Lucidity
The Seraph was massive. Larger up close than it had appeared from afar; Ruro wondered if that was just because of how she'd looked at it earlier while sitting with Habit, or if there was something about the entire place around her that was throwing off her perspective ? or if the Seraph had simply grown as she approached it.
She was stopped a dozen meters short of the raised dias the Seraph's throne was mounted on. Before her, casually reclining across the top of a rocky outcropping, was another Core, coolly regarding Ruro as she strode up.
This Core was nearly Esi's identical; her height, her face, her skin tone, her musculature, her mischievous grin and knowing twinkle in her eye all matched the Esi that wandered the halls of the Library.
The only difference was her clothing and her hair. Rather than all of her long, long hair being woven into a loose braid weighed down by a large ring at the end, it was instead pulled tight to her scalp, micro-braided with each strand capped by a much smaller ring. Every movement sent the rings jingling against each other.
She was wearing a qipao, stylized to look more like a gi than a formal dress. Baggy white trousers hid her legs where they snaked out of the sideslits, stopping just above her shins. Between the trousers and her sandals, each leg had a platinum coil around them, which matched the white coils on her upper arms. The qipao itself was trimmed in white, with a dull gray color to it. The obi was trimmed with platinum scrollwork ? Ruro knew the pattern looked familiar but couldn't place it. Hanging from a clip on the side of the obi was Esi's trademark rope-dart.
The Core nodded at Ruro and sat upright. ?Welcome to the center of the mind. As I look at you, bits and pieces of what's happening comes back to me. I have to admit, your presence is going to cause a lot of instability, being this deep.?
Ruro peered at the Core. ?Are you Esi, properly??
The Core shook her head, and the rings twinkled melodically, rather than chaotically as would be expected. ?No, not entirely so. I'm the Guardian Against Rage. This one, behind me, is ??
?The Alabaster Seraph. The heart of the subconscious, right??
The Guardian nodded. ?When I brought you down here, it wasn't
just so I could get some rest and do some thinking, planning. It was to call the reinforcements. I haven't ever done this before, though, so I really have no clue what'll happen.?
?Wait ? done
what, exactly? Don't start anything until you tell me everything you have planned. I don't want to be caught by surprise.?
The Guardian took a deep breath, drawing herself up on the balls of her feet for a moment before exhaling nervously. ?I'm going to deliberately wake the Seraph up. I need it ? and all the aspects ? to come with me back up to the layer Sa'kag? is romping around in.?
?Esi ? er, Guardian Against Rage... don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly a telepath myself but I'm pretty sure the subconscious stays where it is for a reason. What's compelling you to try to draw it up??
The Guardian Against Rage sat down on the outcropping she'd been laying on earlier. ?Well, for one thing, consider who and what I, as an aspect of Esi's subconscious, am and do. I've thought long and hard about this. I have to. I look at every angle to make sure nothing can fail catastrophically. To answer your question, I'm hoping to be able to force a full-scale mental unity. How long have you been down here, so far??
Ruro thought for a moment. ?Well, assuming there isn't any weirdness when it comes to the flow of time down here ? the landscape seems to be in a constant state of flux ? about two hours, maybe three.?
?Probably close to one or two heartbeats in the physical world. How many of the other aspects have you met??
?The Cores? I've spoken with three of them, passed about a dozen or so going about their own business.?
The Guardian sighed and she dropped her head, staring morosely at the ground. ?You didn't meet a fraction of them, then. There are four-hundred and eighty-seven aspects in this level. Only about ten percent of them are lucid; the rest only react, and some don't do anything unless the Seraph is awake.?
?You wanted me to meet more of them??
The Guardian Against Rage shook her head, and the rings sounded almost sad. ?I'm not finished. Of that ten percent, about half of them are Guardians, like myself. In some manner or another. Of the passive aspects, or Cores as you've called them, more than two-thirds of them are Guardians, as well.?
Ruro blinked. ?What??
The Guardian absently punched the stone she was perched on, and ground her knuckles against it. ?What were the titles of the Cores you met??
?Habit, Regret, and Vanguard.?
?Vanguard. You met three of them, one was a Guardian. I'm a Guardian. More than half of the parts that make up this level are Guardians. We're discordant ? rather, Esi is discordant. Why does she need so many guardians? Because she thinks we need to be defensive all the time. Why so many different guardians? Because she wants to keep every little thing away from her.?
She threw her hands up in exasperation. ?Everything is meant to keep her isolated. She has the perfect gift for communicating with everyone, to be able to dive into the middle of a community, but she always pulls back, afraid of something, anything. The slightest threat, or possibility of being made unhappy, and she backs completely into her shell. She's too afraid that she's going to offend someone, she never actually reaches out and gets to know someone. It's almost ironic, because like I said, she has the perfect gift for threading herself into social circles, but she won't, because that'd be cheating, an invasion of privacy. She's socially stunted and terrified of herself ? the potential that she has to irritate, annoy, aggravate everyone around her.?
Ruro cocked an eyebrow. ?Despite that she'd narrate peoples actions in their minds, using her telepathy to be able to fill in the blanks in her narration??
The Guardian nodded. ?People think she's intentionally irritating, it won't be so profound if she accidentally pisses someone off.?
?The cynicism is a facade.? Ruro rocked back on her heels, contemplating what the Guardian was telling her. ?That's probably why she only spends so much time at the Library. More time around books, less around people.? She shook her head. ?That last bit is incredibly counterproductive. People would forgive her if they knew her better and she'd ticked 'em off.?
?She doesn't believe that. Did you know that she's incredibly insecure around here??
Ruro held her hand up. ?Wait, how are you so aware of Esi's behavior in the physical world? I thought you were an aspect of the Subconscious??
The Guardian frowned. ?I'm the Guardian Against Rage. Esi's problems with her fury are incredibly potent. I'm one of the most active and cognitive aspects because of this. You said you've met Habit, right? And Esi is
always listening to music, to drown out the static that she gets from her telepathy. Habit and I are two of the more informed aspects down here. We keep track of Esi's mental state very carefully ? there isn't much else for us to do down here besides what we're made for. Esi is always battling with her anger, her rage, fury, and confusion. She understands how destructive it can be to let her anger drive her emotions, especially with her empathy. Did you know she could influence the behaviors of at least a dozen-dozen people around her if she let her telepathy go, full-force??
?No, I didn't... but we're getting sidetracked. This is all valuable insight towards Esi, but for the time being, we need to deal with Sa'kag? and get her out of Esi's head. How is pulling everything in the subconscious to the primary planes of thought going to help us??
?Well, for one, sheer numbers. Two, the subconscious is probably the most powerful part of the mind. If Esi could root her telepathy in her subconscious, she'd be nigh unstoppable ? not even an Admin, like yourself, would be able to stop her. Luckily, she both does not know this and wouldn't do it even if she did. I digress; with the Seraph leading the way, Sa'kag? would be hard-pressed for a defense. We would've done this sooner, but Sa'kag? got Esi off-guard and she had to force samadhi on herself as a defense, which locked her in meditation on the cognitive planes.?
?She was mentioning something about samadhi. What is that??
?A state of meditation so deep, she's fully withdrawn into herself, and nothing will affect her until she comes out of it. Unfortunately, it's meditation, which for Esi means 'rest and recovery'. She couldn't work any further on her plan of waking the Seraph.?
So, the Justicia can break samadhi? Odd. Unless it was a combination of me and Sa'kag? wearing on it. ?What could go wrong??
?A lot of things. Probably more than I can think of. But the Seraph really is the most powerful part of Esi's mind; there is no doubt that she'd be able to exorcise Sa'kag?, especially if you were helping us. The Seraph, and an Admin? Especially an Admin backed by the strength of Esi's saindhava??
?Sand-what??
?Saindhava. Full support. Whatever resource you think you'd need, you'll have it. Esi will provide for you if you will aid her in getting rid of Sa'kag?. The thing is, Sa'kag? is one layer up, and Esi can't manipulate the environment in the subconscious level. She also can't fight down here; instead, it'd just be the Seraph waking up and ejecting Sa'kag? back up to the cognitive. There wouldn't be a proper fight or a true exorcism; that'll just happen over and over again each time Sa'kag? tries to come down here herself, until she fully and completely claims the cognitive layers. At that point, Esi will be no more, and the subconscious ? Seraph and all four-hundred-eighty-seven aspects ? will be no more. It'll start to be populated by Sa'kag?, instead.?
Ruro nodded. ?Quick question. This has nothing to do with your plan.?
?How is it pertinent, then??
?That's exactly why I want to ask.?
?That's rather Zen of you.? The Guardian sighed and nodded her permission.
?Who were you before you became the Guardian Against Rage??
The Guardian blinked in shock, and reached behind her for support, leaning against her original seat. ?You realize, that in the subconscious level, time flows so slowly, that if I were to be brought out to your physical world, I would be several millennia old already? That you're asking me something that dates back for far longer than you've been alive, though paradoxically, at the same time, is still younger than you??
?Are you saying you've forgotten??
The Guardian lowered herself shakily onto the stones. ?No, I haven't forgotten. Just, understand ? your question... it's making me nostalgic. From a
very long time ago. Luckily I'm not the Guardian From Nostalgia ? and yes, that is an aspect down here.?
?So you haven't forgotten your own original title, then??
?Original? No. None of us know what our original names are. There's a gap in Esi's memory. Her memory accounts for less time than her body has existed. But immediately after that point, and for a short time afterwards, I was Vishuddhi.? She tapped her obi, indicating the pattern on it. ?It's faded considerably. It used to be countless chakras, wrapped around me. In time, they've been corrupted by the Rage that I Guard Against.?
Ruro held her hand out, offering to help the Guardian Against Rage back to her feet. ?Well, then, Vishuddhi, shall we wake the Seraph, and go tell Sa'kag? she can go ahead and shove all the way off??
