Work Text:
Inaya has only ever known the desert.
She has never left. Never gone to Sumeru City or the forests she only sees when she walks far, far from her little hermitage.
Inaya is the child of bandits. But she didn"t want to be, so she left the bandits when she was old enough. She lives by an oasis, a small one, and tries to cultivate the barely airable land of the desert.
Inaya has a vision. She does. It"s Hydro.
Some say she got it for her kindness.
Some say she got it for her persistance.
Some say she got it out of pity.
The last is not true. Visions are given to the worthy. Pity is not a worthy cause.
Inaya does not know why she got her vision. The way she tells it, it was just another desert evening when a glowing blue light floated from the sky, the burning sunset sky, and gave Inaya her vision.
Inaya lets travelers stay with her. She lets the destitute stay with her. She lets bandits stay with her. If you need help, you go to Old Inaya.
She"s worked hard to carve a life out for herself in the seasless, careless desert, and is happy to share her work with others who are less fortunate.
The bandits respect her and they leave her alone, even help her occasionaly.
Inaya spends her days coaxing life from the sands, watching the desert, and giving advice to the numerous people who come to her. Inaya is old, and Inaya has lived here forever, as the young ones say.
"Not forever," Inaya laughs "Not forever. Not yet." Whan they say that.
Some say that Old Inaya will always be here, in the desert.
Some say that Old Inaya will never die. That the blessing of Hydro is also a blessing of an eternity of life. They say that Old Inaya is a god.
Some say that Old Inaya will die, but not truly. That her ghost will remain, her spirit.
Inaya doesn"t know. Inaya doesn"t care. It will be how it will be.