"More than you think," he murmured, remembering 108 and their tale of sleeping the centuries away. True, there were not so many Ascended currently active, but how many remained in stasis, tucked away in underground tombs safe from the sunlight until their goddess called them back to wakefulness? Something else he was not sure the Voice had shared with her younger worshipers.
"Anyone I know?" he asked curiously at hearing that several had become Attuned before his arrival. Of course, Ascended hadn't been the only ones to die on Caido. He had watched one wolf be devoured by a land shark, and knew of others who had died during Long Night. Still others had disappeared, missing and presumed dead after seasons of silence.
"She would not be the first ruler to create a fortress with dungeons, only to find herself locked in her own creation when the tides of her war turned against her," he pointed out, blue eyes searching Rexanna's for any sign that she understood, or if her arguments in defense of the goddess came from a place outside of her own experiences. He could see where she would feel a connection to the Voice's situation... but as far as he knew, the Voice had sought power and ambition, melding a ruthless curiosity with selfish desire for more until she had shed her mortality and pitted herself against the existing gods. Rexanna's tale had been one of a woman tossed on stormy political seas not of her own divising, and he thought the similarities between goddess and once-queen were superficial at best.
But he guessed that Rexanna thought otherwise... or, if she hadn't before, she did now.
"Ask your lady," he suggested, a flicker of frustration sparking in his eyes. "She should know more about the Spire than any of us. Ask her, and then let us pool what we've learned and see where it takes us. Ask her who created the Demon, and why. Ask her and get answers, don't just make up excuses for her." An 'us' that excluded Accepted, Attuned, and gods both old and Older alike. An 'us' that could work to recruit more Abandoned to the Voice's new army... though given how the old gods treated the mages he could not find it in himself to entirely blame them. It was not what he had wanted to hear, but it was what he had been expecting since she had first brought it up. At least it was out in the open now, and he noted that her only example of help had still involved an Ascended - protecting Rexanna as a gift to Bastien.
It was not a point he thought Rexanna would want to hear, however, and he simply slumped in his seat, shaking his head wearily. "That is because she told another that it wasn't possible. Another mage who was on good terms with one of the old gods. And now she has obviously changed her mind." Convenient, that. And how much role did Bastien play in that change ofheart core? Ah well. The gods had always had their favorites, and the Voice was no different, only more blatant. Would Rexanna have made the choice without Bastien's involvement in her life? He didn't think so... but what he thought mattered not at all.
"For what it's worth, I may not agree with your choice... but you are still my friend," he said with a sigh, rising slowly as if feeling twice the number of years his body had lived. "Give me some time to get used to this change. A great many things are happening all at once. Perhaps too many. When things have settled down a bit..." He trailed off, a wry twist of dark humor at the reminder that things almost never settled down on this world. They careened from one emergency to the next, often with multiple new problems arising at once. He shrugged, a helpless gesture, and looked out into the dark beyond the Temple's doors. "I should go," he said quietly, realizing with a start how late it was becoming. How long had he spent in the pews, thoughts chasing uselessly around his head like mice on a wheel? There were going to be questions, and he needed to find Ronin and ask what had happened, and where things had gone so wrong.
"Anyone I know?" he asked curiously at hearing that several had become Attuned before his arrival. Of course, Ascended hadn't been the only ones to die on Caido. He had watched one wolf be devoured by a land shark, and knew of others who had died during Long Night. Still others had disappeared, missing and presumed dead after seasons of silence.
"She would not be the first ruler to create a fortress with dungeons, only to find herself locked in her own creation when the tides of her war turned against her," he pointed out, blue eyes searching Rexanna's for any sign that she understood, or if her arguments in defense of the goddess came from a place outside of her own experiences. He could see where she would feel a connection to the Voice's situation... but as far as he knew, the Voice had sought power and ambition, melding a ruthless curiosity with selfish desire for more until she had shed her mortality and pitted herself against the existing gods. Rexanna's tale had been one of a woman tossed on stormy political seas not of her own divising, and he thought the similarities between goddess and once-queen were superficial at best.
But he guessed that Rexanna thought otherwise... or, if she hadn't before, she did now.
"Ask your lady," he suggested, a flicker of frustration sparking in his eyes. "She should know more about the Spire than any of us. Ask her, and then let us pool what we've learned and see where it takes us. Ask her who created the Demon, and why. Ask her and get answers, don't just make up excuses for her." An 'us' that excluded Accepted, Attuned, and gods both old and Older alike. An 'us' that could work to recruit more Abandoned to the Voice's new army... though given how the old gods treated the mages he could not find it in himself to entirely blame them. It was not what he had wanted to hear, but it was what he had been expecting since she had first brought it up. At least it was out in the open now, and he noted that her only example of help had still involved an Ascended - protecting Rexanna as a gift to Bastien.
It was not a point he thought Rexanna would want to hear, however, and he simply slumped in his seat, shaking his head wearily. "That is because she told another that it wasn't possible. Another mage who was on good terms with one of the old gods. And now she has obviously changed her mind." Convenient, that. And how much role did Bastien play in that change of
"For what it's worth, I may not agree with your choice... but you are still my friend," he said with a sigh, rising slowly as if feeling twice the number of years his body had lived. "Give me some time to get used to this change. A great many things are happening all at once. Perhaps too many. When things have settled down a bit..." He trailed off, a wry twist of dark humor at the reminder that things almost never settled down on this world. They careened from one emergency to the next, often with multiple new problems arising at once. He shrugged, a helpless gesture, and looked out into the dark beyond the Temple's doors. "I should go," he said quietly, realizing with a start how late it was becoming. How long had he spent in the pews, thoughts chasing uselessly around his head like mice on a wheel? There were going to be questions, and he needed to find Ronin and ask what had happened, and where things had gone so wrong.
