There are many points here that he has thoughts on, and to some degree, it is a relief to have her simply say what is implied by their actions with words so that they might be repeated and given clarity. After all, the 'Summoned' have had no way of knowing thus far if Ambrose's choice to involve them was purely folly, and while Solvunn clearly decided it was not, it was something they had not deigned to discuss with those displaced at all outside of vagueries about gods and destiny.
What staggers him, though, is what he considers to be an unnecessarily low blow, right at the end of her explanation. He could not expect anyone to know his history without being told, but it strikes differently when she has spoken to him thus far as if his heart and mind were hers to know.
"I assure you, lady Bordeaux, war is of no comfort to me," he says, with a subtle edge of trembling tension that could be clear to those inclined to read it. "I have lost everything to war... my parents... my little brother... my home, and all who lived in it. All years before I could be considered grown.
"We fought an insatiable enemy... one who waged a war of a thousand years to cause us suffering, and nothing more complicated than that. I trained my entire life to defeat that which spurred our war onward, and it was only when he had at last left our world that we achieved any semblance of peace.
"And our war was not the only one. In the days since then, I have seen people suffer at the hands of many would-be tyrants... some for power, some for wealth, and some because they saw themselves the arbiters of the way they world should be, at the expense of all others. The ones that would wield godlike powers to purge all that seems unworthy to them. This is a battle that plagues my world still... one that I have been forced to leave behind in order to partake in this world's conflicts."
This isn't just a speech he's giving to make a point. There's emotions behind it - the genuine strain that the last several months and a life of pain have brought upon him.
"I see the seeds of such evil so vividly within Thorne's actions. 'Tis because of this that I know their plans cannot be allowed to succeed... no mere man can be allowed to reshape the world in their image. For the Free Cities, I have no knowledge of what they even hope to attain in their quest, and I have no context with which to apply to judgment. 'Tis not merely errant obsession that directs my focus towards Thorne.
"Nay, what I speak of is no thirst for war. I have only seen inaction, time and time again, lead to greater evil than what would be caused by excising such violence at the root."
no subject
What staggers him, though, is what he considers to be an unnecessarily low blow, right at the end of her explanation. He could not expect anyone to know his history without being told, but it strikes differently when she has spoken to him thus far as if his heart and mind were hers to know.
"I assure you, lady Bordeaux, war is of no comfort to me," he says, with a subtle edge of trembling tension that could be clear to those inclined to read it. "I have lost everything to war... my parents... my little brother... my home, and all who lived in it. All years before I could be considered grown.
"We fought an insatiable enemy... one who waged a war of a thousand years to cause us suffering, and nothing more complicated than that. I trained my entire life to defeat that which spurred our war onward, and it was only when he had at last left our world that we achieved any semblance of peace.
"And our war was not the only one. In the days since then, I have seen people suffer at the hands of many would-be tyrants... some for power, some for wealth, and some because they saw themselves the arbiters of the way they world should be, at the expense of all others. The ones that would wield godlike powers to purge all that seems unworthy to them. This is a battle that plagues my world still... one that I have been forced to leave behind in order to partake in this world's conflicts."
This isn't just a speech he's giving to make a point. There's emotions behind it - the genuine strain that the last several months and a life of pain have brought upon him.
"I see the seeds of such evil so vividly within Thorne's actions. 'Tis because of this that I know their plans cannot be allowed to succeed... no mere man can be allowed to reshape the world in their image. For the Free Cities, I have no knowledge of what they even hope to attain in their quest, and I have no context with which to apply to judgment. 'Tis not merely errant obsession that directs my focus towards Thorne.
"Nay, what I speak of is no thirst for war. I have only seen inaction, time and time again, lead to greater evil than what would be caused by excising such violence at the root."