"Mm." He considered his next words a moment or so before he turned to face her completely. There was a more serious look on his face as he spoke now, telling her the tale that he hoped might aid her.
"Not that long ago the boy I was with rode with me to an underground chamber. We hoped to confront the enemy there for magic had been used there not long ago. Powerful magic. As we moved further in it grew darker and I realized quickly what we had come across, what the wheels of my chariot ran over and the hooves of my bulls crushed. The boy was naive, not so used to the cruelties of the world to see it yet."
Iskandar sighed but didn't stop there. "I told him not to look but he lit a light and all around us was a sea of blood and parts of bodies. Torn apart and left on the floor like garbage if they did not fit the filthy sculptures the rest were created from. Masterpieces of darkness for an insane mind. But what made the matter worse was that these bodies were of children. Dozens of them or perhaps moving toward a hundred. It was brutal and cruel and the boy was distressed as anyone should be."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment. "Even thinking of it now I am filled with the anger I felt then. Raw and hot. To do such things to those so innocent..." There was a pause before he spoke again. "There were a few other Spirits like myself who joined together against this madness. Through the darkness hope marched forth and I watched enemies become allies against a common enemy. Together we fought with all of our strength to pin a great beast brought on by the monster who aided in the deaths of those children and a girl raised her sword high to obliterate the beast and thus that madness was put to an end."
He'd spoken a great deal there but he only smiled afterward. "I have seen the worst of people and the best of them. After seeing the best I know that the worst will not win. Nor will it here so long as we have the will to march forward through the shadows. But if our faith wavers?" He rested a large hand on her shoulder as his smile turned into a grin. "Then you have companions to walk with you and remind you that you are not alone."
cw: descriptions of brutal child deaths
"Not that long ago the boy I was with rode with me to an underground chamber. We hoped to confront the enemy there for magic had been used there not long ago. Powerful magic. As we moved further in it grew darker and I realized quickly what we had come across, what the wheels of my chariot ran over and the hooves of my bulls crushed. The boy was naive, not so used to the cruelties of the world to see it yet."
Iskandar sighed but didn't stop there. "I told him not to look but he lit a light and all around us was a sea of blood and parts of bodies. Torn apart and left on the floor like garbage if they did not fit the filthy sculptures the rest were created from. Masterpieces of darkness for an insane mind. But what made the matter worse was that these bodies were of children. Dozens of them or perhaps moving toward a hundred. It was brutal and cruel and the boy was distressed as anyone should be."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment. "Even thinking of it now I am filled with the anger I felt then. Raw and hot. To do such things to those so innocent..." There was a pause before he spoke again. "There were a few other Spirits like myself who joined together against this madness. Through the darkness hope marched forth and I watched enemies become allies against a common enemy. Together we fought with all of our strength to pin a great beast brought on by the monster who aided in the deaths of those children and a girl raised her sword high to obliterate the beast and thus that madness was put to an end."
He'd spoken a great deal there but he only smiled afterward. "I have seen the worst of people and the best of them. After seeing the best I know that the worst will not win. Nor will it here so long as we have the will to march forward through the shadows. But if our faith wavers?" He rested a large hand on her shoulder as his smile turned into a grin. "Then you have companions to walk with you and remind you that you are not alone."