VIDEO | SEELIE + HERMIONE-NET (backdated to the 25th)

[aslandish]

[ The video opens to the woodlands surrounding Caer Glaem. Aslan rests not to far away from a shrine to the White Hart, which is visible in the distance.

His expression is grave, indeed, but his address is made with poise. ]

To those of you to whom I have never spoken, greetings. My name is Aslan, and I arrived in the drabwurld approximately a year and a half ago by this world's reckoning.

I speak to you now, to those who may be unaware, of events that may be coming in the near future.

Earlier this month, I dreamed a dream like unto the visions that came to a number of individuals at the turn of last year. In my dream, I saw great beasts made of metal ravaging the lands with fire. They destroyed everything in their path, and the light of their eyes glowed like unto the very Shards we bear.

I cannot say when, but I believe this vision will come to pass.

I give this warning so that you might not fear, but prepare.

The End comes, and we must be ready to meet it.

[ He lets his words sink in a moment, then- ]

Be well, all of you.

[ With that, he ends the feed. ]

---

[ ooc: Please check out Aslan's permissions post if you would like him to know your character, and make a note in your tag so I know to look! c: ]

Comments

[chilledout]

And by meet, we allllll mean stop, right? Right?

[There's a lot in this message that he has to deconstruct. One, that a lion just talked to him, because that's freaky, but maybe not the weirdest thing he's ever seen (also, he looks like a talking icicle, it'd be hypocritical), and two, that there's a giant fire ravaging monster on its way. That's super freaky. That's incredibly freaky. None of it sounds good!

Plus, he melts. He's Iceman. Fire is bad.]

... So, how are we gonna stop it? [He knows about what their cause is supposed to stand for, but he's just arrived and ending and ends and all of that is just bad. Bad. He doesn't want to end. So he assumes they have time before they have to "be ready to meet it." A lot of time.]

[aslandish]

The End of this world is not meant to be stopped.

[ He says it quite calmly. ]

It is by this End that all worlds shall be reborn. To stop it would disrupt the cycle of life, death, and rebirth upon which all of existence hinges.

If that happens, all existence will fall into cold darkness. There will be Nothing, and no life will ever come again.

[commandertoolbelt]

Beasts made of metal? What kind of beasts?

[ That gets his attention. The fire is another thing, too - no one can use fire magic since Verla was lost, unless they've activated a shard and gotten the training. The only other way is if Kaio is -

...No, he's not going to think about that. Besides, Aslan said they had shards for eyes, and it's not unheard of for someone to be able to use a shard without being a shardbearer. He's heard stories about it, but he hadn't thought much of it, until now. ]

[aslandish]

Great monstrosities made of metal and iron. Machines that bring smoke and ash and fire in their wake, with jaws like unto the dragons of legend.

Large enough to crush buildings beneath their feet, I saw them ripping the Citadel asunder.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ Metal and iron. Machines. His blood runs cold, brow furrowed in disbelief.

No. No, they can't - No, that can't be true. ]

That... that's impossible. [ It's hard to tell if he's trying to convince Aslan more, or himself. ] No, that's impossible. Visions don't always come true. That can't happen. There's no way.

[ No. No no no, it can't - They can't have... The dwarves, they wouldn't - Why would they do anything like that? ]

video;

[reticence]

You were not alone in this vision. I saw them too. The creatures were unlike anything I have ever known before. Unnatural.

compass, audio;

[babbylon]

You welcome it, don't you?

[aslandish]

[ Aslan considers the young man quietly for a moment. ]

In my time, I have found very few things are truly impossible.

The truth of the matter will reveal itself.

video;

[aslandish]

I expected there would be others.

[ There was no sense of connectedness like his previous vision of the godswar so he could not tell for certain. ]

If the vision is any indication, we may be the first in line for their assault.

[ The Seelie, that is. ]

compass, audio;

[aslandish]

[ Aslan considers Gilgamesh with a solemn, weighted gaze. ]

I do.

[ As Gilgamesh may very well know, Aslan does not lie. ]

[commandertoolbelt]

[ That's not reassuring at all. That's, like, the farthest thing from reassuring he's ever heard, and Leo was told straight-up that either he or his best friend would die to fulfill a prophecy. This can't be happening.

Gods. ]

You're sure they were machines? [ Leo asks, desperate. He's grasping at straws, but... He really doesn't want to believe this could be real. ] Technology can't work outside of the Station, so any machine would just be dead weight.

[ Unless it's dwarf magic, but no. No. There's no reason for it, absolutely no reason. ]

[babbylon]

I've only one friend in the world, but out of everyone else, you came the closest, dear Aslan.

[Gilgamesh admits this with a heavy conscience. If Aslan would welcome the end, then they are at odds. And if they are at odds...]

I do not wish to fight you. But I cannot let the Void take everything. I cannot let those creatures destroy everything. Leathann must live. This world must survive. I too have weighed its fate and made my judgment, and I pass it thus: I will not allow it all to end.

[He won't flick over to video. He doesn't want Aslan to see, even though he knows he will anyway.]

[chilledout]

No, no, I know that, I just didn't know it was so ... soon. [If he's telling them to get ready, that means soon soon, right?]

But, uh, I'm not really into that. [He's a hero. He preserves life in a conventional way. Bobby doesn't really get the philosophical implications of this stuff other than Shit is Bad and he doesn't like it.]

[vengeance_driven]

Why is it that I get the feeling that no matter what side I am on, I will be surrounded by assholes.

[Niko, don't call the allegory for Jesus an asshole.]

[Also it is a lion. Why is there a talking lion in his locket?]

[Probably for the same reason he has a winged horse and a magic locket. Might as well roll with it.]

Do you know what will fix all this shit in the end? Because I got enough on my conscience without entire lands of terrified innocent people. I do not want to think they will spend their last moments miserable and that is all for them.

People say it will come back. It will come back as normal? Immediately?

[aslandish]

Gilgamesh.

[ A soft answer. He has known it would come to this, had a sense of it ever since his audience with Ridire when a great many things were made clear to him.

He does not begrudge Gilgamesh his island, nor is he as hard-nosed about it as Solais. Did he not, after all, help those who wished to save Mount Verla, at their request?

He cannot do the same now, not with things veering so close, with other dangers looming near, but he will not wish the other ill. ]

Life goes out of the world even as we speak. Those who tend the shrines of the White Hart have told me so, and though by my power and the power of others, the taint of the Jabberwhelp was undone, this is something far larger in scale.

[ He brought his own world into existence, maintained it for many long years, but even his power is not enough to bring about the life, death, and rebirth of countless universes. ]

I do not begrudge your efforts, your wish to save that which is precious to you, but the world itself is at the end of its lifespan.

This place is the beginning, the source of all that ever was or shall be, the breath and scope of who and what we are included. It is not our place to judge, but rather to be as true to ourselves as we are able.

The Void brings destruction, but in the twilight hour, when all is still and dark, a new day will rise out of the ashes.

[ Aslan does not need to see. He always knows, and though it may be a small comfort, he will offer what he can. ]

When all of this is over, I would tell you the story I shared the last time we spoke. Every chapter, from beginning to end.

[ Their paths may be diverging, but the bond they share is still something Aslan cherishes; he'll not destroy it, especially not now, at the End of All Things. ]

[aslandish]

[ Judging by everything that's been happening, soon soon is very likely indeed. ]

It is a rare thing for someone to be truly "into" the End of the world.

[ It isn't something meant to be enjoyed. ]

[babbylon]

It should not be this way.

[His voice cracks. He sounds like a child now. He hates it.]

I know it in my bones; I understand it, the laws of destruction and rebirth, engraved into my very blood. But there's so much I fought for, so much I've accomplished, so much I've yet to accomplish—I am loathe to give it up. I wanted it more than anything.

[Why is he not nearby? There's no convenient fur to bury himself in. He hates that, too.]

I wanted to be a hero. Instead, there is only hell in my wake. What misery! What gloom! Such wretched righteousness tomorrow brings!

[aslandish]

[ The truth is what it is. Aslan does not apologize for it, and in this case, he really is just the messenger. His own apocalypse has already been neatly handled, and he is not stranger to such affairs. ]

I heard the sound of them. A creaking and groaning unlike anything a natural beast would make.

With Shards for eyes, I can only assume they were crafted with magic.

video;

[reticence]

[It's a long story, Aslan, but he's got a scrying stone that used to be a star, and it's handy for situations like these.]

Perhaps we may be the first in line, but we will not be the last. The Seelie are not their only target. Which suggests that these creatures are not of their own making, or if they are, whoever should control them would turn them against their own.

compass;

[notyetlegend]

So it does come.

[She doesn't sound comforted by this. Merida purses her lips together, a frown forming on her face that makes the scar on her forehead wrinkle.]

[commandertoolbelt]

[ Leo rubs his face, suddenly very tired, more drained than he's felt since Ganondorf took control of him. He's trying to keep his hands from shaking, upset and angry as he is, but it's difficult. If this is real, then Solais was right in the worst way, in a way Leo never could have imagined. ]

Yeah, [ he says, heaving a shaky sigh. ] Yeah, it's magic. And I know who built them.

[ He just doesn't know why. ]

[aslandish]

[ He has been called much worse than an asshole before, Niko. It is your great fortune that he is not easily offended. ]

It will come back.

[ He says this with great certainty. ]

I have heard it said by the queen of the Seelie Court that the worlds, once consumed by the Void, will be reborn in fire and that such has been the cycle for many ages past.

The cycle of death, life, and rebirth is not a new concept. It is older than time itself.

lockets; video

[keybearing]

[Ah! It's a huge lion! That talks! Excuse the staring. But. Yeah, Sora is staring before he registers what Aslan is actually saying, about how long he's been here, the dream he had. Fire? Hadn't Merida said fire magic was affected by the death of the previous god, replaced by that puppy or something? That he would get access to that again once he practiced with his shard more? And, well, shards as eyes sounds rather ominous, given that would assume to be that those who previously held the shards would be dead for this to happen.]

Well, I'm not sure when it might happen, but appreciate the warning all the same, Mister.

[Is...that right? What to address a talking lion as? Well, besides his actual name, anyway. Sora gives a shrug before a small smile curves at his lips.]

Riku and I are always prepared. We'll figure something. At least now we know about it, right? So I reckon we'll be ready for these metal beasts.

[Fighting is straightforward enough. Something Sora has plenty of practice with, even if at this point he's still from so early on his adventures before arriving to the Drabwurld. It's no wonder he's younger and still rather cocky in a sense. But he always is, when it comes down to it, between him and Riku, confident they could face nearly anything together. Let alone if everyone else knows about this and can ready themselves and work together.]

[vengeance_driven]

With all the same people? The same places?

Both of these options sound terrible. It is too late, it seems, to correct it. But it would have been good if this void could have been slowed, held at bay, but not stopped.

But I am new here, and the only concern I have is for my cousin and my mother live comfortably. [He has other concerns, but he tends to deny them for his main priorities.] I want assurance of their safety. My loyalty lies with them above all things, and I have been given no promises of their safety in all of this if it is also my world that is affected.

[aslandish]

It does, dear heart.

[ A soft rumble. This news may not reassure her, but he will offer what comfort he can. ]

It is not the time to doubt yourself or fear.