( four： text. )

[gameplaying]

I do hope you're prone to honesty, Asgard. I fear this could get a little messy if you're not.

Comments

[gameplaying]

Falsehoods do tend to be.

[coinpress]

They are, however, often much more telling than the truth. There is much to be learned from an individual's dishonesty.

[gameplaying]

Only when compared to the truth they sought to hide.

[coinpress]

That may be most telling, but there is not always a singular truth. Sometimes the dishonest are unintentionally honest in separate perspectives.

[gameplaying]

Rarely is anything so straightforward, which is why I said the truth they sought or seek to hide; what they believe as truth is as, if not more interesting than whatever is revealed and accepted as the complete truth.

[coinpress]

What is hidden is their truth, which they attempt to apply to us, despite how false it is in relation to our individual being. They are very much tied up with us, and I have begun to suspect that we are not merely proxies but rather the key components of what they seek.

[gameplaying]

Based on what, may I ask?

[coinpress]

From the recent communication of the one who shares your name and the current rash of body exchanges, there is an unusual level of concentration upon exerting control over our physical, individual beings. They intend to use us for a purpose, but they do not seem to be able to alter us beyond our forms.

[gameplaying]

War.

Even I accept that there's likely truth to be found in their repetitions of what is yet to come. Ragnarök is no small event, and the Asgard you see before you will not hold against siege.

[coinpress]

This place is weak, and they weaken it further by filling it with so many with so little understanding. It gives those who do understand much more power than they would have otherwise. Siege may not be necessary against this place as it is.

[gameplaying]

The All-Father's decisions are poor, but the magic required to bring forth those of other realms without use of the Bifröst is great. I suspect that if the choices are deliberate, then accuracy is being disregarded in favour of quantity.

But you are right: Asgard will fall and Yggdrasil will wither one way or another unless care is taken.

[coinpress]

As they are concerned for the survival of their own world, it begs to question why they choose to look for solutions in those outside of it. Unless, of course, there is no other option than to attempt to draw from the outside, in which case it would be to the benefit of all for those brought in to be informed of their intended purpose and how to pursue it. Either way, for one who is said to value wisdom, Odin seems to have chosen poorly in favor of protecting his position of power.

[Not entirely unlike a certain king of Kilgharrah's world, although Uther has little wisdom of his own.]

[gameplaying]

Exceptionally poorly, but alongside wisdom, he is meant to value truth and honour, and I've seen little of any in either the All-Father here, hidden away as he is, or the All-Father of my realm. Suppositions are the unhelpful tools of hope.

They turn to the outside world because they are incapable, and Odin has failed in his duty to Asgard. Sadly, I can't say I'm surprised by the path of events.

[coinpress]

Funny that he should be said to value truth when, as a ruler of a realm, there is much value to be put on knowing how to question what is supposed to be true. That is what leads to wisdom, which is often devoid of honor. An honorable king is not always a good king, and Odin appears to be rather less than might be expected. It begs to question why we should care at all.

[gameplaying]

Ah, but I would be keen to point out that what is said is most assuredly not the case. They might call Loki the god of lies, but I suspect that's only because the All-Father holds the position he does. What honour is there to be found in mistruth when the ruler of a realm is honourable by the mere virtue of protecting it, of defeating its enemies? No lie from his mouth could ever be malicious for it would be made with the interests of Asgard at heart.

[ and a second reply, moments after the first: ]

As captive, why would you not care for those who hold power of you? At present, their fate is as entwined in my own, and I care greatly to see the two once again separate.

[coinpress]

Defeating enemies to protect a realm is one aspect of a good king, but that will only secure a realm from external threats. Honor found on the battlefield will bring respect, but it is not one that will hold a court without a manner to continue the rhetoric of war and enemies. To maintain honor gained through victory and the power it imbues, there must always be a chance for victory to be obtained over an enemy force. And that is slippery slope.

I care insomuch as to how to detach myself from their fate; I need not care at all for them and their affairs.

[gameplaying]

Asgard is the realm Eternal. Even a pale shade of that which I know to exist must believe the same, and whilst battles may be lost there would never be any fear nor expectation of a slope and a decline of the position Asgard holds atop the World Tree. You're from a world of mortal men, dragon; the rules in Asgard are different, and whilst Odin is no good king in the eyes of those who can see without bias, he is the king Asgard has relied upon for their millennia of courtship with victory, and he has All-Seeing Heimdall at his side.

Of course, I admit to wondering whether this is not about Ragnarök at all, whether this is about change within Yggdrasil, the Nine and beyond on a wholly different scale; perhaps Asgard has grown tired of battling with the Frost Giants in perpetua.

Forgiving, truly, and deserving of respect. I doubt there are few here that would claim the same. I suspect Asgard has made its fate and affairs of the utmost interest to many and that it would be in their favour to allow us free never.

[coinpress]

I may be from a world populated most numerously by mortal men, but it is also a land of myth, much like some people say this place is. My world has changed much in the time that I have been in it and more from before I was born. The Old Religion, which once dominated the land for centuries, is called old for a reason. It's time, like many others, has passed. To be respected and great there must be something to compare to, and, through constant comparison, there will eventually be aspects left wanting.

However much this Asgard shares in common with the one you know, it's place in relation to the rest of this world is not at all certain. After all, it, though headed by those who claim to be immortal, has selected mortals as its champions, as you were so keen to point out to me. Perhaps the reason mortals are so valued is that, by nature of being mortal, there is always something to loose.

[gameplaying]

And if this is Ragnarök, even they have something to lose. The immortality of the Æsir comes at the price of Asgard: death and rebirth.

The mortals simply have a different understanding of what death means.