#'i crawl among my own people low as an asps belly'

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

brb spiraling into insanity about Lae'zel's story themes being about letting go of high-demand religion/society and carving your own path with your own values and allies and morality despite the intense pressure from your old group to remain in a place that's eating you alive

[swordsbardkat]

"You promised ascension - yet I crawl among my own people, low as an asp's belly. Shka'keth! I followed your path. What good, this heart of stone, for it to be shattered?"

[wisterias-in-bloom]

Lae'zel open starter.

"Vlaakith. Vlaakith! I have wielded your fury as a blade, roared your wrath as a dragon!" She cried out, her face for the first time revealed her rounder eyes full of heartbreak.

“You promised ascension - yet I crawl among my own people, low as an asp's belly. Shka'keth!" She spatted out desperate before spitting blood on the marbled floor. She hated how her eyes wetted and wetted as she spoke.

"I followed your path. What good, this heart of stone, for it to be shattered?” Her knees almost gave out, she had lost even the strength to act tougher, to suppress her emotion and she knew all eyes fell on her.

[blackjackkent]

Talked to Lae'zel back outside the Astral Prism. She is, uh...pretty all over the place, to say the least, and I don't blame her.

"Vlaakith. Vlaakith! I have wielded your fury as a blade, roared your wrath as a dragon!" She sounds miserable, despairing, utterly baffled. "You promised ascension - yet I crawl among my own people, low as an asp's belly. Shka'keth! I followed your path. What good, this heart of stone, for it to be shattered?"

:( I don't think we've ever heard her this shook up. It's pretty affecting to hear.

Of course she immediately controls it, tries to find the line of her faith again. "She...tests me. A trial of faith. K'liir prepared me. 'Only the heaviest souls soar to the Astral.' Yes. Yes! I might gain Vlaakith's favor yet."

Oof. :(

Hector has the option to be pretty mean here but obviously he's not going to do that. The truth is...he is a man of faith himself, he knows what Lae'zel is going through, that questioning, that crisis, must be horrible. How would he feel, in her place, if someone were to tell him, with credible evidence, that Selune and her light are a fraud, and Shar the true goddess of all?

So he is gentle with her. "An impressive show of faith," he says softly. "Will it be enough for your queen?"

"Silence!" she snaps bitterly, turning her head away from him, squeezing her eyes shut. "I must think."

I think she knows, deep down, that what Hector said, what the guardian said, is the truth...but it's not something she can look at head on yet. And I (and Hector) don't blame her for that either. Just hope we can get them all out of here in one piece and get some time to process everything.

[crossdressingdeath]

Lae'zel: Vlaakith. Vlaakith! I have wielded your fury as a blade, roared your wrath as a dragon! Lae'zel: You promised ascension - yet I crawl among my own people, low as an asp's belly. Shka'leth! Lae'zel: She tests me. A trial of faith - K'liir prepared me. 'Only the heaviest souls soar to the Astral.' Lae'zel: Yes. Yes. I might gain Vlaakith's favour yet. Kyvir: You're an enemy of your people now. You need to accept that. Lae'zel: Silence. Lae'zel: I must think.

I say again: ascension is a bad word, Lae'zel. Not ascending is a Good Thing. No ascending!

But it's like... I can't wait to see where this goes, because "You were trying to do what was expected of you and through no fault of your own you're now the enemy of your people solely because you refused to lie down and die" sure is a situation for Lae'zel to find herself in! ...Okay yeah, technically she did fail to achieve her mission, the Guardian's still alive, but it's not like W'wargaz bothered to ask and Vlaakith intended to kill her either way so that's not really important overall. The point is, she didn't really do anything wrong because Vlaakith didn't actually care what she did and was going to kill her either way and now because she wouldn't accept that she's the enemy of her own people.

[blackjackkent]

"Vlaakith. VLAAKITH! I have wielded your fury as a blade, roared your wrath as a dragon! You promised ascension, yet I crawl among my own people, low as an asp's belly! Shka'keth! I followed your path! What good this heart of stone, for it to be shattered?"

Rakha listens silently as Lae'zel paces the edge of their makeshift camp deep in the creche. Lae'zel's voice trembles with pain and rage, broken syllables tumbling over each other as she struggles to comprehend the depth to which her world has been upended.

Then she halts abruptly. Her eyes narrow and her shoulders square. "She tests me," she mutters hoarsely. "A trial of faith. K'liir prepared me - 'Only the heaviest souls soar to the Astral.' Yes-- yes! I might gain Vlaakith's favor yet!"

There's a sort of hysteria in her tone. Her eyes fix on Rakha, pleading, desperate for reassurance.

But Rakha has none to give her. They both know the truth. "You're an enemy of your people now," she says, blunt and curt and quiet. "You need to accept that."

Lae'zel recoils as if slapped and her eyes narrow - and Rakha can see the faintest hint of trembling at her lips and along her jaw. "Silence," she snarls. Her voice cracks and she squeezes her eyes shut, looking away. "I must think..."