Erin swirls her cup. She can't turn her head to look at Dimitri, can't bring herself to see his face.
"At thirteen, friendless, tormented by the children of the high and mighty, I tried to summon a demon to make them stop. The Patriarch came instead, and took me beyond the Glass Gates to live in darkness and misery. When I tried to escape he caught me and offered a bargain; return to the lands of my birth in exchange for my service. I took that bargain and told a lie to myself and the world. I said, Erin Peters is dead. I said, my name is Liz Malloy, and I love nothing."
Her voice is hard and low.
Full of pain. Full of shame.
"Two years later, when I was seventeen, the Patriarch demanded that I return one of my people to slavery. I complied. Hid my crime behind great accolades and noble status. Liz Malloy loved nothing and so bought and sold everything freely. Love and lust, my skills, my body, magic, mayhem, murder. When I was caught I fled for my life and gathered a crew of vermin as desperate and broken as I was. Together we became a dark legend. Liz Malloy and her pirates, the reason you never answer a call for help. My poison shadow spread over the world, gnawing at trust and compassion, worrying away at my fellow victims with terror and doubt and the terrible knowledge that my skills were still for sale. We attacked Lost. Mortals. Those wizards I mentioned, one of the few jobs I'm willing to call good. Thirty years my reign of terror made a mockery of virtue. I told myself I was happy. I told myself I loved my crew. I even faced my master for them, extracting his oath to never do them harm."
"I didn't kill Liz, Dimitri. One of my victims did. A man named Arthur defeated me and had me at his mercy. Anything he might have done would have been justice. Anything. But anything isn't what happened. He told me it wasn't too late to be better. Pleaded with me, as if I had any power left, to believe that I could be something happy and good. I told him something true. I said: my name is Erin Peters."
A drink, from her cup. "My crew didn't believe that. They chose the headsman over the fury of Liz Malloy, and so she died alongside them, on a foggy morning at the shore. I've been burying her since."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2022-11-18 02:39 am (UTC)"At thirteen, friendless, tormented by the children of the high and mighty, I tried to summon a demon to make them stop. The Patriarch came instead, and took me beyond the Glass Gates to live in darkness and misery. When I tried to escape he caught me and offered a bargain; return to the lands of my birth in exchange for my service. I took that bargain and told a lie to myself and the world. I said, Erin Peters is dead. I said, my name is Liz Malloy, and I love nothing."
Her voice is hard and low.
Full of pain. Full of shame.
"Two years later, when I was seventeen, the Patriarch demanded that I return one of my people to slavery. I complied. Hid my crime behind great accolades and noble status. Liz Malloy loved nothing and so bought and sold everything freely. Love and lust, my skills, my body, magic, mayhem, murder. When I was caught I fled for my life and gathered a crew of vermin as desperate and broken as I was. Together we became a dark legend. Liz Malloy and her pirates, the reason you never answer a call for help. My poison shadow spread over the world, gnawing at trust and compassion, worrying away at my fellow victims with terror and doubt and the terrible knowledge that my skills were still for sale. We attacked Lost. Mortals. Those wizards I mentioned, one of the few jobs I'm willing to call good. Thirty years my reign of terror made a mockery of virtue. I told myself I was happy. I told myself I loved my crew. I even faced my master for them, extracting his oath to never do them harm."
"I didn't kill Liz, Dimitri. One of my victims did. A man named Arthur defeated me and had me at his mercy. Anything he might have done would have been justice. Anything. But anything isn't what happened. He told me it wasn't too late to be better. Pleaded with me, as if I had any power left, to believe that I could be something happy and good. I told him something true. I said: my name is Erin Peters."
A drink, from her cup. "My crew didn't believe that. They chose the headsman over the fury of Liz Malloy, and so she died alongside them, on a foggy morning at the shore. I've been burying her since."