Evanescence (Evan)

Evanescence (Evan for short) is a member of a tribe of forest-dwelling wolves; self-proclaimed druids with unparalleled power over plant life. However, their powers come with a catch: slowly, over time, their powers cause them to petrify little by little. First starting with their tail, their fur and skin turns to bark, and their blood to sap, slowly overtaking their bodies until there is nothing left to change. At that point, the wolf dies, their bodies taking root and becoming a tree immune to the magics of their kind. 

In order to avoid this fate, the tribe’s chieftain designates one pup as a ‘sacrifice’, using their power to transfer their own petrifaction to the unfortunate pup chosen. The role is claimed to be an honor, and the wolves chosen are treated very well, though some individuals are cruel to them about their fate. The sacrifices aren’t allowed to leave the village, though they aren’t forbidden from using their own magic - most just don’t, as it only hastens their inevitable demise. Behind the village lies a sacred grove containing all the trees of these sacrifices, a place of honor and respect for these wolves who (willingly or not) gave their lives for the tribe. A role that, according to the tribe’s religion, the goddess of the wood elevates them straight to paradise for. While the others must work for their place in the afterlife, the sacrifice is guaranteed an afterlife of bliss - unless, of course, said sacrifice tries to defy their role, or run away, in which case they are condemned to an eternity of punishment.

Evan is the latest of these wolves chosen as sacrifices, and all his life knew he was going to die for the sake of others. He, like many others, raged at the unfairness of his fate, a quiet resentment simmering in his bones. He didn’t want to die - didn’t think it was fair that he was condemned to birth since he was a pup. Didn’t think it was fair that their goddess sanctioned such a thing, nevermind that it guaranteed him a place in paradise. Why would he give his devotion, his faith, to a deity that would condemn him to death? No, he cursed her name in defiance. He didn’t want to die, plain and simple, and wasn’t about to lie down and accept his fate.

And so after months of careful, meticulous planning, Evan escaped from the village - no matter that it condemned another pup to his place. Another would’ve been chosen no matter if he’d stayed or not; such was the way of the tribe. He slipped free from his guards in the middle of the night, running from the village and into the forest. He knew the tribe wouldn’t rest until they’d recaptured him, but that they also wouldn’t dare set foot outside the leafy boughs they all called home. 

Unfortunately, Evan’s escape didn’t go unnoticed for long, and he soon found himself dodging patrols of wolves sent out to hunt him down. Anticipating his destination, Evan found himself cut off from the forest border with no choice but to turn and run further in. After hours of evading his former tribe, as the early morning began to rise, he accidentally bowled over a wandering wickerbeast in his unseeing panic. Frantically apologizing, he glanced over his shoulder as he heard the howls of wolves behind him, and begged the aid of the stranger in escaping. Luckily for him, she agreed - and even better, the place she took him to was an entirely different world, where his tribe had no hope to reach. 

The wickerbeast was known as Wykin, the Sleepwalker, and this was her realm. After several moments, it finally sank in that Evan was finally free, and he nearly passed out from the dizziness that suddenly crashed into him, feeling lighter and more triumphant than he’d ever felt before. 

He wasn’t a sacrifice for the others anymore, wasn’t a scapegoat in a gilded cage. His life was his own, and he’d live it as he pleased, and not the other way around. 

Once Evan had rested and recovered from his ordeal, he asked the Sleepwalker what he could do to repay her, and after witnessing some of his magical feats, she offered to make him one of her dream-spinners, as there was at the moment an extra night-spinner that needed a counterpart. Evan agreed, and began his studies of this new world he found himself in. When he was ready, he took the Sand Trial, and while there were many close calls - and one point where Evan was sure he wouldn’t make it out after all - he passed, and became a dream-spinner of Sallentine, counterpart to Nyx. 

However, there is a catch to the Sand Trial: when the dream- or night-spinner passes, they seal an unspoken trade. Each one gives up something they hold dear, in return for something they desperately need. And for Evan, that trade resulted in his magic no longer slowly petrifying him. No longer was he in danger of becoming a tree in death, but it came at a terrible personal cost: his sense of feeling.

See, when a member of the tribe begins to petrify, they lose feeling in those petrified parts. They can still feel pressure, and pain should an injury be deep enough to draw sap, but nothing else. That sense of feeling was what Evan held onto, that he wasn’t just a tree. That he was still alive, still a wolf.

However, in the end…Evan didn't regret a moment of it. He was a dream-spinner of Sallentine, a place where he could live out his own life as he wanted to. Where he no longer had to bear the weight of the others’ magic, the death sentence that had been handed down to him from the chieftain of the tribe. 

Here he wasn’t Evanescence, sacrifice of the tribe, but Evanescence, the Redemption Dream-Spinner of Sallentine. And he couldn’t be happier. 

~*~

Trivia:

- All the wolves in the forest tribe have word names. Rumble, Apathy, Fallow, Leap, Truth, Devotion, Iridescence, those kinds of things. Nobody’s gonna be called anything like Crawl, but they might be called Scuttle or Slither instead
- Evan's antagonistic relationship with Azazel stems from worry and concern for everyone else in Sallentine and trauma from his first few (and only) missteps with the fae. So while he absolutely will annoy the other night-spinner to heck and back he will hide Azazel under his bed if need be should the bounty hunters after him come knocking
- Evan only calls Wykin by her title, and is scandalized if anyone (including Wykin herself) asks him to call her by name
- The tribe shares their forest home with all kinds of creatures, mythical and not. The fae folk, however, are the tribe’s biggest problem. All wolves know what to do and not do to when it comes to the different kinds of fae, and pups are often told if they don’t behave, the fae folk will come to steal them away and leave a well-behaved changling pup in their place
- Fairies, being fairies, enjoy sneaking into places where they don’t belong. They’re the fae the tribe encounters most often, as they often will sneak into their village for kicks and giggles - especially the sacrifice’s pavilion, as it’s The Most Forbidden and so the most enticing
- It was through very careful interaction with these fairies that Evan learned of things his tribe were careful to keep away from their precious sacrifice, and gained the only true friends he’d felt he’d ever had. It wasn’t a very high bar; they at least didn’t want to kill him. So long as he followed the unwritten rules he’d be fine, and if not whatever came down on his head was on him and him alone
- Evan actually knows the True Names of two different fae living in his former home, something neither of which is aware of (and he plans on keeping it that way, thank you very much!)
- As a byproduct of their power over plants, these druidic wolves breathe carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen, just like plants do
- Because partially petrified wolves can’t feel the parts of themselves that have grown into wood, they can have all kinds of things sticking out of or clinging onto their bark. There’s a whole self-check routine Evan has, and you will not believe some of the crap he finds there
- Technically, yes, if Evan comes across another member of his tribe he could forcibly transfer his petrifaction to them, but after the life he’s lived the very idea is anathema to him. He’s fine with being half-petrified forever
- There is only one time when sacrifices are allowed to unburden themselves of their petrifaction: when tribe members have committed crimes punishable by death. They are held down as the sacrifice transfers all of their petrifaction to the criminal, which depending on how far gone the sacrifice was might kill them right then and there. If not, then they’re executed as soon as the process is done
- A well-used curse among the tribe is “Roots take [name/me]!”, referring to their euphamism for death: “When roots take [name/me].” It is considered EXTREMELY rude to say the former about the tribe’s sacrifice (unless the sacrifice has forsaken their duty), to the point where to do so borders on actually being a social crime
- The two most well-known proverbs of the tribe are “Where green things grow, so do we.” and “Life will find a way. It always does.”
- The tribe’s burial custom is returning their dead to the earth; the burning of the bodies or trees of criminals is said to condemn them to an eternity of unrest