The impact with the ground not only drove the wind from her, but almost brought her lung acid up with it. Eve knew Tali would not appreciate the her suit and skin melting. Tali pushed herself up and scuttled off of her and Eve sat up, propped an elbow on her knee and chin on her fist. A warm smile on her face. Almost tentatively Tali reached out a hand and rested it on her cheek, and let out a gasp as Eve pressed her own hand on top of hers.
"You're not dead? I'm not going mad, keelah Shepard please tell me you're not dead. That this is real?" Tali said in a rush.
"I'm not dead Tali. Or at least I'm not dead here." She moved Tali's hand down to her neck. "Feel a pulse?"
Tali fell silent for a long while, holding her hand at Eve's neck. Then lowered it to her lap and looked away.
"Tali, what happened?" Eve asked, concerns rising. "Did we win? Are the reapers gone?"
"When the crucible activated, a pulse blew apart every reaper in Earth orbit. But with the injured onboard Joker jumped to FTL, heading for the med-evac site, so we didn't see anything more. Whatever else the pulse was it could move much faster than light. It damaged the ship, Joker and Edi made a crash landing on a gas giants moon, a garden world. But most systems were damaged, including the QEC, so we were out of contact. I think the battle for Earth was won, but I don't know if the war is over. Sorry Commander."
She started rubbing her fingers together in her nervous way, Eve gently took her hands and gave them a squeeze.
"Hey, no need for that. Just knowing that Earth is potentially safe is good enough for me. Oh and I'm not a Commander any more Tali. Just call me Eve, or Chieftain if you really must."
Tali laughed.
"Of course you would become a leader here!" She looked around at Eve's tribe, who were watching them with every sign of interest. "Are they a new species?"
"Yeah, they call themselves Beastmen. The first children of the Gods. Morg is a Giant, I don't really know all that much about them." Eve said.
A throat cleared, sounding like a thunder clap.
"Eve, what are you saying to each other?" Morg said in dark tongue, when Eve turned to face her.
Eve realised she had been speaking Alliance standard.
"Damnit. Damnit." She said in both languages, then she remembered how she had learned and turned to Tali.
"Tali, did you understand any of that?" She shook her head. "We were speaking a language called dark tongue." She emphasised the name of the language. It looked to work, as Tali's eyes narrowed and she shook her head like see had just tasted something sour.
"Keelah, what is that?" Tali said in the dark tongue.
"I call the one in my head plucker, I have no idea what it is. More importantly, can you understand me?" Eve replied in the same language. The whole tribe leaned in. Tali gave herself a startled shake.
"That was not alliance standard, wait I'm not speaking Khelish." Then she did switch back to Khelish as the translator on her omnitool lit up. "How? Shep... Eve what is happening to me? Creators I have gone insane."
Eve understood what Tali was going through, she'd done something similar after watching Morg use magic. But Tali had something she hadn't at the time, someone who had gone through the experience themselves. She tightened her grip on Tali's hands, taking a deep breath she told her story. She started at the moment Tali and Ashley had been bundled back aboard the Normandy, to the moment she was told that Tali had woken up. The entire time Tali sat almost motionless with only the occasional widening or narrowing of her eyes.
"So if you've gone insane Tali, then you are just about to start catching up to me." Eve said and grinned.
"You, after all the debates you had with Ash, Samara, and that one time at the bar with the Elcor and Hanar. You, of all people, found faith and a God?" Tali said, the smirk clear in her tone. Eve wondered if she noticed she was speaking in dark tongue before answering.
"I was blind and now I see." She joked then continued seriously. "How do I explain this," releasing Tali's hands and gestured to her horns and legs, "without a Godlike being doing it. By all the science I know Tali, having lungs filled to the brim with acid and maggots should have killed me within seconds. Yet here I sit and as far as I can tell none the worse for wear. How do I explain watching my body be torn apart from just over my shoulder, then come back to life a second time just over there."
Tali thought on that for a minute then stated. "You sold your soul to a God?"
"Yeah and I don't regret it, nor have I noticed anything different since, I'm still me." Tali hummed and started looking her over.
"Alright." She said after her examination. Eve waited expecting more questions from the ever curious Quarian. Nothing came.
"That's it?" Eve asked in disbelief. "Two questions about faith and souls, then you're good with it? I ordered ten people killed today, I've just found out I quite like the taste of raw human." She pointed to the suspended bodies and head just beside them. "I did that just because it felt right."
With a sigh worthy of a disappointed parent, Tali got to her feet and walked over to the pillar pointing to the head.
"This bosh'tet was a slaver. I'm surprised you didn't do worse than cut off his head, and if you had not killed him today, I was going to tonight." She pointed to Shaman and Apprentice. "I know what happens to people who threaten you or your crew Eve, I doubt you feel any different about your tribe. They attacked you, you killed them." She shrugged then made a gesture encompassing the whole pillar. "This isn't a threat to keep your tribe in line. It's to encourage them and terrify everyone else, so you and yours can beat them that much easier. At least that's how I see it." She turned back and looking up to Morg said. "The ten people in chains with me, Eve said you told her they were from lands that are enemies of the Gods, is that true?" Morgs three eyes blinked in surprise at being addressed, then gave a nod. "'To bear their mark, to assist them in their tasks, and to battle against their enemies.'" She quoted the oath. "They were enemies of the Gods, and the oath is clear on the matter. They had to die." Tali returned and squatted beside her, she reached out and took Eve's head in her hands. "As for eating humans, Eve I want you to really think about this. Are you still Human?"
The question hit Eve like a punch to the jaw, because the obvious answer of yes felt like a lie. She had never even considered it since coming to this place, why would she. Her mind went for a ride as she tired to find an answer. Tali must have seen the moment Eve started to question her humanity because she continued.
"Because I don't feel like I did back home. A little tear in my suit could have killed me there, but here." Eve heard the smile in Tali's voice. "When the first wind blew from the north, I felt it. On. My. Skin. I should have been terrified, panicking as I searched for the breach in my suit. Instead I felt invigorated and it didn't diminish when the wind passed. By the third wind I was certain I could have taken my suit off and I wouldn't get sick. I've been here for seven days, and I don't think I've been completely Quarian since that first wind, I have become more than I was. How Human can you really be after even longer?"
Tali released her head, stood and swept her arms over the whole tribe. She shouted throwing her arms into the air.
"So who cares if you eat a mere humans heart. We are better than them! For we have felt the power of the Gods!"
The tribe erupted in cheers and roars. Tali squatted again and whispered to a stunned Eve.
"So how does one go about selling a soul to Father Crow?"
"Who are you and what have you done with Tali?" The quip came out far more serious than she intended. This was too far out of character for the Tali she remembered.
"The Tali from home is dead. I watched her die and I'm what is left. I've never felt so free in all my life, so I think I prefer the new me."
"You know what?" Eve said after giving it a seconds through. "So do I." Getting her hooves under her Eve stood up, wobbled a bit to general laughter, then steadied. "I'm happy you want to pledge yourself to Father, but." She made sure she had Tali's full attention. "This isn't something you can walk back, I went in blind and don't regret it. But you are not me, you don't have to do this, now or ever."
She watched Tali roll her eyes.
"Don't try to talk me out of it, bosh'tet." Tali pulled her in for a hug, resting her faceplate against Eve's shoulder. "Thank you for looking out for me."
"Of course Tali." After a minute Tali released her.
"Now how do I do this? I'm quite excited to meet a being so great even the mighty Commander Shepard willingly bows."
Wrapping an arm around Tali, Eve leads her to a spot seven steps from the pillar facing the side bearing Father Crows mark. Pointing to a slight indentation in the gravel and snow.
"When I pray I go to one knee, right there. Morg does the same, but Nafar kneels and Girta sits. Pick a position that is comfortable for you, you'll be holding it for as long as this takes. To get started just think on wanting to offer your soul to Father Crow and if your brain plucker is anything like mine, you'll just know what to do and say. One last thing. Do not lie, Father Crow will know, and will make his displeasure known."
"I understand." Tali said, her voice sounded firm and sure.
Releasing her hold Eve and took a knee behind and to her right, then a knee crashed into the ground as Morg took the same position on the left. Eve knew without looking the Nafar and Grita had taken the same positions behind her, and the does would grouped by hunting party behind them. Lowering her head to her chest and closing her eyes, Eve waited for Tali to begin.
The place inside her where she could feel Morgs presence fluttered slightly. Then Tali began to speak, her voice was oddly melodic as she intoned the benediction to Father Crow. Then came the hundreds of wings flapping, and the insects buzzing. Even her own scout flies poured out of her to partake in the parade. She was sure the noise had not been this deafening when she had offered her soul to Father Crow, and it had been practically silent when Nafar and Grita offered theirs.
A single booming caw finally silenced the cacophony, leaving only the droning buzz of millions of insects.
"Father Crow." A pause to bow. "I wish to pledge my soul to you, for whatever purpose you wish." Then silence. Eve expected her to say more.
An idea came to her. It was so unexpected that she assumed it had come from plucker, but it's presence was radiating an aura of surprise. She only had seconds to check the idea, trying to find a reason not to follow the plan it laid out. Finding none, Eve Shepard, keeping her head pressed to her chest and her eyes calmly closed, spoke.
"Father Crow, I offer my life to your young champion Tali'Zorah, to do with as she wills." Eve said.
"Father Crow, I offer my life to your young champion Tali'Zorah, to do with as she wills." Morg said.
Their words in perfect synchronisation rang out in the clearing, the droning stopped.
A great presence loomed, it was angry certainly but more over it was disappointed.
For an instant, an eternity and every amount of time between.
Eve Shepard faced judgement.
Every proton, neutron, and electron that composed her was stripped out and examined one at a time. Some were retained, others changed, many were discarded and replaced.
Every thought and memory she ever had, were plucked out and studied in minute detail. A few were cleaned and returned, a great deal were changed and returned, a handful were utterly annihilated and something else replaced it entirely.
A being brought forth a scroll and read aloud for the great presence all she had done in it's name.
The great presence laughed and gave a single clap.
A galaxy was rent asunder from the power unleashed.
The great presence issued forth a proclamation bearing only three words and its personal mark.
Eve Shepard, Daughter.