Some years later….
Nyssa was cold, wet, and in pain from having given birth a few days before. The relationship she’d been in was nothing special to her — a one-night stand to get a job done, and that was all. But to hold the baby in her arms? She could forgive the job that led to her choice. She could forgive anything for her beautiful boy. Keeping her child close, she paid an inn for a room for a few days, and got out of the cold rain.
Setting up a bed for her son, she then fed him and waited for him to sleep before changing and fully warming up, then laid down for some rest. Should he stir, she would hear, and she would damn well do whatever it took to protect him, no matter what it may be. They stayed three days before her nightmares began. It had honestly been years since she’d worried about the piece of crystal lodged in her body, and quite honestly there were times she forgot it existed. It would pulse in her head, and she would see that obsidian bastard and hear his awful laugh, taunting her — “You think you’re rid of me?” she’d hear him say. “Oh, the plans I have.”
Her nightmares gradually became more twisted, and she woke up frantically one evening, coated in sweat and grabbing a dagger, staring wildly about the room looking for danger – nearly attacking when she heard her son. Immediately dropping the dagger, she scooped up that which was most precious to her, and held him close. She had nearly destroyed him out of paranoia, and it was getting worse, not better.
When her son was calm again, she laid him back down gently, then searched through her bags for parchment and pen, and began to write. She’d made an awful decision to find a family to adopt him, and was writing a note for her son when he grew older.
Dearest Toox,
Nyssa Plainbrooke
I hope that is still your name. You don’t know me, but you will learn. My name is Nyssa Plainbrooke, adopted child of Viridia and Kelbelar of the now deceased Silver Legacy. I am your mother. You may have asked yourself about what you are, why I didn’t keep you. I promise those answers, and will explain myself.
By now, you’ve probably noticed you are different from most. We are changelings, though I unfortunately cannot tell you much about us, as my own parents died when I was small. Your father is not someone I have kept contact with, and does not know about you. As for me, you were the dearest, most precious creature to ever come into my life, yet I learned I could not keep you. There is a sickness within me, a kind of evil I must cleanse myself from before I can trust myself to seek you out once more.
Now….should you ever wish to find me…seek out a group called Silverguard, particularly a construct with the designate M1337. They might be able to help you find me – if that’s what you want.
Please know that I love you dearly and pray you are doing well, that you find happiness and live a good life. I tried to choose a good family to raise you — I hope I wasn’t wrong. What will you become, I wonder? What kind of life will you lead? I do not know – but I hope to learn. I hope I am able to meet you. Until then, I have a small bit of advice. As you grow older, you will face difficulties. That’s just a part of life. The best you can do, is keep things simple. Be something you can love, something you can understand. If you can love yourself, then happiness should hopefully follow.
With all my love, your mother;
With the note written, she folded it carefully, and deliberately, intending to shrink and conceal it in a simple figurine, deliberately made to look like nothing special — it would be something he could call his. After some searching, she found what she thought would be a good family for him, and spoke with them at length, before tearfully handing over a good bit of gold, the ring, and her son, explaining that his name was Toox, and he was to be given the ring when he was old enough to wear it.
With Toox safely behind closed doors, in better care than what she could c currently provide, she pulled her hood over her face and left. It was the hardest thing she ever had to do, but she needed to be rid of the nightmares and paranoia once and for all. I will see my son again she kept telling herself, and it motivated her onward, ever searching for answers.