11th Cylus, 719
Immediately following: this
Immediately following: this
Famula's realm.
Her grave was here, and as she walked past it, a few moments behind everyone else, Faith glanced and wondered how soon she might be filling it. Death did not hold any fear for her, it was natural and normal and part of life. Yet, in that moment she felt a cold shiver travel down her back. To lie here, to rest, it would mean that she had left behind those she loved. Those she needed, and who needed her. As her heart rate increased, she felt panic start to grip her, slightly and she stopped walking, just for a few trill, and concentrated on her breathing. "I'm fine." She thought to Padraig, their telepathic link a means of communicating even though he was already in there. "Don't come out, people will worry. I'm nearly there." It was a comfort to her that he was there and it calmed her.
Because in that moment, Faith felt like the twenty arc old girl she was.
And she was terrified.
But she didn't have time for that and she smiled to herself. "This is what comes of wanting freedom you know," her thoughts were clear and her emotions much more calm. "A slave owns nothing, has no right to anything and, therefore, has nothing to lose. As a free woman, I make choices. Ironically, the man who wrote to Tristan, the one who told Tristan I should be free? That's Alistair. Ellasin's right hand necromancer. I had no idea." Cold anger at that propelled her forward and she stepped into the mausoleum. Walking up the central aisle, she felt small and insecure, so she looked at her husband and straightened her back. When she got to the front, she smiled at him. "Had to go kiss my babies," Faith whispered. Then she turned and looked at the people who had just been in her home.
"Thank you, for taking what must have been a leap of faith for some of you." Faith's eyes glowed a deep crimson. "This is Zuudaria. It is Famula's Domain, her realm. Usually, only open by invitation directly from her, but she has allowed me to use the lantern you saw." She considered what was important to say and what was not. "We are safe here, no one can intrude, no magic will penetrate."
Gesturing around, she explained. "Padraig and I were upstairs, doing some alchemical things, when the wall started bleeding. It brought us here," that bit she sounded calm and like it was nothing new. "Famula brought us into this place and all the Zuuda and Wisps were here. To make a long story short, Famula has declared war, not on Ellasin, but on the Coven itself. She has instructed that the Coven is to be destroyed, and she has named me her War General. All Zuuda, all Wisps, all over the world, now form part of our numbers." She breathed in.
"I accepted. But I realise something. I am a fanatic. I am furiously angry and my heart hurts because Qit'ria died to protect me. I am terrified of more people I love getting hurt, and equally scared of letting everyone down. All of those things combine and they make me very predictable. So, while I am the General Famula has asked me to be, there needs to be another side to this. And that, is that there needs to be intelligence gathering, spy networks, all those things which combine to make sure that we are one step ahead, five steps ahead, at all times."
She glanced at Padraig then, and smiled. "And so, we have a spymaster, also. This is war and we need to be clear what we're doing with it. So. We need to plot. In the first instance, we can split into groups working on our talents. Our strengths must be exploited, I feel. And so while some will attack, others will defend, yet others will heal and others will have more covert tasks to perform. "
And carefully, almost imperceptibly, pinched her fingers together so that the pads of them turned white. "Because I have no doubt that Ellasin is up to something. This is out of her usual behaviour and I believe she's planning something. It might be a distraction, to keep us busy whilst she does other things, or it might be something else. I don't know. But I know that we have to find out.
With a slight shrug, she looked at them all and set her jaw in determination. "We're going to win this, by being smart and two steps ahead. So, lets start. Let's throw out ideas and discuss them - nothing is too far out, nothing too outrageous. Lets start there, and whittle down from there."
Her grave was here, and as she walked past it, a few moments behind everyone else, Faith glanced and wondered how soon she might be filling it. Death did not hold any fear for her, it was natural and normal and part of life. Yet, in that moment she felt a cold shiver travel down her back. To lie here, to rest, it would mean that she had left behind those she loved. Those she needed, and who needed her. As her heart rate increased, she felt panic start to grip her, slightly and she stopped walking, just for a few trill, and concentrated on her breathing. "I'm fine." She thought to Padraig, their telepathic link a means of communicating even though he was already in there. "Don't come out, people will worry. I'm nearly there." It was a comfort to her that he was there and it calmed her.
Because in that moment, Faith felt like the twenty arc old girl she was.
And she was terrified.
But she didn't have time for that and she smiled to herself. "This is what comes of wanting freedom you know," her thoughts were clear and her emotions much more calm. "A slave owns nothing, has no right to anything and, therefore, has nothing to lose. As a free woman, I make choices. Ironically, the man who wrote to Tristan, the one who told Tristan I should be free? That's Alistair. Ellasin's right hand necromancer. I had no idea." Cold anger at that propelled her forward and she stepped into the mausoleum. Walking up the central aisle, she felt small and insecure, so she looked at her husband and straightened her back. When she got to the front, she smiled at him. "Had to go kiss my babies," Faith whispered. Then she turned and looked at the people who had just been in her home.
"Thank you, for taking what must have been a leap of faith for some of you." Faith's eyes glowed a deep crimson. "This is Zuudaria. It is Famula's Domain, her realm. Usually, only open by invitation directly from her, but she has allowed me to use the lantern you saw." She considered what was important to say and what was not. "We are safe here, no one can intrude, no magic will penetrate."
Gesturing around, she explained. "Padraig and I were upstairs, doing some alchemical things, when the wall started bleeding. It brought us here," that bit she sounded calm and like it was nothing new. "Famula brought us into this place and all the Zuuda and Wisps were here. To make a long story short, Famula has declared war, not on Ellasin, but on the Coven itself. She has instructed that the Coven is to be destroyed, and she has named me her War General. All Zuuda, all Wisps, all over the world, now form part of our numbers." She breathed in.
"I accepted. But I realise something. I am a fanatic. I am furiously angry and my heart hurts because Qit'ria died to protect me. I am terrified of more people I love getting hurt, and equally scared of letting everyone down. All of those things combine and they make me very predictable. So, while I am the General Famula has asked me to be, there needs to be another side to this. And that, is that there needs to be intelligence gathering, spy networks, all those things which combine to make sure that we are one step ahead, five steps ahead, at all times."
She glanced at Padraig then, and smiled. "And so, we have a spymaster, also. This is war and we need to be clear what we're doing with it. So. We need to plot. In the first instance, we can split into groups working on our talents. Our strengths must be exploited, I feel. And so while some will attack, others will defend, yet others will heal and others will have more covert tasks to perform. "
And carefully, almost imperceptibly, pinched her fingers together so that the pads of them turned white. "Because I have no doubt that Ellasin is up to something. This is out of her usual behaviour and I believe she's planning something. It might be a distraction, to keep us busy whilst she does other things, or it might be something else. I don't know. But I know that we have to find out.
With a slight shrug, she looked at them all and set her jaw in determination. "We're going to win this, by being smart and two steps ahead. So, lets start. Let's throw out ideas and discuss them - nothing is too far out, nothing too outrageous. Lets start there, and whittle down from there."