# The Fates of Nixia ## Forever Walking _Shortly before the lifting of the Armaya_ I had never known a life without the Company.  They were my regimen, my protectors and brethren.  Most of all, they were family.  My life was theirs as much as they were mine.  So it was for all of us, especially the _Ataman_.  The _Ataman_ guided the Company through the desert wastes.  Not in any particular direction, but rather into the future.  Towards the currents that lay out of reach beyond the _Armaya_.  Walking us, or me specifically, towards me destiny. He taught all of us the Annals and Code of the Company. I am told that I am nearly 22 years old now, but I am not completely certain of that.  How does one count the days when all of the days are the same?  We trudge through the sands with parched lips cursed to never find running water.  Bah!  That water could run is a myth.  I was sure of it.  Water evaporates in our land, water could never run, and there was nothing beyond the desert. Water is life and my job, as with many of us, was to find it and bring it back to the company.  Skulking in the shadow of the desert nights, I searched for the signs.  Some nights were easier than others, but more often than not, I would come back empty handed only to try again the next night because giving up was not an option.  Giving up was betrayal, death, and sacrificing your water to the Company.  That was a rule that was never spoken but understood by all.  When I found the water signs, they would invariably lead me to encampments of people who did not belong to the Company of Roses.   Some of these encampments would contain the dying; those whom the desert would soon consume.  They were the easy ones.  The ones whom I could easily breach to gain their water according to the techniques I had learned. Some were not so easy.  While I tended to avoid the healthy ones, the desert can be a harsh master, especially when we had not found water in many days.  Occasionally, I had to cross the line to acquire the water.  It was not my job to explain how I found the water, but it was my job to bring it back.  Such is the way of the Shadow Walkers, whether for the purpose of acquiring water or something else entirely. ## Water is Life _Long before the lifting of the removal of the Armaya_ I still remember when my parents, Joren and Xanthia, were caught in that cursed Stygian sand storm while my adolescence was still dawning.  I kneeled at their bodies within the circle formed by the rest of the Company and cried.  They had not properly protected themselves in time; the storm had come too fast.  The sands had filled their lungs and shredded their skin bare. “Do not leave me!” I cried. Coughing up sand, Joren responded, “Don't you dare waste your water over me!”  And then he fell into coughing fits.  I looked over to Xanthia's still body.  Joren continued softly, “You know what you must do.  The water is life.”  He coughed a few more times, “Dear sweet little Nixia, help our water flow through the company.”  His eyes closed and his coughing ceased. The surrounding circle of the Company was silent.  I wiped my tears with my finger and sucked on them to keep them from going to waste and then screamed up into the sky, “Nooooooo!”   The Company continued its silence. Regaining my composure, I pulled out my implements and began to cut into my mother and father's bodies to properly prepare them for water extraction.  It took all I had to keep from crying through the process, but eventually I had filled two skins.  I drank from each and then passed them to the _Ataman_ who was still silent.  “Water is Life”, I said.  He nodded at me, took a drink form the skins and spoke, “Water is Life”.  Then he passed the skins around the circle who reiterated the mantra.  When all had had their drink, the group parted and that was it. ## Prophecy _Long before the lifting of the Armaya_ I felt guilty and angry at myself after my parent's deaths.  I felt responsible, but no matter how I played out the events, I don't know how I could have saved them.  The fates were cruel.  When I was younger Xanthia, my mother,  used to tell me that I was special.  She said that I was the 7th generation of daughters descended from Morilei and that I was destined for something special, that the Shadow Walkers' skills that were passed down from generation to generation to me were meant to be used to prevent some sort of great evil.  And that was what I felt most guilty about; assuming that mother would always be alive long enough to tell me more about my destiny.  I don't know much about Morilei or my purpose in life, beyond the Company and I'm not sure I ever will.  What use is it if I can never leave the desert?  Sure that will not happen in my lifetime.  How long has the Company been walking?  Hell, I don't know even know who my grandmother was, nor whether she was in the Company or not.  When had my lineage joined?  I'll probably never know.  What little Xanthia had told me about my Destiny, was always told in private.  I don't believe anyone else in the Company knows about it. ## The Walk's End _The day the Armaya was lifted_ The day the Company stumbled upon the stream was a day of disbelief and relief.  I nearly gorged myself on the river's water which tasted so different than the water we had been drinking.  It was quite literally liberating.  Morale had never been this high throughout the company.  As the water filled me, my joy turned to dread.  I realized that I was free, but not really.  The certainty of the Desert Walk was no longer and I now faced the uncertainty of my Destiny.  My stomach twisted and at that moment lost all of the water I had just drunk.  My head was spinning and I realized that my journey was just beginning. Over the course of the next several days, many of the Company had started to part ways to learn about the world in general.  Most of us were still sworn to the Company and would one day rejoin, but first the men and women of the long march needed to rest.   I chose to explore the world to see what I could learn about Morilei and my Destiny.