~ Your muse now has the ability to bring a deceased loved one back to life perfectly (no decay or anything, just as they last saw them). The catch is, their loved one would have no memory of your muse at all. Would they do it anyway? ;3c
sad muse meme | accepting
As previously established, reviving the dead is something Xerneas is capable of doing. For various reasons he does not. Let’s assume his biggest reason ( the life/death cycle ) didn’t apply to this instance. Yveltal didn’t exist and it was just him running the whole shebang.
Xerneas would have to be in an immense amount of grief for revival to be considered. Reviving the deceased would be an impromptu decision made right after his loss. It would have to be made in the first few minutes while denial was still kickin’.
Ultimately, though, Xerneas is more selfish than he is selfless. If bringing a loved one back meant they had no memory of him, he would rather they stay dead. The only possible exception I can see to this would be Freya, and that would be ( as they say in Avatar ) if the world needed her most.
indie xerneas, est jan. 2015 {rules} {quote} {header} {banner}
❝ LIFE ASKED DEATH, Death, why do people love me, but hate you? ❞
HISTORY
Life is cruel. Who understands that better than its own being?
Xerneas came into existence alongside Yveltal in the dead of winter. If the two were an advent or response none could say, but soon after them came the mortals. For all that Xerneas and others consider Xerneas as such, Xerneas is not a god. It is more accurate to say Xerneas is a personification of or vessel for the force of life itself.
Worship of the Yggdrasil Trio started with the earliest human populations in Kalos. The ‘purest’ forms of worship Xerneas received were considered archaic only a few generations after they began and were lost to the ages tens of thousands of years ago.
For the first few generations of worshipers, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde were worshiped together as three heads of a polytheistic religion. Most homes had a shrine for each member of the Trio, while temples dedicated to a single one would house shrines to the other two in places of prominence. When the worshipers began to choose favorites was when the divide between the Yggdrasil Trio appeared.
The rift affected Yveltal and Xerneas’ relationship the most, very nearly turning the two against one another. Only within the last fifty or so years were they able to reconcile; a slow process that is still underway.
Even with the distance between them, Xerneas never resented Yveltal’s place in the cycle. Xerneas views it as a necessary end, a means to keep the delicate balance between them. Tip too far in one direction and the ecosystem is doomed.
Roughly three thousand years ago, Xerneas and Yveltal became involved with the humans of Kalos to bring an end to a war. Known to the king under both its human aliases, Xerneas attempted to reason with AZ against the fighting. The king’s grief over the loss of his Pokémon sent him over the edge and he trapped Xerneas to use its energy to finish the war once and for all. Its energy depleted, Xerneas reverted to its tree form....
...And woke in the present day to one of AZ’s descendants attempting to do the same. Standing against the man was a sixteen year old girl by the name of Freya. Xerneas was once more imprisoned, this time being captured within an Ultra Ball. While Xerneas initially hated Freya for her actions, she slowly won Xerneas over through patience, hard work, and lots of cupcakes. During one of her outings Xerneas saved her life and in doing so revealed the ability to shift forms.
APPEARANCE
Xerneas is gendeerless, and accepts any pronouns when addressed or spoken of. It has mostly been referred to as “he” and “it” throughout its existence. Xerneas uses a basic form of glamour when taking on a human guise. As there is little more thought put into it than “look human” Xerneas’ form appears different to each person, as their minds are filling in the gaps with their own details. Are they speaking to a man? A woman? Someone outside the spectrum? It all depends on them.
Some variables remain more or less consistent: Xerneas’ human form is always tall, between 5′10″ and 7′. There’s always a tint of blue about the hair, and as Xerneas has no need to eat the form appears on the unhealthy side of thin. As it’s an illusion rather than shifting his form, standing in front of a reflective surface will show Xerneas as he looks in truth. Xerneas’ weight and limbs are concentrated in the image his glamour produces, so there’s no concern about his horns.
Among other Pokémon, and very few select humans, Xerneas uses its true name. Depending on if a human views Xerneas as more masculine or feminine, they will use the monikers “Xerxes” or “Xenia”.
Xerneas’ Pokémon form changes as well through one of two ways. The first is that Xerneas reverts to its tree form. The second is through the real-life understanding of evolution. That over time, a species will evolve to adapt to its environment. Xerneas is his own species, so he himself undergoes the evolutionary process over generations. This change is gradual and not something he has control over. It is instinctual, and happens all on its own.
Each variation of his Pokémon form will have similarities. Xerneas will always look like a Xerneas. He will retain a cervine structure and always have antlers, though the number and display may vary. The same color palette is always retained. (The header image is how Xerneas currently looks.)
PERSONALITY
Xerneas, as most older legendary Pokémon, has a vastly different moral system than humans, non-legendary Pokémon, and younger legendaries. When mortals followed Yveltal and Xerneas into existence they were viewed as lesser creatures. Despite his interactions with humans and other Pokémon, Xerneas still views most Pokémon as beneath himself and other legendaries. Humans he considers an outright danger. Those few select humans he’s bonded with he views as an exception rather than a hint he might want to reconsider his stance on humanity.
In interactions with others Xerneas remains somewhat aloof until given reason or proof to trust someone further. Xerneas has a lot of pride, and doesn’t take well to it being challenged. In short, he’s an asshole.
Xerneas is cautiously open to new romantic relationships. Be aware though that he has quite recently lost several of those he considered family, and his response to grief is to close himself off to outsiders. While it can be difficult to scratch beneath the shields Xerneas has put on over the millennia, do so and one will find a friend or partner who will truly cherish them forever.
ABILITIES
REJUVENATION
If injured sufficiently, or brought as near to death as it can be, Xerneas enters stasis. In its tree form Xerneas will heal whatever forced it to rejuvenate, as well as any minor injuries or scars it gained since its last stasis state. Xerneas, while generally aware of the passage of time, is otherwise unawares of whatever happens around it. On average these states last between fifty and one hundred years, with some lasting as long as three hundred. He doesn’t like to talk about the three thousand year outlier.
REANIMATION
Xerneas has the power to bring back the dead. Normally, there would be limits to what a person can do to revive another. So long without breathing, heartbeat, brain activity, or other major function, and people stay dead. Not so with Xerneas.
However, Xerneas doesn’t touch reanimation for several reasons. One, it goes against the cycle that Zygarde represents. Even without Zygarde as a medium, Xerneas would stay away from the act. Once a creature is dead, or clearly bound for death, he considers it in Yveltal’s realm. He leaves it there out of both respect and duty.
Second, reanimation’s gross. Xerneas gives life. He doesn’t heal it. If an injury killed whoever or whatever Xerneas brought back, that injury would likely kill it again. Xerneas doesn’t take the second factor into account. He merely sees reanimation and the reversal of death as a perverse act against Zygarde’s cycle.
Limits to the ability: Any animal or plant that had been processed for food. Dead tissue and cells. Skeletons. After a certain point in decomposition, a body is no longer viable and cannot be reanimated.
ARTIFICIAL CONCEPTION
Not insemination, conception. This works best with the would-be mother, though it will work with the father as well. If a child is made with Xerneas’ aid, there are two things to note. One: the child will be unable to conceive. Two: it will have an incomplete set of DNA. If it was the mother Xerneas helped especially, the child will be almost a carbon copy of the parent’s genetics, aside from the occasional gap in the genome. Overall, the child will be a type of artificial life.
As opposed to reanimation, Xerneas has no qualms preforming this feat. He’s the being of life giving life to something new. It only affects the cycle insomuch as he helped create a being that will someday go to Yveltal.
FAIRY AURA
The default mode for Fairy Aura is ‘on’. It produces a calming atmosphere around Xerneas that reduces hostility and soothes nerves. Fairy-type Pokémon are more sensitive to the aura, and will be drawn to Xerneas if he is within a few miles. If he is close enough they will receive a small boost to their power. Dragon-types can be adversely affected by this, while Steel-types may not feel its effects.
If he so wishes, Xerneas can turn the ability off. He can also harness the ability to do the reverse of its innate use and repel others away from him. Each takes a considerable amount of focus and the ability will revert to its original purpose if he does not consciously keep the change active.
MISCELLANEOUS
Technically, Xerneas is no longer owned. Freya’s an active muse and the blogs will likely overlap, but Xerneas’ blog is far enough along that in his most present of verses she’s dead. Xerneas isn’t sure what this means in terms of if it’s possible for another trainer to catch him.
Back before the Kalosian war Xerneas had no fighting style. Not to say Xerneas couldn’t hold his own, but he avoided fighting. After battling with Freya, as a league Pokémon no less, he developed an instinct for it. He still prefers things not come to blows, but he’s more likely to instigate a fight.
Xerneas is incapable of killing. He may wish to, he may bring someone as close to it as possible, but he cannot physically kill. Expect a miraculous survival, though not recovery, if one pushes him that far.
When not roaming Kalos as he is most prone to do, Xerneas resides in the forest where he and Yveltal first came into being. Or, maybe it’s two forests now. Over time one half died off until only dried stems and barren trees remained, as the other continued to flourish. Xerneas’ half of the forest teams not only with plant life, but with wildlife. The Pokémon live there peacefully, as Xerneas does not tolerate conflict within his and Yveltal’s haven. Should they wish to fight, they must leave. Humans are free to come so long as they go.
Xerneas keeps a hut for his human form and any human-shaped guests. Its only furnishings are a sofa just long enough to not be called a love seat, and a side-table with photographs of his family with Freya. Food containers come and go through the ages dependent on how social he is, while there tends to be a faucet of some design for water. Strangely, while all appliances work, none of them are ever hooked to a power source.
Xerneas is fluent in French and English. It used to be fluent in Latin, but as the language fell out of use Xerneas became rusty. He cannot read or write in any language. He’s ambidextrous, and dislikes being called “Xern”. Genders confuse him but he doesn’t care enough to ask. He hates puns. There seems to be an exception for the collection of “World’s Deerest Dad” mugs kept in his hut.
❝ DEATH RESPONDED, Because you are a beautiful lie, and I am a painful truth. ❞
Which.... I don’t think it’s in the about and I’m not sure if it was ever on the blog or not but Xerneas’ main residence when he’s not with Freya or out Wandering The World is smack dab in the middle of a forest (which is right next to Yveltal’s I love and miss you 😭).
It’s a pretty sparse hut, with A sofa and A side-table with pictures of the family he had with Freya. (Naturally, this is a newer addition.) Xerneas doesn’t need to eat so while he has At Times had food storage of some kind it isn’t a permanent fixture. If you’re hungry there’s enough fruit trees nearby honestly. Heck, Xerneas can grow whatever you need within a minute.
It’s said that if one travels deep enough, all woods converge. In this liminal space lives a creature most have described as a deer. Adventuring parties of significant strength are encouraged to hunt it down and slay it; for the beast’s body and the glade in which it dwells are host to pieces worth their weight in gold. Even better, the beast does not stay dead.
Yet, each time it rises, it rises a little more wrong.
Broken and sawed-away bones do not heal: they grow in the new directions they point. Torn limbs remain in their new proportions. One of the first adventurers to kill it took its eyes. Skin and meat drip from the body and onto the forest floor. Blood oozes from veins that trail in its wake.
Though, for those not experienced enough to hunt the creature, if one braves the trail they can collect the leavings without the need to fight.
LOOT
(due to the high level of this area, all looted items have legendary stats)
PLANTS
Any type you could think of. All forests lead here, after all. Healing, poisoning, magic, soup. Whatever you desire, there is something growing here to make it a reality. Be sure to leave the roots so others can have some!
FOOD
Deer Meat A tasty treat! Cook it beforehand to increase health regen!
CRAFTING
Bone Can be used to craft household items or weapons. A versatile material every adventurer should carry!
Antler Mostly used in decoration. Can be sold for a high price at shops.
Deer Hide Makes clothing, armor, tents, and other various equipment. Can be upgraded to Leather to increase durability.
They bury her after he brings her back. For all his time among humans he remains unfamiliar with practices around death. It has always seemed too close to his brother’s domain for Xerneas to think it respectful. A part of him that is detached from the events, as though this is happening to another form of himself and this part of him a spectator, that feels remorse for such a course of action. Beauty and poetry is found in the rites that bind the living to the dead while they pay their last respects.
He does not wish this to be how he discovers this fact.
Per her wishes, she is buried far from the city in a cradle of land that marks the cusp of a valley. The eulogy had a gathering of many to celebrate her life and mourn her passing. The burial is a private affair. Her parents, of whom only the mother Xerneas has met, two aunts and a cousin.
And, of course, the four men that made up his family.
Maxime, hiding his face in Commodus’ shoulder, and Theirn hiding his tears with his hand while Aurelius grips Theirn’s shoulder and sends Xerneas the occasional look.
Xerneas stands apart from them. This is still a rite for the dead, he tells himself, and his presence may...it may...
He will break, if he joins them. From here as an outsider to the proceedings he pretends it is yet another life gone from his part of the cycle. He does not want to face the reality that when he leaves this place she will not be anywhere else in this world.
The aunts and cousin are the first to leave, followed by her parents. The others remain. It is some time after that Xerneas decides what to do.
Aurelius’ desert castle was made into a forest that lasted until the first of the human kings decreed the land his own. Freya had often expressed her greatest joys were in the small things she did that went unnoticed. Acts that did not bring her acclaim but meant the world to those she helped. A forest will not mark her grave, but Xerneas will honor her.
He uncrosses his arms and walks forward on legs as tall as the gathered men. His head lowers towards the mound of fresh-churned dirt. From the edges of his vision he can see the glow of his horns as he focuses his power on starting, speeding, and making immortal. Someone gasps soft enough to almost escape being heard as he raises his head and steps back, the trailing branches of a willow tree draping softly across his antlers.
Xerneas turns, in his human guise once more, and walks towards the others. Maxime reaches for him and he takes the grown child in his arms, stretching a hand in soft desperation for Aurelius to take.
It is not for many, many years that he returns to the willow. He only returns so soon because of the failing life he senses there.
Renard is slumped against the trunk, and though the Lucario is in the last stretches of his time he is able to project his desires to Xerneas. It is easy enough to grant. When Xerneas leaves shortly after a white flower grows at the base of the tree.
~ Your muse has to sacrifice something or someone precious to save the world. What would their sacrifice end up being? A cherished memory or memento? Or something greater than that…?
sad muse meme | accepting
As Xerneas isn’t a materialistic person, it would come down to memory. He’d be loathe to give up entirely the memory of a person or event. If possible, he’d give up a memory of something he did with someone rather than the someone themselves. Actually sacrificing the someone is a possibility he’d rather not consider.
~ Describe your muse’s top 3 worst nightmares they have ever dreamed up.
sad muse meme | accepting
Isolation. Xerneas prefers to keep to himself but being around living things ( be they plant or animal ) soothes him. Being in a place entirely devoid of either would cut off one of his senses.
Loss of autonomy. Him or his powers being used against or outside of his control.
Active suspension. Reverting to his primal form puts Xerneas into something of a comatose state. He is aware of time passing but little else. Being completely awake during these states ( which on average last from one to three hundred years ) would be his definition of “ and I must scream ”.
~ Your muse has “gone savage” for an hour and has injured everyone around them in some way as a result. How bad would they feel after snapping out of it?
sad muse meme | accepting
Xerneas snapping would trigger something akin to an explosion of energy. Everyone being injured via proximity alone is exactly what would happen.
Once the anger fades, regret would set in fast. Xerneas views violence as an uncouth last resort. For battles? Sure. As a reaction? He’s above that. If the casualties were strangers he’d sulk off to lick his wounded ego. If the casualties are people he knows he’s a bit more awkward about it. If they’re people he cares about he has an emotional shut-down.
