Anyone else hyped that we finally get another Vedrfolnir voiceline after (checks watch) two and a half years? Anyways here’s an inconsistent design i have for him
There's a lot to unpack in Linnea's Story Quest, but my favorite part is how it handles the idea of immutable fate.
Between the tournament in Nod Krai, a reunion and memories finally clicking into place, you start to understand who Linnea really is.
There are 9 types of fairies, and she belongs to the Augury Birds, those capable of seeing their own fate.
Something that characters like Vedrfolnir "The Visionary" and Celaeno consider a curse, because what's the point of moving forward if you already know how everything ends and can't change it.
When Celaeno and Linnea meet before the semifinals, they both know Linnea is going to lose the battle because they've seen it in their visions. Even so, Linnea chooses to train all night with Lumi and give it her all in the fight anyway.
Linnea basically tells the Traveler that fear doesn't come from what we know or don't know, but from a lack of control. As a child, the silence of uncertainty terrified her because she was looking for some external guidance to give her courage. In the end, she discovered that the only sign she could ever truly trust was her own.
Now that she has certainty and knows that fate is inevitable, she understands that knowing the end doesn't take away the fear or make things any easier. So, if she is still the same person and the world hasn't ended, there's no point in living paralyzed. Fate provides the script but her "stubborn will" is what decides how to play the part and get there.
And even though losing was her fate, at the key moment, Lumi reveals a power that could have granted her victory... but Linnea chooses to stop her to save her sister's life. And so, the inevitable outcome is fulfilled, Linnea loses.
But the nuances change everything. She doesn't lose because Lumi is weak, she loses because Lumi is so powerful that she could have tragically destroyed both her sister and her partner. The outcome remains the same, but her will to protect those she loves is what dictates the "how".
Besides, that outcome allowed her to learn more about her partner Lumi, who had remained a mystery until then.
Though deep down, her heart was probably breaking because the inevitable had been confirmed.
In that version of fate, winning just wasn't possible because Linnea lacks the coldness needed to put victory above the well-being of the ones she loves.
I know it sounds very idealistic, but I like the idea that you have to give it your all, even if the outcome is imminent. You decide how you get there… and hopefully, it's in a way that makes you feel at peace with yourself.
I've always struggled to believe that fate is so rigid, but Linnea's story makes me think that maybe it is, just not in the way I thought. The inevitable isn't what happens to us, but who we are in the face of what happens. We don't give up or let the world fall apart just because we know we're going to die someday, we keep going because the value is in the process.
Linnea showed that her strength doesn't come from ignoring her future but from accepting it without losing her integrity. She had to grow up very fast, and in that battle, her sister was finally able to see that such courage is her real win.
