Never Laugh at Live Dragons

[faithfulwisdom]

Who: Finrod
Broadcast: open broadcast
Action: let's go with N/A for now
When: August 28, earlier in the evening.

[Finrod appears on the communicator, offering the viewers his best smile.]

Good evening. [Or what passes for evening in space. It’s hard to tell. Look, just roll with it.]

I have been doing a great deal of thinking as of late and it occurs to me that I have been most fortunate in the friends that I have made here. Most likely it need not be said, but I come from a world with technology far less advanced than that which is used here. Had certain individuals not taken pity upon me, I would have been at a great loss for far longer than I was.

I think I should like to do something similar for others, if I can.

I still cannot claim expertise in the technology here, of course, but I have been here long enough to develop a working knowledge of it. And I believe it may be easier for me to explain such things to another with a background similar to my own. I may promise, at least, a patient ear and a lack of overly complex terminology.

[And later, in a more serious tone, Finrod makes another call.]

[Private to Beverly Crusher, video]

[Something is slightly off with Finrod. It’s subtle, but it’s there. His voice lacks the usual jovial tone and he is utterly bare of ornament- no jewelry, a simple tunic.]
I have a favor to ask of you, my friend. It will amount to an unnecessary precaution, I am sure. [He doesn’t look sure.] But I think it best if a healer is aware of what I plan to do.

[Action for Tek, on the Pathstone]

[If you guessed from the lack of ornamentation that Finrod was going for a look of humility, you were right. Notably, he has also left his sword behind- a very deliberate (and uncomfortable) gesture. And now he goes to do something no sane elf has ever done, unless under extreme duress.

He goes to seek out a dragon.

Not exactly the best reason to revisit the Pathstone, but Finrod is well aware that he owes Tek an apology- more than an apology, in truth. And that is something he has ignored for far too long. So his first stops are Tek’s usual haunts, as best he remembers them. And if that doesn’t work- well, he’ll think about that when and if it happens.]

Comments

[heresyandlace]

No. It isn't the same.

[even though he would never be able to read the outcome of his own life, and isn't as skilled in it as he could be to begin with, Tek is still a creature of Fate. he has some idea of what it's like to have Foresight.]

You were warned... and yet you still ended up in a bottle over it, here.

[faithfulwisdom]

It is one thing to know you will die; it is another to feel the flesh ripped from your throat.

[heresyandlace]

[and that, apparently, makes him smile.

it's an appreciative expression, and it doesn't reach his eyes.]

Yes, it is.

...And what happens to your soul, afterward? I hear that it's different, depending.

[faithfulwisdom]

The souls of my people go to wait in the Halls of Mandos, where we will face judgement. From there, it is said we will one day be reborn in the Undying Lands.

For the other races, yes, it is different, and I cannot give a full answer.

[heresyandlace]

Yes, it is different for the other races of my homeland as well. As long as they please their gods, their souls will be claimed before they can be drawn into the Abyss.

[and finally, after a short pause, he continues with something that is not another question.]

...My people, however, have been given no such promise by our creator. No one knows what happens to our souls after death. There is no mention of a realm for us to be brought to, anywhere.

It is quietly believed by many, I think, that our souls are dragged right into the endless black of the Abyss, where we are pulled apart into countless pieces for all eternity.

[faithfulwisdom]

[Finrod falls silent again, absorbing this.]

What do you believe?

[He has his own thoughts already (of course he does. He always does), but that's hardly the point.]

[heresyandlace]

It hardly matters. Because in that moment, you don't feel as if you're about to go to a better place.

[all he felt, at the end, was the cold dread of having nothing good to continue on to.]

[faithfulwisdom]

[Finrod flinches, as if physically struck, and casts his gaze once again on the floor. But he remains silent because- well, what can he say?]

[heresyandlace]

[yes, that is what he wanted to see. he isn't satisfied until he can watch it sink in; he doesn't feel better until he can see the depth of guilt plainly on the elf's face.

and after he gets what he wants, he smiles.]

Thank you for coming to speak with me about this. Not many have.

[faithfulwisdom]

[Oh, and the guilt goes plenty deep here.]

It is the least I owe you.