<div class="floatleft">(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWE6P0qUMAQQMih.jpg)</div><br/>Nobody knew quite what was happening to Alwyn's helper spirits. They didn't seem to be fading away, exactly. They didn't show the signs of expiring, the natural progression of everything from one realm to the mysterious beyond. They still drank of Alwyn's mana, supplied freely and always plentiful.<br/><br/>But something was changing. Most helper spirits had not been through so much, and certainly nobody else devoted as much time, energy, conversation and downright love to such constructs as Alwyn had. Most people considered the spirits mere helpers, artificial beings less intelligent than the average animal. But Alwyn had always acted like the orbs were her friends. Her only friends, at first.<br/><br/>So they were tucked away in her highly guarded house, behind layers of protection. The mage herself was with them every possible second, and her most trusted allies with them in her stead for the brief times she had to be away.<br/><br/>Something was happening, but nobody knew if it was miracle or nightmare, magic or mundane. Alwyn had accidentally created something new, and the concern for her orbs weighed heavily upon her....