(Un)Pleasantview - Interlude II: Macbeth's Letter
To my Lolita,
It feels like only yesterday that you were a little girl.
To think it has been nearly a millennium since I last saw you.
Where has the time gone?
We are doing well, if you were wondering. The Eternal Realm is everything the All-Mother promised. Perhaps even more.
The access to knowledge I have here is astonishing. All our ancestors, the ancients live here among us, like there is not a day difference in our age or upbringing. They share their wisdom, in exchange for ours. I have met many heroes of our kind. And I have learned far more about what it means to be fae as a result.
I’m certain you remember my fascination with immortality. Why are we immortal? What makes us different from our mortal counterparts? Why do they die, and we do not?
I found my answer.
His name is Jacob. We call him ‘The Elder’. He is very much what the Elders in the Circle of Fae back on the Earthly Plane are. The oldest, the wisest and the most honoured of our kind.
Except of course, he is The Elder.
The oldest of our kind created alongside the mortal Peter by the All-Mother to ease Her loneliness.
I know, darling. I did not believe it at first either.
But he is Jacob. The one the humans like to talk so much about.
What does that sect call themselves again? Jacobans?
Apparently history has forgotten he has pointy ears.
Despite his unorthodox view on the All-Mother (he does not, for example, address Her as such), he has been quite forthcoming about what he knows of immortality.
Now, how to explain it as well as he did.
He calls it the Cosmos. Other ancients prefer ‘Limbo’. It is the space between worlds. It is where magic is drawn from. It is what created the All-Mother.
And it is where souls rests.
Mortals are born with their souls connected to their bodies.
As a result, harm the physical body enough, and Death will eventually present itself.
But we, the immortal, our souls are not connected to our bodies. They remain in this ‘Limbo’. Out of our reach. Out of another’s reach.
Out of Death’s reach.
We are born with a physical body that can never die.
Usually Limbo is untouchable. We may draw from its magic, but we cannot breach the Cosmos itself. It is why magic has a limit.
However, there is one moment in a fae’s life where they can breach the Cosmos. Where the ‘gate’ that keeps it locked away is opened.
Ever wondered why we cannot return to the Earthly Plane once we have departed to the Eternal Realm?
We have touched that which we must not. We have been exposed to raw energy.
The magic we are capable of here…it is spectacular! And also dangerous.
I wish you could see it, my darling.
I know.
Your mother has told me of your attempted…departure.
And how the All-Mother’s spectral companion had rejected you.
I cannot help but live with the fear that it has something to do with that night.
I still cannot recall anything. All I remember is darkness. Perhaps some flashes of things, but none of them are clear.
It’s like I was possessed.
Maybe I was?
But if so, the All-Mother should punish me. Not you.
We must live with the consequences of our actions. We must accept our choices. That was the first thing I taught you. And yet, here I am, happy in the Eternal Realm with your mother.
And Nym.
Sweet Nym. She reminds me a lot of your mother. But she is scatterbrained, like Elfin. No matter. He is a good man, I am glad your mother found him after I departed.
But what about you? And that human boy? The one you brought home and expected to keep?
Did you spend those 60 years with him? Were you happy? Do you have children?
I suppose I will never know. Unless your children join us here one day.
I hope that wherever you are, you are happy. This letter will never reach you, but know that I love you. Very much. You are my darling little girl. And for what it is worth, I am sorry.
Your father,
Macbeth
Author's comment thing:
It has been a long time, I know. Life happened. I also somehow got myself stuck with chapter 3 part 2, hence the extra delay. I did this interlude in the meantime to inspire me. I don't know why the chapter got hard to shoot pictures for, maybe I overdid it. Nevertheless, I'm going to work on improving it and getting it up soon.