Myth: Li Shen, Tower of Secrets
It is explained that the Foreseer lives in the Tower of Thorns, and has done so for as long as anyone can remember; he acts as Astra's divine emissary, and wields His power. Every hundred years, an envoy is sent to hear the Foreseers prophecies, though none of them have ever returned. The rumor is that the Foreseer is "perpetually frozen in an icy tomb," so time means nothing, even as people come to the tower over and over again for thousands of years. But our Heroine is not here for a prophecy; she is there to take the Creatio protocore, which is the only thing that can save her life.
"Under Astra's command may the Foreseer deliver His will,
(Philos: Tome of the Forseer)
Upon entering the main chamber, she finds the man she assumes is the Foreseer--seeming to be asleep or dead, and all but shackled to the throne with ice and thorns; when she attempts to take the protocore from his staff, he wakes up and calls her "impudent." The thorns dissolve, and he remarks that apparently she knows nothing about manners.
He still doesn't move, so she gives him a few good pokes (getting the responses, "Your actions are testing my patience," "It seems you do not know what true horror is," and a little exhalation followed by "do you know what happens when fools disrespect the Foreseer?") and when she points out that he's frozen, and she had higher expectations, he says "Winter punishes every wrongdoing in due time," which is true and also terrifying.
Our Heroine, who can't take a hint, gets into the Foreseer's personal space to inspect the ice, which is more like crystal; when she asks what it is, he tells her that she has "wild curiosity and a brazen tongue," to which she responds, that "(his) tongue is like winter's loveless embrace." Despite her goading, he is stoic and disinterested, save that he gasps in surprise/pain every time she makes physical contact with him.
She tries to take the protocore again and is flung back from the throne; the Foreseer stands, informing her that "(he's) played enough of (her) little games," and that "(she forgets herself,) testing the limits of (his) benevolence." This choice of words is extremely interesting, since the Foreseer is essentially Astra's mouthpiece, so it's unclear if it's the Foreseer speaking, or Astra speaking through him.
As he raises his staff, she says she's His Majesty's envoy, and he tells her that "an honest death is not a suitable punishment for every pretender." Instead of killing her, the Foreseer begins to freeze her in place, not bothering to stay in her field of vision while asking if she knows what happens to people who try to steal the protocore. The ice moves up her neck and face; the next time she opens her eyes, there's sunlight coming in through the windows of the throne room.
The Foreseer is on the throne, reading as "the sun's glow casts an illusion of softness on his cold demeanor." Our Heroine tries to initiate conversation, but the Foreseer is having none of it. Her attempts at lightheartedness are met with dry, unimpressed tones. When she says she's hungry, he tells her that a human can live for seven days without food and "given (her) stubborn character, (she) should live for an extra two days."
Upon the threat of being left frozen to the floor for nine days, our Heroine admits she was lying, and that she came to ask for a prophecy, since everyone she's spoken to so far has said she has three years to live, and she doesn't want to believe that. He finally looks up from his book, and informs her that yes, they're wrong, because she definitely has less than three years. She tries to protest, and he freezes her mouth closed, going back to his book.
Our Heroine is left over night, and realizes "it is nigh impossible to warm the heart of a demigod who lives in these rime-kissed lands."
In the middle of the night, our Heroine is woken up by the glow of words--magic from the book the Foreseer is reading. It's a gardening manual, and while he doesn't believe her at first, her insistence that she used to be a gardener eventually causes him to melt the ice she's wrapped in. She hits the floor, and he tells her to follow him.
She follows him to the top of the tower. She notices a little white flower bud, and asks why there is jasmine growing in a place like this. She realizes there is something wrong with it and it probably won't bloom. The Foreseer asks if she'll be able to care for it, and she says yes, though she's not very confident about it. He informs her that if the jasmine blooms, she will be able to leave the tower in one piece.
We learn the next morning that our Heroine is suffering from Cryoriasis, a disease that causes the afflicted to lose consciousness and freeze solid. The Creatio protocore is the only thing that can cure it. She's determined to befriend the Foreseer so he lets down his guard enough for her to steal the protocore. She wonders why he even cares about the jasmine anyway, before heading out to explore the tower and its decorations which, despite being very beautiful, lack character. "They possess the same aloofness as the Foreseer himself. It appears they are trying to frighten strangers."
She makes her way up the tower to the jasmine, where the Foreseer is looking out over the landscape. After a sharp exchange regarding her confidence in her ability to tend the jasmine, she waters the plant and focuses on the dark spots of people walking on the path towards them. When she points them out, the Foreseer makes symbols in the air, and summons a blizzard to keep the people from coming.
When asked if he's trying to kill them, the Foreseer tells our Heroine that he's guaranteeing their survival, and since humans can't change fate no matter how hard they try, it's better for them to not know the future at all.
After several days, our Heroine has a routine for taking care of the jasmine. The Foreseer seems annoyed by her attempts to make conversation, especially this morning beneath the clear sky. A flock of birds--arcticyons--fly towards the tower. One lands on the Foreseer's hand, chirping away. They pass the tower every year during migration, he tells her. She notes that his expression is "full of the warmth one would greet an old friend with."
He takes her hand in his (warmer and gentler than she expected) and the bird hops from his hand to hers. She expresses surprise that he doesn't sit inside and read all day, and tells the Foreseer that she's curious about him, since he's only referred to as 'Astra's tool' in texts, and that doesn't seem to be an accurate description. He's not merciless: he cares about the jasmine, and the birds. He tells her she is "not (there) to study (his) behavior," and that "(her) wild curiosity almost led to (her) demise."
Our Heroine decides she has to work harder to get closer to the Foreseer; she passes the throne room on her way back from tending the jasmine, and tries to engage the Foreseer in conversation. He shuts her down at every opportunity, and when she asks about a traditional practice for Wisshen Day, he tells her he "(doesn't) do such things." She is frustrated by the way he "knows how to silence (her) with a single sentence."
She goes up to the top of the tower anyway, deciding he wouldn't join her anyway, seeing as he's a prophet and has no need to pray. She lights her candle and prays to Astra that she doesn't want to turn to ice, there are places the wants to visit, things she wants to do, she doesn't want to die yet. She lets the candle float away but "when it reaches a person's height, it breaks, flutters, and falls to the ground.'' She takes that to mean Astra has denied her wish, though she picks up the pieces anyway.
The Foreseer arrives on the rooftop, and she tries to smile, telling him that "even Astra thinks (her) wish (is) ridiculous," but he just says she should use sturdier materials, and creates an ice lantern. He tells her only the strength of her hope can light it.
It does light up. She notes that the fire makes the Foreseer look less frigid. He uses magic to lift the lantern up and away. When she asks why he's there, he tells her "it just so happens a few lights are needed tonight," which is a Very Likely Story, though he does create countless lit ice lanterns that float over the tower. He goes to leave and, when she asks him to stay and make a wish, he says "there is nothing for (him) to wish from Astra" before heading downstairs without another word or glance.
Our Heroine decides that the Foreseer is not so cold as he seems to be, though she doesn't know if he would be so kind of he knew about her plans to take the Creatio protocore.
The jasmine bud is growing, and should bloom in less than a week, so our Heroine is running out of time. She decides to follow the Foreseer into one of the places he frequents, hidden by an ordinary door in the basement.
What she finds is a huge library, with shelves that "stretch as far as the eye can see." She begins to mumble to herself, and the noise causes ice to appear and carry her up, so she could reach higher bookshelves. The ice stays in place and she picks up Philos: Floral Inquiry. The pages about jasmine are the most worn, and on the title pages is the name "Li Shen."
While wondering who 'Li Shen' is, the Foreseer informs her that it's the person she's looking for, aka him. He hovers on an ice platform nearby, and our Heroine tells him she didn't mean to intrude, and that the ice kidnapped her. She backs up, falls off the ice she's standing on, and the Foreseer catches her, and tells her that "expressing (her) regret does not require theatrics." She asks if he's mocking her, but once they're back on the ground, she looks at the floor.
As it turns out, the ice that brought her up to the higher shelves was in fact a phantasm and while she wants to remain incredulous, she's seen too much magic to think any of it is false. She apologizes for lying, explains that she wanted to know what he did in here, and since the ice heard her talking to herself, it carried her up. It is an enthusiastic thing, and she names it Jas.
Standing on an ice platform to meet his height, she asks if she can call the Foreseer 'Li Shen,' since "a name defines a person," and she feels that's important. He tells her to do what she must.
Later, our Heroine thinks about Li Shen, wondering why he didn't kick her out of the library, even though it's his personal space. She looks at the marks on her chest, sliding further up her body, and resolves to see if she can use Jas to take her to the Creatio protocore, since it brought her to the Foreseer in the library.
Upon asking, Jas envelops her and takes her somewhere; she sees the Creatio protocore but upon reaching for it, realizes she is in fact standing in Li Shen's personal quarters and he is freshly out of a bath, and it would be a good idea to leave. She doesn't get to leave, of course, and when he turns around she tries to explain that Jas brought her there, so it isn't like she walked in the front door or anything, and she hadn't meant to disturb him.
He seems nonplussed; he curls his finger, and "the steam around (them) turns into a white cloth that hangs around his waist." He uses magic to pull her close to him, and asks what brings her there. Being so close means she can't avert her eyes anywhere, and she starts blushing. But she also notices that he's covered in scars before she closes her eyes.
He moves away to dress, and notes that Jas is very loyal to her, though he expected that, since it only knows the two of them. She asks if he's going to punish Jas, and he asks if he should punish her, instead. She makes an excuse about the jasmine, and when he tells her there's a punishment awaiting if it dies, she asks if he's going to kill her once it blooms. He asks if "a horrible death (is) the only consequence (she) can think of," and says he has no interest in killing anyone.
He then uses magic to push her out of his bedchamber.
Our Heroine is very curious about Li Shen: his scars, which look like stab wounds, and who could have possibly injured him at all, seeing as he's blessed by Astra. She doesn't expect she'll ever get an answer.
She goes to the library and finds Philos: Floral Inquiry. She reads the note Li Shen has left in the margins out loud ("Once again, jasmine appears...") and is magically transported into the book, into a field of jasmine buds. Nearby is an image of Li Shen, who seems confused and doesn't know her. He asks how she got here, and she asks if she's in the book. He tells her, "(she stands) in an illusion crafted by words and words alone." He is a wraith, who plants the jasmine.
She asks if they're phantasms, but when she touches one, she sees the image of Li Shen lowering his head to kiss the jasmine. They are the "jasmines in (his) memories," each of them representing his life from another time/incarnation. It's all he can ever remember, and since nothing comes after that, the jasmine never blooms. When asked, the wraith tells our Heroine that the Foreseer can see the fate of anyone in the world, but he is unable to see his own fate, "as is Astra's will."
She leaves the library and thinks about the illusion; when she reaches the top of the tower, Li Shen is looking at the jasmine in the moonlight. She realizes "he's pinning his desire to remember onto the flower bud."
He tells her that she's not forbidden from the library, but she can't come and go as she likes. She asks if he's ever thought about leaving, and he wonders how she came up with that kind of question. She asks if he's ever thought about leaving the tower, and starts to speak about the jasmine representing something when Li Shen grabs her by the throat and tells her that "(her) insolence reveals itself, (and she will allow him) to remind (her) of (her) place."
The Creatio protocore starts to glow, and Li Shen pushes her away, telling her to stay back as thorns and brambles start moving towards him. They wrap around his entire body, digging in; it's exactly like their first meeting. Our Heroine puts together that the thorns are what's keeping Li Shen in place, keeping him from leaving. He tells her the Foreseer cannot step foot outside the tower.
Our Heroine realizes that the mere thought of leaving caused these restraints to materialize. Li Shen tells her this is a warning from Astra, but she believe no one but Astra could freeze Li Shen in place, and the Creatio protocore is a surveillance tool. She asks if he's tried to leave before; he has no memory of doing so.
She apologizes, and he tells her that "(she's) begged enough for forgiveness," that "destiny's guiding hand may have brought (her) here, but it is time to abandon (her) curiosity." He says there will be an eclipse tomorrow, and she is not to climb the tower for any reason.
"Astra gifted one of His eyes to the Foreseer. By walking the winding path of time did the Foreseer understand its passing. This is the power of a god."
(Philos: Tome of the Foreseer)
Following that excerpt is this:
The moon masks the sun, and only a golden ring remains. A beam of light strikes the Creatio protocore.
Light reflects off it, forming chaos and patterns of disorder, which is brought into the hands of the Foreseer.
Ancient symbols gradually appear as he pieces together a puzzle.
Astra's will has presented itself, and the Foreseer's indifferent facade reveals a hint of indignation as he too is imprisoned by the prophecy.
Astra has spoken. Those who defy fate are sinners and shall be punished by Him.
Our Heroine wakes on the floor of her bedroom, only remembering a "strange feeling at dawn," and wondering if she slept the whole day. The marks of her sickness have reached her neck. She wonders what would happen if she takes the Creatio protocore, and what would happen to Li Shen; that maybe she should tell him the full extent of her illness and maybe come up with a plan to keep her from dying.
Li Shen is not in the library, so she and Jas move through the books. She wonders what Li Shen does when he's upset, but figures he probably frowns regardless of his mood. After a while, unmelting snow starts falling around her. She wonders out it out loud, and Li Shen (who has appeared out of nowhere on the floor of the library) points out that she was the one asking about what he does when he's upset.
She asks about the prophecy, and he tells her it doesn't matter, since only a true envoy can deliver it. She accuses him of mocking her, and he magicks the ice to slide her down to him. He asks what she does when she's upset. She tells him that she dances. He expresses surprise, since he thought dance only happened when humans are happy, but the more upset our Heroine is, the more she tries to move.
Li Shen offers his hand, and she asks if he's asking her to dance. He says they'll both feel better if they dance under the snow. They waltz beneath the snow in the Tower's library. She asks who taught him how to dance, since he's been here alone the whole time, and he tells her that his body might remember past movements.
Our Heroine begins to hum, since all dancing is better with music, and Li Shen points out that its the melody she sings while tending the jasmine; he asks him to sing for her:
"Are you referring to your other lives?"
"The Foreseer cannot truly die, so your description isn't right."
"What is it like to remember things from another era?"
"It is no different than being in a never-ending snowstorm."
"To the afterglow cries cosmic demise, Our world in a deceptive amber paradise, In these sands of time, My frozen bouquet awaits, With your gaze so full of wonder, I hold four jasmines asunder, His secrets revealed, Hark the bard, O legends unfold, This distant tale they sing to you, Unspoken desires, sincere and true, A jasmine in time's embrace, A fragrant aria, a moment's grace."
Our Heroine wakes Li Shen from sleep; he is looking at her like she is a stranger to him but she's too excited to care, so she grabs him by the sleeve and drags him along to the top of the Tower, where the jasmine is slowly blooming. When she looks to see his reaction, she's confused to see an intensity to his features as he looks at the jasmine, and at her. She asks "Am I not a skilled gardener?" and he tells her that she was late.
"Li Shen cannot recall the first time the jasmine appeared.
Ever since he took upon the mantle of Foreseer, the Tower of Thorns had always been home to the jasmine that never bloomed.
It is like a riddle forever waiting to be solved, or maybe it's a metaphor for his fragmented memories.
The jasmine's existence is an unremovable thorn--a reminder of his past, of his failure to remember who he is.
Li Shen dreams the same dream. It is one he has dreamt of many, many times. He kisses the jasmine bud, and then his entire being sinks into darkness.
Yet he hears her, her voice cutting through the shadows.
Why does her voice sound as if it's from the jasmine itself and from the distant past?
Li Shen waits for the darkness to swallow him once more, yet when he opens his eyes, the jasmine he kissed in his dreams has turned into the face of a girl."
She tells him he needed more than a skilled gardener, and he says "hence why it only bloomed in (her) presence." She brushes off his praise, as it makes the whole situation "sound like this was bound to happen."
After a moment, she asks if she offended him, and he looks down to her hand, still holding his sleeve. But when she tries to let go, he holds on, and tells her "this is not mere coincidence," that no one else who has ever stepped foot into the tower has been able to make the jasmine bloom. He asks if he can take her to another place; she reminds him that he said she could leave once the jasmine bloomed, and he asks if she wants to leave.
"Do I? Do I want to steal the Creatio protocore, make Li Shen lose his power, and leave him imprisoned in the Tower forevermore? No... I don't want him to be 'perpetually frozen' anymore. But... I will die, won't I?"
She is surprised when Li Shen takes her to the jasmine field she'd previously visited. He seems like himself, but also like the wraith she met in this place. She's unsure if he's real or not. When she asks why they're there, Li Shen tells her he wants to confirm something and when she asks what, he holds her cheek and looks at her for a long time before responding: "That... I won't lose you again."
A blinding indigo light and overwhelming pressure makes our Heroine faint.
Our Heroine wakes up to find herself in her bedroom. The last thing she remembers is the indigo light, and the concern on Li Shen's face. She struggles to get up, but manages, and searches every part of the tower. She doesn't find Li Shen. She does find a hidden staircase with a door at the end of the climb. There are noises coming from behind it.
"Cradled in Li Shen's arms, the girl lies still, her cold warmth lingering. The body he's holding cannot be considered one that belongs to a mortal.
Under her clothes, blue lines manifest at an alarming rate. Astra warns the Foreseer in the form of an eerie indigo gleam from the Creatio protocore on his scepter.
The Foreseer is forbidden from peeking into his own destiny.
Or else Astra shall give unto him the sweetness of Death's embrace.
Even so, the Foreseer must see the future of this girl whose fate is so deeply intertwined with his.
Following destiny's golden thread, he unveils truths hidden in an enigmatic mist.
Along his long journey, he has met this girl time and time again. He falls in love with her, becomes a witness to her changing fate, and watches her die.
Astra's tools can never fall in love.
And so Astra manipulates his memories of her, plunging them into an incomprehensible mystery: a jasmine bud that never blooms and is out of reach."
She forces the door open, and finds Li Shen shackled up to a wall. There is black ice all over the room, moving like a living animal. When she tries to call out to Li Shen, his eyes are red and his face is expressionless.
"His hand emits a white glow, and as he clenches it, the black ice suddenly elongates and stabs his body." She asks why he's hurting himself, and he manages to tell her that it's a punishment from Astra. Our Heroine realizes that Li Shen's body is moving on its own, not through his conscious will; she remembers seeing the scars all over his body when Jas took her to his room, and wonders if "those were a result of his "self-inflicted" injuries."
Moving closer, and realizing that a huge spear of ice has been driven through his chest, she tries to think of what she can do, while he tries to tell her to leave, because his body isn't fully under his control. He tells her he can't die, that he's been through this before. She stays close and continues her search despite his wishes and warnings.
She manages to force out the large chunk of ice in his chest; Li Shen all but begs her to leave, but she won't. She hugs him instead; he manages to tell her that she is "truly the most audacious" to ever trespass into the tower.
The ice has stopped moving, but the prison itself is still freezing; our Heroine manages to unshackle his bloodied wrists and apologizes for lying about her intentions--he tells her that he already knew, since he divined her fate while she was unconscious. She asks why Astra was punishing him for that, and he explains that it's because their fates are intertwined, and he is not allowed to defy his own fate.
He asks her to come with him.
At the top of the Tower, the two of them watch the jasmine wilt one petal at a time. Li Shen says that she was "willing to defy Astra to free him." She tells him that she made her choice after seeing him being tortured in that prison; he tells her that he made a choice, too.
Li Shen summons the scepter, and explains that the Creatio protocore grows stronger by leeching away her life, and that her fate after meeting him should have been to die. He takes the core out of the scepter, and tells her that "the power of Astra can curse destiny itself. And it can be used to ruin His plans." He presses the protocore into her chest. Frost begins to form on his face, and the tower starts to crumble.
Li Shen embraces our Heroine, and shields her from the ice lunging for them. When she asks why, he tells her that "(her) destiny is not written in stone." The ice is stabbing into Li Shen's back, but he tells her that "(he) won't forget (her.) Not this time."
In the bright light of a space between, where nothing but she and Li Shen exists, Li Shen tells her that Astra's power is now hers, existing inside her, and that he's only here to say goodbye. She asks him not to go, telling him that she wants to stay. His usually stoic expression softens when she starts to cry. She tells him he said he didn't want to lose her again, and he says "I will never lose you as long as you are alive and well."*1
Li Shen wipes away our Heroine's tears as he tells her that he will never forget her. He asks her if he can "end it on (his) own terms."
"He slowly smiles. It's like watching the first sprout break through melting snow. Li Shen leans down and kisses me for the first and last time. Light washes over me akin to waves lapping the shore. I try to reach out to him, but he smiles and slips away like sand falling between my fingers."
Our Heroine comes to, and sits up in a field of jasmines in full bloom. An old woman asks if she's all right, and when she says she needs to visit the Tower of Thorns, the old woman tells her that there's been a raging storm and all paths to the mountain are blocked.*2
The old woman tells her that not even the Foreseer can defy Astra, and she might as well let go of any hope of getting there. The tower is barely visible from where she is, and when she starts to cry, Li Shen's voice asks her not to. She sees "a sphere of soft, white light," and hears Li Shen's voice: "Promise me you won't cry anymore."
Petals from the withered jasmine at the Tower of Thorns appear in her hand. They "merge into a single jasmine flower. Ice envelops it, making it as lovely as the day it bloomed." Li Shen's voice comes again, "Now they shall never wilt. With this, I will not forget my answer."
"A howling blizzard never seen before seals all paths leading to the Tower of Thorns. There's no telling if the snowstorm will ever disappear.
The mountain and its Lord have fallen into an eternal slumber.
No one can venture into the Tower. No one has ever met the Foreseer since.
The legend rests in fathomless rime and snow...
*1, See Memoria: Li Shen, Hidden Motive (link when completed.)
*2, Check side-by-side references to Mt. Eternal, see tag.
