Posted by Graatch on December 28, 2000 at 11:31:05:
In Reply to: Old Rager Interview posted by The Arcane(VIP) on December 28, 2000 at 09:36:04:
> ***This is an interview of a future Veteran of Battle... just came across it while sifting through my logs for an old fight. This was sort of discursive as interviews go, but I found it interesting. IC, while my character didn't fully agree with his view, OOC I thought it was an interesting take on the magic issue, and one I hadn't heard before, which is pretty rare after doing umpteen Rager interviews.***
>
> [1068hp 461m 531mv] Before a fortified hillock
> A large mound of earth has been pushed up here, forming a strategically
> planned barrier to the village just beyond. Behind the earthen barricade
> stand the gates -- heavy, massive, fortified iron gates that glow eerily
> in the reflected torch-light -- and beyond them in the darkness you can
> just make out the faces of the village huts. The village, like the gate,
> is dark and forbidding from this distance, softened not at all by the
> occasionally glimpsed lantern or fire. A chill breeze blows from the gates
> to the west, bringing with it the gruff sound of barbaric voices and an
> occasional burst of raucous, drunken laughter.
>
> [Exits: east west]
> Applicant is resting here.
> A massive, hunched figure is here, protecting the village throughout the night.
>
> You say 'You've been waiting patiently, I know.'
>
> Applicant nods.
>
> You say 'Many men would have given up or let their will falter. I commend this.'
>
> You say 'However, I also wish to understand it.'
>
> Applicant says 'my patience?'
>
> You say 'What impels you? What brings you here and keeps your will resolute?'
>
> Applicant says 'I've always known this is where I would make my home'
>
> Applicant says 'here or to die trying'
>
> Applicant says 'I came to these sunny lands from the damp of the underdark'
>
> Applicant says 'it is not a lovely place'
>
> You say 'You sprung from the womb, mace in hand, and out for mage blood?'
>
> Applicant says 'nay'
>
> You nod.
>
> You say 'Then you did not *always* know.'
>
> You say 'When did you first realize your path would lead you here?'
>
> Applicant says 'I was a child with a torch, a convenient explorer of the crevices of the
>
> Applicant says 'gnome children are used by the drow and duergar to map the dark, as we are disposable and tiny'
>
> Applicant says 'able to get into the smallest of places'
>
> You nod.
>
> Applicant says 'and we were sent out to find new stores of mithril and emerald'
>
> Applicant says 'but you yourself don't run headlong into the dark, much less a child'
>
> Applicant says 'I was used for this purpose until mauled by a cavefisher, and left behind'
>
> Applicant says 'you might think I'd blame miners for this fate, but even a pure race such as the dwarves'
>
> Applicant says 'with no ability to channel magic through themselves'
>
> Applicant says 'you find their king and he is mad under the posession of a magical crown'
>
> Applicant says 'the king in my city seems taken with elementals'
>
> Applicant says 'I've been back, and it seems that magic is the power that corrupts the leaders'
>
> You say 'I have been there, yes.'
>
> Applicant says 'makes them greedy, forces them to use their people like cattle'
>
> Applicant says 'and I could not stand by'
>
> Applicant says 'I could not dedicate myself to being a healer, it was too passive'
>
> Applicant says 'I did not want to merely fix the continuing injustices'
>
> You nod.
>
> Applicant says 'I wish to break the peasants free from this labor'
>
> Applicant stops using a two-headed hammer.
>
> Applicant dual wields a two-headed hammer.
>
> Applicant says 'this is good use of mithril'
>
> Applicant says 'tools for warriors, not money for sorcerers'
>
> You nod.
>
> You say 'Indeed, fine craftsmanship.'
>
> You say 'Dwarven, I believe.'
>
> Applicant nods.
>
> Applicant says 'mithril seems to flow from the fingers of their finest smiths'
>
> You say 'So... magic makes the leaders of your homeland greedy?'
>
> You say 'Or... am I missing something?'
>
> Applicant says 'I believe it has control over them yes'
>
> Applicant says 'it is the root'
>
> You say 'So all mages are greedy?'
>
> Applicant says 'all mages wish to live without toil'
>
> You say 'And is greed so undesirable, then? It exists among magi and warrior alike.'
>
> Applicant says 'without exertion, and it is not a way I understand'
>
> Applicant says 'perhaps because of my injuries, I am driven to prove my frame as suited as any other in this land'
>
> You say 'But... hrm..'
>
> *** Crash. ***
>
> Welcome to The Carrion Fields. Let the bloodshed begin!
> It is 9 o'clock AM, Day of Thunder, 31st of the Month of the Dragon.
>
> Applicant tells you 'I apologize, I've found myself in limbo. I will try to escape'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Indeed.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'would you object to speaking at this distance?'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Not at all.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'I was about to say...'
>
> You tell Applicant 'A slavemaster who never uses magic can be lazy and corrupt also, and can also subjugate and enforce this upon others'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Where is the distinction?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'this may seem a bit of a diversion, but what in your life have you spent gold on?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'ever? Food, water, a bit of clothing?'
>
> You tell Applicant 'That, and sustaining the healer in our shrine here.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'aye. So what drives men to pile it to the rafters in the banks of every town?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'what demands this vast display of gold?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'not the baker, he'll feed me for next to nothing'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Building mansions, perhaps. Palaces, and the like.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'but you and I do not yearn for soft things on which to sit'
>
> You tell Applicant 'True. So we should go and slaughter those who do?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'nay, I believe warriors hunt for it in pursuit of magical devices'
>
> Applicant tells you 'if the sources of these were to crumble'
>
> Applicant tells you 'can you name a warrior that would stand up to you?'
>
> You tell Applicant 'That's a rather blanket statement. Imperials value gold because they wish to build their palace, pay their Centurions, and pave roads.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'No mortal could.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'aye. They would be fools'
>
> You tell Applicant 'So what is the root of all evil, gold or magic?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'that is hard to say. If one or the other were to go, I believe both would crumble'
>
> Applicant tells you 'without magic, those in the imperial tower would abandon it in hopes of making our favor'
>
> You tell Applicant 'You honestly believe that? That there is no such thing as a poor mage? Or one who cares not for gold? I have known of some who care for little but to lock themselves away in their abodes, studying and sorcering'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Without seeking to become wealthy, or to enslave others.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Some magi of the Dawn even declare it their life's work to help others, as they see it.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'How do you explain this? And furthermore, what is your objection to it, if any?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'were this the case, would our fight not be short and easy?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'don't forget what brought us to existance in the first'
>
> Applicant tells you 'it was not sitting in a tower reading'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Are you truly so dense? No, of course there are those who are precisely as you describe. But there are also those who are not.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'I am not saying that all magi are kind paupers. That would be ridiculous.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'But you say you hate mages for one reason, and yet there are many mages who are nothing like what you describe.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Which leads me to believe that you either lack an understanding of mages, or do not really hate them, but rather feel something else entirely.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'I've not met mages that study peacefully
>
> You tell Applicant 'I have. If you have not, imagine one who does.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Is there any wrong in his action?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'his desire to improve his mind, to study his skills'
>
> Applicant tells you 'would drive him out into the world to practice his arts'
>
> Applicant tells you 'no mage could sit alone and learn anything. Do you know what an axe does without a target?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'would children sit and study these magical arts if the only reward were balls of floating light?'
>
> You tell Applicant 'It sits, or hangs upon a wall or in a rack.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'they all seek to shape the world around them with the force of themselves'
>
> You tell Applicant 'You are, well... wrong.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Listen.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'As you describe it, magic is merely a tool'
>
> You tell Applicant 'It is not the magic that is harmful or wrong, but the manner in which it is used.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Similarly, let us consider that axe you described'
>
> You tell Applicant 'An axe can be used to slay a mage. It can be used to slay a tyrant. It can be used to sever the head of a sleeping infant'
>
> You tell Applicant 'These acts all have a different moral compass, and they are all committed with the same tool, and yet the axe is neutral.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Magic is *not* an axe.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'are you and I not appaled by a warrior that would kill an infant?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'do we not war with the imperials for this very reason?'
>
> You tell Applicant 'I have slain sleeping children in their beds.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'At the time, it amused me.'
>
> *** Come on, what evil hasn’t ranked on Balator orphans? :P ***
>
> Applicant tells you 'a child fighting a child is not the same'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Why do you think we war with the Imperials?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'as a child, my mind did not know why I crawled about the underdark'
>
> Applicant tells you 'I did as I was told'
>
> You tell Applicant 'So you hate the bonds of servitude.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Those come in many forms, not all magical.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'Imperials can reduce combat to as sad a display as those of magics'
>
> Applicant tells you 'would you be proud if it too you and all your veterans to kill a single mage?'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Certainly not. Why do you think we are with the Empire?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'would you boast to young children of your conquest, thinking they would lay aside a book of spells to wield an axe instead if this is what it took to be victorious?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'we war with the empire because they do see a beauty in such an act'
>
> Applicant tells you 'they revel in the breaking of a spirit'
>
> You tell Applicant 'We war with them because they war with us.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'If they ceased attacking us, we would cease taking their Codex.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'We have one true enemy. Can you imagine who that may be?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'if they ceased attacking us and cast out all mages'
>
> Applicant tells you 'perhaps we would stop attacking'
>
> Applicant tells you 'if they instructed their centurions to let us pass, and stop any mage that walked'
>
> Applicant tells you 'perhaps we would stop attacking'
>
> Applicant tells you 'do you not agree? I see no men who respect city laws in that village'
>
> Applicant tells you 'becasue it would only distract them from their true goal'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Would we stop killing their magi and magic-lovers? No. Would we stop taking the Codex? Yes.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'And what is that goal?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'the destruction of magic of course'
>
> You tell Applicant 'You've presented a fine case as to why imperial domination and greed and wealth are evil and to be avoided and resisted.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'You speak as if that goal were a given, and yet your other words lack that conviction.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'you said yourself no warrior would face you without it'
>
> Applicant tells you 'I believe you are correct'
>
> You tell Applicant 'I didn't say none would face me.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Gharik has duelled me more than once, actually.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Without magical aid.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'I believe none would surive it'
>
> You tell Applicant 'I merely said none could withstand me.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'this war is huge and unending. We need something momentus to bring about it's end'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Which War?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'killing a man who carries a potion does not stop the next in line from doing the same'
>
> Applicant tells you 'the quest to remove magic from this land. One I fight so that no King lets children of the poor and unfortunate be torn apart for no other reason than a soft place to sleep'
>
> You tell Applicant 'So what do you propose?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'the power of the village is impossible to overlook. To be succesful in our fight'
>
> You tell Applicant 'We can set an example for others, yes. Show them by our deed that it is possible to live without magic.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'and to be succesful with honor, calls to the young to follow our path'
>
> You tell Applicant 'And we all strive to do this.'
>
> Applicant tells you 'to take in a young warrior, and show him power and control as he's never seen before, he will not be tempted by magic'
>
> Applicant tells you 'if there is no market for the powers of mages, the gold will no longer be in such demand'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Do you know where the power that is magic comes from?'
>
> Applicant tells you 'I do not fully understand how it has come to those of flesh and blood, no'
>
> Applicant tells you 'at least not how it remains in their hands'
>
> Applicant tells you 'there was a time it belonged only to the immortals. but as we speak there are Gods that favor and protect those than wield it now'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Aye. I see much of worth within you, but it must be honed and that spark must ignite. I ask this of you'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Seek out Kacic, Kastellyn, or Thror'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Any of the three will do.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Speak with them of your desire to join the village and your outlook on things, and when you have satisfied one of them, return to me.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'I will inform all three to watch for you.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'Until then, be well, and may the blood of your foes stain the earth.'
>
> You tell Applicant 'And good luck escaping from that limbo.'
>
> ***He got inducted after a short chat on a future date, after getting a rec and explaining why magic is more sinister than a mere tool, but I don't have that logged, or if I do, it's well buried. :P***
>
>