The changes in appearance for Saanvi were both subtle and striking. She had lost that wholesome, healthy persona that had attracted so much attention from the men of this world. She no longer radiated the girl next door aura, and in its place was the ethereal beauty that all Kelpie enjoyed in their Seelie form.
She kept the lighter skin tone those the higher Caste Hindu idolized, hers a variation of wheat-like coloring. Her eyes had changed drastically, taking on both the shape of Sidhe's eyes as well as the Tri-pupil aspect our people were known for. Instead of gradients of brown that she had been born with, variations from dark to light, her eyes were graded in shades of honey, the sequence opposite of what was considered normal even for the Sidhe.
This illusion of light to dark made for a stunning visual effect as the rings appeared to collect and funnel light inwards towards the pupils. The colors acted like an optical illusion, giving those that stared into them a sense of falling into unknown depths.
"Although I can't be certain," I said beginning a conversation that wouldn't be comfortable for either of us, "chances are high that your children are Kelpie now too. You need to understand what that means."
I was forced to avert my gaze, as tears began to fill eyes that were already capable of enchantment. The flecks of gold and honey took on a luster that added an extra dimension to the changes she had undergone. The enchantment that any who looked into those eyes might fall victim to.
"The Kelpie has been historically linked with the Seelie. Partly because our people have aligned with the espoused goals of their Monarchs. Mostly because in our bi-pedal form we most resemble the Seelie ideal of perfection.
"But this form is only one of three," I continued demonstrating exactly what I meant by transforming into horse then water serpent form.
"We have learned to master the forest, field, and water of our world in each of our forms. The open expanse of nature has claimed us, just as we have claimed it because we have welcomed this ability for what it is.
"We are molded, our souls carved out from the Void by Belisama. We are a gift from our Goddess, created not long after the Universe formed to espouse those ideals that are part of her Domain. The attributes of valor and bravery.
"My status has changed my faction from Hinduism to Tuatha de Danaan," Saanvi said interrupting my explanation, "does that mean I am part of the [Priest Caste]?
"The Tuatha de Danaan do not ascribe to [Caste]. The relationship you form with the Gods is personal. There are rituals of sacrifice, but those sacrifices are limited to blood and sex. None of the Tuatha de Danaan are so barbaric to demand we sacrifice each other. Nor do our Gods place one person's worth above another's.
"There is no priesthood, no nunnery. We are nature personified, and nature cares little for prayers or entreaties," I explained.
"Does faction mean anything then?" She asked.
"For the most part, no," I admitted. "Seelie, Unseelie, and Tuatha de Danaan faction all serve the same Gods. But there are certain perks an individual will gain being a member of a certain faction.
"The Tuatha de Danaan faction is in the ascension at the moment. Buffs of fertility a driving inducement, a clarion call for our people that have found themselves stifled, our ability to bear children decreasing until it seemed extinction was all but certain."
"Extinction?" She exclaimed in surprise. As a member of the Hindu Pantheon, her people were more concerned with over-population than extinction. If His Majesty hadn't answered System's quest, not only would this chance at Changeling never have been possible, she would have found herself part of a dying people.
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"Does it hurt to change like that?" Manju, Saanvi's attendant asked drawing our attention to the children she was watching.
Both children had transformed. The youngest having assumed his horse form, while the older transforming into his serpent form, allowing him to leave the crib he had been placed in to join his brother. Once he was safely ensconced in the same bed, he transformed from serpent to horse, curling around his brother to offer protection and comfort.
"Not at all," I assured her, "in fact, it feels wonderful. Kind of like how you feel when you stretch your back to relieve the kinks and loosen muscles that have tightened over a day's work."
"Did your parents teach you how to change? They are so young; how can they transform already?" Saanvi asked.
"Not how we change, instead, how to maintain our form and change only when we willed it," my words were no sooner spoken, than one of the children snorted and shifted from horse to Seelie. He still slept, the change an involuntary reflex, a response to something he was dreaming, but it served to prove that there was no pain involved.
It also served to broach the next subject I would need to address.
"I wasn't sure, until now," I explained, answering the looks of disbelief the women were casting my way while trying to examine the children. Their examination made it harder because neither woman knew how to deal with fur, let alone four legs, claws, and teeth that were more appropriate to carnivores than herbivores.
"He's fine," I said trying to soothe their panic before it exploded out of control, "but the Tuatha de Danaan and Fairy try for balance. You have become a Kelpie changeling, so it makes sense your children would too."
"They don't have to wait until System integration to gain access?" Saanvi asked in confusion. I had to admit to a little pride on her behalf, she may be confused and close to panic, but she was trying.
"Shape-shifting, for the Kelpie, isn't a skill. I'm not sure if there is an equivalent for the Hindu Pantheon, but for most Pantheons, there are races that are born with traits specific to their race. For the Kelpie, the ability to change shape is inborn a genetic adaption. It is a part of what and who we are.
"My people have had most dealings with those from Olympus and Asgard, so I am familiar enough with them to site an example. Consider the Pegasus. They are born with the ability to fly; it is not an adaption of System. Our ability to transform is no different, the ability to shift is what makes us who we are.
"The Goddess Belisama created us in this image, so the strictures and limitations of shifting that System might enforce do not apply. System recognized that the ramifications of denying us our abilities would have been no different from surgically removing the wings from the Pegasus," I said trying to make my symbolism clear.
"You and your children will need help. You, to learn to accept your alternative forms, lessons that will continue until your shifts become fluid. The children to teach them control and discipline. That goes for all of your children, including those yet to be born."
I hadn't tried to coach my words in subtlety. I wanted her to know exactly where the next stage of this conversation was going. For the Hindu, especially a young woman of faith, the discussion we were about to have, about the consequences of last night's revel would venture into territory that was not suitable for her no matter her previous [Caste].
"The Sidhe have long used the ritual we conducted yesterday, it has roots in a dozen or so fertility rights. The reason we use these kinds of rituals are many, but for this conversation, I will only touch on a few.
"What we did last night, was ask Fairy to expand, to extend the reach and scope of that realm into this world. To accomplish this, the very magic that makes up Fairy needs to be steeped in the immense creative energies that occur during creation. The same creative energies that are found in procreation.
"Fairy gave birth, a type of asexual reproduction. It allowed the Universal paradigm that it is constrained to serve to splinter. This place. This Sithern. This is an exact copy of Fairy that exists in every Sithern, on Talahm, and in the Summerlands.
"The orgy that occurred last night, the frenzied consumption of food, drink, and sex was required to provide the creative spark this splinter required. But as I have mentioned Fairy and the Tuatha de Danaan strive for balance. The hedonistic energy that was required to spark the asexual event was repaid. Those creative energies reflected, touching upon the nature of fertility.
"Once Fairy was well and truly established, at the height of wanton disregard and revelry, Fairy returned the blessing of fecundity. There were children born last night, created as the Sidhe shared the energy and magic that make them unique. Those children that share this creche.
"But there were also children conceived naturally, children that will be born in a proscribed manner for most races, after many months of incubation. For the Kelpie, a woman can expect to give birth in eleven months.
"I don't speak of these subjects to shock but to inform. The chances that you are pregnant after last night's debauchery is almost guaranteed.