Notes

“ I had wings once, powerful like an eagle’s. My past, however inconsequential it may be in this new world, I can still remember all too well. Once upon a time I climbed the thermals hand in hand with you, the person that I could not bring myself to admit my affections for. We could glide for what seemed like forever above the kingdom that we served, indulging in the sunlight against our wings, forgetting our troubles and responsibilities.
I had wings once and it felt as if I was on top of the world. I was unconquerable as the right hand of the king I once so dearly loved, unconquerable alongside the comrade who I came to love more than the world itself. Unconquerable as the proud representative of a kingdom that I could have happily boasted on about for days on end, a kingdom rarely troubled by conflict or corruption.
But even wings cannot fly you away from fate, from heartbreak, from inevitable calamity. And even wings can be broken beyond repair, cut off. Even now I remember the callousness with which you tore my wings, my identity and pride, off my back. I remember my desperation, my death, my sin, my rebirth. I wish that I could have been there to tell you, in the aftermath and the dying glow of a burning kingdom, that my death was not your fault. I wish I could have consoled you as you fell from the sky like a puppet with cut strings, no longer under our king’s control, yet perfectly conscious in knowing what you had just done.
Back then I lacked the strength. And until now (too late, too far from our home) I have been a coward. Having done the unforgivable, I lacked the courage to stand by your side if it meant that you would see what I had become. I am truly sorry, Pallas. How fun they were, those centuries we spent commanding the kingdom together under our king! But beyond here, I believe it is time for us to part ways. Perhaps you and Aful will find each other once more, in your new lives. Perhaps you will remember fragments of our past. But as for me, I have been cursed to walk the line between the realms of the living and dead until the end of time, to live amongst and be the executioner of the evil-hearted. As such, I would be happiest if we didn’t cross paths in your new lives.
Even so, I will still dream of the three of us soaring through the skies once more... “