Temperance's Questionnaire

I live on my home planet, a place I made to be a safe space for those who did not have one, and now look at it. It lays dead, and empty... Even the moon is gone.

You may ask why I remain here. Is it sentiment? A hope that maybe somewhere out there some of them still live? The wisps, the bugs, the men of clay. Maybe I am being naive.

I still remember our first days on this planet brother. Back before our differences drove us apart. We were happy then, creating for the sake of creating, not for some master plan or goal. What happened to us

Money? The thing those monsters used to raise weapons of destruction against my home? No, I don't touch the stuff. Every time I do I feel as though I am stooping to their level. So no, I do not have money.

My needs are met by the planet, thankfully the monsters did not destroy the plant life when they genocided my people. Although whether they spared it out of sympathy or ignorance I do not know. Either way I take it as a blessing. My food needs are minimal, and due to the planet's, unique nature, there are no seasons so there is always some fruit ready.

I simply want things to go back to how they were, before all the pain and suffering. However I know that the universe does not work like that, so instead I will settle for simply being able to once again fulfill my role as a guardian.

There are always more places in need of help, maybe I can find them and help them.

Would I kill for it though...

I am not sure.

I've seen so much bloodshed already. I would rather avoid it if at all possible. Again though, I know it is foolish to think that I will be simply left alone, and so, if needed...

I will show those who cross me the will of the Bulwark of the Weak.

The day I lost my brother... I had known he was a lost cause long before this, but somewhere deep down I had hoped that he would change.

We had just completed our device that would allow us to travel to the stars. My brother was excited, the most excited he'd been in a long time. I knew however that it was not for a pure reason.

He did not seek to explore the stars, he wished to rule them, purge them, remake them in his image...

That was something I could not stand for, and so, when it came time for us to leave. He went through, and I shut down the machine, trapping my brother on our moon.

There were my pet worms, Vulcan and Stratus. They were my most loyal of companions. They went with me everywhere, fought alongside me, helped me rescue survivors from distant worlds. The planet's inhabitants loved them, the wisps would fly alongside Vulcan anytime we passed over their conservatory, and the clay men would cheer at the rains brought on by Stratus.

When I fought against those monsters... I warned them to stay away, to not approach lest the unspeakable happen... they did not listen...

I could do nothing but watch as they were slaughtered, like dust in the wind...

Then there is my brother, who I am not sure is even still alive. Ever since the moon vanished I've lost my connection to him. If he is alive, I wonder if he has changed, if he has seen the error in his ways...

Brother, I miss you, more than you know.

My Childhood, it's been so long my memories of it are hazy. It's like they are lost in a fog I cannot breach through. They are... distant... and yet some details remain clear. Brothers, side-by-side in all things. One with an affinity to design, the other with the desire to create. One with a head of ideas, one with a heart full of emotion. One taught, the other learned.

They were wildly creative, discovering the building blocks of their reality.

Mass

Presence and weight. Formless and maleable, a building block but nothing more.

Design

Shape, form, intent. Direction imbued with purpose. Ambition met with realization.

Blood

Sharp, hot. A lifeline, a link to the radiance of existence. A volatile component but necessary.

Soul

Fragile, frail... not quite there and yet there all the same. Near invisible yet its impact is irreplaceable.

They used these blocks to shape their world to their liking.

I see the brothers playing around a gravity well, tossing in objects and seeing them be torn asunder. Then... the worms... please no... I do not wish to see this any more.

Not romantic love, no...

I loved my brother, cared for him dearly. However his obsession let him down a path that I could neither follow nor tolerate. I think when that happened, a fragment of my love for him died. There were even times where that love was over shadowed by anger and fury. I would lash out, do actions I regret and actions I wish I could take back. However, I would like to say I still care about my brother, if he is still out there somewhere... my anger, my betrayal. In the face of existence alone, I do not wish to hold onto them for the sake of sentiment.

Brother... I miss you...