Zafira Moonchild

In the forest, a raven fell from the branch it was sitting on. After looking like he was dead for a while, he let out a sigh. Mortal bodies are so fragile, he lamented. Get distracted for a while, and they simply stop working. Of course he could just pour more of his being into it than this tiny fragment, but that would be a waste. While the subject was interesting and worthy of observation, it wasn’t that important in the great scheme of things for now.

He heard a chuckle behind him, and let out another sign, of course she had seen his lapse of concentration. How long have you known that I was here Miros, he asked the azure moth that had managed to hide from him till now. From the first moment you arrived Deegan, a quiet voice sang, right after she started repairing that boat. He didn’t give them the satisfaction of confirming that they were right, and just grumbled inside, as they continued to gloat. Oh please, he said, miss big ass moon in the sky, you’re not exactly subtle yourself, at least my research subjects never know that I’m around when I observe them.

They transformed into a little azure fairy, just to be able to ridicule him better he was sure. I can be very stealthy if I chose to be, they grinned at him. You didn’t notice me trailing you for more than a week until I chose to reveal myself did you? They were right, and while he wasn’t about to lie about it, he chose to simply remain silent instead, hoping that they would drop the topic.

What made you think so deeply that you forgot you had a body this time, the fairy asked. Did you not see what just happened, the raven rumbled, no of course you didn’t. You have no idea of the utter absurdity of what just happened. The fairy shrugged, I saw her suddenly collapsing and screaming to be quiet even though there was no one around. And then at the snap of a finger, she was calm again and continued on as if nothing had happened. It was very strange indeed, but not the weirdest thing she has done so far. Exactly what about my little witch drew your attention in the first place? I was hoping the other divinities wouldn’t take note of her too soon. She’s bound to step on some sore toes eventually, but I’d rather see her just enjoy life a bit first. He grunted at that, my, possessive are we? How about an exchange, I’ll tell you, if you tell me why you protected it for a week with a ward that repels any animal bigger than a fox.

It? The azure fairy asked, puzzled. I know you place even less value on mortal life than most of us, but that’s pretty low even for you. The reason is quite simple, I took pity on her. The way she was brought into this world was horrible, there are good reasons we abandoned that approach to summoning heroes a long time ago, and use portals these days. I can’t believe she’s even mostly sane after going through that. And instead of being received with open arms, with teachers and all the resources she needs to grow like other heroes. She is just dumped into the middle of nowhere, naked and wounded, without a word of explanation. And what did she do when all of that happened to her? She prayed, not to ask for help, but just to tell me about how happy she was that it had happened to her. Can you even imagine that? How could I not give her just a little reprieve, a chance to settle in this world for a bit, before being thrown into the grinder.

The raven looked at her, considering her words seriously. I doubt that it has come out of that experience as sane as you think it has, he replies. The utter absurdity I was referring to is that it didn’t simply calm down quickly. It stepped outside of time to do so. I don’t know where it went, or how long it stayed there before returning here, but it was seamless. Just like what drew my attention the first time it manipulated my domain. It doesn’t use arcane or divine energy to create a spell form that affects the flow of time. It grabs hold of it directly, and shapes it to its will. In the same way that it manipulates all other energies around it, to get the effects of spells that mortals would either need years of study to learn, or rely on the energy granted by a divinity like us. I believe that it is a new kind of voidtouched, and that is worth further observation.

The azure fairy stared at the raven. You can’t be serious? Voidtouched’s mere presence in the material plan unravels the very fabric of reality. They cannot be reasoned with or controlled, when looking into their mind, the only thing inside is desperation to return to the void. There is a good chance that a hero summoned in the way she was comes out voidtouched. Which is a big part of why the technique was abandoned in the first place. However she has shown none of these signs.

I have some theories around that, the raven continues. I think that it either suppressed the part of itself that had gone insane while being dragged through the void when it arrived here, separating that part of its personality from the rest. Or that an entity latched onto it during the journey here, shielded its mind, and is still steering its actions. Of course, it is also possible that it was just lucky, or that it wasn’t summoned with the old defective spell, and someone designed a new variant that can better protect a mortal mind from the ordeal. However, since she was just dropped here with seemingly no care for the outcome, I don't consider that likely. No, it's far more likely that whoever did so wanted to create a voidtouched. One that would grow powerful enough out here to become a serious threat before anyone noticed it. And considering that even I cannot determine who did this, the culprit is likely another divine.

The way it manipulates reality around her also led me to a previously unthought of possibility. What if a voidtouched’s ability to unravel reality around it is not a direct side effect of its exposure to the void. What if being voidtouched gives one the ability to manipulate reality directly through their will. And the reason we’ve only seen it manifest as unraveling reality so far, is because the experience has turned all of them insane, making returning to the void an all consuming thought for them.

The fairy frowned, and considered his words. I don't think she is possessed, they said after a while. I checked her thoroughly for that and found no traces. It’s only one possible theory, the raven replied. But you have to admit, that this ‘intuition’ it follows without hesitation is very suspicious. It’s like it's afraid to make any kind of significant decision itself. If this ‘intuition’ would tell it to jump off a cliff, it would. If it would be asked to set up a major ritual, I’m sure it would follow the instructions without questioning what the outcome would be. It’s eagerness to be possessed by this ghost it latched onto only strengthens my belief for this to be the case. If an entity approached it while it was suffering in the void and offered it relief, I’m sure that it would have grabbed the chance with both hands, and even willingly erased her memories of the event happening.

The fairy slowly shook her head, she couldn’t deny the possibility. The little witch shared all of her thoughts and concerns with her freely. And while she did have a strong desire to take control of her own life, there was an equally strong part of her that just wanted to let go of all responsibility. To follow without question, someone she considered worthy of her devotion. She hoped Deegan was wrong, but only time would tell.