He could not find anything wrong with her answer though he quickly realized how he had made assumptions about her faith. He had gotten it wrong, had thought that she believed the gods, that her faith in the gods, would solve everything. But he was glad that he had asked his question so he could hear her explanation. He watched her with keen interest as she explain what she believed, how the gods did not exist just to protect Helovians but also the land and everything in it - and above all balance.

‘And whether keeping balance meets the good or the evil in our own judgmental minds it is not always as relevant as we think.’ Resonated within him, thinking about his mother and her actions. He just… he didn’t find it so easy to dismiss the possession of Gaucho and the the murders that had taken place. Why still felt like a relevant question and he had no optimism that it would ever change.

Mesec’s thoughts were pulling at strings that had long needed to be pulled at, topics that he had avoided and shied from all his life, and it was Maren’s voice that had started the pulling. His divine parentage had been a source of confusion for most of his life - always wanting that connection that others had with their mortal mothers, never receiving it. Well, for a time he had been welcomed into a secondary family and finally had a taste but even that had not lasted for long.

He stayed quiet as she answered, his mind racing through the near-silence of the cave, but it skidded to a stop when the question was returned. Although it was not easy to answer Maren’s question, he found her playful smile encouraging - her own honest answers inspiring him to do the same. His silver gaze returned to the wall, to the images of the gods, and there was a pause before he found the words. When they do come, they are hesitant at first but as he continued to pull at the strings the words came with more surety. “I… I’ve always found it hard. They’re not just gods, they’re family for me. My mother… her brothers are the parents of my friends, in addition to being the protectors of Helovia and the keepers of balance.” He looked to her then, paraphrasing her words with a smile that vanished in the next moment as he concentrated on finding the right words to continue. “I think… I’m putting mortal faces on them because it makes them easier to relate to, easier to believe that I’ve got some of their blood in me. And because of those mortal faces I see their flaws, focus on how illogical their methods for balance seem to me.” He wondered whether any of this was making any sense or if he just sounded like a petulant child. “I don’t feel as though I have the luxury of faith... that it is even an option for me.” He admitted finally, gently, the words too quiet to echo off the walls. Would he ever find peace with his heritage?

@[Maren] <3


I’m trying to find my direction home, ______________
A question of space, a matter of time, _______
I follow the stars until the first light.