Prayers to the Feminine Divine

A

pale sliver of silvery moon hung low on the horizon, and the night found Rhiannon alone. A full moon was only days away, and while the moon’s cycle would undoubtedly be celebrated with her Sisters, on this night, the woman of wind and darkness was in deep reflection. She sat as still as a statue, with her charcoal and silver-kissed pelt lending credence to the notion that she was nothing more than a figure carved from stone. Her delicate chin was tilted backward as if she were looking at the stars in the firmament, but her amethyst sights were closed as she spoke to the heavens and the unseen:

”In the dark of night
You guide me
By moonlight.
In winter’s depths
On mountain peaks
In the wild forests
To bring me closer to you.
Before life
And that which comes after,
In love
In loss
Seeker of wisdom,
Cerridwen, I call to thee!”

Here, the fae fell silent again as a cold breeze swept past her, and her fur became wild. Her eyes opened, and she was smiling warmly. ”Mother Cerridwen, bless and guide me on my journey of transformation and change. You are the dark goddess who sees all, who knows all.”

But the final word had scarcely left her tongue when a sound caught her attention, pulling the femme from her meditative state. Her brows turned downward into a glare as she peeked around for any sign of her own kind, but the wind did not carry any such scent. Violet orbs strained against the darkness of the twilight. The fae, though of average size, showed no signs of fear for what could be lurking in the depths of the forest.


@Nassar

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

“Do you know what you've done?" Nassar hissed as she stared at a maple tree, the bark thick and healthy, the base bathed in snow. Although these trees did not lose their leaves in winter, they had fewer of them and many rotted upon the ground and stained her paw prints a rusted orange. Amber eyes glared at the twisted face of the old tree as if it harbored her late husband's image. “Falling in battle? To a heathen that had never been formally trained?" Gray ears flicked back and she felt the urge to bite at the tree. The only thing that stopped her was the absurdity. “I know you did not truly love them," Nassar hissed, careful to keep her voice low. “But you left four children behind. Fatherless." The fur along her nape ruffled and tears welled within her eyes. Their marriage had been a loveless one for the last two years but he had been her closest companion. He had known her so well that it felt like a part of her heart had been torn from her chest and buried at the base of this maple. “I just..." can't understand. A shaky, ragged breath filled her lungs and her eyes squeezed shut. She had come with a purpose that had yet to be fulfilled. Foolish as it sounded, she had come to tell him of her betrothal to Kvothe. Nassar knew he could not hear her here for his soul had been judged months ago, and yet. ...Shaking her head, Nassar took a step back. Her hind paw crushed a dying leaf and the sound caused needles to prink all along her flank and side. Precious few seconds passed and then she had the uncanny feeling that eyes were staring at her. Whipping around, Nassar drank in the scent that the wind offered. It was only a wild stroke of luck that she happened to be down wind in this moment. Along with the standard scents of foliage, so too was there a woman's perfume. She stepped around a tree and soon found herself face to face with a monochrome woman, one with violet eyes. Nassar stiffened out of instinct and quelled the sudden urge to bark demands. This was not the barracks, she was not Lieutenant Major here. “Carry on with your business," she said with as neutral a voice as she could muster. “And I'll carry on with mine." A gray ear flicked and she offered a small nod. Hopefully that would be all. “You seemed to replace your brain with your heart ."

ART➤Amphi STOCK ➤ Dawnthieves

@Rhiannon

R

hiannon was not entirely surprised that her ritual had been interrupted. What did catch the fae off guard, however, was the grave expression and low voice of the other femme: “Carry on with your business, and I'll carry on with mine." The direct words were accompanied by a curt nod, with no hint of kindness or civility. But this was not entirely surprising to Rhiannon, who had come to expect certain behaviors, arrogance and dominance from a good portion of the population that called the great island their homelands.


After a tense moment or two, Rhiannon returned the flat expression with a smile that etched itself slowly across her delicate muzzle. ”And well met to you, as well, stranger,” she offered, with no attempts made to reduce her sarcasm. ”You have happened upon my business.” She continued, still smiling pleasantly, ”You can see why I am here, but what of you?” She did not anticipate an answer, or at least, a response that would be truthful, if her judgment was accurate and this was one of those wolves that had aligned themselves with chaos and control. They acted as if they owned the very ground they tread upon, a notion so preposterous that it nearly brought Rhiannon to ironic laughter, for who could own the earth that sustained them? Who could lay claim to an entire forest and call it theirs, when only nature could assert such dominance?


Slowly, Rhiannon sat back on her haunches, purple gaze affixed to the unknown woman as she shamelessly took her in -- bigger than Rhiannon, this was a beast built for the battlefield. Even in the pale moonlight, the other’s pelt was like fire, reminding Rhiannon of the shades of a vibrant sunrise. And the stranger’s eyes were embers, smoldering and mysterious.


@Nassar

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

A second passed, one in which amethyst eyes met amber, and Nassar turned to leave. No response was as good as agreement in times such as these. ”And well met to you, as well, stranger,” came the reply, expression flat save for the smug smile that traced pale lips. Many commanders of the army would have brushed off the remark and its subtext, choosing to scoff and carry on without wasting time on a civilian. Tiamat blood, however, ran hot and thick with pride. Nassar could not help but stiffen and look back, a thinly veiled warning in smoldering eyes. ... ”You can see why I am here, but what of you?" “I can see that you are here" Nassar responded, voice adopting a curt stiffness. “But not why. And perhaps that's a blessing," She turned fully now so that her muscular chest and sharp cheek bones were in full view of the more vulpine wolf. Where the dappled moonlight played upon the strangers fur, she looked ghostly and ethereal. “If a member of the Imperial Army takes interest in your activities, there is a chance they are illegal." And a suggestive and you don't want to be arrested, do you? followed silently after. But perhaps she had already fallen into this stranger's trap. She was speaking to her now, engaging when it was hardly worth her time or effort. And yet... it was a fine distraction. This stranger was so far separated from her late husband and newly betrothed that she could easily banish Kohl and Kvothe from her thoughts. “You seemed to replace your brain with your heart ."

ART➤Amphi STOCK ➤ Dawnthieves

@Rhiannon

"I

can see that you are here. But not why. And perhaps that's a blessing.” The muscular femme turned, with a physique crafted for conflict. But Rhiannon was undaunted. ”Oh, have you taken an interest in me? I am flattered, truly.” She cast a playful smile, though she anticipated her response would be construed as anything but playful. No matter.


“If a member of the Imperial Army takes interest in your activities, there is a chance they are illegal." If the title of warrior was meant to impress or intimidate Rhiannon, it had a different effect. Her facade, her posture did not suggest fear. Instead, a frown tugged at the corners of her dark lips at the realization of what she was dealing with: someone who had been repressed by duties. Someone who followed orders rather than living in authenticity.


”Is it illegal to feel the air in our fur, to enjoy the sensation of breath in our lungs?” Here, she paused, but she shared her thought, despite the risk: ”Or does your leader charge for air now, as well?”


”If honoring the feminine divine is illegal, then...” She merely shrugged her charcoal-splashed shoulder. Her eyes were fixed upon her fellow female’s eyes, unflinching. "The goddess remains, no matter the laws your master dictates."


@Nassar

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

”Oh, have you taken an interest in me? I am flattered, truly.” A furrow of the brow and the twitch of a sooty ear was all that Rhiannon earned in response. The Lieutenant Major did not respond well to jest and actively mistrusted those that chose to play with their words, wasting breath like rivers wasted water. Nassar felt the urge to leave then, to candidly dismiss the silvery wolf and carry on home—yet something stopped her. Was this woman going to peacefully carry on her business? Or was she a threat to the villagers here? At the wolf's goading, Nassar fought the urge to groan. "No, it is not illegal. Which is precisely why I did not stop you and why you are not coming back with me to the prison." The fur along her nape ruffled at the subtle challenges and consistent subliminal pandering to self-indulgent superiority. In those amethyst eyes was the glow of someone convinced that they were better, that they knew the way to enlightenment, or Krishna, or the Moon Goddess, or -insert entity here-. It was enough to drive Nassar to violence. "The goddess remains, no matter the laws your master dictates." "Lovely," Nassar snapped, resisting the ungodly urge to roll her eyes. "Well then," the Tiamat flicked her ears. "As I said, carry on. And do try to spare the rest of the Redwood from your charming personality." Anger was a fine distraction from pain and so perhaps she should have thanked the witch for her wayward comments and hand waving. - exit nassar unless stopped - “You seemed to replace your brain with your heart ."

ART➤Amphi STOCK ➤ Dawnthieves

@Rhiannon

P

rison? The playful smile was gone, replaced with something more akin to sympathy. In Rhiannon’s rushing thoughts, the stranger must not know what it was to just be, without an assigned title to wield like a wield, without orders to follow. The enchantress understood that she was no better or worse than any living thing, no more valuable or worthy than the living trees or smallest creature. All of them were interconnected.


Rhiannon’s heart sank as the stranger regarded her with mockery before her departure, and this time, the smoke-pelted priestess remained silent. She believed that others could change, but not unless they were aware of what needed changing. A soldier could never be truly free.


The woman had interrupted her sacred prayers, and for what? Rhiannon could not guess, but to every season was a purpose, and to each encounter there was meaning to be found. Undoubtedly, one goddess or another had sent this stoic creature in Rhiannon’s path. ”Out of the darkness of war must come the light,” she murmured to herself as she watched the fiery fighter depart. ”May Morrigan be on your side, sister.”


@Nassar

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck