That's coming. [She promises, reassuringly, walking again now that she's sure he's along with her.] When I was a young woman, I became aware that I was- becoming a Radiant. All the complexities of that process aside, the important thing is, the Radiants reemerging mean a Desolation nearing. Insane, heretical, impossible, and happening, nonetheless. So I've been in the position of trying to prevent an unfolding apocalypse.
[And by the way her jaw goes tight, she didn't even really succeed at doing that much.]
Here's an example- after the refugees fled the Shattered Plains and what used to be Alethkar, we came to an old lost city that we knew could provide a safe haven. Urithiru was the base of the Knights during the epochs, and was easily defensible and created to sustain a huge population. We moved the people in, and discovered the place was... haunted is an oversimplification, but it's close enough. The new knights triumphantly drove out the creature terrorizing the refugees. Within the month we found notes left by the old knights describing how the monster had been carefully trapped there at tremendous cost and how they were abandoning the city so that Re-Shepir wouldn't be out in the world to aid in the unfolding calamity and cause untold destruction.
[There's no roadmap for this kind of thing. By now her calm explanations have given way to something much more exasperated, downright irate]
And now, the recently freed Midnight Mother has returned to us, and sworn that she's come to our side against the darkness. She's done several things to help us, at great cost to our enemies, protecting us when we should have fallen. It's either the most convincing and elaborate deception I've ever come across, or the strangest defection of all time. I would like very much to get home and learn which.
[She takes an audible, deep breath, and refocuses. It's been kind of a long... well, decade, really. Jasnah resents being brought here, resents being involved, she's already got her own one of these to deal with, thank you very much.]
The point is, it's easier to get wrong than you'd think.
no subject
[And by the way her jaw goes tight, she didn't even really succeed at doing that much.]
Here's an example- after the refugees fled the Shattered Plains and what used to be Alethkar, we came to an old lost city that we knew could provide a safe haven. Urithiru was the base of the Knights during the epochs, and was easily defensible and created to sustain a huge population. We moved the people in, and discovered the place was... haunted is an oversimplification, but it's close enough. The new knights triumphantly drove out the creature terrorizing the refugees. Within the month we found notes left by the old knights describing how the monster had been carefully trapped there at tremendous cost and how they were abandoning the city so that Re-Shepir wouldn't be out in the world to aid in the unfolding calamity and cause untold destruction.
[There's no roadmap for this kind of thing. By now her calm explanations have given way to something much more exasperated, downright irate]
And now, the recently freed Midnight Mother has returned to us, and sworn that she's come to our side against the darkness. She's done several things to help us, at great cost to our enemies, protecting us when we should have fallen. It's either the most convincing and elaborate deception I've ever come across, or the strangest defection of all time. I would like very much to get home and learn which.
[She takes an audible, deep breath, and refocuses. It's been kind of a long... well, decade, really. Jasnah resents being brought here, resents being involved, she's already got her own one of these to deal with, thank you very much.]
The point is, it's easier to get wrong than you'd think.