when the dawn is still dark

and on to the glory at my right hand

It's been some time since Ronin called upon the God of Life, though his role in Vi's plans is never far from his thoughts. And whilst he knows he can pray anywhere - he's seen Remi do it on more than one occasion - it just doesn't feel right to ask for an audience with Vi unless it's at the appropriate place. So it's to the Aumakua he goes, just after dawn when the rays of light shine beaming and golden against the pale stone, and sets down his offering before the shrine.

Smiling as he places down a white pillar candle and a bowl of fountain water next to some offerings clearly meant for Safrin, Ronin spends a moment in lighting the candle before continuing. Rich soil from some new saplings growing across The Northaven, and a bundle of fluffy feathers from an osprey he'd spent a morning watching not too long ago.

"Vi," he says into the quiet, remaining on one knee with his head bowed. "I know it has been a while. And I know I haven't been of much use in the fight against The Family. For that, I'm sorry." Reaching back to take something from a loop at his belt, he places the weapon down before him. An axe - an old one, now, that had belonged to a young man who had barely known life when it had been taken from him.

"I can't do much without putting lives at risk. And I can do little besides, against the void. So I wondered whether you might help me with this? I've had it for a long time. I don't think Emmett would mind if you blessed it with your light."

---

Ronin is praying to Vi! If he doesn't make the roll, he'll be using his 1 x year demigod chat with him. He's asking for a quest to upgrade the following item:

Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Upgraded
Emmett's Axe | An indestructible axe that will always return to Ronin when thrown. (Made by Remi).

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)

vi

"Do not apologise for saving lives, even if it is by forcing yourself to take no action."

Vi's voice is as rich as the tide, ringing clear around the lighthouse as he appears, promptly and without fanfare at the window. With his arms held loosely behind his back, he regards Ronin over his shoulder, as if able to see the weight that presses down upon the White Knight like it's something solid and visible.

"Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is nothing at all," he continues, turning slowly to face Ronin and the axe he sets before him at the shrine. "Though I would argue that using your abilities to bestow my gift of life back to those who have lost it before their time is the opposite of doing nothing."

But the man he had named his knight is requesting something that stands apart from the power that shines within him - something old and heavy with memory. "You carry this like guilt," Vi says, nodding to the axe. "Do not wield it in the same way. Learn to use it as a piece of yourself, and it will be as strong as you are."

While they are on the subject, though... "You ought to look within yourself more often, Ronin Taliesin. You may be surprised at what has awoken within you in the time you have been out of the fight."

---

Ronin has received a quest to upgrade Emmett's Axe! He must:

1. Complete a training thread focusing on the use of the axe.
2. Complete a training thread with someone else in possession of the axe, focusing on avoiding it on the recall.
3. Complete a thread using the axe for a purpose other than harming or cutting.
4. Complete a thread using the axe to assist someone with something.

Table base by Sky!

and on to the glory at my right hand

Vi's appearance always has Ronin's breath catching in his throat, as if he's reminded each time how the God of Life had stepped in right when things were looking the most bleak for him. Feeling a thread of tension go slack within him as he's not absolved, exactly, but understood by his deity, the Knight bows his head further and closes his eyes. "Last year wasn't easy," he admits readily. "But I'll do my best again this year, to even the odds against The Family where I can."

No one said, after all, that he couldn't heal and salve and revive. Only that he couldn't fight.

His eyes open once more to focus on the axe as Vi cuts to the core of why he carries it, Ronin's jaw feathering as he's reminded of the man who had owned it before he'd taken it on. "I will," he says, his voice rougher than he expects it to be. But as his god continues, the Knight furrows his brow and glances up in surprise; reading between the lines was a necessary skill with Safrin, but Vi isn't as readily ambiguous, and Ronin takes him literally.

"I... yeah. I'll do that," he mumbles, resisting the urge to gaze down at himself to see what has changed. "Thank you. I'll see it done."

~FIN

ronin

Styling stolen from Sky (obviously)