Session: Aug. 14th, 2023

Lying about my identity comes to me pretty much as naturally as breathing these days. Excuses, explanations, misdirections - I could do it in my sleep. So why does it feel so bad to lie to Ny'ell?
 
She saw most of the execution. Luckily, not the part with myself and my so-called "crimes", but the parts about Zun and then the ensuing fight afterwards. I don't think I've seen her look that scared before, not even after telling her someone had attempted to kidnap her. I'm glad she was willing to meet with me, and I could convince her of Zun's innocence. I'm also glad the questions she asked about Zun were questions that I could answer honestly. But then I gave her a small reprimand for keeping things from us, and I am not blind to the irony of that statement. She took it in stride and seemed to agree, so that's good at least. I just keep trying to reassure myself that this is just like every other time I've had to lie about my identity - it's not just for my protection, it's for the protection of those around me. I like Ny'ell. I really do. I think we're on our way to becoming good friends. I would absolutely hate to see anything happen to her because of me. She already has enough of her own problems, apparently.
 
I was happy that we were able to change the topic towards more interesting things - like the fact that she dated a freaking dragon without knowing it! Though, to be honest, I find it a little sad that they just called it quits after things got awkward. Oh well, none of my business really. Also interesting is that I'm pretty sure the dragon she mentioned is actually the silver/white dragon that WAS at the execution. When Brother Corbert said his name, it rang a bell for the name that Ny'ell had said earlier, even though I can't currently recall it.
 
Brother Corbert was actually VERY illuminating on several of the questions I had following that execution, and did put an end to some of my anger. The main one being - the fake Eirlyssia lives. They revived her. I'm so relieved. (I feel bad that I keep calling her "the fake Eirlyssia", but I didn't quite catch her name. Acadie? Katie? I'm not sure and I don't want to get it wrong.) He also said that he was confident the Vorestheyra was able to capture all of the cult members that had infiltrated their organization, along with others that had infiltrated the city. I feel like this isn't the first time I've heard that, but it was good to hear nonetheless. He even said he'd see about getting me that amulet that Saanes recommended, which would be amazing. Also interesting though was the fact that Garin clearly hadn't told Brother Corbert fully about the situation. He had no clue my mother was involved, which doesn't surprise me, given that we know Garin is apt at keeping secrets. I'm sure Garin will just say that things are on a need to know basis, but guess what? If you get injured and taken out of commission and Brother Corbert is the next in charge there, maybe you should have made sure he was fully briefed???!
 
In other secrets Garin kept from us: we officially found out that Chaedove IS ALIVE. It felt so good to finally get some kind of encouraging news amidst all this. Brother Corbert had a letter from her that he read, and it was so unabashedly Chaedove. I've missed her so much. She said there were reasons why she couldn't tell us she was alive...but I'll be the judge of that once I finally find out what they are. I did appreciate her comment about keeping me alive or she'd eat the rest of the group. No one else has a sense of humour here anymore.
 
I'm also glad that dinner was not nearly as awkward as I'd been worried about, given how the afternoon had been with Cor'nan and Ny'ell. Everything seemed to be relatively back to normal, so tomorrow we can finally turn our attention back on figuring out what to do about Dan'or'avil. Though I first need to have a talk with Mortalis tonight. I have some questions for Daren about Dan'or'avil's dragon form, and I want to try projecting him from the scythe again. Now that I know blood bolsters him so significantly, I want to try offering my blood. It won't be as significant an amount as draining a human corpse dry, but because we're connected I'm hoping it will be more potent. We shall see.