It may be... Unpleasant for those who prefer lush and dense forests. It may come as a surprise, but once upon a time Ishgard was surrounded with bountiful trees.
[ A nod, but he grows quiet ]
... 'Tis hard, but change comes whether one wills it or not.
[ It's interesting to him since so many people here are very not catholic, by that I mean without belief. ]
Is there aught stopping you from creating home again? The blight may take what you once knew, but it cannot take your heart as long as you hold onto it.
[they are also very not catholic, but are very fantasy buddhism-adjacent? does that count?]
...The thing about our home is, it isn't just our home. It's a temple, one an ancestor of mine was told to build thousands of years ago. And like a lot of temples, it's also a graveyard. A hero of ancient days was buried there, and since that time, we have buried those who have done good in their lives and who are brought to our door. By the grace of our god, their bodies have become fertile soil, and from that soil the garden has bloomed. And we are tasked to care for this garden.
We could leave and find another home, and found a new temple. The god we follow is not the sort who would want us to die for a futile duty. Rather the opposite; nature teaches us that some things are inevitable, and all things have their time. To love her is to know that eventually she will take back from you what it is you love, because that is the order of things, but something new will grow to take its place.
In this case, though, it feels wrong to...abandon something so sacred, the final resting place of so many, to a blight that comes from outside of nature. It felt like we had to try, that this what what she was asking of us.
In Eorzea, we believe in the Twelve, but Ishgard specifically reveres Halone, the Fury. She is the mover of glaciers, the goddess of war and wisdom, and we believe she led us to Coerthas. [ ff14 just gave them athena ] Not many moons ago, my nation was commanded by the Church, with the archbishop as its head. Much of her doctrine had been twisted for the war's narrative, but with reformation the clergy are restoring the faith to what it should be.
In my pursuit for change, the Church and the myths it sowed was brought to light. It left so many of our pious shattered... But came it the end an era of lies and violence. Mayhap I am not worthy to pray to the Fury now, but I still find myself clasping my hands during the blackest of nights.
[ Ultimately: ]
I would like to think in both of our pursuits, we are still honoring our patron... And that they understand. May the cure or answer be waiting for you, Lord Shale, and if it is here in the Prism, then may you find it.
[shale listens. religion is, it turns out, one of the things they care about most deeply. though the Fury sounds like a very different god than the one they worship, faith itself is something they understand quite well.]
I'd like to think so, too.
[quietly, after a moment.]
It's hard to imagine the god who wouldn't be honored by your service, that you have sought to do right by her, whatever you have felt right may be.
no subject
[an exhaled sigh.]
I miss what it was. Before everyone left, before I left.
no subject
[ A nod, but he grows quiet ]
... 'Tis hard, but change comes whether one wills it or not.
no subject
[...]
The god I follow is the god of nature, but cities, places where people live, there's nothing I dislike about it. It's just not me.
no subject
[ It's interesting to him since so many people here are very not catholic, by that I mean without belief. ]
Is there aught stopping you from creating home again? The blight may take what you once knew, but it cannot take your heart as long as you hold onto it.
no subject
[they are also very not catholic, but are very fantasy buddhism-adjacent? does that count?]
...The thing about our home is, it isn't just our home. It's a temple, one an ancestor of mine was told to build thousands of years ago. And like a lot of temples, it's also a graveyard. A hero of ancient days was buried there, and since that time, we have buried those who have done good in their lives and who are brought to our door. By the grace of our god, their bodies have become fertile soil, and from that soil the garden has bloomed. And we are tasked to care for this garden.
We could leave and find another home, and found a new temple. The god we follow is not the sort who would want us to die for a futile duty. Rather the opposite; nature teaches us that some things are inevitable, and all things have their time. To love her is to know that eventually she will take back from you what it is you love, because that is the order of things, but something new will grow to take its place.
In this case, though, it feels wrong to...abandon something so sacred, the final resting place of so many, to a blight that comes from outside of nature. It felt like we had to try, that this what what she was asking of us.
no subject
This god is unlike his own, so he listens and it makes sense to him. Life is just like that. ]
She sounds like a gentle and wise god, then you a faithful follower. [ ... ] Thank you, Lord Shale, for sharing a piece of yourself with me again.
The blight. Is there a cure? Are you seeking?
no subject
[they sound happy to have shared it a little as well.]
...That's what we hope to find. Or learn. There are other temples scattered around the world.
no subject
In my pursuit for change, the Church and the myths it sowed was brought to light. It left so many of our pious shattered... But came it the end an era of lies and violence. Mayhap I am not worthy to pray to the Fury now, but I still find myself clasping my hands during the blackest of nights.
[ Ultimately: ]
I would like to think in both of our pursuits, we are still honoring our patron... And that they understand. May the cure or answer be waiting for you, Lord Shale, and if it is here in the Prism, then may you find it.
no subject
I'd like to think so, too.
[quietly, after a moment.]
It's hard to imagine the god who wouldn't be honored by your service, that you have sought to do right by her, whatever you have felt right may be.