[ An acknowledging little flutter of her wings. And then a flicker of magic, and she becomes human again, returning to her previous state. Her face is grave and sad. Her voice is quiet. ]

My world is - was - is a broken one. One that I've been trying my whole life to fix. Thousands of years ago, humans discovered how to summon spirits from a world of magic called the Other Place, and things have been wretched ever since. Rather than living in harmony with those spirits, humans enslaved them, forced them to do their bidding. Forced them to build grand civilizations, sprawling empires that would in time simply crumble and fall.

I grew up in one of those empires. The British Empire was built on the backs of enslaved spirits and oppressed commoners, and nearly all my life I've been fighting against that. Last night - [ A faint expression of puzzlement flits across her face, because it wasn't last night, not exactly... ] Back home, I should say, before I came here, I rather...prevailed in that fight. Not in a way I'd have liked. Not in the way I'd longed for. But...the empire crumbled. But for that to happen... [ A little breath. ] Sacrifices had to be made.

[ She gestures to herself. ]

I used a magical ritual to travel to the Other Place. The world of spirits. To find allies. But...It did change me. And that's why I look as I do now. The life was drawn out of me by that journey.