Jalyk Mellir - p5 - Nyx

As you stand before her column, you see a candle is lit, sitting amoungst the thing at the base.  Sort of an understand comes across that you must light her bowl of objects on fire to ask for her aid.  You reach out and set it up in flames.
"Pharika, God of Afflictions.  I come before you to ask of you an Ordeal in return i need passage to where Phenax has hidden himself away in Nyx." You say as if scripted.  The rest of the room darkens as you can only see her Column, and offers in flame.  She appears coiled around her column.

"Hello Jalyk, I did not think to hear your call."

"Gregory is so entranced in the circle of life and death, he is a credit to the circle of life. but so entranched, he seems to forget someday he to will grow old, and weary.  He to will eventually be the food for his children's children.  My boon is granted on success of an ordeal, this is your ordeal."

Everything fades out to darkness, it feels like a spotlight on you though.  Maybe 3 meters in front of you a light comes on and a two boy appears.  One looks sickly, barely able to stand, the other looks healthy and intelligent. A small pedestal with two vials appear in the space between you and the boys.  both the boys are in plain basic garments, and besides one of them being sick, they both are in good health

"One of these boy will grow up to lead people, bring greatness to the land.  The other a tyrant, destroying ever life he touches in mad grab for power, that even when he dies he will rise again to continue his conquest as a Returned.  One will be a savior, the other a murderer.  Before you are two Vials.  One is from my right hand, a poison that will slay without pain or agony.  The other is from my left hand, a balm that will heal and make the drinker immortal to all but time itself.

You must choose, who to give each of the drinks to.  All will drink at the same time, and then your quest is complete."

You can see her hands etched into each vial so there will be no question which is the poison, which is the cure.

As one they answer in Pharika's voice, "The choice is your to make, who gets each vial to drink.  You will make or break each of our futures here today, with out our interference."

"Then you will withhold the elixer that will protect the savior aswell? Poison, Balm, both can save and destroy lives, depending on how much and who they are given to. I am patron to the elderly, the old wisemen that must make these decisions each and everyday. You have already lived more in your life time then other will ever see, now you must play the part of the elder and decide, who will take my Poison, and who will live an enchanted life."

Under his eyes are dark, cheeks shallow, and you can see black color running through his veins, he seems short of breath, with rashes across parts of his skin, and dot and bumps spreading across his body.  You can't see inside him, but he seems to have trouble standing on his own, maybe the God herself is holding him up.

The other boy seems just fine, patiently waiting for the test to complete.

The saproling doesnt seem to be here to help, and neither is the Ghostblade.

The healthy boy pales out, you can see black color ripping through his veins as he breaks out with the same affliction as the sickly boy.  He falls dead.  The sickly boy stands up straighter, his veins lose there dark color and his skin clears up.

"There savior has died, the boy will grow and take vengence for the disease that had been afflicted upon him and his family.  Many will die, and eventually even old age will catch him, but it will not contain his anger at his loss.  The boy will grow to become Tymaret, the Murder king. Could you not see that it is not our place to decide the future, who will be king, and who will be fool.  Our job was to give each future a chance, and maybe the cost would be ourselves.  It would not have killed you, you could have taken the poison."

All of it fades into darkness the sky lights back up with stars. Ghostblade is leaning over you. "You have laid here asleep for more then a day.  I saw what you did. We could hear your thought and i warn you against some of your ideals.  They could have been real, and at one point those boys were real.  Pharika wasnt always a god, she once was a woman who choose to be a healer. She went with a hero to face a gorgon, and managed to take blood from both hands.  As she returned, the Prophet of Kruphix was watching over the kings son, and a commoner he had befriended. The prophet told her the same dilemma, she could not wait to see who would grow to be great, and who would be corrupt, if she waited to long the sickly boy would die from the disease.  She took her own poison and healed the boy, Kruphix saved her soul and she rose to become a God.

Here the gods have more power over illusion, and distance, the ordeal could have taken you back to Theros.  You could have been before two actually boy again.  You must not really on the goodness in any of the Gods when it comes to there test of mortals." she waves towards the columns, many of the lights are out but you can see a dark fog inhabiting Karametra's.

"That creature finished his fight with Kruphix and ask Karametra for her blessing.  It started not long ago, but now you must try again.  Some wont even speak to you now and your choices are limited."  Around the room the gods that remain are Purphoros, Mogris, Phenax, and Kruphix for lit candles.