Quoted By:
<span class="mu-b">”No. I have never fought for honor, only for myself. Never a cause. I was a soldier, not a warrior.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">”But if circumstances were different, you could have been a warrior. Hence, all men are warriors.”</span>
<span class="mu-b">”Just men? Not women?”</span>
<span class="mu-r">”Oh please, all women are slaves.”</span>
<span class="mu-b">”That is considered very sexist in our society.”</span>
<span class="mu-r">”And? Women are slaves- they are first slaves to the men in their lives- their fathers, brothers, and then husbands- and then they are slaves again to their children. Please, the plights of women are of no interest to me.”</span>
While his culture is much different and alien to your own; you feel there is some truth to his words. Perhaps in another life, you could have been a warrior. You always felt very strongly about the truth- you've always believed in some things. When you were younger, you even considered a career in politics to change what is wrong with society- but you knew it was folly. You began to only fight for yourself- and you don't think that is going to change any time soon.
Over the next few weeks, you and Brun become fast friends. He's only a year or two older then you, despite the fact you're already taller then he is. As the son of the local chief, he's very important and well respected among the blondes here. At first, you assume this is purely because of his heredity title, but you notice something else.
Because of the time you spent in the army, you learned a great deal about leadership. But the methods the army used to train and lead were much different. The army was bureaucratic, efficient, and ran like clockwork. The blondes are anything but- but more natural. Brun capitulates as he leads, compromising, dealing with individuals as they come and as they are, not as figures on a sheet. It's inspiring to see how much his people respect and value him- not as a boss or tell-all figure, but as a leader right there with them. You realize of course the only reason his methodology works is because of how few people he interacts with; someone so personal and intimate with their charges could never exist in a massive society like Centralia- with close to a billion people living within, the scale is simply too great for such a personal touch. But still, you feel inspiration.
Of course, you are still their prisoner. Though you live in the compound and do as they ask, you have not been grilled for information nor denied basic living and luxuries. You feel more adopted then enslaved. You get your chance to leave when, one day, you are reminded that you are technically among a flock of terrorists.
