[Open Post]
One of us has been doing exceedingly badly. Even with Gavin's medicine, Linden hasn't been sleeping well; he has too many nightmares, so that he's almost unwilling to take it and attempt to sleep.
His face is young but worn, something that's always added to the trustworthiness of his expressions, and now that worn-ness is more pronounced, as is an added weariness in his bearing that doesn't seem to fit; and indeed he carries it as though it weren't there, but it is.
On top of the sleeplessness, he's been trying to put together a puzzle that has too many pieces with edges that don't go together. The people here are possessed of magic that doesn't belong in his religion; religion, for heaven's sake, that doesn't belong in his religion. Mosca is alive and back, as is his old mistress, but where Lady Tamarind has called him back to service he'd almost rather not take, Mosca won't hardly speak to him at all. There's also a deeper difficulty--all these things are happening around him, but his faith, which has always been the core and purpose of him, is either betraying him or betrayed by him. He has been praying for forgiveness, but the fact remains that he regretted it when he thought he had killed Mosca, and wished the action undone; and now that he knows she is alive, he really wants nothing more than for her to forgive him and want him back as a companion, and that isn't right. What he did he did for the Heart, but it has undone him rather than helped his cause, and the nightmares--the nightmares are horrifying.
You may prod him if you'd like. He's sitting cross-legged on a grassy patch, praying again (although it's impossible to tell). The tiredness is making him slightly unsteady, but he's holding together well, by sheer force of will.
His face is young but worn, something that's always added to the trustworthiness of his expressions, and now that worn-ness is more pronounced, as is an added weariness in his bearing that doesn't seem to fit; and indeed he carries it as though it weren't there, but it is.
On top of the sleeplessness, he's been trying to put together a puzzle that has too many pieces with edges that don't go together. The people here are possessed of magic that doesn't belong in his religion; religion, for heaven's sake, that doesn't belong in his religion. Mosca is alive and back, as is his old mistress, but where Lady Tamarind has called him back to service he'd almost rather not take, Mosca won't hardly speak to him at all. There's also a deeper difficulty--all these things are happening around him, but his faith, which has always been the core and purpose of him, is either betraying him or betrayed by him. He has been praying for forgiveness, but the fact remains that he regretted it when he thought he had killed Mosca, and wished the action undone; and now that he knows she is alive, he really wants nothing more than for her to forgive him and want him back as a companion, and that isn't right. What he did he did for the Heart, but it has undone him rather than helped his cause, and the nightmares--the nightmares are horrifying.
You may prod him if you'd like. He's sitting cross-legged on a grassy patch, praying again (although it's impossible to tell). The tiredness is making him slightly unsteady, but he's holding together well, by sheer force of will.