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[RUSSIA]
It usually wouldn't take four deaths for such a thing to happen, but, who knows? It all depends on who it happens to anyway. I'm sure you know who I am already, but if you don't, my name is Russia, and I'm here to talk about a silly little thing called prosoponal renatalisation.
I can already imagine, "Oh, Yelena Stellanovna! You already talked about anastasis before!"—that's just it, renatalisation isn't necessarily anastasis. It's more alike "all squares are rectangles, but not vice versa," just... imagine renatalisation as the square instead, and anastasis as the rectangle.
I'll say this outright, but the only method of actual anastasis being renatalisation is the first method of anastasis. Anything else, it isn't considered as renatalisation—oh, and I lied. That whole square analogy wouldn't necessarily work. Well... from a certain point of view, it does work, so, am I really lying? I wouldn't say I did.
I'm sure this will be shorter than the usual tapes, but I've come across a roadblock on what to talk about. When I say that a lot of unnatural occurrences happen, believe me. It is just that I'm not sure which ones are... good to speak of.
Prosoponal renatalisation is basically the act of rebirth, in where one Personification forgets their prior experience and starts from ground zero once more. That's why the first method of anastasis can be considered renatalisation, because they lose their memories.
Those who undergo renatalisation do not need to die, only a loss of memories and a complete restart on their beliefs. It may be seen as the death of the previous character of who they were, though—which is why I actually personally consider renatalisation to be another form of anastasis—just not fully involving the whole "being dead" part.
Renatalisation is actually more common than you might think. Because an interesting quirk about Personifications, is that once they forget, they forget. There will be no way of them to remember what they experienced in their past life, so, if Personifications get amnesia one way or another... that's that. Belgium will not know why she was once called Romanslayer.
Ah, I'm sure all of you are just waiting for the catch, because this little archive here is supposed to talk about unexplainable things. This is pretty easy to explain, hell, there's no need to even explain about this in the first place!
I did say that another way to undergo renatalisation is by actually performing anastasis, did I not?
[TEUTONIC ORDER]
Goodness me, get to the point already.
[RUSSIA]
Patience, Luise, dear. There's no need to rush these sorts of things.
[TEUTONIC ORDER]
I assumed you made these for humans. They are not beings of patience, you know.
[RUSSIA]
I know very well on how limited their time is, Luise. Do I look like I care, though? Yes, exactly. Oh, and do you mind telling me why your sister is here?
[TEUTONIC ORDER]
Erm, I actually have no idea why Alexandra is here.
[RUSSIA]
Mind giving her the soul so the tape can hear what her answers would be?
[TEUTONIC ORDER]
I don't see why I need to do so, but alright...
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
I— this is an odd sensation. Am I supposed to feel dazed? I have never felt dazed as a ghost before.
[RUSSIA]
That's normal, your younger sister felt the same sensation when I first gave her that soul. It's not the most unnatural thing of course.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
If your thing with this... chronicle device has its own thing with the occult, then why do you simply not talk of your odd inventions?
[RUSSIA]
Huh. That's not a bad idea. Though... that just means I'll have to show all my cards, do I? That doesn't sound too enticing, you know.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
I am afraid I do not.
[RUSSIA]
Why are you here again?
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
I do not think I will be here for too long. Let us assume that I simply got tired of... a certain man's antics.
[RUSSIA]
Who, Kingdom of the Franks?
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
François— does she always get things right, Louise?
[RUSSIA]
Yes, I most certainly do. Anyway, I'm not sure a lot of people know of this, but the Roman Empire once had a younger brother.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
Pardon?
[RUSSIA]
Yes, that brother of his just went through renatalisation. And it's more important to note that he—Postumus—wasn't the Roman Empire as of yet back then. He was still the... he wasn't anything, really.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
Louise, care to explain whatever she is talking about? Now how can you not understand what she's saying when you've been with her for over a century?
[RUSSIA]
Oh, it... happens.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
How does this correlate to the whole unnatural part of things, then?
[RUSSIA]
It's more about the fact that it parallels with mythology. You know, I wanted to talk about this originally for this month's recording, but remembered that the whole mythology part had been covered by Norway already in her book that she wrote for her husband.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
Norway, you mean that Representation of the Norsemen?
[RUSSIA]
... One of them. But well, she was the main face of the Norse back then, so I can't deny what you're saying here. Either way, the whole thing with Roman Empire's brother was more a farce than anything, it wasn't what I wanted to say but I couldn't help but saying it.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
It appears Louise has lost her composure.
[RUSSIA]
Oh, that's a side effect of being by my side for a century or so... Novgorod went through the same thing, even more so considering she is my first Personification friend.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
Friend? Such a strong word used from someone of your status.
[RUSSIA]
I can't quite help it... now, where did I left off?
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
It appears I have forgotten already.
[RUSSIA]
Good grace, I understand what France meant whenever she complains of your unlikely responses.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
Charlotte? Whatever did that child speak of myself?
[RUSSIA]
You should probably just ask her directly for that... it isn't my problem. We got sidetracked a bit, so let us set for the path we were supposed to tread before.
Renatalisation actually doesn't happen as easily as you think. Amnesia doesn't just happen to Personifications, we have a certain immunity towards getting it by a simple concussion. It more has to involve the act of being close to Death, or by a specific... we'll call it a disease.
Because the disease part isn't necessarily unnatural, I'll just cut it short and say that, it's a hereditary one, and once you hit the physical age of thirty, you start to forget all your humane acts. You revert to speaking your mother tongue, and the only thing you remember would be anything vaguely political.
As for the first route, it can't really be any close-to-death scenario, because you actually have to be close, with Death itself. Death only lingers whenever the end of a nation or the beginning of one comes forth, so, if you find yourself fortunate enough to nearly die in such a limbo period, there's a chance of you actually being the same Personification, only going through amnesia.
That happened to communist China. I'm quite weeping over the loss of many memories concerning such a lengthy amount of history. She's older than me, you know. She was The Shadow Chronicler, she held all the information regarding what she and the other China knew. Though the capitalist China may be the Yuan of the past, it was she who kept all the details of what happened before then.
Due to this, she came to accept the ideology quite well. A common theme in renatalisation, really. Because they start from the ground up, they do not share the sentiments their past self once held. I'd put this as a more obvious example with Russian Empire and Soviet Russia... but they are not the same person, are they not?
It is a great loss, to have a bastion of such knowledge be burnt to ashes.
If only Death was the one who took her... even dying is a much better way to preserve knowledge than to have it be forever lost. Committing anastasis isn't the hardest thing in the world, after all.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
At this point, you should just start talking about Death itself.
[RUSSIA]
Hm, you're right. I should. I'll keep that in the back of my head for now. Maybe I'll do so this December.
[KNIGHTS TEMPLAR]
Is that all you have to say? Louise seems adamant that she wants her soul back.
[RUSSIA]
It's not her soul per se, but yes, I suppose it is. You can give it back to her.
[TEUTONIC ORDER]
Ugh, finally! That's took way too long. What? What about the way I speak? Do I speak weirdly?
[RUSSIA]
Not to those from this era, no, but to someone of your sister's caliber? Absolutely.
[TEUTONIC ORDER]
Oh, you take that back, Alexandra! The things I did for you, did you just forget of them all?
[RUSSIA]
I don't think the listeners are interested in this banter. You should take that soul off from you.
[TEUTONIC ORDER]
What sort of outrageous—
[RUSSIA]
There, better, isn't it?
Hm, yes, now that I've thought of it further, I'll talk of Death as a figure for December's recording. Would be a nice anniversary gift for myself, wouldn't it? A happy little thirty-two years. I'm not against such a thing. I could make it for March next year, but I think Nikifor would complain.
So, for his sake, I won't.
I suppose that's all that you'll hear from me as of today. Do not miss me too much, dear listener. You'll have many more recordings to go through. Well, at least I hope so. I look forward to a more interesting era; and I certainly wish that you come from such a time. Perhaps one day, we'll see the end of all this secrecy, yes? That's not too bad of an idea.
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