... and as many emotions... and some questions have no answers... but they need to be asked anyway... the sacred mysteries... "

Her voice fades as she whispers:

"I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks..."

[annabelle]

“Victim.” Helen lets the word roll in her tongue and she repeats “Victim… Well Persephone was a goddess, it was her rightful title, why she didn’t claim a future on her own you ask? Well…why Hera didn’t either? Daughter of Titans, equal to Zeus, why she’ve let herself to be so undermined? Why did they do that?” her smile a little but bitter, a little bit sad, looking at both girls.

“Love. Simple as that. Can you pity them? Or blame them? Not really, though the joy love can bring is not comparable to any sort or form of absolute power. Could she have had both? Maybe. In the case of the classic version of Persephone’s story it was a matter of compromise, she would not be the first, she would be the second in ranking in the Underworld.

"You said they treated her like an object to be claimed, yet you do so too. Perhaps she too saw that.”
Helen squeezes Kira’s hand and stares at her in the eyes “Persephone was intelligent in all the versions, she knew that was the wise thing to do in your version too. To allow her will to be taken away, it seems it was a choice. Because despite her youth she cared enough to let her pride and her needs behind. That is a strength like no other Kira.” And her smile is warm and understanding.

“She brings the light during spring and she kills the light when she goes back to the underworld. The symbol of death and rebirth as I told you. The one who enables the seasons. I don’t know if the eruption of Thera was related to that. The original source of the Iron Queen was way before the eruption. Hmmm…let me think, what else did I’ve read. It’s been a while you know.”

A smirk and a wink “A forbidden image for byzantines, I remember. A woman with her bossom exposed whereas the rest of her covered. Serpents in her hands like a statement. Serpents used to symbolise rebirth for what I know. I am not sure how these sources were obtained, they were rare for sure.”

"Both can coexist, in one. A maze of questions and a ocean of emotions, just depends what layer is best to land on top" Helen nods to that happily.
“Indeed, layers on top of layers.”

She then bows to the lady beneath the earth following Christine’s hallucinations with joy.

“Hail you Iron Queen, whoever you were, whoever you are. We bow to your glory.” And then she just stays silent, profoundly and quietly shocked with Christine’s reference of Morrigan. The rest is just learning of letting go for the sake of Christine’s voice, closing her eyes, opening them, staring at the young Toreador, trying to encourage Kira without words to try to let go for some minutes and let the layer of calmness and acceptance emerge and soothe the young Black’s troubled spirit.

[LittleBird]

"I did not realise they were a trinity, I only heard of Morigan until now, I wonder why that is...are her tales told greater than the rest? And do you feel the retellings changed much of the intention, the fate and the soul of these Warriors and Queens overtime too?" Kira asks to Christine.

"Sacred mysteries...what makes a question or even such feelings sacred?" Kiras voice trails slowly, "Is it because such are often sworn? Vows exchanged?"

"Soo, in that case, what would you call such promises, such vows that were..." she tilts her head, her throat somehow feeling dry, heart caught in her throat...she has not thought about this subject, in this light ever, "...were told in truth, were spoken with such purity, spoken from the soul and were truly meant to fulfil their promise, yet overtime are just left hanging, lingering, still as potent as ever, but..." Kira loosens her grip on the railing overlooking the river and lets her arms dangle, leaning back as far as she can before swooping forward to sit on the edge, her fingertips trailing idly.

I do not wish to call them broken, abandoned or forgotten...thing have changed, but...but I still feel them, I still adhere to them...they're not null and void to me. But that doesn't matter, it'll never matter again-just leave it!

"left," she settles on finally, even that word just lets her shoulders sag, I need to hear it...or Christines right, at least ask it. I've grown though. I know I have. So why does this still hit me?!?.

"Just...left. What are they then?" she ponders, her eyes lingering towards the water again, the light of it...the reflection of the moon could never be as bright as the waters that night a
-Treasure it. Keep it safe. You cannot share it with others to keep it in bloom. So do not let it rot when your own mind goes dark. You'll never regret it Kira, never want it to change, never take it back...You know there were no lies. So why do this. And why now?

She looks over her shoulder, Ah...the distance, measuring it. So close to pouring your heart out to a friend, yet instead, you feel guilty, for talking in little spurts, in transparent riddles, when you want to flood it out. You wanted that then. You do not need it now. Keep it. Savour it. Do not dismantle it with questions, worries and fears that are of no consequence.

"So-" she closes her eyes tightly, no apologies, "So, forget that," she waves her hand dismissively and raises them to the metal, "I shouldn't ask questions I know the answer too..." she looks up, her eyes no longer looking bloodshot, she vaults up, "Tis impolite," she chuckles at her own expense, and strides, not that idle, dreamy, wavering step, but...more sure, more presently purposeful. "It...it just is, isn't it? A vow, even if appearing unfulfilled is...is not truly broken, it is still a force of nature, just under a different path then originally believed. Just..." she chews her lips and nods, echoing the singers drifting words with her own tongue, "as a ocean can not be far too shallow or much to deep...it just is, and it is a wonderful thing!"


Kira seems content with these thoughts, anchored once again, yet she spins to face Helen as she holds her hand "A strength like no other?" Kira echos and, she does not falter, nor turn away, nor let go. As much as she may seem grounded, as much as she may hold her ground, that certainty she seemed able to grasp moments before crumbles again, as if that extra burst of strength she gathered was the last ounce she had to spare.

"even if that so called strength seems little more than a lesson in subservience now? What makes that so strong? " she asks one question, while her mind screams another: Strength...Then why does it make me feel nothing but weak?! "There are much more brighter strengths then that, for sure-" she shakes her head, lowering her gaze.

Feeling her emotions struggle, entangled a mess, she focuses. Takes breathes that are needless for their kind, but needed ever so much for her and her meditation. Her fingers twinkle, a mere flutter in Helens hand as her eyes slowly open up...
"but," she breathes and raises her gaze back between Helen and Christine. "Yes, a more internal strength though right?" she asks, her voice seems smaller, seems to falter, and even her smiles seems to border on weak, but in those deep blue eyed of hers there appears an echo of that crashing wave again, the haughty, assured spirit that corrected even those who put the threat of death over her head.

"Despite the costs? She knew how to lesson the pain of others, how to bring them joy, and find her own strength in that balance...yes...yes," she nods and squeezes Helens hand, and gestures openly to Christine with the other in thanks.

"Hmm, mmm, brings light and diminishes it when needed, hmm, I do like that." she breathes a chuckle, though her eyes still bare hints of reminiscence, there is another thread, the tide of those blue pools only returns back to reach further forward than before, and her lips, though tired still, still reach her eyes in that excitable smile.

"Though Snakes for rebirth?" she wonders, "Why snakes? Is that a common association with rebirth?"

Seeing the others offering their praises to Persephone, The Iron Queen, Mistress of the Labyrinth, Kira bows her head too...a Christian since birth it may seem if her memories were anything to go by, but...she has often found herself seduced by the tales of other religions, other cultures, there is much belief in the world, and much that touches at her very soul, why shun it for merely one.

"Iron Queen," Kira announces as she offers a low curtsy, and softly brushes her hand against the earth on the path, "Lady Beneath the Earth. The one who both shines with and diminishes light, we delight in your legacy, thank you for your lessons, your strength, and are privileged to honour you on this night,"