What does Purpose mean to us?
The first dictionary definition of Purpose is:
The reason for which any thing is done, created, or exists
And, when talking about inanimate objects, this is a pretty obvious definition. You make a ladder so you can get up to higher places. You build a bridge to cross a gap. You want to take a life? You design weapons. But those are things. What about people? How do you determine their purpose? Is it a destiny one is born into? Is it a goal one sticks to? Or is it a reaction to the world one lives through?
A LOT of people will default to religion, claiming their purpose was given to them by their god(s); that we are each called to do something specific in the name of their divine space ghost. Personally, we don't subscribe to that idea. But, if not a calling designated by some overseeing deity, then what? How does one identify their purpose? What IS purpose? Why are you here?
Obviously, this question can become existential REAL quick. Lol. We won't go THAT deep here. Yet. But, what does Purpose mean when applied to a sentient being? For most creatures, their only real purpose is survival and procreation. Make the best of these genes last as long as possible. They never consider to what end or how they came to be. They're too busy trying to find food, secure a mate, make babies, and not die in the process.
Ants, bees, termites, and many other bugs dedicate their entire existence to a singular task, all for the good of the colony, at the expense of the individual. One could argue that carrying out this task is their purpose. Their instincts are deeply encoded in their DNA and encouraged by their society, taught generation after generation. But, people aren't ants. People choose. So, is one's purpose externally ordained, a natural process, or a personal choice? Our answer? Yes.
Earlier, I pointed out that gods don't designate one's purpose. But, what if another person can? Take the lost soul, always drawn to the craft of music, but could never afford lessons. She watches the pianist's fingers on YouTube and Googles free tips, but has no instrument on which to practice. Meanwhile, she's swamped by work and overwhelmed by her overbearing and jaded mother. Due to all this, music gets mostly relegated to a hobby. Yet, while she's likely never to be a successful professional at this rate, she never gives up on learning music. She's equal parts hopeless and determined.
A fixed intention in doing something; determination
Now imagine a woman comes to town to retire after aging out of public interest. She runs into our little dreamer at the library and the elder offers instruction and supply to the younger, in exchange for being the one to promote the young protégé once she's ready. She takes the younger into her own home. This motivates the younger, focuses her behaviour, and gives her a sense of fulfilment; a sense of purpose.
A fixed design, outcome, or idea that is the object of an action or other effort
Without that meeting, the younger may have never had the chance to pursue her dream. Without her dedication and affinity, the elder would never have noticed her. So. Did the elder discover a floundering young artist and give her a purpose, or was she born to be a musician and someone simply opened the door? What if it all played out the same, except instead of having a passion for music, she had no passion at all, until the elder decided to use music to help her? Does that change the answer? Or is it just a different route to the same end?
Koren Laris would like to answer that question.
Koren, like Mira, was born powerful. He was trained to excel at Storm Calling. And, his culture - his entire society - is built on the idea of survival of the fittest. Competition for the sake of competition. Kill or die. And, he trained to become one of the most infamously prolific killers of his kind.
Koren possesses three of the five Storm types, and has all but mastered two of them, making him one of the few Stormers to have a realistic shot at achieving Perfect Storm. And, he's HAPPY to brag about it. But, he also never had much of a choice, did he? His options were kill, run, hide, or die. And, to kill in Atmos, you have to, as we gamers say, get good (“git gud, scrub!”).
So, is becoming the Perfect Storm Koren's purpose? Or is it just his reaction to his environment? Perhaps him being uniquely qualified to help Mira on her journey can give him answers about his own. Or, perhaps his answers lie in the body of his next enemy.
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