video; un: haagentus

[godofdust]

[On the screen is an impish-looking woman with ash blonde hair and blue eyes, and though she is smiling the expression looks just a little strained at the corners.]

Hello, everyone! I'm Guizhong, and I have a... question. Possibly a slightly upsetting one but one I feel compelled to ask due to my own circumstances...

[Pause. Deep breath.]

Did anyone else... die? Before they came here?

[Guizhong blurts out a short laugh.]

Because, ahm... I did? And I thought I was handling that quite well, but it turns out that I may... not be, after all.

Comments

[essenceborn]

Oh

[ Well that's disheartening :c Nen was hoping for a higher...number...

I know that sounds bad but listen. ]

How did you die?

[godofdust]

I was killed in a war.

[Sorry Nen just the one death.]

[essenceborn]

[ :'c!! ]

A...war??

[ That's new. ]

A war for what?

[godofdust]

To claim the seven divine seats of Celestia.
It was a conflict that I knew I would not live to see the outcome of.

[essenceborn]

[ Nen doesn't know what any of that means, but it's still kind of sucks to see something, know you won't survive it, then have to go through it anyway. Nen hums. ]

Why'd you join it? Or was it one of those things that would catch up to you anyway?

[godofdust]

I stayed because I would not abandon my people. They needed me. Giving my life up for them was... an acceptable cost.

[essenceborn]

What do you mean when you say "your people"? Did you make them?

[godofdust]

Haha, of course not!
I led them, with my companion. They were our people because they looked to us for protection and wisdom.

[essenceborn]

So you were sort of like their boss? Or the head of the department.
I don't know the word for when you do that for a whole bunch of people. Corporate lead? Sorry.

[godofdust]

If you're looking for me to be specific, I was seen as one of their gods.

[essenceborn]

This probably sounds weird but what are gods? Where you come from I mean. It sounds like they might a little bit different depending on what sort of world you come from.

[godofdust]

That doesn't sound too strange at all, and it's a slightly complicated question to answer...

In Teyvat, 'gods' are beings from the Human Realm with great control over elemental energy and whose lifespans are much longer than that of mortals. I, specifically, am an adeptus of Liyue.

Gods can come from very lowly origins, even humans might ascend to godhood given the correct cirumstances.

[essenceborn]

[ Guizhong you are such a good, taking the time to explain all of this ;u; Nen mulls that information over, thinking that if human can become gods, then it really does just seem like 'gods' are people with more power or talent than other people and therefore missing the point of godhood entirely

Another thing they're not familiar with is: ]

What's an adeptus of Liyue? Is that a kind of human?

[godofdust]

[She just loves people!]

Liyue is the country that I come from. I'm an adeptus, and what adepti are is...

Probably difficult for me to properly explain without giving a very long lecture.

We are Illuminated Beings, granted power and long life by having reached a high level of spiritual enlightenment. We're worshipped only because our power and our origins aren't entirely understood and because we can offer knowledge and protection to humans. I have always been more than happy to do just that, as much as I'm able.

[essenceborn]

Is it like you guys are guides then? You have all the knowledge and everything, and then you pass that onto the humans that follow you and help them learn?

[ like an unpaid internship!! ]

[godofdust]

That's right, yes!

[essenceborn]

[ It feels good to have that confirmation--concrete proof that Nen's not way off in trying to comprehend this whole 'godhood' thing. It's nice to be able to keep up in a whole that defies all life lessons they've learned up to now. ]

Sounds like you would be really busy. I can't imagine trying to keep track of a large group of people.

[godofdust]

It wasn't as difficult as it sounds... Humans are usually intelligent enough to realise when a situation benefits them. It wasn't like trying to keep track of a herd of sheep!

[essenceborn]

What's trying to keep track of a herd of sheep like?

[godofdust]

I hear it's surprisingly difficult if you aren't accustomed to it. They wander off and have little concept of danger.

[essenceborn]

That doesn't sound ideal for survival at all.

[godofdust]

Not at all, which is why there are usually people watching over domesticated herds to make sure they all stay together and out of harms way.