comprehend. A gesha and a gerion were two parts of a whole, but she’d never truly felt it. There hadn’t been time.
She had only seen him once , after all.
He was called Patren and was honestly everything Urenya had ever dreamed her fated would be. Everything went right, as by tradition.
The Brions were considered a peculiar species by the Union in regards to how they found their partners. The men experienced the recognition, as it was known. A moment of absolute clarity when they were given the knowledge of who their gesha was to be. No one knew why it was only men, but none of them were in possession of means to change that, so they let it be. It was as unexplainable as the whole binding itself.
So it was up to the man, the gerion , to find her. Women spent most of their youth waiting. In truth, men were bound to that same expectation, but for some reason women felt themselves the more passive part of the arrangement. Maybe it was because while the men were given the moment, described as never being so sure of anything else in their lives, women… doubted.
Not doubted for certain, of course. The binding was so sacred to the Brions that it was unthinkable a man would lie to his gesha , pretend, or cheat her in any way. In their whole history, there was a single case where a man had tried to do that – convince a woman she was meant for him when it wasn’t true. It was a fairytale.
Someone had once asked the Elders, the carriers of their tradition and history, whether they thought there was some actual basis for that story. The Elders had thought over the question long and hard in their meditative sleep where they became a single, connected mind. The resounding answer was no. It was a fable, an overdone and fictionally not even that competent story that was packed to the brink with all things that could possibly have gone wrong. It was a warning, nothing more.
Still, women had their doubts and uncertainties. Just as it was rooted somewhere deep in their being the sacred bond was unquestionable, there lay the fighting part. The gesha was expected to resist at first, fight her mate. It was believed to be proof that once the fighting was done the couple was stronger together for having fought each other. They resolved all their initial concerns in the fight and from there on out, they were united against all that life brought.
Urenya’s first reaction was surprise, bordering on shock. The bindings usually took place when a person had gathered some life experience, their personalities were more developed, and they knew what to expect from the binding’s physical part. She was barely of age.
But Patren was as good as she could have hoped for. He came to her, smiling, big and strong and full of life. A warrior, slightly older than she was, with a couple of years of fighting already under his belt. Someone experienced and certain. Valor squares, the marks of rank and victories among the Brions, were bright on his neck. Implanted in the flesh as signs of a warrior’s worth, they said enough about his character without needing any words if you knew how to read them. Urenya had been glad. He was what she had secretly hoped for – someone to make her feel safe and cared for. He fit the part to the bone.
After he’d told her they were meant to be together until darkness took one of them, Urenya had of course initially said no. The fighting was traditional, after all. It would have been an insult to just accept him, although in her mind she was quite happy.
That was what bothered her, mostly. She had been quite happy.
After spending a day together, getting to know each other on the most basic level, she’d been, at best, fond of him. Of course, she felt the tingling sensation of desire and the unmistakable pull of the thread that bound them, but there was no time to actually get to like him. The day was over, and he went off to the battle ship where he was stationed, and Urenya never saw him again.
The darkness had
She had only seen him once , after all.
He was called Patren and was honestly everything Urenya had ever dreamed her fated would be. Everything went right, as by tradition.
The Brions were considered a peculiar species by the Union in regards to how they found their partners. The men experienced the recognition, as it was known. A moment of absolute clarity when they were given the knowledge of who their gesha was to be. No one knew why it was only men, but none of them were in possession of means to change that, so they let it be. It was as unexplainable as the whole binding itself.
So it was up to the man, the gerion , to find her. Women spent most of their youth waiting. In truth, men were bound to that same expectation, but for some reason women felt themselves the more passive part of the arrangement. Maybe it was because while the men were given the moment, described as never being so sure of anything else in their lives, women… doubted.
Not doubted for certain, of course. The binding was so sacred to the Brions that it was unthinkable a man would lie to his gesha , pretend, or cheat her in any way. In their whole history, there was a single case where a man had tried to do that – convince a woman she was meant for him when it wasn’t true. It was a fairytale.
Someone had once asked the Elders, the carriers of their tradition and history, whether they thought there was some actual basis for that story. The Elders had thought over the question long and hard in their meditative sleep where they became a single, connected mind. The resounding answer was no. It was a fable, an overdone and fictionally not even that competent story that was packed to the brink with all things that could possibly have gone wrong. It was a warning, nothing more.
Still, women had their doubts and uncertainties. Just as it was rooted somewhere deep in their being the sacred bond was unquestionable, there lay the fighting part. The gesha was expected to resist at first, fight her mate. It was believed to be proof that once the fighting was done the couple was stronger together for having fought each other. They resolved all their initial concerns in the fight and from there on out, they were united against all that life brought.
Urenya’s first reaction was surprise, bordering on shock. The bindings usually took place when a person had gathered some life experience, their personalities were more developed, and they knew what to expect from the binding’s physical part. She was barely of age.
But Patren was as good as she could have hoped for. He came to her, smiling, big and strong and full of life. A warrior, slightly older than she was, with a couple of years of fighting already under his belt. Someone experienced and certain. Valor squares, the marks of rank and victories among the Brions, were bright on his neck. Implanted in the flesh as signs of a warrior’s worth, they said enough about his character without needing any words if you knew how to read them. Urenya had been glad. He was what she had secretly hoped for – someone to make her feel safe and cared for. He fit the part to the bone.
After he’d told her they were meant to be together until darkness took one of them, Urenya had of course initially said no. The fighting was traditional, after all. It would have been an insult to just accept him, although in her mind she was quite happy.
That was what bothered her, mostly. She had been quite happy.
After spending a day together, getting to know each other on the most basic level, she’d been, at best, fond of him. Of course, she felt the tingling sensation of desire and the unmistakable pull of the thread that bound them, but there was no time to actually get to like him. The day was over, and he went off to the battle ship where he was stationed, and Urenya never saw him again.
The darkness had
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