"Ah," the bard nodded, "well, I suppose that is what religion is, for some. Truth with a capital 'T.' As though a god is, by definition, infallible." On his world that wasn't the case, nor did it seem to be here, but people could be become fanatics with very little nudging sometimes... something a few of the Naturals seemed to verge on. Would it be strange to thank the gods that there wasn't much in the way of organized religion? He was fairly certain that whatever Bastien was doing didn't really count.
Again, the nod, and a slight frown at the unfortunate lack of precision in the Spire guardian's territory. Ah well. They had a close enough estimate of it to work with, at least. Further information, however, had him tilting his head, frown deepening briefly as he glanced at his companion and tried to follow their line of thought. "My apologies, I think I missed something. The Acquired... was that a name for the Ascended? Or for the mages who were later Abandoned? I admit it's a strange thought to me." Though, in deference to 108's earlier observation that outlanders talked about themselves too much, he bit back the reason why he found it confounding, since it related to his personal experience.
The description the pale being related was a mix of things that Jigano had so far noted on his own - that people were not Ascended against their will - but 108 was silent on what the Voice thought of the other races. That she only wanted willing converts was good, but that didn't explain what she intended to do to those who wouldn't or couldn't convert, in the future.
On the other hand, there was still the issue of the gods wrongfully imprisoning those who were innocent of whatever machinations the local Iron Goddess had afoot. He didn't know what the world outside the bubble was like, but if he had to choose the greatest good for the world he did know...
He gave a thoughtful nod. "I won't make any final decisions until I've had time to think. But, for now, I see no reason to stop pursuing the fall of the barrier. The world inside is... fading. The plants, the animals, the people... I could probably calculate it from the records, but there is a clock running, one that ticks down in generations rather than years, and eventually this pocket world won't be able to support those that live here. I've no wish to consign my friends' descendants to such a fate." He turned to face 108 once more with a wry smile on his face. "Together, I hope, we'll be more successful at freeing ourselves than those of the past were."
Again, the nod, and a slight frown at the unfortunate lack of precision in the Spire guardian's territory. Ah well. They had a close enough estimate of it to work with, at least. Further information, however, had him tilting his head, frown deepening briefly as he glanced at his companion and tried to follow their line of thought. "My apologies, I think I missed something. The Acquired... was that a name for the Ascended? Or for the mages who were later Abandoned? I admit it's a strange thought to me." Though, in deference to 108's earlier observation that outlanders talked about themselves too much, he bit back the reason why he found it confounding, since it related to his personal experience.
The description the pale being related was a mix of things that Jigano had so far noted on his own - that people were not Ascended against their will - but 108 was silent on what the Voice thought of the other races. That she only wanted willing converts was good, but that didn't explain what she intended to do to those who wouldn't or couldn't convert, in the future.
On the other hand, there was still the issue of the gods wrongfully imprisoning those who were innocent of whatever machinations the local Iron Goddess had afoot. He didn't know what the world outside the bubble was like, but if he had to choose the greatest good for the world he did know...
He gave a thoughtful nod. "I won't make any final decisions until I've had time to think. But, for now, I see no reason to stop pursuing the fall of the barrier. The world inside is... fading. The plants, the animals, the people... I could probably calculate it from the records, but there is a clock running, one that ticks down in generations rather than years, and eventually this pocket world won't be able to support those that live here. I've no wish to consign my friends' descendants to such a fate." He turned to face 108 once more with a wry smile on his face. "Together, I hope, we'll be more successful at freeing ourselves than those of the past were."
