Worm powers are arbitrary bullshit pseudo-magic that Wildbow pretends are subject to physics somehow. The only connection between Shadow Stalker's shadow state and actual shadows is the word. We're looking at "rivers must have legs because they run" levels of equivocation-based inference here.
The people arguing mechanics from the side of the crossover that they aren't familiar with are pretty damn frustrating, so I can see exactly where the anger is coming from. The correct response to being told that she can phase an object into a person because she does it in canon is "okay, thanks for telling me," not "but shadows can't go through people!"
Glass is a solid object (unless you're restricting "solid object" to crystalline solids). A chunk of ice is a solid object. Clear plastic is solid. Diamonds are solid. Quartz is solid. Corneas are solid. Shadows can go through all of them.
It's not the fact that humans are solid that makes us block shadows; it's the fact that we diffuse and reflect light instead of letting it pass through. Similarly, there are opaque liquids and gases.
Worm powers are arbitrary bullshit pseudo-magic that Wildbow pretends are subject to physics somehow. The only connection between Shadow Stalker's shadow state and actual shadows is the word. We're looking at "rivers must have legs because they run" levels of equivocation-based inference here.
The people arguing mechanics from the side of the crossover that they aren't familiar with are pretty damn frustrating, so I can see exactly where the anger is coming from. The correct response to being told that she can phase an object into a person because she does it in canon is "okay, thanks for telling me," not "but shadows can't go through people!"
Glass is a solid object (unless you're restricting "solid object" to crystalline solids). A chunk of ice is a solid object. Clear plastic is solid. Diamonds are solid. Quartz is solid. Corneas are solid. Shadows can go through all of them.
It's not the fact that humans are solid that makes us block shadows; it's the fact that we diffuse and reflect light instead of letting it pass through. Similarly, there are opaque liquids and gases.
This is getting waaaaay too pedantric. Let me rephrase my question in a way that that avoids all of this base assumptions we are running into here: What type of intangibility does she have?
This is getting waaaaay too pedantric. Let me rephrase my question in a way that that avoids all of this base assumptions we are running into here: What type of intangibility does she have?
Sorry, pedantry is one of my strong suits, and it's usually uncalled for.
She can turn into a shadowy spectre that can go through walls and, I'm pretty sure, people. If she turns back while intersecting objects (but, for some reason, not air), it is painful for her rather than a cataclysmic explosion or merely lethal. She can turn equipment with her, and it apparently turns back when she does (instead of based on distance or a fixed delay).
She's also limited by electrical currents, which prevent her passage in spectre form and cause her pain.
They did. When you made your first post, it was the post immediately preceding yours, and it had been there for three hours. I'm not sure how you missed it.
They did. When you made your first post, it was the post immediately preceding yours, and it had been there for three hours. I'm not sure how you missed it.
Resplendent 12.7 has finally been drafted, and I actually think it's pretty good. We'll see what the @BeaconHill and @GlassGirlCeci think, but I expect it'll be publishable by Friday. However, I'm not at home from Thursday to Saturday. I may be able to post from the road, but I'm not certain. So stay tuned, and I'll get the chapter out when I'm able, which may not happen to be Friday this week.
This one's a doozy. 3573 words, according to MS Word. Quite a bit happening. It also closes out Resplendent, which is currently tied with Blaze and Glimmer as my least favorite arc of the story. That may change once I have a bit of distance between me and the horrible writer's block I've been dealing with. Arc 13, tentatively titled Radiance, will be coming out as soon as I can draft Interlude 13a, which will probably be from the perspective of one of Empire's capes. At least, that's the current plan.
Anyway, all this is mostly to deliver one simple message. I'm back.
My boots clicked against the pavement as I jumped out of the PRT van. "Spread out," I ordered. "Find Shadow Stalker. Keep in radio contact, and call if you need backup. Empire may still be in the area."
There was a murmured assent from the others. Genesis, in the form of a great apelike thing with four arms, bounded away in one direction, Sundancer running to keep up. Panacea and Shaper skittered off in another direction, their crystalline limbs clinging to the walls of the buildings flanking the street.
Aegis took a position just over my shoulder, hovering two feet off the ground. "Lead the way," he said.
I jogged down an alley, my ears pricked. I reached out with my powers, trying to catch any hint of Cenya and its Bearer. Frantically, I narrowed the search to a neighborhood, a few blocks, one block.
I peered into an alley. Nothing. "Where is she?" Aegis asked, frustrated.
I turned to look up at him, my mouth opening. Then I looked past him, at the roof. Oh. "Up," I said, and jumped. My boots dug into the brickwork, dislodging fragments as I clambered up the wall, scraping at the stone with my gauntleted hands.
In a moment, I was over the low wall of the façade, and there she was. Sophia lay, her breathing labored, in a corner of the roof. Her sleeveless top was torn, and blood oozed from purpling wounds in her side. Her left hand clutched at them, Cenya glowing faintly upon her finger.
I was at her side before I was even conscious of moving. "Sophia," I whispered, my hands—were they really shaking that badly, or was it my imagination?—gently brushing the hair out of her face. As I spoke, I began to hum, and slowly—too slowly—her wounds began to close. "Oh, Sophia, what happened?"
"Emma," muttered Sophia, her voice a damp croak. "And Rune. In costume. I was stupid, thought I could take them. Emma had a taser. She's a combat thinker—predicted my moves. Only just got away."
Aegis landed beside me, his hand already on his radio. "We've found her," he said, his voice hard. "She's injured—Shaper, Panacea, we need help. We're on the roof of the apartments on Jonas and Twelfth."
I ignored him. The anger was rising, hot as a wildfire and twice as ravenous. I tried to keep it out of my voice as I spoke to Sophia. "You did get away. You're safe now. We'll get you healed. It'll be okay, just hold on."
She stared up at me, the reflected stars glittering in her green eyes. "She made me so angry," she said hoarsely. "She got to me, Taylor. I let her get to me."
"She's a Nazi. You have a right to be angry."
"It felt like…" she swallowed. "It felt like I used to be. Like none of this ever happened."
A fist closed around my heart, twisting it. "You're not that person anymore," I told her. "You're not."
"Not now," she agreed helplessly. "But what about next time she's in front of me?"
There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Shaper withdrawing a crystalline limb. "Excuse me," they said.
I stepped away, and Shaper approached Sophia, putting a human hand upon her arm. Sophia sighed as her flesh began to knit together, faster than my powers had managed.
I turned away, looking out towards the West. The moon was a faint crescent, a sliver glimmering in the sky. There came no wind; the air was perfectly still. The world was holding its breath, waiting to see what I would do.
"So?" Panacea's voice broke into my thoughts. I turned. Shaper was helping Sophia up, her wounds closed. Her breathing was heavy, but gentler now. Everyone was looking at me.
"Let's get back to base," I said. "We need to prepare."
-x-x-x-
Sophia fell asleep during the ride back to HQ. Her head nodded, then lolled, coming to rest on my shoulder, drooling faintly on my pauldron.
"How badly was she injured?" I asked Shaper quietly, careful not to jostle my friend.
"A few broken ribs, one of which had nearly punctured a lung, and severe electrical burns spread throughout the body," Shaper reported, businesslike, as if giving the inventory of a warehouse.
"That could have killed her," I said quietly.
Shaper blinked. "Had the lung been punctured, and had we taken longer to arrive, yes. Possibly."
I took a deep shuddering breath. There was an image in my mind, refusing to be banished. Sophia, laying there on that rooftop, her eyes closed, Cenya dull and lifeless on her finger…
With a muffled sound, Sophia shifted on my shoulder in her sleep, leaning against me. I swallowed, clenched my fists, and tried to banish the thought.
"This can't go unanswered," said Genesis. Her sharp eyes watched me from her wheelchair. "You can't let them get away with this."
"We're not villains anymore," Sundancer reminded her friend gently.
"No, Genesis is right," Aegis said coldly, his eyes on Sophia. "She was out of costume. We've tolerated the Empire for too long, anyway." He met my eyes. "I know things are different now," he said. "And I don't want to go back to what we were doing. I don't want to have trouble sleeping at night. But if we don't do anything, that's going to keep me up. Enough is enough."
"Yes," I agreed, resting my head on Sophia's. She made a soft gentle murmur in her sleep. "Enough is enough."
The door to the van opened. Gallant and Vista were just outside. "Is she all right?" Gallant asked.
"She will be once she's had some sleep," I said, gently picking Sophia up and handing her to Aegis. "Get her to bed, and get some sleep. We'll act in the morning."
Aegis' eyes narrowed. "Why wait?" he asked. "I trust you, Taylor—but what are you planning?"
"I need to forge something," I said shortly. "You'll see in the morning. Then… yes. Enough is enough." I glanced at Genesis, then down at Sophia in Aegis' arms. "We won't let them get away with this."
-x-x-x-
The Wards, Protectorate, and what remained of the Travelers were already assembled in the room when I arrived. The sun had just risen, and the warm light pierced the mists and lit the room in iridescent pink and orange from the windows facing the sea. Around the table sat Carlos, Dennis, Armsmaster, Dragon, Amy, Piggot, and Genesis. They all looked up when I entered.
"Taylor," said Dragon, standing up, her luminous blue eyes warm and concerned. "I'm sorry I didn't come see you. I didn't know you were in the forge all night."
"No need to apologize. I only barely had time to get it finished as it was." I rolled my shoulders. "How is Sophia?"
"She's still asleep," Amy said. "Better to let her recover. She should be up in the next few hours."
"Good. We have work to do."
"What sort of work?" Piggot asked. "Are we planning some sort of retributive strike? That's risky, Annatar."
"Taylor." The word was sharp and hot, frustrated and angry. This is not the fury of Annatar.
"We can't just let this slide," Carlos protested. "They attacked a Ward—as a Ward—out of costume!"
"Dragon," I said, cutting through the conversation. "How quickly can you have the civilian identity of Kaiser?"
Dead silence fell. After a moment, Dragon responded. "By the end of today, at worst. Someone that powerful, it's bound to bleed into their civilian life. I wouldn't be surprised if I had it by the end of the meeting."
"Good."
"We can't just disregard the unwritten rules," protested Armsmaster. "Even if it makes us safer here, it sends a message that the PRT and Protectorate don't care about them. It'll create chaos!"
"They attacked Sophia first!" countered Dennis.
"They—a Neo-Nazi organization—attacked a black girl in their territory," I said quietly. "The message will be clear, if we escalate. Which is why we won't break the unwritten rules. Not explicitly."
Piggot frowned, leaning forward. "What do you mean?"
"We find Kaiser's identity," I said. "We use it to track Empire's movements—the paper trail should be easily found, with Dragon and Amy's help. We don't need to attack any civilian assets or expose a single civilian identity. Moreover—we must do this without breaking the rules, at least visibly. I've had enough of chaos."
"And once we have a lock on one of Empire's interests, we take it out," Amy said thoughtfully. "They don't know where we got the information, and no one needs to know."
"Precisely." I smiled coldly. "We will play by the rules—rules which have always favored the villains and rogues over the heroes—and we will win anyway."
"Be careful, Taylor."
I whirled. Sophia was leaning against the doorframe behind me, watching me with those bright green eyes, her hands in the pockets of a hoodie. "You're awake," I said stupidly.
"Just got up," she said. "Taylor—you're furious. Are you sure you're thinking straight?"
I clenched my fists. "They could have killed you," I hissed. "They're monsters, and now they've made it personal. Yes, I'm furious—and I refuse to believe it's wrong for me to be! I'm angry because I care."
She searched my face for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Okay," she said. "I hope you know what you're doing, Taylor—this is uncharted territory for me."
"Me too," I admitted. "I'll need your help. I don't think this is too far—but I'll need your help, before we're done, to make sure I don't cross that line."
She smiled at me. "I'm with you."
I smiled back with a sigh, then turned back to the room. "Then that's settled," I said. "Unless anyone else has any objections?"
There were none. "Question, though," said Amy. "What were you forging all night?"
"A weapon," I said. "Iphannis is powerful and useful, but I needed a sword. I reforged Búrzashdurb."
Sophia made a sound somewhere in the back of her throat. "Taylor—"
"I know," I said, grimacing. "I'm not sure, either. But… if I can be remade, can become something better than I was, then… so can it. It's a part of me. I don't want to forget it, I want to carry it with me."
She sighed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just worried about you, Taylor."
"I know. Thank you." A thought occurred to me. "Do you want to see it? The new blade?"
She blinked, then smiled. "Sure."
I turned to Dragon. "You'll let me know the moment you have something on Kaiser?"
She nodded. "It shouldn't take more than an hour or so, now," she said. "I've already found a promising lead."
"Great." I clasped my hands together. "Everyone, get ready. I expect we'll attack sometime tonight. Sophia?"
She followed me out of the room. "I really am sorry I'm second-guessing you so much," she said as soon as the door closed behind us.
"Don't be," I said, smiling at her. "It's… it's nice. It makes me feel safer with myself." I put a hand on her arm and met her eyes. "How are you feeling?" I asked. "Did Shaper catch everything?"
"You know they did," Sophia said, amused—but her smile was warm. "I'm fine, Taylor. Thanks for picking me up."
"Always, Sophia."
We entered the elevator, and the doors slid shut behind us. As it hummed around us, descending into the building, Sophia asked, "How's your dad doing?"
"Much better," I said. "He's… he doesn't understand, but he is understanding. If that makes sense?"
"It does," she said. "That's great, Taylor. That's a huge relief."
"It really is," I agreed. My lips twitched down slightly, my smile shrinking. "And you? How's your family?"
She chuckled, but a faint shadow crossed her face. "Steven's been leaving me alone," she said. "He doesn't have any power over me anymore. But… I don't know. He's still got my mom, my brother, my little sister. I don't know what to do about that."
"You don't have to do anything," I said. "But, if you decide there's something you want to do, I'm with you. You know that."
"Yeah. Thanks, Taylor."
The elevator doors opened, and Sophia followed me out, down the hall, and into my workshop.
The sword hung on the wall, wrapped in dark leather. I pulled it down, running my fingers against the scabbard. "I'm a bit stuck on what to name it," I admitted. "Nothing comes to mind."
"I don't know a lot of Quenya, so I doubt I'll be much help," Sophia pointed out. "But come on—let's see it!"
I smiled uncertainly and slowly unwrapped the hilt. It was dark, a shadowy metal reminiscent of the mace from which it had been forged, but a flicker of silver was reflected in it. Then, with one smooth motion, I pulled the blade out of its sheath. The dark metal of Búrzashdurb had been layered under a thin coat of mithril, unevenly melding with the truesilver. The effect was something like Damascus steel, swirling in black and silver. The metal reflected the the fluorescent light of the room, and the faint glow of the furnace, in a strange swirl of colors. Orange, pink, and white seemed to change and shift constantly as I turned the blade in the air before me. A sense of mourning, of loss and regret, clung to the blade like dewdrops on a leaf in autumn.
Sophia breathed in sharply, and so did I. I hadn't noticed the blade's beauty, even as I forged it. "It's gorgeous," she breathed.
"Yes," I agreed quietly.
"You can't come up with a name?"
"No," I said, glancing at her. "Any ideas?"
She considered the blade for a moment, and then her eyes wandered, to the shimmering patterns it cast on the walls. "One," she said. "What's the Quenya word for 'Sunrise'?"
I blinked at her, then smiled slowly. "Anarórë," I said. "But--no." I glanced back at the blade. "I'm Taylor," I said. "Not Annatar. Quenya was the language of the old world, but I am a child of the new." I swallowed. "You will be the light that breaks from the darkness," I murmured to the sword. "You will be the ending of the shadow, the beginning of the day. You will be the breaking of the clouds on the last day of winter. I name you—Sunrise."
End Arc 12: Resplendent
-x-x-x-
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Please also consider supporting Wildbow's Patreon, and purchasing the original works of J. R. R. Tolkien.
Posted early since I won't be in town on Friday. Much of the chapter was "cut" in editing, but in this case that means that about a thousand words will be showing up in a later chapter instead.
Using English to enhance the symbolism. I like it.
Kaiser is going to be furious with Emma when this comes out. She just triggered a conflict that the empire cannot afford right now.
What's this "right now" nonsense? Pissing off a Maia - this Maia in particular - is something the Empire could never have afforded. Especially since they've made it personal.
Despite my best efforts, this chapter remains stubbornly under the 2,000 word minimum.
Many thanks to @BeaconHill and @GlassGirlCeci for betareading.
-x-x-x-
Rune glanced up as Oracle slipped into the seat beside her. "Well?" she asked nervously. "How did it go?"
Oracle sighed, brushing her red hair out of her face. She looked drained—and no wonder, after a meeting with Kaiser. "He's pissed," she said. "Mostly because she got away, not because we attacked. She was a black girl in our territory, after all. But we needed to bring her in."
"We tried," Rune protested. "She's slippery as fuck. He knows that."
Oracle looked away with a grimace. "Yeah," she muttered.
There was something there. Not for the first time, Rune half wished she had Oracle's powers. The girl wouldn't meet her eyes. She was hiding something. For a moment she considered pressing for answers, but thought better of it. Instead she cleared her throat. "Did he say anything specific?"
Oracle finally glanced back up at her. "Yeah. He said that the only reason we weren't being cut loose immediately was that the Empire needed stability right now. As it is, we're on probation. No more screwups."
Rune nodded immediately. "Got it. Toe the line."
Oracle swallowed. "And—and he wants me to finish my initiation," she said quietly. "Gotta prove my loyalty, he said."
Rune blinked, then winced. "Oh, right. I'd forgotten you'd never…"
"Yeah." Oracle's eyes were fixed on the coffee table in front of her, her hands clasped between her knees. "I don't know if I can do this, Rune."
"Hey." Rune put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's not like you have to find some random black guy or a Jew who's never done anything wrong. Find one who deserves it. Shouldn't be too hard."
Oracle didn't answer. Her shoulder was tense under Rune's hand.
Rune squeezed it. "It's all for the cause, right?" she said. "Ends and means."
"Ends and means," echoed Oracle, her voice hollow. Then she cleared her throat. "Come on. We'd better get ready for the rally."
"Shit, I forgot about that." Kaiser had planned a rally for the Empire to announce their strategy in the new post-Annatar, post-Dragon city. Every cape in the gang needed to be there to show support. "Got your costume?"
"In my room," Oracle said. "Yours?"
"Same. See you down there?"
Oracle nodded. "Later, Rune."
"Later."
But as Rune strode away, she couldn't stop thinking about the way Oracle had looked away when she'd said that Shadow Stalker was slippery, or the way her face had fallen when she'd said 'Ends and means.' As she slipped her robes on, she couldn't get the way Oracle's hands had twined together nervously out of her head.
She'd seen that kind of behaviour, that uncertainty, too often not to recognize it. It was the look on the face of every new recruit, not yet sure they were doing the right thing. Kaiser was right—Oracle needed to go through the initiation. She needed to get over that pity, or she'd be useless when the time came.
But why had being reminded of Shadow Stalker's escape gotten the same reaction?
Emma, she wondered as she left her dressing room. What are you hiding?
-x-x-x-
"Good evening. Thank you everyone for coming." Kaiser's voice boomed from the speakers. Rune stood behind him in a line with the Empire's other capes. Beside her, Oracle was shifting slightly as she scanned the crowd.
Kaiser's armor glimmered in the spotlights as he surveyed the room. Not everyone in the Empire had been able to come, of course—the PRT was too powerful, these days, for that scale of meeting, and they hadn't even managed to reestablish contact with everyone after Echidna's attack. But the small auditorium was packed full even so.
"Things have been difficult for the past few weeks," Kaiser said. "Many of our fellows have been captured. Others have severed ties with us out of fear. Believe me, I understand. It is a frightening time. A dictator has seized control of this city—a dictator supported by the corrupt government, and with the PRT in her pocket. Annatar has made any sort of dissent, no matter how civilized or right-thinking, more dangerous than ever. So, now more than ever, I—we—appreciate the risks each of you has taken to be here. Rest assured, they will not go unrewarded.
"There is a great deal of work to be done. My advisors and I have been hard at work developing a system for the Empire to continue to function in spite of the increased scrutiny, and we have developed a plan. We won't go into detail now—those details will be forwarded to cell leaders shortly. However, there are a few things we must all keep in mind.
"First—Annatar's grasp on this city is, like that of all dictators who seize power without the approval of the people, tenuous. Discontent is rampant. And, with the ABB, the Undersiders, and Coil's organization all out of play for the foreseeable future, the situation is as much an opportunity as a risk for us. In a situation like this, where the ordinary, working whites of the city are under even more stress than usual, they will find our promise of safety and assistance more appealing than ever.
"Second—no matter how she may masquerade as a white knight, Annatar's position, and how she got it, are more of a reminder than ever of the justice of our cause. Who are her key supporters? Blacks, Jews, race-traitors, and—in the case of Dragon—someone who isn't even human. Rumor has it that Annatar herself is a lesbian. If ever America needed a restoration of purity, the time is now.
"Third—Annatar's grasp is reaching outward, not inward. If we are to take anything from the destruction of Ellisburg, it is that Annatar no longer regards Brockton Bay as the extent of her domain. For the moment, that is to our advantage. We can entrench ourselves here. But we must not allow ourselves to become complacent, even if she continues to ignore us. If she tightens her grasp on the whole country, we will feel it here. We must expand. We must make sure she cannot push us out. We must—"
"—must spread. Like a cancer. Or a fungus."
The voice came from the balcony at the back of the auditorium. A gasp went up, and a hundred or more heads turned. Everyone knew that voice. But they couldn't see Annatar – she was hidden somewhere beyond their sight.
"I'm sure I need no introduction. So you already know how this is going to go, don't you? That you will all die in a wide variety of entertaining ways." She stepped forward, her armor eclipsing Kaiser's as silver eclipsed dull iron. The Empire members behind her seemed transfixed, staring blankly at her, unable or unwilling to do anything as she stared down at the stage. Annatar leaned against the railing of the balcony, revealing her empty hands. "Well, not this time. I'm just here to talk."
"How—" Kaiser began, his voice sharp, but Annatar interrupted him by vaulting over the balcony, sailing down the twenty feet drop, and landing softly on the red carpet in the central aisle of the gallery.
"It really was an impressive speech," she said, almost conversational. She wore no microphone, but her voice boomed through the auditorium all the same, more sonorous than Kaiser's had been. "I could see a desperate person being suckered in. It's so easy to believe the promise of food when you're hungry, or the promise of revenge when you're angry."
Kaiser made a growling sound, blades extending from his hands, but Annatar held up her hands. "Now now," she said. "Are you sure you want to start something?"
She made a strange motion, and suddenly there was a staff in her hand; she leaned against it as if against a walking stick. Rune knew better than to trust that—it was probably some new weapon from her bizarre arsenal of tinkertech.
"Last night," Annatar said, her gaze drifting from Kaiser until it landed on Oracle and Rune, "two of yours hurt someone I care deeply about. I can't allow that to stand."
"If you kept your nigger on a shorter leash—" Kaiser began.
"Quiet." Annatar's voice was cold, hard, and loud enough to drown out Kaiser's despite the loudspeakers. "Consider yourselves lucky that she taught me mercy, and so I offer you the opportunity to atone before God for what you have done."
"You think you can just—"
"Of course I can." Annatar threw down her staff. Where it landed on the stone floor, there was a sparking, like flint on steel. The polished wood seemed to bend and twist. No—it was bending, curling, becoming waxen scales and twining muscle. The asp reared its head, white fangs glistening as it glared up at the stage.
"Many of you," Annatar said, her voice underscored by the hissing of the snake, "call yourselves religious men. Well, that feeling in your bellies? That slow, sinking sensation? That's what we call the fear of God, and I am but his angriest servant." The smile that showed through her helmet was cold and furious. "Your Empire has already fallen. You will never harm another innocent again. That's a promise, not an order: we will know your plans even before you do, and we will stop you."
The room was deathly silent. Even Kaiser and the other capes seemed as though they were carved from stone.
"You have three days to surrender. All of you – every human being in this room."
Oracle twitched at those words, and at Annatar's gaze falling upon her. Rune imagined that she saw Annatar's smile twist slightly, becoming something more secretive—but no warmer. There was no imagination, however, in the way the breath hissed through Oracle's lips, or in the slight straightening of her back.
"Turn yourselves in and you will earn my mercy: the opportunity to repent and be forgiven. Those who remain, no matter what you do or where you hide, will face my wrath." Annatar turned her back on Kaiser. "You all know where to find me. Whether you surrender or not, I will see you all in three days."
Then she started to walk away, her armor glimmering even in the dimmed light of the auditorium.
"Annatar—" Kaiser growled, his armor clinking as he stepped forward threateningly.
"No. Not Annatar." Her voice was suddenly sharp as she turned back. "So often, our names represent not we are, but what we aspire to be. Like Kaiser, or Gallant. Once I did aspire to be Annatar… but no longer." Her dark eyes shone in the dim light. "So call me Mairë." Then she turned, pushed the door open with a single motion, and strode out. Behind her, the asp continued to hiss and slither across the floor.
Rune glanced over and met Oracle's eyes, wide under her mask. "Fuck," she mumbled hoarsely. Rune was inclined to agree.
-x-x-x-
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... The internet has failed me, I cannot find a translation for Mairë other than 'Bitter' and I doubt that's the right one. Doesn't feel like it fits quite right?
... The internet has failed me, I cannot find a translation for Mairë other than 'Bitter' and I doubt that's the right one. Doesn't feel like it fits quite right?
... The internet has failed me, I cannot find a translation for Mairë other than 'Bitter' and I doubt that's the right one. Doesn't feel like it fits quite right?
Were I a rank and file Empire member, I'd consider that Maire walked in, confronted the entire E88 cape membership, plus a room full of presumably armed foot soldiers...
