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Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 12 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#15
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
Abasi nodded. It was refreshing to speak to a ruler with a good head on her shoulders - not that he dared say anything negative of Pharaoh, but the man in power when he had been serving had often been petty and immature, demanding his way and barely even considering there might be other viewpoints, never mind what they were. It felt terribly wrong for Abasi to think this though so he guiltily tried to push it out of mind, feeling somehow as if his Gods could still see him.

"On the one hand, no one on my world saw Gods in person - yet they would always listen. It is hard here for me to know that people actually speak to the Gods face to face, yet the Gods choose not to see me for the sake of a label I had no control over." Abasi sighed; occasionally he wondered if everyone was being dramatic when they claimed to be able to see Gods here, if his shrine experiences had actually been the norm, but with so many people claiming divine experience it was hard to discount them all.

At least he could speak on his own Gods with confidence. Watching the mud slide up Wessex's arm he pressed down on his face (which was becoming with each minute more and more a vaguely-human lump of mud) to discourage it from spreading. "We had many Gods. Osiris, Ra, Set, Sobek...too many for me to name. Each has their own temples - personally, I was a Priest of Osiris as well as the chief spiritual advisor to Pharaoh. Osiris is our God of death, yet also life. Duality is important in life." He smiled the ghost of a smile, thinking back to lessons he had taught children. "Our Gods enjoyed sacrifices of animals and gifts of gold, yet it seems the Gods here do not care for such things. I know some Gods on my world demanded human sacrifice, but..."

Abasi thought back to Jigano, how offended the man had been at the mention of something that had been common on his world - in that case religious wars, but it still spoke to a generally softer atmosphere than he was used to. "I feel that is not the type of world this is, somehow."
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
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#16
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
“I can imagine. Before I Ascended, the silence of the Gods was a major point of frustration. I was never a favorite of their heralds, and I didn’t even have magic.” The heralds are capricious, fickle, and from what she understands, poor stand-ins for the benevolence that is supposed to be Vi, Rae, and Mort. Even if the Gods have as much love as they’re rumored to have (and Wessex doubts this very much), it never trickled down to the Hollowed Ground. And therein lies her origin story. Somewhere in the oppression and struggle for survival, she eventually emerged to be the opposition’s favorite.  

She settles in to listen to what Abasi’s world is like. He talks of many Gods, already naming more than they’ve got, if you don’t count Caido. Duality - life and death, they have that, too, but as he begins to talk about sacrifice and differences, she shrugs. “No, it isn’t. Many would be shocked to hear that kind of suggestion.” Her curiosity, however, has been sufficiently piqued. “What is a Pharoah? And if you have so many Gods, could you be devoted to more than one? How did you know they were listening, and it wasn’t just… coincidence or luck that things happened the way you wanted them to?”

Wow, Wessex. Go right to the core of religion, why don't you?
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 12 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: lancydulac Offline
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#17
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
Abasi nodded emphatically as he learnt that Wessex had experienced the shunning from the Gods too; though when she mentioned that she had not even had magic he raised his eyebrows, surprised. What would that have made her...? As far as he knew, the only race to be ignored were the Abandoned. Had she merely been a very unlucky Accepted (recently, he had learned they could also be ignored occasionally)?

"Many people seem shocked here by many things. I have had to temper my speech in several different ways, choose which stories I tell; it is odd to me, for this world is one of much hardship." He shook his head and blew out a breath tiredly, still not really sure how much was alright to say to somebody in Caido.

As for the questions...

"Pharaoh is the King of Egypt, but also the human manifestation of one of our Gods. He would tell us when the Gods had heard our prayers, when we needed to make sacrifices, when things had worked - so we knew it was not simple luck. We had a connection to the Gods." Abasi wholeheartedly believed this, as was clear in the trust in his voice. "And it is simple to devote yourself to all Gods. We would specialise, but everyone appreciated that each God had an important role. You would pray to each God as needed; for luck with fertility or for a deceased family member."
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
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Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#18
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
Wessex actually laughs. “You have no fucking clue, Abasi. Centuries of hardships and isolation have really screwed us up as a people.” She shakes her head. “I’m almost scared to find out what the rest of Caido is like, to see how much we’ve been left behind.” Her anger now, her feelings of deception and being hoodwinked, of trying to get others to see that the Old Gods have done far more damage to them than the Voice has could be amplified tenfold. And she wonders if she’ll be able to control those kinds of emotions. What will happen when they all see the scale of what they’ve missed out on?

Will they all be such die-hard martyrs then?

“I kind of like that idea. Takes the responsibility for everything off the shoulders of the few.” Pulling the mud from her hand and arm, she puts it back on the ground, so it can join its mud-friends. “You seem to have a lot of trust in a single person. That they would never lie or use their power for their own advantages.” A brief pause. “If they did something questionable was it assumed that it was for the right reasons?”
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 12 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: lancydulac Offline
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Posts: 297 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#19
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
Abasi was surprised to hear Wessex laugh, leaned back to watch. "Ah yes, the portal...I heard of it, though I find it hard to believe, however I suppose I've seen so many things here I would have found hard to believe it is better to begin to trust rather than question." Personally, he wasn't going to go through any portals, at least not for the time being. He wasn't sure how much he trusted them and besides, he'd just gotten settled in Sanctuary.

Wessex's second question took him a moment to comprehend as Abasi realised she was implying that Pharaoh could have been a liar. He laughed, the idea so absurd it was that or become wildly offended. "Pharaoh did nothing questionable, because you do not question Pharaoh. After all, he's a God himself!" The idea of challenging his ruler was almost hilarious, really. "Like yourself - the rulers of the land are not to be queried...maybe you were not divinely chosen, but you are in that position for a reason. I trust any ruler that is there for their people."
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#20
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
Her head tilts slightly to the side, curious why he finds the portal hard to believe when he’s experienced one already. “A portal brought you and others from all times and places to Caido. With that in mind, surely it isn’t too hard to believe that others might cross a much smaller space?” She’s almost teasing him at this point, her voice light and unassuming, doing what she can to open minds to her Lady’s power. Abasi may never be a convert, but a more sympathetic ear is a small gain.

“If only that were the case here,” she says with a wry expression. “We never had a leader until the Outlanders showed up and more or less demanded one. To believe a ruler a God? That would go against the core of our beliefs.” Unless one of them came down and actually took up the throne, that is. Even a demi-god on the throne wouldn’t be the same, wouldn’t have the same authority. Ther Old Gods and their heralds guard their power jealously. Sharing it with a mortal unless said mortal is well beloved, is unheard of.

“And your home?” she asks. “What’s it like? You came rather unsuited for cold weather.”
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 12 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: lancydulac Offline
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Posts: 297 | Total: 8,707
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#21
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
Wessex's point was a good one and one Abasi had not really considered before. His entry to Caido had been confused and swift, more akin to being thrown across worlds than any kind of organised or chosen system. "I suppose you are right. As I said, it is sensible to simply accept things here anyway, I think."

He frowned, unsure what life without a leader would look like. It sounded barbaric. "How did you make decisions? Speak to other nations? To have no leader is like a body with no head..."

As for his home, he was thrilled for a chance to speak about it in a more general sense, to feed into his intense homesickness. "Yes, it is very hot; the desert sun is different from the sun here, which seems almost shy. We are along the Nile, a great river that feeds our crops and our livelihoods, though we also have flood seasons...we are prepared, though." With a sad smile he looked up to the sky. "I had a room in Pharaoh's palace looking over the city. Large windows so you could see the sky as you worked and a pool outside. It was beautiful. I fear I took it for granted, then." Now, he would give anything for five minutes in his old lodgings.
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#22
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
“Acceptance probably is easiest. At least until there’s a way to get back.” After listening to him wax adoringly about his home world, there is a small kernel of guilt sprouting. If only everyone brought her could have been done so under more fortuitous circumstances: resurrection, rescue, redemption - she never would have stolen Abasi away if given the option.

But she is ever a servant of her Lady, so she will not say such things. But the sentiment is there, and she hopes he can hear it and understand.

As to his question about governance, she shrugs. “Before you came, we were trapped in a bubble, essentially. No interaction with the outside world, by decree of the Old Gods. We were isolated and there was no opportunity to speak to any other nations. In a community this small, we more or less… took care of each other. I helped raise Amalia when her mother died, believe it or not.” It’s the only thing keeping them from going at each other now, she supposes. And she also felt the effects of hatred and ostracization, of her own doing, of course.
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 12 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: lancydulac Offline
Change author:
Posts: 297 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#23
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
"You...think there might be, one day?" Abasi asked, his voice hopeful, though he already knew it would be more complicated than he'd like. Already here he'd carved out a space for himself, found someone that made him happier than he'd been before...yet he missed Egypt like a part of himself, like a missing half of his heart.

To be in a bubble...both a blessing and a curse, he thought. Allowed to continue safely with your own tasks as a community, yet so isolated from any outside supplies or help. "Amalia...she is a devotee of the Old Gods. You did not raise her in your beliefs? A child showing such disrespect to a parent in Egypt would have been chastised." Abasi was still going to see Amalia for help with his prayers, but he rather disapproved of her apparent disobedience with her adoptive mother.
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#24
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
"I've come to believe that nothing is impossible," she says lightly, neither offering assurance of her Lady's power nor denying him his hope. What is it to her if he leaves? The absence of a friendly face, perhaps? The Wraith would give it up if it meant Abasi were to return to a world he loved and clearly missed.  Residual guilt at knowing he's been wrested from hearth and home unwillingly starts to surface, but with a breath she pushes it back down. The Voice's mistakes were not her own.

And that breath carries her back to Amalia. "Well, I'm not her parent. And I wasn't always Ascended. We were much closer when I was younger and nominally, at least, supported the Old Gods." She shrugs. "My arms have always been open to her and the Old God supporters, so long as they treat us equally and let us explore." And so it would be until they try to hurt or interfere with Wessex's tasks again. Because they're never going to stop - fanaticism is insidious and twisted like that - not until the Ascended win this so called war or show that they can't be beaten. Until they're seen as either non-threatening or all-powerful and more than equal.
Undertaker

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 12 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 10 - Int:
Played by: lancydulac Offline
Change author:
Posts: 297 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#25
For every joy, there is a price to be paid.
The only thing that is humiliating is helplessness.
ABASI
Wessex's words were a comforting surprise, after so many had told him assuredly that going back home was now an impossibility. He was not naive enough to now believe it was going to happen, but he could now perhaps hope, in the back of his mind, for a chance to go back home one day. Though it had occurred to him that with long enough in Caido, it could be painful to leave here too.

"Oh. I see." A fractured relationship, it sounded like. Not daring to intrude further into the Queen's business, he did not ask the questions he had regarding Amalia. How had they come together? Why was it Wessex had come to accept her Ascension so easily?

With his mud-face now a slightly bumpy rise in the dirt, he realised how long they had been sat out talking. "If...you'll excuse me, my Queen, I must return to my work." Not that he really had any work to do, but it was polite to not keep the royal too long and to imply one knew more of their plans than them was tantamount to treason.
If his heart rules him,
his conscience will soon take the place of the rod.
Base Code by Sky!
Wessex Theskyra
the Wraith
General of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 47 | Height: 5'8'' | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 61 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 61 - Luck: 58 - Int: 2
LOKI - Mythical - Dragon (Energy Blast)
Played by: Astor Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,156 | Total: 4,350
MP: 0
#26
It's Lord of the Flies in my mind tonight
Oh. Of course. How rude of her. The Queen had forgotten that she had interrupted Abasi while he was doing… something. She makes a small sound in the back of her throat and finishes wiping the mud from her arm. “Of course. Your work.” Rising now, she takes a look at the mud stains on her cloak and frowns a bit, but oh, those will come out. “Good luck with the dead people. If I ever need a mask, please make me something glorious.” And then a little nod of her head in farewell, as Wessex continues on her way, sun just cresting the horizon.

{Finnnn?}


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