shellphones | a question

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a question

Type: Voice
Sender ID: afflatusexarch ( G'raha Tia )
To: General
Subject: Paladins and Corsairs
Warnings: None!

Pardon me for intruding on your time, but I've a question or two. If you'd like to humor my curiosity, you have my thanks in advance.

Upon arrival, we've found ourselves aligned with a group without much say in the matter. While I'm most curious about what colors we've flying - so to speak - I'll not ask anyone to speak it out loud.

However, I am curious if you think you "belong," for lack of a better word.

Idle curiosity. Nothing more.

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[ They are going to get along SWIMMINGLY ]

A paladin, you say? Yes, I can see where being a part of that crew would suit you well. Interesting to note that the abilities and powers come from a god. Though I suppose this would also make sense.

[ Just two little exposition guys! ]

Indeed, I am quite fortunate that his radiant light still reaches me, even in this place. When one combines this fact with how I was assigned to the corresponding armada, it is not difficult to see the correlation as more than simple coincidence.

That is what I was attempting to come to a conclusion about, in truth. It is said that an artifact is what brought us here. However, if we are all appearing with the armada that aligns with personal preferences that implies that it isn't at random.

If it that isn't the case, then the artifact itself must have a means to analyze one's heart. To be able to do such a thing on a massive scale like this? I shudder to think of the source of the magic. The person who must have instilled such magicks into the object would have to be a power beyond comprehension.

[ All good stuff! But Xenk has an easy solution, you see. ]

I presume it is a god of some kind. The gods in my world know our hearts and are capable of immeasurable power. So too might it be here.

Gods are... Well. I'm not quite certain you could call them as such. Entities that are often referred to as "gods" on my star are constructs of aether and fervent prayer. They are only capable of the thoughts and prayers that are put into them. Many seek to simply further their own strength and enslave the minds of their devotees.

How interesting. Rest assured, the gods in my world are quite real. They exist on a plane separate from the Material, where humans reside, and are able to share their knowledge and insight by speaking to their Clerics. Though their influence over the Material Plane is limited by the rules decreed by the Overgod Ao, they are nonetheless curious beings capable of their own will. Though they often operate in ways that are unknowable to mortals, and are known to follow their whims regardless of the mortal sacrifice needed.

This can be said of the crueler gods, of course. Those aligned with Light and Good, tend not to intervene with mortals unless it is to aid them. Those aligned with Evil and Death are often vying for control over parts of the Material Realm.

Are Good and Light alongside Evil and Death exclusively tied to one another?

[ This might seem an odd question, but G'raha does have a reason for asking it! ]

Not so directly, no. The grouping of gods can be complex, and of course, the followers of such gods as well. For instance, the Dead Three, Bhaal, Bane, and Myrkul, were a group of mortals who rose to godhood following the retirement of the previous god of Death, Jergal. Each resides over Murder, Violence, and Bones, respectively, aligning them with forces of Evil. Outside of these three however, exists the god Kelemvor, who is known to oversee the judgment of the deceased and believes in protecting the natural order of death as a stage of life. Kelemvor is not considered Evil, for he frowns upon the undead and the wanton destruction of life. These are but a few examples.

The god to which I swore my Oath to, Tyr, is a god of order and justice, and is aligned to the Light. But other such gods include Lathander, the Morninglord, who is the god of the dawn. Likewise, Ilmater, who is the the enduring, is the god of martyrs and those who persist through suffering. He is oft favored by Paladins and clerics alike as he gifts them with great strength to resist suffering...

[ He can go on..... there are SO many gods in Faerun. ]

In short, the gods are not diametrically opposed. Though some are known to rival one another.

Edited 2023-10-01 23:48 (UTC)

[ Honestly this is a more enjoyable conversation than he would have thought he'd get. Now it's not unusual, he thinks, for different areas to believe in gods. Unsurprising that they might actually exist on other stars or the like. ]

Thank you for the explanation. The reason I ask is due my star's reliance on aetheric balance. Too much Light and you'll find yourself in a state of stagnation. A stillness that cannot allow for any sort of life to flourish. On the other end of it, too much Darkness and you'll run into a problem where everything changes and nothing truly is allowed to return to the aetherial sea to continue the cycle of rebirth.

[ Which is why he had been curious about Light and Evil and all of that. Because Light doesn't necessarily mean "good" and Darkness doesn't necessarily mean "evil" where he comes from. There's been quite a sufficient amount of proof for that as of late. ]

Now if we're speaking strictly on gods, the Far East have their kami that they often pray to. As I mentioned, other Spoken races tend to favor some kind of deity though the manifestation of it is anything but.

A large portion of Eorzea and even my countrymen have taken to what we call The Twelve. Each presides over an element and an aspect such as love, commerce, destruction, inquiry, and so on and so forth. Though they are not gods in the traditional sense, as you would think of them, they truly do exist. Their true nature still eludes us still, but we were on the verge of discovering that very thing when I found myself here.

Ah. Such is not a concern in our world. While it is true that certain places can become subsumed with magic, if a great enough disaster occurs there, such circumstances are rare, and are quick to dissipate until only faint traces remain.

[ Of course, in Faerun, with so many long-lived races "quick to dissipate" means 100 years or so. Take Baldur's Gate for example, that place is gonna reek of death forever, with how many Bhaalists keep messing around in there. ]

Perhaps we need not worry, as our world consists of many planes. Dark, infernal or abyssal magic is naturally drawn to the Hells, while magic that is holy is naturally absorbed into the Celestial plane. The remaining elements have some affinity to the Feywilds, I believe... though I am far from a scholar in these subjects. It is fascinating to hear tales from your world, however.

To think that one would be limited to only twelve gods is rather a marvel.

Would that I could say the same. The forces at work have spent nearly twelve centuries creating such imbalances. They are able to slowly craft favorable circumstances over the course of several lifetimes. 'Tis not so easily seen until it is nearly too late.

[ Which is where the Calamities come to play. A Shard channeling its aether into the Source - in this case the First being of Light and the Source too heavy with Darkness. ]

Only after a Calamity do things even out, over some time, for this cycle to begin once more. We've put an end to this only recently. Now I am no aetherologist by any means, but I have some more advanced understanding due to, ah...

[ Being technically over 300? ]

Personal experiences.

I am sorry to hear this. The harbingers of your world must be cruel indeed, to manufacture such circumstances.

[ If they can live for 1200 years then surely they're cruel gods? Rude. But also like, gods die too, so that's just a thing you gotta do sometimes. ]

Tis no small feat, to end such a cycle. You must be quite mighty, to have succeeded in such a task.

It is... A complicated matter. Cruel, yes, but there are those that are capable of such things only due to desperation.

[ No one can truly blame the Ascians for wanting to put right what they view as broken. To protect the star as it is meant dooming their existence. Yet for the star of the past to become whole, it would mean that the present lives on the Source and the Shards be lost.

It isn't an easy choice. ]

Though I only played a small part in our success. My dear friend is the one who has vanquished all of the foes that stood in the way.

[ Xenk hums. ]

The ways of ancient beings are complex. I understands this in some part, as already I find it harder to relate to mortal problems, being only a few decades over 100. If one lived so long, then one could easily lose sight of mortal troubles.

[ Just normal shit, you know. ]

Then you should be very honored to be held in high regards by such a powerful friend. It is ever through the support of others that those with power succeed as they do, do not forget that.

No matter how fond of people or places you are, there is still a level of detachment. Intentional or not, such is the way of things.

[ Don't ask him how he knows that. G'raha's not even sure how he should classify his age at this point. ]

I am quite honored to know and have fought alongside such a soul. T'was a group effort, yes, but ideas are merely ideas without someone with the ability to see it through.

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oh boy exposition time

and it will be returned in kind soon

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