Where is the Line Drawn?

Sari studied the manacles on his wrists, and the chains connecting them to the table he sat at. He picked at the lock, but without anything to press into it, the tumblers inside couldn’t be pushed out of the way. To his annoyance, his chains were solid and well designed. At least they let him keep his amulet. He adjusted his glasses- such an infernal tool. How he longed to yank them off of his face, the inconvenient things, but he needed them. No choice but to endure the irritation. He still hated them.

A man entered the room, and Sari sat up a bit, taking in his appearance. The man wore the standard garb of an Eternal Sovereign guard; mail, a tabard with the Sovereign’s sigil, greaves, gauntlets, a helm, and a longsword at his belt. Sari wondered at his movement, as it was quieter than he assumed. Perhaps humans had more grace than he’d realized.

The guard took a seat across from Sari, facing him. Sari could not see the eyes focusing first on his face then flicking down to the amulet around his neck, but he felt the man studying him. That prickly feeling of being watched.

“You claim you are known as Aranasari, correct?” the guard asked.

“Sari is fine.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer Curuisarinaeth?”

Sari flinched. “What? No, of course not. I have no idea who that is. Never heard the name before in my life. Total mystery to me.”

His smile was too wide, the corners of his mouth hurting from the rictus. Had this body had wings, they would be tense, still, quivering only slightly with the strain of the lie. As it was, Sari sat rigid, hands gripping the table or gesticulating with extravagance.

The guard’s tone didn’t change from the deadpan, and there was no visible reaction that Sari could determine.

“There is no need to lie here, we know who you are.”

Sari sighed, yielding. “I need to learn how to lie properly. How did you know who I am?”

The guard set down a piece of parchment, letting Sari see it. A sigh was stifled, seeing his amulet drawn with the word ‘Exile’ and the description of his current appearance.

“Of course she’d do that,” Sari muttered, picking it up to read it. “Where did you get these?”

“We make it our business to run background checks on all possible supernaturals and magic users. The fae of your realm also did not bother to hide your existence from us, and it was not difficult to compare notes.”

Sari grumbled, tossing the parchment back onto the table. “Figures.”

Picking up the same parchment, the guard leaned forward and lifted the medallion of Sari’s amulet in his palm to compare it a final time to the drawn image. Sari grew tense, uneasy as the man studied the medallion. Set with a star-cut aquamarine that sparkled in the torchlight, Sari still couldn’t help but feel proud of his work. Runes were etched in the white gold base of the medallion, each character shaped with skilled precision.

Sari let out a breath as the guard released the amulet, the relief palpable. Escaping mortal peril would be its equivalent.

“What do the runes say?” the guard asked, opening a notepad.

“They’re written in Elanali,” Sari said. “Fae-tongue as some of you humans call it. They say, ‘Soul of the Brilliant Star of Twilight,’ if translated to your Common speech. Aniimaana Curuisarinaeth in fae-tongue.”

“Does this amulet allow your soul to possess others, as the exile notice claims?”

Sari fidgeted in his seat, picking at a bit of dirt that had gotten lodged in one of the engraved runes of the pendant. “Er, well… sort of. I don’t have control over it; if someone wears it, the possession is automatic.”

“So, this body you inhabit is not yours?”

Sari removed his glasses to rub his eyes, the conversation heavier than the blocks of stone used to build one of the grand cities beneath the mountains. It certainly felt as though he were buried beneath one.

“It is and it isn’t. A friend of mine helped me find a body that had lost its soul already, an animaexodus. I’m not robbing anyone of their life.”

“But you did not get consent?” the guard pressed. “This is not your body?”

“Skip the rhetorical questions,” Sari said, crossing his arms in discomfort. “You know it’s not the body I was born with. I have a fae name, with fae letters on my amulet, and I used to live in the fae kingdom beyond the mountains south of here. You think I’d choose to be human?”

“Then why steal this body, if you dislike it so much?”

“Sir, my body is buried in a pyroclastic flow beneath lava and ash. It’s not exactly retrievable. And animaexodi are rare- this one took months to locate. Beggars can’t be choosers is a phrase you humans like to use, isn’t it?”

“And that justifies you taking some poor man’s body rather than laying it to rest?”

“It’s not that simple—”

“Then explain it to me,” the guard said, leaning across the table, hands pressed palm down in a posture of dominance.

Sari sighed, resting his cuffed hands on the table. “I made this amulet to protect my soul from the limits of Innate magic, not to possess people. The idea was that if the soul were separate from the body and them magic, then it could not be ejected through overuse of magic. If I was right, then a spell would only fail should the caster overextend their abilities but keep them alive, so their soul would remain with them. It worked too- until I died. That’s when I realized how putting your soul in a magical artifact could be… problematic. I am fully aware, even when I am not possessing a body, but without a body, I cannot see, smell, taste, feel or hear the outside world. I’m just… there. Alone. Nothing to experience but time and thought. And if I had to stay in that void, I would likely go mad.”

The guard’s scowl burned Sari with its intensity.

“But you did that to yourself,” the guard said. “The person you’re possessing should not have to pay the price of your mistakes.”

“They aren’t,” Sari said, insistent. “There’s no one else in here. They ejected their soul doing the very thing I was trying to resolve with my efforts. Their soul is gone, off to whatever afterlife awaits us all. Leaving the body empty.”

“It still is not yours.”

Sari sighed, longing to just go back to his cell. “Can you blame someone in need for staying in an abandoned, empty house? A house no one else is using and would fall into disrepair if I were to leave it? I made a mistake, creating this amulet. I didn’t want this. I’ve asked myself each of your questions before. This is the lesser of two evils. Would you rather I go mad, with no one to talk to?”

“Then you should ask for a voluntary host.”

Sari scoffed, “I should? Okay, I’ll just go up to someone and say ‘Hey, you have a life and all, but I need to borrow your body, probably permanently, while I leave this perfectly good one no one else is using behind.’ Or would you rather I ask them for it before making them soulless or brain dead?”

“It feels wrong.”

“Of course it does! No sentient being in their right mind would choose this kind of life. I certainly did not; I only endure it because it’s the unforeseen consequences of my stupidity. I have lost everything to this mess; my home, my friends, my accolades, my kingdom, my workshop, my body, my name- I could keep going for a while, but you get the gist.”

Sari leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. Nothing but dark stone blocks up there. “I resent my situation. I resent needing to possess a body that isn’t mine. You think I’m doing this to be sadistic, or for entertainment? No, I’m stuck as this and making the best of it. I don’t even like being human; they’re slow, thick, clumsy- this one has terrible eyesight too, and I miss my ears. These ones are too round. I can’t fly, I have no tail, your eyes don’t come in any interesting colors, and humans are just bland in appearance. Everything about your species is aggravating and dull. If you have another option, I’d be thrilled to ditch this miserable body. So, come on, tell me what you think I should do. Go on. I’m waiting.”

The guard stayed silent. A bitter smile crossed Sari’s face.

“That’s what I thought.”

The guard looked at Sari with disgust. “It’s still wrong.”

Sari shrugged. “Then tell me what’s right, short of willingly going mad.”

“Destroy it?”

Sari’s laugh had a sour tang to it. “Oh, how I wish that were possible. I can’t destroy my amulet or I’d have done it ages ago. Unfortunately, I made it too well. Throwing it in lava would only bury it, and afterward, if it were excavated, it would still be in perfect condition. No forge among any of the species could so much as scratch it. I’ve ruined my fate and there’s no going back.”

“You cannot just possess someone without their consent.”

“Then tell me how to get it. I’d be happy to ease my conscience. So go ahead, tell me, I’m listening.”

More silence.

Sari leaned forward, resting his hands on the table in front of him, clasped together, the cuffs still glinting in the light of the torches. Rueful of this victory he despised.

“What will you do if this body dies?”

Chuckling, Sari shrugged, the humor in his tone dark and unhappy. “That’s a bridge I’ll cross when I get to it. It’s not like there’s a charity for soulless husks for me to find a new one.”

“How do you live with yourself? How do you sleep at night?”

“I have no choice but to keep living, and it’s hilarious you think I get sleep at night. This is me making the best of a horrid situation. If you find a right answer to it, I’d love to hear it.”

When the guard didn’t speak, Sari set his hands on the table again.

“Are we done here?”