No Time for Sanity
Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 4:44 am
Shouts of joy rang through the air. A group of men cheered and clanked their weapons together within a castle. All of the men but two were faceless, a memory lacking in the lizard's mind. Darlok had been defeated in a duel in front of the Northerot bridge, it seemed like a miracle had occurred. All were shadowed in appearance except Fooser, a younger and more energetic lizard at the time, and Grant Herion, a light haired man, still carrying a bloody sword.
Greetings men and women young and old,
I Grant Herion have now changed the name of Northerot to Callahorn. Why? Because the kingdom is neither rotting nor is it in the north, rather in the east, a lying name of a Kingdom is not a good name. So I have renamed it Callahorn. And I will be it's ruler.
Fooser looked up from his pipe, smoke in front of him, and a red-haired man well clad in armor to his right, he looks into his eyes for the first time during the entire encounter.
"You know, Stephen started Kallahorn with an elf?"
Even the name escaped him these days .. it began with Th .. perhaps he would remember eventually. The red-haired man shrugged and seemed to not have known this.
"He was duke of Kallahorn, without him you would have a different name right now." Fooser stopped, continuing to search in his memory. It wasn't just his thoughts that were degraded, but his appearance in recent weeks had suffered too. His scales and muscles were still tense on his neck and shoulders from stress and anger. He looked old. A bathing in the river would clean his dusty scales, and would erase the years quickly, but it seemed he didn't wish to.
"Thanks for the history lesson Fooser." The man said in return, apparently losing interest in the subject that had barely been brought up yet.
Callahorn was the climax of the Movement's effort to defeat Darlok, a tyrant of the land, subjecting the people of Troll's Bane to slave labor for his castle. That is the legacy that they should have forged and held on to, not one of attacking guards, and causing petty crimes.
He wanted to call Julius the tyrant in that moment, but refrained. Some things he could ignore, but the way he treated others was not one of them. He never stopped his members from causing crimes. Darlok didn't either. But neither did Grant.
For a moment, a bit of doubt entered the lizard's thinking, as he was going through this line of thinking on the spot. They sort of were like the Movement. The bad side of it, not the good. Not the good that he signed up for. Darlok was what he signed up for.
The Knights of Gobaith didn't hold up to the legacy either. Or perhaps he was making the legacy up at this point? The Knights of Gobaith defended Siltaris in her final days. One who delayed elections without reason, and jailed her biggest competition, Edward Cromwell.
In his finals hours as governor he was chased about by Wolf and Deuce. The next day he heard a rumor that Julius was rallying for an attack. He ran out of the gate with Konrad and the others without even thinking.
In that moment, he knew how Siltaris felt.
But things were different then. The abuses that went on were obvious. Even a decent number of citizens left to join the invasion forces. He had been banned for life. That was not even the first time, but the second. Fooser had not only been jailed for months at a time, but underwent a ban from Troll's Bane that spanned years. Sometimes he wondered how much they realized, that he understood their views.
Julius left without any confrontation. He felt good about their conversation for some reason, even though it was short and had no value. What was the legacy of Callahorn? And the more recent Kallahorn? And the forces that invaded the town not three years prior?
The ways justified the means, Fooser thought to himself. Invading town was wrong, but it was needed to rid the problems of delayed elections and questionable behavior. Joining the Movement was needed, to do everything possible to rid the island of Darlok. But what of the other activities the Movement engaged in?
Was today any different? He would like to think so. Never would he have a problem treating people equally, as long as one side didn't consistently have people who caused crimes.
"Guilt by association." He said to the black haired elfess. She was with Kallahorn. They had criminals in their ranks. If she did not condemn it, then she was really supporting it.
Did he support the Movement's agitation of Troll's Bane guards? Generally no, he didn't attack them unless attacked first. Banned for years because of guilt by association.
He concluded to himself, his ultimate goal, despite some shady behavior over the years, was the best interest of people. He sided with those who banned him in the Orc Wars, because it was the right thing to do. He even paid for Eliza's release when they kidnapped her, and he couldn't even go into town to do business with her. Taking a harsh stand against Darlok was the best thing to do. And the temple. And Negros.
Fooser walked by the library with a slight limp. He had been 27 when he came to the isle .. that was 15 years ago. Forty two .. he thought to himself .. not bad at all for a lizard. Perhaps I should smoke less? Or perhaps more?
Greetings men and women young and old,
I Grant Herion have now changed the name of Northerot to Callahorn. Why? Because the kingdom is neither rotting nor is it in the north, rather in the east, a lying name of a Kingdom is not a good name. So I have renamed it Callahorn. And I will be it's ruler.
Fooser looked up from his pipe, smoke in front of him, and a red-haired man well clad in armor to his right, he looks into his eyes for the first time during the entire encounter.
"You know, Stephen started Kallahorn with an elf?"
Even the name escaped him these days .. it began with Th .. perhaps he would remember eventually. The red-haired man shrugged and seemed to not have known this.
"He was duke of Kallahorn, without him you would have a different name right now." Fooser stopped, continuing to search in his memory. It wasn't just his thoughts that were degraded, but his appearance in recent weeks had suffered too. His scales and muscles were still tense on his neck and shoulders from stress and anger. He looked old. A bathing in the river would clean his dusty scales, and would erase the years quickly, but it seemed he didn't wish to.
"Thanks for the history lesson Fooser." The man said in return, apparently losing interest in the subject that had barely been brought up yet.
Callahorn was the climax of the Movement's effort to defeat Darlok, a tyrant of the land, subjecting the people of Troll's Bane to slave labor for his castle. That is the legacy that they should have forged and held on to, not one of attacking guards, and causing petty crimes.
He wanted to call Julius the tyrant in that moment, but refrained. Some things he could ignore, but the way he treated others was not one of them. He never stopped his members from causing crimes. Darlok didn't either. But neither did Grant.
For a moment, a bit of doubt entered the lizard's thinking, as he was going through this line of thinking on the spot. They sort of were like the Movement. The bad side of it, not the good. Not the good that he signed up for. Darlok was what he signed up for.
The Knights of Gobaith didn't hold up to the legacy either. Or perhaps he was making the legacy up at this point? The Knights of Gobaith defended Siltaris in her final days. One who delayed elections without reason, and jailed her biggest competition, Edward Cromwell.
In his finals hours as governor he was chased about by Wolf and Deuce. The next day he heard a rumor that Julius was rallying for an attack. He ran out of the gate with Konrad and the others without even thinking.
In that moment, he knew how Siltaris felt.
But things were different then. The abuses that went on were obvious. Even a decent number of citizens left to join the invasion forces. He had been banned for life. That was not even the first time, but the second. Fooser had not only been jailed for months at a time, but underwent a ban from Troll's Bane that spanned years. Sometimes he wondered how much they realized, that he understood their views.
Julius left without any confrontation. He felt good about their conversation for some reason, even though it was short and had no value. What was the legacy of Callahorn? And the more recent Kallahorn? And the forces that invaded the town not three years prior?
The ways justified the means, Fooser thought to himself. Invading town was wrong, but it was needed to rid the problems of delayed elections and questionable behavior. Joining the Movement was needed, to do everything possible to rid the island of Darlok. But what of the other activities the Movement engaged in?
Was today any different? He would like to think so. Never would he have a problem treating people equally, as long as one side didn't consistently have people who caused crimes.
"Guilt by association." He said to the black haired elfess. She was with Kallahorn. They had criminals in their ranks. If she did not condemn it, then she was really supporting it.
Did he support the Movement's agitation of Troll's Bane guards? Generally no, he didn't attack them unless attacked first. Banned for years because of guilt by association.
He concluded to himself, his ultimate goal, despite some shady behavior over the years, was the best interest of people. He sided with those who banned him in the Orc Wars, because it was the right thing to do. He even paid for Eliza's release when they kidnapped her, and he couldn't even go into town to do business with her. Taking a harsh stand against Darlok was the best thing to do. And the temple. And Negros.
Fooser walked by the library with a slight limp. He had been 27 when he came to the isle .. that was 15 years ago. Forty two .. he thought to himself .. not bad at all for a lizard. Perhaps I should smoke less? Or perhaps more?