queenofheartsrp | •>[video] no more shifting sands

[Bent close to the camera, are a pair of blue-within-blue eyes, and then, after a moment, a bright smile. Her hand flashes to her lips to conserve moisture as she lets out a delighted laugh. It works!]

Ah, so that is what I must do. Thank you for working so nicely. [She tilts her head slightly, back and forth, as if deciding if she's comfortable. Arha frowns lightly and then sits cross legged, making sure she is still within view.]

So, I am in a new place--like before, when I should have died in the cold of space, and found myself in the desert sands. It is so green, here. My Mothers-Within, those who are Fremen, they say it is a wonder--while those who are not say it is strange and I should be wary. Why should I jump at shadows? I see this vine-thing, how it forms a speaking instrument, and I know that in this place I am not alone. I can see that you see me, too!

Hello to you, whomever you might be. [She flashes a quick wave and is all smiles.]

I am curious, always, about this place. I do not need my stillsuit here, not as such--the wind is not fierce and the heat, too, is different. There is so much moisture and so many water-fat creatures--they are not of the wildness of my desert, and they are not my Shai-Hulud--but they are a fascinating things.

[she pauses, her eyes wide as she thinks]

Is there to be a thing called an ocean? With the waves? This, I think, I would like to know, for I have not yet found it.

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It is a challenging life. The desert takes you into itself and you become a living, breathing piece of it. [Her blue-within-blue eyes are sharply intelligent, but are offset by the easy smile that is always a second away from bursting to life]

I can smell this ocean--it is in the wind. Too, I smell fresh soil, wet earth. It is not a familiar scent, save to my Mothers-Within. They know the scent of fresh turned fields, though I was not born to such things. The lives of those women who have lived before me--this I know.

[She listens attentively, nods in understanding.] It's green where I live, like here, but my family are from a drier place.

You're connected to them? The women before you?

They are here [Arha brushes her forefingers against her temples.], all of them. All of the women in my line--all who were, like, myself, either Sayyadina--such is the Fremen equivalent-- or Reverend Mother. They took the Spice Melange, went through the Agony, and changed the Water of Life within their bodies. They survived, as I did.

[Her wave is almost lazy, a possible shrug.]

You know not of Spice. I shall tell you of this thing. For so long as there has been Arrakis and Shai-Hulud, there has been the Spice. It is a narcotic, life improving, vitality enhancing, life extending, with the scent of bitter cinnamon. Daily usage of spice will extend life for hundreds of years. It is a release of the mind, an expanding thing. In my universe, possessing the Spice is a sign of wealth and it is the currency on which all things run.

[She folded her hands neatly, her voice rolling and lilting as she told her story. It was a brief primer, a history.]

Without spice, there would be no translight travel, for the great Guild Heighliners cannot move without the assistance of the Guild Navigators. They are beings--one can hardly call them human, for they resemble things that are called fishes on the water-heavy worlds. They float within a gaseous mixture of spice and ahve been heavily changed by it. They are so affected that they go into a 'spice trance'--such enables them to see the traslight passages connecting places to each other. Thus, too, they use the machines to move fron one spot to the next, one world to the next.

[Arha gestured simply, from one space to the next.]

Spice is also used for The Agony. This is a ritual performed in different ways by the Fremen, who are of my planet Arrakis, and the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit are a highly organized sect of women who seek to safeguard Humanity passage through histry. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes, I fear that they have yet lost their way and shape that path with only themselves in mind. But, to them, I was given as a babe, and with them I was raised. [Arha shook her head slightly.]

The ritual, yes.

It involves an "illuminating poison" used to elevate consciousness and unlock genetic memory. The Bene Gesserit survivors of this deadly ordeal--if you cannot change the poison in your body, it is certain death--are then known as Reverend Mothers. Since I am both Fremen and Bene Gesserit, I am...Reverend Mother, Sayyadina, too. It is a complicated connection, but I have full access to the women who came before myself.

Edited 2011-01-13 19:00 (UTC)

[Mahalia is a good student, endlessly curious, and she listens carefully through the woman's explanation, absorbing everything. There are many terms and ideas she's not familiar with, and she's practically brimming with questions by the end, but the woman is still a stranger and she doesn't want to appear rude, tries to keep herself contained.]

I'm connected to my family too. Not like that, though. My brothers and sisters, they're still alive, it's just a... feeling, knowing things, awareness.

[She doesn't linger on the thought too long, knows she's usually far away from the majority of her family, but never quite like this, and how upset she is over the matter is something she's barely keeping under control as it is.

She dips her head slightly before continuing - Reverend Mother and Sayyadina sounding like titles that should be treated with respect.]

Your world is very different from mine. It sounds amazing, truly amazing. I don't have much to share, but I'd love to learn more sometime, if you wouldn't mind telling me.

If you would wish more knowledge of my world, I would be pleased to speak of it.

Thank you. [She smiles a little.] Someone told me I should try to see this as an opportunity to learn about others worlds, rather than something bad.

You are very welcome. I do not think this is so very bad. The last time something even close to this happened I woke up in the middle of a desert! [Her eyes go wide as she gestures.] This is no desert and there is much in the way of food and shelter, so...it is not the worst it could be. Keeping yourself occupied with learning, this is a good thing.

•>[video] no more shifting sands

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