text (sn: seiros)

[immaculate_one]

This is a question I have yet to see asked on this network, though I only have the slightest hypothesis of why.

How have you viewed religion or faith from your home? Has it changed drastically before coming here, or since?

I have been thinking about this lately...

Comments

text | un: ryuuou

[aumygoddess]

[ oh boy is this a question ]

that is quite the loaded question for someone like me, if you are willing to have a long discussion about religion with a stranger

although, I suppose you might be, considering you've asked this question at all

[immaculate_one]

I definitely am.

You could say that being here has made me question how humans understand faith, especially with gods who either never showed their faces or actually became hostile.

[aumygoddess]

you are not human, then?

[ interesting! ]

I cannot give you a human's perspective on the matter, but I can share my village's beliefs and how they changed, if that interests you

what is your name, if I may?

[immaculate_one]

The details I may need to save for another day, as it is not just my story

But yes, I am not human

My name is Rhea.

[aumygoddess]

that is fine, you are the one asking for stories, are you not?

my pleasure, Rhea-san
I am Hanyuu
in terms of absent gods, I have not been able to show myself to my village's inhabitants for nearly a millennium, and it has warped their view of my history and my wishes in a particularly unfortunate way

[immaculate_one]

Losing the ability to guide people down a righteous path...

It's been a great fear of mine, up until very recently. And that separation...

[ Was this the kind of suffering her mother might have felt? ]

[aumygoddess]

[ sounds like this lady gets it. dang. ]

perhaps the worst is receiving their prayers and being unable to answer them

most had kept their faith in me, but I do not blame those who chose not to

a silent god is a difficult god to trust

[immaculate_one]

Would it not fall upon their most ardent believers, one who knew them personally, to carry on their will?

[ Guess who's feeling a lot of personal investment... ]

But what if even they lose their way? What would you say to such people?

[aumygoddess]

ardent belief means little in the face of aging and sickness and war
Humans are so very fragile

[ someone who lost their way, huh? It makes Hanyuu think of her daughter ]

in a hypothetical scenario? remind them of their beginnings, perhaps
what drew them to their faith in the first place

[immaculate_one]

[ Would her mother say that to her? Maybe she would.

Rhea figured that, ultimately, her goal had been keeping the peace, to forge the bonds between humans and the Nabateans.

It would be a while before Rhea replied again. ]

I see. Thank you for that. While I wish I knew that before, there's still a future ahead.

[aumygoddess]

ah?

[ Hanyuu takes a minute to reply, herself. There's something about Rhea's response that jabs her right in the heart. ]

I hope your future is happier than your past seems to have been, Rhea-san