idolpro | Amaranth: A Dream

Entry tags:

!ideal world

Amaranth: A Dream

Once, there was a maiden...

...whose battles called her far from home.
She slew the thing she feared most, and conquered the land that feared her.
As she fought, far away, she knew her children needed guidance.
She knew they faced tyrants.
She knew they faced fear.
In her homeland, things were broken.
So, she held up her hand before the sun, and cast a shadow on the world, and drowned the troubles of her home in darkness.

"Survival's a long reach," she said.

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[ Everyone is so tall, gods.

But okay, Eclipse, you can play along, smile back. ]

Good morning. How's everything?

Things have been well.
Thanks to the General, the war is well in check, after all! Peace is a precious thing.

But I'm sure I don't need to tell one of the General's sons something like that.

[ She smiles, again with neighborly fondness. ]

[ Ahhh, so that's what his 'role' in this dream is.

...

There's something about the phrasing that bothers him. ]

Hm? "Well in check"?

Mm, yes.

[ The guard's expression turns thoughtful. ]

A soldier's work is a worthy thing, as harsh as the battlefield may be. But all our striving is worth it, when it gains us this happy peace.

[ She speaks as though it's something she has thought about before, which makes sense for a trained fighter. The greater contrast is in how her posture changes when she speaks: upright and diligent.
Meanwhile, the other guards posted around town smile and chat with passerby, relaxed and casual in the same way this guard was, initially. ]

[ ...?

Maybe it's because he brought it up with this specific guard, but the seeing the contrast still feel a little strange to him. ]

...Yeah. But it's not actually over, is it?

[ a

pause

...but then she nods again. ]
Our diligence is what earns us this peace. It is worth it.

[ Is it just your imagination, or are the buildings of the town less pristine-looking? ]

[ It's not exactly a real answer, he realises. He blinks as he realises that there's a change -- this, it seems, is one of the things that doesn't quite line up. ]

I see. By the way, is there...well, any way to get to the shrine?

[ another pause ]

Why do you wish to travel there?
The shrine maiden's prayers protect us.

[ This subject is clearly throwing the guard off, but in not quite the same way as before: the buildings in the town shift back to their pristine nature, like soft dough reforming after being slightly stretched. ]

[ Hm, that's one thing to keep in mind for later. ]

I'd like to visit the shrine maiden.

[ ...Wait, shit, is this sort of thing normal here? ]

You can't.

[ The answer comes just a touch too swiftly. And there's...

another...

...pause. Then, serene once more, as if responding to some question slightly different from the one you asked: ]

We all owe a great deal to the shrine maiden.

[ This! Is kind of disconcerting to see happening, even if he should have known better! ]

Why can't I?

His work is very sacred. Precious above all else, even.

Without your brother's work channeling our prayers, the River God would not ensure a bountiful harvest for us each year.

[ Oh. it's not hard to figure out how the 'brother' most likely is.

He already doesn't like where this seems to be going. ]

All the more reason that I want to visit him. Can't I check up on him?

No.

[ The guard's expression her solemn, her voice almost sad. ]

There is no bridge.

... Is there no other way to get there?

[ And Eclipse is going to keep an ear out to see whether the answer he gets is honest or not. ]

[ Your essence responds to the charm with eager purpose, as natural as if you'd never been away from this world. ]

There—

[ The guard wavers. From the corner of your eye, a red camellia wilts, and the blossoms on a single sprig of a cherry tree crumble to ash.

Then she comes back to herself, though the small bit of damage doesn't revert this time. ]

I know of no way. The bridge has been gone ever since General Amakura first took her son there.

[ It is, as far is the guard can comprehend, the truth. ]

[ He's on the right track then, even if he didn't get much information. ]

...I see. Thank you for telling me, anyway.

[ The guard dips her head. ]

I am glad I could provide information, if nothing else.

[ Speaking of the shrine! Just then there is a distant but awful sound. ]

[ ...Within a minute of that first sound, things go to shit. ]

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Amaranth: A Dream

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