Alejia

Alejia, in the Cedrist pantheon, the Goddess of Passion and of the Furies.

The Gospel of Alejia

As told by Alexandra Decens, one-time Head Priestess of Alejia:

Alejia always was a graceful and beautiful woman. Her grace and elegance were always compared to the nobles of the land, even though she was but a simple commoner. She was a tall slender, but full and robust, woman. Her hair was a golden auburn with eyes that were often compared to a peaceful lake with the sun barely touching the waters edge. Her fingers were long and slender and smooth, despite her working the grinders all day. Alejia was seen as the quintessential woman in her day. Of course, the rumors of her being the most passionate woman in the world did not hurt either, though no one knew if those rumors were true or not for no man or woman was ever able to successfully gain her audience beyond a simple passing greating.

Because of her beauty, and of the rumors, the one thing she was always successful at was attracting men; she didn't even have to try. Though many suitors tried unsuccessfully to gain her audience, and many gave up after that first round of rejection, (which, for Alejia, was as common as breathing the air) there was one persistent suitor who came back time and time gain. He was a tall man with a strong build that reminded her of a merchant, but he did not look like any of the merchants she had ever seen before.

His face was clean shaven and his eyes were a rich green with a hint of something Alejia could not quite place. "I see you here day after day young sir, why do you not accept my rejection like all the others?," she asked.

The young man hung his head as if he were afraid that to look upon the woman he so desired would cause him to be frozen but tried to so as to not offend her by not answering her question. He talked in a low, stuttering, but meaningful voice, "I, I , I, um, well, unlike the o..o..other men who adore you, I, I , I actually l..l...love you," as he talked he grew more confident, "The others just w..w...want to be with you because of the rumors they have heard, they want to know it they are true. When they get rejected, the feel they are perhaps too unworthy to even be in your presence and that the rejection they recieve is part of your passion. When you reject them, I can see in your eyes that you wish to be left alone. When you look at me, I can see something in your eyes that differs, a sort of burning fury, passion, and wanting," he paused for a moment, "please correct me if I am wrong."

Alejia looked at her young suitor, her head slightly down, gazing up towards him with her fiery eyes. "What is your name sir?"

The young man was a little taken aback at the question for he expected her to correct his statement, "Well, um, my name is Nillien." He respectfully offered his hand, palm up, and waited for Alejia to place her hand in his. When she did, he gently raised it to his waiting lips, staring into her with all the love and wanting in the world, softly kissed the back of her hand and, reluctlently, let her slowly take her hand out of his.

As she placed her hand into Nillien's, Alejia remarked with a hint of genuine pleasure in her voice, "Pleasure to know the name of at least one of my suitors, Nillien." As she said his name, Nillien caught a glimpse of that fire in her eyes. He stared into her eyes with his own passion and love and finally, after looking at each other for what seemed like a lifetime, Nillien spoke, "I would very much like to get to know you more than anyone has known you, Alejia. I shall come back later in the evening and we can finally discover our love for each other, unless I am mistaken about your love."

Alejia looked at him, and after a moment responded, "I shall see you after the sun sets over the mountain and the glow of its light is still reflected on the river."

"Just like your eyes," Nillien said under his breath as he walked away with a newfound fire burning in him.

As Alejia saw Nillien leave her, she just stared at his back and thought to herself with a devious, wanting grin on her face, "yes, I will see you later, and, if all goes well, I shall see you more than that."

Nillien found a bathhouse and went in, for he was too far from his home to go there. He was only visiting this town to finally meet his true love, Alejia, even though he had only heard of her. When he first heard of this passionate beauty, he immediately fell in love with the woman, from then on, he secretely called his own. He knew that one day he would be able to hold his beloved in his arms and confess his true feelings of desire for her. Though he had never before met her, he knew that they were ment to be together. He didn't know why, but he felt that they held some sort of connection that was greater than even the Gods themselves.

The moment Alejia saw Nillian in the usual crowd of suitors she too felt the connection between them and she felt the crowd of men around her fade away and watched him as though they were the only two people in the world. Nillian never saw her staring at him but both knew of what might pass between them the moment they met. She rejected him like all the others to test his love and his devotion to make sure that he truely was the one she sought. His coming back to be rejected more proved to her beyond words that the connection she felt was truely real.

When they finally did meet, all the passion within her was set on fire to where even Nillian was able to see it. When he walked away, she hoped that she had not revealed too much of herself but in a way knew that Nillian already saw everything about her. As the sun began setting beyond the mountain and the sky was lit with its firey remains, the entire village was buzzing with the news that Alejia had finally found a suitor. "About time," remarked one of the villagers, "a few more months and she would be considered an old maid. Not only that, but I doubt more than the most desperate would still want her as her looks fade, even with those ridiculous rumors floating around. Why anyone would want a wife soley on rumors of passion is beyond me. Though she does work the grinders rather efficently..."

When Alejia caught that remark all she could do was laugh to herself and think only of the night ahead. 'Yes, Nillian has already begun discovering my passion, the depths of my love, the wanting in my soul, but I know he wants more than that, as do I. Tonight we shall see just how deep our adorations run.' Nillian saw the setting of the sun over the mountain, and just when he was able to compare the lovelyness of it to Alejia's eyes, he went back to his beloved's. He didn't even have to knock for when he arrived, Alejia opened the door as if she knew he was there.

"Come in," she remarked almost seductively. Laid out before him on the table was the most wonderful assortment of fruits and breads. "I have been working all day to prepare this for us, I hope you like it."

"It's beautiful," he said, "but none of it compares to your beauty. And I don't mean your physical beauty. In you there is something more than that. There are other woman who might compare to your physical beauty, but there are none that would be able to hold a torch to your deeper beauty. It is there that I see you, unlike most. It is there where your true passions lie. It is there that I wish to reside. In the beauty of your soul, in the beauty of your mind, in the beauty of you."

As he said this, he took her gently by the hand and lead her the middle of the room and both of them sat there on the floor, hands still intwined. "You see," he continued, "The moment I saw you, I knew of your passion because you showed it to me, just like I know you could see mine. I knew exactly your thoughts, your emotions." She gently caressed his hand with her free hand and began precariously moving her hand up his arm. He suddenly felt as if he had a surge of electricity running through his body as all the hairs on his body began to raise.

"I know you," she whispered, "more than I think I know myself. And I only just met you, yet I have known you my whole life." She began to move her hand to his face and gently caressed his jawbone from his ear lobe down to his chin. All he could do was sit there and as he did, his entire body felt as though it would suddenly cry out to the heavens. His eyes closed and fluttered with the almost sheer ectacy of that single touch.

Alejia's hand worked its way up the other side of Nillian's face to his ear, then ever so gently ran down his neck and coller bone. She idlely stroked his collerbone as his hand began to work its way down her arm to her fingertips. As she closed her eyes, her head softly swayed and her mouth opened slightly as she sharply inhaled from the sensation. It was almost like they were sharing their energies, their beings, their very essence. Their caressing became more furious, more desperate, more passionate, neither wanted it to stop. All they could do was touch each other, with each caress, each movement of their body, their souls seemed to intertwine and leave them. As this happened, Nillian reveiled himself for who he really was. As their souls intertwined, the universe seemed to be one with them, and they one with it. Though her eyes were closed, Alejia felt and saw Nillian's energy pass through her. As it did, both reached a state of climax beyond orgasm, Nillian had allowed her ascend and in doing so, gave up any chance he had to ascend, for he was a partially ascended being himself. This moment seemed to last a lifetime, and in a way, it did. Neither of them wanted this feeling to stop, but eventually, the actions stopped, but the feelings still haunted them.

"What just happened?" Alejia asked at barely a whisper.

"You have ascended," replied Nillian in the same low voice, "you have become a trancendi."

"But how? Why?" She said in a low, astounded voice.

"Your passion and fury are known well beyond the mortal realm."

"How can this be?"

"There is no way I could possibly explain, only the Gods know that."