[open] a fish out of water

[Rezza]

appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

Rezza doesn’t necessarily believe in fate or destiny, but she does clearly believe that sometimes they are set on a certain path. She was. It was her choice to follow that path though. Her parents couldn’t force her to do what she was told, Rezza chose to. They didn’t force her to become advisor, but Rezza chose to follow the option they set before her. She isn’t sorry about her choices, but still, she cannot help but wonder what life might have been like had she picked a different path. What might life have been like without the same level of responsibility, without the need to see everything in light of what benefit it could bring to Baltia. In the same vein, she wonders what life would be like without the Great War, though she will never know that. She cannot change the past, cannot bring back the dead. They are gone, and all she can do is move forward.

“Oh?” she says, her interest perking a bit as he mentions that one of the kingdoms is his. “Does it have a name? What’s it like?” Land is still rather fascinating to her, after all. The vast majority of her life has been spent underwater, and Beqanna feels a little like a gift that keeps giving. Well, she hopes it will prove to be a gift, but the unknown element of it still has her on edge. She cannot help the constant calculation between benefit and risk of anything that comes their way. It is her job, and something her Queen will look to her for.

He asks his own question though, and she nods with an amused smile. “I’d hardly call that dreadfully boring, but,” her grin widens just slightly, “I imagine Baltia might be of interest to you. From what I have learned of Beqanna, some things are the same. We have a Queen, Tsilutsuli, though you are highly unlikely to see her outside the water. If you ever do though, you cannot mistake her with her two heads.” Her grin grows just a little bit more mischievous, imagining that two heads is uncommon even amongst the interesting traits she’s seen in Beqanna. “We have a rank system. Our General is Helice, our Advisor is myself. Where I think we may be different is our culture. We are kingdom-first, though with a high emphasis on family. Families stay together for a long time, and we naturally live long lives even without the aid of traits and magic. How old do you think I am? I promise, you won’t offend me.” She eyes him slightly, a playful challenge there. Never guess a woman’s age, right?

REZZA

Photo by Alice Alinari

@Reave