video / action

[hymnals]

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.

Comments

[child_of_bhaal]

But it can't. I'll lose eventually. Maybe not while I live, but when I die...

[She rakes a hand through her hair again, huffs out a sigh.]

I know exactly what will happen to me. I've been there.

[hymnals]

Unfortunately, life itself is a war we all lose out on in the end.

Where will you go?

[child_of_bhaal]

A very special Hell, made just for the children of Bhaal. He takes his power back, and his children get to suffer forever as thanks.

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.]

[hymnals]

Sounds like the after-life in store for the undead. A terrible, and unfair, ending.

[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.

[child_of_bhaal]

I used to think that. But after that planet, I wonder if that's true. I wonder if I'm just standing on a rock in the ocean and waiting for the tide to come in.

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?

[hymnals]

[Gently, carefully, Adra sets a hand on Sye's forearm.]

For as long as you have others to shore you up.

[child_of_bhaal]

[It's the touch that gets her. Makes the heat pool up behind her eyes, and she has to take a breath to push the tears down. No crying. An early lesson she can't remember. She's not supposed to cry.

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.]

[hymnals]

[Adra does not look at her with pity, but rather with sympathy. He cries all the time, and for the slightest reason. He squeezes her arm gently.]

You should only tell what you feel comfortable telling. But I think, if you do, you will find yet more essential support.

[child_of_bhaal]

I want everyone to be safe. I'll tell them everything they need for that to happen.

I was pretending to be normal. It was nice, while it lasted.

[hymnals]

[From his estimation, everyone's safe as it is, but it's clear that he won't change her mind on his own. Perhaps the others will help.

He lets her go.]

That word has no real meaning, you know.

[child_of_bhaal]

Which one, 'safe'?

[Way to be full of sunshine, Sye.]

[hymnals]

You're hilarious. Normal.

[child_of_bhaal]

[Who said she was joking?]

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.