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Apr. 30th, 2018 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strictlystrigidaeThis trip was supposed to be one where they could relax. A brief reprieve. A time to celebrate battles well fought. A time to welcome two friends back into the fold from their exile. A time to look to the future. To plan their next moves in their journey.
'Future.' Gorudak scoffed at the word as he left Desna and Waywright's beach manor and stormed out towards the surf. In their merriment, it was that very future that he and his companions had prodded their new acquaintance, Malcer, to reveal with his tarot cards. It seemed like a game; something harmless and ultimately time-wasting. The sort of distraction the group needed after so many harrowing experiences, after so many brazen tete-a-tetes with the Lady Tetra, their ominous yet imposing foe.
This was supposed to be fun.
And parts of it were! Gorudak, for one, was happy to shrug the burdens of leadership aside for a day. To read, to research, to drink and enjoy the company of this unlikely band turned even stranger family. He was actually quite content.
But it's funny how a single question can change things. How a single answer could cause such a tonal shift that it's amazing no one got whiplash. Gorudak had been reading on the various pantheons, the many gods that he believed in but never thought, never considered to follow. He wondered if these beings, in all their might, would deign this group worthy enough to fight for their very survival against the eldritch abomination that now threatened them.
He had asked if any would stand with him and his friends. He did not want to believe that six mortals were truly alone in this cosmic game of chess.
The answer he received...well, it was far less than satisfactory.
It was a warning. A promise. A portent of harrowing things and horrors long forgotten. Of tortures and pain and ultimately, of ceasing to be. Ceasing to ever have been known by the world as it edged closer and closer to the void; the black maw of this unyielding abomination. It was a threat. And Gorudak was beginning to feel that, more and more, threats were all he and his friends were receiving as of late.
Unable to sleep, he leaves the manor and makes his way down to the cold sand of the beach. He paces, kicking sand and detritus in great plumes with each stride. He clenched his fists and opened them, desperately wishing he had something to break or strike. Instead there was nothing. There was sand, which slid away between the tiniest gaps in his fingers, each grain like another grain of sand in the hourglass, another second he stood sure and steadfast, until his greyish hands held naught but air. Finally, he whipped around to the lapping waves and planted his feet. He reared back, inhaled, and let loose a roar that resonated through the open air. He felt his rage bubble up. He pulled his hate and dissatisfaction from the very soles of his feet, and let it bellow out.
"COWARDS!! ALL OF YOU!!"
The cracks in the dam spread, and suddenly what once was a blind roar became focused. The words spilling out like so much bile.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE BLINDLY PRAY TO YOU?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE DEPEND ON YOUR VERY EXISTENCE, THEIR FAITH, JUST TO CARRY THEM THROUGH TO THE NEXT SUNRISE?! THEIR PRAYERS HAVE MADE YOU FAT, AND IN YOUR DECADENCE, YOUR SHAMELESS FRIVOLITIES, YOU CANNOT EVEN MUSTER THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT FOR YOUR VERY RIGHT TO EXIST?! HAVE YOU GROWN SO DEAF TO THE WORDS AND WISHES OF THOSE THAT FOLLOW YOU THAT YOU CANNOT EVEN HEAR THE SCREAMS OF THE DYING AS THEY FALL IN YOUR NAME?!"
He kicks the sand, then picks up a rock and flings it with unbridled strength into the waves.
"ARE YOU SO CRAVEN AND WEAK THAT A MESSENGER HAS TO COME TO DENY US YOUR AID FOR YOU?! I KNOW NOW WHY I NEVER CHOSE TO FOLLOW ANY OF YOU!! BECAUSE I WOULD RATHER DIE ON MY FEET, KNOWING I FOUGHT WITH EVERY OUNCE OF MY STRENGTH THAN WASTE A MODICUM OF IT IN SERVICE TO THOSE WHOSE GREATEST CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIGHT WERE TO JUST LIE THERE AND ACCEPT WHAT 'FATE' HAS IN STORE! GOOD PEOPLE ARE PREPARED TO DIE IN YOUR NAME! GOOD, STRONG, KIND PEOPLE! PEOPLE THAT, IF I WERE SUFFERING FROM A CRIPPLING LACK OF SENSE, I WOULD ACTUALLY PRAY THAT YOU PROTECT! BUT NOW I SEE! NOW I SEE THAT IT IS UP TO ME AND MY TWO BLOOD-STAINED HANDS TO DO WHAT YOU 'GODS' CANNOT SEEM BOTHERED WITH!!"
He snorts at the stars who, presumably, have nothing to say in response to this half-orc's rage. Satisfied, or at least as satisfied as he can be, Gorudak turns and marches back towards the house.
'Future.' Gorudak scoffed at the word as he left Desna and Waywright's beach manor and stormed out towards the surf. In their merriment, it was that very future that he and his companions had prodded their new acquaintance, Malcer, to reveal with his tarot cards. It seemed like a game; something harmless and ultimately time-wasting. The sort of distraction the group needed after so many harrowing experiences, after so many brazen tete-a-tetes with the Lady Tetra, their ominous yet imposing foe.
This was supposed to be fun.
And parts of it were! Gorudak, for one, was happy to shrug the burdens of leadership aside for a day. To read, to research, to drink and enjoy the company of this unlikely band turned even stranger family. He was actually quite content.
But it's funny how a single question can change things. How a single answer could cause such a tonal shift that it's amazing no one got whiplash. Gorudak had been reading on the various pantheons, the many gods that he believed in but never thought, never considered to follow. He wondered if these beings, in all their might, would deign this group worthy enough to fight for their very survival against the eldritch abomination that now threatened them.
He had asked if any would stand with him and his friends. He did not want to believe that six mortals were truly alone in this cosmic game of chess.
The answer he received...well, it was far less than satisfactory.
It was a warning. A promise. A portent of harrowing things and horrors long forgotten. Of tortures and pain and ultimately, of ceasing to be. Ceasing to ever have been known by the world as it edged closer and closer to the void; the black maw of this unyielding abomination. It was a threat. And Gorudak was beginning to feel that, more and more, threats were all he and his friends were receiving as of late.
Unable to sleep, he leaves the manor and makes his way down to the cold sand of the beach. He paces, kicking sand and detritus in great plumes with each stride. He clenched his fists and opened them, desperately wishing he had something to break or strike. Instead there was nothing. There was sand, which slid away between the tiniest gaps in his fingers, each grain like another grain of sand in the hourglass, another second he stood sure and steadfast, until his greyish hands held naught but air. Finally, he whipped around to the lapping waves and planted his feet. He reared back, inhaled, and let loose a roar that resonated through the open air. He felt his rage bubble up. He pulled his hate and dissatisfaction from the very soles of his feet, and let it bellow out.
"COWARDS!! ALL OF YOU!!"
The cracks in the dam spread, and suddenly what once was a blind roar became focused. The words spilling out like so much bile.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE BLINDLY PRAY TO YOU?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE DEPEND ON YOUR VERY EXISTENCE, THEIR FAITH, JUST TO CARRY THEM THROUGH TO THE NEXT SUNRISE?! THEIR PRAYERS HAVE MADE YOU FAT, AND IN YOUR DECADENCE, YOUR SHAMELESS FRIVOLITIES, YOU CANNOT EVEN MUSTER THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT FOR YOUR VERY RIGHT TO EXIST?! HAVE YOU GROWN SO DEAF TO THE WORDS AND WISHES OF THOSE THAT FOLLOW YOU THAT YOU CANNOT EVEN HEAR THE SCREAMS OF THE DYING AS THEY FALL IN YOUR NAME?!"
He kicks the sand, then picks up a rock and flings it with unbridled strength into the waves.
"ARE YOU SO CRAVEN AND WEAK THAT A MESSENGER HAS TO COME TO DENY US YOUR AID FOR YOU?! I KNOW NOW WHY I NEVER CHOSE TO FOLLOW ANY OF YOU!! BECAUSE I WOULD RATHER DIE ON MY FEET, KNOWING I FOUGHT WITH EVERY OUNCE OF MY STRENGTH THAN WASTE A MODICUM OF IT IN SERVICE TO THOSE WHOSE GREATEST CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIGHT WERE TO JUST LIE THERE AND ACCEPT WHAT 'FATE' HAS IN STORE! GOOD PEOPLE ARE PREPARED TO DIE IN YOUR NAME! GOOD, STRONG, KIND PEOPLE! PEOPLE THAT, IF I WERE SUFFERING FROM A CRIPPLING LACK OF SENSE, I WOULD ACTUALLY PRAY THAT YOU PROTECT! BUT NOW I SEE! NOW I SEE THAT IT IS UP TO ME AND MY TWO BLOOD-STAINED HANDS TO DO WHAT YOU 'GODS' CANNOT SEEM BOTHERED WITH!!"
He snorts at the stars who, presumably, have nothing to say in response to this half-orc's rage. Satisfied, or at least as satisfied as he can be, Gorudak turns and marches back towards the house.
