caughtinanetwork | Video: Gotta catch up on all the gossip!

Yes, we are called Hylians. We're similar to elves, I have been told. Interesting that you became one, though... I became an angel last week.

[Judging from the smile on Zelda's face, she found it to be a pleasant experience. Other than a brief bout of awkwardness involving not being able to taste Link's birthday cake properly, it was wonderful.]

[Colette blinks. She became a what? Oh no. She didn't have to go through the transformation, did she?]

You...it didn't hurt...? [She can ask about Zelda's world and the other races after making sure she didn't get hurt becoming an angel for the week.]

[Judging from Colette's expression, she should probably put a filter on this.]

Not at all. Should it have? I'd think it would be rather difficult to notice if it did, the signals sent by the nerves that handle pain were dulled significantly, as well as those that sense temperature.

[She always forgets filters...She inhales slowly and her smile falls off.]

Maybe because it was a curse, it didn't hurt. Normally when someone goes through the Angel Transformation, they go through trials and go through a lot of pain when they lose the next part of their humanity. I'm not sure how many trials Zelos went though or what he's told you about it, but you lose your sense of taste and it becomes hard to hold anything down when you eat after the first seal, and you get wings. Then you can't sleep anymore after the next seal. Then at the next seal, you can't feel anything. You get enhanced sight and hearing because of those last two. Every night after you release a seal, you go through a lot of pain. I also got 'Angel Skills' at those two seals. At the fourth seal, you lose your voice and get another Angel Skill. You can't even move that night, even if you can't feel the pain. At the final seal, you give up your heart and your soul and become merely a vessel. You get another Angel Skill then, too.

You couldn't feel hot or cold, cry, eat, or sleep....You could talk last week, right? Maybe the curse gave you a rune crest.

[Colette... Zelda looks rather somber as well.]

I did have a crest on my body, it wasn't only the crystal. I was able to speak, and I didn't experience any pain... but it sounds as if the process of becoming an angel naturally is a difficult experience. I'm sorry that you had to endure that. I did not intend to make light of it.

[Losing your heart and soul? It's almost like becoming an angel is just a euphemism for dying. How terrible.]

[She smiles.]

That's a relief! I'm glad you didn't have to go through all that. It's called a trial for a reason, I guess.

And it's fine! I got a rune crest and we made it so no one ever has to go through the transformation again, or on that Journey or any like it again.

[She laughs a little.] I guess it's kinda fun being an Angel if you don't have to go through all the pain beforehand.

[It sort of is.]

The flight, at least, I will miss. My people apparently once lived in the sky, so it felt quite natural!

[There, now she's offered another subject for Colette to take if she's feeling uncomfortable. Not that Zelda minds discussing angels, but she doesn't want it to be too terribly awkward.]

Flying is fun!

[oh right]

Since I was a Hylian during that curse [and I talked to the Professor], what other races are in your world? And what was your world like?

[Zelda smiles, closing her eyes. Hyrule.]

Hyrule is located north of the equator of Demari, my world. It is said to be the chosen land of the goddesses. The palace and the capital are situated against the foot of the mountains at the northern end of the country. The tallest of the mountains is known as Death Mountain. In the past it was a highly active volcano, but now it is quiet for the most part. There has only been one eruption in the past two hundred years, and it was a minor one. We believe that the presence of the Gorons has calmed the volcano significantly. The Gorons are creatures that appear to be made of rock, they are large and round. [She laughs thinking of them.] They are very friendly, though their size can be intimidating. They travel by rolling across the terrain much like boulders and their patron goddess is Din, the goddess of power.

Over the centuries the eruptions from the volcano made the land extremely fertile; Hyrule is a lush, green country. If you were to head south away from the capital you would find a vast plain known as Hyrule Field. Creatures of all sorts make their homes there, including my people, Hylians. You can find migrating deku scrubs - sentient plants, essentially - selling their wares, the ranch at the center that produces nearly all of the dairy products for the country, peahats, kobolds... it is a crossroads. If you head east out of the field, you will come to Zora's domain.

[Zelda lets out a small humming sound.] Zora's doman is beautiful. It is a watery paradise, not unlike you would expect Vatheon to be. The Zora are indigenous to the area, they are a fishlike race of people and highly intelligent. Of course, that is to be expected since the goddess they prefer is Nayru, the goddess of wisdom.

If you head southeast from the field, you will come to the Kokiri Forest. It is an enchanted forest, watched over by the Great Deku tree and its children. Their goddess of choice is Farore, the goddess of courage. It is said that those who are not pure of heart will become lost in the forest. Many of Hyrule's fairies make their home there, as well.

Finally, at the far southern end of Hyrule rests Lake Hylia. Zora's domain drains into it, and it is considered sacred to them. They even have an underwater temple in the center of the lake. Many Hylian villages are scattered along its shores as well.

[She continues to describe the rest of the country with great vigor, gesturing wildly with her hands to indicate the size and shape of things and looking reverent when she describes the magic of the land. There's no doubt about it - Zelda loves her land deeply. Strangely enough, even though she describes no less than four races of incredibly different people, there's no mention of racial conflict at all.]

((In-game Hyrule is small, but I've always imagined it to be bigger than that - Probably about the size of a smallish European country. I'm going to hold off on describing things that don't exist in the game though, orz.))

[Well, that's a lot of information. It's almost like one of the Professor's long lectures, except normally the Professor has little pauses and asks for questions in the middle.

She's quiet until the end.]

So there are Gorons, Hylians, Kokiri, and Zora? And...they never fought?

[She gives her a bright smile.]

Your world sounds nice!

((alright!))

We didn't really fight, no. There is another race known as the Gerudo that can be a little more violent, but that is mostly due to the lack of resources in their area. They steal rather frequently.

[Zelda smiles back.]

I'm glad to hear that you think so. I would love to show it to everyone in Vatheon someday.

I kinda wish our world was more like that. There's a lot of discrimination and separation in our world.

[She looks away.]

Even among the humans, there's a lot of fighting. The Pope tried to kill us and the King before we stopped him. Stealing is kinda common too.

[She smiles and laughs.]

Heheh, I've accidentally stolen things from people who've attacked us before.

Your country sounds really pretty too! If I could visit and still go back to my own world, I'd love to stay there for a while.

[She's been quietly writing down factoids about Hyrule and it's races this entire time (yay writing papers).]

I've heard that Aselia is a little violent.

[That's an understatement. Some of the things she's heard are atrocious, unimaginable to the princess of a peaceful country like Hyrule. Oh, there had been a big fight over the Triforce right before she was born, but it seems like a story.]

Perhaps now that you have saved your world, you can use your position as the former Chosen to promote peace?

[A sad smile.]

I'm sure you've heard that it's more than a little violent.

[That's an idea! She smiles, her entire face lighting up.]

I can try! We're just working on making the two former worlds be peaceful now that they're together again, and on getting the humans to except the half-elves.

[Oh but...]

Sylvarant sees me as a failed Chosen though, so it might not work that well. Zelos might have a better shot with Tethe'alla.

[It's true; she's heard terrible things about Aselia. The racism, the human ranches... it's all appalling. And yet Colette and Lloyd both came from a place like that, so there's hope for it yet.]

The world was saved, was it not? You did not fail. I'm sure people will come to see that.

Some people already do see it! The people of Iselia don't blame me or my friends for the Tower of Salvation disappearing at least, apart from the Mayor.

[She looks down.]

But...Mithos said that he separated Sylvarant and Tethe'Alla because they were fighting in a war, so we might've just planted the seeds for the next one. I really hope they won't start fighting again.

There might be a little fighting at first, but things will settle down as long as you keep moving towards resolution. Sometimes, people can't come to understand each other without exchanging some heated words. Separation is not the answer.

[A smile.]

I hope so! The war we had that killed the Giant Kharlan Tree lasted a thousand years and would've lasted for longer if Mithos hadn't done what he did. Sometimes people just need time to cool down, right?

It's been quite some time since that war, hasn't it? Mithos said it was four thousand years... hopefully old grudges have been forgotten and you can all begin anew.

[The true state of Aselia is difficult to discern. Mithos and Zelos are both two of the most pessimistic people she's ever met, and Lloyd and Colette are the opposite. The situation is probably somewhere in between...]

Yeah, it's been four thousand years. I really hope you're right. I hope we can all live together after only a little bloodshed if there is any bloodshed.

[A pause as she takes a deep breath.]

I'm worried that there'll be new grudges between those who were on Sylvarant and those who were on Tethe'Alla.

Not if they have a common enemy to focus their anger and confusion on. The organization that was responsible for splitting the worlds has left the planet entirely, correct? It would be best to be truthful with everyone about the situation and allow them to direct their discontent towards Cruxis. They are not even present on your planet any longer, so no one would be harmed.

[Politics, Colette. You need a scapegoat.]

[A blink.]

I don't think so. The Church of Martel was controlled by Cruxis, so that'd probably just make everyone angry at them.

Ah, I see. Well, there are likely to be many people who are disoriented. Do your best to focus their energy elsewhere. I'm sure fusing two worlds has caused damage in some places, so reconstruction efforts in shared areas might be a good place to start.

That's basically what we're doing! We can't really get others to help unless they want to, but at my time that's basically what everyone is trying to do. The Professor and Genis are traveling to try to get half-elves to be more accepted, and the rest of us are helping people settle and rebuild when they need to. Well, Lloyd and Zelos went on a journey to collect the Exspheres too.

It sounds as if you're doing well for yourselves, then. I hope you create a beautiful world.

[She really does. They deserve to live in one. So does everyone, really. A world where people are discounted because of their race is one that's difficult to imagine...]

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clumsyblonde - 2012-07-06 20:11 (UTC) - Expand