who by common trial?
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#1
you had a heart, it's been gone since they left you
Before a nightmare unleashed itself upon his homeland, a young raven had gone to collect the lute he'd sent in for repairs. Walking quickly to escape the cold, as if he might be able to outrun it, he clutched the instrument, and a letter that had turned up. A letter for him, of all people. Had that ever happened before? He was young enough to feel a childish delight at the simple fact of its existence - that someone had thought enough of him to write one - but the contents left him dizzy with hope and awe, terror and anticipation.

He stopped before the shrine, heart racing in his chest. Last time, he had played to the stars and been cursed for his efforts. When he returned with the hope that it might have been a mistake, he'd been cursed again. And now, still deaf, still wrecked with annoying, humiliating hiccups, he was genuinely afraid.

What if the third strike meant a third curse, and the loss of something worse? Memories, love, his sole remaining family and friend?

Yet all he had to give was still the lute in his hands. So even though it broke his heart to do so, he placed the instrument as an offering, and knelt on the frozen ground, shivering as much from fear as from the biting, brutal cold.

"Safrin... Fairest Lady, please. I hope you can hear me... even if I can't hear you. Please... I only ask for a moment of your time." His hoarse, unsteady voice was quiet and desperate, the silence that engulfed him without end. Interrupted only by the small convulsions that wrecked his body. Not a terrible thing, though. Not compared to the void that had swallowed him.
- ever feel you grew up too fast?
Korbin


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#2
grey skies are gonna clear up
A wisp of wind and laughing, tittering voices chirp from the shrine. And with it you begin to feel a bit lighter… lighter by the way these voices seem to pull and tug on your clothing and your hair, pulling at ears and cheeks. ”What’s the matter, Korbin? Are we not what you want to see?” The voices cheer to you. ”Let’s turn that frown… upside-down!”

Then the tugging grows more insistent until finally, it feels like your face is frozen. A smile gracing your features so at odds with the war in your heart. A frozen smile, affixed to your face.



Korbin has been cursed! He can only smile and talk in a voice that sounds happy. He can break this curse by making someone (or himself) genuinely happy in 5 separate threads.
put on a happy face
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#3
you had a heart, it's been gone since they left you
He knew something was wrong right away. The wind rustled by, chilling him, and with it came... sound. Laughter, voices pealing in childish mirth. Like a bubble bursting, Korbin felt sound like a physical thing as it rushed over him. His own breathing was like a crash of waves, every heartbeat a thunder crashing, and the groan and rumble of his muscles a constant gnawing that resounded through his head.

Overwhelmed after so long wrapped in complete silence, he clapped his hands over the ears, and had he not been knealing already Korbin would have crumpled to the ground. He barely noticed the hiccups disappearing; the taunting voices were too painfully loud, their owners too close where they invaded his privacy and plucked with his clothes, hair, even his face. He swatted at the touch, to bat away any hands but found only empty air.

"Leave me alone, I wasn't talking to you!" he snapped - or tried to. But he felt his face stiffing into a mockery of a smile, and his voice was cheerful, the tone clashing horribly with his words.

A sick feeling of hopelessness twisted in his gut. Would he never get a break? Did the gods hate him that much, even though he'd never done anything to offend them? Had Safrin lied, when she told Aisha he would find help?

All he got for trying was the exchange of one curse for another, and he would rather trade back the silence for this. Korbin never pretended to be something he was not, but now the dwellers at this shrine would make a liar out of him.

With frustration boiling hot beneath the skin curled up, turned in on himself. Thought to shift and fly off, or thrash about, topple the many candles lit in hope and worship... it seemed so foolish. What point was there in praying to gods that didn't listen? The impulse was so strong that it took all he had to just remain where he was, clutching the sleeves of his coat, sucking in deep breaths. Trying to regain some form of composure.
- ever feel you grew up too fast?
Korbin


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#4
find me on the
far side of the world
"Be gone." Safrin's voice was like the heightened chaos of a symphony when all the instruments seemed to be bellowing out independently of one another. It was a massive sound, thick with power. With a hiss the presence of the spirits disappeared, leaving only a pulsing wisp of black smoke that crackled with unhappy energy.

Appearing with her arms folded across her chest, the goddess glared into the now-empty space, before turning towards Korbin. For a moment her expression was one of haughty hostility, her eyes alight with mischief that welcomed the spirits back to try and challenge her authority. Quickly though it softened, her beautific expression winking through.

"Surely the happiness of a goddess is worth that of five mortals?" Beaming, she waved a hand and as she did, Korbin's expression would relax. "You've certainly attracted the attention of the spirits like few that I've seen." She chuckled softly, offering him a wry smile.
where the sun sets on the years
Safrin
Base Code by Sky!
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#5
you had a heart, it's been gone since they left you
If the sound of the spirit voice had been loud, it was still a whisper compared to the sound of the voice that spoke next. It all but shattered his eardrums in a cacophony of dischordant music, beautiful but chaotic, and Korbin flew up on his feet.

He stared at Sarfin, too overwhelmed to really say anything at all. The raven liked the sound of his own voice and rarely found himself lost for words, but... now they had scattered, like so many butterflies blown away by a gale. Only his thoughts were left to tuble, dry leaves adrift on a deserted street.

Then she spoke, gestured, smiled, and his own false grin faded. His relief was palpable, gratitude strong enough that the boy almost wept.

"I... uh, yeah. Luck.. bad luck, I think." He flushed, awkward at how his words stumbled over each other. This was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, and he felt keenly how little his eighteen years of life really meant. Just her presence was enough to turn him weak at the knees.

"Thank you, Lady. For coming. For helping. How... Can I repay you, somehow?" All the doubts he'd had about her honesty seemed suddenly very rude and ignorant. How conceited of him, to presume anything about this goddess.

He really didn't know anything.
- ever feel you grew up too fast?
Korbin


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#6
find me on the
far side of the world
"No my dark bird, I don't think you could." Safrin replied with a laugh. "Though I very much appreciate the sentiment." She added with a wink, turning to give the shrine a slight scowl, her eyes searching for things unseen that she might hasten their exit.

Turning back to him, her perfectly painted lips turned up into a sweet smile, Safrin let her arms fall to her sides. "I met quite the lovely young woman called Aisha. She was the one who told me the spirits had a certain fondness for you, and asked if I could help you find your voice again, though I see thats already been taken care of."
where the sun sets on the years
Safrin
Base Code by Sky!
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#7
you had a heart, it's been gone since they left you
He was disappointed, but not surprised. What could a goddess possibly need from someone like him anyway? Though it was difficult, Korbin tried to accept the help as the gift it probably was, and as she turned to survey the shrine, he took that moment to try and compose himself.

When she turned back, he was breathing a little easier. Not much, mind, and his head was still a mess, every sound too close and too loud... but the simple presence of it was exciting; he could hear again! Safrin's smile was lovely. That too helped to calm him, though relaxing was rather difficult.

Korbin smiled when she mentioned Aisha, and nodded. Held up the letter a ways. "She told me you agreed to help. I didn't think she would actually ask, but... I'm glad I was proved wrong," he replied. "And if the curses are what let me meet you, I think I'm grateful for them. A bit." Though the slight grimace that twisted his smile suggested he would really rather have gone without them.

Taking a deep breath, the young man straightened and regarded the deity. Took the chance to really process her presence, the almost painful perfection of her beauty. Everything Sunjata had told him of Safrin danced through the back of his mind, talk of kisses and children and quests... He tried to set it aside. Form his own opinion.

So far, it was overwhelmingly positive.

"I wanted to see you," he said, rather tentative. "It's why I went to the shrine in the first place. I thought - I hoped - that you might be willing to help me." He rubbed at the back of his neck, not sure how to explain, how to phrase it. Words usually came easily to him, but here, the raven became tongue-tied.

"I've been... acting like a jerk, lately," he eventually sighed, settling for just blurting out the truth, without preamble. "To everyone, really. I've been a mess, constantly angry, and I don't like who I am becoming. Just... I don't know how to stop. How to get out of this endless loop I'm stuck in. I don't want to hurt people, but I am."

Korbin did his best not to let the gaze drop, though it was difficult; he was deeply ashamed of what he had done, how he was behaving. How he couldn't control his emotions or even keep them to himself.

"Is there some way you could help me, my lady?" It was only a faint hope - he didn't even know what would help, or where to begin - but Korbin felt he had to ask.
- ever feel you grew up too fast?
Korbin


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#8
find me on the
far side of the world
Glancing at the letter, Safrin nods her understanding. "Halo can be quite isolating during this season but...I suppose you well know that already." If anything, the opening of the portals is all that has made Halo accessible. To have them closed for but one season likely strikes the Naturals as just more of what they're used to.

"Help you?" Softly her head tilts to the side, Safrin looking both like a maternal figure and also a virginal young woman. It is part of her charm, to be both mother and lover alike, and the veil separating each aspect of her personality is as delicate as spider-woven lace.

Listening to what it was he needed, the goddess softened considerably. "Do you know the reasons for your anger? What is causing such a well-spring of hostility in you?"
where the sun sets on the years
Safrin
Base Code by Sky!
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#9
you had a heart, it's been gone since they left you
He nodded. The isolation of his homeland was something he knew well, and had been very comfortable with. Until the portal opened, his world had been very small and easy to comprehend, and Korbin had been content to live out his days without ever seeing anything else. Halo was harsh, but it was beautiful too, and he truly loved it. To him, the isolation was a welcome return to something he knew. A much needed reprieve from the onslaught of newness that assaulted him at every turn.

Safrin listened to his request, his attempt to phrase the problem, and found it heartening that he wasn't summarily rejected. It really wasn't the kind of thing he should run to the gods with, and normally he wouldn't have either. Now that she was here though... he had to try.

"No," he admitted, holding back a wish to sigh. "I could give you a hundred reasons why I get angry, or frustrated, but it's only excuses in the end. Me, trying to put words on something I don't have the words for."

Brushing off the hat, he pulled a gloved hand over the head. Even here, even now, he felt the anger bubble and roil beneath the skin, a furnace without outlet, a volcano waiting to erupt. A darkness just waiting to take over, that he was increasingly helpless to contain.

"I wouldn't trouble you with it, if it was just a bit of anger. But I... I don't trust myself anymore.

"I... killed a man."
Closing his eyes, he had to push the words out to get them over his lips. "A cannibal, sure, but a man all the same. They keep saying it couldn't be avoided, but I don't think that's true. If I had been calm, and thinking clearly, there would have been another way to get out of that situation. If I hadn't been so caught up in my own internal fireworks, I...

"And I keep getting lost in that feeling. That moment. The other day, I hurt my own sister because I lost control."
It still made him shudder, how his thoughts had just slipped away into another place, his eyes seeing something that wasn't there.

Twisting the fleece-lined hat between his hands, Korbin looked down at it, tried to make sense of the turmoil inside him. But the truth was, there was no sense to it. None that he saw, at least.

"I'm not.. asking for myself," he said. "Not just, anyway. But for everyone who has to stay cooped up with me during the whole of Deepfrost. Already I've hurt too many with words alone; the thought of what might happen if I stay like this, it chills me to the bone."
- ever feel you grew up too fast?
Korbin


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#10
find me on the
far side of the world
"Anger is not something to always try and get rid of." Safrin counselled with a small smile. "Nor is it possible to do so." She added with a gentle shrug. It was how the humans were created after all, with all their messy emotions, but it was what made them so special. And interesting.

Listening intently, starbright eyes wide and patient, the goddess nods along with Korbin's account. "I've killed many men." Safrin replies as he finished, watching the way his fingers work unhappily at his hat. "As you say, it isn't always about what you do, but why." Even the mention of Korbin's harm to his sister doesn't cause the goddess to flinch much. For a being associated with life, she is very familiar with death and pain.

'Tell me Korbin, what sorts of things ignite your anger the most?"
where the sun sets on the years
Safrin
Base Code by Sky!
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#11
you had a heart, it's been gone since they left you
She was right, of course. Anger was as healthy as fear, joy, and sorrow. He had no qualms with the emotion in itself... it was the way it overran him and made him act like a rabit ursur that made things problematic.

Her focus in listening was gratifying. Korbin still felt he was asking her help with something he should be sorting out himself, but the kindness of the goddess settled his embarrassment, and he found himself thinking both deep and clear about the questions she asked of him, doing his best to penetrate to the core of the issue.

"The things... I can't control," he replied after a moment's consideration. "The intrusion of others into my home and my life. The insistence of strangers to be let into my confidence, to become my friends." He thought of Loren, of Chulane, of Jigano and Sunjata. Of the Outlanders that ruled his home - he never met most of them, but their mere presence still irked him - and he thought of Amun. They all sauntered up and initiated conversation, and were shocked when he didn't smile and treat them as welcomed guests and friends never before met.

He thought of Weaver too, and the conflicting things she said and did. "The way some expect me to act... even when they say I'm free to do as I wish. That I'm supposed to try even though I'm not even sure what I want to do. Lately, I haven't even been able to do the things I want to, which... hasn't made anything better." He bit his teeth together around the burn of frustration, hands growing rougher with the hat, as if it was something that had offended him.

"It's just a futile struggle though, isn't it? I can't control what others say or do, and I'm not supposed to. So far, all the council I've gotten has been about accepting the way things are, and... I mean, it sounds reasonable, doesn't it? But that just makes me angrier, like I'm supposed to roll over like a good dog and let everyone trample all over everything I care about, doing nothing."

It was growing into a rant, and part of him was horrified at how much a petulant child he sounded. Yet control was ever elusive, and the words just spilled out, unstoppable like a river or the tide.
- ever feel you grew up too fast?
Korbin


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#12
find me on the
far side of the world
As he began to explain, Safrin nodded her understanding. It was a common manipulation of the mortals, to tell their kin they were free to do as they wished, but then blame and punish them for doing precisely that which they were given approval to do.

'Good dogs want to please. That is why you all consider them good." The goddess pointed out, once Korbin had fallen silent. "It seems to me your anger stems more from a sort of...internal friction. Tell me, do you care about what others think of you? When you don't return their smiles, when you act in ways they disapprove of, does it bother you? And further, does it bother you because you want them to like you, or because you find it infuriating that they don't understand?"
where the sun sets on the years
Safrin
Base Code by Sky!
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#13
you had a heart, it's been gone since they left you
Something in him rankled against the notion of being that 'good dog'. Safrin's questions were deep and he had to think, scour his own internal processes for answers, and when they came it was reluctantly.

"I care about some people's opinions, but not all," he admitted. "My sister's, mainly. With everyone else... no, their disapproval doesn't bother me. Just hers. And because I can't seem to explain why, so that she understands. It's... I mean, I want to be a good person. I want to care, and to see people smile. But my good and everyone elses doesn't seem to be the same."

He clearly wasn't cut out to be a good dog. Or at least, Korbin really hoped he was more of a wolf, gentle and caring only to those who had been let into his pack. So to speak.
- ever feel you grew up too fast?
Korbin


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#14
find me on the
far side of the world
"Perhaps your frustration comes from a mere lack of tools. A carpenter trying to create a ship using just a seashell as a hammer might feel the same." The goddess pointed out, well aware of the metaphorical hackles her analogy had raised in the young healer.

"Perhaps were you to learn from the mistakes of others, you need not make them yourself. Not that first-hand experience isn't' invaluable, but when it comes to your relationships with others, often the callouses built up during the learning curve are harder to remove." So saying, the goddess handed the healer a rather lack lustre seashell with almost no colour on its face at all.

"Learn what you can, and when this shell is illuminated with colour, return to me, and we'll see how far you've come."



Korbin has been given a quest! He must learn from the failings of others when it comes to the issues he's experiencing, specifically 1. how to deal with anger, 2. how to properly communicate feelings, and 3. How to deal with being disliked.

Complete 5 threads, learning about each once, and then two others of your choosing. The seashell will gain colour with each successful conversation. Return to Safrin after.
where the sun sets on the years
Safrin
Base Code by Sky!


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