Spirits of Azure and Green
Twenty Third Day of the Third Month 294 AC
Explaining law to a would be god is a strange experience, the kami sees so much and so little all at once. The fears and desires of mortals, it knows like the strokes of some cosmic brush into a painting that reflects the soul, but explaining the wishes and experiences of another god is almost painfully slow. Yss' hatred of 'false gods' and bargains in bad faith make perfect sense to you, but to the wandering kami upon its current, it seems as unnatural as a dam in the middle of a river.
'Does not belief flow to truth, and souls carve their own stream through the to the ocean Beyond?'
You wish you could think it is done in bad faith or that this ancient presence that might be older than your whole House since that long ago Dance is somehow stupid or slow. It is not. It is simply limited by the channel it is flowing through.
Has chosen to flow though? Does the distinction even matter? Though it has chosen to embody the freedom of the wide ocean on this journey, it is as shackled as a man in chains.
You suppose the same is true of the Old Gods, but they are many; as leaves in the wind they can change each with their own secret whisper as roots they drink from different wells. Perhaps it is true of Yss as well, but he is vast enough to reflect untold multitudes stretching back to the world's beginnings. As you sit by the shore explaining law to a would be god, you understand why it is the gods of knowledge and of death whom you can best find kinship with, for the former seek answers by their very nature and the latter embody the memories and thoughts of all whom they embraced.
"Come on, it couldn't be that hard to talk to the water snake. You
like snakes," Dany's voice draws you from your reverie as you are walking back to the keep, letting the sights and sounds of evening in the Deep all around you.
"Who says it was bad?" you challenge.
"The fact that you didn't hear me fly in." she replies glibly. Smile fading a little she prompts again, "What's the matter?"
"I just realized the gods most likely to understand mortals, for better or for worse, are those of knowledge and of death," you reply wistfully. "Ones little thought of and oft forgotten. It just feels like an unfair bit of irony to add to everything else."
Your sister considers that a long moment as she walks alongside you. "You know, we are subjective, too. Not as limited in how we act and how we think as those molded by the expectations of one's followers, but it may just be that you feel closest to gods of death and learning because those are the easiest to approach from where you are standing. A farmer praying for the rain and feeling the gentle touch of a harvest god on his thoughts is no less genuine in his experience for not
knowing everything that went into it, the details of the spheres, and the contentions of powers. Look..." she points to where a pair of verdant phoenixes were flying over head, elegant figures of emerald fire, like some illusionist's surreal creation yet somehow more real than the soft white clouds and sky fading into twilight.
"Do you think any prayers of thanks they may have elicited from those who remained in the Orange Shore are wasted, just because it wasn't their gods who sent them?" Dany shakes her head. "Gods are thoughts, emotions, and experiences reflected back upon the world. Who we can best relate to depends upon which looking glass has caught our eye."
"Even us?"
Even dragons, you almost say, but do not because it's not quite true. Ser Richard was standing right beside you as you bartered with gods, and Malarys consulted on laws that bound them. All of your companions, and many more besides, see the world from the same perch and others are climbing towards it. You have been in the business of building handholds for them to use if they dare for years. Will they thank you when you reach the top?
"We still only have two to five eyes." She giggles a little at your startled reaction breaking the mood. "You don't think I'd forget Xor, do you?"
Without thinking about it, a smile grows at the corner of your mouth. You reach out to hug your sister.
What next?
[] Write in
OOC: As I was writing this is struck me how odd it was to be laying down the law to a would be god and how comfortable Viserys is with certain gods over others so I explored that a little. Don't take anything in the above as absolute metaphysical truths, these are just the musings of admittedly very wise mages with a lot of IC knowledge. Not yet edited.
