#going back and reading my paragraph about the yak/shas after 2024 lant/ern rite was something

[contractbound]

On Hearing People's Wishes...

Last summer, @wayward-aeon asked me to give my perspective on people praying to the Adep/ti (more specifically the Yak/shas), as well as elaborate on this in-game line:

Whether yours or Li/yue's, I hear all cries for help, all prayers for peace, and all the wishes carried by the lanterns.

Below the cut is my answer to that, taken from informal private messages and edited into more of a personal essay.

August 2023 ; 711 words

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What I said to Aether while making my promise to come when he called is true — I do hear everyone's wishes and calls for help. As far back in my canon as I can remember, I'd always been sensitive/attuned to the desires and needs of the people of Li/yue. I remember making a silent oath to answer what I could.

Regarding which calls I answer, I mostly pay attention to the wishes that actually fell under my jurisdiction, like providing protection. It was very easy to do that when Li/yue was still young, and the people back then were primarily concerned with survival. They usually didn't ask for pointless things like wealth and status. Really...what am I supposed to do about requests like that?

I suppose Aether could be considered a special exception to an extent. While he doesn't permanently reside in Li/yue, I personally made a promise to him to come when called, and I respond to his wishes even when they have nothing to do with my actual purpose/job. In my noemata, when he'd call my name, I'd hear it come through in my head — like a telepathic connection, but not purely. It also partially feels like I just have unnaturally good ears.

It feels the same with others who pray to the Adep/ti. I'm particularly sensitive to it during Lan/tern Rite. I think if I held someones Xi/ao Lantern in my hands, I could tell you the individual wish attached to it (but I wouldn't tell a soul, because that's bad luck). While I can't personally fulfill every person in Li/yue's every desire (especially because so many of them nowadays are outside of my jurisdiction and skill set), I still hold them close to my heart.

As for what is within my jurisdiction...there have been many occasions out in the wild where someone would scream for help after running into monsters, and I'd come to their rescue. No matter how far away I was.

On the topic of people praying to the Yak/shas in specific, I was aware of it. Spiritual practices dedicated to us such as prayer and leaving offerings were much more widespread in ancient times. We were much more revered and known back then because our abilities were a lot more needed (and of course, because we were much more numerous). In the "current-day" Tey/vat, barely anyone prays to the Yak/shas at all, and many others don't even know about us. However, that's a tangent for another time.

My connection to Aether and to the people of Li/yue that allows me to hear their wishes is of unknown origin at this point in time. I wonder if there was something innate in me that allowed me to feel this way, or if it was purely a skill picked up and developed over time after establishing my contract with Mo/rax. My current hunch is that it's a mix of both.

Before the contract, I'd have little to no reason to listen to people's desires, but I also feel like its just part of my nature to be attuned to others, even if I behave otherwise. This impression comes from memories I have of when I was still young. Before I entered any god's servitude, and I was just left to my own devices, I would spend my days entering and exploring people's dreams. Someone's dreams, especially on Tey/vat, are their memories, their love, their essence, their desire.

At that time in my life, my most prominent trait other than naive was curious. I wanted to understand people, and entering their dreams was like looking into their souls. It was a very effective way for me to sate this curiosity. Over the centuries, I got more and more intimately familiar with dreams and their nature. Even as I was devouring them, my understanding grew.

I wouldn't be surprised if being so tuned in to the desires of the people I swore to protect was largely a result of my "upbringing", for lack of a better term. I know firsthand how potent yet fragile dreams are, and that knowledge motivates me to protect them.

...If I could give back what I've stolen, and make a few come true, that would be all the better.