#VERSE ;; The True Beast of Beaulclair

[starwrittenfates]

So...she was right. He had run into another girl like her, and someone bound to him by destiny. She could only guess how the story probably ended for Deidre -- as it usually did for any girl born under a Black Sun-- but Syanna could be wrong. At least she hoped she was.

However, Syanna was taken by surprise at the lecture Eskel seemed to break into after, changing the subject. She had received the same thing from Geralt during their adventures, so the noblewoman only knew it would be bound to happen with another Witcher too. Eskel was right--- she didn't know what she was getting into with Dettlaff. She didn't know what she would unleash when all that ran through her mind during that dark time was revenge. It didn't matter who got hurt, if blood was spilled -- if everyone thought her a monster, then a monster was what she would be. But now...Syanna could see everything clearly. Eskel and Geralt were both right about her, and she had no doubt she'd be written down in the history books (if they ever bothered to put her back into the ones in Toussaint) about what not to do. "I would hope so because I don't want to repeat the mistakes and crimes I've made because of my past. I've been given a second chance to make things right and that's all I intend to do now."

She was no longer filled or blinded with vengeance anymore. The only thing that mattered to Syanna, the only goal now, was to break the chains of the past and make a better future, not only for herself, but any girl born under a black sun. If she got a chance to do better, then they deserved it too.

At hearing Eskel's words about their choices and the similarities they seemed to share, it only made sense for Syanna, explaining the strange, but welcoming, connection she was starting to feel with the Witcher. A playful smile was back on her face. "You stole the words right from my mouth. I knew I felt a kindred spirit with you, my dear Eskel. This journey of ours is already proving to be fruitful, and it's only just begun. Maybe destiny brought us together for a good reason?" She felt a yawn suddenly creep up on her, knowing she would have to sleep. Even if only for a little bit. "Thank you for the food, but I think I'll take a nap now. I trust you'll keep a watch out for any foolish knights or big bad wolves lurking about."

Eskel's viper eyes looked back at the alluring blue eyed woman closely, between further bites and drinks of his meal and ale, remaining silent for the moment. Considering her and her words when she spoke again. Asked about him and his connection to the matter that not bound her to him as well. It had just been a matter of time, he supposed. There was no sense in not saying a bit more, he reckoned... but only a bit. She had reasoned out the general idea anyways, and there wasn't anything she could do with the information anyways. They were in this thing together for the duration, one way or the other. If he was to get information out of her, transactions demanded he supply some as well. Nodding, his deep, calm voice washed over the southern noblewoman again gradually. Admitting a matter he had not spoken of in quite some time.

"A young woman named Deidre... who ended up becoming quite like yourself. A Princess from Caingorn, bound to me by destiny. The Law of Surprise, after I saved her father Prince Florian. Many years ago. Long dead, as most born under the Black Sun are. Most of them violently, and long before their time. She was no exception. She escaped her tower in Caingorn, became a living nightmare to some and a liberator to others, formed an army formidable enough to challenge King Radowit II for his throne... and met her doom in Kaedwen, at Ban Gleán... before her civil war could begin. A long story, for another time. This journey of ours is liable to be lengthy anyways."

He was silent again when she began to explain herself, her story and reason for being locked up, the matter of the Vampires... which matched up with what he had already learned from Geralt and Regis. Regis having been made an outcast among his tribe on par with that of a Witcher in human society, thanks to the slaying of Dettlaff, another resulting injustice that lay at Sylvia Anna's feet. Her manipulations. He began considering her more closely, listening to her heartbeat as well, trying to determine if she was lying about it or not, if she was genuinely remorseful or if the tears were those of a crocodile. He had met many masterful manipulators, liars, Sorceresses and femme fatales in his time as it stood... and could tell that if she was lying, then she was a master actress... perhaps enough to fool Dettlaff as she had. Maybe she was only fooling herself... or maybe she was being on the level with him... he supposed only time would give him that answer for certain. He was not such a fool as to underestimate her or anyone... and certainly not someone with her record. Regardless of which, her selfish choices had been disastrous and suicidal, destructive for many, little different from Deidre's own, long ago... another uncomfortable similarity between the two. As well as a similarity with himself. When she had finished speaking, gradually finding his own words, looking over into the fire, he began to speak again quietly, tone remaining neutral.

"Vampires are not supernatural beings, as most think. They are aliens from another world, stuck in ours, until the next Conjunction. For all that age and power, walking the world as he undoubtedly did, Dettlaff was naive as any chivalrous fool or village boy, didn't understand such human concepts as manipulation. Lies. Betrayal. Couldn't fathom it, and went insane. Almost envy that naivete, some days... but I would have met my doom long ago if I still were... as he has. You on the other hand were playing with eldritch forces beyond your comprehension, like the mages so often do. That's about half of the messes we Witchers have had to clean up, over the centuries. You were not a Witcher, and could not begin to grasp what you set loose. A Higher Vampire. Be glad you didn't have to see his truest form. Not even the best of my kind can kill one permanently. Power and evil alike, especially from another world, are not toys to be played or bargained with. Those who do have brought nothing but destruction, misery and death to the world, usually for those who don't deserve it. The innocents always suffer the most, at the hands of those who either don't think through their actions, or don't care. What you did is liable to become a cautionary fairy tale, one day."

The Witcher was silent for a time, taking another drink of his ale as he studied the depths of the flames, memories returning of those times... at Caingorn where it had begun for him, Kaer Morhen where he received his deserved scars, and Ban Gleán where he had completed the betrayal of his destiny. There was no taking back what had been done, even if they prevailed here, and he was able to close the book on that part of his life. Like being made a Witcher, it would remain forever a large part of his existence, and he would be reminded in every reflective surface. It was just as well, he was getting off easy anyways. He thought of all those along the way who had died because of his cowardice, and taking as long as he had to finally deal with Deidre. The civil war in Kaedwen that would have broken out, if he had not finally mustered the will to do what he'd felt he had to. At last his serpent eyes left the fire again and returned the Black Sun noblewoman's direction, studying her again for a moment or two. Under ordinary circumstances, what she had done would repulse him, as they would most... but there was nothing ordinary about their connection through destiny's hand. They were about equally bloody over foolish decisions they had made, when they could have chosen otherwise. About now, he couldn't think of more appropriate for someone like himself than someone like her. Fate loved its little jokes.

"You made the choice you thought you had to, as we all do. Fact is many would have done what you did, 'Curse of the Black Sun' or not. Says a great deal about the human race. That's the thing about being a Witcher, though... I can rub shoulder with and take on all manner of folk as my clients on the morality scale. I've met and worked with people far better and far worse than you. If I only did business with moral folk, I would starve to death. I judge accordingly, certainly, but I am not a part of your society... so who better for neutrality and impartiality? For one such as you to keep company with? I made a foolish choice that cost many innocents their lives as well, once. The details were different from yours, but the end result was the same. Know how it is. We can pay back some of the debt of suffering we owe by killing Stregobor and Eltibald, after what they have done. Won't clean the blood off our hands, but it will stop the next generation of blood from staining theirs, come the next Black Sun."

@starwrittenfates