Post by Timeon on May 23, 2015 16:56:02 GMT
The speech of Mennas Merniso, before the Battle of Sholla with the Clockwork Army.
What makes a Good man?
The philosophers of this world have grappled with that question since Isichei. Still, there can be no clear answer. For does not even Kiarash think that his cause is righteous?
Are you Good men?
When I first learned that I was not a Good man, I was horrified.
I beseeched a Good Outsider to help me reclaim the throne of House Merniso, only to be told my cause was neither Good nor Evil, and that even to Outsiders, the world was not always a simple thing to judge. The Good Outsider grew grave then, a blankness to its expression, a grimness to its tone. It told me that I myself, despite my every intuition, that I was not Good. And so I cursed myself for a time, thinking through the memories of my life to find the source of my moral ambiguity, to find my Sin.
But all I saw was a man. An imperfect man, but one with good intentions. Yes, my intentions were laced with personal ambition, with pride... but I am only mortal.
Philosophy cannot justify the existence of a Heaven and Hell. Perhaps that is why Gnomeland accepts no Gods. The Gods are arbitrary... We must decide for ourselves what is Good and what is Evil. Perhaps that is why many of us are not Good. Because we do not accept the morality of the Gods.
There are those amongst the thousands before me today who would say that putting myself at risk is selfish and foolish. That if I die, that the sacrifices of thousands would have been in vain. They are not wrong. And yet there are those before me who take heart in my presence, and believe that a King can only be righteous if he accepts the same burdens as his subjects.
I have decided for myself. I stand with those who believe in me. And even with those who do not. For what we face here today unites us beyond Good and Evil, beyond Law and Chaos.
We face Oblivion itself. We are the few who have chosen to act as the shield against the end of the world. That is why I tell you now, whatever the judgement of the Gods, I call you brothers and sisters. I call you Good. Whatever creed and background has brought you here, whatever your belief, I salute you. I will die beside you, if that is what it takes. And when the sun rises, I swear to continue this fight, to build a world where every man may have the safety to decide for himself what is Good and Evil, so long as that freedom does not infringe upon the freedom of another.
I tell you now, I see before me that which is worth fighting for.
I see the people who will fix that which was broken. That which was betrayed. That which was hurt.
For family, for honour, for gold, for friendship, for laughter. For a night on the streets with friends! For a hard day's work!
The warmth of a lover! The tears we weep in the dark! The joys, the sorrows!
Above all, we fight for a brighter future!
We fight for all things worth fighting for.
We fight for a tomorrow! We fight for Existence!
What makes a Good man?
The philosophers of this world have grappled with that question since Isichei. Still, there can be no clear answer. For does not even Kiarash think that his cause is righteous?
Are you Good men?
When I first learned that I was not a Good man, I was horrified.
I beseeched a Good Outsider to help me reclaim the throne of House Merniso, only to be told my cause was neither Good nor Evil, and that even to Outsiders, the world was not always a simple thing to judge. The Good Outsider grew grave then, a blankness to its expression, a grimness to its tone. It told me that I myself, despite my every intuition, that I was not Good. And so I cursed myself for a time, thinking through the memories of my life to find the source of my moral ambiguity, to find my Sin.
But all I saw was a man. An imperfect man, but one with good intentions. Yes, my intentions were laced with personal ambition, with pride... but I am only mortal.
Philosophy cannot justify the existence of a Heaven and Hell. Perhaps that is why Gnomeland accepts no Gods. The Gods are arbitrary... We must decide for ourselves what is Good and what is Evil. Perhaps that is why many of us are not Good. Because we do not accept the morality of the Gods.
There are those amongst the thousands before me today who would say that putting myself at risk is selfish and foolish. That if I die, that the sacrifices of thousands would have been in vain. They are not wrong. And yet there are those before me who take heart in my presence, and believe that a King can only be righteous if he accepts the same burdens as his subjects.
I have decided for myself. I stand with those who believe in me. And even with those who do not. For what we face here today unites us beyond Good and Evil, beyond Law and Chaos.
We face Oblivion itself. We are the few who have chosen to act as the shield against the end of the world. That is why I tell you now, whatever the judgement of the Gods, I call you brothers and sisters. I call you Good. Whatever creed and background has brought you here, whatever your belief, I salute you. I will die beside you, if that is what it takes. And when the sun rises, I swear to continue this fight, to build a world where every man may have the safety to decide for himself what is Good and Evil, so long as that freedom does not infringe upon the freedom of another.
I tell you now, I see before me that which is worth fighting for.
I see the people who will fix that which was broken. That which was betrayed. That which was hurt.
For family, for honour, for gold, for friendship, for laughter. For a night on the streets with friends! For a hard day's work!
The warmth of a lover! The tears we weep in the dark! The joys, the sorrows!
Above all, we fight for a brighter future!
We fight for all things worth fighting for.
We fight for a tomorrow! We fight for Existence!
