Jigano stood watching Sam silently, a great sadness in his eyes. He had never said that was going to stop Sam from exploring the portals, or any other Ascended for that matter. He had said that his task was to 'to ensure that the portals weren't used for ill.' Specifically that if there were signs of an Ascended army gathering, or that another Voice-borne sickness emerged, that he would feel the need to step in. That Sam was so certain that harm would be spread by his actions that he knew they would have to come to blows revealed much of the Voice's plans for the world beyond the Hollowed Grounds.
"I care for you, Sam. Deeply. But..." Jigano sighed and shook his head. "If you cannot see shades of grey in the world, if all you see is black and white... then you must do as you see fit." He would not trap Sam the way the Voice had, even if he could. He would try to sway his friend, to convince him to see things as the bard did, but he would not create a cage that required Sam to stay be his side or fade away and die if he chose differently. Neither, though, would he let Sam destroy a world when even the bookmaker knew he would be hurting others to pursue his goddess's aims.
"If the old gods had blighted you, and our other friends, and then refused to help clean up their mess, forcing the Voice to step in and save us? If the old gods had directly taken a hand in murdering people who only wanted to defend their homes against those same gods' unwanted presence on their land? If the old gods had created monsters that walked the barrierlands every LongNight, killing anyone they could catch outside, and then refused to stop them? ...Then yes, Sam, you would be well within your rights to be worried about what I would do if I continued to follow such gods blindly." He sighed as the wind picked up in a playful gust, spattering them both with the rain that continued to fall. "But I would not be the man I am if I followed such beings after they did those things to the people I love." Was he fool for still wanting to remain friends with Sam after the Ascended had done those things?
Probably. But his friend meant too much to him for the bard to just write Sam off due to the Voice's influence in his life. He owed the bookmaker too much, but if Sam was determined to make them enemies, Jigano wasn't sure how to stop him.
"I care for you, Sam. Deeply. But..." Jigano sighed and shook his head. "If you cannot see shades of grey in the world, if all you see is black and white... then you must do as you see fit." He would not trap Sam the way the Voice had, even if he could. He would try to sway his friend, to convince him to see things as the bard did, but he would not create a cage that required Sam to stay be his side or fade away and die if he chose differently. Neither, though, would he let Sam destroy a world when even the bookmaker knew he would be hurting others to pursue his goddess's aims.
"If the old gods had blighted you, and our other friends, and then refused to help clean up their mess, forcing the Voice to step in and save us? If the old gods had directly taken a hand in murdering people who only wanted to defend their homes against those same gods' unwanted presence on their land? If the old gods had created monsters that walked the barrierlands every LongNight, killing anyone they could catch outside, and then refused to stop them? ...Then yes, Sam, you would be well within your rights to be worried about what I would do if I continued to follow such gods blindly." He sighed as the wind picked up in a playful gust, spattering them both with the rain that continued to fall. "But I would not be the man I am if I followed such beings after they did those things to the people I love." Was he fool for still wanting to remain friends with Sam after the Ascended had done those things?
Probably. But his friend meant too much to him for the bard to just write Sam off due to the Voice's influence in his life. He owed the bookmaker too much, but if Sam was determined to make them enemies, Jigano wasn't sure how to stop him.
