let me look at the sun | open

[terriblepurpose]

Who: Paul Atreides, open
What: Event catch-all
When: Month of December
Where: Archaic Archives, streets of Trench, the forest's edge, memories
Notes: Go ahead and contact me at terriblepurpose or by PM if you'd like to discuss any starters or suggest new ones! For tagging in your character's memories to Paul, feel free to start with whatever your preference is.

Content Warnings: Violence, body horror (lockjoint), death, religious extremism, extensive Dune spoilers, suicidal ideation, funerals, grief

Comments

[notimeforfailure]

That's like asking me to pick a favorite child.

[Lysithea sniffs, in a flash of humor that hadn't been previously displayed.]

But... as parents frequently do have favorite children without ever admitting it, I must confess I have a fondness for the cream buns. To your right - up a little bit.

[When Paul responds to her actual question, the momentary levity is broken.]

Ah. So it wasn't just my imagination.

I could not say for certain. It was so distant -- but I think... None of this is relevant to you at all, but the crux of the matter is, that person was very important to me - to all of us.

After that day, he vanished. He's been missing for the last four and a half years. And now my unanswered question can finally be put to rest.

That was dark magic. So he really was -- killed in the battle...

[There is an odd intake of breath before she says 'killed'...]

[terriblepurpose]

[The cream buns to his right; Paul will have to remember that before he leaves. He's not sure he could taste one now.

Instead, he listens to the hitch in Lysithea's words, and looks at his eyes reflected strangely in a glass dome. Four and a half years ago, Lysithea would have been - what, his age? Younger? He's drowned in certainty; is not knowing like unquenchable thirst?]

I'm sorry.

[It's a simple condolence, spoken softly. He glances at Lysithea, his face drawn, but his mind catches on a thought and his brow knits.]

...is that what you saw?

[notimeforfailure]

I saw a flash of purple - some sort of spell. And then he was gone.

[She shakes her head.]

And he has not reappeared since. They tried to assassinate him before, you know. That time, there was some sort of... power that protected him.

[The Professor, she had realized after the incident with Solon, was an extraordinary person. Lysithea was no fool; it was clear that the Archbishop watched him with equal parts tenderness and... rapacity. There was something... divine in his nature.]

Well, thank you. Despite everything, at least I know now. I feel... as if I can lay that memory to rest. It wouldn't have been possible without you.

Truly, I wish I had stayed with him, but -- I know he would not have wished me in harm's way, either.

[terriblepurpose]

[Everything is part of something else. This is one of the basic laws of the universe, the principle of ecological composition. From that perspective Paul observes Lysithea where she stands, situated in her chosen environment, surrounded by things she has made. She's happy here, he thinks.

What does Paul know about magic? Next to nothing. He gave his word that he would help her. There's no more to say of it.]

You survived to remember him and his lessons. [Paul nods, a slight, solemn gesture.] That's all a teacher could wish for.

[Now seems the time to answer the question she asked of him in the memory. He looks at her directly when he speaks.]

There was nothing you could have done better. Differently, but not better. Retreating when you did was the only choice.

[notimeforfailure]

[Lysithea bows her head briefly in response. There is a feeling of... not relief, exactly. There is no real gain from this experience. It was a memory, a fixed point in time, something that could not be changed and marked the beginning of continental war for her home. Simply... release.

She could let it go.]

Thank you.

['There was nothing you could have done better.' And for Lysithea, who always needs to do everything perfectly, this is as much absolution as she can expect.

She suddenly feels very fatigued.]

Do stay as long as you wish. But I think I would like a moment with my thoughts.

[He is being (politely) dismissed. Lysithea hovers with her hand on a door leading to a back room.]

...You must tell me more about those suits sometime - and your world. You've seen far too much of mine.

[terriblepurpose]

[Paul was impressed Lysithea had made it as long as she did without collapsing in on herself. The drop in adrenaline, the impact of the memory, the effort of using magic - it was an ordeal compressed in a short, chaotic span of time.

He feels all right about leaving her here, better than he's felt about most of these journeys into memories. He smiles at her gently, tiredly, and bows once again.]

When we next meet. [It's a promise.] Although I would like to hear more of yours, all the same.

I'll leave you to your rest, Lady von Ordelia.

[With that, he'll go - but not before taking one of those cream buns, for the trip.]