eachdraidh | VISUAL ; SEELIE LOCKED.

[ when the visual feed starts, there’s a bright green snout poking at the locket, and korra’s voice can be heard in the background — soft, encouraging. “it’s how we keep in contact, rizhao,” she says. satisfied, the dragon slithers away to mako — currently sitting on the floor with a conspicuous collection of bowls of black powder, paper tubes, and clay — and climbs right on top of him, all thirty feet of her piled on his shoulders, looped under his arms, and all over his lap. the locket swings around, catching a glimpse of one asami sato at a carved wooden table, looking over some small parts that look like clockwork gears with a hand to her chin. she seems Very Interested in what she’s doing, so we’ll leave her alone for now and get to the focus of what this post is really about:

korra comes into view, fixing the angle of the locket before setting it down. she’s about to start talking when a great white head comes into view, and naga drops herself down next to korra, chin on the girl’s lap. as korra relaxes, she begins to address the network, ]

I hope everyone’s feeling better — did anyone find out what caused that silver stuff to spread? How it got started? There seemed to be a lot of different cures, but…

[ that’s not really what she wanted to talk about, so she lets that thought drift off, leaning back and drawing her hand between naga’s ears for a second before she continues. ]

We’ve got a lot of new people, don’t we. [ and she doesn’t seem happy about that, oh no. ] My name is Korra, you can find me out on the Western Road if you ever need to travel to Redgate or the University — but you don’t wanna go to Daonna, trust me. You’re more likely to end up dead than actually accomplishing anything.

[ she’s really no good at this, this talking off-the-cuff thing. maybe she should’ve written this all down beforehand… ]

Look, I don’t know how much everyone else has been told, but I do know that Queen Solais isn’t in the sharing type when it comes to what the Seelie court’s objective is. Sure, they say it’s “justice and the order of nature,” but I think it’s important that everyone knows what that means. No dancing around the subject, no ducking the harsh reality.

There’s a Void out there and it’s eating away at the world — all worlds. It signals the end of everything that we know, and it’s our job as Seelie shardholders to let it run its course. [ she adds quickly, trying to be reassuring; ] I know that sounds scary. No one likes thinking about the “end,” no matter what the “end” is, but it’s important to realize that everything has an end, just as everything has a beginning.

[ she takes in a breath and sits up straighter. korra reeeeally hates talking about all this philosophical mumbo-jumbo, so the fact that she’s even trying speaks volumes about how important she feels this is. ]

My teachers taught me that everything comes in cycles. Spring to summer, to fall, to winter; old years to new. Even an Avatar’s life isn’t forever — we have to protect ourselves and our Avatar spirit so that the next Avatar can balance and change the world as they see fit.

This Void — it’s not the end of everything, it’s just the end of this cycle, and it’s important that we keep it intact. From this end, new worlds will form; maybe even our own worlds again. I don’t know how many worlds are familiar with ‘reincarnation,’ but where I’m from, it’s real, and I believe the worlds eaten by the Void will come back. Maybe in different forms, maybe the same. It’s important to remember that this is something that will benefit every world that we come from.

[ her fingers curl at naga’s crown, and the polar beardog lets out a soft whine at korra’s sudden tensing. tipping her big head back, naga licks at korra’s face, and korra rests a hand against her dog’s cheek. ]

The Unseelie don’t see it that way. The court’s main objective is killing every Seelie from every world, regardless of whether they can stop the Void or not. They think all life is precious except for those who disagree with them. [ there’s venom seeping into korra’s voice at that, and it’s clear exactly how she feels about the unseelie ideals. ] I heard from someone in the Unseelie court just what they planned on doing, so if you know anyone in the Unseelie court, that won’t protect you. If they win, you’re dead, and that’s it, that’s the end. No chance of you being reborn in your world again because if the cycle doesn’t continue, I believe that every world will eventually die. [ korra has no way of proving this, but this is what she fears. if the unseelie win and interrupt the cycle, if the natural order gets corrupted, then what happens? do things just peter out? or does everything go on to become stagnant. ] Change can bring about balance or it can destroy everything we believe in and want to protect. Change is good, and sometimes, change is necessary — but not like this.

A lot of the Unseelie are probably scared of the Void, and I’d believe that some of the Seelie are, too. [ korra is, though she won’t admit that. ] I know the natives are. Some kill shardbearers, a lot of them are in Daonna. They’re scared of the Void and scared of us, so if you meet any Drabwurld natives, please don’t give them a reason to hurt you. Some of them will still try and you should defend yourselves against them… but a lot of them just want to live their lives as peacefully as they can in spite of the war going on around them.

[ silence falls between her and naga, and in the background, the dragon picks up her head and trills softly in korra’s direction; a gentle whalesong. ]

I think I flapped my gums enough, but if anyone has questions, I’ll answer them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

In the last audience, prior to his passing, High-King Ridire did confirm worlds would be reborn at the Beginning of a new age.

I do not believe he was mistaken.

Edited 2015-06-22 02:24 (UTC)

[ though the void is still an absolutely terrifying thing to face, hearing this does bring her some measure of comfort. ]

He'd know, right? [ jesus lion she's so happy for your +1, though she wants everyone to make up their mind for themselves whether they want to fight for the seelie side or not. ] I wonder how many worlds he's seen created.

[ It is, very much so. Though he does not often feel fear, being so close to the Void during their attempts to save Mount Verla reminded him of that night, that dark and chilling evening when he experienced mortality for himself.

It was a solemn thing, to watch the pyrii march to their End, but he could hardly judge them considering the circumstances. ]

A great many, I should think, as well as many endings.

It should be stated the cycle itself is neither good nor evil; it is simply the most efficient manner for life to preserve itself.

We may see great tragedy in the coming days, a second war of what remains of the great Powers of this world, but perspective must be kept.

[ Everything dies forever, or everything is reborn. ]

[ death and "endings" are always easier to accept in the abstract than they are in the material, at least when it comes to mortal beings like korra and the rest of the humans. her avatar spirit might live on, but she, korra, doesn't. not in any physical capacity. even though it's frightening, she believes she has to support it.

there's a gentle smile on her face as aslan talks (something about his voice is always soothing, and despite the fact that korra's a firecracker at the best of times, she finds herself able to relax). however, his last comment makes her brow furrow. ]

"Second war"? [ she pauses, confused by that — ] Is this about those... creatures fighting in the sky? Like in my dream?

[ It is easier for Aslan, perhaps, for the simple fact that he is abstract. Though he feels joy, pain, and sadness as well as, if not more so, than anyone else, his perspective is very different. He is the Author as well as the Finisher of his own world -- a Concept, an Idea given life and form.

He sees things through another lens, the lens of a World Maker, and though he would prefer to be in his own world, watching over his own creation, there may very well be a purpose in the fact that he was summoned here. ]

I was told that the great Gemstone of legend was shattered through the quarreling of jealous kin -- great Powers of this world, of which only a few now remain.

The vision you speak of is likely connected to the battle that is coming -- when all Powers, great and small, do battle for the ending of their choosing.

[ "jealous kin"? that... makes the gods sound no better than humans, and that's just weird to korra. at least with raava and vaatu, their battle every ten thousand years was to decide the balance of the world. that &mash; that makes sense to korra. spirits have their own morality, their own code; they're not supposed to think like humans. ]

... Why would they start a war like that? That doesn't make any sense to me — are all gods like that?

[ the rest of it makes sense. the battle for the end, etc etc. ]

I could not say.

[ He wasn't there, and he did not inquire further at the time. A war such as what Ridire described is one he has never seen with his own eyes because it is anathema to him on a fundamental level.

Gods are above and beyond mortals in certain ways, but they are also bound -- bound to certain rules that have, in some places, been dictated by fate. ]

There are places in the great expanse of existence where such battles do occur. The dictates of fate may determine such, or there may be other reasons for it.

Not all gods are the same, and not all are spiritual entities without regard or likeness to humanity.

I can only say that such battles are always ruinous in scope and that this one shall be also.

[ It may be part of the order of the world, the ordained end of which Ridire spoke, but it is not a prospect that Aslan looks forward to. ]

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