by Glenn » Fri Aug 08, 2014 1:38 am
Five soldiers and one Colonel.
One Burnie, not fully recovered. It was certainly a show of force. He pressed into the man holding him, made the positioning more uncomfortable, more awkward. It was an obtuse gesture perhaps, but if the Baron was going to sit and speak, he'd do it as awkwardly as possible, even if it was the indirect sort of awkward. He heard every word. "It must be nice, living in your world, Surdemer." No more familiarity of the first name, just a cool disdain. "I wish you had been more cordial at the beginning. We could have saved some time if I knew you wanted nothing but to wipe your ass and leave. I understand why you weren't. You're not a man to talk about yourself because there simply isn't anything to say. You're a title and position, a mandate and a duty. You're not a person. You're a thing. How was it done, I wonder? Did you all sit around a big table, plump and oozing, gorged on Burel's failure, which isn't at all your own success? Playing god with people's lives but seeing it as mere custodial services, which really is about the level of competency for a thing like you.
"I spent the entirety of my youth learning to do what you intend here. You cannot solve the problems of Myrken Wood out of a book." He had a plan, at his very worst, a daring plan, a plan that would have worked. It was to have taken generations. Generations. Sacrifices today so that the children of tomorrow could live free of the darkness and pain and hurt, so that they could have a chance in this world. What Surdemer suggested might create an environment of presumed stability, but the bleeding wouldn't stop. It would only get worse. The resentment wouldn't end. It would only churn on the inside, until it all boiled over.
"You can't stop the rain, Surdemer. I've tried. You can't halt the wind. You cannot put people's hearts into a nice, neat box. There's too much history here and frankly, you don't have the resolve to end it. You're going to tie a nice pretty bow around a tree that's been on fire for a hundred years, and call it civilized and safe. You'll say it works. You'll call your job done." And then, frankly, because he could not help himself, the Governor laughed. "You look at Myrken Wood and you think the institutions are to blame. I failed, yes. Calomel before me. Helstone before him. Bromn more than you could imagine. A half dozen Councils. You look at that, remember the lessons of whatever hairy tutor your parents hired for you decades ago, the one that probably touched you in all the wrong places which is how you got that cunt hand in the first place, and you see the institutions as the problem, that and a few politicians. Myrken bleeds. And thank to this, we're going to bleed south all over you and yours now.
"You don't understand her. You don't understand me. You don't understand here. And frankly? The only joy I get here today, is that in the myriad of ways you are wrong, the one way that you are wrong the most is this: no matter what happens with me and Egris, there will be a marriage, yours. You tie your bow and the fire will consume it and you will be back, personally, again, and again, and again. You're putting your mark here, Surdemer, and that makes you Myrken's forever. You think that it'll be all over and you'll head home to your solitude and your latrine where no one can see you, but that's not how it works. I know you don't believe me. I know you see this as a backwoods shithole, and all of us its uncivilized inhabitants. Little shits. You're not the first to think that. You won't be the last, but soon, a year's time, two, you'll know so much more." He paused. He stared. then, he coughed slightly, demeanor becoming more pleasant despite the awkwardness. "All that said, do you mind coming a few inches closer so I can spit at you, just lean in. For punctuation's sake. I should have done that first but then you probably wouldn't have let me talk." Now of course, he was a bit parched. "I suppose this gentleman behind me could angle me a bit to the left, I might be able to manage it then?"