I lean on the edge of the edge of ship watching as she interacts with them. She summons a box and spreads out a lot of food from it. She glances at me and i shake my head. I'm not particularly hungry, or well I'm not hungry at all due to being a sovereign but I doubt why matters. The plague of steel leans next to me. He taps his foot, like we are friends in the same situation. We aren't and will never be that, but its more useful to let him think that. Sunny and neph stare at her with expressions that clearly deeply confused. She sets out all of the food and drinks and smiles at the trio. I had only gotten to see her briefly so I don't have much of a connection to ananke of weave. I hadn't even ever seen weave, only heard of it from sunny and neph, even then they didn't talk about it much.
She studies us with a odd look in her eyes, after a bit she chuckles
"Ananke of Weave... no one has called me that in a long, long time. Weave was destroyed centuries ago, after all... thousands of years? I am surprised that you know that ancient name, my lords and lady... and"
she glances at me and the plague of steel
"sovereigns"
her voice has a hint of nostalgia, like she's remembering a happier time that can never happen again. With how everything is now, i get why she would be like that. Sunny ends up being the one who speaks next
"l am Sunless, and this is Nephis."
He gestures to neph, then to the king of ashes, who bows respectfully
"magtin, that is Azarax and ■■■■"
he nods back to sunny to let him keep speaking
"There is no need to use honorifics when talking to us... we are of the same Rank, after all."
i raise a eyebrow, while I could tell she was a sovereign by her heat signature, I didn't expect sunny to just mention it like that. She stares at us for a short time before she smiles
"Oh, I couldn't. You are the chosen of Weaver, after all... Lord Sunless, Lady Nephis, Lord Magtin, sovereign ■■■■ and-"
the plague of steel cuts her off
"just call me the plague of steel and call them the m-"
i cut him off by kicking his leg slightly, he turns his head giving me what i assume is a death glare. he has the tone of someone force fed a lemon whole. She nods
"Plague of Steel"
sunny sighs after giving the plague of steel a very dirty look.
"How does that even work? You were already a carrier of the Nightmare Spell when it was in its infancy... its caretaker, even, or at least a descendant of its caretakers. Now that it has fully matured, you should be no different from Nephis. As much a Child of Weaver as she is, really."
She gives him a confused look then shrugs softly, trying to figure out how to put it
"I wouldn't know, Lord Sunless. We knew nothing about what happened outside the Tomb of Ariel after entering it... we could only hope that the promise Weaver had given us would be fulfilled, and the Children of Weaver would save everyone from the Doom."
Well it did save everyone, well more like gave us all a slow death. She gets a nervous look.
"So... how is it going, my lord and lady? Saving everyone from the Doom, and the like?"
We all get very awkward, considering why we are here and all. Sunny coughs trying to mask how awkward this all is.
"Well..."
i wave my hand cutting him off.
"Well, weaver did save us all from doom, but to survive each realm had to make a true God. No realm has succeeded yet, but the war realm is getting close. Right now we are here to attempt to get more power to better prepare for the threats coming"
no reason to break her heart. Sunny pipes up next
"But the Great River is not how we expected to find it."
neph seems to get herself in order and finally speaks, there's a very minor waver in her voice
"You did not seem surprised to see us, Ananke. How did you know to come and welcome us? Did Dusk send you a message in a dream?"
She gets surprised and confused at the question
"Dusk of Fallen Grace? No... she had been long dead by the time Weave was destroyed. Dusk was the last sybil to succumb to the Defilement, so her grand burial was meant to signify the end of the River People. But instead, it paved the way for a new beginning."
she glances around the room with a look thats clearly remembering something. Finally she smiles, theres still a hint of sadness to it.
"No... it was that scoundrel, King Cronos, who promised me that you would come one day. If I only endured long enough."
She keeps smiling even though she's still sad
"Cronos was the one who built this ship, as well... the Time Slayer."
She stays silent for some time.
"The sybils guided and protected the River People, you see. So when the last of them fell, the River People lost their way. They could have remained lost... or forged a new path. Cronos was a young man when Dusk of Fallen Grace perished, and because of that, he could see more than those who were older and wiser than him. His mind was sharp and flexible, and his Aspect granted him powers over the essence of the Great River... over time. So, he envisioned a path to salvation."
Sunny stares at her in clear shock. The plague of steel leans forwards clearly very interested in the probably long dead sovereign. That name... that name.... oh yeah, that guy that followed Sunny around like a lost puppy back in the 3rd nightmare.
"Cronos? The brat from Fallen Grace, Cronos?"