memshare; pixies

You're standing in a land of bright colors and rainbows, the sky a sea of light that undulates and shifts. Instinctively, you know that this is Il Mheg, the kingdom of fae. It's a beautiful place, despite the way the light in the sky never gives way to night, despite how the light hangs like a ceiling over everything with its silent promise that one day, this kingdom will be swallowed by light as well. You don't have much time to take in the surroundings, however, because--

Oh, gods, what next?

Standing next to you is Alphinaud, a bemused smile on his lips as he listens to one of the pixies in front of the two of you. "Yes, yes!" they say, clapping their hands together in front of them. "That will be great fun!" They burst into a frenzy of giggles, and though their next words can't be heard over the music that covers this memory their meaning will likely be somewhat obvious by the way they point at you, and then at Alphinaud, and then back.

What?

You may both protest you're nothing alike, but your habits betray you: both you and Alphinaud take a step back in shock, elbows lifting. You look at him and he looks at you, and both of you turn back to the pixies, Alphinaud trying to find a diplomatic way to say no to their request while you try to block the mental image of Alphinaud wearing your dress and boots firmly out of your mind. That is not what you want to come to mind when you think of your brother! You may have agreed to remain behind and "play" with the pixies in exchange for allowing your other friends to traverse their realm, but there's always the faint worry that if they get bored with you, they may decide to have you stay with them forever... and they've repeated several times how exciting it was to have a pair of twins to play with...

Ah. There are the others, coming over the crest of the hillside. It seems as though Alphinaud in a dress is not an image you will be subjected to this day, thankfully.

memshare; inn at journey's head

It's been a slow day at the Inn at Journey's Head, the sky above a living, shifting curtain of light that never gives way to darkness. That's a blessing; active days are sometimes full of heartbreak and worry, but today you've only slain a couple of lesser sin eaters and the day has been peaceful.

But then you notice a few of the caretakers clustered together by the fire, and you feel the dread rise in your heart. Their drawn faces can only mean one thing, and it never gets easier to bear. It was torture the first time you saw it, and while you've grown accustomed to it now, it still is painful to watch.

The carers have obtained a lemon from Mord Souq, and you watch as they halve it and squeeze it into a cup, mixing it into a drink you know one of the patients favors. When they add the poison to the drink, it's in full view of the others--all of you, patients, carers, and guards alike know what this place is for. This place is meant for those who cannot be saved--for those who languish, their lives over from the moment the eater touched their soul but drawn out like a single thread from a yarn. They will slowly become shells of their former selves until one day... they become a sin eater themselves.

The patient is brought to the table and handed the cup. He drinks, expressionless, so far gone that he can't even appreciate that he's been given his favorite treat as one last meal. You watch, your heart hurting and aching and the rest of you numb, because this is the reality of Amh Araeng. This is the reality of all of Norvrandt, the reality you bear witness to because so many people try to ignore it--the reality you hope will one day change when your friend is finally come to this world.

He slumps forward to the table as the poison takes effect. Two of the burlier carers lower their heads, giving him a moment's silence before they begin to lay him on a litter to prepare for the burial that will take place within hours.

memshare; tesleen

There's a terror in your entire being as you run, your boots wanting to sink into the packed dirt and dust, the sky an unforgiving curtain of light beating down from above. You pay it no mind, though you know its presence dooms the region to an eventual death, because all of your attention is focused on one boy... and the angel standing before him.

The eater raises its blade to strike--you're too far away; you won't make it in time; you can't protect him like you've sworn to yourself you would do--but before it can strike the final blow, a young blonde woman comes out of nowhere, leaping and slashing through the eater's wing and saving the boy Halric for now.

Thank the Twelve. She's a wonder, Tesleen, and you can't help the warmth in your heart as she goes straight for Halric to pull him away. You're lucky to have met her--

But then there's a sword piercing her from behind, and suddenly everything's gone so horribly, terribly wrong as she speaks her last (no, not Tesleen, not her, not now) and she screams.

Oh, gods, she screams. That scream is written into the fabric of your mind in an instant, unable to ever be forgotten, as her body is seared from the inside out by pure light, dropping her to all fours and vomiting it up like blood, looking up one last time as her eyes glass over white and tears of light fall, coating her cheeks in glistening marble skin. You clap your hands to your mouth, horror like bile in the back of your throat as she disappears into a cocoon of white feathers.

In spite of yourself you break into a sprint--you can't stop it, but this can't be happening to Tesleen. You've been by her side for months now, sharing meals and smiles, helping her with duties around the Inn. You'd thought...

No... no, no, no, no, no--!

Your voice breaks as she emerges from her stasis, no longer a woman but an eater, twisted and wrong in every way, her newly feathered wings spreading wide and white behind her. Her cheeks are patterned by the streaks of her tears, and as the sin eater who changed--who murdered--her flaps away, she flaps her own wings, boosting unsteadily into the air in fledgling flight. But her face turns toward you, and you would swear that even though her brown eyes have gone, replaced by voids of black that will hold no soul forevermore, she sees you.

"Forgive me... Alisaie..."

And she's flying after the sin eater, called by his light, as you crumple to your knees in the deserts of Amh Araeng and sob.

-x-