Flight From Ironheart IC

[Gorgondantess]

“That being said, the Dusk Wardens are still coming – the main fleet has probably already set sail, bringing with it a considerable portion of our forces.”

"Hm. And all this time, I'd just assumed that your people were just a strange cult located in a monastery on some mountain somewhere. Just what is the extent of your organization?"

“Of course. I have nowhere else to go. Although I should be able to return to my people if I don’t tarry here much longer, I have no intention of rejoining the fight against you. My people are already dead, if not by your hand then by the inevitable weight of history. I cannot save them from the course of their fate without your help. I hope that, in time, I can convince you of the . . . efficiency? . . . of my plan.”

She nods. "I will return to you within a day's time."

“Perhaps now, however, you will believe my claim that Athelion the Lightbringer and this Athelion the Lifebringer are two separate entities.”

"...Yes, I believe this may be true. The gods are not to blame- I've stricken Athelion from my list of enemies. Until he shows himself as an adversary, I will simply chalk it all up to a much worser one: Humans. Wherever I've gone, they have only served to get in my way and slow me down, or worse. I can tolerate those who are so obsequious, unpleasant as their displays may be... but these Dusk Wardens? This Baron, and his lackeys? They will be removed, one way or another. Of this you have my word."

“Coming from this immortal being, however, I can honestly say I have never encountered one of your kind before. I have slain many demons in my time, but never anything like you. In all likelihood, what these Dusk Wardens call “Archdemons” were not demons at all, but some other creature. Which is very odd, given that I have never in all these long millennia ever encountered another of your kind. And here I thought I was well-traveled across this mortal plane!”

"Well... until now, I had reason to believe I was quite unique. Perhaps I am, and these Dusk Wardens are simply poor diviners.
You asked me before, what I would do once I conquered or destroyed everything in my path? I don't believe I gave you a particularly straight answer, but now I know: I will look into my species. Or, rather, my kind, whatever I am."
She almost smiles, looking into the future. It would be nice, really, returning to a simpler, more curious time: exploring for the sake of exploring, though now with a purpose. All this bloodshed, while invigorating and certainly nice once in a while, had only served to entangle her in bitterness.

“I will always support whichever option causes the least harm to the least amount of humans, provided it does not require breaking my vows.”

"Hmmm....
This begs the question, why? What do you owe to these humans? Especially a cult such as this that inflicts so much misery upon both each other and spotlessly innocent creatures such as myself?"

After all this is dealt with: "Well then, all this considered... I'm of half a mind to go along with this man, assuming he has some sort of plan worked out. What do you think? I'd have your willing aid in this. Having a servant of the gods on my end would likely help provide leverage I would otherwise lack."

“That’s it? Run along now? The bird is to be let out of her cage, to run free within the homestead? Aren’t you concerned I will attempt to convert the populace back to Miriam, or otherwise undermine your authority? Or that someone will steal your pretty little pet and escape out the window while your back is turned?”

She laughs at the concept.
"As I've laid off my assault against Athelion, these people serve as simply a power base... and only so effective of one as humans might produce. Beyond that, their devotion seems to be rather well seated. Go ahead and proselytize all you want- I doubt this next hour or so will do you much good."
Here she drops her lightheartedness, and takes on a serious tone.
"And you are not a bird. You are an angel. I doubt anyone will have the inclination to steal you away, and I thoroughly doubt that anyone will have the capability.
Of course, you seem to be leaving out one other option: that you will scurry away and never return."
She smiles here, though it's less playful and more smug.
"...But I don't believe you will do even that. You did say you were something of a scholar amongst your kind, no? Here I am, a possibly unique being you have never before encountered. And incredibly powerful... and you have a direct line to my ears. Such a position is not so lightly thrown away."
She drops the smugness, taking on a more magnanimous tone.
"Of course, you couldn't possibly do that tonight. You told me you would teach me the human script, and you are a creature of your word. We'll begin with that once I return. For now, do enjoy your time consorting with the local wildlife."

On a lark, you deliberately altered the formation of a large boulder. You were horrified to discover that once changed by you, the stone knives slashed through it as if the stone was not even there. So . . . against you, or anything made by you, the stone knives could not be stopped.

This was a... highly disturbing revelation. She had half a mind to re-summon it and give it back to Maurice, though that would likely entail more trouble than it was worth. Besides, she might not even want it back, having gone through her system multiple times... and now tainted with her soul.
She shuddered at that thought. There was an imperfection in her. A way in which her being was empirically worse and weaker than that of anything else. If she possessed the means, she might even cry now. It was simply an affront to everything she believed.
She returns to the village after all this, in quite glum spirits, and tracks down Maurice, interested in what she might be up to now that some facsimile of autonomy was returned to her.