Andrei and Rhian

For as long as there have been Partisans, our stories have been shared across the six territories of Auditoria. We recall Eliza Wagner, the field medic whose goddess-given constitution was believed to be a cut above the rest. So much so, that when a mysterious illness rippled through the sleepy town of Istok, Palisade ordered her team out to investigate. The details vary, and the circumstances differ, but Eliza Wagner is remembered singularly for discovering and naming the Waste.

But the Waste was a lie, and poor, poor Eliza wasn’t immune to those. It started with the fever, then the sleepiness, and the light sensitivity, and finally the night-terrors. The stories don't tell you about the one who came for her in the night. The one who fucked with her mind until there was nothing left but the insides of a baked potato.

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Unsure what more they could do to help, Eliza's comrades gathered what they could of her research, and they brought her back to Palisade. But not a single one of their ample resources, and not a single one of our goddess-given talents, could restore her health.

Some said she couldn’t come to terms with the fact that she was dying. Or that she couldn’t make peace with the ones she couldn’t save. Not long afore she slipped into a coma, she screamed all about Those Things. The ones who came for her in the night. Safe to say, they looked at her with the pity face, and they all agreed they should have sent someone else instead.

Eliza Wagner died comatose and alone in the medical ward of the institution she’d served from breath until death. Our stories have been shared across the six territories of Auditoria, so let’s pick up where we left off…

- Andrei Strauss

- Rhian Sinclair