Story

"As the warning went unheeded,
The Prophet despaired.
Vengeance won men over,
Chaos following in its wake.
Darkness grew and the chasm opened wider.
Many teetered on the edge,
And few did not fall."

-Second Book of the Essence, Amaris

Her transformation was not entirely uncomfortable to watch.

As Keepers, it is our duty to look upon the acts of men and record their various pathways, forever seeing yet never interceding. This particular mission is no different, yet somehow the act of keeping watch was made more intimate by her metamorphosis from young sailor-trader to revenge-driven thief.

She sailed to the City from across the ocean so she might trade goods and visit with her cousin but was instead blindsided, bewildered, bewitched. Where would a frightened young woman go? What manner of beast might consume her? Ah, if only she had known it would be no physical beast that nibbled furtively at her heart.

I watched as she took up with the old pagan, he who the Lady of the Greens had long ago cast aside. I watched as her broken, desperate will was slowly forged into that of dangerous iron - hot as a coal and sharp as a dagger. No Garrett was she, but the old pagan knew many tricks of the eye and taught her well.

Tiptoeing here and there, tying threads of fate near and far, interweaving the many cords that would seemingly choke her, how could I intervene? From the beginning, it was her choice to seek revenge for her cousin, it was her choice to take up the tools of a thief, it was her choice to let the old man subdue and remake her. It is forbidden for Keepers to intervene and I break no rules, save those thoughts that are kept away from prying eyes. The observations made now are ones which will not be read for many years, long after this shell of a man has fallen to dust.

I am often given the task of watching far more mundane creatures, but this time I could not help myself, I could not help but watch the curve of her hair, the tattoo upon her cheek as it pulled upward during one of her rare smiles. The flick of her wrist as she notched an arrow that would prove to be deadly or daring. Yes...From naive sailor to taut warrior.

This transformation has been entirely all too delicious.