the crash of an avalanche
Elena Rimewind
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#1
Elena
when life knocks you down
calmly get back up
The air in Halo carried sound well. The destruction of the Palace, stone cracking and bursting like a glacier under the sun's heat, had echoed well past the far edges of Snowcloak where the Rimewinds' tannery sat. Elena had rolled out of bed and reached for her spear before she was even awake enough to question the sound, decades of serving in the guard still ingrained in her bones, no matter that her time there was years past.

She could hear her family and the live-in apprentices stirring as well, heard questioning tones and the slam of a door as someone presumably went outside to investigate. She was dressed and exiting her room -- spear in one hand and used in place of her cane, sword in the other --  by the time a panicked apprentice burst back into the house with terrifying news.

The destruction of the Palace. Invaders of some unknown tribe. A fight at the gates.

Chaos. Fear. Anger.

Elena barely thought beyond the next moment as she help get people from one safe location to the next. Buried the her confusion at the sudden attack. Buried her sorrow at seeing scattered bodies of so many she knew. Buried her frustration at the leaders who decided this was the time to uproot the government. The people of Halo were strong, yes, but they weren't unshakable. She wouldn't just try to be one of the last down.

It wasn't until someone pushed a mug of something hot into her hands and led her to an open seat that she felt the throbbing ache in her leg and the shake in her limbs. Her spear was propped against the wall behind her and a hand squeezed her shoulder. And then she was alone.
smile and very politely say
"you hit like a bitch"
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

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#2
MORGAN
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Having had a sleep, Morgan was more put together than she had been in the hours following the explosion, where she had run for far longer than she should have done on pure adrenaline. When she woke she tried to take her time to make herself look put together, needing to look professional and capable of her job: there was no vanity in the simple way her hair was put back or in the polishing of her boots, just praticality.

And speaking of practicality...before she could do anything else, she had to eat. With the palace kitchens gone, there was only really one place to go, and so she head off for the Kraai.

Having made an order for something to eat (breakfast? She'd lost track of the time), she looked for somewhere to sit...and her eyes fell on Elena, sat by the fire. The old guard had been more of a person of her father's troop than hers, but she was familiar with the woman, had known her when she had been growing up. While she was sure it was more than possible there could be some harsh words waiting for her there, Morgan took the drink she had asked for and went to sit opposite Elena by the fire.

"..Are you alright?" She started with, looking her over for any obvious physical issues.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elena Rimewind
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#3
Elena
when life knocks you down
calmly get back up
For the moment, at least, Morgan need not fear reprimands. Elena still felt a bit like she was going to fall. Like the ice had cracked beneath her, threatening to drop her into deadly waters. She looked up as Morgan spoke, straightening automatically. Then, just as quickly, her weariness forced her to slump again.

"I'm uninjured," came the rough-voiced and tired reply. It was a response only to the most obvious part of the question and left a massive volume of other answers unspoken. Then again, some of those would be obvious. After all, was anyone really 'all right' after what had just happened? Snowcloak wasn't so massive a settlement that there could be a single citizen completely unaffected.

She wrapped both hands around her own mug, eyes sweeping what she could see of the soldier's body in a gesture not unlike the one Morgan had given her a few seconds before. "What about you, Captain?" Elena didn't know the other well, had only seen her in passing since Elena herself had retired. But she'd heard stories, from the Shields who knew them both.

Shields who... were now dead.
smile and very politely say
"you hit like a bitch"
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#4
MORGAN
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Uninjured was probably the best answer anyone in Halo could give at the moment; Morgan nodded and accepted it for what it was. She doubted anyone in the Citadel felt mentally close to alright, from Neron up in his cell to the most uninvolved citizen on the outskirts of the suburbs.

How she was, though...Morgan stared into the fire, shook her head and drank from her mug; was it selfish to focus on her own feelings? When there were so many families left bereft, so many under her authority now laying as cold as the snow? "...I am...tired. For a while after the explosion I was able to move and think through pure determination. Now...every time I blink..." She took in a breath, shaky and desperate. "..I see my dead guards. My father never had such a massacre in his time."

Why she was revealing all this to a stranger she didn't quite know. Maybe it was because Elena was older, one of her father's generation, had known him; maybe Morgan hoped some of his wisdom might somehow come down through her. Either way she sighed and looked into the fire once more, confessions given.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elena Rimewind
Tanner

Age: 59 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#5
Elena
when life knocks you down
calmly get back up
Ah, now that was a tone and expression Elena knew well. Especially now, with so many lives upturned and no answers that actually helped anyone.

She wasn't expecting much of an answer. Not with the night the Captain had had, the weight that had to be sitting on her shoulders. With as stretched thin as the tanner was feeling, she had been one of the crowd. Morgan had been on the front lines.

A point that was made when she did answer, expressing just how tired she was... and why. Elena's own expression tensed, lips pressed hard together, sorrow a hard knot in her chest. "No. Not like this," Elena agreed, quiet and not nearly as steady as she wanted it to be. "Unlucky encounters on the tundra, yes, but never anything that attacked the Citadel." They were too big a bite for most of what roamed the icy wastes. Too well-fortified. Or so she would have been certain until now.

"I had friends among the guards. It will be a long time before I forget this. Any of it." The pain wasn't as sharp as the death of her spouse, but that might just be because she was still more than a little in shock. Dark eyes focused on Morgan, tired but, for the moment sure. "I can't and won't speak for others, but... I do not blame you for their deaths, Captain."
smile and very politely say
"you hit like a bitch"
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 6 - Strg: 23 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 22 - Luck: 14 - Int:
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#6
MORGAN
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Not like this. Somehow, hearing Elena agree with her made Morgan feel worse, as if it were a confirmation from the past that she had failed. Her father had never come up against an enemy quite like this one, but then again, what if that was her fault? She had known Neron was dangerous yet had stepped back and done nothing. She had known. Too patient, too careful. "...I remember my father coming back from the Tundras after those days. ...You are right, though. Nothing at the Citadel."

It was meant to be their sanctuary.

Another reminder of the lives lost and their cost came next and Morgan was beginning to regret not sitting by herself, at least unsure if she was making the sorrow her failures had caused up. Thankfully Elena ended with a assurance, a lifting of the guilt; Morgan peered up as her food arrived and sat with it in her lap, not eating.

"..Thank you. Many will, though. I cannot say they are wrong. Had I brought them away from the fight and towards Loren a moment sooner, there could still be at least some living. I...thought I would die with them, at least. Only the Captain surviving speaks of a cowardly leader." A frown on her face, she determinedly stabbed at the meal with her fork, more aggressively than necessary.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elena Rimewind
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Age: 59 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#7
Elena
when life knocks you down
calmly get back up
Hunters and protectors alike traversed the wastes during the warmer seasons. To gather food or to stop dangers before they reached the Citadel, there always had been and always would be risks. Sometimes, taking those risks meant someone didn't come home in one piece or at all. It was something Elena understood, as did Morgan. But being prepared for potential injury and death when one knew it was coming, and having it come to you in the middle of the night were two entirely different things. No one could have been prepared for this night.

Had Elena not still been so shaken herself, she might have been able to soften her answer to Morgan. Might have left out the mention of her own loss. But would her offer of absolution, however small, have meant as much?

She nodded at Morgan's gratitude, mouth tightening at the mention of could-have-beens. "And if you had died, someone else would be blamed for your death. Likely the Healer, for not doing his duty. Or the former Warden, for not being able to protect anyone." She shook her head, unable to stop the sharp bitterness in her tone that came with that last claim. "I can't take away the guilt you're feeling. But people saw you up on the wall. They saw you attack the invaders. Anyone who says you're a coward is an idiot."
smile and very politely say
"you hit like a bitch"
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#8
MORGAN
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Elena's words were wise and considered even given how shaken she was, and Morgan nodded as she ate, glad to be speaking to someone that sounded like she knew what she was talking about. "You're right." It was good to know that at least someone could see she had tried her hardest in the fight, that she had not deserted her guards.

"Could I ask you something else?" Morgan asked between mouthfuls, thinking that while she had someone whose opinion she respected before her, it was wise to seek council on a few matters. "...How do you feel about the Ascended? Neron is one of them...I cannot decide if I am being paranoid or not when I find myself wary. I do think it odd that no one else seems to be alarmed, when I have heard they can cause such problems and aim to convert others."
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elena Rimewind
Tanner

Age: 59 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#9
Elena
when life knocks you down
calmly get back up
She could have blamed Morgan for the death of the guards. Many wouldn't have held it against her, she'd served with some of the older members. They had been her friends and now... they were dead. But Elena's energy had been spent on worrying getting people to safety, keeping them from panicking and making stupid decisions. Dwelling on who caused what and didn't save whom hadn't been something she'd had room for. Now that she was actually being asked for her opinion's on the events, she had no answers prepared. She spoke from the heart.

So when Morgan changed the subject -- or at least took it on a turn she wouldn't have foreseen -- her brows knitted in mild confusion. The frown remained for other reasons as Morgan finished. "I admit, it's not something I've given much thought to. I know I don't like what I've heard. And the former Warden has a hell of a lot to answer for." Again there was a growl to her voice, not hiding who she was really angry at. "I don't like the idea of them... changing people into something else. But I haven't heard tales of them starting trouble, yet." Were the new gods' creations something to truly fear?
smile and very politely say
"you hit like a bitch"
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#10
MORGAN
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Morgan had grown accustomed to the slightly confused expression on Elena's face from her other discussions with people about the Ascended; it seemed like no one but her was taking the threat seriously: she was unsure if that marked her out as a lunatic or the only one willing to see what was happening.

When she heard some of her own ideas repeated back to her, she was surprised by two things: firstly that she mostly agreed with Elena and how refreshing it was to find someone with the same thoughts...but secondly that they sounded so xenophobic when heard out of someone elses mouth. She paused, wondering if this was why so many had reacted harshly to her; still, there was a reason to be wary and she could not turn down a chance to discuss it with someone sympathetic.

"I've heard they began a plague of sorts in the Hollowed Grounds. Turning people angry and violent, rotting their brains..." She drew her brows together as if to try and stop the horror of that imagined future for Halo getting in. "That their Goddess discards the ones that don't work and lets them become monsters that attack them during Longnight. I do not like what I have heard, to say the least."
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elena Rimewind
Tanner

Age: 59 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#11
Elena
when life knocks you down
calmly get back up
Elena wasn't aware of how her limited views might sound to others. Unlike a handful of others, Elena had not dared the portal when it appeared, weathering the stream of outsiders who arrived through it. Of course she knew her history, knew that the Voice opposed the old -- true -- gods. But information about the Ascended wasn't quite as prevalent beyond the basics. They became rumors passed around on cold nights when going outside was too dangerous or unpleasant. Tales for the bored or those in need of a distraction. The disappearance of the barrier around the Hollowed Grounds and the opening of the portal had changed those tales, as it had changed so many things, but still Elena hadn't given them much thought.

The Captain apparently had thought about them quite a bit. With the revelation that this disaster had befallen the Citadel because Neron had abandoned the old ways -- if he'd ever cared for them, being an outlander himself -- perhaps it was time Elena started giving them some serious attention as well. Even with everything else to be worried and afraid of, Morgan's brief recounting of what she'd heard was enough to make the old soldier shiver.

"Are you worried that they'll bring something like that here? A plague or monsters? Or was... was this a plan of their goddess?" A plan to bring fear to her opposition to those who weren't loyal to her? A sobering idea indeed.
smile and very politely say
"you hit like a bitch"
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 6 - Strg: 23 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 22 - Luck: 14 - Int:
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#12
MORGAN
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Elena's question was the one Morgan had been grappling with herself; she sat back with a sigh, pressing a hand to her mouth as she thought it over. She had gotten the impression that it had been a byproduct of something innate in the Ascended rather than deliberate, but she'd also seen that the Ascended had not made a great effort to solve the problem once it had been spread.

"For the moment, I do not think the Blight is an issue for us: I fear what may come around the corner, though. I gather that the Ascended cause regular problems for those in the Hollowed Grounds and that they are gaining unprecedented power. There is one among them who can teleport wherever she wishes and has powerful fighting capabilities." Realistically, Morgan knew that if Wessex tried to launch an attack on Halo right now, they didn't stand a chance: this was why she wanted to move subtley, slowly, not at all if she didn't have to.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elena Rimewind
Tanner

Age: 59 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#13
Elena
when life knocks you down
calmly get back up
"I can't think of what purpose such an attack in Halo might fill right now. But, I suppose, what reason would they need, other than eliminating those who opposed their goddess?" Elena's tone was weary and fear was still fresh in the heart for many reasons. But a breath later she was pressing her lips together, gaze sharpening. "We've made it through this--" she took a hand off her mug and gestured around them as if the encompass the entire night, "--we'll handle the Ascended problems as they come. We haven't been drained of hope as the Hollowed Grounds have been. They'll find the people of Halo as hard to crack as the mountains."
smile and very politely say
"you hit like a bitch"
Morgan Aristomache
the Glacier
Warden of Halo

Age: 42 | Height: 5' 9" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#14
MORGAN
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
"Exactly. Their motives are impossible to know because it seems in the Hollowed Grounds that in itself has been enough." Morgan agreed, letting out a sigh: she had dealt with this kind of religious fervour and overzealous passion from devotees of the Old Gods for years; she did not want to face it anew in some other group...but if she had to, she would.

Elena's sudden show of bravery made her feel a little better: at least she was not alone in having to pull herself up by her bootstraps and get on. The next year would be harsh, it was almost a guarantee: there would be bloodshed and pain and a lot of work. Hopefully any threat that did come from the Ascended would politely wait until that was over, though she doubted it. "Yes. Our people are very strong....thank you, for the reminder of that. I worry I sometimes forget."

With that said, she finished her meal and wished Elena well, then made her excuses to leave: her eyes were heavy and with all there was to do, she needed to rest.


{FIN}
(Finishing for LN, sorry!)
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for


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