Welcome to Flavortown - Estrid, the Masked

Estrid, the Masked

and Estrid's Invocation

| Illustrated by Johannes Voss

Someone, Somewhere

"My dearest Estrid, when will I see you again?" The aven man

"Oh, ah. You see... you know how it is for planeswalkers." Estrid cleared her throat. "'Call of the Multiverse

"I will wait eagerly for your return, my beloved."

Estrid panicked as her voice flickered between the planes. "Oh. You really shouldn't. I'll probably never come back. Sorry, guess it's not in the cards

And she was gone. Drifting

She needed to get better at breakups.

Estrid always found herself drifting

She found herself burning bridges when the honeymoon stage had peaked for the other. About two weeks in. Planeswalkers

As her body whipped past the planes, she held the mask

The masks seemed to manifest of their own volition

The unison of self and other was often a taxing process. She considered it a kind of relationship test-run. Within her mind, she and her lovers' personalities

The things she heard him say-- it say. The way that Estrid's mind was made, either by flaw or folly

So it goes. Estrid granted herself a brief respite before returning to her fruitless search for love.

She emerged into the embrace of cool air and a mist of salt water. On Kamigawa, children played beneath the branches of Boseiju

"Don't you all have technology? I'm shocked that this still interests you." Estrid couldn't help but laugh. She enjoyed these short visits

"What toys did you play with, Aunt Estrid?" Some of the children had taken to calling her that. She couldn't help but laugh, wondering if this collection of nezumi, moonfolk, and orochi

"Oh, I just had my scrolls growing up. Plenty of studying to be done." She ran her fingers over one of the dolls. "But don't you want something new

"But the old stuff is nice." A nezumi girl said. "Reminds me of home."

These poor kids, having their homes torn away from them by power-hungry planeswalkers. She figured the least she could do was provide some minor joys

They walked through the market streets of Towashi, the neon lights

"How do you still find joy in it?" asked Estrid. "After everything this city has done?

"Dunno. I just do." She smiled. "It's nice. And it's nice being around nice things."

As they approached the doors of the shelter, Estrid mouthed the word "nice" over and over. She knew something nice. Someone. But being around her wasn't nice. That woman from Theros

Estrid knocked on the front door. Rather than open, the shelter's caretaker descended from the sky, blanket in hand for the young nezumi.

"It's been a while, Estrid," said Tamiyo

The plane of Kodisha housed the Endless Bazaar

She scanned Tamiyo's face for any sign of intent. The moonfolk produced a teapot from her bag along with glassware. An automatic kettle gifted by a friend

They'd last met each other on Ravnica

"So, Mrs. Tamiyo, how are the kids?" Estrid swished her tea in tiny whirlpools. 

"Quite well. Nashi has taken a liking to tinkering. He'll be an artificer like his father one day." Tamiyo smiled. She spoke highly of her children. It was nice to know they had someone like her.

"Anything new? Sorry, I always miss the Story Circle

Tamiyo quickly downed her cup, steam still rising from the rim of her glass. "You mentioned a woman on Theros

Ah, there it is, thought Estrid. She cleared her throat and began to stumble over her words. "I mean, I mentioned many people. I'm sure I spoke of someone from Theros

"Estrid. Stop." Tamiyo up her hand. "You know who I speak of. And she sounds kind. Tell me about her." 

The moonfolk produced a silver scroll from her bag. Its edges were adorned with Therosian script, words of valor and heroism

"Place your hands upon it, and your mind will tell the tale," Tamiyo said. "Sometimes, going into the past can offer some insight into the future."

What did she have to lose? Silently, Estrid placed her palms onto the script, and fell headfirst into her own story

Estrid emerged from the Blind Eternities for the first time, her pale, thin body rolling against the grassy fields of the Amatrophon

Her mind reeled from the experience. Though she did not know it, her spark had ignited and sent her far, far from the forces that tore her home to shreds. Kneeling on the grassy knoll, Estrid clawed at the space between the planes

After a moment, she found the space where her home was. But it was empty. As if it was a square in a quilt, removed by the shears of a god

"Excuse me, miss." A voice from behind her spoke. "I don't mean to intrude, but you're looking quite shaken, and I couldn't help but notice your robes

Estrid looked up to see a young nymph, the leaves of an olive tree adorning her hair. Her skin seemed to glow with tiny, twinkling lights

"I can see you're in plenty of trouble, and I'm not one to let new friends run off when they're in trouble." She extended a hand to help Estrid up. "The name's Sythis

The scroll continued to propel her through the past as she appeared in a marble room, vines

She'd sit on her balcony, watching the caretakers of the land spread out and sprinkle bits of stardust onto the crops. It was a calm endeavor for them. There was no fear in their actions. They did not revere their god out of a desire not to be slain. Instead, they would whisper kind

After their day of farming and caretaking, the priests would invite Estrid to dine with them in their halls

After dinner, Estrid climbed the spiraling staircase of the church towards her room. It was a humble space, decorated with only a few watercolor paintings of oracles

"Enjoying the view?" From behind her, Sythis stepped out onto the balcony. "I couldn't sleep either. Not on a night

"I'm just watching the stars. It's fine." Estrid sat cross-legged, her body tightened together.

"Did you stargaze a lot in the place you're from?" she asked.

The stars on Theros were unlike anything on her home plane. She remembered what they had looked like, dying out in the sky as the plane itself fell to ruins. But here, the sky shone brighter than ever. Each star pulsed so beautiful she thought nothing could ever quell them.

"Nothing like this," said Estrid. "If I can't see home again, why not watch here?"

Sythis cocked her head to the side, then took a seat next to Estrid. Her green skin had an almost divine

"It's nothing special."

"Humor me." Sythis smiled. Their conversation didn't stop until the sun rose the next morning.

The two became increasingly inseparable. Estrid finally left the confines of her room and joined the Karametren priests for their daily prayers. She wasn't a worshipper herself, but Sythis had shown her that there was some hope

Estrid ventured away from the church some days, exploring the nearby cities she'd read stories about. Soldiers in gold armor

On one of these journeys she bought a small locket from a priest

Sythis was honored to receive it, and the two continued to fall for each other. Although relationships were uncommon for Karametran priests, the edicts of the God of Harvest encouraged her followers

Watching her memories, Estrid felt her mind shunt forward to the future. No, not here. Not here, she thought. She and Sythis were standing in the fields late at night, throwing breadcrumbs to the animals that roamed the fields.

"Can I ask you a question, dear?" asked the nymph. "The priests in Meletis

"Oh." Estrid frowned. "When would you be back? This might be selfish, but I don't look forward to being apart from you for so long."

"That's the thing. I wanted to ask you if you'd come with me."

Estrid laughed. "I couldn't! A missionary trip like that, you'd only be able to take other clergy members and family."

Estrid turned to face her, only to notice that Sythis was on the ground. No. She was on one knee

And Estrid made her first mask

It conjured itself, threads of her mind whipping in the wind, forming itself into a reflection of her lover. A mask made of Estrid's psyche, a corrosive substance, forced to meld with the Sythis she saw before her. The space between them was filled with light

As their minds merged, Estrid realized the devastation she would bring. Planeswalkers attracted tragedy, and each moment she spent with Sythis doomed her further. It was against the nature of things for them to insert themselves into other planes. Estrid, a woman from another world, no longer had a home. Asserting herself as belonging to Theros, belonging with Sythis, was against the fate her spark

The mask poured

Estrid would not allow this to pass. Without a word, she planeswalked away and never returned to Theros.

Tamiyo

"How are you feeling?" she asked Estrid. Placing the story scroll

"Well, you did

"I can't let you go blindly planeswalking after that. You could get hurt, landing in some far-flung place

Estrid slammed her fist against the table. "Maybe I'm fine with that. Maybe I just want to get away. Ever think of that?"

"Nobody deserves to be alone."

"That's easy for someone with a family to say. But I hurt people. I've tried to find people like you have, but I'm not made for that." Estrid stared into the clamoring crowds of the bazaar

A stillness hung over the table, the two suspended on a taut rope of anxiety.

Tamiyo finished her tea and stared at her, eyes unblinking. "I've read many tales. I know when they end. The one you just wrote lacks an ending." She began to dissolve into a flutter of scrolls, planeswalking back home

Fields of wheat danced against Estrid as she walked once more through the fields

Against her predictions, some stars did go out.

The temple she had lived in for so long had aged considerably. The pillars outside were cracked, marble falling into decay. Estrid could hear the clamor of dishware and stoves from inside. They'd all be there. Nymphs of Karametra were sustained by the land; none of them  would have passed. All of them, especially Sythis

With each step she fought the urge to vanish into the Blind Eternities

And she saw them all. They were gathered around the dining table. A light fire crackled and the smell of spices wafted through the room. And of course, Sythis. But she was holding a small child in her arms, carefully feeding it. Another woman, a satyr, stood next to her. Parents.

I see, Estrid thought. She banished malice from her mind. As she stood in the doorway, she locked eyes with Sythis. The nymph looked to her satyr wife and whispered something to her. The satyr nodded and walked off, leaving Sythis alone. Holding the child, Estrid's former lover walked outside and the two spoke for the first time in years.

Sythis sat for a long while, listening intently as Estrid filled her in on the events of her life. Finally, she spoke. "So why come here now?"

Estrid bit her lip. "I want to make amends. I left you. You showed me kindness, a gentle embrace that saved me."

"Then I have given you all I have!" For the first time, Sythis shouted. The baby began to cry and her mother bounced them on her knee. Finally, the child's sobs silenced. "I wanted to help you, so I did. And I fell in love with you. And I offered you marriage. Then you left. I was alone for years until I found..." She stopped.

"I'm sorry, you don't have-"

"No. I do. Until I found someone who could love me." Sythis stared into her child's eyes. "She became something I could live for. We healed each other. Now we have someone we both care for. You hurt me, Estrid. I can't be the one to bring you healing."

That urge to leave festered in her chest once again. The act of being near Sythis was burning, an overwhelming glow that threatened to scorch her soul. "All I wanted was not to hurt you."

"The only time you hurt me was when you left me."

Estrid thought about her years of travel. All of the masks she'd forged, all of the possible doomsdays they foretold. She had carried the weight of them. But they did not make her do anything. She chose to listen to them, chose to tear herself away from the world leaving tatters behind. No more. No more.

"I don't want your love." Estrid said. "I want to love you. Not as a lover, but as another person." Estrid placed a hand on her shoulder. "I thought searching for love across the world would dissuade my fear of loss. But that wasn't the case. Having someone to love is what kept me from fearing loss."

Sythis thought for a moment. Estrid imagined that she was praying. "Would you like to hold them?"

Estrid held the child in her arms. Their skin was bright blue, glittering horns made of the light of Nyx emerging from the infant's head. This was what Estrid feared losing. Closeness. She wasn't going to discard it anymore, but hold would hold it tight. To be loved by Sythis wasn't her fate, but that didn't mean she was unlovable.

"They have their mother's eyes." Estrid said. And no mask was made.