Iomani

Subject: Iomani Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:14 am

::A small ship docks in he port Iomani, from onboard, the new Abbess of Iona departs, followed closely by a group of monks. She is clad in long robes of black and silver, with accents of deep purple, and seems a quiet, sincere woman. She smiles at the gathered people of Iomani, who bow in respect to the Religious Leader. She is one of three: The Abbess of Iona, the Papal Empress of the Holy See, and the Aoqi of the Jade Temple Society. She is the most influential of them all, with an army stronger than anyone could imagine, hidden from the other orders, hidden from the world.::

"Sihua...Sihua...Sihua..."

::The chant rises from the crowd; men and women calling the name of the new Abbess, their voices almost singing her name. She turns, stepping onto the lift, operated by a golem, that will take her up to the Monastery, rebuilt after the conquest of Harad. Now free of Harad, Iona is once more a shining utopia of peace and learning.::

"I am Sihua Voina, Abbess of Iona."

::She laughs, taking a place behind her large oak desk.::

"Who would have thought, that I would end up here?"

Subject: Re: Iomani Sat Nov 17, 2007 8:26 pm

::Sihua stares at the door, looking to the white garden beyond, where trees of white grow beautifully, their pink flowers just starting to bloom. She stares at one, beneath which is the Statue of Voina, first Abbess of Iona, and revered Goddess of Knowledge.::

::Sihua sighs, remembering what her father, Spineslicer, had once told her.::

((-----))

"Your mother, you know, was a Great Woman. A Warrior-Queen, bold and beautiful."

"Oh...I bet she was the msot beautiful woman in the world!"

"Hahaha...Yes, to me and a lot of people she was."

"Oh..."

"She was descended from Voina, the First Abbess of Iona, who died, and ascended to Heaven as the Goddess of Knowledge, Love, and War. And that means, little Sihua, that you have a little Goddess in you."

"Ima grow up to be like m' mamma. I'll be strong, beautiful, and I'll be a warrior-queen too!"

"I do not doubt that, Little Goddess. You are just as strong as she was."
((------))

::Sihua laughs, thinking on how naive she was then. Her mother, revered as a Savior, feared as a Tyrant, was nothing more than a woman, who had died at the hands of her own love; succumbed to injuries during the fight, and died in the arms of her apprentice.::

"Mother, you were a lie. Father, bless him, said we were jsut alike, you and I, but he was wrong. I am nothing like you. I will never be like you."