Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Guppy » Sat Nov 09, 2013 8:10 am

The creature stood in front of the pit and gazed down with deadened eyes. Her features were passive, expression painted across Niall's unfamiliar face. Inwardly, however, there was naught but turmoil. Anxiety and fury licking at the corners of her mind and dancing across Niall's own synapses in their shared psyche. There was a scrape of a booted toe in the dirt at the edge of the staggering pit. A prison that had been crafted by a man who threatened to upset the Black Man in White standing at the apex of the slim mountain of affection she held. She unknowingly stood where Giuseppe had, weeks ago. She stooped and scooped up a handful of silt to toss it into the chasm before her. The sun was behind her, framing her in shadow as she peered down with mild distaste. The small pebbles and larger bits of dirt made soft clattering noises against the edge before vanishing. They continued, unseen, before they were too far to throw any hints of their progress up to her. How could this prison - what amounted to a piddling little hole in the ground - claim him? How dare it take him?

Her fingers rose, lifted to her lips and settled there. Remembering his mouth slanted against hers, two devils in the moonlight. Shared wine between them. And yet, he did not care for her, not really. She had asked. Made certain. And yet, she could not shake the softer emotions she felt for him. Perhaps it was their forgotten, shared past. Perhaps he reminded her of her life. She was as foolish as the whelp, caring for one who could never love her in return. She knew something that the girl did not, though. Love was as false as any other emotion. She could content herself with his fickle attention for now. He saw her and surely that was enough. A hand came to her side, gloved fingers clutching the hilt of the cursed blade that had been his. Gifted by another demon, long ago. Maybe she would not find anything. Maybe she would find him and she would kiss him until neither could breathe. Maybe she would kill him herself with his own blade. Lick the marrow from his bones and the blood from his lips. Her heart thudded against deafened ears, becoming a roar. She shuddered in ecstasy until all was still again. The blood lust contained, heart slow and heavy. Sated.

She rose and pulled the map that Berdini her sketched for her from within the confines of her pockets. Eyes, crafted from the abyss of hell, traced over the scrawled lines and there was a moment when she softened. He saw her and he wanted her attention. Saw her worth. Wasn't that superior to the vague attentions of Giuseppe? Sprawled fingers lingered where Berdini's had rested.

Fingers gathered abruptly into an unyielding fist and an index finger tapped lightly where the fabled striped predator was said to dwell. "Are you ready, Niall? Your trophy awaits you, girl. Just down there." The map was rerolled and tucked away again as she spoke.

She did not await an answer, just took hold of the rope tied tightly to a nearby tree and dove over the gaping maw of the pit. It would be a long drop and sudden stop, but for a moment, they were flying. Her low, throaty laughter followed them down.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Rance » Sat Nov 09, 2013 6:18 pm

...but for a moment, they were flying.

It knew; it knew, for its flesh was the walls of the Golben and its heart was the scorched earth that lay a thousand leagues below. Ribs were the columns and rafters of buildings decimated years ago. Veins were the twisting paths cut by rows and lines of autumn-browned hedges, all cast as snake-shadows upon the floor of the chasm. Eyes were the faces of scintillant mirrors angled against one another, dancing with both the light of the sun and the glare of the moon. The soil breathed below the plummeting figure, blasting awake with a billow of invisible breath--

YOU THINK BUT DO NOT ASK: HOW DARE WE TAKE HIM, HOW DARE WE TAKE HIM.

Its voice was summoned from the troughs of a distant ocean, echoing through the moisture imprisoned in Pit-floor peat. The words played the rope with which It rappelled as though it was the string of some grand instrument, sending a shudder through the braided hemp that sang with acumen, with knowing.

YOU ENTER A CIRCLE UNBROKEN,
chimed a being without a voice, a noiseless whisper spooled amid the tangles of a corpse-brain. SEVEN OTHERS HAVE COME [arrived] BEFORE YOU.

The sky above, little more than an afterthought, flickered, winked, and went black -- not midnight, not moonless, but became nothing.

FOUR HAVE LEFT CLEANSED [judged, punished] OR PROVED INNOCENT SINCE MY [our] WATCH BEGAN.

The rope lost its tension, springing free of a tree that no longer existed, its end a fluttering, severed tail falling behind her.

THREE HAVE LOST [abandoned, surrendered] THE FRAGILE LIVES [existences, narratives] THEY LED SINCE MY [our] WATCH BEGAN.

The ground below, little more than an afterthought, flickered, winked, and went black -- not terrain, not turf, but became nothing. Plummeting. No Pit-ground below to crush bones under the force of impact, no day above to smile or frown upon It -- upon the Niall within -- for the decision to enter by way of subterfuge a domain that was not theirs to control.

MAY THE TRUTH BE YOUR WINGS. WHY HAVE YOU COME, FALLING STARS? WHY HAVE YOU ENTERED [invaded, passed into] THE PRISON WHERE I [we] AM [are] KEPT?
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Jirai » Sun Nov 10, 2013 3:10 am

Niall had been in a blind rage after speaking with Ariane. After learning just what Golben was. That such an abomination might exist here, after she had won free from her own Golben, was unbearable.

It had to be destroyed.

That might have been a task easily accomplished... but that was before. Before the gaping wound on her back that ought by rights have killed her. Before the demon now occupying her head and her body. Before Elliot's sword had pricked her heart and run her through.

Golben's existance was enough to spur the young woman into doing what she had resisted up until this point. Enough to have her heal further what she could of her body and her magic, giving the demon more insight into the latter than she preferred. But some things could not be so quickly mended, nor mended alone, and Niall was decidedly aware of the weaknesses that remained. It did not matter though - those would not be enough to stop the demon's quest for Giuseppe, nor Niall's quest for destruction.

She was silent, the other firmly in control of their shared form as they stood on the edge of Golben. Silent, too, for there could be no words at the sight of what she feared and hated more than anything.

And then... they were falling, and another voice slipped into a head which was already too full.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Guppy » Sun Nov 10, 2013 3:41 am

The fury that her companion held was a welcome change from the sullen, ungodly stubborn young woman she found herself inhabiting. The relinquishment of control was well worth it, in the end, for she discovered so much about Niall's powers she had not known before. The creature's smug silence had likely been a distraction, but Niall's condemnation of Golben and what it stood for had served its purpose. The two were closer than ever when it was all said and done.

The leap into Golben was enough to quicken the blood running through the girl's veins, though, the adrenaline belonged solely to the creature. She remembered. The rope jerked as they came to its end and bruised healing ribs. The creature shrugged off the pain and continued downward at a faster pace. Hand over hand, she scaled towards the floor of the great pit. Only then did another voice ring through the expanse of her mind. One which was already too full indeed. The demon was quick to anger as the echo of a voice sounded and the sky turned black. How dare it speak to one such as she? The rope snapped free and the ground winked out. They fell. They flew. Her heart lodged in her throat and she longed for the snap of wings catching current. Giddiness, but no fear.

But there was business to be held. Answers to be given. "How dare you take what is not yours to have?," the demon snapped, finally. She spoke aloud despite the echo in her head. Eyes blackened to pits of despair within her face and a rising tide of fury threatened to spill across her visage. Arms crossed her chest and she allowed Niall partial control, should she need magics to save them both. "Does he live still? I want him back. Now." Who was she to demand things of Golben? Who was she to demand this price of the non-entity? She was Death. And she would certainly not take no for an answer.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Rance » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:13 am

For them both:

NOT MINE TO HAVE?

A foreign concept, this idea of ownership; where now It and Niall fell, there was no rushing blast of wind, no twisting disorientation. There were no handholds to snare or flatness upon which to level the feet. They were suspended, a flagellate rope whipping far above them, wanting for purchase or anchor.

For them both:

RELINQUISH THE VESSEL TO ITS OWNER, FALLING STAR, FOR YOU TOO HAVE COVETED WHAT IS NOT YOURS.

The voice was a faint pressure, not the imposing shovel-blade of an invader of mind's, but a soft and suggestive nuance that pieced itself together from the loudest voices in their memories. To It, the words were stitched together from a collection of patched-together protests, recent and old--

(landowners who once wished for the health of their crops, members of the Foundation that rushed to extinguish raging flames, citizens who feared the shadow of leathery wings falling over them)

To Niall, the voice was more affable, cobbled together from those of her friends, her enemies--

(and among them was the unyielding bravado of Elliot Brown).

For It:

HE CAME TO ME [us] OF HIS OWN WILL TO FIX WHAT HAD BEEN WROUGHT OF HIS OWN MISDIRECTION; HE MET HIS END BY BLADE, INTERLOPER, THOUGH THE POINT BEFELL THE THROAT AND CHEST OF ANOTHER BEING ALTOGETHER.

For Niall:

HOW MAY YOU DESTROY WITHOUT HANDS, WITHOUT FINGERS, INGENUE? BEFORE YOU ANGLE YOUR IRE [displeasure, hatred] TOWARD ME [us], YOU MUST RETAKE WHAT IS YOURS. I [we] INVITE YOUR CHALLENGE, BUT THE PREAMBLE TO OUR TALE LIES IN RECLAIMING YOUR PROPERTY OF FLESH.

Suddenly, the rope snapped taut, tightening with their weight at its end. Should Its fingers choose to unhand it, she -- they -- might find that there was no distinction between skin and hemp; their fingers were the braided twists of rope, dangling the blue-tattooed body like a candelabra over the abyss below. And in that bleak ocean swam a thousand complacent shadows -- a countless, smiling populace comprised of two repeated figures: The Man in White and Elliot Brown, writhing, jeering, laughing among themselves and at themselves, never looking up, never looking at anything else but their brothers, rogues and porcelain-clads alike.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Jirai » Sun Nov 10, 2013 1:42 pm

They were two, three, in one. They were falling, they were not falling. They were voices in her head (it was still hers, wasn't it), voices that tore into the young woman for vastly opposing reasons.

The demon stepped partially back and as Niall was given that small measure of control the runes tattooed on her body flared brightly blue, then faded to a dull glow. Ready, should she need them.

But there were more words then, slipped into her brain, and below them such a sight. Niall hissed wordlessly, then moved to assert more control over her body, forcing hands to climb along the rope despite what her eyes saw and her flesh felt.

"Use him against her if you will, but Elliot Brown is nothing to do with why I am here."
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Guppy » Sun Nov 10, 2013 3:50 pm

They hung in midair and the creature peered down with mild interest. This prison was for Myrkeners, humanity, and this was all beneath her. The rope was still suspended above them, hanging from nothing at all and quickly tumbling down to join them. The creature moved to give it a sharp tug in reproach for not staying where it was meant to stay. The runes etched upon her host's flesh flared to life and the surge of magic was enough to make the demon smile with delight. Ah, yes. Finally.

Golben. It spoke. It told her to give back what was not hers. The fleshy prison she was captured within. She was the wolf, snatching up souls. Eating them whole. "What was mine was stolen from me. I will not leave until it is returned," she insisted, her voice falsely polite. Kindness with a sharp-toothed bite behind it. Sheep's clothing firmly affixed, hiding sharp teeth and predators eye. She would not give in to its whims. They were here for Giuseppe and It would not stray from the task. The voices, joined and swollen around her were brushed aside. Unimportant. Despite the cacophony in her ears, the voices were almost a whisper against her ear for all the attention she payed them.

"So, he is dead? You will take me to what remains." Shouting orders when she was prisoner to its delights. Playing its games as a pawn. She did not hear what it whispered to Niall, but suddenly, the girl wrenched some small measure of control and began to climb the rope in a panic. Shared eyes stole downwards to peer at the sea made of the dead. "Niall," she snapped, irritated. "Get a hold on yourself, girl." The sea made of Elliot and Giuseppe writhed and giggled. Insulting it might be, but the creature would not cow before illusion.

"Your master, your maker. Berdini." The name was whispered with reverence. "He sent me. You will do as you are told." She might have stomped her foot for all the indignant, childlike fury she held.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Rance » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:40 pm

To Niall, the presence thrummed, YOU ARE HERE AT THE BEHEST OF A PASSENGER [invader, parasite] THAT GUIDES YOU LIKE A SLAVE [servant, vehicle]. NOTHING MORE. YOU RELINQUISH TO OTHERS WHAT YOU ARE NOT ABLE ENOUGH TO RETAIN; ELLIOT BROWN, it said. YOUR OWN BODY.

Whether they were souls -- the abstract, the intangible -- or minds -- the concrete, the physical -- the earth here knew them; the earth, the being within it, pried these reliquaries open with effortless claws. They had been willing to come, had subjugated themselves to the Pit. Climb as Niall might, never was there progress to be had. Palms and fingers tangled in illusory rope, a binding comprised of their own flesh. On each knot and fray, there were the traces of flickering azure tattoos as if unwound from Niall's own skin--

But then that too disappeared and they tumbled headlong into the sea of shadows. They passed right through the ghostly fingers, broke through the membrane of smoky figures like fallen gods sinking through a crown of clouds.

The landing was soft and charitable. Balance was given freely. Heels crunched down on hard-packed earth with pebbles like teeth strewn all around them. There was no light save a faint, greasy ambience that bathed their immediate surroundings with a sickly and caustic glow.

I [we] HAVE NO MAKER. I [we] HAVE NO MASTER. YOU APPLY TO ME [us] A VEIL OF FLESH-LAWS AND CORPOREAL LOYALTIES BECAUSE THESE FALLIBLE CONCEPTS COMFORT [soothe] YOU, OFFER YOU THE ARTIFICE OF CONTROL. BERDINI, it corrected, ONLY CONSTRUCTED THE HUSK; I [we] AM [are] ITS WARDEN, AND MY SUMMONER -- MY BETRAYER -- IS LITTLE MORE THAN A MOLDERING CORPSE.

In the inky blackness beyond them, the yellowish light reflected off something--

Floating gems. A pair of eyes with facets like gems, bisected with a single strike of black from top to bottom. Feline.

Another pair snapped into being. And then another.

HE IS DEAD. ONLY DUST REMAINS ALONGSIDE THE BLOODY RAGS OF HIS DECEASED AUTHOR, it said.

A roiling snarl became a sudden bark of sound. A figure of sleek muscle on four legs crept into view through the weak circle of radiance, its stripes of orange and black promising colorful danger. Behind the first beast lingered two others, their breath flicking off hungry tongues.

ALL STORIES, INTERLOPER, MEET AN END.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Jirai » Sun Nov 10, 2013 11:27 pm

Progress or not, still she climbed, ignoring the demon's voice.

"No." She contradicted. "I am here because I choose to be. Because this should not exist, not here, not anywhere. I am here because I will stop this before it goes further."

There should have been grief at the mention of Elliot Brown. There should have been fear at even being in this place. There certainly should have been fear when, as feet landed on the ground, feline eyes appeared.

There was nothing.

She dropped into a crouch, the blue glow of her runes increasing. Deliberately, almost casually, fingers moved, tracing invisible runes in the air as her voice dropped to a quiet murmur.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Guppy » Mon Nov 11, 2013 4:05 am

The creature and Niall both felt their fingers, through their joined consciousness, tangle in the rope in the frantic climb. Shared vision, almost startled, took note of those runes upon its surface. Patience wore ever thinner at the illusion crafted for them. The rope vanished suddenly and they fell. There was a brief moment of weightlessness before the gravity made their stomach sink. They tumbled end over end through the sea of guffawing boy-Knight and Man in White. Hands reached, fingers stretched out to grab purchase in the ghosts. Seeking to gather them as they passed through. Greedy. Fingers came up empty, the ghosts vanishing like smoke. It was strange, passing through, the cool press of clouds against their skin.

They slowed.

Their landing was softer than the demon expected. Settled upon the ground, toes first and then heels. Graceful and delicate, the crunch of pebbles under their feet. Where before, there was nothing, there were eyes all around them now. One by one, opening to stare accusations at the intruders. The creature, like some large, offended feline, brushed imagined dust off herself with a vague sneer. It gave off a general lack of interest in the predators. The great beasts slunk into being, skirting the edge of the clearing. Control was abruptly vanquished to Niall and she crouched low. The hunter knew her craft far better than this being, who had been at the top of her game. She was not used to this soft underbelly, the lack of armor other than runes traced upon her flesh.

She dropped towards the back of Niall's mind, comfortable and pliant. She kept an eye on the woman's progress, but the majority of her attention focused on that voice. That being who taunted them without form. The conversing voices were a soft whine at the back of the spear-wielder's mind. "He can not be dust if he was nothing but a story. If he is dust, then tell me how to collect him again. Tell me how to breathe new life into his stilled form."
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Rance » Mon Nov 11, 2013 10:03 am

To Niall:

SHALL THREE BE ENOUGH, it asked. FOUR. FIVE? I [we] CAN PROVIDE ANY PERMUTATION YOU DESIRE. WHAT NUMBER [amount, value] OF TOOTHY BEASTS WILL PROPERLY SATISFY THIS FLEDGLING STRUGGLE FOR SELF-IMPORTANCE RAGING INSIDE YOU? A WHOLE STREAK, PERHAPS.

YOU WILL TIRE IN TIME, INGENUE. I [we] WILL NOT.


The whiskers were firm filaments glinting in the sourceless light. The black, feline lips peeled back from the yellowed swords of teeth, and the great beasts were shaped with supple lines from the lifted ridges of their hackles, across their poised shoulderblades, and across their tightened flanks. The paws of the largest tiger left imprints in the sod beneath as it strode confidently in Niall's direction while the other two lingered on the outskirts of the darkness. Slavering. Breathing.

Waiting. For while a predator might pride itself on killing, a predator of predators waited for its prey to try.

However far Niall's passenger retreated into her mind, the acumenus was there in volume and presence, a heartbeat that could not be touched or driven away.

To It:

WHAT BITS OF THE DUST [ribbons, fragments] THAT REMAINED WERE CARRIED AWAY FROM HERE. NO SUCCESS HAS EVER MET FINGERS SEEKING TO REPAIR A BOOK TORN INTO A MILLION SEPARATE PIECES, INTERLOPER. FOR NOW, I [we] SUGGEST YOU DISLODGE YOUR EXPECTATION OF SUPREMACY; MY [our] PETS MAY REND HER OVER DAYS, WEEKS, AND MONTHS, AND THE VESSEL [vehicle, body] OVER WHICH YOU AND THE INGENUE STRUGGLE WILL BE ANOTHER LOST IN MY DEPTHS.

I [we] CAN TELL YOU HIS STORY. YOU NEED ONLY LISTEN.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Jirai » Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:17 am

"This is not about beasts."

In control of her body once more, the young woman lapsed into her own tongue, a harsh but rhythmic language. It mattered little for those she was speaking to, after all. Along with the words, though, came images, brief flashes appearing and vanishing again. Tigers, walking on two legs and armed. A similar maze, larger yet. The twisted bodies of tattooed children.

"It is about this place, what it is and what it becomes. I know how a place such as this can be used and I will not see this one become that."

The tigers waited. So did Niall, crouched and ready, tattooed fingers cupping the invisible spell she had woven.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Guppy » Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:05 am

Niall spoke and her meaning was gleaned by the creature through the small amount of their minds that was shared. It was strange to think that, when all of this was said and done, the creature very well might be the only person in these lands that could understand Niall's language. Niall's mind translated the words, but It was intelligent enough to steal what knowledge she could. It was a bond that the woman may not be completely comfortable with. "You can burn it to the ground, for all I care," she agreed, smug feeling pushed forward, towards that voice.

It spoke to her, echoing within her consciousness like the pulse of an arrhythmic heartbeat. It did not belong. "A book has never been able to be mended when torn asunder, that is true. The story remains, however. Retold and ageless. He cannot be gone, for stories can not be destroyed." She responded, sneering at the waspish mention of supremacy. "I do hold superiority over you, do not question that. Your pets may rend her for months and her vessel will not expire. I hold counsel with Death itself. I will hold her soul to her fragile frame, whatever the cost." She swore, vitriol in her voice, in her thoughts. A wild possessive protectiveness. The creature did not know any other way of being. Affection translated into possession. The creature was prone to hoarding that which it adored. Hence her purpose here. Her quest for Giuseppe.

"Then tell me. While we watch the battle rage. Tell me now."
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Rance » Tue Nov 12, 2013 1:21 pm

To Niall:

DO YOU BELIEVE I [we] AM [are] A NOTION WHICH MAY BE MISUSED [misguided, misdirected]? DO YOU BELIEVE I [we] AM [are] AN ESSENCE FUELED BY DISCORD AND VIOLENCE? MUST I [we] BE DEFINED BY THE ARCHITECTS OF MY [our] PRISON?


HAS A SPIDER NO RIGHT TO DEFEND THE WEB UPON WHICH ITS NATURE HAS PLACED IT
, it asked.

While Niall held herself poised, a statue of muscle and azure, the tiger was as still as a sculptor's most vivid strokes -- but for all that had been seen of paws, appendages as large as a soldier's grounded shield, there were no claws to be seen despite the bared rows of carnivore-teeth.

TELL ME [us] WHAT YOU BELIEVE I [we] MAY BECOME, FOR HOW FEW MOMENTS [hours, days] WE HAVE SPENT TOGETHER.

To It:

THE STORY REMAINS. BUT FOR HOW LONG, came the inquest. IF I [we] SO CHOOSE TO WITHHOLD THE TALE, IT GROWS NONE, IT ACHIEVES NO IMMORTALITY; COME THE LONG SUNSET OF THIS STONE'S QUIET EXISTENCE, WE ALL SHALL BECOME DUST IN THE BLACK.

YOU INVADE THE SOFTNESS BETWEEN MY [our] RIBS AND BELIEVE IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO MAKE DEMANDS, INTERLOPER. BUT SO BE IT--

The phosphorescent light ebbed, the heartbeat of its caster and source.

RELEASE YOUR HOLD UPON HER; IF YOU FEAR NOT DEATH, THEN LIBERATE HER WHOLLY THAT
SHE MAY INITIATE THE BATTLE [combat, violence] AT HER WILL. FOR UNTIL THE BATTLE RAGES, BY THE CONCORD [credence, covenant] OF YOUR JUST WORDS, THERE SHALL BE NO TALE TOLD.
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Re: Catch a tiger by the tail: Into Golben

Postby Jirai » Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:56 am

It was a bond that Niall was in no way comfortable with. This was precisely the reason why the young woman had been so reticent for the past weeks. Had Ariane not let slip the nature of Golben, so she would have remained. That had not happened, though, and so the demon was gaining insights into Niall, her language and her magic that the tattooed girl did not approve of in the slightest.

She waited, crouched before the tiger, motionless save for her eyes. Those watched the beast, yes, but they also flickered here and there, up and down and sideways, every sense alert for potential attacks from other directions while word poured into her mind.

"The intent of the architects matters not. I have seen a place such as this, built to rehabilitate, to fix and improve. It did none of those things. It trapped and tortured and murdered. I will not see this place become the same."
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