i thought how your courage would never cease, like the waves of the sea
“Isn’t that just how it goes sometimes?” He responds to Edmund’s initial comment of accidentally aging up. It’s still enough that it spurs a small snort from the demigod, thinking nothing of it. After all, Kamaria had arrived to him at five years old already and by the time she returned to her mother to live in the stars, well, she’d been a teenager by then. It had been an adjustment, but one that he would never blame her for.
Perhaps that’s what he channels when Edmund begins to speak – dumping information onto him that has him interjecting only now and then with agreements or quiet comments. A “she isn’t” when he says that Safrin wasn’t enough despite being the one Torchline had pledged to. Another little “you became an Ancient, then.” As confirmation for the horns he sees closer now, flickering the reflection of the fire.
But the last question certainly gives him a bit of pause, that small smile on his face starts to shift, his gaze departing the young man to focus on the fire for a moment, before up to the stars. A deep breath and a long exhale, before he starts. “It’s… A long story. And I suppose now you’re old enough to understand it.” There was a part of him that remembered how upset everyone had been at what he’d done, but nobody truly understood the reasoning.
“Safrin is… Beautiful and manipulative. You can give her all the compliments in the world and do all of the work for her, but she’ll find a way to use you to her advantage. For me? She hated Nate. Hated the Ascended. And when I initially pledged to her, I had wanted to be something like Ronin for her. I hadn’t met Nate at that point. She attuned me, too, so I felt like I owed her something.” A brief pause as he takes another breath to get back on track. “And when Nate and I started out, well, war was just starting to get on our radars and I was terrified. Here I was pledged to a goddess that wanted the man I loved dead. So I had tried to tiptoe the line with her, refrain from speaking about Nate or thinking about him when I was in her presence, and if I did have to speak about him I needed to make sure things were foolproof.” He winces slightly, tilting his head back down to look at Edmund with a small apologetic smile.
“I was nervous about the war and with Nate being Ascended that I had asked for her help in saving him should the Voice perish. She agreed only on the condition of a life for a life. She would save Nate’s and I would have to raise a daughter from her and I.” Kamaria had been that condition – something he isn’t proud of, but one he’d thrown himself into proving he could do. “She marked me, my bones, after that. Gave me a little constellation tattoo in the center of my chest.” He lifts his hand to press against his sternum. “But while I was doing that with Safrin, Nate had became a demigod for the Voice and I was admittedly too nervous to go and ask Safrin if it would still work if he was a demigod. So things blew up, Nate left for a bit, I raised Kamaria for a time, and she tried to push me into becoming her demigod. Already with the tattoo, Nate was leery because of what Safrin and I had done, whether the tattoo was a way for her to spy on us. After all, I was stabbed and it moved to heal me, so it isn’t unlikely that was a reason.” There’s a wince with this, but he trudges on.
“She kept asking and asking and I kept telling her I would think about it. I didn’t want to fight Ronin on it. He already has his own issues with Safrin that I didn’t want to contribute to. I don’t know if they’ve smoothed out or not yet, but anyway.” He waves a hand as if dismissing the thought for later. “I went to Frey to ask about some item and that’s when they offered becoming their demigod, told me that they’d never hold strings on me, never make me do anything I didn’t want to do. I wouldn’t have to worry about Nate being Ascended when I was in their presence. They helped me make the safe haven that worked for everyone, including the Voice. So I said yes. They had to burn Safrin out of me. I don’t know how long it took, but it was the worst pain I think I’ve ever experienced.” And as if to emphasize it, he shows the lightning scarred hand from being struck by actual lightning to prove the point. “Ronin made me speak with Safrin about it after. She was… So upset about it that she killed me. The only reason I’m still alive is because Ronin healed me, but I would have died if he hadn’t.” This ends a bit more somber, another little wince, a heavy sigh. “Sorry to dump all that on you.”
Perhaps that’s what he channels when Edmund begins to speak – dumping information onto him that has him interjecting only now and then with agreements or quiet comments. A “she isn’t” when he says that Safrin wasn’t enough despite being the one Torchline had pledged to. Another little “you became an Ancient, then.” As confirmation for the horns he sees closer now, flickering the reflection of the fire.
But the last question certainly gives him a bit of pause, that small smile on his face starts to shift, his gaze departing the young man to focus on the fire for a moment, before up to the stars. A deep breath and a long exhale, before he starts. “It’s… A long story. And I suppose now you’re old enough to understand it.” There was a part of him that remembered how upset everyone had been at what he’d done, but nobody truly understood the reasoning.
“Safrin is… Beautiful and manipulative. You can give her all the compliments in the world and do all of the work for her, but she’ll find a way to use you to her advantage. For me? She hated Nate. Hated the Ascended. And when I initially pledged to her, I had wanted to be something like Ronin for her. I hadn’t met Nate at that point. She attuned me, too, so I felt like I owed her something.” A brief pause as he takes another breath to get back on track. “And when Nate and I started out, well, war was just starting to get on our radars and I was terrified. Here I was pledged to a goddess that wanted the man I loved dead. So I had tried to tiptoe the line with her, refrain from speaking about Nate or thinking about him when I was in her presence, and if I did have to speak about him I needed to make sure things were foolproof.” He winces slightly, tilting his head back down to look at Edmund with a small apologetic smile.
“I was nervous about the war and with Nate being Ascended that I had asked for her help in saving him should the Voice perish. She agreed only on the condition of a life for a life. She would save Nate’s and I would have to raise a daughter from her and I.” Kamaria had been that condition – something he isn’t proud of, but one he’d thrown himself into proving he could do. “She marked me, my bones, after that. Gave me a little constellation tattoo in the center of my chest.” He lifts his hand to press against his sternum. “But while I was doing that with Safrin, Nate had became a demigod for the Voice and I was admittedly too nervous to go and ask Safrin if it would still work if he was a demigod. So things blew up, Nate left for a bit, I raised Kamaria for a time, and she tried to push me into becoming her demigod. Already with the tattoo, Nate was leery because of what Safrin and I had done, whether the tattoo was a way for her to spy on us. After all, I was stabbed and it moved to heal me, so it isn’t unlikely that was a reason.” There’s a wince with this, but he trudges on.
“She kept asking and asking and I kept telling her I would think about it. I didn’t want to fight Ronin on it. He already has his own issues with Safrin that I didn’t want to contribute to. I don’t know if they’ve smoothed out or not yet, but anyway.” He waves a hand as if dismissing the thought for later. “I went to Frey to ask about some item and that’s when they offered becoming their demigod, told me that they’d never hold strings on me, never make me do anything I didn’t want to do. I wouldn’t have to worry about Nate being Ascended when I was in their presence. They helped me make the safe haven that worked for everyone, including the Voice. So I said yes. They had to burn Safrin out of me. I don’t know how long it took, but it was the worst pain I think I’ve ever experienced.” And as if to emphasize it, he shows the lightning scarred hand from being struck by actual lightning to prove the point. “Ronin made me speak with Safrin about it after. She was… So upset about it that she killed me. The only reason I’m still alive is because Ronin healed me, but I would have died if he hadn’t.” This ends a bit more somber, another little wince, a heavy sigh. “Sorry to dump all that on you.”
the flood
say it once more, speak to my chest; i wanna bleed all of the words you've said
totally sniped from odd ilu
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
