you wouldn't even recognize me anymore
not that you knew me back then
Oh, so she has his attention now? Alright, alright. Trying to keep all his questions straight, Wessex nods to confirm that she was indeed born in the Grounds. “Well, life here was fucking hard sometimes. We had a community that more or less took care of its own when they could, but there wasn’t always food and then there was the year when almost every family lost at least one person to a fever. Death was normal. It - well, it’s not something I can summarize into a neat and tidy little statement. I’m starting to realize just how much we don’t know, how much magic can do and the Naturals here are such traditionalists that it effectively kept any progress from occurring. That, and it’s hard to make discoveries when you don’t have enough to eat, or the LongNight monsters have slaughtered half your family, or -” she breaks off suddenly, running a hand through her hair. “Or every effort is focused on figuring out how to get out of the barrier without being fried.”
Shaking her head, Wessex looks off into the mists. “Living in a bubble fucked us all up. For multiple generations. We’re weak, brainwashed, and don’t know how to work together for the greater good.” Her voice grows low, resentful. “And if it weren’t for the Outlanders, who have taken over everything… we would still be stuck in it.”
She turns to the kid now, with a sudden change in tone. “But that barrier coming down was one of the best moments of my life. The first view of the forest. Fresh air. It was a miracle. Freedom -” Wessex isn’t terribly eloquent, she stops short of describing things with too much emotion or in detail, but the way she stops before diving in deeper suggests there is a well of feeling behind that singular moment. In fact, it makes her forget his last question about mutations and after a pause, she remembers that he asked about Ascended, too.
And that… that makes her far more cautious. “There’s definitely bias. We don’t know… the whole truth about why The Voice was imprisoned here, I don’t think. There are some very devout followers of the Old Gods here and between blaming her for that and the Blight, they… they’re afraid. And angry. But I think most of that is directed at The Voice and me. The others are relatively well liked.” She offers a shrug, but no further explanation, the door wide fucking open for what’s she sure will be more questions.
Shaking her head, Wessex looks off into the mists. “Living in a bubble fucked us all up. For multiple generations. We’re weak, brainwashed, and don’t know how to work together for the greater good.” Her voice grows low, resentful. “And if it weren’t for the Outlanders, who have taken over everything… we would still be stuck in it.”
She turns to the kid now, with a sudden change in tone. “But that barrier coming down was one of the best moments of my life. The first view of the forest. Fresh air. It was a miracle. Freedom -” Wessex isn’t terribly eloquent, she stops short of describing things with too much emotion or in detail, but the way she stops before diving in deeper suggests there is a well of feeling behind that singular moment. In fact, it makes her forget his last question about mutations and after a pause, she remembers that he asked about Ascended, too.
And that… that makes her far more cautious. “There’s definitely bias. We don’t know… the whole truth about why The Voice was imprisoned here, I don’t think. There are some very devout followers of the Old Gods here and between blaming her for that and the Blight, they… they’re afraid. And angry. But I think most of that is directed at The Voice and me. The others are relatively well liked.” She offers a shrug, but no further explanation, the door wide fucking open for what’s she sure will be more questions.
but it all comes back to me in the end
WESSEX
