Post by Griswold on Apr 16, 2021 20:37:45 GMT -5
“I see.”
When several harsh words were spoken, Griswold began to really think about the situation as he spat out what he believed was hopefully the last of someone else’s blood. Not everyone in this world could be saved, which was strangely enough one of the points he had been trying, or at least wanting to make when the psychopathic woman spoke to him about how “magic knights believed they made a difference, but could not really save anyone”. Believing it to be faulty rhetoric on her part, Griswold assumed that it was to be expected from someone who really did not seem to be all that sane. As for him being too weak to save someone, he imagined that was also true. Even though he believed that he could have handled the woman in front of him on the floor if he had just managed to land his blow before the sword had taken her out for good.
But at the end of the day, Griswold was still but a fresh recruit among the magic knights of clover, and he really only developed two spells that he could use in battle. One being a relatively simple, straight forward and weak offensive spell, the other with which he could heal up some superficial damage. He was really not strong enough to save anyone, least of all those who did not want his help and just wished to wreak havoc upon the world for no apparent reason. At least, no reason that they would ever figure out in this particular case on account of the one committing such actions no longer being in any position to tell any tales. But aside from that, the Junior magic knight knew quite well that the only thing he really amounted to at this point was to protect peasants from roving wolves, as well as your average bandit or raider that did not possess a whole lot of mana on account of being peasants themselves.
The moment those raiders were of a different bloodline such as himself, or hailed from a noble lineage, chances were that he would be overtaken and killed. The same went for anything more than your average wolf, as a larger pack would likely be able to kill him, especially if one added in something along the lines of the wargs he had heard tales about that supposedly lived in the deep woods. Larger, stronger and more intelligent wolves that could actually kill a Junior knight if they weren’t careful around them. And that was the reality for Griswold. He did not have the same aptitude for magic that his vice-captain had, nor did he have a kind of magic that was anywhere near as strong as light magic, which was something so rare that he had never actually seen it before this very day. He was but a commoner with a handful of low ranking fire spells that was playing around with things that were far bigger than himself.
As annoying as it was to have to come to terms with that, he was really swimming in the deep end of the pool here, while much bigger sharks were swimming around right beneath his toes, though he could not even see them or touch them. Yet once one of those sharks wanted to do so, they could come up to rip him apart without him being able to do a damned thing about it. He was in their domain after all. And as things were, only people such as Lydia were capable of bringing about any true change in the world as they seemed to be at the very pinnacle of magic. After all, she possessed a type of magic that was for all intents and purposes both incredibly rare and incredibly powerful, one probably being true because the other was as well. Once everyone was able to toss around light magic spells, it would no longer be rare and people would arguably be capable of reaching the same levels of strength because of it. A weird thing to take into consideration, but therefore not less true.
Having to make due with the tools he had been given, there was a rather large part of him that felt the weight of Lydia’s words bearing down on his shoulders. At the end of the day, he also did not believe in prisons or other correctional facilities that were supposed to remodel those that had strayed and took on a life of crime or had decided to turn on the kingdom for whatever reason. He did however enjoy that there was a magic squad that was made up in part out of ex-criminals that were actually trying to better their lives for the simple reason being that they had been forced into a life of crime because they had to provide for their family in a state of poverty, felt that they needed to take revenge on someone who had killed one of their relatives or friends, or any other reason that, while initially bad, was still something one might be able to picture as something that hadn’t inherently been born from a place of pure evil. At least that was what Griswold believed.
“You’re right on most accounts. I don’t believe that correctional facilities could really change people, make them stray from the path of violence that they have chosen. I’d sooner imagine that it might just get worse due to being locked up and having nowhere to go to vent that frustration. So I’m not saying you’re wrong, as you most likely did the right thing here today.”
With that, he made it clear that he did not fault the woman for striking the killing blow on the person he had been fighting for several minutes prior to her appearance. If anything, he faulted himself for not being strong enough to de-escalate the situation, take the woman down and maybe figure out why she was doing what she was doing. Even if she was a murderer, there was a chance that the person she had killed had severely wronged her in the past. But as the situation would have it, they couldn’t ask the man any sooner than they could ask her, as he was also laying on the ground in pieces. Luckily however, the other magic knights had already begun cleaning up the bodies and putting out the remaining fires so they would not jump to any of the nearby buildings. So while he had agreed with her on the killing, there was still something he needed to say to her.
“It’s just that, if I had been stronger, I might have been able to take her out sooner, and could have kept anyone from dying here today. But I’m not that fast, I’m not that strong, and I do not have the aptitude for magic that people such as yourself have. I’m only a commoner after all.”
And that was the truth of it. If he wanted to, he might have been able to kill the woman before Lydia had, though that would not have solved anything either. But if he had been stronger, faster and more capable as a magic wielder, he would have probably been capable of knocking her out without having to actually resort to violence. And the thing was, he was just a commoner, meaning there was most likely a limit to just how far he could grow even if he began working way harder than he had done up until now. And maybe it was that that had kept him from actually thanking the woman for making an effort towards saving him, and potentially saving the people that might still have gotten hurt if things did turn bad. It was at the very least something that needed to be rectified before he bid her farewell and went on his way again.
“That said, I appreciate you coming in to help me. But I should get going, as there will probably be questions about what happened here today, and I would very much like to take a shower or a bath to get all of this blood off of me.”
So as he planned to walk away, he realized exactly what was happening here. He had been thrust into a bad situation, and his first instinct was to lay down and take it, accepting that he was as strong as he was, and that that would be the end of it. But the more the thought dawned upon him, the more he realized that he was really not fine with that. Looking up at the sky in hopes of finding the answer that would fix his problem somewhere among the clouds, he figured that there was really only a single thing that he could do that might actually change things for him. And that was simply to return to the basics. No more spending time around the luxury of the Crimson Lions Headquarters or the royal capital, but by staying around the less favorable regions both inside and outside of the country. Throwing himself into dangerous situations and working his ass off just to get out of it in one piece. So as he turned his attention back to Lydia, he had a different look on his face.
“But I can at least attempt to promise you one thing before I go. And that is that when we meet again, I’ll be sure to have become a whole lot stronger than I am now. That may be in a few weeks or in a few months, but it is a promise that I am willing to make right here and now. I may be a commoner and a weakling, but I’m not going to pretend that I am fine with that and continue manhandling wolves or petty criminals.”
Almost sounding smug when he said it, there was a hint of belief in his words. A belief in himself and the fact that he might be able to get out of all of this as a stronger person than he was at this moment. While it was sad, frustrating and somewhat detrimental in a way that someone had to die in front of him, and that he had to hear from someone who was playing ball with the upper tier of Clover’s magic knights, perhaps it was exactly the trigger he needed that might push him out of his complacent state.
“I’m going to become stronger than my peers, the other Junior magic knights within the Crimson Lion squad, even if they’re nobles and I’m not. Even if they possess a greater aptitude towards magic that I don’t have, I’m going to surpass them through hard work and labor.”
About to turn around a second time and leave to go back to the inn that had probably already finished up his order by now so that he could get some dinner, take a shower and sleep in a comfortable bed one last time before he’d head out into the world in order to get stronger by any means necessary, he remembered that he should probably at least let Lydia know one last thing before he’d be heading out and leaving her to do whatever else she needed to do here. Believing there would probably be some things left that needed supervision in the aftermath of the attack on the town, he decided to make it quick for both of their sakes.
“Oh, and I’m not going to swing by the Crimson Lion headquarters until I’ve reached that goal, that is also a promise. So if anyone needs me, I’ll be around somewhere between the fringe and the common realm, where people need me the most. Cya!”
And with that, he nodded at her and placed his fist over his chest as a form of respect before leaving her behind and drag his gross self over to the Inn. Once there, he was asked to take a shower and either put on some clean clothes or have the ones he had on right now cleaned as they’d rather not have a man covered in blood sitting in their dining area. Clearly it was bad for business, which was entirely understandable.
[EXIT]
When several harsh words were spoken, Griswold began to really think about the situation as he spat out what he believed was hopefully the last of someone else’s blood. Not everyone in this world could be saved, which was strangely enough one of the points he had been trying, or at least wanting to make when the psychopathic woman spoke to him about how “magic knights believed they made a difference, but could not really save anyone”. Believing it to be faulty rhetoric on her part, Griswold assumed that it was to be expected from someone who really did not seem to be all that sane. As for him being too weak to save someone, he imagined that was also true. Even though he believed that he could have handled the woman in front of him on the floor if he had just managed to land his blow before the sword had taken her out for good.
But at the end of the day, Griswold was still but a fresh recruit among the magic knights of clover, and he really only developed two spells that he could use in battle. One being a relatively simple, straight forward and weak offensive spell, the other with which he could heal up some superficial damage. He was really not strong enough to save anyone, least of all those who did not want his help and just wished to wreak havoc upon the world for no apparent reason. At least, no reason that they would ever figure out in this particular case on account of the one committing such actions no longer being in any position to tell any tales. But aside from that, the Junior magic knight knew quite well that the only thing he really amounted to at this point was to protect peasants from roving wolves, as well as your average bandit or raider that did not possess a whole lot of mana on account of being peasants themselves.
The moment those raiders were of a different bloodline such as himself, or hailed from a noble lineage, chances were that he would be overtaken and killed. The same went for anything more than your average wolf, as a larger pack would likely be able to kill him, especially if one added in something along the lines of the wargs he had heard tales about that supposedly lived in the deep woods. Larger, stronger and more intelligent wolves that could actually kill a Junior knight if they weren’t careful around them. And that was the reality for Griswold. He did not have the same aptitude for magic that his vice-captain had, nor did he have a kind of magic that was anywhere near as strong as light magic, which was something so rare that he had never actually seen it before this very day. He was but a commoner with a handful of low ranking fire spells that was playing around with things that were far bigger than himself.
As annoying as it was to have to come to terms with that, he was really swimming in the deep end of the pool here, while much bigger sharks were swimming around right beneath his toes, though he could not even see them or touch them. Yet once one of those sharks wanted to do so, they could come up to rip him apart without him being able to do a damned thing about it. He was in their domain after all. And as things were, only people such as Lydia were capable of bringing about any true change in the world as they seemed to be at the very pinnacle of magic. After all, she possessed a type of magic that was for all intents and purposes both incredibly rare and incredibly powerful, one probably being true because the other was as well. Once everyone was able to toss around light magic spells, it would no longer be rare and people would arguably be capable of reaching the same levels of strength because of it. A weird thing to take into consideration, but therefore not less true.
Having to make due with the tools he had been given, there was a rather large part of him that felt the weight of Lydia’s words bearing down on his shoulders. At the end of the day, he also did not believe in prisons or other correctional facilities that were supposed to remodel those that had strayed and took on a life of crime or had decided to turn on the kingdom for whatever reason. He did however enjoy that there was a magic squad that was made up in part out of ex-criminals that were actually trying to better their lives for the simple reason being that they had been forced into a life of crime because they had to provide for their family in a state of poverty, felt that they needed to take revenge on someone who had killed one of their relatives or friends, or any other reason that, while initially bad, was still something one might be able to picture as something that hadn’t inherently been born from a place of pure evil. At least that was what Griswold believed.
“You’re right on most accounts. I don’t believe that correctional facilities could really change people, make them stray from the path of violence that they have chosen. I’d sooner imagine that it might just get worse due to being locked up and having nowhere to go to vent that frustration. So I’m not saying you’re wrong, as you most likely did the right thing here today.”
With that, he made it clear that he did not fault the woman for striking the killing blow on the person he had been fighting for several minutes prior to her appearance. If anything, he faulted himself for not being strong enough to de-escalate the situation, take the woman down and maybe figure out why she was doing what she was doing. Even if she was a murderer, there was a chance that the person she had killed had severely wronged her in the past. But as the situation would have it, they couldn’t ask the man any sooner than they could ask her, as he was also laying on the ground in pieces. Luckily however, the other magic knights had already begun cleaning up the bodies and putting out the remaining fires so they would not jump to any of the nearby buildings. So while he had agreed with her on the killing, there was still something he needed to say to her.
“It’s just that, if I had been stronger, I might have been able to take her out sooner, and could have kept anyone from dying here today. But I’m not that fast, I’m not that strong, and I do not have the aptitude for magic that people such as yourself have. I’m only a commoner after all.”
And that was the truth of it. If he wanted to, he might have been able to kill the woman before Lydia had, though that would not have solved anything either. But if he had been stronger, faster and more capable as a magic wielder, he would have probably been capable of knocking her out without having to actually resort to violence. And the thing was, he was just a commoner, meaning there was most likely a limit to just how far he could grow even if he began working way harder than he had done up until now. And maybe it was that that had kept him from actually thanking the woman for making an effort towards saving him, and potentially saving the people that might still have gotten hurt if things did turn bad. It was at the very least something that needed to be rectified before he bid her farewell and went on his way again.
“That said, I appreciate you coming in to help me. But I should get going, as there will probably be questions about what happened here today, and I would very much like to take a shower or a bath to get all of this blood off of me.”
So as he planned to walk away, he realized exactly what was happening here. He had been thrust into a bad situation, and his first instinct was to lay down and take it, accepting that he was as strong as he was, and that that would be the end of it. But the more the thought dawned upon him, the more he realized that he was really not fine with that. Looking up at the sky in hopes of finding the answer that would fix his problem somewhere among the clouds, he figured that there was really only a single thing that he could do that might actually change things for him. And that was simply to return to the basics. No more spending time around the luxury of the Crimson Lions Headquarters or the royal capital, but by staying around the less favorable regions both inside and outside of the country. Throwing himself into dangerous situations and working his ass off just to get out of it in one piece. So as he turned his attention back to Lydia, he had a different look on his face.
“But I can at least attempt to promise you one thing before I go. And that is that when we meet again, I’ll be sure to have become a whole lot stronger than I am now. That may be in a few weeks or in a few months, but it is a promise that I am willing to make right here and now. I may be a commoner and a weakling, but I’m not going to pretend that I am fine with that and continue manhandling wolves or petty criminals.”
Almost sounding smug when he said it, there was a hint of belief in his words. A belief in himself and the fact that he might be able to get out of all of this as a stronger person than he was at this moment. While it was sad, frustrating and somewhat detrimental in a way that someone had to die in front of him, and that he had to hear from someone who was playing ball with the upper tier of Clover’s magic knights, perhaps it was exactly the trigger he needed that might push him out of his complacent state.
“I’m going to become stronger than my peers, the other Junior magic knights within the Crimson Lion squad, even if they’re nobles and I’m not. Even if they possess a greater aptitude towards magic that I don’t have, I’m going to surpass them through hard work and labor.”
About to turn around a second time and leave to go back to the inn that had probably already finished up his order by now so that he could get some dinner, take a shower and sleep in a comfortable bed one last time before he’d head out into the world in order to get stronger by any means necessary, he remembered that he should probably at least let Lydia know one last thing before he’d be heading out and leaving her to do whatever else she needed to do here. Believing there would probably be some things left that needed supervision in the aftermath of the attack on the town, he decided to make it quick for both of their sakes.
“Oh, and I’m not going to swing by the Crimson Lion headquarters until I’ve reached that goal, that is also a promise. So if anyone needs me, I’ll be around somewhere between the fringe and the common realm, where people need me the most. Cya!”
And with that, he nodded at her and placed his fist over his chest as a form of respect before leaving her behind and drag his gross self over to the Inn. Once there, he was asked to take a shower and either put on some clean clothes or have the ones he had on right now cleaned as they’d rather not have a man covered in blood sitting in their dining area. Clearly it was bad for business, which was entirely understandable.
2044 (7299)
[EXIT]