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Quoted By: >>5273832
Long before you were born, a blind man accepted the hand of terribly wise men in the hopes winning the hand of an equally terrifying woman. He followed their advice, grew to trust them at their word, and why wouldn't he? The future unfurled as they said it would, time and time again. With their hand at his back he navigated the unknown, grew fat, grew old, grew happy with a family he cherished... So when they spoke to him of a danger far greater than man, he believed them. When they told him what must be done to protect all he had gained, he believed them.
Long before he was born, a brother took upon himself the solemn duty of seeing his sister murdered for a greater good. He had read the now ancient texts and heard the whispers in Luna's gentle glow, and he knew what was at stake. He volunteered himself to be the one to see it done, because he would have no one else shoulder the sin in his place. Why them? What blessing of fate led them to this end? It was cruel enough to recognize the necessity, but crueler still to let him decide for himself if divinity were to blame, or pure, random chance.
Between the two, you could only imagine how many times the scenario had played out. How many lives had been wrapped up in the fold, then subsequently lost in necessary sacrifice. For what? Dryad's continued imprisonment? The prevention of some ill-defined danger it may spread through its favored? If that were all it took, then why had Artemis taken up purpose in political meddling? What did they stand to gain from the ensuing chaos?
Questions without answers. In the first place, the only ones who could answer them were Artemis themselves... And even should they answer, you struggle to conceive something worth everything they'd done. That they continued to do.
Maybe your cousin had the answers, though. Or, if not, maybe he had made the right choice in deciding to meet with the ones who did to find out more. You had to believe that he had something like that in mind, because the alternative was that he'd well and truly turned his back on his own family and abandoned you all. That he'd been stupid enough to be enticed away by some lurid harpy and promises of authority, power, or righteous purpose.
...Though maybe you weren't so different.
Long before he was born, a brother took upon himself the solemn duty of seeing his sister murdered for a greater good. He had read the now ancient texts and heard the whispers in Luna's gentle glow, and he knew what was at stake. He volunteered himself to be the one to see it done, because he would have no one else shoulder the sin in his place. Why them? What blessing of fate led them to this end? It was cruel enough to recognize the necessity, but crueler still to let him decide for himself if divinity were to blame, or pure, random chance.
Between the two, you could only imagine how many times the scenario had played out. How many lives had been wrapped up in the fold, then subsequently lost in necessary sacrifice. For what? Dryad's continued imprisonment? The prevention of some ill-defined danger it may spread through its favored? If that were all it took, then why had Artemis taken up purpose in political meddling? What did they stand to gain from the ensuing chaos?
Questions without answers. In the first place, the only ones who could answer them were Artemis themselves... And even should they answer, you struggle to conceive something worth everything they'd done. That they continued to do.
Maybe your cousin had the answers, though. Or, if not, maybe he had made the right choice in deciding to meet with the ones who did to find out more. You had to believe that he had something like that in mind, because the alternative was that he'd well and truly turned his back on his own family and abandoned you all. That he'd been stupid enough to be enticed away by some lurid harpy and promises of authority, power, or righteous purpose.
...Though maybe you weren't so different.
