Hal-shun: The Bondsvow 「縁誓」のハルシュン

Happy Valentine's, folks—or if you're alternately inclined, Happy Singles Awareness Day! Whatever the case, may the day have been well-spent. I wish I had pretty pictures for everyone, but I bring pretty words instead. What better time to begin to talk of love than right now?

No matter how you frame it, love is a strange and somewhat ungraspable thing, coming in many shapes and sizes. Ultrans, too, are not immune to Cupid's influence. They have their own ways of declaring their feelings, one such way being the hal-shun, which translates into something like 'promise-bond' or bondsvow. It sounds rather like a Terran marital vow, but the hal-shun does not favour gender, age or status—it is simply the declaration of two people's will to come together, whether in love, brotherhood or something a little different. It's all-encompassing.

The hal-shun below is one of the most well known, dating from the pre-Spark era. Its translation from Classic Ultran below is attributed to Lanse Macyarn, a poet whose works reached their peak popularity during the 220-sen lightcycle (approx. 40 000 years ago). Macyarn is not his actual surname, but a title: 'word-smith'. Lanse was also known for his wide range of works, ranging from quiet, thoughtful odes about his native Lyrcade or bawdy ballads unsuitable for mixed company.

Trefoil Hal-shun
Brighter than the day be the bonds of comrades;
Stronger than the vresta* be the bonds of blood;
Purer than alcon** be the bonds of love.

We come together as equals, as two parts of a whole
Joined in free will and good spirit, without whip nor chain
Blessing and burden shared the same.

May our smallest joys together outweigh our greatest sorrows
May we love and be loved without hesitation

We will hold fast to each other in the heart of all storms
And we will shine out for each other upon the darkest of nights.

My contentment lies in the heart of your hands
Drink deep of my cup, and know happiness

We pledge this love, fearlessly and whole-heartedly
Two sparks bringing forth one light
And through bright days and dark nights, we will remain true to the other. [+/-] Trefoil Halshun

At this point, the vresta has been mentioned exactly twice: Once in the bondsvow, and once in passing while we talked of Galtan and T'e-Areu. What exactly the vresta is will be revealed in the next post. Stay tuned!

*alcon - 'unity stones'. Alcon are pieces of a certain crystal infused with a fragment of an Ultran's energy, reacting in tandem with the matrix of their donor. Regarded as talismans or proofs of love, they are often used to keep contact between family members who are far apart.

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ハッピーバレンタインデー！または独身人啓発デーおめでとうございます。ｗ
いずれにしても、良いことで今日をすごしましたように。
きれいな絵を捧げたかったけど、きれいな言葉を持ってきました。
愛を語るなら、今こそがぴったりではないかと思いました。

どんな言い方を使おうとも、愛って物は不思議で把握しづらいものでいくつもの形を持っています。
ウルトラ族だってキューピッドの影響から逃れない。
彼らにも感情を告げる方法はいろいろあります。その中からは「誓・絆」のハルシュンです。
地球の結婚誓約に近い物にみえますけど、ハルシュンは性別　年齢　身分を考慮しません。
ただ、二人の縁をしっかりと結んで告げるものです。たとえその縁が恋愛か兄弟愛か少し違うものであろうと。
無限定な告白みたいなものです。

下のハルシュンは最もよく知られるもののひとつで、スパーク以前の時代に作られました。
古代ウルテラ語からの通訳は、ウルトラ暦２２万年（４万年前）頃に人気の頂点に上がった詩人　ランセ・マキャンの功績なんです。
「マキャン」は本当の名字ではなく、「言師」の称号。
ランセ氏は、故郷のリールケイドに関する穏やかで思慮深い叙情詩から　男女混合に不向きな下品のバラードまでの幅広い作品で知られています。

三つ葉のハルシュン
仲間の絆は日より眩しい
血の絆はブレスタ*より強い
愛の絆はアルコン**より清い

私達は同士として集い　二つの二分の一として
自由の意思と元気で繋がれて　鞭と鎖なき
幸と重荷を同じく分かち合う。

一緒の最小の幸せが最大の悲しみを上回る様に
躊躇い無く愛して愛されますように

私達はどんな嵐の中にもしっかり抱き締めあい
そして世の暗に相手を照らす

私の充実感は、貴方の手の奥
私の杯から飲み　幸を知るがいい

私達はこの愛を誓う　恐れずに　全心で
二つの輝きから作られる一つの光
そして明るい日にも暗い夜にも、相手に誠実でいる。 [+/-] 三つ葉のハルシュン

ここまで、「ブレスタ」という物は二回も言及されました。
このハルシュンに一回、そしてガルタンとテ・アレウを語った時に一回。
ブレスタは本当に何のものかは、次のポストに出ます。次回、よろしくお願いいたします！

*アルコン - 「統一の石」。あるクリスタルにウルトラ人のほんの少しのエネルギーが注ぎ込まれる物で、提供者のマトリクスと共に反応する。お守りか恋の証と見られ、よく離れ離れになった親族の状態が分かれるように使われています。

Fanfiction: Bringer of Light

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one concerned about this. I probably am ^^; The Japanese Wiki entry for Mebius does mention this matter, though. (and, as always, click to enlarge the picture.)

What follows is not canon, was executed in about two days (and edited for 6-7) and is strictly the ramblings of a meticulous fan to reconcile things internally. But I do hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

Title: Bringer of Light
Date: 21/5/2008
Fandom: Ultraman (Mebius)
Genre: General
Rating/Warnings: PG. Ultraman and all related characters (c) Tsuburaya Productions 1966, 2008.The name 'Lucien Candela' should not be taken as canon.
Summary: Set post-series. Mebius finds out, a little awkwardly, what Hikari's actual name is. But in the end, perhaps a name is what you answer to.

Someone was calling him. Ultraman Hikari turned, and raised one hand lightly in response to the familiar voice. "It's been a while, Mebius. What brings you here?"

"I just thought I'd stop by and say hello. Captain Zoffy told me you'd been assigned to the weaponry research department. So this is what you do here..." he replied, voice trailing off as he surveyed the area and its controlled chaos.

"Between missions, yes." Hikari followed Mebius' line of sight and chuckled. It must have been completely new to the young fighter, this battleground fought with nothing but information. "I could show you around, if you'd like. I bet the younger members would be happy to see someone from headquarters."

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like that very much," Mebius said with a smile. Just then, someone else approached the two, a disk of microfilm in hand, and Hikari turned to the sound of his voice.

"Professor Lucien? Lucien Candela? These are the files you wanted." He looked at Hikari, as if expecting a response. Mebius was about to open his mouth, to tell him that surely the researcher was mistaken. Perhaps his friend had a brother, or he was being mistaken for another scientist. But then the Blue Ultran nodded, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world, and took the disc from him.

"Thank you. I'll get this back to you by day's end. Anything else?"

"Yes. Chief Eien wants to see you." Noticing Mebius' presence, the researcher bowed, and the fighter followed suit, slightly dazed.

"Understood. I'll be right over. He must be new," Hikari added once he was out of earshot. "Sorry, Mebius, I need to look over this right away. We'll have a chance to talk later."

"Sure, not a problem," Mebius said by way of acknowledgement. "But...he called you 'Lucien'?"

The man fiddled with the disk gently, his expression somewhat unreadable. "What they used to call me, before I went to Arb. Now if you will excuse me..." He turned on his heel and headed back to a terminal, leaving behind his very confused comrade.

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The day was almost at its end before the two were able to resume their conversation. Up on the Garrison's roof deck, Mebius was deep enough in thought that he almost missed the approaching footsteps.

"It's a bit dangerous to be so occupied," Hikari—no, Lucien said dryly. Mebius had done his research in the past hours. He'd gone through the list of Star Mark recipients, scientific journals on planetary studies, experiments in portable weaponry like a few of the Ultra Brothers possessed; every one of them mentioned a 'Professor Lucien Candela'. One had a picture staring calmly back at him from the screen. The most recent document he could find that contained the name was a proposal to study the Planet Arb, once a flourishing utopia and now stripped bare and cold. Through his friend, he knew this all too well.

"I...I must apologise," Mebius said. "We've fought together all this time, and I never knew or asked your real name. I just called you what Ryuu-san called you. But I remember when I was younger, still in school, they mentioned the scientist Candela Lamben, and how he worked beside the First Six and the Emperan resistance forces. That scientist was your father?"

"It's nothing to be sorry about. And yes, I am that Candela's son." He leaned against the railing beside Mebius, folding his arms before his chest. "I suppose my father hoped that his son would bring pride to the race when he named me. Lu-shi-en, blue-shadow-advance. For a long time I was able to take pride in that name, and continue the work he started during the Emperan occupation. And then, I requested to go and investigate Arb..." He fell silent for a while before Mebius' questioning gaze encouraged him to continue.

"You must understand one thing." There was a cold steel edge at the back of his words. "Lucien was pure and naive, believing with one heart in the goodness of life. When Arb died—when that beautiful, innocent place died, he died with it, consumed by Tsurugi and its desire for vengeance. Hikari...Hikari is the one who fights for all the Arbs yet to be, before history repeats itself and more life is sacrificed." He broke off with a short laugh. "Please excuse me. I'm rambling."

"It makes sense anyway," Mebius replied slowly, thoughtfully. "That part of yourself may not have died so easily. It comes back to Earth again."

"It does? You would think the Sage himself guided us there..."

"I checked it out. Lucien, in French—another Terran language—it means 'bringer of light'. And so you have brought light to many people. It is a good name to simply throw away and let die. Should I use it, from now on?" he asked, curious and intent on receiving a definitive answer.

"Well, that's something." He tilted his head, a faint smile playing on his lips as he thought it over. "No, Mebius. Lucien is dead, Sage rest him. Call me what you always have. After all, you and Ryuu and the rest of them had a part in that naming. So, would you still like that tour tomorrow?"

Mebius smiled once more. "Yes, Hikari, actually I would." [+/-] "...he called you 'Lucien'?"

P.S. - This is what happens when you put Ming and old books together:

Heart Sounds and Crossed Tongues 心の音と交雑言語

This post now has pictures! (Sweet.) Click on the thumbnails for a slightly different experience.

There are two major schools of thought regarding sound in space: one that says space is a vacuum, and there should be no sound, and one that says space is spread out so thinly that sound travels at a fraction of its usual speed, or the sound is too low for human ears to pick up on. In the first case, realistically there is then no way of verbal communication. In the second, sound travels slowly enough for it to lose the point.

Telepathy, however, travels at the speed of thought—which brings us to the mental language of Heartsound.

Heartsound focuses not on a purely lexical structure, but the inherent, more universal meanings behind the words. This meaning, in its purest form, is transmitted telepathically to the second party, and fluent Heartsounders are equally able to pick up on the vibes radiated by the person/people facing them—which means that communication with beings lacking a wide vocal range (monsters, for instance) is much easier. It is a language that is easy to 'hear', hard to 'speak' and difficult to build a wide 'vocabulary' and become fluent. Red Ultras, with their propensity towards telepathic and telekinetic skills, have a slight edge over their other brethren when it comes to learning the language. Space Garrison recruits are all strongly encouraged to pick up at least Heartsound's rudiments as it helps to gauge an enemy's movements as well. Same goes for diplomats.

Speaking of diplomats, Heartsound is a bit of a sledgehammer to the mind, and in more delicate settings other vocal languages can be used. But there are quite a few lifeforms bouncing around the Galactic Federations, and one people may not use one tongue (look at Earth and the tower of Babel). So what to do? Members of the Federation got together to propose a universal language called Crosstongue, and efforts to propagate it began in the Ultran year 25-man-6777 (1250 BCE).

Crosstongue borrows its syntax, grammar and vocabulary from various major languages already spoken by Federation members, and has become a fairly well-established lingua franca due to its strong roots to the base languages that spread throughout the universe much earlier. Not an overly pretty language, but useful nonetheless. [+/-] Universal languages...

There will be no post next week (I'm going for my college convocation), so I'm extending the voting period for the poll. Drop me a line, folks, and have a great week ahead!

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今回のコンテンツに、ちょっとした漫画を付きました！サムネールをクリックしてくださいね。

宇宙での音の存在は、二つの理想に大きく分けます：「宇宙は真空で音が通じません」と「物質の粒子があんまりにも稀なもので音は極一部の速さで通じれるか、人間の耳に聞こえない音しかありません」。
第一の場合では即物的に口頭通報があんまり役に立てません。第二の場合では、音の速さが下げられて意味も…あんまりないでしょうね。（汗）

それだけど、以心伝心ではメッセージは「思考の速さ」で通じれるなので、そこから言語というより念語のハートサウンドが築きました。

ハートサウンドは単語の構造だけじゃなく、言葉に含んでいる普遍的の意味に集中します。その純粋な意味を、相手に伝わります。
ちなみにハートサウンドが上手お方は、相手がハートサウンドに優れなくても態度、発声、雰囲気の波動から相手の意思が読めます。これで、怪獣みたいに声域が浅い生物と会話ができます。
ハートサウンドは、「聞き取り」がやすいけれど、「話す」事はちょっと難しく　語彙を増やして上手になるにもたくさんの努力が必要なんです。
念力が強いレッド族のウルトラ人は、他の同胞より語の基本が早くつかめます。宇宙警備隊員は皆、相手の気配が読みやすくなるから、少なくてもハートサウンドの基本を学ぶ事が強く勧められています。外交官も、同じ。

…外交官といえば。
ハートサウンドはちょっと強硬なところがあって荒いと見られ、もっと公式な環境では他の言語が使えます。
とは言え、銀河連邦にはたくさんの惑星が参加していますし、一つの世界が一つの言語を使っている事に限りません。（例：地球）
そんなわけで、銀河連邦の全員が知恵をあわせて　惑星共通言語　クロスタングを提案し、ウルトラ暦２５万６７７７年につき伝播の活動が始まりました。

クロスタングは　構文　文法　語彙　を、すでに大分の惑星で使っていた言語を取り合わせできたものです。古代で使っていた言語らと強い交際があって、いまでもかなり定評のある交通語です。「綺麗」な言語だといえませんが、とても便利です。 [+/-] 宇宙言語…

来週は、義理人の卒業式があって、ウルランもちょっと休ませます。
投票時間も延ばせますので、ぜひ次のポストについて意見を聞かせてくださいませ！
よい一週間を！ｗ