who we are and all that we're trying to be
The Sword had come from worlds where the overthrowing of thrones and crowns was not a rare occurrence. People unhappy with their sovereigns often expressed their discontent, and he’d borne witness to more than one occasion of a stripping of a title (had gained his own shortly thereafter – Psyche’s failure on the battlefield leading to Ulrik’s contempt, and subsequent changeover). It wasn’t unusual to fight, to defend, to prosper challenges upon who was better suited to rule, or to find another power-hungry, greedy, avaricious for the seat of control. Sometimes it was successful, sometimes it wasn’t, sometimes the world tossed and turned within a moment. Happenstance, normalcy, for those like him, far too embedded and infused and carved out of these substances of vengeance and vehemence.
He wasn’t granted with outright refusal, so perhaps it was a step in the right direction. He knew a portion of the Grounders would simply like to get their hands upon Zariah for punishment, for a fragment of revenge that’d been taken away from them as she scurried off to her mission, landing in Halo, far away and out of reach. Morgan could keep them in mind, and maybe at some point, call upon them to manifest their hatred and contempt. “Yes. You could always forward it directly to the barracks.” That way there were no other means of interception; no one capable of warning the Merciless – though he wasn’t certain how many others would’ve still been tied to her in midsts of loyalty.
She seemed inclined to leave then, maybe she’d said too much, but he was not a beast that spread political propagandas; the notions and secrets tucked safely away in his scheming brain. He folded back down to grab hold of the last remnants of wood, dropping them into the quite-full wagon. The General had half an inclination to pry further, about these other concerns, but it might’ve been for the best that he remain silent, vigilant in the quietude. Mutual patterns and vestiges of warrior traces were perhaps the only reason he extended their abilities to her; trust at a foundational level, for neither of them would’ve survived without some notion of capability, skill, and strategy. Survival rang true. A nod granted and given, solidified. “Just send word if necessary.”
It takes dying to know
How to live as ghosts
