#iovara

this woman found out that her gods were a lie and in it, she still found purpose. that there is still something you can do and you dont need the gods. and she had people to her cause. and the fact that, despite being betrayed, despite being tortured, despite being trapped in this prison, her will cant be broken. bc so long as she exists, its a reminder to the gods that someone knows the truth, that they're not all that and about mankind's willpower is stronger than the gods. "i will remain here with joy in my heart knowing ive shown them who they really are"

But. also. the inquisition was succesful is erasing her. nobody remembers iovara and even if they did, you cant reach her without godly aid. everything about her has been forgotten. its the fact that she cared a lot for the people around her - she didnt want her truth to be a pain, she didnt want creitum to suffer to protect her - and even if she finds peace in knowing she brought truth and freedom to people shes still. gone from history. its so long in the past its been forgotten.

and also her conversation with a watcher whos feeling she reciprocrated particularly hurt me. the fact that, despite being betrayed, she is still happy to see the watcher/inquisitor again even saying my love has come back to me. the fact that she valued their opinion so much and that if depending on what you say as to why the inquisitor betrayed her, she is relieved that even after knwoing the truth you didnt choose to live in a lie bc you were righteous and if you did that then how could she know she was even changing people's minds.

its the fact that even if the watcher is not exatcly who she once knew and loved, shes is grateful to have seen them again and feels hope after such a long time. its the fact that you could send her soul into the beyond (and i know depending on choice you can) but *she* doesnt want to. it was particularly painful to me because during the whole game, my watcher was sending everyone's souls back bc no one deserved to die and stay trapped in this plane of existence. but she couldnt do that for Iovara because iovara remaining here, alone and forgotten, means something. its the fact that the watcher is now the one who remembers her and what she fought for and the truth.

𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬' 𝐆𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬

​Commissioned the incredible artist @aeonmistyx to weave this illustration, based on My fanfic writings: Chapter 2 of — Innlið /lɪːð/ host · gate · generation, part of The Watcher Inlith series - Berath Sneezing with Their Eyes Open.

⊙SPOILERS AHEAD⊙

Meet Inquisitor The Eyeless One :

The Betrayer of Iovara ix Ensios.

Anonymous. Agender. Age unknown. Not a godlike, but an entity from the Halls Obscured, atop Wael's lost titan body.

"The Archives contain the sum whole of Eora's history—both the original drafts and the edits. The Collections contain individuals and creatures detrimental to Eora and the work of the gods. " They knew the gods were false from the very beginning. As a spy for the Hand Occult, they joined Woedica's Inquisition intending to apprehend Iovara in the Enclosures before Thaos' people.

But everything changed upon their meeting. A profound mixture of Agape and Mania awakened within the Inquisitor. They longed to help Iovara's cause in a way no other ever could, and prevent her soul and memory from the cleansing in the Wheel. Why would someone brutally betray the only person they loved and agreed with? Fascinated by this perfect riddle, Wael was willing to hide the Inquisitor's true mind from the other gods for two millennia.

The Inquisitor knew Iovara would stand, refuse the Wheel, and witness the downfall of the false gods. However, defying the Cycle creates a massive debt to the gods of death and entropy. To pay this price and serve their self-imposed sentence, the Inquisitor surrendered their own soul to the punishments of Berath and Rymrgand.

They believed a weak soul could not stop the Inquisition during the height of the Engwithan civilization. Through endless, tormented lifetimes as a Death Godlike in The White That Wends, their soul was forced to become a Watcher's soul, growing stronger in suffering - strong enough to kill Thaos and clear the Endless Paths of Od Nua, so that Eothas could consider claiming the adra titan when the Engwithans were long gone.

Their longing created a soul bond, tethering their own to Iovara's soul. This invisible umbilical cord was woven from their own spiritual intestines, knotted at its end with the original riddle sacrificed to Wael: The Eyeless One's plucked eyeball. This visceral tether ensured The Watcher would inevitably return to Breith Eaman and do their work. The entire two-thousand-year exile was designed for a single era: the day the Dawnstar would awaken the giant adra statue and finally smash The Wheel.

In the end, The Watcher vomited out the eyeball, severing all prophecy and omniscience from their past life, embracing the freedom of Dasein.

The Eyeless One returned to Iovara's hand as that single, severed eyeball. Nothing could see them, and they could see nothing. Thus, in peace, they listened, and heard:

"The soul of the Watcher is a difficult thing to describe. Imagine seeing a reflection of yourself in a mirror, but only when you aren't looking."

Femslash February #12: Crab Blossom (stop, you need to rest)

read below or here on ao3