I can give you freedom from your guilt with a flick of my wrist
When it appears, Nephele seems to realize she had come without any offerings; shame darkens her pretty face, but it is temporarily soothed by Ludo’s words. She is adrift on a tumultuous sea of revelations that make her won’t to vomit over the railing. She doesn’t think Ludo would appreciate the splatter though. “I have much news to tell you, Ludo. Thank you for hearing me.” Deferential bow of her copper head ensuring she translates her appreciation for Ludo’s kind overlooking of her transgression.
“I killed one of the Ascended with your blades,” she begins first, marveling at all she has achieved in the time gone by since their first meeting. The days slip like water through her fingers as of late. Heralding them closer to war. “I collected some of its...fluid.” Disgust showing in the wrinkle of her brow as she sets the vial on the railing between them. “I thought you could more safely examine it than I, perhaps it would shed light on the Voice’s technology, or it could be imbued into another weapon.” If not, she would find another use for it herself. It had certainly proven...volatile, in her last escapade. “I also grievously wounded another. He did not know it was me, but he and the Wraith attacked me all the same in the Wilds - clearly their aggression against my kind does not falter for all their flowery words.” She still longs for justice for the Mathair, to return her to her proper place, but her idea of justice differs greatly from Juniper’s vision of trials and fairness. “Unfortunately he seems to be rather important in Torchline, and he is well-defended.” Sunjata’s blade had scarred her in turn that day, a mark she is careful to keep hidden.
“I also was close to removing another Ascended by burning the infirmary in the Grounds. I...I did not intend the casualties of the humans, but I pray it will drive them away, perhaps here to the Greatwood where the Ascended cannot reach them.” Removing new recruits if nothing else, even if the idea had also been spurred by the notion of somehow guarding against the Grounds as a land entirely without forsaking the humans that would otherwise be lost as well.
“However I am also here because Juniper informed me that the Voice has been turning children. At least, those sixteen cycles of age. But that there was one, a child born of two Ascended; an actual babe.” Bile rises in her throat, making her blink quickly and strive to swallow it down. “She has bid me to stay my blades. I told her they would not last without their creator, but she fears even if I kill them that their souls returning to the Voice will only make her stronger.” The only viable argument that could have truly stopped her murderous tendencies; Nephele loathes the idea of giving the pretender any more strength.
Turning her hazel eyes to the floating visage before her, she lays Lasracha against her thighs and opens her heart and mind to the deity. She had never been a follower of Ludo before. Fate itself had drawn them together, and now she proudly wore its rags and did its bidding. “I cannot cull them as fast as they seem to rise. What else can I do? Not just against the Voice, but for the Greatwood; to protect my people while I am away.” Word of Remi’s planned defenses were all she had to inspire any form of hope, but if the man was Ludo’s, then she would reluctantly trust him if only because his commands came from the same god she followed.
“I killed one of the Ascended with your blades,” she begins first, marveling at all she has achieved in the time gone by since their first meeting. The days slip like water through her fingers as of late. Heralding them closer to war. “I collected some of its...fluid.” Disgust showing in the wrinkle of her brow as she sets the vial on the railing between them. “I thought you could more safely examine it than I, perhaps it would shed light on the Voice’s technology, or it could be imbued into another weapon.” If not, she would find another use for it herself. It had certainly proven...volatile, in her last escapade. “I also grievously wounded another. He did not know it was me, but he and the Wraith attacked me all the same in the Wilds - clearly their aggression against my kind does not falter for all their flowery words.” She still longs for justice for the Mathair, to return her to her proper place, but her idea of justice differs greatly from Juniper’s vision of trials and fairness. “Unfortunately he seems to be rather important in Torchline, and he is well-defended.” Sunjata’s blade had scarred her in turn that day, a mark she is careful to keep hidden.
“I also was close to removing another Ascended by burning the infirmary in the Grounds. I...I did not intend the casualties of the humans, but I pray it will drive them away, perhaps here to the Greatwood where the Ascended cannot reach them.” Removing new recruits if nothing else, even if the idea had also been spurred by the notion of somehow guarding against the Grounds as a land entirely without forsaking the humans that would otherwise be lost as well.
“However I am also here because Juniper informed me that the Voice has been turning children. At least, those sixteen cycles of age. But that there was one, a child born of two Ascended; an actual babe.” Bile rises in her throat, making her blink quickly and strive to swallow it down. “She has bid me to stay my blades. I told her they would not last without their creator, but she fears even if I kill them that their souls returning to the Voice will only make her stronger.” The only viable argument that could have truly stopped her murderous tendencies; Nephele loathes the idea of giving the pretender any more strength.
Turning her hazel eyes to the floating visage before her, she lays Lasracha against her thighs and opens her heart and mind to the deity. She had never been a follower of Ludo before. Fate itself had drawn them together, and now she proudly wore its rags and did its bidding. “I cannot cull them as fast as they seem to rise. What else can I do? Not just against the Voice, but for the Greatwood; to protect my people while I am away.” Word of Remi’s planned defenses were all she had to inspire any form of hope, but if the man was Ludo’s, then she would reluctantly trust him if only because his commands came from the same god she followed.
I can give you death with the look upon my face
