"All Things Happen By Pasiphae's Will"

Log Date:
	7/21/00

Log Cast:
	Loire, Kaiulani

Log Intro:
	This past night has been a restless one for Kaiulani, for her restless
dreams have been interrupted by a span of wakefulness -- in which she's met
with her sister and learned from her that Alamoana has met someone she thinks
just _might_ be Kaiulani's mysterious guardian. In turn, Kai has shared with
her sibling the order of their cousin Sarojin for Kaiulani's guards to catch
the nameless savior -- and if they cannot, to kill him instead. Alamoana has
grown incensed in turn, leaving Kai to spend the rest of the night in uneasy
slumber in their shared bathing pool. And Kai's dreams have been full of 
the scattered glimpses she's had of her protector, for the one image her
sister has shared with her, that of a shadowed figure tossing forth flower
petals upon the underwater currents, seems to fit with the fragments she has
of his face and form. There's enough there for the maiden to begin to 
realize that the guardian who has tracked her all of her life may very well
be beautiful... and her young heart is beginning to grow fascinated with
the thought, over and above her concern for the one who has guarded her for
so long. But there have also been dreams of danger for this guardian of hers,
and thus, when morning finally comes, Kaiulani flees her sleeping pool for
the dubious refuge of the waking world. She is supposed to meet her sister
for a promised thing of which Alamoana has spoken... but for the time being
she is alone, and alone she returns to the Rainbow Cavern's pool. 
	She is not, however, alone in that pool...

*===========================< In Character Time >===========================*
             Time of day:  Morning
          Date on Aether:  Saturday, October 25, 3906.
           Year on Earth:  1506 A.D. 
       Phase of the Moon:  Waning Crescent
                  Season:  Fall
                 Weather:  Clouds
             Temperature:  Cool
*==========================================================================*

Rainbow Cavern - Korallion - Haven
     Refreshing waters fill this room, which is fashioned of coral and lit by 
  florescent, multi-colored algae. Decorating the walls is an elaborate scene 
  of guardsmen dressed in their finery, riding on the back of sea horses. The 
  mural itself begins at one end of the cavern and continues to the opening at 
  the other. Upon the other wall is a mural depicting a great feast on a large 
  table. Many merfolk swim and dance around the grand table set for the ten 
  Decemvirs--the kings of Atlantis. In the foreground is the famed city of 
  itself. All in all, this cavern seems well lit and frequently trafficked by 
  schools of brightly colored fish. The gentle pull of the current tugs at 
  you, beckoning for you to come into the next chamber.
     Above you is a small opening that allows dim light to enter the room, 
  presumably from the surface. Another opening at the far end of the cavern is 
  another opening, rimmed in an elaborate pattern of shells.
Contents:
Loire
Obvious exits:
Grotto Entrance <GE>  Surface <S>

The darkness of the cave is as restful as ever, the luminous growths and 
  phosphorescent fish providing most of the light, other than the dim glow of 
  the morning above as seen through the layers of rock above. Another shoal of 
  phosphorescent fish darts into the cavern, hundreds of tiny points of light 
  following one another through the waters, dancing delightfully as they 
  travel. Not far behind are more moving points of phosphorescence, but there 
  seems to be a great deal more cohesion, as if their patterns are fixed, 
  constant almost, on a single moving body. Twin slits of deep blue at front 
  and centre, about an eye-width apart, widen at the darkness, revealing 
  near-round circles with black centres. As the gleaming lights grow closer, 
  it can be seen that they really are eyes, delicate eyes still partially 
  closed against the levels of light here present. An Atlantean, it can be 
  seen, as she passes before a fungus.

Loire
Loire is a tall, thin Atlantean with seal-grey skin, a curiously heavy bone 
  structure and peculiar muscle tone. Spotted brown stripes run from her 
  temples to her toes, and in darkness the spots glow with pale pink and blue 
  phosphorescence, her main light-source in the ocean's depths. This Lirite's 
  face is generally expressionless, and she never speaks. Every gesture she 
  makes is both extravagant and abbreviated, and adjusting to the lack of 
  pressure in the lands of light still leaves her light-headed on occasion. 
  Deep blue eyes, also with their own phosphorescence, look out from an 
  ageless face. This Atlantean could be 25 or 65, and there are few ways to 
  tell that she has two adult children back in the Decemvir of Lir.

If the first Atlantean in this stretch of pool is a creature of dark deep 
  water, then the second one who enters it in a flash of moon-white skin and 
  pearlescent hair must surely be a shallow-dweller, for she moves with far 
  greater confidence -- and perhaps a far greater obvious restlessness as 
  well. Kaiulani's sleep has not been restful, and now at last, waiting for a 
  promised but unspecified Event to Come from her older sister, the young 
  Pandion has come out from the room she shares with Alamoana to swim in 
  slightly different waters. But when she dives in, something seems... 
  different, to her, and her query peals forth from her mind, curious, a bit 
  startled. *<Greeting?> <Search for someone else's presence?>*

A response is sent, a quiet and peaceful return of the greeting with a welcome 
  included. A name, the only actual words in the sending - *LeCaledonne Loire* 
  - and with it, the feeling of a slight smile and the indication that your 
  name need not be mentioned, if you wish it. There is an overlying hint that 
  this place, so peaceful and dark to surface eyes, is hideously bright to 
  this Atlantean; the symbol of the Decemvirate of Lir is offered as 
  explanation. Those two phosphorescent eyes turn to face you, and the twin 
  stripes in shades of pink, blue and green move to indicate that Loire is 
  swimming closer to you.

This maiden is never one to hide her identity; no, that's the province of 
  another, but he is not here, and for a fraction of an instant as she catches 
  a glimpse of this stranger, Kaiulani experiences a flare of disappointment 
  that you are not he. But it passes quickly, like foam at the top of a wave, 
  and the maiden readily sends her own mental signature: *Pandion Kaiulani.* 
  And she hovers there in the water, head tilted curiously at the figure that 
  emerges towards her out of the pool's darkest shadows.

As she comes into the light, Loire's phosphorescence fades under the assault 
  of the stronger lights about her. Her skin is grey, and she goes clad as an 
  Atlantean should where land-dweller principles can be safely ignored. There 
  is a hint of curiousity about the man you would prefer to be meeting, 
  submerged quickly beneath acknowledgement of the name of the Decemvir's 
  family.

Indeed, kin to the Decemvir, this maiden. She looks it too, pale as moonlight 
  and pearls -- but where Sarojin tends to be as remote as the moon that rides 
  so unfathomably high above the surface of the ocean, there's an openness to 
  this girl's expression and carriage, enough that her expression goes rueful 
  even through the swirls of near-white hair that drift around her face. 
  *Looking for someone else for a moment,* she sends, her thoughts heavily 
  flavored with sheepishness. The words form themselves in her thoughts with a 
  bit of effort, as though she's still practicing the mental discipline of 
  making them, but they come as well with a strong unshielded sense of the 
  intent behind them, giving her mind's voice layers through which to sift... 
  or to accept all at once in a resonant harmony. *<Expectation/hope, herself, 
  someone else here, quickly dismissed as folly in the light of seeing someone 
  new in the Korallion>* Her head tilts the other way, curiosity still 
  gleaming in her sea-green eyes. *You're a deep-dweller... yes? 
  <Recollection: tutorings, lessons, awareness of the various kinds of the 
  Children of Water, even if much of what she knows has been learned from 
  others rather than her own direct experience>*

An affirmative answer, with a shadow of the long months since the deep has 
  been seen, the blessed darkness and lack of the racket which passes for 
  communication Above. A shading of apology that Loire is not the one Kaiulani 
  seeks; a hint of amusement at the appetites of the young. There is 
  knowledge, the knowledge that Loire has been in Haven for many of Pasiphae's 
  cycles - and a hint of some great grief as the thing that drove her here, 
  into this alien world of light and noise. Loire again does not bother with 
  words, finding that there is no need - emotion, sensation, picture and the 
  occasional label is all that is required for any two being to communicate 
  sensibly. Words are for writings, not conversation. A question, of sorts - a 
  picture of Sarojin with you standing beside him at his request?

Settling a little deeper into the pool, Kai nibbles for a moment at her lower 
  lip, a physical echo of a pang of barely repressed sharp dismay that ripples 
  across her mind at the thought of the Pandion Decemvir. Then, negation. 
  Sarojin did not ask for her, but merely agreed to take her, at the behest of 
  her parents. But she seems to sense the taste of years in your thoughts, and 
  perhaps also the bemusement at the lander-like way she's been forming her 
  thoughts as of late. Respect tinges Kaiulani's proffered mind-voice, as she 
  makes an effort to quiet her mental presence even as she slides without 
  effort into pure wordless sharing. *<Query: yourself, in the lander city for 
  so long, but finding it so strange even still?> <Behind this, a fleeting 
  sense of acknowledgement of that long-ago grief, from which she discreetly 
  shies back>*

Every day, new things are found, each one stranger than the last. A source of 
  constant wonders, this city, a neverending supply of curiousities and 
  strangenesses. A touch of gratitude at your discretion, and profound thanks 
  for communicating in a proper fashion which is far more accurate, and 
  contains so much more than words even can. Deep blue eyes blink slowly, and 
  Loire shares the image of Pasiphae, casting phosphorescence upon the waves - 
  a blessing, of sorts, with an apology at the lateness of it.

A rueful little smile -- and again, it seems to echo the sheepish tinge of her 
  thoughts; has this girl begun to learn the nuances of expressions from the 
  landers? -- curls Kaiulani's mouth as she lets herself drift lazily down to 
  the bottom of the pool, hair floating in a radiant cloud about her head. 
  *<Pleasure/acceptance of the gratitude> <acknowledgement of the use of the 
  true-speak as infinitely easier and clearer and really only _polite_> <a 
  ripple of startlement, then gracious thanks for the blessing and return of 
  its like to you, though it's flavored with the sense that this maiden has no 
  true conception of Pasiphae past the knowledge that others call upon Her as 
  goddess>* Her thoughts might be bubbles, each of them distinct -- yet all 
  swirling together nevertheless on what appears to be the current of her 
  spirit welling up from within her.

In contrast, Loire's thoughts are more akin to a song - several different 
  trains of thought woven together into a glorious harmony, shades of meaning 
  weaving over and under the main theme to be heard as both part of and 
  seperate from the tune. Another image of Pasiphae is sent, together with the 
  knowledge that the Goddess is the Moon, and rules time and tide for every 
  Atlantean whether they acknowledge Her or not. There is no condemnation, but 
  there is a certain amount of confidence that once one has found the truth of 
  Pasiphae, one cannot turn away. Loire does not preach, but she is 
  exceedingly devout, and touches of her stalwart faith tint every thought on 
  the topic of the Goddess.

Will her mind reach that kind of layered glory, someday? Kaiulani's thoughts 
  well forth with an impulsive surge of appreciation -- for song and harmony, 
  whether of the mind or in the melding of voices and the strange wondrous 
  things called instruments that the landers use to make their music, seize 
  and resonate through the heart of the Pandion maiden. *<Desire for herself 
  to be able to touch such music in her mind> <Self-conception: disorganized, 
  flighty, frivolous> <Acknowledgement: splendor of the Moon -- witnessed 
  through her own eyes> <Query, for more; how has this one with whom she now 
  converses felt the touch of Pasiphae, herself?> <Willingness to be 
  convinced, young mind afire with curiosity and the desire to learn, but lack 
  of self-experience>*

The feeling of a smile, and the rather rueful knowledge that it her mother 
  would accept no less, although Loire was the same with her own. Loire grew 
  more organised as she grew older; she has no doubt that it will be the same 
  for you as it has been for every other young woman. A touch of 
  self-deprecation, and a picture of the Temple and the priests within, along 
  with the knowledge of where it lies. Loire is but a lay worshipper; such 
  questions are better answered by those who know more. But there is an answer 
  to one query - Pasiphae governs the tides of life and the magics of the 
  graisha, both of which Loire is intimately acquanted with - the image of a 
  shark surfaces, then flees.

Shark. That image, that concept, makes Kaiulani go still in body and mind 
  both. Her eyes squeeze closed. Her throat and gills flex once, shudderingly, 
  as a single clarion image bursts out of her mind: *<Memory: shark's shadow 
  overcoming her in the water>* Then, with an effort, she wrestles it back -- 
  and with it, wrestles her mind back towards something resembling order. 
  *<Self-directed embarrassment, awareness of the force of her thoughts> 
  <Awareness of the Temple, recent acquaintance of the High Priestess, the 
  First Acolyte>* A pause, and then, *<Query: Older Daughter of Water 
  knew/_is_ a shark graisha?>*

Knew. Beloved husband, gone now. His image, overlaid with dolphin; a little 
  later, overlaid with shark as well. Then, shark grows stronger until Loire's 
  husband is gone - and then (with a couple of years added), a dead shark, 
  blood billowing from a wound made by a trident. Deep sorrow, great grief, 
  undulled by the months that have passed. An apology - Loire did not mean to 
  show you so much, but the memories always overtake her. Sympathy with the 
  victim of a shark attack - Loire would have perished on her husband's teeth 
  had he not told her previously how to divert him. There is little order to 
  Loire's thoughts, but more of a sense of cohesiveness, several strands 
  twining together, bound together by their very nature, that they all came 
  from the one mind. Order is not necessarily something to be sought when one 
  need not think in words, in sentences, in sequence. Mind-to-mind, there is 
  so much transferred every moment that to impose order on it is to restrain 
  it, and ultimately to both deceive and distract the other. Thoughts order 
  themselves in the mind of the recipient - there is no need to order them 
  first. That is the true key to the twining harmony of thoughts - or so 
  thinks Loire, at least.

As she draws all of this into her, Kaiulani's features go rather less 
  expressive than they'd been before, showing now only a small crinkling up of 
  those delicate pale features, but this is almost incidental in the wave of 
  shock and heartfelt feeling that swells up from within her at those images. 
  Then, tentatively, she proffers up images of her own, along with a 
  suggestion of awareness that for all the force they hold for _her_, she 
  rather thinks that they can hardly compare to what she's just seen from you: 
  *<A young shark, teeth in her flesh, then suddenly gone> <A shadow surging 
  out of nowhere, ripping into the half-grown shark> <A cloud of blood on the 
  water, some of it hers, but most of it from the predator that would have 
  attacked her, in turn attacked itself> <Someone's arms bearing her up> <A 
  half-glimpsed face, before all goes dark>*

Sympathy, empathy. Both of those and more, as Loire has known the terror of 
  being alone with a shark. Pain shared is pain halved, the old saying goes, 
  and it may even be true - for here is someone who knows what you have gone 
  through, and has gone through something similar herself. And, over all, the 
  heartfelt feeling that Pasiphae must love you indeed, that you had such 
  timely help in your hour of need.

*<Uncertainty>* is the first thread of an answer to this, but shortly in its 
  wake come more mind-bubbles from Kaiulani, as her features crinkle up a 
  little further in her consternation. *<Memory: the shadow that saved her 
  from the shark, strangely familiar, haunting her all her life, never truly 
  seen> <Brand new realization: sent by Pasiphae?>*

Certainty is returned; definitely sent by Pasiphae, whether the half-seen 
  shadow realises it or not. All such things happen at Pasiphae's will - but 
  there is an acknowledgement attached that not all Pasiphaens are quite so 
  certain of the Goddess' intervention at such times. Loire is very devout, 
  and believes that the Goddess works through mortal agents as much as she 
  does by other means.

It's more than apparent that this concept has never once entered the girl's 
  head, and that it rattles her as surely as an earthshake stirs up great 
  waves within the ocean. Kaiulani's gaze drifts off for a moment, seeming to 
  look towards one of the many ornate decorations upon the walls of this 
  underwater cavern yet not really seeing it -- and then it snaps back again 
  towards the bright-eyed, dark-skinned woman from the deepest depths of the 
  Mother Water. More queries flows forth from her, asking for opinion, belief, 
  assurance. Do you believe that the Goddess, sending her such a protector, 
  would mean for _her_ to do something? Do you believe that if Pasiphae is 
  merciful... would She have allowed your husband to become a shark? Hard on 
  the heels of these urgent questions, tempering them somewhat, is an 
  afternote of apology for her fierceness -- but there is a blazing need to 
  find answers to these questions shining within her thoughts, now.

Loire cannot say what the Goddess means - Loire is only a mortal, after all. 
  But if the Goddess let Loire's husband change, and then die, there must have 
  been a purpose to it. Who knows what will happen later in life? And what 
  might you do, that she sent something to save you? Perhaps it was that you 
  would merely say something to someone else, or perhaps you will be the 
  savior of the world. Who can tell? Only Pasiphae. But Loire believes 
  absolutely that everything happens for a reason, however obscure that reason 
  may be.

Not something. Someone. Kaiulani sends a rock-solid assurance of this, for 
  she's seen him, nothing but glimpses, but enough to confirm his reality in 
  her mind. There's clearly more to this tale, but the girl restrains herself 
  with an effort from spilling forth too much of it at once -- and instead, 
  fixes that slightly crumpled visage upon you, the plaintive look in her 
  sea-green eyes given more weight and meaning by the emotions roiling around 
  behind them. *<Uncertainty of Pasiphae's reality, a far more ephemeral 
  concept for her than the arms that bore her up out of the waters where the 
  shark attacked her> <Desire, nevertheless, if Pasiphae is real, to seek Her 
  guidance -- and Her blessing and protection upon this shadow-savior of hers> 
  <Query: appropriate offering, to make to the Goddess?>*

Love. Love is all that Pasiphae seems to seek, although many people give more 
  material things as well, or sometimes instead of. There is a certainty that 
  although She sent someone on Her behalf, the arms that bore you up were Hers 
  as much as any other's, and a certainty that Pasiphae is real. What woman 
  has not felt the tug upon the heart when the moon rides high in the sky? 
  Loire is devout, alright. Very devout.

Heat rushes through Kaiulani's cheeks at that last -- oh, Waters, something's 
  tugging upon her heart, even here and now when the moon is not sight and the 
  great fires of the sun would be dominating the sky outside regardless. 
  *<Embarrassment/girlish curiosity> <a flash of an image someone shared with 
  her, a hand tossing forth flower petals upon the currents, his face 
  indistinct behind the movements of the water, but his hand young and lean 
  and strong> <desire! yearning! tug upon the heart!> <promise/pledge: 
  herself, going to the Temple, to speak with the High Priestess or First 
  Acolyte, to make an offering> <gratitude, for the advice>*

A sense of gentle amusement, the sharing of an all-encompassing love; the 
  sense that the advice was nothing, a pleasure to give.

*<Further promise: herself, considering what she has been told of Pasiphae>* 
  swells from the maiden's mind, and then she turns her gaze swiftly up 
  towards the surface of the pool, eyes widening. When Kaiulani's gaze then 
  comes back, she appends, regretfully, that she must withdraw. She is 
  summoned: an image of a young woman who looks not at all unlike her, lovely 
  and pale. Her sister.

Sympathy, and understanding; hope, and caring. All these Loire sends, along 
  with a gentle mental nudge. After all, one should not keep one's sister 
  waiting. And, running through the middle of it all, a hope to see you again, 
  to converse in a proper manner?

For a fleeting moment, the girl's features light up, a broad smile crossing 
  her face -- yes, that must be a smile, for all that it looks like she's 
  baring her teeth. From the emotions that shine forth from behind her eyes, 
  that expression must surely be intended as one of pleasure. 
  *<Reciprocation!> <Pleasure at the concept!> <Farewell, until that time>* 
  And with that, the maiden abruptly launches herself upward, in a swish of 
  bubbles and a kick of her dainty bare feet... to vanish up into the halls of 
  the Korallion.

[End log.]