audio;

[gerechtigkeit]

[Hello Savrou, did you miss vague shitposting about random questions? No? Here, have another! Only this one is with audio, and no odd name other than "Saber." Sadly, the man on the other side is somewhat unused to talking for deep or thought-provoking conversations. Someone help him.]

I have a question.

[...wait, he's supposed to ask everything at once on this thing. Right. This is... definitely not something he's used to. He starts again, trying not to sound too stiff.]

Do you have stories? [Uh. Hm. That still doesn't quite explain what he's looking for. Hang on, let him clarify.] By that I mean your worlds. Your homes. They could be recent, or from the past. Histories, legends. Fairytales. Any of those.

Do you remember any of them? What were they like? [Clearly, this isn't weird to ask anyone, right? It's normal? Siegfried has no idea what "normal" means. He's really bad at this.]

There were many, back in my home. Some faded over time, and others remained. It depended on where you lived or where you were from. [A beat, as if an afterthought:] And if you wanted to believe it or not, I suppose.

[IS THIS HOW YOU HOLD A CONVERSATION he hopes he's doing this right.]

Comments

[gerechtigkeit]

[The vague shitposting will continue until morale improves.

There is a very audible pause here.]

That is true, though I would imagine it differs depending on the worlds we inhabit, and whether they're remembered at all in the first place.

[tearmeanewone]

[FUCK IT'LL GO ON FOREVER.]

Well I'll tell you right now, it's going to be hard for anybody to describe stories from their timeline that have been forgotten.

But you're right, stories will absolutely vary based on which timeline you're from. I imagine you've never heard of Ryan the Lion, for example.

[It's a good thing. Trust her.]

[gerechtigkeit]

[THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS]

That's not- you're right, sorry. [The apology sounds very much like it's something he's used to saying.] What I meant was the different variations between the same kind of worlds.

[Is he going to elaborate? Probably not.]

I haven't. [And that surprises him, because he knows so many legends already simply from what he is. "Ryan the Lion" isn't anything even remotely familiar.] Is that one specific to your world?

[tearmeanewone]

[THAT'S IT, I'M TURNING THIS ARC AROUND.]

[He might not elaborate, but something about the phrasing pings her. Hard.]

Right. Constants and variables.

[Elizabeth leaves a fairly pregnant pause in there before she continues.]

... one of them, yes. Or, from a place I visited. Really he was a character used by a children's daycare center to teach model citizen behavior. It was propaganda, essentially.

[gerechtigkeit]

[WE CAN'T STOP HERE THIS IS SAVRII COUNTRY]

[That just completely went over his head.]

Constants and variables?

[The only reason he knows of the differences is thanks to reading the network, mostly. Does he actually fully understand it? Somewhat. Heroes can change due to who tells the legend, after all. And the Throne never has issues with assigning different classes for them.]

Ah. That's... different from what I was expecting. But it does still count. [He frowns, thinking.] I'm more familiar with stories such as the ones of gods and tales of bravery and impossible odds.

[tearmeanewone]

[TUCK AND ROLL, GET ON THE HYDRA'S BACK.]

It's a principle of quantum physics. In every timeline, there are constants-- things that will always be the same no matter what-- and variables-- things that cause timelines to branch off. Sometimes they can be as mundane as whether you had coffee or tea for breakfast, sometimes it's one side winning a war over the other. This is the reason sometimes people arrive here and have different recollections of similar events, or even completely different impressions of how "Earth" is. Variables create these differences.

[Yeah, she can definitely teach physics, look at her go...]

Well, that's not the only thing I'm familiar with. Here, why don't I name some things I'm familiar with, you can see if any of them ring any bells. That might be a good reference point.

[She thinks for a while-- gods and tales of bravery and impossible odds...]

What about the Greek myths? Hercules? Jason?

[gerechtigkeit]

[IT KEEPS HAPPENING]

That's... familiar, actually. The concept. I understand it. [And he does, for how many times has a story shifted and changed the hero as a result? The Throne has an odd sense of humor and summoning can always change if one desired class is already taken.

What may surprise Elizabeth is how much he replies to her when she begins saying the myths.]

Hercules, a divine hero in Greek mythology. Son of Zeus, half-brother of Perseus. He was born with incredible strength and used his wits in situations where strength would not suffice alone. In his first marriage he was cursed by Hera into madness and murdered his children, and sought penance through performing trials by his enemy Eurystheus for ten years. They later became known as The Twelve Labors of Hercules. He died to being poisoned by the blood of the Hydra that remained on a bloodstained tunic that was given to him by his wife.

Jason, leader of the Argonauts and the seeker of the Golden Fleece. Son of Aeson, and husband to Medea. He rode upon the ship the Argo and ventured with his group across the seas and many lands before he was tasked with three obstacles to overcome- to plow a field with the Khalkotauroi, to sow dragon's teeth into the field and kill the warriors that came from there, and to overcome the sleepless dragon that guarded the fleece. He achieved these with the help of Medea, and returned to give Pelias the fleece. He later died alone due to his treachery and rebuking of Medea.

[He pauses, curious. That's the most he's spoken since arriving.] Do either of these sound similar to what you know?

[tearmeanewone]

...Yes, uh. Yes, exactly what I'm familiar with. [Wow. This guy has a very thorough knowledge of these characters. Perhaps he's some kind of historian? It would make sense, if he's specifically asking about stories and myths.]

Alright, let's try something a little more recent. How about Robin Hood?

[gerechtigkeit]

[Historian would be a good cover-up if he was looking for one. As it is, Siegfried has to pause for just a moment before he thinks his answer through.]

Robin Hood, the one that I'm aware of- he was a faceless man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor consistently. He led a group of Merry Men, used a bow, and was always an enemy to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Little John and Friar Tuck usually accompanied him where he went, and he fell in love with Maid Marion.

[A thought occurs to him.] What about Odin, or Asgard? Have you heard of those?

[tearmeanewone]

Sounds about right, though I don't remember him being faceless... Hooded, yes, comes with the name.

Odin and Asgard-- both from Norse mythology. Odin is known by hundreds of names, is married to the goddess Frigg, and has many, many children-- the most well-known being Thor and Baldr. He's constantly searching for greater understanding and knowledge, and sacrificed one of his eyes to drink from Urd's well at the base of Yggdrasil, the world-tree. The lesson behind that one is sometimes in order to gain something great, something seemingly equally important must be sacrificed. But ultimately, the knowledge is worth the eye.

Asgard is where Odin and the rest of the Aesir live, connected to the 'mortal realm', Midgard, by a rainbow bridge called the Bifrost.

Alright, maybe something a little harder-- [This has somehow turned into a game of who knows more obscure things instead of a compare/contrast session, but Elizabeth's enjoying it.] --The Morrigan. Heard of her?

[gerechtigkeit]

[The fact that she has similar legends grounds him, somewhat, compared to everything else. And while she may think of this as a game, he hasn't quite picked up on it yet. To him, this is still comparing.]

The Morrígan, Celtic Goddess of War. Sometimes seen as one deity, but more often not seen as three- Badb, Macha, and Nemain. She is used as a symbol of death and doom in battle, and is a shapeshifter according to who she wants to see. Her most common form is a crow.

What about Kamsa and Krishna?

[tearmeanewone]

Ah! There's one-- I know Badb, Macha, and Anand or "Annie" sometimes. But the rest is pretty much the same.

[Hrk, he's hit one of her blindspots. Elizabeth is well-read to be sure, and her self-education was thorough, but some things do slip through the cracks. Especially anything that wasn't centered around Europe or the west in general.]

Krishna sounds familiar... though I couldn't tell you anything about them. That's one of the ones I'm not read up on, I'm afraid.

[gerechtigkeit]

I see. That's interesting, to find the slight differences where they are.

[He shakes his head at that, even if she can't see him.]

It's not well known unless you're familiar with Hindu mythology. And it's one of the few that I do know.

Kamsa was a king who ruled the Vrishni kingdom as a tyrant, with absolute rule over everything. He overthrew his father when he did not want to relinquish the throne and retire, allowing Kamsa to coronate himself as the new ruler.

One day, he was told in a prophecy that he would be slain by Devaki's eighth child- Devaki was his sister. Fearing for his life, he imprisoned her and her husband, and killed each child when she gave birth. When the time came for her seventh child, the god Vishnu had her child transferred to her husband's first wife's womb, and spared him. By the time she had her eighth, the gods conspired in favor of them and allowed Devaki's husband to escape with the child, and return with his first wife's own newborn daughter. As Kamsa arrived and went to kill the child, she fell from his hands and revealed herself to be a goddess, telling him that his death was imminent.

There were many other trials left for their eighth son, who was named Krishna. In truth, he was an avatar of Vishnu, therefore he was capable of god-like deeds. When he and his younger brother were older and invited to wrestle against Kamsa's greatest fighters, they both went and defeated them with ease. After doing so, Krishna dragged Kamsa by the hair into the arena and killed him, allowing Kamsa's father to retake the throne.

[Hindu mythology is morbid as anything.]