Jigano nodded slow agreement to Are's words that he hadn't understood what he had gotten himself into when it came to the Spire. New, barely arrived, and already meddling in local politics, willing to start a war with the native people because another Outlander decided she knew better, was more worthy, to decide the fates of the people whose land she had come to uninvited. That she knew better than their gods and that her promise to a dying friend was more selfishly important than all the world beyond, that it was worth reigniting a war that had brought gods to their knees without waiting to learn why or trying to convince the Naturals of her point of view. Might made right... and Are had followed that might enthusiastically, eager to inflict upon others what had been inflicted on him in another world.
Or... was it truly that grim? "And what is it that you understand now, that you didn't before?" Jigano asked quietly. "And why do you think that you will never understand more? Life is about learning, son of Jorm. Every day, every season, every year, you learn more than you did before. Have you truly made up your mind so rigidly that you will never again open it to new information? New lessons?" That way lay death, to the lorekeeper's mind. Perhaps not death of the body, but a death of the mind, and a death of the soul. To stagnate, to rot - or, perhaps worse, to become unchanging as metal, as a machine, and thereby to lose all humanity more completely then the mere death of the body.
The Brow arched again at hearing that Are was 'learning' to not try and stay above water. The bard assumed there was some lack of translation between their cultures that made the saying mean something different to the cobbler. To Jigano it sounded as though Are were surrendering attempts to survive and move forward, choosing instead to yield, to sink into darkness - or, perhaps, choosing willful oblivion, giving up control of his destiny and handing it to another...
Who would then shape and mold the gentle cobbler to their purpose, and none of Are's own.
"And who is this ocean who calls to you?" he asked instead, trying to tease apart if the man was speaking metaphorically or more literally.
Or... was it truly that grim? "And what is it that you understand now, that you didn't before?" Jigano asked quietly. "And why do you think that you will never understand more? Life is about learning, son of Jorm. Every day, every season, every year, you learn more than you did before. Have you truly made up your mind so rigidly that you will never again open it to new information? New lessons?" That way lay death, to the lorekeeper's mind. Perhaps not death of the body, but a death of the mind, and a death of the soul. To stagnate, to rot - or, perhaps worse, to become unchanging as metal, as a machine, and thereby to lose all humanity more completely then the mere death of the body.
The Brow arched again at hearing that Are was 'learning' to not try and stay above water. The bard assumed there was some lack of translation between their cultures that made the saying mean something different to the cobbler. To Jigano it sounded as though Are were surrendering attempts to survive and move forward, choosing instead to yield, to sink into darkness - or, perhaps, choosing willful oblivion, giving up control of his destiny and handing it to another...
Who would then shape and mold the gentle cobbler to their purpose, and none of Are's own.
"And who is this ocean who calls to you?" he asked instead, trying to tease apart if the man was speaking metaphorically or more literally.
