Incapable de mourir? Amuné a été surpris par la réclamation. Le double son des mots, une langue qu'elle ne connaissait pas parlée, et un autre sens plus profond résonnant avec son âme, qui l'a surpris aussi, mais il la dérangeait beaucoup moins que les choses sombres qui attendaient aux frontières du monde. Quel que soit le pouvoir de l'autre fille, le plus jeune enfant ne se détournerait pas comme tout le monde l'a fait.
Quand on lui a demandé de l'aider, elle n'était pas sûre au début de ce qu'on voulait. Mais comme l'étrange adolescent travaillait pour se libérer de la masse des tubes, Amuné comprenait. Les voir libres était inébranlable, tout comme le manque de sang, et l'enfant tremblait. Mais elle n'aurait pas laissé son malaise décider de ses actions. La chanteuse voulait dire sécurité, ou au moins quelque chose de plus sûr, et elle n'abandonnerait pas cela si elle pouvait l'aider.
Avec la dernière des lignes enlevées, Amuné a fait un pas en arrière. Et maintenant? L'autre fille n'a pas semblé être très forte, et vu combien de temps elle avait été là, l'enfant plus jeune n'a pas été surpris. C'est arrivé quand une personne a dû rester longtemps au lit pour s'améliorer -- quand elle s'est levée, elle a toujours été faible et pas seulement parce qu'elle était malade. Mais elle était trop petite pour aider l'adolescente à sortir de son cocon enchevêtré. L'enfant regarda autour de lui, espérant trouver quelque chose qui pourrait aider, ou inspirer une idée. Au lieu de cela, elle a vu une femme dans la porte. Elle s'est évanouie et s'est enfuie, son expression a peur. La pierre était l'endroit où toutes les pires personnes ont été envoyées. Quel genre de criminel lui a fait face? Comment a-t-elle pu s'échapper et aider l'autre fille à s'échapper?
Name: Amuné Ris
Abstract: a frightened child with a troublesome gift
Appearance: Only eight years old, Amuné is a slight child, more angles than baby fat. She has wide gray eyes and short mousy brown hair. Her clothes are not in the best condition, stained and torn in places. At the moment she is extremely shy and wary of others, scaring easily. Her constant companion is a battered kitten doll that she will not leave behind without a fight. There’s something odd about her, but it’s hard to determine what.
Details: Amuné is the child of a Rover who settled down with a village midwife and healer. She was a strange girl even as a babe, though she didn’t register on the snare screening, as she lacked any visible traits. But she was indeed a snare, and one with an unusual gift. Past, present, and future: a Seer with training can glimpse them all, learning from what has come before and predicting what lies ahead. Amuné did not receive any training, however, and even when her father realized what was going on, he cautioned her to keep it secret, and do her best to avoid visions. Despite her efforts, the girl was not able to prevent them completely, nor was she able to keep from describing them aloud with total success. As a result she was viewed as a queer child, and ended up having only a few good friends.
Her mother was unnerved as well, mostly because she tended to notice primarily how Amuné’s moods frequently reflected downward turns in illnesses or stillborn children before the fact. It didn’t become a serious issue until the child’s seventh year, however, when her baby brother became quite ill. The girl did everything she could to help, as she adored her brother, and was really worried about him. Her mother saw it instead as an omen of disaster, and made use of forbidden arts to ensure the boy would recover. The healer was able to cure her sick son, but it came at a price. She was corrupted by the bargain, and became host to a lesser minion of one of the old gods.
Amuné could tell something had changed in her mother, but not what. However, the creature viewed the child and her ability as a threat. It didn’t take too much persuasion to turn the woman against the young Seer. She’d never been comfortable with the girl’s strange moods and odd fits that didn’t have any evident source. She was a superstitious woman even at the best of times, and the darkness riding her took advantage of that, twisting her to its own ends. Then both she and it turned their attention to the rest of the town. They played upon emotions and fears, sowing anger and doubt. Over time, they convinced the townsfolk that there was something wrong with the girl, that she was a snare that had somehow gone undetected, or more likely a witch, and her fits were evidence of her evil power, that the things she said that were out of place but oddly insightful or foreboding in hindsight were actually times when she used magic to bring disaster. Eventually woman and creature were able to goad a number of the citizens into action.
Things didn’t go the way anyone expected. A cruel twist of fate hit the child with a vision during the confrontation, and her words were taken as a curse. The ensuing chaos left flames spreading through the village, destroying houses and claiming lives. The local guard intervened before Amuné was killed by the enraged mob, but not soon enough to keep her father from dying in an attempt to protect her. Nor did the girl escape so easily; she was judged guilty and sentenced to the Stone.
Songs:
Unlimited Sky, Tommy Heavenly6
Lacrimosa, Kalafina
Prototype, Chiaki Ishikawa (short version; can't find the long one)