Wayfinders (Season 7): The Power Of Belief

The party has been traveling for awhile now through the wilderness. The setting sun shines yellows and orange rays of light through the trees as a soft wind blows faintly. The leaves shift and sway while small wildlife scatter around the fauna. Elara looks up between the trees while they walk. The sky is slowly changing to dusk, as the sun retires for the day behind the horizon. They reach a small clearing in the forest the gives way to an open sky and a nice spot to make camp for the night. “We should consider stopping for the evening before the sun sets…” Elara speaks up as the party walks ahead.
Gabriel, biting nervously on his nails, looks up at the sky to the see the sun dipping into the horizon. He looks over at Elara and faintly nods in agreement before he sits down in the grass. With Yorkie on his shoulder, Gabriel looks around absent mindedly while taking off his little pack to lay out his bed roll. After finding a suitable spot, he goes towards Elara and just tugs on her robes a few times. "Elara c-can we t-talk...," he asks shyly, his eyes not meeting hers as Yorkie justs stares up at her cutely.
Elara drops her bag onto the ground, letting out a sigh of relief. She scans the area seeing plenty of fallen sticks and twigs to gather for firewood before she feels a tug on her robes. Looking down at a quiet little white haired gnome looking up at her. “Oh…of course!” She smiles warmly in his direction. “Let’s get this fire going first though.” She starts walking around the area picking up sticks, returning with an arm full worth. She takes a seat in the middle of the open area, waving Gabriel over to join her. Her starts placing sticks in a neat little bundle. Though, as someone not familiar with the wilderness, she has no idea what she’s doing.
Gabriel sits down next to her and pushes some dirt and stones around the sticks, placing one of his wrists over the other in an X formation as spheres of gnashing fire circle his hands, and within an instant each sphere launches towards the sticks which ignite into a raging fire that calms into a manageable camp fire. The fire crackles softly, the dirt and stones acting as a barrier to keep the embers contained so that they do not start a wildfire. Yorkie scuttles her way down Gabriel's arm and sits on his leg to enjoy the warmth of the fire. Gabriel says nothing at first, his eyes staring down at the ground as he forms his thoughts.
She watches him as fire forms from his hands, igniting the sticks she’s laid down. The light reflects off her face and she smiles. “Arcana at its finest.” She says softly under her breath. Putting her hands out to warm them. She continues to toss a few smaller twigs into the fire as it grows to a nice size. It illuminates the campsite, and as the sun fully sets down behind the horizon, and the stars begin to appear in the night sky, it becomes the center beacon for the party for its warmth. “You said you wanted to talk?” She says to Gabriel, tilting her head to the side while watching Yorkie sit by the fire.
"Mhm...," he mumbles as he tries to make eye contact with you and maintain it," C-can you describe your relationship with Celestian to me? I w-want to understand how you can do.... w-well.... what you can do through faith." He seems very uncertain of what exactly he wishes to know, mainly the specifics, but regardless he takes out his book of papers to record what you say.
She listens to him speak, looking into the fire as it crackles and spits little embers into the air that seem to drift upwards into the sky. “To describe my relationship…” She goes on to say quietly. Going over her thoughts before proceeding with her sentence. “You know…I never gave it much thought. I know Elves like myself are more attuned to arcana than say…a human, but this magic…” She looks down at her hands. “This is indeed different.” She clenches her fists as she looks them over. “I can help people, their wounds and ailment alike. Which is something I couldn’t do before, not like this I mean.” She leans back on to her arms and looks up to the night sky. “I saw him once, and he gave me this power, this faith. I couldn’t tell you why but…” She looks back over to Gabriel and his book of papers. “In the heat of the moment, I think of him. I think of why I’m doing what I’m doing and that I ask him for help. I follow the thudding of my heart and my devotion to my Deity, next thing I know this energy engulfs me and I can conjure these spells. I can help people.” She frowns. “It feels like I’m cheating. When I hear of people who’ve spent years studying arcana, I feel…uncomfortable. This is but a gift given, not something I trained to learn, so naturally I am rather in awe with those that can use arcana without the aid of another being. I am grateful to him nonetheless though.” She continues to look up at the stars above them. “That feeling of wonder you and I both feel now as we question these things, that’s where I draw the energy from. Its there that lies the answer to faith.”
With a quickness in his fingers and a burning fever in his eyes, Gabriel writes down every syllable of what you tell him. Immediately his mind wanders, going through the many steps of how faith and devotion can be transformed into power. It fascinates him and fuels his imagination as he dreams of the impossible. “That’s... SO COOL,” he exclaims in a hushed tone as he continues to write. He takes a moment to mentally digest the new information given to him. “So essentially it’s a blend of many factors that allow you to draw upon the power with the diety essentially acting a font of power... I guess you abide by similar laws that constrain magic... Hmmm... when you channel Celestian’s energy is more through your force of will because of your faith or is it purely in your belief and hope that he’ll come to your aid? And if so is it you that determines what spell you cast or is it Celestian who gives you what he thinks will help?”
She is taken back by his sudden excitement. Leaning forward once more and tossing another small twig into the fire, watching it catch and burn in the dark ambers beneath the lit wood. It shifts and crackles, releasing more little embers into the air. She continues to listen to him speak, reaching up and subconsciously touching the pendant that rests around her neck, tucked behind her robes. * or is it purely in your belief and hope that he’ll come to your aid?* The words ring in her ears and makes her chest hurt. “…Its my hope that he’ll come to my aid yes…” her voice trails off, questioning her very own statement. Is it? She thinks to herself. “Maybe not…. I’m unsure, this feeling….” She grips the pendant. “When I’ve casted magic in the past, magic that harmed others instead of healing, it was in panic and fear. My life on the line brought me to a state where I pleaded in my head for help and then I was able to conjure certain spells. I know of the spells I can cast, but I feel as though it takes a strong desire, will, faith if you will to be able to produce the result.” The light of the fire flickers off her face as she stares into it. “….I don’t know how involved he really Is, I haven’t seen him or felt his presence in a long time, I suppose the desire to know fuels it.” Her face falls to a heavy frown, trailing off once more in her own words.
Gabriel stops taking notes. He puts his book down next to him, sits Yorkie on top of it, and turns his body to face Elara. Reaching up with both of his hands he tugs on her hand that isn’t touching her pendent until he’s holding her hand, one of his pale and somewhat chubby on top while the other rests underneath her palm. His eyes, moving in unison with his head, rise until they meet your gaze. Saddened, hazel orbs stare into her eyes. A soft pain drips behind them as his hurt streams down his face. Through no words at all, Gabriel can feel your pain. He resonates with your uncertainty and though his tears fall he does not wipe them away as usual. He lets them stay, his sorrow on display and wanting not to hide it from a blossoming friend. “D....Do you miss him,” he asks softly, his excitement replaced by empathy.
She watches him put the book down as Yorkie hops up and sits on top of it. He grabs her hand and her head falls to look at him. Tears run down his face and she can’t but notice the sheer pain. He hurts too, and in a twisted sense it comforts her to know that there are other people in this world that have painful hearts as well. Do you miss him He asks and her heart beats heavily. Why? Why do those words hurt me to hear? She thinks over in her head before nodding slightly. “I do very much…I have traveled a very long way from home to find……answers…to find…..him.” She blinks a few times, fighting back a wave of emotion and the desire to cry along with the little gnome before her. She forces a smile, if to bring her strength, or to comfort him. “…Listen….” She says softly. “I can’t help but wonder over the coincidences of me meeting you and to find that you have a blanket with his symbol weaved into it.” She lets go of his hand, rummaging into her pack before pulling out the feather that was left behind from the white owl he saw earlier. “I’d like you to hold onto this.” She smiles, placing the feather into his hands. “I think this is really for you…”
He looks at the feather then back at Elara. "Mh....," he seems to hesitate before holding out his hand for Elara to give him the feather. "I don't really have faith like you... but I have a feeling that it was meant for you," he mumbles softly. "I-I know I'm not... the best... but.... It's okay to cry....," he looks down at Yorkie who has started to sniff the air and be awake due to her nocturnal nature.
Elara tilts her head with a puzzled look, the feather sitting in his hands. “You don’t have to take it of course. However, I’m curious as to what it does if anything…” She smiles and gently pets Yorkie. “What’s weird to me is that…I wasn’t the one who saw the owl. You did. That doesn’t make you wonder at all Gabriel?”
He shakes his head no and promptly placed the feather in his component pouch. “Only b-bad things happen to me... If t-the o-owl left i-its f-feather then i-it was a m-mistake... Or... maybe not... I don’t know...,” he mutters slowly as he rubs his eyes to wipe away the few tears that remain to be shed.
She watches him place the feather inside his component pouch. His trembling words sadden her and she looks up to the sky. The stars shine brightly tonight, and she looks back down to the gnome with a smile. Her hand comes up and she places it on his shoulder. “I can’t imagine him sending his messenger and making a mistake. Perhaps it was meant for me, but I intend it to be for you, and maybe that was what he intended all along. Everything has a purpose, even when we can’t see it. That’s what I believe.”
“Differing...perspectives,” he mumbles and just rests his head against Elara’s side, rolling out the blanket so both of them can stay warm. Gabriel takes a double meaning to your words. Everything has a purpose, even when we can’t see it. In his own mind he agrees though the message is anything but positive. “M-Maybe next time we see it we’ll get four feathers for everyone,” he suggests, trying to sound hopeful though his nervousness makes him seem more sarcastic.
She pats him on the head, pulling out some rations and splitting it between the two. “That’s fair…” She smiles. “I’d like to see the owl. You know Gabriel, from what I’ve read its quite interesting.” She looks down to Yorkie sitting on his book. “I imagine his Owl is like the relationship you have with Yorkie. Although, the difference is that his owl travels across the planes…” She looks upwards. “I wonder what its name is? It’s never come up in anything I’ve read. OH!” She turns and looks down to Gabriel pulling out his blanket. “Why did you name her Yorkie?”
He shrugs his shoulders a little while pulling out his rations. He feeds a bit to Yorkie who takes it happily before munching on them. “It sounded pretty cool,” Gabriel admits after making sure Yorkie doesn’t try to stuff her cheeks with food. Gabriel doesn’t really say much else, being very much new to having conversations that last longer than a few minutes. He picks up his book, placing Yorkie on his head as she continues to eat, and flips through a few pages before landing on a large web of connecting circles with various words such as Celestial, Fiendish, Elemental, Arcane, and Fey written in them.