[As this memory begins, you are walking through a garden - there are no flowers here, but the yellowed grass is carefully pruned, and the drying trees are maintained well too. As ever, the sky above you is red, but for now, there is no ash falling through the air. To you, this is beautiful. You walk alongside another man, much older than you, and after a moment you speak to him, though you hesitate. For whatever reason, something has been on your mind for a while, and you’re choosing this moment to give it voice.
“Sazed?” You begin.
“Yes, Mistress?”
There’s another moment before you continue. “It’s all going to change, isn’t it?
“What specifically do you mean?”
“Everything.” You say, before you realize that’s not much of an elaboration. “If we aren’t all dead in a year, the crew members will be off working on other projects. Ham will probably be back with his family, Dox and Kelsier will be planning some new escapade, Clubs will be renting his shop to another crew. Even these gardens that we’ve spent so much money on - they’ll belong to someone else.”
Sazed nods, and you feel a pit forming in your stomach as he begins to speak. “What you say is likely. Though if things go well, perhaps the skaa rebellion will be ruling Luthadel by this time next year.”
“Maybe,” You respond, worry creeping into your tone. “But still… Things will change.”
“That is the nature of all life, mistress. The world must change.”
“I know,” You say with a sigh. “But I wish… Well, I actually like my life now, Sazed. I like spending time with the crew, and I like training with Kelsier. I love going to balls with Elend on the weekends, love walking in these gardens with you. I don’t want these things to change. I don’t want my life to go back to the way it was a year ago.”
“It doesn’t have to, mistress.” Sazed says, concerned. “It could change for the better.”
“It won’t.” You’re quiet as you continue on. “It’s starting already - Kelsier has hinted that my training is almost finished. When I practice in the future, I’ll have to do it alone. As for Elend, he doesn’t know I’m skaa - and it’s my job to destroy his family. Even if House Venture doesn’t fall by my hand, others will bring it down.” You keep going, worries that you’ve been holding onto for a while spilling out. “That’s only the beginning, though. We face the Final Empire - we’ll probably fail. To be honest, I don’t see how things could turn out otherwise. We’ll fight, we’ll do some good, but we won’t change much - and those of us who do survive will spend the rest of our lives running from the Inquisitors. Everything’s going to change, Sazed, and I can’t stop it.”
Despite that outpouring of negativity, Sazed only smiles at you, fond. “Then, mistress, simply enjoy what you have. The future will surprise you, I think.”
“Maybe.” You don’t sound convinced at all.
“Ah, you just need to have hope, mistress. Perhaps you’ve earned a little bit of good fortune. There was a group of people before the Ascension known as the Astalsi. They claimed that each person was born with a certain finite amount of ill luck. And so, when an unfortunate event happened, they thought themselves blessed - therefore, their lives could only get better.”
You raise an eyebrow. “Sounds a bit simpleminded to me.”
“I do not believe so. I find their philosophies regarding luck and fortune enlightened. To them, a poor life was a sign of fortune to come. It might be a good fit for you, mistress - you could benefit from the knowledge that your luck cannot always be bad.”
“I don’t know.” You say, skeptical. I mean, if your bad luck were limited, wouldn’t your good luck be limited, too? Every time something good happened, I’d be worried about using it all up.”
“I suppose that depends on your viewpoint, mistress.”
“How can you be so optimistic?” You ask. “You and Kelsier both.”
“I don’t know, mistress. Perhaps our lives have been easier than yours. Or perhaps we are simply more foolish.”
You don’t say anything to that, walking in silence instead. The memory ends.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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What do you mean?
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The prism loves drama.
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[hm.]
Is something bothering you, Kazunari? Apart from the obvious.
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[ he gives her a bright, cheerful smile. ]
Nope! I feel peachy!
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[ and yet, he seems perfectly unbothered by it at the moment, simply waving a hand at the bubble. ]
But enough about me! Are you gonna give us a show, or what?
1/2
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“Sazed?” You begin.
“Yes, Mistress?”
There’s another moment before you continue. “It’s all going to change, isn’t it?
“What specifically do you mean?”
“Everything.” You say, before you realize that’s not much of an elaboration. “If we aren’t all dead in a year, the crew members will be off working on other projects. Ham will probably be back with his family, Dox and Kelsier will be planning some new escapade, Clubs will be renting his shop to another crew. Even these gardens that we’ve spent so much money on - they’ll belong to someone else.”
Sazed nods, and you feel a pit forming in your stomach as he begins to speak. “What you say is likely. Though if things go well, perhaps the skaa rebellion will be ruling Luthadel by this time next year.”
“Maybe,” You respond, worry creeping into your tone. “But still… Things will change.”
“That is the nature of all life, mistress. The world must change.”
“I know,” You say with a sigh. “But I wish… Well, I actually like my life now, Sazed. I like spending time with the crew, and I like training with Kelsier. I love going to balls with Elend on the weekends, love walking in these gardens with you. I don’t want these things to change. I don’t want my life to go back to the way it was a year ago.”
“It doesn’t have to, mistress.” Sazed says, concerned. “It could change for the better.”
“It won’t.” You’re quiet as you continue on. “It’s starting already - Kelsier has hinted that my training is almost finished. When I practice in the future, I’ll have to do it alone. As for Elend, he doesn’t know I’m skaa - and it’s my job to destroy his family. Even if House Venture doesn’t fall by my hand, others will bring it down.” You keep going, worries that you’ve been holding onto for a while spilling out. “That’s only the beginning, though. We face the Final Empire - we’ll probably fail. To be honest, I don’t see how things could turn out otherwise. We’ll fight, we’ll do some good, but we won’t change much - and those of us who do survive will spend the rest of our lives running from the Inquisitors. Everything’s going to change, Sazed, and I can’t stop it.”
Despite that outpouring of negativity, Sazed only smiles at you, fond. “Then, mistress, simply enjoy what you have. The future will surprise you, I think.”
“Maybe.” You don’t sound convinced at all.
“Ah, you just need to have hope, mistress. Perhaps you’ve earned a little bit of good fortune. There was a group of people before the Ascension known as the Astalsi. They claimed that each person was born with a certain finite amount of ill luck. And so, when an unfortunate event happened, they thought themselves blessed - therefore, their lives could only get better.”
You raise an eyebrow. “Sounds a bit simpleminded to me.”
“I do not believe so. I find their philosophies regarding luck and fortune enlightened. To them, a poor life was a sign of fortune to come. It might be a good fit for you, mistress - you could benefit from the knowledge that your luck cannot always be bad.”
“I don’t know.” You say, skeptical. I mean, if your bad luck were limited, wouldn’t your good luck be limited, too? Every time something good happened, I’d be worried about using it all up.”
“I suppose that depends on your viewpoint, mistress.”
“How can you be so optimistic?” You ask. “You and Kelsier both.”
“I don’t know, mistress. Perhaps our lives have been easier than yours. Or perhaps we are simply more foolish.”
You don’t say anything to that, walking in silence instead. The memory ends.]
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I don't know. I think you were right about the simple-minded thing.
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Don't talk about Sazed like that.
[only she is allowed to do that, or something.]
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So who was he? Servant of yours, miss noble?
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