It’s an interesting thing; love. There are so many other words that come to mind when we think of it, words that are synonymous with it - commitment, honor, loyalty. As Asana’s, spirits of this realm and another which we must not name, we are bred to be creatures that exemplify these words. From birth, we are assigned a human to protect, to honor, to love. In return, that human is bound to treat us the same. To cherish their spirit and the wisdom that it brings to them throughout their lives, for we have lived many, seen many different worlds. To be chosen for a human is sacred to Asana’s. We take vows to bind ourselves to one human for the entirety of their lives, to guide them on their path in life and offer protection along the way.

For nearly seventy years I have served my human. I was gifted to him upon his birth, sworn to watch over him as he learned how to be the prince of his kingdom, preparing to one day, rule the lands of Verasia. The babe clawed its way out of his mother, screaming for the entirety kingdom to hear and drowning out the weeping of his father as his queen slowly slipped into the ether, never to rasp another breath. In hindsight, this should have been when I first noticed the savagery of the human I was binding myself to. That a boy without a mother couldn’t possible grow up to be anything but a monster.

The thing about the soul bond between an Asana and their human is that, no matter the situation, no matter the circumstances, the bond stays in place. We are forced to love and protect these monsters, many of us with no control or will to sever that bond. With nearly seventy years of watching brutality after brutality, my will has become strong, my resentment stronger. While there hasn’t been a broken bond between Asana and human in written history that has not caused the death of one or both, I have finally decided that breaking that bond is worth the risk. That seventy years, sitting by idly while the prince murders and schemes every individual who crosses his path, is enough.