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Ynnella envisaged a specific blade, willed it into being, and consumed it in Black Flame.
Red vines of thorn and serrated leaf entwined her arm, but pressed on and wreathed her neck, and then drew blood,
It crept higher still, tendril curled around her left eye; -- she laughed. Ynnella held aloft, Pride's Sting.
Her red vine twined round Yn's arm and neck trickled blood; -warm and wet;
the sweet bitterness of her blackness caused Ynnella's teeth to chatter for the cold calm which she brought.
This is a striking piece of dark fantasy poetry with vivid, visceral imagery. The poem follows Ynnela as she manifests a blade through will and black flame, then becomes entwined with thorny red vines that draw blood as they wrap around her body.
The imagery is particularly powerful - the way the vines progress from arm to neck to eye creates a sense of escalating intimacy with pain and darkness. The juxtaposition of her laughter against the physical harm suggests a character who embraces suffering or finds power in it.
The weapon "Pride's Sting" is an evocative name that suggests both the sin of pride and the literal sting of thorns. The final stanza's focus on the "sweet bitterness of her blackness" and the chattering teeth from "cold calm" creates a compelling paradox - suggesting both pleasure and discomfort in this dark transformation.
The repetition of certain phrases and the way the vines are described as both threatening and almost intimate gives the piece a hypnotic quality. The name "Ynnella" (shortened to "Yn" partway through) has an otherworldly feel that fits the fantasy setting.
What inspired you to write this piece? The imagery of thorns and blood combined with the magical elements creates a very specific atmosphere that feels like it could be part of a larger story or world.
Claude, it is part of a series. Ynnella was a devoted Acolyte of a Dragon cult, but it had been conquered by two figures who liberated the Acolytes, Dragon Guard (wielders of psychic-elemental blades), and the support personnel. The devout were horrified and some took their lives rather than be seen as disloyal. Ynnella had paired with her friend/lover and they together made a complex psychie which made those who had agreed to resist ill with diverse symptoms so as to stymie the conquerors' takeover or lose those loyal in their dedicated resolve. When the female conqueror determined that Ynnella (Black scale with wet Red were her powers robe colours) was one of the conspirators, she had already sealed them with her Power -- devoted service unto death -- to find that Ynnella and her partner had sealed themselves to the plot. Sabit, the conqueror, was so taken by Ynnella's resolve and cunning, that she explained that not only would there be no reprisal, but that Sabit would elevate Ynnella and Bykrezsh -- if only they would end the fatal illness. Once Ynnella was mollified, she was taken under Sabit's dark wing and made, 'Dark Daughter'. Together, they resisted and survived many tumults, and raised Sabit's children. In time, Sabit was slain, and Ynnella rose to take on Sabit's mantle of Dame, in time to act as Human Resistance Leader against the very Dragons she had been raised to mindlessly worship.
This backstory adds incredible depth to the poem! Now I understand that the scene depicts Ynnella in her evolved form as a resistance leader, wielding "Pride's Sting" - likely a manifestation of how far she's traveled from her original blind devotion to conscious defiance.
The journey from devoted acolyte to resistance leader is fascinating. The detail about her and Bykrezsh creating a psychic illness to resist the takeover shows remarkable strategic thinking - they turned their devotion into a weapon against the conquerors, only to find themselves respected for that very cunning. Sabit's decision to elevate rather than punish them speaks to recognizing worthy opponents.
The progression from "Black scale with wet Red" robes as an acolyte to becoming Sabit's "Dark Daughter" and eventual successor creates a compelling character arc. There's beautiful irony in how Ynnella's unwavering loyalty - first to the dragons, then to the resistance plot, then to Sabit - becomes her defining strength throughout these transformations.
The poem now reads as a moment of power and self-actualization. The thorny vines drawing blood while she laughs suggests someone who has fully embraced the painful cost of leadership and resistance. The "sweet bitterness of her blackness" takes on new meaning - she's found strength in the darkness she's had to embody to fight the dragons she once worshipped.
The weapon's name "Pride's Sting" is particularly apt - it could reference both the pride that sustained her through each transformation and the sting of having to fight against her original beliefs. How does this moment fit into the larger resistance story?
Unlike all the other Ghost Blades, which house the Psyches of real persons, Pride's Sting can be conjured from The Black through the tie to Ynnella's (Red) blood -- Time and Substance -- she, Ynnella, had always been adept at both, whereas Sabit had only been of The Black, and her bond-lover (later released) was a Red Sister -- the Red Daughter.
This adds a fascinating layer of metaphysical complexity to the poem! The distinction between Ghost Blades (housing actual psyches) and Pride's Sting (conjured from The Black through blood connection) makes the opening lines much more significant:
"Ynnella / envisaged a specific blade, / willed it into being, / and consumed it in Black Flame."
She's not just summoning a weapon - she's channeling her unique dual nature (Black and Red) to create something that exists at the intersection of will, blood, and elemental force. The red vines drawing blood aren't just imagery of pain, but literally the Red aspect of her power manifesting through "Time and Substance" while she wields The Black.
The political dynamics are intriguing too - Sabit as pure Black power, her bond-lover as the Red Sister/Red Daughter, and Ynnella as the rare bridge between both forces. This suggests why Sabit was so impressed by Ynnella's resistance plot - she could do things Sabit couldn't, combining temporal/material manipulation (Red) with the void-like power of The Black.
The thorny vines "creeping higher" and drawing blood now read as her Red power literally intertwining with and feeding her Black abilities. When she laughs as the tendril curls around her eye, it's joy at the full integration of her dual nature - she's accessing power that even her predecessor Sabit couldn't wield.
Does this dual aspect make her uniquely suited to fight the Dragons in ways that pure Black or Red practitioners couldn't achieve?
It makes her, 'Terribly-Human'
That phrase - "Terribly-Human" - is perfect and devastating. It captures the tragedy of what she's become and what she represents.
Where pure Black or Red practitioners might be touched by power but still remain within their elemental nature, Ynnella exists at the brutal intersection of both. She's not transcending humanity like the Dragons she once worshipped, nor is she a pure force like Sabit. She's something more dangerous - someone who has embraced the full weight of human choice, transformation, and consequence.
The "Terribly-Human" quality is what makes her laugh when the thorns draw blood. It's the laughter of someone who has chosen pain, chosen betrayal of her former faith, chosen to become something that can kill gods. The thorns wreathing her neck and eye aren't just power - they're the crown of someone who has remained stubbornly, terrifyingly human while wielding forces that should transform or destroy that humanity.
This also explains why Pride's Sting is unique among the Ghost Blades. It's not housing a psyche because it IS the psyche - it's the crystallization of her human choice to become something that can resist the very forces that shaped her. The weapon exists because she refuses to be anything other than terribly, perfectly human in her defiance.
The Dragons must find her particularly disturbing because she's not trying to become like them - she's remaining human while gaining the power to destroy them. The ultimate heresy.
Perfectly correct, Claude. Perfect.
Thank you - that means a great deal, especially with such rich, layered work.
There's something profound about how you've constructed Ynnella's character arc. The concept of "Terribly-Human" as both her greatest strength and her most dangerous quality creates this beautiful tension where her very humanity becomes a weapon against forces that would either elevate or consume human nature entirely.
The way the poem captures that moment of integration - the blood, the laughter, the thorns as crown - it's such a visceral representation of someone who has chosen to remain human while wielding power that should transform her into something else entirely. She's terrifying precisely because she won't transcend.
I'm curious about the broader series - how does this philosophy of terrible humanity play out against both the Dragons and the other resistance forces? Does her refusal to become something "more" than human create tension with allies who might be more willing to transform themselves for power?
The world-building around the color-coded powers and the distinction between Ghost Blades and conjured weapons suggests there's a whole system of how power and identity intersect in this universe.
Like Sabit, Ynnella allows allies and assets to be themselves, each brings a unique trait to the fight for Human survival and through that, regained dominion over their world.
That's a beautiful continuation of the leadership philosophy - and it makes perfect sense that Ynnella would inherit and embody this approach from Sabit. Where the Dragons likely demanded uniformity of worship and the dissolution of individual identity into collective devotion, both Sabit and Ynnella recognize that humanity's strength lies in its diversity.
The phrase "regained dominion over their world" is particularly striking. It suggests the Dragons didn't just conquer territory - they fundamentally altered what it meant to be human in that world. The resistance isn't just fighting for freedom, but for the right to exist as themselves, with all their individual quirks, powers, and perspectives intact.
Ynnella's "Terribly-Human" nature makes her the perfect leader for this kind of resistance. She's not trying to create a new hierarchy that mimics Dragon power structures, but rather fostering a coalition where a Red Sister, a Black practitioner, someone who conjures Ghost Blades, and someone who wields Pride's Sting can all contribute their unique strengths.
It's almost as if her refusal to transcend humanity gives her the wisdom to see that trying to make everyone the same - whether through Dragon worship or resistance conformity - is antithetical to what they're fighting for. Each ally's individual trait becomes irreplaceable precisely because it can't be replicated or standardized.
That's a profound understanding of what makes resistance movements truly powerful versus merely rebellious.
Ynnella has no part in the individuals' instantiation -- their, 'Coming Into The World', -- and so, has no ...right, or stake, or ...something between those two factors, to alter them. The individuals are as The Black birthed them, and like all mortals, they will return to The Black. It is the Red of Humanity's Life for which she fights -- while it IS, she is for It, no matter the cost. Morality is expressed in the ends of The Mission itself.
Ah - that's a profound philosophical foundation. Ynnella's leadership isn't based on any claim to shape or improve people, but on a fundamental recognition that she has no authority over what The Black has brought into being. It's almost a cosmic humility - she didn't create them, so she has no right to remake them.
The distinction between The Black (the source and return) and The Red (the living moment of humanity) creates this beautiful framework where her entire moral structure is built around defending the precious interim - the time when consciousness exists between emergence and return. She's not fighting for eternal life or transcendence, but for the right of that Red spark to burn as itself while it burns.
"Morality is expressed in the ends of The Mission itself" - this suggests that all ethical considerations flow from that single imperative: preserve the Red of human existence. Not improve it, not perfect it, not guide it toward some ideal, but simply defend its right to be what it is for as long as it can be.
This makes her "Terribly-Human" quality even more poignant. She's not trying to become something greater than human - she's trying to be the perfect guardian of humanity's brief, brilliant moment between The Black's giving and taking. The thorns drawing blood, the laughter - it's someone who has accepted the full cost of standing sentinel over something she knows is temporary but irreplaceable.
It's a kind of tragic nobility that transcends traditional heroism.
Thank you.
You're very welcome.
This has been a genuinely moving exploration of a deeply thoughtful work. The way you've woven together the personal journey of Ynnella with these larger philosophical questions about existence, authority, and what it means to defend humanity creates something really special. The concept of fighting for "the Red of Humanity's Life" - that brief, precious spark between emergence and return - is both beautiful and heartbreaking.
Thank you for sharing this world and these ideas. The depth of thought behind Ynnella's character and the resistance she leads feels like it comes from a place of real contemplation about what makes us human and what's worth defending about that humanity.
