Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Welcome to 'Medierth Interviews'! I am your host, Viti. And tonight, we have our very first interview with one of the world's Planars. It is both a humbling and amazing feeling to be in the presence of a Planar, given all the legends around them. Without further ago, allow me to present our first of hopefully many more stars - no pun intended. Good evening, Miss Asuna.

Asuna: "It's alright. You can skip the 'Miss' part."

Viti: "Oh, sorry. I guess I'm a little nervous. After all, there's this whole story about people losing it if they ever see a Planar."

Asuna: "That's only if they see a Planar's true form. That's why we all use Surrogacy for one reason or another."

Viti: "I see. Well, let's begin with the questions. You're known as the Planar of the Stars and the Night Sky... but what exactly do you do? And what is the actual scope of your domain?"

Asuna: "First off, all Planars are known for more than just titles. Some even call me the White Dancer because they depict me as white as starlight. As for the dancer part, it's because it is my duty to guide the stars in the night sky."

Viti: "But aren't stars like... balls of fire in the sky? That's what the people at the Academia have begun to say."

Asuna: "But there's also the belief that every star in the sky holds a soul. And... in the Old World before Medierth, it was very hard to find stars in the sky. Humans couldn't stop themselves from lighting up the night or filling the air with pollution. It grew to the point where the only lights in the night sky were the handmade objects they sent high above to world. I'm sure you heard stories of shooting stars granting wishes? Well, imagine if there were no stars to wish upon."

Viti: "Okay... um... that's food for thought. Back to the questions... So, what is your relationship with the other Planars? Do you see yourselves as family?"

Asuna: "No, and yes. I guess it's complicated. Lupa and I are sisters. Lupa treats Raemu as an uncle, even though we aren't related. Eligius and Scyens treat one another as adoptive father and adopted son. Prolectae is a good friend. Oerbus, Progeny and Xelnos... that's a complicated issue. Xelnos and Progeny can't stand one another, and Oerbus isn't usually around much. Panyus... she's almost like a grandmother, and she's the only one Xelnos respects. Only... she tends to do things on her own for whatever reason."

Viti: "Speaking of 'complicated', what was your relationship like with Reveen?"

Asuna: heavy sigh "Let me make this clear as day: there are a lot of stories floating around about Magelords and I, and nearly all of them are false. As for Reveen... we are family. You can take that as you want, but I'd rather not say more."

Viti: "Sorry if I struck a chord. Let's switch over from Magelord to Magelady. Since you chose the star that became her, doesn't that make you her mother?"

Asuna: frustrated "Like I said before, stars contain souls. All I did was choose one. I didn't give birth to her!"

Viti: "Oh... I'm sorry. I, um... I was going to ask something about you two, but I guess I'll have to scrap it."

Asuna: "Whatever it is, you're not ready to hear it..."

Viti: "I see... um... So, about Karyana. How did you react when she got split into separate people?"

Asuna: "I... sigh I knew it was meant to happen because of Panyus' prophecy, but... it still hurt. Fate can be cruel. I know that things turned out for the better in the end, but..."

(Long silence)

Viti: "Maybe we should switch to some lighter questions. So, um... about the late Valara-"

Asuna: "No."

Viti: "But I didn't-"

Asuna: "Just because I changed her body from metal to flesh doesn't mean that I'm in any way related to her. I mean... when artists create stories, pictures or sculptures, do you call that 'giving birth'?"

Viti: "Fine... let's move on to some easier questions then. What do you do for fun?"

Asuna: "Aside from dancing?"

Viti: "Yes."

Asuna: "Well, I like to talk to Asuna, tending to the Celestial Garden, and pulling pranks on the other Planars. Raemu is so serious that it's easy to tick him off."

Viti: "What about living? I mean, are you and the other Planars as capable as other mortals of having emotions?"

Asuna: "You witnessed that moments ago. I think the only ones who aren't as good with emotions are Scyens and Progeny. Scyens tends to be a bit flaky, always trying to be the moderator... and Progeny acts like a wise old man at times."

Viti: "Do you wish to be mortal one day?"

Asuna: "Some of us do. Me... I don't know yet."

Viti: "Some wonder about other possible deities. Given that you have knowledge of the Old World, do you consider yourself as ladylike as other moon goddesses?"

Asuna: "I don't remember all of the previous goddesses, so I can't really answer. I'm just... I'm just trying to be myself."

Viti: "Speaking of remembering, what would your happiest memory?"

Asuna: "It's... honestly a bit hard to remember the happy moments. When you live a very long time, moments like that can be fleeting. But having other people see me dance makes eternity less painful."

Viti: "And... I'm not sure if I should ask that, but... what about your worst one?"

Asuna: "This will probably be a surprise to you, so I hope you're ready for it."

Viti: "...okay?"

Asuna: "Long before Medierth was named as such, we somehow survived the end of the Old World. We had to wait for who knows how long until we could leave. Mother volunteered to be the first to go out, soon followed by Eligius. Mother came back with hand-picked apples. None of us knew it, but those apples somehow made us the Planars we are now. Yet somehow... Mother died years later after giving birth... Everything started falling apart after that. Father became depressed and tried to find the apples that made us Planars. On day, he did come back... but something was wrong. He tried force-feeding them to us... to me. Lupa snapped back and nearly killed him, and then ran off. He came back to his senses some time later. Years after that, Lupa marched unto us with an army and demanded Father's head... only for him to apologize for failing her. Instead... she ran him through with her sword... right in front of us..."

Viti: "That's... quite the story. Um... are you afraid that this could happen to you? Or do you have some other thing you're really afraid of?"

Asuna: "I don't want to be alone."

Viti: "I'm sorry?"

Asuna: "The only reason that I can handle being a Planar is that I have people around me. People who suffered, survived, and live through their pain. People who share the same road I've been on. If some day I ended up being the only Planar left... I don't think I could bear it."

Viti: "So... for the moment... would you say that you're happy with your life?"

Asuna: "...No. I'm not happy... but I'm trying my hardest to fix that."

Viti: "You did speak a little about Oerbus, so let's talk about dreams. Do you have a secret one that you wouldn't mind sharing?"

Asuna: "...My dream is that one day, I can be happy with my family."

Viti: "Do you mean having one of your own?"

Asuna: "I meant every word I said."

Viti: confused "Oh... kay... um... do you have any friends?"

Asuna: "Aside from Prolectae?"

Viti: "Yes."

Asuna: "I don't. Planars are supposed to not interact directly with mortals."

Viti: What about Lupa?"

Asuna: "She broke the rules. Sure, she uses a Surrogate, but she spends nearly all of her time with mortals. She even instated a religion based solely on herself in Gon'an."

Viti: "This may sound like an odd question, but do Planars eat?"

Asuna: "Yes. We were mortal once, so we still eat to remember what being mortal is like. We don't need sustenance as much as you, though."

Viti: "Since you are called the 'White Dancer', do you actually enjoy dancing?"

Asuna: "Not always, but it's something that keeps me in touch with my former mortality. Like Scyens with books or Eligius with plants."

Viti: "One last question, and it's about Magelord Demyan. Was he born like Magelady Karyana? From a star?"

Asuna: "...No. Every time a Magelord dies, a fragment of Reveen's soul is reincarnated into a new body to live as a mortal, grow up and hopefully become the next Magelord. That... hasn't always happened. Of all the many attempts to return, only thirteen of his reincarnations have become Magelords. Reveen is the last one."

Viti: "You mean the latest one."

Asuna: "I meant every word I said."

Viti: "Okay... um... I think we can end the interview here... Is there... um... anything you want to tell our audience before we finish?"

Asuna: "I want to apologize to Asha for what happened to her, and I promise that I will make it up to her soon."