Zariah
”Forgive you? For bursting in here and causing a scene with frankly wildly disturbing accusations because someone gave me a bad reference?” she said, arching a brow, having not decided yet how offended she was or was not. ”I am not so certain that the gods wanted the barrier gone as it was reward for being willing to sacrifice myself for my people.” she said with a bit of a shrug. ”Though there was no intervention by Safrin, Ludo, or Frey, and I presume that if they wished for the barrier to be up so badly, they would have stopped us.” she said, pointing out yet another flaw in the priestess’s logic.
Then at the mention of her source, Zariah actually laughed, outright, a single, cold, guffaw at her words. ”The Loreseekers told you this? Oh please, don’t tell me you believed those two-faced fools at face value.” she said, tsking the priestess for her foolishness. ”The Loreseekers would do anything to turn people against me. They were most opposed to my rule in the Hollowed Grounds because they could not handle leadership from outside their little clique of know-it-alls. I am certain they are still displeased with me for nearly shutting them down for failing to comply with the law.” she said with a sniff, before smirking at Ingrid.
”Oh, and it seems they failed to mention to you that the majority of their members also entered the Spire the day it was breached, including their beloved leader Jigano, each playing a role in the inevitable fall of the barrier.” The Archmage paused, letting that bit of information process. ”And to clarify, I didn’t lead anything. Not on purpose. But when you’ve an air of command as I do, people tend to naturally fall in line. If they hadn’t, they would have been killed by various golems and such.” she said with a slight shrug.
She nodded finally at Ingrid’s words, eventually finding something she could agree with. ”Indeed you were out of line.
”But damn, why didn’t you lead with that Lightning Bitch?”
Zariah blinked, caught by surprise by that. Slowly, she grinned, and that grin slowly turned into a quiet laugh, which slowly built into a mirthful, but unsettling cackle that echoed through the corridor. ”Lightning Bitch. I’ll have to tell Neron that one, he’ll find it amusing.” she said finally, laughter suffusing the undertone of her words. ”You’re funny, so I suppose I shall forgive you after all. As for your question – why would I? I am not here to be praised for blessings, I am here to earn praise for strengthening Halo into a force so mighty it would make the blizzards of the tundra quake with fear.” she said shrugging slightly.
And what did she need? Well, well, what a lovely turn of events. ”Why don’t you join me in my office, and I can show you my plans?” she said.
Then at the mention of her source, Zariah actually laughed, outright, a single, cold, guffaw at her words. ”The Loreseekers told you this? Oh please, don’t tell me you believed those two-faced fools at face value.” she said, tsking the priestess for her foolishness. ”The Loreseekers would do anything to turn people against me. They were most opposed to my rule in the Hollowed Grounds because they could not handle leadership from outside their little clique of know-it-alls. I am certain they are still displeased with me for nearly shutting them down for failing to comply with the law.” she said with a sniff, before smirking at Ingrid.
”Oh, and it seems they failed to mention to you that the majority of their members also entered the Spire the day it was breached, including their beloved leader Jigano, each playing a role in the inevitable fall of the barrier.” The Archmage paused, letting that bit of information process. ”And to clarify, I didn’t lead anything. Not on purpose. But when you’ve an air of command as I do, people tend to naturally fall in line. If they hadn’t, they would have been killed by various golems and such.” she said with a slight shrug.
She nodded finally at Ingrid’s words, eventually finding something she could agree with. ”Indeed you were out of line.
”But damn, why didn’t you lead with that Lightning Bitch?”
Zariah blinked, caught by surprise by that. Slowly, she grinned, and that grin slowly turned into a quiet laugh, which slowly built into a mirthful, but unsettling cackle that echoed through the corridor. ”Lightning Bitch. I’ll have to tell Neron that one, he’ll find it amusing.” she said finally, laughter suffusing the undertone of her words. ”You’re funny, so I suppose I shall forgive you after all. As for your question – why would I? I am not here to be praised for blessings, I am here to earn praise for strengthening Halo into a force so mighty it would make the blizzards of the tundra quake with fear.” she said shrugging slightly.
And what did she need? Well, well, what a lovely turn of events. ”Why don’t you join me in my office, and I can show you my plans?” she said.
Beautiful like a forest fire
