[ CLOSED ] Scarce the blessing from on high

[filotimo]

WHO: Byerly, Flint, Madi, Silver
WHAT: A Princess Returns From The Dead
WHEN: mid-August
WHERE: Kirkwall/The Gallows
NOTES: Bad news from Nascere is followed a week or so later by an unexpected arrival.

Two things, all the world among,
Help the lover to attain
All that doth to Love belong:
E’en desire the good to gain,
Hope that makes the coward strong.
Both within my bosom lay.
No, ‘twas in my stricken soul
That they lurked to take away
My desire to reach the goal.
Hope hath fled and will not stay.

Comments

[filotimo]

[ you wanna talk about presumption? ]

And this sounds like the island from which I hail?

[bouchonne]

[ An innocent smile. ]

Not a bit. It simply sounds like an island whose fate is tied with you and yours.

[filotimo]

[ That gets something like a smile. ]

[bouchonne]

[ So he presses his luck: ]

Who are your people?

[filotimo]

Allies who value their freedom, and will fight to keep it. At present, Nascere serves as the only barrier between us and Tevinter.

[bouchonne]

[ He casts over a sidewise glance. ]

Former slaves?

[filotimo]

And their children.

[bouchonne]

I see.

[ Hm. ]

I confess, I did not know that Nascere was involved in efforts as...noble as that.

[filotimo]

Perhaps because you see it as nobility, rather than necessity.

[bouchonne]

You do not see the fight for freedom as a noble endeavor?

[filotimo]

I do not see the value in debating the morality of it. To do so suggests the privilege of choice.

[bouchonne]

Plenty do choose not to.

[filotimo]

But I do not. My people do not. And, it would seem, the pirates of Nascere do not.

[ It isn't that she trusts the pirates themselves; she knows better than to go that far. But she trusts Flint, and she trusts Silver, and so long as their goals align they can do anything. ]

[bouchonne]

I suppose not.

[filotimo]

[ Madi allows for a few silent moments to carry them a number of steps forward on their journey before asking: ]

Would you say you know him well?

[bouchonne]

[ heh heh heh heh. intimately. ]

Does anyone know the man well?

[filotimo]

[ She shakes her head. ]

There are times when I think not even he can make such a claim.

[ But how can one wield a weapon so effectively without knowing it? Its edges, the chips in the steel, its weight, where it balances and where it topples. ]

[bouchonne]

Well, of course. No man actually knows himself. Indeed, I think people are most ignorant of themselves.

[filotimo]

He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.

[bouchonne]

Are you wise? Enlightened?

[filotimo]

Far from it, [ She has read books by men who claim enlightenment, but that doesn't impart the quality. ] All I know is what is expected of me, and that I must rise to meet it. Or die trying.

[bouchonne]

What's expected of you? [ He ventures a guess: ] Courage.

[filotimo]

[ A whisper of a smile. ] That is part of it.

[bouchonne]

I look forward to finding out what the other parts are.

[ He bows her into the Gallows. ]

It will be a lengthy climb to his office, I fear. I hope you have your wind.

[filotimo]

[ It has been nearly three years since she's seen either Flint or Silver. She can wait however long it takes to climb these stairs. ]

I hope you have yours.