Quoted By:
>"If you want to be a hero, start by accepting your defeat with honor instead of seething like a bratty child. The road you want to travel is a long and difficult one and if you can understand the lesson of today's battle, you'll be able to begin it."
Ludwyhn cracked his eyes at me. Even my companions seemed surprised by how firm I came out with that one. I may have let Majordomo heavily influence it.
Before Ludwyhn could hurl back some kind of rebuttal, or outright refusal to see the error in his choice, I heard an interjection.
[WOLDOR] "She speaks the truth, my son. Today, you were humbled for your foolhardiness indeed."
[EIKN] "But worry not, for you still have impressed our eyes, my cherished son."
...!
Woldor, and his wife. The Great Nannie, Eikn. The centrifugal mother goddess herself. Lady of civilization, and caretaker and lawkeeper of the family. She was a very tall woman, and her head was topped with two horns like Woldor's was. She was an old goddess, a very old one. But she was beautiful, very beautiful and awesome to behold much like her consort.
[LUDWYHN] "M-Ma...? Pa? How could you be proud of this failure?"
[WOLDOR] "Failure is a strong word my son! You have served in the capacity I asked for! There was no finer candidate to test the mettle of the gods below! You faced them bravely, despite knowing the odds were against you."
[EIKN] "We will always be proud of you, son. We asked you to do that which we and you both knew you couldn't, and ever so valiantly you tried. But this is the outcome we wanted exactly. You've proven the pantheon today. So do not let it break you, and your heroic pride. Grow from it. Sprout, my seedling!"
[LUDWYHN] "..." The Demigod sniffled, and wiped his face. He nodded, slowly.
Perhaps he'd been expecting Woldor to pull some strings to knock his stubbornness down with a reality check for a while. He just might not have expected it to be like this. He knew all along he was bound to lose. Any of us gods could have beaten him on our lonesome, but fighting together usually means we fail to bring our full power to bear when focused on cooperating. Still...
