Ah," I muse, tilting my head as her words ripple through the air, her voice woven with a sweetness that belies her barbed tongue. "And yet, it is your own voice that carries, is it not? A symphony of mockery—practiced, I would wager. How many have tasted the sharpness of your words before me?"
My gaze lingers, tracing the gleam of her teeth as I step forward. The weight of her insult is a curious thing. Does she believe it will unsettle me? Amuse me? Perhaps.
"Theatrics? No, dear interlocutor, I speak as I am. What need have I to pretend? Every syllable, every utterance, is but the echo of truths I have witnessed. Though I must confess” I offer a faint, sardonic smile, the corner of my lip curving with the ghost of amusement. ” It is often the most bitter of souls that scoff at the elaborate while reveling in their own simplicity."
The air feels heavier now, as though the remnants of past alchemical fumes still cling to my bones. I glanced at the spearmen, their discomfort visible. Fear, anticipation—emotions I know well. But her? She is curious. One thing I shall not forget.
"And you?" My voice lowers, something between curiosity and challenge. "Do you speak merely to provoke, or is there a purpose within your words? I would hear it, if so."
"There is weight in her gaze, a condescension that amuses more than it wounds. Let her mock if she must. My sins are my own, and no stranger's scorn can outmatch the voices that already echo within. Let her think herself victorious in this exchange — I have faced the ruin of my own making, and such petty words are but a breeze against the tempest."
As the other arrive and announce themselves my eyes are drawn to the old woman, her undeniable presence is one that commanded attention from friend and foe alike. Her stern warning to the other arrivals” was one that even shook my own bones, and I am not one to be so easily shaken. As she performed her clear and undisputed magic, I could not help but ponder on the curiosities of this world and the arcane arts; were they any different from the life from which I was taken? Something that she said in her introduction of the ashen ruins struck me and I could not help but question,
” Gods? There are actual gods here! How interesting their abilities live up to their title…” , gesturing to the wasteland we stood in, ” tell me more about these gods are they something accessible to us who wander the mortal plane?
My gaze lingers, tracing the gleam of her teeth as I step forward. The weight of her insult is a curious thing. Does she believe it will unsettle me? Amuse me? Perhaps.
"Theatrics? No, dear interlocutor, I speak as I am. What need have I to pretend? Every syllable, every utterance, is but the echo of truths I have witnessed. Though I must confess” I offer a faint, sardonic smile, the corner of my lip curving with the ghost of amusement. ” It is often the most bitter of souls that scoff at the elaborate while reveling in their own simplicity."
The air feels heavier now, as though the remnants of past alchemical fumes still cling to my bones. I glanced at the spearmen, their discomfort visible. Fear, anticipation—emotions I know well. But her? She is curious. One thing I shall not forget.
"And you?" My voice lowers, something between curiosity and challenge. "Do you speak merely to provoke, or is there a purpose within your words? I would hear it, if so."
"There is weight in her gaze, a condescension that amuses more than it wounds. Let her mock if she must. My sins are my own, and no stranger's scorn can outmatch the voices that already echo within. Let her think herself victorious in this exchange — I have faced the ruin of my own making, and such petty words are but a breeze against the tempest."
As the other arrive and announce themselves my eyes are drawn to the old woman, her undeniable presence is one that commanded attention from friend and foe alike. Her stern warning to the other arrivals” was one that even shook my own bones, and I am not one to be so easily shaken. As she performed her clear and undisputed magic, I could not help but ponder on the curiosities of this world and the arcane arts; were they any different from the life from which I was taken? Something that she said in her introduction of the ashen ruins struck me and I could not help but question,
” Gods? There are actual gods here! How interesting their abilities live up to their title…” , gesturing to the wasteland we stood in, ” tell me more about these gods are they something accessible to us who wander the mortal plane?