Lungworth

Shanaaz couldn't say that Gulveig's words had particularly moved her – the girl displayed the same naiveté and inexperience in this kind of endeavor as Shanaaz herself. However, this was overlaid with a naiveté that shone through her speech, which only became more apparent due to the sheer amount of pathos she poured into the phrase "Gulveig of Baldr." Essentially, in the first half, she spoke of things that were already obvious to everyone present, interspersed with a lecture on what a Dracena actually was, and then she moved on to lengthy pronouncements about trust, which could easily have been omitted – such tactics were usually employed by those who wanted to prolong their speech rather than say something truly valuable and meaningful. And to top it all off, she told a story about herself – about how she lived and trained in some backwater of Serberia, where, by some miracle, heroes, each more talented than the last, had gathered. And each of them, of course, helped this "Gulveig of Baldr" with her training. It was hard to say whether the reason for this story was simply naiveté and impressionability, the ramblings of a young girl losing touch with reality, or a poorly thought-out lie designed to inspire respect for her leader among the mercenaries. “What a wonderful speech,” the Heckelian smiled charmingly when it was her turn in the round of questions for Gulveig. “My name is Shanaaz, and I am from Heckelia,” she said, followed by a curtsey. “I do not offer prayers to gods or spirits of nature, but I honor my ancestors and pay them due respect. The reasons for joining the group are simple: the desire to earn money and experience new sensations, perhaps to hone my skills. As for my skills themselves, some of them are already obvious from my attire,” the girl said with a light laugh, “although this is hardly something that will help us with our missions or that I can practice while hunting bandits. But my talents are certainly not limited to this. I am not only physically fitter than I might appear at first glance, but I also possess knowledge of the Shenghai style of hand-to-hand combat, ‘Taolun’ – I do not need armor or weapons to defend myself. If we were in a more suitable environment, I could even demonstrate a few techniques to prove my words with action.