songerein | Peace was never an option

Who: Asura and OPEN
Which: Open catchall log for Feb + Interactive dream
Where: the Plaza, the Wild Harvest, Asura's farmstead
What: One very surly swan and a dream of war
Warnings: None for the Swansura prompts, canon-typical violence in the interactive dream.

1. Foul-tempered fowl.

A.

[ As planned, Asura had been killed a week ago when his Shards went berserk and his power threatened to overtake the dream world. A handful of brave heroes had challenged him and won, and the champion Link had dealt the final fatal blow. Asura--the Mara--was dead, and as his body vanished, so too did the accumulated destructive power with it. Yet Asura is still a Celestial, and Celestials are notoriously hard to kill permanently. For so long as their Spiritual Entity--their souls in physical form--survives intact, a Celestial may revive over and over again. ]

Honk! [ A week after Asura's demise, there's an apparent newcomer in Reverein. It's a large black swan with a distinctive blaze of red feathers on his chest, and even if he's not actively menacing anyone at the moment, he's still big enough to be intimidating. At the moment, he's simply hanging out in the fountain in the plaza all by himself, just paddling around on the surface and minding his own business. Attempting to approach the swan, however, will result in some very painful wing-shaped bruises. ]

B.

[ The swan has made his way over to the garden area of the Wild Harvest, and can be found either busying himself with poking around and plucking bugs off the plants, or paddling around the lotus koi pond. He appears to be slightly more tolerant of people getting close to him here than he was in the plaza, but he'll still get nippy if anyone tries to touch him. ]

C.

[ Alternatively, the swan may be found at Asura's farmstead, picking up residual debris from the explosion a week ago. While he is considerably stronger than your average swan, his capacity to lift broken branches or repair structural damage is limited by what he can hold in his beak, so the cleanup effort is slow going. ]

2. Lotus Crown (Interactive Dream)

A. A chance encounter.

[ The remains of a battle stretch out across a field streaked in red. Drawn by the scent of the dead, crows feast on the bodies of fallen demons and men alike. Even so, there is still life in this grim landscape, and as the dreamer takes their first steps away from their starting position, one of the demon bodies stirs nearby. It notices the dreamer, and with a loud war cry, it hoists its weapon into the air and charges for them with the intent to take at least one more head before it dies. ]

B. The Wings.

[ A grand city of gold and alabaster with towers stretching skyward stands out like a sore thumb upon a backdrop of forest and farmland, like a piece of the Heavenly realm dropped onto the earth. High walls separate the pristine inner city from the poor slums that surround it, leaving those born into misfortune to weather the hostile conditions on their own.

The main gate opens to allow a large group of armed men to leave the city. They are led by Asura, with another man walking beside him. Both of them have grim expressions on their faces, and Asura regards the poverty just outside the gates with visible frustration, but the man beside him gently touches his shoulder and they continue walking.

The scene shifts then to a military encampment at night. The camp is hidden well in the forest, and the soldiers are busy preparing for battle. Before the dreamer can take a step, Asura calls out to them from beside the bonfire. ]

You look a bit out of place. [ He comments, waving a hand to invite them to join him beside the fire. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Taishakuten smiles somewhat distantly and starts back the way they came a few steps ahead of Asura, who waits until the Wanderer begins walking so he can keep pace with him. ]

Nicknames aren't my forte. [ Asura tells him as they move, paying no attention to the state of the bloodied ground beneath his bare feet. ] What do you call yourself in your heart?

[The tiniest of winces.]

I don't. Why would I, if I'm talking to myself?

Fair. [ That wince doesn't go unnoticed. What about his words had troubled him? Asura's face remains still, not giving away what he had observed. ]

If you don't have a name, you should pick one for yourself. You're the only one who knows the real you, and only you can define yourself. [ They reach the top of the hill right about then, and a military encampment can be seen not far away. ] If you allow others to define you, it won't be the "true" you.

Hm. That's a lot importance to put on a string of sounds, isn't it?

[And a lot of soul-searching. Wanderer will pass on that, specifically. He doesn't think he wants to get anywhere close to that.]

What battle was fought here?

Perhaps. [ Asura concedes with a chuckle. He'll just call him "Kid" for the time being until the Wanderer tells him otherwise.

Glancing back at the battlefield, Asura shakes his head. ] A pointless one. [ He says bitterly. ] Just one more in an endless war going back over a thousand years between our peoples.

I'm sure the people who died for it wouldn't think it pointless. At least, not until their last moments.

[Why are you such an ass, boy?]

A battle that never had to happen in the first place where nothing was gained on either side is pointless. [ Asura insists as they approach the camp, where a number of people dressed for combat, but not in anything resembling a formal uniform. All of the armor and weapons are mismatched, as though scraped together from what the men could find. Many of them are injured, and Taishakuten--the man covered in flowers from before--tends to them.

Before they walk any further, Asura turns his fully toward the Wanderer. ]

Regardless, what you saw back there was no specific battle. This entire scene is just a general representation of something I witnessed countless times in the past... as portrayed by a dream.

Ah, so you are aware this is a dream. I wasn't sure if I should tell you and risk backlash.

[ Asura chuckles dryly and shakes his head. ] I've gotten used to distinguishing dreams from reality over the years. Unfortunately, it's not quite so easy for me to eject visitors from my dreams, however.

[ His eyes shift back toward Taishakuten with a wistful look that lasts but a moment before he closes them. ] Somewhere in this dreamscape blooms a blood-red lotus flower. If you want to leave, there's a few ways to do it; either wait for you or me to wake up naturally, or find that flower.

And how long will it take you to wake up?

[Wanderer doesn't actually sleep most of the time, so he's not certain he was even asleep when he got in here.

He's new to this.]

[ Hah... what a good question that is. ]

That might take a while. [ Asura gives an apologetic smile. ] My body on the outside is recovering from injury and won't be in any condition to wake for some time.

[ Better start looking for that flower then. ]

I see.

[Welp.]

Mm, I have nowhere else better to be for the moment, unless that was a subtle hint telling me to get out.

I assumed you wouldn't want to spend more time in a war camp than you had to, but that's up to you.

[ Most people wouldn't. Asura himself can think of a hundred other things he'd rather dream about than this. ]

[A shrug.]

It's not the worst dream I've ever seen.

Then you must have seen some terrible things in your life. [ Asura means no offense by that, of course, but war has a tendency to leave scars.

Asura gives the wounded one last look over before he turns away to head down the rows of tents, half-expecting the wanderer to follow him, but he won't chase after him if he instead chooses to explore on his own. He's going to get himself a drink of water, and if the kid does indeed follow, Asura will offer him a cup as well. ]

[Wanderer doesn't respond, but he does follow and takes the offered water. He has nothing better to do.]

Do you have any idea where this lotus might be, or is this place going to work on dream logic?

Peace was never an option

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My brain has not been very cooperative these last few days.

you and me both tbh