[center][h2]A Change of Ideas Part 3[/h2][/center] [center][b]The Darkness Between Worlds[/b][/center] Silence. It was, Asceal reflected, something she’d begun to forget. Between her children, Liana, and the mass of life the other gods had created, when was the last time she’d experienced it? Eons ago, and perhaps in this same place. The void. Travelling through it brought back memories. Memories she’d thought sweet now tainted by a history she’d never anticipated. A chariot, Aelius, and a plan. On reflection it all seemed so naive, so… Pathetic. Even if they had managed to bring light to the whole of Galbar, it would have been pointless. Katharsos had already killed the souls they sought to comfort. Once that revelation had nearly destroyed her. Now? The thought didn’t even stir her. After all, she was on a journey to find out if mortals were even worth saving. If they all held the same darkness in their hearts as Ovmo had, and if Katharsos had seen that, well then perhaps the monster in the pyres was no monster at all. It was a chilling thought, but one that lingered. Neither she nor Azura had considered that some mortals simply weren’t worth saving. Even if Ovmo had been an aberration, by now the Alma would have crystallized dozens like him. Monsters, waiting to be unleashed. Of course, that was only if Ovmo was the exception. If he wasn’t? Then she and Azura had done something unforgivable. That was why she was flying through the void, why she was seeking out the only person who could answer her questions. Abanoc, the god of Recording. Asceal had never met him, but all the gods reflected their aspect. What they were, what they could do, it defined them. There was little chance Abanoc hadn’t been watching Galbar. As she streaked towards his Sphere she wondered what he would be like. Would he offer the information she needed freely, or would he strike a bargain? She hoped he would be amicable, but in the end it didn’t matter. There was no price so high she wouldn’t pay to know. As the Observatory resolved itself in her vision, a vast platform ringed with grand pillars, she steeled herself for whatever might come. [hr] A flash of light came into Abanoc’s view, distracting him from his work. He already knew what it was and wasn’t alarmed by its approach. He stood up from his throne to welcome his fast approaching sister. The mass of light slowed down and entered the limits of the Observatory, stopping at ground level. After a moment the light took the shape of a woman covered by a dress, both looking as if made of diamond with a light shining through. [color=DarkGray]“Welcome, sister. What brought you here?”[/color] He said as he walked down the steps to meet Asceal. The Goddess eyed Abanoc nervously, but didn’t shy away from the question, “What brings anyone here Abanoc?” She pursed her lips and closed her eyes for a moment before continuing, “I’m sorry, but as much as I wish I'd come for your company, there’s something I need to know. I suspect the only ones with the answers I need are you and the Architect.” [color=DarkGray]“If it is questions that you have then I will answer them to the best of my abilities. What do you wish to know?”[/color] “The mortals. I have to know if-” Asceal’s voice caught in her throat and she took a deep breath, “I have to know if I made a mistake. I’ve worked, from the very beginning, to make things better for them. I have to know if that was a mistake.” The Goddess dimmed as she spoke and by the time she fell silent she was positively faint. She all but whispered, “I need to know what they’re like. I need to see them Abanoc. All of them.” [color=DarkGray]“You can monitor all of Galbar’s activity through the mirror above us.”[/color] He pointed at said mirror above the pillars. Galbar’s surface could be seen clearly. [color=DarkGray]“Alternatively you can read from my Archive for past events.”[/color] Then he showed Asceal the book. [color=DarkGray]“I regret to say I do not have Galbar’s entire history recorded, but it should contain the information you seek. Do mind its usage, however. You may be divine, but it can still cause some discomfort if you use it too much. Is there anything else that you need?”[/color] Asceal looked down at the closed book and shook her head, “No. No that’s all I needed. Thank you Abanoc.” [color=DarkGray]“If there is ever a new question you may simply ask me. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”[/color] Abanoc then returned to his throne. With that the Goddess threw open the book, and everything changed. [hr] The Goddess of Light looked down at the book, its pages filled with shimmering golden words in a language that seemed like gibberish even to a god, and briefly wondered if she’d been deceived. That was not a long lived notion. Before she could even utter a word her mind was flooded with a torrent of imagery and sound. If Asceal had taken Abanoc’s warning to heart she’d have stopped there, but even as she struggled to process what she was seeing she began unconsciously flipping pages. The sheer volume of information nearly drove her to her knees. That, and the things she was seeing. It seemed, at least for a moment, that Asceal’s worst fears were true. She saw a Selka, one of the first to ever live, cave in the skull of his friend. She watched Ohannakeloi’s Ihokhetlani be twisted by Orvus into Ihokhurs, and she witnessed the atrocities they committed at the behest of no god. Through another perspective she experienced the Jotundar’s campaign of destruction. She saw countless mortals, and she saw all the evil in their hearts. Some were as bad as Narzhak, callous creatures who seemed to thrive on the suffering of others. Others… Asceal paused, even in the grips of Abanoc’s book. Others stood tall in the face of everything. The Selka who’d first sullied that species innocence with blood and hate, Hoshaf, had not been unopposed. Asceal watched events long past and saw that even as Hoshaf spread his evil, others spread good. Panganeem, Gorpingu, Ippino, Juttyu. Selka who saw the wickedness rising among their people and chose not to ignore it, not to embrace it, but to oppose it. To destroy it. In the face of better Selka, Hoshaf and his evil burned. It was a cruel fate, but Asceal’s heart only wished it had been worse. Hoshaf had stolen countless lives, subjected his fellow Selka to innumerable horrors, and his punishment? A quick death at the hands of the same evil he’d created. It was ironic, perhaps fitting, but it was insufficient. Hoshaf had never been forced to kill, he had made a choice. As had Panganeem. It seemed perverse to Asceal that Hoshaf would be granted the same fate as the one who had stopped him. Not that they died in the same circumstances… Just that they had both died. It was unfair. Monsters like the Ihokhurs and Heroes like the K’nights all suffered the same fate, in the end. Both could burn in the Pyres, or be preserved by the Alma for a future that might never come. Vaguely, she recalled Shengshi telling her that the world was meant to be balanced. That harmony demanded both good and evil. She had denied it then, but now she understood. It was not that there [i]had[/i] to be good and evil, merely that the hearts of mortals were no better than the hearts of gods. There would always be evil, and good would always rise to fight it. That didn’t mean that the scales had to be balanced like Shengshi thought. If evil went unpunished, and good unrewarded, perhaps that would be harmony in Shengshi’s eyes, but not hers. Asceal considered all Abanoc’s book had shown her of the world, and she decided that perhaps the scales could be swayed. That they should be. Good would be rewarded. Evil would be punished. Her only concern was that she might not be fit to do that, that even now her perspective was limited, but perhaps even that could be addressed. She had once made a promise, after all. And what did she care for the supposed permanence of death? Lost in thought as she was, Asceal almost missed Abanoc when he spoke. [hr] [color=DarkGray]“Have you found what you were looking for?”[/color] The Goddess blinked rapidly and shut the book before looking back at Abanoc. She seemed almost unsteady on her feet, but with a look in her eyes that could make even gods hesitate, “I have, and I did make a mistake. Just… Not the one I expected. The mortals are as flawed as we are, but perhaps they can be better. Even if just a bit.” [color=DarkGray]“Mortals are reflections of the gods that nurture them. Just as there are good and evil gods there will be good and evil mortals. Their fragility can cause their spirits to waver, as was with the Selka, but given time and order they can accomplish truly magnificent feats.”[/color] “They can be good or evil, on that we agree Abanoc,” Asceal began to glow again, and she gave her brother a weak smile, “But they are reflections of nothing. They weren't created with the memories or knowledge of their creators. Their good and evil are all their own, and they all have to choose.” Her little smile gave way to a peculiar grin, “I think I’ll be there when they do.” [hider=Summary] This takes place a while ago. Asceal is like ‘do the mortals suck’ and Abanoc is like, ‘well lets take a gander’ and they do and Asceal learns about Mortals and the Selka and Hoshaf and Panganeem and all them. She decides that Mortals are bad, but also good. That sucks, but you know what sucks more? The fact that the evil get to die or be preserved the same as the good. Asceal decides to judge some nerds. No might spent.[/hider]