DIVA: Tieria's Addenda (The Twilight)

[deucexm]

Something new!  In this thread, the God of Knowledge explains part of how the
DiVerse works, unaware that he is in the middle of an important(?) plot point.

'Tieria's Addenda' as a miniseries was originally made with the idea of him
making little personal edits to the Divine Archive based on his own experience
(and worldbuilding in the process), but it seems to work fine this way.

Tieria's Addenda (The Twilight): A DiVerse Alpha Chronicle
by Felix

"Sing me another song, won't you, Siggy?" Miranda purred lazily, stretching out
on the white couch in the center of the Temple.

It was a rare quiet moment for the Pantheon, among various mortal crises and
Hekel's meddling and the Misadventures of Chaos and Design; Siguna, God of
Sound, had begun composing another impromptu ballad, and drawn a small crowd in
the process. By the time he had finished, Miranda (Desire), Dio (Time), Freyja
(Battle), and even the Speaker for the Source had gathered, and applauded
politely upon its conclusion.

"I'm afraid I'm all tapped out for the moment," Siguna responded with no small
amount of regret. He did so enjoy his performances, and the Chorus of Whispers
was fast becoming a favorite - but that didn't stop him from wanting to provide
even more.

One of the side doors opened. "Perhaps I may be able to assist," came the God of
Knowledge's bookish voice, Tieria closing a thick tome and holding it to his
chest as he approached. "There is something I've been wanting to share, but
perhaps my words could use some accompaniment - so you don't fall asleep," he
added, his tone completely without emotion. Though, was that the hint of a
smile?

Siguna tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Accompaniment, you say..." He shifted the
guitar slightly on his lap, the strings shimmering as they transformed from one
material to another, making ever-changing sounds as he strummed them in search
of just the right- ah! The Deity nodded, satisfied, and began delicately
fingering his way through a melody, one that brought to mind mysterious
adventures in the ancient places of the world where it originated.

"In the Divine Archive," Tieria began delicately, "the Tree of Knowledge grows
moment by moment with data, with truth that is absolute. It is not all-knowing,
for it is not all-seeing; but what it can see, through its leaves and branches
that extend throughout the cosmos, is recorded as truth." He paused for a
moment. "So it has ever been. But it seems I was blinded to a greater truth in
my quest."

His eyes closed, a thoughtful smile on his lips, Siguna developed the melody a
little further, his fingers dancing on the strings with a slightly faster tempo.

"Too often I desire to draw a divide too sharply; true and false, accurate and
inaccurate, possible and impossible. Such binaries make classification and
sorting a far easier process, of course, but they most often fall short of
representing the true nature of reality. Even if the merest fraction exists that
is neither one nor the other, that fraction /still exists/," Tieria emphasized
with a gesture. "And in its existence it has worth, and significance; for such
is the Archive's motto."

Siguna played a softer, more delicate interlude while Tieria gathered his
thoughts before continuing.

"There is a place," the God of Knowledge began, almost reverently, "that exists
on the border of the physical and the aetheric, a place both I and the Tree were
utterly blind to. For we have seen the physical, and the aetheric, and the way
the two interact; and we had thought ourselves fully aware of the relationship
between the two. But we were wrong, the Tree and I. We knew nothing of the
Twilight."

At this last word, the God of Sound strummed a single, expansive chord, the
strings of his guitar sparkling as the sound hung in the air for a long moment,
filling the Temple. No one spoke, not the Deities, not the Speaker; they were
all listening, waiting for what came next. Siguna glanced over to see Tieria's
eyes closed and a small but definite smile curling his lips. It was as much a
performance as a lecture; and with that realization, he vowed to do his best to
support the God of Knowledge. When the moment was just right, the pause just
long enough, his fingers moved once more, plucking a low and dark melody from
the soft strings.

"The Twilight is a place that exists by degrees," Tieria continued once more,
opening his golden eyes slowly and gazing into the distance, "where the physical
and aetheric have entwined into an inseparable whole; inconsistent, variable,
constantly in motion and full of energy. And it is this very property - this
state of being neither one nor the other, yet both - that grants the Twilight
the power it possesses. Power to alter what most would consider unalterable,
through bravery and will and other such irrational, illogical methods."

Siguna kept playing, but couldn't help but notice the wry smile Tieria wore with
those last words. The scholarly Deity must have had an experience indeed...

"Now mind you, the effects are - or have been - quite localized," the God of
Knowledge continued, sounding a bit more like his usual scholarly self for a
moment, "but those who can manipulate the Twilight can twist space and even time
itself to their will. To hide, to pursue, to advance or return, beyond what any
mortal magic could accomplish. And when combined with magic - well." He paused
for a moment. "One might even say it borders on the... miraculous."

Dio's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he considered the ramifications of
localized time manipulation, but he let the matter pass uncommented.

"I note, as a curiosity," Tieria mused, almost to himself at this point despite
the God of Sound still playing along, "that even beings with no innate ability
to use magic may still interact with the Twilight - and to great effect. Often
this may not be apparent; yet, once the existence of the Twilight itself is
taken as fact, a great many other anomalies fall into place rather neatly and
convincingly. People with extraordinary luck or charisma, mythological beasts
with no magic to speak of yet possessing most unusual qualities; all a result of
this /fascinating/ place."

"And so while it complicates matters," he concluded, with an air of finality,
"adding an unsolvable variable to a great many of life's equations, I must admit
that after my research I find the Twilight rather delightful. For if All
Creation could be reduced to a mere collection of predictive formulae from which
nothing could deviate, I feel its shine would dull; but thankfully, such is
simply not the case."

As Siguna picked out his last notes on the strings and let them resonate, Tieria
took a small bow, and the assembled Pantheon applauded politely - all with
thoughtful expressions.

---

Unseen, leaning against the back side of one of the pillars, Hekel smiled. 'Only
now it comes to light - and not even to the one who needs to hear it most, were
it not for my intervention.'

The God of Deception lifted a finger, a single white feather coalescing from the
ambient aether and spinning once atop his fingertip before a clear crystal
octahedron encased it. Sealed within, if anyone could have heard, were soft
guitar notes and Tieria saying, "In the Divine Archive..."

Hekel brought the crystal to his lips and kissed it, and mouthed: 'Rosewood.'

It vanished, and after a moment so did Hekel, wearing a radiant smile.

---

Author's note: The piece, or at least the musical portion, was heavily inspired
by the Dwarf Fortress theme.  Here's a 10-hour extension of it for those who
haven't heard, or would like to again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSDsA1aSzSQ