NAGNANG -
- "Thank you Alter for keeping the Ashes of the Four safe," boomed the voice of General Blight as he travelled to the Herbarium in Nagnang.
In a meeting with the shaman and Lady Qantao, the Historian
of the Samguk, the general hoped to resurrect his fallen bretheren. Upon returning to the Herbarium, he expressed that he was well and "glad to be home." Indeed, history came "with all her knowledge to help," spoke the radiant historian to the crowd, ready to watch history be made.
In her hand was a tome of the Ha zhi-p'i, and also revealed
that she possessed an ancient work of the Dongbas for use by the shaman.
Mog-Ur JerzeyKat, Mog-Ur BeffyCabeza, and Shaman StriGoi,
Elder-Emerita of the family, directly lent their spiritual skills to this evening's ritual, bringing with them their vast wealth of experience, research, and knowledge.
Unfortunately, according to StriGoi, it was not possible
to carry out the resurrection ritual tonight, as the loose research yet remains to be pooled into a usable form. A ritual "must be written and performed when the time is right to bring back the four who are not the four," she uttered cryptically.
JerzeyKat noticed that there appeared to be one vessel
missing, and StriGoi replied that she was the fifth vessel, and that her body, less her soul, was the portal to allow the Four to reemerge. One part remained overlooked, however: the spirit threads of the Four have yet to be traced. Blight then announced that his blood, the blood of Nagnang, was the missing ingredient for this.
This was confirmed by the research of Lady Qantao. "You
carry within your veins that of the old Nagnang and you have blood bonded to the Four. "However, it was revealed that a "balance between old and new" is required.
Immediately, Prince Kija's name flew from the crowd as an
obvious bridge between the Nagnang of antiquity and modernity. "Even in the darkest night, daylight comes creeping forth," intoned BeffyCabeza. "The spirits have led us to the same path. Old and New must merge in a way never before tried!" StriGoi related a portentous vision of all of the totem spirits of protection surrounding her at once because, she surmised, "I went searching without the two components needed to finish the search.
Determined that the blood of the two leaders was necessary for
the ritual, General Blight remarked, with a wry, bloodthirsty smile, that he would be happy to help Prince Kija shed his blood. Above the crowd, divided between those calling for the prince's blood and those who would defend their sovereign, the voice of Prince Kija rang true, admonishing General Blight: "We find your continual habit of putting words in our mouth most irksome. We are perfectly able to speak for ourselves." For the honour of his nation and his late father's memory, the prince willingly offered his blood.
Shortly after the sovereign appeared, Lady StriGoi announced
that the blood was "only a path, the beginning and an ending, " but that it led to a spiritual quest to find that which they both must share in order for the ritual to succeed. "As part of the ritual we shall hold," JerzeyKat cautioned, "you both must be willing to travel this dangerous path before your blood can be shed."
United in bravery, the two leaders were informed of their
impending journey to the higher astral plane. They were further strongly cautioned by StriGoi, "If we fail, there we will stay as the Gods scrape the skin from our bones and cause our spirits to feel the burn of eternal damnation!"
With the spirits screaming for blood, BeffyCabeza and JerzeyKat performed their will. With the blood of the two leaders shed and collected for the ritual, the two were escorted away to tend to their wounds.
The shaman will be spending the next seven days preparing
for the ritual to resurrect the Four. 20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)20:28, 30 December 2011 (PST)
- Nagnang : The Ritual
After a great swelling of anticipation, the Resurrection
of The Four finally took place this evening within The Herbarium.
The Community met with Blight, Prince Kija and Historian Qantao
to raise The Four and close the portal of the Wuhu Luanhua once and for all.
Shamans Widget, Yashi, AntiFlag, BeffyCabeza, TediAvenger,
DarkRain, ZeroGT, Sebelle, JerzeyKat, Izabella and Ravenstar entered the Herbarium amid the community's argument and confliction over what was about to be done.
The ashes of The Four, (Atrophy, Contagion, Marasmus and Abscess) were scattered for the ritual and there was a visible shudder
from the crowd when Lady StriGoi withdrew two vials of adder poison from her robes. With the poison kissed upon their lips, General Blight and Prince Kija were guided by the shaman into the spirit realm where they sought out The Four.
StriGoi administered the fatal kiss.
The ritual grew larger in its air of gravity as the shaman
cried out to the spirits again. "Guardians of the Spirit realm, hear and guide my plea. When the time rings true, bring only the ones we call out to back to this space!"
Thunder crashed loudly outside and the earth trembled as the
veils were parted to finally make way for the coming of The Four. None of The Four came, though. Murmurs fell across those gathered as the shaman explained; the spirits of The Four had no earthly bodies to house them, their ashes taken by the winds of the Nexus and scattered.
Worry crossed the crowd as StriGoi explained more. "They cannot
be rejuvenated but must be reborn!" As the ritual continued, the soil of Nagnang was mixed with the blood of Kija and Blight to form the new bodies of The Four. Qantao spoke again, "New lives... require new names. But at what cost?"
Thus The Four were reborn as Apuen, Byeong, Chejungi and Sanghan. The Four, were reborn and renewed.
Something was very wrong, though. The new bodies of The Four
winked in an out of the corporeal plane. Knowing what needed to be done, and acting before her brothers and sisters could stop her, Lady StriGoi withdrew a final vial of poison from her bodice and, swallowing the whole of it, fell to the ground.
The ritual would be completed from the other side, and among
the cries of the fallen shaman's family, the bodies of The Four solidified leaving the very confused men to ponder where they were and what was going on.
As the crowd stood stunned, Kija spoke. "The loss of such
a great Shaman as StriGoi is a bitter blow. But her sacrifices will not be forgotten, hence forth each year on this day we shall commemorate her passing with a great festival..."
The deed completed, everyone soon scattered to their
respective homes to recuperate from the events of the evening. A small wake was held in the Shaman valley in remembrance of Lady StriGoi, and all who wish to pay their respects may do so by dropping a rose within those walls.