Maea
I feel it in the wind, my dear
The sun is gonna reappear
The sun is gonna reappear
If she had hoped Thalassa would say something, the Loreseeker found those hopes dashed. There was nothing for it but to continue.
"I assume you know about the barrier that used to encase the Hollowed Grounds? It was a grim place to live. The ground wasn't very fertile, and there was never enough food. During LongNight, monsters roamed outside, and everyone hid in their homes. Terrified to open a door, terrified of making noise that might draw attention."
Expression distant, Maea relived the dreadful days as she spoke of them. Felt keenly the angst of being back where it all happened, and liking none of the prospect of remaining here over the coming season.
"It hd been a bad year, so I decided to spend LongNight in the Setrlement - what's now called Inner Quarter - so that my family would have more to eat. I hid away in the old inn. Then the Sparkbird showed up for the first time in living memory, and I met people, made friends..."
Her voice clouded with self-loathing. "While I was making merry and having fun, my family was being slaughtered. When I returned, it was to a house full of blood and signs of struggle, but no bodies. Nothing left to bury. It was... beyond horrifying."
Ten years, it would be, this coming Deepfrost. Or the next? Either way, it still felt like yesterday to Maea. So much of her memory was chipped and fragmented by time spent in stasis, or dead, or enstoned, that she didn't have the benefit of time to heal these wounds.
And now, being back in the Hollowed Grounds, all the shadows of the past were crowding in around her.
The presence in the corner seemed to swell, growing more noticeable as the story went on. Despite the brazier the chill in the air intensified, until their breaths fogged.
"I assume you know about the barrier that used to encase the Hollowed Grounds? It was a grim place to live. The ground wasn't very fertile, and there was never enough food. During LongNight, monsters roamed outside, and everyone hid in their homes. Terrified to open a door, terrified of making noise that might draw attention."
Expression distant, Maea relived the dreadful days as she spoke of them. Felt keenly the angst of being back where it all happened, and liking none of the prospect of remaining here over the coming season.
"It hd been a bad year, so I decided to spend LongNight in the Setrlement - what's now called Inner Quarter - so that my family would have more to eat. I hid away in the old inn. Then the Sparkbird showed up for the first time in living memory, and I met people, made friends..."
Her voice clouded with self-loathing. "While I was making merry and having fun, my family was being slaughtered. When I returned, it was to a house full of blood and signs of struggle, but no bodies. Nothing left to bury. It was... beyond horrifying."
Ten years, it would be, this coming Deepfrost. Or the next? Either way, it still felt like yesterday to Maea. So much of her memory was chipped and fragmented by time spent in stasis, or dead, or enstoned, that she didn't have the benefit of time to heal these wounds.
And now, being back in the Hollowed Grounds, all the shadows of the past were crowding in around her.
The presence in the corner seemed to swell, growing more noticeable as the story went on. Despite the brazier the chill in the air intensified, until their breaths fogged.
Good days are gonna come along
Hold on, hold on!
Hold on, hold on!
