The Past and The Present

As Islana’s pavilion was being set up and the sounds of others setting down their gear and setting themselves ready for the time spent here could be heard, she looked around. It was such an odd feeling to be the head of this enormous movable military, it was only a few months ago that Islana would have never dreamed of such a possibility.

On occasion, her thoughts turned back to the stone city and the foreigners to which she was one not so long ago. Her mind did not question if the march on the Helians was the right thing to do. The redhead knew them, their military, and the Inquisition would head for the desert and those who resided there sooner or later. There was no doubt about it. No doubt that the Helians were wrong but her mind was still set on saving as many of the innocent as possible. That wouldn’t even likely be the majority but still, in her mind, it made her better than the Inquisition and that to Islana was important.

There was something happening to the young woman, the longer she was Sister Locust the further in the past, her past actually seemed. It seemed like a long time since being in Ostiarium. It was almost as if it had been someone else had been rescued from the creed. There was even more of a disconnect between anything that had occurred to her on Helias and the person Islana was currently becoming.

However, that disconnect did not extend to her friends, it seemed. The redhead’s thoughts of them were very present. She still wanted to know if they were alright. Her memories would shift to them often. Time spent around the campfire or traveling north would be suddenly there in her mind as if taunting the young woman with what seemed to no longer be. Questions if they thought of her, what they thought of her would be internal queries when given a chance to arise. Then a voice from deep within would whisper - “They are the enemy.” It wasn’t Islana’s voice, it was never Islana’s voice but one of the many who now resided within. Still, this was the leap it was too difficult for the woman to make.

The enemy = the Helians. How much of that thought was her own was likely questionable at this point but did it matter? Maybe, if the now Prophetess hadn’t spent a good portion of her life feeling like an outsider it would have mattered. Maybe not. It was though difficult to have much sympathy for the same society that made Islana and people like her the “bad” ones. The simple act of being born with a gift made the redhead a target. The act of running from a horrible man made her a fugitive.

Thoughts shifted now to the present and the people currently with her, the Horde, her people. There were those who seemed obvious in their devotion to Sister Locust. These were ones that would maneuver themselves to catch a glimpse of the one they thought of as a divine being. There were likely ones who weren’t exactly sure of the new Prophetess, not outright suspicious more on a wait-and-see level. Then there were the ones that did not trust the foreign-born now at the helm at all. Islana did not need to be told this, she knew it was likely the case because any society would have the same reaction.

The best the woman could do was prove that their suspicions were without merit. That Islana had become part of them. It was going to be a long journey though and likely there would always be someone who did not trust her. There was little to be done to get everyone to agree on this matter. For now, any opposition to the new Sister was remaining quiet about it, she had a feeling that wouldn’t last.

The Sk’elep had taken a spot outside the now-raised pavilion. Islana had invited the animal inside but that option had never been chosen. Still, the thought to do more came to her. As it turned out there was enough material for a canopy to be put up outside. Islana didn’t want to take anything needed elsewhere even if she could have gotten almost anything she asked for. It was leftover material in case the pavilion at any point needed patching. So, it would work just fine.

The canopy was set up so the Sk’elep could get out of the elements if necessary, it wasn’t a tent, more of a covering but it seemed just right for the creature. The Sk’elep was taken of with water and food.

The smell of roasting meat was caught, every time the air shifted. It would be time soon enough to attend the feast. To that thought, the new Sister Locust wandered into her pavilion, closing the flap behind her, it was time to get ready.