The Rising Sun was a very old ship by the time Jeta was born. Growing up in space gave her a perspective of endless possibilities. In her childhood there was no Oni threat. And while the universe could be a dangerous place, Twi-far spirituality, and luck gave her an optimistic outlook and a curious disposition.
Like most Twi-far of the Phoenix faction, she was obsessed with experiences. She loved listening to the elders talk about the Great War. She had never seen or known anything other than Twi-far. Talk of Archon, Nephilim, and others seemed so alien. She romanticized the battles, feared the villains, and dreamed of their tales. Their tales were full of heroism, danger, and her favorite part adventure. The thrill of the unknown and the rush of danger turned her into a daredevil and adrenaline junkie.
She was a regular visitor to the astronomy lab. Watching all the bright colors and lights in space reminded her of her parents Faren. She longed see more, to feel connected to the Great Tapestry, what truth it would hold her was an obsession that had her always looking forward to the day her path would be shown to her.
When the time came for her to become a Twi-far, it was decided that Meadows would be her Faren.. He was recovered from a colony and had previously bonded. Most her peers hated the idea of a used Faren, the idea was unspeakable, but not Jeta. She simply wished she could hear his stories, live his experiences, and see the universe through his eyes.
The melding was a secretive event. Strictly guarded, and shund to be spoken of. Her older friends had slipped bits and pieces to her, but never more than a few words. Somehow they always knew and would quickly break up the discussion. Punishment was never harsh, only three things would carried any kind of physical punishment; Killing another Twi-far was instant death on ship, ignoring the orders of the Voice was instant death on ship, and speaking of the melding was met with severe corporal punishment.
The day she was to begin her melding she was taken to The Box. It was a inclosed room, shielded with the most powerful the Twi-far had, and sealed with a blunk head, it's location was kept secret and only the elders knew its location. Her parents told her it would be over soon, and the door was sealed.
There was no light, no sound, and as Jeta explored the vast blackness she discovered nothing. The first day passed without issue, but the second she grew bored with the darkness and began using her energy to produce light. By the middle of the second day she began knocking on the door asking for food and water, but the deafening silence is all that came.
By the end of the second day she had burned off all of her energy and was again alone in the dark. The third day pushed her to her limits, she begged and pleaded with all the force her lungs could muster to be let out, but still nothing. Only the silence and darkness.
The fourth and fifth day passed and she began to accept that she would surely die. There were rumors from the old day, of Twilinger being to old to bond with a faren, she was sure she must be.
The sixth day the door open, but she was so wiped out she barely could open her eyes and even then the light burned so bad she could only make out figures moving about. They stuck her with something and the door closed again.
It only took a few moments after the door closed before she began to feel something moving through her veins. The pain was excruciating, like a white hot metal poured into her abd moved her entire body. Each beat of her heart brought a new undiscovered torment. Even the metal around her began to glow white from the heat being produced.
The exhaustan was gone, she had more energy than she'd ever known before. And every once in a while it would fly from her body as a white blast. After only a few hours the whole room was glowing white, she could see nothing else, feel nothing else.
By the end of the seventh day her Faren had stopped burning her, or she'd grown accustomed to the pain. She was slow to pick up on it at first, but soon she was aware of the changes within her. The electrical fibers were being changed, the energy flow throughout her body reworked. And her emotions manipulated. Her feelings were not her own, anger, fear, joy, sorrow, and a euphoria she'd never known were all washing over her in waves.
The eighth morning she woke and discovered a small amount of food and water. Over the next week her strength returned. Meadows was a quick learner and soothed her moods, pushing out the rough edges and bringing about a calmness that didn't exist before.
By the end of the second week the door open, her father smiled, "How are you little bird?"
Jeta smiled, not from her own accord, but the sheer joy Meadows had flooded her brain with. "I'm wonderful papa. Can I come out now? It's really boring in here."
Her dad chuckled, "Yes it is, isn't it. Not just yet, but I thought you might like some company." He stepped aside for her grandmother, Desdemona.
Her grandmother was her favorite person in the whole world, but was very set in the old ways. She was more logical than most the phoenix or twi-far for that matter, but she was a wise woman and led the young girl for the next week a few hours a day in what she experienced and what it now meant to be a Twi-far.
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