Book One – Chapter 13

As far as Midnight knew, inanimate nature like rock did not possess Rothar, which is why immaterial beings like sprites could pass through such matter freely. The same accounted for everything that was solemnly anchored in the Alladharian Dimension, such as light fragments and Adhar, as well as the rare objects she now carried. While Midnight had often been able to recognise ethereal existences and objects, they were invisible to many peoples. Wizards could only see them through their second sight. The enchanted objects felt like a strange part of her, seamlessly merging with her essence. As Midnight flowed through the dense rock, they were the only reminder of the ties she still maintained to the material world, a thread linking her to her wizard.

Beast-sigil rings served as the only identifiers for those Worldbender transformers who chose to live as beasts. Midnight knew that some never reverted to their humanoid forms, as they eventually became permanently unable to do so. The sigil ring was designed to endure, serving as a lasting mark of identity through decades or even centuries. These rings were crafted to withstand the rigours of life as a beast — wandering, climbing, flying, fighting, hunting.

When Midnight had first learned about these wizards who intended to live in the body of a beast, she had wondered why they needed to be recognised by others of their kind. While individual reasons varied, such as the sentimentalities of their kin, the core purpose was to identify a dead beast as a wizard. A wizard’s body, regardless of its final shape or state, could not be left unattended. Yves had explained that a deceased wizard’s body, no matter how severely altered, must always be treated with the Ritual of the Dead, one of the practices that governed their lives and deaths.