20th of Summer, 515 AV
One might expect that one who claims to fight for good in all its facets might shy away from the subject of killing. Death was, of course, the ending of everything outside of the Ukalas. And yet that was the point. To kill was to remove of something - an entity that affected you positively, negatively or not at all. If they were an enemy, then of course they would affect you negatively. Killing them is thus doing a liberty for yourself, unless the consequences of killing them would outweigh the reprieve you obtain from their demise. Life and death were much like business ventures, weighed in risk and reward. Giving birth to or adopting a child was like this as well. Life and death were as cold to many as coins. Now, the question was - did this belief extend to Caesarion? He was a servant of Priskil, and he always hoped since he was young to do an incredible amount of good in the world. Still, there was always the struggle when it came to good versus evil. Evil did not struggle at all when it came to its methods; expunge good in the most efficient way, or cruel way. They didn't mind killing and they didn't mind enslaving. They didn't mind any of the methods that were effective to their goals.
Good struggled because in honesty it was weaker and of lower quantity. There was far more suffering in the world than there was happiness. There were tens of thousands of slaves, tens of thousands of starving people, dying people, homeless people, mentally or physically disabled, sad and abused, weak and fragile - then only a handful of those who truly enjoyed life, who uncovered their dreams and lived in economic and emotional success. Even those people often had a difficult time keeping it all together. It was so hard to be happy, and so easy to despair. Yes, he knew this, for he remembered seeing this always - all around him in Ravok, and now, there was so much illness and need. Syliras was the happiest he'd seen, but even then the people were afraid and they weren't ever capable of getting what they needed when they needed it.
Because of the Valterrian, then the Djed Storm, and because of the evil hearts of Gods, men and women - there was little left in the world that remained kind. And so, of course, Caesarion determined that he needed to be vicious to survive his environment. When it came to good, there were two sides of the coin - the good that wished to spread purity and joy by giving meals to others, by praying for safety, by guiding and healing. Then, there was good such as the Syliran Knights that would expunge evil when they found it. Remove threats to order and stability. Some might call this neutral, but Caesarion considered this good. And somewhere, he believed that Priskil considered death a method of expunging evil as well. Why else would her followers be capable of tapping into powers that could sometimes hurt someone else? What fate did she seek for Sagallius if not his demise?
Vox wanted to be the blade of the innocent. In a way, he wished to embrace an evil sort of good - one that surrounded itself with death and cruelty in order to protect those in society who could never defend themselves from the black souls of the people who would exploit them. He didn't mind if this sort of thing changed him. He embraced this change, because it meant leaving behind weakness and entering a state of strength and self-actualization. He was finally able to process a potential goal for himself - it was more than just family and love, but also, a maelstrom of destruction to those who would threaten such tranquil realities.
The man stood from the bed in lieu of these thoughts. He was nude, for his clothes from the other nights were drenched in sweat. He had been very active. Knowing this, he simply put on his collar and his leather braces - he was required to look like a slave. He wore a loincloth to cover his nether regions, and then he picked up his torso attire and his pants and brought them over to the small well Telemaran provided his slaves to let them bathe and clean their attire. Caesarion's attire was somewhat fancy for a slave, so this was never enough to keep it in good condition, but he did his best. When he had thoroughly soaked the clothing, the man would periodically release Res to blow a sufficient amount of wind to wring out the clothes and dry them. The air he let out was hot, which always made the clothes fairly well dried and allowed him to get out wrinkles pretty easily.
The man then dipped himself into the well, removing the loincloth though letting it float around so it could be soaked as well. One thing he would often do - something he began to do right now - was use a little bit of Res to heat the tub a tiny amount, making it like a sauna, or at least just a warm bath instead of the freezing pit he'd usually walk into. These little things kept him going in the life that he'd been dealt, and they also kept his control of Res sharp and expanded upon the usage of his magic. Of course, the only reason he needed to do any of this was simply the fact that he wanted to go out. He was . . . determined to leave Telemaran's abide today, and for the purpose of beginning his investigation into the evil of the citadel.
One might expect that one who claims to fight for good in all its facets might shy away from the subject of killing. Death was, of course, the ending of everything outside of the Ukalas. And yet that was the point. To kill was to remove of something - an entity that affected you positively, negatively or not at all. If they were an enemy, then of course they would affect you negatively. Killing them is thus doing a liberty for yourself, unless the consequences of killing them would outweigh the reprieve you obtain from their demise. Life and death were much like business ventures, weighed in risk and reward. Giving birth to or adopting a child was like this as well. Life and death were as cold to many as coins. Now, the question was - did this belief extend to Caesarion? He was a servant of Priskil, and he always hoped since he was young to do an incredible amount of good in the world. Still, there was always the struggle when it came to good versus evil. Evil did not struggle at all when it came to its methods; expunge good in the most efficient way, or cruel way. They didn't mind killing and they didn't mind enslaving. They didn't mind any of the methods that were effective to their goals.
Good struggled because in honesty it was weaker and of lower quantity. There was far more suffering in the world than there was happiness. There were tens of thousands of slaves, tens of thousands of starving people, dying people, homeless people, mentally or physically disabled, sad and abused, weak and fragile - then only a handful of those who truly enjoyed life, who uncovered their dreams and lived in economic and emotional success. Even those people often had a difficult time keeping it all together. It was so hard to be happy, and so easy to despair. Yes, he knew this, for he remembered seeing this always - all around him in Ravok, and now, there was so much illness and need. Syliras was the happiest he'd seen, but even then the people were afraid and they weren't ever capable of getting what they needed when they needed it.
Because of the Valterrian, then the Djed Storm, and because of the evil hearts of Gods, men and women - there was little left in the world that remained kind. And so, of course, Caesarion determined that he needed to be vicious to survive his environment. When it came to good, there were two sides of the coin - the good that wished to spread purity and joy by giving meals to others, by praying for safety, by guiding and healing. Then, there was good such as the Syliran Knights that would expunge evil when they found it. Remove threats to order and stability. Some might call this neutral, but Caesarion considered this good. And somewhere, he believed that Priskil considered death a method of expunging evil as well. Why else would her followers be capable of tapping into powers that could sometimes hurt someone else? What fate did she seek for Sagallius if not his demise?
Vox wanted to be the blade of the innocent. In a way, he wished to embrace an evil sort of good - one that surrounded itself with death and cruelty in order to protect those in society who could never defend themselves from the black souls of the people who would exploit them. He didn't mind if this sort of thing changed him. He embraced this change, because it meant leaving behind weakness and entering a state of strength and self-actualization. He was finally able to process a potential goal for himself - it was more than just family and love, but also, a maelstrom of destruction to those who would threaten such tranquil realities.
The man stood from the bed in lieu of these thoughts. He was nude, for his clothes from the other nights were drenched in sweat. He had been very active. Knowing this, he simply put on his collar and his leather braces - he was required to look like a slave. He wore a loincloth to cover his nether regions, and then he picked up his torso attire and his pants and brought them over to the small well Telemaran provided his slaves to let them bathe and clean their attire. Caesarion's attire was somewhat fancy for a slave, so this was never enough to keep it in good condition, but he did his best. When he had thoroughly soaked the clothing, the man would periodically release Res to blow a sufficient amount of wind to wring out the clothes and dry them. The air he let out was hot, which always made the clothes fairly well dried and allowed him to get out wrinkles pretty easily.
The man then dipped himself into the well, removing the loincloth though letting it float around so it could be soaked as well. One thing he would often do - something he began to do right now - was use a little bit of Res to heat the tub a tiny amount, making it like a sauna, or at least just a warm bath instead of the freezing pit he'd usually walk into. These little things kept him going in the life that he'd been dealt, and they also kept his control of Res sharp and expanded upon the usage of his magic. Of course, the only reason he needed to do any of this was simply the fact that he wanted to go out. He was . . . determined to leave Telemaran's abide today, and for the purpose of beginning his investigation into the evil of the citadel.
