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Fantasy Terrorchild: Awakening

Ask About Final Wishes New
Option 1: 1 Vote (11% - Range: 1-11)
Option 2: 1 Vote (11% - Range: 12-22)
Option 3: 7 Votes (78% - Range: 23-100)
Fae Roll: 38

3. Ask About Final Wishes - "...There's something I think I should ask," you say, softly. "I know we keep saying stuff like 'if we make it through this...' But we haven't said anything about what'll happen if we don't," you say. "I think we should put it out there - what we want - if we don't come back, so if any of us does, then they can handle it for the ones who didn't."

"Gods! Really, Agranne?" Embryx laments. "Ever since last night, I've been trying so hard not to think about death, and here you go making sure I have a good, hard think on it right before we march in there..."

"Hey," Rheyah interrupts, "Raka and I are just trying to survive, you know? I've no doubt that you'll go through anyone at Edniewebotm to settle your score with the Eldest, but if it comes down to a fight against Syrith, then there's no way in the hells I'm getting involved. I'd rather not run afowl of the goddess who owns my afterlife, thank you," she adds annoyedly.

You shrug. "Suit yourself; by coming along and helping keep the other elders out of my way, you'll stay in the good graces of both of us."

"That being said," Rheyah says thoughtfully after an awkward moment passes in silence, "If I do die for whatever reason, just send a letter to the Mage's College in Pasheau and let them know that I met the Terrorchild... and then Syrith - bloody fucking Syrith herself... My father, you know, he thought I was an embarrassment, but he and the archmages will be ashamed of themselves when they realize that none of them will know the gods personally like I have!"

Of course, Raka speaks up next. "Ooh, good one!" she says. "Let'z zee... If I die, zend a caze of the mozt expenzive rum you can get your handz on to the zhipwrightz in Thandan harbor, and zay it'z from me. When I waz a little one, they took good care of me - zharing food and buying me shoez when I needed them. They probably ztill think of me, even though I've been gone for yearz now. It'd be nice if they thought I made it big in Athea zomehow."

You give them a smile. "That's easy enough to remember, although I hope we won't need to do either of those things."

Corrinth, meanwhile, comes to a stop with a heavy sigh. She fishes around in her pockets for a moment before producing something in the palm of her hand, which turns out to be an old brass key. "No, it's fine," she says, "I've been thinking about it, anyway. Guys, I've been carrying this around, I guess since my mom died," she explains, showing the memento to you and Embryx. "It's my key - the one to the tavern, back in Tashlaan... My home." She grips it tight a moment before putting it away again. "I always hoped that I'd go back and try to restart my life there, but if I die, I'd like someone to take it back there and bury it."

"What good would that do?" Embryx asks, her tone more gentle and open-minded than her words alone would suggest.

Corrinth hangs her head. "It's not like you're gonna cart my body all the way back there if I drop dead. The key's easy to carry. Anyway, I want someone to figure out where they buried my mom - it's probably an unmarked grave, to be honest - and just... leave it with her. Bury it in the topsoil, alright...? Nothing gross. I'll be alright in the afterlife, since I'll be with Veralt again, but I know my mom misses me wherever she's at, and I'd like to make sure something of mine stays with her."

It's truly beginning to fascinate you how different of a person Corrinth has become since she regained her sanity. Before, when she complained about all she had lost as a result of your involvement in her life, it only annoyed you, since so many of her misfortunes had been a result of her own lack of restraint and judgement. But she had been made to act that way by her very nature, and was placed into your path by the gods in a way which would inflict terrible suffering on the both of you, as well as many people around you. And now, somehow, she doesn't resent you at all; it's as if she's finally put away her adolescence and accepted that fate is far beyond her control.

"I promise... I'll do that for you," you say.

She gives you a sad smile as she puts the key back into her pocket. "Thank you."

"As for me," you say to the others, "just take care of yourselves and try to make the world a better place, wherever and however you can. I spent so much of the past few years just hurting people and burning stuff down when I should've been learning from someone like Kulka. Now we're right here at the end, and it's too late to think about what else I could've done, or what I could've done better."

"Let's be honest, Agranne," Corrinth replies. "If you die tonight, then there's not a whole lot of hope for me and Embryx; it's more likely that you'll be the only one to make it through."

You turn to Embryx, realizing that she hasn't said anything in a while. She's standing silently with her arms folded, eyes pointed downward at the muddy snow beneath her feet. She shakes her head, "...I'm not giving you anything," she says. "We're going to survive and live a life together, Agranne. That's all I want - fuck everyone and everything else. If I die, there's no silver lining to any of it. Same for you - I'm not planning to live a whole life knowing you're gone and I won't even see you in the afterlife."

Her answer strikes you through the heart. "...Please don't say that, Embryx. I know you only think of it as love, but you put too much of your self worth into the thought of being with me - and only me. If I'm gone, I want you to live, and find happiness somewhere. Other people will love and care about you, I promise," you tell her, trying your damnedest to make her realize that the lack of love she felt in childhood doesn't represent the whole world. You don't know if you're getting through to her. "But... regardless, tonight I'll do whatever I can to make sure we both survive, alright? No stupid mistakes."

She nods, numbly, and you both stare at each other for a moment before she suddenly seizes onto you in a tight embrace, and you stay there for a while in the setting sun, just holding each other and hoping beyond hope that you'll find a way through. You don't want to let her go and move on from this moment, or accept that any future could exist where you can't enjoy each other's company.

---
An eerieness hangs in the air as you continue to trek down the bank of the river. Twilight falls over the Imperial countryside, the pink and orange sky giving way to dark blue and gloom as the distant shapes begin to melt into foreboding shadow. And, suddenly, you see something rising out of the icy surface of the river ahead - an island with a number of jagged, baren trees as well as stones - not so much columns, like Callypseae described them, but rather, as solid masses, like fingers of stone piercing through the earth below.

"...This is it," you say, plainly and quietly. You look back at the others, who each take a long look at the forgettable lump of land bulging from the ice. If they had been contemplating death since your earlier conversation, you could safely wager that they, like you, probably imagined a more picturesque place to face it. No one has any words, and so you take a breath and steel yourself, closing your eyes. You feel a hand touch yours and you interlock your fingers with hers, giving a gentle and reassuring squeeze... But when you open your eyes, the sensation has left you, and Embryx is beyond your reach.

Two years ago, crossed another river, many miles away. You learned that your sister, whom you watched be led to an untimely and undeserved death, wasn't truly beyond your reach, and as you grappled with the beginning of your journey, your mind raced beyond reason and the dark world became animated with all manner of phantoms. You didn't feel her then, but perhaps you weren't ready to. But Rigatte never stopped believing in you and your incredible potential. Even without the gods' unchecked, runaway mysticism, she still had a clear understanding of your heart, and faith in your ability to be something amazing.

The gods exploited her as they've exploited you, but it doesn't matter; had you been no one important - had you never left the farm in Ryggander and never cast a single spell, Rigatte would have believed in you.

You press on, stepping onto the icy surface of the river and carefully making your way across with your allies until you reach the island and trudge up the slope and into the skeletal brush of the leafless winter foliage. Between the trees, you cross deeper into the shadows until, at last, you reach a pile of stones with what appears to be an entrance with stairs leading downward, and atop it, her legs dangling idly, sits Syrith.

"...You're more resilient than I'd prefer sometimes, Agranne," she says, staring first at Embryx before turning to face you. "It's a shame that you couldn't put your talents to use for me beyond tonight. We could've been quite the team... Hello, Rheyah. Hello Raka. You're... rare to see at this time and place. That means that Swynnsall is a goblin now, and you, Corrinth, saved her life." She flashes the changeling a grin before doing the same to the newcomers. While the latter are scared, Corrinth holds her ground, which surprises you.

"Syrith," Corrinth replies, "you already know that things aren't going to work out the way you want them to, don't you?"

The goddess shrugs. "I've seen many futures, fae. There are still plenty where I win, although," she adds to your great shock, "there are far less than there were before you intervened to prevent me from taking up residence in Agranne's body. You're just the same as her - a coward at all the right moments, except the exact moment I need you to run and hide. How very unlucky for me."

"Let's get to the point," you speak up, knowing that it's only a matter of time before the insults and complaints turn into threats and violence. You have unanswered questions still, and you want to retain some semblance of control over this situation before it turns into another fight. "...I want my sister, and you want your divinity back. The Pantheon is also itching for me to keep it from you and leave you stranded here in Sharyx' body."

Syrith nods, blandly. "Yes, yes, of course. The Pantheon makes all sorts of demands... Agranne, have you given any thought to what the Pantheon will do to you if you leave this place with my divine power, but without my wisdom and protection? Or rather, let me ask you this: do you think you're the first mortal to become a demigod since the Pantheon's formation?"

"Of course I've thought about it," you reply. "But I'm trying to deal with one problem at a time, and it's the one in front of me. I don't sit around all day imagining all the things that might happen the way you do."

The goddess snickers at your reply. "That's a fair critique," she acknowledges. "I'll avoid wasting your time, then, and tell you only what you need to know: there have been thousands of demigods, Agranne - some great and powerful like you, and others... not so much. They form for whatever reasons, waste divinity as if it were daylight itself, and die with that power still caked onto their bones. This world is a graveyard of demigods, and the Pantheon always comes to collect... That is, once they've decided who among them is most deserving of reclaiming that unspent divinity. They're vultures, Agranne."

"And you aren't?" Embryx demands.

Syrith smiles, viciously. "As a matter of fact, I'm not."

1. From the Beginning - Syrith seems to revel in every mysterious detail that's half-shared about her origins and habits, and you've had enough of it - especially since she seems to recognize the anxiety you feel toward the other gods and their plans, as well. "Alright Syrith," you say, your frustration palpable. "Tell us, then - why are you so different from the other gods? What's your goal? ...What's this all about? You don't have Gallanis here competing for my attention, this time. I'm all ears."

2. Who Cares - You realize that Syrith is trying to entice you into negotiating again, and you don't have the patience for that again. "It doesn't really matter, in the end. I didn't set out to become a demigod, Syrith, you and the others put me on that road, and if you want to scrape it off my remains and continue your damned feud, then that's your problem. But I'm not leaving here without Rigatte and my friends intact, and a guarantee that your plans won't involve us ever again."

3. Yes, You Are - "That's all you are," you snap at her. "Sharyx is as good as dead, and you've taken her body and her life for your own. You'd have done the same to me, too, by your own admission, so what sort of distinction am I supposed to see, here?"
 

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