The Chained Watcher

Reading Logs

~~~

Reading up on Xelqua is always an interesting experience. Almost everything they have on the elusive enchanter is secondhand information at best, unconfirmed gossip at worst. And yet, Xelqua seems to almost revel in being the exception for so many things, even if that's him attributing intent where there is none.

These logs, especially the earlier ones, are the most detailed information they've ever gotten on Xelqua. And sure, most of these incidents are lost to time, but every little bit counts, right? Getting an accurate personality profile on it could help track it down or predict its next moves.

Unfortunately, as accurate as 'eccentric enchanter' is, that doesn't help much in tracking it

On a whim, Martyn is reading through the logs recording Xelqua's actions when taking part in a Watcher pantheon for an assessment. Why? Because why not? He's a little curious about how Watcher pantheons are seen by Watchers.

He snorts, reading aloud to Jimmy, "Hey, get a load of this. 'Subject shows subpar ingenuity with regards to his alias' name despite being otherwise cunning in his choice of element and thematic aesthetic.' Looks like we found the great enchanter Xelqua's weakness!"

"For real?"

"Yeah, this thing's lambasting it for its laziness in naming. Apparently it just chopped its name in half and swapped it around. Xelqua, so, it just called itself Quaxel."

Both of their smiles freeze. That sounds... worryingly familiar.

"Coo-ah-z-el," he sounds out.

"Kwa-zel," his partner mumbles, the same stunned look on his face.

Together, they both conclude, "...Kwazzle."

Kwazzle. The god of Trade they encountered last portal. A calm, kind god, in spite of his origin as a false Watcher god. Kwazzle, the true god born from the abandoned religion of Xelqua, the greatest thorn in their side since it appeared.

"Oh my god," he murmurs, slumping back in his seat. "What were the chances? No, genuinely, what were the chances? Not only did a Watcher religion survive abandonment, which is pretty rare with how violent and self-destructive those things are once the Watcher running it is gone, but it survived long enough to form an honest to goodness deity, and that deity somehow managed to become friendly despite being born in the image of a Watcher. Not just aloof, but friendly."

Jimmy groans, "You think I don't know that? You're not the only one who's read up on the problems former Watcher religions cause and the mental issues their spiritual gods have. Most of them end up toying with their favorites and demanding the death or enslavement of everyone else, but every god who's still recognizable as coming from a Watcher religion has shared some level of aloof disgust whenever they look at one of us."

"Yeah, I kinda just thought Kwazzle had therapy or something at some point." He waves his communicator back and forth, admitting, "It's kinda stupid now that I say it out loud, but it was the only thing that really made sense. Do you think that... the reason Kwazzle is different might be because he's..."

The two of them fall silent. The thought isn't one they want to think. Xelqua is eccentric, even among Watchers, if their intel on it is in any way trustworthy. Even in the rare few diaries they've looted from raids on facilities, any mention of Xelqua is always about how single-minded it is with its interest in magic and enchantments, and how it's only ever interested in materials for trade, never another Watcher's creations or research or captive material producers. It never refuses sapients when offered, but it never asks for it, and it never seems pleased about it.