[God Quest] in screaming color

As the sky opens up and pulls me in
I can see, I can breathe, I can feel again

So much had happened in the weeks since she'd first visited Vi. When she'd first come before the god, Sohalia had been so sure of what she was doing, so positive about her direction in the world. Now, the ground beneath her seemed to be made of shifting sands, and she no longer knew where she stood. Was she on solid ground, or was she in danger of falling through a crack in the earth, never to be seen again?

The one thing she was sure of was her quest. She'd promised to become worthy of a rose, and she hoped that, through her tasks, she had done so. She'd tried to be selfless, to protect, to create - and while she wasn't sure that she was particularly good at being any of those things, she hoped that it was enough for the God of Life.

Sohalia sat her growing forget-me-not springs, tucked safely in their pot, in front of the shrine. On either side, she sat her several jars of dirt from the Greatwood - the Eyes of Vi, specifically, because it had just felt like the right place to go. Then, when she had arranged it all just so, she looked up at the shrine and murmured her prayer.

"Vi, I have returned. I think I've done what you've asked. I've... learned some things about myself in the process. Some of the things you asked me to do were very difficult for me, but I think that might have been the point. I just hope that it's enough. That I'm enough. And if it's not, if there's more that you need... please, just tell me what to do."

---

Sohalia is turning in her quest from these simple words.

1. i could dance to this beat | Doing a selfless deed - gave Sah her HEARings.
2. i might as well be drunk in love | Creating life - planted forget-me-nots with Koa.
3. darkest little paradise | Protecting something/someone - protected an NPC from echo sharks.
4. maybe the stars align | Collecting soil from the Greatwood.

And I'll wave goodbye to the ones below
As I float on by to the great unknown

Sohalia

"Self-doubt is so common, and yet so unbecoming." It is uncharacteristic for Vi to muse when he appears before someone bent in prayer, and yet the weight of Sohalia's thoughts, her uncertainty, they dim the light of the shrine in a way that is much more than physical. Standing at one of the windows, his arms linked gently behind his back, the God of Life glances over one shoulder at the Luminary, watching for a second or two that feels much longer than it should, before turning to approach her.

"You were enough before you ever left this shrine the first time," he rumbles, leaning to brush his fingers against the forget-me-nots, which instantly turn towards him as if he is the sun to enrich them and to help them grow. "But only one of us knew it. Only one of us still does." Raising his eyebrows and clenching his fist, the jars of earth crack and spill across the shrine, dark and fertile.

"Anything worth having requires some level of sacrifice. That the decisions you made were difficult does not make them any less right." Between them, already the earth is shifting and moving, and a rose begins to sprout and bud. "Take this, Sohalia Lumaris, and know that you are worthy of it."

Blooming into a deep, dewy crimson, with golden thorns that catch the light like tiny stars, the rose she has waited for now waits for her to claim it.

---

Sohalia has completed her quest and has received the following!

Vi's Roses (rare): A beautiful crimson flower with thorns of deep gold, it is rumoured that these roses are coloured with Vi's lifeblood. When planted, they have the ability to cleanse the area around them.

VI

Table by Sky!

As the sky opens up and pulls me in
I can see, I can breathe, I can feel again

Somewhere along the way, Sohalia had become someone who doubted herself - or perhaps that was who she'd always been, deep down, and it had only become more pronounced in recent years. Either way, Vi's words were a soothing balm that she hadn't even known she needed, and she looked up at him from where she prayed with awe, grateful tears burning behind her eyes. She was enough for the God of Life to give her a rose. She was worthy.

And somehow, that made all the difference to the Luminary, who had been named to shine but spent so long hiding in the dark.

The rose bloomed before her, beautiful crimson petals surrounded by thorns of gold. Sohalia reached out with a trembling hand to cup the flower, careful of the thorns, admiring it for a moment before gently taking it from the earth. "Thank you, Vi," Sohalia whispered reverently. "For the rose, and for your kindness. I will never forget what you've told me." And perhaps it would give her confidence, and self-worth, and all manner of positive things going forward.

fin

And I'll wave goodbye to the ones below
As I float on by to the great unknown

Sohalia