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Let them grow into their own destiny at last.
As he had watched the final battle of the interminable war between the Vorlons and the Shadows, Lorien wished he had intervened over the aeons his children and fellow First Ones had meddled so badly with the younger races to the point where they would go this far.
He could understand why the Vorlons and the Shadows had wanted to stay behind following the slow but gradual exodus of First Ones within the galaxy, leaving only a few of them behind either because they had their own affairs to put into order, or because they were attached to the changing galaxy as the centuries passed, and he was able to comprehend their mutual desire to teach the younger races their own ideologies although it had worried him considerably.
The Vorlons and the Shadows had always been at odds with one another, their opposing ideologies and philosophies had always made them ready enemies, and yet ironically they were always the first to form an alliance should the situation call for it before they went back to their old ways where they would always fight one another for some petty reason or another.
When a large majority of the ancient races left the galaxy after they'd simply outgrown this part of the universe, the Vorlons and the Shadows had instantly taken it upon themselves to help them evolve into something better.
Lorien had no objection to that, it was the duty of the elders to guide the youthful, after all. But it was how they had done it that he objected to.
In some ways, they had succeeded, but their use of the younger races to fight the wars, manipulating them and telling them lies until the Younger races willingly went into battle disturbed Lorien. The Shadows and the Vorlons had lost sight of what they had been meant to do, guide the younger races like Lorien and his race had guided the races which would become known as the First Ones.
Making the comparison between his methodology and that of both the Shadows and the Vorlons was not difficult, but it was nonetheless depressing for the ancient First One. He and his people had made peaceful contact with the younger races centuries ago, and they had begun teaching them the basics of science and technology while letting them grow into their own destiny. He and his people had never deliberately incited war between any of the younger races who would have become the First Ones, they had done it themselves making their own decisions. That was how you were meant to teach and guide; give them as much knowledge as possible and then let them make their own choices.
The Shadows and the Vorlons had lost sight of that. Lorien's abilities as an ascended being had allowed him the means of letting his mind drift through the galaxy while he had been trapped on Zha'Dum. For centuries, Lorien had sensed and felt the pain and devastation caused by the Shadows while the Vorlons, in their obsession with order and discipline, meddled so much with the minds and the genome of the Young Races they became no more than puppets.
Sheridan and Delenn, and the others in this fleet had no way of knowing he had more knowledge of the events over the centuries. He had communicated with other First Ones over the uncounted centuries, witnessing for himself and through their own eyes, their perspectives on the constant wars the Vorlons and the Shadows had locked the younger races in.
He had never told either Sheridan or Delenn one of the reasons he had never intervened was because he had known, sooner or later, somebody would arrive on the Shadows homeworld, and then they would meet and then they would provide the galaxy with the means of finally allowing the younger races the chance to grow.
When the Vorlons and the Shadows drew Delenn and Sheridan into their collective minds, Lorien had bridged the gap and telepathically revealed to the fleet, as well as the entire galaxy the truth of the conflict once and for all; Delenn and Sheridan had needed to be pointed in the right direction to completely understand the origins of the war, which were completely different from what Delenn had heard, although there had been some truth to it all, of course, they had made their points felt and known to the galaxy.
As he and the other First Ones left, Lorien was delighted when he was able to persuade the Vorlons and the Shadows to stop. He was not surprised, however, when he heard the plaintive way the two ancient races were ambivalent about leaving the galaxy. They were both afraid of what was to come, afraid of being alone.
Lorien had no trouble reassuring them, saying nothing while he had sensed thanks to his connection with Sheridan that the human captain was privately thinking he sounded like a father reassuring two disobedient children he forgave them of some bout of mischief. Lorien had never thought of himself like that in his entire existence, but he took it as a compliment.
Leaving the galaxy was, as with the others, hard. He had spent his entire life in the galaxy, seen and experienced many things over the centuries as he and the other First Ones evolved as their knowledge and experience grew, and while it had always been in the future, he had known it would hard to leave. But it was the right thing to do. The First Ones' time was passed, and now it was the time of the Younger races.
As he looked at Sheridan and Delenn, feeling the minds of the others in the galaxy - Human, Abbai, Minbari, Drazi, Narn, Centauri - Lorien was sincere when he said he looked forward to the day they would pass beyond the rim.
In the meantime, they had the chance and the right to grow within their own destinies.