retired
Talkative Reader
I'm thankful I got the chance to meet all of you.
Posts: 364
|
Post by retired on May 5, 2011 18:24:04 GMT -5
(Agreed.)
Vrilyo crossed his arms, his brow still tightly knit as he looked up at his teacher. "Don't think this means we're friends or something," he said, "I just can't stand people like that." He glanced in the direction the other knights gone, "Now, if you're going to teach me something, you'd better get started. Those idiots put me in a foul mood, and I can't guarantee I'll be able to maintain much interest in anything other than taking that tonu oaf down a peg."
|
|
|
Post by Shinko on May 5, 2011 18:44:13 GMT -5
Gary shrugged. "I can't say I blame you. I've been dealing with Issac and his ilk for... going on twelve years now. I try to be the bigger person but I'd be lying if I said it didn't get to me from time to time." He shook his head. "Never mind, you're right. We've already wasted enough time on this nonsense. C'mon."
As the two entered the empty classroom, Gary gestured towards the chairs and started speaking. "You obviously know from your lessons how battles are fought. Tell me though, do you know why? For example, when bandits attack a village, as they frequently do, it is our duty as knights to defend the villagers. But why would the bandits go to the trouble? They know that ultimately Skarl will send out his knights to defeat them, so why bother?"
(Trying to ease into the lesson of the nature of the enemy by talking about the idea of bandits as desperate peasants rather than mindless killers, than working up to actual wars.)
|
|
retired
Talkative Reader
I'm thankful I got the chance to meet all of you.
Posts: 364
|
Post by retired on May 26, 2011 16:37:08 GMT -5
(Sounds like a good idea. I'll try to go with the flow of the lesson as much as I can.)
Vrilyo's face hardened into a scowl once more as he took a seat, "Because they're selfish brutes with no concern for the lives their fellow Neopets! And they put themselves above all others." He eyed his teacher warily, "Where are you going with this? What does taking out low-life bandits have to do with REAL battles?"
|
|
|
Post by Shinko on May 26, 2011 17:19:37 GMT -5
Gary frowned. "Vrilyo, fighting off bandits is real battle. For every war that lasts three or four years, there are decades more of peace. When was the last genuine war in Neopia? Maraqua, and that was a good several years ago and had nothing to do with us. A knight spends a lot more time fighting bandits and brigands than he ever spends on the battlefield of a war."
"Getting back to the previous topic, the thing you have to keep in mind about your enemy is they seldom do what they do out of pure evil. In fact for the most part neopians have a genuine, legitimate reason for their deeds, or at least a reason that seems legitimate to them. Bandits, for example, are not raiding villages simply out of greed. More often than not, they do it out of desperation. Bandits start out as simple farmers and herdsman who have a few years in a row of bad harvest or suffer a blight that costs them their stock. Most peasants barely make enough to get by, never mind having enough to save some for a time of famine. They resort to theft as a desperate means of saving themselves and their families. They see others who have the food and money they need, and... they take it. This doesn't make what they do right by any stretch of the imagination, and it is still our duty to stop them. However, they are, when you get right down to it, no different from those they steal from."
The bori sighed, rubbing the scar on his face wearily. "Anyone can be driven to amoral decisions if they become desperate enough."
|
|
retired
Talkative Reader
I'm thankful I got the chance to meet all of you.
Posts: 364
|
Post by retired on May 26, 2011 20:55:30 GMT -5
Vrilyo slammed a fist on the arm of his chair and scoffed, "They're plenty different!" As he crossed his arms with a determined look, he said "The minute they go stealing from hardworking, peaceful people, any sympathy I might have had for them is gone. I don't care how desperate they are! If some one does something evil, no matter the circumstances, that person is evil. Wrong is wrong, and that's all there is to it." He glared up at the bori, daring him to produce a counterpoint.
|
|
|
Post by Shinko on May 26, 2011 21:06:04 GMT -5
Gary sighed. He leaned back against the table for a moment, his expression almost pained. "Vrilyo, I'm sure you heard about the first Darigani war; it is often that our people speak of the way Darigan attacked us as if it were an act of utmost evil. Here's the rub; what most history lessons don't teach, in the interest of patriotism, they were entirely justified in attacking us. We stole something from them. We, like those bandits, were driven to desperation by famine and disease, but on a nationwide scale. So, the king ordered a small band of his best knights to scour the land for some way to lift that curse, and they found it by invading the prosperous kingdom of Darigan and stealing a magical orb from them. It gifted us with wealth, prosperity, and surplus beyond our wildest dreams. It also plunged the Darigani into the same horrifying stagnation we had previously been enduring."
He raised an eyebrow. "They were merely 'hardworking, peaceful people' and we stole from them. They sent their forces to stop us and reclaim what was rightfully theirs."
|
|
retired
Talkative Reader
I'm thankful I got the chance to meet all of you.
Posts: 364
|
Post by retired on May 28, 2011 17:03:50 GMT -5
Vrilyo sat silently for a long while, his beak agape. At last he spoke, stammering in disbelief, "Th-that can't be true! H-his Majesty would never do something like that! Would he?.."
The young eyrie's brow knit tightly once again, "How could knights do something like that?! It's disgraceful! It's unforgivable!... Though that doesn't mean I forgive the Darigani for what they've done since then..."
He stood and started to pace, "I don't understand... My whole life, my Father taught me that the knights of Meridell fought for justice... that they stood for everything that was good and right..." Tears fought to well up in his eyes, but he held them back through sheer will and anger, "If the knights did something so wrong... what on Neopia is right?..."
|
|
|
Post by Shinko on May 28, 2011 18:09:04 GMT -5
((Lemme know if this is too wordy or if it overshot the mark. >>; BTW, the reason Gary keeps tripping over his speech is because despite knowing their reasons intellectually, in his heart he hasn't really forgiven the Citadel for what he endured either. This makes it hard for him to talk about it objectively, especially the particularly sore subject of Vex the Prison Master.))
Gary watched the young Eyrie pace, feeling a sudden surge of kinship with him. Despite the differences in their personality, the bori had been very much like Vrilyo in his younger days; utterly convinced that the knights of Merridel stood for justice could do no wrong. His epiphany had come not from his own people, but the hands of the enemy, and it had been a painful lesson indeed...
"The king," he said slowly, "is not a god. He is as mortal as you or I, and he makes mistakes. The knights did what they were honor-bound to do; obeying their liege and saving their people."
"The question of right and wrong is something that has plagued us for centuries. Good and evil are not as easy to distinguish as the tales would like us to believe. More often than not, especially for a knight on the battlefield, it is not a choice between what is right and what is wrong, but rather to choosing the lesser of two evils."
"Sometimes, doing what's right means actually thinking about the orders you've been given rather than charging blindly forward. During the second war, not all of the Darigani followed Kass in attacking us. A small faction, including the General Galgarroth and Master V-vex..."
The bori visably steeled himself before plowing on with his narrative. "They refused to submit to Kass' leadership and were exiled from their country because of it. They knew the war was wrong, so despite the fact that Kass had become lord of the citadel, they refused to listen to him. It was from them we learned why we were being attacked the second time; Kass had stirred up fear in the hearts of his people by lying to them and claiming we intended to attack. Their knights were not acting out of evil, but in what they perceived to be a preemptive strike against an antagonistic enemy force. They were knights no different from our own, desperate to defend their people and willing to go to any lengths to do so."
Gary's eyes hardened briefly. "The problem is that they charged blindly forward without actually thinking; had they stopped to ponder they would have realized we were still reeling from the first war and in no position to attack anyone. However they, like those knights who stole the orb, trusted their leader to always make the right decisions and do what is best. Unfortunately for them, while Skarl was motivated by desperation and fear for his people, Kass was motivated by greed."
"A knight's greatest treasure is his honor, but it is also our greatest weakness, for it can be used against us. Nonetheless, while we may not always make the right decisions, we do our best despite that. When we inevitably make mistakes we go above and beyond to correct them. That is what it truly means to be a Defender of Meridell."
|
|
retired
Talkative Reader
I'm thankful I got the chance to meet all of you.
Posts: 364
|
Post by retired on May 28, 2011 18:45:15 GMT -5
(*claps* Excellent! Ugh. Stubborn Vrilyo...)
Vrilyo ceased pacing and pondered his teacher's words. After several minutes of silence, he turned to Gary with a determined expression.
"I don't think I can ever settle for just 'the lesser of two evils'. It may be difficult to see sometimes, but there's always a way to do the right thing. I just know there is!" He then clenched his fists and looked away, his voice suddenly strained, "And I still can't fully forgive the Darigani... Not yet..."
Looking back at Gary, Vrilyo's determined look returned as he declared, "I know I can't undo the mistakes of my forefathers. But I can continue to chase my dream; to become the greatest, and most honorable knight who ever lived! I'll always try to do what's right and most sincere! I'll never settle for less than the absolute truth! By doing that, I hope to redeem my King and my people... In my own eyes, if no one else's..."
(Gary's argument was very convincing, but Vrilyo is just a black and white kinda guy. Besides, I need him to stay at least a little bit the same for the future, when he meets Sorore and the others.)
|
|
|
Post by Shinko on Jun 4, 2011 14:57:54 GMT -5
The child had spirit, that much was certain. Gary hadn't really expected Vrilyo to believe all of what he was told, especially given his personality. However, the bori had planted the seeds, and he knew Vrilyo would eventually come to his own realization.
He has an iron will. Only time and experience can forge him into a sword.
"Very well," the knight said, smiling. "Now, on the subject of the wars..."
((Sorry, short. D= Kind of a cutoff point here. The next scene is with Errileo and Vrilyo, I don't think Gary's there at all until after Vrilyo beats the bullies up, maybe he comes in just as they hightail it and surmises what happened?))
|
|
retired
Talkative Reader
I'm thankful I got the chance to meet all of you.
Posts: 364
|
Post by retired on Feb 25, 2012 23:27:06 GMT -5
(I am going to do this a little at a time, and finish it, by God! >8[ For neopets! FOR SHINKOOOOOOO! )
"How's a runt like you supposed to become a knight?"
The group of boys laughed as their leader, a scruffy Lupe sneered at Errileo. The round little blue elephante continued to smile despite their taunts, though his eyes betrayed him by glistening over with the onset of tears. He said nothing in reply to the older boys.
"Looks like he's gonna cry!" laughed a spindly, green techo hiding at the back of the gang.
[WORK IN PROGRESS. NOT DONE.]
|
|