Before the Saga [DDC 2017] Mirror of the Knowing Soul--OC's--Deleted

More from the Moodyverse—hooray!

I like the concept of this already from this short entry. Reincarnation is of course a recurring theme in stories within your universe, but what's especially compelling here is that this particular story is going to address the issue of the very last reincarnation—we now know that there are a limited number of them, that the cycle eventually comes to the end, and that reincarnation doesn't mean "lives forever" in whichever way(s) we Earthers often tend to think of it.

It turns out that this short entry answers a few questions that were in my mind about the phenomenon of reincarnation: yes, it looks like one can take on the form of the opposite sex, or even of something not usually considered sentient, like a tree (and I bet that was therapeutic). Also interesting is that yes, the adept does learn and gain wisdom from the previous incarnations, but the process isn't totally cumulative, and memories don't just continue to constantly build up the way they do with, say, the Trill symbionts of Star Trek lore. The memory will come later, as part of the final joining with the Shining World—and the idea that perfect memory is part of ultimate enlightenment is a super cool one.

And of course I smiled upon recognizing several other names in the preamble paragraphs: Chevor, Aduman, and of course Meaithe. I have a feeling that what we have seen of those three in previous stories featuring them is going to end up being only the tips of three very big, very deep-penetrating icebergs.

Glad to see more of this universe, and looking forward to the next installment!

 

The Cosmic Rose! It's wonderful to see that beautiful motif not just continued here but also expanded upon in such exquisite detail—it's kind of like the mystical rose at the center of heaven in Dante's Paradiso (and of course I'm curious to know if that was part of the inspiration—apologies if I've asked you that already). Though different too, because it's not just a final destination—it's also (in the starlike center of the rose) the source of all new souls. And the way
a rose's petals fold into each other is the perfect way of expressing the interconnectedness of the various planes of existence.

I have to say, I appreciate very much that your afterlife is available to all beings, and not just to Force sensitives (and indeed we saw in the prequels that even only certain Force-sensitives got to the point where they could become blue ghosts). Also, I like that this universe has something akin to the bodhisattvas of Buddhism: people who achieve enlightenment and are worthy of nirvana (or the Oneness, in this case) but opt instead either to help out with the work of the Universal Archives (and with all those trillions of memories, I bet that's by no means trivial work) or to go back to the physical world to teach others about the afterlife and help them achieve enlightenment.

Of course, Nellith's own personal remarks on her opinion of the Oneness throw an interesting wrench into things—but in a good way! Her words of caution about the total loss of identity attendant upon joining the Oneness are well taken, and I don't blame her for not being eager to achieve that particular brand of enlightenment. There's a lot to ponder there, almost paradoxically so, as Nellith observes. I'll keep pondering myself, as well as thanking the Eternal Light that I have such good guides in you and Nellith!