leicesters | IC INBOX: isleofavalon

[ she had been faintly curious about figures and locales related to this place having reflections in the folklore and history of other worlds. it had occurred to her then that the possibility existed of other worlds having some similar echoes in others. so, out of curiosity, she'd begun trying to cross-reference certain words and variations at the library, and her brows had certainly gone up the further she went on this little personal project.

it may not mean anything. but it's certainly interesting, she thinks. ]

I've done some digging, and other worlds seem to have some echoes of home. Or we have echoes of other places? Just like the legends of King Arthur in some other worlds. I don't know what it means, but it's interesting.

Have you looked into this yourself, Claude?

Hi Teach! As a matter of fact, I have.

It first started when I wondered about Excalibur. That sword is the reason we're all in this mess to begin with, so I figured it was safe to assume at least some of its properties are similar to the Sword of the Creator. I saw the kind of things you were able to do with it in the Sealed Forest, just like the calamity threatening to tear the worlds apart.

Interestingly, my own Hero's Relic shares the name of a bow wielded by one of Arthur's knights. There are other things too, but they stood out to me the most. Did you turn up anything interesting?

People, places, things. Weapons and spells. It's extensive. Near everything I think to check has some reflection.

Mine and my mother's names were among them, which was

unsettling.

[ after a beat: ]

Here's some of what I've discovered.

[ and she attaches a screenshot of her notes app. ]

Adrestia, "she who cannot be escaped", a nymph who helped raise the Greek god Zeus, and an epithet for both:
- Nemesis, Greek goddess of retribution and revolt
- Rhea, mother goddess of the earth
Fergus mac Róich, a legendary king from Irish mythology
Leicester, a city in Britain
Brigid, Irish goddess, daughter of:
- the Dagda, an Irish god
Enbarr, horse in Irish myth that could traverse land and sea
Arianrhod, figure of Welsh myth
Myrddin, a Welsh name for Merlin
Airmid, Irish goddess of healing
Ferdiad, foster brother of Irish hero Cu Chulainn
Derdriu, tragic Irish heroine
Ailill, legendary Irish king
Agartha, legendary kingdom in the Earth's core

Just what I'd expect from you, Teach. Fódlan's history is shrouded in so much fog it's hard to say what any of those similarities mean, and it's not like Rhea's here to poke her brains about it.

[...Although that's probably for the best, with this Byleth from another world and Edelgard around.]

I don't suppose Sothis ever dropped any hints to you about any of this back when she was around, did she?

[ whatever she might have had to say to the beginning of that gets overshadowed by that comment. ]

I'd end her again if she was.

[ but more importantly... ]

Sothis hardly had any more insights into the world than I did. Though, she is one of the odder similarities I ran across. Her Earth namesake seems like a personification of the Blue Sea Star.

[yeeeah let's move quickly on from Rhea shall we]

Her namesake? Mind elaborating a bit?

On Earth, Sothis is what the Greeks called the Egyptian goddess Sopdet, the personification of a bright blue star called Sirius. It seems the Egyptians measured the year by Sirius's place in the sky.

No way! Did you know there's an Egyptian god right here in Camelot? His name is Set, he's helped me out a few times. Why don't we ask him about it?

In fact, I'm sure there are plenty of people from other worlds with connections to ours, not just him. We could ask all kinds of people and get all kinds of answers.

[ set's certainly a name she came across, but one she largely ignored because it hadn't seemed significant. ]

I wasn't aware. This is all just what I'd expect from you.

What do you say we try to unravel these mysteries together? If only for curiosity's sake.

[ besides, there's a chance—however slight—that it might offer them some insight into the calamity threatening the worlds, if they can begin to understand their common threads. ]

Sounds like fun. I've used the network to great effect before back when the vote was happening, so if we do something similiar, I'm sure we can get some interesting answers.

I suppose the easiest thing to do would be to start with your list, and go from there. Is that okay with you?

I would be fine with that. Though some of what I've found is more

disconcerting? See for yourself.

Sitri, 12th demon of the Ars Goetia
Byleth, 13th demon of the Ars Goetia

Hraesvelgr, a giant eagle of Norse myth, whose wings create the wind
Bestla, Norse giantess, mother of the god Odin
Aegir, Norse sea god
Hevring, a daughter of Aegir
Charon, Greek psychopomp, ferryman who carries souls to the underworld
Galatea, recurring name in Greek myth, typically a woman treated as an object of desire
Blaiddyd, legendary king of the Britons and a distant predecessor of Arthur, father of:
- Leir, legendary founder of Leicester
Regan, middle daughter of legendary king Leir
Goneril, eldest of the same
Cordelia, youngest of Leir's daughters and a queen of the Britons
Gloucester, earl loyal to Leir in a famous version of the story
Edmund, bastard son of Gloucester
Lugh, a prominent god of Irish myth
Cichol, first leader of the Fomorians, supernatural evil creatures from beneath the earth and sea in Irish myth
Cethleann, Fomorian grandmother of Lugh
Indech, a Fomorian king
Macuil, grandson of the Dagda and one of Lugh's killers

Honestly, I focused most of my research on Arthur's stories, so the fact you've figured this much out already is amazing, Teach. Guess you'll always be the academy professor!

I wonder if that world stole all its ideas from Fódlan, or if it was Fódlan that somehow did the same... There's way too much there for it all to be one big coincidence.

The fact that Dagda's name is in there too, even in passing, makes me wonder if the similarities extend beyond Fódlan's borders. There's a lot to think about.

One connection spiraled into the next. It began as curiosity, but I'd spent hours at it before I realized...

Brigid and Dagda's names had me wonder the same thing. It wouldn't surprise me if the connections are wider than Fódlan, but I know very little of the the rest of our world. I'd like to change that.

Edited 2021-06-11 23:41 (UTC)

Once things settle down back home, you could track that other me down. I bet I'd be happy to show you around my homeland. Edelgard too, if she's not up to her neck in Empire stuff.

It's more likely I'd be accompanying her on a state visit. The Emperor would want her marshal close at hand, even to the court of an old friend.

But I'm sure we'll both be happy to see more of it, once public life is behind us.

It's my father's court, Teach, not mine. But I'm sure I can butter up my parents for you to make something official happen, provided you're treating the old Alliance territories well.

Then I'm sure we'll both look forward to it, when the time comes. It might be great inspiration for Edelgard's painting, too.

Come to think of it, Ignatz once mentioned wanting to see Almyra with a certain someone for the sake of his art. I bet the landscapes would inspire any painter.

IC INBOX: isleofavalon

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