After a
nightmare, Ryleigh went to the Temple of Asten in
Aston for reasons unknown. There, she spoke to an acolyte named Lisbet about some of her troubles. She feels conflicted about how she and the others who rule Ascus can have such wildly different, even opposing, views of who Asten is.
"You wear our Lord's symbol upon your back like a burden while you wrap yourself in the shadows he douses. You talk about fighting the darkness, but wear it like a blanket to comfort you in the night. Have faith... in him and his plans for you."
"Follow his illuminated texts. Pray for understanding. Let the Light guide you. He will help you fulfill your purpose."
Later, Ryleigh would tie a man to a tree, cut him, and leave him for the beasties of the
Fytulk Timberlands.
Ryleigh asked Seir about what Takara had said about Asten and asked her to ask again.
(649)
Seir does, and Takara explains that Asten's not her favorite and hasn't been seen on the Material Plane in nearly 200 years. Seir also asks how difficult it might be to change one's allegiance between gods.
(132)
When
Sir Barton meets up with Ryleigh again, he says she looks familiar. Ryleigh reveals that she was the girl he'd punished years ago and he asks about how it felt to feel her brother's blood on her hands. He makes some other comments about her past, says he feels like he should be proud of making her into someone who follows the same god as he does, then leaves. She throws up in the forest.
The man she tied to the tree came back and told her to suffer, attempting to kill her. When she managed to slay him again, thanks to Bri's ancestors protecting her, she apologized over his body.
Ryleigh buys alcohol, but
Seirixori refuses to let her drink it, instead lecturing her on vengeance.
(930)
"Don't stay here for too long or I will come back and- and love yell at you more. I need to go check on my wife." Seir turns to head back to camp.
"I love you," Ryleigh says softly. "And I'm sorry for not being what we need..."
"You are, you just don't believe in yourself like I believe in you." She whispers back, this time actually leaving.
Session0110- After another nightmare, Ryleigh spends the rest of the night in contemplation and one-sided conversation with Asten at his temple in
Aston.
(811) The next morning, Ryleigh talks about her past with
Sir Barton.
Ryleigh's brows furrow, then she starts to talk, “I got on Sir Barton’s bad side after the public whipping. It felt like he and Daybrand, the Lord of the land, were out to get me, so naturally… I made as much trouble as I could get away with, but I wasn’t really getting away with it. After my sister was taken,” Ryleigh stops, biting her lip and huffing out a breath, “after she was sold to the highest bidder... I started looking for people who’d help me change things. My dad had been murdered by the ‘law’. My sister was sold as a songbird. And I had to watch as my brother eased his broken heart by self medicating.” She loosens her death grip on Rukiya’s hand, and gives her an apologetic look.
Rukiya wraps her arms around Ry's waist. "You're ok."
Seir tilts her head, "What's a so-- sorry. I don't, what does that have to do with what he said?" She asks, not quite understanding.
Ryleigh Alastair: "I'm getting there..." Ryleigh answers, taking another deep breath.
Ryleigh Alastair: “I did find like minded people. Most of them were non-humans wanting to bring about change. That’s when I learned elven… so we could speak in code,” Ryleigh’s tone sounds amused, like she can’t believe she ever thought elven wasn’t a commonly known language. “We organized a revolt... the adults didn't like that I was there, but they couldn't stop me. We were going to force change... we were supposed to overthrow Daybrand. I thought if I believed hard enough that it'd work, that we could birth a revolution and stop the suffering. I thought I was doing the right thing." She audibly swallows, and her eyes tear up. "It didn't. We failed, and some people got caught. The guards came to our door looking for a human who'd 'lead the revolt', and I knew I'd been caught."
Ryleigh Alastair: "Avery," Ryleigh smiles sadly, a few tears falling from her eyes. "He said it was him, that he wanted to overthrow Daybrand because they'd taken Clemency. They took him, but they also took me. I waited in jail cell for a few hours before Sir Barton paid me a visit. He told me that he'd caught many of my co-conspirators and had their families in custody. He also told me that he knew it was me and not my brother who'd played a role in 'this mess'."
Ryleigh Alastair: "A few of Barton's guards died in our uprising, and I could tell he was out for blood." A tremble travels through Ryleigh. "He was going to kill their families... unless... he had a pound of flesh per life lost. I wasn't going to let innocent people pay our mistakes... my mistakes. So I agreed, because 1 life for many is a fair deal. I didn't know he didn't mean my life, or my flesh..."
Ryleigh Alastair: "I carved chunks of my brother's flesh off... and the crowd jeered while I did. Every time I wanted to stop because I couldn't take his screams, Avery encouraged me to keep at it... he reminded me that if I didn't - innocent people were going to die." Ryleigh's tears are freely flowing now, her hands come up to cover her face and her next sentence is a little muffled. "I tortured my brother, before they cut off his head... and Barton let me live..."
Rukiya stands so she can pull Ryleigh into her chest and holds her tight. She presses a kiss to the top of her head and says, "His sickness isn't your fault, Ryleigh."
Ryleigh Alastair: "Maybe not," Ryleigh sobs, leaning into Rukiya. "But my brother suffered by my hand, and died because I made the wrong choice."
Later, Seirixori tells Ryleigh what she learned from Takara- that Asten hasn't been seen outside his realm since
The War of Sun and Moon.
Comments