#acodinhc

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

27. What was the worst day in your main character’s life? The best?

"We’re all very proud of you for completing the test." The Voice spoke, as she herself adjusted the brand new dress the young teenager was wearing.

Helena was still dazed—she had just woken up after her trial, and everyone seemed to want to stare at her, or talk to her. It was the Voice who had shooed them all off, getting Helena ready herself.

Helena blinked a few times, not sure what to really contribute to the conversation—this was the Voice! The head of the church! And she was paying special attention to her? It seemed ridiculous, in a way.

The Voice didn’t seem bothered by Helena’s silence, and instead made sure the girls’ hair was combed through and pinned up. “You won’t have to talk. All you’ll have to do is just stand there, although I’d like it if you could smile a bit. You’re being bestowed a great honor, you know. You’ve become the Oracle of Seasons— you’ll be taking the name of Din and everything.” The Voice sounded cheerful, and almost looked cheerful, if her blue eyes weren’t a tad bit cold. Helena couldn’t help but feeling unnerved by the disconnect in the womans’ voice compared to her eyes, and the statement she had made.

Her mouth felt dry, but she still spoke. “W-what?” She asked quietly. “Taking the name of Din?”

The Voice stopped fussing enough to look her over before smiling again. “Your name will be changed. Think of it as….a rebirth, for you. You simply can’t go by the name of Helena. You can think of it as…hm.” She stood up now, looking down at the girl. “Helena died down there, in the trial. Everything connected to her is gone. You’re Din now, the Oracle of Seasons, and will be treated as such.”

Din shivered a little, her mind unable to fully process it. Why was the Voice talking about her like she was a real person? SHE was Helena! The thought of losing everything was—-well, was it bad? She stared wide-eyed down at the floor. Helena had such a terrible life, hadn’t she? Din found it so much easier to think of what had happened as if it was to a different person. Helena had gone through that dark dungeon, thrown in there by people she admired. Helena had screamed for help and no one had came. Helena had fallen off a ledge and laid there for nearly a day before being able to move on.

Din was the one who succeeded. Din was the one who everyone had been waiting years for. Din was the one in the fancy dress, having an event held in her honor. And she was Din. Now she was Din.

She finally looked down at her beautiful dark red dress and shed a few tears for the orphan known as Helena, whose parents didn’t want her, who everyone thought was a sand demon, who only had her brother to depend on,

who died down there in the dungeon trial so Din could live.

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

6, 17, 24

6. Write a journal entry from your character that starts with “I’ll never share this with anyone, but the truth is…”

-Journal entry dated five or so years ago-

I’ll never share this with anyone, but the truth is I should have gone with my brother. They won’t let me use my real name anymore, for anything. If any of the girls I grew up around use it, they’re punished. While I don’t mind for those bitches to get the rod, the others don’t deserve it.

The Voice said that Helena was ‘dead’, and that I was Din now, but what does that really mean? Am I supposed to forget the years the people here treated me like I wasn’t human, in favor of this…this new self where the church finally likes me?

It doesn’t feel like I deserve this at all…but I like it too. Does that make me a bad person?

17. How does your main character feel when the phone rings?

Before her number got out, she used to feel excited because only a few people called her(well, to be honest, it was only Shad probably). Now that her number is published and she gets odd phonecalls all the time, she feels anxious and irritated(especially when it’s at 3am).

24. Make a list of everything in your character’s closet. What should have been thrown out but wasn’t? What’s right in front?

Oh my god, I won’t make a list of everything because she is a packrat. She has clothes that don’t even fit her anymore because she’s completely unwilling to give anything up—considering she had so little before.

At front however, is usually the latest fancy dress she plans to wear to an event, or if there isn’t one coming up, her normal clothes.

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

Dins' job

It occurred to me that I haven't put down anywhere exactly what Din does in the church so I get to do that now, under the cut.

Din has a primary job and oodles of secondary jobs. Her prime is 'Oracle of Seasons' which can be broken down into to parts.

Keep the weather favorable for New Hyrule: She's to keep damaging storms at bay and far away from the island of NH. (This also means make sure the weather is favorable to things growing as well.) If NH has nasty weather, it's either assumed she's at fault for either not doing her job or creating it herself.

Do what the King demands: What basically classifies Din as a weapon is this. She builds up damaging storms and sends them in the direction she's told, or alternatively blows away favorable weather to create droughts in areas.

She has an allowance that she was given when she became the Oracle, and is paid for each job that she does for the King. Needless to say, because of her desire for material wealth she may be the richest and most destructive of the Oracles. Willful ignorance doesn't excuse terrible deeds, after all.

Her secondary jobs are

Act as representation for the church: Given how socially active she is, she often goes to events acting as a representative if the shindig is important--but not important to require the Voice attending.  She's expected, of course, to act the part in attitude and attire.

Training: While she should still technically be in training, she's found most of the teachers within the church to be nearly useless. She stopped training completely about six months ago, and while she's considered to be 'at mage level, doubly' she cannot be tested for mastery until she can find an adequate teacher.

Church duties: Whether it'd be holding mass, listening to confessionals or any manner of duties needed to be performed. Naturally, Din has opted out of basically all of these unless she feels like it.

Her secondary jobs aren't mandatory and she could basically drop all of them and do only her primary jobs if she wanted too, but that would require spending nearly all of her time inside the church and who wants that?

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

[Whispers this is a drabble of Din becoming the Oracle. Under the cut for potential length and also unpleasantness.

It was unpleasant at first--spending her birthday sick in bed was never fun, but spending her thirteenth birthday in bed? If it wasn't her brother sneaking her a cupcake it would have been a terrible birthday.

Although the cupcake hadn't made it much better, with the terrible headache that felt like something was trying to claw its way out of her head. It was the third day in a row she'd asked to be excused from class and the priestess who taught them was beyond annoyed to the point where a few hushed slurs drifted down to Helena's ears. She gritted her teeth and ignored it-- had her brother been around they wouldn't have dared.

She stared up at the bed, eyes streaming as she tried to weather out the headache. Why did this have to happen to her? All it did was make the priestesses angry at her for missing class and chores. She didn't want them to be angry at her, it made her life so much harder.

She sniffed loudly, glad that none of the other girls were in the room. It had felt dramatic, but the girl felt like her head could split open at any second.

Please let my headache go away, please Goddesses. I'll do anything--I'll never miss another class again. I won't swear, I won't talk loudly during mass. Please just anything to make it stop.

Praying had done little for her, other than make her cry harder. Did the Goddesses even hear the prayers of people like her? She sniffed and wiped at her face.

She blinked away tears and tried again, just in case. With so many people praying, maybe if she kept on it one might be heard.

I'll never waste food again. She began praying, holding the sides of her painful head. I won't spit at any of the other girls, even if they deserve it.

Her head felt a little better, but she had to wonder if she was just imagining it.

I hear you, my child. Do you wish to listen to me?

She startled so hard the bed squeaked in response as she bolted upright. She narrowed her eyes as she looked around the room, finding it empty still. 

"Yes?" She asked the empty room quietly. There was no one there, but who was the voice? It had been so loud and clear.

There will be so much for you to do, my dear little oracle, and it will be difficult.

She stared wide eyed into space, knowing that there was no one in the room, the voice came from seemingly everywhere--or...

She grasped her head, which felt lighter in a way. "What?" She asked the empty room. Oracle? No-- the Oracles were three girls the church had been waiting so long for. She'd watched her two friends rise to those roles--it had been sad to see them disappear from class, from the hall of orphans, but Helena had never for a second thought that she..that she..

"Are you sure?" She whispered, drawing her knees to her chest.

Laughter rang, seemingly all around her and inside her head. It made her blush and feel embarrassed.

I am sure, and for that I hope you forgive me. Confide in one of the members of church and take what is yours by birthright.

The headache ended, as did the voice, and Helena was left feeling empty and a little cold. She was the oracle..and now she had to tell someone. She looked again at the empty room. It was required to report such a thing, she knew that. She remembered when her friends had left after it being reported, and look where they were now- far better than the hall of orphans.

She kicked the covers off of her and slipped her feet into her pair of shoes sitting by her bed. She'd tell sister Erin--the woman had always been kind to her. She haphazardly remade her bed before setting off down the hall. She'd no doubt be with the younger children--the ones too young for classes.

Helena was right of course, and the priestess gave her a warm smile.

"Happy birthday, Helena. Are you feeling better?" She asked, holding an infant.

"Yes, and I was wondering if I could maybe tell you something." She whispered, even thought it seemed a little needless. Who was going to overhear her, infants?

"What is it dear?" She asked, rocking the infant in her arms.

Helena stood for a second, thinking. The conversation she'd had was short and not very helpful, but when she tried to think of it it seemed as information that wasn't there before was whispered into her ear. Who the voice was, what she herself was, what she had to do. It was all planted there like a seed.

"I'm the Oracle of Seasons." She said, saying "I think" quickly afterwards. The priestess lost all color in her face as she stared blankly.

"Helena-- do you know what you're saying? Do you even hear yourself? Do you know what you're saying?" She said, putting the infant in a crib as she repeated herself.

"She-she spoke to me. I think that's why I've been sick, she was trying to-" Din tried to explain before she was cut off.

"You have to stop, if you keep this up, I'll have to report it, and you--and you-- tell me this isn't true, you have to tell me right now you've made it all up." She hissed, grabbing Helena by the shoulders.

Which frankly shocked the teenager into stammering. "A-aren't we supposed to tell someone if it happens? Isn't this a good thing?"

"No, no, no, no, no." Erin spoke, strained and fearful. "You don't understand what's going to happen to you if I do. Just--just go back to your room and don't tell anyone else." She pulled Helena into a hug for a few moments before a female voice called from behind them.

"Don't tell anyone else about what, Sister?" A low female voice called, and if Erin didn't look sick before, she did now.

The Voice stood at the entrance, a guard on each side. She smiled serenely, watching them. Helena felt her eyes bug out--it had been the first time she'd see the woman up close, and intimidating would have been too soft a word for how she felt.

Erin had been shocked in silence, even as the Voice walked to them. She raised a hand, which caused Helena to involuntarily flinch. The Voice frowned slightly as she stroked her hair.

"I dreamed you awakened, my 'little sister'." She spoke sweetly. "Did sister Erin hope to keep you a secret from me?" She asked, giving a harsh glance over to the woman who had backed away.

And then the Voices' attention was completely on Helena. "Now, tell me what you told the sister." She said, continuing to stroke her hair.

"Oh, I-I think I'm the Oracle. Of seasons. To Din, I mean. She spoke to me." She said, slightly put off by the affection the Voice was placing on her. Adults touching her, that didn't involve a ruler of some sort, was completely unheard of.

"You think? Don't be afraid to stand by what you say." The Voice scolded slightly.

Sister Erin had to cover her mouth to keep from saying anything, and Helena still couldn't understand why the woman was so against her saying what she'd just experienced.

"I am the Oracle of Seasons." Helena said, straightening up and attempting to speak with confidence.

"While I believe you--I truly do--it is church law that we have to test you first. Do you understand?" The Voice said softly, taking her hand away from Helena. "We simply cannot announce you without solid proof."

Erin let out a shriek that her hands could not completely muffle, and the Voice looked annoyed for a moment before going back to that serene facade. "Vanora, I think the sister is sick, perhaps you should escort her to the infirmary?" She spoke coldly, and the captain of the guard stepped forward, grabbing the womans' arm and nearly dragging her out of the room. "And please, send Sister Josephine to look after the children here." Vanora nodded before disappearing out of the room.

"Do you understand that we must test you?" The Voice asked, putting an arm around Helena's shoulders and leading her from the room. "It's very special, it will test your very bond with the Goddess Din. There is a maze underneath the church, and somewhere in it is the Rod of Seasons-- your artifact. If you retrieve it, no one could possibly dispute your right."

Truthfully, it was the first time Helena had heard of a maze, or the Rod of Seasons. And the way sister Erin had reacted and been treated for it had made it feel like a block of ice was in her stomach. "I think I understand."

"Good, I'm so glad." She said as she continued to lead Helena further into the church. "I'm sure, if you're worthy, you'll be just fine." The Voice assured her as they approached a large door.

The guards at the door gave a stony glance at the group and opened the door, inky blackness on the other side. The Voice gently pushed her forward, and Helena dug her feet in the ground. "I have to go in there? Do I get a lantern?" She asked, turning to the Voice. "Can't I talk to my brother first?"

"No." The Voice said, her voice turning cold. "Claiming to be an Oracle is a very serious occurrence, and all those claiming such a thing must be tested. Your faith will act as your torch, I'm sure. Goodbye, little one." She said, glancing at a guard.

Both door guards grabbed her by the arms, tossing the slight girl into the darkness. There were only a few seconds of light before the door was shut and locked behind her.

She yelled and yelled at the closed door, pounding her fists into it. She had never been afraid of the dark--she had thought herself brave through most of her childhood. She wasn't afraid of bugs, or mice, or using the toilet in the middle of the night, but this was an entirely different level of fear.

It was clear they weren't going to let her out, not without finding the Rod of Seasons. It was only a maze, wasn't it? A dark one, but nothing bad. Why would there be anything bad below the church?

She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and starting to walk. She would find a way out, somehow.

-

Five days passed from the time she was thrown into the dungeon to when she emerged out of the side. She had been delirious, bloody, half starved and dehydrated when she stumbled out, scaring the daylights out of the guard who had been posted there 'in case' she survived. 

The dungeon had been filled with monsters, and if it wasn't for the most basic of fire spells she had copied from her brother she wouldn't have made it past the first night. The guard had carried her to the infirmary before notifying the Voice--although Helena was in no position to accept any praise.

She had slept for two days afterwards, only waking up to drink. She slept through her side being stitched up, through her brothers' frequent visits.

She slept through the Voice trying twice to take the Rod of Seasons out of her hand, but the girl gripped it like her life depended on it, which for nearly three days it did.

When she finally came to and woke from her glassy eyed stupor she was presented with a fancy dress, and her own room. She was praised and coddled and fawned over before finally being presented to the King as the final Oracle they had all been waiting for.

If it was not for the disconnect she felt, she might have enjoyed the positive attention. But the bedroom was too big, and the King scared her a little and she had to have every lamp in her room on at all times for an entire year after her test.

But she had proven herself, nobody could dispute her right to claim the name Din. If anything, it was encouraged to abandon her birth name.

The Voice had cooed to her-- didn't Helena die in that dungeon? She was reborn anew as Din, and that was just the way things were going to be.

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

Oracle of Seasons stuff

Basically a rundown about how utterly damaging/crippling the church is to the Oracle of Seasons line.

The Oracles are pieces of the Goddesses that are reincarnated over and over again, with powers over a certain element and aspect of the world.

Dins' element is fire, and her aspect is the physical world/earth/nature. She dictates the seasons, the weather that takes place in each season, and the plants that grow during each season.

The Oracle of Seasons herself is not completely whole, as their are five parts of the role. There are the four Season Spirits that reside in the Temple of Seasons, and the Oracle herself. With all five united in the Temple of Seasons is when the Oracle of Seasons is at her strongest(and healthiest).

When the Oracle awakens, she feels a strong compulsion to go to her Temple, as it holds the journals and tomes of information that would teach her her duties-- along with the Season Spirits.

Now-- sometimes in the past, the Church got a hold of the Rod of Seasons, which while not vital to the Oracles' duties, makes her job considerably easier when it comes to greater deeds of magic. This means at one time, an Oracle met with the Church and helped them, and either fell in battle or was killed somehow and they took it upon themselves to protect the Rod of Seasons.

This started the Oracles being searched for and used by the Church, and therefore isolated.

The Church is ill equipped to teach the Oracle of Seasons what she needs to do, as simple magical training doesn't cut it given the highly specialized powers each Oracle has. Paired with how isolated from the earth--or even the small group of islands that New Hyrule rests upon, it serves for a highly unstable and magically volatile Oracle.

Because of this, the Oracle of Seasons tends to have a short lifespan of between 20 and 30 years as without their Temple or connection with the earth their magic slowly grows unstable and out of control. Given that the Oracle of Seasons tends to be heavily dependent on their emotions(Being of Goddess Din, who governs power and passion and all of that good stuff) when she exhibits strong emotions her magic begins to act on them as she gets older.

Basically, as she gets older, strong emotions cause her magic to go haywire. Due to this, the Oracle of Seasons is often executed by the church/king when it becomes something she can no longer control.

Of course, as each 'Season' incarnation is proficient at different types of magic, how they go unstable is unique to the incarnation. Springs' can cause an overgrowth of..well everything, causing plants and trees to take over the land around them. Summers' cause the weather to become unnatural. Autumns' cause foliage to rot and die. Winters' prevent bodies from decaying, leading to an influx of undead monsters. All four incarnations, if emotionally traumatized enough, can change the seasons of the area around them.

This is of course relevant to the Din of ACO because she is reaching a point of emotional stress that her powers(weather) will begin to go haywire, given the stress of an upcoming war, constant harassing phonecalls, committing treason against the King in favor of the Princess, her brother leaving and re-entering her life, and her soon to be visiting of the field-- her first communion with the earth, albeit a small piece of it.

Basically she's getting to her critical point, which means the weather of NH will begin to become erratic, slowly at first (See the small rainstorm that turned into an all out thunderstorm) before becoming more dramatic.

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

Chain of command, ghosts, failure

Chain of Command: Even though Din is considered a ~direct connection to the Goddess~ there are several people that she has been taught are higher than she is. The head of the church and the king are obvious enough. There’s a few more members in the church that still tell her what she’s to do and being brought up in the church has taught her not to question them.

Ghosts: She’s actually seen a couple wandering around the church, although she didn’t realize it. She does believe they exist but are pretty sure they’re like transparent spooky things that rattle chains, not what she’s actually seen.

Failure: She isn’t as afraid of it as you’d think— she’s actually overly confident in her abilities because as she does what she’s told she’s never been told she’s failed at something. Of course this causes her to continue to do bad things for the King.

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

Family, friendship, sloth

Family: She was orphaned with her brother at five, and doesn’t really remember anything about them, and anything she did remember she shoved away and made herself forget because after all, they gave her up! Of course, her brother also left her and she adored him growing up because he always looked out for her. So yeah she’s got some abandonment issues when it comes to family members.

Friendship: She doesn’t really have friends except for Shad, and even then she’s a bit of a pushy person. She’s overcompensating her own emotions by being overbearing to the people around her.

Sloth: Due to the fact that she’s not allowed to go out without people knowing and escorting she spends a lot of time just…lazing around the church. She goes to all the events and prays and everything but other then the parties she doesn’t do much but loaf around.

[aclockworkoracle-blog1]

Lust, ambition, secrets

Oh man

Lust: She hasn’t felt this towards anyone? She’s never been attracted to anyone yet. Since she’s big on romance novels and stuff she certainly wouldn’t mind a prince in shining armor, but being surrounded by priests and children it’s just like ‘nah son’. Even at the parties she goes too she’s yet to find someone to interest her. Plenty of attractive dudes, but she always finds something wrong with them.

Ambition: She is pretty ambitious, although right now she’s stagnated quite a bit. Basically all her ambition is covered by the limitation she’s been fed since she was a child.

Secrets: Her birth name. She was required to give it up(and happily did so) when she became the Oracle of Seasons, Din. It’s Helena, and pretty much a well kept secret, although I’m sure there are still some older priestesses who raised her who try to call her that. And her brother too.