Going Dark

The next few hours were spent on her hair, skin, and makeup. Voah combined the powdered dyes with water and a clear, jellylike substance, which had been gifted to Gonyaul as a moisturizer for sun exposure. Using some sticks and household utensils, she mixed each dye individually in clay bowls scavenged from the building until the right consistency of paste was formed. This was so the dye wouldn't run.

Voah washed her hair out with some water heated over a small fire in the house's hearth. Then she made a thin braid on one part of her hair which she cut off and kept aside. The green paste had turned to a deep purplish blue as she had expected and now she finished mixing the two dyes together, adding a sprinkling of charcoal for good measure. While it settled, she prepped the areas around her neck and hair roots with oil to avoid staining her skin. Now it was time to do the who head. She applied the goop as quickly as she could, trying to keep her hands oiled or washed so they wouldn't stain too dark right away. When she was sure she got every single strand and eyebrows, she wrapped her hair in a wet cloth and waited. If it was going to be permanent, she would have to wait a few hours, but it had to be done. Just before she rinsed the whole thing out, she applied a paste that had less indigo in it to her face and hands for a few minutes.

After the rinse, Voah was left with perfect near black locks with a sheen the color of a dark red wine. Her face only a little darker, like she had a nice tan. It wasn't quite as dark as she wanted, but it would do, especially since she had to hide her ocean eyes in the darkness of head scarves anyway. For today she applied a combination of dust and charcoal around the eyes to make her face darker or smoky temporarily.

She quickly changed into different garments and headed out into the city to look for the dark robes around noon. Something strange was going on and as she watched the people curiusly, they drew her further toward the center of the city. Before she knew it, droves of people were convening into the streets and she was approaching the Basilica, which was a place she had been avoiding this whole time.

She intuited the general vibe from the somber, angry, and fearful tones married with the worried expressions on the faces of people on the streets. Ill tidings were on their lips, though Voah didn't know what news belonged to their words. She recognized a few here and there, one specifically... "Helian"

She could sense the zealous fervor of the crowds as if she was back in one of the Shrine Cities. This was bad. She had sensed its coming, but didn't realize it would happen so soon. It was a good thing she had spent the morning disguising herself instead of sleeping in, but by this point, there was no turning around and moving away from this mass.