( “Withering cravens” does sound a little like something a priest would say or a line from an old novel. The latter is a more charming and less unsettling thought, so she actively tries to make herself associate Vlast’s vocabulary with fiction. )

We… have much more advanced technology, and it turns out magic is real but kind of kept to secret occult groups. I don’t know what role magic played in our advancement.

( “I don't know what parts of the history books are real” feels a little too unhinged. On the other hand, her world feels as though it’s become unhinged. )

This is going to be weird, but… imagine you’re standing on a bridge crossing a river. It’s a stone bridge, wide enough for tru— for, um, carriages to go each way, and totally solid. There’s lanterns, so even though it’s night, you can see clearly, and the ground is solid. How would you feel, in that kind of situation?