Of Nafis and the Worm

The following has been translated from High Adytite and is suspected to be a portion of the Valkzaron kept by the Solomonari.

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And it came to pass that in those days following the Fall that the People were scattered and could find neither shelter or rest. It was a period of great mourning, not only for the loss of Adytum and the guiding hand of the Ozi̮rmok, but for the uncounted brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, friends and lovers that were lost to the People in the time that followed.

The People found themselves persecuted throughout the lands of the Machine, lo even into their own homelands. For without the Bastion of the Flesh,¹ the lands quickly fell to the hand of the unclean, of the tainted. In those days the strength of the Daevas was greatly diminished, but their taint still lay heavy upon the world.

And so there arose in that time a Karcist that carried the name of Nafis. They² took it upon themself to begin the task of leading those People they could find out of darkness, to seek a place of refuge in the cold lands of the North, away from the populated regions of those who would have them dead. So began the Great Traverse, and Nafis lead the People through great peril.

There arose, in those days, a great sickness upon the land, and many suffered greatly as the power of the Ozi̮rmok ran unchecked throughout those that were not blessed by His touch. The cities and hamlets closed their doors to the stranger, to the traveler, and the People could find no succor despite showing not the signs of the Sickness. Even as the season shifted and the time of Long Nights descended, still the People could not find shelter, for none would open unto them in their time of need.

Then Nafis called to the People, and a convocation amongst the elders was held. For three days and nights they spoke, with many holding forth with great passion upon the need to find a home and upon the ways by which to do so.

In the end that it came to pass that Nafis would take upon themself those that could no longer care for themselves, and they went throughout the People, taking unto themself the weak and the aged, sheltering them within themself, holding them in their very bosom. Those that had not the strength to go forward were embraced, lo even those who were sick unto death itself found surcease within the arms of Nafis.

Though this sacrifice was not without cost, for Nafis found themself unable to contain the masses without change. They held not the secrets to such, for that knowledge was a gift lost in those days to the People. For the greatest among them had Fallen with the Ozi̮rmok or had become lost to the madness that followed after.

And so Nafis, having taken the burden of so many was changed, and was no longer capable of sustaining themself without help. And those People that remained, grateful to the great burden that Nafis had taken upon themself, took up the burden of carrying their family, and they continued on into the night.

Footnotes

1. Perhaps a layperson's term for the Kalmaktama Empire, but it could also reference a hitherto unknown series of defensive fortifications.

2. It should be noted that the pronoun used to denote this individual is mitsu, a possible combination of matse - man and nisu - woman, though this is inconsistent throughout the narrative. It is possible that the individual in question either expressed aspects of multiple genders, or utilized their fleshcrafting to shift multiple times between them throughout the journey.