Origin Story: Of Gods and Marks

Posted on Sunday, 17 May 2020 - 12:14pm by Commander Soral & Lieutenant Alex Kingsley

Mission: Operation: Recall
Location: USS Fontana | XO Quarters | Deck 1
Timeline: 2393 MD05 (Close to midnight)

{ON}

Soral had left the comedy evening event early to help in Tactical. It seemed that he was doing that more and more. He missed the department so for him it wasn't anything but a nostalgic attempt to hold onto the past. He had told Alex that he would be very late but had finished helping with the calibrations early. They had also equipped the shuttles with all that was needed. It had been a productive day. He headed home now wondering if Alex would be asleep.

The warmth of the water, the scent of lavender and jasmine filling the air, the music... time had lost all meaning. Sinking lower, her hair loosely pulled up and twisted into a knot, Alex released a contented sigh as she closed her eyes. Singing along to her favourite song she let out a startled yelp when she opened them to find Soral standing not two feet away.

Her sudden movement - combined with a little too much bubble bath - was a slippery combination and in an instant she disappeared underwater for a second before she resurfaced. Using both hands to wipe the water and bubbles from her face, her hair now well and truly drenched, she realised Soral was now inches from her. His hand was under her elbow, his uniform jacket soaked through. “Hi?” she offered with a sheepish smile.

He'd entered their quarters to and had heard Alex singing. He'd walked over and had seen the contentment on her face as she lounged within the bubble bath. He'd been just about to call out but she'd opened her eyes and startled. He'd moved lightening quick to help her up from under the water.

She looked rather cute covered in bubbles. "Are you alright?" He asked. He realized that he now had to change his uniform. He didn't mind. "My apologies for startling you."

“I’m fine, promise. You’re back early,” she replied with a bright smile, “your uniform...”

He looked down at himself. "No matter. I will change." He pressed a kiss to her lips. "Sit back. I shall return with some chocolate and a drink. What would you like?" He asked unzipping his jacket. and removing it. He'd change the under shirt too. It was soaked. He removed it thankful that his pants had remained water free.

"I think I drank enough," she grinned, watching him undress as she leaned her head back against the tub. She was instantly reminded of that day, on the holodeck, in the heat of the forge. How completely things had changed...

As usual, when his jacket was removed her eyes began tracing the path of his tattoo, following the vine all the way from his shoulder as it wound down and around his arm before ending in a black rose. The intricate detail betrayed how much effort had gone into not just the design but the execution of it. It was a work of art, and while perhaps biased, she thought it was surpassed only by Soral himself. She realised she was staring and he knew it. Instead of apologising she flashed him a mischievous smile, "what? I can't help it if you look amazing and the tattoo is just something else. You never told me why you picked it. And why a black rose?"

And there it was. So far he'd avoid explanation of it. Starfleet had just written it up as his tattoo and he'd not corrected them. That meant that they had not paid attention to it, but this was Alex. She had asked. He walked over to the tub and knelt by it. Alex had placed a nice spongy bath matt and he was grateful for its comfort. He reached out and removed a stray lock of hair holding it briefly as he often did. Her hair fascinated him. "That is a long story. Are you sure you wish to hear it?"

"I always want to hear about you," she said as she took his hand. "If you want to tell that is."

"Very well." He thought a moment. A bath together seemed romantic. Soral quickly removed the rest of his clothing. He pulled Alex up stepped into the larger tub himself and they settled in the tub together. Her back rested on his chest and head on his shoulder. "Comfy?"

"Very. Although I suspect you are trying to distract me," she mused, unable to keep the smile out of her voice as she took his hand, using her free hand to trace around the rose. "Tell me the story. Please?"

"Of course Ashayam." He said and launched into his tale. "To understand it you must understand my birth." He sighed. He had not told anyone this story, he had not trusted anyone. He trusted Alex. "I was born on Vulcan, as you know. I was born in a small village on the L-Langon Mountains overlooking the L'Langon Valley. It was called Krenthan Village. The village was isolated. They disliked technology and lived simply making their own clothing, building houses, living in the old ways. That is why I worship the old Gods of Vulcan. It was our way." He knew that she hadn't missed the old status. "We believed in Surak and his teachings but we believed in so much more."

"More?" the question slipped out before she could stop it. She kissed the rose, "sorry. Please, go on."

"My father, Solbeck, was the doctor within the village. He spent time traveling to the valley below to trade for herbs and cloth. He was an excellent trader and they used his knowledge of herbs to help with medicine. There he supposedly met my mother choosing to have an affair. They were together only a few times and then she is said to have disappeared only returning to leave me with my father. She left me at the door with a note and the necklace I gave you." This was where it got tricky.

"I was born at night. The night of one of the biggest storms in the region. Sand, lightening, it was...not the best of nights. It also happened to be the Festival of Shariel, the Vulcan God of Death. It was considered a bad omen. Particularly," He moved her hand to the center of the rose where the bud formed. "Because I bore a small mark there, a dark bud if you will, the mark of Shariel."

She studied the rose as he spoke, frowning. When she realised he had stopped speaking she tightened her grip on his hand, letting him know he wasn't alone. "But a birthmark is just coincidence," she said softly. "They can't blame a child for having one. I have a bad feeling you are about to say they did..."

"Indeed. The storm, my birth at the Festival Time, the mark." He paused. "It is customary for the village to give the child a secret name. One that would only be known by the Village and would ensure that they had power over that individual. It is not on my records because much like the Romulans we only reveal our name to an outsider of great trust. It is for us and the Village to know. My name is Soral Shariel." He said.

"As I grew my telepathy was strong. My strength grew. The village feared me yet the children took great pleasure in using their words to injure me. I remember this one incident, I do not remember much but I was afraid. I was standing near a cliff and I feared they would throw me off. I was afraid, angry. I called out to Shariel. I remember my worlds. I said, If you are my patron, if I am your will then stand and defend me The ground shook there was a crack that opened between me and the children. They were frightened. They ran off and as soon as they did the shaking stopped and the crack sealed. When I got home my father knew. That night we were forced to flee." He held up his arm. "Each year after that the mark grew. It changed from spot to blossom to bud to vine and each year there was a new thorn and leaf and petal. As I grew, it grew with me."

"How is that even possible?" she breathed, tracing the petals. The rest she could write off as coincidence, geological events were not uncommon on Vulcan and children often misunderstood things... "It doesn't hurt you, does it? Even when it changes?"

"No. It does feel different. On Festival days I spend three days in meditation. It is...a most unusual feeling." He sighed. "Ever since that day I have felt a connection to the land. I see the Vulcan Gods, the old ways like the Bajora see their Prophets it is not logical but it is so." He worried telling her would push her away.

She fell silent, thinking as kept her fingers intertwined with his. She, in contrast, was not religious. She had no way to truly understand. But she could almost feel his belief, had no doubt that he was telling her the truth. She could barely manage three minutes of meditation, let alone three days. But he was far more disciplined than her, in body and mind.

"As a scientist I find logic invaluable. As a person, I think logic can be overrated. Life just doesn't work that way," she pointed out. "And I have to admit, you will have to educate me on the Vulcan Gods. But I am curious … what do you think the rose means? Is a black rose, designed in this way, symbolic?"

"It is a dual symbol. It is a symbol of Shariel the Vulcan God of Death and Rebirth. Also on of the Symbols of a Romulan organization called the Quwat Miat. Rough translation, warrior nuns."

"Like the women on Vashti?" she queried. "But a symbol is just that, a symbol. How does that translate to a tattoo that actually grows with you? It isn't just illogical, it defies logic. Do you miss it? Being on Vulcan. In your forge?"

"Yes like Vashti but there are many orders of the warrior nuns." He said. "As for Vulcan I miss the land. But if I were there then I would not be here with you." His arms tightened around her. "I would not have missed being here for all of Vulcan." He kissed her right temple. "I do not know what the mark means. I have faith that it is a good omen." He hoped she did too.

“If you have faith that is good enough for me,” she smiled. Quieter she added, “Soral... when you go back? Will you stay? On Vulcan. On the land.”

"No. I will not." He sighed. "I am trying to ensure I do not have to go back but if I must then it will be only long enough to have the ceremony and then I will leave. I have no intention of this...union I must enter into being more then just a ceremony. It will be a marriage that is only on paper. A promise kept to ensure my sister's happiness so she can marry the man she loves."

“Can you do that? Don’t Vulcan marriages require more than signing a marriage certificate? Do you even have those? Why am I even asking this?” She groaned as she sank a little down under the water. Way to spoil the mood Alex... wasn’t it better not to know? Or to think about when they were no longer together.

He pulled her back to him. "Alex. This is a marriage only to ensue my sister is married. I do not love T'Aurora. She is cold, calculating, vile. She knows I have no feelings for her. Yes I can do that. A marriage ceremony can be held but I can refuse a bonding." He sighed. "I have had the fortune of hiring an estate manager to manage my estate on Vulcan. He is a Ferengi and quite clever when drafting contracts and figuring out loopholes"

He turned her a little so they could look one another in the eye. "I only wish you. You are who I dreamed of and you are who I would wish to be with me for all times. It is perhaps wrong of me to say but I would still be here and frankly I have been questioning why I must give you up. I cannot ask you to continue this after the marriage even though I wish to. I will not lay with her nor will she mind meld with me. I have given myself to you and you shall always have my soul and heart."

She shifted so she could wrap her arms around him, “you have mine too. No matter what... you have mine.”

{OFF:}