Watchful Eye

"Go to the Light"

THEY WHO SEE ALL

WATCHFUL EYE

KEEP THEIR POST

ABOVE THE SKY

JUDGING ALONE

ALL ALIVE

THEY DECIDE

WHO LIVES AND DIES

They/It

"Watchful Eye", or so it calls itself, claims to be a being of truth and justice. They claim to see and know all, and that they alone are the only mortal being able to judge whether someone is "good" or "bad. When they were a young child, Watchful Eye was attacked by a monster that emerged from the woods and attacked them and their small village. There were numerous casualties, and multiple deaths that came from the attack. Watchful Eye, having been in daycare where most of the village children went during the day while their parents were busy, was the only one in the building to survive the attack. It believed that it had been spared for some greater purpose, and the village, being fiercely religious, only encouraged these beliefs. 

Life as a being believed to hold religious importance was both a blessing and a curse. Watchful Eye was treated with utmost respect and care, and provided with anything that it asked, but it was also forced to adhere to its religion by the strictest sense of the word. It could be no less than perfect. It had to be pious, and righteous, and truthful, and impartial, and humiliated, and self-flagellating. It would have to constantly demand forgiveness from those around it, while begging for forgiveness itself. Watchful Eye was trained to be judge, jury, and executioner, simultaneously the law and above it, all in the name of their deity. 

Watchful Eye was never permitted to show their scars, only in rare occasions would they ever be seen by another individual. Their scars were simultaneously a holy and a cursed thing, a blessed reminder of their survival and a painful reminder of the past. Very few were ever allowed to change their bandages, and when Watchful Eye became of age, they simply started to change them itself. There is a particular second reason for keeping their mouth covered, though. Watchful Eye has a deep and booming voice, albeit slightly muffled, which carries well even despite the bandages covering their mouth. But the attack had left their right eye and mouth mutilated, causing their fangs to stick out and a lisp to show through if their mouth is not covered. It was a point of great shame for Watchful Eye, as decided by the other villagers-- not even their parents would be allowed to gaze upon such a disgrace. And when Watchful Eye eventually moved out, they could only live alone so that no one else, even accidentally, could see their scars. 

Such a traumatizing upbringing, being corrected and managed in everything they did, led to Watchful Eye becoming incredibly twisted as it grew. It became victim and perpetrator at the same time. Watchful Eye truly believed they were the only mortal capable of judging others, the only mortal capable of being impartial and unclouded like all others, and embraced the role with open arms. Watchful Eye, though not the ruler of the village by name, controlled them completely all the same. As an adult, Watchful Eye was priest, judge, and jury. If Watchful Eye said someone was bad, they were bad. If Watchful Eye told someone to jump, they jumped. And if Watchful Eye called for the death sentence, then there was no further proof required. What Watchful Eye said, would go. 

Things went well, for a while-- at least, well for Watchful Eye. They lived a life as luxurious as the village could afford, and everyone did what they said no matter what. Watchful Eye was more than a celebrity, it was practically the vessel of their deity. Never before had anyone risen to such a status within the village, and never again would anyone do so. Things were good, the villagers were not only complacent in it's wishes, but actively helped it whenever they could. Watchful Eye was, for all intents and purposes, the will of their deity brought to life.

Things changed when a visitor to the village, an outsider to their ways, was sentenced to death. 

The storm had been brewing for a while-- not all children could be raised as perfectly as Watchful Eye. The eldest daughter of some family Watchful Eye had never really bothered to concern itself with had fled the village when she was 18 years of age. Disappointing, but, forgettable in the end. It was only when she returned to try and convince her younger siblings to flee with her, to escape the oppressive reign of the village, that the townsfolk set upon her like rabid wolves. For her heresy, she was sentences to death. She went quickly, but not easily, a snarl still set upon her face once rigor mortis set in and her muscles all tensed and refused to be moved. A nuisance, sure, but one dealt with, or so Watchful Eye thought. When the girl's boyfriend came a week later to see where she had gone, and subsequently attacked the girl's father upon learning of her fate, he was sentenced to death for his crass and violent nature as well. But the death of an outsider could not so easily be forgotten as one within their own town limits. 

Once the outside world found out, more and more intruders turned their eyes to the village. What was righteous in their eyes was horrible in others. Watchful Eye quickly learned that the-- in their words-- barbaric laws of the outside world prevented them from enacting justice the way their deity seemed fit. The divine laws and ways of their deity had no effect on the outsiders, and a death sentence precluded by no fair trial and no jury was a crime to them. Watchful Eye, once the undisputed leader of their village, now had a target above their head. 

Watchful Eye, and the most loyal of its followers, had no choice but to flee. Disappeared in the middle of the night, leaving no trace behind. The authorities tried in vain to track them down, but it was no use. It was as if Watchful Eye and it's followers had simply vanished into thin air. The rest of the village was questioned, but no one gave anything up. It appeared that not even they knew where Watchful Eye had skulked off to, not even the friends and family of those that had followed it. Perhaps that was to be expected-- there was likely never a plan made for such an event, so Watchful Eye and their ilk were probably just going wherever the wind took them. After months of searching, the authorities gave up. Warnings were put out not to trust Watchful Eye, claiming that they were dangerous. Untrustworthy. Completely insane. That they would do whatever they pleased to whoever they pleased, and no amount of begging or pleading or apologizing could stop them. 

Watchful Eye still remains-- alive, but unhappy. They and their ilk found a place to stay, hiding in plain sight in the industrial secret of a city. It was surprisingly easy, hiding there. Watchful Eye hardly ever got more than a glance when it passed by, covering up its scars with sunglasses and face masks. Every day Watchful Eye meets those that would have immediately been eradicated had they acted in such a way within the confines of the village. An anger, burning hot, simmers down within it. But no matter. One day, Watchful Eye will be able to return to the unknown countryside. One day, Watchful Eye will be able to enact its justice without fear once again. One day, the deity that Watchful Eye gave its entire life to will reward them for their piety. 

Watchful Eye bides its time, and waits for the perfect opportunity to make its grand return. In the mean time, it will just have to make do with killing only those it knows it can get away with.