Disgrace
Time has passed, the world has grown.
New creatures have grown in power, claiming our empire as their own.
And my people let them.
I watch now as the appointed leaders argue and bicker about what our role will now be.
“..we are not to interfere! This is their time, and we are to watch, nothing more!”
“We shaped this world, it is ours to command! We cannot simply sit back and let them destroy our vision!”
On and on the arguments went, neither fraction giving way. The Other Kind kept silent, watching and waiting for our decision, for they had already made their choice.
What it was, they had yet to share.
I ran a hand through my dark hair and left, disgusted by their indecision.
The answer was simple, and always had been.
I felt her follow me, as she always did. But I continued down the corridor until coming to a pathway that led outside.
Only once we were out in the open, did I stop and turn to her. Today she had her golden hair in a long braid, though her moonlit eyes were tired.
“Well?” I asked, searching her eyes. They spoke to me, as nothing else did. Though I had no idea what she saw in mine, which were the color of smoke.
“They do not want to come to a decision, because they fear the change which would inevitably follow. They fight, so that a decision can never be made.” Her voice spoke the truth, yet I turned away. I knew the answer, and knew how it could be implemented.
But I feared what it would mean.
“It is so simple for your people. They do not have to face the moral questions that the solution brings. Why must it be like this, Nayeli?”
I knew my use of her name would bring light to her eyes, for I seldom did so. But I did not look at her.
Instead, I looked out past the valley we lived in, to the forest which bordered it. Due to the magic of the Other Kind, our home was shielded from those young creatures who ruled the world from our ancient empire. Though every once in a while, one of those creatures would stumble into our sanctuary, and we would turn them away after stealing their memories of this place.
I saw one now, stumbling through the long grass.
This creature was one of the animal kind, a species with the shortest lifespan of all Terrarth's creatures. This one was young, barely a yearling. I watched it, wondering what had brought it to our land.
“Wait for me in the council room.” I told my companion, making a decision.
If my people would not choose to take the first step, I would.
I allowed my form to fade, until I was nothing more then shadow. Then I slipped though the dark pathways, until I was behind the creature. I rose out of shadow, solidifying enough to get hold on the creature, yet still be able to take it through the dark pathways. It didn't realize what had happened until we were in the smoky otherness of the pathways. I chose a path, taking it to the council room while the creature struggled against me.
It was young, and now that it had shifted to its bestial shape, I could identify the animal within. I had caught a coyote. It was male, and having realized that it couldn't escape my grasp, the pup shivered in terror.
I came to the end of the path, and left the dark pathways. As my form reshaped itself to a more solid state, silence was broken by cries of outrage.
“What is that creature doing here? Explain yourself, Nifol.” Lemiunix the Elder brought silence to the room with the quiet command of his question. I bowed my head in respect of his attention, though he did not deserve my loyalty.
“Elder, I have brought a solution to our new role in the world.” I let my gaze travel across the room, meeting the eyes of both my own people and the Other Kind. “We need not interfere with the growth of the younger species, but we cannot isolate ourselves from them any longer.” The council members, our appointed leaders, listened in silence, their thoughts impossible to determination. But I would not keep silent any longer. “We have a gift. We are the shadows of this world. We walk the hidden pathways, but is that the only use of our power? No.”
I lifted my left hand, allow them to see the ring I had borne my entire life.
“This ring, my buan, is the key. With our buan, we can live with those other creatures, without fear of discovery. We know the power our buan holds, yet we have feared using it!” I looked at Lumiunix, and knew what the look in his pale eyes meant.
He would convince them to use my idea, but they would not accept it at this time.
And it would be the death of me.
But I looked at Nayeli, and slipped off my ring.
It gleamed silver in the light of the council room, a promise to seal my fate.
I turned to the young coyote that, though I had released my hold on it, was frozen in terror next to me. I grabbed its hand, and slipped my buan onto its finger.
It was painful, having part of myself linked to another. But I forced myself to carry on with my idea, not quite knowing if it would work.
My form shifted into shadow, and flowed into the ring. Then, through the connection my buan had created with the creature, the were-coyote, I took control.
It was hard, for the coyote was terrified of me. But it was weak, still just a pup. So I was able to take hold of its mind, and place myself in the fore.
I looked out through the coyote's eyes, to meet the astonished faces of my people. Then astonishment became a horrified uproar.
“...we can't posses other creatures!”
“It's a removal of choice!”
“But we could be among them, part of them, without interfering!”
“This is interfering!”
And on it went, the coyote's ears picking up every voice.
Lumiunix raised a hand, and silence fell.
He looked at me. “Nifol, this is going too far. Though there may come a time for this use of the buan, it is not now. But because you have shown us how this may be used, we cannot simply ignore this action. So from this moment until we deem otherwise, you are banished from our places.” Another uproar, for none of our people had ever been banished before. I felt cold, even though I had seen this possibility.
I bowed the coyote's (or my) head, and back out of the room. Nayeli followed, as she always did. Even after this, she was still my companion.
“You do not have to stay with me.” I spoke, the young coyote's voice higher then my own. She touched my shoulder, forcing me to turn and look at her.
“Nifol, even in this form, you are my companion. We are a pair. I will not leave you.”
I bowed my head, letting her words touch my heart.
Living in disgrace wouldn't be as horrible as my people imagined.
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