A lone tendril of thought brushed her mind. She interpreted the message perfectly, the translation of the foreign presence unnecessary for one such as her. It was more efficient to simply absorb the whole of the touch, to embrace the feeling and emotion and imagery behind it.
Unnecessary. Her declaration warranted the candle-lights of her students to frenzy and flicker as they left her to her meditation. The Champion Lance's incessant inquiries would not bear fruit anytime soon. She understood his fear, his hesitance. How could she not? She lived in the minds of others as much as she did in herself.
Her mind was an open thing, like all of humanity's. If only more had the patience to realize it. To open their eyes to the true nature of reality. It was a convincing illusion, perhaps even an appealing one to believe that the universe was simply a physical thing. But wasn't it? The physical and metaphysical were one. Her talents did not lend themselves towards discerning the finer subtleties of where flesh ended and spirit began.
No, her powers were far too limited for such things. She was a simple player in this great game, though unlike the Champion Lance she had always recognized as such. The dormant Concepts, the bones upon which this universe had grown and shaped itself, had been as stars to her for as long as she could remember.
Many considered her abilities to have manifested at an early age. She had bent a spoon in a fit of childish pique. Her lips twisted into a gentle curve. So young. It had been the first external use of her psychic skills. Her mind had reached out to the simple metal utensil in her frustration. They were connected, as all things were. Her sight could not divine deeper, and she knew her psychic powers would never lead her to the truth, but she recognized that in many ways she and the spoon were one. It was only a matter of realizing it and embracing that immaterial connection.
She could not create, nor could she destroy. Psychic powers were limited. They manipulated what was already there. She could divide, she could twist what was already there. She could change. That was the power of a psychic. Sabrina could not break the laws of reality.
That was the realm of the others. The Concepts and those who had learned at their feet in ages past and learned to express their own Concept into the world. Those who stained reality with their own Concept, those who could break that inviolable law and create.
And then there were those that destroyed. Who tugged on the strands of reality and who embraced the toxic chaos on the other side. They reached in and brought Not into their world, and it was ravenous.
Her abilities did not bring something into this universe or remove something entirely. She changed. Time and Space were her allies, and she had spent over two decades learning their intricate nature, allowing her mind to be cast adrift in the universal current and whip her to and fro. It was her birthright. As a little girl she had lived lifetimes. She had lived the lives of others in moments, opening her eyes centuries ago and ahead in far-off places.
Even as a little girl, she had known the doom lurking in their past, present, and future. She had felt the harsh fury of Ice, the aloof crack of Thunder, and the blaze of Fire to the south. She sensed the Guardian of Life at play in its ancient Tree, and sometimes it would teasingly brush against her. On those days her initiates would carry Sabrina to her bed, her mouth frothing and mouth opened in an endless scream as she saw the truth of the cheerful entity.
Othertimes her mind, cast across space, would find subtler presences. The Born-Again of Johto and the Sunlight that had shattered itself to fuel their apotheosis. Moon-and-Storm hidden in the depths, ever watchful for its terrible, mindless Master's Awakening. It shied away from her, warning her away with a peaceful Song. Occasionally a twist in Time would manifest briefly, then vanish again before she could hope to divine its nature. She did not dare to make contact. Gibbering madness would be her only reward.
And now the Shade. Sabrina shivered in the cold flame that embraced her. It had not become a part of her as it had Ash Ketchum. It had ruined her, taken delight in toying with her family's assault before it absentmindedly plucked the strings of their brains. Terrible things had become a part of her that day, and she had only just begun to recover. Sometimes she still felt its awful gaze turn upon her and laugh. Its power had saturated her and encouraged her own abilities to grow uncontrolled, unrestrained… she Saw deeper and longer than ever before, and it terrified her.
Her mind eased as she sought comforting spots. There were new sparks in her vision as well. Familiar ones she knew well and held dear.
The Champion Lance bore Fire on his hand. He had not listened to her warnings to avoid Fire in its lair, but she had never doubted such an outcome. His will had carried him far and would continue to do so. It was a necessary step for him to listen to her warnings in the future. It made her uneasy, however. The Champion Lance had gained much, but the Fire had taken him. It burned subtly now, but all Fire required fuel…
Ash Ketchum had begun to burn terribly. He had flickered upon her awareness when he and his family entered the Seafoam Islands. It was brave and foolish in equal measure, though he could not have known to find Ice in its depths. Few made it so far. Even those with the strength rarely possessed the will to descend past the first layers. Ash Ketchum had not hesitated.
He was marked with Ice and a hint of the Shade when he found her, the Brand potent enough to subtly steer him in the direction of Ice for a time. Her acolytes struggled with its potency. Yet it was only the beginning. First Lightning sank deep into his flesh, then Fire scarred his spirit and left burns always ready to ignite anew. The Shade, the Guardian, and something else, something dark and terrible that had been near. She feared for when that darkness would return.
She had been nearly catatonic during the Clash of Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Her abilities had thrust her into madness moments after she had allowed herself to warn the Champion Lance of the happenings. It had been unpleasant. Yet when she awoke, Ash Ketchum had become something new. He should have broken beneath the weight of the Concepts he bore, yet his mind, tempered and hardened by contact with the Shade, had triumphed over those primordial forces. The Concepts tore him apart from the inside, but she could sense the peace he'd found in the present.
Sabrina was not afraid to admit that Ash Ketchum scared her. He should not be. Should not have survived beneath the weight of Fire, Ice, and Lightning. He was changed, and would be forevermore. She feared for his future and her own inability to stop it.
There was an order to the world, and she was a part of it. The uninitiated believed psychics to be agents of fate. Their thoughts screamed when she drew near, fearful that she would pluck their brains apart with a glance. If only they knew. Many feared her after she had punished the Rockets that had raided Silph Co. Had raided her city. They thought she might break them with her powers, twist their limbs or necks until they snapped with a grotesque squelch. Many had particularly vivid imaginations.
If only they knew. She divined the connections between them all deeper than most, differently than any psychic she had met. Sabrina also knew that physical punishment was the last thing they should fear.
Her thoughts drifted to dear Will. Laughing, eager Will who always brought a smile to her face. Such a bright light, his thoughts opened to the world. Yet that had been his downfall. His psychic abilities were his life, and they had brought him low against the Swarm of Potential, linked to a small child. Molly.
Physical threats did not frighten her. She was above them. But to lose herself, to have her thoughts twisted and subverted to another entity's will…
She did not feel shame in the beat her heart skipped. It was only natural. She was her thoughts, her feelings. If she did not have them, what was she?
And it was so easy to be lost to these Concepts which took their first breaths of life. They were the Pillars of Creation, the font from which their Concepts flowed. They changed the world to their whims by their very nature, without conscious thought. Against psychics, mutable and open, their essence took root all too easily.
Her breathing slowed. She must remain calm. Though it seemed existence itself had declared war against her, she recognized that such thought was foolish. Existence did not care for her. She was yet another infinitesimal facet of the whole, and to think any of the Concepts cared for her was the height of arrogance.
Sabrina relaxed. Her eyes opened and she took in the plain white room she had chosen for meditation. It was bare. There was no need for material distractions as she contemplated and reached across the universe. Her mastery of Space and Time was her greatest gift, though it was impossible to use proactively. There were only possibilities ahead, never a set path that she could divine.
So far she had avoided assisting the Champion Lance in his search for the Concepts. He had marshalled the entire League in their search to discern the true nature and locations of their targets. A foolish and impossible task, as she had told him, but he forged ahead regardless. The thought brought a smile to her face.
He'd learnt caution as a result of this most recent Conceptual incursion. Champion Lance feared them now, but had learnt a newfound respect and restraint. Though his mind flickered with doubt and regret in the heart of Indigo Plateau, she sensed that it was time to assist. It would be beneficial for the League to have her to narrow their search, though she refused to step in beyond that.
To brush close to the Concepts - the Legends, as the Champion Lance and other unaware called them - was to invite their destruction. Many had tossed and turned in their endless slumber as monumental events took place in the waking world. Some had even begun to breath anew.
Indigo had weathered terrible storms and a predatory gaze. Land and Sea saturated Hoenn with their burgeoning presence, the seals placed upon Sea by Moon-and-Storm failing. Sinnoh itself stirred with ancient winds.
The Antithesis, that terrible Shadow, loomed over them all.
Yes, it was time to begin. Her murky visions and her insight had told her that to Awaken the Legends was to invite death, a permanent change upon the world. Yet, to remain complacent was to be obliterated entirely. Change was necessary, sometimes.
Mind made up, Sabrina rose on steady legs and stepped through Time and Space to the wondrous halls of Indigo Plateau.
It was time to speak to the Champion Lance.
Author's Note: Hey everyone, I apologize for the long wait! I've been living in another country and took a while to adjust. I'm now fully back in the swing of things, however, and am hard at work on the next chapter! This was just a fun little experiment to practice writing again, and I was really eager to write a character like Sabrina! I don't think I've ever shown her viewpoint before and it was a lot of fun showing off her thought process and perceptions. A lot of it is vague and allegorical, mostly relying on other pieces we don't know fully yet, but if you've paid attention you should be able to get a lot out of this!
One thing I'd like to say is that Sabrina isn't a 100% reliable narrator just like any other POV character in Traveler or Recollections. She has a much better idea of the deeper workings of the world than most characters, but she doesn't understand everything completely and is outright wrong about a few details, or at least not entirely correct. She doesn't know exactly what will happen and how, and is absolutely not omniscient. She struggles to comprehend her visions and isn't always aware of the context of a problem.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and please leave your thoughts! I'm curious to see if I managed to handle Sabrina correctly! Thanks for reading!
