“What do you mean by my ‘fault'? I didn’t ask for this.” responds Cer with rebuttal.

Shrugging off Cer’s respond, Aaric responds. “None of us did. Nobody asks to be cursed.”

“Are we being punished for being stewards?” asks Cer with genuine curiosity.

Stepping towards Cer, the enchantress with blue armor, M’Alison, chimes in. “That was our first thought too. Our memories are formless when it comes to ourselves. We cannot remember what we look like nor can we go back to our original state. We are stuck in these shapes and forms we choose, but cannot just choose to be ourselves.”

While entertaining Punkin with illusions of naga, Lady Rayne adds, “We once thought we had amazing prowess and power; but when you get stuck in the very illusions you create, it no longer feels like you are in control of your power. You go from feeling full of power to feeling powerless.”

Adding in with a melancholic tone, Mistress Shell, the enchantress in gold and silk, adds, “It’s like we were lost in our own illusions of ourselves. We believed our gifts became our curses.”

Feeling confused and running out of patience, Cer asks abruptly, “Then why am I blind? I am not a seer or a scribe. I had no gift of sight for it to be taken away.”

Upset with Cer’s crassness, Punkin interrupts. “Hey daddy, don’t be rude! The pwetty angels were talking. Never interrupt angels.”

Grinning, M’Alison thanks Punkin and continues to explain, “Yes, it didn’t make sense. That is when we figured it out with Aaric. It made more sense.”

Chuckling, Aaric responds “It didn’t make sense at first. I did not have a lavish house or fancy living, so why bind my magic to havens? Then I realized, my curse wasn’t caused by the ghost and demons like everyone else's. My curse was a sealing curse by Nethmaya. So I wondered if there was a connection?”

Chiming back in, M’Alison responds, “We thought it could be Nethmaya because this type of power is moon magic. The magic of opposites and balance. AND some of our curses are not opposite of our magic or abilities. The curses also didn’t happen until the day Claire sacrificed herself using En-lightning to defeat the Legion that attacked Haeven. It couldn’t be Claire because she is an enlightened bubble witch.”

Growing impatient, Cer calmly interrupts again. “So what is it? How is it my fault or any of ours?”

Offering a warm chagrined chuckle, Mistress Shell answers Cer. “We are cursed by our own faults. The curses are all our faults. My curse is my fault and your curse is all your fault.”

Answering methodically to avoid misunderstanding, Lady Rayne clarifies the explanations. “ When they say ‘fault’ they do not mean blame. The mean ‘fault’ as in flaw. Your curse is your flaw- symbolically.”

Laughing, Aaric adds in, “My apologies, I did not clarify. I can see why you are upset, we weren’t clear when we said ‘fault’. So since it is not moon magic it was not cast by Nethmaya and because Claire only does protection spells, it wasn’t her. We concluded the ghost and demons cursed us by punishing our flaws. Except I am a hedgling so I wasn’t cursed by demons and ghosts like you. I was sealed with a Grand Witch enchantment which Pupu countered- Grand Witch level.”

Addressing Cer, M’Alison finishes her thought . “The ghosts and demons suffered because we failed as stewards. That is what we are punished for. For failing as stewards of the land and dwellers.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Still smiling with melancholic guilt, Mistress Shell adds “And our flaws are now what we have to adapt to. We always chose to hide our vulnerability behind illusions; we also became whatever we wanted or felt we needed to be as shapeshifters. So we can no longer be ourselves and we cannot be seen outside of illusions. That is our curse. We chose to be anything other than ourselves and we now have to live with that.”

Taking a sip of drink, Aaric sighs and expresses his relief. “Well sucks to be you all, but my curse is lifted. I think if we can get to an actual In Convenience we can confirm our theory. Until then, we just live with what we got.”

Mumbling under her breath just loud enough for the others to hear, Lady Rayne thinks aloud. “So we fear no flaws but our own. We fear no curse but our own. How selfish is that?”

Nodding in agreement, Cer responds “I can see what cursed us and why now, but how do we break the curses? We just can’t erase our faults and flaws.”

Scoffing, Aaric responds “That’s the thing. If we create our curses based on our flaws, we should be able to break the curses- as long as we understand how they are connected to our flaws.”

Sighing, Cer sits down and slumps into a rock. “Well that doesn’t work out for me. I cannot see a connection between my flaws and the curse.”

Chiding Cer, Aaric responds coyishly with laughter, “Is it because you can’t see or because you think you have no flaws?”

Joking back with defeat, Cer responds “Both.”

Surprising everyone, Punkin interrupts with a matter of fact tone. “It is ‘cus’ You are not really blind. You see what you want to see. Sometimes you see me and we play. Sometimes you see work and only work. Sometimes you see me sad and sometimes you don’t see me when I am right in front of you.”

Raising their eyebrows with a deeply sad realization, Cer responds to Punkin with an admission of guilt. “You are absolutely right, Pupu. Sometimes I don’t see you because I see only what I think is important. But you are important to me and I should see you because I don’t think you are important, I know you are important.”

Jumping up to their feet with excitement, Cer exclaims. “I think I got it!”

Freaking out with fear, Punkin jumps around while shaking her body and pulling on her clothes as if she is looking for something. “Eww what is it? Get it off. Did you get it? Is there more? Get it off me.”

Kneeling down and reaching out to calm Punkin, Cer invites her in for a hug. “There are no critters, Pupu. Thank you.”

Kissing Punkin on the cheek, then forehead, then her other cheek, Cer pats her face. “You are a genius. I got an idea, not a critter. There are no critters here I can see. The only bug I see is you, little bugger.”

Swatting Cer’s hand away, Punkin hugs Cer and then skips back over to Lady Rayne’s side.

Looking around, Cer squints and focuses on the environment. “I can see the auras. All of them.”

Slightly annoyed with anticipation, M’Alison responds. “Yeah, we know. We heard you are blind except you see auras and some mana.”

Grinning widely while looking around with amazement, Cer responds. “I didn’t know I could see ALLthe auras and mana. I never tried to. I thought I could only see the auras and mana of strong magic. But Pupu made me realize, I see what I want to see. And if I focus enough, I can see all the mana flow and the auras of EVERYTHING. I can see the outlines of rocks, trees, grass, and your dress. It is beautiful and overwhelming. Wow, that is a lot to see at once.”

Tilting her head with curiosity and skepticism, Mistress Shell winces. “ Did you break your curse? Can you see auras better now?”

Closing their eyes, Cer responds “No, I don’t think I broke the curse. I am just trying to work with it. I am still cursed with blindness. But I can see the mana outlines and auras. Now I have to try to turn it off, because there is a lot to see at once.”

Agreeing, Mistress Shell responds, “Yes, some of us choose to see everything because we think it is all important to us,, and some of us choose to see little or next to nothing that doesn’t seem important to us. I guess you’ll have to choose to see what is in front of you and not get distracted by everything and nothing.”

Sighing with relief, Cer smiles at them with eyes closed. “I think I understand my curse. I chose to judge demons based upon the fear I heard in people’s witness testimony and screams. The last couple days, I have been in battles and all I could see was their emotion and intentions. What people may have seen as a demon, I saw pain or suffering. I saw our friends we thought we lost.

I think I am being punished for all the ‘demons’ I judged when I thought I saw a monster. But under the masking of these recent monsters, there was misunderstanding and pain and the demons were drawn to it. What if all those demons I shrived were just like our friends. What if they were people in pain, attracting the pain of other peoples’ ghosts and the demons that feed off their pain. I condemned and consumed people that needed us. I fed my void with them.”

Looking up with a keen curiosity, M’Alison ignores most of what Cer said, and inquires. “What do you mean consumed people and fed your void?”

Interrupting, Punkin shouts with disgust “You ate people? NASTY. Bleh. Ugh. Ack. Yuck! Bad daddy.”

Looking up and seeing everyone’s aura turn to curiosity, Cer responds. “Wait, you didn’t know? I carry the shriver’s beads. That is another curse I carry. A fault I fear that is mine to hold. I am bound to those ‘prayer’ beads. They house the souls, ghosts, and demons I consume. They are a part of me and I cannot part long from them. I am the Devourer!”