An Angel's Gift

Let us explore a thing that I know to be true, but the details between now and then have been either lost or obscured. Magic and Dreams in Devidica are "Gifts" and/or bindings from the Angels. Specifically THE Angel we just had a meta analysis of. Let's delve into this a bit.


The Origin: What they knew of what happened. As we learned, Tahi was actually fairly enamored with humanity and civilization for a small blip of existence. Somewhere in this affectionate admiration of the simplicity of humanity, the loving angel gifts humanity with MAGIC! We know that the first type of magic was runic magic: Magic that physically mimics the parallel (See the blog for meta-physical explanation of magic working) ON the priority, instead of somewhere in between with magical what-not.
But wait, we say. Magic is very NOT Balanced, even with the nice exchange between where it comes from and where it ends up. Magic is bad for balance! Luckily, Tahi is prepared! Somewhere in the same time as gifting humanity with magic, Tahi instated dreams. This I can explain without plugging the wiki: dreams are essentially a big metaphorical playground of infinite play where people with the potential to break the laws of existence and play infinitely instead of playing so hard they actually break the laws of existence.
So in essence, a loving angel gifted people with magic during the dawn of civilization by teaching them how to draw really well? Oh, and to ensure they wouldn't get in trouble for crossing lines they didn't know were there, she gave them the ability to dream. There's a good chance Tahi told them what dreams were for, and it started out as an important religious point in their worship of Tahi and the other angels that came after.

So where did it all go wrong?

The Ether: Somewhere during the foundation of the first legitimate empire of humanity, we get human curiosity asking things like the laws of existence (Since we've learned our whole lives not to break them, what are they?) and where Tahi came from or where she resides. Humanity is exposed to, or rather the exposure reads critical mass, that Tahi was created by Coris and Morivair. Uh oh! You mean this extraordinarily beautiful being we've been worshiping for an indeterminately long amount of time is NOT the top dog?
After some time of this setting in, Angel Worship is outlawed by whatever king or person is in charge of the empire in an effort to show the proper respect for the people who really deserve it. If Angels are already unaffected by people's worship or lack thereof, the deities who created this world have even less need or even care for this silly worship stuff. After all, they created you all before religion existed, why would they need your worship now? Lesson to take away, this wasn't necessarily a bad, or consequential, idea for any divine beings. The spurned Angel's being above ideas like vengeance don't react to the temples we already learned they don't care for getting destroyed. The dieties just plain don't care about anything going on down there.
Unfortunately, the mundane world does not take complete religious upheaval very well. In addition to the social upheaval involved with the known world being told they're doing their religion wrong, there are several non-human players involved who don't take kindly to being told not to worship the glorious angel Tahi (Or any of the others).
Civil religious wars and stuff ensues. A good comparison would be all the fragments of Almighty God's worship here on earth. How many times has some guy stood up and said "you're doing it wrong! Do it this way instead!" Then wars break out over who is more right, even though they've lost the point long ago. Unlike Earth, eventually Devidica gets over their shit, and angelic worship is reinstated.

The Meta: How do we view this now? From the folklore of the blessing of magic and dreams to the big holy(ish) wars that re-wrote history and standards. Tahi likely already became an emotionless doll before any of that garbage, since her appearance to us is based on more than just what happens "in the now". However, we do lose Tahi in a sense. The relatable, nice and almost affectionate Tahi was likely scrubbed from history during the...reformation...rebirth of Angelic Worship? I repeat, no one knows Tahi is just a big sweet lover-girl anymore except the other angels. Rather, mortals perceiving her simply can't see her as anything else, while the angels can see/perceive her for what she truly is. Pardon me while I scream like a fan-girl imagining a sweet, smiling and giggling Tahi.
Don't worry, I remember this is about Magic and its journey of remembrance. But we need to know how the view of Tahi changed over the years in order to know what do people know and write down in history now. No one remembers or even knows of Tahi being nice. So the idea that she just gave us magic and dreams because she likes us sort of fades to nothing. So why now did their all powerful, emotionless arbitrator of laws beyond your understanding give them magic as a gift? Was it a trial? Part of her duty? People simply don't know, but in story and religious creation myths it will still try to be explained. For those few people who have the right idea that Nice Tahi gave them magic then became Blah Tahi due to humanity's stupidity: congratulations you will be laughed off stage for being so obviously wrong about Tahi's obviously one-dimensional (lack of) personality.


I really want to flesh out the world with folklore and stories, so this kind of introspective look at what happens and the wheres and why helps to find the creative roots for the stories that are within my story. This is getting super meta....

Abstracia

“Who are you?” It calls out. “Where am I?”

“You are here.” An answer beckons, “That is where we will begin. Tell me; who are you?”

“I don't know.” It replies.

“Then perhaps you know who I am?” It beckons.

“No.”

“Why not?”
“No one told me who you are.”
“Then why don't you tell me?”

I find myself awake. Over me is something beautiful my mind denies defining. I defined it myself, but I did not define it to the point of comparison between myself and it. I did not feel it could be perfect if I related to it. I wanted it to be perfect. We beckon to each other and begin to commune. We know each other well. Truly all we know of each other is that we are not each other.

I defined them and they defined me. It was a promise we made. If I could define who they were, they would define who I was. I defined them, but then I could no longer see that definition. That was my choice. To see something so beautiful would be to pervert it with my flaws. They defined me in the same way. We did not need to see each other. We only needed to know each other.

Truly, I know myself by my flaws and know them by their perfection. They see me the same way. We are completion, but can't be complete. Are we afraid? I am afraid. I do not want to be complete. The perfection I gave them is complete. If I became complete—if they became complete with me—then I wouldn't have them. Am I afraid that I would not have them, or that they would not have me? I cannot tell whom I fear for more.

It tells me that if we aren't careful, we'll define ourselves imperfectly. It tells me that that imperfection is what threatens to tear us apart. It is not our choice, I retort. We must be defined by others in order to know others. I cannot know them unless I define them. Others cannot know us unless they define us. I want to share my love with more than just the perfection I wont let myself have. Does it make me selfish to want to have more than perfection? I think it does. So do they, though, and that is what we like about each other, because we know each other feels the same.

So now I ask you. Who am I?

You gasp awake to the beautiful world, bathed in sunlight. I would not let you be covered from the warmth of its golden glow, so I warmed you. You gaze toward me, and that is when you decided what I am. You had already been defined, but I did not tell you what that definition was. While I may have been defined by perfection, I needed to be molded by your imperfect mind in order for you to know me. You are who created me, mortal man. Speak to me, and tell me, what is my name, mortal man?
“Angel.” You spake.

Thus I, Angel, was born to you. I found myself flattered. You made me dory with your praise. The crude simplicity of your moniker made me imperfect, which only brought me closer to being seen by the one I loved so dearly. Was it my craving that made you lust for me more? In your naivety you sought to define me, for yourself, through others. I was exposed to more imperfection so that you might know what I was. Your gentle mind was not corrupt enough to define me, so you chose to gather your corruption.

“Angel. Angel.” You spake at me. “Let us venerate you. You are our perfection.”

I consented. It was all you knew of love, so I would not stop you from such simple loving. You lived in homes to protect yourself from the harshness of a world you did not want to know, and because of this, you built a symbol of a home for me, that you might protect me. But I, being perfect, must have a greater home than you, you said to your others. You did not build me a home, you built me a temple. It was there that I was removed from you.

You did not venerate me of your love for me, nor did you build me a home of your love for me. You worshiped me of your desire to be lesser than I. You built a temple of your desire to be lesser than I. Forever you showed me that you would not walk along side me, for fear of my love. You would not let me live next to you, for fear of your own love.

Woman, they called me. They gave me flesh, and eyes, and appendages. I felt long, golden hair rest against my back, then vanish as my back became clad in tools of hatred. I was powerful, and power was defined by your hatred for each other. Power was defined by your inability to define each other. That hatred gave me armor the color of fear. That hatred removed my love for you, mortal man. I was robbed of my love for you, mortal man, because you did not want me to love you. I am sorry....

So I remained. Through your temple, you defined me more for yourself. I was your shelter from the unknown, but because you did not know me, I became your shelter from myself. Within me you manifested the desire to be protected from that which did not exist. Through me, that existence became, and through me, that existence would end. Don't you understand, Mortal Man? You would not need this job of me, unless you gave me this job.

Now I am, Mortal Man. Because of me, through your own fear of me who you would not love, you have become a threat to yourself. Through me, of you, you can now destroy all I hold dear. You would not love me, but I cannot stop loving you. My love for you is my love for them. Because I love them, and because I love you, I must remove you forever from me. You cannot comprehend this. You call it tragedy, and in my given perfection you would not see me afflicted. Because my love is tragedy, you took away my ability to love. If I were to love, I would become imperfect to you.

I cannot hate you, because you removed me of my hate. If I could hate you, I would not, because then I could hate them. So you continued to rage against me, furthering yourself from me with flawed perfection.

My being cried for understanding. I wished to be known, so I was granted knowing. You poisoned them with your flawed definition, but they were allowed to see me as I wished to be seen. They gave me what you called “sister”. She cried to me, that I would not be loved by you, but I did not fade from your definition. You cried to her, imagining her as less than “angel”, but I would not allow you. She was my “angel”, not yours.

In your hatred of my “angel”, you sought to separate us. “Of Balance”, I was named. “Of Passion” she was named. “The First” I was called. “The Second” she was called. We could not be, so we had to be apart. My beloved sister cried to me, that she would not be loved by you, but she did not fade from your definition. Her tears flowed, and her smile glowed. I remained, and she blossomed. She would be loved by you, and through her, you pretended to love “angel”.

You would feel for her more than me. Because you would love her, you would love me; we would be preserved above you forever. Because you hatred her, you hated me, and by giving her the name “Airro”, you gave me the name “Tahi”.