Watchers

Description: A group of solitary creatures with three sets of white, feathery wings to fly with, and three sets of wings for ears. Their faces are covered with eyes, though they cover them with a mask. They are mostly known for overseeing updates and overall ensuring the universe is running as intended. They hold themselves to perfection and celibacy. Any rebelliousness is met with strict punishment. They are artificially created with magic from their leaders, therefore connecting them all.  They have their own kind of Language, known as signage. It utilizes one hand to speak, allowing them to communicate without sound.

Colors: lavender (main),  white (sub)

Lifespan: Although Watchers do not naturally die, their average lifespan is 10,000 years, making their years 100:1 to humans. 

Location: They all live in a dimension called the Downside Up, which is empty with exception to random floating rocks scattered about. The area is surrounded in a purple haze, although it is always day. They reside in a temple with a holy place called the Sanctum of Seers.

Leader: The Great Watchers, also known as the Great Ones, Great Lady and Great Lord respectively. Though they present as two separate entities, male and female, they are actually one creature. With exception to leaders of the higher species, anyone who gazes at their face will die instantly. They reside within the Sanctum.

Hybrids: Do not actually exist. Folklore states that they are called angels, only having one pair of wings on their back and maybe one for their ears. They only have 2 eyes detached from their body and can only see with them in the world they are currently in. Their lifespan is 1,000 years, or 10:1. 

(Did you like this little infocard thing? I can make these for all the higher species if you do.)

~🌤~

The three of them began to travel around the village. Miesall, of course, refused to say anything out loud verbally. Xelqua found himself staying quiet as well, even as Allec brought them to places Elisha had already shown them time and time again. The day dragged on, Xel feeling the tension between the two others.

He hadn't realized until that moment, at least not as blatantly until that moment: despite being a Watcher himself, his human past still bled through. Of course he was bound to the Watchers, but not as much as Miesall, and as a result, he didn't hate Allec as much as him. Maybe not even at all, dare he say. He was just a bit rude was all.

Finally, the group arrived at the Polyphonia. Allec once again began rattling off all about it, similarly to how Elisha had done, but with more wisdom behind his words. His voice carried them all the way to the top of the tower. "Here, you go first." He offered, pushing Miesall's shoulder to shove him in. The Watcher let out a surprised yelp before he whirled around, about to revolt when Allec shut the door in his face. He quickly leaned against the door, preventing the Watcher from immediately breaking down the door, though he very much tried to.

"Hey!" Xelqua cried in alarm, watching as Miesall flew as fast at the door as he could in vain. "Let him go!"

The Listener merely shook his head. "I just want to talk." He assured, happier than ever to be wearing a mask. The natural Watcher was certainly watching them, and with it there was no way for him to know what he was saying.

"You don't have to lock him up to do that!!" Xel exclaimed, trying to pry him off the door in order to free his friend. His size betrayed him, however, and the much taller male merely took him by his shoulders, holding him in place.

"Just hear me out for one minute, Grian was it? Your human name, I mean." Allec said, the nearly unfamiliar name causing Grian to freeze. It hadn't been used in so many years; how did he know it? The question shone clearly on his face. "There's no time for that. What I need you to know is that you don't need to be one of them. You can be a incompetent human again, which is better than a wretched feathery freak. Better yet, you can even come with us-- be a Listener." The way he spoke, it was clear that he had prefered the latter.

"I-- what?" Xelqua blinked. He wasn't even quite sure how to process that outside of the prick of offense he felt. Then he remembered Miesall, shaking his head. No, he could not leave Miesall, or any of the other Watchers. It wasn't even a question. They were all he had; he had no other place to go.

"I get it, you've been with them so long that they've brainwashed you. Maybe you've even forgotten that they were the ones that forced you into captivity in the first place. I'm sure they've told you how evil we all are, when in truth it's quite the opposite."

"The Watchers--"

Allec wouldn't hear it. "Obey fate, so they claim. So take, for example, a fair maiden. She comes to marry a man as she is fated to. Each night, this man takes all of his anger out on her, beats her progressively worse and worse. Her fate says that she is supposed to bear this until she dies at his hand and he is never punished. So let's say she thinks she's better than that -- that she deserves to leave this man for another, who will love and cherish her, who will never lift a finger to her and certainly never kill her. You know what the Watchers say to that? Damn her to the Void, she deserves to suffer for all eternity for her selfishness, thinking that she's better than fate. That she ever deserved to be loved." he spat.

There was something about the way he spoke, or maybe it was the realization that he was right, but regardless, Xelqua was frozen. He quietly recalled the farmer boy from years ago; the one that was meant to be closeted for life, to marry a woman he didn't love. He had disobeyed fate, choosing instead to join a movement for gay rights. He went on, changing the worlds for the better, at least that's what a player would say. Xel was on the council for his trial, and the verdict was indeed the Void. That man had no right to happiness, that's what the Watchers had decided.

"Hypocrites, they are." Allec continued, unrelenting even as Miesall continued to try and break the door. He was getting desperate now, mustering his strength to send obsidian spikes at it. Still didn't do the trick — just what was it that the door was made of, anyway?!

 'Whatever he is saying, ignore it. Get out of there, Xel! Forget about me!' He begged.

"They say they serve fate, but they don't— if the so-called Great Watchers don't like it, they allow themselves to break it. Rules for thee but not for me." He scoffed. He could feel the door cracking more and more behind him. He was running out of time. "Here, take this. Put it in your inventory— even the Watchers can't see what you have in there, thankfully." His balled hand moved to put something in Xelqua's pocket. The Watcher stepped back, but the exchange happened anyway.

"What—" he began, getting cut off once again.

"Don't forget who you are, Grian. That cloth will help drown out your powers, and if you just come with me, I'll help you become a Listener." He extended his arm to seal the deal, but Xelqua stumbled backwards. There was no way that he was going to take it! He would never leave Miesall or the other Watchers, not to mention, the Listeners were evil!

It was then that the door shattered to pieces, Miesall standing there, breathing heavily, his face a sheet of angry purple. 'That's it, Xelqua. We're leaving right now.' He signed wildly as he dashed over to Xel. He took his hand, continuing to sign as he dragged Xel along like a mother would a troublesome child. 'I knew I never should have stayed here. Just what was it that he told you?' He didn't even give his friend time to respond. 'He was just getting in your head, I know it! That's what the Listeners do— they manipulate as they please, and they murder, loot and destroy as they please without punishment. In excitement, they give themselves over to lust and in joy they lead players away from their fate.' He rambled on.

It was then that an arrow whizzed past both of them. It had happened so fast, neither of them had barely enough time to process it. Not only had Allec quickly gotten out his bow, but he had also shot it in that fraction of a second as well. Really, the speed was impeccable and the way it landed there was no doubt that if he had wanted to, he could have hit them.

Studying the arrow, Miesall frowned. 'Stand back, Xelqua. His arrows are engrained with magic.' The arrowhead was forged out of a Listener's horn, he could see that clearly. He was reminded of his scarred shoulder, the one that had been injured by the same kind of magic years ago. A single mark of imperfection on his body. He moved, pushing his friend behind him, his wings opening in an act of intimidation.

Underneath Xel's mask, he felt his eyes widen as a shrill ran down his spine. Why couldn't he move from this spot, he wondered as Allec docked another arrow in his bow. his heart beat wildly as he watched as obsidian spires crack from the ground, much more labored than they should have been, rise up and greet Miesalt's hand. They weaved themselves together, forming an obsidian sword for him to wield-- a weapon.

"Wait--" He called, watching as anger and wrath poured out from each of them. It was as though he were no longer staring at two people but rather, two people groups with generations upon generations of hate, malice and bloodshed between them. It was in that moment that he recalled Miesall having had said years ago that they always needed to be ready for war because one could start at any time. Could it be that he was really witnessing one unfolding?! Red lights flashed in his brain, warning him of the danger even though the two contenders stood still currently. "Allec, you said your king said not to hurt us, yeah?"

"I also told you that he is a nonsensical joke of a creature." Allec replied in a low growl, his eyes locked on Miesall, his hands firmly on his drawn bow. "Now it's time to make your choice, Grian."

"His name is Xelqua." Miesall hissed back out loud, holding his sword tightly in a defensive position. All of his eyes were on Allec, closely watching his every move. 'And I don't know what he's told you, but it's a deception; a lie. Don't listen to him!'

The former human shook his head, in utter disbelief that he really was this close to war, that the only thing holding them back was this stand off. He had to try harder to get them to stand down. If he couldn't convince Allec, then he would convince his fellow creature instead. He could make him to do just about anything if he was insistent enough, after all. "Miesall--" He tried instead.

'Don't tell him my name!' he signed onto the sword, gripping it far too tightly to sign any other way. 'Now run, Sunshine, run!! Get out of here right now!'

But... but it was just a standoff. Just as long as it was just a standoff, it would be alright, right? At least, that was what Xelqua begged himself to believe. He had to get those two to come to their senses and then it would be alright. "Okay," He said, taking a shaky breath as he stepped around Miesall's wings. "Let's just all take a bit of a chill pill-"

Allec let go of the draw string, the arrow cutting through air like butter. It headed straight for Xel's chest, but thankfully the other Watcher was fast enough to move, blocking the arrow with his sword. He barely seemed fazed by it, immediately turning his gaze to Xel instead. "I told you to run!" he yelled. He didn't wait to see whether or not his order would be listened to or not; instead he pushed him into the center column of the building, between the spiral of stairs. He found himself hurdling down, heading to the ground. He flapped his wings wildly, trying to regain his balance in the air, but he was too flustered to be able to do that. He let out a yell in vain, his limited vision following him down. His breath was taken from him as he slammed against the hard floor at the very bottom of the tower. In that moment, his vision went black and any sensation he had vanished along with his body.

Letting out a gasp as though he had just come from being underwater too long, he sat up from his bed with a start. Had it just been a bad dream after all? He hadn't died in such a log time that he had forgotten what it had felt like. He looked around the room, finding himself in the guest room again. Miesall was gone, which really did mean this hadn't been a dream. He scrambled out from under the covers, rushing to the window. he didn't hesitate, breaking it with his fist. He didn't mind the shards, jumping out and allowing himself to be scratched and cut by what was left of the window. He barely even felt it, adrenaline filling him as he flew off.

He could see the tower now in the distance. It now had large obsidian spikes coming out of it, creating a large hole in the building. It must be that he had been out longer than he had initially thought, not waking up immediately. He saw a small figure flying almost lopsidedly in the sky, one that he could see was soaked thoroughly in sweat and spattered in blood as he drew closer. Locked in battle, Miesall hadn't even noticed as Xelqua drew nearer. He dodged arrow after arrow, each one harder to miss.

Time was ticking. Miesall was losing. Xelqua needed to get to him as fast as he could, and he cursed how even being the second fastest Watcher in the entire Downside Up, he still wasn't fast enough.

He watched as his friend produced spikes like throwing stars, throwing them both at once at the platform in which Allec stood.

It happened so fast. It happened so slow. A singular arrow, soaring through the sky. It connected to Miesall's body, and as he let out a shriek, his wings tensed up and he went hurling towards the ground. 

And that one arrow would be the one to spark the change in the horizon.