Again, possible spoilers for players… I’m just messing around though, so there’s not any real information.
“I’m afraid.” My voice came out softly and the shame I felt came with it.
“THERE IS NO NEED.” As always, the voice was a contradiction, all-encompasing yet soft and pliable – a very gentle, loving hurricane. “IT IS THE NATURAL THING, MOREOVER A THING WHICH YOU KNOW I LOVE.”
“I do know, and that is what gives me strength.”
“DO YOU HAVE DOUBTS AS TO YOUR CHOICES?” I could hear the sudden hint of concern in his voice, the idea that all of this might fail because of me, and I shook my head, knowing he could not see it.
“I have no doubts, only fear. It has been a very long time for me.”
“THERE IS NO NEED. YOU KNOW WHAT BENEFIT COMES OF THIS. YOU KNOW YOUR PERSONAL REWARD.”
I nodded, but at the heart of me, at the very core there was a sweet, rotten cylinder of fear. “I know. You’re right, I do know…”
“AND YET YOU FEAR.”
I dropped to my knees, my hands clasped in my lap. My head hung low between my shoulders and tears dropped on the backs of my crossed thumbs. I could not answer, although I tried several times.
“WOULD YOU KNOW THE TASTE OF WHAT IS TO COME?”
I blinked. “I… I couldn’t. We…”
“IT CAN BE DONE. ASK.”
I stared into the silence of a room in which I was the only occupant, hoping against hope. “If it can be done, then… yes, I would dearly like to know.”
“MY DEAREST SERVANT MERELY NEED ASK.”
And then I knew what was coming; I knew the length and breadth of it, the pain and the great, great joy.
And I knew that it would be enough.
– from the Thought-record of Sisera Twice-born
You rock.
Of course, this is why I shamelessly rip off borrow ideas (or at least inspiration) from Doyce all the time.
So here’s a fun evolution of the name for the character whose POV this is from.
I wanted a cherub (lesser of Heaven’s hosts, servant of the Light) for this character. I knew that much. I also knew he was one of the former powers of lust (I’m slowly working out the names of those who used to control domains now held by others. I tacked on “twice-born” as a sort of surname at one point, just cuz it sounded cool.
Later, I’m digging through a huge apocryphal online list of Angel names and find:
Sisera – lesser angel of desire . In the Old Testament (Judges 4), Sisera was slain by Jael “with aid of the stars and the angels.”
So… he starts his new tenure as the power of Lust shortly after being slain, and you’ve got Sisera Twice-born. Viola.