Path of the Pioneers

Morgan took her time wandering back to the Capital. She felt as if she were lost in a dream, and the air itself felt like water. Her limbs were sluggish, and yet they seemed to move with an unnatural grace that came unconsciously. She was going through the motions, and the time simply melted together as a result.

The woodlands, the hills, the valleys. Each bird that flew across the sky, every star that soon took their place. She soaked it all in, but her mind didn't process any part of it. It simply was.

Morgan would not change the world. She was not a child of destiny, put forth by fate in order to right the course of history - she was just another fool.

Another fool caught up in the power they were given. No different than the rest, or at least not by much.

An unrestrained cackle ripped through the forest, and a few creatures seemed to stir from the sudden noise tearing apart the silence of night. She couldn't help but laugh about it, though - throwing her whole life away for something that was never meant to pass. Morgan had let herself be propelled forward by the desires and ideals of a girl. And though she had spent a great deal of time thinking about those ideals, it took her decades in order to finally realize the folly behind her logic.

She dreaded telling Selene, the one whom she had spent so long trying to convince. How far had she strayed from her own morality in order to aid Morgan? She very nearly slumped over as she recalled the girl she met so long ago, 'Selene Aurelie Beaumont.' To Morgan's mind, the girl was destined for great things. Few awakened possessed the kinds of abilities she had within her grasp. If she had been allowed to spend her life improving upon her class, she may have blossomed into the strongest awakened to ever live.

But was the worth of somebody's potential really just their strength? Boiling it down to that felt wrong. Above all, Morgan felt that Selene would have been far happier if she had never followed her all those decades ago.

How do you tell the one you love that their life's work was a monumental waste, particularly after you sent them down the path of that work?

The Royal Capital. Pristine streets were paved with bricks of carved gneiss, streets that were filled to the brim with civilians, merchants, and travelers alike. Not a single one of them knew the identity of the witch that passed by them, nor the ways in which she had affected the kingdom that they all dwelled in.

It became more and more difficult to move one foot in front of the other as she grew nearer to the palace. It was as if there was a sort of thick sludge on the air, impeding her every movement. Every tensed muscle, every strained motion forward was deliberate and forceful. Morgan felt like she was marching toward her own death, toward the end of everything that she had come to know and every plan she had ever laid.

Through the gates of the Royal Palace, up the winding stairs to the top of a secluded tower in the back of the palace grounds. The door squeaked as it opened, and she heard the shuffling of footsteps as Selene rushed to meet her. As the years went on, she had an air of exhaustion about her, but she had always met Morgan with a certain excitement.

"Morgan!" The woman clasped Morgan's hands in her own, her lovely smile quickly dropping after something caught her eye, "Are you hurt?"

Morgan felt at her forehead, a bit of dried blood rubbing off onto her fingers. With a somber smile, she rubbed it off on her robes and refocused her attention on Selene, "I just haven't had the opportunity to clean up - I'm quite alright, dear."

"I'll start the bath, then." Selene turned, taking a step away, "You just sit down and-"

"Please wait." Morgan stuck out a hand. She couldn't wait to get this off of her chest, it needed to be done now. "I... Have something that I wish to discuss with you."

Selene turned once more, and Morgan could tell just by one look at her face that the woman knew just how dire the conversation was to be. Selene was unbelievably clever in social matters, after all - it was as if she had a sixth sense for dealing with others.

"Come sit, then." Selene made her way towards a chair, gracefully lowering herself onto it before patting the cushion of another opposite herself.

Morgan's movements were automatic, but they felt stilted and awkward regardless. She was terrified that her legs may simply collapse underneath her as she sat down. It was at that precise moment that she realized that she still hadn't decided how exactly to broach the subject.

As her mind raced and her heartbeat quickened to the point of threatening to burst, she let her lips move before her mind possibly could manage to stop them.

"Our plan is doomed, Selene." Morgan's eyes widened as she processed what she had said. Selene seemed to tense up. She continued speaking, unable to stop herself, "I'm a fool for not realizing it sooner, but it'd be madness to continue down this road any further. Isa was right, there's nothing that can be done about this - it's a phenomena that simply can't be stopped. We need to adapt for it, not-"

Selene's face tightened up, eyebrows furrowing in a way that they rarely did. "I know that I'm not hearing you correctly..."

"Selene, I... I'm sorry. But... But I know in my heart that it's the truth."

Her shoulders dropped, and she brushed away a few strands of golden hair that had fallen in front of her face. "How long have you felt this way?"

"I-" Morgan slumped over, "I don't know."

"Morgan, you... You aren't seeing things correctly. This- these things- they tend to get faster with more progress. I know that it seems like nothing has gone our way, but I assure you that if we just give it more time-"

"No, no- no, Selene. We-" She leaned forward, desperately taking Selene's hand into her own, "We've spent nearly our whole lives in this place. And for what? We haven't made any forward progress in decades, and the nobles are even further away from having their power revoked. Your worst fears aren't quite a reality yet, but within a few generations they may very well come into full swing. I led you astray with this plan, and now we are both suffering the consequences. Not to mention the original folly with the plan - there are simply not enough awakened to deal with the influx of dungeons. Restricting the amount of people who awaken only serves to harm Hy-" She trailed off, her words coming to a slow stop as she saw Selene's face shift toward a baffled and dour look.

Selene opened and closed her mouth several times, as if the words simply couldn't come to her. But after a time, she finally managed to get something out. "You're hung up on that, Morgan? I recall a time where you emphatically debated how the amount of dungeons is proportional to the number of awakened. Have you changed your mind?"

"The evidence is-"

"The evidence is staggering?" She interrupted, leaning back and snatching her hand out of Morgan's. "You have that look about you, you know? I remember seeing it all the time, in the past. You're convinced of this, and I won't be able to turn you around." Selene sighed, her breath hitching for a moment before she forced it back under control. "But I'm not so easily swayed. I know this course is the correct one- and you once did, too." She locked eyes with Morgan, her gaze intense and scrutinizing, "I remember, clear as day, how we plotted to put a crown on a man's head. And I remember just as well how every fine detail of that plan succeeded."

She rose up, looming over Morgan as frustration and desperation in equal measure took hold in her voice, "I remember how we concocted a poison that weakened the bond between body and soul- how we forced the commoners of this land to imbibe it in order to prevent their awakening. I remember how we butchered those same commoners when they rose up in frustration and anguish."

Her hands were shaking, and her hair hung messily over her face. She didn't even bother to move it. "I remember every last setback and failure that we've faced over the years, and I remember how excruciating they felt- and still feel." Selene balled her fists, eyes wavering, "And because of those setbacks, you would abandon the plan? We're so soaked in sin that we could very well drown in it, and you would quit?"

Morgan's soul felt as if it were cracking at the seams, each word sending another split across the surface. Deeper and deeper. She held up a shaking hand as she tried to speak, "Selene, t-this.. It's-"

"Morgan. There is nothing else for us. No alternatives, and certainly no redemption." Her eyes were beginning to grow wet, and Morgan watched with horror as the light caught on a stray tear that began to roll down Selene's cheek, "We...- I have given up everything! My life, my home, and certainly my morals! I will stay this path until I die, or until I succeed."

"Please, just-"

"No, Morgan- no." Selene turned around, and Morgan caught the sight of an onslaught of tears as she did, "Go. Mull this over, if you must. But if you should choose to abandon the plan..."

Her voice grew firmer, and she began to walk off, "Don't ever show your face around me again."