The source of the earthquake and the sinking of the south brings a selfish form of relief for Mazikeen. To learn that it had been caused by (or at least originated near) the mountain and yet Hyaline and the east had remained unscathed. She does feel sorry for those who were in Loess and the bordering lands - and hopes so much that Sickle hadn't been in the Pampas when everything had happened.
“Apparently we have new aquatic neighbours.” She hadn’t been curious enough to go explore the new sea herself, but she had heard similar murmurs. Maybe she hoped that if she didn’t engage, Hyaline could continue on as it has been - unchanged and safe from whatever madness might be occurring elsewhere in Beqanna.
But she’s thinking more about who is in front of her at the moment than she is considering those wider thoughts. “I wonder if you touched some of the mountain’s magic while you were digging.” It would be nice if it was as simple and innocent of an explanation as that. She knew that shadows didn’t have to be a bad thing, didn’t have to be wrapped up as part of a curse. Mazikeen watches with a combination of concern and awe as the shadows begin to pass over Bolder’s skin again and she asks “Does it hurt at all?”
@bolder