Oh. Now she is surprised; Wessex hadn’t thought of the order of the book, who should have a prominent position, other than their Goddess. And then of course there’s the implication of being a Demi-God, and that there could be others. Eventually. She doesn’t know if that would be nice or invoke her jealousy.
Looking down at her hands, at the flesh that hasn’t aged, that retain their callouses and their strength, occasionally dirty nails, and bloodstained palms. “Oh, ok. I hope you’re ready for a long one.” Sure. She can tell her story. Yeah, she can do that. She tries to settle into her chair, stalling for time by fidgeting, until there’s nothing more she can adjust or huff at. Taking a deep breath, Wessex begins, trying to remain as factual as possible about everything.
“I Ascended for the first time in Longheat of 308. I was showing symptoms of the illness that took my mother and sister, and after seeing them die, their prayers for help unanswered by the Old Gods, I decided I didn’t want the same fate.” It had never really been about the Old or New Gods. It had been about life, the desire to keep living. Feeling like she wasn’t ready to go. “So I was very weak when the Outlanders began to arrive and didn’t show up until I was stronger. Edy was one of the first Outlanders I met, at the base of the Spire. And we were dumb. So very dumb. I thought my speed at night and weapon skills would put me at a big enough advantage against the Spire Demon, but it didn’t. It tore me to shreds. The next thing I remember, I woke up naked in the snow of Deepfrost. Whole. A lifetime of scars removed and sporting a pair of retractable claws.” She smiles, slightly. Genuinely remembering nothing from that rebuilding period other than a woman singing, she can add nothing to the mystery of the Voice and her work on them.
“I don’t know how or why. Perhaps the Voice saw my potential and took pity on me, remembering why I had come to Her in the first place. But that resurrection sealed it for me. I owe Her my life, twice over, not only for Her generosity of a new body, but for Her faith in me.”
Rather than recapping the last two years, Wessex decides to hone in on the events that pertained most to the Ascended. “Soon after, she showed us what was outside the Bubble. Then told me to have us ready to open the Spire. That was it. Everything else was really up to us. Aedion and Lucas opened the doors.” Here, she pauses, remembering the life lost that night. “Sometimes I wish I’d done more to keep some of them with me, outside of the Spire. Or been there to protect Aedion and Kristopher. Kristopher was old, he might have been able to teach us something. Same with 108. But then without her sacrifice, we wouldn’t have gotten the barrier down. So…” She shrugs. Maybe it’s what they were made for. Maybe they just weren’t as smart. Who knows.
“Then came the LongNight where I survived the Monsters. They recognized me for what I was - Ascended and reborn, and I used that to my negotiating advantage. I think up until then, I had been the only Natural to survive Monsters getting into someone’s house.” Her mouth draws together tightly. The Monsters are still a sore point. “If there were one thing I could ask of our Lady it would be for Her to try and do something about the Monsters. Not just to help Her children, but because She no longer has need for the bodies and souls they used to take. I don’t think. Anyway, it would massively improve perception, but I know She doesn’t care about that sort of thing.” Unfortunately. Or fortunately. It’s the one of the issues she takes with the Gods - their inability to see that some of their actions just fuck with their followers’ abilities to get shit done. Are counter-productive.
“Anyway. From the beginning, the Voice seemed to want me to organize us. Mostly for organization, but then when I became Queen, in the midst of the blight, She encouraged me to soften, protect, and be more understanding. Be bright. Show everyone the advantages of being Ascended. So I tried to do that. Tried to balance the interest of the Hollowed Ground, all the fucking Outlanders and Naturals alike, and keep our family safe from Ludo and Roana. Oh, that should definitely go in the book. So protecting and guiding is more or less my main priority now, along with exploring and opening the portals.” And it’s probably important for them all to know that. Mess with any of the Ascended and the perpetrators will have Wessex to deal with.
“Um, I was part of the group at the Mathair when that shitshow went down. I think it was a tactical error on the Voice’s part to open that portal first, and an oversight on our part to follow her blindly. We also didn’t have much information regarding the state of the Spire. It seemed like the various expeditions into the basement by the Attuned and Abandoned were meant to be secretive, for their eyes only. They never took an Ascended with them. We could have done our own expeditions, but you and I both know that with only two strong Ascended, it could have been deadly.” Wessex shifts forward, eager to be done. She hates talking this much, recounting everything - even though yes, she’d volunteered to do so.
“So when the Fae blocked off the Greatwood, I turned the Spire portal and asked for volunteers to assist, but got a less than ideal team. Jigano was deceitful from the start, there only to protect the Snake Guardian and purposefully, stubbornly blind that the snake wouldn’t budge from its task to keep Ascended out of the portal. He wanted to negotiate and there wasn’t going to be any negotiation, but like always, he thought he knew best. It turned into a fight. I won, though. Removed the Guardian.” The semantics of that can be rehashed if he wants to ask clarifying questions. If there was ever an origin story for the legitimate hatred between herself and the silver-haired man, it was in that room.
“Once that was done, the Voice came to me and said she would make me brighter, lift me up a shining star to the guide the rest of the Ascended. And she said she was proud, that I had done well and proven myself.” She’s smiling again, the very memory recalling feelings of the infusion of light and power, of warmth and love. “And from there, my powers have only increased. I can stay in the sunlight. I can teleport. Take others with me when I teleport short distances. I can copy some magic. I’m faster and stronger than I’ve ever been, and I’m happy exploring and trying to connect the world.”
Yeah, that seems like a good place to end. Unless Sam has questions about specific things.
Looking down at her hands, at the flesh that hasn’t aged, that retain their callouses and their strength, occasionally dirty nails, and bloodstained palms. “Oh, ok. I hope you’re ready for a long one.” Sure. She can tell her story. Yeah, she can do that. She tries to settle into her chair, stalling for time by fidgeting, until there’s nothing more she can adjust or huff at. Taking a deep breath, Wessex begins, trying to remain as factual as possible about everything.
“I Ascended for the first time in Longheat of 308. I was showing symptoms of the illness that took my mother and sister, and after seeing them die, their prayers for help unanswered by the Old Gods, I decided I didn’t want the same fate.” It had never really been about the Old or New Gods. It had been about life, the desire to keep living. Feeling like she wasn’t ready to go. “So I was very weak when the Outlanders began to arrive and didn’t show up until I was stronger. Edy was one of the first Outlanders I met, at the base of the Spire. And we were dumb. So very dumb. I thought my speed at night and weapon skills would put me at a big enough advantage against the Spire Demon, but it didn’t. It tore me to shreds. The next thing I remember, I woke up naked in the snow of Deepfrost. Whole. A lifetime of scars removed and sporting a pair of retractable claws.” She smiles, slightly. Genuinely remembering nothing from that rebuilding period other than a woman singing, she can add nothing to the mystery of the Voice and her work on them.
“I don’t know how or why. Perhaps the Voice saw my potential and took pity on me, remembering why I had come to Her in the first place. But that resurrection sealed it for me. I owe Her my life, twice over, not only for Her generosity of a new body, but for Her faith in me.”
Rather than recapping the last two years, Wessex decides to hone in on the events that pertained most to the Ascended. “Soon after, she showed us what was outside the Bubble. Then told me to have us ready to open the Spire. That was it. Everything else was really up to us. Aedion and Lucas opened the doors.” Here, she pauses, remembering the life lost that night. “Sometimes I wish I’d done more to keep some of them with me, outside of the Spire. Or been there to protect Aedion and Kristopher. Kristopher was old, he might have been able to teach us something. Same with 108. But then without her sacrifice, we wouldn’t have gotten the barrier down. So…” She shrugs. Maybe it’s what they were made for. Maybe they just weren’t as smart. Who knows.
“Then came the LongNight where I survived the Monsters. They recognized me for what I was - Ascended and reborn, and I used that to my negotiating advantage. I think up until then, I had been the only Natural to survive Monsters getting into someone’s house.” Her mouth draws together tightly. The Monsters are still a sore point. “If there were one thing I could ask of our Lady it would be for Her to try and do something about the Monsters. Not just to help Her children, but because She no longer has need for the bodies and souls they used to take. I don’t think. Anyway, it would massively improve perception, but I know She doesn’t care about that sort of thing.” Unfortunately. Or fortunately. It’s the one of the issues she takes with the Gods - their inability to see that some of their actions just fuck with their followers’ abilities to get shit done. Are counter-productive.
“Anyway. From the beginning, the Voice seemed to want me to organize us. Mostly for organization, but then when I became Queen, in the midst of the blight, She encouraged me to soften, protect, and be more understanding. Be bright. Show everyone the advantages of being Ascended. So I tried to do that. Tried to balance the interest of the Hollowed Ground, all the fucking Outlanders and Naturals alike, and keep our family safe from Ludo and Roana. Oh, that should definitely go in the book. So protecting and guiding is more or less my main priority now, along with exploring and opening the portals.” And it’s probably important for them all to know that. Mess with any of the Ascended and the perpetrators will have Wessex to deal with.
“Um, I was part of the group at the Mathair when that shitshow went down. I think it was a tactical error on the Voice’s part to open that portal first, and an oversight on our part to follow her blindly. We also didn’t have much information regarding the state of the Spire. It seemed like the various expeditions into the basement by the Attuned and Abandoned were meant to be secretive, for their eyes only. They never took an Ascended with them. We could have done our own expeditions, but you and I both know that with only two strong Ascended, it could have been deadly.” Wessex shifts forward, eager to be done. She hates talking this much, recounting everything - even though yes, she’d volunteered to do so.
“So when the Fae blocked off the Greatwood, I turned the Spire portal and asked for volunteers to assist, but got a less than ideal team. Jigano was deceitful from the start, there only to protect the Snake Guardian and purposefully, stubbornly blind that the snake wouldn’t budge from its task to keep Ascended out of the portal. He wanted to negotiate and there wasn’t going to be any negotiation, but like always, he thought he knew best. It turned into a fight. I won, though. Removed the Guardian.” The semantics of that can be rehashed if he wants to ask clarifying questions. If there was ever an origin story for the legitimate hatred between herself and the silver-haired man, it was in that room.
“Once that was done, the Voice came to me and said she would make me brighter, lift me up a shining star to the guide the rest of the Ascended. And she said she was proud, that I had done well and proven myself.” She’s smiling again, the very memory recalling feelings of the infusion of light and power, of warmth and love. “And from there, my powers have only increased. I can stay in the sunlight. I can teleport. Take others with me when I teleport short distances. I can copy some magic. I’m faster and stronger than I’ve ever been, and I’m happy exploring and trying to connect the world.”
Yeah, that seems like a good place to end. Unless Sam has questions about specific things.
The Wraith
the bright
the thing in the night
the bright
the thing in the night
Wessex
