#nesune

Never shared their cleaned up fully bodies! Our characters from out game jam VN,Syzygy!

Kaylir scratched her cheek, staring at the choices awkwardly. Her cheeks flushed darkly, gaze flicking off to the side. "I guess I'd.... b-... bed Nesune. Wed Sindira an'.. b'head Sunder... sorry Sunder."

The moonlight filtered down through the window, motes of dust trickling on the invisible currents as they caught the silvery beam. One of the sleeping forms stirred with a rustle of the sheets and blankets, the only sounds beside those being the creaking of the bed frame accompanied by a yawn. Feet soon touched the wooden floor as Nesune swung off the bed, slowly rising. She glanced back at the woman still in the bed, tucking the blankets up around Kali's shoulders. The hint of a smile crossed her face as she turned toward the doorway onto the balcony, cracking it open. Although the day prior had been warm, the mountain air had chilled enough to cover her in gooseflesh. Bare since rising from the covers and drinking in the moonlight, she suppressed a shiver as she slipped into her robe. She tied it loosely around her waist before stepping out onto the balcony, closing the door behind her. The mage leaned against the balcony's rail, looking out over the placid lake. Everstill lived up to its name tonight, the occasional ripple from a slight breeze breaking the twin moons reflected in the waters. The White Lady was a thin crescent, its points sharp and angled downward. The Child seemed its opposite, nearly full as its blue shimmered through the thin clouds. Both moons played around the twinkling stars as she looked on, staring down at the waters. “What does it mean?” Nesune asked herself, turning her gaze up to the moons rather than their reflections. “Why does someone have power, and not be able to use it to help the ones they love? Or protect them? Why give them that and watch them struggle to put it to good use?” Despite her wonderings, the moons kept silent. She reached down, her fingers toying with the pendant nestled between her breasts. The scarab's shell caught the moonlight, the dark azure hues turning a shimmering iridescent in the night air. The golden filigree surrounding the shell turned milky, seeming to flow like water as she shifted the pendant. At times, she swore she could feel it pulse like a second heartbeat, like old... but she dismissed that as idle fantasy. They had said, promised that it would not... A memory flashed through her vision as she let the pendant fall back in its snug home. A charnal wasteland stretched endlessly surrounding her, the snow that should be there blackened and glassed. Shadows flickered at the corners of her sight, sibilant hisses sounding in her ears. The air itself felt off – not the feel of being roasted and scoured after the inferno passed, no. It felt tepid, flat... as if leeched of all sensation. An end, she knew, or at least a possible one. Temporal magic had never been her strong suit in Dalaran... but it had been enough to help her reach there. And make the bargains she had come for. “Wwwe give yyyou wwwhat is agggreed,” the creature's voice said to her. A half-dozen surrounded her, but she could not tell which spoke. All the sounds there were distorted... disjointed. Was it truly déjà vu if it was a constant feeling, and not just the occasional burst of insight? “Yyyou give usss wwwhat is offered.” “...agreed,” Nesune had said after a moment's hesitation. She took the small satchel from her back, placing it on the ground. Something within writhed, then was still. “My pendant, though. I... neutralize it. But... I still want it. A reminder of the... of the price I paid.” One of the creatures stepped forward, taking up the satchel with a trio of wicked-looking talons. “Cccertainly. The Wwwatcher wwwill accompany yyyou to ensure ttthe tttaint does not rettturn.” The mage frowned, her hands at her sides slowly curling into fists. “That wasn't part of our agreement.” The creature's iridescent scales shimmered, seeming to flake off in the harsh light of the ruined landscape. “Ttthose are our ttterms, decline or accept. Wwwe hhhave an ettternity, upstart. Do yyyou hhhave the same tttime?” The memory seared through her as Nesune looked over the lake. Placid, yet... the White Lady's reflection was too like that snowy charnal house. Shivering, she turned away from the lake, slipping back inside the house. She had been asked once in her travels in the new continent why she fought, and she had no answer at the time. There was so much she could have told the pandaren. For knowledge, perhaps? She sought it eagerly, and would hold nothing against collecting more. Her artifacts? She had fought to obtain them, fought against their tug, that sweet caress like a lover's hand... and then had almost fought to keep them. But Kali wouldn't... She spared a glance at the sleeping woman, her cheeks flushing at the memory that had lead to the charnal snows. She crossed to the end table, quickly downing the glass of juice she had left for Kali. Almost guiltily, she refilled it from the pitcher. Why did she fight? She had seen the Titans' constructs ready to destroy and reform the planet based on their perfect calculations – calculations that had been proven incorrect time and again. Another chance at life, at rewriting fate, a simple new day to meet the sunrise. The Scourge was a mere remnant, but still a threat to the unwary. And if they escaped where they were... The Legion remained on the outside, still guarded for its chance to invade again. Four times now it had failed to find a foothold, four times defeated. Limitless as the stars, though... would it be more painless to simply submit? To yield? But you didn't yield to the ones behind your artifacts, your tools... The thought had come unbidden, a stray one as she reflected. She hadn't, despite the boss' concerns. Despite Kali's. She'd endured, and stayed strong... and fought. She had fought and almost won, she was sure of it. With just enough study, she could've found a way to turn them against... Against... The image of a vast stone cavern swam through her vision, a dark vault central to it. A profound, alien sense of... of wrongness emanated from it, flowing through everyone present. The stolen fire, she remembered Archimonde calling her magic, drawn from the Nether, from creation's wellspring. No matter how much it could be shaped or mastered, it would never be as strong a weapon as found in this vault. That essence, that emanation... Another image flickered to life, guiding a hermit up a mountain. His words whispered in the mage's ear as she looked to the vault, staring at the thing inside. And then she knew. “I was a fool,” Nesune said to herself, closing her eyes. “I thought... I could use them as a weapon. Against... no. That's no different than... than what we've been fighting against all this time. It blinded me. I... my...” Pride. “Insidious,” she heard the seer whisper, the memory flooding back. “His pride blinds him to things that he should turn back from. Out of a desire to do good, or worthwhile things. It always blinds us, convincing us that we know best, even when we don't. That we are doing what is right.” Nesune suppressed a shiver, staring down at the bed. “Forgive me, please,” she whispered. “I thought I could use them against Them. And... and escape consequences. I... forgive me.” She slipped out of her robe, letting it pool on the floor before sliding under the blankets. She shivered, wrapping her arms tight around Kali. The younger woman stirred in her sleep, giving off a quiet sound. “...mm. N-nes? The mage shook her head, leaning over to kiss the woman's forehead. “Shh, kitten,” she murmured, stroking her fingers through Kali's hair. “Go back to sleep. It was just a dream.” Kali leaned back against her, nestling closer to the mage's warmth. “Okay,” she whispered, a sleepy smile on her face. “...love you.” Nesune mirrored her own smile as she gave another kiss, spooning against her wife. “Love you too, Kali.” There's so much darkness in the world, but you have a chance to be a beacon of light and hope. The pandaren believe that they fight because it's in their nature. There's a more simpler explanation for that. Take a look around you, see the wonders of the world. From the crashing thunder of the Storm Peaks to the tranquil farms of the Valley of the Four Winds, across the wasted deserts of Tanaris and Uldum to the fallen dales of once-mighty Lordaeron. All the lands and waters, and their folk too. There's still so much good left in the world to defend. Don't let the shadows overwhelm the Titans' jewel. “Because it's in your nature to fight?” the mage asked herself, her eyes fluttering shut as she snuggled into Kali's warmth. “No, Nesune al'Saar.” “You fight because some things are just worth fighting for.”