The Weigher

There are beings whose sole purpose is to weigh souls. Perhaps a loved one has met them, or you have heard of work written in myths of the ancient people of the west. If neither of these apply to you then worry not, it soon will.

The weigher of realm 1-00794 was efficient. He had always done his job without falter. He was neither contented nor saddened by the fate of mortals. That changed after one judgement. It began as usual. A recently deceased and the ferryman crossed the river and were met by the weigher of souls. This flickering flame was an old man. Nothing seemed great about him, but the weigher took longer than usual to speak. The serenity of his countenance captivated him. The weigher approached and opened his cloak. He took out a golden scale. He held up the scale in one hand and in the other he held a single white feather. He opened his mouth and spoke:

I am the weigher of your realm. In life we did not know each other, in death we have met but once. Despite our singular encounter, your eternal destination rests on what I hold in my grasp. On one side of this scale will rest a feather, on the other will rest your soul. If the feather rises you will prosper in the afterlife. If the feather sinks you must go to the abode of the damned. Have you anything to say mortal?

The old man was silent. 

Very well. 

As the feather landed on the scale, one side tipped dramatically. Despite having done this innumerable times, never had a result surprised him. What was more strange was the absent reaction from the senile old man. Perhaps he had not understood the severity of what had happened. The weigher was about to speak, but the old man walked toward the cave that lead to the underworld. This interaction was strange to say the least. None of his previous judgements had been anything like this one. After the mortal left he wondered why his soul was so evil. So much so he faltered on his duties and OMNIS called for his presence. 

The mortal who has invaded your mind committed many atrocious acts. He was vicious, and proud. He was also gluttonous. Worst of all his gluttony was for the bitterest of all the meats...human flesh. This mortal was a cannibal for many years. Nobody knew what he did, so his sins went unpunished. He died of old age. 

Despite knowing what the old man did the weigher could not comprehend his behavior. How could a mortal invade his thoughts? In desperation he went to the forgotten library. Even there he could not silence his thoughts. Finally, after much consideration the weigher pleaded to become a mortal. 

I wish to be one of the humans so that I can understand, the weigher said.

The weigher gave great orations pleading his cause for mortality. Much deliberation followed these orations until OMNIA came. OMNIS told his wife that he did not want to relinquish the weigher of his duty. The couple discussed the matter at great length. After much time passed they decided to grant the weigher with mortality. But, the weigher was to become a mortal that was able to shapeshift. Although this condition baffled the weigher, he did not question them.  He understood that they changed their minds and they granted his wish.

OMNIS said: We will send you to realm 1-00794 (H) on planet 127-6-226-0254 (TeRa). Tonight you will become a mortal human. You will keep your memories. Your new body will allow you to roam the planet as you please. Once you die, you will come back to your job as a weigher. The only thing we ask is that in your time among the humans you never tell anyone who you are.

That night the weigher fell into a deep sleep. It seemed that his mind was finally at peace. He was not worried about what lay ahead for him. He would still keep his memories of innumerable judgements. He would know what to do and what not to do. As he reassured himself that this was what he needed to do he felt his body relax downward. It felt almost like it was restraining him to where he lay. He tried lifting an arm but he was unable to get up. His body felt like it was getting heavier and heavier. At one point he was convinced that the immortality was being compressed out of him. When his body was able to stir he noticed that he was on a bed in a room. The sun was beginning to peak it's way in. He squinted his eyes and got up. He went to the window to look outside. The house was near the edge of a river with many trees covering the landscape. He looked down and saw that his cloak had turned into an old beige shirt and black pants. He saw some brown boots in the corner and walked towards them when a voice came into his mind and said:

You are no longer immortal. This body will decay the same as the humans. You will feel hot and cold, sick and hungry, pain and happiness. You will feel emotions that may seem alien to you.  The place you are in now is yours. Whenever you feel unsure about something ask a human. No one knows who you were, keep it that way.

The voice ended and his mind felt weakened. He began doubting and telling himself that he did not think this through enough. Then he remembered that no mortal had ever made such an impact in his life before. He had to find out why. He got out of the house and went to the river. He could hear the constant noise of running water. He sat there and thought of what he had seen. How could he have known where to go? How was he so calm? As he sat in deep thought, a fish splashed around in the water. He went to look closer and he noticed that the fish was being attacked. His first action was to take the fish out of the water, away from what was hurting it. When he took it out it looked as if the fish was dying. He put it back in the water and the fish swam away. He sat back down and thought to himself why did he take the fish out. He had never done something on impulse. His life was always dictaded to him. He was a weigher. One task. No thought. After he saw the old man he thought more than he ever has in his existence. He kept pondering until a person passed by. The person was running and had a smile on his face. He looked like he was enjoying it. He wasn't even breathing hard as he ran. This baffled the weigher. How could someone be enjoying something like this. He did not want to approach the person, so he hid in the water. He slid into the water. Rippling waves as he entered. The person saw the rippled waves but did not think much of it as he passed by the river. He continued his run. With earphones on he passed by. The weigher gathered the courage to come out of the water and come onto dry land. He took off his clothes and set them on the ground. He walked into another room in the house. While exploring the house he thought of what he had done, and what he saw. While submerged he noticed fishes big and small. He wished he was able to keep underwater and swim with them. Then his hands crashed on the door frame when he realized and celebrated that he could. He had remembered that he could shapeshift! The thing was that he did not know how to do it. He should have asked the omniscient OMNIA how he was to us his ability. He had no idea, but he concentrated on the body of the fish he saved. He tried remembering the texture of the scales, the size of the eyes and the flailing fins. Remembering made the weigher lose himself in thought. But he realized he was becoming smaller.  He felt that he was not breathing. He felt that his feet were no longer holding him up. He had begun to shape shift. Scales began to appear on his skin. He had lost his hands and feet. In the shrinking he moved closer to the water so that he did not stay too far when he fully became a fish. After a while he had transformed into a fish. He went into the water and began swimming with the fishes. He was happy that he remembered he was a shapeshifter. He swam up and down the river. He did not notice a net that was moving through the water towards him.

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