Winter was cold… and it was always a sad time of year for those living without a home. When the night turned dark and the land froze, there were often many people who died on the streets. Sitting up in my room in the heated tavern, I looked out the frosted window. I could see it all…

The shivering of the old man, who would tell stories to the little kids whenever they came by. His health bar gradually depleting while ice began to settle on his clothes. He wasn’t strong enough to withstand this cold with just his body, and I knew that he’d be dead by morning.

But there wasn’t any more room in the tavern. Mister Jace had brought in as many people as he could, filling up the dining room with blankets for people to take shelter. The old man was one who volunteered to leave, so a pair of young felyn boys could take his place. Even now, he still had a smile on his face.

It’s okay, mister… I thought to myself as I watched his life fading away. This isn’t the end. I’ll make you better. Then you can keep telling stories.

He was too nice for me not to want to help. And really, isn’t that what Sheawynn is about? Helping others, no matter the cost? And… being with your family.

Thinking about that, I fought back a few tears and placed my other hand on the glass. You’ll be better soon… I thought to myself, reaching out for his spirit. I saw his eyes widen, his lips parting in a brief cry as the last of his life left him.

Downstairs, I could hear a few children crying, and it sounded like they heard him. Like they knew that he had sacrificed himself for them. I pulled his spirit in, and placed it in a jar to hold in the black space. Next winter… he’d come out again.

With the jar of smoke safely stored away, I moved back to my bed. For the first time since I had arrived in the city, I asked Daddy to come out of the black space. He appeared next to me, wrapping his arms around me. I needed to not be alone…

Winter passed slowly, people only venturing out during the day, or when they could take a fire stone to keep them warm. Of course, those who were high enough level didn’t have to worry, and could be safe because they were strong. It was the children that were in the most danger, huddled near the stones inside to keep warm.

Once spring came, and the cold fell away to warm rain and flowers, the children left the tavern. I had gotten to know a few of them, but… I didn’t let myself get too close. I wanted friends, desperately so… but I didn’t want to mess up again. Not like I did with Jess. I liked it here, I liked these people. I didn’t want to leave.

When spring gave way to summer, I knew it was time for the first test. The man I had pulled from the street when I first came into the city should be done preparing now. He should be ready to come out.

Excitedly, I ran through the streets, leaving the city for the first time in months. The only safe place to do this was in the forest, where nobody would be able to see. But… I had to make sure that he didn’t see me as well. Looks like we’re playing Ninja’s Shadow. I thought, a small smile playing on my lips.

Once I got out to the forest, I quickly found an area with a lot of trees clustered together, their branches practically touching. This would be the best place for me to hide while I do this. So, I climbed up the tree, and made my way up to those branches.

Down near the ground, I created the hole to the big black space, and began pulling the energy through. Focus, Dana. You’re a smart girl… what did he look like? I needed to remake his body. But I had only seen him once, and it had been a full year since then!

While the smoke began to pour through the hole I made, I did my best. I shaped the smoke into the body of an old man, wrinkles covering his face. I remembered he had a crooked nose and narrow eyes… I hope he doesn’t notice anything’s wrong.

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Once the body had been made and the hole closed, I was almost done. I needed the ‘binding’ seal, as Daddy called it. In his journals, he said that this is normally a symbol or something physical to stabilize the aeon. But with me, he used my soul itself as the seal. That’s what made me so special.

It had taken me a year of thinking back to Daddy’s books, but I had finally figured out what that meant. With the body done, I reached into my black space and pulled out one of the jars, the one I had first placed in there. Then, I dropped it from my branch, letting is shatter into smoke on the ground.

I controlled the smoke that emerged, pulling it into the body I had made and carefully attaching it, all the while praying that this worked. I felt some activity within the smoke that hadn’t been there when I did this with Jess and Daddy, and it even felt like the spirit was almost attaching itself. I just had to guide it, and it did the work for me.

When I was done, I ducked back behind the branch, waiting. If this was like them, he would just stand there… probably staring at me. But… if it worked…

“Huh? I thought…” A voice spoke up, and I had to cover my mouth to prevent a happy shout. It wasn’t my voice! Carefully, I peeked my head out beside the branch, and saw him looking around. He had an expression, a voice! His mind was there!

Slowly, I stood up from the branch, and began making my way to another tree, out of his line of sight. I didn’t want to be discovered, or he’d know that it was me that did all of this. I didn’t want to get in trouble for making them better. How would that even make any sense?!

Anyways, I waited for him to wander away, back towards town before I called Daddy and Jess back out. Since I knew how to fix their spirits now, it was just a matter of time! First, I had to pull them out of their aeon bodies, at which point they seemed to collapse, no longer being held together by that ‘binding seal’.

Then, I put both of them in jars, storing them away in the black space. One more year… one year and then Daddy would be all better, and Jess could go home. I whispered a small apology to her for keeping her away from her mommy for so long.

When I rushed back into the city, bypassing the checkpoint with my usual trick, I made my way to the slums again. “Have fun?” Mister Jace asked me with a smile when he saw me come back to the tavern. I didn’t tell him why I was going out, of course, just that I had wanted to go play for a little bit.

“Yup!” I nodded quickly, grabbing a broom by the wall and beginning to sweep up the floor while humming softly to myself. Even he noticed that I was in a rare happy mood. However, he didn’t ask any questions. He simply chuckled to himself, muttering something about ‘that age’ and walking off.

I felt like I shouldn’t ask what he was thinking about, and simply went back to doing my chores. Today was too good of a day to spoil worrying about things like that!

A few days later, Mister Jace came to my room, holding a small box. “Do you know what day it is, Dana?” He asked, a warm smile on his face.

I gave it a bit of thought, before realizing what he meant. “Is this the same day I came to the tavern?” I knew it was only a few days after I got into the city, and that was when I took that guy off the street, so it should be that!

He nodded his head, setting the box down on my bed. “That’s right. It’s been one year since you came to live here. I wanted to get you something to celebrate.”

My eyes widened, darting towards the box. As I opened it, he continued talking. “I know you don’t like eating in front of everyone, so I didn’t make much, but I still hope you enjoy it.”

Oh no… I thought inwardly, my worries confirmed when I opened the box, seeing a small chocolate cake with a single candle sticking out of it. If I was still able to eat normal food, I would have loved it. Chocolate was always my favorite.

“Thank you…” I said in a hushed voice. I knew that Mister Jace had put a lot of thought into this, and was just wanting to make me feel at home.

He didn’t say anything, simply standing up and walking out of the room, gently closing the door behind himself. Once he did so, I threw the cake away into the black space, eyeing it sadly as it vanished into a hole in the sky. That would have been a great cake…

I huffed, laying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. Now that I knew how to make people better… I could do it to anyone. Nobody had to die anymore. They just needed to… go to sleep for a year, right?

Yeah, just sleep for a year, then they’d be all better. Soon, I’d be with Daddy again, and Jess would be with her mommy. Then everything will be better. Nobody will need to be sad anymore.

Shaking my head, I gave my face a couple gentle slaps and hopped up from the bed. No time for that now! I still had work to do!