Prologue:
"This is a world of reason. Without reason, needless to say, we would be helpless, changing with the slightest breeze of chance. Reason is the force that tells us to follow the established laws, tells us to eat when we are hungry, to wear clothing in public, tells us not to harm others or compromise their rights.
Reason, this fragile flower that all humanity clings to. We say we have it, or, perhaps we are in charge of our reason. No...I doubt that. I believe more that it possesses us, like some elusive spirit, for the good of course. For the good of what? Humanity?
I've noticed, in my many wanderings around this thriving pool of life, that those who lose their reason, those who choose to ignore the fundamental laws and patterns of society, trade this 'reason' for something else. Power...Strength perhaps? Decidedly they gain some great will that causes them to press on beyond the point that most humans clinging to their reason would go. So can I really say that reason is a boon to humanity? No...not really. It would really delight me to see where these creatures would go if every one of them was stripped of their reason.
But such a thing only happens for specific reasons, at specific times. A sort of preordination, a fate. There are three forces that are stronger than reason, strong enough to drive men away from laws. The first is love, an emotion so strong it overwhelms the boundaries of mere companionship and causes the affected human to go to all extremes to keep his love intact. A very strange thing, this love, how sacred, how delightful...how abominable.
Then there is the opposite emotion of love. Revenge. A hate so strong and pure that it pulls a man away from the boundaries of reason and causes him to do anything within his means, and sometimes out of them, to fulfill his terrific passion. Amazing, really...the heroes of this society are usually affected by one of these two emotions. Complete opposites; yet somehow bound together - one man will call another a hero if he loves, or if he hates. The cause makes no difference as long as the effect is pleasing.
The third emotion that defies reason is Insanity. The purest abstraction of human thought...no one loves the insane. These are locked away, insulted, mourned over, killed. The insane are considered below humans. Heh...these rejected, while those obsessed with love or revenge are lauded. How do we know that the insane are not just one step above, that they do not see something that we do not, perceive what we do not. How do we know that the insane are not the greatest among us?"
The man slowly traced the edge of his wine goblet, removing the thin layer of sugar that had formed. He had fallen so deep into his thoughts that he had almost forgotten there was someone there with him. Slowly his slate eyes looked up across the low wooden bar table at the aging man sitting across from him. The man was cloaked, for secrecy, in a great brown lump of a robe, stealing most of his body from view, but his face was still visible, wreathed in a bushy white beard. The old man's jet black eyes pierced acutely into his own. "Hmm...I suppose you are lost to humanity? A little revenge eating you up, perhaps?"
"Yes..." The old man growled sullenly, angrily. "They will all pay for their crimes."
"Very dramatic, very emotional...but you emotion is very human. Your emotion has not helped you much so far - look at where I am, and you are all the way back at the bottom, angry at the children that kicked you down. Angry...heh. Calm yourself, child...pure emotion will never win the day. You must use your mind to its full capacity, think for once."
The cloaked man recoiled at the use of the word 'child', then snarled angrily back, "I know my orders, Shade. I heard them straight from the source. It's not your place to tell me what to do."
Shade shrugged and sat back, downing the rest of his wine. He felt very good, very sedated. Perhaps one more drink and he would go back to his room, maybe search around for a bargirl to keep him happy. Yon infuriated him, though he would not show that on the outside. Needless emotions, such as anger, simply wasted his time and efforts. Anger was never necessary, neither was revenge. "Suit yourself, but be wiser in the future...so far you have been a complete waste of power, always butchering even the best efforts. I do not know why you were even chosen for the power."
"Listen h-"
"Careful. Just...be careful. Or else someone will catch on to you and your little trinket there." Shade nodded casually, but the old man's hand shot instinctively up to his neck. Amusing...Shade smiled, "They'll put you in a circus...five gil to see the Invincible Man."
A few moments passed as Yon suppressed his anger, then he spoke through grinding teeth, "All I know is that I do have the power, I do have the mission, and the motivation. And I will use it, I will conquer and destroy this time. I will get my revenge!" At that he rose and stomped away, leaving a few patrons of the bar looking inquisitively at the table.
Shade set down the glass, putting a hand to his neck to clasp the small amulet he wore, a glass eye - completely white with a red pupil. "Ah...revenge. It's a pity you're not insane."
--
"This is a world of reason. Without reason, needless to say, we would be helpless, changing with the slightest breeze of chance. Reason is the force that tells us to follow the established laws, tells us to eat when we are hungry, to wear clothing in public, tells us not to harm others or compromise their rights.
Reason, this fragile flower that all humanity clings to. We say we have it, or, perhaps we are in charge of our reason. No...I doubt that. I believe more that it possesses us, like some elusive spirit, for the good of course. For the good of what? Humanity?
I've noticed, in my many wanderings around this thriving pool of life, that those who lose their reason, those who choose to ignore the fundamental laws and patterns of society, trade this 'reason' for something else. Power...Strength perhaps? Decidedly they gain some great will that causes them to press on beyond the point that most humans clinging to their reason would go. So can I really say that reason is a boon to humanity? No...not really. It would really delight me to see where these creatures would go if every one of them was stripped of their reason.
But such a thing only happens for specific reasons, at specific times. A sort of preordination, a fate. There are three forces that are stronger than reason, strong enough to drive men away from laws. The first is love, an emotion so strong it overwhelms the boundaries of mere companionship and causes the affected human to go to all extremes to keep his love intact. A very strange thing, this love, how sacred, how delightful...how abominable.
Then there is the opposite emotion of love. Revenge. A hate so strong and pure that it pulls a man away from the boundaries of reason and causes him to do anything within his means, and sometimes out of them, to fulfill his terrific passion. Amazing, really...the heroes of this society are usually affected by one of these two emotions. Complete opposites; yet somehow bound together - one man will call another a hero if he loves, or if he hates. The cause makes no difference as long as the effect is pleasing.
The third emotion that defies reason is Insanity. The purest abstraction of human thought...no one loves the insane. These are locked away, insulted, mourned over, killed. The insane are considered below humans. Heh...these rejected, while those obsessed with love or revenge are lauded. How do we know that the insane are not just one step above, that they do not see something that we do not, perceive what we do not. How do we know that the insane are not the greatest among us?"
The man slowly traced the edge of his wine goblet, removing the thin layer of sugar that had formed. He had fallen so deep into his thoughts that he had almost forgotten there was someone there with him. Slowly his slate eyes looked up across the low wooden bar table at the aging man sitting across from him. The man was cloaked, for secrecy, in a great brown lump of a robe, stealing most of his body from view, but his face was still visible, wreathed in a bushy white beard. The old man's jet black eyes pierced acutely into his own. "Hmm...I suppose you are lost to humanity? A little revenge eating you up, perhaps?"
"Yes..." The old man growled sullenly, angrily. "They will all pay for their crimes."
"Very dramatic, very emotional...but you emotion is very human. Your emotion has not helped you much so far - look at where I am, and you are all the way back at the bottom, angry at the children that kicked you down. Angry...heh. Calm yourself, child...pure emotion will never win the day. You must use your mind to its full capacity, think for once."
The cloaked man recoiled at the use of the word 'child', then snarled angrily back, "I know my orders, Shade. I heard them straight from the source. It's not your place to tell me what to do."
Shade shrugged and sat back, downing the rest of his wine. He felt very good, very sedated. Perhaps one more drink and he would go back to his room, maybe search around for a bargirl to keep him happy. Yon infuriated him, though he would not show that on the outside. Needless emotions, such as anger, simply wasted his time and efforts. Anger was never necessary, neither was revenge. "Suit yourself, but be wiser in the future...so far you have been a complete waste of power, always butchering even the best efforts. I do not know why you were even chosen for the power."
"Listen h-"
"Careful. Just...be careful. Or else someone will catch on to you and your little trinket there." Shade nodded casually, but the old man's hand shot instinctively up to his neck. Amusing...Shade smiled, "They'll put you in a circus...five gil to see the Invincible Man."
A few moments passed as Yon suppressed his anger, then he spoke through grinding teeth, "All I know is that I do have the power, I do have the mission, and the motivation. And I will use it, I will conquer and destroy this time. I will get my revenge!" At that he rose and stomped away, leaving a few patrons of the bar looking inquisitively at the table.
Shade set down the glass, putting a hand to his neck to clasp the small amulet he wore, a glass eye - completely white with a red pupil. "Ah...revenge. It's a pity you're not insane."
--