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She’s waiting. She has been waiting for a long time. She doesn’t know how much longer she will have to wait. But she will. However long it may be.
…
She thinks a lot. Not anything about herself in particular. She suppressed a significant part of her identity to stand at her post. So she thinks. There’s not much more to do when watching out for the ancient, far away evil.
She stays focused, never looking away from the fringe. She doesn’t get the mercy of dissociation. The evil she looks out for will come suddenly, she mustn’t lose focus.
…
She doesn’t have a name. Not anymore. She once had one. So very long ago. She lost it the day she took the guard. She knew it would happen. She tries not to think about the past. The time when she had a name, a life and people around her. She has a purpose and she knows it.
So she waits patiently for her end. For when the supreme evil will return. She will take it out and it will do the same to her. She’s the only one who can.
…
Sometimes she wishes it would just come a little faster.
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It isn’t always just her. Every once in a while someone will come. Some brave adventurer, someone looking for advice, a lesson. But it’s rare. The journey to her post is dangerous, most aren’t able to make it. And even then, she doesn’t let just anyone up. She wished she could. Wished someone would just stay with her, keep her company as she takes the watch. But no one can. So she waits, looking out for the Outskirts, for her home, for the world she helped to create. And when someone comes in need of help, when they manage to make it up the mountain that she stands on, she helps. She helps the best she can without leaving.
She likes it when they come. It’s hard not to feel useless, when you’re just standing in place, never looking away, never doing anything else. Even though she knows she’s not. That she’s protecting everyone she ever knew and those she never did. So she enjoys the reminders that her stand matters, that she’s looking out for the people of her home and that she can do more while still keeping her guard. Plus she is still just a human, and humans are social creatures, who seek company. Especially when alone for such a long time.
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And when the time comes, and she destroys the evil as it will destroy her, she thinks she will be happy. She will finally go to the Other. Will finally at long last drown in its beautiful song. She will advance to the next stage of existence, to all her friends and family, to all the people she stands here to protect.
…
The Echolands are not a permanent home for anyone. Some stay longer than others and she stayed far longer than most.
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She tries not to think about it too often. Of when she will be set free from her stand. She knows how alluring the calling of the Other can be and she can’t let herself slip. She created a sanctuary for herself on the mountain. She knows she’s powerful and that as long as she stays here she will prevail. So she stands there, gazes over the edge and waits. Waits for the supreme evil to return. And when it does she will be ready. They will take each other out and she will finally rest.
…
She doesn’t have a name. She had one once. Oh, so so long ago. Maybe she will get it back, when she finally departs from here. Until then, she is She Who Stands at the Summit.