Lysariel - Fateweaver

[Simple]

"If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

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The following thread will serve as sort of a bookkeeping area for myself, as well as my character's development and progression. A place for me to compile notes, ideas, concepts, and plans. I will update it sporadically, to reflect the progression and development of Lysariel throughout his life. It will also be quite handy for logs should I require them for future applications. So a lot of it is stuff to structure my character, which I will reference quite often in my scenes.

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History and Background

Lysariel, the luminary from the rugged and resourceful terrain of Final Frontier, is as intriguing as the threads of fate he so skillfully weaves. Raised in the distant, sun-drenched dunes of Meranthe, Lysariel was abruptly separated from his origins and thrust into a world starkly different from the one he knew. A child of circumstance rather than birth, Lysariel's past is a constellation of fragmented memories, shards of a life once lived but long forgotten.

Yet, the defining influence in Lysariel's life was a chance encounter with a mysterious, elderly man who passed through Final Frontier. The man would come to describe himself as a 'Fateweaver.' Under his year-long guidance, Lysariel was introduced to the art of divining fate. An ancient and mystical practice that bore a tremendous toll on the young, impressionable Lysariel. The whispers of time became both his blessing and curse, as he was a child who had developed schizophrenia, a condition not even he fully understood or realized. An affliction that his divination seemed to magnify, as the whispers from the abyss of the time stream began to echo more loudly in his mind. Yet, Lysariel's resilience and tenacity prevailed.

With each divination, Lysariel's gift took on a distinct shape, unlike any other practitioner of the art of divination. He would see glimpses of the future, not in vivid, detailed images, but as cryptic whispers from the abyss of the time stream. His divination was not a direct sight, but an understanding and interpretation of these whispers that spoke through him.

As he grew into a young teenager, Lysariel found solace in his craft, his identity intertwined with the intricate threads of fate he wove. He willingly descended deeper into the abyss of the time stream, pulling forth insights and predictions that mystified and alarmed. Yet, his troubled psyche cast a shadow over his gift, making his visions an enigma even to him at times.

What is a Fateweaver?

As the elderly man stood before Lysariel, there was an almost palpable aura of mystery and wisdom enveloping him. With a steady voice, weathered by age and experience, he began to share the secrets of his craft.

"A Fateweaver, my child, is not simply a mage nor a seer," he started, his ancient eyes gleaming with hidden knowledge. "We are the weavers and listeners of time's whispers. We tread the thin line between the known and the unknown, the present and the future."

He continued, his voice a whisper in the wind, "Time, as you know it, is but a stream, a sequence of events flowing into an endless ocean. But to a Fateweaver, time is more than a linear progression, it's a sprawling quilt woven from countless threads of possibility."

The man gestured with his old, wrinkled hands, as if he was weaving an unseen thread in the air. "Each thread represents a potential future, a separate strand of reality waiting to be realized. As Fateweavers, we are blessed—and cursed—with the ability to glimpse these threads, to perceive the echoes of what may come to pass."

"But we do not simply observe," the man explained. "With careful precision, we can gently nudge these threads, guide them, intertwine them, and even sever them. Yet, each manipulation is fraught with consequences. For each thread we change, countless others shift in response. Our actions ripple through the threads of fate and fortune, altering the course of events in ways unseen."

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "But remember, Lysariel, the power to weave fortune and discern fate is not about control—it's about understanding. It's about listening to the whispers of the future, interpreting their cryptic messages, and guiding others toward their destinies."

Then he finished with a word of caution. "But beware, young one, the abyss from where the whispers originate can consume you. It calls to us, lures us with its secrets. Yet, if you descend too deep, you risk losing yourself to its enigmatic depths. As a Fateweaver, you must always strive for balance. Embrace the whispers, but do not let them drown you."

-A scene I wrote for this character notes, to reflect this monumental moment in Lysariel's youth.

Future - Fate

Lysariel's character arc will be framed around Nietzsche's famous quote, which I inserted at the start of my notes: "If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

Throughout his life, Lysariel will be peering into the void, tapping into the unseen and mysterious forces to divine the future. However, the more he delves into this "abyss," the more it seems to consume him. The hallucinations, the whispers, and the confusion that originally offered him insights eventually will become his downfall.

It's as though the unknown depths of time and fate that he's been exploring will gradually take over his mind, pulling him into their chaotic, inscrutable realm. The boundaries between the real world and the abyss of the timestream will become blurred for Lysariel, leading to his descent into madness, compounded by the fact that he very much has our real world interpretation of schizophrenia.

What is the abyss? What are the whispers?

Is the abyss an actual otherworldly realm, a place of powerful entities, spirits or forces that he interacts with, and does it have a will or purpose of its own? Or is it merely a symbolic manifestation of Lysariel's increasingly fractured psyche, a representation of his escalating schizophrenia?

The whispers he hears could be the echoes of infinite potential futures, advice or warnings from unseen spirits or cosmic forces, or malicious entities seeking to manipulate him for their own inscrutable ends. Alternatively, they could be auditory hallucinations, a common symptom of schizophrenia.

Could his ability be a divine gift, a magical power, or a terrible curse imposed by an unknown entity? Or is it simply a tragic byproduct of his mental illness, a delusion that he has mistakenly interpreted as divination?

These are the questions that will go without definitive answer throughout the progression of Lysariel's life. All of his divination; his gift, the whispers, the visions of thread and fate, it could very well all be described by his schizophrenia. Yet at the same time, it will be amplified by the natural magic that exists in the world of Eternia. It can veer off in any direction, dependent upon how he progresses throughout his life.

It is all merely the foundation I start with, but his relationships, external influences, it will all shape what he eventually becomes.

Logs

First divination scene, as well as a formative moment in his youth.