002 | On Gestrals

[notthislife]

[The mood in the Grove has shifted. How could it not, when bodies of their own had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Verso hadn't known either of the men, but it was clear that many had. Their grief is... difficult to stomach, leaves him feeling unpleasantly itchy and irritable.

Drinking doesn't help it. Neither does ignoring it. The grief permeates everything, until his ability to resist is worn away and he finds himself rambling away in his journal. Growing up, this had helped him. Maybe there would be some wisdom to be found for the citizens of the grove.]

You wanted to know more about the Gestrals, didn't you? You being the general Grove and not anyone in particular.
In addition to being broom-headed menaces, and pseudo-experts in engineering, they really seem to have it right.
They don't fear death. When they're lost, they enter what they call the queue. It's... a line to get into the "sacred river." Once they're bathed in those waters, they come back. They aren't always the same, children might become parents to their forebears, and so on. But they still come back.
And that's how it goes.
They play their games. Fight their fights. And when it's time to go, they go.
I never understood why we grappled so angrily with the concept of death. Why we let grief and loss change us so deeply, or do things we might regret. It's another journey. A trip down the river. And the comfort that you will find another again one day

Comments

[cryopathy]

Come now, Verso. [by now, she's seen his handwriting in accordance with his name.] Surely you've been left behind by someone you cared for so deeply that their absence changed you. I would be surprised if anyone lived to old age without experiencing something of the sort.

[notthislife]

You could say that I have.
I know what the pits of grief are like, and what they can do to you.
It's why I agree with the Gestral way of looking at things.
It's easier when you believe that another life will be waiting.

[cryopathy]

[hm. this is risky, but they knew as much when they responded. something about it pings a corner of their brain they have tried for so long to keep locked away, and they can't resist.]

The god of my home is the Phoenix. Just as it burns and is reborn, we burn our dead so that their spirits may be reborn.

A similar concept, but one just as idealistic. The loved ones who leave us are gone forever.

[notthislife]

... Why is this the second time someone has brought up a phoenix around me.

Ignore that.

There's nothing wrong with your outlook either. It's still acceptance. And I've known many who could not manage that.

[cryopathy]

There are at least three of us here familiar with such a god.

Far be it from me to complain about fairness, but I think your wording borders on cruelty. To some, losing such a pillar is akin to losing a leg or an organ. It is not that people stricken by grief "let" it consume them, can simply "manage" the pain away.

They have been injured. It is asking them to will away an open wound.

[notthislife]

Mourning is one thing.
Falling into it. Letting it rot you. Condemning others, or yourself.
That is where the line should be drawn.

[kingincognito]

[ He's debated not writing anything at all. But the more he stares at the words on the page, the more his fingers itch to do so. ]

What of those whose life here was a second chance? Of those that no longer live in their own world, and had been given a chance to do so here, on their own terms, only for that chance to be stripped away?

[notthislife]

[Ah, he'd recognize Joshua's handwriting from anywhere. Honestly, he might have been the one Verso was most worried about.]

I don't know.
But... ask yourself this:
Whoever you lost, would they want you to strip away your second chance? To agonize into nothingness?

[kingincognito]

No. He wouldn't. And I do not plan to, despite his life being cut short in direct retaliation for something I played a part in.

[notthislife]

And what makes you so certain that you had anything to do with it?

[kingincognito]

My brother and I were the ones to spearhead the effort to create a portal to break into the library. When my brother disappeared, I picked up the lead.

What we have found thus far has already proven itself priceless. But, had I known the price would be so great...

[eidxiety]

Death doesn't scare you?

[notthislife]

No.
I've lived and loved more than most ever would.
These days, the thing I want more than anything is rest.

[eidxiety]

Great ^^

I'm over 500 years old and if I could make everyone I love and care for immortal like me, or at least mostly immortal, I'd be happier like that. But I'm learning that's not how the world works.

[notthislife]

Don't

[You know how a pen looks when you press too hard and it bleeds too much? That one word looks a lot like that. Thankfully, he manages to get a grip on himself before he breaks the pen entirely.]

It may seem like a kind idea. It isn't.
Trust me.

[eidxiety]

Haha, it's a good thing I'm powerless to stop stuff like that, huh? ^^ And what do you want me to do? Live without them because I won't be able to see them all ever again? Sounds fun, sounds festive~ I love being miserable~

[thebladebringstheflame]

yeah man people die and it sucks but that's life. we sarkaz have rituals about honouring the dead

anyway why'd you make this post man

[notthislife]

Assurance. A reminder that death isn't such a horrid thing.
There are people grieving, and they deserve the time to do so.
But it's also a reminder to not be so caught in their grief that they lose sight of what's important.
Lose themselves, even.

What are your rituals?

[thebladebringstheflame]

"sauin". we make parade floats that look like originium, a sort of stone that grows on terra and kills people — a couple of us here, myself included, have it. then we have a festival for that person while theyre still alive to send them off peacefully. its usually done a few days before someone succumbs to death.

not everyone participates or wants to. some people just want to die quietly. but it's a funeral of a sort for those who want to have a final send off that makes them happy.

[notthislife]

It sounds beautiful. A much more peaceful way of saying goodbye. And not too dissimilar to what some people do back home, actually.

We call it the "Gommage." Every year, a being called the paintress ascends her monolith and paints a new number. This year was 34. Anyone of that age or older passed away.

You could call it beautiful. One minute they're there, the next they're lost in a wash of flowers. Most of them wear crowns and necklaces of similar flowers, gifted by those they're leaving behind.

Of course, like with your people, not everyone enjoys the ceremony of it all. Some prefer to go on their lonesome. Others go out in... style. Hotel rooms tend to be rather booked for the gommage.

[thebladebringstheflame]

okay hold on a second. 34 is super fucking young. i mean we're talking about kids losing their parents when they're still too young to care for themselves. this happens every year? what's the lowest number ever painted? youve gotta have some fucked up population of living people if this is a yearly event, right?

[menophesto]

How extremely hilarious that you put something you "never understood" and proceed to tell people why they shouldn't do that thing. You're right, we should throw out grief entirely, and all the other emotions, while we're at it~! You're so smart, Mister.

And, hey, why talk about Death when they're not even here? The Forest gets to act on that now, so saying it's "natural" and "a part of life" is an insult to Death. They don't want what the Forest is doing, either, you know.

[notthislife]

Are you done rubbing your superior knowledge in my face, or should I give it another moment?

[menophesto]

Someone besides you had to~.

[notthislife]

I was not aware that offering an alternative perspective was rubbing knowledge in someone's face.