Microstory 654: A Blind Man Made Guide

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Back in ancient times, a number of conditions caused people to be seemingly irreparably blind. It was often the result of a bad connection between the eyes, and the brain. Medical advancement eventually solved all of these issues so that today, blindness is all but impossible. Even the poorest of us have access to the right treatments to cure, or at least work around, a lack of sight. Arkeizens are little good as thralls if they can’t see, so they too are provided with the necessary medical care. Many people are born without the ability to go blind outside of some kind of physical trauma, because any genetic predisposition to poor eyesight is usually weeded out. Lightseers have long questioned the realization of this taikon, because a blind person, even if they existed, would ultimately be fully capable of becoming a guide. We weren’t even sure what that word, guide meant in this context, but none of the possibilities would be prohibitive to blindness. The ability for a blind person to do anything in our worlds could never be rare enough to qualify as a taikon, because as previously stated, a cure should be easily available. But again, the Sacred Savior has proven himself to be complete infallible, his words ringing just as true here as they do elsewhere in the Book of Light. When the recent converts first touched down on the new Kesliperia, they were welcomed by the light of two stars. The second had recently come into existence, with no decent scientific explanation for how that was possible. One of the passengers on the exodus ship was a woman who never had the privilege of a name. She was born in the Caves of Dormancy, a system of tunnels in one of the moons orbiting Raista where a strange light-hating cult lived. She had rarely seen the stars, and had never beared witness to the majesty of a sun. This one would be her last. So enamoured with the wondrous sight, she stared at the two suns in the sky, ignoring the words of warning from those around her. Everything seemed fine once she found the willpower to pull herself from it, but the damage had been done. Not two days later, she discovered herself to be blind. Doctors could have fixed her, but quickly learned that they should not even make an attempt. The blinding light of truth had manifested itself in a profound way, providing the unnamed cavedweller the powerful gift of clairvoyance. Upon realizing this, she immediately pledged loyalty to Lightseed, and began a mission to guide new Lightseers to the truth and peace that she had finally found.