Story Entry 6 - Council Mystic Facing South

Ola needed clarity. Her thoughts were muddled and the messages she was receiving were conflicting. This rarely happened and when it did, she found that meditating outdoors helped make sense of things. She was the Council Mystic and her direction was required - it was crucial she interpreted her thoughts correctly to prevent any misinformation. It could lead to a disaster.

It was a pleasant August evening and the residence of Mount Vernon were completely unaware she was even there. Ola did not need to disguise herself from the humans like most suvians did; as an elder mystic she was able to exist just outside range of human sight. Only on the periphery of vision would humans be able to see her, and only then would she appear as a ripple in the air or indesernable shape of mist. This allowed her to be fully present and concentrate.

Energy cycled from the ground beneath her feet, through her, and then out in the air and back to the ground to repeat again while messages from this plane (as well as others) came filtering through her mind.

She knew trouble was coming from below. The messages were very clear. Ola also knew that they were running quite low on essentials from Inmost, the subterranean origin of the Suvian race. The grootslang and the yaoguai that controlled the trade between Inmost and Surface were unhappy. Their barter was no longer considered sufficient for the ghastly hordes from beneath. They demanded living goods for trade from now on. It had been centuries since the suvians that had migrated to Surface had decided living barter would be forbidden and barbaric. Until now the fiends from Inmost were satisfied with this, but now, without trade to supply them with their essentials they would become ill on Surface and eventually perish. In order to appease the grootslang and yaoguai, they would have to break their code that allowed them to live among the humans with no conflict. The council was frantic and uncertain as to what to do and Ola was expected to provide an answer.

After hours of meditation, Ola returned home with the difficult decision decided. Even her beloved giant ring-necked snake Diad could not comfort her. He coiled in her lap and hissed a soothing tune that normally would have relaxed her.

“Thank you.” She said as she smiled down at Diad. Even though it didn’t work, it was a thoughtful gesture. She sipped her kratom tea and drifted off into her thoughts. The council would meet tomorrow and she would give them her answer. They would break their code and barter with living goods for their supplies.

“Oh Diad.” She sighed. “This is just terrible.” Diad continued to hiss his tune while Ola dreamily stroked his blue and orange skin.

“Terrible terrible terrible.”

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