A Sojourn in Sairundan [Judge: Manzanita]

[Trouvere]

Conuld looks baffled. "What? No, of course I'm not threatening you. I... I suppose a flame was a poor choice for a demonstration." Conuld takes a small piece of wood from his spell pouch, and with a flourish of his hand, it becomes a crudely shaped figure of a dog, then with another motion, an apparently real flower. "A peace offering, though it will be wood again soon enough. It is obvious you have power that is real. Though I have seen but one ogre in my life, I imagine they do not routinely stand rigid and contorted. I am questioning the universal application of your concept of zij. As, er, is Kurgahz, I see."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Zij applies to all who have vhal. And I have seen Jilna's father. He...he reminded me of someone in my past, and I know the people of the River Folk have vhal like mine. Why do you think Jilsa offered to become tal zij at all?"

 

[Trouvere]

"That is the very definition of circular reasoning. Does it not even strike you as odd that you are unable to express those concepts in the Common tongue? I know not what Shadya's view is, but even if she agrees with Cludge, Kurgahz and myself, I doubt you will be dissuaded from your plan to nursemaid eight youths - nine if you keep them dangling at your tail for another eight months! In future, before you bind yourself with rash promises, you should consider your duty to your travelling companions, who now must live with their consequences. Your code of conduct may prove to be less a guideline than a chain."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"The reasoning is not circular. It is very simple. If you do not think that zij can apply to you, then you have no vhal. A person like that is no better than an animal. They will rape and kill and steal with no remorse. As for me, my vhal is what makes me who I am. I have lost everything else I once had. Without vhal, I might as well be dead."

"As to the eight tal zij. They will be gone long before that happens. They may be gone before we reach the desert if we have a few weeks left, I do not recall. I plan on being harsh with them out of respect. It means they will not have as long to serve. If you will not except them as tal zij to you, the least you could do is flog them until you feel the zij is repaid. It is the way they regain their vhal, and then their past actions are erased in our eyes. If you do nothing, then you are doing them a disservice, don't you see?"

(OOC: Why is Lasair Neutral Good and not Lawful Good, you might ask? Because she's also highly individualistic and has zero respect for those who claim to be lawful authorities just on the basis of the authority. It's similar to how the Paladin of Freedom can have a strict code of conduct and still be Chaotic Good)

 

[Trouvere]

"Who accepts zij? One who has vhal. Who has vhal? One who accepts zij. Enough of this. Your tribal customs are not mine, and do not apply to me. I have my own standards of honour, which, incidentally, do not involve whipping children to show how much I care."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"You have vhal if and only if you accept zij. That is not circular reasoning. Rather, it is a tight logical definition."

"If you will not allow the zij to be repaid but rather let it fester, it is your right if you think they do not deserve to have vhal, if you will never forgive what they have done. It is rather cruel, but it is your right."

 

[Trouvere]

"My point remains simply that your vhal is part of but one of the multitude of possible workable systems of ethics. It is not universal law. Other structures have validity."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Of course it is not universal law. Such things are foolish and have no meaning. Vhal and zij is a person's own choice, always, and if it ceases to be so, then it has lost its purpose. Forcing a repayment for zij is unacceptable, and so I never asked for this with the ogre, or the others I have fought before my time with you. After years in these lands, I have finally met those who have made the choice to accept their zij. And so, I will not fail them."

 

[Trouvere]

"Well, it is true that Jilsa offered her service... though it was as an alternative to her own people's custom of death by drowning. Very well. I see you cannot be dissuaded. But do try not to collect any more waifs on our journey, or we shall be mistaken for a troupe of circus performers, or an invading army, when we arrive in Sairundan. And - a word of advice, do not be too quick to accuse Westerners of lacking vhal. We may not perceive all the... intricacies of the word, and you may mean it only in its purest narrow sense, but its denotation is clear enough, and you may on occasion be taken to be offering a more general judgement."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"There is a subtle difference between one who is vhal-less, without chal at all, and one who simply lacks vhal. Nearly all Westerners lack vhal, but only the truly despicable are truly without it, and those are no better than animals."

*Lasair cracks a smile.*

"Just be glad I wasn't unarmed for that encounter, or if Jilsa was a warrior of my land, she might have served a year as tal zij," Lasair laughs.