After Grief

Sadness is one of the strongest emotions, Dolores. It twists everything inside of you until you cannot escape. You must understand her. She is different. She acts differently. But that does not mean she does not hurt. That does not mean she does not grieve.

— Nicole, After Grief

Summary

After Grief is an old legend about grief, loss, and kindness. The story follows two Celestials, Eternals with incredible powers over their "domains". One, Dolores, is the Celestial of sadness, while the other, Natasha, is the Celestial of joy. Other Celestials are mentioned as well.

Following the legendary Celestial War, Dolores and Natasha encounter each other on an ancient planet. The two share a meal and discuss the end of the war. Each woman has a different outlook on the war, and each reacts differently to the results of it. Dolores has lost her counterpart, the other Celestial of sadness, and her grief is unmistakable. Natasha has also lost her counterpart, but by the time of their conversation, she has accepted his death and moved on.
As the conversation moves to the deaths that occurred, the women begin to disagree. Dolores gets angry at Natasha's calm reaction to the war and lashes out. Natasha remains quiet and holds to her philosophy of moving on. Her words only anger Dolores more, causing an argument to break out. As the argument escalates, both Celestials summon magic. Natasha feels tears trickle down her face and snaps out of her anger, realizing what they're doing. She tries to reason with Dolores, but the Celestial of sadness uses her domain to attack Natasha. Natasha collapses sobbing on the ground and Dolores backs away as she realizes what she has done. She flees, leaving the other woman alone.

by Lilliana Casper

With Dolores's influence twisting Natasha's emotions, the Celestial of joy is trapped in devastating anguish. After several hours, Nicole, the Celestial of compassion, finds her. Nicole attempts to console Natasha, but upon discovering that Dolores has cursed her, she goes to find the other Celestial. Dolores paces around a room in an inn, debating whether to go back and help Natasha. Nicole arrives and begs Dolores to remove her curse. Dolores tells her what happens and begins crying as she asks why Natasha cannot understand her grief.

"Natasha... has a duty to be happy, a responsibility to be joyful. You can be sad, because that is your domain. She cannot. She must always be calm and smiling."
"That doesn't seem fair."
"I know. But few things are, especially life and death."

Nicole offers her advice to Dolores, reminding her that Natasha lost her counterpart as well. Dolores replies that it doesn't appear so. Nicole reminds her that everyone grieves differently and that Natasha's period of grieving was shorter than Dolores's. Nicole also reveals that Natasha has a responsibility to be calm and joyful and cannot show her sadness. Dolores does not think that is fair, which Nicole agrees with, but informs her that life is not fair.

Dolores finally agrees to remove Natasha's curse, but Nicole insists she does so in person. The two Celestials return to find Natasha beginning to pass out from stress. Dolores removes her curse and apologizes before leaving, but Natasha is unable to hear her. When Natasha regains strength, she finds Nicole sitting by the fire and asks what happened. Nicole explains Dolores's actions and encourages Natasha to forgive her old friend. Natasha agrees to forgive Dolores but refuses to see her again. Natasha then departs to continue her journeys around the world and Nicole extinguishes the fire as she goes to meet with another Celestial, the one who asked her to check on Natasha and Dolores.

Historical Basis

Although considered a mythological event, there is evidence that the Celestial War did occur over 5,000 years before the Polaris Collapse, when major interplanetary travel had yet to be discovered. Dolores and Natasha are well-known Celestials of emotions, with Nicole only slightly less known. According to legend, before the Celestial War, there were ten Celestials of emotions, with two per major one. After the war, half of those Celestials were dead. This particular myth was recorded sometime around 2500 BPC. The year the myth is set in was likely around the same time.

Variations & Mutation

Surprisingly, this myth has no major variations. As a less well-known story, the tale has gone through fewer translations and interpretations. It remains virtually unchanged, with the largest differences being spelling and wording changes. Some versions spell "Dolores" as "Delores" and others write "Natesha" instead of "Natasha". Some refer to Dolores's counterpart as Thomas, which has been proven incorrect thanks to many other texts.

by Lilliana Casper

Cultural Reception

Some planets still tell this story as an actual event, but most no longer do. The only planets in The Interplanetary Peace Alliance that still consider this an important piece of literature/legend are Jaque, Stelsa, and Maynrel, although people on Maynrel believe it is fictional. Other planets outside of the IPA still consider this a true story, but the number has slowly been dropping since the Polaris Collapse.

In Art

Depictions of all three Celestials featured in this story can be found all across the galaxy, mostly as individuals. However, one particular painting, displayed in a museum on Zenricho, shows Dolores and Natasha sitting by a fire and exchanging stories. This painting was clearly inspired by the story. Another inspired piece shows Nicole comforting Dolores after the argument with Natasha.