driftfleet | (no subject)

It's the simple truth. Gods are not bound by the conventions of mortals, you know? A god has Authority- The rights of godhood. Alteration of events, creation of worlds, manipulation of the flow of time... There is no method. The results come simply because of the Authority of the gods.

[Not that it matters much. The Age of Gods ended thousands of years ago, and a god trying to use their Authority in modern times... Well, maybe it would be all right for a full-fledged goddess like Amaterasu, but as a Servant? Even the attempt would likely kill her.]

That might be the case for your world, but not mine.

[Their "gods" might seem like they're all-powerful, but a seraph is still a seraph.]

Hm... I wonder if that's better or not? No matter the world, a god is still nothing but a part of a system.

It works more or less the same if you have beings that are treated like gods to those who depend on them, I think. As you say, it's a system- as long as that system works, what one is is just a technicality.

I see. You're not drawing a difference between that type of god and a true god? Well, from anyone else's point of view, the difference isn't that important, anyway. But one who becomes a god through deification isn't the same as those who were truly gods from the beginning.

You're assuming there are no seraphim who fit that criteria.

It isn't an assumption. Even if one is born as a high-level spirit... One can be born as the strongest Elemental, or a True Demon above any other. One could be deified through the the combined prayer or curses of the entire earth.

But it is not possible for a human to become a god. A spirit, as well. It's possible for a high-rank spirit, such as a Seraphim, to perhaps be stronger than a god, I will admit... But even then, they will not truly be one. A pale imitation who replaces Authority with power, that is all.

[Wow. Wow. That's rude.]

We're not pretending to be gods. It's humans who make that choice. And if being some kind of "true" god means having your level of arrogance, then I'd much rather be an imitation.

Is it arrogant to say the truth? What is impossible is impossible. A human may never truly become a god. Similarly, a god may never truly become a human.

[She appears to be aware that this contradicts what she said earlier, and her ears droop down.]

Even if one becomes a Bodhisattva, who escapes the cycle of suffering and Samsara, whose existence is on a scale above humans or spirits, that's still a separate kind of being.

It is humans who make that choice. It is humans who deify you. But... That is all. You have simply 'been deified'. But you don't need to be so angry about it, after all. You have much more freedom that way.

The freedom to be looked down upon by someone who doesn't know a thing about me?

[Thrilling. And yeah, he has no idea what the hell you were talking about there, but his irritation is overriding his curiosity at this point.]

I don't recall looking down upon you.

Everything you say is degrading my kind, you're only justifying it by saying it's "truth"!

You were the one who insisted you seraphim are gods, you know.

I did not! I objected to the idea that even the highest of seraphim stand unequal to whatever your "god" is, when a moment ago you didn't even know what a seraph was. And clearly you still don't.

The relationship between gods and mortals is always one of inequality.

... Very well, then. Explain to me.

Well first of all, seraphim aren't mortals.

[where the hell she got that assumption, he has no idea.]

Is that so? Your existence will never come to an end?

[I was going to make a crack about 'smelling human on him', but really, there was no way I could phrase it that didn't just sound like thinly-veiled shipping of Mikleo and Sorey.]

Not in the same way that a human might. Will yours, miss goddess?

[He's still annoyed, but he does remember what she's already said.]

... Mine already has. This can simply be thought of as... Something extra tacked onto the very end, I suppose.

But, I am but one facet. My original self? She will exist as long as there is a sun.

So a god can't become a human and a god can't be killed, but you and your sun goddess can do both?

[But nah, he's the irrational one?

...wait did she just admit to being dead]

[She did, in fact.]

... She tried to become a human. A spirit... Well, I'm not exactly a fox demon, but it's close enough. That was the closest she could get. Have you ever seen a human with ears like mine, after all?

I who was split from Amaterasu have died. It's not an unusual story, you know. No matter how pure one's intentions, as soon as the humans sense someone is different... To be hunted down is always the ending to that. But I 'was once' Amaterasu, that's all. I am no longer her. She is but my distant origin now.

[So she's like Dezel... well, that adds a bit of a sobering tone to the conversation, and he backs off a little, looking back to the shrine, because now he feels kind of awkward.]

Is that why you call yourself Caster?

Hm... Close, but not quite! My name in my life as a human was a much more elegant and refined name. But, as a Servant, I am simply a Caster-class Servant. So, Caster!

We Heroic Spirits must hide our names. We are... Though we are still ourselves, truthfully, we are still pitiful shades bound by the legends told of us. They can twist and corrupt, changing the Servant by forcing deeds they never committed upon them. And more importantly, stories tell of heroes' weaknesses. If you recreate the circumstances in which a Heroic Spirit died, then bound by our fate, we will surely be killed again.

A hero who died from poison, as a Servant is much more susceptible to poisons. A hero who died from an arrow takes extra damage from those. One killed by a beast may become weak to those beasts. So, in order to survive and win our wish, we hide our names and identities.

[H....uh. He gives that a careful ponder, suddenly wishing more than ever that one of the elder seraphim were around to help him out here. There's still a lot he doesn't know about himself and his own kind, but even so, it's impossible to not feel a defensive solidarity with them. His lack of knowledge shouldn't mean that she's right.]

That, I can understand. We have true names that aren't meant to be shared idly, else we risk misfortune.

Right! It's the same sort of thing. Your enemy getting a hold of your true name can only lead to certain defeat. My Master and I were only able to win because we were able to discover everyone's true identities in advance.