6/10/2004

06:38 PM
Logfile from GarouMUSH.

By the Waterfall
The rugged walls of the canyon reach their highest at this point of the caern. A small underground spring exits the rock face, some 20 feet up the 30 feet high cliff, spilling gently and playfully across angled rocks, running down its face. The chilled, garden hose like flown contributes tiny ripples upon its entrance to an otherwise placid, shallow pool of water. A light mist rises up from this place, cooling any who loiter long.
The old growth forest surrounding the caern has been hewn down out to 150', leaving only stumps as tombstones for the mighty trees that once sheltered the caern. The ground has a light covering of grasses and weeds and wildflowers and occasional sapling trees, but nothing larger than that.
To the west, cool mist kicked up by the falls mingles with warmer steam from geothermal sources; these mists swirl around the caern to the north. The caern's center lies northwest of here. You can pick out what seems to be a hazardous trail over rock and up the wall, to the side of the waterfall.
Contents:
Jamethon(#3988PJYce$)
Obvious exits:
Steam Vents  Center  Windy Spot  Up the Trail  

[look Jamethon]
Jamethon Ethan Black is a good size of a man, about five or six inches above six feet and looking to have about two hundred and ninety or so pounds on him as well, most of this being muscle. His normally thick and unshaven beard has been for once cleared away from his now clean shaven face, which is a mask of concentration most times, dancing black eyes that always seem to be peering forward yet still seeing all around him. Long black hair with the beginnings of greying fading into view, cascades down his back, wild in form and hanging to just below his waist. He isn't too fond of dressing stuffily it seems, for all that James wears is a clean t-shirt under a pristine brown leather jacket, and a pair of loose but well-fitted black sweatpants, the shoes on his feet are but cork sandles. Under his t-shirt, covered up and only visible when the fabric of his shirt has been removed, on his chest is a massive scar, fleshy and tortured like an old third-degree burn. Another set of scars is on his forehead, just below his bangs. A tips of a set of three jagged scars that travel up and back, the rest covered by his hair. A large myriad collection of scars adorn his visage at other various points as well.
Carrying:
PandaCharm(#3247dh)

Jamethon sits at the pool's edge, relaxing while reclining back on his hands. His eyes are open, looking into the falling waters almost studiously.

By the steam vents, The air seems to become noticeably warmer here, maybe ten degrees Fahrenheit, and there is a low hum coming from the ground under you.

Yi makes her way along within the caern, intending on taking a rest from a patrol out in the woods. Her footsteps hidden by the sound of the falls, she spots the Get theurge staring at the water, and grows curious. Her path digresses, and she ends up close by. "Hello, Jamethon."

Jamethon continues to look forward, but sits up, folding his hands in his lap. "Good, I have found you. It was an interesting search." That said, cryptically enough, he pushes himself up to his full height, standing and looking upon Yi. "A decision is needed from you Yi. Your friend Aiyana stepped forward and asked to join. We need to, as a pack, return to Wyvern's visage and seek to rejoin with him. I need to know... will you be standing with us?"

Yi headtilts at the Get's first words. He found her? Her brow arching slips back into place at his next topic, however. But rather than looking guilty, she remains steady with a calm found inside her. She watches for his reaction as she replies, "I must regretfully tell you, no. I told Aiyana of your pack, because I feel she is more fitting of the role. I hope that Wyvern, as well as the warriors of Scourge, can accept her in my place."

Jamethon closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh he once again opens his eyes and seems a bit tired perhaps when he asks a question of the Gnawer. "I'm not sure she can replace you. And... If a friend can ask... why the hell not you?"

Yi's eyes stray to the falls. "She will do well, I am sure," the ragabash says quietly, almost inaudible. "As for why not... because I have some things to figure out about myself. Until then, I will not join a pack."

Jamethon nods his head with a grave importance to the gesture, turning to look where Yi does. "You know you have a friend here. You need help in your, figuring... I would be insulted if I did not hear from you."

Yi hms, looking back to the theurge with a warmed smile. She truly does appreciate what the Get just said. Moving then, trying to keep herself from showing her hurt leg, the Gnawer sits beside him. "I thank you for that. As for what I am trying to figure out? Though I have not put a full finger on top, I believe I have a small hold. It is about where I stand. Or perhaps, what I stand for." The Gnawer glances back up at the theurge, seeing if he's still interested in hearing her selfish babble.

Jamethon seems rather intent on listening, his head bobbing in a slight nod every now and then. "You stand on the surface that is beneath your feet." He offers when she pauses her speech, turning his head to look with seriousness at Yi, then nods slightly as if reaffirming what he just said to be valid and important.

Giving the theurge a brief, confused look, she files that phrase away in mind. Are all theurges like this? she asks herself. "Perhaps I simply have too much free time," she says quickly with an embarrassed smile, trying to mask her turmoil, looking back to the falls and away from the Get's somewhat unnerving calm in favor of the chaos that is each water drop. "So much that can be done, and yet I feel as if I am pulled in all directions, stuck in the mud. That surface you speak of, is not solid." The ragabash considers. "I thought it would be easy to choose my next hunt. And yet, after you generously offered me a part of your pack and Wyvern's wisdom, I hesitated. Then it was Stag, and Megan's pack. And now, the Wendigo and their thoughts for Bear." Her hands go up to hold her head. "And this whole time, all I can think about is myself."

Jamethon nods to this and seems to be serene in answer to Yi's confusion. "Good. It is yourself that is the answer to your question. Just ask the question... and there is your answer."

Yi shakes her head, her hands still cradling it as if she actually has a headache from this. "Does it not seem selfish?" Her eye turns to gaze sideways towards the theurge. "All I can think of is the need to reach higher. To reach the rank of fostern. But I ask myself, why?" She lifts her head then, gazing to the theurge. "You are a fostern. How did you answer it? Is it wrong to feel... greedy?"

Jamethon cocks his head to the side, somewhat confused at the question it appears, but then he shakes his head. Turning to face Yi directly, he clasps his hands behind his back and rolls back onto the balls of his feet slightly. "That... isn't the question." He assures the Gnawer, "But, it is a valid one. How did I answer it? I serve Gaia to the best of my ability. If the best of my ability isn't good enough... well, then I must seek to make it better. We always better outselves, not because we want more power for ourselves, but because the mother needs powerful warriors, not selfless ones. Being selfless and never seeking to become powerful only serves to harbor legions of weaklings and cowards. If it not wrong to seek power to be better then those around you... because it is that which makes those around you seek power themselves. It is the way of the wolf. But rather then just challenging those around us... we must learn to challenge ourselves as well."

Yi scratches at a spot on her head, the gesture more from frustration. "So, that is the question I will have to answer for myself. Though I know that I do not seek power for power's sake, I still ... do not know why I would seek it. To better myself for Gaia? I can say it so many times, but, maybe, it is this same power that confuses me. I have not known any other life except to follow. And as Alicia has told me, being a fostern would mean to be more of a leader."

Jamethon laughs now, a hearty rumble that starts deep in his gut. "Beautiful how the mind blocks itself off. Breaks itself down to components and ignores the whole in favor for the parts." His laughing tone cuts off here and his expression returns to the earlier serenity. "What is the point of such worries, Yi? Just do it and forget the reasons why. We serve the mother just by being well... for lack of a better term, 'Good'. Yi, do you seek to be a force for Gaia in this world, fighting off corruption and cleaning it away to make the Mother healthy once more?"

Yi stares at the falls, seeing them pound against the rocks below. "I would be like one of those," she says with a gesture towards the cascade. "Only one drop of water, to be smashed on the rocks and returned to Gaia." She glances to the theurge. "But as one drop of a whole force of water, and with time, able to wear away at any rock in my way. Such stubborn persistance, I admire in the water."

Jamethon nods to this answer and then replies with, "And what of the ocean. This waterfall has worn away a pool for itself... but the pool is as big as its going to become. The ocean though, it will wear away the very Earth, shift it around, change its face. The waterfall is persistant but small. The ocean... it is persistant, but it is also grand. There is no shame is being a drop in the ocean, rather than a sacrifice in the falls."

Yi nods slowly, remembering the lapping of the waves at the docks of Hong Kong. How many times she'd looked out along the waters at the lights of the city. Never mind how polluted that bay is. "As one part of the ocean, then." She then tilts her head back to look at the sky. "But that still doesn't answer all the questions." Hand drumming on the grass, she sighs.

Jamethon sighs now and moves to sit back down, looking back at the waterfall. "You keep ignoring the only one that matters."

Yi regards the theurge, her brow furrowed as if to ask, which one?

Jamethon does not look at the Gnawer now, and is silent to her unvoiced question. He remains sitting as he does though, straight and tall, eyes open as if waiting.

Yi, seeing the theurge not notice, gives up on trying to get it out of him. "I suppose, in the end, it all goes back to Gaia anyway." Yet, she says this with dissatisfaction in her tone.

Jamethon looks over at Yi now, saddness in his eyes, which is quickly replaced with a look of determination. "I have something of a challenge for you Yi. Have you someone in mind to challenge for the rank of Fostern?"

Yi blinks, then, looking over at the Get. "I have not thought that far, but it seems as though Eamon is the only ragabash who carries the second rank with him."

Jamethon nods to this and offers, "There is a matter of balance you have to address. You are very yang... there is something blocking your flow of energy, that I can see. You hold s memory like a crutch and it poisons you. Something you need to leave behind, you want to... but cannot, will not." He turns his head quickly upon asking that question, looking straight at Yi as if burrowing to find the answer. "Is it Ice Walker? The /question/, Three-Blades, is who is the Fostern Yi. Not why should you challenge. Not what right do you have to do so. Not if you are selfish. You don't know who you will be. And you must ask yourself... are you afraid of that person?"

Yi blinks twice. Very... yang? The Gnawer listens to Jamethon carefully, and very slowly, the expression on her features changes away from confusion. Her lips part as if to begin saying her reply, but no sound comes. Dark eyes gazing right back at the theurge, locked on his seeking, hunting stare, she is unable to answer at first. "I-- I don't--... know." She swallows hard.

Jamethon shrugs his shoulders now that he seems to have driven his lesson home with the subtlty of a sledgehammer. "I know you don't know... but now you have the question after forever and a day have passed. Now you have the question. The answer is there, I challenge you to discover what that answer is. Let me know when you have figured it out... I'll give my blessing to you challenging for Fostern."

Yi looks stunned. Shaken, as if Jamethon had just taken her and threatened to cut her throat open right then and there. Quietly then, she assumes a kneeling position and bows before the theurge. "Thank you." Significantly humbled, the ragabash maintains that position for a good few seconds, before slowly straightening. "I will seek the answer to the question you have uncovered," she says, choosing her words and moderating the feeling of her core being disturbed. A different thought occurs to her, as she remembers something else. "You, spoke of poisons," she starts slowly. "And, Seeker has told me, amongst others, that those who attended the Revel last... must have the Rite of Cleansing performed on them." She pauses, as if hesitant to ask yet another thing of the theurge.

Jamethon turns his head as he tilts it to regard the Gnawer once more, "I will cleanse my warriors, were they to only approach." Is all he comments on that matter.

Yi casts her gaze down again. "Then, I have... two things to ask. One, to have the Cleansing rite performed upon me, to clear my body of the Wyrm's poisons. And second..." she pauses, contemplating her request, "... second, to ask if you would teach me this rite."

Jamethon tilts his head straight, then towards his other shoulder at the second question. "Request denied." He is silent for a moment, almost as if teasing the idea of not giving a reason, but then he does speak again, a smile touching his lips. "I already have students lined up that I must teach as a matter of settling debts. I do not want to agree to your teaching and become some kind of teacher queue. Come to me later, when those other students have been taught and I will be glad to teach you. Until then, perhaps there is another who can teach you. Alicia of the Children for one."

Yi hides her surprise as the Get denies her. She too toys with the question of asking why, until he does mercifully give her an answer. To this she nods her head again, though it is more of a bowing gesture than a mere nod. "I understand," she says quietly, "though... does this mean I should seek her for the Cleansing as well? She was beside me at the Revel. I don't know if she has found another Garou to perform the rite."

Jamethon shrugs at the question. "I honestly wouldn't be able to properly answer that question. That one you can figure out, I'm sure. When you are ready to answer the important question... let me know."

Yi wets her lips, and brings one of her legs before her so she is still kneeling, but only on one knee. "You said you would 'cleanse your warriors, were they to only approach'. And I am approaching you." Her eyes gain a touch of stubborn defiance once again. "Please, Jamethon. I already feel like I've brought violation to the caern with my presence here. I cannot let the Wyrm's toxin continue to stay inside." She looks to him with a harder, determined gaze.

Jamethon stands now, quietly and tall. He steps over to Yi and from his jacket removes a polished metal flask with a cork stopper. Pulling the cork he starts splashing a circle of the liquid within, which smells of strong herbs and other plants. Once the circle is complete he stands before Yi. Putting the flask away he then pulls out a knife with a wicked looking and sharp curved blade. He gesture with his empty have for Yi to show him hers.

Yi watches Jamethon as he doesn't say anything, but instead starts making some odd circle around her with water. At first, bewilderment. Then, as he completes the circle, she starts to understand. The ragabash offers her hand forward warily, eyes inevitably straying once or twice to the blade in the Get's grip.

Jamethon flicks out the hand holding the blade to his side, it changing direction and shifting position in his hand, he then flicks it back and towards Yi's hand, with a fluid motion slicing open a gash horizontally across Yi's palm, then he flicks his wrist and tosses the blade into the ground within the circle. He then blooms up into the crinos form, grips Yi's hand in his hand, and squeezes some blood out of the wound yet doesn't squeeze hard enough to even stress homid bones. ~Taint of the unpure one, I Fights-For-Hope, called Fostern of Great Fenris' kin! I cast you into oblivion and cleansing!~ That said he releases Yi's hand and raises his both to the sky, ~I cast out the taint, and leave behind only Three-Blades!~ Breathing heavily after the roaring, he backs away and through breaths offers after returning to the homid form, "You are free of the taint. Can heal up the hand if you want."

Yi clenches her jaw with the sudden slash to her hand, and then calms, even when Jamethon grows into the crinos and draws out more blood from the wound. As the rite continues, the Gnawer remains as serious as she can be, adding her will and want to push the taint out of her system. The Get's roar fills her ears and she closes her eyes, feeling the blood from her hand crawl and drip down onto the earth. The rite's end looms, and as the Get tells her of its end, she finally releases a breath that she'd unknowingly been holding. She nods once, curling her hand into a fist. "Later," she says quietly, rising to stand. "Again... thank you."

Jamethon nods to the thanking and then looks back to the waterfall. "Scourge... is just another ocean Yi... I'll talk to you soon." With that he heads over to the pool, takes on the lupus form, and crosses over to the umbra.