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sphere 01 ᘓ video

[Well, someone has embraced this tin foil hat thing a little too enthusiastically. That hat is probably the first thing everyone notices about this broadcast. Goddamn, look at that thing. As if he didn't already look ridiculous enough in those robes.

The person who's wearing it -- a man, with a long, well-aged face -- is smiling, all warm and serene and welcoming.]

Greetings. I am Braska, a... mage hailing from the world of Spira. [He almost said summoner. Whoops. That's not the important part of his announcement, here. And, besides. Technically, he used to be a summoner. But all that ended... a while ago.] I am offering my services as a healer to Blackstaff. While it is true that I am an experienced White Mage, I am also skilled in the way of natural remedies -- that is to say, the creation and use of herbal cures. So, if you are not comfortable with magic, then there is an alternative for us to use instead.

I accept many forms of payment, so if you are low on gi -- [gil] money, then, fear not, we may trade instead. "Trade" is a... loose term. I do not speak merely of goods; I'm willing to even accept deeds, such as helping me gather the herbs I need for my remedies. [♥]

That said, this is more than an advertisement. [Braska laughs.] As I said, I am offering my services. Should you feel the need, you may come to me for help with your neuralflu. As you can see, I am well-prepared, [he adjusts his hat, grin widening,] and I would appreciate the opportunity to get a better look at the illness myself. The better acquainted I am with ailments, the better I can aid in easing their symptoms, if not curing them altogether. [He holds up his hands, bowing his head placatingly.] No experimentation needed, if you are uncomfortable with the idea; I merely need to watch, and to study.

Ah, and one last thing. [... and then, right at the end, his professionalism drops, and his smile becomes -- goofy.] Does anyone happen to know where I might purchase some grubs from that advertisement?

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[Braska's smile becomes a little more strained.] Neither, but the latter is, I suppose, closest to the truth.

[He pauses, considering. ... is this something he wants to explain? He doesn't have to. He could simply say that it is still very personal, confess that he's not entirely comfortable talking about it.

But?... It would explain everything that Narvin seems to want to know about him. And the idea of having someone, even if they do not hold a high opinion of him, knowing... Without burdening someone such as Wander -- Yes. Yes, he thinks he will tell him. ... if, of course, Narvin wants to hear it.]

I could explain more fully, if you'd like.

Please do. [Narvin is never one to turn down an offer of information.]

The short version is that the highest ranking members of the church and the leaders of our society, the maesters, were discovered to be perpetuating the cycle of death and suffering of the people they vowed to protect. Once the cycle was ended and the truth revealed, the public cast the faith aside in its entirety.

[He pauses to let that sink in. Given Narvin's attitude, he's probably feeling validated right now.]

Edited (latest typo fixing ever) 2014-07-30 00:26 (UTC)

You see... A thousand years ago, Spira was populated by cities run by machina -- machines. But machina was used for more than making living easier. They were also made to wage war. Bigger and more powerful machina were built, until it was thought that all of Spira would be destroyed. And it was, not by machina, but by a great and powerful entity like the world had never seen. It rose from the oceans and destroyed the machina cities. And once the cities had fallen, it turned to the rest of Spira. It slaughtered without mercy, without prejudice. Not even the machina weapons that had survived could harm it.

Then, came Lady Yunalesca. She called the creature Sin, and claimed that it had arisen to punish us for our digressions. She spoke of a god named Yevon, who had revealed this truth to her. But, she also said that Spira was not without hope, for with the sacred art of the Final Summoning, Spira could yet know peace, if only for a little while. For, you see, even the Final Summoning could not defeat Sin for good. It would always return until humanity had atoned.

The Calm -- the time without Sin -- would not come without a cost, however. For, you see, a summoner who performed the Final Summoning would be killed by the Final Aeon. But, at least, the people of Spira would know peace.

Even with such a price... You must understand. Without Yevon, Spira would have fallen to despair. We would have had no guidance. We would not have known hope. Yevon brought a broken Spira together again.

Edited 2014-07-16 10:49 (UTC)

[At Braska's first words, Narvin does indeed feel justified in his suspicion of religion. It sounds much like Gallifrey during the Dark Times, before Rassilon's revolution.]

Or perhaps this Lady Yunalesca invented Yevon, told the people a lovely lie to give them hope and convince summoners to sacrifice themselves. It's certainly not an unheard of strategy for leaders to use.

Has the Final Summoning occurred?

[Braska's not going to reply to Narvin's commentary on Yunalesca. He doesn't like talking about her overmuch. :c He named his daughter after you. Why did you have to kill his friend and set Spira up for a thousand years of suffering. Why.]

Yes, it has. Over the course of a thousand years, five times. The High Summoners of Spira... Lady Yunalesca, Lord Gandof, Lord Ohalland, Lady Yocun... [... he trails off, here. And he just kind of. smiles. Yes. A smile.

... And his gaze grows rather distant for a long moment.]

... But, we had all been misled. ["We." Ha ha.] Sin would always return because the Fayth of the Final Summoning is formed from someone with whom the summoner shared a strong bond. The spirit that drives Sin possesses the Final Aeon, and builds the armor of Sin around it. That is why Sin would always return. The only path of salvation served to renew Spira's suffering once more.

And the maesters, the leaders of the Temples, knew. They believed that there was no other way to defeat Sin. They encouraged this cycle, if only so the people would have hope.

Edited 2014-07-30 01:22 (UTC)

The Final Summoning isn't very final if it happens repeatedly. It's more like the Periodic Summoning or the Occasionally Happening As Needed Summoning.

[Narvin frowns at Braska's explanation. It wasn't that Narvin minded leaders manipulating their populace--that was just standard politics--but colluding in the suffering of the people that one was given the responsibility to protect, that was something that Narvin didn't approve of at all.]

So they encouraged a system that would allow their people's enemy to stay alive, what, simply because it was easier for them to do that, and keep the population complacent, than to tell the truth?

What is this Sin, anyway, some kind of incorporeal psychic entity?

It's not nearly as catchy, though, is it?

[Braska shook his head slowly.] Because they truly believed there was no way to defeat Sin for good. [Braska believes that; he has to. He can't find the sense in it otherwise. ... and Braska has to wonder what it says about him that he can find any sense in it at all.] I suppose... It's hard to believe, for anyone who hasn't seen Sin firsthand. [Just like it's hard for Braska to believe, sometimes, that he's surrounded by people whose lives have never been touched by Sin.]

Sin is... Sin was -- a great shell built around the core of the Final Aeon. In the end, it seemed as though a massive fiend, bigger than I can describe, incredibly powerful. It resided primarily in the seas, making ocean voyages especially dangerous. [Does Braska's smile look especially strained here? Of course not.] But it could reach the inland because it could fly, as well. Sin had command over all kinds of magic, especially those spells relating to gravity.

Nowhere on Spira was safe. Nothing could pierce the shell. There was no weapon that we could use other than the Final Aeon. [His expression darkens.] There are those who have tried to use machina weapons upon it, but that has only ever ended in disaster.

The maesters kept their secrets because they feared that if the people knew, Spira would be lost, truly and irrevocably, to despair. They believed the Final Summoning was the only thing that could give Spira hope, even if it was ultimately false.

I believe the name for false hope is "delusion." They kept the people deluded.

But if it's just one creature, there must be some way to kill it for good. Nothing is completely invincible.

You're right. There was a way to defeat Sin for good. Sin's armor had to be penetrated so that the core might be found, and the fayth being controlled, freed. But these truths had to be found by someone willing to break the cycle. Willing, and capable.

And... [Braska smiles. Because this is something to smile for. He is so, so proud of Yuna. Of Tidus. Of Auron, of Jecht. He is so, so proud of them. ... even if he regrets that he was not the one to end it for them.] It was done. Spira is now living in an Eternal Calm.

But you can imagine the reaction of the people when they found out just what the church had done, the secrets it had kept, the cost that Spira paid. Yevon has, for the most part, been cast aside in its entirety.

Gallifrey threw off its own religious shackles many millennia ago and is much the better for it.

Of course, the old religion didn't even pretend to be benign. The Pythia was a tyrant, pure and simple.

It must put you in a somewhat awkward position, however, being a priest of the discredited religion.

I... [Braska exhales more than he sighs.] I do have faith that Spira will, in the end, be better for it. The people are free from Sin, at long last. Free to live without so much fear. Free to embrace machina and all those Yevon condemned.

... but.

[And there it is. But. Braska spreads his free hand, more than a little helplessly, but he smiles anyway.]

I know that I would just be called "old-fashioned" for saying so, but I truly believe that there is still value in the teachings. Certainly, there are those that need to be cast aside, but even so, not everything Yevon taught was corrupt. This is something I have always believed, even after my excommunication.

Morality, you mean? Ethics? [Narvin shrugs.] You don't need religion to have a moral code, or indeed to teach a moral code.

[Braska shakes his head.] No, this, I know. My wife's people, the Al Bhed, did not follow Yevon. They didn't need the teachings.

But just because this is true, I don't see the use in throwing out the good with the bad. Even in the face everything Yevon did, we should not turn a blind eye to the good it had done, too. It brought communities together. Provided aide and guidance to those who needed it most. Encouraged personal growth.

It did all those on the foundation of a deception, a deception that left the citizenry in danger. You say that Sin was finally defeated for good, how much sooner might that have happened if the people hadn't been fed lies of hope for generations upon generations?

I know. [Braska smiles, but it's strained. He has known that questions like this would come, and with this insistence. That doesn't make it any easier. He tries to tell himself that at least he isn't having this conversation with another from Spira. It would be much, much harder, then.] And Yevon should not be forgiven for it. The good it has done does not excuse what was done. And I will not do my daughter the dishon...

[... he almost slipped. He grimaces somewhat.] No, I will not do Spira the dishonor of defending their actions. But I simply mean to say that...

[He pauses for a moment to organize his thoughts.]

Even in the face of the truth, I myself cannot simply cast aside the good that has been done for me in Yevon's name, that I have done for others under the guidance of the teachings. And I don't know if it would be best for others to do so.

[Narvin is observant, and catching that slip.]

Daughter? What has she got to do with this/

[Damn.]

She... [... yeah, how does he want to go about this. Aka, what avenue of trying to dance around this topic does he want to take? Should he take it?... I will not do my daughter the dishonor, he had intended to say. And, honestly, that applies here, as well.

So Braska gathers himself up, straightening his back and his shoulders.] My daughter, Yuna, is the one who uncovered Yevon's lies. She is responsible for defeating Sin and bringing the Eternal Calm to the people of Spira. [He softens again at the edges.] She did not do it alone, of course... But it was her pilgrimage that ended Spira's suffering.

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sphere 01 ᘓ video

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1/? STORY TIME WITH LORD BRASKA

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