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[h3][sup]Collab between [@Tuujaimaa] and [@Lord Zee][/sup][/h3][/center][hr]

Fìrinn’s almost-gaze peered more deeply into the Tairseach than usual, studying deeply one of the infinite panoply of reflections contained therein. Its perception was squarely focused upon the very moment that the fabric of the Collective Unconscious was repaired and sutured back together, examining every minute detail of precisely what happened. There was no small amount of inspiration to be gleaned from such an event--the restoration of damage, the natural order restored, and harmony brought back to reality. It was a beautiful thing, and though beauty was not a necessary function of Truth, Fìrinn had found that it quite liked aesthetic beauty. Many things in the world captured its attention with their beauty, and it had found itself more drawn to gazing upon their reflections in the Tairseach than others. It was a quirk of character, it supposed, but it did not interfere with its work. It was… Truth.

Reflections were, ultimately, impossible without light. When Fìrinn had melded minds with Aicheil, it had gleaned a passing awareness of its night-self’s interaction with the Goddess of the Moon. It stood to reason, then, that Fìrinn should have a conversation with the Moon’s day-self, that which supplied the light for reflections to exist, and illuminated beauty. It cast a ripple of perceptive awareness through the threads of the subtle weave and found the location of Oraelia quite handily, simply appearing behind the Goddess as if it were her reflection.

[color=#DFB624]“Oraelia.”[/color]

She screamed at the sound of his voice, quickly scrambling to her feet where she had been resting next to an illuminated pool in a forest of light. The Goddess turned to the Fìrinn and brought up a hand to her chest as she exhaled. 

[color=gold]”You startled me there!”[/color] she exclaimed.

[color=#DFB624]“I apologise. When one knows the minds of all mortalkind it is often disorienting to interact with a deity whose perception is not known to me.”[/color] Fìrinn responded, its mantle-claws gesturing with open palms as if to show that it meant no threat. With a quick flourish they returned to their original position, clasped together in front of the God of Truth, as Fìrinn began to speak again.

[color=#DFB624]“My twin has spoken to yours. It made sense to me that we should also speak. I suppose I would first like to… thank you. It is through you and your sunlight that reflections are possible, and so your presence has been a boon of immeasurable worth to me. I would like to know your mind, if such a thing would please you?”[/color] 

Fìrinn’s words were careful and measured, in part to ensure that it did not startle its sibling again, and in part because it simply had to consider how it would go about this conversation. Its encounter with the Tree of Genesis had not gone precisely as planned in its inchoate stages and it wished to avoid another negative response with a deity--especially one like Oraelia, to whom it felt a certain kinship.

Oraelia seemed to relax at his words, a cheerful expression slowing starting to form on her face as she let her arm drop. She tilted her head at Fìrinn, eyeing him up and down. [color=gold]”You know my name, but what is yours and your domain?”[/color] she asked. 

[color=#DFB624]”Ah, yes. I am Fìrinn, God of Truth. Perhaps you have heard me called the Threefold God, or perhaps the Watcher Behind, or perhaps the Two-as-One? I am unsure of how much you speak to your mortal followers, exactly--there is simply too much to keep track of. My twin, Aicheil, and I created the Collective Unconscious--the threads that bind all mortalkind in a great tapestry of shared experience, thought, and feeling. It is my prerogative to align reality with its greatest Truth, to enable each mortal and each deity to mould their surroundings according to what it means to be [i]them[/i]. Without you I dare say that mortalkind would not exist, and so it stands to reason that I would not exist.”[/color] Fìrinn responded with as much information as it thought Oraelia might want to know about it in an effort to pre-empt further questions about its purpose and its beliefs. Its mantle-claws wove themselves into gentle open palms, fingertips against one another, as the God of Truth thought to itself.

Oraelia stared at Fìrinn for a moment. A contemplative look upon her face, she looked around with her eyes, before focusing them back on Fìrinn. [color=gold]”I can’t say I’ve ever heard of you, or your twin, Fìrinn. But! You are so welcome! My light is for all to have and be nourished by!”[/color] she said warmly. [color=gold]”Now, I’ve also never heard of this, ‘Collective Unconscious’, either. Which again, isn’t surprising because I haven’t really met others. Oh! I can name like… Three other gods? Maybe four? Regardless, that was a good explanation!”[/color] she then looked around. [color=gold]”Where is it?”[/color] she asked befuddled. 

[color=#DFB624]”Hm. I often forget that others are incapable of seeing the subtle web--I spend much of my time gazing into the holy Tairseach, and within its reflection the web is plainly obvious. I could show you, if you were so inclined?”[/color] 

Fìrinn’s offer was remarkably casual--offhanded, even--not as if it did not expect for it to be taken up on, but as if it was surprised at itself for offering to reveal the location of the Tairseach at all. It was not hidden from deific perception, so it was certainly not as if the Isle of Reflection were difficult to find, but its experience of deities thus far had mostly been that they were deeply focused upon their own surroundings and goals and had little time or inclination to explore much of the world. Fìrinn was at something of an advantage in that regard, it supposed, as all that mortalkind saw was information it had access to. The God of Truth paused for a second, even its mantle stilling, as it pondered precisely what that small epiphany meant.

She clasped her hands together as she looked back at Fìrinn. [color=gold]”Oh I would love to!”[/color] she said joyfully. [color=gold]”It’s not like I’m doing much here, anyways.”[/color] she mused, dropping her hands and walking over to him.

With a flourish of its mantle, Fìrinn offered Oraelia a hand that she grasped, taking the two of them directly to the Isle of Reflection. Upon arrival, Fìrinn’s true hands grasped the mirror before it once more and, this time, nudged it backwards so that it might catch the sunlight and reveal the presence of the great weave within the firmament above. After a minute adjustment here and there it found the correct angle, and its mantle beckoned Oraelia to gaze deeply within the reflection. Fortunately for the pair, the Tairseach’s reflection was not limited to its physical space--the entire Isle served as a conduit for its power, and with just a little focus Fìrinn was able to ensure that Oraelia could simply see the web when she gazed out towards Toraan proper by virtue of being on the tiny landmass. Her eyes went wide as she looked through.
 
[color=#DFB624]”Each mortal is connected by the finest filament. It carries their perception across the world, as a ray of sunlight might carry an image, into the Tairseach. Through it, these fragments of mortality enter the Dream and blossom forth, stretching the very limits of imagination. Then, these transformed perspectives are pulled back through the mirror and return to their owners--and occasionally to others. It is the purest essence of Truth aside from myself.”[/color]

Fìrinn explained the details while its mantle gently caressed the surface of the Tairseach, filling in some of its prior carvings while rendering new images and filigreed inlays depicting sunlight illuminating the world. 

[color=gold]”It’s beautiful…”[/color] Oraelia said, breathless. [color=gold]”I never would have imagined something like this… Existed. Are you able to pinpoint specific mortals?”[/color] she asked. 

[color=#DFB624]”I am. Is there a being whose Truth you wished to examine?”[/color] Fìrinn asked, returning the Tairseach to its upright position as it did so. The presence of the subtle weave beyond the isle persisted, however, as Fìrinn’s mantle glowed a soft blue for just a second. It would likely have to show the collective unconscious to others regardless, and those mortals who found their way here after being Chosen deserved to experience a moment of true beauty before being entombed within a reflection for all eternity.

[color=gold]”Not in particular, I was just curious you see.”[/color] she said, turning to look at Fìrinn. [color=gold]”A truth of a person sounds very… Personal, doesn’t it? I’m not sure how I would feel if someone saw mine.”[/color] she said quietly. 

[color=#DFB624]”Lucia thinks very highly of you. You are her first thought in a morning, and her last thought as she drifts into slumber. It is touching, in its own way. Truth is personal by nature, Oraelia--but you have nothing to fear. We Gods are above such piercing insight. All that I know of you I know from mortal perspective and from what we have discussed--I could not peer into the mysteries of your truest essence even if I tried. All I seek to do is know you and help you align reality with your Truth, no more.”[/color]

The God of Truth’s almost-face reflected a light of deeper, blue hues like that of the ocean. A burst of colour as if to signify a latent wistfulness, a brief reflection of its own internal truth. Its mantle-hands wove themselves back into the claw tips it was used to and gently trailed across the surface of the reflecting pool beneath Fìrinn, somehow not disturbing the images therein or seeming to physically affect the water at all.

At the mention of Lucia, Oraelia narrowed her eyes at Fìrinn briefly, before she gave a small sigh and looked back at the Tairseach. [color=gold]”My Sunflower…”[/color] she whispered to herself. [color=gold]”I wasn’t afraid for myself, Fìrinn. Mortal life is a precious thing, and we gods are so… Powerful. I try my best not to infringe upon their individuality, but that’s just me.”[/color] she looked back to Fìrinn. [color=gold]”What do you wish to know about me?”[/color] she asked, raising an eyebrow.

[color=#DFB624]”I wish to know your Truth, as I do for all that exists. Such is my nature and my purpose.”[/color] Fìrinn responded simply, taking a moment to consider before expressing its meaning again.

[color=#DFB624]”Perhaps fear is not the right word. It is not selfish to interact with that which you have made, and nor would it detract from their individuality--mortalkind loves wonder, and are we not the most wondrous beings in all creation? Perhaps one can manufacture love within one’s creations, but the simple truth is that they will find love and admiration of us in one way or another because we created them or we are born of aspects of them. I could find for you each and every feeling mortalkind has ever had about you or your creations since the inception of the Great Weave, but it would not help you realise the simple Truth. You need not isolate yourself from those that worship you as it is not in your nature to mould them. You need not deny yourself the love of your children as you care deeply for their happiness and their truth. The present will give way to the future as surely as you will make the sun rise. The future shall wash away all that is as surely as your sister guards the moon. We cannot know what that future is, all we can know is that it will not be this. It will be Truth, if we do our duties correctly.”[/color]

Fìrinn’s monologue was mostly addressed to Oraelia, but it was equally clear that much of this exposition was simply it thinking aloud, absorbing knowledge and context from its sibling, and processing all of reality anew with fresh perspectives. It was an exercise in knowing Oraelia and knowing the self, and also in accepting that which Fìrinn did not--and perhaps could not--know. It was, in essence, reflection. Nothing more.

[color=gold]”I…”[/color] she began, but stopped. Her face was a mask of self reflection as she thought upon Fìrinn’s words. [color=gold]”I think… That might be what I needed to hear.”[/color] she cooed. [color=gold]”So, how do you find the Truth of a god?”[/color]

[color=#DFB624]”You ask a lot of questions and you think very hard.”[/color] Fìrinn replied, the lights reflecting from its almost-face suggesting a smirk or a sharp intake of breath.

[color=#DFB624]”It is made easier by choosing to link minds with another deity, but it is an… intrusive process. Or, at least, it would be if I attempted to do so. My twin requires such connections to understand the Gods, or requires my presence. Perhaps together we could draw out the Truth from another deity without it being an unpleasant experience? Still, it is perhaps for the best that that avenue not be explored. Understanding winds its way to me with knowledge, so all I require is conversation. I am not sure that you or the others could do the same--even with your sister I expect you do not have the piercing insight of Truth.”[/color]

Fìrinn’s response was typically unhelpful when it came to answering the queries of gods about the nature of mortal concepts when applied to them. It was something that it had to work on knowing and understanding, which was still a somewhat foreign concept to it. Still, it hoped it could help Oraelia become closer with Truth in some small way, even if the path was meandering.

She smirked. [color=gold]”Is it such a bad thing to be inquisitive? Still, I understand. Some Truths take time, just like anything, really.”[/color] she began to stretch. [color=gold]”Thank you, for showing me this, Fìrinn. It was unexpected, but needed.”[/color] 

[color=#DFB624]”You are very welcome, flower of the dawn. Your inquisitiveness will serve you well, of that I have no doubt. It is simply a matter of time before the Truths of the universe and of we Gods reveal themselves to us both. Before you leave, I do have one request of you? Could you capture a few rays of the sun and store them within the reflecting pool? I tried to reflect the lights of the Luminant, but capturing the true essence of such things is beyond my grasp. I think the Tairseach would benefit from such a display of beauty.”[/color]

She nodded, raising her hand up into the sky. From the sky came a ray of sunlight that coalesced as it hit the reflecting pool, where it fragmented into every color of the sun. Vibrant colors struck every surface,  refracting and reflecting the light. [color=gold]”Until we next meet, Fìrinn. Goodbye!”[/color] she said with a wave, before changing into her domain form, and streaking off over the ocean.

[hr]

[hider=Summary]Fìrinn decides to speak with Oraelia, to mirror Aicheil speaking with Gibbou. The two get acquainted with one another and discuss the nature of godhood and its relationship with mortalkind. The pair learn something of one another and depart on friendly terms. Also, Fìrinn gets a new portfolio. 
[/hider]

[hider=Might Summary: Oraelia]
Nothing had, nothing spent.
[/hider]

[hider=Might Summary: Fìrinn]
-3MP - Unlock Reflections Portfolio

2MP/0DP remaining.
[/hider]