eachdraidh | VISUAL ; SEELIE LOCKED.

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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.

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But why does rebirth have to happen now? Why can't rebirth happen closer to the end of the world's lifespan?

...And, uh, is it possible to go with a visual? I mean, if you'd rather not that's cool, but...

[ He likes to see who he's talking to. Especially considering how new everything and everyone here is. ]

The world is nearing the end of its lifespan as we speak. Before the arrival of new shardbearders, there were earthquakes. Various signs of strain and duress on the fabric of life itself that can only indicate the End of the Age.

This world will not last another thousand years, perhaps not even another century, and the approach of the Void is as much a sign of that as other things we have seen.

[ He says all this, and then, per Dick's request, the visual feature turns on. ]

Old age is part of life, for worlds as well as humanity. One may very well ask why, but it does not change the reality.

We can only choose according to the hand we have been dealt.

[ ...It's. It's a lion. ...Is a talking lion more or less weird than an alien? ]

Is that why we were brought here? I'm one of the said "new shardbearers", see, so I'm still trying to figure everything out. If the world won't last much longer, is it that the monarchs are trying to get the rest of the shards now, as soon as possible, before it gets any further?

Old age is a death that comes with peace, usually. It's how people hope to die, right? After a long and fruitful life. But I feel like if we support this--cause, I guess, it's like cutting short a life that hasn't fully lived. And okay, maybe the world is nearing the end of its lifespan, but I'm not. Other people aren't. And if this war is won and over before I'm old, that's cutting short the lives of me and everyone I love.

[ A talking lion with a whole lot of power, wisdom, and experience. It helps that he knows a lot about these kinds of things. ]

You were brought here because you possess a shard of the great gemstone that was shattered many ages past. It is with the power of those shards that all worlds were made, and it is with them that the monarchs would see the ends they envision.

No living thing is ever truly prepared to meet their end. [ He should know. He's died before, and even knowing he would rise again, it was difficult, to say the least. ] We all fight for life, whether we acknowledge it or not, and it is not wrong to do so.

These are trying times, and the End of the Age is never an easy thing to face or witness for those who live to see it. However, the time will come where we all must choose -- to fight for the renewal of all things that life may persist, or to see an End from which nothing can ever return.

I dunno. I'm kind of all for the idea of staying alive as long as possible and protecting the here and now.

[ He feels a bit odd about admitting that, though he never normally would be. It's just strange to be surrounded by so many people who may not agree, and knowing that what he's saying might just be considered treasonous. But normally, at home, there's no question about it: they don't kill. They do their utmost best to survive, and they don't kill. Robin--doesn't. None of the League does.

This war, whatever he was brought for, seems to want him to do the opposite. Fight and kill and work for a cause he doesn't even know he supports. Why, then? But if he'd been grabbed by the Unseelie, he probably would be just as conflicted. ...How much do they know? How much do they believe in the war?

What happens when neither option is a good one? ]

Maybe...a permanent end is what's best? Breaking the cycle and all that. If the renewal happens, wouldn't all the mistakes we've made this time just happen again?

[ His talk with Hercules left a strong impression. ]

And you may do that, as long as this world remains.

[ Aslan does not consider it wrong to protect the life that exists here and now. It's why he was willing to risk traveling to Unseelie territory to aid those who wished to save Mount Verla and the pyrii.

The effort may not have been successful, but he does not regret the attempt. No one should. ]

So long as there is choice, there will always be conflict. Wars spread across many ages, worlds, and people. It is the nature of life to fight to preserve itself, to protect those ideals held most dear.

Mistakes are made, but there is great beauty also in what comes of Free Will. Ingenuity, the love of parents for their children, the pursuit of dreams, whether they be realized or not - cycles may bring similar outcomes and great Powers may be bound to their particular circumstances, but the pages from beginning to end are written by the choices we make in the here and now.

I have seen Nothingness, the darkness of an empty world before the dawn of the first day. I would not see it consume everything with no means of return.

[ Dick shuts his eyes for a moment, breathing, then opens it again to shake his head. ]

Is that what's going to happen? Nothingness? How do you know? If there are different worlds, how do we know that what's happened to the others will happen to this one?

[ His image shakes for a bit, Dick absently tapping the side of his locket before he realizes what he's doing and stops. ]

Free Will is great, yeah. It's, uh, it's a human thing. Are you suggesting we do our own thing?

Allaidh Darach is the first - the world from which all others came, when the great Gem was shattered many ages past. That is why every other world is tied to this one, and when it is gone, all others shall follow in its steps.

I have witnessed the births of new worlds, as well as many passings. The signs are clear, and if the Void is destroyed, and the Unseelie Court prevails, all things will return to the Nothingness from whence they came, never to live again.

I would not suggest you do anything against your own conscience. [ However: ] I would encourage you to be aware and to make your choices wisely.

Edited 2015-06-30 04:07 (UTC)

Being aware and making choices wisely... That sounds about right.

[ What he's being told sounds plausible and possible, but it's-- So much of what he's learning is based so much on what other people tell him and that, more than anything else, worries him. Dick doesn't want to discount this information, but at the same time, he doesn't want to accept it immediately as fact.

Other than talking to people, though, he doesn't know how else to get the information he needs. ...He has to find some Unseelie to ask their opinions. ]

I'll keep it in mind, anyway. What you said.

Seek the answers you desire, young man.

[ He knows Dick is not satisfied, but he would caution him regardless. ]

Truth is not always as we would have it.

...Right. That's definitely true. Which makes seeing answers so much harder.

I'm Dick, by the way.

My name is Aslan.

Well met.

[ A lion.

Named Aslan.

A talking lion. Named Aslan.

askladjfslkgjlhkj

is TOTALLY COMPOSED as he grins and replies: ]

Yeah, well-met.

[ the news of the world growing old and ending isn't so much news to korra as it is an affirmation of things she's heard gossiped and talked about, finally given an actual title to share. ]

So... if we wanted to simplify it, it would be the difference between letting the world die a natural death, or prolonging the end?

[ she's no god and she's no spirit; she only hosts the divine. but she feels the weight of spiritual decisions squarely on her shoulders because back home she is looked to as a divine being. but even so, there's a decided human perception to her, and though she wants to look at the big picture because it's what expected, she has trouble with it.

so she asks her own questions, wanting to make sure she can understand both as a human host and as a spiritual leader.

encroaching death is terrifying, and for that reason she can't blame the unseelie shardbearers who fight solely to stay alive, not knowing what their court has further planned for everyone else. ]

Edited 2015-06-24 16:07 (UTC)

[ He has seen the signs. Having witnessed many beginnings and endings in his own time, Aslan recognizes them for what they are.

The life is going out of the world, and it will not last indefinitely. ]

Yes.

[ A beat, then- ]

There may be those who would seek an alternative path, to avert the end and perpetuate life indefinitely, but in matters such as these, it is dangerous to tamper with the order life has set.

Edited 2015-06-24 20:22 (UTC)

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