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To be a Garmentmaker is to love her.
To be a Garmentmaker is to serve her.
To be a Garmentmaker is to die for her.
The first thing you come to know, as the Goldweaver spins her threads and draws you out of the aether, is love. Love is what you are; if a heart beat in your wooden chest it would beat in time with hers, if blood flowed beneath your porcelain skin it would keep pace with the tempo of her pulse, if she had granted you eyes they would see only her.
You love, but do not desire; the simple grace of her presence is enough to set you at peace.
To be a Garmentmaker is to love her.
The second thing you come to know, as the woven threads coalesce into form and you take your place at her side, is duty. Duty is what you are; you are her voice echoing across the shattered remnants of Amphoreus, her eyes in hidden corners of Okhema, her blade on the field of battle that serves as your birthplace.
You obey, and do not question; no more than the arm questions the orders of the brain.
To be a Garmentmaker is to serve her.
The last thing you come to know, as the Titankin’s arrows splinter your wood and shatter your porcelain, is death. Death is what you are. The threads tell you that with your death comes victory. They tell you that you have died for her so many times before. They tell you that you will die for her so many more times.
You fall, and she continues unimpeded; the threads tell you that you will never fail her in this way.
To be a Garmentmaker is to die for her.
As the last Titankin archer crumbles into chalky powder, the puppet slumps to the ground. The edges of her form begin to flake away into golden embers, like paper held up to a flame.
In the moments before she dissolves completely, the puppet reaches out for the woman in white and gold, who responds only with a dispassionate nod. Though she lacks a face, she still seems somehow soothed, and comes apart at peace.
Free from all observation, the woman in white and gold relinquishes a single shining tear.
To be Aglaea is to love and lose, over and over again.
