<div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/ljhryrq.png)<br/>(Art by Debbie DeWitt (https://fineartamerica.com/featured/contemporary-leaf-2-debbie-dewitt.html))<br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 15pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><strong>Year One<br/>A Time to Gather</strong></span></span></div><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>The Reaper has called you back to her voice. If you have returned to her she guides you to the path back to your little island. The path seems easier this time, but without the presence of the Reaper and the Wise Old Elephant it is up to the little spirits to float along it on their own. You must rely on each other for guidance, for warmth, for light. You find your friends are more than up to task, although it seems daunting at times.<br/><br/>You return to an island where the days are getting shorter. The fruits of the trees are full. The animals that gather are preparing for the cold. The leaves are starting to dry. <br/><br/>And it is a time for little spirits to grow as well. Without the guidance of the Wise Old Elephant you find yourselves pausing as you wonder where to turn for guidance. Without her voice showing you the way, challenging you, asking what you would do, you find these questions must come from within. It is both liberating and a little scary! <br/><br/>You have learned much about this world, from the Spirit of Blossoms, from the Wise Old Elephant, from the Reaper, from the creatures and plants and rocks of this island, and from each other. <br/><br/>But as the weeks pass and the chill begins to come into the air at night, you know you must decide what it is that matters most to you. You think of what you have learned...what is it that you will concentrate your happy spirit energies towards? It seems as though you are making a choice again, just like when the wise one held the orbs in front of you what seems like just yesterday and also so long ago. But this choice is being offered to you, by you. Does that make it more important? Less? You aren't sure! But it is choice that must be made! What is it you hold in highest esteem? Is it...<br/><br/><strong>Beauty</strong>. This island is filled with it. In no small part because of how you have helped to shape it. Beauty helps others sees the value in things. It helps to protect in its own way. To hold beauty highly is not just to recognize what already is wonderful but to make wonders out of what seems mundane as well. But Beauty will never be absolute. And if everything is beautiful, nothing is. Is the wonder of beauty worth this bargain? Is forging a gem and basking in its light worth ignoring the sand beneath it? Some would say yes. Do you?<br/><br/><strong>Dignity</strong>. The wise one had it, and in her way so does the Reaper. There is gravitas that causes others to hold words and actions in esteem. This benefit of the doubt could be a very great boon. What are you worth if none recognize it? Moreso, what are you worth if you may not show others the way to be held in the same respect? A code of dignity is a promise to the world and yourself. Can you keep such a promise, show yourself to be worthy of trust and admiration through deed and principle? Or is it this way too much of a focus on yourself, and not the world around you? <br/><br/><strong>Fortune</strong>. Prosperity may not mean much to a happy spirit, but it is a great importance to other living things. This island provides, the weather is soft, the ground is fertile. But what if it did not? What if the winds were to change and the grass were to dry. What if the winter were to last and the sun were to hide? To bring fortune to the world is not mere greed, it is food in the belly and sun on the skin. It is it to live in a world that is kind and gentle as you are. But is this focusing too much on the material? Is there more to it all? Or does that only come when basic needs are met? <br/><br/><strong>Longevity</strong>. What is the world worth if it does not last? The Reaper's realm may offer peace but it is not a guarantee, and if you hold what you love on this world you may ensure it is protected and adored. While you are but a young spirit you sense the awesome towering might of legacy drifting in the corners of your mind. Is this something you can build? Can you keep what matters to you alive and well to stand the test of time? Is it worth it to focus on the long term, even if means perhaps brushing aside the day to day and the ethereal? Is a long life better than a short one filled with joy? It is up to you to decide! <br/><br/><strong>Love</strong>. These other principles are all well and good, but what do they mean if you have nobody to share it with? And what good are your words if nobody will listen? At the end of it all isn't what really matters is that you are loved and have love to give? Is that not what life is all about? But feelings are so fragile, so easily bruised. Is Love the goal in and of itself, or is it better thought of as a happy consequence for doing right by another principle, something you are ready to be without should the trials of existence require it? <br/><br/><strong>Wisdom</strong>. At first thought it might seem preposterous. A little spirit like you, whose life has been joy and play, devoted to Wisdom? You aren't the Wise Old Elephant! How can you be? But as you think of it you realize, the old one was a little baby once too. And is part of wisdom not realizing that you always have more to learn? Is that what you want, to some day be the guiding force for others like you, to show them the way and teach them? Not to provide, but to teach others to provide for themselves? Not to be held in esteem or create, but show others how to do these things? Can you live in the shadow of others? Can you temper your own feelings to be a mentor and a teacher and show the way to the young and the un-wise? What if they disappoint you? What if you are left wishing you had done it yourself instead of trying to teach another?<br/><br/>There is much to ponder. But a choice must be made. <br/><br/>What matters most to you, little spirit?<br/><br/></em></span></span><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Read This if You are an Earth Spirit</div><div class="spoiler_body">You sense rumblings deep below. They are getting closer. Something is coming.</div></div><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Read This if You are a Fire Spirit</div><div class="spoiler_body">The mountain of the island, the Tip Top Peak, it is getting warmer. Hot rock seems to want to burst from it. What does this mean?</div></div><br/><hr/><br/>Write a post describing how your little spirit makes this decision! =)<br/><br/>As always those who have been inactive are welcome to jump back in, just be sure you have chosen your name, pronouns, and element! PM me if you would like any help with this! =)<br/><br/>Open conversation and interaction between spirits is always welcome too! If you would like your spirit to talk about this with any sort of denizen of the island that you would like me to NPC, I'm more than happy to! =)