Sight, yet Blind. Any

[Shen'zen]

And Shephard I shall be, for Thee

He could see.

Was blind, but now, he sees.
Awakened from an unnatural slumber, he slowly came to. The ground beneath him cushioned him, cool and moist. Ready for the coming Winter. How many Winters had passed in his absence, in his state of rest? Would anyone know him anymore, the Fey Monk who tends the Fairies' children? The one who heals them with his glowing touch. A conduit of the Fairies. Their direct link to Their beloved creations.

His eyes were solid white as he looked around, as though they were still blind. The Meadow. It was the same as he remembered and yet it was different. The tall grasses were trampled in places, he saw as he slowly rose to his feet, as though a number of bodies had been suddenly thrust upon the land. Most had seemed to keep to their kingdoms, last he remembered. What had happened? And why was he here, finally awake after an indeterminate length of time? His muscles ached with disuse.

He looked over his shoulder and examined himself with a trained eye, searching for the differences between then and now. The first thing he noticed were his tattoos. The runes of magic covering his skin were no longer lit with the power of the Fairies. They were the source of his power. No, not his power. The Fairies' magic. He was only the tool that channeled it on Their behalf.

Had They released him from his sacred duty?

No magic. No healing. They gave him back his sight, as though he'd never sacrificed it in the first place. Did that mean the mother and child he'd healed were also undone? Would they be dead now, their healing stripped away and returned to his eyes? It had taken a lot to save them, enough that he should never had healed from it. And yet, he sees as clearly as if it had not happened.

The silence within him confirmed his disconnection. He would not be able to aid anyone now, not even from a fever or a bruise. Nothing at all. Was he to continue on as just another of Their creations? Was he meant to give up his path in life? Perhaps..this was Their way of telling him he was missing something, something that he could not have in his eternal service to Them. But what?

He stood in quiet contemplation, a large mass of thick muscles and draping black hair, looking over the others near and realizing how similar he was to them now. Where was he to go from here? Without Their voices, he had no purpose, no guidance. Who was he now?

Who am I?
What am I not seeing?

Shen'zen

[Alivia]

Alivia

in the land of gods and monsters

The curious thing was since the fairies had snapped their lovely fingers,  there had been a ceaseless amount of horses awakening from their traits like a patient in a hypnotist's office. Primal screams and wet, wet tears tore through Beqanna almost daily. It had taken Liv a long time to understand the fear and pain behind these outbursts.  Beqanna had once been a land of magic.

Some few years ago, the indigo girl and her twin had been birthed amidst the chaos (and nearly killing their mother permanently). And so when Liv picks her way across the meadow in the dead of winter, she spies a dark man twitching this way and that as though he had been nibbling on the blue cap mushrooms that grew occasionally in Beqanna. "Hello there-",  sweetly enough, "are you okay?" Liv eyes him with a nonexistent quirk brow.

She has never known a life without her immortality and it has made her bold. The young blue mare steps towards the oddly white eyed male with a slightly scrunched face, curiosity and confusing clearly on her features. Alivia isn't even sure if she have spoken to the dark walnut stallion but once again her immortality makes her bold and a wee bit careless.

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I'm typing in the car lol don't judge this poop post. Liv will warm up.

[Shen'zen]

And Shephard I shall be, for Thee

His head carefully turned to the tinkling of a precious voice. It was a little ironic that one would ask if he was alright when it had once been his duty to tend to their own state of health. Each and every one of them. But now no longer, unless this was a temporary affliction. Unless he would be restored again some day, some how. There had to be a purpose for this change.

She was the brilliant blue of moonlight just beneath the surface of a clear mountain lake. Little white fairy kisses lined her neck and forehead in a bold display of their chosen affection for this one. He smiled warmly as she seemed to scrutinize him, eyeing him curiously.

Hello, he chuckled softly at her question, Yes, I am alright. Thank you. Only.. surprised and confused, perhaps. Things are much different than I last remember. He stole a glance around once more, opaque eyes miraculously seeing it all, the number of kingdomless people, the motherless children. He frowned, his brows tightening in concern. And then he voiced his greatest fear, the only reason he could think of for the silence in his heart.

Tell me, have the fairies all perished? Why are there so many here without homes and that lost look in their eyes? Why are they not full of life as they had been? Full of joy.

Something was at odds in the world. Perhaps there was an evil keeping the fairies from their care and maintenance of their children. That would be a devastating turn of events, and he wouldn't know what to do about it. But perhaps it wasn't anything like that. And silently chastising himself, he returned to the present. To the now. Milky eyes came back to the young mare, hoping that she might have the answers to shed some light in this darkness. The gaping emptiness within his hollow shell. She was touched by their love; she might yet know what he was not seeing.

Shen'zen

[Alivia]

Alivia

in the land of gods and monsters

The stallion, stained in the likes woodland and char, his mare's milk white eyes floating eerily against the swath of inky black forelock, seemed to dance and flicker like candlelight as they looked about. In turn, Liv's own did the same as she sought to see what it seemed he was searching for. A bemused grin touched her features as though he were playing a game but the price of his words are paid for by her smile, it floats away as she grasps them. "The fairies grew angry..." She begins gently enough but only for the sake of the stallion's unabashed fear. The pale blue of her own eyes attempt to shift away from the stallion's but the ghostly coated ones of his own seem to latch to her. She is helpless in the grip of those pale eyes.

Liv had never not known her immortality. She had been born too young to know a life before the Reckoning but the wails and feral distraught could only give her a glimpse into what life had been like. "The fairies came...they took back what they gave. They taught the greedy a lesson...Beqanna was humbled." Liv ties up the explanation as gently as possible. Where a haughty bold mare had been was replaced by a more quiet, more compassionate one. She watches the furrow of his brow as he attempts to decipher this new land like ancient hieroglyphics. "I'm Alivia...Liv." One lightly feathered hoof draws her a place closer with an slightly extended muzzle, her blue skin shivering with a mixture cold winter chill and nervousness.

HTML by Call

[Shen'zen]

And Shephard I shall be, for Thee

He frowned. The fairies? Angry? Yes, he supposed they could have a temper, but it had never come about in such a way before.
"The fairies came... they took back what they gave. They taught the greedy a lesson... Beqanna was humbled."

The explanation was painful, though her voice was soothing in its way, and he was empathetic to their loss. It must have hurt them all so deeply, the cost of that connection to the fairies. Their rebuke was a hard lesson. It was clear he must have missed a great time of turmoil to have brought them to such a decision. It was clear he was a part of that reprimand, with his eyesight returned, his runes darkened, his link with their powers severed.

His eyes shifted to her again as she introduced herself, and he smiled apologetically.

I'm Shen'zen. It's a pleasure to meet you Alivia.
She took a step closer and extended her muzzle. His expression softened as he met her with a warm breath and a polite touch. Her dazzling coat shivered, though, and his brow creased in concern.

Oh, I'm sorry. You're cold, we should find you some shelter from this chill. His blank eyes cast about immediately, welcoming this new direction for his life however brief it may be. At least it wasn't standing there confused and lost, so empty. This was his purpose now, and after that.. Well, he'd cross that when he came to it. For now, warmth for Alivia.

There, how's that? he asked, gesturing to a small copse of trees. A little nook of shelter in the open meadow. Though he was in his prime, ageless as he was --or had been, he didn't think to offer the warmth of his own coat. Thick, natural muscle mass insulated him along with a heavy amount of draping, gently curling black hair, and yet he didn't consider anyone might find it helpful to them as he took a step forward in preparation to guide her. If she wished.

Shen'zen