(Im)mortal Coil

I can give you freedom from your guilt with a flick of my wrist

Children. The pretender is changing children.

With Juniper’s words still bouncing in her head like ricocheting shrapnel, Nephele makes her way to the shrine in a daze. She’d returned to her home only long enough to grab the vial of fluid she’d stolen from the Ascended’s body when she killed him. The scientist in her had begged to examine it. It was a desire that had been ruthlessly squashed. Ludo would know best its uses. Her own curiosity could wait.

Feet settling on the wood quietly, she folds her wings down against her spine and stares at the candles of the shrine. “Ludo. I need your guidance in my mission. Please.” A mission she had taken to wholeheartedly; blinding Nate, killing and desecrating Robin’s body to spread throughout the lands, poisoning even Juniper’s mind against them with her carefully worded revelations. Still, it was nothing in the face of the atrocities The Voice had escalated to.

I can give you death with the look upon my face

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own "Speak, sweetling. I will hear you, and I will provide." Ludo sounds very mystical as it appears, hovering in the air just beyond the Observatory railings like a dark and ragged ghost. And it must be impressed by Nephele and the gravity of her being there, because it gives nary a curl of its masked lip at the fact that she has brought no toys or games or other offerings for it to play with. Unless the vial of Ascended fluid is supposed to be it? Ludo hopes not.

I can give you freedom from your guilt with a flick of my wrist

When it appears, Nephele seems to realize she had come without any offerings; shame darkens her pretty face, but it is temporarily soothed by Ludo’s words. She is adrift on a tumultuous sea of revelations that make her won’t to vomit over the railing. She doesn’t think Ludo would appreciate the splatter though. “I have much news to tell you, Ludo. Thank you for hearing me.” Deferential bow of her copper head ensuring she translates her appreciation for Ludo’s kind overlooking of her transgression.

“I killed one of the Ascended with your blades,” she begins first, marveling at all she has achieved in the time gone by since their first meeting. The days slip like water through her fingers as of late. Heralding them closer to war. “I collected some of its...fluid.” Disgust showing in the wrinkle of her brow as she sets the vial on the railing between them. “I thought you could more safely examine it than I, perhaps it would shed light on the Voice’s technology, or it could be imbued into another weapon.” If not, she would find another use for it herself. It had certainly proven...volatile, in her last escapade. “I also grievously wounded another. He did not know it was me, but he and the Wraith attacked me all the same in the Wilds - clearly their aggression against my kind does not falter for all their flowery words.” She still longs for justice for the Mathair, to return her to her proper place, but her idea of justice differs greatly from Juniper’s vision of trials and fairness. “Unfortunately he seems to be rather important in Torchline, and he is well-defended.” Sunjata’s blade had scarred her in turn that day, a mark she is careful to keep hidden.

“I also was close to removing another Ascended by burning the infirmary in the Grounds. I...I did not intend the casualties of the humans, but I pray it will drive them away, perhaps here to the Greatwood where the Ascended cannot reach them.” Removing new recruits if nothing else, even if the idea had also been spurred by the notion of somehow guarding against the Grounds as a land entirely without forsaking the humans that would otherwise be lost as well.

“However I am also here because Juniper informed me that the Voice has been turning children. At least, those sixteen cycles of age. But that there was one, a child born of two Ascended; an actual babe.” Bile rises in her throat, making her blink quickly and strive to swallow it down. “She has bid me to stay my blades. I told her they would not last without their creator, but she fears even if I kill them that their souls returning to the Voice will only make her stronger.” The only viable argument that could have truly stopped her murderous tendencies; Nephele loathes the idea of giving the pretender any more strength.

Turning her hazel eyes to the floating visage before her, she lays Lasracha against her thighs and opens her heart and mind to the deity. She had never been a follower of Ludo before. Fate itself had drawn them together, and now she proudly wore its rags and did its bidding. “I cannot cull them as fast as they seem to rise. What else can I do? Not just against the Voice, but for the Greatwood; to protect my people while I am away.” Word of Remi’s planned defenses were all she had to inspire any form of hope, but if the man was Ludo’s, then she would reluctantly trust him if only because his commands came from the same god she followed.

I can give you death with the look upon my face

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own Busy, busy, busy. Ludo nearly vibrates with the tales of all that Nephele has done, and one raggedly slip of cloth sneaks out to coil around the vial of Ascended fluid, plucking it from her grasp so that it might examine it. Ludo even shakes it a bit, and its mask seems to curl with disgust as well. Then another rag sneaks out to mess up the pretty Fae's hair in a gesture that's close enough to a pat on the head that it might as well be one. "Always more to do," Ludo laments. "But you are working hard, sweetling. Those who died in the infirmary fire did not suffer - my chosen ensured it. I suggest you work more closely with him on the defences in the Greatwood. Mayhap more could be done like a regional quest maybe? to aid in the forest's protection." It tilts the vial again, humming to itself. "I imagine I might be able to do something with this, also, if you would be able to get me a few more ingredients."

I can give you freedom from your guilt with a flick of my wrist

A small beam of a smile lights up her pretty face as her hair is tousled into a firecloud by a dark tendril. Frail shoulders relax noticeably soon after at the reassurance of gentle passage for those who had perished in the fire she'd created. Humans, for all they are short-lived and horribly invasive (not unlike termites), are not the target of her rage.

"He may suspect me," she cautions, though Nephele is sure Ludo is not unaware. "But however I can shore our defenses, I will even without a current governing body." Working with Remi would be a dangerous game, but one she would play at the behest of her patron. "If we cannot remove the portal at least we can weaponize our borders. Would there be a way to keep the Ascended from crossing the boundary entirely?" To protect against further damage, and to turn the Greatwood into a haven if the war required it of them. A haven for all, unlike Stormbreak.

Eyes drawn to the vial shaking about in Ludo's cloth-grasp, her expression becomes determined anew. "Of course. Whatever you need."

I can give you death with the look upon my face

ludo Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own "He may," Ludo agrees. "But that is for you to navigate and to win his trust. You are on the same side after all, are you not?" It tilts its masked head. It's true that Remi is close to the Ascended (one in particular) in ways that Ludo has already tried to prevent, only for the medic to come creeping back out of the woodwork from death. It nods at her question, rags seeming to quiver - Nephele is asking all of the right things, it seems. "Yes," it says, "but it will take more than just yourself to complete such a task. The Greatwood will have to help itself to get it done." But she agrees to commit to the cause anew, and Ludo claps its rags together, vial of fluid and all. "Wonderful. Then let's begin!" Nephele has received a quest from Ludo! She must: - Complete a thread with Remi to speak further about the Greatwood defenses. - Complete a thread collecting a branch from the Mathair tree (respectfully!) - Complete a thread collecting a few precious stones from the Whispershore

I can give you freedom from your guilt with a flick of my wrist

“I will practice being...personable,” she reluctantly agrees. It’s her greatest weakness, her general prickliness, but whatever Ludo commands she will do. Even if it means smiling in a mirror for hours to try and make it look less like a grimace.

“I will speak with Juniper and see what we can accomplish before I return.” Perhaps it is time to elevate the diplomat into a more illustrious seat. Nephele would be at her side to guide her however the other Fae desired, and then they could secure the Greatwood before the inevitable war.

Ludo’s excitement is infectious, veined wings fluttering and lifting her feet from the wooden boards as her heart surges with renewed conviction. She has her marching orders.

- FIN

I can give you death with the look upon my face