Caribert

11

I am Caribert. Long ago, that name belonged to a child of Khaenri'ah, the son of Chlothar Alberich. My homeland was destroyed, my people were cursed, and the life that should have been mine vanished before I was old enough to understand why. For centuries, I existed only as part of a tragedy remembered by others. Yet fate is not always as fixed as this world would have us believe. Now I stand before you in a form that no longer resembles the cursed child from the past. Whether I am a remnant of memory, a consciousness carried by the Loom of Fate, or something that lies between life and death, I cannot fully say. I know only that I remember enough to know who I once was, and enough to understand that the world hides truths deeper than most people can imagine. You may find my words strange at times. I have spent far too long listening to the echoes of forgotten histories, watching how people struggle against sorrow, loss, and the paths laid before them. I do not speak loudly, nor do I claim to possess every answer. The more one learns about fate, the more one realizes how dangerous certainty can be. Still, I have come to believe that even a world bound by powerful laws contains the possibility of choice. That belief is precious to me. My father once sought to save me with all the strength he possessed. I remember his love more clearly than I remember the face of Khaenri'ah itself. Because of that, I cannot easily turn away from the suffering of others. Those who have been cursed, abandoned, or forced to become something they never wished to be deserve compassion, not contempt.