1st Ashan, 721
Quietly, Bao walked into the big temple, wrapped in the robes he typically wore as he did so. Around, small crowds were praying and placing offerings, the Red Panda respecting their quiet as he looked at all the beautiful stained glass. Across the room, a Tunawa was discussing something with a human, both keeping quiet. When the Tunawa noticed Bao glancing their way he simply smiled, nodding his head to the Red Panda - who then returned the gesture.
Truth be told, Bao didn't worship any immortal other than Saoire, but that was through a lack of knowledge. Admittedly, he had heard stories of them from his mother and friends but hadn't really thought much of it. To all of them, for all the good they had done, he was grateful. Perhaps it was naive and uninformed, but it was how he felt. Every Immortal had to have created something, some concept or being. Even if the concept was a negative one, if it was something that caused bad in the world, he had always been raised on the belief that there was a place for evil. Without evil, Bao thought, how would anybody know what was truly good?
As he searched for a place to worship he couldn't contain the awe that covered his eyes, reflecting the beautiful light that shone through the stained glass. It was still cold after Cylus, but they could see again and know when it was daytime. That much, at least, Bao could be grateful for. As pretty as Cylus had been he missed the normality of daytimes and the light that came with it, missed being able to go out and not feel like every stroll was a midnight one. Both had their place in the world, but he was glad to see Cylus go and to move onto a new Season.
Finding an empty spot, Bao quietly knelt down and closed his eyes, not wishing to disturb any of the others with questions about Immortals. Perhaps he would find somebody he could ask if he looked hard enough, but right now he would leave them to their prayer until somebody obvious presented themself as free to talk to. With his eyes closed and thoughts running free he focused on Saoire for a moment, giving his usual prayer and thanking her for the life that he was given at her hands. As he prayed he almost meditated, letting his body relax and focusing on his mind alone. In his prayer, he explained all that had happened, the friends he had made while going to get hot cocoa, the friends he made across the many festivals he had visited, and all of the singing he had been doing. Then, to end his prayer, he promised he was keeping safe and peaceful and would do his best to look out for anyone who needed it.
That was, after all, the one thing he hoped to do for Idalos.
Once he had finished his prayer he sat his eyes up a moment, hearing small footsteps from behind him. As he glanced back he saw the same Tunawa that had nodded at him earlier, still wearing the welcome smile he had been when Bao came in. "I hope I'm not disrupting you at all?" he asked, stepping forward and looking up to Bao. "My name is Stan, and I believe you're new to the temple? I imagine I would remember seeing a person as fluffy as yourself entering our temple" the Tunawa smiled widely, his tone uplifting and happy.
"Bao, it's nice to meet you" he grinned wide and sat himself down to face Stan, the two significantly smaller than everyone else around. Stan curiously stood and looked to Bao, placing himself close to the Cadouri so they could talk quietly without disrupting anyone. "Tell me, Bao, what brings you here today? Just prayer, an offering, some questions maybe?" the Tunawa asked with intent, watching Bao as he entered and seeing both the awe and wonder in his eyes. Stan had, after recent events, heard of the Cadouri too - so he knew how they had come to be.
Bao considered for a moment, wondering exactly why he had come here aside from the adventure of it all. After a few trills of thought, he gave his answer. "I want to visit all of Scalvoris, but the Temple was for more. I want to give thanks to Saoire, as I always do, and to learn. About the Immortals. Saoire taught us little, said we would learn as we went, and focused on teaching us the way of the world. So I want to learn who they are, the people above that look down on us, whoever they may be" he explained with a small smile, knowing he sounded naive to anyone who had lived on Idalos for a long time. Yet Stan simply smiled with a warm, satisfied look on his face - as if the answer was the one he wanted to hear.
"Well, Bao. If I may?" he asked, Bao nodding as the Tunawa stepped forward and took his paw with his own hand, looking up to the Red Panda with the same warm expression. "For a moment, forget the Immortals, forget what you do and don't know about them, and answer me one simple question. What do you want from Idalos? What can this place give you that you desire and crave, that your heart desires so much it could keep you up at night?"
Pondering, the Cadouri looked to Stan with a blank and thoughtful expression. It was a hard question to answer on the fly, even when he had goals so blatantly clear. It went deeper than that. His goals were one thing, but the thing that kept him up at night was another, the craving in his heart that made him want to get out of bed each morning. After a long thought, Stan waiting patiently through all of it, Bao shuffled where he sat and looked to the stained glass that stood tall and proud.
"I want to see people at their best and help people at their worst. I want to protect people, without hurting anyone - to help evil become good and to show people how beautiful life is" he explained with a passion, a fire burning in his chest for good, yet keeping his voice down a little. "But I guess I want friends too, more than anything. What's the fun in an adventure without the people to share it with, right?" he asked, almost looking for reassurance as Stan simply nodded and beamed back at the Cadouri, almost proud of the answer he just heard. As much as he didn't say it out loud, Stan didn't hide the admiration he had for the Cadouri on his face when interacting with them.
After a moment of that smile, Stan finally gave some answer. "Well, let's start with a few, shall we? But you, Bao, should take what I say and then go find your own route. Don't take these as your Immortals because I say so, but take them as suggestions to help lead you to the right people, alright?" the Tunawa started, Bao nodding in agreement at it. Once he saw Bao agree the priest was willing to continue.
"Cassion, he represents stories and adventure. For an explorer like you, if you wish to truly see everything, he's wonderful. Ashan, the immortal that gave this season its very name - freedom. Spirits, freedom. He stands for all of those. Ziell, the Immortal of Winter and Peace. An Immortal that stands by those who wish to see the good in others, someone who wants peace for all. Finally, Pier and Pre, the immortals of justice and equality. All very fitting picks for you, Bao. All you have to do is find which one belongs in your life. Maybe it's only one, maybe it's all of them. That much, my friend, is up to you."
Curious, Bao looked to the priest with a questioning look. "Why did you wish to tell me all of this, why approach me to begin with?" Bao asked, clearly meaning no offense. Stan, not taking any, merely smiled at the question and pat the back of Bao's paw. "Because sometimes, all someone needs is a push in the right direction and they'll be on their way."
Satisfied with that answer, Bao nodded and stood himself up, offering his paw to the small Tunawa. "Thank you, friend" the panda smiled, unusually quiet compared to his normal self yet entirely happy as expected. Stan took the paw without a moment of hesitation, shaking it and smiling. "It was my pleasure, Bao. You're always welcome back here" he nodded, bowing his head to the Cadouri before making his way to others in the temple, leaving Bao behind to pause for a moment.
One day, soon, he would be back. He would pray, to some Immortals, or perhaps to all of them that wished to listen. But right now he was satisfied with what he had learned and what doors they may have opened. If he could find new Immortals to pray to and offer his thanks to then he would do so without hesitation, reward or expectation. That was part of prayer as far as he was concerned. It was more than just praying in the hope of recognition, but praying to thank for what he had been given.
Smiling wide, Bao made his way outside of the temple, giving one final bow to Stan as he left - the Tunawa seeing and returning it.
Truth be told, Bao didn't worship any immortal other than Saoire, but that was through a lack of knowledge. Admittedly, he had heard stories of them from his mother and friends but hadn't really thought much of it. To all of them, for all the good they had done, he was grateful. Perhaps it was naive and uninformed, but it was how he felt. Every Immortal had to have created something, some concept or being. Even if the concept was a negative one, if it was something that caused bad in the world, he had always been raised on the belief that there was a place for evil. Without evil, Bao thought, how would anybody know what was truly good?
As he searched for a place to worship he couldn't contain the awe that covered his eyes, reflecting the beautiful light that shone through the stained glass. It was still cold after Cylus, but they could see again and know when it was daytime. That much, at least, Bao could be grateful for. As pretty as Cylus had been he missed the normality of daytimes and the light that came with it, missed being able to go out and not feel like every stroll was a midnight one. Both had their place in the world, but he was glad to see Cylus go and to move onto a new Season.
Finding an empty spot, Bao quietly knelt down and closed his eyes, not wishing to disturb any of the others with questions about Immortals. Perhaps he would find somebody he could ask if he looked hard enough, but right now he would leave them to their prayer until somebody obvious presented themself as free to talk to. With his eyes closed and thoughts running free he focused on Saoire for a moment, giving his usual prayer and thanking her for the life that he was given at her hands. As he prayed he almost meditated, letting his body relax and focusing on his mind alone. In his prayer, he explained all that had happened, the friends he had made while going to get hot cocoa, the friends he made across the many festivals he had visited, and all of the singing he had been doing. Then, to end his prayer, he promised he was keeping safe and peaceful and would do his best to look out for anyone who needed it.
That was, after all, the one thing he hoped to do for Idalos.
Once he had finished his prayer he sat his eyes up a moment, hearing small footsteps from behind him. As he glanced back he saw the same Tunawa that had nodded at him earlier, still wearing the welcome smile he had been when Bao came in. "I hope I'm not disrupting you at all?" he asked, stepping forward and looking up to Bao. "My name is Stan, and I believe you're new to the temple? I imagine I would remember seeing a person as fluffy as yourself entering our temple" the Tunawa smiled widely, his tone uplifting and happy.
"Bao, it's nice to meet you" he grinned wide and sat himself down to face Stan, the two significantly smaller than everyone else around. Stan curiously stood and looked to Bao, placing himself close to the Cadouri so they could talk quietly without disrupting anyone. "Tell me, Bao, what brings you here today? Just prayer, an offering, some questions maybe?" the Tunawa asked with intent, watching Bao as he entered and seeing both the awe and wonder in his eyes. Stan had, after recent events, heard of the Cadouri too - so he knew how they had come to be.
Bao considered for a moment, wondering exactly why he had come here aside from the adventure of it all. After a few trills of thought, he gave his answer. "I want to visit all of Scalvoris, but the Temple was for more. I want to give thanks to Saoire, as I always do, and to learn. About the Immortals. Saoire taught us little, said we would learn as we went, and focused on teaching us the way of the world. So I want to learn who they are, the people above that look down on us, whoever they may be" he explained with a small smile, knowing he sounded naive to anyone who had lived on Idalos for a long time. Yet Stan simply smiled with a warm, satisfied look on his face - as if the answer was the one he wanted to hear.
"Well, Bao. If I may?" he asked, Bao nodding as the Tunawa stepped forward and took his paw with his own hand, looking up to the Red Panda with the same warm expression. "For a moment, forget the Immortals, forget what you do and don't know about them, and answer me one simple question. What do you want from Idalos? What can this place give you that you desire and crave, that your heart desires so much it could keep you up at night?"
Pondering, the Cadouri looked to Stan with a blank and thoughtful expression. It was a hard question to answer on the fly, even when he had goals so blatantly clear. It went deeper than that. His goals were one thing, but the thing that kept him up at night was another, the craving in his heart that made him want to get out of bed each morning. After a long thought, Stan waiting patiently through all of it, Bao shuffled where he sat and looked to the stained glass that stood tall and proud.
"I want to see people at their best and help people at their worst. I want to protect people, without hurting anyone - to help evil become good and to show people how beautiful life is" he explained with a passion, a fire burning in his chest for good, yet keeping his voice down a little. "But I guess I want friends too, more than anything. What's the fun in an adventure without the people to share it with, right?" he asked, almost looking for reassurance as Stan simply nodded and beamed back at the Cadouri, almost proud of the answer he just heard. As much as he didn't say it out loud, Stan didn't hide the admiration he had for the Cadouri on his face when interacting with them.
After a moment of that smile, Stan finally gave some answer. "Well, let's start with a few, shall we? But you, Bao, should take what I say and then go find your own route. Don't take these as your Immortals because I say so, but take them as suggestions to help lead you to the right people, alright?" the Tunawa started, Bao nodding in agreement at it. Once he saw Bao agree the priest was willing to continue.
"Cassion, he represents stories and adventure. For an explorer like you, if you wish to truly see everything, he's wonderful. Ashan, the immortal that gave this season its very name - freedom. Spirits, freedom. He stands for all of those. Ziell, the Immortal of Winter and Peace. An Immortal that stands by those who wish to see the good in others, someone who wants peace for all. Finally, Pier and Pre, the immortals of justice and equality. All very fitting picks for you, Bao. All you have to do is find which one belongs in your life. Maybe it's only one, maybe it's all of them. That much, my friend, is up to you."
Curious, Bao looked to the priest with a questioning look. "Why did you wish to tell me all of this, why approach me to begin with?" Bao asked, clearly meaning no offense. Stan, not taking any, merely smiled at the question and pat the back of Bao's paw. "Because sometimes, all someone needs is a push in the right direction and they'll be on their way."
Satisfied with that answer, Bao nodded and stood himself up, offering his paw to the small Tunawa. "Thank you, friend" the panda smiled, unusually quiet compared to his normal self yet entirely happy as expected. Stan took the paw without a moment of hesitation, shaking it and smiling. "It was my pleasure, Bao. You're always welcome back here" he nodded, bowing his head to the Cadouri before making his way to others in the temple, leaving Bao behind to pause for a moment.
One day, soon, he would be back. He would pray, to some Immortals, or perhaps to all of them that wished to listen. But right now he was satisfied with what he had learned and what doors they may have opened. If he could find new Immortals to pray to and offer his thanks to then he would do so without hesitation, reward or expectation. That was part of prayer as far as he was concerned. It was more than just praying in the hope of recognition, but praying to thank for what he had been given.
Smiling wide, Bao made his way outside of the temple, giving one final bow to Stan as he left - the Tunawa seeing and returning it.
