Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints -
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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#1
WESSEX
the wraith
Clem was last because she knew she’d be more vulnerable with him - with what was left of him.

Whatever comes with her out of Rex’s room is overwhelmed by the feeling of seeing his body lying there, looking so little and innocent and alone. At least he hadn’t been alone when he died, but that savior complex peaks its ever-present head up and begins to blame Wessex for it,, you should have been in the Grounds echoing over and over again as she stands and stares, hands uselessly at her sides.

Slowly, her lips begin to tremble and the minute shaking spreads throughout her body. A low cry escapes her lips and she steps forward and sinks down beside Clem, the fluid that is now her tears spilling quietly down her face as she takes his lifeless hand. Grasping it gently in one of her own, she twists to look at his face, moving a stray lock of hair gently out of his eyes. Every movement is tender, the lack of words only because she knows that nothing can possibly be said.

It’s been years since she’s wept for someone - she was a different person when Magrethe left her. The pain that comes with Clemente’s death isn’t nearly as sharp as that one was, it’s something… different. More maternal. Less about her and more about the life he never got to live, the people he’s touched, and the love he had for the family. The purpose he was finding. Nate. He may be mourned by few, but the holes he would leave were large and unique. Goddess, she'd loved the kid.

Clasping his hand in hers, she brings the three to her mouth and bows her head. “Oh, Clem. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
she's pullin' the trigger
cause it's me and the moon, she says
and i have no trouble with that
Dante Steelson
Nurse apprentice

Age: 22 | Height: 5'8 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 1 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 12 - Int:
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#2
DANTE
Dante couldn't stay away from his best friend for long. Even in death, knowing that he was there within the vicinity, called to the other boy. In a turn of sick fascination, he found himself returning to where Clem had been left to rest in the sanctuary. If he had been buried... If his physical body were gone, perhaps Dante could focus on the arguably more pressing matter regarding Long Night. But they couldn't even do him that honor until Long Night had passed. Until then, Dante found himself drawn back again and again to the corpse of his best friend.

"You too, huh?" The boy spoke quietly, voice still hoarse from the sobbing he'd done in the privacy of further in the temple. Kneeling beside both Wessex and the body in front of them as he stared at the remains. His past interaction with Wessex had managed to spread some light on the Ascended but he still didn't understand why. Why was Clem ascended and not him? Why was Clem dead and not him? That wasn't how this was supposed to be.

Hands balled into fists in his lap as he lowered his gaze before glancing over at the older woman. Every time he'd seen her, she had been the poster child (woman?) of composure. Perhaps that was the scariest part of Long Night. Nobody knew what to expect, much less expect how others would react. One wrong decision and everyone in here could be dead faster than they'd lost Clem and Rexanna.

"It's not fair."

where you go, i will follow
where you are, i will be
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
#3
WESSEX
the wraith
Sure, there are a thousand pressing matters to attend to, but none of them seem important right now. Even Ronin can wait, the monsters on par with the Old Gods. She finds it bitterly ironic that he’s lying in a building dedicated to the forces that ultimately killed him, and she wants to take him away from here. But Clem is not hers, and taking a body anywhere right now is out of the question. So she has to make do with this semi-public display.

“Yeah,” she says quietly, without turning around. When Dante comes to kneel beside her, she’ll offer an arm around his shoulder, something sturdy and not-quite warm, to lean against. The shock of it all, the extra person, the pure helplessness she feels keeps the Wraith silent until Dante says something again, causing her to shake her head and look up. “No, it’s not. It -” Goddess, how does she do this?

“It makes me want to scream. And kick and punch things. Preferably a person,” she adds a little darkly, picturing exactly which face her fist would connect with. Faces, if she’s being totally honest. “It’s not fair at all. He didn’t do anything.” Ah, there’s that guilt again. Her head falls into her hands and she cradles it in despair, peaking up over her fingertips to look at Clem’s body again, as if maybe, maybe it won’t be there the next time she looks.

And that’s a scary thought, because she Wraith has always been mostly logical. Bad things happen when she lets her emotions get involved. If they wanted to hurt her - hurt them, they’d done, it but they’d also lit a fire, too. “And I should have been here. To save them.” It’s her home, after all. Even if the people there don’t want her.
she's pullin' the trigger
cause it's me and the moon, she says
and i have no trouble with that
Dante Steelson
Nurse apprentice

Age: 22 | Height: 5'8 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 1 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 12 - Int:
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#4
DANTE
Initially Dante leans into Wessex's comforting hold. She isn't warm, and while his body may stiffen at first, so used to Evie's warmth in contrast, he doesn't pull away. She is the closest thing to Clem that he has now, the same species, the same mentor that his Clem had looked up to. Though they had hardly discussed it, in his short time in the Hallowed Ground, it was obvious enough the impact Wessex had on his best friends time in Caido.

"So why weren't you?" Dante's voice is soft, the barest hint of accusation underlying his tone though he doesn't leave Wessex's offered comfort. He knows that his anger shouldn't be directed at Wessex. She couldn't have known, but perhaps, if she had been here, then Clem would still be alive. At the very least, maybe he would've been less afraid of dying out there during Long Night if he had known Wessex was nearby. But she wasn't, and Dante can't help the tightness in his jaw as he averts his gaze to the floor.

He didn't understand the politics, the tension between the races. His best friend was Ascended and nothing had changed, yet he was the one to die with his surrogate mother. Neither of them had been anything but kind to him as he adjusted to Caido, thrust into roles of leadership or set on a path life had predetermined without their consent. Dante didn't know who this Safrin was, or what she had against the Ascended. He only knew that his best friend was too young, too innocent to die so soon. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he pulls away before speaking. "You should've been there. It should've been you, not Clem."

where you go, i will follow
where you are, i will be
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
#5
WESSEX
the wraith
Able to close her eyes and pretend that Dante is Clem - just for a moment - makes fresh tears appear. Her arm tightens around his shoulder until he asks that question.

Why wasn’t she there?

How can she work out her own feelings quickly enough, submerged in both guilt for the event itself and fury towards the kid who knew better and the disregarded warning? She wants to plead innocence. She wants this one to not be on her, for someone to finally take responsibility for their actions; but how can you blame a dead kid? You can’t.

“I thought they were safe in here. And I was coming - later.” For once. That maybe they’d listened and avoided opening doors. Wessex had never anticipated that the think keeping everyone safe would be the killer. And she thought Clem would have been here in time. What in the world had he been doing out there? Why was he late? Didn’t he remember? And now they’ll never know why. Not that it matters any more, this is irreversible.  

He pulls away and she accepts whatever anger he wants to lay at her feet. Dante can’t say anything worse than what she’d beat herself up with, or so she thinks. The one person who came closest to loving her unconditionally is dead, and that kind of what-iffery doesn’t go away quickly. Her hole isn’t like Dante’s, but it’s there, an she agrees. “I know,” Wessex replies with a hitch in her voice. “I know. I wish it had been.” Clem deserved the world - not this.

Some delusional part of her thinks she might have been able to make a difference, if it had hit her instead of Rex.
she's pullin' the trigger
cause it's me and the moon, she says
and i have no trouble with that
Dante Steelson
Nurse apprentice

Age: 22 | Height: 5'8 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 1 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 12 - Int:
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#6
DANTE
"Wishing doesn't make Clem come back." Dante glares at the floor, refusing to subject his best friend's corpse to his visual rage. Wessex on the other hand had no such refuse from the rage that quietly simmered beneath the surface. Even without his knowledge of its existence his magic has started to seep outwards from his body, seeking life to pull from and strengthen himself. He finally turns his hard gaze to the woman beside him, someone he had once looked up to as Clem had, though not to the same extent.

"You lead the Ascended, don't you? Clem followed you like a puppy. So stop wallowing. You think he'd want more to die because you can't get your act together? Rexanna and Clem— they didn't deserve this." His words come out in a rush, almost spitting them in her direction as he rises, moving to the other side of the table which Clem's body rests upon, his eyes never leaving Wessex as he gazes down now at her. "But they're... They're dead and we can't do shit about it now except make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else."

Taking a deep breath and immediately regretting it as his nose wrinkles at the scent of burnt flesh, he rests his palms against the table to steady himself. "Tell me about Safrin. How can I... How can I help and keep this from happening again?"

where you go, i will follow
where you are, i will be
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
#7
WESSEX
the wraith
Another Ascended may not have noticed his magic; they might have taken the sapping of energy as nothing more than grief and LongNight taking its toll, but the Wraith’s magic-seeking sensors tell her otherwise. She has plenty of energy, so she lets him flair up, indulging his whims for now. Teenage boys aren’t the most rational. She blinks as he stands, slightly bewildered as to how he made such a mental jump, taking a moment to defend herself with a frown and calm words. “You can grieve and wish things were different and it isn’t wallowing, Dante. It’s acknowledging pain, instead of letting it bottle up.”

About to continue on, Dante interrupts and there, she begins to see the colors of what she initially came for. Holding the smile back because they’re on the same team and he doesn’t even see it yet, Wessex nods in both agreement and encouragement. Yes, that’s the way to think. “I agree.” Especially when her flock are the only targets.

“Safrin is the herald of Vi, the God of Life,” Wessex begins, adjusting herself and setting Clem’s hand down gently. “But she isn’t tied to the same principles that he is. Some call her the Lady of the Stars. She and the other heralds were sent to watch over the Grounders while we were in the bubble, but she hardly did that. Her worship continues now because she bestows great gifts upon her followers - magical powers and items and Attuned shifts. But she is also fickle, jealous, and mean to those who displease her.” Wessex pauses, mulling over her next words. “She has a powerful hold on some important people in the grounds - Amalia, Deimos, I imagine now. Many Attuned flock to her because she’s beautiful and says nice things.”

Wessex shrugs and then looks at Dante with a serious expression. “What would you like do? Fight? Spy? Preach? You also have magic, so you can do many things. It’s just a matter of how.”
she's pullin' the trigger
cause it's me and the moon, she says
and i have no trouble with that
Dante Steelson
Nurse apprentice

Age: 22 | Height: 5'8 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 1 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 12 - Int:
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Posts: 61 | Total: 134
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#8
DANTE
Wessex's words give Dante pause for a moment as he leans over Clem's corpse. Where he had spent the majority of his life was so unlike Caido, not only in the makeup of the world itself but of the people that resided there. It wasn't a radical viewpoint, allowing oneself to grieve without guilt, but one that he was admittedly unfamiliar with. When he had thought Clem dead in his own world, without his own stubbornness leading him here close behind, the general consensus was to move on. There was no time for grieving if you didn't want to risk being left behind.

But they weren't there anymore and perhaps what Wessex said had some truth to it. At least it gave him something to think on.

Or perhaps he would if her latest revelation hadn't interrupted his train of thought.

He recognized some of the names she mentioned, only Deimos really, but even that hardly gave him pause. He'd never agreed with the gods of Caido even if it was for a simple name. Abandoned. How terrible, to tear families apart based on a single word. It sounded as if Safrin was no different despite being just the herald. The devotion given to these beings never failed to irk him, staying far from the shrines if he had any say in it.

He takes a few moments as her words sink in, his mind working through heralds and god business again before short-circuiting at the idea that he had any sort of magic. Surely, he would've known by now if that were the case. A welcome banner with 'congratulations, you've been abandoned!' on it, maybe, if the gods were feeling kind. But gods and kindness hardly seemed to go hand in hand for the people he knew.

"I want to avenge Clem and Rexanna. If that means fighting then I'll gladly take up my bow. But... " His gaze falls to Clem's body, finding the charred fabric extremely interesting as he chooses his next words. She wasn't a stupid lady, far from it. Anybody worth their wits could tell you that, but there had to be a mistake. "I don't have magic. I'm not abandoned like Evie, or... I don't have that in me!" His voice breaks as he lifts his gaze to find hers, brow furrowed as he tears at his lower lip between his teeth.

where you go, i will follow
where you are, i will be
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
#9
WESSEX
the wraith
Oh, so he’s a bow user, too? A boy after her own heart. She is easily won over by his declaration and determination. A different side of Clem, she thinks, and can begin to see where and how the two boys became close, complimented each other. Right now the comparison is sad, but in the future Dante might pleasantly remind her of her youngest shadow.

“You do, Wessex gently insists. After a moment of trying to explain how she knows, she holds her hands out, palms up, and wiggles her fingers a bit. “I know because I can… sense magic when it’s being used. And what kind. You must have… accidentally used it while we were sitting.” An emotional trigger isn’t uncommon in young Abandoneds, Wessex thinks, if she remembers the local lore correctly. “Yours isn’t like fire or earth magic. It’s different.” Trying to see how he’s taking this, she pauses again. “You’re may be called an Abandoned by the Gods, but you aren’t Abandoned. Trying to offer a smile, she reaches out to him, across Clem’s body. “I think Evie would be happy to know you’re special like her, and Clem would be happy knowing you can defend yourself and protect others.”

That’s what it is, of course. It isn’t a defect, no matter what the gods say. It’s a blessing. Power is becoming more and more important these days. “Do you want to know what it is?”
she's pullin' the trigger
cause it's me and the moon, she says
and i have no trouble with that
Dante Steelson
Nurse apprentice

Age: 22 | Height: 5'8 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 1 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 12 - Int:
Played by: Dyn Offline
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#10
DANTE
Dante swallows thickly as Wessex speaks. Though his resolve doesn't waver, he would absolutely do anything for Clem even after his death, the news still comes as a shock. He had spent months in Caido, thinking he was useless aside from being able to string a bow in comparison to those he had met. But... Wessex was telling him he wasn't, and he had no reason not to believe her, even if he couldn't feel it himself.

The Wraith is being gentler than Dante has ever seen her, and for that, he's thankful as he reciprocates and reaches across to take her hand. He had always seen her as a force of nature, intimidating at the very least, but in the face of learning he's abandoned, she seems tame in comparison. Mentioning Evie almost brings a smile to his face as he averts his gaze quickly to Clem before back to Wessex with the same determination he had felt moments before, taking a deep breath and nodding.

"You're right. I... I don't like how the gods may choose to call the abandoned, and me I guess, but if I can help with it..." He trails off for just a moment, thinking of how Evie's fear of her own powers left her scared of her own skin, he clears his throat and continues. It wouldn't be like that for him. He'd utilize the power to protect both of them. All of them if he had to. "If I want to learn how to use it, I should know what it is."

where you go, i will follow
where you are, i will be
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
#11
WESSEX
the wraith
Those who have taken the time to try and get to know The Wraith know that she isn’t all scary words and hard looks, she doesn’t try to fight everyone and everything anymore (though you’d never know it by her thoughts), and a certain reputions that she can back up when needed is more than enough. She can be vulnerable when it suits her to be. When it doesn’t cost her anything to be compassionate and gentle and encouraging. It’s a newer development and one she’s been working on with The Voice’s encouragement.

She’s glad to see it’s working - or at least one person in receptive. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. She gives Dante’s hand a squeeze in solidarity, a silent promise that she would help him and encourage him to use his powers. “The Gods have forgotten what it’s like to be ignored. Even The Voice, for as much as I love her, is a bit out of touch sometimes.” But him? The two of them? They aren’t. “But we know what it’s like to feel alone,” she offers a bit sadly, letting go of his hand.

“You have what we call Life Drain. It does exactly what it sounds like, taking energy from living things and temporarily replenishing your own. Yours is very powerful.”
she's pullin' the trigger
cause it's me and the moon, she says
and i have no trouble with that
Dante Steelson
Nurse apprentice

Age: 22 | Height: 5'8 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 1 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 10 - Endr: 13 - Luck: 12 - Int:
Played by: Dyn Offline
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Posts: 61 | Total: 134
MP: 0
#12
DANTE
Dante can't help but nod along to Wessex's words. They rang true in every aspect of his relationship with the gods here in Caido. He hadn't attempted to truly reach out to them, so perhaps that was on him, yet he was 'abandoned' from the very moment he stepped through the portal to follow Clem. Had he even had a chance?

The answer doesn't matter now he decides, as he clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. Life drain... If Evie's was compelled towards the living, he almost laughed at the fact that his magic was such a complete one-eighty in comparison. Having the innate ability to kill something, slowly taking its life, was a whole 'nother issue to wrestle with that would require at least one night of sleep spent tossing and turning over.

But Wessex had answers. She knew her way around Caido better than anyone else he could turn to, and with Clem gone, what did he have to lose?

"Can the Voice help me with that? Could... Could you teach me how to use it against Safrin?" There was no point in hiding his intentions from her after being so frank with his anger in the first place. And as he swallowed thickly, leveling his gaze at the edge of Clem's corpse before looking back to Wessex, he knows that even if Wessex herself can't help him, he couldn't turn back now.

where you go, i will follow
where you are, i will be
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
#13
WESSEX
the wraith
Is it wise to go that far? Would he eventually regret it?

Wessex is genuinely surprised by Dante’s question; she hadn’t expected the boy to accept her side of things so readily. So it takes her a minute or two to respond with an adequate answer as she quickly tries to weigh the pros and cons, the changing politics, and how to best navigate this with a child. The last thing she wants is an army of children, or to be accused of manipulating (re: opening the eyes of) the youth. The voice in the back of her head says that it’s the true fool who thinks her charismatic enough to persuade anyone to do anything - the kernel of doubt would have to already be present.

“I can teach you how to fight - sword, knife, bow - I could probably even teach you how to use real weapons and magic together. And I’d really like to do that. But I can’t teach you magic stuff because I can’t summon it at will,” she says finally. Which is the truth. She doesn’t work that way. “However - I know someone who does. His name is Neron.” In theory, at least. In her head, the source of magic is the same, and whether or not that’s true isn’t for her to say. Plus Neron needs something to do, now that he’s not running Halo. “And I can take you to the Voice, and you can talk to her, if you’d like. Decide what you want to do once you have all the information.”

These days the Wraith seems to be all about informed consent and not making rash choices. That includes making enemies of the new Queen of the Hollowed Ground.

“You should also talk to Evie and tell her what’s going on. It’s the right thing to do.”
she's pullin' the trigger
cause it's me and the moon, she says
and i have no trouble with that


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