Remi’s voice was brighter than the weary bard felt by far, but he could appreciate that at least one person in the coming meeting would be determinedly cheerful and trying to grease the wheels of politics. He managed a wan smile as he followed the source of the greeting and made his way back to the table and tea that had been laid out. ”Hello, Remi. Thank you.” He settled himself in and was pouring tea into one of the cups when a rap of knuckles announced the third member of their odd little trio. He tensed, though it was hard to see beneath the blight-shake of his hands as he set the pot back down and steeled himself to manage courtesy when the darkness growing within him wanted nothing more than shouted epithets and destructive violence.
Be better, Amalia’s voice whispered in the back of his thoughts, and he drew strength from her words, composing himself to greet the Queen with a cool but polite nod as she thanked him for coming.
”Not much new since the meeting,” he acknowledged, trying to keep things brief per her request, and his own exhausted state. ”We know that the monsters can warp minds as well as attack bodies and wear the voices and faces of humans to trick people into opening their doors. Not all souls go to Ludo and Mort… some can resist moving on, becoming twisted and monstrous, though that’s not necessarily limited to Long Night.” He hesitated a moment, sliding a glance to Remi. There had been more time to think and turn over what he and the alchemist had bounced back and forth between themselves that night of starlit flying, and he had come to some new conclusions since then. Jigano swallowed uncomfortably before raising his eyes to meet Wessex’s gaze with an outwardly calm expression that wasn’t more than skin deep.
”I’ve also learned a bit more about the Ascended and what the Voice was doing with them a few hundred years ago. Some of the experiments that she did, and the, ah, ‘upgrades’ that she had given. Upgrades that were largely focused on changing voices or appearance, allowing Ascended to mimic others. Upgrades for moving silently… even altering memories..” The temptation to arch a brow and let them draw their own conclusions was great indeed… but this was neither the time nor place.
”Those upgrades sound unsettlingly similar to the abilities of the Long Night monsters, as their madness and destructive urges seem similar to the Spire Demon’s habit of lashing out at anything human, just as it was once of the Voice’s experiments as well, albeit a thankfully unique one.” He sat back, dropping his gaze to watch the shake of his hands with a faint grimace of unhappiness. ”But so far all I have is correlation, not proof, that the pain and rage-maddened spirits of those past Ascended the Voice experimented on have become the Long Night monsters within the barrier.”
Be better, Amalia’s voice whispered in the back of his thoughts, and he drew strength from her words, composing himself to greet the Queen with a cool but polite nod as she thanked him for coming.
”Not much new since the meeting,” he acknowledged, trying to keep things brief per her request, and his own exhausted state. ”We know that the monsters can warp minds as well as attack bodies and wear the voices and faces of humans to trick people into opening their doors. Not all souls go to Ludo and Mort… some can resist moving on, becoming twisted and monstrous, though that’s not necessarily limited to Long Night.” He hesitated a moment, sliding a glance to Remi. There had been more time to think and turn over what he and the alchemist had bounced back and forth between themselves that night of starlit flying, and he had come to some new conclusions since then. Jigano swallowed uncomfortably before raising his eyes to meet Wessex’s gaze with an outwardly calm expression that wasn’t more than skin deep.
”I’ve also learned a bit more about the Ascended and what the Voice was doing with them a few hundred years ago. Some of the experiments that she did, and the, ah, ‘upgrades’ that she had given. Upgrades that were largely focused on changing voices or appearance, allowing Ascended to mimic others. Upgrades for moving silently… even altering memories..” The temptation to arch a brow and let them draw their own conclusions was great indeed… but this was neither the time nor place.
”Those upgrades sound unsettlingly similar to the abilities of the Long Night monsters, as their madness and destructive urges seem similar to the Spire Demon’s habit of lashing out at anything human, just as it was once of the Voice’s experiments as well, albeit a thankfully unique one.” He sat back, dropping his gaze to watch the shake of his hands with a faint grimace of unhappiness. ”But so far all I have is correlation, not proof, that the pain and rage-maddened spirits of those past Ascended the Voice experimented on have become the Long Night monsters within the barrier.”
