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driftfleet2015-05-30 07:56 pm
hymnals) wrote in driftfleet2015-05-30 07:56 pm
video / action
Who: Adrasteius; perhaps you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Bishop; kitchens
When: N to the O W
[Adra's in the ship's kitchen, seated at the table. A shimmering, golden aura limns his entire body, concentrated particularly at the crown of his blonde head. The faint impression of angelic wings blinks in and out of corporeality on his back as he speaks, sometimes seeming almost solid.]
I'm here today to speak to you about the Light. No, I don't mean that thing in the ceiling, or the sun, or any physical, mechanical sources of illumination, so let's nip that idiot question right in the bud. I'm talking religion, people, which some of you desperately need. A religion that isn't bullshit.
[He leans forward; steeples his hands.]
First of all: no gods. No capital G 'God' or 'Maker' or 'Creator' or what-have-you. No offense if that's part of the dogma, I guess, but it doesn't strike me right. Most of the gods I've met needed a swift kick to their many-mouthed faces, personally.
Second of all: no judgment. Of course, those who wield the Light can and must judge, but the Light itself brooks no discrimination. Whatever you've done, and for whatever reason you've done it, the Light forgives. The Light is grace: by definition, ever present, albeit never deserved. A gift of the universe.
Because, you see, the Light is an omnipresent, divine force. It is the name we give to every person's individual connection the universe. Under its teaching, we recognize our place in the great span of space and time--and our responsibility to influence the universe positively, to bring comfort, to soothe pain, to offer hope.
[Adra gestures with his hands, and as he does so, Light sparks from his fingers. The energy darts around the room, looking for all the world like a cascade of shooting stars. He might be trying to show off a little--or, at least, just trying to demonstrate that what he's talking about can be empirically observed.]
Practitioners follow a path of three virtues: respect, tenacity, and compassion, taught in that order. Don't worry: I won't go into it. Not today.
[But another day. Sooner rather than later.
The glow around his body fades. He smiles, a beatific, genuine expression.]
The point is--religion doesn't have to be damaging. It doesn't have to be oppressive. There are philosophies, churches, that work for good. Mine is one of them. It's here for you. I'm here for you.
Just letting you know.
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Bishop; kitchens
When: N to the O W
[Adra's in the ship's kitchen, seated at the table. A shimmering, golden aura limns his entire body, concentrated particularly at the crown of his blonde head. The faint impression of angelic wings blinks in and out of corporeality on his back as he speaks, sometimes seeming almost solid.]
I'm here today to speak to you about the Light. No, I don't mean that thing in the ceiling, or the sun, or any physical, mechanical sources of illumination, so let's nip that idiot question right in the bud. I'm talking religion, people, which some of you desperately need. A religion that isn't bullshit.
[He leans forward; steeples his hands.]
First of all: no gods. No capital G 'God' or 'Maker' or 'Creator' or what-have-you. No offense if that's part of the dogma, I guess, but it doesn't strike me right. Most of the gods I've met needed a swift kick to their many-mouthed faces, personally.
Second of all: no judgment. Of course, those who wield the Light can and must judge, but the Light itself brooks no discrimination. Whatever you've done, and for whatever reason you've done it, the Light forgives. The Light is grace: by definition, ever present, albeit never deserved. A gift of the universe.
Because, you see, the Light is an omnipresent, divine force. It is the name we give to every person's individual connection the universe. Under its teaching, we recognize our place in the great span of space and time--and our responsibility to influence the universe positively, to bring comfort, to soothe pain, to offer hope.
[Adra gestures with his hands, and as he does so, Light sparks from his fingers. The energy darts around the room, looking for all the world like a cascade of shooting stars. He might be trying to show off a little--or, at least, just trying to demonstrate that what he's talking about can be empirically observed.]
Practitioners follow a path of three virtues: respect, tenacity, and compassion, taught in that order. Don't worry: I won't go into it. Not today.
[But another day. Sooner rather than later.
The glow around his body fades. He smiles, a beatific, genuine expression.]
The point is--religion doesn't have to be damaging. It doesn't have to be oppressive. There are philosophies, churches, that work for good. Mine is one of them. It's here for you. I'm here for you.
Just letting you know.
no subject
[He clasps his hands together, quiet for a moment.]
I have a twin brother. His name's Aurelius. Growing up, everyone liked him better than me. He's much taller, for one thing. Charismatic. But there was always something--not quite right with him.
no subject
Go on.
no subject
He went into the woods, and he cut open his own throat, and he gave himself over to the Lich King--an entity of immense, godlike power, a creature of pure evil. Aurelius became a death knight, and he terrorized us--me--for years.
no subject
[It's all she can offer. And she doesn't say the thought that comes into her head. That it was a choice. A cruel, selfish choice, but still a choice. And Aurelius was born with the ability to choose his path. Syeira doesn't feel she ever did.]
no subject
I got him back. It was work, but I did. He has his own mind now, and while he can never go back to what he was--undeath is permanent--I think he's more himself now than ever before. He has a family, and not just me.
Point is: he did horrible things. Made terrible decisions. And he struggles with violent impulses every day, as all his kind do. But that doesn't mean he can't also be a good person. That doesn't mean he can't fight.
If you have something in you, something genetic, some curse of birth--that's terrible. But it's a fight you can win.
no subject
She shakes her head. Less denial, more uncertainty.]
I'd like to believe that. But things are different now than they used to be.
[She should just tell him.]
A mage kidnapped me about a year ago. He experimented on me and Imoen. I didn't know it at the time, but it was to prepare us for a spell that removes Divine Souls from bhaalspawn. I escaped, but he kept Imoen. So I followed. It was a trap, and I fell right into it. After, I was changed. There was an emptiness inside me. My Soul was always keeping the Taint in its place. But with it gone, the Taint grew.
Before, I had some small power that just came with being a bhaalspawn. Extra healing spells, that sort of thing. Those disappeared. In its place was something new. The Slayer. It's an avatar of Bhaal. A form he could take on when he wanted to slaughter. The first time I changed, I was lost to my rage, and my desire to kill Bodhi. I wanted it more than I wanted to live. The second time, it happened in my sleep. I almost killed my friends. It was a very near thing.
no subject
[He sighs.]
I'm not trying to minimize the gravity of what you must go through. But if you were as monstrous as you claim, none of this would even matter to you. You wouldn't fear it. You wouldn't worry about it. You'd let yourself go. But you haven't.
I'm sure that every day is a war, possibly one without end. But it can be endured. Its tide can turn.
no subject
[She rakes a hand through her hair again, huffs out a sigh.]
I know exactly what will happen to me. I've been there.
no subject
Where will you go?
no subject
I could live for ten thousand years. I could be a perfect saint. And that would still be my fate. It makes it hard. The Taint knows it too. It's talked about being remembered, because that's the one thing I could get. I could be remembered.
[The good news is she doesn't sound tempted by that prospect.]
no subject
[He shakes his head.]
No one can change the facts of your birth. But you can change the facts of your life. Especially with people to support you.
no subject
It used to be I knew the line between the Taint and myself. But they blurred down there. I had thoughts about killing that just seemed natural. How long can I go on exhaustion and willpower?
no subject
For as long as you have others to shore you up.
no subject
She wills the tears away, and covers Adra's hand with her own.]
I should tell the fleet. Only Zhas and Cassandra know, and not very much.
[Zhas promised to kill her if he had to, and that was a comfort. But he didn't quite know what he was really taking on.]
no subject
You should only tell what you feel comfortable telling. But I think, if you do, you will find yet more essential support.
no subject
I was pretending to be normal. It was nice, while it lasted.
no subject
He lets her go.]
That word has no real meaning, you know.
no subject
[Way to be full of sunshine, Sye.]
no subject
no subject
I don't know. I think the value of it is based on how broadly you define normal, and how narrowly you define...the other option. My idea of normal is really expansive.