In Chains and In Freedom

OOC: This is another continuation of my Centauri Mythology. This particular myth was requested because of a statue that was given to Adira by Gunrunner/Silvas while she was on the Mars colony that I had described in an earlier post. The statue showed Morgoth in the form of a great winged lion-like creature, his front paws on her chest as he bit into the area above her hearts. Li in the statue was placing a kiss upon Morgoth's forehead. As bloodraven77 pointed out the statue "spoke of a love affair of mythical proportions". So I have started the mythology surrounding this statue.




It was on many occasions that Morgoth, the trickster attempted to undermine the perfection of Li. Many times he had surely destroyed her, only to be denied victory as her fire always burned brighter after her trials in his hands. She had overcome all odds, all obstacles, what was there left to do? What was there left for Morgoth to do in his need to destroy her unfaltering hearts? His jealousy raged knowing that he alone among the gods bore no hearts, no fire and she was the cause, she had to be the cause.

For many mortal lifetimes he sought the answer to his question but there was no solution at hand. In his frustration he vowed. “If I can not destroy her hearts then I will take them from her.” With his vow still fresh in his mind he went to find the passion and fire of the universe. She laid reclined in the gardens the sun glistening on her flawless skin. “She was perfect” the words entered his mind of their own accord and he fought to subdue the thoughts.

Her eyes slowly turned to him, her playful smile as pure as the day she came forth from the abyss reminded him once more of the void that filled his soul. The hearts and fire that he was denied since the very beginning of creation.

An angry snarl escaped Morgoth’s lips as he gazed upon “untamed passion”. Slowly he padded toward her, his posture submissive though it was only a ploy to lure her from her lounge. She took the bait and gracefully rose from her reclined position. She moved like a dancer, gliding across the courtyard, every motion fluid and filled with an unnamed desire. She paused to admire the garden’s flowers and Morgoth crept closer, his body held low to the ground.

Li turned with a smile as she watched Morgoth approach. Like her, he possessed an undeniable grace and beauty which was as captivating as it was terrifying. Li alone, the seeker of beauty saw his true nature and among the gods she was the only one who bore kindness in her hearts toward this great monster. None among the gods knew of her ability to see him as he was, the gods assumed like them she only saw the great devouring maw.

Her eyes fluttered closed as the soft breeze brought the fragrance of the gardens many blooms to her senses. Morgoth saw his chance. He broke into a run, his powerful hind legs hurling his massive body at the slender goddess. Li turned to him in surprise as his paws impacted against her chest. His teeth buried into her chest and he felt them plunge clear to the center of her hearts. Her blood was sweet as brivari and twice as pungent. He eagerly ripped at her chest with his razor like teeth, long as kutaris and twice as sharp they encouraged the sweet liquid to flow into his mouth.

Li looked upon him, her eyes full of sympathy because she knew the fire that fueled all desires even those bore by the heartless. Li then did something Morgoth had not anticipated. She bent forward and placed a single gentle kiss on the forehead of the beast that threatened to tear her hearts from her chest.

Morgoth’s eyes snapped to the unspoiled beauty as his teeth buried still deeper into her flesh. The kiss burned like a brand and he felt her pulling, tugging at the void in his soul. The feelings that began to blossom in the depths of the emptiness were like none he had ever felt before and they terrified him. Instantly, Morgoth tore his fangs from the goddess’s chest tearing away a small sliver of the flawless left heart.

Li fell to the ground as Morgoth fled taking with him the tiny sliver of her hearts. Her hearts lay exposed to all and her left heart, the resting place of the soul, now lay incomplete.

Morgoth did not stop his fearful flight until he was well within the darkness of the underworld. Hiding in the murkiest corner of his realm he felt the small sliver of Li that lay in his stomach. The tiny sliver of the goddess burned like white hot fire that slowly spread through his body.

“What is this evil?” he wondered as he felt the heat spreading. He lay there in the darkness for days, longing for some unnamed thing beyond his reach that he just could not find or grasp. It was a feeling Morgoth had never felt, the need for another, for the company of something more then the darkness.

Li woke in the gardens, her wounds had healed or so it appeared from the outside. Her hand moved to her chest and she felt the incompleteness deep within. Some part of her was gone and she wept for the small lost piece of her perfection.

Li pulled herself weakly to her feet. Now incomplete her beauty and grace waned. She yearned for the lost piece that she could feel far in the distance. She shuffled toward its call. Darkness began to surround her but sight was not needed. Her hearts knew where the piece that would complete them lay. For like her whole being her hearts also yearned for the lost completeness.

Li fumbled in the darkness until her hands felt softness and her hearts began to sing feeling once more the lost completeness.

Eyes in the darkness turned to her. The reddish orbs mirroring her own need to find once more the peace and serenity of wholeness.

She lay against the soft fur. Her exhausted form grateful and in need of sleep. Morgoth felt joy for the first time in his existence as the painful yearning subsided under the soft hands that intertwined themselves in his long fur. His eyes strained to reveal the identity of the figure but it was somehow hidden from him. He sought the form and laid his great head upon it once more at rest from the burning fire she had ignited in his heartless form.




....To be continued...

The women of my house have always followed the goddess Li. She is the goddess of passion. Li is the synthesis, the union of male and female. She is the symbol of the moment when the body, hearts and very souls of the male and female merge. She is every passion that can be experienced. Li is the physical passions; love, lust, desire, sexuality, seduction, beauty. She is also the intellectual passions; learning, curiosity, contemplation, invention, cunning, truth and creativity. Li embodies the spiritual passions; art, music, dance, forgiveness, sanctity, faith, honor, courage. She is the force that drives our people, the very fire that makes a person a Centauri.

She is also very dangerous. She requires full devotion because she is jealous. She can take someone to the very heights of passion and perfection and at a whim smash them like a delicate glass. To worship Li is to give your soul to her. A child of Li must be resilient enough to wade through the turmoil that is the wake of her touch and walk out the other side unscathed.

I have been devoted to Li all of my life. Some of my first memories are of her temple here on Davo. From the outside her temples always look plain, the only thing marking them as her sanctuary is the rose hued stone that is traditionally used to build them. Within they are a thing of wonder. The temples are usually round with a large stained glass window in the center of the high roof. In the center of the floor is a gold guilded statue of the goddess; often quite large sometimes 10 ft tall or more. The surface of the statue bathed in ever shifting color from the glass above. Around the large wondow are three concentric circles of paintings. The one closest to the window is filled with flames to symbolize passion and the fire of life within each person. The middle ring is painted in flowers to symbolize beauty both physical and the beauty found in the world around us. The outer ring is black and dappled with star to symbolize yearning, achievement and to remind us of the greater universe that surrounds us. The walls are hung with vibrant tapestries; and the floor covered in fine rugs or flower petals. Her temples are breathtaking.

The first song I learned to sing was a prayer for her strength and protection. She has been an ever present force in my life. A force of strength, courage, passion, devotion and artistic fervor that has taken me through the darkest times and embraced me in the moments of joy.


Crossposted to theatrical_muse