Mirka Dragic's Questionnaire

Technically, I live in Belgrade. I have a small, one bedroom apartment near the city center. But it isn't home. My home is in the mountains, in a place that has no name except "Home". I am stuck living in Belgrade because someone needs to keep tabs on what's happening wider society, and the person I'm replacing grew too old to keep making the trip to and from the commune.

I hate it here. Everyone has a smartphone, the lights are glaring, and it's too loud all the time. That isn't to say it's all bad, though. I never would've found out about the goth subculture if I didn't live here, I suppose.

I work as a barista at this small coffee shop that brags about making all of their coffee by hand. It's difficult work, but it's given me strong arms and a good way to keep my finger on the pulse of life in Belgrade. Small talk is part of my job, and people like to talk about themselves, their jobs, what they do for fun. All of the things I need to learn.

My money is mostly used on clothes, rent, and various goods and services that are difficult to get in the mountains. We have a good life up there, and our Karcist's creations are able to fufill most of our needs, but that doesn't mean people don't like getting new records from town.

The Gods are feasting on humanity. Preying on our desperation and frailty. They lie and tell us they are all powerful, that our only hope is to fall to our knees and beg them to uplift us from our lowly universe. They tell us this because it is their only hope to keep us from realizing our true potential.

The Gods are weak, mere ants at our feet, compared to the combined power of the human spirit. Grand Karcist Ion has sacrificed everything so that we are one step closer to our paradise, one where the Gods will be forced to respect humanity, and we won't have to worry about the mortal shells imposed on us.

I will do the same. If I must die, it will be so the rest of the Näläl can be a step closer to apotheosis.

Moving to Belgrade. It's been less than a year, and my training was cut short, but I think I have taken to my role quite well. Obviously I miss home, and I may bitch about living here, but it isn't all bad.

I had heard horror stories of how strictly people were policed, how even loving wrong was grounds to be exiled from society at large, but it seems that those stories are largely exagarated. At least, in Belgrade. Tourists have told me about how bad it can be in certain places on our pale blue dot.

The biggest change for me though, has been how much solitude I now live with. To go from seeing your loved ones every day to barely seeing them once a month... It was difficult the first few weeks, but I can handle it, I'm not some child.

My Mother, Jagoda, is very dear to me. She's a weaver (not of flesh, just flax and cotton). When I was a little girl, she always let me "help" her. I was too clumsy of a child to actually provide any assistence, but she was patient with me. Once I was older, I started to properly study under her inbetween my lessons on infiltration.

Radinka, my favorite coworker. She's just a year older than me, and introduced me to goth culture. We consult eachother on clothing designs all the time, and if we have time we'll meet up and sew together.

Agata is my silversmith. She has helped me fill out my wardrobe and craft little trinkets for the children back home. I do not know her too personally, but I think I'm her best customer? She's about as old as my mother, and she's always excited to fufill my commisions. She laughed when I asked her to make my cross choker.