driftfleet | (no subject)

everything?

[You have... completely enraptured him in one response.]

All right. But be patient. There's a lot to type out.

[that's the first thing he sends. there is a long pause before he sends out anything else.]

These people I'm referring to are known back on my world as the Nine Kings. Legend has it that they were once normal people like you or me, but the Gods turned them into spectacular creatures. They became speakers for the Gods, beings who could understand their otherwise ineffable ways and communicate them to the humans they ruled over. Each one was lord over a kingdom, and had dominion over an aspect of human existence. Not a lot of records are left about what the originals were like, but Riem has the fewest. He seemed to be very quiet, mysterious. Humans would make pilgrimages to his temples to rid their lives of suffering, or call down pain upon others--and he would answer their calls as he saw was fitting. They were all formed from flawed creatures, and so, were eventually flawed themselves. There was infighting, caused by one, that spread to all of the others. It got so bad and the war raged for so long that, eventually, humans rose up to kill them. After that, things weren't so good. Drought, famine. A lot of smaller wars. Everyone thought they were dead for a long time. But that's... Where Riem's story really starts.

You see... Once, a very long time ago, a boy was born in a small town, not very different from this one. He had white hair and red eyes. Albinism. No one back then knew what it was; they told him he was cursed. They feared his lack of color, claimed he would bring ghosts and terrible fates upon all of them. The boy grew up angry and confused. No one could tell him why he was this way, why he was different, why he was so evil. One day, strange men came for him. They took him away from his family and brought him somewhere dark and terrifying. They pricked his flesh and seared his skin until strange things started happening, and he was even more scared than ever before. They sent him so far away from home that he didn't even recognize the plants and animals that lived at his new place--a ruined castle far away from any village. There, he met eight other children. They overthrew their captors, and lived freely in the forests and the castle as their own masters. They became close, called each other brothers and sisters, and learned that they were the Nine Kings, reborn. They did not remember their previous lives, but the eldest boy assured them that they would meet their destinies soon. They lived together for a long time. The boy from the small town grew very close to the eldest brother--he was a charismatic leader and always seemed so sure of himself. He also came to love his twin sisters, a pair of girls who were the kindest people the boy had ever met. They all hunted, played, slept, and ate together. They raised each other. The boy's heart swelled whenever he thought of his new family; he'd never had anyone to love like that before, and they all loved him in return. Or so he thought. The eldest brother sent them marching, one day, to return to their thrones at the ruins of Saltus. Many humans died along the way, by their hands--but they did not like it. The boy became upset with his eldest brother, who was pushing them so hard towards something so violent. He spoke out against his rule, and the others began doubting the eldest brother as well. The brother got worse and worse, slowly going insane with greed and fear, until the day the boy arrived to find that the brother had killed the other children. The brother would have killed the boy too, had the twins not been there to shield him from the blow. The boy, filled with a sudden rage, reached out and tore his own brother up with magic--ending his madness and his life. With their last dying breaths, the twins offered up a part of their soul to keep the boy alive, blessing and cursing him with a life that would never end until he was happy. "Rise, child of Gratia," he heard a strange voice say to him, as if it came from within himself, "And know your dominion as Riem, the King of Pain." The boy buried his siblings under a tree there, so hurt that he didn't think he could go on another minute without them. But the boy did go on. His sisters' magic kept him safe from harm, but did nothing to heal the wound in his heart. His siblings were never reborn. His Gods never came to speak with him again. He spent a long time alone, growing bitter and angry. When he finally stepped back into the world, he had been forgotten. He was filled with so much pain and hatred that he lashed out at those around him. He killed many humans out of spite. He started wars. He burned kingdoms down. He did all of this for a thousand years, and no matter how much he destroyed, the boy never felt any peace. Then, one day, completely by accident, he made a friend. That friend got close enough to him to give him words of comfort, and it... hurt him, but also healed him. He started seeing things in a different way, looking at the lives around him and noticing the good alongside the bad. He realized that he had grown very lonely, in his time away. He started enjoying the company of people again, smiled for the first time since that fateful night so long ago. Riem is a reminder that pain is a natural part of life. He is deeply saddened by the loss of his family, and still struggles with his grief--but even his ancient wounds have begun to heal. His true path in life remains a mystery, even to him, but he's gained great knowledge and wisdom during his travels--and now seeks to use what he has gained through his own trials to ease the suffering of others. In doing so, he finds that his own suffering is eased as well.

[It's the shift in tense in the final paragraph that sticks out to Hiro, at first. Then it's the contents. He reads that one again and again, not even realizing how hard he's clutching his communicator. The story is gripping to him, fascinating, and strangely emotional, very unlike the way folk tales from Earth hit him. He feels a pang of grief in his own chest, just reading it.

[He's reminded of Tadashi, of trying to kill Callaghan. He remembers Baymax asking him, "will terminating professor Callaghan improve your emotional state?" He remembers not knowing how to answer that, and the fear that came with being unable to say with certainty that killing another human being (and one that he once admired at that) would not be beneficial to him. He remembers finding out about Abigail, and understanding Callaghan on a level none of the rest of them could... And then he remembers the look on Callaghan's face, both when they confronted him and when Baymax had found his daughter. The feeling that came with knowing that Abigail had lived, and that Callaghan, while ultimately guilty of so much, could rest a little easier at least somewhere inside of himself.

[It's so hard to think of what to say here. He knows this story in himself. He knows that there's no way he could deny it. Eventually, he has to settle for something. It may as well be the truth.]

it's really scary how accurate this is. on earth, horoscopes are always that dumb, vague stuff that could apply to almost anyone. but this isn't that, is it?

[he wondered. he had a feeling. this is what he's good at, after all. it's... kind of funny, in a sad way, that he's using his own true, honest identity as a mask for both of them to talk behind.]

Perhaps it's not. The Kings were all human, once, and all represent very human experiences. Grief and sorrow are both painful emotions, but they're easy to relate to. Everyone feels that way at some point in their life, and everyone has to learn how to cope with it. But, you know, there's another legend on my world that says our Gods live up among the stars. Maybe it's true. Perhaps your feeling so strongly about this means that they're giving you guidance. Maybe it's not a coincidence. Whatever the case, I'd be happy to talk with you more about Riem whenever you're interested. He's my second-favorite, after Ha'it, and she doesn't have nearly as many stories about her as he does.

what about the ways riem hurt other humans when he was grieving the hardest? does he have any stories about how he handled that later?

[He can't help asking, not when he's thinking about Callaghan. He's always going to feel conflicted about the man; it's his fault Tadashi died, yes, but that was an accident. He'd wanted revenge, he'd wanted to destroy Krei's life, maybe even kill him...

[But he knows Tadashi was never part of his plan. He'd wanted the best for all of them, until they'd gotten in their way. And Hiro can relate. When he'd set Baymax on his warpath, he hadn't even cared that his friends had gotten hurt. He wants to know if there's a future for the man who used to be one of his heroes.]

[this one is tricky. and he would not be able to think of anything, had he not been looking at his own past so much recently, realizing the bad path he'd been walking...]

Perhaps... When Riem was at his worst, he was in league with the monsters that lived in the Haunting, far below the cities of the world. He trapped humans so that the monsters could eat them, often. He didn't think much of their families, or their loved ones. It was just one more person to him, something to quell his rage for a while. But... He had no idea that he was making another problem worse. The world "ended", suddenly. It might not have, if he hadn't been tipping the scales... But the monsters grew strong enough to pour out of the earth when it cracked open, killing many more humans than he'd ever imagined. Everything was such chaos... He was horrified when everything settled, and so few people were left alive. He hadn't wanted that. He was still guilty, of course, and nothing would ever change that, but... A part of him changed, looking at the aftermath, seeing the grief that he felt reflected on the faces of others. It took him a very, very long time, but he eventually made the conscious decision to try to be a force for good, and not a force of evil. It's up for debate whether or not he deserves to be forgiven... After all, what he'd done would never go away. But I think it's very important that he'd decided to try, and keep trying, no matter how many times it went wrong, to not hurt anyone like that again. I'm sorry, it's not a very satisfying ending... It's both good and bad, with no clear solution. But it does seem like the only good choice was to try.

... i think, if it were me, i could forgive riem for that. he's responsible for it, but he wants to change things for the better. he didn't know what would happen. it's his fault, but at the same time, it's not. the monsters pouring out weren't his fault. that they had the power to might have been, but he didn't force them to lead the onslaught. i guess it would change on different people's points of view, but at least, to me, if he's taking responsibility and trying to make a difference for the better... i wouldn't want to be something stopping him from doing that.

[There's a lot he's talking about here, but none of it is Riem. It all depends on what Callaghan does with the rest of his life. If he changes, if he decides that his life is something he wants to use for the better of the world again...

[If he's sorry for what happened...]

Forgiveness would be very brave of you. And it's not easy. It takes learning and patience, just like repentance. But... Being able to forgive will make you much happier, in the long-run. No one likes going through life with that kind of weight on their chest. Though, I'll admit--that's one of Ha'it's lessons, not Riem's.

[This is a difficult conversation for him both of him; and for Hiro, it's gotten a little embarrassing. He's trying not to be too obvious about what he's thinking about, but since the thread is locked...]

oh. sorry, uh... did riem ever almost do something he regretted..?

Don't be sorry. It's fine.

[which he felt he needed to say, at least once. his sincerity and calm don't exactly come across well in all of this text.]

He seems to have a bad habit of almost killing people who would wind up to be his friends later on in life. He usually helps them, later, to try and make up for what he almost did... One of those people became the companion who helped him smile again. Others have served as lessons to him, reminders not make the same mistake twice.

you really know a lot about this guy. i don't really know what else to ask... but i want to know more. is that weird?

Not that weird. I'm obviously pretty interested in him myself, otherwise I wouldn't know so much. Would you like to hear one more story? It's not a sad one, and there isn't really a lesson involved. He's only in a little bit, actually.

fire away. i'm here for it.

Maybe it'll lighten the mood a little. Let's see... After the world collapsed, the people of Gratia were very scared and fragile. They lived under the earth, and while the caves and tunnels were unforgiving, they were nothing compared to the dangerous beasts who lived in the Haunting far below them. Or the surface, for that matter--it had become harsh, unlivable, and irradiated, and filled with all kinds of unfriendly creatures. One such creature, a nameless monster, lived in the mountains far from the people of my own city... When it was young, it fed on goats and deer, but as it grew older, it started to eat wolves and bears. It grew larger the more it ate, and started to learn things. It learned that eating bigger and bigger things made it stronger. It learned that it could absorb the power of its prey. Eventually it grew so big that the sheer, narrow paths of the mountain could not hold it, and it slithered down into the valley where brave humans would sometimes crawl out of their caves to hunt for food. Now, the monster could have gone on eating bears and lions and whatever else roamed the valley, but it saw these hunters and thought... What power these creatures must have. Yes, they were small, physically weak, unbalanced... But the monster watched them them speak to one another, create tools from almost nothing, and hunt animals many times their own size with cunning and cooperation. What a hidden strength must have dwelt in their hearts. It wanted that power for its own.

So, it took to catching and dragging off stragglers. Soon it was large and strong enough to devour them whole in its massive jaws. It reveled in the fear it felt growing in the people below. Greedy and swollen with pride, the monster finally clawed its way under the earth into the caves where it knew more people lived. It dove down to the lowest caves and ate anyone it could find. It ate and it ate and it ate, growing so large that it tore apart houses, left whole blocks demolished in its wake. It became so arrogant that it even began to eat other monsters, carelessly consuming anything that slipped into his claws. The other monsters did not appreciate this. Who was this brash newcomer, who thought it could disrupt years tradition and social order? Who was this thing who thought it could just steal all of their prey? The more intelligent of them saw how fast it grew and began to worry that it would soon become unstoppable; if they did not act quickly, the whole city might soon be swallowed up in its jaws. For the first time in history, one of the more eloquent of their kind reached out to the terrified people of the caves above and asked for a truce, an agreement to end this monster for everyone's sake. So, very soon after that, the monster comes across a single person wandering around in the caves it had cleared to be its home. It had become quite brash by then, and thought it funny to try to speak with the man, taunt him, inform him of his inevitable death. The man was not afraid as he should have been--as he was Riem in disguise, having been approached for help by both monsters and humans alike. Instead of cowering, he insulted the monster. Furious, it chased after him, but he was too fast, leading the monster down a series of confusing, winding passageways. Very suddenly, it found itself in the Haunting, where there were many monsters scrambling through the tunnels. It started eating them in a rage, screaming for the blood of the man who'd gotten away. More monsters began to stream into the tunnel, and it ate them too. It ate and ate and ate until there was not a single monster left in sight. And when it tried to move--to its great surprise, it could barely budge. It had grown so large that it no longer fit in the tunnels! It heard the exits seal closed around him, and realized too late that it had been tricked. So, to this day, they say that if you go down far enough, you can hear the Leviathan moaning to be let free, growling threats of revenge. When the earth shakes, they say that it's just Leviathan shifting restlessly through its prison...

whoa. riem is awesome.

[hiro is so wowed by you, robin.]

[he's so flattered. secretly.]

Every once in a while, yeah. Think that's enough for now?

is it okay if i bug you about him later on if i have any questions?

Yeah, you can. Any time. Seriously, I get really bored. Any time.

ha. i'll keep that in mind. thanks, robin. this was really cool.

[and emotional for hiro]

Hey, no problem. Glad you liked it.

[it worked out surprisingly well for everybody.]

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