"No, they didn't ask to be Abandoned... but neither did the Old Gods bring them here as such," he pointed out. "The Voice's portals brought them here, dumped them in Abandoned bodies without their consent, and she ignores them as often as the old gods do. More, perhaps, since the old gods have taken in more than a few Abandoned - Maea was shown Ludo's favor, and Deimos and Loren have been welcomed as well." Which was to say, there were exceptions to the rule - Rexanna, on the Voice's side, yes, but only her. "Sam... how am I twisting things? You're determined to see the Voice as the hero and refuse to consider anything that indicates otherwise. When it gets brought up you run from it." The bard wished his friend would show some of that backbone when it came to the goddess... but he knew she wouldn't let that happen, not know that she had her talons into the bookmaker's soul.
"Did you speak to Rex before her Ascension?" he asked quietly. "It seems to change people, Sam. And not just on the outside." Yes, Rexanna was strong, but he didn't think she would have gone to the Voice willingly - not without the combination of Bastien's promise of eternal life and love on one hand, and Zariah's threat to use her as a broodmare on the other. Maybe she would have... but of course, they'd never know, now. "Do you know anyone who has Ascended who is capable of speaking against the Voice?"
He settled in beside Sam as the breeze picked up outside, sending a few of last year's leaves skittering through the street. It hurt his heart to hear the bookmaker equate 'accepting who he was as an Ascended' with losing empathy, seeming to make an excuse for it in the same breath he denied it. "The Voice has hurt people too," he pointed out quietly. "And killed them. We don't even have to go back to the war to see that. I don't see how spreading the blight or removing people's ability to taste or feel - or have children - is an improvement. The Old Gods aren't always great for humanity... but from what I've seen and learned so far, the Voice is worse, not better. As I recall, it was the old gods letting humanity grow and blossom on its own without interference that led to the Voice and her ilk taking that faith and betraying it." He sighed as he watched the sky begin to darken as the clouds raced closer, a few drops of rain hitting the ground as thunder rumbled ominously.
"That's what I mean about a lack of empathy," he said softly. "People dying to protect their home from unwelcome invaders isn't a 'difficulty,' Sam. It's a tragedy. Many of the Fae don't want a connection with the outside world, and yet you and the Voice forced it upon them against their wishes. So who is trying to control things there?" Trade could be accomplished without overriding the desires of the native populations of places, after all, but when it was forced upon them or opened in places the existing landowners didn't want? It certainly was convenient for those doing the forcing, but far less so for those who didn't ask for it in the first place.
"Did you speak to Rex before her Ascension?" he asked quietly. "It seems to change people, Sam. And not just on the outside." Yes, Rexanna was strong, but he didn't think she would have gone to the Voice willingly - not without the combination of Bastien's promise of eternal life and love on one hand, and Zariah's threat to use her as a broodmare on the other. Maybe she would have... but of course, they'd never know, now. "Do you know anyone who has Ascended who is capable of speaking against the Voice?"
He settled in beside Sam as the breeze picked up outside, sending a few of last year's leaves skittering through the street. It hurt his heart to hear the bookmaker equate 'accepting who he was as an Ascended' with losing empathy, seeming to make an excuse for it in the same breath he denied it. "The Voice has hurt people too," he pointed out quietly. "And killed them. We don't even have to go back to the war to see that. I don't see how spreading the blight or removing people's ability to taste or feel - or have children - is an improvement. The Old Gods aren't always great for humanity... but from what I've seen and learned so far, the Voice is worse, not better. As I recall, it was the old gods letting humanity grow and blossom on its own without interference that led to the Voice and her ilk taking that faith and betraying it." He sighed as he watched the sky begin to darken as the clouds raced closer, a few drops of rain hitting the ground as thunder rumbled ominously.
"That's what I mean about a lack of empathy," he said softly. "People dying to protect their home from unwelcome invaders isn't a 'difficulty,' Sam. It's a tragedy. Many of the Fae don't want a connection with the outside world, and yet you and the Voice forced it upon them against their wishes. So who is trying to control things there?" Trade could be accomplished without overriding the desires of the native populations of places, after all, but when it was forced upon them or opened in places the existing landowners didn't want? It certainly was convenient for those doing the forcing, but far less so for those who didn't ask for it in the first place.
