Ky nodded, torn between excitement at the thought of getting freedom and also dread at how very long it was going to take. “…will I even still be here then?”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Ideally you'll be back with your parents and siblings," Gaius mused. "But we'll see how long information takes to move. It can be quite a process, as I'm sure you know."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded, forcing herself not to wallow in self pity at the thought. She buried her hands in her pockets. “… and Zander can’t come back until then?”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"He'll be gathering information," Gaius pointed out. "I'm sure he'll visit to relay some things personally, but he'll be busy helping us out." They reached the sixth floor. "It won't be forever, Ky. Things will turn out well in the end."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky nodded, keeping the ‘I hope so’ comment to herself and then barely biting off the ‘we’ll see’ that threatened to come out next. And then she realized there was nothing that she could say that was both truthful and positive, so she just kept nodding instead.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
(I'm taking on the Herculean task of designing Serpent Keep on Minecraft)
"The orrery or the artifact room first?" Gaius asked as he stopped at the top of the stairs.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
(Omgggg your obsession is admirable lol and I definitely want to see. My job is easier xD)
Ky didn’t want to try to pronounce orrery, so, “um… artifact room, maybe?”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
(I'll let you know when it's done, but it's gonna take a WHILE. The front and door alone are taking forever. I've been working on this world since 8th grade; I have a lot of visualizations to realize)
"Artifact room it is." He led her toward the end of the hall. "We have items in there that date back to before the settlement and unification, from all over the continent and some from off-continent."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Oh, that was hard. Gaius took a long moment to think. "There's an enormous godstone carved with the likenesses of all the gods that was transported from a forest in the Far North. It was a pilgrimage spot hundreds of years ago before one of my ancestors stole it. It's a fascinating piece; it must have been very difficult to carve."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Oh, wow!” That sounded exactly how to end up cursed.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"It's the biggest thing in there; it's about twelve feet tall. I'm still not sure how they managed to drag it all the way down here and then up the stairs." Gaius came to a simple wooden door and took out one of his keys.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“That sounds terrible,” she said. She couldn’t help but remember Aleth’s chest. She’d brought her master’s horse out so he could go hunting with Aleth. Aleth had just gotten there and wanted to get her alone so he asked her master to have her haul his chest up to his room for him. Of course the bastard didn’t care. Even though the chest weighed about as much as she did and was much taller. She didn’t think she was gonna make it up to the second floor. Much less something that much bigger that many more flights.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Gaius opened the door and stepped inside. The room was very long and very wide, and placed on pedestals or tables or in wooden display cabinets, hundreds of artifacts of all sizes could be seen At the very center was the godstone, a towering column of rock that depicted the sixteen gods. Their eyes were closed in slumber, but each one exuded power and at the very top roamed their animal symbols.
Other items of particular interest were a dugout canoe etched with unfamilar symbols, a three-eyed human skull, the skeleton of a winged lizard, some unusual pottery, and a Southern Austrakan nomad's shaman staff.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky had an overwhelming impulse to touch everything, and so balled her hands into fists and buried them in her pockets instead. She took in the whole room in silence, lingering especially long on the staff. They didn’t have a shaman in their township, but she’d recognize Austrakan craftsmanship anywhere. Why was this here?
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
