When Sah walked closer, Lisbeth raised her bow, pointing the arrow right at his chest. She held the bow and arrow in shaking hands as he responded to her. She shook her head a few times at what she felt were ridiculous words. But his final question was the one that made her think the most.
She lowered her bow. "Why do I care?" She snorted. "Because you," she jabbed a finger into his chest, "are the same as The Voice. Claim whatever you want, make whatever oaths you want, it doesn't matter. You and all of your kind are of the same ilk that led to the first war against the Old Gods. The Voice was one of you, and the Voice made the Ascended, and they are vile creatures that need to be wiped out. And while most people these days seem to not care one way or another whether the Abandoned live or die, that's just because they've forgotten the past. Everyone is thinking about the war to come, and the Ascended monstrosities we'll have to fight, but no one stops to remember where they came from."
She jabbed a finger into his chest again. "They came from you. As much as if you'd created them yourself. They came from your kind, from your magic. Your magic that you work so hard for, that you 'bust your ass' for, to make yourself stronger. You say you just want to protect your family...how far would you go to protect them? Is there a limit to how much strength you would seek, for that cause? To what kind of magic you would wield to achieve that goal, if only you could learn how, if only you could gain such power? If you could create something, like the Voice created the Ascended, would you stop yourself, if stopping yourself meant you didn't have what you needed to achieve your goals? If that power was in front of you, if you knew you could create an abomination, and doing so would protect what you love, would you be able to restrain yourself from seeking that unnatural power, or would you give anything, even human decency, to do what you think is 'right?'"
She stepped back again, out of his reach, waiting for his response.
She lowered her bow. "Why do I care?" She snorted. "Because you," she jabbed a finger into his chest, "are the same as The Voice. Claim whatever you want, make whatever oaths you want, it doesn't matter. You and all of your kind are of the same ilk that led to the first war against the Old Gods. The Voice was one of you, and the Voice made the Ascended, and they are vile creatures that need to be wiped out. And while most people these days seem to not care one way or another whether the Abandoned live or die, that's just because they've forgotten the past. Everyone is thinking about the war to come, and the Ascended monstrosities we'll have to fight, but no one stops to remember where they came from."
She jabbed a finger into his chest again. "They came from you. As much as if you'd created them yourself. They came from your kind, from your magic. Your magic that you work so hard for, that you 'bust your ass' for, to make yourself stronger. You say you just want to protect your family...how far would you go to protect them? Is there a limit to how much strength you would seek, for that cause? To what kind of magic you would wield to achieve that goal, if only you could learn how, if only you could gain such power? If you could create something, like the Voice created the Ascended, would you stop yourself, if stopping yourself meant you didn't have what you needed to achieve your goals? If that power was in front of you, if you knew you could create an abomination, and doing so would protect what you love, would you be able to restrain yourself from seeking that unnatural power, or would you give anything, even human decency, to do what you think is 'right?'"
She stepped back again, out of his reach, waiting for his response.
