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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Jan 29, 2017 22:25:17 GMT -6
Thaaaaat had most definitely not been the right arm to use. Nayru hid the wince in her eye as she withdrew from the momentary kinda-sorta-embrace. She'd been walking to his right after all, it was completely natural to use her left arm. The arm that had been on fire not long ago, and Remus had healed back into usability but not painlessness. THAT arm. f**k**g god dammit to hell crap damn piss. "Yeah, don't worry about it. We're all hypocrites when it comes to following our own advice." Now wasn't she the absolute pinnacle of familiar love and togetherness, an eternal avatar of perfect love who could bring cheer to the hearts of men in the direst situations?
"But I am serious, Remus," she continued in what was shockingly enough a more serious tone, favoring her arm slightly. "If you actually believe you did wrong, make it right. You may not be able to bring back the dead," oh Nayru you sweet stupid innocent child, "but you can at least make their deaths meaningful, use it as fuel for the fire of your own ambition to make the world a better place." As she had said but a moment ago, they were all hypocrites, and Nayru knew she was no exception to that rule. But dammit, she was trying to do SOMETHING about her failures, inspired part of the way by Remus no less, and that meant he didn't get to bitch out on doing the same damn thing. Not if they were traipsing through 'crap's On Fire, Yo' valley on a wild goose chase that had already nearly killed both of them.
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Post by Remus on Jan 29, 2017 22:47:45 GMT -6
Remus saw Nayru start nursing her arm, and the tiny little hamster in the priests head started spinning a bit faster in its wheel. The soft hearted Etrurian quietly lifted his staff at the sight of his cherished friend still in pain, and instantly became reminded that he'd still not finished tending her entirely. Which would have to be done to see her back at full health. He quietly softly clasped his staff while the faint imbuing blue energy permeated from the gem within the center top of Thyrus, before infusing into her body to once more flood her figure with the magical warmth of healing energies fight prior. So they might spread through out her physique and tend the wounds of her figure, Remus took a brief moment to spread and sculpt the magic before letting a faint stream to trickle into her as they walked onwards. The priest however took solace in her words.
When he smiled, it was genuine. He nodded softly before he began to chime in once more, old Remus starting to return quietly.
"Your Right Nayru. I um...I know that this trip is primarily for you, but I can't help but think that it's already been a life changing experience of me honestly....and I don't just mean the giant murder scorpions that we ran into. Just...this conversation. It's....helped me realize quite alot of things. "
The priest looked towards Nayru further beaming happily before he continued onwards. The heat once again failing away in the face of their conversation. The priest let his smile briefly drop and nodded with a solemn tone before he turned to look off into the vast expense with a thoughtful expression. He nodded to her words before speaking up himself quietly.
"I...will find a way to make up with the time I have for those poor souls who I couldn't quite rescue.."
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Jan 29, 2017 23:01:18 GMT -6
Not quite looking Remus in the eye, the recalcitrant dragon mumbled "I was fine" with all the heartfelt honesty and absolute certainty of a bipolar bunny, most definitely NOT fine without his healing but it wasn't exactly like she could just come out and say that, could she now? The famous soon-deray in action! Still, she didn't do anything to stop him, independence and stubbornness losing out to 'hey retard your arm is still kinda screwed up, just shut up and let him work.' Which was a very specific kind of feeling, but then this was a pretty specific situation.
Damn priest was beaming like his staff, a far cry from the depressive episode of a few moments before. Did it really bring him that much joy to heal her? Nayru... REALLY wasn't sure how she felt about that, but it was nice to bask in the attention a little bit at least. Not that it stopped her from arguing with him the moment he started saying stupid stuff again. There was an air of bemusement in her voice as the dragon spoke up for herself. "You know there's a reason I brought you along, right?" If it was JUST for her, she wouldn't have visited the dangers of the journey on Remus... and very possibly gotten killed by the scorpions in the process. Hm. That was a sobering thought. "I wanted you to see Arcadia, hoped that you could get something out of it. You uh..."
It took a few moments to put her thoughts together, but when she did Nayru continued in a more subdued tone. "I've never met a human who believed so strongly in bettering racial relations. I thought... if anyone deserves to see what they're fighting for, if seeing what success looks like can fuel that dream too, it's you who deserves it." She snorted. "Didn't see the overgrown bugs coming, but hey, welcome to the jungle baby, we've got fun and games. And giant death scorpions. 'Nearly died in Nabata and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.'"
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Post by Remus on Jan 29, 2017 23:19:25 GMT -6
She might've mumbled that she was fine, but Remus dismissed this faint protest and continued to keep healing her either way. His expression still as warm as the soft glowing magic which was steadily streaming into her figure to mend and heal the handiwork of the monstrous murder scorpion. Her arm was still a work in progress but he was able to continuously whittle away at her injuries within that arm and mend them steadily. That took time, still, but it was far easier to approach this bit-by-bit as opposed to emphasizing on a singular grotesque wound. He tilted his head to gaze at her quietly while she talked about why he had been brought along. What she had in mind when she initially invited him.
He gazed away in reflection. His staff still healing and mending her before he spoke up quietly, his smile still wide as he looked to her with a modicum of visible affection or warmth there. The priest's tone was mixed with a small amount of surprise but the excitement to see this Arcadia had him growing more and more energetic.
"I um..well..again...thank you. It really does mean alot to me to be able to see this place, even if the journey is far more dangerous than I or you evidently would've initially thought. I can't wait to see this place, and see what it's like! "
Remus briefly stemmed the flow to her magic, having focused on the upper shoulder segment and near where the ball joint of the shoulder connected to the rest of the body. Him slowly tilting around a bit to ponder before he brightened his smile once more. Nayru certainly had a way of keeping him in unfaltering good spirits even if it didn't always seem like it. Remus was moving along, long happy strides at the side of his dragoness companion making him work a tad bit harder to keep up with her were it not for her having slowed herself to match his pace.
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Jan 30, 2017 2:41:43 GMT -6
It was funny that the only times Remus forgot to be, well, Remus was when it came to healing others. Whether they liked it or not. It was interesting and a little humbling to see the mild-mannered priest transform into an ironclad ambassador of Elimine, sort of like an adorable bumbling Kraft in his fervency. Hm. Nayru decided to never ever ever think of those words in that order again. She felt like she needed to wash out her mouth with molten magma for even thinking such blasphemous things. But it was one of the few times that the lapis hued priest actually stood up for himself, not just for others. Nayru privately thought that he could stand to extend that mindset to more things, but the idea of Remus being pushy on... pretty much anything else was alien enough that she couldn't really envision it, either.
-And then it was back to normal awkward Remus, apologetic and hesitant, ruining the moment.
Oh well, she liked him well enough either way. "Yeah, well, maybe when Etruria is safer you can treat me to a milkshake at your favorite restaurant or something, and we'll call it even." As was ever the wont of children, teenagers, and others lacking in common sense, she couldn't help but massage the recovering arm slightly in the wake of the priest's last bit of effort in healing it, as if it would magically get better if she touched it enough times. "You sure you're ok keeping up this healing thing? Don't you get, uh, tired or... something?" She wasn't exactly a master of human magics, but she'd always figured that using enough of it would eventually tire a guy out, though Remus has said something about doing it in small bursts earlier to lighten the load or... something.
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Post by Remus on Feb 3, 2017 14:40:14 GMT -6
Yeah, well, maybe when Etruria is safer you can treat me to a milkshake at your favorite restaurant or something, and we'll call it even.
Okay. Now he had to try not to laugh too hard. The best restrain he could muster was a sheepishly earnest smile preceded by a laugh before he beamed towards her warmly. His gaze scanning her limb that she tugged at while she visibly tested the length of injury she still yet sustained. The blue haired Etrurian thinking to his home for a moment, and the things he would like to show her, were they ever to visit it. The notion of showing her his home and the towns around it was indeed, to him, a pleasant notion.
"Ahah..well..that would make things exceptionally fun! It was a nice place growing up, but I honestly didn't live in any of the larger towns. Just a smaller sleepy village closer to the western coast. My family live in um..an estate off to the east a little bit of our town. So my only exposure to larger cities has been on my travels this past year and a few glimpses through the church. Which were..rigidly planned. So I never had the leisure of enjoying the cities libraries. "
Ah. How long could he keep up the healing? Wouldn't it be a drain? Most certainly fair questions. The priest quietly cradled his staff and gazed towards Nayru with the same warmth as prior even if he chuckled lightly before continuing onwards, elaborating a bit while gesturing towards her injured arm.
"Well. Traditionally it would. However, I've been focusing on lessening the internal damage periodically. This way the body can focus on the external wounds that are often easier to mend naturally, while I supplement with ministrations on the internal. However by doing it in these small sessions spread out over time, I am able to recuperate my stamina. Effectively making use of it. Albeit I'm not at 100% shape and stamina at any given moment but erm..well were not doing anything else so there's no reason for me to worry about it!"
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 19, 2017 1:26:38 GMT -6
"I see," she stated gravely. Nayru paused for a moment. "Ok, I don't see," she continued shortly thereafter when honesty won over the need to appear as though she had any idea what the f**k he has just said. "But if it means I don't have to sling you over my shoulder like a sack of lumpy potatoes, I'm on board with your plan." The bronzed dragoness chuckled, ignoring the slight twinge of pain that reverberated through her body at the movement. They both knew quite well that she COULD lift him without much trouble, but given her... condition, she didn't particularly care to be doing anything too strenuous right now or in the immediate future, or maybe even never, that was fine by her too. She would lug the overgrown blueberry around if she had to, but it wasn't really her first choice for adventuring.
On a somewhat more serious note, though, Remus's description of his hometown was admittedly interesting. An estate? And how he hesitated on the word for a moment. From shame, or an ingrown need for secrecy, or simply trying to find the right word? She, uh, didn't exactly suspect malice from him, it was just one of those things that even the famously dense dragon had eventually learned to pick up over time - that the way people talked, the things they didn't say, sometimes revealed more than what they did. And sometimes she was full of crap. Whatever the case, she didn't push it - if Remus wanted to share, he would. Nayru took the easier path instead, or perhaps it was the better one. "There is something to be said for the tranquility of life in a small village. A certain... connection that is lost in larger civilizations. The human element."
Was she being a pedantic idiot? Nayru wasn't sure, if she was to be honest with herself. The Luddite philosophy of nature over civilization was not something she had ever been particularly fond of - but growing up in Arcadia, itself essentially an overgrown small town, where everyone knew each other; it had taken her time to adjust to a world in which no one cared about anyone else outside of their small circle. To be fair, she had kinda had a head start in terms of enough self-loathing that she didn't want to be around people anyways, but eh, live and learn.
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Post by Remus on Apr 21, 2017 18:59:00 GMT -6
Remus's chuckle caused his shoulders to shake a bit. The priest glancing over happily while he tilted his head with a bright beaming smile. At this point he'd almost managed once more to forget the absurdly sweltering murder heat that they had to tread through. At-least the soft sand bedding was far more benevolent to his heels and the pads of his feet as opposed to the monstrous dunes they'd ascended and descended for enough time that he still felt his calves throbbing in angry protest if even pondering it. No doubt if he'd tried he might've been able to tend his bodies ache. However he could not while focusing on Nayru's arm which took far more priority.
The fact that her limb was slowly mending was definitely a good sign. At this point he was focusing on preserving his own stamina as well. The slow trickle of mending magics flowing into her body was like a controlled stream. Placing rocks in-front of a stream and allowing only a mere amount of essence to traverse. Remus was quiet for a few moments before nodding his head and chiming in once more.
"Hehe, no carrying for you. Really, nothing you have to worry about there. Ah and well, yes. I can assure you that the larger cities had me quite lost. It was there that I learned not everyone is as openly friendly as I was used to. Most ignoring my attempted morning greetings or gazing at me strangely when ever I offered to assist them with what ever task seemed to require aforementioned assistance. That and erm...well..I guess I wasn't exactly popular with many haha! People thought I was er...a fool. Optimism isn't as popular as you'd think! Heh."
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 21, 2017 21:34:27 GMT -6
"Ha. I find that tendency quite useful myself; it took getting used to after leaving Arcadia, but most humans care little for what secrets other may carry so long as they don't cause trouble. Man, monster, or dragon - gold speaks louder than them all." Not included: the sheer amount of stupidity, fear, self loathing, and general dumbassery that had stained her early years in human society. She had had a LOT to learn and taken much time to grasp it all; unfortunately being a dragon did not come with the 'learn everything instantly' setting, and in her emotionally self-destructive state, things had been even more difficult for her at the time.
Over time things had worked out, though, and now Nayru was almost more comfortable in a crowd than a small group. It was a different view of humanity. Bereft of the actual humanity, the perspective shifted from individual fish to the entire seething sea. Certainly there was something missing of the human element, as she had noted. But at the same time. It was a fundamental, absolute form of 'life' that she could not deny. The pulsating, vibrant tapestry woven together by thousands of souls. Beautiful... in its own way. She could do without the smell though.
"I can certainly imagine that it must have been a rude awakening for you, but you turned out alright in my book, buddy." The dragon grinned lopsidedly at her companion, slipping from sounding kinda-sorta smart back into her usual easy way of speaking in the blink of an eye. "And you eventually got that fancy staff out of it, too. Win win, am I right?"
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Post by Remus on Apr 22, 2017 18:02:25 GMT -6
Gold spoke louder than all. That...could be a good thing at times, sure. His parents had been financially successful, and turned it into an orphanage that not only set him upon his own path but also provided a home for countless others. Just two people could make so many impacts through the expenditure of coin. Yet it also did...a-lot of evil. Corruption to the greatest degree. Many many men did deplorable things or worse than such in the name of coin enough to feed them. Were there no monetary systems would that help root out corruption? This...was not a field of life he was experienced in. Far be it from him to know much about economics. That'd require extensive studying, and well. What was he going to do then? Provide a one man revolutionary wave of renaissance and release new world changing ways to live life? He wasn't that smart.
Perhaps he'd have to shift to theological changes (or attempted ones) and leave that to the artisans and inventors. Or economic...-ers. That said, he did chuckle for a moment before speaking aloud as he shifted more in step subconsciously with Nayru while once more turning to quietly tend her wounds a bit more thoroughly.
"I'm just glad my family chose to use theirs well, instead of letting it consume them like most in Etruria with an aptitude for acquiring it. Heh..ahh. You are right though. It was an awakening I'm all the wiser for. I couldn't appreciate the troubles and diversities of others if I did not experience them to some degree. Or witness them for comparison. And erm..yeah the staff was a plus side as well. I just hope to learn more about it if anything. It's...still a bit of a mystery."
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on Apr 27, 2017 19:43:32 GMT -6
Remus didn't look totally convinced about the money thing, but she hadn't really been banking on him agreeing with her on the subject. It was obvious that a vagabond dragon and a holy priest would have a bit different views on reality, even if they did have their similarities. Then again, it wasn't like either of them were expert economists, she just knew what she saw, and he just knew what he believed. In the end they could both be wrong. Not a big deal.
"Well, you know what they say. Don't judge a man 'til you walked a mile in his shoes. Then you have his shoes AND you're a mile away!" The dragon guffawed at the thought of it. "Though I guess you could also take it as experiencing what us lesser folks go through in life to better empathize with it and all." Hmmm. She wasn't sure if that had been the best wording. Being born in Arcadia was about as privileged as you could get after all, even if she had chosen, through sheer stupidity, to leave it. But at the same time, considering low long she had lived among mortals, particularly the weak and powerless, Nayru thought she did have a pretty good idea of what their experience was like. A path that, in some ways, Remus was mimicking - though not in the same way as her. "It's easy to forget just how little most folks can do to protect themselves, how much they rely on guards, armies, and the occasional well meaning adventurer to keep them safe. Elibe is not a kind place to the weak and powerless."
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Post by Remus on Apr 27, 2017 19:59:10 GMT -6
Who else was tired of sand? Anyone? Just him? Right. If Nayru hadn't been naturally acclimated to it over the span of just under literally forever maybe he'd feel a bit less out of place in his discomfort. The heat was bad, but at-least he could say he still didn't mind the soft stable flat bedding opposed to murder dunes. Though, a dune wasn't so bad. At-least he wasn't worrying about massive murder worms bursting out and eating them. He'd read about that in a book once. Hopefully it'd just been a fantasy novel? Then again one couldn't be sure, they had just battled giant insect like monsters.
The priest chuckled at Nayru's second quip. Finding it legitimately funny as his smile widened before he lowered his hand after tending her shoulder perhaps about as best as he was going to be able to. Given he'd been mending it for the entirety of their walk thus far. The chuckling priest quietly clasped his hands after a few moments of pensive staring into the distance and reflecting on what Nayru said before speaking his thoughts aloud. A bright typical "Remus" smile upon his lips.
"Haha I think I've walked quite a few miles! Today no less! Though..if I'm honest?"
He paused again before clasping his staff and looking onwards directly. Gaze staring ahead as shifting dunes and rolling flat desert blended together in all directions.
"I want to make a world that is kind to the weak and powerless. I want to create such a place where all can have a chance without the cruelties of reality suppressing or crushing them beneath its grip. But...of late I've come to realize upon self reflection that it is only through those cruelties that we can grow. Sure..stopping the real horrors like brigands or monsters...but I think it is only through our adversities that we can grow the fullest and appreciate those reprieves from adversity. We cannot appreciate good, without bad as it were. Which..makes me feel like I'm admitting defeat to acknowledge yet..I just don't know. I can not find a middle ground here."
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 2, 2017 20:04:02 GMT -6
"And there are a fair few to go," Annihilator of Fun Nayru stated firmly with a smile and a sort of casual conversationalism that belied the meaning of her words. "Once we reach the deep desert, the temperature will be even worse and landmarks will cease to exist almost entirely. If you don't know your way around, it's quite easy to walk until you die without ever seeing anyone or anything again." Normally this is where she would have slapped him on the back, and she started to do so, but the twinge of pain in her arm reminded the dumbass dragon that was probably a bad idea. "Fortunately you have a guide, no dying on me today buster. But it's never wise to underestimate the desert no matter how well you think you know it. This place is built on bones."
Uh, figuratively speaking anyways, Nayru didn't think anyone had actually paid a construction company to come out here and- anyways. Serious talk. Right. Try not to be a flippant idjit for once. Easier said than done but such was life. Remus's speech did strike some chords that she remembered all too well, though, which made the task much easier, and Nayru remained silent for as moment before responding more slowly and coherently than her flippant commentary before. "...Did you know that the people of the deep desert speak of the concept of a world where 'rain that falls from the sky' is paradise? And yet they still take pride in the brutal upbringing of the desert, the harsh mother who makes them strong, far stronger than the weak men from elsewhere in Elibe."
At least that was how the saying went, anyways, but at the same time Nayru wasn't entirely sure she disagreed. Even for her, an Arcadian who had been sheltered by the standards of the true people of the desert, it was still a little strange to reconcile the rest of Elibe with what she had grown up with - the idea of an 'outside' that wasn't actively trying to kill you, that you could just.... wander around in without having to always remember just how much could go wrong. "It's a dichotomy - an almost self-defeating dream; those who do not know peace wish for it, without understanding what it brings." The dragon sighed. She remembered a younger woman who had once thought to lead humanity into a peaceful future. "...That realization struck me in the past as well, and I still don't know the answer to it, Remus. Do you try to divide society into peaceful and warlike? The latter will simply overrun the former after a time. Bring peace to all? Humanity will wane and decompose and rot away without progress. Bring war to all, create a world in which strength rules? Countless innocents will die in the process, and while humanity as a race may flourish, humanity as a concept will die."
She shook her head. It was a frustrating train of thought to even consider. "The Scouring bred the greatest heroes humanity has ever seen - men and women with such power that they could match and exceed even dragons. What if it had never ended? Would humanity have continued evolving? Would it have eventually become a race of ubermensch, superhumans?" Now that was a bit of an eerie thought. Dragons had it rough enough as is. "The best I can say is that... those who have the drive to improve will find struggle, and those who do not should not pay too great a price for their simple life, I think."
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Post by Remus on May 7, 2017 14:26:48 GMT -6
Now he could restrain himself. He could opt NOT to ask the question biting at his mind. But that was absolute folly. They both knew that when he was curious about literally anything he lost all sense of subtlety, if such a thing had even existed in the normally blue clad priest to begin with. So while he gazed upon the baron flats he inquired softly, for though he'd asked a similar question prior he'd not quite asked this one in particular. It did delve into personal recollections though.
"Have you personally known anyone to get lost in the desert?"
She began to speak though of this vicious cycle. The self perpetuating truth. Weak only grew through strife and strong only pacified in peace. Either extreme brought disastrous consequences. Nayru was quite right in that prospect. Things truly did not ever settle in any one stagnant state. Much as he sought to improve and had to struggle for it, while his parents idled in a happy place with little trouble. Neither lifestyle was horrible and the compliment of one led to another. Maybe that was the method of succession. Maybe it was meant to exist in a different cycle. To this end the priest quietly tapped his staff a bit before looking out into that vast desert waste with a brief pause mentally before trying to adequately collect his thoughts. Perhaps it was the way Nayru worded her questions. They seemed to be so very severe, and yet he had not a doubt in his mind they were such by necessity. The young Etrurian chuckled softly before gazing with an ever Remus-y smile and a tilt of the head.
"Maybe, just as the animals in nature do not change the ways of it, we are not meant to change this to such an extreme. The conditioning of thinking living things takes on a natural pattern. Perhaps we can seek to improve but are not meant to entirely alter. Humanity...seeks conflict. Yet also peace. For every soldier, there is a farmer. I suppose though to question how we can improve the lives of the farmers it would indeed facilitate the act of questioning a need for the soldier in such a world where the farmers are safe. If you are skilled by trade at fighting, with natural inclinations as it is the proclivity for the body naturally lean in various talents, what purpose have you in a world with no fighting? Though I would seek peace I believe that absolute peace might now be as disastrous a notion for our survival as perpetual war."
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Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 7, 2017 16:02:08 GMT -6
"Yeah." There was a whole conversation in that word, in what flickered across Nayru's face, in the silence that came after. She had seen ti happen. She remembered it, same as she remembered everything else she had ever seen. And she sure as hell remembered the time it had been partially her fault. Not directly. Not exactly. Not enough that anyone else had blamed her for it. Dumbass kid thought they were tough enough to keep up forever - even when she had tried to play the voice of reason. Had played on her pride, washing away her reservations in the name of competition. Almost everyone had made it back too, thanks to her.
But not all of them.
"...I'm serious, Remus. Don't go wandering around here without a plan. I don't want to lose you."
She was quiet as Remus posited his own thoughts and theories about the subject of humanity, of peace and war. Admittedly she was looking in from the outside to a degree - no matter how humanlike a dragon could be, in the end there was still a naturally different perspective if only due to age, even ignoring the species gap. She had seen things he couldn't imagine, watched entire generations live and die and be reborn again. Cities rise and kingdoms fall. The best and the worst of humanity. It didn't give her answers - only experience - and much of it the kind that she could have done without.
"If you wanted to change the world that greatly, you would need to... breed or condition people to fit your dreams," she said evenly after a short time, dipping back into her memories of fruitless ideals. "Either eradicate those who do not comply, or wait for them to die out." In the end, it was the same thing - ensuring the permanent destruction of anyone noncompliant AND their ideals - the only question was if you were willing to put their blood on your hands or let Father Time do the deed so you could tell yourself that your hands were clean. "There's no room for... warriors and fighters in a world of peace. No bandits, no soldiers, no mercenaries, no monster hunters." The dragon stared down at her right hand, clenching it into a fist and opening it again. It was disconcertingly easy to imagine a world without herself, but she wasn't sure she could envision a world without any kind of combat at all.
"You'd also need a stable government, and some method to channel that violence into positive ends in the short term... or create a permanent divide between strength and weakness, or find some way to forever marry them. Four years mandatory military service to become a voting citizen, for example, or at least a year or two in the militia. Breeding men who are strong, but not defined by it."
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