Fairspell Meadow Divine and Witchy
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#51
Ash Paw eyed the girl. She was full of questions. So many questions. But they were good ones. Despite that they prickled at Ash's fur.

I like to consider gods neutral. Neither good or bad. Because then how could they watch over all wolves, being that all wolves are different?

The next question though and Ash Paw took a breath and shrugged tiny shoulders. I'm not sure. I can't answer that unless i've been through it, because I don't know what i would do.

And she didn't she imagined it would depend a lot on the situation. The wolves in the situation and her own state of mind at the time.
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"That is an interesting thought - I never considered this point of view," Dwin memorized this idea and put it on a shelf to think about later. "But - can they really be neutral. I mean, if... if they favour you for some reason, then they are not truly neutral. Or if they grant you a favour... but then... wouldn't it be fascinating to hang out with the gods just once? To see, where they live and how they handle things?" that would be something, but she had a feeling that Ash Paw would consider such thing a heresy. 
"Would you like to be a god for one day?" she asked. "What would you do, if you were?"
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Ash Paw held up a paw. Ah but if you listen to the stories. Perhaps not me, but the stories of gods. There is always a price to pay for their grace adn their glory and it is not always a good price. The great wolf hercules for his prowess in battle and ruling. He paid with the life of his family.


I am not sure if i would wish to hang out with them. What if I angered them and wham. They squish me like a bug.

I would not like the responsibility of the world on my shoulders. I do not envy them their position.
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"Well, they would have hard time squashing you, if you were a god yourself?" Dwinn pointed out, but she had to agree - most gods in the stories were fickle, acted on emotions and regretted nothing. Oh, and they had tons of parsley bed encouters too with mortals, other gods and... had there not been stories of interspecies crossing too? 

"If they tried to squash you, you could squash them back! Or do something jolly. I don't remember, who, but my mom told me about a god, whose mate cheated on him with another god and in retaliation he merged them together. Just think a merged wolf - eight legs, two tails, two heads and it is a boy and a girl at the same time. Both inside and outside," she explained. "So - what if you were an all powerful god, who was the squasher not the squash...ee? What would you like to do in the world? If you had unlimited power and everything," she mused. 
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Ash Paw tilted her head. Well, that's true I suppose. I'm not sure if Gods can kill other gods or not. Demi gods can kill gods, but I don't believe that gods can kill each other. Some unwritten rule or some such thing.

This child was making her think hard, dig deeply into her thoughts and her memories. Stories that she had heard years ago, when she had been young. She was fairly certain she was correct. Because Gods lived forever, or more so for as long as they were believed in. And if she had to live with her siblings and parents forever, there would be ugly fights she was sure.

Ash Paw was surprised, but she thought perhaps dwin was wrong. You mean the god Hermaphroditus? He was formed with a naiad that wanted him for her own wrongly. 

But perhaps there was another story that this girl was speaking of. She would not speak the origins of such a story, because it spoke of horrendous things a Naiad wanted to do to a handsome boy and a god in a moment of answered prayer fused them together, but Ash felt this was unjust and cruel. The boy had not wanted to be hurt.

I am  unsure what I would do.  I would probably heal others. I don't like it when sickness runs rampant. SO I believe I would heal all those i could in the time frame of the day and teach others of herbs and medicial knowledge.
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"I never truly thought about it either..." Dwinn realized. "I mean... well... it is not impossible though - before all great Greek gods there were other gods too. Titans - weren't they? And they were destroyed during a huge war, where the present gods - we know now - won," and for some reason the end of these gods had never come. "Maybe killing one another, when you are the victorious party, is not very wise?" she mused. "Though... yeah... They had rule and order and everything and... the balance you mentioned earlier, but just think," a new idea was born, "there is this idea that any particular god is alive as long as people believe in them. So - if people stopped at some point, that either means that the god died or it had to morph into something else to please the masses." 

"It is kind of like with a king or a pack leader - they are all powerful and mighty as long as people tolerate them. But there is always the chance of ending him too. I think that gods are just as dependent on us as we - well, you - are on them,"
she finished. Then she listened to, what Ash Paw wanted to do as a god and found it absolutely wonderful. "I think - and don't take me wrong - you would be a god that I would prefer over your bear compatriots any time," she told her softly.
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Before that there were other's like Gaia, Tartarus, Eros, and a few others. But the Titan's were destroyed, they can't be destroyed. They can only be separated and scattered.

Ash Paw's brow wrinkled as she thought of the girls words. She patted her paws against the dirt in thought. It had merit that they just morphed into something more. And Ash Liked to think that way too.

Some argue that this is how the Roman and the greek gods were born. They switched from one to another. I do not know their stories well. But I know enough to know this.

Ash Paw chuckled. I like the gods, I worship the gods, but I do not depend on them. I make it known that perhaps my luck or my bad luck is with their design, but.

SHe held up a paw and spoke softly. I as a mortal have the ability of free will. So they can try and guide my path and they may succeed in some things, but I am also responsible for my own choices.

I can respect that choice. But what would you do if you were a god for a day?
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All Welcome 
"Is there much difference between being dead and being torn to pieces, scattered, sentient, but unable to do anything?" Dwin proposed, noting to herself that the latter fate was way worse. In case of death there was some finality and at least some kind of hope of starting new. Being rendered helpless and reminded of it every single day could cause trouble in the future. "Ooooh, just think,"  she exclaimed this for n-hundreth time during this conversation. "What if someone grew unhappy with the present set of gods and set out on a quest to rebuild titans, create an army of them and then send all that Olympus lot to hell?" which... belonged to another god. Hades. There was no way of escaping that was there? "Or... I dunno, besides believing in gods they have to have another weakness. True immortality, in my opinion, does not exist," she concluded. 

"Are you really free though?" the girl wondered. "What if they force you in a situation, where you have to choose between two options and neither are good? It is, of course, not like Zeus striking you with lightening, when he does not like you, but the way you described Sos seems like a thing he could do. Just out of spite? Or cruel fun?" Dwin thought a bit more on this and added: "What if you think you have free will, but only within the boundaries that your gods have set. And, when they decided to tighten their grip, you might find out that you have never been free to begin with." 

"Me - a god? I dunno,"
she shrugged. "I would probably ask questions to other gods. I have a lot of them and then see, how they fare," she smiled knowingly as if hinting that even after 3 pages long thread on this board Dwin was nowhere finished with her mental exercise on mythology, life and morality. "I have a feeling that we make them out to be much greater than they actually are. I would want to find out, who is the smartest of them all. And who actually has a heart. A-a-a-a-nd I would probably want to meet some of my ancestors. There are plenty of people down or up there - wherever they decided to go after death, that I would want to ask more questions." 
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#59
I think the latter would be awful, but can you really do nothing? Or can they slowly bring themselves back together? It may take thousands upon thousands of years, but if they can pull themselves together somehow, whether with help or magic?

She wouldn't like to be alive in pieces either, but the Titans could possibly bring themselves back couldn't they. And perhaps they liked that. Though she was fairly certain they would never be the same again, especially if they had emotions like her and other's. Were that her, when she got back together she'd be quite angry, perhaps even a little crazy.

Well I told you Demi-Gods can kill Gods. They are the sons and daughters of gods and mortals. It is one of the reasons. There are not many anymore and that they were killed by the very same parents they belonged too.

Ash Paw looked her over. You are talking of fate now and that is a separate thing from what the gods plan. I am a firm believer that fate has many paths to take. And certainly the gods can heard you in a direction they so choose, but they also have to factor in free will of others. Even gods unless they can see the future, which I have only heard of a few being able to do so. And they still have to interpret what they see. They can't figure out everything that will happen, or what I will or anyone really will do.

A small laugh whispered past Ash''s lips. You do like questions. I haven't thought this hard in a long time.

An amused smile on her face as she listened to the girl. That would require permission from the underworld and i imagine that god is much more rigid than most about rules. He or she would have to be.
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"Why can demi-gods kill gods, but gods cannot kill other gods?" Dwin did not remember hearing this theory, but she did not claim to know everything either. It did not make sense that a being of a lesser power could beat something that was immortal and supposedly all-powerful. "I don't think that is true. At least not with Greek myths that is. Demigods can die, but gods usually do not. They are supposed to be timeless," she was contradicting her earlier statement  - question on, whether gods could be killed. "But... I think that maybe these Olympians never died in the legends, because somehow the story still continues - who knows, maybe we will see in our lifetimes their end and birth of new set of gods to take over," she finished. Dwin was about ask, whether Sos and Atka could die, but she recalled that just earlier she had stepped no Ash Paw's toes on this matter and did not want to do that again. 

"But aren't god's plan for a person and fate one and the same?" she asked, when Ash Paw insisted that these two were seperate and intertwining things at the same time. "That is the true fountain of youth, my mom said this. Never growing curious of the world around you. I can't imagine that a person can ever grow bored. There is so much we... I do not know!" she told. "Why should the gods be strict about their Underworld rules? I mean, there are plenty of stories, where they themselves are not good at observing them." 
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Perhaps I am wrong, but it stands to reason. Given that Demi gods are powerful, and not entirely gods. They are not constrained by the same rules as the all knowing. But perhaps I have that wrong and they can simply hurt them.

Ash Paw listened. I don't know maybe we will. Though one could argue that would they be different or just the same gods in charge of different things. Take for example Ares and Mars. In Greek myths Ares is god of war, violence etc. He is angry, tempermental and so forth. Mars in roman myth is the same god, but he is more level headed, less tempermental, relies more on strategy than brute strength. It is the same god and yet it isn't?

Ash Paw smiled at the girl. Well that would be if you think they were the same thing. In Greek Mythology fate is different than gods. They are a separate entity and the gods do not have anything to do with the three sisters.

A soft hum in her throat. They must be strict because of the different beliefs. Some believe in reincarnation, some believe in an afterlife, some believe in nothing, but space. There must be balance, otherwise the dead would come back to the living and no one would die and it would be utter chaos!

Ash Paw lifted her paws in the air, and widened her eyes as she grew into the fervor of the topic at hand.
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#62
"Who do you think would win in a fight? A Zeus or one of your bear gods?" Dwin asked, realizing that this question might insult Ash Paw (and probably not the first time during this conversation), but there was a new theory behind this. "I think your bears would win. Do you know why? In your belief system all the world power is divided between two entities. Greeks divided all the power between many. Strictly speaking - yours got more power points than the lot living up on the hill," she finished. 

"So - strictly speaking - my fate depends on, what I want to believe in? In the end there are only two options - either you believe that everything is predestined and live accordingly. Or you decide that nothing is certain at all and... move with the flow," she said. "I got an idea - what if... wouldn't it be an interesting power, if the Dark Lord of the Underworld made bargains with souls? A dead soul of your choice for a living one? That should technically not upset the balance, right?" Dwin was not sure, what she would want to exchange souls for, but having it as a some kind of odd currency, sounded morbidly fascinating. 
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#63
Ash Paw was not entirely certain how to answer that question so she took a moment to think about it. That is hard to answer. Zeus has lightning and the sky, but Atka is the god of all living things, so they could probably give as good as they got and Sos, well death and chaos may beat lightning too.

Ash Paw tapped her feet. This is true. I didn't think of it that way. I like your answer better than mine.

Yes and no. There are many that have no belief system, that simply try to be good wolves or chaotic wolves, whichever they prefer. There are also those that choose to not believe in anything and since they don't believe in anything their choices don't matter. There are many belief systems and I have known many that took different lessons, from multiple areas. There are not just the bears of ATka and Sos, or the Greeks or the Romans, There is those that believe in one god, there are those that feel a mother of god holds more power. And so many more.

Ash Paw raised a paw, and blinked. Well again it comes down to your belief system. You believe in fate or balance, then if you take one life for another, what about all the descendants that now won't happen or the like. Which will then completely alter the time line of many wolves. Think of how many wolves you have met in your life, that your family has met. Every little interaction.
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#64
Thinking about time travel, logics and consequences of it was the same way as wondering, how big the universe actually was. The deeper you delved in the subject, the more complicated it got and the less knowledgable you felt about it. Same went to all the "what if" scenarios and trousers of time - moving through the world was kind of like swimming. With every stroke you made the water molecules shift and in the end you would never find out, how far-reaching were the results of just one action. Dwin found these topics fascinating, but at the moment did not feel like pursuing them in detail. It required proper mindset and timing. 

"Here's is an idea - if you go back in time and kill a person, who becomes a bloodthirsty and mad dictator in the future," Dwin began. "Would that really prevent bad things from happening? Or according to the theory of balance - someone else would come in his or her place?" she paused to let this question sink in. "And then... what if this bad, bad wolf does a lot of harm, but at the same time changes paths of other people, who end up to do a lot of good? Would it still be worth of killing a person in the past, who is to become a despot in the future?" she added. 
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#65
Ash Paw often had wondered as a child, if there were only one universe or if they were simply a pocket of a universe in a multitude of other universes. The questions had been relentless. Though she had thought she had outgrown them. Though her love of gods and knowledge of herbs and the like showed that perhaps that was not to be so.

I think it would depend again. And someone that is worse may come into play, versus someone who was bad, but still not as bad as the other one.

Ash Paw frowned and moved her head. I heard someone say once that for Heroes to stand up, we need tyrants. So I believe that this is true. I think that killing is never worth it, unless the circumstances dictate it. But then you have to ask yourself what dictates murder? What makes it okay to do something so horrific?
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"Well... I murder deer and rodents, and lagomorphs to feed myself. The reason, why I do it, is because I do not see them as equal to my species. If I did not eat, I would not survive. So their death means that I live. Come to think of it... I am a combination of numerous deaths," Dwin mused, wondering, how many dead bodies had contributed as building blocks for her living ones. 

"And I think - I have never met a wolf, who killed another - that maybe it is something similar. Maybe murdering another wolf in the eyes of the killer is the same as killing a mouse for a meal," she suggested. "Maybe... I dunno for sure of all the justifications, but, if you do not consider other's life worth preserving, consider them being things, something disposable or maybe edible... well, then you kill. Just like that," she finished and did not quite like the idea of becoming an object in someone else's designation of the world around them. 

"Have you met a wolf that has eaten another wolf?" she asked. "Do you think that they devoured not only flesh, but the soul as well?"
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Ash Paw snorted and covered her nose for a minute. The last part caused her endless amusement. Well I find that is a bit poetic that we all are a combination of numerous deaths. Though I do not consider that murder. That seems like more a circle of life thing. We kill them right, but then when we die, our bodies feed them, birds, rats, bugs, and the soil. Then the grass grows, which then feeds the deer, rabbits and squirrels so it comes full circle.

She tilted her head. However if you hurt or murder another just because you can. That is when it is murder.

She shook her head. I haven't and I hope I don't ever. But I don't think the consume the soul too. I think that is something separate entirely.
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"But it seems to me that in the end the distinction of whether a murder is murder or a necessity of life or something poetic lies in your beliefs," Dwin concluded, because that was exactly, what Ash Paw implied. What did make a wolf life different from that of the prey they ate? Good thing that the young Blackthorn was not attempting to become a 100% saint in her life, consuming only water and sunlight until she withered and died. "Someone might believe that murdering other wolves is not dissimilar to us hunting and killing other creatures. That is, what we do, don't we? Why are some animals within that circle of life sooner than us?" she asked. 

"So - do you think that reincarnation happens twice? Like once, when your soul goes somewhere new and twice, when your shell turns into other creatures," she wondered. "Oh, do you think my dead aunt has also disintegrated from a single being to - say - thousand and thousand little worms. And what if all those worms have a collective mind that is hers? Mom said,"
and again - I will note that this implication did not prove that Maia had ever claimed such a thing, "that bees have a collective mind."
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#69
Ash Paw studied her. But we aren't murdering the creatures we eat. We are killing them to consume. Murder is just that murder. You just take someone's life and that's the end of it. There's no consumption. Nothing. Just death, usually violent and bloody. There is no need behind it.

Ash Paw didn't know how else to explain her thought process, but murder was not the same as killing to eat. That was a hill she'd wage war on.

Other animals kill wolves. So are they murdering or eating?

Ash Paw spoke soflty. I think again it depends on your beliefs. Some believe that reincarnation happens over and over again until you reach peak life. Other's believe you only reincarnate three times to make it to Elysium.

I would not want to think so horrifying thoughts about my aunt. However, she may have came back a something with a collective mind hive.
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"So, according to your knowledge, if I kill a wolf to eat it, it is not a murder, but a necessity for me to survive?" Dwin did not like this explanation very much. "Or is it a matter of perspective again... I think that for any hare my necessity to kill it for food is the same as a murder?" but she was careful not to delve too deep in this particular argument, because she did not want to end up feeling too sorry for her lunch and surely she could not survive on water and sunlight alone. "If I eat plants - does it count as a murder too?" she referred to those occasions, when she had eaten grass. "Or... if I pluck off the heads of dandelions for fun - is it still a murder or a violent dismemberment?" she figured that it could be both. 

"Why just three times and what is Elysium?" she asked. 
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Though I would find it distasteful. Yes if you were hungry enough to kill and eat a wolf. I would consider that survival. No one knows the real extent anyone would go for survival. Some would eat their brothers and sisters in order to survive. But you are also correct in that it is a matter of perspective.

Ash Paw chucked. There are some that believe plants and trees are as alive as animals, just perhaps not sentient. Though to pop the heads of dandelions would be foolish, they can be used to treat things. Ash paw smiled and shook he head with gentle bemusement.

In the greek and roman religions, more so greek. A wolf who wishes to be a hero can try for three times to get into Elysium. This is a pocket of afterlife where those who have been given immortality by gods can stay and live out their days. But they have to become a hero, a legend. Like Hercules, like Perseus.
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"You know... I think that there is no right answer there in the end. One man's friend is the other one's meal," Dwin concluded with a sigh. "Though I do not like the prospect of ever becoming someone's lunch, like ever, I should probably be careful and see, where it takes me in the end. And if I do get eaten - well, that's just one way to go," she finished this topic, glad that she would not have to discuss this in the future ever again. Together with Ash Paw they had come to a golden middle-way of a very important problem. 

"Is that pocket of afterlife any worse or better than the others? How many pockets are there? What are pockets?"
Dwin had all her attention on the next subject on the seemingly never-ending list of things to talk about. It did not look like Ash Paw had got too tired either. "I don't think I would want to become a hero. I would want my life to be interesting. What do you want your life to be?" she asked, once Ash Paw had filled in on the first three questions.
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Ash Paw loosed a small breath of relief. She wasn't sure how much more of that topic she could talk about. It was getting a little too in depth, and it had made her slightly uncomfortable. Especially given that she had realized if it came down to survival, she would probably do such a thing and then the fleeting that had horrified her so much, it had almost made her ill. 

The Greeks thinks so. They strive for Elysium, but Greek mythology and culture and stories are full of heroes. So it makes sense that they would strive for such a thing, for to get into Elysium one must be a hero and not just any hero, but a perfect hero. Mind, body, soul.

She had heard stories of them, but all Greek myths had the same deep down feeling. There was always a hero and there was always a god backing the said hero and usually their life was tragic to start. 

Oh a small space, or um area. You know that seems sort of otherworldly, out of touch with what is around them. Did you ever come across a space that just seemed so different than everything else, like it was it's own little world. That is a pocket.

Whether I were a hero or not. I would just like my life to mean something whether to me or someone else it doesn't matter. As long as it means something to someone.
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"Ooooh.... that sounds like a mind palace," Dwin exclaimed excitedly. "You know, where you have pockets and pockets of memories that you can revisit, when you wish to," she explained. "But I do not understand it whole and I don't think my mind could hold that many pockets," meaning that at this point in life Dwin's brain was an organized chaos. She had a good memory, but it was not calibrated on anything. It processed everything that was tossed at it and saved/deleted files randomly. 

"But I think... have you done world-building in your dreams?" she asked, inspired by yet another sudden thought. "I have these some recurring dreams time from time. They are always the same and they consist of a place that I have totally come up with. And it feels real. Maybe that is kind of a pocket too. Inside dreams," she told. "Mom told me that there have been people, who are able to leave their body while sleeping and travel, wherever they want. But they always need to be careful, because there might be body-less souls wandering around and they could hijack yours. Or... even worse - you might forget, where your body is!"
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#75
There was so much that this girl spoke of. Her interests were varied and wide. The healer had long ago lost the thread of the conversation, and now she was merely holding on for dear life. There would be much to ruminate on later.

Many of my pockets are full of knowledge of gods and herbs. There's probably nothing else left to fit in there. She smiled at her and tilted her head. She liked to think her brain was organized, that her thoughts had some semblance of originality and organization, but perhaps they didn't. 

Perhaps not worldbuilding, but i have made up stories in my brain to go to sleep too. Sometimes it helps, when it's a restless night and i have no herbs to help ease me into sleep. There are plants that can cause you to have dreams like that as well. Lucid dreaming.

Astral projection is waht that is. And it is a frightening concept, but they say there are some that can do it while they are awake. Again there are herbs that can help it along.