Belavierr Donamia, The Stitch Witch, The Threadstealer, The Great Witch of Calamity, The Weaver of Terandria, The Mistress of Strands, The Witch of Webs, The Threadbreaker of Stitchfolk... and many, many more titles sorted through her strands of thoughts.
It was the incomparably complex working that was sewn into her very being. Her thoughts touched all parts of her. Her workings - great and small. Her various methods of immortality. Her connections with other people. They were all there, and together they were more than the sum of their parts.
...And less too in various ways, but Belavierr didn't have a thread that thought about that.
No. This strand of thought was tasked with focusing on the connections she'd formed. A [Prince] here. A [Farmer] there. A former [Slave]. She'd been called many things in the past, and she'd eventually come to the realization that the only thing that mattered, truly mattered, was her work.
What was evil? Was a rabbit evil for eating grass? Was an eagle evil for eating the rabbit? Was the [Hunter] evil for shooting the eagle? Was the [Slaver] evil for enslaving the hunter? Was the [Hero] evil for killing the [Slaver]?
At one time, she had thought about such things. She now had her answer that 'good' and 'evil' didn't exist. They were just words. Justifications.
This was relevant to the thought string because it looked at the people Belavierr knew or had interacted with in some way. It used 'good' and 'evil' as labels to sort how the people thought of Belavierr, among many other ways of distinguishing them.
There. A new thread had touched upon one of her works. That was common, and not worth noting most of the time. This time, it had touched a working that had been temporarily disabled.
That might cause a problem. There were ways to deal with such an outcome. Some good. Some bad. Some that might result in more suffering for her hat.
That was a thought for another thread. This thread only kept track of connections. Anything more than that was up to another part of her.
Oh? What was this? The new thread had intercepted the threads of people with a 'revenge' tag. What they had done to earn the Stitch Witch's ire, this part of her knew not. Regardless, it was proper to inflict revenge upon the new thread too.
It applied the tag and notified the appropriate thread. It then turned back to its task of sorting connections.
Another thread took action. Across the world, on another continent, the working with the connection was roused and sent after their new target.
...
Later, the opportunity thread of Belavierr's consciousness noticed an Important Event - the sort of event that it sought.
Wars, natural disasters, Crelers - these sort of things generally led to people who were suffering. It was an ever-present emotion, but Belavierr was always on the lookout for purer forms of it. She offered favors and wonders in exchange for someone's suffering as a way to maintain her power.
The event in question was both a war and a natural disaster. No mention of Crelers though.
An army of the dead was fairly common in Noelictus. Belavierr didn't know how many times she'd seen one over the millenniums, and this thread of thought didn't care for precise numbers. All it cared about was that people would fight, die, level, and grieve.
Grief was a particularly good form of suffering. It was an emotion she could form into so many things.
A working was already en route to the area for, let's see... 'revenge'.
The thread rolled its metaphysical eyes. Revenge was important in the long run for dissuading those who would interrupt Belavierr's work, but it was not nearly as important as an opportunity. Still, it was good for the working to be close. That would mean making deals and obtaining grief would be simpler.
Then, another Important Event happened to the current Important Event. A display of power the thread couldn't parse. Destruction on a level that could threaten... anything. A source that felt both new and ancient beyond measure.
The thread wove itself with more thoughts. An Important Event by an Important Person? That was worthy of more of her attention.
Belavierr frowned slightly. Too slightly for anyone to notice, if they'd been looking, but she still reacted.
She looked through one of her String Puppet's eyes. They reflected her orange eyes with endless rings as they watched a golden light selectively unmake an army.
Wait, String Puppets?
She pulled another thread of thought into herself. Oh, yes. The working she'd made based off of what she'd done with the Stringfolk. Infiltrators. Designed to find small opportunities in Noelictus, where living creations would fall victim to the ambient Death magic... or to wandering undead.
Belavierr focused on the strangely shaped form that contained so much power, yet so little magic. There was an opportunity for an alliance there.
She didn't know what wonders the figure might be able to offer her, but she surely had numerous gifts that would be well received.
The [Witch] focused on the thread that connected her with the stranger. Yes. He'd been in contact with her working while it had been deactivated by someone who'd defied her. He'd also been in contact with that one directly. The two of them shared numerous other connections.
Belavierr could only guess at connections not directly related to her, but they seemed amicable. It would damage her potential relationship with the target if she proceeded with her revenge - at least while he was close to the defier. She made an adjustment to the classification to note that.
What was this? An antagonistic thread to the Important Person?
That would work nicely as a opening gift. Who didn't appreciate revenge?
She started braiding the appropriate commands into her working. Greeting. Offers. A gift. An invitation.
It would cost her some to make an introduction, but it was Important to meet Important People. She would have to incorporate another thread of thought to remember exactly why. Should she pull more of herself together? The commands were almost complete, but she could expand on them...
Wait.
The most important thread requested her attention!
Belavierr unwove herself here and rewove herself around the most important thread. Her daughter.
"Yes, Wiskeria. What can I do for you?"