[ It all sounds... so sad to him, the way Somnus describes it. That mortals and their descendants should be cursed and bound like this. To live so short and dedicate their after lives to this cause... it feels so opposite of what his kind goes through, and yet he's still able to sympathize. ]

I... understand. Well, maybe not completely but... that feeling specifically.

When... when I first came to Aeaea I had nothing. Fled an unkind, dead world and arrived a hollow husk. It was my beloved and his people who found me that made me feel anything at all, made me whole, and when he asked me on his deathbed if I would always protect our home he gave me even more: purpose. Family.

[ He pulls a hand away from his harp and looks down at it. ]

I have spent the rest of my life since that moment doing whatever it takes. Learning everything I know, every spell, every piece of knowledge... all so I could fulfill this one purpose. Protect Aeaea. Protect our kin.

...But what good has it been here? What good... is this guardian beast now? Can't even keep the most vulnerable of us safe. So I... understand that much at least.