Aurelia
maybe that's enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity
perhaps wisdom is realizing how small I am, and unwise
perhaps wisdom is realizing how small I am, and unwise
Aurelia stepped out past Melita, feet digging into the sand on the beach around them. She breathed deep, letting in that smooth ocean air. She hadn't realized how fond she'd grown of it, of that salty smell and taste, of the feeling of its cool mist along her skin. It relaxed her tension, and she let out that deep breath quietly. Her green gaze turned back toward Melita, to show she was still listening.
"'It', sorry," she murmured softly, correcting her mistake.
The information wasn't entirely new. Aurelia had heard snippets of the same rhetoric before, from others like Gideon and Sunjata. Hatred for the Voice and for her creations. Perhaps, though, it hadn't been so directly addressed. It was always glossed over, a simple fact. Normal. Aurelia, too, hated the Voice but, that was where her malice stopped in terms of Caido. She had nothing against the Ascendeds themselves. In fact, there was no in this place that she held anything against. Her being here, taken from her home, was not their fault. For what it was worth, everyone had done their best to help her make a home here so far.
"I hate the Voice," Aurelia said suddenly, turning her face towards the beckoning waves as they rolled in and then receded out again. "At first, I hated her for ripping me away from my world and just putting me here. No answers, no guidance, nothing. I had to figure it all out myself, but..." she looked at Melita through her peripheral, "the people here have done nothing but help me. I'm grateful for that. So, I don't have anything against the Ascended in spite of it all. Now that I'm fine with calling this place my home," she closed her eyes for a moment, letting go of the anger and self-hatred that reared its ugly head as those words actually left her mouth. Opening them, she stared down at the tiny hollows all across the sand, "I hate the Voice for not bringing my family here, for leaving them there in that cesspool."
Her green eyes flashed back up at Melita after a few moments' pause. "I'm guessing you don't share Ludo's hatred for the Ascended," she turned back slightly to face the other woman, wind stirring her clothes and hair as she did, "What did you do, then? What could you do, if it goes against the will of the Old Gods and their Heralds?"
"'It', sorry," she murmured softly, correcting her mistake.
The information wasn't entirely new. Aurelia had heard snippets of the same rhetoric before, from others like Gideon and Sunjata. Hatred for the Voice and for her creations. Perhaps, though, it hadn't been so directly addressed. It was always glossed over, a simple fact. Normal. Aurelia, too, hated the Voice but, that was where her malice stopped in terms of Caido. She had nothing against the Ascendeds themselves. In fact, there was no in this place that she held anything against. Her being here, taken from her home, was not their fault. For what it was worth, everyone had done their best to help her make a home here so far.
"I hate the Voice," Aurelia said suddenly, turning her face towards the beckoning waves as they rolled in and then receded out again. "At first, I hated her for ripping me away from my world and just putting me here. No answers, no guidance, nothing. I had to figure it all out myself, but..." she looked at Melita through her peripheral, "the people here have done nothing but help me. I'm grateful for that. So, I don't have anything against the Ascended in spite of it all. Now that I'm fine with calling this place my home," she closed her eyes for a moment, letting go of the anger and self-hatred that reared its ugly head as those words actually left her mouth. Opening them, she stared down at the tiny hollows all across the sand, "I hate the Voice for not bringing my family here, for leaving them there in that cesspool."
Her green eyes flashed back up at Melita after a few moments' pause. "I'm guessing you don't share Ludo's hatred for the Ascended," she turned back slightly to face the other woman, wind stirring her clothes and hair as she did, "What did you do, then? What could you do, if it goes against the will of the Old Gods and their Heralds?"
and how far I have yet to go
