Unholy ground

Maea

The kind of flawless they think I should be

Maea nodded sympathetically, wincing slightly at the blood his worrying had drawn. It could not be easy to have everything you knew overthrown and replaced by a new order. She knew the feeling of helplessness and frustration, because it was happening to her as well. Here the was, sitting by the foot of the Spire and instructing an Outlander on the lore she grew up hearing... planning how to become the leader of her people. And tomorrow, the barrier might fall.

It was insane.

"I couldn't say why you were chosen specifically" she replied, more softly. "But there is a purpose to your coming here. The Voice was imprisoned within this barrier, and it has stood for three hundred years. But now, within the span of less than a year a great number of people has come through from every manner of world. Soldiers, scholars, craftsmen and thieves... and during the same time the Ascended have awakened, a monster that guarded this place since the construction of the Spire has been defeated...

Tell me, what conclusion would you draw from that?

She knew the answer, or thought she did, but would let Are reach his own conclusion. In a way, Rory was right. The Outlanders were a problem in a hundred ways... But Maea refused to accept that they should be treated any different from the Natural inhabitants because of something they could not help. They were all humans in the end, weren't they? That was all that mattered to her.

The kind of flawless I wish I could be

Are

His mind was alight with one word, and one word only. Reaching out from what he thought he'd left behind to wrap him in an iron fist of fear and despair. What little hope he still kept in his heart left with the blood rushing from his face. It burned before his eyes, something he'd once dismiss as something far, far into the future. A time where he'd be nothing but dust and his name had long since faded. Not something he'd end up in the middle of. Not something that'd happen as he had lost everything and was so desperately hanging onto what little he had left. He swallowed, hard. The taste of blood and panic thick on his palate as his tongue tried to form words.

"Ragnarök."

"The end of days." he whispered, barely containing the panic on his voice. Are rocked back and sat on the ground, not having the composure left to keep on the balls of his feet. The face he got in return made him question himself though. He'd gotten somewhat used to inquisitive looks when he accidentally slipped in words from home, but there was more to Maea's face than that.

"No, not the end. The beginning?" he proposed, voice tentative but with less panic than before. "Of course!" he whispered to himself. "Foundations! Foundations?" at first excited, but then second guessing himself. "Could this be the coming of a new age?"

Maea

The kind of flawless they think I should be

The woman nodded thoughtfully. Ragnarök... she did not understand whst it meant, did not comprehend the meaning of it that made Are go so pale, but she did get the gist of it by his follow up. The end, yes.

"The end of my world, here in the Hollowed Grounds. Perhaps the beginning of the end for those beyond the barrier too, if Amalia is correct. At the very least, bringing the barrier down and freeing the Voice would rekindle a conflict that has never settled, and three hundred years of peace would unravel."

Maea sighed. It was all so much bigger than her, so much more vast and complex than she could hope to fully comprehend. And in the end, there was really nothing she could do to prevent it from happening. All she could hope to do was bolster her kin before the change could overcome them, prepare for times of chaos and turmoil and hope that it might be enough...

Something in her eyes changed, a new determination kindling from the spark of her thoughts. She had suggested a Council once before... and perhaps it was time to but those thoughts into action.

The kind of flawless I wish I could be

Are

There it was again, strange names for strange gods. The Voice. He hadn't gotten a solid grasp on just what constituted a god to these people, but what little he knew made him shudder. A war waged between mortal and immortal alike was no place for him, no place for her. All he could ever hope was to make the most of the days he still had, dead or not, getting by was still his forte.

"War it is then. What else is new under the sun? Unrest is as certain as the coming tides." Are remarked with an acerbic tone. Yet he considered himself blessed by never having experienced anything beyond a good brawl during his short life. He was just parroting antiquated clichés picked up from the old and bitter, but it made for better advice than his usual shrug and smile.

"What I'm trying to say is that it's inevitable, probably. Not that there's no point stopping it, just that there's no point worrying. 'Making the best of what we have' is how my father always put it. No matter how little I have, I build, I work, I live. Still though, extraordinary times need extraordinary deeds. Maybe there's more that need changing." his musing trailing off into a thoughtful silence and more cheek chewing.

"You're one Hel of a farmer. There's a little seed growing in my head. Something about unity and other beautiful things that's wasted on a stubborn cobbler, but maybe there's something there. Uniting."

Maea

The kind of flawless they think I should be

Maea smiled. She was not the only one who had been sowing seeds today. Something had fallen into place within her mind, an idea that made her restless for action.

Standing up, she brushed the dust of the wasteland from her skirts and gave the Spire a last glance, then turned her back on it quite deliberately.

"Thank you for the chat, Are. You've given me a lot to think about today. Let me know if there's anything else you wonder about... I'll do my best to answer your questions. Over some tea perhaps?"

But for now she wanted to go, leave this place and start prepairing for a change that would not come easily but was very necessary.

The kind of flawless I wish I could be

Are

Beaming, he returned the smile. Chuckling at the thought of his regurgitated old sayings and simple thoughts being of more use than to just fill the silence. He bit his own lip to catch the mocking of himself though, knowing full well when he was too hard on himself. Thankful and humble was much more appropriate than self-flagellation. Probably healthier too...

"The same to you, it was. Enlightening." he said and nodded, looking at his new friend and smiling again. "Tea, yes. I'd like that."

"Far vel, Maea. May you walk on soft soles... And if you not, may you find your way to the best cobbler in town." Are said and laughed.