The Blue-eyed Ones

The following account and discussion are taken from a book bearing no title, deep within the vaults of Temple of Letitia located in Temple Square.

The old man looked around smiling as he bounced the babe on his knee, Sasha's youngest. "So the old Tales hold no mystery for you? Well what if I told you of something the Church of the most Divine Justice keeps locked away in their oldest vaults? As well they should because why would they tell that the Most Divine Letitia has Mortal servants? Servants that are not bound by dogma and tradition."

"The Lady already has servants," a voice, Stephen, sneered, "the angels."

"And the church!"

The old man sneered back. "The church is full of men who scribble in dusty books and forget her essence is that of Justice, naked and pure. And the angels are inherently loyal to Lustris, as the first was his lover. Tuneric has his own servants, so it is only right that the most fair lady would desire servants of her own. Mortal, as to not upset the balance in any large way. And so she sent her angels to search worlds and realms as far from our own as we are from the stars above."

He looked around, as if daring reproach. "And in time, for time flowed different in the early days, an angel came bearing 2 babes. In form they were similar to a man, in feature vastly different. One a hatchling lizard, with dark green scales and ice blue eyes. The other a kitten, dark Tabby in color, with eyes so dark as to be blue black. There was a softening in her face as she looked at them, a mother's love In her eyes as she kissed each on the brow. Their eyes glowed blue as she gave them her blessing and power. Then she turned to one who brought them. 'Find more, blue eyed and powerful, for they are mortal and shall not last long.' Then she turned and gently gave 2 more the children. 'The hatchling to the South, the kitten to the north. Watch them until nature accepts them as one of her own.'"

"Nature! I thought they were the Servants of the goddess?"

"A life hard one in the wild grant's gifts of strength and vitality. The strength to wield the goddess's power, and the endurance to withstand it. And cunning enough to rival the greatest thief or assassin. And nature herself tends to impart a gift upon them. The strength of an auroch, the savagery of a wolf, the stealth of a wild cat, the cunning of a fox, the regalness of a stag. Gifts to aid them in their own endeavors as well as the goddess's."

"If they are so powerful why haven't I heard of one?"

"Their numbers are few, for even in the vastness of worlds not all are able to serve Justice Divine. Though they tend to be more in times of upheaval, when chaos stalks the land, when brother turns against brother, and small faults become large ones. Though they tend not to last long in times such as that, for they are Mortal and can only channel the Divine for so long before it burns through them. And I would wager you have heard of at least one of them."

"We have?"

"64 years ago, vampires came out of the mountains with the intent of taking the village of Ismir by force. One Soul alone held them back until a Runner could return with the Lord's army. Blue Lightning crackled around her, discharge from the sheer amount of Divine Power she channeled to protect us. And I watched as she smiled at the Sun and then crumbled as she released that power, her force of will being the only thing keeping her together."

The old man's voice dropped and a haunted look entered his eyes. "The Church came not long after, and anyone who admitted to having seen her was taken never to be seen again. I stayed quiet and left soon after them. I knew I had to find out the truth about the Blue-eyed Ones, as their enemies call them. And those same enemies have knowledge, provided you can pay the price. Some days I wish I'd gone with them." He stood, handing the child back to Sasha. "Thank you for the food and the warmth, I will leave tonight so the church can't accuse you of harboring me."

I watched as a look of shock and mild horror crossed the Chief Archivist's face as I escorted the man out of the room. "I was unaware any of the Witnesses of Ismir were not under our protection. He will have revealed as much knowledge as he gained." She turned to me. "Issue the order to all the Archives, large and small. We need to find him before The Giant does. He Tends to make examples of those who use dark secrets to reveal the nature of him and his ward."

I blinked. "You mean…we work with him? He is blasphemous!"

She met my eye with a hard stare. "He is a useful if unruly Ally. He does things we cannot or dare not do. And we are both servants of the Most Divine. And he spares more souls than when an angel seeks retribution. This is high ranking knowledge, do not make me regret having you here today."

I nodded and bowed my head. "Of…of course." I looked up. "How much is true?"

"A good deal, which is concerning. We have been tasked by the goddess and they themselves to keep knowledge about them safe. As you know the Angels hold no loyalty to Lustris. And they are also blunt tools, heady on their own power. When they stride the land the just as well as the unjust perish, similar to how you must take good flesh to cut the rot from a wound."

"And how they are found?"

She smiled. "Not angels but Phalidoptera." My eyes widened and she nodded. "There is more than hearsay to changeling rumors. She finds babes who would not survive or live full lives, and leaves her handcrafted replacements in their place. Then she alters them to better suit her sister's purpose. The blue eyes are her gift, a rare trait and one not passed on to children they may have."

"How many are there?"

She shrugged. "We know of 3, of which 2 have wards which while unusual is not unprecedented. There is The Northman, who as his name suggests has found the place among the northern tribes and works and lives among them. The Wild One, a man-sized cat folk who stalks outside of the elven forest with her ward. Her main form of balance is to aid the elves in keeping humans out. And The Giant, who roams with his ward across the rest of the Kingdom as a bounty hunter. He is the oldest and likely most powerful though we hope he doesn't prove it. And there may be more, in times of ill-content there usually are."

"What happened at Ismir?"

"Have you not been to the capital?" I shook my head and she smiled. "A miracle. The entire village owes The Kind a debt they could never repay. She was as her title implies, gentle almost passive. There were those of us who wanted to strip her of the title Blue Eyed as she acted so different than any before. They were all proven wrong that day. Afterwards we gathered the witnesses and headed to Heliene, intending to declare her a Divine Hero. However her fellow, The One Who Hunts, ambushed us. With blue eyes glowing he demanded we destroy all of our records save those important to internal affairs and to keep the witnesses secluded. A few tried to object and were shown a glimpse of the power displayed before Ismir. They relented rather than face the vampires fate."

"Why did she die? If she was such a good person…"

"A mortal can only hold a sliver of a glimpse of divine power. The Blue-eyed can channel more power than that of the holiest priest of any of the Gods, and for hours or days at a time. What The Kind channeled was so far beyond that we assume she became the equivalent of an Angel. All that she was burned away, leaving only an echo that faded when she returned that power. The ultimate sacrifice, all of the Blue Eyed can make that choice but very few has found themselves in a situation where it is necessary." She stood and straighten her clothes. "You asked fine questions. Send this transcript to the capital along with the missive, it shall be used as a teaching Aid when it is time for someone to learn. And I trust you know what will happen if these secrets leave this chamber."

"Yes Archivist."