General's Orders, Captain's Duty

...you cannot control the world. A dry, mirthless chuckle escaped her lips at Safrin's words. A refrain of words she had heard all her life in one form or another. "Thank you...such a compliment means much coming from a woman such as yourself." she said earnestly. Safrin was a goddess - she was the epitome of womanhood; beauty, grace, and strength. Even now she saw it as Safrin rejuvenated herself. She rallied in the face of her mourning, her exhaustion, her struggle (for certainly even deities of such awesome power had struggles of their own). She was all Roana had ever striven to be - to see even a fraction of herself in the goddess gave her hope that she could overcome whatever lay ahead. To be clear, Roana had no desire to be a goddess, she had no desire to claim the power a deity had, just the power she needed to do what she must. She was human, Safrin was divine, and the two would never coincide. Guilt would only hold her back. Ronin would have forgiven her for putting it aside to do her duty. "I know I cannot control this or any world...but I must endeavor to change it for everyone in it." she said quietly with a small sigh, Ronin's words ringing clear in her mind. Get them out of here." He meant everyone. Not just the Outlanders. Not just the Naturals even. The deities, like Safrin too. They all deserved more than to be trapped in a cage of a land that was soon to be overburdened as more Outlanders appeared each day. "Yes, the Spire. Ronin advised me once to come see you, that you were kind and could answer questions...but first I would like to thank you for a more personal matter." she said and smiled a little. "My sister-in-law Phoebe told me you sent her a blessing that helped her survive Long Night. I...should've done a better job watching out for her myself but until recently she didn't really want much of anything to do with me." Old hurts, old slights that she hadn't done herself but Phoebe had held against her all the same. "I cannot thank you enough for doing so when I could not." Her and Phoebe might only just be getting on better terms, but Roana still cared for her. She just needed to work through her Steadman stubbornness. But back to the matter at hand. There was only so much time to act. "I am hoping you can give me your wisdom about how to breach the Spire...what is the best method, what can I expect inside, and what must I find to bring down the barrier?" A battle plan. Context. The more she knew about what she faced the better prepared she would be. The more likely she was in keeping more death at bay. Suddenly though, she realized she was getting antsy, asking a lot at once and without regard for what Safrin could or could not say. If there weren't some limiting factor after all, she probably would have acted herself - and she vaguely recalled her saying something about rules that day on the battlefield. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to rush..." she said. roana The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone