The World Walkers: Unknown World: Niamh: The Shyder’s Gift

[k_a_webb]

Shyders are now probably canon, but it’s not definite yet.

The Shyders, to most people, were nothing more than a story. Some of the races used them as a cautionary tale, telling their children that all the doors to the other worlds were dangerous and the Shyders were proof of that. Others told wonderful tales of the power of Shyder venom, which could give anyone a new magical power, and there were even people who sold fake Shyder venom, which unfortunately made them a lot of money. If the World Walkers had chosen to believe that the Shyders existed then they could have done something to stop the trade, but they buried their heads in the sand instead.

Niamh listened to the stories, watched the traders sell their fake venom, and tried not to laugh at it all. There were people who had met, if it could really be called meeting, the Shyders, like her, but they all kept what they knew to themselves. She would never tell her story to anyone, in part because she didn’t think anyone would believe a true story when there were so many fake ones flying around, unless she was certain that they had truly met a Shyder.

It was easy enough to prove. When Niamh pulled up her trouser leg there was a tiny scar on her ankle from where one of the younger Shyders had bitten her and only someone who had a scar just like hers could see it. That was a part of the Shyders magic. She was grateful for it, because it meant that the three people she had told her story had also been granted a gift by the Shyders. Of course there were those who hadn’t been granted a gift by the Shyders. During her short time with them she’d noticed what looked like three people wrapped up in Shyder silk. A Shyder had explained to her that each of them had been misusing their powers and they were simply doing what they were meant to do.

No one who told stories of the Shyders was entirely certain what their job was. Even those who’d visited the Shyders weren’t certain, but it seemed as though they were some form of gatekeeper. If someone stepped through one of their webs and needed something, whether that was a punishment or a gift, the Shyders gave it to them. Niamh wasn’t certain why she’d been given a gift by the Shyders, because she’d never felt as though she needed anything more from her life, and yet she’d been given one when she accidentally stepped into one of their webs.

When Niamh left the Shyders had told her that she would never be able to find a web again, because she didn’t need anything more from them. In a way it was a relief. They weren’t pretty creatures, not like some that the fae had created, and she didn’t ever really want to see one again, but at the same time she was a little disappointed. Until she reached her home, which had given the venom time to work, she hadn’t known what her gift was, and now that she did she wanted to thank them. It had changed her life.

Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.

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[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

No typos found.

>>Shyders are now probably canon, but it’s not definite yet.<<

*happydance* I love crowdfunding, in part because it facilitates things like this.

>>Others told wonderful tales of the power of Shyder venom, which could give anyone a new magical power, and there were even people who sold fake Shyder venom, which unfortunately made them a lot of money. If the World Walkers had chosen to believe that the Shyders existed then they could have done something to stop the trade, but they buried their heads in the sand instead.<<

*LAAAUUUUGH* "Lalalalala no drug problems here!"

Talk about a case of denial that could literally bite them on the ass! I love this so much. Oh, the plot potential.

>>When Niamh pulled up her trouser leg there was a tiny scar on her ankle from where one of the younger Shyders had bitten her and only someone who had a scar just like hers could see it.<<

This is such a cool addition; so is the silk wrapping.

>>Until she reached her home, which had given the venom time to work, she hadn’t known what her gift was, and now that she did she wanted to thank them.<<

Wow, that's wistful little regret, wanting to thank someone and not being able to find them.

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[zeeth_kyrah]

Wow, that's wistful little regret, wanting to thank someone and not being able to find them.

That's actually a pretty common thing toward the end of life, and something I've had to deal with as a psychopomp, once a darkened soul achieved enlightenment. Spirits can go many places that the incarnate cannot, but surely a prayer of thanks will always be well received.

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[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>That's actually a pretty common thing toward the end of life, and something I've had to deal with as a psychopomp, once a darkened soul achieved enlightenment.<<

Good point. I've also seen it much earlier, when someone receives aid from a good samaritan in a time of need -- and then the benefactor just disappears, often without leaving so much as a name. It's the kind of thing done by random strangers, or occasionally angels, that helps keep society from coming completely unglued. But it leaves people just that little bit unfulfilled, if they don't say thank you at the time.

>> Spirits can go many places that the incarnate cannot, but surely a prayer of thanks will always be well received. <<

Sooth. It's interesting to see how spirituality works in kajones_writing's stories, because there's a whole Deities World collection about deities as people and how their relationships work -- and then there are other settings without much attention to religion, or with totally different religions. So the matter of prayer is ... left open to interpretation in many contexts.