The Day of Thunder

[Haka Tae-soo]

OOC: Reposting the relevant bits so others can read it!

Tae-soo bid Ha-yeong goodnight again, and wondered what this] night would have in store. The first three ones had been odd, but their tiredness had got them through. The last one was a real bad one.

He fell asleep just as he wondered if this one would be just as bad...

Tae-soo finds himself back in the Mosu village. No, it wasn't back. This wasn't the past.

He was in the rebuilt Mosu village. His sibling was leading the people of it in a ritual for the spirits, in the traditions that their ancestors had long preserved and would continue to for ages longer. He had a young child at his side, Seon-hwa, his daughter, his mind provided. Surrounding them was the family they had finally found, who had helped them rebuild.

They had the plenty that the Clans provided, married to the now protected traditions of their ancestors.

He'd achieved this. He remembered making his case for it, finding his family.

All it had taken was losing a weakness, and gaining something. This felt real, like a real future. He could grasp it, if he wanted.

He looked at the village. The feeling that he had missed that for so long, that he thought he he had lost all of that. It hurt, badly, as a sharp pain deep in his heart, deep in his head.

He felt himself smiling, walked closer to Ha-yeong. They had become a spiritual leader... that was good. It was as things should be.
They'd decided they wouldn't grow up as a girl, years ago. Neither as a boy. Did the river have to choose what they are? Did anyone expect it to be one thing or another? No, the river just is! Why can't I just be?.
It was just right that they were leading the rituals in the village. He had always been close to the river himself, of course. But, in some ways, Ha-yeong was like the river. Maybe even was the river itself.
He still remembered the words. Ha-yeong sounded decided and wise, even then. Everyone had respected their decision. Everyone felt the strength of dongsaeng's spirit, even then.

'It was some years ago now', Tae-soo thought as he looked at Seon-hwa. HIs child. A 'fresh flower' (鮮花). Perfectly fitting.
...Many years ago, he thought, as he looked at the one who should be Ha-yeong again, now older, accomplished, then looked at Seon-hwa again.
Fresh flower?... he couldn't quite remember. A vessel of harmony (船和)? Or a thread (線和)?

He called Seon-hwa, then started walking, shaking his head. How come he couldn't remember?

Iseul and Darae... they were around somewhere, probably. He felt like seeing them, as if he hadn't seen them in a long time.
Of course, that couldn't be the case, right?

That sharp pain again. Somehow, it still hurt. How could he let all that be lost? How could they have let that happen?

He looked around some more. Eomma and appa too... where were they?
Had they failed to protect them back then? But it wasn't only their responsibility - it takes a village, even for much less than that...

That.
There was something. Something... that wasn't there anymore.
They had rebuilt this. They had managed to defeat it.

It. That something.
What was it. What was it they managed to do? What was it that had made them lose this to begin with?
How had they managed to rebuild? What happened between this and... the last thing?

Last thing?
What was the last thing?

He looked at Seon-hwa again.
Previous calamity (先禍)?
No... Why would he name his daughter that?

It couldn't be that. Right?

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OOC: Any chance to find out something's not right?

Each time he looked for someone, he found them. They were all here with him.

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OOC: Willpower TN 20 to break into realization if you have Lucid Dreaming.

That was it, then. They did do it. He can't recall how, or what happened between then and...before, though.

He tries his best to remember. Where had everyone been? How did they get back there? What was that they succeeded at so that they could rebuild??

Was that pain in his chest just an illusion? Were the sadness and despair he'd felt for so long just a dream?

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OOC: No lucid dreaming =/ So just do your thing!

No... There had been pain. The had been despair. There had been the feeling that he had lost nearly everything.

He had lost a weakness and gained something else to be able to do this. that much he knew.

He also knew that he could grasp that now, if he just reached out.

Seize the means to this future.

Lost a weakness... that made sense. The water was strong, wasn't it? Of course he needed - they needed to be strong. It should have been obvious. It was just a matter of exchanging that part of yourself that was weak for something from outside that would perfect you.

You shouldn't try to change who you are, Tae-soo-sshi, my sonja! You will change, whether you want it or not. Such is the way of the river, such is the way of life. You change every day, but you should still be yourself. If you try to change, you lose sight of yourself!

He could hear his grandmother's words, ringing in his head as if it were yesterday.

It will be frustrating, sonja. Often. Not all change is as we want it to be. Or do you think I like that these old legs can't run without the spirits' help anymore?

Halmeoni's laugh. It had been a long while since he'd heard it.

But you'll know it's your winding path. Not a weir holding your essence, not another's riverbed you're running through. It will hurt, it often won't be easy. But it's your path. Your weakness, your strength. If you learn to flow along with it, you'll find that it doesn't hurt as much. And you'll know it's your path you're sailing on.

Her words were confusing, sometimes. But he always cherished hearing them.

He wondered. Was she there? She couldn't, of course... could she?

Sadly, she was not present to advise him. But then, whose to say what his path was? Does it need to be hard?

It was formed by the choices he made, after all...

Choices... yes. That was true. It made sense.
With every choice, a consequence. With every consequence, a ripple.
That's why choices were so important. That's why finding one's path was important.

You made the path; the path made you.

What did he want to be?

Halmeoni's voice kept ringing on his head. She wasn't there, and yet she was.
There. And here. Her lessons weren't easily forgotten. Family. Community. Trust. Tradition. Sacrifice. Respect.

Her lessons, herself. It was part of him.
That he wouldn't forget.

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OOC: /Scene, maybe? Or do you have plans here?

The dream ends.