The six-winged Vulana had mixed unique cocktails for each of her guests; recipes that Blue had never seen before, using ingredients that were closer to magical reagents than food or drink. Even with her webbed wings folded up, the sheer bulk of the three-meter tall Vulana was substantial. It fascinated the acrobatic Phee to no end to see how the Elder moved so precisely, avoiding so much as a single careless graze of any of the fragile glassware in the bar with so little outward effort.
How long had it been since they had each downed their drinks as Vulana had demanded? Even now she watched them all with a gaze that reminded Phee strongly of Rolynd evaluating their every move. But, unlike the feeling she got from Rolynd; that he would always use what he learned in support of Phee’s best interests, the imposing, three-meter tall Vulana gave off a very different vibe. One that suggested that a single mistake could very well be their last.
Someone materialised in the flowery meadow. A blonde woman of average height and strong build, wearing plate armour with blue and orange livery; a knight of Al Dherjza.
“…L-Lumie?” Elwin stuttered out.
With a knowing smile, Lumie walked up the flowery knoll that had begun to blend into an indecipherable swirl of bright colours. She took a seat at the bar on Elwin’s left, her metal boots clanking on the supposed metal footrest of the stool. Elwin was too intoxicated to question the act of her taking a fourth seat that didn’t exist; Vulana had only ever constructed three.
“Hey there, Elwin, right? Long time no see.” Lumie said with a friendly smile. It was like no time had passed between them at all. Stray strands of hair fell across her face. She tucked them behind her ear with her index finger.
“I- Yes! Wow, you remember me… I’m so happy that you remember me!” Elwin blurted out. He furrowed his brows in seeming confusion. “But, why are you-”
“Now now, ” Lumie said, interrupting his question. Now, she was inexplicably holding a wooden mug up as if to take a sip. “I know you missed me, but there’s something I need to know.”
“What is it?” Elwin asked attentively.
“What is it that you really want?” Lumie asked with the most dazzling smile. “you can’t seriously have come all this way, just to see me?” the knight asked with an innocently tilted head.
This is a test! Some resilient part of Elwin’s coddled mind screamed. But the thought was quickly washed away in a tide of confused contentment.
“I-, but… but I really did come all this way to see you,” Elwin said with sincerity, looking into Lumie’s eyes for a reaction. It was immediate. The knight’s most surprised look mirrored Vulana’s, eyebrows high on her face. In the case of the Elder, it was a sight that could only be observed once in a century.
“W-wow… I’m flattered.” Lumie said, blushing. Now it was her turn to stutter. What more could be said? But Vulana still had some things she needed answered. “But what about saving the world, meeting ADAM? There’s no need to put yourself in so much danger.”
“I… I don’t know. To be completely honest with you, I haven’t had a solid plan at any point since leaving my home. I’ve just been making it up as it comes. Now that you’re here- I mean, now that I’m here, I don’t know what to do... I want to say that I’m here to save the world, but I don’t think that I can make a difference. How can I? I’m just one elf that hasn’t even seen twenty-two summers!”
At this, Lumie wasn’t sure how to respond. “…Well, I think it's pretty admirable that you’ve come this far.”
“One person can change the world, regardless of who they are. Especially here on Apolaphia! That is why ADAM awaits! And… if every individual changes, so too does the world. Do not give up on yourself; you deny great the power everyone holds deep within.” Vulana interjected. She clapped her scaly, clawed hands, sending a jolt of purple electricity to Elwin’s temple, shocking him to sobriety.
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Elwin glanced back to where Lumie had been sitting, but there was only a dark, empty space. He looked sad… and gradually more confused. Even as he sat there, the very memory of his conversation faded away into weightless mist, like a dream that evaporated in the light of the morning sun.
“You will have to forgive me, Elwin,” Vulana said, taking note of his forlorn expression. “But you have done well. The world needs people like you; who are honest with themselves. In recompense for your dour mood, you can watch your companions face their Trials.”
“I… think I understand?” Elwin said simply, swallowing whatever emotion had been rising up in his throat.
Meanwhile, both Phee and Blue had completely ignored the other two, lost in her trance.
“I have always thought that ‘James’ is the strangest name. Should it not be ‘Jame’? Why is it pluralised?” Blue was wondering to herself. But suddenly, she came to some sort of attention with a jolt. “…Has my cognition been compromised?”
Vulana regarded the cyborg carefully. The act of drinking her cocktails caused the consumer to complete the magic circle, activating her spell and allowing it to affect them. The spell, a power of the conceptual level, should have held regardless of differences in an individual’s biology (or lack thereof).
But after a few seconds, it seemed that Blue had failed to regain her lucidity, despite her frighteningly self-aware comment. Vulana clapped her hands once more, sending a spark flying at Blue’s nose. The intoxicated cyborg flinched and blinked. Her eyes were drawn to a new figure behind the bar.
“This… this is most improbable, to say the least,” Blue said.
“…Another Elder?” Elwin wondered aloud. Blue didn’t react at all. Vulana, Elwin and the catatonic Phee were all but invisible in the electronic elf’s transfixed eyes.
A fairy stood about five feet tall, her head barely above the bar. Her body and six wings were made from transparent glass, perfectly clear.
“Greetings, ‘Blue’, I am R̶̲̦̾̀ȇ̵̫n̶͎̯̂͝s̷̲̃͝a̵̧͕͝. I have been watching you for some time now.” said the Elder.
“Rensa… yes. Elder Fairy Rensa. I have heard of you, Eye of ADAM.”
“Outstanding. I would expect no less, though I am most curious to know if you are truly as intelligent and knowledgeable as you have appeared to be. Would you humour me enough to answer my quandaries?” Rensa asked
“Of course, Elder. Please do not humble yourself enough to ask my permission; your word is my command.”
The glassy Elder’s wings flapped like a hummingbird’s to lift her weight as she leant forward over the bar, filling Blue’s sight with her transparent face. The view of the various bottles in Vulana’s collection behind her was distorted into a multicoloured piece of art.
“Are you aware that ADAM claims that the omniscient Creator is in control of all things?
“Yes. I believe it is called ‘destiny’ or ‘fate’; a series of events that inevitably occur. The story of one’s lifetime.”
“Mmm, almost. The details of an event can vary across timelines, but yes, your general understanding is correct. Good… and in knowing ADAM claims that the Creator remains in ultimate control of all things, do you believe free will can exist?”
Blue seemed to pause for a moment in thought. Free will was the ability to act of one’s volition, without the pressures of necessity or fate.
Destiny suggested some level of predetermination, events that inexorably occurred regardless of choice. Those that believed destiny governed reality would say that free will was just an illusion. Even such a mundane decision as to eat cake, or not eat cake; proponents of destiny would call this apparent choice not a choice at all. Indeed, as early as Earth’s 21st century, plenty of scientific research had documented evidence of decisions being made by one’s subconscious mind, even to the extent that brainwaves of the subconscious mind could be read to predict the outcome of a conscious decision. Therefore, it could be argued that one’s conscious decisions weren’t freely made at all. Without being aware of the exact nature of how the subconscious mind operated, there was always room for people to argue that destiny ruled.
Well, although the subconscious mind may be making the decisions instead of the conscious mind, it is still making decisions, and there are still choices to be made. There is still free will… even if it may not be the will of the conscious mind. Thought Blue to herself.
Blue knew that the subconscious mind can be changed and influenced, grown and pruned like a prized pippafig plant. And with her knowledge, she knew how to consciously manipulate the subconscious, to shape it as she desired.
Therefore, one has free will, provided that they had the presence of mind to change their mindset, their personality, to discipline the mind to react a certain way to certain choices.
But destiny did not only operate in the subconscious. What about the actions of others, that could not be controlled? ADAM claimed that destiny ruled…
It was a conundrum. By definition, it would seem that free will and destiny were incompatible. How could one act of free will, if one’s decisions were predetermined, destined to occur outside one’s control? If Blue believed free will existed, then it seemed that she was contradicting what ADAM professed to be the truth.