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There is someone in my valley. The mind of a shard can encompass a whole planet, at times, but I send all of my focus to the girl who kneels in the tangled jungle where my eldest child lives. She will be important. I must handle this one with care.
I appear before her in my human form, so as not to frighten her. She does not look up immediately. Her tangled red hair falls around her haggard face, obscuring her from view.
"What blessing do you search for, child?" I ask, letting my voice echo.
She looks up, swipes the tears from her face. Tries to be brave while facing me, which I can admire.
"I want… I want to be stronger," she says. "Not physically. Emotionally. I want to be able to withstand the world."
I can tell by looking at her that there are cracks in her spiritweb. But she is also intriguing for other reasons. She is bright, on a Spiritual level. In the Cognitive realm, two of my children follow her: one dead, the other alive.
From this, I can see that she is already strong. Too strong. She is cracking, brittle.
I come closer, my body emanating soft Lifelight, vines of the forest trailing after me. "You do not need strength," I say. "You need comfort. You need to relax, before you come apart."
She stares at me with wide eyes, shining with tears. "I can't," she says. "Everyone needs me."
"Your boon will be this, then: as long as you stay in this valley, time will not pass. You may take a break, without guilt."
"And my curse?" she asks, trying and failing to disguise the wavering of her voice.
I smile at her. "You are required to enjoy yourself."
My vines begin to wrap around her, soft and gentle, sweet leafy caresses. She looks at me, and I can see that she wants to trust me.
"I am a goddess, Shallan," I say. "You can rest assured I will keep my promises."
She gives me a wide smile, and lets herself relax into the touch of the forest, the limbs that I control, despite my human avatar. I will give her what she needs, in order to emerge all the stronger.
It is the least I can do for one so brave.