Shards

"Shards" is a Season Five thread written on May 3, 2015. 
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
Ingrid Rehan: Ingrid paced her room restlessly. Everyone was back at the dungeon with their dragons, Greg and Lady Grey were alive, there were no injuries to worry about and she should be enjoying the new peace and happiness. Yet she was worrying about a problem invisible to all but her.
She waited for a while longer to let everyone settle down. Then she took a deep breath, located the Warden by sensing the energy that radiated from her, and hurried to find the demon physically.
A few minutes later, she was approaching the Warden from behind. Good, she’s alone. “Excuse me, Warden,” she called, feeling a little nervous.
Nalaagura Ep'ha: Nalaagura, who was sitting on a half-broken down wall, watching the wind roll softly among the trees, turned her head sideways and focused her mind on the girl. I do not know this one. She was with the rebels at the trial…she feels familiar. Yes, little one? How can I be of service?
Ingrid Rehan: “I have a question,” Ingrid replied. “During the trial, when…when Greg and Lady Grey died, your grief released a burst of energy. It entered the minds of everyone near you, myself included, and it doesn’t seem to be fading. I know this because I have the ability to sense magical influence. Can you explain what this means?“
Nalaagura Ep'ha: The Warden frowned and examined her essence with a light touch, eyes widening when she found the tiniest traces of her own influence lingering in the mortal’s mind. She quickly traced over the others’ and found the same residue. It was not possession, it was more like…embedded shrapnel. I’m…I’m not sure. I have never had it happen before. It was…a unique experience and not one that is likely to repeat. Does it cause them pain?
Ingrid Rehan: “It doesn’t for me, and I didn’t hear the others talking about it.” A unique experience? I suppose it’s fine as long as it isn’t harmful, but how would I know? She thought, perplexed. “Well, something does feel different about my mind, but I’m not sure what it is. Can you tell whether it’s permanent?”
Nalaagura Ep'ha: Only time can tell that, little one. She cocked her head worriedly. You were standing right behind me, were you not?
Ingrid Rehan: “Yes. I suppose—” Ingrid broke off as a deity’s energy suddenly flared up somewhere inside the dungeon. What was that?! …Hunter? She mentally circled the healer for a moment, worried and wondering what had changed. She hadn’t sensed that happening before.
Wait, what if…
“Give me a minute,” she said distractedly as she expanded her mind, brushing past the dungeon’s borders and paying attention to the streams of residue magic from battles. She continued outward until she could sense no more, then withdrew deep into herself and tried to restore her vision to normal.
“I just noticed one difference: The range and capacity of my magic-sensing has increased, but I can no longer shut it off completely.” She shrugged. “I guess that’s not too bad. Do the others need to know about this?”
Nalaagura Ep'ha: They may…magic-sensing? How long have you retained this ability?
Ingrid Rehan: “It’s inherited,” Ingrid answered, starting to feel even more gloomy as she remembered her relatives. “My mother’s side of the family has had it for a few generations, although it gets less powerful with each. But almost none of my known relatives are still alive.”
I’m just deceiving myself. Even in the middle of peace and prosperity, I would never be able to forget their deaths. I can’t forget how important they were to me and how they were all torn away from me, always so suddenly, one after another… Her head was spinning. She felt trapped in her memories, lonely, crushed. As though she would never be happy again.
With an effort, she brought herself to focus on what the Warden was saying.
Nalaagura Ep'ha: Nala sensed the turmoil within her and extended a hand and a comforting tendril of her mind, gesturing for her to come sit on the wall next to her. As their minds brushed, the Warden was alarmed to feel her own grief stirring within the human. Come. Do not dwell on things past. Remember them, but do not long for them. What is your name?
Ingrid Rehan: “It’s Ingrid… Ingrid Rehan,” she said, startled by the kindness in the Warden’s words as well as the invitation to sit. I thought our conversation was nearly finished. Nevertheless, she joined the Warden on the wall. “I assume you’ve been alive for far longer than us mortals. Can I ask you…what you think about death?”
Nalaagura Ep'ha: I am a being of spirit, she replied thoughtfully. And thus that is my outlook on such matters. Death is nothing more than the passing from realm to realm. The soul is eternal; it only merely becomes harder to communicate with. I myself cannot die unless it is through another, more powerful deity’s work. Her voice caught slightly as she remembered the Shaper and her hand drifted towards her side, fingering the compartment where the last of her sister lay. I do not carry the inherent fear of the void that mortals do. It is an inevitable ending, but an assured beginning as well.
Ingrid Rehan: Ingrid nodded, staying silent for a moment as she absorbed the Warden’s words. “But you mourn us when we die and you show sympathy for the ones in mourning. You’re so high above us, and yet you’ve brought yourself to care about our fleeting lives. It’s not at all what I have expected.“ She paused, looking at the Warden. Even her face is an emotionless mask, as though that’s how demons are meant to be. “Is it part of the demons’ nature? I’ve always been curious how and why you changed so much. If you don’t mind telling me,” she quickly added.
Nalaagura Ep'ha: Her fingers trailed over her arm as she looked out at the shadowed forest. I suppose I have become more human than demon. Do you know of…of my story? Of the half-breed, Treepelt…the king’s bodyguard…and…well, surely you have heard the tale.
Ingrid Rehan: “I heard about that part, yes,” Ingrid recalled pieces of the story that her friends had told. “But I don’t know enough to understand it. It was Greg who changed you the most, right? How did he manage that?”
Nalaagura Ep'ha: He merely approached me. I was possessing the king at the time, I had returned to camp and instilled fear in everyone after…abusing a few rebels. I pushed him away but he was persistent, and I opened up to him like I had to no one else before. Her violet essence darkened to almost cobalt as she reflected on how it had happened and her love for him swelled. I am…unsure of what our relationship is, exactly. I suppose he is as a younger sibling to me now. It was a strange friendship in the making, but it was made nonetheless.
Ingrid Rehan: Ingrid nodded, looking at the Warden’s dark blue hair with interest. “That’s nice.” A thought occurred to her and she decided to forge ahead, her voice slowly gaining strength and conviction. “It will take time for some of us to forgive; you know how they still fear and distrust you to an extent. But I’ve realised something: I think it’s wrong for us to judge you as though you are human, because there are such differences between our two races. Our values, the way we see the world… It’s all completely different.
“You have done many things that hurt us, but it was because it’s part of who you are. We can say that demons are evil by nature and so we hate them, but has there ever been a clear line between white and black? What is evil? The intent to kill and destroy without reason? You’ve already proved you are far more than that. You’ve proved that you can be as caring as any human. We, who don’t even have this so-called evil nature to begin with…have done many terrible things and some of us never regret them. You know what High Central did to the half-breeds. My parents lost their lives fighting for fairness, because it makes no sense to treat the half-breeds differently when they are just as intelligent and capable as anyone else.
“Our own race has hurt us more than demons ever have. I believe neither of us are better or worse than the other. I believe we shouldn’t hold on to hate when we have a common goal like this. People whom you’ve harmed directly might still be unable to call you a friend, but we can at least work together and try to understand one another. I’m very glad that Greg noticed this earlier than the rest of us.”
Ingrid took a breath, reddening slightly as she realised how long she had been speaking. “And…I thank you, Warden, for understanding, accepting and protecting us.”
Category:Season 5
Category:Events
Category:The Warden
Category:Ingrid Rehan
Category:BOTGD