The land was not a static scene; not simply a stage for her to explore. There were inhabitants already, though they seemed more pieces of the world-structure than a part of the whole as she was. At the first city she came to upon landing, Mia interacted with the citizens. She was curious about others with consciousness; she wanted to contrast her experiences with theirs, and learn more about the world. What she found was that these others were so self-absorbed and myopic that true communication could not be achieved. They concerned themselves almost entirely with petty worries. They remained in mindsets that imprisoned themselves in a place where those worries seemed worth the whole world. When she showed them the overarching magic of reality, they reacted oddly. They would become afraid or even angry, and shun what she had to tell or show them. Additionally they offered nothing in return for fear of losing what they had, even though Mia wanted nothing from them that they could lose.
Disappointed, she turned away from the cities and allowed her consciousness to slip only into the wild places where she could weave her magic in peace. She had been born to a beautiful world, full of life. The energy of potential bubbled and simmered everywhere, taking off into glorious forms as needed. Sometimes one form would supersede another, replacing its matter and maintaining a cycle of energy and nutrient rebirth. From the pool of generation she had stepped out into a broad and multitudinous reaction. It was going to be a wonderful place to play.
The water had been a sort of deep recycling center. Things from the land flowed down in water currents to join the deep, and she had risen from that deep store to manifest in the open air. She wondered if this wasn't her first time feeling the sun like this.
Mia wanted to test her influence on reality. There was no sense in seeking a purpose in life if one's actions have no effect at all. Some influence was clear; just by her presence the surrounding reality was forced to react. How far though could that reaction be taken? The animal-like residents of the city seemed to see each other easily enough, and also interact with wild creatures the same. They often had trouble perceiving her though, and would walk almost right through her if she wasn't paying enough attention. In some ways she seemed more capable though. For example, distance seemed to apply differently to her consciousness than with theirs'. The other beings seemed so caught up in their own perspective that they had to follow strange laws relating to their perception. This gulf of understanding was another factor in her shunning the cities. She could not well influence a world that could not understand the change.
There was something about this world that Mia wanted to change. She could not quite place what it was yet, but there was a fault to the world. It was like a giant majestic piece of machinery covered in moss and thick vines. There was a sense of nostalgia and beauty mixed peacefully in golden sunlight. It was a scene in which one wanted to sigh, knowing that all stories had come to a tranquil and satisfactory end. Not that the world was still- life buzzed about every corner and the inhabitants of the land often engaged in turmoil, but things seemed content as they were.
Contentment made Mia uneasy. She wanted a healthy tension, something to give that buzzing life a reason to think about itself in its striving. She wanted that majestic piece of machinery to shake off the moss and lichen, to break that suffocating growth and have it whir to life. If the world was a giant wheel, she wanted it to turn again. In seeking a how, she turned from the consciousness of the cities (in whom she had had initial hope of positive work) and found refuge in the deeper natural places. Low-lying wetland glens became her first workshop. She merged with the green growth to learn of its needs, and spoke with the salamanders and other mud dwellers to hear what they knew. She watched the turning of the days and nights, the passing of the weather, and how the inhabitants of the surface world coexisted. In her scheming elemental awareness a picture formed, and then the beginnings of a plan.
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