by Glenn » Mon Aug 26, 2013 7:48 am
"Magic has a cost," he walked beside her now, lacing his arm in hers if she'd allow it, as if they were sweethearts, "but then so does everything else. The harder the task, the larger the cost."
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Well then,We left our young hero in Underdark, down on his luck, hopeless. I told you that he won his way out, that he made it so that they were happier with him gone. I did not tell you how he did it. You see, he saw them as animals, as sentient but lacking even the basic capabilities of empathy, worse than an animal. Maybe, though, maybe he was so desperate he would have done this even if they were human. Maybe not.
He used those who would help him. He betrayed those who would trust him. He victimized those who would possess him. He showcased all of their worst qualities, and since he was mortal, since he knew how to grow and change and see outside of traditions and stagnation, he did it better than they did. There are lines we do not cross and yet he crossed them all. He was desperate. He had lost sight of himself. Still, he knew what he did. He rationalized it well. He would manage it, even up unto making them all burn.
He'd looked past tradition, though, had looked past ritual. In order to join a house he had to stand before their goddess. It was a ritual, superstition. What did he have to fear? He learned the words. He learned the tricks. He would not fail.
He didn't and so was his tragedy. This was not meant for a mortal mind, not meant for a mortal soul. His mind was strong enough, but his soul? It was sundered, severed from his body. That just made everything else easier, but it meant upon his return, he was no longer who he had been.
You have heard stories, countless I am sure, of men who no longer are capable of considering others. They kill them again and again, often in the same way, a ritual of their own and do not see anything wrong with this. He was driven in a way they were not. He wanted something other than blood and viscera. He wanted a better Myrken and now, with his soul cut adrift within him, he would do anything to achieve it.
That's what it took for Myrken. Crossing all the lines. Bloodless Atrocities each and every day. Balancing everything against everything else, until something had to give.The details aren't that interesting. A deranged stage performer given a chance to hurt the world in exchange for a little, tiny vote. That's not the interesting part. This is. Something had to give. Here is that something. Welcome to Golben, Duckling.