When the first breath of winter through the flowers is icing
And you look to the north and a pale moon is rising
Lyra was enjoying her time in Novus; the lands posed interesting rambles and the creatures she had met so far on her travels have been intriguing yet kind. She was reminded that souls could be generous and polite in their manners and it allowed her to feel a little lighter in her existence. By her very nature, Lyra sometimes struggled with day to day functions such as keeping herself hygienic or checking up on her fellow realm mates. It had been a couple of days since she had last conversed with another equine and so she was hoping that a commute to the veneror peak would allow her to delve into a more spiritual conversation with someone.
She wasn't exactly the religious type, yet the midnight blue and black vixen didn't write off the idea of a higher power. In simpler terms, she was agnostic and prone to conversion or ignorance all the same. Hoofbeats echoed upon the cold stone floor as Lyra moved up the slope. She liked to believe there was someone more powerful up there in the heavens but then..what would that mean? It would mean the gods didn't give a damn about anyone but themselves, they watch as children suffer and wars are waged. Why would anyone worship them?
One might assume that caring for the altars left little to one's day, but their job was more than simply making sure everything was in working order. It was also their job to tend to those who came to visit. Their job to look upon offerings left for the gods and make sure that they were well cared for in the time since those who had left them stayed away. Their job to not only monitor, but to make sure that the surrounding area was cared for, to make sure that things were in better condition than they had been when they began their work. To improve, not only to watch over.
They had gone walking through the many twisting passageways that lined the mountain, exploring some of the inner depths of open caverns with naught but a flame borrowed from one of the altars to light the way. They had happened upon some naturally pigmented stone, and had tucked some chunks into their satchel to bring back with them.
A small bowl of water later, the bowl simply borrowed from an altar to be washed and returned later, and they had rudimentary paint. It was a yellow-orange color, and while they knew it would be a pain to clean later, they had found a secondary use for their polish rag as a brush of some sort, twisting it up telekinetically and dipping the end in.
Now, they were no artist, but simple shapes were easy enough for anyone, and so the stallion was in the midst of gently inscribing a blazing sun on a fairly flat surface of one of the walls, an image for the day god, when hoofsteps approached. Later they would see if they could not find some paler pigments within the caverns to allow them to paint a moon for Calligo. They supposed they could also make the dawn and the dusk with the yellow, but that would be a task they would have to think more on to decide how to go about it. The sun and the moon were simple constructs that they could create with their limited art skills.
But to the more relevant matter at hoof, they turned to look over their shoulder as the steps grew louder, adding the finishing touch to the stroke they were making and then wringing the cloth over the bowl so that no paint might drip. They set the cloth down on the lip of the bowl and left the half-finished sun to dry where it was, the stallion gently tucking the paint and cloth in a corner where it might not get knocked over as a figure came into view.
A soft snort emanated from the stallion at the figure's approach, a gentle smile curving their lips as they nodded in greeting, their voice quiet amidst the holy silence of the altars as they took a few soft steps forward, enough to signal their willingness to come further over if their presence was wished, but not enough to crowd or make the other feel as though their presence was being forced upon her.
"What brings you here today, my child?"
@Lyra
OOC: You post in Veneror and it's not private, you get a Beni, that's just how it works man
Lyra was not expecting anyone really to be here or at the very least..someone that wanted to speak with her. She was a shy creature of habit and nothing would really ever change that. Still she looked at the stallion for a moment in slight surprise, not sure how to answer his question at all. Why was she here? It wasn't really to worship any of the gods though she was curious about them. Novus was not her homeland so she didn't know nearly as much about them as natives would, though she probably knew Calligo a little better thanks to living in Denocte.
"I suppose..mere curiosity. I am not a native to these lands and so I don't really know much about the gods here. At least not enough to know whether I believe in them or not." She answered honestly as she glanced around the area for a moment. Remembering her manners she offered the male a slight smile, "I am Lyra by the way." After all it was only polite to introduce herself at least.
They listened to her words with an attentive ear, nodding their head with a soft snort at her introduction.
"I am Beni, my child. I tend to these altars."
The blue roan stallion turned their face to the altars, tossing their head to gesture to the display and to draw her attention to them.
"If you wish to take a closer look at the altars to help sate your curiosity, then you may find the altar of Oriens, Solis, Vespera, and Caligo in turn."
They pointed to each altar with a hoof as they spoke, indicating which one belonged to which god as they said the name.
"And of course, if you should have any questions or things you wish to know, you may simply ask. As I have dedicated my life to the gods of this world, and spend my days attending to these altars, I should think that I ought to be able to answer any questions you might have, or at least take a good estimation of what the answer might be."
They smiled at that, taking a few steps away to try and indicate that the mare may take her leave to look at the altars on her own if she wished, or she may call Beni back to her so that they might be able to elaborate on anything that confused her. Their stone gray hooves tapped lightly against the mountain as they moved.
"There is no shame in not knowing or not being certain of your beliefs, and no shame in asking for more information in order learn, for how will you ever know what you believe if you do not ask?"
They gave what amounted to a small bow, stepping a few more steps back and turning their body so that their face was to the woman, before rising back up and watching what she should choose to do.
"I am at your disposal should you ask for my assistance, my child."
