eyes

	Axio rose from his bed, as rested as he could be under the circumstances.  He stumbled into the bath, rubbing his aching eyes.  The first rays of the sun weren’t up yet in his window, but morning was coming.

	He scrubbed his body down and scraped the fuzz off his face, grumbling to himself about underground fighting and sailing being unnatural.  He washed his face clean and stared blearily into the mirror.

	He squinted as he noticed something awry.  Was there a smudge on his eyes?  He walked back into the bedroom and lit a candle, then walked back into the bathroom and peered into the mirror.

	Axio nearly dropped the candle into the water.  His eyes weren’t smudged, they were just simply different.  His light blue eyes had been replaced with what looked like faceted blue gemstones, but his vision was the same!  He set the candle on the edge of the bowl and gingerly probed his left eye with his hands.  Sure enough, the slightly yielding orb of flesh was gone, replaced by a cold piece of stone.

	He let out a frightened sound as he registered the change.  “What?  What in the world?” he managed.  “Ryaire, what is this?”


	Cavria was just finishing her own morning rituals when she heard somebody walking quickly through the halls of the rectory.  She poked her head into the hallway, making sure she had her amulet on.

	“Axio?” she asked, baffled.  He rounded on her, and she recoiled.  “What?  What happened to your eyes?” she demanded.

	“I don’t know!” he hissed.  She winced at the genuine fear in his voice.  She had never heard him so unnerved.

	“Hey,” she said urgently, shutting the door behind her.  “Hey, be calm.  Let me see.”

	Axio stooped over, opening his eyes wide.  Sure enough, the meat was simply gone.  The little gems inside swiveled slightly, turning and moving in the sockets like normal eyes, but they were just dead stone.

	“Okay,” she said, thinking furiously.  “Can we get to an apothecary or a magical healer before we meet up with the others at the Caves?”

	Axio let out a shaky breath.  “We can see my grandfather; he’s got a ton of experience with healing.”  His voice was getting rougher by the moment, and it showed in his words.

	“Okay, we’ll go see Solen,” she said, trying to calm him with her tone.  She was scared too, but now he was the one needing her to be calm.


	Solen straightened up from his stoop.  “Well, Axio, this isn’t something to fear,” he said tiredly, massaging the small of his back.  “This is the progression of your being.”

	Axio very clearly wanted to demand what that meant, but Solen continued.  “My grandson, you are becoming what your soul has been all along,” he wheezed, and I swear I saw pride in his weary old eyes.  “You are becoming angelic.”

	Axio swallowed. His hands were shaking.  I rested a hand on his bare shoulder, and he leaned into it.  It was a disconcertingly child-like gesture from the enormous warrior.  “I’m becoming an angel?” he asked, in a very small voice.

	“Well… no, not exactly,” Solen said carefully.  “But you are coming into alignment with Ryaire’s vision for her faithful.  Your eyes are now those of a Solar, specifically an angel attuned with the element of wind.”  He gestured at Axio’s eyes.  “No, Axio, you are starting to resemble my father.  He became an angelic Exarch after his death, so he could follow Ryaire into eternity as her beloved and lieutenant.”

	“But you were born before he ascended, when he was just a mortal,” Axio pointed out, trying to calm himself with his own reason.

	“Yes, but you are her Chosen,” Solen reminded him.  “Ryaire loves those few dozen angels whom have aligned themselves with her, and you are coming to resemble them.  Your bloodline is simply hastening their manifestation.”

	Axio wilted.  “So this will keep happening?  I’m going to keep mutating?”

	“I would prefer that we both think of it as ascending, not mutating,” Solen said.  “Am I a mutant?  I show the light of the Astral Sea, and none call me mutant.”  It was true.  His faint glow of holy light was throwing shadows on the walls behind us.

	Axio flushed in embarrassment.  “I’m so sorry, grandfather,” he said miserably.  “That was very rude of me.”

	Solen shook his head.  “You are afraid, think nothing of it.  To answer your question, however, yes, you will continue to ascend.  Eventually, you may not be so terribly different from an actual angel in your appearance.  Your eyes are but the first of your changes.  What will the others be?  I have no idea.  When?  I do not know.  They are coming.  I would wager, though,” he added, “that you shall ascend more quickly when you use your divine power.”

	I could see that Axio wanted to say a whole lot more, but instead he stood.  “I see,” he said quietly.  “Thank you, grandfather.  Wish us luck in Undermountain.”

	“Goodbye, Axio,” Solen said, with an air of sadness tinging his voice.  “I know Ryaire will keep you safe.”

	“Or just keep us,” Axio said in the same voice.  He hugged his ancient grandfather and stepped back.  The distress was gone from his demeanor, replaced with the ever-inviolable rock of his faith, but this new distraction hid his happy self.  “Goodbye.”