The roof, Monday at dawn

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Once more, Karal was on the roof to say the Dawn Rites. This time, Altra was by his side and so they were near the edge.

Karal stood, eyes closed, because he didn't use them to see, head tipped back to follow the rising sun. As the rays of the sun spread across the island, he spoke the words of the Dawn Rites, the soft, liquid Karsite carrying over the rooftop.

Yesterday, he had said them in hope; today, he said them in thanks.

[ooc: open roof is open.]

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[endsthegame]

Ender had been on the roof for a while, his blanket slung around his shoulders to keep the heat in. He'd never had trouble sleeping, but every time he closed his eyes now, he saw dying points of light, faces, and cold bathroom tile.

Silently, he watched Karal go about his ritual. It seemed comforting, if you were a part of it, like words of peace spoken to you alone. But with his usual wall of isolation firmly in place, he could only watch it, second-hand, as the sun spread its fragile first rays across the roof.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal continued speaking, barely aware through Altra that he wasn't alone, but company or not made no difference to the Rite.

With a quiet breath, he spoke the end, bowing his head in obeisance to Vkandis and the sun as Altra did the same. "Thank you," he whispered in English.

[endsthegame]

He left a short silence. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Finally, Ender spoke up. "Speaking to your god?" he asked.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"I am," he replied, smiling a little, recognising the voice. "I can speak to Him at any time and He will hear, but the Dawn Rites are special."

[endsthegame]

Words, spoken in the night. "Special how?" he asked. It was too tiring to fight curiosity right now, and Ender didn't really understand why he would have to, either. For the first time, he noticed that his limbs were heavy with lack of sleep. He stretched his arm.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Altra turned and Karal followed, and they walked over to Ender. "The words that are spoken, and when. The sun is Vkandis' symbol," he said, then gestured at the ground. "May I sit with you? I can tell you the story of the Dawn Rites."

[endsthegame]

"Sure," he said, drawing his head up to look at Karal-- and then at Altra. That was, after all, how Karal saw. "I'm not busy doing anything but sitting down at present."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Gathering his robes, Karal dropped to sit near him, Altra taking position in front of him. "And you can sit and listen at the same time," he said lightly. "At their simplest, the Dawn Rites welcome the sun and the morning. But they are more than that. They celebrate not just morning, but that the darkness is gone and the world once more dwells in light."

[endsthegame]

"That's a nice idea," Ender said. He hoped he didn't sound too whimsical. He considered his feet, sticking out from under his blanket, and then Karal again. One furtive flick of his eyes charted Altra's presence oncemore. "We can all use a little light."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal smiled. "We can, but it is more even than that." How to explain so Ender can understand. "It is the knowledge that these same words have been spoken at every sunrise since those who followed Vkandis Sunlord were only herders high in the mountains, welcoming another day. As those who followed Him grew, as Karse grew, still the same words, in temples and churches all across Karse. And even here, in an entirely different world, still the same words. It joins us to the past and to the present, and even to the future, when hundreds of years from now a Sun-priest will stand in the centre of the Temple and say the Dawn Rites."

[endsthegame]

He had to smile a little at that, and it wasn't even a reflex. He tried to imagine what that would be like, but he found that he couldn't. The closest thing Ender knew of was the ansible, but that was just space. Religion remained a mystery to him. "I can see why you like it," he said, "Although that might be the wrong choice of words."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean was in pretty desperate need of some spiritual grounding, enough so that he was up in time for the sunrise to climb to the roof and do the dawn rites as best he could.

He slowed when he saw Karal and Altra already there, and forced cheer into his voice as he stepped forward and said, "Fancy meeting you two here."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"Dean," Karal greeted him, smiling a little as he studied him closely through Altra's eyes. "I see we had the same thought after the weekend."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Dean said, shuffling his feet a little. "Sometimes it's worth getting up at dawn."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"It is." Altra looked around, and Karal spotted some chairs, sitting right in a beam of light. "Come and sit?" he suggested, worried now.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"Sure, why not?" Dean headed over to the chairs and sat down, staring out at the sunrise and fingering his Vkandis medallion.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal settled next to him, Altra taking position in a sunbeam where he could watch them both, tail curled around his paws. "Dean?" he said, touching his own medal where it rested above his robes. "What happened this weekend?"

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

Dean glanced over at him. "Did you hear the radio?"

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

"No." Though he was going to have to start. "I still don't have one," he said, leaning forward slightly. "But in any event, I would prefer to hear it from you. I'm not sure the squirrels are entirely reliable."

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"They weren't bad. Aside from the chipmunk thing." Dean took a deep breath. "So one of the people from the other island? Was me."

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Oh, Sunlord. He knew what sort of people had been on that island, and for one to be Dean... "Tell me what happened," Karal said quietly, folding his hands over his Vkandis medal.

[saltandammo.livejournal.com]

"He was a demon," Dean said, staring out at the sky again.

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

Jack quietly meandered his way up to the roof, looking to spend some quiet time out in the air, not expecting someone to be there.

[vkandis-son.livejournal.com]

Karal was sitting quietly near the edge of the roof, Altra's paws dangling off the edge, and the 'cat turned to look over his shoulder.

"Good morning, Jack," Karal called, not turning away from the sun. The cloud could roll in at any moment, and he wanted to enjoy it for as long as he could.

[inthereflexes.livejournal.com]

"Hey. Morning." He grinned and waved, a tired smile, still sleepy.