Niango

Rayanelle continued her life's work. Another balm jarred, another tonic brewed, another salve stocked, another day awaited. She hadn't realized how quickly night snuck in, and deftly, she lit the candles within her meager abode. Herbs meant for protection, peace, and sanctuary dispersed within the colorful blue, green, and white wax. However, some forces in the galaxy paid no mind to mortal creations.

She wasn't sure if it had been minutes or hours after lighting those candles that a frigid breeze blew through her home and huffed every last of those meager lights out. However, she showed no fear and lit the candle directly beside her again. She could feel a wicked gaze upon her, swept in with the wind, a single set of crimson eyes masked within a human-shaped fog in her meeting room. Rayanelle didn't dare turn around until she heard the wet squelch, a footstep towards her, demanding her attention.

<< I do not need to tell you the crime you've committed today, >> the spirit sang, her voice quiet yet lyrical, joined with dozens in ominous synchronization—a sorrowful requiem. << Why have you sought to undo my will? >>

Rayanelle turned to see the shadowy figure, nothing more than the blackest night cut with those glaring crimson eyes. Instinctively, fear consumed the woman, but she knew better than to fear this girl. Her heart felt safe, even if her mind cried out to flee. So she squared her footing and remained strong where she stood.

"It was your doing then. Why?" Rayanelle refused to raise her voice against such a force, yet she could not help but challenge it. She was shocked at the very least to hear that it was not the older but the younger of the two who had made this choice. "Did you not share the regrets you carried from forgetting who you were, for forgetting everything about your people? For living among the Jedi, those who sought to protect you in life and now save you in death? How can you dare to do the same to another person?"

<< My memory was stripped from me in a power struggle between the two families of my people, >> the ghost explained calmly yet still firmly. Quiet, confident certainty. Without any room for negotiation. << I took his memory to protect so many in one fell swoop. How can you look past the danger he willingly put himself in to find me? To rescue me from a destiny from which I do not need saving? He never knew me, not the real me. He chases after a specter, a girl who never existed. A girl he pretends is real—was ever real. And he endangers not only himself but also my people and me. He has proven that the only way to leave the past behind, to leave me and my people alone, is to forget. >>

Darkness swelled and consumed Rayanelle's home, leaving nothing but blackness in its wake. The fog within her meeting room dispersed, yet she could feel it, standing mere inches from her. And those eyes, demonic and wicked, opened and stared daggers deep into her soul, hooking her in place like a downed animal, like prey caught by a predator.

<< You sent him to the gallows, you fool of a woman. I must redo that which you sought to undo, and I will not leave this string of fate unraveled. Your family's time in aiding us has come to an end. I thank you, >> the phantom paused, a breath of icy wind wrapped in scorching heat of a sun's fire, << and yet condemn you, Rayanelle Di'Nova, our final shaman. >>

Rayanelle could feel it again, those talons scratching over her scalp, her skull, her mind—an eye for an eye. Yet Rayanelle still managed to smile as she stared deep into the crimson abyss. She accepted the destiny chosen for her. She would not bow down in fear or regret now. This spirit was wrong. Oh, so wrong. Yet their wills were final regarding this pact, and Rayanelle had openly and willingly chosen to break it.

Rayanelle knew, even before her whole world went dark, that this fate was a mercy.