text; un: redwine

[judgementor]

I have a question for everyone here. That is, multiple questions relating to the same topic, if you'd indulge me.

On Tierra, the world I come from, humans were granted form and souls by the creator long ago. What they didn't know at that time was that the creator had also placed souls in other things. Souls that could not be seen or felt but were present nonetheless.

Over time, the humans realised the presence of these souls and discovered how to summon them into physical form. They did this because of an enemy that they couldn't fight on their own - they needed beings with more power, that would not be so easily killed. They found the weapons that they needed in their new creations, which would eventually come to be called 'Food Souls'. They could hold incredible magical ability and strength, and the humans still didn't fully understand where they came from.

Food Souls could be summoned and bound to the summoner, tied to their will, following their orders, and wishing to please them even through mistreatment. After the death of their master, the Food Soul would be left in the world without them.

My question then, is this. Should such beings exist in your world, how do you think they would be treated? How do you think that you would treat such a being? Would they be treated well, or discarded when they had outlived their usefulness?

I'm already aware through previous travels that my world is not entirely unique in this regard. I'm curious, too, how other summoned individuals would describe their experiences.





((any format is fine for reply - he'll answer like for like. text was just easier, given the amount of information he was putting across.))

Comments

[fellsound]

( that's different from anything Century Egg knows of humans. whatever kindness, respect, may have been shown to him as Xuan Wu's confidant, has long since been forgotten under the despair of his time underground. )

She sounds... nice. ( his voice is unsure, a reflection of his own inability to imagine a Tierran human like it rather than any doubt of what Red Wine says. Red Wine hasn't proven himself to be a liar in any sense of the word and he's not sure why he would lie about that, of all things, given the conversation. )

There weren't... many humans like that. ( he doesn't know, specifically, what happened to Cordyceps and Chishui Moth Tea, they've never deigned to share it, but he feels and understands their hatred. ) I was ordered not to trust them.

[judgementor]

She was.

[Nice, that is. She was like a sister to him. Like family. He hadn't been quite the same since she'd passed away, though he'd certainly carried on like normal.

That was just part of being a Food Soul. You were all but guaranteed to outlive your master.]

You were ordered? [He has never pressed Century Egg too closely about his personal life, believing he'll open up when he feels ready and that some things might just be too raw to talk about. When something is offered like that, though, he doesn't mind questioning it.] By whom?

[fellsound]

( well. maybe instructed would be a better word, but he is a weapon, and weapons do what they're told. )

Cordyceps. He... saved me. ( that much isn't news to Red Wine, but Century Egg says it anyway. it's a bit different to be saying it when he isn't in the throes of an arrival panic attack anyway. ) ... I am his weapon. It's how I repay him.

( and Cordyceps hates humans for reasons Century Egg has never asked but assumed would be valid. because, well, it's not like Century Egg saw the best parts of them either. )

[judgementor]

[Ah, yes... of course he knows that. Red Wine lets out a subtle sigh and closes his eyes for a moment. Some things are so simple with Century Egg as to be genuinely concerning, though he knows nothing about it is the other Food Soul's fault.]

Cordyceps wasn't entirely wrong.

[He, too, doesn't always trust humans. But his more positive experiences with them overall have made it easier to do.]

But you can be more that just a weapon, Century Egg. You know that, don't you?

[fellsound]

( A — B.

that's what is easiest, and what's easy, what is simple makes sense. he knows how to be a weapon, and how to be a servant. he knows he owes Cordyceps his life for returning him to the light.

so, when Red Wine asks the question, there's nothing but a long stretch of silence, and then, in the smallest of wondering whispers; )

... What else can I do?

( Souls like Cordyceps and Red Wine may have their own personalities, their own goals, but for someone like Century Egg? what else can he do, here or back on Tierra? )

[judgementor]

What do you want?

[It's a hard question to ask of Century Egg, because while he never presses too much about details of his life before he had been sealed away he at least gets the impression that after that, he had not been given much of a choice about anything.

Or maybe he simply didn't know how to make choices anymore.]

Is there something you like to do?

[fellsound]

( six of one...

being freed without a purpose, without someone to follow, well. Cenutry Egg can't imagine that. what would he have done without Cordyceps there, offering a light? sure, Cordyceps has never asked him what his own wants and desires are, but, honestly, he isn't sure that he has any.

even asking what he likes to do is a question that requires a long stretch of silent thought, trying to find an answer from somewhere in the depths of his broken memories.

what does he want? in comparison, is easier to answer; )

I... I don't want to be alone again...

( that's all that matters. )

I want to see the light...

[judgementor]

[He's used to the way Century Egg will lapse into silence like this from time to time and though impatience does prickle at him while he waits... he does wait.

And the answer he gets isn't a surprising one.]

... I know.

[That wasn't what he meant, but...

Small steps. He knows it's all that Century Egg is really able to want right now.]

You won't be alone as long as I'm here.

[fellsound]

( the comfort those words should bring doesn’t come as Red Wine might want it to. he knows Red Wine might mean it, might think he means it, but even Food Souls can die, can leave him.

it’s so easy to end up alone. and then what?

(this is why it would be easier if... better if...)

though Red Wine can’t see it, he shakes his head, clears away the crazy thoughts which arise. the same ones which plagued him in Cordyceps’ hut, the seeming inevitability of being alone or betrayed.

crazy thoughts, ones he knows normal people don’t have. ones he never used to have. )

... Swear to me.

( he asked the same of Cordyceps. it can’t just be those words. he needs a promise, an oath, a role to fulfil for Red Wine. )

[judgementor]

Swear to you?

[The words catch him off guard, as does the intensity by which they are delivered. It's only that intensity that keeps him from immediately making a promise that he doesn't know the details of.

Instead his brow furrows slightly and he falls silent for a few moments.]

What is it that you want me to swear?

[fellsound]

That you won't abandon me. ( Century Egg is nothing if not forthright with his words when he finds them, and so continues. ) You won't... betray me, and leave me alone. You'll kill me before you die.

( and I in turn will kill you, said Cordyceps. and for that small price, Century Egg gave himself completely to the other Food Soul.

it seems only fitting he should do the same here, to fall into the only role his broken brain can allow him to fill reliably:

a weapon. )

[judgementor]

[It doesn't shock him, somehow, to hear that being asked of him. He falls silent and stares, but he doesn't look... shocked.]

... All right.

[Red Wine doesn't believe that it will come to that, but if making such a promise gives Century Egg some comfort then he will make it without hesitation.]

I'll do that for you. I swear.

[fellsound]

... Thank you.

( if you thought you had a Loyal Boy before, Red Wine? oh boy you just unlocked the Next Level of the Century Egg Loyalty Scheme.

(': hope you don't plan on doing anything unhealthy. )

[judgementor]

[He breathes out a soft sigh. It... certainly is an unusual request, but one that he senses Century Egg needs answering with honesty.]

You're welcome... I think.