Mana
SPECIES
autumno cervi grues FEMALE 21 years old PERSONALITY i reach for what i do not know and go where you have not been. my eyes are distant, but smile sincere. i listen just to hear, seldom to respond, and i feel loved, yet lonely here, as birds pick gently at my thoughts. a state of welcomed turbulence, the cost of liberty... in uncertainty i place faith with intuition, my unpredictable creative friend. but through life i step carefully, remembering to gaze up. and in the space between then and now i find beauty in everything. in everything there is balance and purpose - in this, fear does not exist. MAGIC mana finds strength in nature - all its pure organic forms and creations. she shares respiration with trees and the branches on her shoulders and withers, as well as her antlers, are able to photosynthesize. in cold conditions mana can grow a long tail that resembles that of a dragon at will. GRUS GRUS mana has a strong spiritual connection with birds and their distinct presence often echoes her mood. the crane is her most beloved visitor, an akin soul, her muse. while magpies and jackdaws bring curiosity and contemplation, the sparrow calls for laughter, the cardinal for adventure. and on lonely evenings her company is the nightingale and the owl who sing of mortality and romance. |
artwork by menuli
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i can never be alone
when all the gods keep calling me out
how can i be by myself?
when all the gods keep calling me out
how can i be by myself?
Gallery
feral form
anthro form
human form
animation by empluvie / all artwork (c) original artists
existentium
i. the beginning
once there lived a beautiful birch tree all by herself in a great big meadow. it was strange for a birch to live alone and she could hear the oaks below the hills whisper of her strangeness. she cried often in burning red tears and the grass below withered in sadness. she gazed at the herd of deer that grazed close by and wept louder for she could not ask for company or comfort. her bones had become brittle and leaves fell lifelessly, lighter than air. she was the last, and it was time to leave, silently and gracefully, as she had always been. with a final breath she blew her seed into the howling air. they twirled and landed by her roots while some danced through the wheat. they flew by the deer or gave a wink and the creatures passed no heath. but a single fawn raced through the field at the sight of scarlet snow. in her curiosity and without fear she licked the air and ate the tear. then the birch called out in joy, for now she'll be alone no more. the fawn fell gently and trembled in awe, as the gift of the birch tree made home in her bones. silent and graceful, mana was born. '' |
ii. the contemplation
the fawn would never be the same, for all the gifts the birch tree gave. she hears a whisper of her new name. mana. the gift of something sacred. and now her eyes see far and bright. she tastes the old breath of the pines, hears the birdsong, understands the words. never feels cold – a gift of new fur. but how come her heart aches like nothing before? ''the gift of the search for purpose.'' and with this thought, comes a visitor. a charming crane that seems unchanged, but for the touch of white that adorns his forehead. in his eyes there’s some silent hurricane and a new, but familiar pain. ''i’ve found you'', he exclaims, ''though i’m older, we were born on the same day''. mana realises then, she wasn’t the only one to taste the birch’s breath. while she was led by curiosity, the crane admits, for him it was an accident, ''and still, i am your brother now, i see you long for purpose, and i too feel the loneliness that comes with all our mother gave us.'' and something quivers deep inside, the words 'your brother' leave a mark. since mana woke her inner grace, she’s wandered far, left all behind. now she looks upon the crane, with hopeful eyes, her mind ablaze - ''so what about this aching soul?'' ''follow me, and you will know. '' |
iii. the eternal
brother crane will bring her then to where the birch tree’s children rest. a forest of eternal reds. ''i've lived here all my life'' he’ll say, ''and then there came a sudden change – i was born, like you, for the second time… but on this day a violent wind stumbled in and broke the earth. crimson rain fell on the clay, every root and stump emerged. and then… everything stood still. as if nature turned her back. as if the forest with all its beings entered an autumn without end. all of us – dormant seeds that will not break the crust. and yet we have survived somehow. lacking, but existing. strangely tied to this ground - unable to leave, against instinct and doubt. you see it's a sad, but beautiful place. i could see every thread bending will to this daze. but the trance did not overwhelm me. instead i felt something knock at my skull. it burned and in time a whisper emerged. i would listen and listen and then i could hear – the voice of the fallen birch! she told me her stories, her beginning and end. she told me of you, she gave you a name. mana, my sister, i found my own purpose, now i bring you yours,'' the crane will pause, a gaze without fear, eyes lingering ahead - ''your home, your aching soul, is here.'' |
''here…'' mana will gently repeat. the woods from the tale now right at her feet… she will take her first quivering step – all will toss and come to life. leaves will tremble, bears will wake. an eternal autumn will fall again – but not the kind where trees turn bare, instead a vermilion evergreen. a mid-summer energy, painted in red. food will be plenty, grass will grow sweet. and all the birches will stand not alone, but intertwining branches like bones. mana will feel their breath in her spine and inhale the meaning and wisdom inside. she will be the blood that fills the veins of this place, and her brother – the rib-cage that guards it from harm. a final gift from the lonely old birch. but who'd have known this paradise would need a crane and fawn to make it thrive? now no matter where she goes, mana will feel a call to her home. and she will return, now and then, with the weight and the honour of minding this land.
original story / concept / artork (c) menuli
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opia
photomanipulation by lunarlueur
other art
all artwork (c) original artists
mana's concept / design / story (c) menuli
you are not authorised to copy / quote / distribute / steal any of the above artwork or writing.
mana's concept / design / story (c) menuli
you are not authorised to copy / quote / distribute / steal any of the above artwork or writing.