It was a lonely night as I walked through the park. I had just ended a friendship in a heated fight and I desperately needed the fresh autumn air. The crisp crunches of leaves were the only noise around as I wrestled with my thoughts in solitude. A sudden gust of wind caught me off guard as I braced against the brisk air, a swirl of leaves fluttered around me. "Wha?" I gasp in surprise, what was this a dust devil? Here? I held up my arms until the gust subsided, looking around meekly to see my surroundings.
The streetlamp above me flickered as the wind quickly left as it had arrived. I looked down to see a small, black bound book at my feet. Hesitantly I picked it up, thumbing through it was nothing but blank pages. "Odd." I whisper to myself.
"Odd?" a shrill voice responded in the dark.
I spun around, clutching the book to my chest in fear, looking for the source of the voice. "Who's there?" I called out.
I kept my head on a swivel as I spun around, I had definitely heard a voice. The streetlight flickered again as I felt something tickle the back of my neck. I jumped and spun around to face the stranger. "Who a-?" I try to spit out before only seeing the returning darkness. No one.
"Heehee, it's fun to mess you mortals." the high pitched voice returned. I looked back as the streetlamp continued to flicker at increasing intervals. A feint bellow of ashen smoke swirl around me, crested by a outline of a animals head, a fox. "Looks like it's your lucky day." The apparition continued.
I stumbled backwards, "A g-ghost? Those aren't real!" Slipping on a leaf I tumble on my butt as I look up in fear.
"Only if you don't want them to be." the smoke coiled around me, it's apparent face now locking eyes with me. "Now don't be so scared, this is but a joyous occasion, we are going to do so many fun things together." The spirit cackled. "I am Arval, let's just say for simplicity, I am what you'd know as a fey."
I shook my head "L-like the spirits that steal people's souls?" I started to sweat profusely, trying to inch myself back away from the creature.
"No no, that comes much later." Arval flicked it's nose. "As you can see my form is not but a wisp and a voice. We tricksters feed on entropy, and this reality has gotten so, well, boring. To say I've run out of ideas would be irksome, but there's so many rules these days for us kitsune that I thought of a way to bypass it." The visage didn't have a mouth but I could tell it's vile grin clear as day.
"That book you found was no mere accident, it is instilled with a portion of my power, and with none of the strings." The wisp curled around the tome. "Simply write anything you want into it and it will become true. You can make it as detailed as you want, or just as vague. Unless specified as a recent event, any changes you do make will be considered if they had always been true, and history, culture and reality itself will conform to its written passages."
Arval snickered as it's face wrapped around my neck, grazing it's smokey cheeks next to mine. "Oh little mortal, but be warned, after 24 hours any changes not removed from the tome will be permanent."
My eyes shoot over to the creatures direction. "But why me? What's the catch?"
Arval cackled again, it's shrill voice piercing the empty night. "Catch? Oh mortal nothing for you, unless you want there to be one?" Arval pranced around my body as the smoke wrapped itself like a snake, though it had no force. "The more you change things the more I can get my body back, that's all." It's head twisted upside down. "That's not much of a cost now is it?"
I gulped, it felt like I was making a deal to a devil, one I didn't even knew existed until today. But...I looked around, still nothing but darkness, save the lone streetlamp desperately trying to stay lit. What did I really have to lose, even just to try it?
I nodded to Arval. "Ok. I will."
The smoke curled around in the air in excitement. "Oh goody me, I really didn't want to go through the trouble of turning you into a mouse or a mite if you said no."
Arval swept around. "Fear not little mortal, I will be around to watch, but I do have to ask." It's spun around looking me over. "What kind of person are you? Hmm? You mortals all have a name yes?"