Mar’Kir left not long after, satisfied with that offering for now. For some, like a certain Inzi who had the gall to accuse Vashnoruk of stealing kids from other local villages, and then come crawling to her doorstep after the doctor refused to speak to them anymore, vague answers like she had given Mar’Kir were all they’d wind up getting if the results weren’t dangerous. She would do no one in this town harm nor allow harm to come by passivity, but she would leave them to be chewed by their anxieties if they were assholes.

This was not the case for Mar’Kir and T’Kere. The head of the local Craftsmen’s Council and the former head of Mutual Security for the region were the first to greet her upon arrival while everyone else threw her sidelong glances and muttered to themselves. They went to great pains to quell false rumors about her for the first few years. The first to treat her like a person instead of an intruder, even taking the extra step to acknowledge that she was a woman instead of just an outsider, offering to help with things that weren’t necessarily needed despite the fact that they both knew she absolutely dwarfed them in power, magical and physical. Brought her pretty gifts fit for the women of his culture rather than “things orcs like''. Treated her as a friend, bringing those gifts just because he thought she’d like it instead of because he wanted something.

So unlike for some others in this town, she wouldn’t stop until she had the answer to his question. Despite what she had told him, things really weren’t so simple as it was made to seem. What she said about spirits was… Generally true, in a broad sense, but she knew this investigation could take some time. And unfortunately, when it came to spirits, “generally true” only applied to a little over half the possible cases.

It was true that what he described young Varo’K doing fit no malevolent spirits that Vashnoruk knew of. Unfortunately, she only completed half her formal education with her people before they angered the sea dragon that cursed them with the plague that wilted and rotted the webbing her kind were born with. The only way to keep it from spreading was to cut it off. An act bordering on sacrilegious under normal circumstances, as many of Sea Orc kind spent nearly half their lives in the water.

The strongest and most skilled of them were usually the most prideful. This meant that their most skilled pilots, divers, repairmen, and especially warriors took too long to make the sacrifice, at the very least losing strength in their fingers, if not their hands or feet altogether. Unlike normal, they couldn’t regenerate that which was claimed by plague, even if they cut behind the infected place.

She was just lucky that she crashed at all. She could easily have wandered until she starved to death, unable to fish. Like everyone else.

What she did learn during her education was revolutionary for the Inzi of this village, though. They were absolutely rife with ill spirits and curses upon her arrival, as was unfortunately common for Inzi who were born among their Orcish or Elven parents. To curse such spawn was common in both societies since neither Orc nor Elf could typically stand each other and bore great pride in their bloodline, even if they didn’t actually fight for awareness of the power of the other. This meant an Inzi not bred true would be the result of two unforgivable sins, desecrating their bloodline and mingling with the enemy. Their lives were often rife with misfortune.

Their hatred of her was understandable. Would she feel the same if her society drove her out at spear point, telling her the world would be better off if she died? That it would save her ancestors shame in the afterlife?

If she was only given a weapon upon expulsion in the hopes she’d turn it on herself?

Inzi were only marginally less intolerant than their parent races. This fed back into the same problem, with Inzi hunters often ambushing members of the other two races when given the chance. She had beaten more than one member of this community senseless in self-defense.

How dangerous the cycle of hatred was.

But what she did learn showed her that it would seem that neither curse nor known ill spirit were behind the child’s behavior. Depending upon one’s viewpoint, the truth could be seen as far worse or far better.

It took about a day and a half, but she had finally ruled out all other answers. There was but one thing such behavior brought to mind, and it was a child her own tribe had seen.

They brought great honor, power, and pride to her tribe. They grew remarkably fast, though not unnaturally so, and were of incredible wit from the moment they could speak.

They were an outsider.

One who was brought here from another world by god-like entities called “Administrators,” the arbiters of some ancient power with unknown ends and means no less mysterious. They were confirmed to be involved in but few things, but what was certain was their role in bringing Outsiders in from beyond this world.

They were always extraordinary from the outset, with skills of varying levels that would normally take quite some time to learn, even full sets of career skills at the level of experienced beginners. Not only that, but they seemed to frequently gain experience at an accelerated rate, and if not that, they took less harm than most with no explanation present in items, skills or stats.

For the village this was wonderful news. They would doubtlessly bring great tidings. Outsiders were brave, smart, quick to grow, and almost always strong, nearly to a one. The Administrators chose their agents carefully. They fit this world like a glove, almost all of them doing at least something extraordinary at some point, though they retired like any other adventurer, eventually.

And it was rather common that they served the Administrators. It had been expressed by many Outsiders that they eventually remembered being tasked with something daunting, and many sought to complete it.

To slay three gods, in return for a wish. It is unknown if anyone had ever actually completed the task or if they got their wish, but that is to be expected. Gods would seek these deity killers with extreme prejudice, not to mention censor the spread of such information. If it was well known, then others might get ideas that would be problematic. The gods wanted to be perceived as invincible by most.

The only reason she knew any better was because her mentor gave her a thorough education, as she was meant to continue the oral traditions of her people and pass on the wisdom and teachings of ages past.

Aside from just a wish, they had the power to contact these Administrators if they continued on their quest - which many did not, preferring to instead become simple members of society.

Those that cooperated with the strange beings received boons from them as great as any God or Fae Lord could bestow. One of few who had openly killed a god even got an artifact long thought lost that was of great power. It was unclear what it was, but it was known that they went on to found a powerful nation. Despite the best efforts of some gods, this nation was untouchable, obliterating any organized military effort to eliminate them, and often responding in kind.

The flip side of this surfeit of gifts came at the cost of the parents, and as much as Vashnoruk hoped their humble home could be the birthplace of an outsider, she would not wish this upon her dear Mar’Kir and T’kere.

For to have an Outsider meant to lose a child. They would have the body of a child, the ignorance of a child, but the mind of an adult held within.

Using her advanced scrying and analyze skills, she looked through the child’s stats. She already had an entire career skill set, stats with reduced values that would increase with incredible pace, and notably, Heresy and Taboo, skills that were an undeniable brand of the Administrators. Never seen in others save for those few who managed to prove themselves to the pragmatic entities.

Vashnoruk hung her head. Her poor friends. T’Kere was so excited to finally be able to try again, to give life instead of take it. Yet it would be virtually no time at all until Varo’K tended to her own needs, would need to learn little but those things not mutual to their own world and specific details, and would almost certainly surpass their parents in capabilities at an extraordinarily young age, making them unable to further guide them.

Most telling of all that she was an Outsider, though, was her name.

“Aeva, is it? Well… Welcome to Yuen.”

She supposed it was time for two adults to have a chat.