![]() They're heading toward us now, weapons at the ready, fire in their eyes. ![]() "Papa!" she calls out to the searching villagers, without warning me. Illi's people appear to be capable hunters. There are only a handful of people who've ever seen me in the flesh, or whatever it is that now covers my body. I find myself wearing a smile she cannot see. "Don't be frightened," I say to her in a voice now so twisted and monstrous, it could have the opposite meaning. By instinct, the carapace draws over my face. Ever since I found my way back, I've been paying it. Maybe that's why I survive, while so many others perish.īut survival always has its price. The day I came to understand this, was when I knew I had a chance. The Void has no mercy to offer-it feeds or it dies." All these things her people have done to rid themselves of the creatures, they were just ringing the dinner bell. She has no idea what they're dealing with. "But you don't run," she says, narrowing her eyes, "do you?"Ī clever one, this girl. "Well, Illi-sometimes running is the best thing to do." I came to protect my family from the monster." She is no more than ten years of age. She stands up proudly, still brandishing the arrow. "I'm sorry, you didn't tell me your name." See what lurks beyond the rocks, see the thing her people both fear and adore at the same time. The voidling beasts hunting in the dead of night, calling to one another. So many stories, fables both frightening and fantastical. Curiosity had no doubt gotten the better of this little girl. Not too far away, her village sleeps on unaware, for the most part. "Does it hurt?" she whispers, her hand reaching out for the glowing scales on my arm. She probably cannot understand what she is seeing. I wait for the needles' itch to stop, but it doesn't. The air is filled with an acid reek, and the hiss of melting chitin. I steady myself, charging the energy inside my shoulder pods.īright blooms of heat and pain find their targets quickly, raining down, stopping the creatures in their tracks, flinging them aside. Eerie pulses of light filter into the sky, as the construct-creatures heave themselves up into the Shuriman night, screeching and drooling. The sand begins to shift, puckering and falling away, like in an hourglass. I take one last deep breath before they come. The threatening presence is closing in around us, and my second skin constricts, pulling taut as a bow. The sensation of needles on my flesh grows stronger, as if in response to these words. ![]() "You want to kill it? You want to destroy it?" I ask her. It isn't some god, appeased by gifts and prayers. Sacrifices, offerings, tributes-whatever you want to call them, they were never going to work. But the rest of them, they were so careless. I was only a child when the Void took me from my family, so I didn't know any better either. "Not this," I say, gesturing to the arrow gripped in her hand. A slight smile breaks across my face, for the first time in what seems like… forever. She leans forward, without a hint of fear in her eyes. "Listen to me," I tell the little girl who found me here, beside the pit. If you want to hearten the masses defending their homes, a bright Bard would work just as well.Listen to me,' I tell the little girl who found me here, beside the pit. If you want to encourage a battle-hardened army dedicated to your cause, send a Paladin. They know all about heroes, glory, home and hearth, those things people hold dear etc without having to get into big-picture battles between good and evil. They play to the common denominator, the hearts of the crowds. Sure, high-charisma Paladins and Clerics and the like make excellent motivational speakers, but they specialize in crowds calibrated to their beliefs - a priest of your religion or a Paladin in charge of your city (sadly Hinjo seemed busy) or some such thing is inspirational in a "Paragon-of-virtue" sort of way.īards, however, are good anywhere. Bards are good for entertainment, not good for inspiration or leadership (especially not the stupid ones). Never send a stupid bard to do the job of paladin (or paladin variant), deathslayer, cleric or anatomist with a charisma above 14.
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