How can I live if I destroy?"
Laelynn Wyght
She wanted to run. She wanted to get as far away from everyone else as possible. Where she would go, she didn't know, nor did she really care. As long as it was away, nothing else mattered. But would she be able to get away? Would those people follow her?
...How many of them were left to follow her? Had she killed some? Did they escape?
It seemed, at least, that those taken prisoner had made it out mostly unharmed. The witch, however, was not with them. Buried under the windmill, no doubt. She would have been too injured to move. Had Laelynn not destroyed the place, maybe they could have gotten her help. But now... now she was probably crushed under the rubble. While she hadn't caused the entire thing to fall, it was unlikely the remaining support would be enough to hold it up. The woman's body wouldn't be recovered until the village got around to cleaning it up, along with whoever else had been trapped. They would probably all have been caught under there if Laelynn hadn't regained control of herself, if Devlin hadn't stopped her...
Had he even realized what was going on when he pulled her to him? Did anybody know it was she who created the earthquake? She guessed not, considering none of them were shunning her or saying anything about it. It was possible they believed it was a reaction from whatever spell the witch had cast. Had Devlin, then, simply seen her distress and not realized it was her who was bringing everything down upon them all? Whether he knew it or not, he had put his life in danger to help her. The only good thing to come out of it was that he survived- unlike the other person who had once tried to help her...
That's right. Another man. A stranger. He had tried to save her that time. He had taken a knife for her. He would have survived, too, if she hadn't lost control of her powers then...
Glancing up, Laelynn saw the others walking away. They had been discussing something, but what it was she hadn't heard. Devlin was hanging back, eyes full of concern as he waited for her to follow. Before he could speak, she walked forward, trailing behind the group. It wouldn't do to run away now. She feared Devlin might come after her- he seemed to care for whatever reason- and if any of those cult members had made it out, they would surely be seeking revenge. For now her best course of action seemed to be to remain with the group until they got out of Kirlsa. As long as she kept her distance, everything would hopefully be alright.
Laelynn kept her eyes cast down as she trailed behind the others. She could hear concerned whispers as they made their way to the docks. What would people think if they knew it was her who had caused such destruction to their windmill?
Worthless.
Guilty.
Monster.
She could almost hear them calling her names as she passed, their stares boring down on her, crushing her from every angle, waiting for her to explode from the pressure.
Laelynn clenched her fists tighter (how long had they been clenched?), digging her fingernails into her palms in attempt to bring herself back to reality. Nobody was saying anything about her. They weren't focusing their gazes on her. They didn't know.
And they never would know.
After what felt like an eternity but was, in reality, only a few minutes, they had reached the docks. She glanced up as Cae brought their attention to his boat. It was certainly bigger than what one would normally call a boat, but she didn't care to question it. She filed on after the others, glancing around for some small refuge she could hide away in until she could calm down and gain better control over her thoughts. Eventually she found a small room near one end of the ship. She settled down into the corner. Knees brought up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, head rested behind her knees, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wished she'd had music with her. That always helped her calm down. Unfortunately, all her things had been left behind in the Mayor's house, and a ship wasn't exactly the kind of place to find a record player. She began playing one of her favorite songs in her head- it would be better than nothing.
'I will not bow
I will not break
I will shut the world away'
Rock was a fairly new genre of music- many found it too angry, rebellious and even violent. Laelynn, ironically, found it soothing. It helped her forget about everything else and focus her emotions into the music until she could better deal with whatever it was that was causing her stress.
'I will not fall
I will not fade
I will take your breath away'
...How many of them were left to follow her? Had she killed some? Did they escape?
It seemed, at least, that those taken prisoner had made it out mostly unharmed. The witch, however, was not with them. Buried under the windmill, no doubt. She would have been too injured to move. Had Laelynn not destroyed the place, maybe they could have gotten her help. But now... now she was probably crushed under the rubble. While she hadn't caused the entire thing to fall, it was unlikely the remaining support would be enough to hold it up. The woman's body wouldn't be recovered until the village got around to cleaning it up, along with whoever else had been trapped. They would probably all have been caught under there if Laelynn hadn't regained control of herself, if Devlin hadn't stopped her...
Had he even realized what was going on when he pulled her to him? Did anybody know it was she who created the earthquake? She guessed not, considering none of them were shunning her or saying anything about it. It was possible they believed it was a reaction from whatever spell the witch had cast. Had Devlin, then, simply seen her distress and not realized it was her who was bringing everything down upon them all? Whether he knew it or not, he had put his life in danger to help her. The only good thing to come out of it was that he survived- unlike the other person who had once tried to help her...
That's right. Another man. A stranger. He had tried to save her that time. He had taken a knife for her. He would have survived, too, if she hadn't lost control of her powers then...
Glancing up, Laelynn saw the others walking away. They had been discussing something, but what it was she hadn't heard. Devlin was hanging back, eyes full of concern as he waited for her to follow. Before he could speak, she walked forward, trailing behind the group. It wouldn't do to run away now. She feared Devlin might come after her- he seemed to care for whatever reason- and if any of those cult members had made it out, they would surely be seeking revenge. For now her best course of action seemed to be to remain with the group until they got out of Kirlsa. As long as she kept her distance, everything would hopefully be alright.
Laelynn kept her eyes cast down as she trailed behind the others. She could hear concerned whispers as they made their way to the docks. What would people think if they knew it was her who had caused such destruction to their windmill?
Worthless.
Guilty.
Monster.
She could almost hear them calling her names as she passed, their stares boring down on her, crushing her from every angle, waiting for her to explode from the pressure.
Laelynn clenched her fists tighter (how long had they been clenched?), digging her fingernails into her palms in attempt to bring herself back to reality. Nobody was saying anything about her. They weren't focusing their gazes on her. They didn't know.
And they never would know.
After what felt like an eternity but was, in reality, only a few minutes, they had reached the docks. She glanced up as Cae brought their attention to his boat. It was certainly bigger than what one would normally call a boat, but she didn't care to question it. She filed on after the others, glancing around for some small refuge she could hide away in until she could calm down and gain better control over her thoughts. Eventually she found a small room near one end of the ship. She settled down into the corner. Knees brought up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, head rested behind her knees, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wished she'd had music with her. That always helped her calm down. Unfortunately, all her things had been left behind in the Mayor's house, and a ship wasn't exactly the kind of place to find a record player. She began playing one of her favorite songs in her head- it would be better than nothing.
'I will not bow
I will not break
I will shut the world away'
Rock was a fairly new genre of music- many found it too angry, rebellious and even violent. Laelynn, ironically, found it soothing. It helped her forget about everything else and focus her emotions into the music until she could better deal with whatever it was that was causing her stress.
'I will not fall
I will not fade
I will take your breath away'
Focusing on the lyrics and instruments playing in her mind, she gradually began to calm herself, forcing the fear and guilt threatening to overtake her back down into something more manageable. Maybe then she would be able to start learning about all the strangers she had just gotten on a ship with. Maybe then, she could face Devlin.
Where is the reason to exist?"