Not sure if you talked about this yet or not, but any thoughts around Benehimes white world?
Who knows if I've rambled about the Between specifically but I will 100% talk about it now ty.
I don't remember what my original thoughts were when you originally sent this ask (my bad this has been sitting in my drafts) but I had a new thought come to my sickness riddled mind and while I lay in bed sipping tea I must tell you about it.
Spoilers for Spirit End probably
So firstly, I'm just gonna mention the titles for Benehimes white world and what they mean in context of our source, and then what they could mean for us when given a more typical context.
The Between is simple, it's the space between the Spirit world and the abyss outside. The Veil is I genuinely can't remember why this was a point I had to make, I know I started this at work and then came back while I was sick as fuck, but this is literally all I had in this draft.
Anyway, I came up with this new idea while listening to sad songs so YEAH.
Rebirth is a concept in this series, it's mentioned only once by a single character in the first book, Coriano himself (his first name is Gerard and that fucks me up every time I remember it), and isn't it funny how a singular line of throw away dialogue can cause major implications.
Because why does he seemingly genuinely believe in his final moments that both his human soul and the dying spirit in his broken sword are going to be reborn and reunited in the next life.
ESPECIALLY WITH THE UNIVERSE BEING A BUBBLE FLOATING IN THE VOID.
So like, rebirth is a concept, grand, anyway let's run with that.
I REMEMBER NOW WHY THE TITLES WERE IMPORTANT look at me go.
The Between is literally between the Spirit world and the demon void. Boom easy. There's two layers to the weave, the white world is smack dab in the center. (Side note, the inside weave is the sky, the outside is black? Too dark to see? When Nico is in the void she sees the opening not the walls. Fascinating thought.) The Veil is the cloth the weaver weaves. Simple, easily explained within the source.
BUT LET'S CONNECT IT TO TYPICAL SUPERNATURAL BELIEFS
Death isn't destruction. Death isn't the opposite of Creation, it isn't the nature of the Demons. Nothing lives or dies in the void. That is a gift of Creation, it thrives in the Sphere. Where does the spirit go when it dies?
It doesn't cease to exist within the sphere, or the spirits would find death instead of endless sleep. It has to flow like the water cycle. From the sea to the rain to the rivers to the sea.
And the soul would pass through the veil, see the light if you will. And eventually be shepherded into their next life. Reborn. Recycled really.
When the Hunter was killed, everyone heard his death, because he was a Power, one of the three. Ancient and beloved, but I like to imagine it echoed because it was in the Between.
Imagine souls passing through the Between as echos before entering the Sphere again. Not as ghosts but just whispers of old lives, blowing past in your periphery.
Think of Benehime siting vigil by her Sphere for five thousand years, deaf to the death zipping invisible past her, while she ignores the air.
Eli not knowing why the white world chills him other then it being a frigid Power's household. Meanwhile he's surrounded by death he can't see or hear.
What if Eli was truely close to slipping away, but the Weaver caught him and pulled him back to life when he saved him from Benehime's stabbing. What if the Weaver was successful because they were so close to the Veil.
It's sad but hopeful I think. To imagine a renewal to all spirits within the sphere, regardless of creed.
Maybe demon seeds slain by the League get a second chance. Their seeds may live on, but their once human souls may be released and forgiven. And even that premise isn't too sad, as all the seeds of the Demon Under The Mountain fell dorment when it was banished.
Maybe Nico will eventually die. Maybe she already did. Still the sphere goes on, the bubble stays whole.
Maybe even Benehime found peace.
But I think humans and spirits are simply not supposed to be in the Between for long. We only have two of Benehimes human favorites, and I will remind y'all that Nara was just a star before she became favorite, only to be replaced by Eli who jumped to the top immediately though no hand of his own. But we know Nara didn't spend much time in the Between, she entered it using a tear and such. But she didn't stay there to our knowledge like Eli did. I don't know what I think that means. Maybe spending years in the between may have enlightened her to Benehimes crimes, maybe not. Maybe Eli was the first, maybe he wasn't.
But I leave you with this. Benehime was humanity's first mother. She gave them their short lifespans, lifespans unheard-of in a world of mountains and Powers. And she offered her favorites the gift of immortality. She was life and death. Creations cycle.
Wouldn't her home, be death's house? Her singular haven, shared with no one, but the ultimate rest stop? A highway of the Sphere, spanning the entire world, watched over but the Shepherdess.
More Rachel Aaron fan art, this time from her Legend of Eli Monpress series.
Benehime the Shepherdess, a Power of Creation. Context would be a spoiler for the last third of the series, so no context for you. Enjoy the moodiness nevertheless.
I originally wanted to draw her as a stand alone condescending chibi like Bethesda, but that just wasn't happening. This works just as well, even though I wanted to give that thing her hair does a try.
March 2018
iPad Pro/Apple Pencil + Procreate 4
"-she saw that Eli was staring back, his eyes pinned on hers despite the distance. She smiled at him, a great, relieved grin. Five minutes ago she’d been ready to kill him. Now he’d just done the impossible and saved them all. But Eli didn’t return her smile. He glared at her, his face bitter and drawn as another light flashed beside his.
Two white lines appeared on either side of Eli’s head. They fell to his shoulders, shimmering in the night as his own light faded. A second after they appeared, two white arms emerged, long and perfect and glowing like white fire. They reached out, folding around Eli’s neck until they were almost choking him in their embrace. Eli winced as though in pain, but his eyes never left Miranda’s." -Spirit War
