A Steward's End

Life, Death

Isoko pioneers the process of passing on her power to a mortal, leading to the establishment of the ritual of succession among the Stewards.

As the centuries passed, the Stewards continued their work, attempting to maintain the balance of life on Alathor. It proved much more difficult with the rise of the Prime, who continued to expand and often went to war with or attempted to enslave the species the Stewards had created. The extra expended power needed to create and nurture the new species and mitigate the damage caused by the Prime quickly began to drain Isoko’s power, as she was ever at the forefront. Noticing this decline, she realized that the stone she bore, which had once seemed limitless, was slowly losing its charge - what had been meant to last eons with the effort of simple stewardship and guidance had been rapidly diminished when used for creation and direct influence. If she did not find a way to recharge it, her power would fade completely, and the balance she was sworn to protect would be at risk.

Determined to preserve her legacy, Isoko, after long contemplation, settled on an experiment. Without informing her successors, she sought out a mortal successor. She chose a Maian woman named Fiona, who had shown great promise and a deep connection to the life force of Alathor. She introduced herself to Fiona, much to Fiona’s shock, and begin a long process of both proving that what she said was true and what her plan was. Isoko believed that, while she was cut off from the lifeforce that channeled from the Giver and into Alathor and all the life on it, the mortals were not. If Isoko could transfer her power stone to a mortal, the stone would be, if only briefly, able to tap into the lifeforce and would - Isoko desperately hoped and gambled on - become recharged.

Fiona, though terrified, became convinced by Isoko that it was necessary in order to maintain balance. Isoko knew that it would likely mean her own death, or something similar, but she had been alive for ages, and the continuance of life was more important than her own selfish desire to exist.
Once Fiona had agreed and Isoko had worked out the crude machinations for the transfer, she confided in Huichi, who listened and accepted with the quiet and somber love and devotion she had always had for Isoko.

With the help of Huichi, Isoko prepared Fiona for the transfer, guiding her through the trauma of what was to come.

The ritual was painful and difficult, but it was a success. Isoko passed on her essence to Fiona, who became, in essence, Isoko. However, this process did mark the end of the first Isoko’s life, as the original Steward died with the transfer. The new Isoko-2, now bearing the memories and powers of her predecessor, took up the mantle of Steward, continuing the work of nurturing life on Alathor.

Huichi introduced the new Isoko to their siblings - Zun was aghast, but Resh welcomed her with open arms and reasoned that, eventually, they would all need to do so if they wished to continue their work and that Isoko had bravely shown them the way.