#mourne

It didn’t matter if someone had a piss poor evening, or if someone had the best night of their lives. In a neutral state of mind, the stars glow at its usual radiance every single night, something that is of note to the eye of the Matriarch. A woman perched alone with only her cloak as a blanket, stripped eyes lost in the globs of sterling white that sent her kisses from above. She leaned back with a sigh, mind, body, and soul still aching from the little event that came to light this evening.

 She promised to keep herself away from any action, but that all she would do is lamp and oversee to ensure that those of her shared regiment with her husband would be alright. Lumeal kept her company in the process. It all quickly transpired into darkness and deviance at the sound of Vyasaen and Vythrien yelling at one another, the motive that caused Phaeith and Lumeal to rush into the ruined Hall. 

 The Matriarch first sees a lack of members, two are stuck behind the taboo magic sealed door as the others are conflicted and arguing over what to do next. First Ceestra attempted to blast the vile magic down with her holiness, only to be knocked back and scorched. Then came Lumeal and Phaeith deciding to channel the energies together with the help of Lin, tossing it aside to dispel the door and themselves from the wicked energy. Sadly, it sat in Phaeith for the time being and forced her to embrace it. It wallowed within her long enough to strip her eyes bare from any gold, the light aura around her body weakened and nearly deserted at this point. 

 The entirety of this all kept Phaeith mindful of the child she carries in her stomach, both conflicted and upset over allowing herself to do this and to come this far at all, period. The sudden transition from Knight-Lord and War Hero to Wife, Pregnant Lady, active Matriarch and prospering Magistrix took quite a bit out of her, and she still didn’t know how to figure it all out quite yet. On one hand the seal created around her stomach to keep the child safe was enough to keep her mind at bay, on the other hand she knew how stupid she was for risking so much- how could she turn away from those who needed aid? Clearly the door wasn’t going to open otherwise.

 Eventually Elevandra and Vyasaen were rescued despite their heavy injures. The group forced through a portal made by Phaeith to return to Dawn’s Reach, Lumeal and her decided to stay behind to sweep the area. Of course it was a silly idea, but it was something needed. They needed more knowledge and most of the group was injured to the point of useless hands. All they would do was die. Somehow Pyraahh found the Vanquisher and Matriarch, attempted to warn them, but was shooed off into the portal to help heal those in dire need of it. Dire, dire need of it. 

 A vanguard of Alliance came trotting through on their horses, Phaeith and Lumeal immediately ditch the pathway and run into the crypt where the two are received with spears through their bodies but a successful leap through one last portal before Phaeith was completely mana-spent and forced into unconsciousness. Lumeal carried her through the Keep and onto an infirmary bed to where she was then healed by Pyraahh and her husband, only to argue later on with a few of the regiment members about her actions. 

 She heard them, but she wasn’t quite sure if they heard her. It was like everyone assumed she didn’t know she was pregnant, and after receiving news tonight that she carried triplets, it’s like they figured she was deaf or an asshole. Which, the second part was probably true. Phaeith could barely see anyone or anything, her eyes stripped down to a dull white with barely any glow to them. Waterline a nasty red from irritation. She tried to converse with her husband but clearly that was the wrong move; so she opted for the roof where she could be alone beneath the stars. 

 Annoyance turned into sadness, sadness turned into anger, and anger eventually turned into a source of calm. All the while she was staring up at the stars with watery eyes, throwing tiny barrages of arcane into the surface of the pond far below her to calm herself as much as possible. How could people expect her to suddenly stop caring about their well being? Pregnant, yes, but she wasn’t the only one with a family to go home to. She led them, and she wasn’t going to let them fight any battle alone. But… How could she expect them to respond any differently? Drimmari would have never quite let anyone live it down if she did lose the child-children-  or her life in general tonight. It was a mess. All of it was a mess, but this is what elders told children when they explained life lessons. Perspective was a fickle thing and that you needed to be wise to regard it properly.

 So, she sat and stared up at the stars instead of looking down at her feet where more anger would have surely come from it. She draped the cloak around slender shoulders, letting her tears flow free. All of it was new. All of it felt like too much. Hell, all of it was too much. Her ears twitched and wilted as she came to the realization of acute selfishness and selflessness. Her two greatest flaws. All of this insight tonight brought different perspectives to her mind, but that was it. It stayed there. All of it would stay and linger in her mind for safe keeping. Anyone who disagreed with her would only see a woman who argued, and anyone who understood likely knew that this was her mindset right now. She had no footing to argue back any longer. Hell, she refused to. The least she could do for herself right now and the regiment is enjoy the beautiful view as much as she can, despite her lack of vision.