As Gregor spoke, now in fluent and unbroken common – a miracle in and of itself – she found herself more confused by the second. She watched him carefully, his body language screaming several things to her. The sinking of his head, almost in defeat she thought. The clenching of his fist in what she could only presume was anger, especially judging by the tone of his words as he almost spat them out and onto the floor like one would a gobbet of phlegm. The things he spoke of, the cryptic references to things she had never heard of, were like lightning within her mind. She knew that, no matter how hard her memory might try to erase it she would never forget a single detail of this meeting – a meeting decreed by a Goddess herself. Still, she was shaken indeed – to the core.
What can he mean? What in the name of Akajia is he fighting that he almost seems…afraid. What could a giant like him ever possibly be afraid of? He’d break anything in half if he bloody well hit it! she thought, thankful that she did not have to puzzle out his meaning this time, she never would have been able to she knew that well.
“Nykalia? Actually Nykalia?” she asked him, the verbal confirmation in her own tongue almost felling her with the impact of mental surprise, “that is…amazing! Nykalia is centuries old, gone!” she told him though he seemed not to hear, as if what she said had not made it to his ears for some reason.
“Siege? Who is attacking you and how can they block out the Sun for petch sake? That’s impossible!”
“Gregor! No, don’t…Queen?! What Queen?! Where? Who?” she asked him, his back retreating and control of the conversation being taken from her hands and words within moments.
“How can I give you hope?” she asked him as his hand left the mirror and he dissipated, almost like smoke on the wind, “when I can’t even have any for myself?” she finished with a sorrowful sigh.
“Shyke!” she cursed under her breath at her predicament, she had been so close, so very close to learning something that no one could possibly have knowledge of other than her.
She pulled her hand back from the mirror and felt some of the skin rip off of her palm, stuck to the coldness of the mirror itself – the silent bystander of the now defunct exchange. She rubbed her other palm against it to generate some warmth into it. She stood there for a few moments trying to make sense of everything that had been said to her in the last precious few moments. In a curious way she felt that she had formed a bond with the giant human – Protohuman – and that he, at least, had found some measure of success in his endeavors. He must have succeeded because nothing he had described came remotely close to anything she knew of in all the realms of Mizahar. Nothing, for example, had the power to blot out the Sun. That caused a brief smile to form upon her lips. Perhaps she had offered him hope, after a fashion, hope that things did continue on in the future. She was living testament to his senses that humanity had survived, albeit in altered form and function.
Wherever you might be Gregor, I hope you found peace. You have given me knowledge, a puzzle to try and discern the answer to and that is worth more than gold to me. You gave me a gift, perhaps I can say I gave you one in kind she told herself, rubbing her jaw slightly before whirling away from the mirror and walking towards the exit and the present day.
“I hope you gained wisdom” one of the Monk’s told her.
“After a fashion, after a fashion” she responded as she was ushered out of the doors and into the Celestial Square from whence she had come.
Still, whatever they faced I damned well hope it doesn’t come back. If it managed to keep those brutes under siege then I don’t want to think about what it would do to us now she reasoned, her head feeling light and a shudder rippling across her spine as she did so.
Scowling she pulled her cloak tighter and made her way towards the Safe Haven Hostel.
Acting XP was given for her usage of movement and gestures to communicate an idea.
