Something I was thinking about with regard to spirituality and AT's world: the official timeline (which I'm pretty sure by now is not a spoilery document, as it covers AT1 only, and I don't think these details will be released outside of the timeline) begins with the creation of the first word. It's very Biblical: in the beginning, there was the Word. And, incidentally, that word was "chs": a verb meaning become, turn into, or transform.
"Chs" is actually a more popularly used verb than those meanings would seem to account for in English, given that it seems to mean "become" only in the sense of fundamental change (e.g. "the kind of person I will become"), not in the senses of becoming happy or becoming used to something. This catalysing word, this primary word, this word which suggests that the universe's most divine instrument is its ability to turn one thing into another (which seems to make sense; given that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, the force of movement behind the universe, the thing that causes it not to remain in static state, would seem to be the transformation of energy into different states), seems to be echoed repeatedly in the songs of the world.
Perhaps we could say that the Reyvateils are subconsciously working this vital word into their music just because it is such a strong underlying current within the universe, but I think it's more than even that; I think there's a very obvious reason the word is used a lot. If the divine force of the universe is the capacity for change, then that capacity should be a fundamental part of magic. And indeed, magic, too, is very obviously about change, transformation, becoming. Our obvious image of magic is turning the latent energy in ourselves and in the universe into heat, or light, or growth, or a healing power. There is little in magic that does not involve some manner of change, even if it is the changing of a thing from a state in which it was moving to a state in which it is not (meta-change that seems like the opposite of change, yet also requires one). The Reyvateils are consciously or subconsciously aware that chs is the force behind their magic, and as such they invoke it, and as such their magic is powerful -- and the series creators show that the Reyvateils aren't just making pretty mouth movements, but are actually a species that gets magic quite a bit.
Incidentally, I think it's interesting that in AT's case we get to know what the first word was. In the Bible we get "the Word was God", but does that mean that "God" was the first word (making the first word a self-definition, "I", which is interesting philosophically in itself in that it seems to suggest that the creation of the world is tied up with the defining of the world, and that maybe how we define the world has immense power to affect it), or that God was a word, but we don't know which? Hmm, ponder....
Letra - Eldharia ~Inori Saku Mori~
2 months ago
13 comments:
I thought this post was going to be totally different than it was.
As always, you bring up good points.
Now I'm curious as to what you were expecting. :)
Well analyzed, as everytime before this. ^_^
And I think you would be interested in knowing that the very first sentence that was created was this one: "Was yea ra chs hymmnos mea".
Thanks for that tidbit! Interesting to know; the first intent, to become a song, and the first verbal expression of emotion, that of happiness and a hope for it to last... that's quite poignant.
Where does that information come from?
Directly from the timeline in the Settei Book (yet to be added to the wiki), and it's also on the JP wikipedia.
Awesome! Good thing to know. It's a fine sentence to start a world with. :)
I think also that transformation adds an element of intimacy to creation in a way that sets it apart from producing something out of nothing. Chs implies that the creator is inextricably tied to the creation, that maybe the creator is the creation in one sense or another. Throughout the game, there's an emphasis on unity, the echoing of feelings, the relationship between a Reyvateil and her song, etc., and the fundamental force behind all of these is this connective sort of change.
Throughout the game, there's an emphasis on unity, the echoing of feelings, the relationship between a Reyvateil and her song, etc., and the fundamental force behind all of these is this connective sort of change.
Yes. It's very much a story about bonds, about connections, about things being joined together beneath the surface-- just as one example, the fact of all the Reyvateils being linked to the Tower and to each other, creating this vast network of magical nodes... That's something I've tried to draw forth in my writing.
And I like your analysis of the word chs in that context; for where is the place in an interconnected universe for a new thing brought forth? How does it spontaneously, from nothing, become part of that network of bonds? That nothing is ever truly created, that everything is transformed from what already exists, preserves those bonds, meaning everything is an intimately-interconnected part of the universe from the beginning-- and the distinction between the creator and created in that context is, truly, blurry.
Very awesome expansion on what I wrote, here.
Hmm. If a creation is made from and remains part of its creator, that says something big about the responsibility people have to create only good things that they would be proud of. People shouldn't irresponsibly create bad things that they wouldn't want to claim and then shrug it off because it's no longer their problem, if those things are still part of them.
It's harder for creators to abandon responsibility if they cannot cut themselves off from their work. I like that, considering I have strong feelings about the responsibility of a creator to be careful about what they make and what it will cause.
What of things created by necessity, short-term solutions to sudden problems, or interim solutions to complex problems that are expected to be solved properly later on?
Who would want to claim permanent responsibility for something that isn't meant to exist for longer than it must?
It might have been created because we didn't have enough information. Because we didn't have the resources we needed to create something better. Because we misunderstood the nature of the need. Is there no room for mistakes when every creation is inextricable from the creator? Who will take action when no one wants to take risks?
I suppose that's part of the way of the world, as it is right now; that because we can't always tell what solutions are ideal, because we might not have the resources, we might have to accept the fact that in some situations there is no right choice; we might have to do harm before we can do good, as all of the options might be bad ones.
I think there's a difference, though, between accepting that you can't always change the world for the better, that sometimes your actions may harm instead, and wilfully doing damage. I think the latter was what people were speaking about here; do not wilfully damage, and examine your actions before you commit to them to eliminate the possibility as far as you can.
That's what I thought, but I wanted to hear what you thought about the distinction between desire and necessity. :)
Song is always as perfect as the singer feels it is; that feeling is a self-definition of its purpose and any physical effects are auxiliary, right?
So when a Reyvateil commits to a song that she cannot sing without any regret, it's painfully obvious that she's doing harm. That's interesting to note because you've written about how singing a hymn downloaded from a Hymn Crystal is like inheriting the emotions that the composer invested into the song. In that case, is it still for the singer to judge her creation, or does the creation judge itself?
*is somehow derailing this into a discussion of morals*
The timing on this post is late because I'e been out of town and away from my computer. I'm barking up a different, more literal tree, but...
The Conlang article/translation suggests that different words create more or less powerful songs. It makes clear that this is a language older than the Towers, and is a refinement of the Moon Chanters' language. Here are three ideas I've thought over as to why the specific words might be significant:
1) Language has intrinsic magic in Ar Ciel. It's not uncommon for fantasy settings to have mystic languages that somehow relate to the creation of the world, and thus have power just for being tied to the world itself. The magic language is just a magic language. In this case the language would somewhat arbitrarily have both power and meaning.
2) Songstones (or maybe Parameno or Grathnode specifically) are physically formed such that they react to certain words differently. This would sorta imply that the words intrinsically had power and people gave them meaning.
3) Something in the human/reyvateil brain reacts to the words on an emotional level that causes them to emit different H-waves. The idea is that singing the words makes you feel them, and that feeling becomes part of the song. In this case, the meaning of the word is what gives it power.
Of course, most of these ideas aren't mutually exclusive.
It seems like the idea of H-waves, having metaphysics and emotion affect the results of your song, would mean that intangible feelings aboutyour song could have measurable effects (although I get the impression that not every song is necessarily affected by H waves).
Of course, it might make Velivolum's point about Reyvateils connecting to their song more literally true than she or he'd intended.
Probably something in the fan materials actually outright says why words have power, but until I find that out I'll keep thinking about this.
For what it's worth, I agree that Ar Tonelico is about bonds between people, but I think they're very emotional bonds. Emotion doesn't imply logic or control, so it seems like if your bonds are causing change in others, it's not necessarily a change you're able to control.
Deciare said:
"It might have been created because we didn't have enough information. Because we didn't have the resources we needed to create something better. Because we misunderstood the nature of the need. Is there no room for mistakes when every creation is inextricable from the creator? Who will take action when no one wants to take risks?"
Is this about Mir? She was created to make songs without emotions. However, perhaps because of the emotional nature of song and composition, she developed emotions (haphazardly) and then those emotions caused her to try to destroy the world. She was a mistake, but Misha and crew ended the harm she was causing when they reminded her t. Presumably she finds a more pleasant purpose in Ar Tonelico 2, and she's become a favorite character for many.
I think it's important for people to understand and appreciate their connections to other people, but not to be afraid of them. Many people get in short, passionate romances that end up failing, and while many come away regretting, many more don't regret these failures, but see them as a defining point of who they are. You can't always control where anyone's emotions are going - and sometimes, trying to do so can cause more harm. But, you shouldn't be afraid to try, because even accidents can be beautiful.
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