Content Notes: play violence

Hannu’s heart lightened as she came to the Temple compound. She hadn’t expected how the sunlight reflecting off its warm gray granite walls brought such joyful serenity. When she hadn’t been looking, the Temple had become more than a place she was stuck. It had become home. The delight of her travels – meeting people, helping them, and making sure they knew the Green still cared – settled into a delightful and recent memory.

The monks, as usual, ignored her, but several goddes and Called greeted her as she passed. And there were… new faces. New Called. Dragged here by Iberto and forced away from their lives and everything they cared for…

She went straight for the gardens and the Green. While her bond with the Green had held and she had never truly been separate from it, being in its presence, feeling its power, was so much /more/.

She was sitting in the gardens, enjoying the Green’s presence and the sun warming her skin, when one of those new Called approached her.

“Well met. May I join you for a time?” The Called offered a gentle smile that reached eir light brown eyes.

“Be welcome,” Hannu said. “I am Hannu, called of the Green. I don’t think we’ve met.”

“We haven’t, as yet. I am the Called of the Balance. My thanks for your welcome,” the Balance-called sat in the sun with Hannu. The Green, in the form of a human tree with flowers decorating em, lounged near a marble fountain.

“Balance-Called,” the Green-Called nodded. “You are… one of the new Called? Are you… well?”

Ey smiled. “I am. Very well,” then eir brow creased. “You are concerned for me?”

Hannu made an indecisive gesture. “I am sure the Scaled One who Keeps Balance has made you happy here, but if you were brought here by the Called of the Great Goddess… yes, I am concerned for you.”

The Balance-Called nodded. “He is indeed the one who sought me out. May I know why this concerns you?” Ey ran a hand lightly over the ground-cover, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

“Because he has harmed others he has brought.” Hannu shuddered, remembering the look on the Sun-Called’s face. “Iberto can be… a pleasant companion, with good humor and quick wit. We were… friends for a time. But when I left here, I feared his goddess’ darkness was infecting him.”

“I have heard such things. True, he can be frightening at times, especially to ordinary mortals, but I am not entirely sure what you mean by his goddess’ darkness.” The Balance-Called set eir full attention on Hannu.

“The Great Goddess,” Hannu shuddered. “All my life, I have known her only as a force of evil. Bringer of death and destruction, hunter of innocents. I was terrified when she woke, but Iberto was so… so different from everything I expected her Called to be. And I have learned things recently…”

Hannu studied the Balance-Called. Eir features were encouraging and open, but with a sharp eye. “You are very easy to talk to.”

The Balance-Called shrugged. “It is a part of my calling. I am here to listen. And where there is an imbalance, to help bring about resolution.”

“Hm.” Hannu ran a hand over the grass, teasing it into a flower. “And is that why you sought me out?”

“In part, yes. I wanted your view on how events with Iberto have affected you. I also looked forward to meeting the Called of the Green. I hear you have been traveling among the people.” Ey smiled as spikelets bloomed on the grass, followed by a few tiny blue flowers.

Recalled to her recently completed mission, Hannu smiled. “It’s been wonderful. Meeting so many people who care for the Green, who seek it and tend it in their daily lives. But,” her shoulders slumped, and her expression fell, “I found problems too. And I’m no closer to finding another way to find new Called to bring to the Temple.”

“So you have been seeking an alternative to the Hunt-Called’s method?”

“Yes, some way other than dragging people here whether they want to come or not.”

The Balance-Called nodded. “While that is not ideal, that is not what he did with me. He was actually quite civil in his approach, if insistent.”

“Does civility excuse forcing people away from their lives? Their families and work?”

The Balance-Called shook her head. “No, there would still be a debt, a steep one, if I had not wished to come and see for myself. But to force him to stop would also create a debt, would it not?”

A long silence fell between them while Hannu found words again. “How so?”

“He is the Hunt-Called. Can we take the hunt from him without harming him?” The Balance-Called spread eir arms to encompass the Temple and all within. “And what of the goddes? Do we force them to abandon the hope he has brought when we have no other hope to offer?”

“I had not,” Hannu paused, “I had not considered those things, I admit. That does not mean I will approve of it.”

“Some debts cannot be balanced and they are the most grievous. However, Iberto has told me that one of the reasons for his civil approach was a conversation with Kira about the harm he did her. If we cannot offer another way, his way can be made less harmful.”

Silence fell again, and after a long moment of consideration, Hannu nodded. “If there is a way to keep him from causing so much harm in his hunts, perhaps that will be a solution for now.”

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