#love me the tragedy of an unsavable man before he falls

[lemon-russ]

Would you consider writing something with Lucius the Eternal?

Maybe! I actually only learned more about him recently and got on a little kick. I'm pretty poorly versed in chaos but I DO like pre-heresy ECs and I want to learn more about him.

Plus he's hot. I'm a slut for a man with white hair.

[angelrider13]

Hey. Hey @sparklecryptid, I was thinking things about your OCs and my OCs and various other OCs and then I thought what if and SI was reborn as one of the Astrals?

And then I accidentally started a fic. (This may also interest @charlottedabookworm, @luxroyalty, @hamelin-born, @theperidotshade, @theotherguysride

A girl named for the sea drowns in it and then wakes up with scales for skin and saltwater in her veins with Etro standing over her naming her Tidemother. The sea is her and she is the sea, wild and ferocious and free. There are five others and this is familiar to her, this is a story she knows, but this is long before any of the characters are born, before the conflict has even arisen. Humanity is in its infancy - young and new and naive. Her fellow Astrals are the same as her, newly created seeing the world with new eyes. They are given domains and choose others as their own.

Bahamut is light and order. But he is also war and destruction and pride. Shiva is ice and snow and all things cold. But she is also death and duty. Titan is the earth and the stone. But he is also sacrifice and strength and suffering. Ifrit is fire and heat and flame. But he is also passion and hate and love. Ramuh is lightning and storms on the horizon. But he is also justice and truth.

She is Leviathan. She is the sea, the water, both the waves on the surface and the depths far below. She is fickle and free, kind and cruel, fierce and calm. She is change and tragedy and hope all rolled into one.

Time passes and humanity grows and learns and evolves and Leviathan remembers, does not let herself forget the story from before, keeps a wary eye on her siblings and the world at large. The Astrals, for all their distance, are revered as Gods, though that is not, nor was it ever, their purpose. They were not made to be worshiped by humans, but to be guardians of Eos. Ifrit has always felt things deeply and strongly and he loves the humans so. He speaks to them, answers their prayers.

She is not so forward, though she does not keep her distance like the others. Humans are a resilient race - she knows, she remembers - but they are also as fickle as her tides. She will not solve their problems, will not step in and fix things for them. If they are hungry, she will teach them to fish. Many call her cold for it, think her distant like the others, because her kindness is not like Ifrit’s.

(There is a story of a man who falls into a river. The water is deep and swift and the man is a strong swimmer, but not that strong - he cannot escape the current. He prays to the Tidemother to save him. A rock appears, disrupting the flow of water, but he pays it no mind. The Tidemother will save him. A log floats by, but he ignores it. If he prays hard enough, the Tidemother will protect him. A long branch overhangs the river. He doesn’t reach for it. He prays and prays and prays. He drowns.

“You didn’t save me!” he shouts at Leviathan in the Beyond, “I prayed to you and you didn’t answer!”

She is unmoved. “I answered you three times,” she says coolly, “I sent you a rock, a log, a branch. You ignored all of them. You must save yourself, boy, or you remain unsaved.”)

Eventually, Ifrit learns the lesson that she already knew. Humanity will always push for more. Ifrit gives and gives and gives and when he can give nothing else, humanity turns away from him. They take his teachings and his knowledge and make it there own. They learn from it, grow with it, change it figure out how to make it the more that Ifrit himself failed to give.

Ifrit has always felt strongly and this act that he sees as a betrayal turns all his love to hate. In his anger, he awakens a darkness they were meant to guard the world against. Humanity crumbles under the weight their war and the growing darkness. Bahamut grows desperate to restore order presents a Prophecy and a Crystal to a bloodline long blessed by Eos’s light and Etro’s grace. It is only after the fact that Leviathan realizes the Crystal is Eos’s heart, that it was something Bahamut was never meant to take. Ramuh is horrified when she confronts him for he remembers where the others have forgotten. But there are laws in place, laws older than they are, that they cannot break. Bahamut has declared a Prophecy and the Crystal cannot be returned until its completion.

Leviathan rages in her seas when she realizes that Bahamut’s Chosen King is the boy who played on her shores. Who offered her flowers and fruits and stones from deep within landlocked fields and caves that her waters did not reach. Who played in her waves and explored her tide pools and spoke to the creatures who called her waters home. She rages because she remembers. She knows what happens to this boy who is now a man, who is strong enough to save himself and others, who she claimed as her own long ago.

She rages when he falls from Bahamut’s grace, when the Draconian orders the Astrals to sleep. She uncoils, towering over him.

“I am the sea!” she screams at him, Ramuh’s ire fueling the tempest in her heart and her waves, “You do not command me!”

She sinks into her waves, into her domain, where Bahamut has no power, and pulls at the bond with her Chosen (he was hers first, always hers) and feels his grief and anger and horror. She rages because there is nothing she can do but grant him the safety of her waters.

So the other Astrals sleep and the Accursed wanders and the Tidemother waits.

[foggyvoidyouth-blog]

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands

7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:7-10 At the risk of getting the melody of this childhood song stuck in your mind today, we’ll focus on the supremacy of God who reigns as He pleases over all creation. Indeed, He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.

All of us are beset by Job-like experiences in our lives; setbacks, disappointments, loss, tragedy, suffering, etc. In those times, we try to make sense of it all. Where is God? Why is He allowing this to happen? Is this hardship the result of my sin? We are believers, God’s children, forgiven, and heaven bound. Why are we suffering when unbelievers aren’t? Good things just seem to fall in their laps. We identify with Job because he was a man of faith who sought to rationalize his suffering. So we read the book of the Bible that bears his name hoping to find comfort and answers. Like Job, we can be comforted in knowing He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. You’ve heard it said, “bad things happen to good people.” On the flip-side of that coin we also know, “good things happen to bad people.” Verse 6 of Job 12 helps us understand the meaning of the text that follows. “The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure —  those God has in his hand.” Good things were happening to bad people. They were safe and blessed. Yet they were blatant sinners (marauders) who provoked God. Then in verses 7-8, Job calls our attention to God’s creation. Animals. Birds. The earth. Fish in the sea. “Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” (v9) Like the song says, He’s got the whole world in His hands. Outside my window, there is dew on the grass, shimmering in the light of the morning sun. Birds dart from place to place, cheerily greeting the new day with their song. Yesterday afternoon, it rained. Oh, how we needed it. We live in a big neighborhood, too big to know all our neighbors. Undoubtedly, some are believers — some are not. But all were blessed by the sunshine and the rain. God didn’t just bless me because I’m his child. He blessed all who live here. The difference: Believers see blessings from God. Unbelievers see it as just another day. In reality, “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (v10) Every life is in his hands. Saved and unsaved. Redeemed and lost. Truth is truth regardless of what someone believes. Today’s PC everything-is-ok culture maintains that truth is relative to the individual. You have your truth. I have my truth. There is one God, one Lord, and one truth. One faith. One baptism. One way to heaven. And that is true whether you believe it or not. It’s God’s sunshine, His rain, His creation, and His to do with as He pleases. Faith in God accepts His master plan. He sees the big picture. You and I only see our little corner of it. But just as the sun and rain is common to all, so are storms. That’s where you and I have the advantage. That’s because we know our Creator loves us. He is our constant help in times of trouble. When you face hardship and suffering don’t compare your lot in life to others. Instead, look to the Lord. True enough, Job when through many difficulties, but he ended up with more and better than he had before. And that’s exactly what lies ahead for every believer. The best is yet to come. He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. More importantly, YOU are in His hands. For more on this topic, check out this article: What Will Happen When You State the Case for Your Innocence in God's Court? Reprinted from The Forever Notebook, Book 4 (October - December) Get your copy here: Paperback and eBook/Kindle formats.

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