[Quest] on the sun-soaked sand

[Random Events]

bright and cheery, even on a cool fall day

It was like neverland.

Despite the season, the beach always seemed so blissful, so sunny, so alive. Terminus was a home to many, even though Novus had yet to see their lands graced by those with fins. But did that ever stop anyone?

Truth be told, Terminus was beautiful and tragic all in the same moment. The sea, unforgiving in all its ways, swallowed the beach whole every high tide. The foam licked the sharp, jagged rocks; the current drug creatures out to sea - or worse, against those very rocks. But low tide brought a change, like another face to a beautiful woman with a terrible personality.

The beach was not unlike knowledge. Just when you thought you knew it all, had it all.. it could be ripped out from underneath you without a trace of anything that came before it. Knowledge sometimes begets violence.. and the Terminus sea was beautiful in its anger.

But in its beauty, it was easy to forget. Easy to be swallowed whole, to be so taken by the way the water moved and flowed so in tune with everything else. 

It was part of the reason why Oriens loved the sea itself so much. How he longed to be able to walk the beach itself, to touch the ragged face of Praistigia again.. but Tempus himself forbid it.

And so he was left, watching from above, all but unknown to the inhabitants. Wasn't that silly? That the god that embodied knowledge and learning be forgotten by the very people he sought to take care of?

On some days, he heard Novus calling to him; louder and more insistent than the days before. He would never directly go against his Father and interact with the mortals under his care. 

But nothing stopped him from leaving little gifts.

- - -

Oriens had watched Pan, in all his youthful cheer and zeal. It warmed his soul, to find someone so pure and so curious. But Oriens' heart ached. Without the gods - without Oriens himself - would this world taint Pan? Would it lead him down the wrong path? 

He knew the boy loved the beach, and knew he collected many trinkets. His heart yearned to bestow a gift that might help Pan in his trek through life... but for fear of Tempus' wrath, Oriens himself knew that his gift could not be so obvious.. but still, he hoped. And on one of the rocks, he placed a shell unlike anything those of Novus had ever seen. The life of the creature that inhabited it - a species Oriens knew as Angaria Sphaerula - was brief and tumultuous, but the fruits of its efforts were truly spectacular.

Oriens could only hope that Pan would wander along the beach like he had so many other days, and discover this gift from a giver he would never know.

- - - - - -

When, and if, Pan explores along the beach, he will happen upon a small, muted pink shell no more than 2 inches across. A rare find, indeed! But upon touching it, the sensation it produces will be even more extraordinary that its looks. It will almost feel like a static shock, ringing every nerve from Pan's nose to his hooves.. and will produce a light thrumming feeling in his chest. Is it pain, some other unknown feeling, or... 

wait? Why does Pan feel so alive?

---

If @Pan wanders along the Terminus beach in low-tide, he will discover upon a shell from the Angaria sphaerula sea snail, laying innocuously atop a rock. Should he touch it, he will feel a static shock, every nerve in his body alight. You may have Pan realize that this gift bestowed immortality on him - immediately, at a later time, or you may choose it so that he never actually becomes aware of his immortality. 

The shell itself has no magical properties any longer, and Pan has no sure-fire way of knowing that this gift is from the gods, let alone Oriens. The shell may be given away or discarded at any point, and will have no affect on Pan's immortality. Giving the shell to another character will not grant them immortality, either.

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Once you respond, Pan's immortality will become effective.

If you wish to have Pan begin aging again: contact staff. If he becomes mortal again, you won't be able to re-instate his immortality without purchasing it again through the Agora. 

Enjoy! -inkbone

[Pan]

The day was young and the tide washed out to sea, pushing away from the sand and leaving a myriad of treasures laying upon the golden sand.  It was Pan’s favorite time of day, when he could be alone with his thoughts and left to his lonesome at the sea.  For a social creature, this might seem odd… but there was something so peaceful to the child about walking along the breaking tide with nothing but the washing sound of waves against his feet and the quiet chitter of sandpipers to distract him from collecting his prizes.  In the morning, the sun was breaking low and bright against the horizon, painting the world with a wash of pastel pinks and muted golds, and Pan knew it would be another perfect day.  If only he could stay on the shore forever, pushing away his need for duties and politics in the herd, and just simply existing as the child he was born to be.

He sighs through his smile, passing over sea debris in favor of more curious things – a human button from some coat long washed ashore, half buried in the murky sand; a curious rock that seemed the shape of a small bird (though this was really more his imagination than anything else).  They went into his satchel and jingled against the rest of his treasures as he wandered deeper and deeper into the land surrounded by the sea.  

The water was cold against his legs, making him feel so alive, and he shivered a bit, but does not turn from the waves.  For just as Pan understood that Autumn had come to Novus, he knew that next would be the winter… and that soon enough, the days of pale sunlight and quiet wonder along the shore would have to be shelved in favor of the coming storms and snows.  It wasn’t that Pan disliked the winter (for the cold had its own wonders and beauty, if he really thought about it), but he much preferred the longer days and brighter summer memories.  If he had his way, the fair-weathered child would stay in a place that was warm and tropical (like his Neverland), forever.

His thoughts died out as the sun glinted mysteriously on a shell, so different from the others.  It sat upon a large stone, worn smooth by the tide, and immediately Pan was drawn toward it like a moth to a flame.  Of course, he had no way of knowing that the small and delicate shell was put here for him to find expressly – and especially had no way of knowing that it was Oriens who had placed it in his path… but he knew that it was something wonderful – something special.  He had a number of unique pieces in his collection, but immediately Pan knew this shell would be his most prized, and he carefully made his way to the rock, staring at it for a moment before reaching down to carefully collect it between his silken lips.

The moment he touched it, there was a strange sensation which ran through him.  In that moment, Pan had never felt more alive, and the rush of youth crept through him.  His eyes grew brighter – wider and more aware.  The fur on his body seemed to stand on end, and he shivered with a new wave of excitement and wonder.  Surely, the shell must have magical powers.  He decided that to be the case, even as he wrapped its delicate shape in a swath of kelp that lay near it on the sand.  Collecting the kelp-wrapped treasure, he laid it gingerly in his satchel, deciding at once that he needed to find somewhere safer to store his new-found prize.  Looking around, Pan was pleased to note that he was still alone and that no one had witnessed his wondrous find, and made the mental note to tell his BFF Flora everything, the next time they met.

Pan

Dawn Court

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@Random Events