Deep within the dark, hidden storeroom he'd long been sequestered in, Pidia, the forlorn Carian servant, was finally happy. True, there'd been some small semblance of joy in his life before now. The puppets down here kept him company, their glassy eyes still glimmering with both love and respect for him…as far as he was concerned, anyway. Brave warriors all, these knights hadn't met their true purpose until submitting to the hold of invisible strings. They were far more beautiful like this, Pidia was sure of it. And they could no longer condescend to him, either! That was the trouble with those Other Folk, the ones who'd crafted his kind: an Albinauric could never rightfully trust their overtures, even if they were seemingly made with good intentions. No, Albinaurics were on their own, fending for themselves as they served the wishes of ever-greedier, ever-crueler masters.
Yet Pidia had at last found the answer, the way out of such suffering! With it, he had reversed the unfair hierarchy he'd been forced into at the very moment of his birth.
To think that the amber draught, the glorious recipe that by rights he should never have learned, had worked so well! And then, that masterful presence who had deigned to descend into his accursed, isolated realm one fateful day fell so easily into his hands. Both realities boggled Pidia's mind. But perhaps despite his lack of a link to the Erdtree, the gods had been smiling down upon him all this time. That could be the only explanation for why his plan had come to glorious fruition.
At last, he'd become a puppeteer. He could glimpse the world through clearer eyes and become the master of those who'd trodden him into the dust for so many years. And although his own legs were now broken and withered, the herald of a life soon to end…he could walk freely across the Lands Between and play witness to things he'd heretofore been forbidden from experiencing.
Yes, a cosmic wrong had been righted! He'd always had the intellect to accomplish this, despite being denied a worthy place in the world before. From a pitiable wretch to a masterful presence all his own…what an elevation!
As if he hadn't been blessed enough by the recent developments, he'd found love as well. The lowly Tarnished who ran so many errands for him was simply besotted, coming to the rise ever-more-frequently to offer services to the noble therein. Oh, their affair would never have come to pass if they knew of his true form! Yet the elegant body of his latest puppet, as well as its sophisticated manner of speech and bearing, were more than enough to entice that stalwart fighter to bring gifts and spout long sonnets detailing his affections.
Ah, the nameless Tarnished…feeling his puppet's body cradled so gently in the gallant man's strong arms made Pidia feel that he'd at last come home. It was enough to make him wish that somehow, his soul could migrate into the finer form of the puppet, leaving behind his own piteous body forever. But it wasn't to be, at least not yet. For now, he had to content himself with what he had. And what he'd come to possess was abundance indeed: love, respect, adoration…and the devoted service of powerful vassals, to say nothing of the grand destiny he'd stolen from his puppet. Someday, he would rule the cosmos in another's name, if his loyal Tarnished stayed the course.
Ranni, frail, sweet and precious…oh yes, the dear witch had granted him such a generous gift when she'd sipped the draught that he'd offered her! Though her pity for Albinaurics had been her downfall, he would forever be grateful for her brief slip in judgment. Though she was no longer in control of herself, he took great pains to assure the panicked soul flickering behind her glassy eyes that he was the best steward she could have wished for. Together, they would achieve far greater things than they would have alone. She was his goddess, his masterpiece, his kindly ambassador in an otherwise cold and cruel realm. But above all this, she was his doll, and his alone.
She had more than proven herself to be the finest puppet ever crafted. And no one save Pidia would ever be the wiser.