1. The Birth of Wynstone

The wind blew in from the sea, making the grass on the hillside ripple like the sea waves. The salty air surrounded the little outcrop. Jagged stones reached up to the sky like obelisks. Moss had just begun to form a decade ago, green and orangey blotches against the dark stone with plans to grow further. Small rocks circle the area, and the beautiful fairy glen was untouched by humans. The people in the Isle of Skye knew better than to step into a fae's home uninvited, leaving the land undisturbed.

However, the animals of the forest cared not for human superstition. Cottontails hopped near the stones on the ground. Field mice scurried across the ground and up onto the obelisks. Sparrows flitted from the trees, over the obelisks, landing on them and playing with the little field mice.

A dark figure moved in from the forest. A hush fell over the glen as the animals hid, scared of the figure. They started small, about as big as a bunny, then grew bigger than a bear. Soft flames licked from the inside of their chest, putting light scorches in the overgrown grass. As they stepped by, the rocks began to glow. Each one shook a little, then stopped glowing.

They soon got to the obelisks in the center of the glen, black and pink petals trailing behind them, falling from their tail. The obelisk that stood tall and proud in the center of the outcrop glowed and shook a little. The stone wasn't like the others there. The many tall towers of stone were mostly granite, the one that laid in the center had an off pattern, splotches of white and dark grey. As it glowed, the dark figure tilted its head.

"Are you alive in there, little one?"

The boulder, of course, was silent. But it did wiggle. Almost like it was aching to be free.

"As you wish."

In a flash, no longer stood a boulder. Time seemed to stop as the animals froze in their frenzy to run. Stone overtook their bodies, splotches of white splashed against their legs and backs, the rest covering in dark stone. Orange and green moss grew to cover their backs, and they seemed to calm down after a moment, soon sitting and then proceeding with their usual activities. The obelisk glowed and slowly shrunk down. The vaguely large shape began to flatten and thin out. The slender form of something almost dog-like. A short little tail with large horns curling down from the top of their skull rests by their cheeks. Golden wisps appeared over the rocks in the glen, a soft glow coming from each. The wisps seemed almost alive, not just magic. Flickering and moving in a small dance.

The glowing disappeared from the new figure, leaving a confused little goat-like creature. Well, little probably wasn't the right word, considering that the large figure before the esk was by no means small. It was a bit larger than a goat, and the way it shook on its new legs confused the large one and made her chuckle.

"Who would have thought a boulder would have to get used to standing."

The esk looked up at her, its vision clearing. Seeing was such a strange feeling. Things used to climb on them, and they could just barely feel the little bird or mouse. The large esk was entirely black, large wings sprouted from their back, ribs sticking out from her chest, where pink fire lapped out of there, licking at the air below. A golden arrow hovered by their white eyes. The arrow gleamed in the sunlight, leaking honey down the head to drip on the grass.

"B-Boulder?"

"Mhm."

"What's a boulder?"

"Oh, those things behind you. And all over the glen."

The new esk turned and looked to the tall obelisks behind them, then down at the ground. The spot where the large stone had been was light brown dirt and some pebbles, a couple of blades of dead grass, and some fallen moss. They turned back and looked to the golden wisps. They disappeared as their creator looked to them, appearing by their side. This was when the larger esk noticed their horns. Fragmented, broken into pieces, floating by their head in a loose crescent.

"Ah, fragment horns. What a lucky boy you are."

"Boy?"

"It's a gender. Do you not like being referred to as a boy?"

"... I don't... I don't know... I don't think it's what I am."

"What do you think you are?"

"... I-I don't know?"

The large esk hummed, and they shrunk back down, just a bit bigger than the stony kid. As if they wanted to be able to look down upon the newborn.

"My name is Nectar. I am your creator."

"Creator?"

"Yes. I made you what you are."

"What am I?"

"You are an esk. You're like me. You were made from an object."

"What were you made from?"

"... I'm not sure."

"What did you make me from?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

"Well... I know nothing. Why did you not give me knowledge?"

"That isn't something I can give you, little one."

The new esk looked around, taking in their surroundings. The salty sea air filled their new lungs. The wind blew the new fur that hung shaggy off their stony body and in between the gaps of their horns. 

"Why do you call me 'little one'?"

"Well, you don't have a name yet."

"Name... like what you said? Your... name... is Nectar?"

"Correct."

"What's a name?"

"It's what others call you, to address you, to get your attention... etcetera."

"You call me 'little one.'"

"Because you do not have a name."

"How do I get a name?"

"You get to pick one."

"How do I pick a name?"

"What would you like to be called?"

"..." The new esk looked away. Something seemed to pull on them, pulling them down into the ground, but when they looked to the ground, they weren't sinking.

"What... Creator, what is going on?"

"What do you mean? You'll have to be more clear about what you are asking me."

"I feel like I am sinking into the ground, but I am not. I am standing just as I was a few seconds ago, the ground doesn't even look like it's giving out..."

"You are feeling. When you are alive, you feel emotions, and these emotions affect your mood. Why do you feel like you're sinking?"

"..."

"Right, you don't know anything. Well, would you like to walk with me? I can teach you what I know." Nectar turned, so her back was to the newly formed esk, nodding to the forest.

That same sinking feeling came back, and the new esk's legs wobbled a bit, and they ended up plopping down onto their rear. Nectar seemed confused, their energy shifted, and they turned back. The esk could almost feel her energy shift.

"Scared of leaving, little one?"

"I... well..."

"Why are you scared?"

"I don't even know what scared means..."

"There's nothing to be afraid of, so frankly, you shouldn't be scared." She turned back, walking closer to the new esk, which made them cower a little. Even if they had no memories before this, it felt odd to them that there was something - or, really, someone - big enough to look down upon them.

"...What difference would it make if I was scared?..."

Nectar scoffed. "Esks aren't supposed to be afraid of leaving their boundary! We wander and go to the conservatory, tell stories, and wander some more, transforming lost souls and looking for who they are."

"What even is an esk?"

"A creature born from a lost soul. Usually, we aren't made from objects, but... well, sometimes, even objects have pieces of souls or energies attached to them." She tilted her head at the esk before her. "Do you have any memories at all? From before? Did you see anything when I transformed you?"

The esk seemed startled. They squinted, unsure, at the intense white eyes staring into their own golden ones. Did I... see anything?

They tried to think back. How long had it been since they first... saw? Maybe a minute or two?

"C'mon Winston! Let's play hide and seek!" 

The giggling of a little girl filled the esk's head. Memories of a sweet smell filled their head. They knew they couldn't have actually smelt anything before this, so why did...?

"Winston, if you don't get over here, I'll eat the whole sandwich by myself, and then you won't get any lunch."

These memories didn't belong to them, so why did they have them?

"Winston, you're late! Hurry, before the meteor shower starts and you miss it. This won't happen for another 50 years, you know!"

The esk opened their eyes again and looked up at Nectar. She was giving him an inquisitive look. It was hard to tell if she was concerned or just waiting for them to answer.

"I... I did. Though, I wouldn't say I really 'saw' anything. More like... heard."

"What did you hear?"

"A small human child. Calling out to someone named Winston."

"Winston?... hm. That's not a bad name."

"You aren't suggesting I take on the name of a little kid who may or may not exist?"

"You're welcome to change it up if you want. No one ever said it had to be an exact match."

If the new esk could roll their eyes, it would definitely be the first thing they would do right now.

"Who knows, maybe they aren't memories at all? Perhaps it's your subconscious, telling you what your name is." Nectar snorted.

They let out a huff akin to a horse. What kind of ridiculousness was that? Subconscious giving you your own name... right.

Winston... Winston, Winston... It wasn't a bad name; it wasn't a mouthful, easy to say. They felt uncomfortable about the name, given that it seemed to belong to a person in his memories for some reason, but...

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?"

"W-Would you stop..."

"I think Winston suits you. I'm going to start calling you that."

"I haven't even told you if I'm going to be using it yet!"

---

"Winston, why don't you explore the forest with me?"

"I already told you that I don't really want to leave this place..."

A mouse scurried up onto their rear, and a sparrow landed on their head. These creatures were made of stone, their familiars. Winston had become accustomed to them, even greeted them when they came to hang out with them. Nectar called them 'community familiars.' 

"You'll have to venture from your home eventually, little one."

"And what if I don't want to venture? Can't I just stay here?"

"Why would anyone want to stay here in this fae den when there's a whole world out there to explore?"

Nectar had been here for about a week, and their conversations were just throwing questions at each other. Constantly. Statements were rare between them. Winston threw a question, and Nectar would toss one back. There was no such thing as a productive conversation between the two of them. For some reason, she insisted on making them leave the glen, Winston's home, and go off to... what? Explore with them?

"Did you create me because you were lonely? Is that it?"

"Pardon?"

"You've been here for days, just asking me to come and explore with you at every chance you get, which is all the time. If you had anything to go back to, you would have left by now. It wouldn't matter if you had me. You can't possibly care about me that much."

"I don't."

"Then why are you still here?"

Nectar paused. If she had a mouth, she'd probably be grinning. Unease settled in Winston's stomach again. No, no, bad idea, bad question-

Nectar grew again... larger and larger, she towered over Winston, and it made the poor esk cower back.

"I'm here because you have a destiny. I've been tracking your energy signature for years, and now that I've finally found you, you won't even leave this stupid glen!"

"I'm not even a week old! Why would you even know of this so-called 'destiny' of mine?"

"The conservatory answers questions for all, and you... you need to come with me."

"I'm not leaving my home for you! I let you stick around because you were teaching me things, and because I thought I should treat you okay because you were my creator, but you just want me to do what you want, not what I want."

"And what is it that you want, Winston?"

"I want to stay here, in my home, and I want to decide who I am without some interference. Such as yourself. You aren't my ruler."

The past few decades had been rough, being alone. Getting Nectar to go away wasn't the easiest, but it was definitely more peaceful. Playing with the cottontails and the sparrows was much more of a delight than spending time with Nectar, even if the familiars were technically apart of their own being.

Sometimes they wondered how Nectar was doing, back at their labyrinth, alone in twisting and winding tunnels... But the thought of having them around again was pretty awful. Even if all esks had destinies, there wasn't any reason to follow them.

Wynstone was happy in the lonely glen and happy with themself.