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This is an interlude I wrote about Senna that takes place during Faction War, specifically it takes place during the beginning of the adventure that takes the rest of the Sigilettes to a crashed space ship. The calendar notation uses the Umbra-kai Planar Calendar, which I'm sure I'll post about on this blog eventually. Just think of it as October. Also, I wrote this on a train from New York to Chicago on my phone. So if there's any weird phrasing, that's why.
Darsday, 26 Abyssum, SE 1
A seed has been planted in Umbra's garden. It takes root in glances over stewpots; it blooms in the tensions between parent and child.
Suspicion.
Who else will leave? Who else will betray the Umbra-kai? Could the people in the next tent be planning to abandon their covenant? Will they, like Garth and his cohort, try to steal away with some precious relic?
Senna walks through the encampment. Smoke from a dozen cooking fires form pillars throughout the community, as if they were all inhabiting some subterranean hall.
The wounds she carries from the encounter with the Umbra Veil do not bother her. They heal, like many wounds here, at an elevated pace thanks to the healers who channel Umbra's power. Even separated, even with the Lady of Pain halting the presence of power, faith leaks through.
She sees empty spaces where last week stood tents. Three days ago was a feast-day. Three days ago, three families were missed.
Lumza, sometimes called "Star-fang" or the Sidereal Sister, was an ancient Umbra-kai hero. It is said that she came across the children of Umbra, besieged by demons, while drifting through the Astral Sea.
She brought her spell-ship aground, and vowed to help the Umbra-kai. Though she offered to negotiate with the fiends they had little honor, and the planar tides were in their favor. Lumza saw this, and drew from her back a square-tipped sword.
As she faced off against the archdemon, Umbra gave her a blessing. She slew the fiend at the cost of her arm and her life. Sword lost, she struck the final blow by digging her teeth into the archdemon.
The feast of the Sidereal Sister is supposed to be a time to respect sacrifices, particularly those given freely and without request. Senna presided over the feast, and gave thanks to the Skull Mother alongside her kin.
She gave thanks to her parents; while her service to Umbra was decided as part of her birth, following through with it and giving up their only child after raising her for twenty-five years was no easy feat.
She gave thanks to her friends; the Sigilettes formed out of a desire to help the people of Sigil when no one else stepped up. It has been a long road, and a hard one, but things would be worse without them.
In the old days, it was expected that Umbra herself would attend these feasts in secret, assuming one of her many faces. This does not happen here, in the Lady's shadow.
With a sigh, she consecrates herself with incense lit from the heart-fire at the center of the camp. Umbra's silence is felt today more powerfully than it has been in a long time. Senna walks toward the holiest tent; the place where Umbra lives. She nods to the Skull Mother's honor guard (Jet, a tiefling with shimmering golden skin, and Hera, a tall human with dark skin and stark white braids). She knows them well, and it is a comfort to see them here.
She enters the tent, and shadows envelope her. Two lanterns shed shaky light that barely laps at the feet of the deity.
The divine image is held in a standing stone. It rises nine feet tall and a third as wide. At one point in the distant past it was round, but now Umbra embodies the flat surface of the stone's face in a cold, unmoving vigil.
Generations upon generations have stood before the image. They've gazed up at the faceless deity, skull mask hiding her from view.
In an instant, the sounds of the camp fade away. There is privacy here that even the Lady of Pain cannot revoke.
Senna takes in another breath, then another, each one shakier than the last. Her eyes water, distorting her view of a god already wreathed in shadows.
She tries to speak, but can't. Her knees find the dirt at her mother's feet. She wanted to rage against Umbra. She wanted to scream and shout and demand answers. But now, alone in the holiest place she knows…
She doesn't hesitate because the emotions have faded; they writhe under her skin and fill her lungs with poison.
Here, alone with the only image of her deity, her mother, she fully feels the weight of her place in the Umbra-kai. She knows she's not alone. She knows she isn't the only grey soul among Umbra's children. She knows that people outside the Umbra-kai are suffering too, both because of the Dahlia and, potentially, because of the Umbra Veil.
Because of…her?
A thousand what-ifs run through her mind. If she had talked to Nes differently; if she had been closer to Garth growing up; if she had had the wisdom to lead her people like the old heroes.
But the past is past.
"Mother…please. I need you. You know I am yours. My body was forged by you, and it will serve until it burns. My soul was breathed by you, and it will serve you when I'm smoke. But my heart is weak, and my mind confused. I want to be what everyone needs me to be. I want to do what they need me to do."
She licks dry lips. Her heart pierces her chest and a lump rises in her throat.
"But I feel…I lack the wisdom to find the right path."
She can't help but cry. It's not a noble, sacred cry. It's not a teary epiphany. It's ugly, unbecoming of the Shaded Daughter of Umbra.
"Every attempt I make is thwarted…Every decision I make feels wrong."
Her hands clutch at the ground. She digs her fingertips into the dirt as she sees her tears drop into it.
"Was I born to fail? Did you in your wisdom beyond ours make me to be the wrong person to avoid this?"
She stands suddenly, fists clenched full of dirt.
"Why did you answer my parents' prayer? Why did you accept their covenant? Why?"
She feels her shame and rage shake her body, and she throws the dirt in her hand at the divine image. Most of it scatters harmlessly, but amid the dirt comes a solid sound of impact.
Inadvertently, her desperate hands have unearthed something. It glints, dirt stuck to its surface. The sound of it hitting the image and falling to the ground shocks the rage out of her like a punch to the gut.
It's a voting token…no, it's his voting token. She recognizes it immediately. It's not the full thing; the tokens are unique and customized over years. But the endpiece of Garth's voting token is here in her hands.
She would recognize it anywhere, since she's the one who gave it to him.
It had been when they were young, walking through the Outlands under the influence of Mechanus. She had discovered a deposit of an alien ore and brought it back to him for study. Two things had been made from that unknown alloy; two voting tokens. Hers still hangs on her belt, its greenish metal triangle dangling under an assortment of personal odds and ends she's collected over the years, tied together with an enchanted string of leather.
She takes the token from the ground, wipes the dirt from its tiny carved lines and swirls. It's the only thing of Garth's that remains in the camp. Every other possession was taken with him when he left.
If this is a sign from Umbra, she doesn't know what to think of it. Did he leave this here? Did he truly go out of his way to cast aside even this trinket because it reminded him of her?
Was it fate or chance that she found it?
She wipes the tears from her eyes. She rubs her nose with the back of her hand.
She doesn't look back at Umbra when she leaves.
When she emerges from the tent, the honor guard straighten beside her. As they do, she squares her shoulders. They all have a face to put on. Theirs is a stern vigilance. Hers is a gentle smile.
She thinks about sacrifice. She thinks about the feast that her friends and family missed, and she thinks about the feasts of the future.
She wants to bring them home. It feels foolish. It feels like an impossible dream- no, irresponsible. Garth and his followers betrayed the Umbra-kai. They interrupted a sacred ceremony and damaged the ward fires that have kept her people safe for longer than anyone knows, even the lore keepers.
But at her core it isn't hatred she feels toward the Umbra Veil. It's regret, it's shame; but it isn't hatred. Her heart still reaches out across the divide, searching for her family.
To share work is sacred here. Senna did not work the metal for the voting tokens alone; she and Garth together asked an elder for help. Nothing here is made by one person. She has friends.
Trok, who she calls brother.
Nico, who keeps up morale.
Paz, who can't be told what to do.
Rose, who holds all her secrets.
Even Dachs, the newcomer, who had fought at her side without a word of complaint.
And every other member of the Umbra-kai, who she looks out at from the holy tent. Their fires still burn. Their lips still sing. Their eyes still light up when they see her.
She does not need to be another Lumza. She does not need to bear a sacrifice alone to help her people. She hasn't been alone at any step of her journey.
It's easy to forget that sometimes.
Darsday, 26 Abyssum, SE 1
A seed has been planted in Umbra's garden. It takes root in glances over stewpots; it blooms in the tensions between parent and child.
Suspicion.
Who else will leave? Who else will betray the Umbra-kai? Could the people in the next tent be planning to abandon their covenant? Will they, like Garth and his cohort, try to steal away with some precious relic?
Senna walks through the encampment. Smoke from a dozen cooking fires form pillars throughout the community, as if they were all inhabiting some subterranean hall.
The wounds she carries from the encounter with the Umbra Veil do not bother her. They heal, like many wounds here, at an elevated pace thanks to the healers who channel Umbra's power. Even separated, even with the Lady of Pain halting the presence of power, faith leaks through.
She sees empty spaces where last week stood tents. Three days ago was a feast-day. Three days ago, three families were missed.
Lumza, sometimes called "Star-fang" or the Sidereal Sister, was an ancient Umbra-kai hero. It is said that she came across the children of Umbra, besieged by demons, while drifting through the Astral Sea.
She brought her spell-ship aground, and vowed to help the Umbra-kai. Though she offered to negotiate with the fiends they had little honor, and the planar tides were in their favor. Lumza saw this, and drew from her back a square-tipped sword.
As she faced off against the archdemon, Umbra gave her a blessing. She slew the fiend at the cost of her arm and her life. Sword lost, she struck the final blow by digging her teeth into the archdemon.
The feast of the Sidereal Sister is supposed to be a time to respect sacrifices, particularly those given freely and without request. Senna presided over the feast, and gave thanks to the Skull Mother alongside her kin.
She gave thanks to her parents; while her service to Umbra was decided as part of her birth, following through with it and giving up their only child after raising her for twenty-five years was no easy feat.
She gave thanks to her friends; the Sigilettes formed out of a desire to help the people of Sigil when no one else stepped up. It has been a long road, and a hard one, but things would be worse without them.
In the old days, it was expected that Umbra herself would attend these feasts in secret, assuming one of her many faces. This does not happen here, in the Lady's shadow.
With a sigh, she consecrates herself with incense lit from the heart-fire at the center of the camp. Umbra's silence is felt today more powerfully than it has been in a long time. Senna walks toward the holiest tent; the place where Umbra lives. She nods to the Skull Mother's honor guard (Jet, a tiefling with shimmering golden skin, and Hera, a tall human with dark skin and stark white braids). She knows them well, and it is a comfort to see them here.
She enters the tent, and shadows envelope her. Two lanterns shed shaky light that barely laps at the feet of the deity.
The divine image is held in a standing stone. It rises nine feet tall and a third as wide. At one point in the distant past it was round, but now Umbra embodies the flat surface of the stone's face in a cold, unmoving vigil.
Generations upon generations have stood before the image. They've gazed up at the faceless deity, skull mask hiding her from view.
In an instant, the sounds of the camp fade away. There is privacy here that even the Lady of Pain cannot revoke.
Senna takes in another breath, then another, each one shakier than the last. Her eyes water, distorting her view of a god already wreathed in shadows.
She tries to speak, but can't. Her knees find the dirt at her mother's feet. She wanted to rage against Umbra. She wanted to scream and shout and demand answers. But now, alone in the holiest place she knows…
She doesn't hesitate because the emotions have faded; they writhe under her skin and fill her lungs with poison.
Here, alone with the only image of her deity, her mother, she fully feels the weight of her place in the Umbra-kai. She knows she's not alone. She knows she isn't the only grey soul among Umbra's children. She knows that people outside the Umbra-kai are suffering too, both because of the Dahlia and, potentially, because of the Umbra Veil.
Because of…her?
A thousand what-ifs run through her mind. If she had talked to Nes differently; if she had been closer to Garth growing up; if she had had the wisdom to lead her people like the old heroes.
But the past is past.
"Mother…please. I need you. You know I am yours. My body was forged by you, and it will serve until it burns. My soul was breathed by you, and it will serve you when I'm smoke. But my heart is weak, and my mind confused. I want to be what everyone needs me to be. I want to do what they need me to do."
She licks dry lips. Her heart pierces her chest and a lump rises in her throat.
"But I feel…I lack the wisdom to find the right path."
She can't help but cry. It's not a noble, sacred cry. It's not a teary epiphany. It's ugly, unbecoming of the Shaded Daughter of Umbra.
"Every attempt I make is thwarted…Every decision I make feels wrong."
Her hands clutch at the ground. She digs her fingertips into the dirt as she sees her tears drop into it.
"Was I born to fail? Did you in your wisdom beyond ours make me to be the wrong person to avoid this?"
She stands suddenly, fists clenched full of dirt.
"Why did you answer my parents' prayer? Why did you accept their covenant? Why?"
She feels her shame and rage shake her body, and she throws the dirt in her hand at the divine image. Most of it scatters harmlessly, but amid the dirt comes a solid sound of impact.
Inadvertently, her desperate hands have unearthed something. It glints, dirt stuck to its surface. The sound of it hitting the image and falling to the ground shocks the rage out of her like a punch to the gut.
It's a voting token…no, it's his voting token. She recognizes it immediately. It's not the full thing; the tokens are unique and customized over years. But the endpiece of Garth's voting token is here in her hands.
She would recognize it anywhere, since she's the one who gave it to him.
It had been when they were young, walking through the Outlands under the influence of Mechanus. She had discovered a deposit of an alien ore and brought it back to him for study. Two things had been made from that unknown alloy; two voting tokens. Hers still hangs on her belt, its greenish metal triangle dangling under an assortment of personal odds and ends she's collected over the years, tied together with an enchanted string of leather.
She takes the token from the ground, wipes the dirt from its tiny carved lines and swirls. It's the only thing of Garth's that remains in the camp. Every other possession was taken with him when he left.
If this is a sign from Umbra, she doesn't know what to think of it. Did he leave this here? Did he truly go out of his way to cast aside even this trinket because it reminded him of her?
Was it fate or chance that she found it?
She wipes the tears from her eyes. She rubs her nose with the back of her hand.
She doesn't look back at Umbra when she leaves.
When she emerges from the tent, the honor guard straighten beside her. As they do, she squares her shoulders. They all have a face to put on. Theirs is a stern vigilance. Hers is a gentle smile.
She thinks about sacrifice. She thinks about the feast that her friends and family missed, and she thinks about the feasts of the future.
She wants to bring them home. It feels foolish. It feels like an impossible dream- no, irresponsible. Garth and his followers betrayed the Umbra-kai. They interrupted a sacred ceremony and damaged the ward fires that have kept her people safe for longer than anyone knows, even the lore keepers.
But at her core it isn't hatred she feels toward the Umbra Veil. It's regret, it's shame; but it isn't hatred. Her heart still reaches out across the divide, searching for her family.
To share work is sacred here. Senna did not work the metal for the voting tokens alone; she and Garth together asked an elder for help. Nothing here is made by one person. She has friends.
Trok, who she calls brother.
Nico, who keeps up morale.
Paz, who can't be told what to do.
Rose, who holds all her secrets.
Even Dachs, the newcomer, who had fought at her side without a word of complaint.
And every other member of the Umbra-kai, who she looks out at from the holy tent. Their fires still burn. Their lips still sing. Their eyes still light up when they see her.
She does not need to be another Lumza. She does not need to bear a sacrifice alone to help her people. She hasn't been alone at any step of her journey.
It's easy to forget that sometimes.
